Perfect Sushi Rice by Anuradha

Tips for cooking Sushi Rice
Good Sushi Rice has several contradicting qualities, which make it difficult to cook:

• It has to be (very) sticky. (Otherwise you won't be able to produce Nigiri Sushi).
• It mustn't be too soft. (We don't want rice mush. The single rice corns should be identifiable.)
• It mustn't be too hard. (We dont't want to hear or feel a "Crunch" while eating.)

After several not very successful attempts to cook good Sushi Rice I finally found a way to get a decent result without spending too much time. (A sushi master probably won't find it adequate :-)).:

1. Use short grained sushi rice. (Long grained rice won't work, because it doesn't get sticky enough.)
2. Wash the rice until the washing water starts to get clean. (You can wash the rice in a sifter or in a big pot. If you use a big pot, you have to pour off the water several times; if the pot is big enough this can be done easily without spilling rice. Most people recommend that you drain the rice for one hour... but it seems that this it not very important for the final result.)
3. To cook the rice use about 15% more water than sushi rice measured in volume. (So if you use 1 cup of sushi rice, use a little bit more than 1 cup of water.)
4. Bring the water to boiling point without the rice. (You can add some salt if you want - this depends on your personal taste.)
5. Put the rice into the boiling water and continue to boil on the highest heat level of your oven. To prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of your pot, stir the rice several times while it boils. (This is important! Otherwise a thick layer of rice will stick at the bottom of your pot.)
6. After 2-3 minutes turn the heat down to lowest level. (The water should barely continue to boil. If you have an electrical oven, you can put the pot away from the heat until the plate gets colder.)
7. Put a lid on the pot and let the rice simmer for about 10-15 Minutes. (There mustn't be to much heat! Otherwise the lowest layer of rice will stick to the bottom of the pot.)
8. As soon as the rice has absorbed the water, put it away from the oven and let it rest within the pot covered by the lid. Wait for about 15-20 minutes. (This also seems important! If you don't wait, your rice probably will be too crunchy.) After that you can add sushi vinegar (see below) and stir the rice.
   Usually you put the rice in a special wood bowl and mix it there with the vinegar, to avoid chemical reactions with your metal pot. Another solution is to put the rice into a ceramic baking pan.
9. Spread the rice in the baking pan (or somewhere else) so that the rice cools down quickly. Cover the tray with a towel to prevent the rice from drying out. (Sushi rice should be used when it is cold. If you are working under time pressure warm rice will also work.)
10. That's it :-)

In my experience the two most important points are the boiling time at full heat and that you let the rice rest after it simmered: If you boil the rice too short it won't get soft, if you boil it too long it will get too soft or it will burn. 2-3 minutes seems to be the right time, but it might vary with different rice brands. Let the rice rest for at least 15 minutes. The last time I didn't let it rest, the rice was very soft (mushy) on the outside and still crunchy at the core...
One middle sized cup of rice (approx. 0.2 litre) seems to be enough for 4 rolls of maki sushi, if the rice is spread thin on the nori mats. Four rolls of maki sushi usually is enough for a meal.
Sushi vinegar is made by mixing rice vinegar with sugar. The amount of sugar and vinegar depends very much on the personal taste. Some people use a 1:1 ratio between sugar and vinegar (which is too sweet in my opinion) others a 1:3 ratio (1 part sugar 3 parts vinegar). Some people add salt (which can also be added to the cooking water directly). Approximately 5 tablespoons of rice vinegar are used for 1 Kg rice, but of course this also depends on your taste.

Dauji's Vrindavan Flat Rice

Vrindavan Flat rice

The measurements are not exact but if you know how to cook you can get the idea. Sorry if I was it making soon I would write it down exactly but I don’t have all the ingredients. Hope it helps I like it the way they would serve in the Vrindavan Gurukula with Cuddy some like it with tomato chutney.

• Flat rice (about 2 -3 cups)
• 2 or 3 medium Potatoes ( cut in French fry style thin finger chips)
• Cauliflower (cut small about same amount as the potatoes)
• Handful of peanuts (roasted or fried)
• Frozen peas (optional) they don’t do this in Vrindavan
• 2 fresh tomatoes cut in small pieces
• fresh cilantro leaves
• fresh ginger
• 1 or 2 chilles seeded and chopped
• Mustard seeds
• Cumin power
• Asafodia
• Tumeric
• Salt
• Curry leaves
• Ghee or coconut oil ( I think enough to shallow fry the potatoes and cauliflower in a nice heavy non stick wock)

Method

If the flat rice is the think kind then wash it well then soak it for about 15 mins or until soft. If it is the thin kind just wash it well no soaking. Drain well.
Then make a chaunce with the Ghee/oil add the Mustard seeds then the powders then add ginger and curry leaves. Add the potatoes then after a few mins add cauliflower fry them until they are golden and soft. Add the flat rice and peas. Mix well and cook for a few mins to let the flavors blend well. Before serving add the tomatoes, peanuts, cilantro and Salt.

Another way you can do it is to deep fry the veges and then just make a chance and add everything, but still don’t add the tomatoes till the end. You may want to skip the tomatoes if your making a tomato chutney.


Krisnamayi adds:

I totally agree with Dauji's recipe EXCEPT in addition for it to taste extra yummy you need to squeeze lemon over it and sprinkle sugar. That is the way they make it in Gujarat and Rajasthan...and it really kicks the taste over the edge.

Soba noodles w/ tofu and broccoli & sweet potato tempura by Mandakini Margaret Baba

I don't really have any recipes, but here's what i did. For the noodles~ cook soba noodles until done, then drain, rinse with cold water and set aside. in a separate pot combine water, sugar, soy sauce, and a piece of kombu. Boil until reduced by about 1/4-1/3.

for the tempura~ mix flour, salt, baking powder, and water to make a batter similar to pakora batter. dip your choice of veggies in batter and then coat with panko bread crumbs. fry until golden brown.

Taco Salad by Loka Saksini

6 cups water
1 large sweet bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 cup dry brown lentils
½ cup uncooked brown rice
½ tsp hing
½ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp turmeric

Place all ingredients in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cook on medium high heat for about an hour, or until lentils and rice are thoroughly cooked. Add more water if necessary to keep from scorching. Add 3 tsp salt, remove from heat, and cool slightly.

To assemble:

Place a layer of tortilla chips on plate. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, etc. Place a scoop of the cooked lentils on top of salad, and top with a dollop of sour cream or Greek yogurt.

Ziti a la Gaurangi

Boil the ziti -one box of, drain, then the sauce is heat evoo, fry the hing and chilli flakes, add tomato puree (or passata if you live in civilized countries) and then it can either be actual cream or sour cream.. and it can be vegan sour cream too.. mix those together. add a touch of sugar, some salt and pepper. them mix the sauce with the ziti, chuck it in a casserole dish, sprinkle cheese on top and put it in the oven (400) for about 15-20 minutes till it's golden on top :)

Pad Thai by Krsnamayi

First of all I would like to stress that this is a very authentic Pad Thai recipe that I developed after a lot of trial and error (and eating Pad Thai at numerous veggie restaurants in Bangkok). If you do not have the proper Thai ingredients....it will NOT turn out the same....so head yourself down to an Asian grocer!

Pad Thai:

7 oz (1/2) pack Pad Thai rice noodles cooked in water until Al Denté (these are a little thicker than regular rice noodles)

1-2 blocks extra firm tofu cut into match stick pieces

250 g bean sprouts

2 cups misc. veg (beans, bok choi etc)

2 green peppers cut into thin long slices. (if they are massive, then perhaps one would do, if they are smaller Indian ones then you would need at least 3)

3-4 Tablespoons minced cabbage fried in a littl ghee/oil plus a pinch of hing (to mimic onion)

1 teaspoon Hing

3 Tablespoons salted Thai radish (this is a type of preserved white radish...and is different then the Chinese or Japanese pickled ones.)

1 teaspoon Chilli powder

4 Tablespoons palm sugar (if you don't have this, then turbinado or brown will do)

4-5 Tablespoons soy sauce

4 Tablespoons tamarind water (sour tamarind)

1/4 cup water (as needed- I rarely use it)

1/2 cup ground roasted peanuts

oil for frying

lemon wedges for serving.

place 2-3 Tablespoons of oil in the wok and pan fry the tofu. Set aside. Add a little more oil if wok is dry, add the HIng and chilli powder. Stir fry all the vegetables (except the bean sprouts) lightly (so they are still crisp). Add the Radish, palm sugar, tamarind water  and then the noodles, tofu, fried cabbage and bean sprouts. toss so every thing is coated nicely. If this seems too dry add the 1/4 water (as needed). serve with Lemon to squeeze on top (it doesn't taste right without it) and ground peanuts on the top.

Regular street Pad thai always contains eggs or meat, and they use fish sauce rather than soy sauce....but this is the veggie "Jae" version

Serve with Thai Som Tam (green papaya salad)....

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!

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)

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.

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!:)

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

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.

Parcel Pizza by Puru

Ok this is what i do..make dough like pizza dough..then cut the dough in half, roll out one half, place on a oiled baking tray..Layer of grated cheese and motza, spread filling( sun dried toms, chopping basil, olives , pan freid egg plant, ...what ever you want to put it in) Drizzle with some oil from sun dries toms, pinch of black pepper, then another layer of grated cheese and motza, roll other half of dough place on top then
seal, brush with olive oil sprinkle with dreid basil, and sea salt..place in oven till brown about 20-30 mins.

Seitan Roast by Rohini

In a large bowl mix together;
2 cups vital gluten
1/2 cup high protein flour or whole wheat flour
3/4 cups soy flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 cup ground walnuts, OR pecan meal OR almond meal OR unhulled sesame seed meal
1 cup finely chopped, minced, sauteed celery
1/2 t hing
1 tablespoons of paprika, a little cayenne ...pepper, ground
2 tablespoons of butter

Make a well in the center and add all at once:
2 cups water (part pureed asparagus for a more chicken-y flavor)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup oil
1 t salt

Stir, then knead well- at least 15 minutes. To let the gluten develop, cover and set aside 15-20 minutes (or overnight in the refrigerator, covered or in a large plastic baggie.) Then knead again.

I used the bread machine on the pizza dough cycle. So much easyer, and did a good job. You could probably use a mixer. It needs to be kneaded real well. Let rest for half an hour, cut into 3-4 pieces, stretch them VERY VERY thin, place on a baking sheet and bake at 450 F for ten minutes. Put sauce on top, lower the oven temperature to 375 and bake till sauce is thickened and it looks good. (I know, I am a regular cookbook author :o) )
"
Sauce recipe:

You can use any sauce you like, we like this one:

Half can crushed tomatoes
1/4 C brown sugar
salt
pepper
cayene pepper
1-2 T balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon dried basil

mix, spread all on the seitan pieces.
crushed pineapples are really good in it, too

Gluten by Ekavali

It's a special type of flour. I had my Mom bring it from the States. She got it in her grocery store, but its a swanky one (Wegmans). It's definitely at the health food store though. I rarely measure so this is estimates here. I mixed about 1 cup vitale wheat gluten flour with about 1/4 cup nutritional yeast..., 3 tbsp. peanut butter, 1 tsp. tomato paste, little salt and herbs of your choice ( I did Italian). Mix that well together, then add water. I do a bit at a time and just keep adding. Its kind of magical the way it shapes up, you'll understand when you do it. Knead it like chappati dough for about 5-10 min. The more you knead the chewier the texture. Then let sit 10 minutes. Put water in a pot, add a little tamari or soy sauce and bring to boil. Knead gluten a bit more, then cut into slices or chunks and place in boiling water. Reduce to simmer and cook for at least 45 minutes to 1 hour. For this BBQ gluten let it cool, Squeezed a bit of the excess water and dipped in plain flour just to give a fine coating and then deep fried. Then I coated it with store bought BBQ sauce and placed it in the oven on broil for about 5-10 minutes. I know I wrote a lot but it really is so simple, the only time consuming thing is the boiling. There is a way to make it with just plain wheat flour but I don't know it and I've heard it takes a long time and tons of kneading. You need to do it with that special flour to make it easy. This recipe is a total concoction of things I've heard others do so by all means people, if anyone has a better method or recipe, please share"