Oven baked Kale Chips

What do you do when you get an extra day in February? Bake kale chips of course.  I have been hearing about it, seeing it on TEDX talk and on blogs, etc. so I took the leap and baked some kale chips.

Through trial and error I learned that the best temperature to bake the chips is not high, rather low and slow. I started with 350deg F and end up with 260 deg F.  By the time the kale is cooked, the water is gone and kale is crunchy, salty and oh so light. I feel I should warn you that it is addictive and no matter what time of day it is made, you cannot stop eating it. I had mine with a glass of wine after dinner today and the combination was ah so good!

 The real investment in this recipe is time depending on what temperature you bake the kale.

Ingredients:

Big bunch of kale (I used 1/2 of Trader Joes's precut kale)
1/4 salt (I added Himalayan pink salt)
dash of fresh black pepper
2 tbspoon olive oil

Method:

Heat the oven to 260deg F. Clean the kale taking away thick stems and making sure that the leaves are dry.

 Mix the kale with olive oil, salt and pepper and put the kale in a cookie sheet. Cook it for 15 min, take it out and turn it around. Put it back in the over for another 12-14 minutes till the kale leaves just crush nicely between your fingers.

Enjoy!

Dal parathas

Actually leftover dal parathas ! Last week when I peeked in my fridge there were two little boxes sitting wait to be picked up for the 3rd day in a row. So this time I did! One had a little bit moong dal and the other one was masoor. I mixed it up with some flour, grated onion, cilantro and salt and it made for some yummy dinner parathas.

Little A ate all his share with jam and we enjoyed ours with yogurt and pickle.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

2 cups flour
1/4 tspoon bengali kalo jeere
2 tbspoons cooked masoor dal
3 tbspoons cooked moong dal
3/4 cup water
1/2 medium onion grated
bunch of cilantro chopped
salt as per taste
5-6 tbspoon oil for cooking

Method:

Knead it all together. First mix the dal, cilantro and onion well and only then start to add the water. Dal already has salt, so check and add more if needed.

Knead it to a soft dough and keep it aside for 30-40 minutes.

 

Divide the dough in equal parts and then make balls. Roll out the in circular parathas, use some flour dusting if it sticks, but not too much.

Heat a hot griddle or pan, cook both sides, put a tspoon of oil and cook till the brown spots appear and the paratha looks cooked.

 Serve hot with raita, pickle or jam! Enjoy.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Koftas

You know how you've just had enough of the regular meals and want something different sometimes. It was during those moments I picked up one of my cookbooks. Nowadays, I just find recipes through blogs and haven't used my books. But it was one of those days and I pick up "Vegetable Heaven" looking for inspiration. And when I found this recipe, my eyes lit up. "Just the thing I was looking for" I thought and coincidentally, had all the ingredients at home.

I tweaked it little bit, like every time, to match our tastes and it came out great. I made it again for Lil A's birthday and it was just as delicious.


Ingredients:
3 sweet potatoes - chopped
1 can chickpeas (1 can to 3-4 sweet potatoes is a good ratio and gives a good balance)
1 tbspoon besan
1 tspoon coriander powder
1 tspoon cumin seeds powder
1/4 tspoon red chilli powder
1 tspoon grated ginger
1 medium onion - minced
1 1/2 tomatoes - pulp
2 green chillies
1/2 tspoon turmeric powder
5-6 tbspoon oil
1 tspoon cumin seeds
1-2 bay leaves
1/2 tspoon ghee
cilantro - chopped
Salt to taste

Method:

Boil the sweet potatoes for 8-9 minutes till then are soft. I used a canned chickpea and put it in the same boiling water for the last 3-4 minutes. Take out the skin of sweet potatoes and mash it with the chickpeas. Add 1tbspoon besan, 1/2 tspoon coriander, and cumin powder, 1/4 tspoon turmeric powder, and red chilli powder and chopped cliantro and salt. Mix it well with your hands. I don't completely mash the chickpeas and leave them coarse. If you want a smoother paste, you could even use a food processor.

Then make small balls using about 1 1/2 tbspoon of the mix. You should get about 10-12 koftas.

I didn't deep fry it, but shallow fry in a deep pan on low heat till they brown nicely. Keep them separate.

Then in a sauce pan, add 1 tbspoon oil and temper it with cumin seeds, green chillies, and bay leaves. Add the grated ginger, saute for a minute and then add in the onion and tomatoes. Add in the rest of the coriander and cumin powder, turmeric and salt, about 1 cup of water and let it all cook together for 6-8 minutes on medium heat till it all mixes and comes together as a gravy.

Add in the kofta balls and let it cook for a minutes and take it off the heat. Serve warm with hot rice or chapati, or parathas. We enjoyed ours with mixed paneer and chapatis. 

Playdate #3, Kerala chicken stew Ann Arborized!

 (picture courtesy of: Nicole)

Look at the beautiful table Nicole set for this meal! When I look at this picture, I can still remember all of us trying to savor the meal, talking to each other and tending to the little ones all at the same time. It felt like a busy evening, but a great one spent in the company of friends.

Nicole and I had set a big goal for this evening. We were going to make a chicken stew and bake bread to go with it. I selected Sailu's Chicken stew recipe and made some adjustments, and for the bread we chose Susan's Laziest Loaf. I look forward to these cooking dates when we can chop, cut and cook together and exchange stories. I never realize when a couple of hours have gone by and hungry husbands, and children re-enter.

I made the chicken stew a few more times after the playdate and it came out great every time. It's perfect for cosy evenings when you want to catch up with friends and family and have a hearty bowl to go with it.

For the chicken stew, we decided to add some more vegetable and stick with low fat coconut milk.  I also ground half of the garam masala with the fennel and it gave a wonderful aromatic smell to the stew. For a milder flavor I used white peppercorns instead of the black ones. Here is my tweaked recipes.

Ingredients:

(recipe courtesy of Sailu's Kitchen)

2-3 lbs chicken cut into bite size pieces
2 medium onions, finely sliced
2-3 medium potatoes, cubed (I left the skin on)
3 medium carrots, peeled and cubed
12-15 green beans, cut into smaller pieces
8-10 curry leaves
1/2 tsp ginger paste
3 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
3-4 green chillis, (I didn't slit them but you could)
4-5 cloves
1″ cinnamon
2 cardamoms
8-10 white peppercorns
1/4 tspoon turmeric powder
1/2 tpsoon fennel powder (I ground some fresh fennel seeds)
1/2 tsp garam masala pwd
2 cans light coconut milk

salt to taste
1 tbspoon lemon juice

1 1/2 tbspoon oil
1 tbspoon butter
chopped mint and cilantro mix (optional)

Method:

Heat oil and butter in a heavy bottomed vessel, add curry leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, pepper corns and saute for few secs till you start smelling the garam masala. Add garlic slices and saute for a minute. Add ginger paste and green chillies and saute for a minute. Then add the sliced onions and fry for 4-5 minutes.

Add turmeric powder and combine. Add the chicken pieces and cook over medium heat for 7-8 minutes.

Add 1 can of coconut milk and salt and combine. Cook for another 5-6 minutes. Add garam masala powder, fennel paste, potato, carrots and green beans in the pan. Add the rest of the coconut milk and let it cook and the chicken and veggies are cooked and soft.

 
Turn off heat. And serve warm. I leave the lemon wedges and the mint cilantro mix in the bowl so everyone can customize their own.

Serve warm with rice or bread.

We ate ours with a French Bread that we baked using Susan's @ Well-Seasoned Cook's recipe. We followed it exactly and it worked well. The bread turned out soft and delicious as well and was perfect to soak up the last bits from the bowl.

Thank you Sailu and Susan for these wonderful recipes.

Strawberry birthday cake

 (photo courtesy: Venky Rao)

My little one recently turned 2. He is officially a toddler. How time has flown! I remember holding him, seeing him crawl, learning how to walk and now he is running around proclaiming his independence. He wants to do everything "self" and of course it takes twice as long. He recently tasted cake and has shown a preference for cake without icing.

So for his birthday I decided to make a simple cake. Since he has been going around asking for pink ice-cream, I though a strawberry birthday cake will pair well with it. I came across a recipe for strawberry cake at Smitten Kitchen which looked delicious. I baked the cake and it got rave reviews from everyone. Aswin's niece declared it as "divine" and "super delicious". Ameya ate a few bites as well. Thank you Smitten Kitchen for this wonderful recipe!

I made a few tweaks adding a couple of t-spoons of olive oil along with butter and used brown sugar instead. And like she described, the edges were faintly crisp and gave a wonderful flavor to the cake. This is probably one of few cakes that uses only 1 egg in the ingredients. Here is how to make it:

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tspoon olive oil
1 1/2 cups  flour (I used whole wheat and barley flour mix)
1 1/2 tspoons baking powder
1/2 tspoon salt
3/4 cup plus 2 tbspoons sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pound strawberries, hulled and halved

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Butter a  9-inch cake pan and flour and keep it aside. Strain flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl, beat butter and sugar until pale and fluffy for about 3 minutes. The butter shouldn't be liquid, just soft. I melted mine and had to put it in the fridge again. Once it's fluffy, mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined.

Once it's done, add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into cake pan. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes at 350 deg F then reduce oven temperature to 325 deg F and bake cake for 50-60 min till the toothpick comes out clean.

(photo courtesy: Venky Rao)

Let cool in pan on a rack. 

 

Cut into wedges and serve with ice-cream or whipped cream. Enjoy!

Custard and pudding cravings resolved!

Welcome 2012! The last couple of months of 2011 were busy, sick, busy, and then some more. But we got a good break, changed our pace and relaxed with family and friends. That rejuvenated and energized us. Here is a picture from our trip to Marquette in the Northern Peninsula Michigan.

We also did a few dinners: for playdate #3, with some old friends and made some new. And for one of the dinners I made this chocolate and vanilla pudding dessert. The pomegranate and the blueberries cut the sweet and provide the right amount of sharpness in this. The best part you can make it ahead and cool it!

I made the chocolate pudding from scratch using the recipe from Smitten Kitchen and took a shortcut with the vanilla pudding using Brown and Polson custard powder.

1. Chocolate Pudding
Adapted from Smitten kitchen

Ingredients:

2 tbspoon cornstarch
1/3 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 ounces chocolate (I used bittersweet chocolate bar) - chopped
1 tspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:
Combine the cornstarch, sugar and salt in a pan on low (I didn't do the double boiler. Instead I kept the heat on low and used a thick bottomed pan to do this and stirred often.)

Slowly whisk in the milk, scraping the bottom and sides with a heatproof spatula and keep stirring.  After 15 to 20 minutes, the mixture start to thicken and coats the back of the spoon, add the chocolate pieces. Keep stirring here as the chocolate melts and mixes well with the rest of the mix.

Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

2. Vanilla custard

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 tbspoon vanilla custard powder
1/2 tspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar.

Method:

Heat milk in a thick bottomed pan. Take a few tspoon warm milk out and make a smooth paste with the custard powder. Melt the sugar in the milk and once it comes to a boil, take it off the heat and add in the custard powder and stir well. The milk will start to thicken immediately. Put it back on the heat and cook for 2-3 minutes and keep stirring.

Take it off the heat and add the vanilla extract.

Assembly of the dessert:

You can assemble it in any order.  Here is what I did.


Take 3-4 tbspoons of chocolate pudding in a dessert cup, then layer it with 3-4 tbspoon of vanilla custard. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds and blueberries and chill for atleast 30 minutes before serving. 

 

Here's hoping that your new year will be as sweet and tangy with the right amount of satisfaction. :)

Orange and saffron cake

Little A is going to be 2 next month and I think I made a breakthrough this month. You see, last year, I made this delicious birthday cake for him and he barely tasted it. This entire year, every time we went to a birthday party or if I baked a cake at home, I would try to get him eat a bite. Lil A would make a face, and now that he's talking say 'yucky' and walk away. So I had kind of given up on him eating cake. So this cake was not for him.

It was for us and for our friends. This has been my go to recipe for this holiday season. I've already made various versions of it (including a cake pudding trying to salvage a disaster) and it comes out great every time. But let me not digress.

At our friend's place when we were getting ready for dessert, Lil A points towards the cake. I ask him surprised "You want a piece?" He nods his head. So I sit him on a chair and cut a piece and he takes a bite. And another and then another. Yeah, Lil A ate and liked the cake. :)

It also helped that there was a 4-year-old sitting next to him eating a cake piece. But I may have just found a winner. Here is the recipe with Lil A's stamp of approval. I got the recipe from here, and modified it with saffron and reducing eggs and baking powder.

Ingredients:

(Modified from: Morocconfood)
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive oil)
2 cups flour
3 tspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Juice from 1 fresh orange and its zest
1 good pinch of saffron soaked in 2-3 tbspoon warm milk
2-3 tbspoon powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350° F (180° C), butter and flour the pan and keep it aside. Beat the eggs and sugar until it becomes thick. Then slowly add in the oil.

Stir in the flour, baking powder and salt in the mix, and then the orange juice, little bit at a time. Beat until smooth, and then mix in the zest and saffron milk.

Add the batter into your pan, and bake for about 40-45 minutes till the toothpick comes out clean.

Cool on a rack and then add some dusting of powdered sugar.

Serve plain or with some ice-cream.

Have a wonderful holidays everyone.

Playdate # 2, this time it's raviolis

Little N and Little A, and this time there was also Little O, got together for another playdate, or rather Nicole and I got together again for some wine and another cooking session.  We made raviolis, and enjoyed it with family and friends along with some salad, and ice-cream.

Wine bottles were opened, stories were exchanged, and raviolis were made under Nicole's guidance. I've never made raviolis before. It confounds me, the thinness of the dough, how much filling to add, when do you know it's done, do we need a sauce? All these questions were swirling in my mind when Nicole generously agreed to show how to do it.

To save some time, we each made a filling and a sauce beforehand and then put it all together just before dinner.

Nicole made:
1. Ricotta and spinach filling and a tomato sauce.

I made:
2. Butternut squash filling and a white sauce.

Nicole brought her pasta machine to roll out the dough and a ravioli maker. She gave me one ravioli maker too!  We rolled out the dough using her pasta machine, spread the final dough sheet on the ravioli maker, filled it up with a filling and voila, in a couple of hours we had a good batch ready to be cooked.

I also have a cool video of Nicole explaining how much filling to put and the ravioli maker and I promise to post it soon ( as soon as the battery is charged).

Here is how Nicole made the ricotta and spinach filling and the marinara sauce:
Ricotta and spinach filling
(Adapted from Lidia's Italian American Kitchen)
Ingredients:
3 c whole milk ricotta
2 T olive oil
1 leek, white part only, chopped
1/2 c minced scallions (about 6)
1 garlic clove, minced or pressed.
4 c fresh spinach chopped
salt
pepper
1 c grated parmesan cheese
1 egg

Method:
Drain the cheese overnight in the fridge in a fine mesh colander lined with a coffee filter.
Saute the leeks and scallions in the olive oil about till soft.
Stir in spinach, garlic, salt and pepper, and cook until vegetables are soft, about 10 min., until liquid has evaporated. Cool before next step.
Stir together ricotta, parmesan, spinach mixture and egg. Chill before filling the ravioli, otherwise it will cook the pasta dough.

Tomato sauce
Ingredients:
1 35-oz. can of diced San Marzano tomatoes, with liquid
1 can "6 in 1" ground tomatoes (Plum has it. If you can't find that brand, you could use tomato puree.)
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c chopped onion
1/2 c chopped red bell pepper
1/4 c finely shredded carrot
1/4 c finely shredded celery
4 fresh or 2 dry bay leaves
1 T grated parmesan cheese
1 t brown sugar (optional)
chopped basil to taste

Method:
Sautee the onions and peppers on medium until the onion is translucent, maybe 5 min.
Add celery and carrots. Cook til it turns a light golden color, about 10 min.
Add the tomatoes and bay leaves and bring to a boil
Lower heat to a simmer, add brown sugar, and cook for about 45 min, stirring occasionally.
Remove bay leaves. Remove 1/2 to 2/3 of the sauce from the pan and carefully puree it in the blender. The amount you puree depends on how chunky you want the sauce.
Stir pureed sauce back into pan.
Stir in parmesan cheese and basil.
Season w/salt and pepper if necessary

Here is how I made the butternut squash filling and the white cheese sauce.
Butternut Squash Filling

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash - sliced
10-12 green olives chopped
1 small onion chopped
handful walnuts chopped
1/2 tspoon cumin seed powder
salt
fresh black pepper powder
2 tbspoon oil

Method:

Heat the oven to 350 deg F and put the sliced butternut squash in for 40-45 min mixed with 1 tbspoon oilive oil and salt and pepper. When there is 4 min cooking time left, add in the walnuts to toast them.

Take it out, mash the butternut squash, chop the walnuts and set aside.

Heat the rest of 1 tbspoon oil and add in the chopped onions and saute for a couple of minutes. Add in the mashed butternut squash, and mix it together.  Add the chopped olives, cumin seed powder, salt and pepper and let it cook together for a couple of minutes. Add in the walnuts and take it off the heat.
Let it cool before you add in as a filling.

White Cheese sauce

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup cheese (I used a combination of parmesan and white cheddar shredded)
1/4 tspoon basil powder
2 cloves garlic minced
salt to taste
1 tbspoon butter

Method:
In a deep pan, heat the butter and add the garlic and saute. Then add the cheese and milk and let it cook on low heat till the cheese dissolves. Add in the salt and basil powder and then let it thicken for 3-4 minutes. Take it off the heat.

Putting the raviolis together
Once the raviolis are ready, heat water with some oil and and salt. When the water is boiling add in the raviolis and let it cook for 12-13 minutes.

Then add the cooked raviolis to the sauce and serve immediately.