Borscht by Rohini

Borscht

1 1/2 c potatoes
1 c beets
4 c water
1-2 T butter
1 t caraway seeds
hing
salt
1 stalk celery
1 medium carrot, diced
3-4 cup cabbage, cut not too small
grated black pepper
2 T(ish) apple cider vinegar
2 T (ish) brown sugar
1 t dried dill
1 c tomato puree

Cook potatoes and beets separately. Melt butter, add hing and caraway seeds, add celery, carrot, cabbage and 2 c water. Cook till done, add potatoes and beets, tomato puree and spices and herb. Serve with sour creme and extra dill.

Borscht by Bhumi

Peel and grate some beets. Place them in a pot with a nice amount of water along with a bay leaf, salt, pepper and some hing and boil for just a few minutes. Add some corn kernels either fresh or frozen. Chop some fresh... dill and add. In a separate pot, melt a stick of butter and add some flour like you are going to make a bechemel sauce. Mix a tub of sour cream with some water and add to the flour mixture and then add to the soup and whisk it until all the lumps are smoothed out.  

You want the soup to have some body but not be thick.

I also like to add some "garnish" beets that are made by boiling a whole beet till soft and then cutting into tiny cubes and adding.

Muhammara (Syrian Roasted Pepper & Walnut Dip) by Keli

Made 'Muhammara' the Syrian roasted pepper and walnut dip.. it has a Mediterranean feel so I baked Italian rosemary bread to go with it. For extra dipping and drizzling had (my favorite) Italian lemon olive oil which is unique because its not just infusion but fresh lemons and olives are crashed together in the process of making the oil :D

There are many ways to make muhammara, according to taste.. here is my version:

4-5 largish size red bell or sweet pepper
1/2 cup toasted walnut
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (I used it instead of breadcrumb)
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of half lemon
a small fresh chili or chili powder
ground cumin
asafoatida
salt

Roast pepper and peel off skin, mix everything together (spice according to taste) in food processor.

Stuffed Oven Baked Butternut Squash by Keli

Stuffed oven baked butternut squash and tomato avocado rocket salad with halloumi chunks for today :D The pumpkin is filled with quinoa, lightly roasted yellow pepper, finely ground cashews, lemon zest, thyme, sour cream... it is very delicious for any days..

The filling:
1 cup quinoa (cook with a bit of turmeric, cayenne pepper, thyme, salt)
1 yellow pepper (cut small and lightly pan roast)
about 1/2 cup finely ground cashews
about 2-3 tbsp sour cream
1 small lemon's zest
(when quinoa cooked mix all together)

I precook squash with olive oil, then fill it with mix, cover with sour cream, then put back for another 15 minutes for the sour cream to set a bit.

Masala Bhindi Sabji by Bhumi

Rinse the okra pods and pat them dry. Slice in 1/4 inch rounds. 

Prepare a chaunce of : Mustard seeds, urad dahl, a little cumin seeds, chilli, curry leaves, hing and turmeric and immediately toss in some dessicated coconut and your okra. Add some salt and some ground corriander and cook till they look like this, which does not take very long.... just a few minutes. 

Top with daniya leaves ....

Goat Cheese Pasta Bake by Cynthia

Serves 2: 

1 1/2 bowls worth of brown short pasta (fusilli, penne, farfalle - use your imagination!)
1 x onion, pepper, aubergine
9 cherry tomatoes
200g ish goats cheese
3 tablespoons tomato purée
1 tablespoon green pesto
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 180c, put water on to boil
Chop/slice all veggies, heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat, then add aubergines for about 2-3 mins ensuring they don't burn or stick (add a tiny bit of water)
Add the onion and rest of chopped veggies with tomato purée, pesto and chopped basil - bit of salt and pepper - cook till tender (but not soggy..!)
Pour veggies into an oven proof dish, drain and stir in pasta with half of the cheese - other half of the cheese on top of the pasta
Oven bake for roughly 20 mins - first 10 mins covered with foil

Then lettuce/watercress/rocket with daintily sliced radish slices, toasted sunflower seeds and drizzle over salad dressing of choice - or just salt, black pepper and olive oil :)

Doesn't look amazing, but tasted SO good!

Simple Digestive Biscuits by Cori

Preheat oven to 375F/190C

3/4 up whole wheat flour

1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

4 Tablespoon oats

4 Tablespoon (50 g) soft butter

4 Tablespoons sugar

4 Tablespoons milk or soy milk

Sift Flours and baking powder. Add oats, Rub in butter, add sugar and milk to form dough. Roll out on floured surface 1/8 inch thick. Cut into circles, place on greased baking sheet, and prick rounds with a fork. Bake for 15-20 min or until pale golden.

Note: While in India I regularly made these with all chapati flour, and they were very nice!

Poppy Seed Pie by Keli Cancala

 

I know that poppy seed is not something everyone likes but I think its glory can't be truly appreciated until you try a very good creation of it! It is an incredibly tasty ingredient.. I made some Hungarian poppy seed pie for a friend of mine who is in hospital and also for my husband/Madhu...he is English so he grew up on other falvours yet when it comes to this particular pie, he actually dances around the room :))) 

 
If you want to try making this pie then you kind of need a poppy seed grinder, because that can squeeze the seeds in a special way, so your filling will be smooth and pasty.. if someone is interested I found a guy who sells it internationally (his site looks a bit dodgy but he is a nice guy and I bought something from him before) ;) http://www.hungariandeli.com/Cookware.htm

Poppy seed pie recipe.
Pastry: 
300g pastry flour
150g butter (unsalted)
80g soft light brown sugar
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
2 Tbsp sour cream
1 Tbsp yoghurt

Filling:
200g ground poppy seeds
130g honey
30g butter (unsalted)
120 ml milk
zest of 1 lemon
apricot jam ( I use sugar free)

For pastry mix everything with hand or food processor and put in fridge for 20 minutes.
For filling (without the jam) put everything in a pot and on very low heat mix them together for 5 minutes.
When all is ready then divide pastry into 2 and on floured surface roll out to rectangle (to the size of your baking dish which should be mid-small size, mine is 20cm x 25cm). When you roll, the edges of pastry might tear apart but you can just shape it back and keep rolling as it is a very workable dough! On baking paper and in 170 C preheated oven, bake the bottom half for 5 min. Cool for few minutes, then gently spread jam on pastry (not too thin or thick), then spread poppy seed filling and then cover it with the other half of the dough. bake for 20-25 minutes, when completely cooled hint with icing sugar and cut to squares.

Vegan Chocolate Coconut Torte by Audrey

Recipe (guys, this is so simple it should be criminal):

filling: 
-1 can coconut milk
-1/4 cup coconut oil
-3/4 cup raw cacao powder (or plain ol' cocoa powder if that's what you have)
-1/2 cup liquid sweetener of your choice (honey, agave, maple syrup...)

(to taste:)
-almond extract
-saffron
-sea salt

crust: 
-1 cup almond flour (I toasted half of it a tiny bit)
-pinch of sea salt
-leeetle bit honey


So... melt the coconut oil and a pinch of saffron on low until the oil is all liquid. Let it hang out for just a few minutes on LOW low low, so the saffron can soak in. Remove from heat and add JUST THE FAT (the thick white part on top) from a can of coconut milk. Save the clearish liquid stuff for dal stock or smoothies or something. Add a little bit of salt and a splash of almond extract (more, or less, or omit, as per your preference). Then whisk in the cocoa powder and sweetener until there are no chunks. The consistency should be similar to pancake batter, without the lumps (thanks for the visual, Binne). Set aside for a minute.

Mix all of the almond flour and a pinch of salt together and then slowly add a little honey (like, a tsp at a time... one Tbsp might be enough), while mixing well with your fingers, until the almond flour will stick together when pressed, but isn't gooey at all. Press this evenly (like a cookie crumb crust) into the bottom of a pan (i used a small pie pan, but you could use a spring-form or a cake round, really anything that has a width of about 8-9 inches) and then pour your chocolate batter on top. 

Sprinkle some chopped toasted almonds on top, put in the fridge, and let chill for 3 hours or so. The consistency will be like truffle filling, maybe a tiny bit softer. Definitely slice-and-plate-able. I bet a dollop of un-or-lightly-sweetened whip cream would be delicious with it. Oo! Could you make saffron whip cream? If you soaked the saffron in the cream overnight or something? Woah, dude. woah. 

OK, let us know if you do it! SO easy! SO good!

Chocolate Cookies by Alaksya

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
2 dollops sour cream
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla and sour cream mix until combined.

Add dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Roll into 1 1/4" balls.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Wild Alaskan Blueberry Buckle by Alaksya

Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Combine in a small bowl with a fork until crumbly.

Cake:
1 1/2 cups flour
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 dollop sour cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blueberries fresh or frozen

Mix dry ingredients.
Beat together sour cream, sugar and butter. Add milk and vanilla.
Mix dry ingredients into sugar mixture.
Pour into a greased and floured 9" square pan.
Sprinkle top of batter with blueberries, and then with topping.
Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Ooey Gooey Pineapple Upside Down Cake by Alaksya

I was going through my old blog posts looking to see what I haven't made in a while, and I think I am going to make this again very soon.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup chopped pecans
20-ounce can of pineapple slices or crushed pineapple, drained, reserving 5 tablespoons juice
3 dollops sour cream
1 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
maraschino cherries
Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Melt the butter in a 9-inch round cake pan. Add the brown sugar and pecans; stir well to thoroughly combine. Arrange 8 pineapple slices (or spread the crushed pineapple) in a single layer over the brown sugar mixture. Set the pan aside.

Combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl; set aside.

Mix the sour cream and sugar. Add the flour mixture to the sour cream mixture, and stir in the reserved pineapple juice.

Pour or spoon the batter evenly over the pineapple.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes. Place a cookie sheet on the rack below the cake in the oven. The cake has a tendency to bubble out of the pan.

Cool the cake in the pan for 5 minutes, not any longer or it will stick. Use a knife around the cake to make sure it is loose from the pan, then invert it onto a serving plate. Place a maraschino cherry in the center of each pineapple ring (or in a circle around the top).

Fuity Oatmeal Cups by Dharma

I found this recipe funny cause it said express preparation done in 10min if you don't have the time to cook. So did it and it was very yummy! :) Here's the recipe: Boil 30cl of Milk add 4 soup spoons of Quaker Oats and let it heat up for a min then take it of the flame and let it cold down.Found a little trick for it cold down faster.I put the pot with the Quaker Oats in a bigger pot with cold water under like that i could do this recipe faster.Then mix up in a big bowl 300g of White cheese"Fromage Blanc" 1 soup spoon of grated Coconut,1 big grated Apple&4 Soup spoons of Raspberry coulis and add the Quaker Oat .Mix it all up again then pour it in 4 glasses and put slices of Apple on top.My daughter told that she thought that next time i should add another Apple in it.So i'm going to listen to her!:)

Boulettes de Pommes de Terre en Minestrone by Dharmas

So to do this recipe need:250g of Potatoes,250g of Green Peas,2 Carrots,1 branch of Celery,2 Onions,250g of Broccoli,1 Tomato,100g of Flour,4 Twigs of Basil,30g of Parmesan,3 big spoons of Olive Oil,Salt&Pepper ... Cook the Potatoes in water till cook.Put the Tomato in the boiling water of the Potatoes for around 1min then take it out and peel it.Cut it up and put it in a bowl and add 3spoons of Olive Oil,The Parmesan&Pepper and mix it up.In another big pot put the Carrots&Onions&Celery&Green Peas&Salt couver with water let it cook and then add the Broccoli.Once the Potatoes cook peel them.Cut them and put them in bowl and smash them with a fork add the Basil&Salt&Pepper and slowly add the flour.Then put flour on a table and roll small balls.Then put Potato balls in a plate with a little flour like that they don't stuck.Then boil water in a pot and put the balls in the boiling water and once they come to the top of the water take them out .Then once all the vegetables cook.Take the pot of the flame and add the Tomatoes with the Parmesan that's in the bowl.Then add the balls of Potatoes!The first time i did this recipe and it was very yummy!:)

Fritatta by Seva Priya

Today I made Fritatta for Lord Nityananda. It is simialar to quiche but without the pastry. I used tofu, cornflour and egg replacer with mustard sauce, soya parmesana cheese, coconut milk, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper in the blender, then poured over boiled potato slices and baked in the oven for 30-40 mins. You can also put cheese on the top. I served it with a salad. You can also add different veggies in the middle.

Baklava by Seva Priya

6oz finely chopped almonds
3 tbsps Sesame seeds
8oz unsalted finely chopped pistachios
...1tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
8oz filo pastry
2-3oz melted butter

For the syrup
4oz granulated sugar
4 tbsps clear honey
2 tbsps lemon juice
1tsp vanilla extract

1) Brush a 9inch shallow oven dish with melted butter.
2) Pre-heat the oven 180’C/350’F Gas Mark 4
3) In a bowl, mix together the chopped pistachio nuts, cinnamon and cloves (save a large tbsp of ground pistachio nuts for decorating)
4) Brush 4 sheets of filo pastry with butter and layer the bottom of the dish
5) Spoon half the nut mixture onto the pastry then repeat with filo then nut mixture, finishing with a layer of filo. Tuck the edges of the filo down the sides of the dish.
6) Score into diamonds, then bake in the centre of the oven for about 45 mins. Cover afer 30 mins to prevent it browning too much.
7) Make the syrup by dissolving the sugar in 140ml of water over a gentle heat. Allow to simmer for 5 mins, then remove from the heat and stir in lemon juice, vanilla extract and honey. When the Baklava comes out of the oven, carefully cover it with the warm syrup. Cover with foil and allow to cool. Sprinkle the top with the remaining pistachio nuts.

Lasagna by Binne

 

 

Well i made a basic sauce starting with ghee and a couple black mustard seeds. then i added finely chopped young carrots (4) and celery (2), along with black pepper, salt, dried parley, fresh rosemary, dried oregano, fennel seed, and (THANK... YOU to Bhumi dd and Seva Priya dd) a good healthy 1.5 tbs of ground coriander. after this really got soft and carmelized i added canned chopped tomatoes, tomato paste, more oregano, olive oil, and simmered for awhile. then nice itailan semolina noodles, eggplant slices baked in olive oil and salt til tender was one layer, and fresh soft curd mixed with fresh steamed baby spinach was another layer. also very nice biodynamic small batch mozzarella and on top a sprinkle of goat parmesan from this cute local "no slaughter ever" farm that calls each goat by name :0)

Chole by Ekavali

 

 

 

So my recipe is

( sorry I never measure, this is only estimations!)

Chole

1 cup dried chickpeas soaked overnight then pressure cooked in the morning for about 6-8 whistles. Otherwise use 2 cans of chickpeas.

1 tomato
3tsp. tamarind paste
1/2 cup pitted dates
2 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. hing

2tsp. grated ginger
2 tsp. chole masala
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp oil

cilantro to garnish

Put the tomato and grated ginger in the mixer and blend well. Make a tardka in oil, add hing and then the tomato/ginger paste and cook for a minute. then add Chickpeas, fry for a minute and then add some water. Now add the chole masala and salt. Cover and cook on simmer while you make the tamarind chutney. In the mixer add dates, tamarind, sugar, chili powder, pinch of salt and a bit of water. Mix well until its completely smooth with no lumps. It should be a thick syrup consistency. Add water til you get the right consistency. Now mix that tamarind chutney into the chole and cook just for a minute. Garnish with cilantro and serve with batura or puris.

Apples with Honey & Pain d'épice by Dharma

Cut up some Apples then in a frying pan add 4 soup spoons of honey let it caramelize a bit then add the Apples and 40g of Butter and cook them for around 5min in a frying pan.Then do circles in the Pain d'épice and break up the rest of Pain d'épice in small pieces for the Crumble.Add in a glass the Apples then the Circle of Pain d'épice then Apples again then put the crumble of the Pain d'épice on top!:)

Recipe to do Pain D'épice 850 g honey, 225 g sugar, 900 g of flour, 120 ml milk, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 2 teaspoon of nutmeg, mace, allspice and salt, 1 tsp tablespoons of baking soda, Grated zest of 2 lemons.
2
Hot Melt honey an...d sugar in milk without boiling.
3
Mix flour, spices, baking and zest.
4
Pour hot liquid over dry ingredients and mix.
5
The batter must make a smooth ball.
6
Add flour if dough is too wet and sticky.
7
Place in refrigerator 2 or 3 hours or overnight.
8
Remove dough from refrigerator, allow the dough is soft enough to extend over 6 min.
9
Maybe add a little flour, cook

Chinese Eggplant and Basil by Keli Cancala

I'm not totally into Chinese food but there are certain dishes I really like... Been to a real nice pure veg Chinese restaurant once and they made an eggplant & basil dish. It was amazing. Inspired by that, I developed my own version and we love it! So today we had that, plus rice cooked with sesame oil and sesame seeds.

Chinese Eggplant and Basil recipe:
1 green or red pepper cut in slices
2 big eggplant or many small ones, cut into big chunks
1 large handful of fresh basil
Soft kind of Tofu, roasted
about 1/3 cup (or a bit more) of soya sauce
spices: cayenne pepper, a good amount of these ground spices: chili, cinnamon, clove, ginger, few pieces of star anise
sesame oil

In the oil, saute the pepper for a bit, then add eggplant, soya sauce, all the spices and a bit of extra water. Mix, cover and cook on medium heat until eggplants are soft.

Linzer Cookies by Keli Cancala

A little afternoon treat... Linzer, a kind of 'tea biscuit' which originates from Austria... quick and simple to make.

Linzer recipe:
100g icing sugar or fine light brown sugar
200g butter
300g pastry flour
50g ground almonds
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp yoghurt
Zest of 1 lemon
strawberry or raspberry jam

Mix all ingredients together by hand or with a food processor, put into the fridge for an hour. Divide the dough in 2, and on the floured surface, roll them out to 1/8 inch or even a bit thiner. Cut the rolled out pastry into round shapes and also, into half of your circles, cut a smaller circle in the centre (these become pairs). Now bake them for 7-8 minutes at 190 Celsius. When cooled, put jam on the whole circles and stick the cut-out circle on top. Dust them lightly with icing sugar.

Flaky Pastry to use with any kind of filling by Rohini

3 c flour (I used 2 c white and 1 c whole wheat)
14 T cold butter
2 1/2 t yeast
pinch of salt
enough sour cream to make a nice pliable dough

Grate butter with big hole grater into flour, mix everything and make a dough quickly and gently. Form into a rectangle, cover and put it into the fridge for an hour.

On lightly floured surface, ro...ll it out to 1/4 inch thick, cut into rectangles, fill with anything, seal dough, lay it on buttered baking sheet and bake at 425 F till straw colored.

Bengali Shukto

Krsnamayi's Shukto:

2 karela (Indian bitter mellon) if using Chinese, then use small, or half.
2 Medium potatoes cubed
1 medium brinjal (eggplant) If using large western shaped, then use half! cubed
1 medium muli (white radish) cubed
2 kacha kola (green bananas) cubed
1 small lau (loki) OR Green papaya (if you cannot find either, then a small zuc...chini will do) cubed

3 Tablespoons oil
5 piece Bori (optional)
1 T Ginger Bata (paste from fresh ginger root)
1 T Sorsa Bata (paste made from brown mustard seeds)
1 1/2 t cumin Bata (cumin paste)
1 t chilli powder
1 t tumeric powder
2 T ghee or oil
1/2 panch phoran
3 T milk (if you are vegan you can use soy)
2-3 cups water
2 t sugar
salt to taste

In a wok or large pot heat 3 T oil. Add the chopped karlea and fry until slightly brown. Remove. If using bori, fry until they are toasted brown colour. Remove from oil. Add potatoes and fry until they are slightly browned, move to once side of wok and add spices. Fry spices one minute, add remaining vegetables and stirfry. Add the water. In a separate pan heat 2 T ghee and fry the panch phoran until dark (with Shukto it is ok for the fenugreek in the panch phoran to be darker than usual because it is a bitter preparation) add the panch phoran, milk sugar and salt. lower heat and cook covered until vegetables are tender and sauce has reduced. when finished add the toasted bori.

Note: Panch Phoran is a mixture of 5 spices. In Bengal it contains Fenugreek (methi), Nigella/kalonji seed (kalo jira), Cumin seed (jira) , Radhuni   and Fennel seed. The Radhuni is a purely Bengali spice, and you probably won't find it in a normal Indian shop. In north India the Panch Puran contains brown mustard seeds instead of Radhuni.

Bori is a dried circle made from dahl (typically urad) soaked, ground into a paste and then dried in the sun. They can be fried and then added to vegetable preparations on the end of cooking. They provide a nice flavour and texture.

For information about how to make your own bori: http://kichukhonn.blogspot.com/2009/02/bori-mungaudi-sundried-lentil-dumplings.html

Ginger Beer without Yeast

For the Ginger "Plant":
In a jar (Not metal!) place
1/2 cup Sugar
1 teaspoon ginger powder
juice of one lemon
1 pint/ 1/2 liter water.
Let this stand 3 days. Pour off 1/2 of the water.
feed this once a day for 10 days with 1 teaspoon ginger powder and 1 teaspoon sugar (it will start to bubble, fizz, and move around a bit!)

to make the gingerbeer ...(this is a big quantity recipe....so make sure you have lots of bottles on hand before you do it!):

Add 4 cups of sugar with 3 cups boiling water (you may boil some fresh ginger root with the water if desired) cool.
Strain the ginger plant through a cloth. Add the liquid to the sugar syrup.(keep the gingerplant residue in the cloth and set aside).
add juice of 2 lemons (4 Indian nimbu) and 25 cups cold water (aprox 6 liters). Bottle. (make sure you leave room for the beer to expand, do NOT fill the bottles all the way to the top or they will explode!)

Let mature for approximately one week or until ready. (depends on how hot the weather is) In order to stop fermentation you must refrigerate.



Keep one half of the ginger plant residue and put back into the jar. Add one cup warm water 2 teaspoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons of powdered ginger. Feed for one week, then you can make a second batch of gingerbeer.


*When I lived in Vrindavan I used to use 2L soft drink bottles. They are typically thicker plastic than water bottles, and take the pressure of the gas much better. Unless you are really expert and know exactly how much time you need to ferment (according to the weather of where you live) plastic is easier than glass bottles. With plastic, you can squeeze the bottle and check how hard it has become. When the ginger beer matures it creates a natural gas and this expands the bottle and makes it swell a bit. If you open one bottle and it is not fizzy enough for your taste, then let the other bottles continue to ferment. (one batch makes around 7 liters of ginger beer.) Enjoy!

Hariyali Tikki - Spinach Methi Arbi Cutlet by Vikas

Ingredients - * Feel free to experiment with quantity for different flavors.

(1)
Butter (enough to sauté and glaze the (A) ingredients

(A)
Fresh spinach (thoroughly rinsed and dried)
Fresh methi (thoroughly rinsed and dried)
Fresh Dhaniya (Chopped)
Arbi - taro root (boiled, peeled and chopped)
Potatoes (boiled, peeled and chopped)
Split Green P...eas (chop quick in blender to get thick grainy texture)
Ginger (chopped fine)
Leave all above ingredients for 2-3 hours to get rid of moisture in them.

(B)
Bread Slice (shredded)
Corn flour (half teaspoon)

(C)
Spices:
Anar daana (dry pomegranate seeds), shahi zeera, chilli flakes and
garam masala (very less as it overpowers all other spices).

(D)
Salt (as per taste)

(E)
Ghee or Oil

(F)
Garnishing:
Dhaniya, Cheddar Cheese or Cheese of your taste (Grated), any chutney or sauce.

Method:
Heat a pan on high flame, add (1) butter.
Toss all the ingredients of (A) in a hot pan at a high flame, sauté for couple of minutes.
Take everything out from pan and let it cool down.

When cool enough to be handled easily, add (B) and (C) ingredients and mash with a fork,
Avoid use of hands to make it mushy as all leafs and arbi will release water making it hard to handle. Incorporate and mix everything well. Your base mixture is ready. At last add (D) salt and mix it quick and with loose hands ( as salt makes the veggies ooze out moisture and water therefore it is added at last).

Make ball of the mixture, flatten on palm and make different cutlet shapes, cutlets molds can be used for even shapes, Use water to make shapes and to avoid this mixture sticking to your hand.

For deep frying heat (E) Oil or Ghee in a deep pan or a wok for deep frying,
For shallow fry use a tawa, grease with enough oil to fry the raw cutlet. Health conscious people brush olive oil all over the cutlet and use non stick pan to fry.
I prefer quick deep frying in hot-hot ghee, as it is quick and absorbs less ghee then shallow frying.

Use either method to make it golden brown with crisp exterior. Move it to tissue paper to get rid of excess oil.

Garnish with (F). Serve hot with chutneys.

Your Spinach Methi and Arbi cutlet are ready to be relished.

Spelt Biscuits by Rohini

One of the best biscuits I've ever made was 1 c whole spe...lt 1 c white spelt 1 stick butter rubbed in (I prefer to have it just a little softened /hard stiff, but rubable/ to cutting it very cold), 1 T sugar, 1T baking powder, 3/4 t salt, and too much whey. It was more like a drop biscuit consistency, because spelt needs less water then whea...t, so I overestimated. Instead of putting more flour, I put a lot of flour on the counter, then on top of the dough, rolled it out thin with a very gentle hand, folded it like you would for puff pastry, did that one more time, then rolled again and cut and bake at 425F (I have a convection oven, if yours is a regular one, you might want to try 450).

Because spelt is so dry, the extra liquid helped it a lot, they were very tender inside, crispy on the outside and super high rising and layered.

Cheesecake by Cheryl's Mum

I believe my mum makes the best cheesecake ever.  No picture I'm afraid, if someone else has time to make it maybe!  Not sure how to convert this to U.S. cups....

7 oz crushed digestive biscuits (u.s. graham crackers)
3 oz melted butter
3 oz mascarpone cheese
5 oz double cream
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 oz caster sugar

Mix butter with crushed biscuits and press into a greased 7 “ loose bottom or spring form pan (you need this as the cheesecake is v. soft).  Leave in fridge to harden.  Fold rest of ingredients together and spread on top of base, return to fridge to set.

Banana Puris by Adiraja

Puris:
250g capati/brown flour,
50g chickpea flour,
1/2 tsp ground chili or paprika,
1 tsp turmeric,
1 tsp ground cumin,
salt,
1 tbsp ghee,
2 ripe bananas
(If the dough is too wet, add extra flour).

Sesame-seed, Potato & Panir Wok Subji by Keli Cancala

Not sure where these recipes are from. I've had them for years and all I know is that they're favorites. Sesame-seed, potato & paneer wok subji and wonderful banana puris. Would've loved some tomato or fruit chutney but did have yoghurt to go with it..

Subji:
Cook about 4-5 cups of potatoes until half cooked (new potatoes would be best).
Into generous amount of ghee, add 2 tsp mustard seeds then about 1/3 cup sesame seeds, a big amount of freshly grated ginger, a small fresh chili, asafoetida, turmeric, salt.
Add potato, paneer and cook further until crispy. Fresh coriander at the end.

Tofu Quiche by Seva Priya

I made a shortcrust pastry. I wont be putting much measurements because this is pretty big and that way it is easily changeable. I put in the blender silken tofu, cornflour, milk, and spices hing, salt, paprika after a good zuzz I added cheddar cheese and eggreplacer Add the eggreplacer only when all your veggies are ready. I had cooked eggplant cubes, sliced peppers and green olives. I poured the tofu into the baked pie crust, then added the cooked veg. Then more tofu. On top I decorated with cooked asparagus. I baked it for about 40 minutes on 180. Then took it out and let it sit. Voila.

Petit Suisse with Chesnut Paste by Dharma

Oh!La!La!Jayada Petits Suisses is a cheese.You know that i live in the country of cheese so the only thing that i know what to eat is cheese!lol!To do this recipe just got to put some Chestnut Spread in a glass then take around 2 Petits Suisses and mix in them 2 big spoons of Chestnut Spread and put the Petits Suisses on top of the Chesnut Spread.Then again Chestnut Spread on top of the Petits Suisses.This recipe is very sweet.

Pain Perdue by Dharma

Have this bread since Friday and like i don't like to throwaway food ate it this morning for breakfast!:) So to do Pain Perdue slice the Bread then in a bowl put Milk Sugar and Vanille Extrait and mix it up.Then put some butter in a frying pan and dip the Bread in the Milk then cook them on the 2sides in a frying pan till golden.Then serve them on plate and put either Honey or Jam on top of them!:)

Concord Grape Juice Pasta Sauce by Bhumi

An amazing sauce for linguine is cooked down Concord grape juice. Cook it down to half it's original volume with a bay leaf, a sprig of rosemary and some italian herbs.
Then thicken the sauce by melting butter and adding flour (in a separat...e pan) when it has cooked for maybe 5 min, add to grape juice with a whisk and then some heavy cream, salt and pepper. Serve over hot linguine and grate some Parmesan cheese on top. I tell you, this sauce is to die for!

Kiri & Peanuts by Dharma

Took ideas of many Verrines recipes that i know and created this one!Maybe it has another name.Don't know!:)
So cut 1 Tomato&half of a Green&Yellow&Red Pepper in very small cubes and put them in a bowl then mix them up with some Green Lemon juice&Olive Oil&Salt&Pepper;
Then in another bowl put 5Kiri cheese and mix them up with 3big ...spoons of Crème Fraiche or"Sour cream"
Then in small Verrines put first the Tomatoes&Peppers.Then on top add the Kiri sauce.Put some Peanuts on top and sprinkle them with hot chilli powder.Then in the fridge for at least 2hours.You can amaze your friends by doing these ones!:)

Pop-Corn Caramélisé by Dharma

1/3 of a cup of corn for Pop-Corn 3/4 of a cup of Sucre Roux 90g of Butter 1/4 of a small spoon of Vanille extrait 1 cup of Peanuts griller,Salty 3/4 of a cup of Raisins
Do the Pop-Corn in a pot.Take it off the fire and le...t them cold down on a big plate that goes in the Oven.Start to heat the oven th°6
Put the Sugar,Butte...r,and Honey in a pot and turn it softly for 5 min on small flame till the Sugar goes on top.Then let it cook for 5 min and turn it from time to time with a spoon in wood.Take it off the fire and add the Vanille extrait.
Pour the Caramel on the Pop-Corn that's in the big plate .Put them in the Oven for 5 min.Then take them out the Oven add the Raisins and PEANUTS!:)Then break up the Pop-Corn in small pieces.You don't have to put Peanuts and Raisins in if you don't have any

Harvest Salad by Bhumi

Lunch today. Harvest salad....adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten. It is wilted arugula with grilled butternut squash and brussel sprouts, roasted pecans, dried cranberries and topped with a mustard/maple vinaigrette

• • In your broiler or oven bake till golden diced butternut squash, and brussel sprouts topped with EVOO, salt and pepper.... In the last few minutes of baking you can add some raw pecans.
    
    When they are golden and crispy on the outside, taken the...m out and add immediately your dried cranberries, and throw mixture on a bed of arugula and it should wilt. I usually wait a few minutes, because I prefer the arugula only slightly wilted.
    Recipe for mustard/maple vinaigrette:
    In a food processor or blender or you can just wisk it to emulsify it, add:
    Mustard -- any kind of commercial type
    maple syrup
    Balsamic Vinegar
    olive oil
    apricot jam -- optional
    salt, pepper and hing

Flatbreads by Rohini

These flatbreads are so easy to make, and very yummy. Just use your favorite sandwich bread dough/pizza dough (overnight rising is best but not essential) , make medium big balls, let rest, roll out thin and long with the seeds on them (I used kalinji and sesame seeds, and rolled them in, so they are embedded in the top layer), let it rise till... puffy, brush liberally with a good quality olive oil, dimple it with your fingers so some of the oils can pool in there, and bake on a preheated stone at 450 F till you like the color. Yum

Speculation Bubble by Siddhartha

dear friends...

i am posting this here recipe...it's hugely simple and adaptable to all tastes... but this is how i made a very tasty "bubble and squeak" on boxing day 2009...there are no amounts or cooking time...and everyone has a different recipe... you can use freshly prepared ingredients - altho i wouldn't "waste" freshly roasted potatoes on... this (even tho it's divine)

some leftover roast potatoes (the floury/starchy kind) lightly mashed
some leftover carrot/sweet potato/butternut/potato mash (already full of milk and butter)
some left over boiled greens (these were probably brussel tops or spring greens. i like the dark green stuff...wouldn't use spinach tho!) they were already well chopped.
some left over boiled brussels sprouts (mashed)
a huge dollop of salted butter
a little grated mature cheddar (any hard cheese will suffice)
hing/cayenne to taste

put a large dollop of butter in a deep frying pan (i used a 28" non stick saute pan)
make a little medium heat chaunce with a pinch of hing and cayenne.

chuck in your leftover roast potatoes (you could use mashed potatoes) that you have already lightly mashed (nice to have a few lumps of roast potato at the end)... then add the rest of your ingredients... combine all of the ingredients into an unholy pile of mayavadi gorgeousness and make sure the butter is evenly distributed....then pat the mixture down until the base of the frying pan is covered.

the key to cooking this perfectly is to keep on turning the "mixture" as it lightly browns on the underside. once it has browned for the first time, turn it over, then turn the "crust" in on itself...then repeat until you are satisfied (some people like it lightly done, some like it very crusty indeed).

serve it on it's own as a hearty snack, or as side dish to a "dirty great" full english veggie breakfast!!!

make sure you book an appointment with your doctor/health advisor/heart surgeon the next day! (naturally, you can make this a lot healthier. it just won't taste as good!)

Chocolate Sour Cream Cake by Rosemarie Emro

I'm enjoying the fact that the page is covered in chocolate stains :-)

1 2/3 cuups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup granulated sugar (I use caster sugar in cakes not sure what US do)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup oil or apple juice (I haven't tried apple juice)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 ...cup club soda (english people - this is fizzy water)

Preheat oven to 350F.  Grease a 9 x 13 inch pan.

With a handheld electric mixer set on medium speed, mix up everything until completely combined :-)

Pour in tin.

Bake 30-40 mins.  Test in your usual fashion.

It says to cool completely before turning it out.

Will also make 12 cupcakes - bake for 15-20 mins at 350F.

Frost with whatever takes your fancy x

Scalloped Corn by Jayada Radhika

2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/4 tsp dry mustard
large pinch hing
1/8 tsp cayenne
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cups milk
1 tbsp egg replacer
2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
breadcrumbs

Melt butter and add flour and seasonings and blend. Add milk and cook and stir 'til resulting sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Add egg ... replacer, salt and corn and blend well. Pour into a lightly greased 1-quart casserole (I used a Pyrex bread tin and it worked beautifully) and top with breadcrumbs. Bake in a 350 degree F. oven about 20-25 mins or 'til crumbs are lightly browned. This makes 5-6 servings.

This recipe is adapted from the Watkins Hearthside Cookbook (1952)

Okonomiyaki by Ashley

I do think that my okonomiyaki is tasty, but I don't know how authentic it is. Also I don't have an actual recipe. Here is what I do: Boil some vegetable stock with a piece of konbu for a few minutes. While it is boilin...g, lightly saute some veggies and add some salt to them. Then take some chickpea flour and add the stock to make a pancake ...like batter. Sometimes I mix the veggies into the batter before putting in the pan and sometimes I just leave the veggies in the pan and pour the batter on top (I think the latter is how it's supposed to be done). Then just cook on both sides and put tasty stuff on top. Let me know if you try it! It's yummy

Gnocchi al Sanki

Gnocchi in an alSanki sauce with ‘chicken’, carrots, spinach and mushroom.

1 pack of gnocchi
1 pack of Morning Star ‘chicken’
2 carrots
4 cremini/baby bella mushroom
1 cup of fresh spinach
½ cup of heavy cream
½ cup of parmesan
2 table spoons of Mrs Dash
½ teaspoon of seasoned salt
Evoo

Start to finish in under 30 minutes. Serves 2.

Take ou...t the chicken from the freezer 1 hour prior to cooking so it can thaw out. If you forget to do so, you can take it out of the freezer and into the microwave for 90 seconds prior to doing the next step. Peel the carrots, and then chop into small pieces along with the mushrooms and chicken. Put ¼ cup of evoo in a frying pan. Heat on med/high for just under a minute. Add the carrots. 2 minutes later add the mushrooms and chicken. Fold everything together adding a little evoo if needs be. Add the Mrs Dash. 3 minutes later add the gnocchi. Stir in 30 second intervals to ensure nothing sticks/burns, and when you see the gnocchi begin to turn golden brown add the spinach, seasoned salt and heavy cream. As the heavy cream diminishes, turn off the stove and add the parmesan. Plate and serve.

Breakfast Burrito by JR

 1/2 zucchini, sliced in semi circles
1/4 red pepper, cut up tiny
paneer
cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
hing
basil
oregano
thyme
1/4-1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/2 tomato, cut up small
1/2 tsp marmite

Put a dollop of butter in the pan and add a little hing. Add the red peppers and let cook 2 mins, then ad...d zucchini. Cook 'til zucchini is soft (it speeds the cooking it you put a lid on). Break up your paneer and add it to the zucchinis along with a little more hing, and the rest of the herbs and spices. Stir well then right at the end (I turned the stove off) add the cottage cheese and tomatoes. Stir it all up and serve wrapped in a tortilla. The cottage cheese melts through it.

SID EDIT... I presume JR adds the marmite when she adds the herbs?

Creamy Italian Dressing by Bhumi

Here is the recipe for Creamy Italian Dressing:
Of course there are no measurements, because you are all experienced cooks.

In a blender put:
EVOO
Lemon Juice
little tomato sauce or a fresh tomato
a little sour cream
salt
pepper
hing
Italian herbs

you can also put in fresh herbs such as dill or parsley

Raw Chocolate Recipe by Keli Cancala

For the raw chocolate lovers :)
This evening we were invited over at Kripamoy pr's and Mother Guru caran padma's house... I made them some lemon zest raw chocolate bars and home made pistachio marzipan filled hearts... it's ridiculously easy to make yet seriously tasty!

The way I make the recipe:
100 g organic cocoa butter,
5-6 tbsp organic raw c...ocoa powder,
2-3 tbsp natural sweetener of your choice,
1 tsp lucuma powder (optional),
2-3 tsp ground almonds (optional but helps with texture),
pinch of rock salt,
and any extra spice or flavours you want to add...

Melt cocoa butter on the lowest heat and mix well all ingredients in order. Put in some mold and then the fridge for few hours.
(Ps: I get my cocoa butter and raw cocoa powder from a wholesaler, that way it's not too expensive...)

Pain de Campagne by Dharma

The recipe that i got on the paquet of flour to do "Pain de Campagne" is 500g of flour for bread,325ml of warm water,1 little spoon and a half of salt and 1 cube of fresh yeast.If you know how to do fresh yeast use it.In the flour that i go...t there's white flour,rye flour,son de seigle and son de blé.
Put in a big bowl,the flour,the salt and mi...x it up.Then do a hole in the flour.Add the yeast and the warm water then mix it up with a spoon in wood for a long time till it gets smooth.Then cover it and let rise for 30min in a warm temperature.
Then on a table put some flour and work out the dough till a beautiful ball.Then put the dough in a plate and cover it again till it rises for 40min.
Heat the oven th°8.Once the dough finished to rise with a knife do little cuts on top of the dough and sprinkle flour on it.
Then put the dough in the oven th°6 and under the plate of bread put another plate with water and let the bread cook till gets golden.I prefer to do buns with the dough instead of just 1 big bread.Good Luck doing your Bread!:)

Fruity Oat Bars by Keli Cancala

I really wanted to make something fruity so I made these little oat bars with jam, simple and very quick to make. Some years back I found a recipe online which I liked but tweaked a bit and make it sometimes.

Oat bar with jam:
100 g butter
3/4 cup light, fine brown sugar
1 tbsp yoghurt or cream
1 1/4 cups pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch ...of salt
2 cups rolled oats
1 cup jam (used a sugar free french type, raspberry & pomegranate)

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy, add youghurt or cream. Mix flour, salt, baking soda and rolled oats together and add to butter, mix well. In a shallow baking pan press down 2/3 of the dough, put the jam on top, crumble remining dough on top. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes on 180 Celsius or until gets brownish. (It is the type which gets harder as it cools so no need to over cook).

Apple Crumble by Mandira Mani

Peel and cut cooking apples (grannies or bramleys) into slices and put in the bottom of a baking dish. Sprinkle with a bit of water and some cinnamon and the rind of a lemon. Mix in a bowl 1 cup of caster sugar and 3/4 cup of white flour (if you use other kinds of sugar and flour in an attempt to be healthy, it really defeats the purpose of this re...cipe, so really: just use the bad stuff!); grate 100gm or so butter (I prefer unsalted) and rub it in. The mixture should hold together when you squeeze it and be a bit like stiff cookie dough. Then sprinkle all over the top of the apples and bake at about 200 degrees C until golden and the apples pulpy. It's delicious with cream or custard. This recipe works with all kinds of fruit. In my latest one I did an apple/pear mix with blueberries and it was fab!

Stuffed Red Peppers by Dharma

Very easy to do just got to slice 2 Red Peppers in half. Then cook 110g of Rice. Then in a frying pan put 1 Onion fry it till gets golden then add 2 smashed bulbs of Garlic fry still for 1min. Then in a bowl mix up the Onion with the Rice & 1 Tomato cut in very small cubes & 125g of grated Cheddar cheese & 25g of grated Parmesan cheese & 15g of Basil & 15g Parsley and the spices that you want in it. Then stuff the Peppers and put them in the oven till they get golden! :)

Brown Rice Salad by Emma... *Secret Family Recipe...shhh!*

Brown Rice Salad
This is a "secret" family recipe and we always have it at family gatherings.
1 C brown rice
1 3/4 C water
1/4 C soya sauce (light)
1 onion flinely chopped

Cook rice inwater, when cooked add soya sauce and onions and leave for a few hours of preferably overnight.

Next day add: -

1 diced red capsicum
1/c C roasted peanuits
1/2 ...C roasted pumpkin seeds
1/w C roasted sunflower seeds
handful of sultana's

Dressing ~
1/2 C olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1 t lemon rind
1 clove crushed farlic
1 t ginger
1 t honey
pinch of salt

You can obviously leave out the onion and garlic if you wish.

Curried Macaroni Gratin by Dharma

This is very easy to do just got to cook your Macaronis and at the same time do a Béchamel. In this Béchamel add Curry powder & Hot Chilli powder and in a frying pan put some oil with spicies and these 3 kind of Peppers that you cook till they get golden then you add them to the Béchamel and then you mix it up with the Macaronis. Then you put all of this in a plate that goes to the oven and sprinkle some Emmental Cheese on top of it!:)

Layered Savoy Cabbage & Spicy Rice Oven Bake by Keli Cancala

Had layered savoy cabbage and spicy rice oven bake for lunch.
My recipe:
Steam or precook whole leaves of a small savoy cabbage.
After toasting with a bit of olive oil, cook 1/2 cup millet with salt, cayenne pepper and turmeric.
After toasting with a bit of olive oil, cook 1 cup rice with salt, chili powder, asafoetida, turmeric, ground coriander, ...ground clove, thyme and 1/2 cup finely grated carrots.
When rice is cooked, mix in a handful of soaked soya mince, some tomato puree and 4-5 freshly grated tomatoes.
Put layers in a deep casserole dish in this order - rice mix, cabbage, millet, cabbage, rice mix, cabbage. Cover each layer of cabbage with sour cream. On the top layer add few small knobs of butter here and there too. In a preheated hot oven or grill, bake for about 30 minutes until sour cream starts to get slightly golden.

Gratin Endive by Dharma

So boil in a big pot around 5 Endives in water add the juice of a Lemon to take out the bitter taste of the Endives.
Then do a Béchamel.Like this put in a pot 50g of white Flour&Salt&Pepper then add slowly to the flour 3/4 of a liter of Milk.Put it on the fire and turn it till it boils and gets thick.Then add to the Béchamel ...a big piece of Butter.
Once the Endives cooked put them in a plate that goes to the oven and pour all the Béchamel on top of them and then sprinkle alots of Emmental Cheese!And then!HOP!HOP!Put this Great Gratin of Endives in the Oven!:)

Potato & Courgette Gratin

Very easy to do and very Chic to serve like this!:)
Slice some Courgettes and" Potatoes peeled of course "!lol!:)
And then put them by layer Potatoes&Courgette.... in a plat that goes to the Oven and Sprinkle Salt&Pepper and some Noix de Muscade then put some milk on top of all this .Then alots of Emmental cheese and then in the oven for around 30min!:)

Wheat, Avocado & Feta Salad by Dharma

Google isn't me!;)I know how to read english and french but want to give the way i cooked simple and easy it's like when i play guitar everything has to be simple like that everybody understands!:)So here goes my simple recipe.Hope i did a ...good job!:)So for this recipe ( Cook 150g of Wheat"Ebly"cut half of an onion in tiny pieces
Chop up some ...parsley then in a big bowl do a sauce with 2 yogurts&150g of Feta cheese&Squeeze 1 Lemon&Salt&Pepper put the Parsley and the onion and then mix it all up with a fork.Then add the wheat once cooked to the sauce.Then cut 2Avocados&half of a Cucumber in small cubes.Then in a glass put a layer of the sauce,then a layer with the Cucumbers,then a layer of Avocados and then again a layer of the sauce and a layer of the Cucumbers,and layer of the Avocados.Then sprinkle pieces of Feta cheese on top of all this and add some parsley on top!:)
The little bonus is if you don't have any Cucumber or Avocados you can always use tomatoes!:)
This's very easy to cook but very hard to explain how to do iit!lol!:)

Walnut Fougesse by Rohini

1 c all purpose flour
2 c whole wheat flour
1 3/4 t instant yeast
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/4 c warmish milk (not too warm)
2 TBS walnut oil
3/4 c walnuts, coarsely broken and roasted

Make a nice elastic, just barely tacky dough (you may use hand, a mixer or your bread machine), let it rise in an oiled bowl. Fold it, let it rise again. When nicely risen, separate into two balls, roll it out into an oval, quite thin (skinny finger with), let it rise again. Cut slots with a sharp knife, pull them apart, put it on a baking sheet, brush generously with walnut oil, sprinkle coarse salt and bake at 425F till a nice color. This is nice warm with a good soup or salad or both.
I like to use a stoneware baking sheet, heat it up with the oven, and put the dough onto that.

Toasted Tomato & Mozzarella by Dharma

Very easy to do !:)So to do them cut a half of a French Baguette and then slice Tomatoes&Mozzarella and put them on the Baguette then put black olives on top of the Mozzarella and sprinkle Salt&Pepper&Hot Chilli powder and then sprinkle Emmental Cheese.Then sprinkle Basil on top of the Cheese and of course drip Olive Oil on top of all this! Put them in the oven under the Toaster for around 5min!Just did them and they were very yummy!:)

Cheating Ice Cream by Siddhartha

No fuss, no faff!

1 Litre Plain Yoghurt
1 Litre Double Cream (yeah!)
1 pot of strawberry jam (a sugary one if you like it sweet...if unlike me you are a grownup, you could use a delcious sugarless jam, like St Dalfour).

Stir it all together until all ingredients are good friends. Stick it in your freezer until it sets (between 2 & 4 hours, depending on your freezer). No extra stirring required! The kids could DEFINITELY make this one :)

Ice Cream by Mother Vilasini

Mother Vilasini was the head pujari at Soho Street for many years, this recipe she gave to me some 20 years ago -

1 Cup Whipping Cream
1 Cup Sour Cream
2/3 Cup Caster sugar
2 Tsp Vanilla Essence

Add the caster sugar and vanilla essence to the whipping cream and whip until fluffy, fold in the sour cream.  Pour the mix into individual cups or small bowls, place into the freezer until frozen.

Sandwhich Bread by Rohini

Luiza, yes, all home ground flour. It was about 2 cups of white wheat (prairie gold) and 2 cups of hard red winter wheat, 1/4 c non instant milk powder, 2 t yeast, 2.5 T butter, 2 t sugar, 2 T apple cider vinegar (you may want ...to add more if you aren't using whey), and enough whey to make a nice tacky dough (sorry I am just estimating here with ...quantities, I didn't really measure).

I used the bread machine on the dough setting. (While my 7 yo daughter made dough beside me by hand, telling me how Mother Yashoda and Radharani don't use machines, ha! and how relaxing it really was). Then I put the ready dough into a buttered bread pan, waited till it filled it out nicely, and baked at 380F till nice and brown. The sugar gives it a browner crust, but try not to take it out too soon.

Croutons by Bhumi

To make the croutons, you melt butter in a pan and add some olive oil. I add some chopped fresh rosemary, hing, black pepper and salt and then add some bread cubes and stir them around t...il they absorb the butter mix. Then just put them in the oven or broiler till golden....

Spelt Flour Sourdough Bread with Caraway Seeds

I use rye flour to make the starter-2 tablespoons mixed with warm water to a thick,'porridgy' type consistency. Mix this in a jar and keep covered in a warm place for 24hrs,next day,repeat the same.When you notice little bubbles forming,then it's ready to use.Of course,fermentation takes more or less... time depending on the climate your in :)

1kg spelt flour or organic wholemeal, (this make 2 loaves)
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons caraway seeds (or to taste)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Active starter

Mix all dry ingredients,then add the oil and active starter.
Mix all ingredients with warm water to a sticky dough,(no kneading is required),again like a very thick 'porridgy' consistency.
Cover with a plastic bag and leave overnight in a warm place,(i use my airing cupboard)
Next day,empty the mixture into an oiled loaf tin and cover and leave for an hour.(keep a small amount of this mixture aside in a jar in the fridge to use for your next starter,you can also keep in the freezer,reactivate the starter again with a little warm water)
Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees for 10 minutes then turn up to 210 then bake the bread for around 55 mins.
I usually make 2-3 loaves at a time and freeze them.It's a very rustic bread,but delicious!I love it thinly sliced and toasted with homemade olive paste,(need to make some!)

Very Spicy Pineapple Chutney by Rohini

Very spicy pineapple chutney.

In some ghee fry 2-3 dry chillies (I like to crumble them), 1 t cumin, 1.5 t ground coriander seeds, carefully put a whole can of pineapple pieces with their juice into that chaunce. Add a handful of raisins, 1/2-3/4 c brown sugar, 1/2 t cardamom, 1/2 t good garam masala and cook gently till very very syrupy.

Upma by Jayada Radhika

SVS Upma
I don't know what they do now, but this was the upma that was offered to Radha Londonisvara every morning for breakfast when my Mom was the head cook. It is part one of a 2 part recipe, so to speak (there are two versions of this upma depending on what veggies you use.)

Chaunce: cumin pwd, coriander pwd, hing, black pepper and tumeric. A...dd 1 cup semolina to 1/2 cup butter and fry grains 'til golden.
Meanwhile, bring 3 1/2 cups water to a boil with salt (careful not to over salt!). When grains are golden, add enough water so it is not dry, stirring all the time. Add more if needed, it makes it fluffy. I find I use it all but I add it in 3-4 parts. Add your pre-cooked veges and stir in. Do not over cook! No more then 2 mins.

You can use veges such as potato, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, green beans and tomatoes. All veges should be cut small. Peas can be left whole. ;o) Offer and enjoy

Stuffed Chilli Pakoras by Ekavali

The chilies weren't hot at all. I removed the seeds before filling it so it that took the spiciness out of it. The filling was simple, I just pressure cooked whole potatoes. Then peeled them and roughly chopped them. I did a tardka in oil with mustard seeds, grated ginger, curry leaves, hing and salt. After I removed the seeds from the chilies I steamed them for a bit. Then I made a simple pakora batter with besan atta, garam masala, hing, tumeric and salt. I stuffed the chilies, dipped them in batter and then fried on medium heat. I double fried to make crispier and I find that adding a little squeeze of lemon juice makes pakoras crispier too.

Capellini in a Lemon and Parmigiano Sauce with Green Beans and Pomodorini by Michael

The following is a serving for 2 people and maybe a bit left over depending on you appetite. 250g (half a box/pack) long pasta. As it is cooking, mix 1/2 cup of lemon juice with a teaspoon of black pepper and half a tea spoon of salt in a bowl. Add a table spoon of evoo and 1 clove of garlic (or hing, in which case use your own measurement) cut into big pieces. Slice 1 and 1/2 cups of pomodorini in half and add to the mix. In a pan stir fry 1 and 1/2 cups of green beans in evoo for about 3 minutes on med/high. Just before taking the pasta off the stove, remove the garlic, and slowly stir 1/2 a cup of parmigiano into the bowl of lemon juice (so it doesn't clump together) and pomodorini. Drain the pasta, and add to the still warm pan of green beans. Add contents of mix bowl, and the other 1/2 of the parmigiano. Stir and serve. Capellini in a lemon and parmigiano sauce with green beans and pomodorini...Pronto!

Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash, Toasted Hazelnuts and Goat Cheese by Audrey

I am so embarrassed. Rohini Dasi, your fault. But here we go. This is so simple but it was so good that I have been sort of obsessing over it for a few weeks... so I will share. I hope I don't over-do the "instructions".

Penne Pasta with Butternut Squash, Toasted Hazelnuts, and Goat Cheese

(you know, the title is pretty self-explanatory, but......)

I cut the butternut squash into long quarters and baked with lots of butter and sea salt until it was well done but not squashy. I mean, of course it was squashy, 'cause it was squash, but you know what I'm saying.

I cooked the penne al dente and tossed with olive oil after draining so it didn't get gummy while i was busy with the topping.

Then I sauteed minced garlic in olive oil, med low, until the bits got a little toasty, and then threw in a large handful of chopped hazelnuts and tossed them all together until the hazelnuts were lightly browned. I bet using ghee here would be excellent.

I cubed the cooked squash and tossed everything together, salted to taste, and then topped it with this amazing aged local goat cheese that we have here (but any good cheese, i think, would be amazing. we like strong cheese but i'm sure something milder would still be great) and then broiled it for a minute to get it all hot and melty. My kids loved it, my hubs loved it, and it was super good cold the next day.

Ok, the end.

Spinach & Feta Rolls by Dharma

To do this great recipe that comes from Greece need some Filo Pastry then cook some Spinach this everybody know's how to do!I think so!:)Then mix up the Feta cheese with the Spinach then once you finish to mix it up. Put it in the the Filo... Pastry then roll it.Do a glue with some chickpea flour and water.That you put on the end of the Filo Past...ry when you finished to roll it.Like that the Filo stays stuck together.Then after you fry them in a pan.That's the way i prefer to do them or else you can cook them in the oven.Or else when you try this recipe cook half of them in a frying pan and the other half in the oven!:)

Burger Buns by Rohini

I have to share my burger bun recipe here, they are so very nice.

1 c water
2 T butter
1/4 c soy flour
3 1/4 C flour ( l like to use a mix of whole wheat and unbleached white or white wheat)
1/4 C sugar
1 t salt
3 t yeast

This is best kneaded with either a bread machine on dough cycle or with a mixer with a dough attachment. After rising, fo...rm into flattened buns, let rise again, then bake at 375F for 12-15 minutes.

If you want to put sesame seeds on top, brush with a mixture or your choice of whey, cream, yoghurt/buttermilk and sprinkle sesame seeds (before baking).See More

Chole & Bhaturas by Bhumi

Bhaturas are about the easiest thing in the world. Just use a pizza dough sort of. Flour, water, salt, yeast. Let it sit for about an hour or so, so it does it's first rising and then roll it out and deep fry just like you would a puri. Lig...ht, fluffy, delicious!

For the chole, first buy some channa massala at the Indian store (check and make sure to get one without garlic and onions). It should be hot and spicy! I'll post the recipe below, but I don't measure a whole lot, just eyeball everything, you know how that goes.

To make Chole:

You can either soak chick peas overnight (in this case I also sprouted them for a day or two) and boil them until tender or you can use canned chick peas, if that is easier. After they are cooked, drain them.

Heat some ghee in a pan for a chaunce~

Add:
Mustard seeds until they sputter
grated ginger root
chopped green chilli
hing
turmeric
lots of channa massala
add some tomatoes, either fresh or canned and cook a little in the chaunce and then add the cooked chick peas and some water, salt, some sugar (same amount as salt) and cook for about 10-20 minutes. At the very end, I added a swish of molasses which gives it a nice color and flavor.
Sprinkle with dania leaves garnish with raw tomatoes, and chilli slices, and offer to Krsna.

Cocktail Revitalisant by Dharma

Cocktail Revitalisant
Put in a mixer 1Apple peeled and cut in cube.115g of Celery chopped.600ml of milk.A pinch of Sugar and Salt.Then mix it up in Mixer for 1or2min.Then serve it in a frozen glass!:)

French Sourdough Bread by Keli Cancala

This bread is beautiful, soft, tasty, classic... I am not sure if anyone would want this kind of recipe because its sound complaceted and takes time... but if someone wants to try then here it is.

French Sourdhough bread recipe:

If you already have sourdhough then just activate it and add to this flour mix:

1 and 1/4 cups warm water
2 cups go...od quality bread flour
1/2 cup stoneground whole wheat flour
1/2 cups rye flour
1/4 cup white or brown spelt flour
1/2 cup of active sourdhough
2 tsp salt

I always mix the flours differently but keep the total amount same which is 3 and 1/4 cups in this case. You can add sesame, sunflowerseed... but if you do add seeds you have to soak them overnight so they will absorb the water and don't take it away from the bread dough during baking. That way the bread will be soft, moist and nutty..
Soak 100g of seed in a bowl and pour enough water over them just to cover it. Next day drain and add to flour mix.
(If no seeds are used the rising is faster)

Knead for about 10 minutes. It will be sticky and you can add little bit of flour every so often to help with the kneading. Then rest it for 1 hour. After turn out on a well floured surface and pat it into a rectangle, fold one side to the middle and the other side on top of that. Flip it over and put it back to rest for about 3-4 hours. Then turn out on floured surface and gently make a rectangle again plus the folding. Also make sure you gently seal the dough along the meeting points (careful not to knead or push out the air). Flip it over agan, roll it to log shape and put it into bread form (I use a big oval shaped glass deep baking dish). Rest for an other hour before you bake in preheated oven, on 200 - 220 Celsius for about 30 - 40 minutes