Spinach and Panir

Our Christmas Day menu was Spinach and Panir; Savory Rice and Green Pea Pilaf; Double-Dal Soup; Green Apple Chutney, Naan Bread, Sweet Lassi, and Burfi for dessert. It was a true feast. I used Heaven's Banquet for the Spinach and Panir recipe (page 126). Tien and Jim made this dish back in October (see archives) but made it with tofu. The Spinach and Panir recipe is easy (especially if the panir is made the previous day) and it tastes fabulous. I decided that in the future, I'll try this recipe with other greens such as bok choy and swiss chard.

Asparagus Torte

The 3 recipes I used from Heaven's Banquet today were: Asparagus Torte, Prebaked Single Pastry Crust & Partially Baked Crust. This was a bit like a science experiment because you refer to 3 recipes for one crust. The good thing is it's crystal clear for anyone who has never tried it before. Ruth has already made these recipes (November archive) but I'll say a few words too.

The Asparagus Torte (page 68) has lots of cheesy ingredients in the filling... like a quiche does, so I managed to use some substitutions to make this a little less fattening. First I substituted homemade yogurt for the sour cream. Next I substituted tofu for the ricotta cheese. I used the recipe in Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moskowitz for the ricotta. And lastly, I used panir instead of Monterey Jack.

The Prebaked Single Crust (page 408) says 1/2 recipe Pastry Crust, then when you go to bake you cover it with parchment and fill the pan with rice or beans to weigh down the crust, then bake. See the science experiment yet?

The Partially Baked Crust (page 409) says prepare a single crust as for Prebaked Single Crust steps 1-3. Next you bake it until it becomes crisp but not brown and then take out the rice or beans and continue to bake the bottom a bit more. So in the end you have a beautiful crust that is ready to receive the filling.

The end result is a lovely vegetable pie that is very festive looking and good to eat. Merry Christmas.

Pastry Crust & Cornish Pasties

The Pastry Crust (page 406) & Cornish Pasties (page 62) are the two recipes I made from Heaven's Banquet today. I stuffed the pasties with fresh corn, green beans, celery, and summer squash. I replaced the ricotta cheese with tofu to make it a bit lighter. The pastry recipe came out very flaky. I was very pleased with how they looked and tasted. Of course we ate them while they were still warm.

Halusky Kapusta

This Slovakian dish, Halusky Kapusta (page 261) is the recipe I made today from Heaven's Banquet. It is another easy, fast and tasty main course. Basically is consists of cooking cabbage in ghee (I used olive oil) until the edges turn brown. Then you add the cabbage to some flat noodles you have already cooked and toss them together. This dish was a little more substantial than I thought it would be from reading the recipe. Definitely good for a cold day when there's not much time to cook. It took me less than 20 minutes to make it.

Scones

The forecast is rain all weekend, so it seemed like a good morning to bake some Scones (page 366).
A cup of hot tea and a warm scone... mmm. The entire house smelled like Christmas while the scones were baking. I substituted dried cranberries for the raisins and added 1 teaspoon of nutmeg instead of orange zest. They tasted terrific and were pure comfort food.

Fennel Baked With Fennel

Fennel Baked With Fennel (page 99) is a simple dish that cooks itself. Just quarter a fresh fennel bulb and add olive oil and lemon juice. Sprinkle it with a little fennel seeds, fennel tops and put them in the oven to bake. Easy, delicious and it went well will our simple mung dal and lemon rice.

Dosa (Dal and Rice Pancakes)

Dosa, (page 202) a dal and rice pancake, was a challenge for me to make. The whole process of making a Dosa is a very interesting one. You start at least two days prior to the day you want to eat them by soaking the dal and rice. Next day you grind it up and let it ferment which takes 24 to 36 hours. By the third day, you are ready to cook them. This is harder than it sounds... out of the eight dosas I made only four were edible. I was just getting the hang of it when I ran out of batter. I never made a really thin one. I decided to make ours the Masala Dosas by adding the curried potatoes with peas in the center of it. They were very good and we ate them all.

Beets with Orange, Ginger, and Mint

The recipe Beets with Orange, Ginger, and Mint (page 69) sounds terrific and it was. The combination of orange juice, ginger and mint with the sweet beets was delicious. This is a recipe that is very good for vata.

Mixed Fruit Chutney

The Mixed Fruit Chutney (page 520) is cooked for an hour or more, so a little planning is necessary for this recipe. Heaven's Banquet says you can use any fruit. I made it with pears, apples, and raisins. I like making my own chutneys better than buying them because the jarred chutneys have to much sugar in them for my taste. This recipe has a little sugar but it relies on the sweetness of the fruit and the cooking process for the sweet taste.

Pumpkin Bread

I've eaten more sweets since cooking from Heaven's Banquet than I'd ever eaten before, but it's a different type of sweet. Pumpkin Bread (page 362) is an example of what I mean. Before if I wanted a sweet, I'd go to the store and buy some M&M's but now I have a slice of my homemade bread and usually I have plenty left to share. Most importantly, I know what's in it... 1/4 cup of butter and 1 1/2 cups of sugar for the whole loaf. So how much butter and sugar am I getting is one slice? Not as many calories as I get in a bag of M&M's and no chocolate cravings either. Also, it contains 2 cups of fresh pureed pumpkin so it has some nutritional value too.

Upma & Vegetable Pie with a Double Crust

Miriam says that Upma (page 181) is a breakfast or a snack. I made it for our Sunday breakfast. I was not keen on the idea of green beans and peas for breakfast so I substituted dried fruits and followed the recipe from there. The Vegetable Pie with a Double Crust (page 61) we had for lunch. This recipe I also adjusted a bit. Miriam states that, "besides encasing vegetables in pastry, you can sandwich them between layers of grains... to serve as bottom and top crusts". I decided to use polenta as the bottom crust and quinoa polenta as the top crust. My friend gave us fresh green beans from her garden so I filled the pie with green beans, fresh corn, parsnips and panir. I loved the recipes flexibility.

Broccoli-Potato Soup

Broccoli-Potato Soup (page 222) is a wonderful version on the classic potato soup. I made it more pitta-balancing by adding light coconut milk and cilantro. This is definitely my new potato soup recipe.

Polenta & Pan-Fried Cornmeal Squares

Polenta (page 164) and Pan-Fried Cornmeal Squares (page 166) are some of the many ways to use cornmeal as an alternative to rice. I used homemade soup stock in the polenta and fried the cornmeal squares in olive oil without bread crumbs.
Very good.

Date-Pistachio Bread

Date-Pistachio Bread (page 362) tastes like a dessert. I used almonds instead of pistachios but it was still fabulous. It is so sweet that if you put a bit of icing or whipped cream on a slice then you would think you are eating a cake rather than
bread. Yummy for those of us who like sweets things.

Tender Loving Cauliflower

Tender Loving Cauliflower (page 83) has a very delicate texture almost crumbly after it has been steamed then fried in a little ghee to form a golden crust. I added toasted almonds for a little textural variety and some protein. Be careful not to steam the cauliflower too long because it can easily fall apart in the skillet. Heaven's Banquet also says you can cook Brussels sprouts and broccoli the same way. I'll try Brussels next time.