Sambhar Sandwich

This was made with the Carrot & Zucchini Sambhar (South Indian soupy dal/legume dish) seen in a recent post (although unfortunately none of the carrots appear here). When I have a lot of leftovers, as well as bread, it becomes . . . Sandwich Time! 😉 This bread is an oval Italian loaf, with slices of different sizes, and so I made an open sandwich. Had it been regular loaf bread, I would've made an enclosed sandwich. I like to accompany sandwiches like this with whole-milk yogurt, and some potato chips and/or crunchy Indian snacks (not seen here). So, it contains all the essential food groups! 😄😎

Pita Chips

I remembered that I had some pita bread bought before the holiday, and I think it was at least 2 weeks old. Normally, I would've used it up by now, but somehow I didn't even open it. Fortunately, it had been in the fridge, and was in very good condition. I decided that pita chips would allow me to finish it up before it would go bad.

I cut each pita into 8 wedges. (I didn't separate the top from the bottom of each pita, but you could, if you wanted to.) I sprayed the pitas with oil, and sprinkled on some salt. I baked them at 400 F for about 7-8 minutes. I tried to watch it at the end, so it wouldn't get too done. That's all! 

Khaman-Dhokla 

(Savory Baked Indian Cake)

This was from the recipe of Vegan Richa. This one is baked, but the recipe also gives instructions for steaming and microwaving. The original recipe calls for chickpea/garbanzo bean flour or besan, but I was almost out. Therefore, I used a dhokla mix from the store (a mix of ground dry rice and different legumes). I used dairy yogurt, as I tend to have it around and I'm not vegan; the original calls for vegan yogurt.

I liked that the recipe uses baking powder and baking soda, as I tend to have both around. I think that with the different base I started with, I might try a little more of either next time, to make it even lighter. However, I really liked this one, and was glad to have such a reliable and versatile recipe for Khaman-Dhokla!

Vegan Richa Website, Chickpea Flour Snack Cakes - Khaman Dhokla Recipe

Deep-Dish Pizza with Sliced Tomatoes

There's also a little store-bought pizza sauce under the tomatoes, but as it was just a little bit (end of the jar!😉), it "melted" into the dough. For the dough (based on that of @markbittman ), I used 3 cups flour, 2 tsp salt, 2-4 tsp olive oil, 2 tsp active-dry yeast, and water. I like to make pizza by hand, as I don't have to knead it very much anyway, and it doesn't need to rise very much. (A loaf of bread is a different story! 😄) I baked it at 425 F for about 25 minutes.

If you don't make homemade pizza because you don't think it'll turn out well, try it some time. Don't worry about if the crust is thin enough (unless that's your preference), or if it's perfectly baked like the pizzeria, or if you don't have a pizza stone ... or about anything else. If you want to try making homemade pizza, then make it as you like and are able. If it tastes okay, even if its not as you'd hoped, you then have more experience in order to make the next one more like your ideal.

Baked Polenta Squares

These were inspired by the Dec. 17 post of @ahava_x . Also, my grandma once or twice spoke with nostalgia of Mamaliga (though she never made it herself) -- which I understand is a Romanian dish, similar to Polenta.

Although twice-inspired to make Polenta, cornmeal isn't good for me. Therefore, I decided to use masa harina (Latin American corn flour, used for tortillas). This substitution had previously worked well for cornbread, so why not polenta?  For the liquid, I used half-water, and half-milk (as I had some older milk to finish up), which made the polenta very creamy.

After letting the polenta cool and then refrigerating it overnight, I cut it into squares, and baked it at 450 F. It doesn't look exactly like @ahava_x 's results, partly because the milk made this creamer, and partly because the squares were too thick (not to mention the masa harina in place of cornmeal). To reheat, I cut each square across the middle, and cooked each half in the toaster oven with the already-browned side, down. I like the way it's so creamy, even though that wasn't what I'd intended. 

@ahava_x Instagram, 17 December 2017

Basbousa Madeleines

Basbousa, or Namoura, is a cake-like sweet, soaked in syrup, from the Middle East. Normally, it's in the form of squares, but here, I've been inspired by @ahava_x 's post of August 15, featuring it in Madeleine form. These were very light and yummy.

I used the Basbousa recipe kindly provided, but used ground almonds instead of coconut, and coconut oil instead of butter or margarine. I added a pinch of salt, and then, just "for insurance," a pinch of baking soda. I had an open bottle of rosewater 🌹, so I used that to flavor the syrup. It took about 20 minutes of baking at 350 F to get them "done." (I kept checking on them, at 8 minutes, then 14 minutes, and then every minute or 2 afterwards.)

I added the "insurance" of baking soda, as until recently, every time I made any form of Basbousa, it basically ended up heavy like a brick! Very disappointing. I eventually realized that the recipes I was using for Basbousa, which called for "semolina," actually were referring to semolina *flour* (and not the semolina/farina/sooji/rava, like Cream of Wheat, used in many Indian recipes). However, I still get just a little nervous whenever I make Basbousa, lest it should be another brick.

@ahava_x Instagram, 15 August 2017

Spaghetti with Carrots & Sauce

The sauce is store-bought pizza sauce = what I had. A few weeks ago, when I made Carrot & Zucchini Kofta with grated veggies, some of the ends of the carrots didn't quite get grated. However, I didn't want to waste them. So, I added them to the water for the spaghetti. When I'm just making a small amount of pasta like this, I like to use a small pan and less water. Once the pasta is cooked, I add some sauce, and cook it a little further, until it looks like this. I might add some dried Italian herb seasoning, as I did this time, for a little extra flavor. And here we are!