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Duffins- Healthy Donuts
I wrote about these healthy donuts on the New York Times, The Local blog. This is the new favorite in our house. I have made many batches of these muffins/donuts.
I first had them at a bakery, Brownie Points at the Mall at Short hills. They were oblong shaped muffins, covered with sugar. When we tasted them, we were hooked immediately. They tasted fresh and light and not too sweet.
After finding out the bakery was not there anymore I got obsessed with making them at home. It was quite difficult to find the recipe on the Internet but I was able to get something and tweaked it to my taste.
The great thing about this treat is that it is healthy. I have used white whole wheat flour, extra light olive oil and turbinado sugar.
My daughter loves it and has one everyday for a snack after school. She washed it down with a glass of milk and then has some fruit. I have already made duffins with apples as well as jelly filled ones. My husband has one in the morning as well.
Try the duffins- you will love them!
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Top Ten Indian Spices In My Pantry
This post is for all of my friends and acquaintances who have taken a cooking class at my house and have been very curious about all the spices in my cabinet, especially when we cook Indian food.
I buy most of my spices in Edison, NJ. I try to buy them whole and grind them myself- a little at a time. I buy in bulk and store them in one of my two freezers in the basement.
The picture you see is of a wooden box my Mom had custom made for me. I love this box- it looks weathered yet it is very practical. It has a top that slides securely to keep the spices covered.
It didn’t take me very long to come up with this list- since I use these spices all the time.
My list is as follows:
- Salt- kind of an obvious choice. You can’t make anything taste good without salt. I once heard someone say, “the difference between a good cook and a great cook is the amount of salt they use”.
- Garam Masala- this spice personalizes a dish. Each household in India has their own recipe or a mixture of spices they use to make garam masala. It is a mixture of whole spices ground up together. Garam masala is used as a spice while cooking a dish or as a garnish on top. I make my own- I find the store versions are not flavorful and full of cumin. I make mine in bulk and store it in the freezer. Next Friday I will post the recipe for those of you interested in making your own. Once you make your own- you will never go back to the store bought one.
- Cumin Seeds- I love cumin seeds- it brings a nice smoky flavor to all the dishes. I keep it whole and grind it as needed. I also roast a bit and keep it in a small bottle. Ground roast cumin is a delicious garnish for raita.
- Coriander Seeds- I buy seeds and grind a small amount for my spice box. I find a huge difference in flavor compared to the store bought ground coriander.
- Cayenne Pepper- Even if you don’t like things too spicy, cayenne pepper brings out the flavor and is definitely a must in a well stocked pantry.
- Turmeric- Besides providing a nice color to Indian dishes, turmeric is an anti-inflammatory. It makes sense why all the Indian dishes have a dash of turmeric.
- Mustard Seeds- I love using mustard seeds- brown to be precise. Regular markets have yellow mustard seeds which have a similar flavor but definitely not as nutty as their brown counterpart.
- Cardamom Seeds- This spice is one of my favorites. It is extremely versatile yet can take over a dish if too much of it is added. It is great in sweet and savory dishes alike. Look for a vibrant green color when shopping for cardamom.
- Cloves- A little goes a long way. I love using cloves in my rice. It has very flowery, earthy flavor. If you ever have a tooth ache- press down on a clove between your teeth and you will feel immediate relief.
- Cinnamon Sticks- I use whole cinnamon sticks for all my Indian cooking. A small stick is enough to flavor a meat or a rice dish. This spice is also great with sweet and savory dishes.
Healthy Indian Style Hamburgers with Caramelized Onions and Zucchini served with Sweet Potato Fries
Once in a while I come up with a fabulous meal- it is tasty, healthy and very good looking. This is one of them. One of my favorite things to eat is a good hamburger- especially at our local pub. Since watching Food Inc, I have been off hamburgers especially at restaurants.
So, I decided to make turkey burgers but with a twist. I love ground turkey for a lot of things but when I have a regular turkey burger I always compare it to a beef burger and it just doesn’t stand up to it’s competitor. To avoid the comparison I decided to use my seekh kebab mix. It is extremely flavorful loaded with aromatics- perfect for a juicy burger. Now, what about the toppings? I didn’t want to use mayo since it is loaded with calories. I had cilantro chutney in the fridge that I normally serve with seekh kebabs- perfect. I also thought of the delicious tomato chutney from Trader Joes- that would pair up really well with the cilantro chutney. I needed to incorporate vegetables in this meal and so I decided to caramelize onions and saute up some zucchini and use them as toppings for the healthy burgers. Of course, I bought the soft whole-wheat hamburger buns from Trader Joes and while I was there, I also picked up sweet potatoes. They are super healthy and I wanted to incorporate them into the meal as well- I cut them up into wedges and made oven fries- they were delicious- especially paired with garlic powder and smoked paprika. The sweetness in this orange vegetable was wonderful with the savory garlic powder and smoky paprika.
Overall it was a fabulous meal- I did an article about this healthy, delicious meal on the New York Times, The Local.
Try the healthy Indian style hamburgers with the veggies and sweet potatoes next time you want to eat a hamburger.
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Roasted Corn and Tomato Salad with Tamarind and Mango Vinaigrette
I love this salad simply because it is so colorful and beautiful to look at. I love how food gets me so excited- I guess that is why I do what I do and love every minute of it.
I made this salad for the book club meeting. Since I was making some chicken tikkas, I wanted to make a salad to balance the dishes out. I also wanted the salad to have Indian flavors. I thought of a corn salad my sister in law makes all the time. She uses regular corn and a tamarind chutney. The tamarind chutney is made out of lots of dried tamarind, sugar, salt, cumin and cayenne pepper. It is a bit laborious to make but I always have it in the fridge. It has so much sugar and salt that it lasts in the fridge for ever. It is great to have it on hand and serve it with tikkas and actually a lot of Indian street food is served with this chutney.
When I thought of posting this recipe- I wasn’t sure how people would make the chutney at home- I guess you can buy it at the Indian stores- but I prefer to make it at home. I thought of tamarind concentrate which is available at Whole Foods and other grocery stores. I made a vinaigrette with the tamarind concentrate, olive oil and this time I used some mango lemonade from Trader Joes. It gave the dressing a sweet, tangy, mango flavor which complemented the sour tamarind really well. It was very delicious.
I paired the vinaigrette with roasted corn (my favorite ingredient from Trader Joes), cherry tomatoes, green onions and lots of cilantro. I topped it with pita chips- they provide a great crunch and some substance to the salad.
It was a big hit- everyone enjoyed it. Next time you are looking for a party appetizer, make the roasted corn and tomato salad.
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Rib Eye Steak with Feta Sauce Served with Roasted Asparagus and Potatoes
This is a delicious steak dinner. We don’t eat out as much as we used to. Partly because of the economy and mostly because of this blog and all the cooking I end up doing at home.
Also after watching movies like ‘Food Inc‘, I am very leery about eating out. I can’t get the chickens and the cows out of my head. I am now very careful about where I buy and eat beef.
Anyway, I found some really nice looking grass fed rib eye steaks. I love eating a good steak but rarely order it at a restaurant- I don’t want to spend a fortune outside when I can make them at home- and they are fabulous.
I usually make oven fries with the steak- I love potatoes and this is my favorite way of making them. I had very nice looking asparagus- I served them simply sauteed with olive oil, salt and pepper.
Now, for the steaks- again, very simple- olive oil, salt and pepper but I wanted to serve them with a sauce. I love the usual gorgonzola sauce which is made with lots of yummy gorgonzola and cream. It is very delicious but loaded with calories. I had feta in my fridge and decided to use that and make a sauce. It is naturally low in fat so I paired it with some roasted garlic and low fat sour cream. The sauce was delicious! We did not miss the gorgonzola sauce at all!
My daughter loved the meal as well minus the potatoes and the sauce. She loves asparagus and steak. We were all happy and it was a great Sunday meal.
Next time you want to impress someone- make the rib eye steaks with the feta sauce.
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Cardamom and Ginger Chicken
I was cooking for a book club meeting. We were discussing ‘The Space Between Us‘ and since it is a book based in Mumbai, India- Indian food was requested.
I thought of making appetizers or finger foods. One of my friends suggested I make chicken tikkas. That was a good idea- but I wanted to change it up a bit.
After giving it a few thoughts I decided to use cardamom as the primary flavor. I love using cardamoms- I have a huge bag my Mom got from India. I store them in one of my two freezers- yes I have two additional freezers in my basement. What do I have in them, you ask? Well, one of them is full of extra spices, flour and rice- mostly all Indian groceries. The other one has spare breads, some meat, frozen vegetables and lots of other things I don’t have room for in my kitchen freezer which by the way is huge as well. As usual, I digress- I love the floral flavor and use it in sweet and savory dishes. Most of all, I use it in masala tea.
I also decided to use ginger in the chicken to simply ground the taste a bit. The rest of the ingredients are pretty much the same as the other chicken tikkas I have made in the past.
It is great to have in the fridge- my daughter loves the chicken and I like to usually make it on the weekends so I can use it through the week especially for her lunch.
Give the cardamom and ginger chicken a try- you won’t regret it…
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Top Ten Oils In My Pantry…
Have the right lipids in your pantry is extremely important. The list below are the ones I have in my kitchen and I use each one for different purposes. I realize not everyone has the space nor the inclination to keep so many different oils but they do all have their own uses.
If you want to have just a few- extra virgin olive oil , extra light olive oil and one really good extra olive oil for drizzling on top.
Have a look at my list and let me know if I am missing anything. One oil I usually have on hand but was out when I was doing this list is walnut oil. I love having it on hand for making salad dressings. Another one I have heard a lot about is avocado oil- it is supposed to be very healthy to cook with. I will definitely buy it and get back to you on it.
Here is my list…
- Extra light olive oil- I do all my cooking with this oil. Most Indians are very surprised since I use this lipid for cooking Indian food as well. It has no flavor and has the goodness of olive oil. It is great for frying as well.
- Extra virgin olive oil- What can I say about this oil. I love having it around all the time. It sits right next to my cook top. I use it for Italian dishes and a quick salad dressing.
- Sesame oil- All my chinese stir fries, etc get a drizzle of this oil while cooking. It provides a great nuttiness to the dish. Store it in the fridge to avoid rancidity.
- Peanut oil- This oil has a very high cooking point. I don’t fry very often, but when I do, I use peanut oil.
- Truffle oil- Great to drizzle on top of pastas and other Italian dishes. It has a delicious, earthy flavor. I love having it on hand.
- Mustard oil- Mustard oil is very popular in Indian cooking. It has a very distinct mustardy flavor.
- Meyer lemon olive oil- It is nice to have some super fancy olive oil on had for salad dressings or for drizzling on top of pasta dishes.
- Grapeseed oil– I use this oil for making homemade granola. It is high in antioxidants and vitamin E.
- Sportoletti extra virgin olive oil- I got this from Spello, Italy this past summer. I have not opened it as yet. I would use it purely for drizzling. It is super fresh and I can’t wait.
- Altomena extra virgin olive oil- Another fancy oil in my pantry. I love having a variety of these lipids to choose from.