Pizza

The Pizza was topped with store-bought sauce & homemade Paneer (Indian cheese). This is the Paneer I referred to, in my last post. I used 3 cups of a p flour, 2 tsp active-dry yeast, 2 tsp salt, 2 Tbsp olive oil, and about a cup of warm water, for the dough, which was enough for 2 small-medium-ish pizzas of the size you see here. I baked the crust, with the sauce, at 475 F, for about 13 minutes; took it from the oven, and topped it with the Paneer; and then returned it to the oven to bake for a few more minutes. Although I really like the smell of pizzas from out of the house -- too rich, with oil and cheese, for me to actually eat them -- I also really enjoy my own homemade pizzas.  I think that when I reheat the leftovers in the toaster oven, I may add some extra pizza sauce. 

Veggie Arayis, or, 

Egg Pita/Baida Roti

This is a half-pita, cut across the diameter, stuffed with leftover Aval/Poha Upma, dipped in beaten egg, and pan-fried. (For more info on the Aval/Poha Upma, or Indian Pounded-rice Pilaf with Veggies, please see my recent post.) This was very quick to make, and very tasty. 

My inspiration was from: 1) Middle Eastern Arayis recipes, of pita bread stuffed with a ground meat mixture, and then grilled; and 2) the Egg Parathas of @theGutlessFoodie on Instagram. Once I realized I had pita bread and a stuffing, I just knew I had to try it!

Here are a couple of examples of Egg Parathas from @theGutlessFoodie Instagram: 20 May 2017 and 25 July 2017.

Chana Dal Kichdi 

(Indian Rice & Legume Porridge), 

mixed with leftover Spring Veggie Sambhar

Here the dishes are pictured with store-bought whole-milk yogurt. The Chana Dal Kichdi recipe is from Archana's Kitchen and made recently, while the Sambhar had been frozen during the summer. I don't know that this is at all any kind of traditional combination, but I wanted to add something with veggies to the Kichdi. (I enjoyed it also with potato chips, not pictured.) The end result was very creamy and nourishing. 

My version looks a bit different from the lovely photos on the Archana's Kitchen website, as I first ground up dry chana dal. I mixed this with some water, covered it, and let it sit in the counter during the afternoon. I've mentioned before, that I've been testing out this method, as otherwise, I have to soak and cook the dal twice as long, and then grind it up, in order to be able to eat it. I thought that for me, this might save some effort. The only thing is, 1 cup of dry dal seems like a lot more, once it's ground up! Also, I didn't half-cook the dal first (as in the recipe) before adding it to the rice, so the rice took a long time to get done. Next time, I think I'll cook the dal separately, before adding to the rice. All of these issues are not the fault of the recipe, but were caused by my experiments veering from the recipe.

Archana's Kitchen Website, Chana Dal Kichdi

Lauki ki Sabzi Sandwich 

(Indian zucchini & tomato)

The Lauki ki Sabzi (Indian zucchini & tomato dish, recipe of @justagirlfrommumbai) featured yesterday, here is part of a sandwich with scrambled egg. It's amazing how just about anything can be turned into a sandwich! 

Just a Girl from Aamchi Mumbai Website, Lauki ki Sabzi

Lauki ki Sabzi 

(Indian zucchini with tomato)

The original recipe of @justagirlfrommumbai on Instagram called for bottle gourd, which I didn't have, so I used the zucchini as a substitute. I like even plain zucchini with tomato, so I really enjoyed this version. There are instructions for cooking it using a pressure cooker, but I found it easy enough to cook in a saucepan. Although I cooked in oil, as I can't have butter/ghee, I added a bit of coconut oil at the end. Outstanding!

Just a Girl from Aamchi Mumbai Website, Lauki ki Sabzi

Kathi Roll

This Kathi Roll (shown before rolling) was made with leftover Roti (referred to in the last 2 posts). A little store-bought Harissa (North African pepper sauce) was spread on the Roti, followed by some chopped up scrambled egg, and sprinkled with some Dal Biji (store-bought, spiced, crispy Indian snack mix of chickpea noodles and lentils). Accompanying these spices, was some whole-milk yogurt, and sorbet (not pictured). It was a quick, spur-of-the-moment meal, and worked out well. 

Roti (Plain Indian Flatbread)

This Roti is based on the recipe of Raghavan Iyer in Indian Cooking Unfolded. He recommends a flour that I believe is semolina flour, to be combined with a. p. flour, in place of ata (roti flour). I can't have certain kinds of grains/flours, which for me includes ata. Therefore, I usually use a. p. flour for all Indian breads. This works okay with Parathas, which are stuffed and/or have more fat (oil, in my case), but not so well with plain Roti/Chapatis. It was nice to be able to make them again, and they went fairly quickly!

Iyengar Bakery Style Khara Biscuits

This Indian recipe is from Easy Bites Online. They're supposed to be spicy, with fresh chili pepper, but as I have to be careful with that for now, I left it out.  I also substituted coconut oil for the butter. The recipe describes these as "savory shortbread cookies." I assumed from that, that these would be "biscuits" in the British sense (= cookies), but the dough also reminds me of U.S. "biscuits." When I make those latter biscuits, I just pat out the dough by hand. That's what I'll do the next time I make these khara biscuits. Anyway, I do like these, although I couldn't make them spicy. They are a nice snack by themselves, or as part of a light meal!

Easy Bites Online Website, Iyengar Bakery Style Khara Biscuits

Spicy & Sour Coriander Potatoes

From recipe by Chetna Makan. I really wanted to make some, but unfortunately had no baby potatoes. I remembered the hash browns in the freezer, so I used those, instead. Though a different format, I really liked it. I think the fennel seeds made it especially memorable & tasty. 

Sabzi Pulao (Vegetable Rice Pilaf) - another view

Another view of the Sabzi Pulao. It contains mustard seeds and sambhar powder normally in South Indian dishes, as well as other spices from traditional North Indian pulaos. It's easy, with a dish like this, to make enough to feed half an army, so I like to freeze the extra for another time when I'm too tired or busy to cook.

Sabzi Pulao (Vegetable Rice Pilaf)

Sabzi Pulao from The Turmeric Trail by Raghavan Iyer, except it contains cauliflower instead of potato. Aside from the addition of a couple of spoonfuls of ground cashews for protein, and using less oil, it otherwise follows the recipe. I used to make this recipe all the time, but it's been a while. I like to eat it with yogurt and potato chips.

Potato & Broccoli Samosas in Egg Roll Wrappers

Samosas, with a filling of seasoned mashed potato and broccoli, in a shell of 1/2 an egg roll wrapper, folded. To help seal the edges, I used a flour & water thin paste. I pan-fried, rather than deep-fried, in oil. If you use a vegan egg roll wrapper, this is vegan.

Potato & Broccoli Samosas in Egg Roll Wrappers

Samosas, with a filling of seasoned mashed potato and broccoli, in a shell of 1/2 an egg roll wrapper, folded. To help seal the edges, I used a flour & water thin paste. I pan-fried, rather than deep-fried, in oil. If you use a vegan egg roll wrapper, this is vegan.

Besan Khaman-Dhokla (Chickpea Flour Microwave Savory Cake)

A close-up view of the dhokla/khaman, cooked in 5 minutes in the microwave. A steamed savory cake made from besan/chickpea flour, lightened with baking powder, baking soda, and lemon juice (not Eno). Tempering mixture included mustard seeds, dried cilantro, sugar, and water. Recipe from 2014 for Dhokla, DHOKLA in MICROWAVE, Dhokla Recipe, Instant Dhokla, Besan Dhokla, Dhokra from Dr. Shalini on YouTube. 

Besan Khaman-Dhokla (Chickpea Flour Microwave Savory Cake)

Dhokla or khaman or khaman dhokla. A steamed savory cake made from besan/chickpea flour, topped with a tempering of mustard seeds, dried cilantro, sugar, and water. Cooked in microwave in 5 minutes. Doesn't contain Eno fruit salts. Uses mixture of baking powder, baking soda, and lemon juice to lighten the savory cake. Recipe from 2014 for Dhokla, DHOKLA in MICROWAVE, Dhokla Recipe, Instant Dhokla, Besan Dhokla, Dhokra from Dr Shalini on YouTube.