| Two Recipes |
[Apr. 20th, 2011|12:42 pm] |
being home alone = coming up with something interesting to cook.
ALOO MUTAR PANEER (potato pea cheese curry)
1 large onion, diced
2 large potatoes, peeled and diced
various spices
1/2 package of frozen green peas, defrosted in boiled water
splash of tomato sauce
a hunk of Indian cheese, paneer (or tofu), cubed
1. fry up the onion. when they start to turn golden, add potatoes. when they start turning golden as well, add some liquid (water is just fine, but most recipes call for chicken or vegetable stock), and cover, so that the potatoes can simmer. at this time you can also add spices: a curry mix, or combo curry powder/turmeric/cumin/paprika (i added oregano, dill, cumin, and turmeric). be sure to add sugar as well as salt.
2. about 2/3 of the way through, also add in the peas. (if you add them too early, they'll get too mushy.)
3. when the potatoes are almost done, add a splash of tomato sauce (for flavor and texture, i think it was a necessary step). stir in the paneer or tofu, turn off the heat, and let the dish sit for a bit, so flavors can meld.
serve over rice or with naan.
LAMB AND KALE STEW
1 onion, diced
.4 lb butterflied boneless leg of lamb, chopped into small pieces
a bunch of various kinds of beans (presoaked overnight, to make them softer, if raw; otherwise use canned)
spices
1 bunch kale, chopped finely
1. fry up the onion until golden. add the lamb and stir-fry until crust forms over meat.
2. throw in the beans (including the liquid in which they were soaking). stir in whatever spices you like. be sure to add both sugar and salt. then add the kale, mix up, and add more liquid, if needed. (again, water is just fine.)
3. cook on low heat until the kale is very soft. this will also taste best if can sit for a bit.
**beans: i loved using the raw beans. however, different beans need different amount of time to be just the right consistency. for the purpose of this kind of cooking, it didn't much matter that the garbanzos were still relatively crunchy and the red beans got a little mushy. but if you want to make this well, you have to add the beans in at different times, or cook them separately.
***if you want to make this dish vegetarian, i guess you can use mushrooms instead of lamb, which would give the stew the body it needs. a splash of soy sauce would give it additional umame flavor.
(Vika absolutely loved the lamb stew. after she finished eating, she took her bowl and slurped up all the liquid.)
next up: stuffed cabbage and eggplant "caviar." |
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| Plov: the Recipe |
[Sep. 24th, 2010|04:48 pm] |
Okay, I am going to do the impossible and one-finger type this on my phone. Not only for your benefit but for mine as well. The recipe is going to be fairly wordy, as this is still a work in progress. It's a result of quick Internet research and a bit of personal experience. First off, plov is based on four ingredients: rice, lamb, onion, and carrot. If you think lamb is too gamey, substitute beef. If you are a vegetarian.... Well, I am torn about whether veg plov will work, because you need something proteiny with a fairly strong umami flavor. Possibly some pungent mushrooms. Anyway, I used two cuts of lamb, shoulder chops and butterflied boneless leg. Whole Foods lamb is less greasy/gamey. The rice you use should be long grained, not sticky. I cheated by cooking the rice in a rice cooker. The authentic recipes insist on using a kazan (which I imagine is similar to a paella dish, but I don't know) to cook the rice in the broth made of the other three ingredients. Incidentally, I have never made an authentic risotto either. Too much hassle. Anyway, there is more, but I better get to the recipe. ( Read more... ) |
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| World's Easiest Apple Cake (Шарлотка) (c) V's Grandparents |
[Aug. 27th, 2010|09:57 pm] |
3-4 apples
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Peel and core the apples, then cut them into cubes. Place then in the cake pan.
Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour mixture over the apples.
Bake until set (when a toothpick is dry when poked through the cake). |
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| L the Herd |
[Jun. 27th, 2010|03:20 pm] |
Eric has finally convinced me to get the new iPhone. I am considering it a business expense: with an Internet connection, I will be able to respond to freelancing emails while away
from home. This will be particularly useful when I am out of town. Last time I spent a week in Boston, I had my friend V track my email for me. Still, I have been holding out ever since the first iPhone. Can't believe I am caving in. :) |
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| Cold Beet Soup |
[Jun. 11th, 2010|01:14 pm] |
my mom would always make this soup, which she simply calls холодник, in the summertime, and that's what i associate it with.... (if i've posted the recipe here before, forgive the repetition.)
basically, you cook up a whole bunch of beet soup, very simple, and keep it in the fridge. when it's time to eat, you take out a portion and add in the rest of the ingredients fresh. the sour cream, btw, is a must. without it, it can't be a real Russian soup. :)
SOUP
a bunch of beets (3-4 beetroots plus stems and greens)
tablespoon of lemon juice
salt and pepper, bay leaf, or other spices, optional
ADD-INS (per serving)
tablespoon of sour cream
2-3 inch portion of a long cucumber, diced
1/2 or 1 egg, hardboiled, diced
1-2 sprigs of scallions, chopped
1. separate the stems/greens from the beetroots. peel the beets, submerge them in plenty of water (enough so that there'll be a good amount of soup left even once some liquid boils out), and cook until beets are softened, but not mushy--about 15 minutes or longer, depending on size of the beets.
2. while the beets are cooking, clean the stems and greens and chop them up. you may wish to discard some of the leaves. the stems are usually cut to about 1 inch in length, and the greens are cut thinly.
3. remove the beets from the water and cool. grate the beets (on a hand-held grater, use the side with the largest holes), then throw them back into the soup water. at this time, add in the prepared stems/greens, and lemon juice (according to my mom, it gives soup a nice color). feel free to also add flavorings or salt.
4. cook the soup long enough for the grated beets and the stems/greens to soften to a consistency that is good for eating (you want them soft but not mushy).
5. cool the soup on the stove and then refrigerate until about half an hour before eating, so that the soup isn't too cold. the add-ins can be placed in each individual bowl before pouring the soup over them. |
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| Meme Time! |
[Feb. 17th, 2010|09:37 am] |
1. you leave a comment.
2. i respond with three things i like about you.
3. you post the meme in your LJ.
(via ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=92.1) ant_fugue) |
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| Why??? |
[Nov. 12th, 2009|12:56 pm] |
| [ | Current Location |
| | the office | ] |
| [ | mood |
| | trying not to lose my lunch | ] |
i just looked at a photograph of that woman whose face got mauled by a chimp. that was a VERY BAD IDEA. |
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| Lunch Saturday: Yummy Turkish Food |
[Nov. 9th, 2009|12:36 pm] |
i guess this is more for future reference than anything else, but i had a wonderful lunch at Seven's after belly dancing class on Saturday: baba ganoush, lamacun (this amazing Turkish flatbread "pizza" with tomato, ground lamb, and spices), and cubes of fried liver (leftovers, combined with brussels sprouts and rice, are today's lunch).
so good.
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| Election |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|01:14 pm] |
i refuse to vote for either Bloomberg or Thompson. and i'm not nearly enough Goody Two-shoes to vote Green. |
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| Pumpkin Soup Update |
[Oct. 27th, 2009|12:55 pm] |
i ended up finally making soup late last night (though i had roasted the pumpkin over the weekend). the verdict: not bad, but doesn't taste like pumpkin. possibly because i worried it would taste too much like pumpkin. lol. i think the problem is possibly too much onion and cumin... and maybe i overdid it on the sugar a bit. and possibly because the recipe didn't call for nutmeg, which is probably the most typical flavoring for anything pumpkin-related.
oh, and i didn't need to use the mixer after all. i roasted the pumpkin for so long, it was very easy to mash it all up with a fork. so as far as the soup's consistency, it was fine (unless you hate having small pieces of onion in your soup, which doesn't bother me).
UPDATE: Eric says it's the sugar and milk. he liked it, but it was much too rich/sweet as lunch, on its own. |
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