What is my comfort food? I ask myself and there is no easy answer. I enjoy almost any kind of food that is fresh and homemade, but there is something special about food being brought to you. … Continue reading
Category: Vegan
Sweet Potato – Daal Soup
I made this soup for the Indian dinner at the Creperie tonight, it was flavorful, sweet, salty, and creamy with just a touch of ginger and cayenne pepper. And happens to be Vegan too! No wonder it was a hit at the dinner. … Continue reading
Beet ~ Flat Bread (Paronte)
I usually roast beets to make a salad or soup. Roasted beets with roasted walnut and goat cheese, seasoned with honey, balsamic vinegar and pepper for salad. As for Borsht Soup, how can it be made without beets? I pressure cook Celery, onion, garlic, potato and tomatoes along with roasted beets. It is ready in about 15 minutes. Then, all that is needed to enjoy it is a dollop of sour cream and and some freshly ground pepper
But this fall, I have been making a lot of beet ~ paronte (flat bread) ….
Instant “Kichdi” Soup
What does one do with a plethora of fresh green onion tops ? Having no patience for blanching and freezing, I decided to chop them and dehydrate them in the lowest temperature in my oven for about 5 hours. Now that I have green powder, I wanted to make a delicious, wholesome soup mix, the Instant kind, that can be cooked by just pouring hot water… When it comes to wholesome food, nothing like a combination of rice and dal ( carbohydrates and protein).. So here goes!!! … Continue reading
What is Curry?
“Can you name some spices that are native to India?”, whenever I ask any class at school, Instantly a couple hands shoot up and I hear, “Curry.” I have heard it so many times over the last seven years, that now….whenever I am talking about food and spices from India, my opening line is, “Curry is not a spice!” Now lets talk about the real spices – Pepper, Tumeric, Cardamom, Cinnamon, Coriander, Cumin, Mace and so on……
Some of my spices
Dishing out different kinds of curry
Just half a spoon of Haldi (Turmeric)
“Half a spoon ( about 1 teaspoon) is enough!”, my mother would say. The first thing I learned about cooking veggies was “add some haldi ( turmeric)” after about two – three minutes of sauteing, be it potatoes, peppers, cabbage, cauliflower, they all needed that little bit of haldi, followed by a dash of salt. Cook… Continue reading Just half a spoon of Haldi (Turmeric)
Squash Blossom – Dolmas
I made Squash Blossom – Dolmas today! Thanks to my friend who plucked 50 blossoms from her garden and a suggestion by Ronit Penso of Tasty Eats. They were super delicious and easy to make. It reminded me of the time, we soccer moms stood around the kitchen counter making samosas for a fundraiser! Dolmas would be fun to make in a group, they would be healthier and quicker to make too… maybe next time.
All I did was, wash the blossoms, fill them with the rice filling, fold them, arrange them in a baking tray with a drizzle of oil and bake them at 400 F for about 20 minutes till the edges turned crisp. As for the filling, I added chopped Parsely & Mint ( 4 – 6 tbsp), Lemon juice ( 3 – 4 Tbsp), Red pepper flakes ( 2 Tbsp) and Sesame oil ( 2 Tbsp) to about 2 cups of cooked Basmati rice.
1 – 2 Tsp of filling in the blosson
Fold the blossom
Arrange them on the baking tray with a drizzle of oil on the top
Bake at 400 F for 20 mins
Filling – Cooked rice flavored with mint, red pepper flakes, lemon juice and salt
I baked some of the Blossoms plain, and they were good too, nice and crisp. Either way, a good Appetizer….
Steamed rotis – Auntie Trejavathi’s Kitchen
Soft, moist and yummy is how I remember Bilavalege – a steamed roti of sorts with tomato gojju, a spicy, tangy, sweet sauce. It was one of my favorites at Auntie’s kitchen. Even after 25 years, the warmth and her immaculate kitchen remain unchanged! She was really happy to show me how she made them. To… Continue reading Steamed rotis – Auntie Trejavathi’s Kitchen
Alu Parontha at the Creperie
We had a fun cooking class at the Creperie today. The Creperie looks even more beautiful with all the Christmas decorations. It was a simple one hour + class. We made Chai tea and Alu Parontha ( potato stuffed flat bread) with whole wheat flour and gluten free ( rice flour and garbanzo bean flour) as well.
Quick Orzo stew with dehydrated veggies
The first time I bought Orzo (rice shaped pasta) was at the Pike place market in Seattle. It was lemon flavored Orzo. I forget how I made it, but I remember it being easy to make and delicious. So I bought it again the other day and made a simple one pot meal . To a pot of about 4 cups of boiling water, I added the dehydrated vegetables that had been lying around for ages and a cup of Orzo. … Continue reading
Cooking with Ish 