Borscht - Ukrainian beet soup

I first had borscht at a Russian restaurant numerous years ago. I thought it was extremely tasty and a great way to eat beets. I love the subtle flavors in it including the flavor of thyme, the background flavors of other vegetables such as leeks, celery, carrot and I love that dollop of sour cream on top.I set out to make borscht and found so many recipes on the internet including this one and I looked through them all and made my own version ( with a little input from my friend Shirlee who suggested adding cream to the soup)

Ingredients: 

Beets - 1/2 lb ( about 3 medium beets)- peeled and cut in to 1” squares 

Potatoes - 1/2 lb  ( about 3) - peeled and cut in to 1” squares 

Onion - 1 medium ( diced finely ) 

Leeks - 1 ( diced finely - 1/2 cup )

Carrots - 2 - peeled and cut in to 1” squares 

Garlic - 2 cloves peeled and minced 

Tomato paste - 1/2 tbsp 

Paprika - 1/2 tsp 

Thyme - 1 tbsp dried thyme ( or to taste)

Bay leaf -1 

Salt - 1 tsp - to taste 

Pepper- 2 tsp - to taste 

Sugar - 1 to 2 tbsp - to taste 

Red wine vinegar- 1/2 tbsp 

Cream- 1/4 cup - or to taste 

Butter / olive oil - I put some of each ( 2 tbsp butter and  2 tbsp olive oil ) 

Sour cream- for garnishing the soup 

Instructions

1. Place a deep heavy bottomed pot on medium heat ( I used a Dutch oven)

2. Add a tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil and let the butter melt

3. Add the onions to the pot and sauté until translucent

4. Now add the leeks, celery, salt and pepper and sauté, 5. Add a little extra butter and oil to the pan and add the thyme, paprika , garlic, bay leaf and tomato paste and mix well and sauté it. 

6. Add the cubes of beets, potatoes and carrots and mix well.

7. Add 4- 5 cups of vegetable broth to the pot and mix in well. Taste the water to adjust seasoning. If sour add 1-2 tbsp of sugar ( I always add this for enhanced taste)
8. Let the broth boil and then reduce the heat slightly and place a lid on it with some venting and let it cook for 20-30 minutes ( or until the vegetables are soft when poked with a fork). Make sure to replenish broth if it has evaporated and make sure to stir occasionally to prevent the contents from sticking to the bottom 

9. Fish out the bay leaves

10. Now let the soup cool . Once cool add a little bit of the mixture at a time to the blender and grind to a smooth purée. ( you may save some of the veggie cubes to add back in for texture )

11. Add the purée to a pot and mix the cream in to it thoroughly well. 

12. Spoon out the borscht to a bowl and add a splash ( 1/4 tsp ) of red wine vinegar to the soup and mix well. This adds an acidic component to the soup and you can adjust per taste. ( I do this since people have different tolerance for acidity). Season with salt and pepper. 

13. Place a dollop of sour cream on top . Borscht is now ready to serve 

Penne pasta with roasted red pepper sauce

I had a lot of red, yellow and orange bell peppers at the house and wanted to use them up . I talked to my sister who suggested either a stuffed pepper or a roasted red pepper sauce with pasta . I chose the latter since it had been a while since I last had pasta. For the pasta I used a brown rice and quinoa pasta but any kind of pasta can be used. I looked around and found this recipe for roasted red pepper pasta by Pioneer woman and adapted it for my recipe.

Sauce :

Ingredients :

Bell peppers - 3 or 4 

Onion - 1/2 chopped into cubes 

Garlic - 4 to 5 cloves 

Cream/ whole milk / milk - 1/2 cup 

Vegetable stock - 2 cups 

Salt to taste 

Pepper 

Basil / parsley - fresh or dried 

Butter/ olive oil for sautéing the vegetables 

Instructions: 

1. Turn on the broil setting of the oven to high 

2. Cut the bell peppers in half remove the seeds

3. Place them cut side  down on a foil lined baking sheet

4.Broil for about 8-10 minutes until the skin is blackened and blistered 

5. Now place the peppers in a container and place a lid on it for about 10 minutes 

6. This allows the peppers to cook in the steam and soften further 

7. Now remove the peel of the peppers and chop them in to cubes 

NOW we have roasted red peppers. IF I had planned ahead I could have gotten a jar of roasted red peppers in a jar ready to go!!

8. Place a sauce pan on medium heat and add a couple of tablespoons of butter to it and let it melt

9. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent 

10. Add the garlic cloves and sauté for 30 sec- 1 min

11. Now add the cubed roasted red peppers and sauté well for a few minutes 

12. Add salt and pepper and sauté 

13. Now add the mixture along with 1/2 cup of broth to the blender and blend into a smooth paste  ( Keep the sauce pan aside to use soon)

14.  Now add a couple of tablespoons of butter to the pan and let it melt. Turn the heat down to medium.

15. Add the roasted pepper puree and add another cup of vegetable broth and mix and let it het up for a couple of minutes.

16. Add salt and pepper to taste, add your herbs ( I added basil and parsley flakes). Add the cream in and mix it in.

17. Sauce is now ready!

Pasta

I used a penne pasta ( you can use any kind of pasta . We chose a brown rice and quinoa pasta)

Take a deep pot and fill it with half to 2/3 with water 

Add a couple of teaspoons of salt to the water

Let the water come to a boil

Cook pasta according to package instructions.

Drain the pasta using a colander and run cold water over the pasta to stop the cooking process

Set aside

To serve:

Place the pasta on a plate or bowl.

Spoon over the desired amount of sauce on the pasta.

Shave some fresh parmesan or sprinkle grated Parmesan 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Penne pasta with roasted red pepper sauce is ready to eat.

Poori

Poori is a deep fried flatbread popular in south India. We eat it for breakfast or dinner (anytime really). The same flatbread dough can be cooked on a skillet with minimal oil to make chapathis . Poori is eaten with - potato side dish, kurma/ korma and raita. Occasionally I eat the left over pooris by soaking it in warm milk and sprinkling sugar on them as a dessert :) 

Ingredients :

Atta flour - it is whole wheat flour - 1-2 cups ( 1 cup makes 8 medium sized pooris)

Salt - 1/2 tsp

Oil - 1 tbsp 

Water 

Oil for frying - 1-2 cups 

Atta flour for dusting the poori so it doesn’t stick

Instructions 

1. In a large bowl place the atta flour , add salt, 1 tbsp of oil , add water little by little and mix it until it is a soft dough rolled into a ball. Knead the dough ( consistency like bread dough ). Then you can make this into equal sizes small balls.
   
    
2. Roll this out into a medium sized flatbread . Use the atta flour to dust it so it doesn’t stick.
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Heat oil in a deep wide bottomed pan. There should be enough oil to submerge the flatbread to fry. 
   
   
   
   
   
4. Use a slotted spoon to push down the poori so that it puffs up . If you accidentally poke holes on the flatbread it will not puff up.
   
   
   
5. Place the fried pooris in a bowl lined with paper towels so as to blot any extra oil off
6. Poori is now ready to serve with kurma or raita

Vegetable Hakka noodles

There is a style of cooking called Hakka which belongs to the Hakka people of China. Hakka noodles however is an Indian adaptation of Hakka dishes. Hakka noodles are one of my favorite dishes. It is easy to make and very tasty. My sister searched for recipes and found a good one on the chutney life . She set out to make it and it turned out really well. 

Ingredients: 

Shredded cabbage - 1 cup

Red Bell pepper julienned (cut into thin strips)  - 1 cup 

Green bell pepper julienned  - 1 cup

Carrot julienned - 1 cup 

Scallions ( green onion) cut into small pieces - 1/2 cup

Sambal paste (indonesian chili sauce vegetarian version)- 2 tbsp

Soy sauce - 3 tbsp

Minced garlic - 2 tbsp

Minced ginger - 2 tbsp

Rice wine vinegar- 1 tsp

Green chillies ( deseeded and cut into small strips ) - 1-2 (optional)

Ching’a secret veg Hakka noodles - 1 packet 

Salt to taste - 1/2 tsp ( with soy sauce it may become salty- taste before adding)

Pepper - 1/2 tsp 

Oil - vegetable oil 4 tbsp

Chili oil - optional ( you can put some crushed dried red chilies in oil and heat it up on low Heat for 5-10 minute and then strain out the red chilies. Then you can save the oil in a jar for cooking) 

Instructions :

1. Cook the noodles according to package instructions. Once done cooking drain it in a colander and run cold water on it to stop the cooking process . This will help keep the noodles from getting mushy. Place in a bowl and add a little oil to it and toss it so that the noodles don’t stick to each other 
2. Place a large pan on the stove on medium heat and add 2 tbsp of oil.
3. Once oil is hot add green chillies and sauté , then add the bell peppers and sauté until slightly soft.
   
   
4. Next add the ginger and garlic and sauté. Then add the carrot and cabbage and sauté for  under a minute . We want these vegetables to be cooked but still be crunchy and not mushy.
   
   
5. Reduce to low heat and now put the noodles in the pot and toss. 
   
6. Add the soy sauce , Sambal paste, vinegar and pepper 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Toss the noodles so everything is mixed in and let cook for a few minutes so that you don’t have the raw vinegar or chili paste taste 
8. Then add salt to taste and a little chili oil ( 1 tsp - optional ) and then add green scallions for garnishing and toss and serve.
   
   
   
   
9. 
   
10. We typically eat Hakka noodles with ketchup in India. You can even get the maggi hot and sweet sauce to add a little kick
    
    

Paneer tikka masala pizza

Paneer Tikka Masala Pizza

Prep Time:  20 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes 

Written by guest author Rich

We have been craving Indian pizza.  Unfortunately, the nearest place that we can find that serves it is in Michigan.  One day I was cruising the internet for recipes to inspire me to make it.  I found one on Green Planet by Tori Cooper (vegan Indian pizza ) that at least gave me the right combination of ingredients however, it was vegan but we both love cheese.  

Also, Cooper’s recipe doesn’t include roasting the spices, which is a must in Indian cooking otherwise it leaves you with a raw bitter taste.  I also had to make some other changes as the sauce was a bit sour.  

 

Pizza dough 

 

For the Pizza Dough, I used one can of Wal-Mart Pizza crust.  Grease a round pizza pan and roll the dough.  Set aside and allow to rise.  

 

Ingredients

 

Spices for roasting 

2 teaspoons of ground turmeric

2 teaspoons of garam masala

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 clove

½ teaspoon ground red pepper 

3 pods Cardamom crushed

2 Tbs Sesame Oil

Mix all the spices in a magic bullet (blender) to crush the clove and cardamom and to mix the spices.

 Heat oil on a pan and add the spices to it and roast for about a minute.  Set aside 

 

For Sauce

4 cloves Garlic minced

1 thumb ginger peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 small white onion chopped 

1 cup green and red bell peppers

1 can tomato paste (mix with 1 can of water and set aside)

1 can chickpeas

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1 cup of cherry tomatoes – crushed 

3 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 cup of plain yogurt (We prefer Desi Natural)  Don’t use Greek yogurt ( it seems more sour) 

½ cup fresh cilantro chopped

¼ cup Brown Sugar

1 bag of fried paneer (Or one block – cubed and fried in about two tablespoons of butter)

 

Toppings: 

1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella cheese

Tamarind sauce

Red and green bell peppers chopped

Instructions

 

1) Heat oil in a pan on medium heat.  Roast the garlic, ginger, and onion until the onions are transparent. then add the bell peppers and roast them 

2) Add the ground spices and a tablespoon of of oil and roast them as well. 

3) Add tomatoes and cook until the raw smell is gone.  

4) Add chickpeas, lemon juice, tomato paste, paneer, and cook until chickpeas are tender.  

5) Add yogurt and flour and cook until sauce thickens.  

6) Taste sauce and add brown sugar a spoonful at a time until the sour taste is gone, and sauce is slightly sweet.  

7) Spread sauce evenly across the pizza crust.

8) Spread cheese, chopped bell peppers and cilantro on the top.  Bake the pizza at 425F for 15-20 min or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly 

9) Take out of the oven and drizzle with tamarind sauce. Now delicious pizza is ready to serve.

 

 

Yogurt rice

I love eating rice with different things added to it. In South Indian cuisine rice is a staple and there are different things that can be added to rice such as sambar, rasam, kootu etc. These are different kind of gravies added to cooked white rice . There are also rice dishes called ‘variety rice’ which are rice dishes with stuff already added to them such as biryani, lemon rice, coconut rice etc.

Yogurt rice can be as simple as adding yogurt to plain white rice with a little bit of salt and mixing it together or it can be served premixed in a little fancier fashion as shown below. Yogurt rice is eaten at the end of the meal since it cools down the palate.

Ingredients

Cooked medium grain white rice (cooking rice)- 1 cup

Warm milk - 1/4 cup

Plain yogurt or sour cream- 1/2 - 3/4 cup 

For seasoning 

Mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp

Urad dal- Split dehusked black gram 1/2 tsp

Peanuts or cashews  - 2 Tbsp

Ginger - cut into small pieces- 1/2 tsp

Asafoetida - pinch

Green chilly- 1/2 de seeded and finely chopped ( optional) 

Curry leaf - 4 or 5

Cilantro leaves - chopped 1 Tsp

Salt to taste 

Oil - 1 tbsp for tempering the seasoning 

Instructions 

1. In a bowl let the rice cool down
2. Add the warm milk and mix well ( this is added to the rice so that the yogurt doesn’t get sour if serving later)
3. Add the yogurt to the rice and mix well. You want the rice in a rice pudding like consistency.
4. Place a pan on the stove on medium heat and add oil to it.
5. Now add the seasoning ingredients one at a time to the oil in the order that they are listed. Ensure the mustard seeds sputter and the urad dal gets slightly brown before adding the peanuts ( roasted until golden brown). Now add the rest of the ingredients and roast  for a few seconds.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Take off the stove. Now add the seasoning to the yogurt rice, add salt to taste and mix well.
7. Yogurt rice is ready to serve ! It can be eaten by itself or with vegetables ( poriyal)  like potato poriyal (potato poriyal) eggplant poriyal, etc. or with pickle.
   
   

Parotta (layered flatbread)

Parotta  (malabar parotta) is a South Indian layered flatbread. It is slightly different than the paratha found in most Indian restaurants here in the US. Parotta is made from maida ( bleached all purpose flour) as opposed to paratha which is made from whole wheat flour. The way Parotta is folded and rolled out is different than how paratha is made. 

I love the flaky layered buttery goodness that is the parotta. In the US it is difficult to find in restaurants and usually I find it in the frozen section of the Indian store. Until now I have avoided making it since I always thought that this would be difficult to make. But I set out to make it and it was surprising not as difficult as I thought. 

Ingredients:

Maida flour ( bleached all purpose flour)- 1.5 cups

Rava (sooji) - 1 tbsp

Salt- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- 1 tsp

Ghee- 2 tbsp

Baking powder- pinch

Water 

Oil - 3 to 4 tbsp 

Instructions

1. In a large bowl add maida, salt, rava, sugar, ghee, baking powder. Add water little at a time ( ~1/3 to 1/2 cup), mix and knead the dough to soften it until a smooth ball of dough is formed.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
    
2. Cut the large ball of dough and make small golf ball sized balls. Place this in a bowl and add a tbsp of oil on top and let it rest for another hour
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
3. Roll out the balls with a rolling pin into a thin almost transparent flat round disk coating with oil as you go so it doesn’t stick to the rolling pin or the board underneath 
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. This next step can be done two ways 
5. Method 1: lift up the flattened dough lifting up by one edge and then roll it into a spiral like you would if making pinwheels 
   
   
   
   
6. Method 2: cut the flattened dough into thin strips , gather up the strips and then roll into a spiral 
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Now flatted the spiral by hand and then roll it slightly to make a flat round disk yet again ( one with layers now ) 
   
   
8. Place a pan on medium heat and now add a little butter or ghee ( clarified butter) and place the parotta on it and cook until a side is golden brown making sure you flip it back and forth ( like a tortilla) so both sides are cooked. This may take 1-2 minutes total 
   
   
9. Set aside to cool on a plate and then place your hands on either side of it and crush it slightly so the layers come apart and the parotta now has many flaky layers 
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Parotta is now ready to serve with vegetable kurma , ‘ Saravana Bhavan’ hotel style white kurma, or onion raita 
    Adapted from : https://youtu.be/47fRmufjdQ4