TF and the Kidlet both seemed to really like these. I thought they were okay, but not amazing on their own. I think they work better added to other things. I had a bunch of them in my soup and that was very good.

Fried Chickpeas

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1 (~470g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• corn or peanut oil, for frying
• 3-4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 6 fresh sage leaves¹
• 1/8 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies
• coarse sea salt, ground

Directions

1. After draining and rinsing the chickpeas, dry them off as best you can.²
2. Pour some oil into a wok and heat to ~190°C (375°F).
3. Add the garlic and fry for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add ~1/3 of the chickpeas and 2 of the sage leaves and fry for 4-5 minutes.
5. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with remaining chickpeas and sage in two batches.
6. Sprinkle with ground chilies and season to taste with salt.

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¹ I was all out of fresh sage, so I swapped in 1/2 Tbsp. dried sage instead. ^Back
2 The recipe suggests doing this with paper towels, but, since I was preheating the oven for another recipe anyway, I just opted to spreak the chickpeas out on a baking sheet and pop them in the oven while it was preheating. I found this much easier than trying to mess around with paper towels. ^Back

Mutter Kachoris (Fried Flatbreads Stuffed with Green Peas)

Iyer notes that these flatbreads are a popular breakfast food in northern India and often served alongside potato curries. I opted to serve them as a salad accompaniment to round out our light dinner last night.

Being deep fried -- and full of butter to boot! -- these are definitely not health food. But they are delicious! We all ended up having seconds last night.

Mutter Kachoris

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Dough

• 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. nigella seeds
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 4-5 Tbsp. cold water

Filling

• 4-6 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies
• 3 slices fresh ginger (~6cm x 2cm x 3mm)
• 1 c. frozen green peas, thawed
• 1 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1/2 tsp. dhania-jeera masala
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Combine the flour, salt, and nigella and mix well.
2. Cut in the butter.
3. Drizzle in the water while mixing with a fork. Use just enough water to get the dough to come together in a cohesive mass.
4. Divide into six equal portions, cover, and chill until ready to use.
5. Meanwhile, combine the chilies and ginger in a food processor (or blender) and mince.
6. Add the peas and pulse until finely minced.
7. Heat the oil over medium heat.
8. Add the pea mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until mixture is dry to the touch (~5 minutes).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the dhania-jeera masala and salt.
10. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll into a circle on a floured surface. I found that I preferred rolling the edges slightly thinner and leaving the centre thicker.
11. Spoon ~2 Tbsp. of filling into the centre of the dough and fold up the edges to completely encase the filling and form a packet.
12. Press to flatten slightly, flip seam-side-down, and roll out to form a circle 10-12cm (4-5") across. Repeat with remaining portions of dough and filling.
13. Pour at least 2-3cm of oil into a wok (or use a deep fryer).
14. Heat oil to 190-200°C (375-400°F).
15. Cook the kachoris one or two at a time (depending on the size of your deep fryer). Slide them into the hot oil and press them down as the rise to the surface and puff up so that the cook evenly on both sides. Flip them over if necessary to achieve even browning.
16. Transfer to a rack or paper towels to drain.
17. Serve plain or with a curry of your choice.

Corn and Pea Empanadas

These were a huge hit! TF and the Kidlet both loved them. (And I quite liked them too!)

They're a little lacking in protein, so you'll probably want some sort of meat or beans to go with it. They still make a great start to a meal though, even if they're not a complete package on their own.

The dough required a lot more water than specified to come together, but that wasn't a huge problem. Just something to be aware of. I've updated the recipe to reflect this.

Corn and Pean Empanadas

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Dough

• 315g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• ~3/4 c. water

Filling

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño, seeded and minced (or a few slices of minced pickled jalapeño)
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 c. frozen corn, thawed
• 1/2 c. frozen peas, thawed
• 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Sift the baking soda into the flour and mix in the salt and pepper.
2. Slowly mix in water, a bit at a time, until the mixture comes together into a soft dough. (You might need slightly more than 3/4 c., but be careful not to make the dough too wet!)
3. Shape the dough into a ball or log, wrap, and chill for at least 30 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the onion and bell pepper and cook for 3-4 minutes.
6. Add the jalapeño and garlic and cook for another minute or two.
7. Add corn and peas and cook for ~5 minutes.
8. Add the tomato sauce and cook until mixture thickens slightly (~5 more minutes).
9. Remove from heat and stir in the cilantro.
10. Divide the dough into 16 roughly equal portions and shape each into a ball.
11. Working with one ball at a time, roll out into a circle on a lightly floured surface.
12. Mound 2-3 Tbsp. of filling onto the centre of the circle.
13. Fold the circle over and crimp the edges together. Wet the edges a little if necessary to get it to seal.
14. Repeat with remaining dough balls.
15. Heat some oil in a wok or deep fryer. (Aim for a temperature of ~180°C/350°F.)
16. Fry the empanadas 2-4 at a time (depending on the size of your fryer/wok) until golden-brown on both side, flipping once.
17. Transfer to paper towels to drain.
18. Serve as is or with salsa, sour cream, hot sauce, and/or guacamole.

I've made fry bread before, but I'd never tried using it for tacos. Cook's Country had a recipe for fry bread tacos though, so I figured I'd give it a try. Their fry bread is a bit different than the type I've made before but, as I noted in that write-up, there's a lot of variability in fry bread recipes. The folks at Cook's Country opted for a yeasted dough. This does mean it takes a little longer than the chemically leavened fry breads, but I just made the dough first and then worked on the taco filling and side dish while I was waiting for the breads to be ready to cook. It actually worked out quite well.

The dough seemed really sticky when I was first mixing it. Even after kneading for a while (which I did in the bowl), it still seemed pretty wet. But it tamed down a bit after its first rise and I actually found it surprisingly easy to work with when rolling out my rounds. I figured it'd stick and tear all over the place, but I just slapped it down on the bench and went at it with the rolling pin and it behaved quite well! (My bench top is bamboo and my rolling pin is marble. I have a maple rolling pin as well, but I figured the marble one might stick less.)

I found the taco filling a little underwhelming, but that could be due to the fact that I ran out of chili powder and had to make some substitutions. And it could also be due to the fact that, since I didn't want to have to use one-and-a-half packages of ground beef, I used tofu as a stand-in for the last 225g of beef. Don't get me wrong, it was still tasty, just not as punchy as I'd hoped. I'd be inclined to toss in some chipotles in adobo or pickled jalapeños next time.

Fry Bread Tacos

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2018

Ingredients

Fry Bread

• 280g all-purpose flour
• 20g skim milk powder
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
• 3/4 c. warm water
• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

Filling

• 1 Tbsp. oil or bacon grease
• 1 onoin, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. chili powder
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 680g ground beef
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. salsa
• sour cream, to serve
• grated cheese, to serve
• shredded lettuce, to serve
• extra salsa, to serve

Directions

Fry Bread

1. Combine flour, milk powder, salt, and yeast and mix well.
2. Drizzle in water and butter while mixing until dough forms.
3. Knead in bowl for 5-10 minutes.
4. Cover and let rise for 30-60 minutes. (You can use this time to do a little mise en place for the filling ingredients.)
5. Knock the dough back and knead it a few strokes, then divide into eight equal portions.
6. Round each one and cover. Let rest for a couple minutes.
7. Grease two baking sheets.
8. Working with one ball at a time, roll it out into a thin round 2-3mm thick. Do not use any flour when shaping or rolling out the fry breads.
9. Place the round on one of the greased baking sheets, cover, and repeat with remaining dough balls.
10. Let rest, covered, for 20 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, pour ~3cm of oil into a wok or Dutch oven and heat it to ~190°C (375°F).
12. Once the fry breads are puffy, cut a small slit in the centre of each one.
13. Working with one fry bread at a time (or maybe two if you're frying in a large Dutch oven), carefully add the dough round to the oil and fry for 1-2 minutes per side.
14. Remove from oil and set on wire rack to drain.
15. Do not stack fry breads as you finish cooking them, keep them in a single layer.

Filling

1. Heat fat over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook for 4-5 minutes.
3. Add chili powder, garlic, cumin, and oregano and cook for ~1 minute.
4. Add beef and cook until no longer pink.
5. Add salsa, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2-3 minutes longer.

Assembly

1. Top each fry bread with some filling, cheese, sour cream, extra salsa, and shredded lettuce.

Palak Pakodi Kadhi (Spinach Fritters in Yogurt Sauce)

I decided to flip through the appetizer section of the curry book to look for dinner inspiration this time. We don't tend to make as many of the recipes out of this chapter since a lot of them are fried, fiddly, insubstantial, or some combination of the above. I felt like I could handle a little fiddly frying this week though, so I planned to make one of the beef appetizers and then picked out these spinach fritters to serve with it. (Two fried dishes, I know! But I figured I might as well go for it while I had the hot oil going.)

Palak Pakodi Kadhi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Fritters

• 2 c. chickpea flour, sifted
• 250g fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and chopped
• 2 tsp. bishop's weed/ajwain¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 c. water²

Sauce

• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1 c. water
• 1 Tbsp. chickpea flour
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds

Directions

Fritters

1. Add enough oil to a wok (or other appropriate vessel) for deep frying and heat to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine sifted four with chopped spinach, ajwain, salt, cayenne, and turmeric.
3. Pour in water and quickly mix to combine everything and form a thick batter.
4. Use ~1 tsp. of the batter for each fritter. Drop them into the hot oil and cook, turning occasionally, until golden-brown all over.
5. Remove from oil and place on rack or paper towels to drain.

Sauce

1. Meanwhile, combine the yogurt and water and whisk until smooth and homogeneous.
2. Beat in chickpea flour.
3. Fold in garlic paste, salt, turmeric, cilantro, and cilies.
4. Melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
5. Add the cumin seeds to the hot ghee and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
6. Reduce heat to medium and pour the yogurt mixture into the pot with the cumin and ghee.
7. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened (~15 minutes).

Assembly

1. Place a few fritters on a plate and pour ~1 Tbsp. of sauce over each fritter.
2. If desired, serve with a bit of rice or bread to mop up any extra sauce.
3. Do not pour the sauce over all the fritters at once! (Unless you plan to eat them all very quickly.) The fritters will get soggy if they sit in the sauce for too long, so they should be served immediately.

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¹ Substitute 1 tsp. dried thyme + 1/2 tsp. ground black peppercorns if ajwain is unavailable. ^Back
2 Iyer says to use 1/2 c. water, but I ended up with more of a dough than a batter when I did this. I added an extra 2 Tbsp. or so, but I think a bit more water probably would've been better. Use your judgement. ^Back

Malai Tikka Sarki (Tender Marinated Beef Cubes)

I wanted a beef curry recipe that I hadn't tried yet, so I took a look through the appetizer section of the curry cookbook to see what I could find. I really liked the sound of gosht kebab aur pudhinay ki chutney (beef kebabs and mint chutney), but Iyer describes that dish as "wickedly hot", so I figured it might not fly with the Kidlet. Instead, I went for the recipe on the page before: an interesting combination of hot, crispy fried beef cubes soused with a cold cucumber-pigeon pea sauce. Definitely something a bit different!

Malai Tikka Sarki

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Beef

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g boneless beef sirloin (or similar), cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated¹
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Beef

1. Combine the ginger paste, chilies, and salt.
2. Add the beef and stir to coat.
3. Cover and chill for at least 24-36 hours.
4. At some point while the beef is marinating, prepare the sauce up to the chilling stage.
5. When ready to cook the meat, pour enough oil into a wok (or other appropriate vessel) for deep frying and heat to 180°C (350°F).
6. Put the eggs in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another.
7. Toss about half the beef with the eggs.
8. Roll the egg-coated beef cubes in the breadcrumbs until completely breaded.
9. Carefully add the cubes, a few at a time, to the hot oil.
10. Cook, turning occasionally, until brown and crisp all over.
11. Repeat with remaining beef.

Sauce

1. Thoroughly rinse the pigeon peas.
2. Drain the peas, then add to a small pot with the water.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
4. Transfer peas and cooking water to a blender and purée until smooth.
5. Transfer pigeo pea purée to a bowl.
6. Stir in cucumber, chilies, scallions, and salt.
7. Melt ghee over medium-high heat.
8. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
9. Pour this ghee-cumin seed mixture into the cucumber sauce and stir to combine.
10. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
11. Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

Assembly

1. Place a few hot, crispy beef cubes in a bowl and top with a generous portion of cold cucumber sauce.²

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

Protein

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g paneer, cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Vegan Version

Ingredients

Protein

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. oil (any kind)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened almond or oat milk
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or vegan butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Proceed with recipe as directed for beef version but, when breading the tofu, first toss it with the oil and soy sauce, then dredge it in the flour, then toss it in the milk, and finally roll it in the breadcrumbs before frying as directed above.

Gluten-Free Version

Either the original or vegetarian version can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs.
The vegan version is a little trickier to make celiac-friendly as it contains flour and soy sauce. I believe coconut aminos and some forms of tamari are both gluten-free. And cornstarch, rice flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour should work fine for dredging the tofu.

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¹ Iyer says to peel, halve, and seed the cucumber before grating. I opted to leave the skin on and the seeds in. This made the sauce a little greener and a little wetter, but I was still happy with the results. And skipping the peeling and seeding makes both less work and less waste, so I'd be inclined to stick with this approach in the future. ^Back
2 Since I was having this as part of the main course rather than an appetizer, I served it on a bed of rice. The rice wasn't part of the original serving suggestion however. ^Back

Tari Daar Aloo Kofta (Potato Kofta in Raisin-Tomato Sauce)

Battering and deep frying the koftas makes this recipe a little more labour-intensive than I'd normally want for dinner, but the recipe sounded too good not to try! The chickpea flour batter fries up beautifully and makes for very professional looking dumplings. I feel like the sauce was a little lacking, but a bit on sonth drizzled on top of the dish perked it right up.

Tari Daar Aloo Kofta

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Koftas

• 450g russet (or other floury) potatoes, diced
• 1/2 c. fresh cilantro¹, minced
• 2-5 fresh green Thai chilies, minced
• 6-7 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1/2 tsp. Punjabi garam masala
• 1 c. chickpea flour, sifted
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 c. warm water
• oil for deep frying

Sauce

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 1/4 c. golden raisins
• 400mL tomato sauce²
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Koftas

1. Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the diced potato. Reduce heat to medium and cook, partially covered, for ~8 minutes.
2. Reserve 1 c. of the potato cooking water. Drain the potatoes and mash them.
3. Add the cilantro, chilies, garlic and 1 tsp. of the salt to the mashed potatoes and mix well.
4. Working with about 2 Tbsp. of the potato mixture at a time, form your dumplings. Shape them into eggs or cylinders as desired.
5. Combine the chickpea flour, turmeric, and remaining 1/2 tsp. of salt.
6. Whisk in the warm water to make a batter. (I ended up adding an extra Tbsp. or two of water because the batter seemed too thick to me.)
7. Pour ~5cm (2") of oil into a wok or similar vessel and heat it to ~180°C (350°F).
8. Coat four of the koftas in chickpea batter and carefully drop them into the hot oil. Cook, turning occasionally, until golden-brown all over.
9. Cook remaining koftas in the same manner.

Sauce

1. Melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion, ginger, cashews, and raisins and stir-fry for ~5 minutes.
3. Add the tomato sauce and stir to deglaze the pan.
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for an additional 5 minutes.
5. Transfer sauce to blender jar and puree.
6. Return sauce to pan and pour the reserved potato cooking water into the blender jar. Swish it around and pour this into the pan with the sauce.
7. If using tomatoes rather than tomato sauce, stir in some salt.

Assembly

1. Warm sauce over medium-low heat.
2. Carefully add the koftas to the sauce and spoon the sauce over to completely cover them. DO NOT STIR!
3. Cover the pan and simmer for ~5 minutes.
4. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ I ran out of cilantro, so I ended up using a mix of cilantro and flat-leaf parsley. Parsley makes an okay substitute, but cilantro is better if you have it. ^Back
2 We ended up using diced tomatoes rather than tomato sauce. I suspect that commercial tomato sauce would have plenty of salt in it and thus wouldn't need any more added. If using fresh or canned diced tomatoes though, you may find that some additional salt is necessary. We added 1/4 tsp., but I think a 1/2 tsp. would've been better. ^Back

My understanding is that tang su yuk is normally a sweet-and-sour crispy pork dish. It is popular in Korean and, I believe, arose from a sort of fusion of Chinese and Korean cooking. I've never had tang su yuk before, although I have had American Chinese versions of sweet-and-sour pork. This particular version definitely isn't the most traditional, but it is tasty and easy so it's a winner in my book! I like that it gives you a way to turn a bag of dumplings into a meal. It still may not be the most nutritionally balanced, but it adds a few veggies and rounds it out a little bit.

Dumpling Tang Su Yuk

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 1 (500g) package frozen dumplings^1,2
• 6 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. vinegar³
• 1/2 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 150mL + 15mL (1 Tbsp.) water, divided
• 1 onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 medium or large carrot, coarsely chopped
• 2-3 ribs celery, coarsely chopped/sliced
• 1/2 c. fresh or tinned pineapple, coarsely chopped (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. potato, tapioca, or cornstarch (cornflour)

Directions

1. Deep fry your dumplings. When starting with frozen dumplings, add the dumplings to the oil first and then start heating it. This allows the dumplings to heat and cook all the way through. If starting with fresh dumplings, heat up the oil first and then add the dumplings to the hot oil.
2. Meanwhile, make the sauce by combining sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, ketchup, and 150mL water in the pan and stirring to mix everything together.
3. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and pineapple (if using) and bring to a boil.
4. Mix the starch with the remaining 1 Tbsp. of water to make a slurry and stir the slurry into the sauce.
5. Cook until sauce reaches desired thickness.
6. Once dumplings are cooked, add them to the sauce.
7. Serve as is or over rice.

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¹ I know that "dumplings" can be a very broad term with a lot of variation. You could try this with a few different kinds of dumplings and see what works best. Personally, I recommend gyoza, 饺子 (jiao1zi), or "pot stickers" for this recipe, but I'm sure you could get delicious results with other kinds of dumplings as well. ^Back
2 You can easily keep this dish vegetarian by simply using vegetarian dumplings. ^Back
3 White vinegar is fine here, but I think cane vinegar or cider vinegar would be best if you have it. ^Back

Falafel Wraps

This was a bit of an emergeny last minute meal. I realized at the eleventh hour that I hadn't planned enough food for dinner and frantically flipped through the cookbook to look for something else that we could make to complement the too-sparse meal. This was what we came up with. It was tasty, but I had to make a few changes to the recipe to get it done in time. Technically you're supposed to use soaked but uncooked chickpeas. I didn't have time for that, so I just used cooked ones. This resulted in a much softer, wetter mix than soaked chickpeas would've given. Adding some flour helped hold it together and the wraps were still quite tasty, but I think they would've been even better had I had time to follow the recipe properly.

Falafel Wrap

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

Falafels

• 250g dried chickpeas
• 1.5L hot water
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 Tbsp. dhania-jeera masala
• oil, for frying

Wrap

• flatbreads (such as sourdough pitas)
• chopped tomatoes
• pickled turnips
• pickled cucumbers (or dill pickles)
• tahini sauce
• fresh mint and/or fresh parsley

Directions

Falafels

1. Pour hot water over chickpeas and set aside to soak for 24 hours.
2. Blend onion in food processor. (I used the "food chop" setting on my blender.)
3. Add chickpeas, garlic, parsley, and cilantro and process/blend until very finely chopped.
4. Transfer to a bowl.
5. Add the salt, baking soda, and dhania-jeera masala and mix well.
6. Shape the mixture into small balls. If the mixture is too loose or wet, add a little all-purpose flour to help bring it together.
7. Heat up about 5cm (2") of oil in a pan or wok.
8. Once the oil is very hot, begin cooking the falafels, a few at a time.
9. Cook until very dark and crispy on the outside. The inside should still be soft and green (5-10 minutes).
10. Remove cooked falafels from oil and allow to drain.

Wrap

1. Squash a few falafel balls onto a flatbread.
2. Add chopped tomatoes and pickles.
3. Drizzle with tahini sauce and sprinkle with mint and/or parsley.
4. Roll into a wrap and enjoy!

The path to these sourdough donuts was somewhat circuitious. It started with making an apple upside down cake with the Kidlet a few weeks ago, which resulted in a huge pile of apple peels and cores. I decided to try to use them to make apple jelly. Unfortunately the jelly didn't set. I think my apples were too sweet and low in pectin to set it up properly. The resulting apple syrup was delicious though! We used some of it on waffles but there was still quite a bit left so I figured I'd try out the Cook's Country recipe for apple cider donuts. That recipe calls for apple juice concentrate, but I figured I'd just replace the apple juice concentrate and buttermilk and sugar called for in the recipe with an equivalent mass of apple syrup and give it a try. This worked out just fine, although the apple flavour was extremely subtle. It'd be interesting to try the recipe as written and see if the apple juice concentrate gives a stronger flavour.

Anyway, after all that I had significantly less apple syrup in the fridge, but it did leave me with a Dutch oven full of frying oil. So I figured that while I had the oil out, I might as well do some more donuts. Which is where this recipe comes in.

This is my first attempt at a yeasted donut and I'm pretty happy with how it came out! I think the dough probably needed another 20-30 minutes of proofing and the oil was a bit on the hot side but, overall, I really can't complain. They are light and fluffy and not too sweet. Now that I've done it once, I think I could probably dail in the proofing and oil temperature a bit better next time.

Sourdough Donuts

Slightly adapted from Baking Sense

Ingredients

• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 1 large egg
• 225g (100% hydration) fed/active sourdough starter
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. green cardamom seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 1/2 c. (~500g) all-purpose flour, divided
• cinnamon sugar, for coating

Directions

1. Combine milk and butter and gently warm until butter has melted.
2. Remove from heat and beat in egg.
3. Whisk in starter, sugar, cardamom, cinnamon, salt, and 2 1/2 c. of the flour.
4. Use a spatula or wooden spoon to stir in the remaining cup of flour.
5. Turn the dough out onto your work surface and knead for 10-20 minutes. You may need to add a little more flour as you work the dough, but err on the side of less rather than more. It shouldn't take more than 1/4 c. or so.
6. Shape the dough into a smooth ball and place it in a covered bowl to rise.
7. Allow to rise at room temperature for 3-6 hours, stretching and turning it¹ every hour.
8. Once the dough seems light and airy, it's ready to be transferred to the fridge. Allow dough to rise in fridge for 12-24 hours.
9. The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and, while it's still cold, roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of 1.5-2cm.
10. Use a 10cm (4") round cutter to cut out donuts. Use a 4cm (1.5") round cutter to make the holes in the centre.
11. Place donuts at least 5cm (2") apart on a well-oiled baking sheet.
12. Reroll the scraps and cut out more donuts. You should get 11 or 12 donuts (and donut holes) in all.
13. Brush the tops lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap.
14. Allow to rise at room temperature for 60-90 minutes.
15. Heat oil to 180°C (350°F).
16. Cook donuts a few at a time, ~2 minutes per side.
17. Immediately toss in cinnamon sugar to coat.

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¹ To stretch and turn: Reach down one side of the bowl and grab the dough and stretch it upward folding it over the middle. Turn the bowl 90° and stretch this side up and over the middle as well. Repeat twice more (for four folds total). You may also wish to flip the dough upside down one all four folds have been completed. ^Back

Rasa Vadai (Lentil Fritters in Spicy Tamarind-Lentil Broth)

This curry has a lot of moving parts and definitely isn't something I'd want to attempt on a busy weeknight. It is quite tasty though and it's very satisfying to watch the fritters puff up as they fry. And it was a huge hit with the Kidlet. She wants us to make it all the time now!

Rasa Vadai

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries

Ingredients

Fritters

• 1 c. skinned split black lentils (mapte beans/urad dal)
• 3/4 c. water, divided
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• oil for deep frying

Broth

• 1/4 c. skinned split pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 6 c. water, divided
• 1/2 tsp. + 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 Tbsp. uncooked long-grain white rice
• 2 Tbsp. yellow split peas (chana dal)
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 2-3 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chiles
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste or concentrate
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground asafetida
• 1 medium tomato, cored and chopped
• 15-20 fresh curry leaves
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Fritters

1. Rinse the lentils several times, then cover with warn water and let stand at room temperature for 1-4 hours.
2. Drain.
3. Add to blender jar with 1/2 c. water and purée, scraping down sides of blender as needed.
4. Transfer batter back to empty bowl.
5. Pour 1/4 c. water into now empty blender jar and run blender to rinse out any residual batter. Add this watery mixture to the batter in the bowl.
6. Stir in salt.
7. Using spatula, vigorously beat batter for 2-3 minutes to work in as much air as possible.
8. Pour 2-3" of oil into a wok or Dutch oven and heat to ~180°C (350°F).
9. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over. You can probably cook 8-10 at a time depending on the size and shape of your vessel. Try not to overcrowd the fritters though.
10. Once cooked, remove the fritters to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Broth

1. Rinse the pigeon peas several times.
2. Combine pigeon peas with 2 c. water and bring to a boil, uncovered. Skim off any foam that forms.
3. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add rice, split peas, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, peppercorns, and chiles and cook until browned but not burnt (2-3 minutes). Immediately transfer to plate to cool.
6. Once toasted spice mixture is cool, transfer to spice grinder and finely grind.
7. Combine the tamarind paste with 4 c. water and mix well.
8. Add ground spice mixture, salt, turmeric, asafetida, tomato, and curry leaves.
9. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
10. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, tansfer cooked pigeon peas and any residual cooking liquid to blender and purée.
12. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat.
13. Add mustard seeds and cover. Cook until mustard seeds stop popping (30-60 seconds).
14. Dump mustard seeds and oil into tamarind broth.
15. Stir pur&eacue;ed pigeon peas into broth.
16. Add cilantro.

Assembly

1. Once broth and fritters are all cooked, place a few fritters in a bowl or soup plate and ladle a generous quantity of broth over them.
2. Serve immediately.

For a condiment with almost nothing to it, these are incredibly tasty. I guess that's the power of deep frying? They're tasty to much just on their own and even better mixed into a bowl of steaming congee.

Fried Noodles

From Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Ingredients

• 1 (227g) package wonton wrappers, cut into 1cm (~0.5") wide strips
• peanut or corn oil, for frying

Directions

1. Heat wok or small pot over medium-high heat for 40 seconds or so.
2. Pour in oil to a depth of 2-3cm (~1").
3. When oil is hot, add a handful of noodles and stir them around.
4. Fry, stirring occasionally for 60-90 seconds.
5. Remove from oil with a spider/Chinese strainer and drain on paper towels.
6. Continue frying in batches until all noodles are cooked.

Mung aur Chana Dal ke Pakoday (Legume Fritters in a Tomato-Nigella Sauce)

This one is backlogged from quite some time ago, so I'm afraid I don't remember many of the details of making it.

Mung aur Chana Dal ke Pakoday
Slightly adapted from 660 Curries
For the Fritters:
3/4 c. skinned split mung beans
1/3 c. yellow split peas
6 fresh Thai (bird's eye) chiles
4 large cloves garlic
2 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 2.5" x 1" x 1/4")
1/2 c. chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. chopped cilantro
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
1 tsp. bishop's weed (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme + 1/4 tsp. black pepper
canola oil (for deep frying)

For the Sauce:
1 Tbsp. mustard oil (or canola oil)
1 tsp. nigella seeds
2 dried Thai or cayenne chiles (stemmed and gently pounded)
1 large tomato, chopped
1 Tbsp. chopped jaggery (or firmly packed brown sugar)
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt

To Make the Fritters:
1. Rinse the beans and peas several times. Drain. Then cover with fresh water and allow to soak, covered, at room temperature, for 1-4 hours.
2. Drain the legumes.
3. Combine drained legumes in a blender with chiles, garlic, ginger, and 1/2 c. water. Puree.
4. Transfer the legume paste to a bowl and fold in the onion, cilantro, and bishop's weed.
5. Pour oil to a depth of 2-3" and heat over medium heat to 350F.
6. Line a plate or cookie sheet with several layers of paper towels.
7. Once the oil is hot, gently add teaspoonfuls of the batter to it and fry 3-5 minutes, turning occasionally.
8. Remove fritters with a slotted spoon and repeat the cooking process with the remaining batter.

To Make the Sauce:
1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle in the nigella seeds and chiles and let them sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
3. Add the tomato, jaggery, and salt.
4. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the tomato softens (5-7 minutes).

To Serve:
1. Place 3 fritters on a plate.
2. Spoon ~1/2 tsp. of sauce over each one.

Salt-Fried Potatoes

Stir-frying potatoes is hard mode!

Once again, I forgot to as TF to take a picture before he dished his dinner up.

I thought if I just kept them moving it'd be okay. I thought that being prepared to constantly stir and flip would be enough. I was wrong!

Those potatoes welded themselves to the bottom of that wok! Eventually I gave up and started adding water to try to deglaze it a little. Of course, this means that my potatoes ended up more boiled than fried by the end. But honestly, by that point, I just wanted to get them cooked and it didn't much matter how!

I also added the meat and veg to the wok too soon. I should've tested the potatoes for doneness, but my arm was already pretty tired from stirring them so much and they were sliced so thin... I figured they must be done by now! This means that by the time the veg was done, the potatoes were still a bit underdone. I turned the heat back on and cooked it up a bit more, but then all my stirring (and the addition of more water) caused my lovely thin potato slices to start breaking down. So the final product looks a lot messier than I'd hoped.

I think, for me at least, the answer may be to briefly deep fry the potatoes before adding them to the wok. I am just not good enough to stir-fry a potato. If your wok-fu is greater than mine, by all means, give this a try without the deep fry cheat!

Salt-Fried Potatoes
~700g very thinly sliced meat (I used lamb)
2 tsp. coarse sea salt
generous 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
dash white pepper
generous 2 Tbsp. Laoganma
2 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. minced ginger
4 potatoes, thinly sliced
4 green onions
2 bell peppers, any colour(s)
200g cremini mushrooms, sliced (optional)

1. Slice the meat as thin as possible. (Par-freezing helps here.)
2. Lightly boil the meat. (No more than a minute or so.) Drain; season with 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper, cumin, and anything else you'd like; and set aside.
3. Do all your other chopping, slicing, and mincing and make sure everything's ready to go.
4. Heat up the wok and add a bit of oil. Toss in the meat and stir-fry until it starts to brown.
5. Remove the meat from the wok and give the wok a rinse. Add the soy sauce and half the Laoganma to the meat and set aside.
5 1/2. Optionally, heat the wok back up, add a bit more oil, and stir-fry your mushrooms. Remove from wok and set aside.
6. If you're hardcore, this is the part where the potatoes get stir-fried. Heat up the wok and add a generous quantity of oil. Add the garlic and ginger followed by the potatoes and keep 'em moving!
If your wok-fu is weak like mine, cheat and deep fry your potatoes a little bit before adding them to the wok with the garlic and ginger. You're not looking for potato chip crisp here, but we do want them a bit browned with maybe a hint of crispiness on the outside.
7. Once you've achieved nice golden brown potatoes, add the rest of the Laoganma and the salt. Stir to distrubute.
8. Add the meat (and mushrooms) and stir to combine.
9. Add the green onions and bell peppers. Stir-fry until bell peppers achieve desired done-ness.
10. Serve with additional Laoganma if desired.