Cooking
from Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking
Pim suggested that contributing bloggers make dishes from the regions affected by the tsunami. Most of my cuisine comes from Europe, but I do have some cookbooks that touch on Indian and Southeast Asian food. My contribution to the menu is an Indian appetizer called Khari Poori, a savory deep-fried cookie. By itself, the cookie is dry. But it makes a great base for chutneys. The cookies are easy to make and they keep well at room temperature, so you can pack them and your chutney in a picnic basket or a travel bag. For the Khari Poori:
1 cup finely ground whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tb coarsely crushed black pepper
3 1/2 Tb fruity olive oi plus canola oil for deep-frying.
Sift the whole wheat flour, white flour, and salt into a bowl. Add the black pepper as well as the olive oil. Rub the oil into the flour with your fingers until the flour resembles coarse oatmeal. Slowly add very hot water--about 1/2 cup plus 3 Tb--and begin to gather the flour together. Squeeze the dough into a ball. It should just about hold. Do not knead. Break the dough into 50 balls. Keep them covered with plastic wrap or a lightly dampened towel while you work. Heat canola oil to 350° Fahrenheit. Begin to roll out the pooris. Take each dough ball and flatten to a disk about 2 inches across. Place pooris in frying oil, and fry for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Pooris should be a nutty brown color on each side. Remove pooris from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Allow to cool and then serve. Pooris may be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for several weeks. For the Cilantro and Mint Chutney
Note: Use chiles to increase the heat of this chutney to suit your tastes.
3/4 cup tightly packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup tightly packed spearmint leaves
1 Tb lemon juice
3/4 cup yogurt
salt to taste
Place cilantro, mint, lemon juice, and 3 Tb water into a blender. Pulse the blender until the herbs are pureed. They will be dark,dark green. Beat yogurt in a bowl until it's creamy. Add the herb puree and fold into the yogurt. Add salt to taste, probably 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. To Complete: Pour some chutney onto a plate, and tilt the plate to spread the chutney in an even layer. Place a stack of pooris onto the chutney. Diners should use the pooris to pick up some of the chutney.
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Cooking
A Menu for Hope: Khari Poori with Cilantro-Mint Chutney
from Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking
Pim suggested that contributing bloggers make dishes from the regions affected by the tsunami. Most of my cuisine comes from Europe, but I do have some cookbooks that touch on Indian and Southeast Asian food. My contribution to the menu is an Indian appetizer called Khari Poori, a savory deep-fried cookie. By itself, the cookie is dry. But it makes a great base for chutneys. The cookies are easy to make and they keep well at room temperature, so you can pack them and your chutney in a picnic basket or a travel bag. For the Khari Poori:
1 cup finely ground whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all-purpose white flour
1 tsp. salt
1 Tb coarsely crushed black pepper
3 1/2 Tb fruity olive oi plus canola oil for deep-frying.
Sift the whole wheat flour, white flour, and salt into a bowl. Add the black pepper as well as the olive oil. Rub the oil into the flour with your fingers until the flour resembles coarse oatmeal. Slowly add very hot water--about 1/2 cup plus 3 Tb--and begin to gather the flour together. Squeeze the dough into a ball. It should just about hold. Do not knead. Break the dough into 50 balls. Keep them covered with plastic wrap or a lightly dampened towel while you work. Heat canola oil to 350° Fahrenheit. Begin to roll out the pooris. Take each dough ball and flatten to a disk about 2 inches across. Place pooris in frying oil, and fry for approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Pooris should be a nutty brown color on each side. Remove pooris from oil and place on a plate lined with paper towels. Allow to cool and then serve. Pooris may be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for several weeks. For the Cilantro and Mint Chutney
Note: Use chiles to increase the heat of this chutney to suit your tastes.
3/4 cup tightly packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup tightly packed spearmint leaves
1 Tb lemon juice
3/4 cup yogurt
salt to taste
Place cilantro, mint, lemon juice, and 3 Tb water into a blender. Pulse the blender until the herbs are pureed. They will be dark,dark green. Beat yogurt in a bowl until it's creamy. Add the herb puree and fold into the yogurt. Add salt to taste, probably 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. To Complete: Pour some chutney onto a plate, and tilt the plate to spread the chutney in an even layer. Place a stack of pooris onto the chutney. Diners should use the pooris to pick up some of the chutney.
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I'm a cheater, in the kitchen anyway. While I may not be a fan of mac and cheese from a box, I positively love using gourmet specialty products. What kinds of products? Jams, mustards, chutney, tapenade, Chinese sauces, so many things! Two of my...
-
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- Aushak Dumpling Recipe
I love dumplings! Russian pelmenyi, Italian ravioli and gnocchi, Japanese gyoza, Chinese wontons, potstickers, dim sum...I don't think there is a dumpling I don't adore. But I'm more likely to order them in restaurants than I am to make them...
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Yellow Squash Dalcha, Carrot Raita and brown rice Sorry, this is hardly the most beautifully composed dinner plate, but what it lacks in good looks it more than makes up for in good taste! I really don't need an excuse these days to cook myself an...
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On the way in to work this morning I was thinking about what to have for dinner and started forming the idea for these fritters. I wanted to use some of the produce I had bought at the farmers market yesterday – specifically the squash. I didn’t have...