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This may end up being a recurring post; I suspect lily's -food discussion is getting rather tired of me ranting about the multiple failures I find in recipes that are supposedly tested and highly rated. *sigh*
( rant rant rant )
( rant rant rant )
First, let me say I can't heap enough praise on Mallika Basu for her chicken pulao recipe; it's dead-on, it works, and it's simple enough for just about anybody. You can't beat one-pot meals, especially ones as tasty as that.
I decided it would be nice to have a red meat version as well, so I concocted a lamb pulao (lamb pilaf) that I've made for lunch a couple of times now; one batch lasts me about four days.
( Lamb Pulao recipe )
( Mint Raita )
6 servings is perhaps optimistic if, like the group I cook for, your diners tend to inhale large quantities. If you're serving hungry people, figure it'll handle four. (The same goes for the chicken pulao recipe, by the way.) I have heat-averse folk, so I tend to use either supermarket paprika or ancho chile powder, which is close to heatless; on my own, I use a medium-heat chile or spike it with cayenne.
A vegetarian recipe will be next.
I decided it would be nice to have a red meat version as well, so I concocted a lamb pulao (lamb pilaf) that I've made for lunch a couple of times now; one batch lasts me about four days.
( Lamb Pulao recipe )
( Mint Raita )
6 servings is perhaps optimistic if, like the group I cook for, your diners tend to inhale large quantities. If you're serving hungry people, figure it'll handle four. (The same goes for the chicken pulao recipe, by the way.) I have heat-averse folk, so I tend to use either supermarket paprika or ancho chile powder, which is close to heatless; on my own, I use a medium-heat chile or spike it with cayenne.
A vegetarian recipe will be next.
Recipe posts
Nov. 6th, 2011 11:22I am thinking about posting a bunch of the Indian food recipes I've been using, since I had to tweak so many of them (sometimes enormously) and even those that I use almost straight could use a boost in their Google rankings. Anyone who's tried recipes off the internet knows there's no easy way to tell whether a given recipe has ever been cooked, let alone how good it actually is, and some of them give you the impression they came from a universe where different physical laws apply. I don't feel authentic enough to create a blog for it (hi, I'm a self-taught amateur from California) but I can at least share some tasty stuff.
I won't create a filter, since I want them public, but they will be tagged and cut-tagged appropriately. If you have any questions about technique or ingredients, please feel free to comment, as I want random strangers who aren't incredibly familiar with the cuisine to be able to look the recipes over, collect what they need, and feel reasonably confident of success.
Most of them are adjusted to serve 6-8, so watch the quantities involved. (On the other hand, many of them freeze wonderfully.) I may make a post just about ingredients. We'll see what happens.
I won't create a filter, since I want them public, but they will be tagged and cut-tagged appropriately. If you have any questions about technique or ingredients, please feel free to comment, as I want random strangers who aren't incredibly familiar with the cuisine to be able to look the recipes over, collect what they need, and feel reasonably confident of success.
Most of them are adjusted to serve 6-8, so watch the quantities involved. (On the other hand, many of them freeze wonderfully.) I may make a post just about ingredients. We'll see what happens.
Food glorious food
Feb. 13th, 2011 21:02I had a craving tonight, so I fixed myself some fried chicken. I had the tail end of a gluten-free loaf I baked two days ago, so on a whim I crumbled that up, then made a batter similar to that for pakora: chickpea (besan) flour, salt, pepper, a touch of cayenne, and water. I cut a 1-pound chicken breast into strips, battered them, dredged them in breadcrumbs, and deep-fried them a few at a time for 2-3 minutes at 325-340 degrees. They came out exquisitely tender, moist, and crunchy, just what I wanted. I was running a bit low on protein lately, and this really hit the spot. Besan flour was exactly the right thing.
Deep-frying is made so much easier by a probe thermometer. I've also learned what the chicken says to indicate it's done: it often starts to rumble, like somebody dripped water in, and the temperature suddenly climbs. That's when I need to pull it out, roll it around in paper towels, and put it on a rack. I should try this with fish...
The other day I made an Indian meal and finished it off with a firni, which is like kheer with no rice grains left in it (sort of a soft custard). The recipe directs the cook to make almond milk from scratch, and I figured I could shortcut that by buying some instead. Or maybe not: all commercial almond milk I could find had soy in it, and one of my friends is sensitive to soy. I ended up making it by hand after all. I never would have expected that, though.
I have another meal coming up, and I'm torn between trying to make a mild vindaloo (hey, it might work), a biryani, or some ground beef ball thing (what, I'm not sure). We've done tomato-based curry, cream-based curry (roganjosh), saag paneer, chicken tikka, and various side dishes like daal and chana. I'm holding off on chicken tikka masala until I can extract a recipe from the owner of my favorite restaurant. Thoughts?
Deep-frying is made so much easier by a probe thermometer. I've also learned what the chicken says to indicate it's done: it often starts to rumble, like somebody dripped water in, and the temperature suddenly climbs. That's when I need to pull it out, roll it around in paper towels, and put it on a rack. I should try this with fish...
The other day I made an Indian meal and finished it off with a firni, which is like kheer with no rice grains left in it (sort of a soft custard). The recipe directs the cook to make almond milk from scratch, and I figured I could shortcut that by buying some instead. Or maybe not: all commercial almond milk I could find had soy in it, and one of my friends is sensitive to soy. I ended up making it by hand after all. I never would have expected that, though.
I have another meal coming up, and I'm torn between trying to make a mild vindaloo (hey, it might work), a biryani, or some ground beef ball thing (what, I'm not sure). We've done tomato-based curry, cream-based curry (roganjosh), saag paneer, chicken tikka, and various side dishes like daal and chana. I'm holding off on chicken tikka masala until I can extract a recipe from the owner of my favorite restaurant. Thoughts?
I don't remember ever having posted my cough syrup recipe here; since I just made a fresh batch, I thought I'd share.
As I can't have more than a touch of alcohol without serious repercussions (CNS depression is Not My Friend), and I detest almost every artificial sweetener out there, the cough syrup on the typical drugstore shelf is totally out of the question. I still need something for when I'm coughing too much to sleep, though, so I did a little research and developed this.
( My recipe for herbal cough syrup )
There are obvious drawbacks to this stuff (the honey sitting on your teeth all night, for starters) but when you have to have a cough suppressant and expectorant in something that coats your throat, this syrup really does the job. I've gone from being barely able to sleep to waking up just once in the night to take another dose, and the tickle that had me hacking went away for hours.
It is sort of bitter, but it shouldn't be horribly so. Obviously, the stronger you mix it, the more effective it is, but don't make it so bitter you can't stand to have the taste sit on your tongue for a while. Washing it down with water kind of dulls the effectiveness of cough syrup, after all. :)
As I can't have more than a touch of alcohol without serious repercussions (CNS depression is Not My Friend), and I detest almost every artificial sweetener out there, the cough syrup on the typical drugstore shelf is totally out of the question. I still need something for when I'm coughing too much to sleep, though, so I did a little research and developed this.
( My recipe for herbal cough syrup )
There are obvious drawbacks to this stuff (the honey sitting on your teeth all night, for starters) but when you have to have a cough suppressant and expectorant in something that coats your throat, this syrup really does the job. I've gone from being barely able to sleep to waking up just once in the night to take another dose, and the tickle that had me hacking went away for hours.
It is sort of bitter, but it shouldn't be horribly so. Obviously, the stronger you mix it, the more effective it is, but don't make it so bitter you can't stand to have the taste sit on your tongue for a while. Washing it down with water kind of dulls the effectiveness of cough syrup, after all. :)
Thought I'd share
Nov. 30th, 2009 19:57I scored a few lemons this weekend, so I'm making candied lemon peel and juicing them for.... something. Maybe lemon meringue or some other lemon custard, maybe lemon curd. I really want to pair it with vanilla -- they're that sort of lemon -- so we'll see.
Meanwhile, have my easy-peasy refrigerator candied lemon peel recipe. It turns out a very flavorful result. :)
( No-boil candied lemon peel )
I've also used it to candy thinly-sliced ginger with very good results.
Meanwhile, have my easy-peasy refrigerator candied lemon peel recipe. It turns out a very flavorful result. :)
( No-boil candied lemon peel )
I've also used it to candy thinly-sliced ginger with very good results.
Ginger ale recipe
Aug. 16th, 2009 14:15For the latest batch of ginger soda, I reduced the amount of ginger (it was a little strong last time, I admit), and added some lemongrass. What I got out of it was a mellow ginger ale, with clear ginger flavor but no bite, and a very pleasant floral/citrus finish.
I'll make another batch of ginger beer this week, since I like the heat this one lacks. This would be ideal for someone who isn't nuts about ginger but likes ginger ale.
( recipe )
I'm waiting on my shipment of soda extracts... I hope it comes in before the end of the week. I want birch beer. :)
I'll make another batch of ginger beer this week, since I like the heat this one lacks. This would be ideal for someone who isn't nuts about ginger but likes ginger ale.
( recipe )
I'm waiting on my shipment of soda extracts... I hope it comes in before the end of the week. I want birch beer. :)
I decided that I've had sufficient luck with root beer that I should take a stab at ginger beer. I hate the stuff on store shelves, as it always has some nasty cloying taste associated with it. I tried a commercial extract, and discovered that the only flavoring in it was ester of pine resin -- it tasted, as you might expect, exactly like a pine board. eww.
So, since I wanted something that tastes like ginger, I took a hand of fresh ginger, some sugar, a little yeast, and water. I worried a little bit that the yeast might take exception to very fresh ginger (it's a pretty good antimicrobial) but apparently I needn't have worried. At all.
What follows is a tentative recipe for my trial batches of ginger beer. It is not alcoholic at all, but it has some heat to it. Do this only if you like ginger (a lot). :)
( Recipe! )
This makes a very clean, crisp ginger beer with enough heat to warm your belly afterward; it's a great way to settle an uneasy stomach. I may try![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
foogod's advice of adding a touch of cardamom to the brew, but I like it plain just fine. Yum. :)
There are alcoholic versions out there, brewed like beer... CHOW makes a very traditional non-alcoholic ginger beer using a "bug", or starter. I like dry yeast because it's reliable, quick, and needs no maintenance, but I imagine a bug gives it more character.
So, since I wanted something that tastes like ginger, I took a hand of fresh ginger, some sugar, a little yeast, and water. I worried a little bit that the yeast might take exception to very fresh ginger (it's a pretty good antimicrobial) but apparently I needn't have worried. At all.
What follows is a tentative recipe for my trial batches of ginger beer. It is not alcoholic at all, but it has some heat to it. Do this only if you like ginger (a lot). :)
( Recipe! )
This makes a very clean, crisp ginger beer with enough heat to warm your belly afterward; it's a great way to settle an uneasy stomach. I may try
foogod's advice of adding a touch of cardamom to the brew, but I like it plain just fine. Yum. :)There are alcoholic versions out there, brewed like beer... CHOW makes a very traditional non-alcoholic ginger beer using a "bug", or starter. I like dry yeast because it's reliable, quick, and needs no maintenance, but I imagine a bug gives it more character.
Rescuer of Avocados
May. 8th, 2008 18:00Since I have become increasingly frustrated with people who dump a couple of spoonfuls of salsa and an avocado into a bowl, mash it up, and call it guacamole (no, I'm looking mostly at restaurants here), I have decided to strike back by telling people exactly how easy it is to make The Good Stuff. Once you know, you have no excuse for making bland, gluey guacamole.
( recipe and commentary follow. )
( recipe and commentary follow. )
