Madhu Knits and Cooks

A Fantastic Upma (Thanks Mom) - A Hearty Spiced Semolina Breakfast

Upma is a savory and hearty Indian breakfast dish, usually made with roasted dry semolina though I have made variants with quinoa and steel cut oats.  As it turns out, sometimes sticking to the original can produce the best results as my recent effort with ground semolina or sooji found.

I purchased the sooji, roasted so I didn't need to roast it at home, at our local Patel Brothers.  I followed Saranya Mandava's cookbook recipe with a few critical modifications from my mother.  

First was that I added fresh curry leaves (maybe 7 -8), which I ripped in half, to the cooking vegetables.  Second, I slightly reduced the oil to 5 - 6 tablespoons.  Third, I added the ginger toward the end of the onion / tomato / chile cooking time so that it wouldn't burn as the others cooked.

I also increased the salt to 1.25 tsp. and the water to 3 cups instead of the 1.5 - 2 called for in the recipe (semolina stayed the same at 1 cup).

Finally, after the semolina fully cooked after 3 - 4 minutes, I took the pan off the heat, stirred in juice from 1/4 fresh lemon and some diced cilantro.  I then let the upma stay covered for approx. 5 minutes before serving.

This finished upma was quickly consumed in our home.  The mixture was well-spiced from the mustard seeds and dals; tart from the lemon, tomato, and cilantro; slightly sweet from the ginger and semolina; and featured the unique deep flavor of the curry leaves.  Yum!

Homemade Fettuccine in Homemade Alfredo Sauce - One of My Top Home-Cooked Meals

Fettuccine Alfredo was one of my favorite childhood dishes.  I loved the velvety rich sauce paired with long, silky noodles.  What a delight! 

As I have aged, I rarely eat fettuccine alfredo as its calorie count is far more than my metabolism can easily burn off.  However, when I had some leftover heavy cream and parmesan in the fridge, and a longstanding desire to use up my King Arthur Flour Italian Flour Blend so I can open their Pasta Flour Blend bag, I knew there was only one direction I could take.

The result was even better than I could have expected.  The fresh pasta had a great amount of bite, and the thicker fresh noodles clung to the smooth sauce perfectly.  The nutmeg and fresh ground pepper added a great depth of flavor to the parmesan and cream sauce.  I am a little scared of how good this was because now I foresee this being a quarterly treat in our home.

I followed the King Arthur Flour Fresh Pasta Recipe, which I have made before, and used my hand-crank pasta roller to make the fettuccine strips.

I started the sauce as I started to heat the water to boil the pasta.  I halved the Cook's Illustrated recipe, though ended up using 1 oz. of parmesan.

I did have to add a bit more salt to the final dish for the flavors to really come out, but otherwise it was fantastically comforting on a Sunday night.  Can't wait to make it again this fall!

An Easier Way to Prepare a Great Eggplant Parmesan (for Two)

Now that I finally mastered eggplant, it seems that I can't go into a grocery store without buying more! My latest eggplant effort was Cook's Country's Eggplant Parmesan for Two, a relatively easy way to prepare this Italian favorite.  

The eggplant is cut into thicker steaks instead of sliced, and is lightly pan-fried before baking.  The result was fantastic - very crunchy exterior, soft interior, and a wonderful tangy flavor from the eggplant tomato sauce that is spooned on top of the baked eggplant.  The steaks are also significant enough to be a meal on their own.

I substituted two baby eggplants (approx. 1.2 pounds) for the 1 pound medium eggplant, and as such cut slightly smaller steaks than those envisioned by the recipe.

I made two other edits to the recipe - I substituted mozzarella for the provolone, and used approx. 1/2 the oil called for the pan-frying to reduce calories further.

While the steaks are baking in the oven, simply brown the remaining eggplant pieces, which are diced, with a can of diced tomatoes, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes.

Serve right away - yum!

Brined Crispy Tofu - A Laborious But Delicious Tofu Preparation Method

For several months, I've wanted to try Cook's Illustrated "Better Fried Tofu" approach.  The method calls for brining raw tofu before tossing it in cornstarch for the lower fat pan-frying approach I enjoy.  CI reported that brining takes out more moisture from the tofu blocks, resulting in a crispier crust with a softer middle.

I paired this method with another CI recipe, published under their America's Test Kitchen brand.  The Crispy Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce (Tianla Cuipi Doufu) recipe worked really well with the brining modification as it just added a bit more time to the recipe prep.  

I cut the tofu as instructed into large blocks to do the quick brining.

I then cut the pieces into smaller increments (approx. 3/4 inch cubes) before the coating in cornstarch, cornmeal, and some toasted sesame seeds that I happened to have on as well.  

I pan fried the tofu in two batches, using about 1/2 of the vegetable oil called for in the recipe.  That seemed to be enough - approx. 1/4 cup for the initial batch and then a few more tablespoons for the second batch.

And then before serving, I followed the instruction to put the tofu into a preheated, slightly warm oven on paper towels to get some of the oil out.

Finally, I made some modifications to the accompanying sauce based on personal preference and the comments section on the ATK site.  I used only 1 tbsp. of sugar and I slightly reduced the cornstarch as well.

The sauce had both a sharp vinegar flavor and a sweet undertone, making it slightly odd for dipping. 

The tofu by contrast was fantastic - crisp and slightly crunchy from the cornmeal coating, with a nice moist interior.  It was a great appetizer before our larger meal. 

I look forward to using this tofu approach again and again, and figuring out new ways to pair it with other meals!

Milk Street Instant Pot Corn and Potato Soup - Despite the Mods, A Keeper!

I made some major changes to the Milk Street Two-Corn Chowder with Green Chili and Scallions recipe.  First, I only used one type of corn as I couldn't find hominy in our local store or on Instacart.  Second, I used a different green chile - anaheim, similarly due to supply issues.  Third, I also used a bag of tiny red-skinned potatoes for the Yukon Gold because also couldn't find those.

But despite these pretty critical changes, this one-corn chowder with (a different) green chili and scallions was delicious.  The sweet corn flavor really burst throughout the soup, the potato added a great creaminess and substance, and the scallions a subtly sharp onion flavor.  Eating these leftovers was not an issue!

This soup will also be a recipe repeat because it's made in the Instant Pot, which makes it super easy to prepare on a weeknight.  Shuck the corn, reserving the leftover cobs, and chop the pepper before adding both to the Instant Pot.

I added some additional frozen corn (didn't measure) at this stage to make up for the lack of hominy.  Saute for a bit, then add broth (for me, water with vegetable Better than Bouillon), potatoes, and the reserved corn cobs, broken in half.

After letting the pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, remove the cobs, add some cream, and season to then serve.  Can't wait to make this again!

A Modern Cook's Year Pea and Charred Scallion Fritters - Recipe Modification Mishap?

My inability to return a Modern Cook's Year to the library and the success of the carrot dhal led me to try another recipe, the pea and charred scallion fritters.  I think what particularly attracted me to this recipe was the use of cannellini beans, a can of which I have had for some time.  

As the post title indicates, the fritters didn't turn out as I desired.  They were quite bland, with none of the ingredients truly expressing themselves.  The charred scallions added only a slight caramelized flavor, the peas a tiny sweetness, the mint a faint herb flavor, and then rest was just mushy bland white beans.  

The cause was either user error - I used approx. 1/3 the amount of scallions called for in the recipe - or a combination of what I would say is user error and an annoying (to me) feature of this cookbook, that the multi-component dishes must be all completed for the recipe to shine. 

In this case, the pea and charred scallion fritters recipe not only had an accompanying spiced yogurt recipe, but also a herb salad.  And both of these sides required not-particularly-common ingredients.  As is my way, I omitted the salad and yogurt hoping that these fritters would be good (but perhaps not great) on their own.  They weren't.  When can I return this cookbook?

Now to the steps required to make the fritter portion of this dish.  Start by charring the scallions in the oven or a grill.  I roasted them in the oven for approx. 15 minutes before they started to brown.

Then prepare and pulse the remaining fritter ingredients before shaping and pan frying.

I also fried the fritters for longer than the recipe called for to get crispier edges.  While the fritters weren't great on their own for dinner, the leftovers added some easy protein to my lunch salads the rest of the week.

A Modern Cook's Year Carrot Dhal - A Dressed Up Lentil Stew for Guests

I make a lot of dals or Indian lentils.  It's an easy way to insert protein into vegetarian meals, and I usually make enough to last for days.  When I saw a complicated Carrot Dhal recipe in the much-heralded Modern Cook's Year cookbook, I didn't think this recipe was for me.  Does one really need a dal that requires many steps, and a special accompanying pickle at that?  

Insert the obvious yes!  This recipe produced a fantastic dal, with incredibly complex flavors and textures - slightly sweet from the carrots, creamy from the coconut milk, deeply spiced from the ground and crushed spices, slight bitterness from the spinach, and the sharp, spiced tang of the accompanying radish pickle.  Amazing.  This is a dal to serve at a dinner party to wow your guests instead of having it be a mere humble, protein-rich side.

I did make a number of changes to the recipe, some intended and others inadvertent.  Starting with the latter, I used 3/4 cup of masoor dal and 1/4 cup of moong dal because I ran out of masoor dal, I substituted champagne vinegar for white wine vinegar, used Better than Bouillon for the broth, and used light coconut milk instead of its full fat equivalent.  On the intended changes, I used slightly less lemon zest (3/4 lemon) and juice (1/2 lemon), slightly less cilantro and green chile, and reduced the cooking water to 2 cups to produce a thicker dal, which worked out well.

I also found microplaning everything to be a bit of a pain, so ended up using the largest holes on a box grater for the carrots and just finely chopped the onion and chile, which was fine.

While the dal is cooking, whip up your radish pickle, and then serve together.  You won't regret the time spent to prepare this luscious dish!

Fuchsia Dunlop "Fish Fragrant" Eggplant - Eggplant Has Truly Found Its Way Into My Kitchen!

Who would have thought 8 years ago, or even 3 years ago, that I would have finally mastered cooking Sichuan eggplant (or any type of eggplant) at home?  But fresh off my May mastery of Sichuan eggplant, using the Omnivore's Cookbook eggplant preparation approach, I set off to find a better sauce because the last one was too sweet and thick.

A friend recommended the UK Sichuan cooking expert Fuchsia Dunlop's Fish Fragrant eggplant recipe, and I was able to cobble together pantry staples to produce an excellent eggplant dish.  The eggplant was spicy, sour, and just slightly sweet from the chile paste, vinegar, sugar, and spice mixture.  The green onions added a slight freshness to this dish as well - yum!

I made a few minor substitutions to the recipe - I reduced the sugar to 1 tsp. to avoid too sweet a dish, I substituted corn starch for the potato starch, and I used water + vegetarian Better than Bouillon for the chicken stock.  And of course, as mentioned above, I repeated the Omnivore's Cookbook usage of cornstarch to coat and cook the eggplant pieces instead of deep frying them.

After cooking the eggplant, which I did in 3 batches, I then quickly simmered the sauce down before adding in the eggplant.  The dish comes together quickly after the eggplant is cooked, so have your rice and other sides ready to eat immediately!

Moosewood Peruvian Quinoa Stew - Healthy Option for the Week

In an effort to break away from my library books, I browsed my cookbook shelf to find a cookbook that hasn't received a lot of love from me.  While scanning the titles, I was saddened that most of my cookbooks fall into that category.  Undaunted, I selected my Moosewood Cooks at Home book and found the Peruvian Quinoa Stew recipe.  With a new unopened bag of quinoa at home, this seemed like an obvious recipe to try.

The recipe was incredibly healthy - vegetables and ground spices - and very easy to prepare by using the Instant Pot to cook quinoa.  Amazingly, quinoa cooks perfectly in 1 minute at high pressure!

And I didn't need to use the oil recommended to coat the pot - no sticking occurred, similar to my omission of oil for my Instant Pot cooked steel cut oats.

As the quinoa was separately cooking, I built the stew base with the vegetables and spices.  I used a full Pomi chopped tomatoes box in the stew, so I had slightly more tomatoes (3 cups) than called for in the original recipe.

Unlike Indian recipes, you don't bloom the dried spices in the oil before adding the other ingredients, rather you add the spices when the vegetables go into the pot.  I was slightly worried that the spices wouldn't full blend into the soup using this method, but I was thankfully surprised by the result.  And a note for myself - I halved the coriander powder because of personal preference, and it worked out fine in the final dish.

The quinoa was great when served - incredibly tangy from the tomatoes; slightly sweet, sour and spicy from the spices; and very filling from all of the vegetables and quinoa.  The only downside of this dish is that I think it's meant more for a crowd (it comfortably serves 5 as a main course) or to eat over a week, versus the 2 days in which we quickly ate it up (and got a little sick of it).  I will be making this again and again, particularly in winter when it will help warm me on cold days.

Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes - Fantastic Side for Indian Dinners

The title of my last post could also apply to this post.  My library cookbooks have become a source of unexpected recipe inspiration as I continue to hold on to them well beyond the standard 9-week checkout and renewal times.  Coupled with the accidental inclusion of frozen roasted baby potatoes in a grocery delivery order, pandemic cooking appears to well within its first wave.

The recipe I turned to for these unexpected potatoes (of which we received 2 bags) was Dishoom's Gunpowder Potatoes.  The final dish was fantastic - spicy, acidic and sharp from the green onions and lime juice, and wonderfully spiced from the toasted cumin, fennel and coriander seeds.

In addition to using frozen roasted potatoes, which sharply reduced the cooking time and complexity, I also substituted Kashmiri chile powder for homemade kabab masala to simply this recipe.  I will continue both modifications because these potatoes were wonderful.

To start, I spread the frozen potatoes on a baking sheet and put them in the preheated oven for 14 minutes.  They sat for 3 - 4 minutes before I cut them in half, per the Dishroom recipe instructions.

While the potatoes were in the oven, I toasted the whole spices until fragrant, then ground lightly them with a mortar and pestle.  While the spices were toasting, I melted the butter in the serving dish, and chopped up the green chiles, scallions, and cilantro.  Tossed all of the flavoring ingredients together in the serving dish before adding the potatoes, then sea salt, lime juice, and chile powder to taste.  So easy!