cabbage kofta

malai kofta is one of my favorite foods of all-time. i’m excited to try this cabbagey version – i have besan flour in my pantry for socca!

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Kofta:

Cabbage shredded – 2 cups
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cilantro – handful
Besan flour – 1/2 cup
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Green chilly – 1
Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp
Salt – to taste

Gravy:

Yougurt – 1/4 cup
Butter / Ghee- 1 tbsp
Salt – to taste

Grind to Paste:

Tomato – 3
White Onion – 1/2
Ginger – 1 inch piece
Garlic – 2 cloves
Cilantro – handful
Cumin seeds – 1/2 tsp
Fennel seeds – 1/2 tsp
Poppy seeds – 1/2 tsp
Cashew – 4 (i added a few fistfuls because i love cashews)
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Red chilly powder – 1 tsp

Grind all ingredients listed in “Grind to Paste” under gravy to fine paste by adding 1/4 cup of water. Melt butter in a pan, add ground paste, cover and cook for 20 mins till the raw smell subsides

While the gravy is cooking, mix all ingredients listed under Kofta without adding any water and make small lime size balls. (i used a food processor and it worked really well.) Heat paniyaram pan or pancake puffs pan and add few drops of oil in each cup. Place kofta balls in greased cups and cook in low flame, so it cooks all the way inside and does not burn outside. Flip side after 2 mins and cook till its golden brown on both sides. [i just fried them in a pan until brown and crunchy.] Beat yogurt with 1 cup water and add to the gravy, cover and cook for 5 more mins. Mix cooked kofta balls in gravy and remove from heat

Serve hot with roti, paratha, or rice

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from soundspicy

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well, it was a little more effort than i expected, but it was definitely delicious! the kofta themselves picked up this caramelized flavor, like crispy broccoli or brussels sprouts, that i’ve never tasted in cabbage because i never fry it! what a cool discovery! not my favorite, but i liked it a lot more than i thought i would, since i’m not too into cabbage. and i had no problem eating a batch of them over the course of the day today!

the best chili recipe EVER.

this one is cincinnati-style. if you’ve never tried making chili like this before, you’re missing out. it’s vegan. it’s hearty. it’s filling. it’s healthy. and it’s jam-packed with flavor. this one’s a crowd-pleaser, and really easy, too. basically, you just boil things. did i mention that it’s really, really cheap to make?

this recipe is a combination of my trial and error and suggestions from kathy, who went to school in ohio.

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beans:
i like a combination. mostly red kidney with a few other kinds thrown in as well. try anything. black-eyed peas are always a favorite. white beans and black lentils are another favorite. but anything works.

quick-soak them.
(that just means: boil lidded for about a minute in tons of water, leave the lid on, and soak for an hour.)

drain. in same pot, fry onions in a heavy fat (coconut oil or leftover meat grease are both great).

add fresh water and beans, and begin boiling again.

add a can of whole tomatoes, or a mess of fresh tomatoes.
add a bay leaf.
add a bunch of fresh garlic.

season with tons of:
paprika
cumin
coriander
garlic or garlic powder
molasses
powdered unsweetened cocoa
red wine, red wine vinegar, or a red cooking wine (apple cider vinegar’s good, too)

a few pinches of:
oregano
allspice
cinnamon
cayenne

and just a pinch of:
clove
nutmeg
mace

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serve on spaghetti with cheese on top if you like it cincinnati-style. or do it healthy: top it with plain yogurt and have it with a salad.

other variations?
sometimes i throw in a few scoops of leftover cooked veggies, or any number of other partially-roasted veggies. roasted peppers, of course, are great, but be creative! zucchini, eggplant, green beans, cauliflower: anything works in chili!
if you have anything roasty or smoky, like roasted garlic, roasted hot peppers, smoked sea salt or smoked pepper, roasted coriander, or bits of smoked meats or fish, throw those in! the smoky flavor works perfectly with beans.
meat-eaters can cut up bits of pork belly to fry with the onion in the beginning. ground meat, of course, is traditional, but i tend to avoid it in chili. why add meat? it’s delicious just like it is!

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chili is not scary! if you’ve never made it, do it now, before it gets too hot outside!

maple oatmeal cookies

less than 3/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 cup maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups quick-cooking oats
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
less than 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup raisins
pinch of powdered coconut
generous sprinkle of cinnamon and allspice

just like it sounds, at 350.

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the batter’s wet – really wet – so i added just two handfuls of extra oats. they came out dry. so i’d say go with it, even though it’s wet.

i liked them overall. very buttery, very oatmealy, very salty, can’t taste the maple well or the coconut at all. i’d recommend cutting the butter and salt (reflected in the recipe as “less than…”). maybe not my favorite oatmeal cookie recipe, but not bad for a random “well, oven’s on anyway, may as well throw in some cookies” recipe.

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modified from this.

balsamic-marinated asparagus

2 pounds asparagus
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

Snap off the tough ends of asparagus and wash asparagus thoroughly.
Cook asparagus in boiling water for about two minutes, until it’s bright green and just beginning to get tender. Drain.
Place asparagus in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain.
Lay asparagus in a 13″ by 9″ baking dish.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sugar, garlic, and red pepper flakes.
Pour over asparagus.
Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
Chill for about 8 hours.
Using tongs, remove asparagus from marinade and serve.

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from here.

fish cakes

based on Perfect Fish Cakes

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fish cakes

2 lbs fresh white fish, like cod
1 lb potatoes, boiled and mashed
1 spring onion, chopped
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp flour plus extra for dusting
1 egg, beaten
sprinkle of paprika, pepper, salt

tartar sauce

1/2 cup lacto-fermented pickles, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
Sriracha, to taste
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup mayonnaise
Salt and pepper to taste

Steam the fish for about 10 minutes until it flakes, then mix with the potatoes, onion, parsley, flour, egg and salt. Form into cakes, dust with flour and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Fry the fish cakes in the peanut oil until brown and crusty. Serve with tartar sauce.

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taken from here

chicken liver pate

my first pate

fry a little slice of pork belly, add chunks of onion, add chicken livers
i seasoned it with some cajun seasoning, sage, parsley, marjoram, tarragon, chives, salt

fried til livers were cooked through.

then blended it up with a little cooking marsala and two cooked potatoes
(i only added the potatoes because they were left over and i wanted to use them.)

IT’S VERY GOOD.

next time, i’ll do it tuscan (toscana) style by cooking the livers in olive oil and add capers.

ribs – dry-rubbed and basted with bbq

my first ribs!

st louis style:
trim membrane and excess fat and rib tips

rub raw ribs with paprika, brown sugar, garlic, cumin, roasted coriander, ginger, salt, black pepper, cayenne, and onion powder.

let sit in fridge for a few hours.

cook at 300

they went into the oven at 6:45ish.

around 9ish, got turned down to 200

around 9:30, got basted with bbq sauce and broiled for a few minutes

TWO DAYS LATER:
they’re gone.
this is simply…
amazing.

instant oats dosa

Quick cook oats 3/4 cup
Rice flour 1/2 cup
Sooji or wheat flour 1/4 cup
Green chilli 1 no, chopped
Coriander leaves chopped 1 tblsp
Ginger chopped 1 tsp
Cumin seeds/jeera 1 tsp
Pepper 1 tsp
Onion 1,chopped
Salt as needed
Water as needed

Method:

Make a thin batter of the all the ingredients except onion.

Heat dosa pan and sprinkle the onions and then pour the batter to make dosa. Sprinkle little oil. Cook in medium flame and no need to flip, when the dosa becomes golden brown, take out and transfer to the serving plate.

Notes:
You can omit onion and just make it plain oats dosa.
You can also mix the onion with the batter itself.
The consistency should be watery as we do for rawa dosa. Or you can make thick batter and make thick dosas as well.
Since we dont add much oil and oats have a dry texture,better eat it dunked in sambhar or chutney.

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taken from Rak’s kitchen

Mücver (zucchini fritters)

5-6 small firm zucchinis, grated or left over zucchini carvings from stuffed zucchinis (makes ~4 cups)
3 eggs
1/3 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
2-3 tbsp or 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint (depending on how much you like mint)
3-4 green onions, finely chopped
1 cup white cheese/feta
1 tbsp paprika
salt
black pepper
~1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup olive oil for frying

-Put grated zucchini in a colander. Sprinkle with salt and let drain for 10 minutes. Squeeze and place in a bowl.
-Mix well all the ingredients except for flour and frying oil.
-Add flour in slowly and mix well.
-Heat oil in a frying pan. On medium drop scoops of mücver mixture in hot oil. Make sure they don’t touch.
-Fry them on each side until golden brown, 4-5 minutes.
-Drain excessive oil by placing fritters on paper towels.
-Serve with plain yogurt or garlicy yogurt sauce. For garlicy yogurt sauce beat every 1 cup of yogurt with 1 clove of minced garlic.

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from almost turkish.

Balep Korkun (central Tibetan flatbread)

Tibetans make so many kinds of bread, and different areas make unique styles. This recipe shows you how to make Central Tibetan style bread, a kind of flatbread called Balep Korkun.

+ Two cups of all-purpose flour (Any kind of flour is okay, like wheat, all-purpose, or self-rising. If you use all-purpose flour, you will need some baking powder.)
+ One tablespoon of baking powder
+ One cup of water

For the simplest version of this bread, mix the flour and a little water very well by hand and keep adding water until you can make a smooth ball of dough. Then knead the dough very well until the dough is flexible. When you have finished kneading the dough, separate it into four pieces and roll them into ball shapes. Then leave the dough balls in a container with a lid on for fifteen to twenty minutes. After that, place one of the ball shapes on a flat surface and roll it out with a rolling pin, making a flat, round shape about 1/2″ to 3/4″ high. Repeat with all your dough.

Grease pan. Heat pan to high heat. Turn down the heat to medium, put the bread in the pan and cover it with a lid. Cook fifteen minutes on medium heat. You should turn over the bread every four or five minutes, so both sides of the bread get cooked well.

variation: If you like, you can add a bit of butter, or applesauce to the flour before you begin adding the water, for special flavor.

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taken from Yowangdu, a site about Tibetan culture. a handful of other recipes on there as well.