Tag Archives: Homemade

FOOD

Easy, fluffy, pillowy, homemade gnocchi

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I have been in love with gnocchi for a very, very long time. In fact, I craved these little pasta clouds of potato and flour served with tomato sauce throughout a pregnancy. But till recently, my love for gnocchi was satiated by buying the best Italian brands on supermarket shelves and eating it on my forays into Italian restaurants. But just recently, I decided to make these on my own. The process is easy (albeit a little messy), but feels at every moment like you are creating a work of art. I am so in love with this home made version that I have sworn to never really buy gnocchi ever again. Okay, with that said, here’s how I created these divine works of art.

Ingredients:

  • 2 large russet potatoes
  • 1/3 heaped cup all purpose flour
  • 1/4 tsp of kosher salt

How to:

1. Wash the potatoes, scrub them and pierce holes. Cook in a microwave at the potato setting till completely cooked. Peel the potatoes and rice them in a ricer over a wooden board. If you don’t have a river, you can grate the potatoes with a grater that has small holes. Spread the potatoes over the board using a fork. Sprinkle the kosher salt. 

2. Sprinkle or sift the flour over the potatoes and using a bench scraper just chop all over the potato/ flour mixture.  Gather the mixture into a ball. Flatten the ball with your hands, bring the ends of the dough together and press it down again. Just repeat this gently till the potato flour mixture is seamlessly blended. 

3. Dust the work area with more flour, pinch off two inch rounds of dough and gently roll it into a rope. Cut into one inch pieces using a knife and lay down each gnocchi on a baking tray covered with parchment paper. Once all the gnocchi are made, press down the surface of each gnocchi with a fork to create ridges that will help the sauce cling to to the pasta well. 

4. Repeat process till all the dough is used up. 

5. Freeze tray of gnocchi for 15 minutes.  

6. Now you could bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add the gnocchi and cook just for a minute or two till the gnocchi floats to the top or alternately use my preferred method and sauté the gnocchi in a bit of butter or oil till they are moderately browned. 

7. Serve with your favorite sauce. 

FOOD

Tangy meets spicy in this apricot chutney

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I bought a batch of apricots from the farmers market and while they were yummy, they had a level of “new to the season” tartness to them.  Contemplating a variety of baking projects to use up the apricots, I hit upon an idea; could they take the place of tomatoes in a favorite, spicy chutney?

My excitement kicked up a couple of notches when I saw the farm fresh red onions waiting to be invited to this party.

Quickly, I assembled the ingredients.

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A few quick steps and out emerged a chutney which was fiery, tangy and super yummy!

Ingredients:

  • 4 farm fresh apricots, seeded and cut into small chunks
  • 2 farm fresh red onions, leaves removed and finely chopped
  • 3 green chilies, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 dried red chilly
  • 1 heaped teaspoon hot curry powder
  • 2 tbsps oil (I used avocado oil)
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 heaped tsp cilantro leaves for garnishing

How To:

1. Heat the oil in a flat-bottomed pan or wok and when hot, add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and dried red chilly.  When the mustard seeds stop crackling, add the onions, green chilies, ginger, and garlic and fry till the onions turn brown.

2. Add the chopped apricots, toss with the onion mixture and cook covered till the apricots are close to done.  They should be easy to smash with a spatula.

3. Add the salt and curry powder, mix well, turn off the stove and garnish with fresh cilantro.

4. The chutney is ready in 15 minutes and goes beautifully with steamed rice, flatbread, as a spicy condiment with eggs and more!

PS: Everyone’s spice tolerance varies, so please feel free to adjust the chilies and curry powder to suit your palate.

FOOD

Summer Twist Tabbouleh

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By Lakshmi:

It’s the fourth of July, a lovely summer afternoon begging for a chilled salad with a kick.  With some leftover quinoa and fresh watermelon at hand, here’s my tabbouleh with a twist!  This makes enough to serve two as an appetizer.

Ingredients:

  • One cup cooked quinoa
  • A cup of cubed watermelon
  • A quarter red onion, finely chopped
  • Six mint leaves finely shredded
  • Juice of one lemon
  • One green chilly, finely chopped
  • One to two tbsps of olive oil (depending on your taste)
  • Freshly ground salt
  • A teaspoon of black pepper or Aleppo pepper

Gently mix all the ingredients and serve as soon as mixed!  Enjoy 🙂

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