Bhajias: Indian vegetable fritters

An unique thing about Raji's Bhajias is that chickpea flour is totally integrated into the vegetable mixture, the fritters are golden crispy without the out layer of batter.

• 1/2 cup marinated hot peppers (chopped)
  
• 3 potatoes (chopped to about 1/2 inch size)
• 1 red onion ( finely chopped)
• 1 cup green peas
  
• 2 carrots (chopped to about 1/2 inch size)
• 1 cup chickpea flour
  
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp amchoor powder ( dried mango)
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 baking powder
• 1 tsp oil
  
• 1/4 fresh chopped cilantro
  

1. add all the ingredients in a big bowl, add 1/2 cup of water gradually and mix well by hand (almost like kneading)
   
2. add oil to a deep frying pot over medium to high heat (around 375 F)
3. scoop (or use hand) some battered vegetable mixture and put into the hot oil, fry till golden and crispy, about 2 minutes
   
4. take the fritters out and put on paper towel to get rid of oil residual, serve hot with green chutney
   

Tofu-skin rolls with taro and mustard greens

• 2 sheets fresh tofu skin, cut into roll wrapper size
  
• 1/4 cup pickled mustard green, finely chopped
  
• 1 cup taro root, boiled and skin removed
  
• 1 tbs seasoned seaweed paste
  
• a little milk
  
• salt and sugar
• cooking oil
  
• 2 tbs dashi broth
  
• 1/2 tsp sweet soy sauce
• sesame oil

1. smash taro roots ( like mashed potatoes) in a big bowl, add salt and sugar and a little milk
   
2. add mustard greens and seaweed paste, mix well
   
3. put 2 tbs taro mixture on a sheet of tofu-skin wrapper, make a roll and seal with a little water or tight with a dried gourd string
   
4. heat the cooking oil in a pan, fry the rolls lightly all sides
   
5. arrange the rolls in a shallow bowl, add dashi broth, soy sauce, and sesame oil
   
6. put the bowl in a steamer and steam for 10 minutes.
   
7. cut the rolls in small sections and serve
   

Spring bamboo shoots with white miso dressing

• a bunch spring bamboo shoots, shelled
  
• 4 tbs white miso paste
  
• 1 tsp mirin
• 1 cup dashi broth
• 1 tbs lemon juice
  
• 1 tsp seaweed flakes
  
• 1 tbs pickled vegetables ( daikon, celtuce, etc), finely chopped
  
• salt and sugar
  

1. cut the bamboo shoots into irregular small pieces (about 1 inch )
   
2. heat a pot of water to boil, put bamboo shoots in and poach for 3 minutes, drain the water
   
3. add the dashi broth the pot, simmer bamboo shoots for 10 minutes.
   
4. put miso paste in a small bowl, add 1 tbs of the dashi broth, mix well
   
5. remove the bamboo shoots from the broth and put in a big bowl, cool to room temperautre
   
6. add mirin and miso to the bowl, mix well
7. add lemon juice and pickled vegetables, add salt and sugar, mix well
8. sprinkle seaweed flakes on the top before serving
   

Orange bread

for the filling:

• grated peels of 4 oranges
• 3/4 cup sugar
• about 3/4 cup chopped dates
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

1. Pour the warm water into a measuring cup, add yeast and 1 tbs of the sugar and stir. let stand in warm place until bubbly (about 15 minutes) to be sure that the yeast is active.
2. Pour milk into a large bowl and stir in oil, the remaining sugar and the yeast mixture. Sprinkle in 3 cups of the flour, one cup at a time and stir (either by hand or with heavy-duty electric mixer).
3. Add fourth cup of flour and beat until smooth (about 5 minutes). Mixing in the 5th cup to make a dough stiff enough to knead. Transfer to a floured surface and knead for 10-15 minutes. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise for 1 1/2 hours (or until doubled in size).
4. Meanwhile mix the orange peel and sugar and set aside.
   
5. Punch down the dough and turn out onto floured board separate into two equal loaves, and roll each out into an oval shape about 1/2 inch thick.
6. brush with the melted butter, and evenly spread the orange peel mixture. Scatter the chopped dates on top of this. Roll each loaf up lengthwise and seal by moistening and pressing the edges. Place each onto an oiled baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about 45 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 350 F, and bake each for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool on rack before cutting.

Curried angel hair potatoes

• 1 big potato
  
• 4 green onions
  
• 1 tbs Francesca's curry mixture
  
• 1 tsp cooking oil
  
• salt
  

1. peel the potato, cut the potato into thin threads, as thin as possible like angel hair pasta
   
2. wash the potato threads in cold water till the water becomes clear
   
3. soak the potato threads in cold water for 10 minutes, drain
   
4. cut the green onions into the size as that of potato threads
   
5. heat the cooking oil in a pan over medium heat, add green onions and curry mixture, cook for 2 minutes
6. turn to higher heat, add potato threads to the pan, add salt and 1 tsp water, stir and cook for 5 minutes
   
7. it is done when the potato threads turn translucent, do not over cook it
   

Green Tong-hao porridge

Tong-hao leaves have very particular scent and flavor, in a similar way like arugula. Tong-hao porridge brings out the flavor of the leaves best and its combination with peanuts and white pepper is a magic touch passed along from Popo's generation.

• a bunch of Tong-hao leaves, finely chopped
  
• 1 egg, beaten
  
• 2 tbs tapioca starch, mixed with 2tbs water
  
• 1 cup of water
  
• 1 tsp white pepper
  
• salt
  
• a handful of roasted small peanuts, crushed
  

1. heat cooking oil in a saute pan over medium heat, add finely chopped Tong-hao leaves, cook for a couple of minutes till the color turns bright green
   
2. add water, salt, stir and cook for two more minutes till the broth turn bright green
   
3. slowly add egg, stir to mix well
4. add starch mixing to the pan, stir and mix well, turn off the heat.
   
5. add white pepper
   
6. serve hot over a steamed rice bowl, sprinkle the crushed peanuts on top.

Stir-fried chive flower buds and spice cured tofu

• 1 bunch of chive flower buds
  
• 1 piece of Chinese spice cured tofu
  
• 1 tsp fermented black beans
  
• 1 tsp Chinese black bean sauce
  
• 2 tsp soy sauce
  
• 1 tsp sugar
  
• 1 tbs cooking oil
  

1. chop the chive flower buds about 2 inch long
2. cut cured tofu into thin slices, then into thread about 2 inch long
   
3. heat the cooking oil in a pan, add fermented black beans and black bean sauce, cook for 1 minute
4. add chive flower buds to the pan, stir-fry for 1 minute, add soy sauce, sugar and 1 tbs water, stir-fry another 5 minutes
   
5. add threaded tofu to the pan, mix and stir-fry for 3 minutes
   
6. serve with Chinese rice or flat bread
   

Steamed dumplings

• ground chicken
• bok choy
  
• shiitake mushrooms
  
• round dumpling wrappers
  
• dipping sauce (soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, minced garlic)
  
• soy sauce
• rice wine
• cooking oil
• salt, sugar, white pepper
  

1. add a little soy sauce, rice wine, salt, sugar, white pepper to the ground chicken, stir and mix well.
   
2. chop the bok choy finely, use a piece paper towel to squeeze out liquid from chopped bok choy
3. heat 1 tps oil in a pan, add finely chopped shiitake, add rice wine and soy sauce, cook till soft and fragrant, 5 minutes.
   
4. put the three ingredients above together in a big bowl, stir and mix well
   
5. make dumplings with the fillings and wrappers.
   
6. steam dumplings for 20 minutes, serve hot with soy based dipping sauce.
   

Tempura of fermented tofu

• 3 pieces Nanjing fermented tofu
  
• cooking oil for deep frying
  

for the batter :

• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup flour
  
• 1/2 tsp five-spice powder
  
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup water
  

for the dip:

• 1/4 cup dashi stock
  
• sesame seasoning
  
• 1 tbs soy sauce
  
• 1 tsp hot chili sauce ( optional)
• grated daikon
  

1. mix the ingredients for the dip, except daikon that is served in a separate small bowl
2. mix the ingredients for the batter, add more water if the mixture is not runny enough, chill the batter for 30 minutes before deep frying
   
3. cut the tofu into triangle wedges
   
4. heat the cooking oil in a deep-frying pan, over high heat
5. dip the tofu into batter to coat well, put into the frying pan, fry till golden brown
   
6. put the tofu tempura on a paper towel to remove the oil, serve hot with the dip and grated daikon
   

Lebanese red pepper relish

this is a modified version of Lebanese red pepper relish recipe from SaHa. the unique step is "sun-drying" in oven, which intensifies the flavor and color

broiled

processed..........oven-dried

• 2 large red bell peppers
• 10 pieces of walnuts, roasted
  
• 2 red hot chili
  
• 2 cloves of garlic
  
• 1 tbs olive oil
  
• salt and pepper
  

1. broil the whole bell peppers in oven, turn sides every a few minutes, till all sides blackened.
2. turn off the oven, remove bell peppers from oven, peel the skin and discard stem and seeds.
3. process coarsely the bell peppers with rest of the ingredients in a food processor
4. spread the red pepper paste in a layer half an inch thick on a foil-lined baking sheet, put it back to the turned-off-but-still-hot oven, keep it in for a couple of hours to get a " sun-dried" effect.
   
5. scrape the paste and put into a jar, or serve at room temperature with bread.
   

Ratatouille

D.D.'s Ratatouille

a combination of all sorts of recipes... bits from Jose Andres, Thomas Keller, Smitten Kitchen, Pixar, and some bits from nowhere.

1) make sofrito, fairly thick and reduced, add finely chopped roasted red peppers in addition to regular recipe
2) cover bottom of pan with sofrito, a little less than 1cm thick
3) layer sliced zucchini, squash, roma tomatoes, and egglplant. use a pattern that contrasts colors, and repeat tomato more often than others (zucchini, squash and eggplant have similar creamy texture and taste, need to balance that out with more tomato. I did squash, tomato, eggplant, zucchini, tomato... repeat) I do a fairly tight layering, also end up stuffing more veggies in after I first finish layering, at the end and in between trying to fit more in (like trying to slide books into a crowded bookshelf). I always end up with extra vegetables.
4) crush a lot of thyme, a clove of garlic with a small pinch of salt in the mortar and pestle, make a rough paste, mix with a lot of olive oil. drizzle generously on layered vegetables
5) sprinkle salt and pepper on veggies, add more thyme and garlic to taste. (can hold back on the garlic, but this thing can use a lot of thyme.)
6) cover with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 275F and bake. test after 45 minutes to see if veggies are tender, will probably take a little longer. (really don't remember how long it took for me).
7) Optional... but really good: Make a vinaigrette beforehand: In a bottle/jar with cap add 50% olive oil, 50% vinegar (rice or sherry), put some crushed thyme and or rosemary, shake vigorously, let sit a few hours to a few days. Shake again just before serving to emulsify again.

Serving: use a large flat spoon, scoop out a short "line" of sliced veggies, no need to cut, carefully transfer to plate, nice in a straight line, or turn spoon slightly as you plate to make a fan/arc shape. brush a few drops of the vinaigrette on the veggies (dip a small spoon in the vinaigrette, don't even scoop, just dip to coat the spoon, and brush the back of the spoon over the veggies. it's pretty strong stuff, barely need any.) add few leaf of thyme or sprigs of chives for garnish, or not, simple is best.

As for the sofrito, I just served a spoonful next to the veggies, but have been thinking about how to do this better. A) can put some sofrito on the plate first, then put veggies on top. or B) after veggies are plated, take the sofrito from the pan and puree using hand blender, make a smooth sauce, may or maybe not thin out with a bit of olive oil, drizzle sauce in a line or arc on the plate next to the veggies. Check out how they do it in the movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YG4h5GbTqU

Chicken curry with greens and Garam Masala

(from D.D.'s tasting lab)





Garam Masala (spice mix)

• • 1 cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/4 cup cumin seeds
    
  • 1/3 cup coriander seeds
  • 1 rounded tbsp green cardamom pods
    
  • 1 rounded tbsp black peppercorns
  • 3 tsp whole cloves
  • 1 whole dried red chili
  • 1/8 tsp ground mace
  
  Toast everything EXCEPT the ground mace in heavy frying pan over medium heat, stir constantly, until cumin seeds are uniformly brown, about 4-5 minutes. put in spice grinder (didn't have one so i grounded by hand with mortar and pestle). Finally stir in ground mace and store in air tight container. This makes quite a bit.It's nothing precise, adjust spices and amounts as you want or by what you have on hand. most important flavors seem to be is cumin, cinnamon, and coriander, and cloves in the end.

Chicken Curry with Greens and Garam Masala

• • chicken thigh
  • salt
  • tumeric
  • red pepper powder (cayenne or otherwise)
  • olive oil
  • 1 inch cinnamon stick
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 8 green cardamom pods
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 large Spanish onion, rough chunks
  • 5 garlic cloves
  • 2 inch piece of ginger,peeled, in big chunks
  • 1 bunch cilantro, use mostly leaves, chopped
  • ground coriander
  • plain greek yogurt (optional)

• cut chicken thighs into approx. 1 inch chunks. add tumeric powder, red pepper, and salt (up to you how much), toss chicken with hand to coat evenly. let sit to cure while you make the sauce.

• put oil in frying pan over medium high heat. add cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, and cumin seeds. stir fry for 1-2 minutes, until cinnamon unfurls (cinnamon doesn't always do this, but cook just till cumin is toasted brown and spices are fragrant). Then add onion, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt. keep on medium heat till onion is caramelized and brown on the edges, about 15 minutes.

• Add cilantro (keep tiny bit to sprinkle on top later), ground coriander, garam masala (amount based on your taste), and maybe more salt to taste (remember chicken is slightly salted already too). stir and cook till cilantro just slightly wilted, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

• Put onion/cilantro mixture in food processor and puree, no chunks, but not super smooth, becomes sort of a rough paste/sauce. set aside.

• Add some more oil to frying pan, sear and stir fry chicken chunks briefly, till begin to turn white on the outside. Add all the onion/cilantro sauce to the pan, should immerse most of the chicken. Simmer with lid on for a few minutes, remove lid. it shouldn't be too watery, but a rather thick curry consistency, may want to stir occasionally to make sure onion sauce isn't burning/sticking on the bottom. Taste check, adjust for salt again, cook till chicken just done and tender, shouldn't need more than 10 minutes total.
  

• Remove from heat. At this point, stir in 2 big spoons of yogurt, makes the taste a little more mild, especially if I added a lot of red pepper in the beginning, sometimes the ginger taste is quite tart too, and a little yogurt mediates it without covering it up. also thins the sauce if too thick, a sprinkle of green cilantro on top and serve.

DD's notes: really good on top of basmati/long grain rice, especially with lots of onion sauce.

Wonton noodle soup

wonton:

• 1/4 cup ground chicken
  
• 1/4 cup chopped shrimp
  
• 1/4 cup finely chopped greens
• 1 tsp minced ginger
  
• 1 tbs finely chopped green onion
• 2 dozen wonton wrappers
  
• 1 tsp soy sauce
  
• 1 tsp rice wine
• salt and white pepper
  

noddles and broth:

• 2 cup dashi stock
  
• 1 tbs mirin
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
  
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbs dried seaweed
  
• salt and white pepper
  
• 2 packs baked ramen noddles
  
• 2 shiitake mushroom, sliced
  

garnish:

• radish sprouts
  
• radish, finely sliced
  
• spicy pickled vegetables

1. mix the ingredients for wonton fillings well in a bowl
2. use the wonton wrappers to make wontons
3. heat the dashi stock in a pot
4. add ingredients for the broth in the stock, bring to boil
5. add dried noodles in the pot, cook till al dente
   
6. when doing the step 4, heat water in another big pot
7. when the water is boiling, add wontons to the big pot, stir gently and cook till the montons float and stay at the surface
   
8. put the noodles and broth in to 2 big bowls
9. take the wontons out of water using a slotted spoon, put the wontons in the bowls
   
10. add the ingredients of garnish on the top, and serve hot
    

Claypot dish: Winter's delight

• 1/2 cup winter shiitake mushrooms (coarsely sliced)
• 1/2 cup winter bamboo shoots ( shelled and coarsely chopped)
• 1/4 cup dried citron daylily ( revived in hot water)
• 1/4 cup dried wood-ear fungi ( revived by cooking in hot water)
• 1 cup fresh wheat gluten ( Kao-fu 烤麸)， (cut in cubes)
• 1/2 cup carrots (sliced)
• green onions ( chopped)
• 6 star anise
• 1 tbls fresh ginger ( minced)
• 2 tbls shallot (minced)
• 4 tbls Shao-xing rice wine
• 4 tbls soy sauce
• 2 tbls sugar
• 1 tsp Zhen-jiang rice vinegar
• cooking oil
• sesame oil

1. add oil to the wok over median heat, add ginger, shallot, and star anise, fry for 2 minutes
2. add mushrooms to the wok, add 2 tbls rice wine, stir and cook for 1 minute
3. add bamboo shoots, add 2 tbls soy sauce and 1tbls sugar, cook for 2 minutes
4. add carrots, gluten cubes, add 2 tbls soy sauce, 2 tbls rice wine, stir and cook for 5 minutes
5. add wood-ear and citron daylily, add 1 tsp rice vinegar and 1tbls sugar, stir well
6. cover the wok or move the mixture to a clay pot with cover, turn down the heat to simmer for 15 minutes
7. sprinkle green onions and a few drops of dark sesame oil and serve hot

Lebanese green olive and egg salad

(from Saha -- G. and L. Malouf )

• 1 small purple onion ( finely sliced crosswise)
• 4 eggs
• 24 big green olives ( pitted and halved)
  
• 1 tbs pine nuts ( toasted and roughly chopped)
• 2 tbs flat-leaf parsley (finely chopped )
• 2 tsp sweet paprika
  
• 2 tsp ground sumac
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tbs sesame seeds ( toasted)
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 clove garlic ( crushed with 1/2 tsp salt)
• extra-virgin olive oil
• pepper
• paprika
  

1. soak the onion in cold water for 10 min, to reduce the sharpness
2. boil the eggs for 5 minutes or a little shorter time for soft-boiled yolk, then cool them under cold running water
3. peel the eggs and chop 3 of them roughly. reserve 1 eggs for garnish
4. put the chopped eggs in a mixing bowl with the onion, the olives, pine nuts, parsley, spices and sesame seeds
5. in a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, garlic paste and olive oil
6. pour enough of the dressing onto the salad to moisten it, and toss lightly, taste and season with pepper
7. to serve, pile the salad into a small serving bowl, slice the top off the reserved egg and sit on top, sprinkle the egg and salad with a little paprika and serve at room temperature. serve 4.
   

Roma grape tomato confit

• 20 Roma grape tomatoes
  
• 4 shallots
  
• 4 garlic cloves

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 bay leaves
  
• 1 tsp anise seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tsp thyme
  
• 1 tsp black peppercorn
  
• 1 tsp sumac
• 1 pinch of coarse sea salt
  

1. put tomatoes in a big bowl, pour boiling water over them and let sit for a minute, drain and run cold water over. peel the tomatoes
   
2. grind the spices and salt together.
3. add spices to a pan over low heat, stir and cook for 3 minuts
4. add olive oil to the pan, add garlic, and shallots, cook for 5 minutes.
5. turn the heat to very low ( the olive oil temperature between 180 to 200F), add tomatoes in
   
6. keep the low temperature and simmer 6 hours or longer.
   
7. remove tomatoes from pan and let them cool to room temperature. tomatoes should be very soft but not fall apart, the size is slightly reduced, and flavor intensified.
   

Norwegian pancakes

for 4 pancakes:

• 2 eggs
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1/2 cup flour
• butter
  
• brown sugar
• 1 apple, chopped
  

1. mix eggs, milk and flour into a smooth batter
   
2. heat butter in a pan, over medium heat pour in the batter to make a thin pancake, cook for 5 minutes
   
3. flip the pancake to cook the other side for a couple of minutes
   
4. put the pancake on a plate, put chopped apple and brown sugar on the pancake
5. roll the pancake and serve
   

Ma-po Tofu

"ma-la" spicy oil (麻辣红油)

• 1/2 cup oil ( peanut or canola )
  
• 1 piece fresh ginger about 1 inch , cut into slices
  
• 2 cloves
  
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
  
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 star anise
  
• 3 tbs red chili flakes or 2 whole chili crushed
• 3 tbs Sichuan red peppercorns
  

1. heat the oil in a small sauce pan over medium heat, add all ingredients, cook for a minute, remove from the heat, let it sit till cool to room temperature.
2. strain oil and store in a jar, discard spices.

"ma-po" tofu （麻婆豆腐）

• 1 tbs oil ( peanut or canola )
  
• 1/4 cup of minced meat
  
• 1 tsp minced ginger
  
• 1 tsp minced garlic
  
• 1 tbs fermented fava bean paste ( 豆瓣酱）
• 1 tbs rice wine
  
• 1 tbs soy sauce
  
• 1 tsp sugar
  
• 1 tsp chopped red chili
  
• 1 cup of tofu, pressed to remove water, and cut into cubes
• 1 tbs chopped green onion
  
• 1 tbs crushed roasted peanuts (optional)
  

1. heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add ginger, garlic, red chili and fava bean paste, cook for a minute
   
2. add minced meat, rice wine, soy and sugar, stir-fry till the meat is done
   
3. add tofu to the pan, carefully mix with the meat sauce
4. add 1 to 2 tbs ma-la spicy oil, lower the heat to simmer for 10 minutes
5. remove from heat, add green onion, crushed peanuts and salt to taste, serve hot
   

Scrambled eggs with yellow chives

• 1 bunch of yellow chives
  
• 3 eggs
  
• salt
  
• 1 tsp rice wine
  
• 1 tbs cooking oil
  

1. cut yellow chives into two inch length
   
2. beat the eggs and mix in rice wine
   
3. add a little salt to the egg mixture
4. add oil to the wok over high heat, pour in the egg mixture, scramble
   
5. put the scrambled eggs in a bowl
6. add yellow chives to the wok, add a little salt, stir and saute for 2 minutes, do not overcook.
   
7. return eggs to the wok, mix with yellow chives, for 1 minute
8. serve hot with rice