Japanese Mixed Grain Socarrat

How to kick up grains a notch? Socarrat (Spanish) or tahdig (Persian) is crisping of the bottom layer of usually white rice. Here this technique is adapted to store-bought Asian mixed grains with a Japanese touch (via Zen Kokoro).

Special tools:

Wok (non-stick).

Ingredients

  • 2 cups mixed grains
  • 4 cups cooking liquid: 4 cups dashi + 2 tbsp soy sauce + 2 tbsp mirin (or white Balsamic vinegar)
  • Julienned veggies: 3-4 woodear mushrooms rehydrated + 1/2 large carrot + 1/4 purple cabbage + 2 poblano peppers deseeded
  • 4-5 sendai-fu pieces

Method

Dry cook the veggies in the work till lightly charred (or browned). Mix in the grains. Add the liquid and cook covered on low heat for about 1 hour.

Check that the grains are cooked. Reduce heat and cook undisturbed for 10-15 mins till a crust forms at the bottom. Shape the cooked grains so that it can be inverted into a deep pan. Serve warm.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. The vegan dashi is from Kokoro package.
  2. Any other vegetables of your choice can be added. Even Persian barberries.
  3. The disks in the picture is wheat gluten from the Kokoro package.
  4. I inverted the cooked grains with the browned bottom into a deep springform pan. Keep warm in the oven.

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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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Sea-Beans Cucumber Salad with Bamboo Shoot

The Farmer’s market is a great place to meet old friends and new ingredients (such as sea beans and bamboo shoots –not in a can!). With all the impulsive buying at the market, the challenge is to use up all the ingredients before the workweek begins.

The bamboo shoot is easily cleaned by removing the outer scaly layers and microwaved for a minute or so. The crunchy, briny sea beans are used in two ways: summer salad and a topping for multigrain (scroll to bottom at the multigrain link, for millet-bulgur maitake greens). Both are marvelous. Enjoy!

Special tools:

None

Ingredients

  • Base
    • 1 large cucumber, partially peeled, halved with seeds scooped and sliced into half-moons
    • 1/4 cup sea beans (presoaked in cold water for 2 hrs)
    • 1 bamboo shoot, hard skin removed and cooked (wrap in paper towel and microwave for 1-2 mins) and then sliced
  • Dressing: 1 tbsp each of rice wine vinegar + sesame oil and dash of Japanese yuzu koshu (citrus and chili)
  • Topping: toasted sesame seeds

Method

Prepare the dressing and mix with all the base ingredients. Add the topping and serve chilled.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. You can use any other dressing of your choice.
  2. A great crunchy, summery salad!

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Mother’s Day Bouquet with Multigrains

The bouquet here refers to the chive blossoms and the oyster mushrooms that look gorgeous enough to compete with their floral cousins. Thanks to the Farmer’s market for the fresh bouquet! The grains taste lot better than it looks in the picture. Enjoy!

Special tools:

None

Ingredients

  • 2 cups multi-grains (1/2 cups each of spelt, rye, barley, brown rice) cooked in 3 cups water for about 90 minutes
  • Allium: 1 bunch of chive blossoms, chopped)
  • Umami: 1 large oyster mushroom (torn into smaller pieces by hand)
  • 1 tbsp chili-infused EVOO
  • salt to taste

Method

Dry cook the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes and set aside. Add the oil and chopped chives and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes till bright and fragrant. Mix in the cooked grains and salt to taste. Mix well.

Notes, hints, tips:
  1. The bouquet looked more impressive in real life than in the photo here. In my attempt to avoid the shadow of my cell phone, I missed the best line of view.
  2. Set the cooking time of the grains for 60 minutes; check and add the 30 minutes or less as required.
  3. The brown rice here is actually a mixture of brown and black rice in approx 7:3 ratio.
  4. I have learnt from a Japanese cook that the best way to chop mushrooms is tearing by hand. Indeed.

Millet-Bulgur with Maitake & Greens: For this second combination of grains, I use 1 cup millet and 1 cup bulgur with cooking time of 20-25 mins. The allium is tender green onions and the mushroom is maitake. I also use a bunch of greens (greens of radishes and of kohlrabi). Separate the stems from the leaves; dice the stems and chiffonade the greens. Mix in the stems with the alliums and follow the same method as above. Except, add the chiffonaded greens and let them wilt before adding the mushrooms.

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