Word Around Town

I first wrote about Mark Bittman’s no-knead bread recipe more than two years ago. Here’s the version I’ve been making for the last year or so . . . this version incorporates wheat flour and takes about 8 hours for the first rising (as opposed to 18-24) — so you can put it on in the morning and bake it in the evening when you come home. As I like to say, easier that going out and buying a loaf of bread (and much more delicious).

In a bowl, combine:
3 1/4 c. white all-purpose flour
1 1/4 c. wheat all-purpose flour
1/2 t. active dry yeast
4 t. salt

Mix in:
2 1/2 – 2 3/4 c. water

Mixture should be slightly wetter than regular bread dough (just a bit too wet to knead with your hand, but not shaggy) and thoroughly mixed.

Cover your bowl with a plate and let set in a warm(ish) place for about 8 hours, until the mixture becomes flat on top and has little bubbles.

Turn the mixture onto a floured bread board and knead for about a minute. Add flour if needed so that you can manipulate the dough and so it doesn’t stick to your fingers easily.

Select a pan with rounded edges (to help your dough take shape). Lay a cotton cloth (dish towel, rag, or other tightly woven cloth, not cheesecloth) in the pan and sprinkle with corn flour. Set the kneaded dough smooth-side up in the pan and sprinkle more corn flour on the top of your dough, then cover the top of the bread with the corners of your cloth and let it set for about 2 hours, until springy.

Pre-heat a 4-5 quart cast iron pot with lid in the oven at 450 degrees. When the oven is hot, carefully remove the pot from the oven and turn the bread dough over into it. Bake covered for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes, remove the top and bake for a few more minutes uncovered if you wish. Remove bread from oven and let cool on a rack. Enjoy!

A couple weeks back, I noticed that they were selling Ethiopian bread at the Central Square 7-11. (Yes, at 7-11 — it’s Central Square, after all). I bought a large pack of fermented njira and set out to make some Ethiopian veggies to go with it.

In reading around on the internet, I decided there there were two fundamentals that could form the basis for my meal: Niter Kibbeh — an aromatic clarified butter, and Berbere, a red pepper and spice paste. I figure the Berbere would go well with a lentil, and that I could used the Niter Kibbeh with some steamed veggies — both dishes that I remember from some visits to Addis Red Sea in the South End. Surprisingly, I had all of these spices on hand, as they’re all favorites of the Indian arsenal. In a short time, the kitchen smelled just like an Ethiopian restaurant and the dishes came out great. Beginner’s luck, I guess. Here are the basic, and what I did with them:

Niter Kibbeh (adapted from from whats4eats.com)

1/2 lb (2 sticks) unsalted butter, and 1 c. canola oil (can be made with all butter but I cut it down because my husband’s watching his cholesterol)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 – 3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T fresh ginger root, sliced
3 – 4 cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
3 – 4 whole cloves
1 t. fenugreek seeds
1/2 t. turmeric

Makes about 2 cups, which is enough as fat for quite a lot of food.

Place the butter and oil in a small saucepan and melt over low heat. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer on the lowest possible heat for about 1 hour. Pour off the clear liquid leaving solids at the bottom. (It helps to use a strainer for this). Store in the refrigerator or freezer as needed.

For the Niter Kibbeh dish, I steamed potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, and some fresh green beans. When tender, I tossed them in this oil. Delicious and delicate!

Berbere Paste

This recipe adapted from Recipe Zaar.

1 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground cardamom
1/2 t. ground coriander
1/2 t. fenugreek seeds
1/4 t. ground nutmeg
1/8 t. ground cloves
1/8 t. ground cinnamon
1/8 t. allspice
2 T. finely chopped onions
1 T. finely chopped garlic
2 T. salt
3/4 c. paprika (adjust as desired)
1/2 t. cayenne pepper (adjust as desired)
1/2 t. fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 c. water
1-2 T. vegetable oil

I simplified the original recipe significantly, and simply: 1) combined all dry ingredients (minus paprika and cayenne) in a coffee-grinder type blender, mixed them;
2) then added the wet ingredients; 3) then finally stirred in the paprika, cayenne, and oil. Since I didn’t have ground cloves or cardamom, I simply put whole cloves and shelled cardamom in my grinder (in step 1) and this was no problem. I stored this in a jar in the fridge for about a week (could probably be fine for a longer period) with a 1/4 inch of oil on top.

To cook up this paste, I heated canola oil on medium heat then stirred in a couple tablespoons full of Berbere. I let this “cook” in the oil, stirring constantly, for about 3-4 minutes until I could smell a change in the paste mixture. I then added this to cooked lentils (masoor dal, in one case, and whole moong in another). Both worked well. I made up my Berbere not very spicy and have to say that my son Mohan loves his Berbere moong.

In December ‘07 my sister Natasha and I joined our brother Alex in Paris for a short visit. We stayed in Alex’s friends apartment in Porte de Montreuil and spent three days running around outside. One of our early stops was Le Marais, 4th arrondissement, where we had a falafel snack at the famous “Ace de Falafel” (Falafel Ace). The falafel was freshly fried in small round pieces and nested in a pita filled with shredded cabbage, summer squash, and cucumber and topped with tahini and hot sauce. We ate ours standing up on the street. Delicious. And we weren’t hungry again until dinner. When I got home, I decided to try my hand at this delicious delight. After some experimentation, here’s my pan-fried version. I eat falafel almost every lunch time on salad with baba ganouch that I buy at Massis Bakery in Watertown, raw pumpkin, sunflower, and flax seeds, olive oil, salt and pepper. It make a filling and invigorating lunch.

Rachael’s Falafel:

2 cups dried chicpeas
1 cup white beans (flageolets, fava beans, or even any other kind of non-white beans you have around will do)
1 small onion
2 tablespoons fresh ginger
1 green hot pepper
1 bunch fresh cilantro or fresh parsley, washed and dried
1 cup frozen spinach (optional), strained to remove any excess water
2 t. salt

Combine beans and soak overnight, or for at least four hours or so. Then cook the beans until tender and drain any excess water. Combine all ingredients in a food processor to make a thick paste. Mixture should be just thick enough to handle. Thicken, if necessary, with bread crumbs. At this point, you can put the mixture in the refrigerator to cook later (this also makes the paste easier to handle) or go ahead and pan-fry your falafel. To do this, use an ice-cream scoop, spoon, or just your hands to make a small ball. Roll the ball in fine-ground cornmeal, that pat it down into a patty. Pan-fry the patty in canola oil in a shallow pan at medium heat. I personally prefer a cast-iron season pan for this purpose, but non-stick would also work. Cook until browned and then flip over. Let the falafel cool and eat immediately or store in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy!

Breadcrumbs (addendum): I tend to keep breadcrumbs in my freezer for when I need them. I take what’s left of my old bread when I make a new loaf and drop it in the freezer. Then when I have a whole bunch of bread pieces, I make them into bread crumbs in the food processor, then bag. Bread crumbs are also great for making garlic soup.

This is a basic lentil recipe that I wrote up for my friend Libby. This lentil is like a side dish–it should be soft, but not completely soupy, and can be eaten with rice or Indian bread.

1 cup dal (split mung, urad, muth, etc.)
3 +/- cups water
3 tablespoons canola oil (or other neutral oil)
1 small-medium size yellow onion
3 medium-sized cloves garlic
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 level tablespoon coriander powder
1 1/2 teasponns cumin powder

Take out 1 cup of dal (1/2 cup if smaller portion is desired). Take out any
small stones. Rinse out the dal thoroughly in water so that water comes out
clear. This may take up to eight changes of water, depending. Then soak the
dal overnight or for at least a few hours. This cuts down the cooking time,
especially for toor dal and whole moong dal. After soaking, rinse the dal
once more, and boil it for an hour or so with a good amount of water (2-3
times the amount of dal). How do you know that the dal is done? The
individual pieces are soft, and may start to break apart in the water. The
mixture should have enough water to be somewhat soupy, and you can choose
the thickness you like best. Dal doesn’t need to be stirred much when
cooking, in fact it may be better just to leave it alone, but it needs to
have enough water or will burn. You can always boil off some more water
later.

In the meantime, cut your onion and sautee slowly in oil until it becomes
soft and translucent. You can add salt at this time. Add finely chopped
ginger and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, then add powdered spices. Cool
the spices, stirring frequently, until cooked, for about 3-4 minutes. They
will at first smell “green” and then will acquire a more dense smell as they
cook. When dal if finished cooking, add it to the spiced mixture and stir.
This makes a savory, tasty lentil, about 6-8 servings. (You can’t eat a lot
of this at a sitting).

Korma is a savory vegetable dish served in many Indian restaurants. I offer two versions here, one with heavy cream, and a vegan version using coconut milk.

Korma gets it character and depth from the combination of fried spices and cream/coconut milk. The nice thing is, you can make it with whatever vegetables you might have around, provided you have some variety. I like to include a cruciferous vegetable (broccoli, cauliflower); a root (potato, carrot or both, in limited quantities); greens (green beans are particularly good but spinach or other leafy green can work as well); and orange/yellow vegetables (i.e. summer square, zucchini). I’ve even used radicchio in this recipe and it was delicious. The key is not to overcook anything. Absolutely delicious, and keeps/re-heats well. Just be careful not to mush it up when you store it away.

For spice mixture
1 ½ T. coriander powder
2 t. cumin powder
2 t. salt
½ t. turmeric
¼ t. hot pepper powder
1 – 2 T. water
3 T. canola oil

for sauce
1 medium onion
1 T. fresh ginger, finely grated
¼ c. grated dried coconut (or fresh coconut, if available)
¼ c. raw cashews, whole or in pieces
1 can coconut milk or ½ c. heavy cream
1 c. canned diced tomato, cut into smaller pieces or 3 ripe tomatoes, pureed.
1 c. fresh coriander, chopped

Vegetables (see above for variations), in bit-sized pieces
2 heads of broccoli or cauliflower, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and cut in rounds (cut the rounds into two if carrot is too thick).
2 potatoes, peeled cut into small cubes
24 green beans (or so) cut into ¾ inch pieces (cut off the ends first).
1 yellow squash, cut into thin 1’’ strips

To get started, prep all your vegetables and start steaming them. I sometimes boil my potatoes in the steaming water, but the rest of the vegetables will steam up quite quickly and then can be put in one large pot on the side until they go into the sauce. Steam vegetables until just tender but not soft. That way, they’ll have a little crispness less and will taste very fresh in your korma.

In the meantime, mix all your spices together in a small bowl and add 1-2 T. of water to form a fairly thick paste. Heat your oil in a skillet on medium heat and then add your spice mixture, stirring constantly. In a minute or two, you the smell of the spices will change from “green” (at the start) to deeper or almost toasted smelling. Then your spices are cooked. Add your onions, and sautee (again, stirring almost constantly) until they get soft and start to give off water. At this point, add your cashews, ginger, and shredded coconut (if using) and stir for about a minute. Then add your tomato and coconut milk. Stir, then let simmer about 10 minutes. Add your bowl of steamed vegetables to the sauce along with the fresh cilantro and any other un-steamed items (e.g. fresh spinach), mixing gently so that the sauce covers the veggies. Serve and savor!

The korma pictured above is non-standard and has asparagus and sweet potato (along with other veggies). It’s cooked in a 5-quart Lodge cast iron dutch oven.

Pie Crust (adapted from Fields of Green by Annie Somerville)
(makes two 9-inch crusts)

2 c. unbleached white flour
¼ t. salt
1 t. sugar
½ Lb. (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
¼ c. (4 T.) margarine
¼ cup ice water

Mix the flour, salt, sugar in bowl. Chop the butter and margarine into small cubes and mix them in a food processor until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Or, cut in by hand or with a pastry utensil. Sprinkle with ice water, tossing with a fork to moisten evenly, until the dough holds together.

Divide the dough in half and press into 2 balls. Wrap in plastic wrap or wax paper and lest rest for at least 4 hours, refrigerated.

Apple Pie Filling (adapted from The Dessert Bible, by Christopher Kimball)

Makes one 9-inch pie

8-10 small Macoun or Cortland apples (if available). I pick the smallest ones I can get because they tend to be sweeter.
1 ½ T. lemon juice
1 t. grated lemon zest (if possible, buy organic lemons if you’re going to be using zest)
¼ t. salt
¾ c. granulated sugar (I like to use Florida Crystals)
¼ t. nutmeg (freshly ground, if possible)
¼ t. cinnamon
1/8 t. allspice
2 T. all purpose flour (only use if apples are very juicy).

1 egg white, lightly beaten, or substitute milk
1 T. granulated sugar for topping

Bake at 400 degrees for about a half hour, until juices bubble up and crust is a deep golden brown. Place a baking sheet below each pie to avoid major burning in the oven.

My mother shared this recipe with me a while back. It came from a magazine, but I don’t remember which one. These scones are delicious: not too sweet, light, and moist. Definitely the best scone recipe I’ve seen. Hazelnuts can be substituted by pecans, almond, or other nuts of your choosing. Hazelnuts and other fatty nuts are delicious, though. Avoid peanuts, as these are legumes anyway.

2 c. all purpose flour
1/4 c. plus 1 T. sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
3/4 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
6 T. chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 c. hazelnuts toasted, husked, coarsely chopped (can also use roasted almonds, pecans, etc.)
1/2 c. whole milk
1/4 c. sour cream (yogurt makes a fine substitute)
1 large egg
1/2 t. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter baking sheet. Sift flour, 1/4 c. sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a large bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips (or pastry utensil) until mxiture resembles a coarse meal. Stir in nuts. Whisk milk, sour cream, egg and vanilla in a bowl; set aside 1 1/2 T. for glaze. Make a well in the center of dry ingredients; add remaining milk mixture. Stir just until dough forms. Let stand for 3 minutes. Turn out onto floured surface. Using floured hands, knead gently until dough comes together, about 5 turns. Form into two rounds, about 6 inches thick and about 1 inch high. Cut each round into eight wedges with a sharp knife. (This makes 16 small-size scones; if you’d like more normal size sconed, make one round with eight pieces). Put the wedges on the baking sheet then brush with glaze and sprinkle with sugar. Bake scones until golden and crusty, and 17 minutes (20 minutes if you’re cooking large scones). Transfer to rack and cool slightly. Serve warm.

This August, we had a visit from some cousins from England: Daksha Hathi and her daughters Krishna and Nirali. Jagdish (her husband) couldn’t make it, and these cinnamon buns were for him. This recipe comes from my mother, and is a combination of recipes from a James Beard cookbook and the Silver Palate cookbook.

Cinnamon Rolls
12 – 14 large rolls

DOUGH

1 cup warm milk
1 package active dry yeast
½ cup (packed) light brown sugar or white sugar
5 – 5 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 eggs
1 teaspoon salt

Optional: 1 tablespoon grated orange zest & 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

FILLING

3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon

Optional:
½ – 1 cup golden or dark raisins (You can also soak them in rum, juice, or water.)
½ – 1 cup chopped pecans

ICING
1 cup powdered sugar
A little milk
A little vanilla if you like

1. One day before serving [or the same day], prepare the dough: Pour the warm milk into a large bowl. Stir in the yeast and brown sugar and let stand 5 minutes.

2. Beat in 2 cups of the flour, all the softened butter, the eggs, and the salt until blended. (Orange zest and cinnamon as well, if used.) Gradually stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.
4. Place the dough in a buttered large bowl and turn to coat it with butter. Loosely cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight. [Or: Cover the bowl, put it in a warm place, and let the dough rise until double in bulk.]
5. [The following day,] prepare the filling: Combine the brown sugar, the granulated sugar, the cinnamon. Set the filling aside.
6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and punch it down. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a large rectangle, about 1/3 inch thick. Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the dough. Distribute the pecans and raisins over the dough, if you are using them. Starting at one long edge, roll up the dough as tightly as possible.
7. Lightly butter the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13-inch or 10 x 14-inch baking pan or cookie sheet.
8. Cut the dough into equal slices (12 – 14) and arrange the slices in the pan, leaving room for the rolls to rise. Cover and let rise until doubled, 30 minutes to 1 hour (depending on whether you refrigerated the dough).
9. Preheat the oven to 350º F. Bake the rolls for 25 – 30 minutes, until they are nicely browned. Let cool 10 minutes.
10. Mix the powdered sugar with enough milk [and vanilla] to make a thick paste and spread on top of the warm rolls.
    

This recipe is adapted, very distantly now, from the Ukranian Poppy Seed Cake recipe in Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook. It makes a relatively dense, buttery cake with a subtly Indian bent. The cake is not as dark as pictured.

3/4 cup dried sweetened coconut
1 1/3 c. milk
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) butter
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup rice flour
1/3 c. potato flour
2 T. corn starch
1 T. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cardamom
1/2 t. coconut essence
3 T. fresh-squeezed lime juice

1. Place coconut and milk in a small saucepan and scald (heat to just before boiling and turn off). (I’m not sure if this scalding step is necessary if you are using coconut instead of poppyseeds, but I haven’t tried it yet). Let cool at least 15 minutes.
2. Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
3. Sift together dry ingredients. Add to butter mixture, alternating with the coconut/milk mixture, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Stir as little as possible, and add coconut essence and lime juice at the end.
4. Spread the batter into a greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes, or until done, i.e. top springs back to the touch, and toothpick comes out dry. Cool for 10 minutes and then invert.

I topped this cake with seaons fruits and coated lightly with a syrup made by mixing 1 part jam with one part water and a little sugar, heated until sugar dissolves. If you’d like to use regular white flour, you can substitute 2 cups white flour for the rice, potato, and cornstarch flours.

This recipe is adapted from an old New York Times Magazine recipe for Cabbage-Poblano flatbread and it’s essentially what my (Indian) mother-in-law makes and calls “Thepla”. Thepla (in its various forms) is an excellent savory bread that travels very well. Depending on what you put in it, it can keep for several days unrefrigerated and still be very tasty. Also a good way to get kids to eat vegetables.

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 T. chicpea flour
1 T. coriander powder
1 t. cumin powder
1.5 t. salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 – 1 1/2 cups shredded green cabbage (or grated carrots, or squash, or fresh dill, or other vegetable)
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons minced hot pepper (optional)
2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil (more for pan frying)
2/3 cup water (more or less, as needed)

Mix together the dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in the cabbage (or other vegetable), ginger, pepper (if used) then add oil and water. Knead together until smooth (a few minutes is all that’s necessary) and let sit for about 15 minutes, covered.

Separate the dough into 12 equal balls. Roll each on a lightly floured surface until round and quite thin.

Heat a medium skillet, and pan fry on each side, until just golden.

Note: more oil (in batter and in cooking) makes these breads more pliable, but you can adjust to suit. Thepla can be made without vegetable and will keep longer this way.