Category: Small bites

Buckwheat Cigar Rolls

A minimalist buckwheat crepe-roll. Nothing but buckwheat (just some yogurt). Unexpectedly delicious and can be an interesting alternative to your idli/dosa. Or, simply accompany your favorite soup.

SPECIAL TOOLS:

Nonstick griddle and spatula

INGREDIENTS

(makes 8 rolls)

  • 1 cup cream of buckwheat soaked in 3-4 tbsps yogurt + 1 cup water
  • salt to taste
  • Little oil for the pan

METHOD

Let the buckwheat soak for 20-30 mins. Add salt to taste and mix well. The batter will be of thin pouring consistency.

Heat a nonstick griddle on low-medium heat. Spray some oil to very lightly grease it. Then add a ladle (approx 1/8 cup) of the batter onto the griddle and let it spread to the edges. You may have to tilt the pan a little. This delicate crepe cooks only on one side. When the edges begin to brown slightly; start to roll the crepe using a nonstick -friendly spatula while still on the pan and then remove to a serving plate.

Serve warm with dal/sambhar or any other accompaniment of your choice.

NOTES, HINTS, TIPS:

  1. Cream of buckwheat is ground buckwheat that made into porridge. Ala cream of wheat.
  2. If you cant find cream of buckwheat in your grocery store, you can run buckwheat through a processor to make your own.
  3. The non-stick pan helps in removing the crepe from the pan.
  4. Filling is also a good option. Before rolling you can add South Indian gun powder or finely chopped prepared veggies (onion, tomato, carrots etc.)

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Sweet Potato Mochi

My Okinawa trip taught me to appreciate beni imo mochi (purple sweet potato)– both making and learning the technique of eating it directly from its casing. This new year I followed the Japanese tradition of ringing in the new year with some sweet potato mochi. Easy to pull off. Enjoy!!

Special tools:

Steamer, Saran Plastic wrap.

Ingredients

  • 200 gm short grain rice flour (mochi flour)
  • 20 gm sugar
  • 1 sweet potato peeled, steamed and mashed

Make a soft dough with all the ingredients. Make about 16 small lemon sized balls. Wrap each ball in plastic wrap. Flatten. Arrange in two single layers in a steaming basket. Steam for 30 minutes. Cool. Peel off the wrap to consume.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. You can microwave the sweet potato in its skin till soft. Cool and then peel. Mash.
  2. There is no need to knead for long since this is rice flour (with no gluten!).
  3. You could use banana leaf or corn husk to wrap. But I found the plastic wrap to be very accessible, convenient and easy to handle. Also I did check on the wrap package that it was heat proof.

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Thanksgiving Leftover Pumpkin Arepa

Transform your leftover roasted pumpkin into delectable arepas, with more personality than pancakes. Enjoy with maple syrup!

Special tools:

Stove-top grill; food processor

Ingredients

Makes 8 arepas

  • I cup pumpkin pulp from leftover roasted pumpkin (with skin)
  • 1 cup corn meal (Venezuelan harina PAN)
  • 2 tbsp EVOO
  • salt to taste
  • Maple syrup for accompaniment

Method

In a food processor, process the leftover roasted pumpkin till it turn into a pulp. Then add the rest of the ingredients and continue to process till it gathers into a ball. Make 8 equal sized balls and flatten into patties.

Heat the stove-top grill. Spray lightly with ELOO. Then place the patties on the hot grill. Loosely cover with aluminum foil. Cook for 6 mins on one side; flip and 4 minutes on the other.

Serve hot with maple syrup.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. The roasted pumpkin did not have any additional flavorings that made it simpler to turn into this sweet-leaning arepa.
  2. The Venezuelan arepa cornmeal is pre-cooked. If using other cornmeal, you may have to cook the cornmeal first. This arepa cornmeal is a great pantry ingredient that you can stock up on. I always have some handy in my freezer (if the packet is opened); else in the dry pantry.
  3. To warm the arepa, wrap in kitchen towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds.

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Moi Moi Inspired Bean Dumpling

Whether Native Indian corn tamales or African lentil moi moi, steamed dumplings are especially inviting with their DIm Sum like appeal. I give here a version of moi moi that will give an air consistency without the laborious bean peeling process and also keep La Nutritionista happy (eat your peels! ). Simply delicious. Enjoy!

Special tools:

Steamer.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups of prepared (white) beans of your choice
  • 2-3 tbsp besan
  • Salt + chili pepper to taste.
  • Topping: Steamed Romanesco broccoli bits + Black (aged) garlic + Chili EVOO

Method

Fold in besan into the cooked beans. Season with salt and chili pepper. let rest for 30 mins.

Generously brush chili EVOO to two serving size jars. Pour the batter into each. Add the toppings except the chili oil. (Or, some of the topping can be mixed into the batter). Steam covered for 40 mins.

Drizzle chili EVOO on top. Either unmold or serve directly in the jar.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. When West African Chef of Michelin star Chishuru explained the thinking behind the name of her restaurant as ‘the silence that falls over diners while eating delicious food’, I was intrigued. She also fed the interviewing journalist moi moi. I was delighted to see a rather interesting treatment of beans. Ever since La Nutritionista has been strongly recommending beans, I am constantly on the look-out for different bean versions to fight ennui.
  2. Rancho Gordo yellow eye bean. Soak overnight and cook in slow cooker or pressure cooker. Run blender through coarsely, so that it is still chunky. Or, halve and run only half through the blender. Add some tahini (sesame paste) for flavor (about 2 tbsps/ 1 lb beans) and season with garlic oil.
  3. The black garlic is aged at home. But it can also be purchased online.

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Minimalist Poda Pitha

Rice and lentil Brûlée Pitha. Is even more delicious than it sounds. Inspired by a local food expert in Bhubaneswar who served biri poda pitha. So much was I smitten (and so was my mother) that we quickly cooked up up a version. With great success. Enjoy!

Special tools:

Medium-powered food processor (or grain grinder); Non-stick, thick bottomed kerai/wok (small size)

Ingredients

  • Batter
    • Soak for 6-8 hrs: 1 cup rice + 1 cup white urad dal in plenty of water
    • 1 cup shredded (fresh) coconut
    • Sweetener: 3/4 cup guda/jaggery/brown sugar (or adjusted to taste)
  • Flavorings: 1 inch ginger diced + 1 tsp peppercorn coarsely crushed + 5-6 crushed cardamoms + 2 bay leaves
  • Toppings: raisins and cashews

Method

Drain the rice/lentil mix. Grind with little water to a fine paste. Pour into a large container and whip the batter. Test the doneness of the whipping by dropping a spoonful into water to check if it floats. If it sinks, then some more whipping is required.

Fold in the grated coconut and the sweetener. Mix well and add all the flavorings. Pour onto the well-oiled thick-bottomed non-stick pan.

Place the pan on low heat. Cover and let cook for 25-30 mins.

Cool, unmould, slice and serve.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. See Alka Jena’s recipe: https://culinaryxpress.com/biri-poda-pitha/
  2. Coconut does wonders to otherwise mundane ingredients. See also a Sri Lankan one https://purba.blog/2021/01/03/coconut-berry-rum-cake/
  3. For the bite-test (whether the grains are soaked enough), see https://purba.blog/2019/07/10/make-pitha-mainstream-chunchi-patra/
  4. The shredded coconut can be found in the freezer section of most Indian grocery stores. Alternative is to freshly grate a coconut. I don’t recommend using desiccated coconut found in most supermarkets.
  5. One would think that the rice and lentil combination may not whip easily– but it does. So you need not soak the lentil and rice separately.
  6. Again there is not need to rest the batter before cooking.
  7. The stove-top gives a nice crust. If baking in an oven, I would recommend 300F in a dark baking pan. My hostess had lined the pan with banana leaves– if that is available it is an excellent choice of lining.
  8. I called it minimalist since my Mom was particularly pleased with this one that does not require the pre-cooking of the batter (‘janta’) which usually requires some non-trivial effort. See https://www.instagram.com/p/C78NZ_rPkU-/ for the only-rice version of the poda pitha.
Whipping lentil batter

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Summer Grilled Lamb & Vegetables

Memorial Day marks the unofficial start of summer and outdoor grilling. A nice alternative to skewering, whenever possible, the tumbling rotisserie basket frees you first from tedious impaling and then the constant turning over heat.

Using the recipe from https://purba.blog/2019/10/20/silk-road-open-fire-grilled-lamb-potatoes/ throw the marinaded lamb, prepared potatoes (microwaved to steam and then cut into chunks) and zucchini cut into chunks into the tumbler. Let it tumble for about 45 minutes at your usual grilling heat. Enjoy!

Grilling in tumbler

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