Prashad Vegetable biryani

The fried vegetables, rice and dhal for this dish are cooked separately then layered together to form a dish of contrasting flavours and textures. Whole masoor dhal, used in this dish, has a speckled greenish-brown skin and a reddish-orange centre. The whole lentils have a chewier texture and a stronger flavour than when in red split lentil form, and also take longer to cook, so I precook them separately from the rice.

Serves 6–8

½ teaspoon garam masala
¾ teaspoon salt
10 dried Indian bay leaves
70g unsalted butter

For the dhal:
 
200g whole masoor dhal (whole red lentils)
1 teaspoon sunflower oil
For the fried vegetables:
sunflower oil, for frying
2 medium red-skinned (or other waxy) potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes
2 medium carrots, cut into 2cm cubes
1 small red pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm cubes
1 small green pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm cubes
1 small yellow pepper, deseeded and cut into 3cm cubes
2 medium onions, cut into 1cm strips

For the masala:
 
4–6 fresh green chillies, seeds left in
2–4 cloves of garlic
5cm root ginger, peeled and roughly
chopped
pinch of salt

For the rice:
 
200g basmati rice
100ml sunflower oil
¾ teaspoon salt

Rinse the masoor dhal at least 3 times in warm water, then drain and place in a large pan with 650ml of boiling water. Bring to the boil, then simmer over a medium heat for a couple of minutes until it starts to foam. Skim the froth from the surface, add the teaspoon of oil and simmer three-quarters covered for 18–20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the dhal is soft and cooked through. Remove from the heat, drain and set aside.
Heat the frying oil – about 20cm deep – in a large pan. Test the temperature by dropping a potato cube into the oil – when it is hot enough, the potato will immediately start to sizzle and bubble. Reduce to the heat to medium.
Carefully lower the potatoes into the oil and use a wooden spoon to move them around so that they cook evenly all over. Fry for 4–5 minutes, or until golden brown and just becoming crisp. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and leave to rest on kitchen paper while you fry the other vegetables.
Fry the carrots for 2 minutes, moving them around so that they cook evenly, then remove and leave to rest on kitchen paper. Next fry the pepper pieces for 2–3 minutes, then remove and leave to rest with the potatoes and carrots. Finally, fry the onions for 7–8 minutes and add to the other fried vegetables.
Crush the chillies, garlic and ginger together with a pinch of salt using a pestle and mortar (or a blender), to make a fine masala paste.
Rinse the rice twice in warm water, then drain. Heat the 100ml of oil for the rice in a large pan over a high heat for 30 seconds. Add the rice, salt and masala paste and stir gently. Fry together for a minute, then pour in 650ml of boiling water.
Boil the rice uncovered over a high heat for 10–11 minutes, until almost all the water has evaporated and it starts to look dry. Put a large square of foil on top,
tucking it round the sides, then put a lid on the pan, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and leave to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Tip the dhal into a large bowl. Add the garam masala, salt and bay leaves and mix gently. Add the rice and butter and gently mix again to combine.
Spoon about a third of the rice / dhal mixture back into the rice cooking pan to form a layer roughly 2cm thick, followed by half the fried vegetables. Add another layer of rice / dhal mixture (about half of what's left), followed by the rest of the fried vegetables. Use the remaining rice / dhal to create a final layer.
Put a large square of foil on top, tucking it round the sides, then put a lid on the pan and place it over a high heat for 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and leave to cook for 18–20 minutes or so, then remove from the heat and set aside to rest, covered, for at least 10 minutes.
Serve piping hot, spooning up from the bottom of the pan to make sure each serving contains all the different layers (removing the bay leaves as you come across them).

Paneer Butter Masala

Paneer or tofu - 1 block (230grams)

Onion - 1 medium-sized one, chopped fine

Ginger-garlic paste - 1 tbsp

Coriander powder - 1 tbsp

Garam masala - 1 tsp

Red chilli powder - 1 tsp

Tomato paste- 1 tbsp (or 1 tomato, pureed)

Tomato sauce/ketchup - almost 1 tbsp

Kasuri methi/dried fenugreek leaves - 1 generous pinch

Milk - 1/2 cup

Cream - 1 cup

Oil - 3 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Add 2 tbsp oil to a hot pan
Add in cubed paneer pieces and lightly fry it until golden brown on all sides.Drain and set aside on a plate lined with a paper napkin.
Add 1tbsp oil to the same pan and thrown 1 medium-sized chopped onion and fry until golden brown.
To this, add 1 tbsp freshly minced ginger-garlic paste and fry for a minute.
To this, add 1 tbsp corriander powder, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp garam masala and 1/2 tsp salt. Fry for 30 seconds until the masalas are well combined. 
Add 1 tbsp tomato paste and  1 tbsp ketchup (not heaped)
 (if you don't have tomato paste handy, just puree 1 medium-sized tomato and add it at this stage)
Add generous pinch of kasuri methi (dried fenugreek)
To this mixture, add 1/2 cup milk. Mix well and cook covered for about 5 minutes on low fire.
Once the tomato sauce mixture has cooked covered for 5 mins, add the fried paneer.
Top this off with 1 cup cream. Mix well and simmer on low fire for 3-4 mins. Adjust salt.
Done!


Copied from EDIBLE GARDEN for personal use only!!!

Homemade Kimchi

Ingredients

 

2 small/medium (about 2kg) napa cabbage i.e. chinese leaf lettuce

1/2 cup unrefined sea salt

1/4 cup sweet rice flour i.e. glutinous rice flour

1 cup water

1/2 cup fish sauce

1 cup of Korean hot chilli pepper flakes

4 cloves garlic, minced

1" piece ginger, minced

1 large onion, minced

1 pear, peeled and grated

Add-ons

1 carrot, shredded

1 bunch spring onions, shredded

(Whatever you like that's in season. I've added shredded beetroot before too. You can even add raw oysters/ squid etc. for a deluxe version.)

 

Method

1. Chop cabbage up into bite-sized pieces.

 

2. Soak in cold water for about 5-10 min. Drain, sprinkle the salt over evenly. Leave it for 1 1/2 hours, but turn about 2-3 times through to salt evenly. By then, the cabbage would have sweat and reduced in volume by quite a lot. Rinse 3 times.

3. Meanwhile, make your spice porridge. Add rice flour to water and bring to a simmer, keep stirring. Remove from heat, and when cool, add the rest of the ingredients to the rice paste.

4. Combine the cabbage, add-ons, and spice porridge. Get your largest mixing bowl and mix well.

5. Press into an airtight, sealable container, and wait.

6. About 2 days later, you'll see bubbles and it will smell slightly sour (in a nice way), that's when you can transfer it to the fridge, where you can try some 2 days later, or let it stay for a months even, depending on how mature you like it. (Note: Every time you take a bit out, be sure to press the kimchi below the kimchi juices.)

See bubbles? There will also be significantly more "juice".

I love kimchi, it's spicy sour tang instantly whets your appetite, and it makes an easy side to grilled meat/fish or even plain rice, or for the older ones, I add it to stews, or even just batter it to make kimchi fritters, yum. Because I like my kimchi really mature, I can only say for sure if it's better than version one a month or so later, but I've sneaked bites (it's been a couple of weeks) and already I like it.

 

 Copied from MUMMYICANCOOK for personal use only!!!

Green Onion Oil Devilled Egg

*this recipe will make much more green onion oil than you’ll need for the eggs, but I’m sure you won’t find it hard to come up with ways to eat it.

4 hard boiled eggs, peeled, chilled and cut in half
1/2 bunch of green onions, thinly sliced (about 3/4 to 1 cup)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 small shallot, minced
1 small knob of ginger, minced
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
sriracha (optional)

Make the green onion oil by heating up the canola oil in a small pot over high heat. When the oil is shimmery and hot, add the green onions, garlic, shallot, and ginger. Be careful, the water content will cause the oil to bubble. Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Salt to taste.
Remove the yolks from the eggs and place in a bowl. Mash with a fork until the yolks are crumbly. Add 1-2 tablespoons of the green onion oil. Stir and taste. If you need more green onion oil in there, by all means, add it! Fill your egg halves and top with freshly ground pepper and a squirt of sriracha, if using. Enjoy!

http://momofukufor2.com/2010/09/green-onion-oil-devilled-egg-recipe/