Comfort Food

This post is dedicated to my husband and it is about his favorite food ever. Nothing brings a smile to his face than good old dhal chawal. If there is beans bhaji to go with it he is the happiest man ever. For me it would be rasam saadam and some potato bhaji with some yogurt. But more about that later. This is all about my husband and his dhal chawal. Dhal is perhaps the most ubiquitous of all indian food and every indian would have their own special way of enjoying it. I am presenting to you here what we enjoy making in our kitchen all the time. So here goes.
For the dhal:
Pressure cook 1/2 cup pf toor dhal and 1/2 cup of moong dhal with a teaspoon of turmeric powder and 3-4 slit green chillies. Saute half a large onion with 4 cloves of garlic chopped fine with a tablespoon of cumin seeds and mustard seeds and add to the cooked dhal. Dilute the dhal with water to attain the required consistency and salt to taste. Chop a whole bunch of cilantro leaves and add along with the juice of half a lime. It is best enjoyed with some hot and steaming basmati rice.

For the beans bhaji:
This is the recipe I got from my mother in law and it is a very typical kerala (south indian) recipe for making any kind of vegetable stir fry. It is unique in its use of coconut and garlic. The recipe does not call for onions. So here goes.
Start by heating a couple of spoons of vegetable oil and popping a teaspoon of mustard seeds. Add a sprig of curry leaves to it along with a teaspoon of urad dhal and 3-4 slit green chillies. After a couple of minutes I add a 12 ounce bag of frozen chopped green beans which is about 2 cups. Saute for a few minutes and add some salt and about half a cup of grated coconut ( I use frozen coconut fresh from the refrigerator :)) and about 2 cloves of garlic chopped fine. I let it cook for about 5-10 minutes and Voila !!! presenting to you smiles and love from my kitchen to yours :))

Lidia's Pasta (from scratch)

This is my first attempt at making fresh pasta, the inspiration for which came from this TV show called "Lidia's Italy". Lidia is an Italian chef who partners in some of the finest Italian restaurants in New York. I have been to a couple and have completely enjoyed the experience. So I decided to see if I can recreate her magic in my kitchen. I have to be completely honest and tell you that it wasn't the best pasta we have had and it certainly wasn't the worst. So what went wrong?!?!? I think the pasta wasn't rolled thin enough and it lacked the bite which I think comes from rolling the dough in semolina flour which renders its grainy texture to the pasta. But this attempt has definitely encouraged me to try making pasta which I had imagined would be a daunting task. What I learned is that pasta making is not difficult it just requires applying fresh ingredients with the right technique and I am excited about trying to better my first attempt.



Ingredients: Sauce
1-1 1/2 Onions thinly sliced
5 Cloves of Garlic thinly sliced
5-6 Sage leaves
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2-3 Tbsp Tomato Paste
2 cups of assorted mushrooms ( cremini, oyster, shiitake, button)
1-2 cups Chicken Stock
1 cup of grated Pecorino Romano (sheep's milk cheese)




Ingredients: Pasta Dough

1 1/2 cups of All purpose flour
3 Large Eggs lightly beaten
1/2 Milk
2 tsp Salt


To make the dough knead flour with the with the eggs and milk to form a tight dough.
Wrap it in saran wrap and set aside in the refrigerator for an hour.
Generously flour the working board and roll out the dough to desired thickness
Roll the dough as shown in the picture and cut it into thin strips.
Put them in salted boiling water and cook them al dente.



For the sauce, heat the extra virgin olive oil and saute the garlic, onions, sage and mushrooms with some salt. Add the chicken stock to liquefy the sauce. Mix in the tomato paste. Salt the sauce to taste. Keep adding the stock until the sauce gets to the required consistency. Toss in the cooked pasta and serve with grated cheese.
We had the pasta with a 2005 Bordeaux which had a hint of fruit with a lot of tannins that went well will the tang of the sauce.

Food I have enjoyed in the past

Mango Mousse Cake With Raspberry Filling- Ceci Cela Bakery, NY


Fried Ginger Ice Cream- Mickey's Place, Queens, NY


Spicy Tuna Roll, Sashimi Platter, Miso Soup - Mickey's Place, Queens, NY

Bruschetta with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Peppers -Finally something I made :)