How to make a Dutch Baby Pancake

We've been in isolation for more than week and it's getting a little hard to keep our spirits up. Resources in the kitchen are also beginning to get restricted, with fresh veggies nearly over. We like a lot of variety in our meals and the hubby had been asking me to make a Dutch Baby for the last couple of days. I had the ingredients in stock and decided to make one this morning, though it was actually after noon by the time we actually had it - we have been starting our days really late thanks to insomnia and restless sleep patterns and end up sleeping in most mornings. 

Anyway! Here's the recipe adapted slightly from the one on cooking.nytimes.com 

Please note - you will need a cast iron pan (this is a baked pancake that is cooked in the pan in the oven)

Dutch Baby Pancake 

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup milk

3 eggs

a pinch of salt

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 tbsp butter

You can also use nutmeg/cinnamon/cardamom powder - each will give a lovely flavour to the pancake

Make sure your ingredients are all at room temperature. 

Preheat the oven at 200C

In a clean bowl mix all the ingredients except the butter.
Whisk well to make a smooth lump-free batter and incorporate as much air into the batter as you can, but no need to whip up a big froth. 

Put the butter in your cast iron skillet and put it in the oven to melt. Don't let the butter burn or even brown. 

Remove the skillet carefully holding the hot handle with a thick kitchen towel. Pour the batter into the skillet and put it back in the oven. 

Let it bake for around 20 minutes till you see it nicely puffed up. Now reduce the temperature of the oven to around 170C and bake for a few minutes more till the pancake gets a nice golden brown colour with darker edges. 

Serve immediately with honey, maple syrup, berry compote, assorted jams, or just with a dusting of icing sugar. 

Easy Pork Chops

It's no secret that I'm very fond of pork. My first real exposure to pork beyond cold cuts was at a sizzler restaurant in Pune called The Place when I moved to Pune to study archaeology. This is where I discovered pork chops and I was in love! Pune was my first taste of independence where I only had to think of myself as far as meals were concerned and later, my husband who I was dating at that time. This is where I got really interested in cooking and with a willing and really well informed partner to guide me, I cooked a lot.

We would shop at the Khadki market which had an excellent pork and beef shop, and we ate a lot of both. But we mainly made curries and stews, not chops. K would cook chops in the later years in our home in Mumbai. He was 'famous' in the family for pork chops and cooked chops for everyone on occasion. With mounds of creamy mashed potatoes!

I was lucky to get good chops from our local pork shop recently and this time I thought of giving them a go myself. I got the chance when we were at home in isolation thanks to the corona virus pandemic and K was at hand to guide me through the process. The recipe is entirely his.

Easy Pork Chops

To cook the chops

4 pork chops
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
1 tsp pepper corns
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt
water

For searing

Olive oil
Soy Sauce

In a pressure cooker add all the ingredients  to cook the chops with enough water - around a cup of water should be good. Set the chops to cook and once the cooker whistles lower the flame to the minimum possible and cook the chops under pressure for 10 minutes. If the cooker whistles in between that's fine. Switch off after 10 minutes and allow the cooker to cool on its own. The chops should be cooked through and perfect.

In a grill pan or regular frying pan heat a tablespoon or more of olive oil. Carefully lift out a cooked chop draining as much of the stock as possible and sear it in the pan. Pour soy sauce (a couple of teaspoons ) on the chop and then flip to sear the other side. Press down to sear properly.  Sear both sides nicely. The chops are already cooked, you're just adding colour and a nice bit of sear in this finishing step. Remove to a plate.  Do this with each chop individually and you're ready to serve.

To serve the chops you can make mashed potatoes or slow cooked potato wedges, and some boiled and buttered veggies. Make all this while the chops are cooking in the pressure cooker. Arrange nicely on a plate and serve with a flourish!

Banana Buckwheat Cake

We're at home thanks to the corona virus advisory and we're trying to keep ourselves entertained and well fed. Since I really enjoy baking I have cake and bread plans for this period of voluntary social distancing and so does the hubby! He had picked up some bananas a few days ago - some to enjoy as is and some to put in a banana bread/cake :)

Today the bananas looked ready to be used up and so we set out to bake with them. In an effort to experiment and to use up stuff in the pantry we decided to add buckwheat flour instead of using plain maida and so we ended up with a Banana Buckwheat Cake. The cake is dense thanks to the mashed bananas and the buckwheat but taste-wise this was a winner. The hubby plans to go get bananas today so we can make this again in a few days, lol.


Banana Buckwheat Cake  

100 gms buckwheat flour
100 gms maida/all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder

100 gms butter
100 gms dark brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 very ripe medium bananas

1 egg
3-4 tablespoons milk
a pinch of salt

Set your oven to preheat at 170C

Prepare your cake tin - grease and lightly flour the inside or spray with a baking spray.

In a bowl mix the two flours, baking powder and cinnamon powder.

In a saucepan melt the butter with the sugar over a low flame. Do this slowly till the butter and the sugars have melted and blended without the sugar caramelising. Add vanilla and stir well. Set it aside.

Peel and mash the bananas and add to the sugar-butter mix. Add the egg and mix it well.

Pour this mix into a mixing bowl and add the dry ingredients. Add the pinch of salt.

Add as much milk as required and combine - you must have a thick gloopy batter that can be easily poured. Pour the batter into the prepared cake tin and put it in to bake. Bake the cake at 170C for around 35 minutes. Test with a cake tester for doneness - the tester should come out clean.

Cool the cake in the pan for around 10 minutes before you tip it out.

Enjoy your cake with tea or coffee. Once cooled, store the cake in an air-tight tin for three to four days if it doesn't get eaten up first!

Olkopir Dalna - Bengali Style Kolrabi and Peas

Olkopi or Gaanth Gobi is one of Kurush's favourite vegetables. I saw some lovely olkopi at the veggie shop today so I bought some. I've cooked it the Parsi way with coconut milk many times so I went to look at the first volume of Aamish O Niraamish Ahaar (in Bengali) by Pragyasundori Debi - my go to book for Bengali recipes. Volume One has the vegetarian recipes and I was quite sure I'd find something for the olkopi. There were quite a few recipes and I picked the recipe for dalna because I had all the ingredients at hand. 

Dalnas will have a reasonable amount of gravy so they can be paired with rice or rutis. You can serve the dalna as part of a larger multi-course meal or you can have it for dinner paired with rutis. 

Olkopi'r Dalna 

1 olkopi - peeled and cubed

1/2 cup green peas

2-3 green chilies

salt

sugar

turmeric

chili powder

dhania powder

4 cloves

3-4 green cardamom

1 inch cassia bark

2 tbsp curd 

ghee

1/2 tsp whole jeera

1 pinch hing 

Boil the cubed olkopi till cooked through, drain and keep aside. 

In a vessel heat one cup of water and to it add chilli/dhania/turmeric powders. Bring to a boil.

Add the boiled olkopi and a handful or more of fresh green peas to this. Also add 2-3 green chillies, broken into pieces.

Now chuck in 2-3 green cardamom, 4 cloves, and a inch of cassia/dalchini. 

Whisk 2 tbsp dahi and add to the pot. You can add a little more for a slightly thicker gravy.

Add salt and a tsp of sugar. Cook on simmer till the gravy is reduced and the peas are cooked.

In a tadka pan heat desi ghee. Add tadka of hing and whole jeera and once it sizzles add to the veggies. Keep the heat on low as the jeera can burn quickly and that will ruin the entire dish. Mix well, let it sit covered for a couple of minutes.

Serve hot with ruti/chapatis or rice.