Pa-Pa-Pa-Pakoras!

Pakoras! So exotic, so delicious, so easy.

If you haven't had them before, pakoras are crispy little fritters from India filled with joyful, crispy vegetables ranging from onions to green beans to cauliflower to spicy peppers. Normally they arrive on a silver plate at the Indian restaurant and a chorus of "ahhh" rises from the table. In Mumbai, they're street food - hot, tasty, and a wonderful snack along the way.

But at home, I'll let you in on a couple secrets: They are a perfect vehicle to use up extra vegetables, super fast to make ~ and best of all, they're a way to have fun doing something a touch crazy!

Pakoras are made from garbanzo bean flour. It's not hard to find it, and if you're gluten free you probably already have it handy. If not, you can get it at an Asian grocery or your health food store. But make sure the source is allergen free. As I learned when making Socca, not all garbanzo bean flour is safe. Yummy? yes... but not necessarily safe.

A couple things to note about garbanzo flour:

• First - until it's cooked, it tastes a little, well, weird. Tinny or slightly sour perhaps? Completely normal. (When you make cookies, for example, it's not quite as fun eating the dough... but it still doesn't stop me.)
• Second - If you are using it in a batter, let it soak in the liquid for maybe a half hour before you cook it. Otherwise it'll stay lumpy. Time is your friend here. So measure your flour, add the water, stir it up. Then, go chop veggies or play with your kids for a few minutes. Again, time being friendly!

The recipe is easy: mix flour, spices and water, chop veggies, stir in veggies, fry. yup, that's it.

A more accurate recipe, though:

Pakoras

Oversized monster pakora frying.
Hence suggestion for a smaller
2 - 3 " size -- but still yummy!

1 cup Garbanzo Bean flour
(I used Bob's Red Mill gluten free)

1 cup water (or enough to make a batter slightly thinner than pancake batter)

1 tsp (or to taste) curry powder

1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Oil for frying

about 2 cups of diced vegetables (around 1/4 to 1/2" chunks) -- some suggestions:

- onion (really a must) - green or red peppers

- green beans - cauliflower

- peas - corn kernels

Mix the flour with the water, whisk, and set aside for around a half hour. Using a frying pan (or to save oil, a saucepan), heat around 1/2 inch of oil until a drop of batter into the oil starts to bubble right away.

When ready to get frying, stir in the spices and vegetables. Dollop the batter carefully into the hot oil, making fritters 2 or 3 inches in diameter. Once you have a batch in, it helps to carefully tip the pan and allow the oil to roll over the top. Fry for a couple minutes on each side, and let rest on paper towels to drain the excess oil. Sprinkle with a little salt if you like!

While I was making these today, I began to wonder about alternate takes to this simple dish. Since it's apple season, why not try cinnamon in place of curry, and apples instead of veggies? Hmmm... you might see that up here very soon!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

It seemed like such a good idea at the time.  The Holidays were coming, and I was running short on time in finding a present for my sweetheart of a husband.   The Winter blahs were hitting me already, and I began to dream of summer Saturdays, strolling down the block at the Cityseed Farmers' Market.  Aha!  I thought.  We'll get a CSA share for a local organic farm and have a reason to go there and relish the sunshine, people-watch, let Q run around in Wooster Square Park.   Dogs, squirrels, other kids... it was a perfect vision.  Sign us up! 

Then, Spring came and the bounty began.  With lots and lots of greens.  So many we could barely keep up eating them.  Scapes, which we'd never used before like scapes and other, as my husband put it, "tops of things" managed to get into our box each week.  We were a bit befuddled, but kept trying to integrate these farm fresh ingredients into our week's food.  Who knew how truly wonderful really fresh potatoes and onions were?  Us!

But then, toward the end of tomato season came a bag of tomatillos.  We literally had no idea what to do with them.  They're like tomatoes with Japanese Lantern plants around them.  Pretty.  But... do they taste like tomatoes?  We bit into them.  Nooooo, not tomato-ey.  Tart! Lemony! Many tiny little seeds... and there's a wierd waxy texture to the tomatoes once you take the husk off.  Not sure I liked it, to be honest. 

But the tomatillos kept coming each week! 

 

So, I was thrilled when we found a recipe for Tomatillo Salsa on Weelicious.com! 


So easy... it's just 3 ingredients, ok 4 if you add a little olive oil to the pan.  Chop a large onion.  Crush a couple cloves of garlic.  Peel a bunch of tomatillos.  Broil on a foil-covered cookie sheet (one that has a bit of a lip) for 10 minutes.  Once it's cooled off, put in a blender.   And... oh my goodness, dig in!

Let's just say, I no longer fear my CSA box. 

Variations on a Pancake: Banana Edition

If you have lemons, make lemonade. If you have ripe bananas, make banana pancakes! OK you could also make banana bread, but we'll get to that later.

Basically, this is an add-on recipe to illustrate another way to make pancakes.  Pictured on the left are the ingredients.  Note on the left side that a toddler-sized helper is essential to the process. 

Recipe: same as regular pancakes, but add a chopped banana to the batter.  If you want to get fancy here, bananas always go with: a dash or cinnamon or cardamom powder.  The other alternative is adding about 1/2 cup crumbled bacon, but you didn't hear that from me. 

Cinnamon Chicken

What, huh? Have I gone crazy to try cooking chicken with cinnamon? Am I throwing red hots in with the giblets? Cinnabon rolls in the gravy? No, silly!  OK, maybe I have lost it a little, but if so, I'm crazy like a fox.

Cinnamon is an ace-in-the-hole flavor that doesn't have to be sweet. It is warm, surprising, and happy. There is a lot of history of using cinnamon in meat dishes throughout the near east and Asia. (ever have Lebanese kibeh or Thai massuman curry?).   You can add savory flavors that balance out the sweet aspect of cinnamon: garlic, cumin, allspice, onion, celery, chicken bouillon, smoked paprika.  When all is said and done, the cinnamon becomes a rich alto in the chorus, not the soloist.  

Sounds fancy, but it's not.  It's a very approachable flavor, and our little guy loves it!  We use boneless skinless thighs, a rich and flavorful meat that is easy to cut up in finger-food sized cubes that Q gobbles up.  He loves to dip the chicken into the aromatic sauce, too.  (he's a dipper)   This dish can easily be served as an adult meal atop a mound of rice, or with pasta of your choice.  We used rice pasta elbows recently and everyone could enjoy the meal together!   An added bonus:  when you're cooking cinnamon chicken, your house smells amazing. 

Cinnamon Chicken

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
handful of cherry tomatoes or a small tomato, chopped (optional)
2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs (around 10 thighs maybe?)
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon (we use Herb-ox sodium-free which does not have soy or gluten)
1 tsp ground cumin
Dash powdered garlic
1/2 tsp allspice (optional)
1/2 cup pre-cooked sweet potato, cut into bite sized cubes (optional)
1 cup frozen or fresh peas

• In a large saute pan, saute the onions and celery until translucent.  If using, add the tomatoes and saute for a couple minutes until they begin to lose shape.  
• Add chicken to pan, browning one side first for around 3 - 5 minutes, then flipping. 
• While browning, keep yourself busy by stirring the spices (bouillon, cinnamon, cumin, garlic and allspice) to the cup of water. 
• Once the chicken is browned on both sides, add the water to the pan.   Cook over medium heat for around 15 - 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.  
• Stir in the peas a couple minutes before serving.  If using pre-cooked sweet potato, add it now too.*
• Serve with rice or allergen-free pasta like rice elbows or even pad thai noodles. 

* Oh and I hope you do... the sweet potato really compliments the warmth of the cinnamon!  If you didn't pre-cook the sweet potato, you could instead add it during the first step with the onions and celery.

I wish I had pictures of this to share with you, but we gobbled it up too quickly!  When I make it again, I'll take pictures and update this post so you can see it.  

This is an easy saute / brown / simmer recipe that you can make in between running around the kitchen catching your son to give him hugs, retrieve thrown balls from under furniture, and re-filling sippy cups.  Seriously, it's that simple!

Socca! It's so... Nice

I know I just did another post about pancakes. But this, my friends, is a special pancake.  Imagine yourself strolling along the boardwalk in the South of France.  You spy a street cart with what looks like a large pizza pan next to a stove... he's pouring batter into a the pan and an eager line is gathering.

are they crepes?  no!  they're socca!

Socca are garbanzo flour pancakes.  In Nice, France, they're thin and crispy.  Across the border in Italy, a slightly thicker version of the same thing is called Farinata. 

It's one of those simple foods that people revel in, and whose recipes lend themselves to infinite variation:  soak sifted garbanzo bean flour in water with a little oil mixed in, at least an hour but overnight is apparently better.  Heat a huge flat pan with a lot of good quality olive oil in a hot oven for a few minutes.  Pour the batter into the heated pan and return it to the oven for 10-15 minutes.

Traditionally, a large quantity of fresh ground pepper is added to the top of the socca.  Once cooked, either flake off the pan in crispy yummy bits or cut in wedges like pizza.  Simple, n'est pas?

Why socca?  Well, I've been looking for recipes that use new and different flours ... the ones I see in the Asian groceries with inscrutable uses.  Sure, rice flour is pretty obvious, but gram flour? besan?  mung bean?  sorghum?  tapioca? huh?  I have often seen some of these in gluten free flour blends, but they are a bit expensive.  Why not go to a local Asian market and buy them for far less and make my own stuff from scratch?  

So I went to my favorite Indian market and stood in the flour aisle for a while.  There were many flours based on lentils, rice, corn.  Gram flour, also known as Besan, it appears, is really just another name for garbanzo bean flour. 

When I Googled garbanzo bean flour, I found many results for spicy pakoras (i.e. deep-fried veggies, Indian style), which looked enticing.  But a word kept coming up in the results: Socca.  Recently returned tourists from France and Monaco waxed poetic about the flaky, crispy treat covered with black pepper and olive oil.  The New York Times had even blogged about it in their Minimalist food blog... heck, it had to be good!

Back at the store, since none of the gram/besan/garbanzo bean flours claimed to be allergen-free, I looked for one that didn't say it was manufactured on machinery where allergens were processed.  I comprimised on a flour that said it was ground in the same factory but not on the same machinery... and one that was made in Flushing, Queens, NY... not overseas where standards are a bit different in terms of cross-contamination and full disclosure of ingredients: Laxmi brand Gram Flour.  With images of palm trees and the Meditteranean Sea in my head, I drove home intending to make an exotic treat!

I based my recipe on the one at the link to the NYT Minimalist blog, missing that I should include the onions in the batter.  I also made the mistake of not whisking the flour and water together and ended up with clumps that I didn't ever really get incorporated well.  And yes, it does take a little while for the water to soak in.  But these are nuances... generally, this is a pretty failsafe dish! 

Note, the following is clipped from the New York Times (see link above)

"...Sift the chickpea flour into your bowl, so it doesn't lump, and use a whisk to combine it with water. Do not skimp on black pepper or olive oil; the pepper should really hit you when you take a bite. Preheat your skillet or pan in the oven. When the socca is done, put the pan on the table, cut it into random shapes, hand out napkins and have at it. If more than six people are present, get started making another.

Socca (Farinata)
Time: 45 minutes

1 cup chickpea flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon, at least, ground black pepper
4 to 6 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced, optional
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves, optional.

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a well-seasoned or nonstick 12-inch pizza pan or cast-iron skillet in oven. Sift chickpea flour into a bowl; add salt and pepper; then slowly add 1 cup lukewarm water, whisking to eliminate lumps. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover, and let sit while oven heats, or as long as 12 hours. Batter should be about the consistency of heavy cream.
2. If using onion and rosemary, stir them into batter. Pour 2 tablespoons oil into heated pan, and swirl to cover pan evenly. Pour in batter, and bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until pancake is firm and edges set. Heat broiler, and brush top of socca with 1 or 2 tablespoons of oil if it looks dry.
3. Set socca a few inches away from broiler for a few minutes, just long enough to brown it spottily. Cut it into wedges, and serve hot, or at least warm.

Yield: 4 to 6 appetizer servings. "

So the result?   Delicious.  Basic, straightfoward and wonderful.   My son gobbled, grabbed, scarfed it down!  The garbanzo bean flour has a nutty, tangy and rich flavor all at once.  The crispy edges surround a thick, almost baked-egg tortilla consistency inside.  Dense, satisfying and light all at the same time.  

I can imagine a million flavor combinations:  add different spices (rosemary and pepper are traditional ... but what about basil, tarragon, cumin, smoked paprika? or go sweet with cinnamon, cardamom, sugar?)   Add thinly sliced veggies inside (like onion, zucchini, carrots, asparagus).  Another whole dimension would be adding toppings, a la pizza!  Now... if I could just get some soy, nut and dairy free cheese! (anyone?)  Here's an exploration of socca experiments that I have to really delve into...

The downside: 

As much as my son LOVED the socca, he had a reaction.  Nothing horrific or ER-trip inducing, but some facial spots and itching.  My best guess is that buying the flour while crossing my fingers that cross-contamination wouldn't be a problem was a bad idea.  I though I could get away with buying inexpensive flours in exotic stores that make me pine for globe trotting... but you know what?  It's just not worth it.  

I will be adding socca to the regular rotation of yumminess, but I will also be making sure that the flour comes from a confirmed allergy-free source.  Bob's Red Mill, I might as well buy stock in you right now. 

Superfast Chili

Whoa partner -- Chili, fast?  You’re kidding, you say.   Why, no… I’m not!

I work from home, one of those telecommuters.  I don’t have a quick lunch spot a block away that I can just hop over and buy an allergen-free meal for little guy.  Most of my lunch hour is spent just hugging him, rolling around on the living room carpet, and getting an overview of what happened so far that day.  I know I am more than lucky to have all this.  Blessed.

At the same time, all this rolling around during lunchtime means I don’t have a lot of time during lunch to actually cook lunch.  This recipe, though, is superfast.  It also tastes like it took you a whole afternoon.   

Basic Superfast Turkey-Bean Chili

Olive oil for sautéing (~1 tablespoon)
1 cup chopped onions *
1 pound ground turkey  
1 can Red Kidney, Pinto or Black Beans
1 teaspoon smoked Paprika
      (if it’s not smoked, what’s the point?  Smoked paprika makes all the difference ~ rich, delicious)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon dried basil, parsley, and/or cilantro

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil and sautee onions until translucent, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Add ground turkey and brown.  While browning, add the spices.  Once browned, add the can of beans with the juices.  (If worried about salt here, rinse the beans and add about 1/3 cup water – but I find the can’s juices add to the overall flavor)

That’s it!  Put in bowls and eat.  

In the pictures here, I’ve also added a couple cups of rice pasta elbows to fill out the meal.  Stir in and you’ve got a great lunch or dinner!

* I love love love frozen chopped onions that I buy for $1 a bag at the supermarket.  A great timesaver.  The onions don’t brown as nicely as they release a lot of water, but if that’s not a concern in a recipe, it’s a great deal.  On the other hand, we joined a CSA share this year and the onions from the farm are worth their weight in gold: crisp, rich, caramelized flavor.   Each has their place ~ it’s up to you!

Transformer Food

This is just a starting point, though.  You can adjust spices, add stuff, and make it change identities constantly.  It’s like the James Bond of chili. 

For example:

-          If you use garbanzo beans, add a little cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and some raisins … you’ve got Moroccan!

-          Add a little cardamom and curry powder, and you’ve got an Indian dish.  

-          Take out the beans, amp up the basil, add gluten / allergy free pasta sauce and you’ve got a lazy lasagna!

-          Sautee cubes of eggplant with the onions, add the Moroccan spices above plus a little oregano, keep the beans and serve with warmed flatbread (like corn tortillas), you’ve got a middle eastern dish!  (I’ll soon post my hummus recipe to add as a condiment)

Pancakes!

Here we have a full contact, participation sport for your enjoyment: making pancakes!



Sweet Pea helping.  He loves to stir!

Delicious, fun, bite-sized if you want it, and super easy. Q loves these things. Absolutely adores them.

And there are so many ways to make them!

Many times I've just straight-up translated my mom's pancake recipe, which of course came from the 1953 Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook - a time capsule of mid-century food I enjoy as much as watching an episode of Mad Men! That's easy: just use GF flour, Rice Milk, and everything else is pretty much the same:

 

BH & G 1950's "Griddle Cakes" - adapted version... this is how I remember it, at least!

1 cup of flour*

1 tablespoon of sugar - I like brown here, but have used splenda or white sugar in a pinch

1 teaspoon of baking powder

1 cup of milk**

1 egg

1 tablespoon of oil***

1 teaspoon of vanilla if you like

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together, whisk them so the eggs are scrambled. Mix wet and dry together in the same bowl. Use a hot oiled skillet to make silver dollars for the kids and large ones for the adults. Flip when you see a bubble toward the center pop and leave a slightly open hole without coming back together. That's when you know it's golden brown on the bottom! My grandmother taught my mom to never flip pancakes more than once, since it makes them sad. I flip them several times, G*d rest my Grandmother's sweet heart.


Have a plate ready with a paper towel on it to keep stacking them, and assume you will have trolling family members eating the pancakes before they hit the table. Serve with maple syrup.

* assume it's Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free all-purpose flour unless I mention something else
** do your thing here. I use Rice Dream ricemilk because, (can you believe it?) many other rice milks have soy in them? sheesh!
*** I use olive oil but canola works too

Those are delicious. But... since my gluten free mama days, I fell in love with Corn Masa Flour. And one day, when I went to make pancakes and found myself down to 1/2 cup of GF Bob's Red Mill all-purpose, I had to punt. It's the same basic recipe with a few twists, but... the results were amazing!

Another option is to add Enjoy Life chocolate chips (these are dairy, nut and soy free! or... wait until Passover comes along as most kosher for Passover chocolate has removed soy too... a reason to stock up, that's for sure!)

Horchata Pancakes
note: Horchata is a hot, delicious drink made of milk, cinnamon and vanilla that comes in various forms from all over Spain and Latin America. I love the flavor of vanilla and cinnamon together... hence:



1/2 cup of regular gluten free flour

1/2 cup of corn masa flour

1 tablespoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of baking powder -- plus a smidge more since the masa flour is a little dense
1 cup of milk (I like to use the vanilla flavored rice milk in this recipe)
1 egg
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Mix dry ingredients together. Mix wet ingredients together, whisk them so the eggs are scrambled. Mix wet and dry together in the same bowl. Use a hot oiled skillet to make silver dollars for the kids and large ones for the adults. Flip when you see a bubble toward the center pop and leave a slightly open hole without coming back together. That's when you know it's golden brown on the bottom!

These have a sweet, nutty flavor from the corn and crispier edges in general. The cinnamon and vanilla will make your house smell like heaven. You barely need maple syrup, but if you're like my son you will need some for dipping.

More Please!