Panfusine

When it comes to new kitchen gadgets, I make no bones of it, I have a weakness. I love them, some fall by the wayside ass I fall out, and with some, its an enduring relationship as I depend upon them for my daily cooking. I's not often that I get to extol about kitchen gadgets used in daily cooking, because this blog is not about what I cook daily for my family (although my Instagram feed does take care of that). Oxo's latest product campaign just upped the ante in the utility category and I ended up using the products on a regular basis before the recipe actually became a reality. The package arrived with a colander bowl, a hand held mandoline and a grape/tomato cutter. Since rice is a daily staple, I put the rice & grain  colander to full use from day one. the perforations on the gadgets are small enough to hold in the tiniest of seeds such as quinoa and the wining feature is the perforations added on the pouring spout that drains of residual water with a...

Its no secret, I'm a confirmed OXO fan and have been ever since I was gifted my first set of peelers & a knife by my dad when I first came to the US of A. A complete newbie, the only store I had heard of in New York city were Bloomingdales & Macy's, and so I marched out there and had my dad buy me most of  whatever I needed to settle in. Sheesh, it was much later that I discovered other comfort outlets like the erstwhile Lecters.  The fact that I still use the OXO peeler from last century is a testament to the product quality and design. What keeps me loyal to to the brand in addition to the superb quality, is the company's dedication to noble and worthy causes. One such endeavor is raising awareness for the 'Cookies for Kids' Cancer' foundation, a recognized 501c(3) public charity in New Jersey, my home state. The company will donate $100 towards the charity because of this particular post and I owe it to you, my readers to make it well...

Seems like like just yesterday, when I was on the phone with my cousin Uma from Ohio and this seemingly scatterbrained idea came to my head of making a 'different' set of Diwali goodies. and just as a semi tipsy individual is bound to let loose a string of nonsensical ideas, there I was, doing something similar, thanks to the giddy euphoria that only a newbie blogger can possess. 'Lavender Badam Halwa, Lehiyam, no wait, Let me make that Lehiyam truffles' shot off my motor mouthed brain,  with little thought given to whether it was even possible.. But then, those very random thoughts are the kernels of what have turned out to be some of my favorite recipes that have become a part of my annual Diwali Tradition. Diwali is the jewel in the crown of all Indian Festivals, literally, the festival of lights, It signifies the return of Ram, the Prince of Ayodhya to claim his rightful place as king after defeating the demon King of Lanka, Ravana, who had abducted Sit...

Sometimes the wackiest ideas flashing through your brain from one ear to the other, at the speed of light can yield the tastiest dishes. I think I shall name this principle the 'Nutrino'  effect ( & yes, there is no 'e' in Nutrino). Sometimes, they leave an exciting chain reaction that spurs culinary creativity, and as a bonus, the creativity includes a nutritious component as well! Remember when I had suggested a couple of posts ago about the possibility of using lentils for a sweet dessert? Well, it worked, and perfectly. Glistening caviar like Beluga lentils, sauteed in ghee & Jaggery and spiced with cardamom. Sweet Beluga Lentil Sundal 1 cup Beluga lentils 1 cup powdered Jaggery / Panela 2 tablespoons ghee ~ 1/2 teaspoon powdered cardamom 1/4 cup cashew pieces 2 tablespoons shredded coconut Rinse the beluga lentil and set to boil with adequate water. In about 15 - 20 minutes they should be cooked but will still maintain their near spheric...

The Summer holidays are here and I've started getting a daily list from my 8 year old on what he wants for Lunch / Dinner. He'd been asking me to make Pizza for the past week and in true Panfusine style, it meant the original, as in make the dough from scratch, proof, make Pizza sauce from first principles.. At least I'm not expected to boil & curdle milk to make the cheese! I struck a compromise and made him a simple focaccia instead, with home canned tomatoes and fresh mozzarella, and used the other half of the dough to make this focaccia with Kalamata olives, Feta, Greek oregano and a sprinkle of Aleppo Pepper for the slight hint of heat. You need: (makes two 9 inch Focaccia pies) 1/2 the quantity of dough from this recipe ( https://food52.com/recipes/28124-homemade-pizza-dough ) 3/4 cup pitted Kalamata olives 1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese 3 tablespoons dried Greek Oregano 1 Tablespoon Aleppo Pepper (or regular Red chili flakes) Extra Virgin Olive Oi...

I love eating salads as much as I try to procrastinate making  them. You spend a good deal of time carefully dicing the produce, whisk together a dressing, chiffonades of herbs yada yada, and POOF, it takes half the time to polish it off! but all said and done, salads ,especially with those that contain fresh summer fruit, are a pleasure to nosh on. I made these with some firm peaches I picked up at Trader Joe's yesterday, you know, the kind that are ripe, and yet not soft enough to give in easily when you press them. I peeled and diced them,  a simple dressing of freshly squeezed clementines and Pistachio oil,  a pinch of citrus salt and finished off with a chiffonade of Thai basil. The end result was simply divine! You need: (Makes 1 serving) 2 ripe yet firm peaches juice of 1 clementine 2 teaspoons Pistachio oil pinches of citrus sea salt 8 - 10 Thai basil leaves Peel the peaches and dice the flesh into small cubes. Whisk together the clementine juice an...

 South Indian cuisine technically does not exist. And I'm NOT being flippant or trying to get a chuckle out of anyone. In terms of cuisines being defined by Conquerers and their influence, It does not stand a chance. We never had martial interactions with other civilizations, like the Greeks and the Persians, or the Catholic influence that spread from Goa to South America via the Phillipines (Ref: Rachel Laudan). That is not to say that Intra nation (if there is ever such a term) influences did not shape the cuisine. The most significant of those influences was through  the Marathas, a valiant , martial clan from Western India, who ruled Tanjore in Southern India.  As a result many of the recipes  that arise from this region of South India have share similar sounding names for dishes from both Western India & Tanjore, the most common examples that come to mind are Usal/Usli and Pitla/Pitlai. Speaking of Pitlai, Its a flavorful savory, nutty thick stew spic...

 Many a time, Simple is best, after last month's exotic Flaounes , it was a pleasant change to  have a quick & easy recipe from Aparna  Balasubramanian . And yet, I managed to put off baking until today. I really need to snap out of my lethargy, & hopefully the laundry list of pointers I've acquired from the BlogHer Food conference  will help me do that. As far as breads go, it does not get much simpler than these elegant Petit Pain au lait ( Milk Bread) The original versions are sweet with a generous sprinkling of pearl sugar, but the majority ruling at home (a.k.a my eight year old miniature 'Anton Ego') shot that idea down, instead preferring a savory version. I had to do some serious improvising with the original recipe that Aparna provided, but the end result was well worth it. Improvisation # 1 was obviously swapping out the sweet version for the savory. The second was that I had only skim milk at home, so I boosted the amount of butter in ...