Tom Yum soup

Ingredients:
3 cans of chicken broth
1 stalk of lemon grass (available in whole foods or Asian store), cut into 1cm pieces along the length of the stalk
2 inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 tbsp fish sauce
1-2 chillies, chopped fine
3 cloves garlic,chopped
1/3 cup of chopped cilantro leaves
3 tomatoes cut into big pieces
1 can of coconut milk
1 breast of chicken cut into 1cm cubes
1tsp of red chilli flakes
1 tbsp of cooking oil
1 lemon
2 cups of cooked rice or rice noodles

Instructions:
Heat chicken broth in a pot so that the pot is no more than half full. Add lemongrass and ginger and continue at high heat for 20-30 minutes or longer. You should be able to smell it. Strain out the lemongrass and ginger pieces using a colander. Put the broth back into the pot and continue at medium heat.
Add the cut chicken cubes, chopped chillies and garlic and continue for 10-15 minute or till the chicken is cooked. Turn off the heat.
Add tomatoes, stir. After 5 minutes, add fish sauce and stir. followed by the lemon juice.
Put chilli flakes and oil in a bowl and microwave at high for 60 to 90 seconds. Add it to the soup and stir. Add the chopped cilantro leaves.
Add coconut milk and stir. If you donot find or like coconut milk, start with 4 cans of chicken broth in place of three.
The soup could be had on its own, with rice or rice noodles.

Note: You could make a vegetarian soup the same way. Use Veg. broth, soy sauce and mushrooms/tofu/paneer cubes/green vegetables in place of chicken broth, fish sauce and meat resp.

The chicken could also be replaced with fish or shrimp. Take care not to overcook shrimp or fish (over 5 minutes).

Author: Varsha
Source: variation of a friend's soup recipe

Lucy's Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:

4 lb green tomatoes
1 lb apples
1/2 lb raisins
1 lb brown sugar
1 1/4 lb shallots
12 red chillies
1/2 oz dried whole ginger
1/2 oz salt
1 pint vinegar (20 floz)

Instructions:

Cut up tomatoes, pealed apples and shallots (or mince). Chop raisins. Put chillies and ginger in a bag. Combine in a pan and simmer until fruit has boiled down then add the vinegar and simmer until desired consistency is reached. Makes about 7 1/2 lb.

Contributor: Bryan

Sweet Potato Pie

uuuuuh....yum.

Ingredients:

1 pound 3 ounces sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 1/4 cups plain yogurt
3/4 cup packed, dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
5 egg yolks
Salt
1 (9-inch) deep dish, frozen pie shell
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
1 tablespoon maple syrup

Instructions:

Special equipment: steamer basket

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer basket into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Mash with potato masher and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Place sweet potatoes in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with the paddle attachment. Add yogurt, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, yolks, and salt, to taste, and beat until well combined. Pour this batter into the pie shell and place onto a sheet pan. Sprinkle pecans on top and drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until the custard reaches 165 to 180 degrees. Remove from oven and cool. Keep refrigerated after cooling.


Author: Bryan
Source: Alton Brown, Good Eats

Notes:

Really tasty, even without the pecans and maple syrup.

Pumpkin Souffle

Cheesy Pumpkin-Ham Soufflés

Ingredients:

Softened butter
Grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 cup solid pack pumpkin
1/4 cup flour
1 tablespoon prepared mustard
1 cup milk
6 eggs, separated
1 cup finely chopped ham
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Coat bottom and sides of five to six 10 ounce custard cups or soufflé dishes with softened butter; dust lightly with Parmesan cheese. In medium saucepan, melt butter. Add pumpkin, flour and mustard; mix well. Slowly stir in milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir 1/4 cup pumpkin mixture into egg yolks. Add egg mixture back to saucepan; cook over low heat 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in ham, Swiss cheese and Parmesan cheese. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into pumpkin mixture. Pour into prepared dishes. Bake about 25 minutes or until tops are golden brown. Yields 5 to 6 servings.

Time: About 1 hour from start to finish

Author: Megan
Source: http://www.heritagefarms.com/recipies/index.php

Note: I actually didn't put any of the parmesian cheese in cause
I didn't have it, so I added more swiss cheese. Used emmetaler
swiss, and boarshead black forest ham.

Rava Upma

Introduction
Upma is a cous cous-like preparation, and it is a South Indian fast food staple. Easy and quick, upma is light fare perfect for breakfast, or as a light meal. There are tons of variations on the same general recipe that result in a variety of delicious allotropes of this dish. I'm including the main recipe below and some alterations/additions to it as well. Enjoy!

Main ingredients
Rava (cream of wheat) (prefer coarse over fine) - 1 cup
Water - 3 cups
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Udad dal (split black gram lentils) - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 3
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 2
Ginger, chopped - 3/4"-1" piece
Oil - 2 tbsp

Optional ingredients
Tomato, quartered - 1
Carrot, sliced - 1
Radish, small, sliced - 3
Cashews, unsalted - 1/2 cup
Peas (preferably fresh not frozen) - up to 1/2 cup (*)
Onion, medium, sliced - 1
Hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
Haldi (turmeric) - a pinch
Sugar - 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped - 1 tsp
Coconut, grated - 1 tsp

Time: 10-15 min
Servings: 1 (lunch) or 2 (snack)

Method:
1) Roast the rava until it starts to turn brown and you can smell it. Set aside.
2) Heat the oil in a non-stick wok.
3) Add rai, udad dal and curry leaves, and when these start to sputter, add the ginger and green chillies. Stir for a minute or so.
4) Add water and salt, mix well.
5) Add any vegetables you're using to the water and cook covered about 5 min.
6) Slowly mix in the rava, avoiding any lumps. If needed, pour the rava through a strainer. Lumps will ruin the taste! Stir continuously until all the rava has been added. Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Depending on what consistency you desire, you can heat it for longer until you have an almost-solid Upma ready.

Upma can be served on its own, or, depending on how you like it, with a chutney (coconut, coriander, mint,...) or a pickled vegetable (lemon, lime, ginger,...) on the side. Sambar (thick lentil soup usually with aubergines) is also a standard side for upma.

Alterations/Additions, and when to add them:
2.5) If adding cashews - believe me, you should! - fry until they start turning brown, then proceed to step (3) above.
3.5) Hing, onions - fry until onions turn translucent.
4.5) Tomatoes, radish, peas [See note below if using peas], haldi and sugar.
6.5) Coriander leaves, grated coconut (garnish).

Notes:
* Adding peas will increase cooking time. You'll also probably have to increase the amount of water required by 1/2 cup. Fresh peas work better than frozen ones. You could probably nuke them to pre-cook them, but in-situ cooking probably improves the flavour.
* As with everything else, using ghee instead of oil improves the flavour.
* Here's one of my favourite things about upma - if you cook it long enough, you start to get a crisp thin crust forming under the upma. If you're using a non-stick wok, it will be easy to transfer onto your plate. Mmm, crispy!

Author: Sundar

Stewed Chicken

1 chicken, cut in six pieces
1 kg of tomatoes (I used 2 red and 1 yellow)
700g of green peppers (pablano or anaheim type)
3 onions (diced)
3 garlic cloves
1 glass of white wine
1 bouquet garnis (3 stalks of parsley, 1 sprig of thyme and 1 bay leaf, tied together with a string), oilive oil, pepper, salt

Method:

Heat up 4 table spoon of oil in a large pan. (actually I used butter here)
Cook onions until golden, add garlic and green peppers. Cook for 5 minutes.
Wash and peel the tomatoes (put in boiling water for 30 sec first to peal them easily). Dice tomatoes, add to pan with pepper and onions. Cover, cook for 20 minutes.
In another pan (shallow), add 4 table spoon of olive oil, and golden the chicken, salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken to the pan with the onions, peppers and tomatoes.
Add the white wine and the bouquet garnis, cook for 35 minutes.


Time: 1 hour
Servings: 4-8 (for just the chicken)
4-6 if you make it more like a soup/stew

Author: Megan
Source: Nor (who translated it from a french cookbook)

Note:

I cooked the chicken actually for like an hour,
adding most of a bottle of white wine, and then
let it cool. This way the chicken falls right off
the bones. At the end I added a can of white beans
as well (Cannelini) for extra fiber and starch.
I also used a happy chicken from springfield farms
off falls road. Down the road is a farm stand
where you can pick up the tomatoes, peppers, onions.
It turned out most excellent.

Onion Chutney

Ingredients:
Onion, big & chopped coarsely - 1
Green chillies, long, slit lengthwise - 2
Red chillies, small, dried - 2-3
Mustard seeds (rai) - 1 tsp
Split black gram lentils (udad dal) - 1 tsp
Tamarind paste - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 2-3 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Time: 5-10 min
Servings: 2-3

Method:
Heat the oil and fry the rai, udad dal and red chillies until the rai starts to sputter. Add the onions, salt, and green chillies and fry until the raw smell of onions disappears (the onions should be translucent by now). When cooled, blend with the tamarind paste into a thick paste. Serve with bread or rice.

Author: Sundar
Source: Traditional recipe, can be found here: http://www.indianchild.com
Note:
Optionally, 1 tsp of brown sugar and/or 1 tsp of grated coconut can be added to the chutney while blending. Do not blend for longer than a minute or so, while the onions need to blend into a paste, the udad dal needs to be in large enough pieces to give it a crunchy feel. Delicious!

Fried Eggplant in Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:
Eggplant, sliced thin - 1 medium
Yogurt, whipped - 1 cup
Black salt - 1/2 tsp
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Aniseed - 1/2 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped - 1 tbsp
Oil - 3-5 tbsp

Time: 15-20 minutes
Servings: 4

Method:
Fry the eggplant slices in oil until they turn golden brown. Squeeze out the excess oil and pat dry with paper towels.
Mix the rest of the ingredients into the whipped yogurt.
When serving, pour enough yogurt on top of each slice and decorate with coriander leaves.

Author: Sundar
Source: Cookshelf Indian by Shehzad Husain

Pear and Blueberry Pie

from Alton Brown/Good Eats

Ingredients:

Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup stone ground cornmeal
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
8 oz. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, diced
3 tablespoons apple juice concentrate
2 tablespoons cold water

Filling:
2 Anjou pears, peeled, cored, thinly sliced (I used Bosc rather than Anjou)
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons sugar
1 pinch nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup blueberries
1 teaspoon flour
1 1/2 cups pound cake, cubed
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon sugar


Method:

1) In a food processor, combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and salt. Pulse to combine. Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and put the bowl into the refrigerator. Remove 1/2 stick of butter from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. In a food processor, add the 1/2 stick of butter to the flour mixture. Pulse until the fat completely disappears. Add the remaining 1 1/2 sticks butter in separate batches. Pulse until flour mixture pieces are the size of a pea.

2) Combine the apple juice concentrate and the cold water. Using a spray bottle, spritz the dough with the apple juice mixture while folding the mixture with a spatula. After about three tablespoons of the liquid, check the dough for consistency. It should hold together when compressed but remain relatively dry to the touch. If it does not bind, add a little more water. Remove from the processor and form the dough into a ball. Wrap the dough in wax paper or parchment paper and rest in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

3) Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. (I used a regluar steel frying pan, and it worked just as well, although everything took a bit longer than listed here) Add pears to the pan and toss for 2 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and continue to toss for 30 seconds. Add sugar and cook until the pears have softened. Add the nutmeg, cinnamon, and the butter and melt slowly. Fold in the blueberries. Remove from heat. Sprinkle on the flour and combine well. Allow to cool to room temperature.

4) Place dough on a floured piece of parchment and roll out to a 1/4-inch thick disk. Transfer to a baking sheet. Place cubed pound cake in the middle of the dough, leaving a 3-inch margin of crust on all sides. Spoon filling over the cake cubes and top the pears with 1 ounce of cubed butter. Lift excess crust onto filling and repeat in a clockwise fashion until a top lip has formed around the edge of the whole tart. Brush the tart with the egg wash and sprinkle the crust with the sugar.

5) Bake in 400 degree F oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the filling begins to bubble and the crust is golden brown. Remove from the sheet pan immediately and cool on pie rack.

Moong Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
Moong (split green gram) lentils - 1 cup
Onion (medium, sliced) - 1
Green chillies slit lengthwise - 2
Tomato (medium, quartered) - 1 (optional)

Seasoning:
Red chillies, dried - 2
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp

Time: 20-25 minutes
Servings: 4

Method:
Add the tomato pieces (if using), green chillies and sliced onion to 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Mix in the moong lentils, turmeric and salt and heat on a medium flame until the lentils are soft and cooked. Add 1/2-3/4 cup more water depending on the desired consistency.

To season, heat the oil and sputter cumin and mustard seeds and red chillies. Add this seasoning to the lentils. Serve hot.

Author: Sundar
Note:
Optionally, minced ginger can be added while boiling for extra flavour. Crushed pods of garlic can also be fried along with the seasoning.

Spicy Whole Green Moong

Ingredients:

Soak and cook:
Whole green moong - 1 cup
Turmeric - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Stir fry:
Asafoetia - a pinch
Green chillies, finely chopped - 2-3 depending on level of spice required
Ginger-garlic paste (optional) - 1 tsp
Onion, finely chopped - 1
Tomato, coarsely chopped - 1
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil/ghee - 1-2 tbsp
Garnish (optional):
Lemon juice - 3-4 tbsp
Coriander leaves, chopped - 2-3 tbsp
Coconut, grated - 2 tbsp

Serves: 4-5
Cooking time: 20 min (prep time: 5 min, cook time: 15 min) [does not include soak time of about 8-12 hr]
Method:




1) Soak the whole moong in water (2 cups for every cup of moong) for 8-12 hr (see comments). Wash and drain.






2) Chop the tomatoes, onions, and green chillies. I didn't have any onions, and I used green/red peppers from Marin's plant.






3) Heat 1 cup water (we will need just enough water to cook the moong) with salt and turmeric. Add the moong and cover for ten minutes or until moong is cooked (while still mostly firm)






4) In the same pan, heat the oil/ghee and fry asafoetida and chillies. Add the ginger-garlic paste and stir for two minutes.






5) Add the onions and fry until translucent, then add tomatoes and fry for a few minutes before mixing in the garam masala. Stir in the cooked moong and cook covered for 5-10 minutes on a medium flame (add some water if needed)






6) When cooked, garnish with lemon juice, coriander leaves, and grated coconut if desired. Serve hot with rice or chapatis.




Author: Sundar
Comments:
--This Maharashtrian dish is a variation on my aunt/mom's recipes. While it is adequate to soak it for 8 hrs, increasing this time results in the more nutritious sprouted version (see pictures).
--Lemon juice really improves the taste, so mix it in if you've got it!
--I used 3 large fresh green/red peppers from the plant Marin gave me, instead of the green chillies.

Overnight French Boule

3 cups all-purpose flour (up to 1.5 cups can be whole wheat)
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal

In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours (up to 24) at about 70 degrees (in a gas oven works well in the winter). Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a smooth cotton towel with flour or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.


Source: New York Times
Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery

Ranta Cranberry Pie

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup, plus 1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup flour
3/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spread berries over the bottom of a greased pie pan and sprinkle with 3/4 cups sugar. Beat eggs well then add 1 cup sugar and beat until well mixed. Add flour and butter to the eggs and sugar mixture and beat again. Pour over the cranberries and bake ~60 minutes, until golden.

Author: Marin and Sean
Source: Rantas of yore

Chocolate Stout Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) plus 2 melted Tbs (for coating pan)
1/2 cup stout (do not measure foam)
1/2 cup packed soft pitted prunes (6 oz), chopped
3.5 oz bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Special equipment: bundt pan

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly brush ring pan with melted butter and chill 2 minutes, then butter again and chill while making batter. Bring beer to a boil in a small saucepan and add prunes immediately. Remove from heat and let stand until most of liquid is absorbed. Meanwhile, melt chocolate and remaining stick butter together in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl. Beat together eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla until thick (about 2 minutes on high with an electric mixer). Add chocolate-butter mixture and beat until just combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in prune mixture. Spoon batter into pan and bake until a wooden skewer inserted into middle of cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool cake in mold on a rack 10 minutes, then invert onto rack to cool completely.

Author: Marin
Source: Gourmet Magazine

Broccoli with Thai Peanut Sauce

1/4 cup peanut butter
1.5 Tbs brown sugar
1.5 Tbs hot water
1 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs soy sauce
1.5 tsp dark sesame oil
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1.5 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
3 cups fresh broccoli, in florets
1/2 cup red bell peppers, cut into thin slices
1/2 cup onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced

In a blender or mini-food processor, combine peanut butter, sugar, water, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, and pepper flakes. Pulse until well blended and set aside. Heat oil in a wok. Add the vegetables and garlic, and stir-fry for 4 minutes, or until tender crisp. Remove from heat, place in a large bowl, and pour dressing over it. Mix well and serve. This can be served either hot or cold.

Origin: Megan

Southwestern Pumpkin Soup

Ingredients:
3 cups chicken broth
1 cup buttermilk (or cream)
½ cup pureed green chiles from a can OR ~3 Tbs pureed fresh chiles
1 15-ounce can pumpkin (or ~2 cups cooked, pureed mush from your own pumpkin)
3 Tbs brown sugar
2 tsps ground cumin
3/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (packed) grated sharp cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro

Bring chicken stock and buttermilk to boil in heavy medium pot. Whisk in green chiles, canned pumpkin, brown sugar, cumin, chili powder, coriander and nutmeg. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until soup thickens slightly and flavors blend, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with cheese and cilantro on top.

Makes 4 (first-course) servings.

Author: Marin
Original inspiration recipe: Epicurious/Bon Appetit

Chard Risotto

Ingredients:
5 cups chicken broth
2 Tbs olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1.5 cups arborio rice
4 cups (packed) coarsely chopped chard leaves (about 1 bunch)
2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional grated Parmesan cheese

Bring broth to simmer in medium saucepan and keep warm. Heat oil in large, heavy pot. Add onion and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add rice, chard, and mushrooms and stir until chard begins to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add wine and simmer until absorbed, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Add 4 1/2 cups hot broth. Simmer until rice is just tender and risotto is creamy, stirring frequently and adding remaining broth by 1/4 cupfuls if mixture is dry, about 20 minutes. Mix in 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese; season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with additional Parmesan sprinkled over the top.

Alternatative: Use mushroom broth and don't add the mushrooms

Makes 6 servings.

Author: Sean
Original recipe (sans brilliant mushroom addition): Epicurious/Bon Appetit

Sesame Carrot Soup

Ingedients:
5 Tbs butter
3.5 cups chopped, peeled carrots
1 cup chopped leeks or onions
1/2 cup chopped celery
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup yogurt, cream, sour cream or milk
1/2 to 1 tsp dark sesame oil
1.5 Tbs toasted sesame seeds (~3 minutes in a dry hot pan should toast them)

Melt 2 Tbs butter in heavy large pot. Add carrots, leeks, and celery. Cover and cook until vegetables soften slightly, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until veggies are very tender. Puree soup and return it to the pot. Whisk in dairy product and sesame oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with toasted sesame seeds.

Makes 6 servings.

Author: Marin
Original source: Epicurious/Bon Appetit

Carrot Koshimbir (salad)

Source: This wonderful web page.
Ingredients:
Carrots, skinned and grated - 2
Lemon juice - 2 tbsp
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Udad (split black gram) dal - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 4-5 nos.
Yogurt - 2 tsp
Coconut, grated - 2 tsp
Coriander leaves, chopped - 2 tsp
Oil - 2 tsp
Salt - to taste

Servings: 3
Cooking time: 10 minutes (Prep 5 min, cook 5 min)

Method:
Add green chillies, lemon juice, salt, coconut and yogurt to the grated carrots. In a small pan, fry the oil and sputter rai, jeera, and udad dal. Add this to the carrots, and garnish with coriander leaves.

Author: Sundar
Author's comments:
A koshimbir can be served as a salad with most meals. It goes great with chapatis, and also doubles as a raita with rice dishes. This version is delicious because of the lemon juice and the yogurt.
Alternate method thanks to Ranjani:
Grind coconut, green chillies and ginger to a paste, add to grated carrots with salt, then add the sputtered ingredients to this. This version is called a pachchadi instead of a koshimbir (the latter is typically a drier preparation)

Masoor (split red gram) dal (lentils)

Ingredients:
Masoor dal - 1.5 cup
Water - 3-3.5 cup
Onions, sliced or chopped - 1-2 nos.
Potato, large, cut into big pieces - 1-2 nos.
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 2-3 nos.
Red chillies - 2-3 nos.
Haldi (turmeric) - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Servings: 4-5
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes (5 min prep, 25 min cook)

Method:
Boil 3 cups of water in a wok. Add the dal, green chillies, and potato pieces and stir. Cook covered for 5 min on a medium flame. Add the sliced/chopped onions and cover again. Heat until potato pieces are cooked, stirring often. Add haldi and salt. Add more water if needed, and cook until dal is soft. In a small pan, heat the oil and add rai, jeera, curry leaves and red chillies. When they sputter, transfer contents to the wok. Mix well and serve with rice or bread. Can be garnished with a stalk of coriander (cilantro) leaves.

Author: Sundar
Modifications:
---The onions can be fried separately and the cooked dal can be added to this.
---For a different flavour, try crushed and fried garlic pods.
---Your favourite leafy greens can be washed, chopped and added with the dal, green chillies and potato pieces.
Author's comments:
Delicious and simple, you can try your own modifications. You could replace part or all of the dal with moong (split green gram) or toor (split yellow gram) for variety. Be aware that moong may take slightly longer to cook!

Tomato Chutney

Ingredients:
Ripe tomatoes, chopped - 1 kg
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1 tsp
Udad (skinned black gram) dal - 1 tsp
Green chillies, slit lengthwise - 1 pc
Ginger - 1" pc
Hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
Haldi (turmeric) - 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 stalk
Red chilly powder - 1 tsp
Oil - 4 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Cooking time: 35 minutes (prep time: 5 min, cook time: 30 min)
Servings: 4-5

Method:
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok, and add rai, udad, hing, curry leaves, ginger and green chillies. When they start to sputter, add the tomatoes and stir. Simmer 5 min and add haldi and salt. Cook 20-30 min or until tomatoes are done. Add 2 tbsp oil and red chilly powder, and stir until the oil separates to the sides of the vessel.

Author: Sundar
Author's Comments:
VERY EASY to make! Mom's recipe, results in a delicious thick chutney that can complement any kind of bread. Can be mixed with white rice for tomato rice, which can be served with papad and/or raita. This chutney can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 15 days.

Tuna Pan Bagnat = Fancy Tuna Sandwich

So, this is from Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. Normally, I would shy away from her because she's so darned annoying, but this recipe is totally crave-worthy.

Rachel used real tuna steaks. And, that's fine if you're made of money because you've got your own cooking show on the Food Network. But we're poaching them, and they turn out a lot like tuna fish from a can. Not, the cheapest dolphin-containing tuna mind you, the $1.50/can tuna will work just fine as a substitute.

ingredients
1 French baguette
1 six to eight-ounce tuna steak
1 bay leaf
5 whole peppercorns* Not necessary if you're using canned tuna
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons capers, drained
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 can artichoke hearts in water, 15 ounces, drained, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup good quality black olives
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
Coarse black pepper, to your taste
2 to3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, to your taste

preparation
* To get the juices flowing, place whole lemon in microwave on high for 10 seconds.
Crisp baguette in hot oven, then cool to handle. Cut baguette in half lengthwise, on an angle, then split each half lengthwise.

Omit this step if you're using canned tuna: Put about 1 inch of water, the bay leaf, peppercorns, and juice of 1/2 the lemon into a small skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the tuna steak, cover, and simmer until cooked through, about 4 minutes. Remove tuna from the water and allow to cool.

Place tuna in a bowl and separate with a fork. Add capers, red onion, artichokes.

For olives, if they're pitted, coarsely chop them. If the olives have pits, place an olive or 2 on your cutting board. Turn your knife sideways and place the flat of the blade on top of the olives -- just like peeling garlic -- whack the heal of your hand on knife and the pits of the olives will be exposed. Remove pits and chop.

Add olives and parsley to tuna mixture. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon into the bowl. Squeeze lemon halves holding cut side upright, allowing juice to spill over sides. The seeds will stay with the lemon half, rather than falling into your salad. Add black pepper to the bowl and drizzle salad liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Toss tuna salad and adjust pepper and evoo to your taste. Pack the tuna salad on to baguette halves and set tops in place. Press down to set the bread and salad together. The bread will absorb the evoo and salad juices. Cut each half baguette in half again, making 4 sandwiches, total.

Notes: The longer pan bagnat sits, the tastier it gets.

Plaigerizer: Air Supply Annie

Chocolate Ganache Cursed Cake

Chocolate Ganache Cursed Cake?! Yes. Because I've been cursing it ever since I made it. It was such a hit wiht my friends that I've been nominated to make cakes for all events. Great.

So, bake this cake with caution. It's decadent. Delicious. And, not too big of a pain in the ass. But, it will likely earn you cake baking duties until further notice.

And, if you need further persuasion, ganache = chocolate and cream. How can you go wrong? They suggest Callebaut chocolate. My ghetto grocery doesn't carry fancy-pantsy chocolate. I've made it with Nestle. Its cheap but, the taste doesn't compare. If you're going to make this cake, try for at least a mid-range chocolate like Ghiradelli.

Source: Gourmet Magazine

ingredients
For cake layers
3 ounces fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 1/2 cups hot brewed coffee
3 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process)
2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
3/4 teaspoon vanilla

For ganache frosting
1 pound fine-quality semisweet chocolate such as Callebaut
1 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter

Special equipment
two 10- by 2-inch round cake pans

preparation
Make cake layers:
Preheat oven to 300°F. and grease pans. Line bottoms with rounds of wax paper and grease paper.
Finely chop chocolate and in a bowl combine with hot coffee. Let mixture stand, stirring occasionally, until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

Into a large bowl sift together sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In another large bowl with an electric mixer beat eggs until thickened slightly and lemon colored (about 3 minutes with a standing mixer or 5 minutes with a hand-held mixer). Slowly add oil, buttermilk, vanilla, and melted chocolate mixture to eggs, beating until combined well. Add sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until just combined well. Divide batter between pans and bake in middle of oven until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool layers completely in pans on racks. Run a thin knife around edges of pans and invert layers onto racks. Carefully remove wax paper and cool layers completely. Cake layers may be made 1 day ahead and kept, wrapped well in plastic wrap, at room temperature.

Make frosting:
Finely chop chocolate. In a 1 1/2- to 2-quart saucepan bring cream, sugar, and corn syrup to a boil over moderately low heat, whisking until sugar is dissolved. Remove pan from heat and add chocolate, whisking until chocolate is melted. Cut butter into pieces and add to frosting, whisking until smooth.

Transfer frosting to a bowl and cool, stirring occasionally, until spreadable (depending on chocolate used, it may be necessary to chill frosting to spreadable consistency).

Spread frosting between cake layers and over top and sides. Cake keeps, covered and chilled, 3 days. Bring cake to room temperature before serving.

Plagiarizer: Air Supply Annie

Best French Toast I've Ever Eaten

From Epicurious.com (Bon Appétit magazine)

Okay, here's what rocks about this french toast:
1. It's the best I've ever eaten - super custard-y and delicious
2. You do most of the work the night before
3. You bake it, so that you can chat with your guests not slave over a hot griddle

ingredients

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
12 3/4-inch-thick French bread slices
6 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla

preparation

Spread butter over bottom of heavy large baking pan with 1-inch-high sides. Arrange bread slices in pan. Beat eggs, milk, sugar, syrup, vanilla and salt to blend in large bowl. Pour mixture over bread. Turn bread slices to coat. Cover with plastic and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake French bread 10 minutes. Turn bread over and continue baking until just golden, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer cooked toast to plates and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve immediately

Plaigerizer: Air Supply Annie

Plantain Cutlets

Source: Recipes n More
Ingredients:
Raw plantains - 6 nos.
Carrots, grated - 2 giant
Onions, chopped - 2 medium
Potatoes - 3 large
Red chilli powder - 1 tsp
Garam masala - 1 tsp
Coriander (cilantro), chopped - handful
Salt - to taste

Oil - enough for shallow frying

Servings: 4-5
Cooking time: about 1 hour (prep time: 45 min, cook: 15 min)
Method:
Boil the plantains and potatoes with their skins until they are well-cooked. Skin and mash them together with all the other ingredients. Make 3" diameter patties and shallow fry both sides in as little oil as possible until they turn crisp. Serve with hot or sweet chutney as preferred.

Author: Sundar
Author's Comments:
I modified the original recipe by adding potatoes, it worked out well.

Brownies

from: How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman

Ingredients:
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
8 Tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
plus some for greasing the pan
1 Cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 Cup all-purpose flour
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350F
Grease 8" square baking pan

2. Combine chocolate and butter in a saucepan
over low heat, stirring occasionally. When the
chocolate is melted remove from the heat and
stir until smooth.

3. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sugar. Beat
in the eggs one at a time. Stir in flour, salt,
and vanilla.

4. Pour into pan and bake 20-25 minutes, or until
just barely set in the center. IT'S MUCH BETTER
TO UNDERBAKE THAN OVERBAKE.


Modifications:
Add 1/2 tsp almond extract along with the vanilla
extract.

The first time I made this, I was running late and left
the brownies undercooked and slightly gooey in the center.
Everyone said they were great that way.

Author: BNH

Green Pasta Sauce

aka Ravioli Milanese filling gone wrong,
courtesy of Alvaro Hernan Diaz Montoya
circa 1986, Austin, TX, and morphed over the years
- removed a sausage from the beef

Ingredients:

- 2 lb lean ground beef
- 1 really large onion (Vidalia or sweet yellow) or 2 medium-large
- Coupla few garlic cloves, peeled, cut off hard part
- leaves from a large bunch beets, fresh-looking, with thick ribs torn out.
- 1 or 2 bunches spinach, or large packet (derib the worst if fibrous)
- 1 wine-glass red wine (heavy is good eg rhone or cab etc, not critical)
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- salt
- coarse-ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated Romano cheese

Brown meat in skillet, defat it (paper towels or run
hot water through it in a colander but without clogging your drain!)
Return meat to skillet, add wine + equal amount water
Cook till dry, almost granular, over medium flame, turning occasionally

Separately... boil leaves in covered pan with a very small amount of
water.

And separately still: saute' onions & garlic

Combine all cooked ingredients in large pan, blend
(hand blender works fine) until very smooth
(add water if it's too dry to blend easily)

Add nutmeg, parmesan, salt, pepper. Stir well

Served with e.g. tomato quarters and sliced radishes
over (olive-oiled) pasta (I like linguini but e.g. twirly
pasta might have better surface-to-volume ratio and colors)

This will make enough sauce for several meals.

Posted by: Megan

Vazhappu (banana blossom) kari

Source: Inspired by this link. Great pictures.

Ingredients:
Banana blossom* - 1
Onion, sliced - 1
Coconut, grated - 2 tbsp
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1/2 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Haldi (turmeric) - a pinch
Red chilli powder - 1/2 tsp
Oil - 2-3 tbsp
Salt - to taste

*Available at H-Mart, the Korean store

Cooking time: 20 minutes (5 prep + 15 cook)
Servings: 4-5

Method:
The banana blossom consists of a lot of tiny long banana flowers covered by huge purple sepals. The outer 2-3 sepals should be removed and discarded (while retaining the flowers, to be chopped and added to the rest of the ingredients), the blossom then washed and cut into thin strands. According to the source above, cutting off a 1/2" piece from the narrow end and then quartering it lengthwise followed by chopping it into strands does the trick.

Mix the chopped blossom pieces with curry leaves, red chilli powder, turmeric and chopped/sliced onion. In a wok, heat the oil and sputter the rai. Then, add the rest of the ingredients and stir on medium heat. A fresh blossom should have enough water for it to avoid sticking to the pan, but in case it wasn't fresh enough, you can add a few drops of water to it (not too much, this is a dry dish). Add salt and cook covered for 10-15 minutes. Garnish with grated coconut.

This dish is traditionally served as a side to rice preparations, but can also be enjoyed with chapatis, etc.

Author: Sundar
Modification: Once the ingredients were all mixed in the wok, I put in some pieces of pineapple we had in the fridge, bringing a very different taste to the traditional recipe. I didn't have grated coconut, otherwise it would have been a Tropical Trifecta. In fact, I'm thinking of how this would taste if it were cooked in coconut milk... Maybe with Thai curry? Hmm.

Author's comments:
A very South Indian dish, my parents occasionally make this at home, usually for lunch on Sundays, because the traditional way involves separating out all the sepals and flowers, and chopping them separately before cooking. The method above results in a quicker recipe.

Mor (buttermilk) Kuzhambu

Ingredients:
Buttermilk - 1/2 liter
Methi (fenugreek) seeds - 1/2 tsp
Green chillies - 4 or to taste
Coconut, grated - 1/2 cup
Red chillies - 1
Chana (Bengal gram) and toor dal, soaked 1/2 hr each - 1 tsp
Haldi (turmeric) - a pinch
Salt - to taste
Garnish:
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 4-5
Oil - 1 tbsp

Cooking time: 20 minutes (1/2 hr soaking)

Method:
Roast methi seeds and red chillies. Grind with coconut, green chillies, soaked dals to smooth paste. Beat into buttermilk with haldi. Heat, stirring, on a low flame (DO NOT ALLOW TO BOIL!) until it starts to froth at the top. Garnish with sputtered rai and curry leaves.

Author: Sundar
Author's comments:
Mom's recipe. Mor kuzhambu is one of my all-time favourite things. It can be mixed with boiled okra or pakodas. Plain mor kuzhambu is perfect with sevai (rice vermicelli)

Sabudana (tapioca, sago) Khichdi

Ingredients:
Sabudana - 1 cup
Potatoes, boiled - 2
Peanuts, roasted and skinned - 1/2 cup
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1 tsp
Jeera (cumin seeds) - 1 tsp
Green chillies - 2
Curry leaves - 1 strand
Sugar - 1 tsp
Coconut, grated - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - 1 tbsp
Oil - 2 tbsp
Salt - to taste

Cooking time: 15 minutes (soaking overnight)

Method:
Wash and soak the sabudana for 30 minutes. Drain and leave for 8 hours. Cut peanuts into small pieces and the potatoes into small cubes.

Heat the oil, and add rai. When it sputters, add jeera, green chillies, and curry leaves. When they start to sputter, add the potatoes, salt, sugar and the sabudana. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Add peanut pieces and coconut and cook for a minute. Mix in the lemon juice.

Author: Sundar
Author's comments:
Another one of my mom's recipes.

Aval (puffed/flattened rice) Upma

Ingredients
Aval (Poha or puffed/flattened rice)* - 2 cups
Onion, sliced or chopped - 1 nos.
Jeera (cumin seeds) and rai (mustard seeds) - 2 tsp ea.
Oil - 1 tbsp
Red chillies - 2-3 nos.
Salt - to taste
Lemon juice - to taste
Optional
Cashews - a few pieces

*available at Indian grocery stores

Cooking time: 15 min (5 min prep, 10 min cook)
Servings: 2-3

Method:
Soak the aval in water for 4-5 minutes (do not oversoak). Gently squeeze out the excess water to drain. Reserve. In a vessel, heat oil and add jeera and rai. When the rai starts to sputter, add the red chillies and onions. Stir well and slowly add the drained aval. Mix in the turmeric and salt. Cook 5-6 minutes on medium flame. Add lemon juice to taste. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Note: If adding cashews, they go in after the rai sputters.

Author: Sundar
Author's comments:
Upma is part of a light and fast South Indian breakfast or mid-afternoon snack. The poster-child is made from rava (semolina, cream of wheat), but my mom also makes two other varieties - idli upma made from leftover idlis (steamed rice cakes) or aval upma. Aval upma is a tangy dish when lemon juice is added, and it can be made crunchy by sputtering chana (Bengal gram) dal with rai and jeera, or by adding cashews.

Chocolate Fudge

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Fudge Factor

2 3/4 cups sugar
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
3 tablespoons butter, plus more for greasing pan
1 cup half-and-half
1 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped, roasted nuts, optional

Grease an 8 by 8-inch pan with butter. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, combine the sugar, chocolate, 1 1/2 tablespoons of the butter, half-and-half, and corn syrup. Over medium heat, stir with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved and chocolate is melted. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove the cover and attach a candy thermometer to the pot. Cook until the thermometer reads 234 degrees F. Remove from the heat and add the remaining butter. Do not stir. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes or until it drops to 130 degrees F. Add vanilla and nuts, if desired, and mix until well-blended and the shiny texture becomes matte. Pour into the prepared pan. Let sit in cool dry area until firm. Cut into 1-inch pieces and store in an airtight container for up to a week.

BNH

Pumpkin Hummus

From Cooking Light

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame-seed paste)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin (or 3-4 fresh cooked squash)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon pumpkinseed kernels, toasted (optional)


Pita

Place in a single layer on a baking sheet
Sprinkle with olive oil
Season with salt, pepper, and paprika
Bake @ 400F, until browned and crisp at the edges (about 4-6 minutes)

BNH, from Deanna

Beef Jerky

3 lb sirloin steak cut into 1/4" strips
1 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup brown sugar
8 cloves garlic minced
~1 tsp cayenne pepper
~1 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp salt

Marinate in ziplock overnight, dehydrate 10 hrs.

from SSR

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS:

* 1 cup margarine, softened
* 2 cups white sugar
* 4 eggs
* 6 bananas, mashed
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 3 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 cup lite sour cream
* 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly
grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans.
2. In a large bowl, cream together margarine, sugar and
eggs. Stir in bananas and vanilla. Sift in flour, baking soda
and cocoa; mix well. Blend in sour cream and chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a
toothpick inserted into center of a loaf comes out clean.

BNH

Thai Carrot Soup

Source: RecipeSource.com
Yield: 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 tb Oil
Spanish onion *
2 Garlic cloves, large, minced
1" Ginger minced
(you could use 1-1.5 tsp of ginger-garlic paste instead)
1 3/4 lb Carrots **
4 c Chicken stock or broth ***
1/4 c Cilantro leaves, loose pack
Salt, to taste
Red pepper, crushed,to taste

* medium sized, thinly sliced
** thinly sliced
*** skimmed of fat

Method:

Heat oil in 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onion, garlic, ginger, and carrots. Cook,
stirring frequently, until hot and fragrant -- about 4
minutes. Add 3 cups stock. Simmer, covered, until
carrots are tender -- about 25 minutes.
Drain liquid from solids. Reserve liquid. Puree
solids with cilantro in blender or processor until
smooth. Add as much liquid as container can hold.
Puree until even smoother. Transfer to 3-quart bowl.
Add remaining liquid, if any, and remaining 1 cup of
stock. Season to taste with salt and crushed red
pepper. Serve chilled or hot.

NOTE: Can be made 2 days ahead and refrigerated, or frozen up to 3
months.

Adjust seasonings to taste before serving. Each
serving contains about: 115 calories, 614 mg sodium, 1
mg cholesterol, 4 g fat, 17 g carbohydrates, 5 g
protein, 1.55 g fiber.

Carrot Chutney

Ingredients:
Medium Carrots - 3
Hot Green Chillies - 3 (add 2 more if you dare)
Garlic - 1 clove
Tamarind and Salt - according to taste

Seasoning:
Oil - 1/2 tablespoon
Dry Red Chilly - 1
Bengal gram dal ("chana dal", yellow split peas) - 1/2 teaspoon
Split black gram [OPTIONAL] - 1/2 teaspoon
Mustard seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Cumin seeds - 1/4 teaspoon
Curry leaves
A pinch of asafoetida [OPTIONAL]

Method:
1. Fry green chillies in 1/2 tablespoon hot oil for 3 minutes and take
them out of the oil (the same oil can be used for seasoning).
2. Cut carrots into pieces so that it will be easy to grind. Without
adding water, grind carrot pieces, fried green chillies, garlic, tamarind
and salt until the carrots and chillies are finely grated.
3. Fry all the ingredients for seasoning in oil until the cumin seeds
pop and add them to the carrot mix.

Tastes good with Rice or Chapati (Bread).

Author: Sundar
Author's comments: Mom's recipe

Gaajar (Carrot) Halwa

Ingredients:
1 kg carrots, grated
1 kg milk, preferably whole milk
1/2 cup condensed milk
1 cup sugar

Optional Ingredients:
1 tsp powdered cardamom
1 cup cashews, raisins and chopped almonds fried in ghee (Clarified
butter)
A few flakes of saffron (Available a lot cheaper than you think, at ethnic
grocery stores)
Silver foil

Method:

1) Place the carrots in a pan or vessel with the milk on HIGH HEAT for
about 25 minutes or until carrots are soft.
2) Add condensed milk, sugar and cardamom powder, simmer for about an hour
- until almost all the milk evaporates and the halwa achieves an almost
solid consistency.
3) Turn off the stove, add the cashews, raisins and chopped almonds.
4) Decorate with silver foil and saffron.
5) Serve hot with scoops of vanilla ice cream.

Author: Sundar
Author's comments:
Mom's recipe, she suggests using a pressure cooker if possible for the first step, which will reduce the cooking time by about 10 minutes.

Pumpkin Lasagna

Note: Uses the recipe below for Butternut Squash Lasagna with the following substitutions:

One big can of Libby's pumpkin puree (the unseasoned kind, not the "pie filling" version) for the squash
Ginger snaps for the cookies

Everything else was the same except I threw in some indian spices along with the gingersnaps too, but not too much, and some cayenne.


Butternut Squash Lasagna Recipe
courtesy Giada De Laurentiis

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Inactive Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Yield: 8 to 10 servings
User Rating: 5 Stars

Cook's Note: The no-boil lasagna noodles can be substituted with fresh spinach lasagna sheets. Look for fresh lasagna sheets in the refrigerated section of specialty markets.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (1 1/2 to 2-pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
3 amaretti cookies, crumbled
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 1/2 cups whole milk
Pinch nutmeg
3/4 cup (lightly packed) fresh basil leaves
12 no-boil lasagna noodles
2 1/2 cups shredded whole-milk mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan

Preparation:
Heat the oil in a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the squash and toss to coat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Pour the water into the skillet and then cover and simmer over medium heat until the squash is tender, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Cool slightly and then transfer the squash to a food processor. Add the amaretti cookies and blend until smooth. Season the squash puree, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in a heavy medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly, whisking often, about 5 minutes. Whisk in the nutmeg. Cool slightly. Transfer half of the sauce to a blender*. Add the basil and blend until smooth. Return the basil sauce to the sauce in the pan and stir to blend. Season the sauce with salt and pepper, to taste.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F.

Lightly butter a 13 by 9 by 2-inch glass baking dish. Spread 3/4 cup of the sauce over the prepared baking dish. Arrange 3 lasagna noodles on the bottom of the pan. Spread 1/3 of the squash puree over the noodles. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Drizzle 1/2 cup of sauce over the noodles. Repeat layering 3 more times.

Tightly cover the baking dish with foil and bake the lasagna for 40 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses over the lasagna. Continue baking uncovered until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 minutes longer. Let the lasagna stand for 15 minutes before serving.

*When blending hot liquids: Remove liquid from the heat and allow to cool for at least 5 minutes. Transfer liquid to a blender or food processor and fill it no more than halfway. If using a blender, release one corner of the lid. This prevents the vacuum effect that creates heat explosions. Place a towel over the top of the machine, pulse a few times then process on high speed until smooth


Author: BNH
Author's comments: from James

Butternut Squash And Apple Soup

Ingredients:
1 sm. butternut squash (about 1 lb.)
3 tart green apples
1/4 tsp. dried rosemary or 1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/4 tsp. dried marjoram or 1 sprig fresh marjoram
3 cans chicken broth
2 slices white bread
1/4 tsp. pepper
Chopped fresh parsley
1 med. onion
2 cans water
1 tsp. salt
1/4 c. heavy cream

Preparation:
Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Peel, core and chop the apples. Chop the onions. In a large saucepan combine all ingredients, except cream and parsley. Bring to a boil, simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes. Remove butternut squash and scoop out the pulp from the peel. Add pulp back to mixture and puree in blender until smooth. Do this in several batches. Return mixture to saucepan and bring to a boil. Just before serving, mix in the cream. Serve hot and garnish each serving with chopped parsley. Serves 8.

Author: BNH
Author's comments: We forgot the bread and the cream and added lots of rosemary and thyme.

Curried Red Lentil And Swiss Chard Stew With Chick Peas

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 14-ounce cans vegetable broth
1 large bunch or 2 small bunches Swiss chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped (about 12 cups)
1 pound red lentils (about 2 1/4 cups)
1 15-ounce can chick peas, drained
Plain yogurt


Preparation:
Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 13 minutes. Mix in curry and cayenne. Add broth and chard. Increase heat; bring to boil. Add lentils and chickpeas; reduce heat to medium.

Cover; simmer until lentils are tender, stirring twice, about 10 minutes. Divide stew among bowls. Top with yogurt.

Source: Bon Appétit, December 2005

Alterations:
A Cook from Chicago IL
This stew turned out excellent with a few modifications. I added a can of coconut milk, a carrot, kale instead of chard and lots more water. Garnished it with cilantro, hard-boiled egg, and fresh lemon juice instead of yogurt. I highly recommend trying it with lemon. It brightens up the flavors and makes the soup dairy-free. Made fresh dosai (south Indian lentil pancakes) to eat on the side. Perfect.

Author: BNH

Sweet Potato, Swiss Chard, And Quinoa Gratin

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes (about 3)
1 cup quinoa*
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups coarse fresh breadcrumbs
2 1/2 pounds Swiss chard, washed well and stems trimmed, removed, and reserved
3 tablespoons minced garlic (about 6 cloves), or to taste

*available at natural foods stores and specialty foods shops


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 450°F. and butter a 2-quart shallow baking dish.

Prick each potato with a fork 3 times and bake on a sheet in middle of oven about 1 hour, or until very tender. (or put them in a covered dish with a bit of water, and put that in the microwave until tender.)

While potatoes are baking, in a bowl wash quinoa in at least 5 changes cold water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off most of water, until water runs clear and drain in a fine sieve.

In a saucepan combine quinoa with 2 cups salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer quinoa, covered, until all liquid is absorbed, about 15 minutes, and remove lid.

In a skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over moderate heat and cook bread crumbs until golden brown. Season crumbs with salt and pepper.

While quinoa is cooking, finely chop reserved Swiss chard stems and coarsely chop leaves, keeping both separate. In a deep heavy 12-inch kettle heat remaining 3 tablespoons oil over moderate heat and cook stems until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in leaves, a handful at a time, and stir in garlic, tossing. Cook leaves until just wilted, about 4 minutes. Remove kettle from heat and stir in quinoa until combined well. Season mixture with salt and pepper.

Reduce temperature to 350°F.

When potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and mash with a fork. Season potatoes with salt and pepper.

With a large spoon drop mounds of potatoes and Swiss chard mixture in baking dish, alternating them decoratively to cover bottom, and smooth top. Top gratin with bread crumbs.

Bake gratin in middle of oven about 30 minutes, or until hot. Cool gratin 5 minutes before serving.

Source: Gourmet, January 1996

Alterations:
We used collard greens rather than chard. It was a big hit at the bbq.

svespremi from SF Bay Area
I followed the suggestions of a couple of previous reviews and 1) sliced my yams very thin and used them like that instead of baking and mashing beforehand, and 2) added some gouda under the breadcrumbs. Also I used panko breadcrumbs which stay very crunchy. And it was delicious! I will make this dish again and again.

Author: BNH

Capsicum (Bell Pepper) Sabzi (Vegetable)

Ingredients:
Capsicum (green bell peppers) - 4-5
Rai (mustard seeds) - 1 tsp
Udad (split black gram) dal - 1 tsp
Hing (asafoetida) - a pinch
Haldi (turmeric) - 1/4 tsp
Oil - 3 tbsp
Salt - to taste
Optional:
Besan (gram flour) - 4-5 tbsp
Red chilli powder - 1-1.5 tsp

Cooking time: 15 min (5 min prep, 10 min cook)
Servings: 4-5

Method:
Core the bell peppers and dice them into bite size pieces. Heat the oil in a wok and add rai, udad dal and hing. When the rai starts to sputter, add the capsicum and haldi and sautee until the capsicum is cooked. Garnish with 1 tbsp grated coconut if desired. Serve with rice.
Optional 1:
Once the capsicum is cooked, add 2 tbsp oil and sprinkle besan and red chilli powder and mix well until the besan absorbs the excess oil. This results in a dry dish which is more suited for serving with chapatis.
Optional 2:
Add chopped mushrooms and torn Thai basil when frying.

Author: Sundar
Author's Comments:
My mom is responsible for this recipe which I picked up early this year while I was in India. It is very easy, very tasty, and takes about ten minutes to make. I love this dish when it is prepared with besan and red chilli powder.

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In the interest of trying out new recipes and keeping a record of the delicious recipes we use, HopChefs decided to put them up online. Our only rule is that we actually try each recipe before we post it. If we borrow heavily from another source, we will make sure we give credit where it's due.