Homemade Vegetable Broth ( Stock )

          Couple of days back, I had made some soup, and I had to use vegetable broth/stock in it. Initially, I was thinking of buying the canned one, but as we know, in India, not all shops carry canned stock/broth, so then I decided to make my own. I had all the veggies in hand, making broth is actually very easy, it takes some time though, like about an hour or so, at the end of which you'll have this clear and healthy vegetable broth..

Need To Have

• Onion - 1 medium
• Carrots - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Green Beans - 1/2 cup, chopped
• Broccoli stems - 1/2 cup
• Mushroom Stems - 1/2 cup
• Tomato - 1 medium
• Salt and Pepper to taste

Method

           Heat some oil, add the onion pieces and saute till it turns pink, then add the all the vegetables and mix.

          Add about 6 cups water, bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour. Switch off and strain, as shown, extract as much as possible from the vegetables.
The broth is ready, if you want to have it as such, add some salt and pepper and serve.

Note
Can use spring onions and cabbage pieces also.
Broth is not only used in soups, it can be used for cooking couscous, quinoa and even rice too.
I got about 5 cups of broth.

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Soft And Fluffy Idlis ( Steamed Rice Cakes )

          Soft and fluffy idlis, I wanted to have a post on it, in my Basic Recipes section, for a long time now. Though I make it so often, I keep forgetting to take pictures or I put it off, thinking that I'll make a post the next time, when I make them. Finally, today I made it..

Need To Have

• Idli Rice - 4 cups
• Husked Whole Urad Dal - 1 cup
• Salt - 4 teaspoons

Method

          Wash and soak the rice and dal separtely overnight or for a minimum of 4 to 5 hours. Grind the rice into a slightly coarse batter ( should be like fine semolina/ rava soaked in water ). Grind the urad dal into a smooth batter, I use the wet grinder for grinding both the rice and the dal. The rice should be ground and removed as soon as it reaches that slightly coarse texture, but for the urad dal, you should run the grinder for about 20 to 25 minutes.

          Take both the batter in a big container ( there should be enough space in the container for the batter to rise during fermentation ), add the salt, mix the batter well ( I use my hand ), cover and leave it to ferment overnight.

          Take the fermented batter, mix it well ( the batter should be like a thick pancake batter, if needed add a little water ), pour it in greased idli moulds and steam it for 12 minutes, remove and serve.

Note
Grinding the rice batter is not the big issue here, but grinding the urad dal makes a lot of difference to the idlis. Some of the things that I follow while grinding the urad dal, first I add about 1 cup of water as soon as I start grinding the urad dal, in the initial stage itself, also I grind the urad dal for 25 minutes.
Fermentation is another thing that plays an important role in getting soft and fluffy idlis, the time taken for fermenting depends upon the weather, how hot it is. When I was back in the US, I used to leave the batter in the oven ( preheat it to 200 F and switched off ), here in India I don't have a problem. But still, if the batter rises very nicely like in the picture ( got the batter done at 1 o' clock in the afternoon and the fermented batter as seen at 6 o' clock, the next day morning ), then I am sure you'll get very soft and fluffy idlis.
Some of them don't mix the batter that much before pouring the batter in the idli moulds, but I do that, that way you'll get good idlis till the very end of the batter. I had made the batter on Thursday, and I had made idlis on 3 different days, till the following Wednesday and still I got decent idlis.
To remove the steamed idlis from the moulds, sprinkle some water along the edges of the idlis, dip a spoon in water, run it around the edges and remove the idlis, it'll come out clean and smooth.

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Homemade Candied Orange Peels

          For last month's Eggless Baking Challenge we had to do Norwegian Christmas Bread and I needed candied orange peels. I couldn't find them in the nearby stores, so finally made my own at home. Though it takes more than an hour to make this, the method is actually pretty simple. At the end, I had more than 2 cups of candied orange peels, it can be refrigerated and used in various breads and cakes..

Need To Have

• Oranges - 4
• Sugar - 11/2 cups

Method

          Peel the oranges and slice the peels into about 2" pieces, as shown in the picture. Boil the orange rinds in some water and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain and keep.

          Mix the sugar with 3/4 cups water, heat it and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Then add the orange peels and simmer for another 45 to 60 minutes.

          Drain, spread it on a plate and air dry it for at least 2 to 3 hours. Separate the pieces and refrigerate them for future use.

Note
I left the drained orange peels in the fridge and let it cool and dry, it came out good.
Don't stir the sugar syrup, if needed, just swirl the pan once or twice.
Use oranges, the ones we use for making orange juice.

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Microwave Dulce De Leche

          Dulce De Leche, I love this flavor in ice creams, very rich and delicious and for a long time now, I had wanted to make it at home. Traditionally, it's made by cooking milk and sugar for a long time, but the short cut method is using condensed milk. There are a number of ways of preparing dulce de leche from condensed milk, the pressure cooker method, stove-top method, regular oven and the microwave oven. I didn't want to try the pressure cooker method, where we have to cook the can, immersed completely in water with a small hole on the lid, I was a little scared of the can bursting. Of all the above methods, I found the one using the microwave, to be much easier. After cooling, dulce de leche can be refrigerated and used in making ice creams, cakes, as a frosting on cakes and of course you can't resist yourself from having it as such too..

Need To Have

• Condensed Milk ( Milkmaid ) Can - 1

Method

          Take the condensed milk in a deep microwave safe bowl and heat it in the microwave at 50% power level for 5 minutes, stirring well once, halfway through.

          Then further reduce the power level to 30% and microwave for another 15 to 20 minutes, depending on what consistency you want the dulce de leche. Every 2 to 3 minutes, don't forget to stir it well using a hand beater, that's it, your delicious dulce de leche is ready.

Note
Depending on your microwave, the cooking time can vary a little, always make sure, you keep the microwave power level, such that, the condensed milk doesn't boil over.
Also the dulce de leche becomes more thicker as it cools down.

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How To Freeze Green Peas

          My freezer is always stocked up with green peas, whenever fresh peas are available, I get them and freeze them and when fresh peas are not in season, there is always store bought frozen peas. When I buy fresh ones, usually, I shell them, wash and freeze the peas as such and mostly use them up within a week or two. This time I got a lot and I wanted to freeze it in the proper way, so that it would last longer. It's a very simple method, if you have shelled the pea pods, the rest takes very little time..

Need To Have

• Fresh Shelled Peas

Method

          Wash the shelled peas, boil some water and add the peas. Wait for 2 minutes, you'll see the peas floating to the top, then switch off.

          Immediately drain the peas, add them to a bowl of ice cold water ( this stops the cooking process) and leave it for 2 minutes.

          Drain the peas, pat dry and freeze it.

Note
The time the peas stay in the boiling water and the time they are in the cold water is same, only 2 minutes.
If the freezer is working continously ( without any power cuts ) then the peas should be good for at least 2 to 3 months, they say it'll stay fresh even for a year, but I have not kept it so long.

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How To Cook Quinoa

           Quinoa is a fairly new grain, only 3 or 4 years back I got introduced to this wonder grain (it's not a complete grain, they call it as a pseudocereal). It was not love at first 'taste', in fact it was many months later that I tasted it again and only after that I slowly started to use it in day to day cooking. I usually try to replace rice with it, it's very rich in fiber and protein and has a slightly nutty taste. Cooking quinoa correctly might be tough for first timers, so I thought I'll do a basic post about cooking it..

Need To Have

• Quinoa - 1 cup
• Water - 2 cups

Method

          Take the quinoa in a deep non-stick pot, which you can use for cooking rice, add 2 cups of water.

          Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook for about 7 minutes. By this time all the water would have gone, but the quinoa should not stick to the pot. Now switch off and leave it covered and undisturbed for at least 15 minutes, until it has cooled down well. Remove the lid, fluff it up lightly and it's ready to serve.

Note 
There are a couple of varieties of quinoa, I have used the white variety which is the most common one.
When I say medium heat for cooking, there should be enough heat for the water to be boiling slightly, but it should not boil over when it's cooked with the lid on.

Update
When you cook less quantity in a relatively large pot, add an extra half cup or more of water, I realized this when I tried cooking 1/2 cup of quinoa in the above same pot, since the water dries away faster. Also depending on the texture or the softness of the quinoa needed, the cooking time can increase by a couple of minutes, you'll work out what's best for you, when you cook it a couple of times.

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Homemade Paneer

          Though I have made over 150 posts, there is not a single post about a basic recipe like our sambar and masala powders or making a good idli batter, so today I thought I'll make some posts in between other dishes about them. I feel a food blog is not complete with these basic recipes and to start with, today's post is about making paneer ( Indian cottage cheese ) at home. It's very easy and it comes out very well, you'll stop buying it from the store..

Need To Have

• Milk - 1 ltr or 1000ml
• Lemon Juice - from 1 to 2 lemons

Method

          Heat the milk, when it comes to a boil add the lemon juice just enough to curdle the milk. When you can see the milk solids and whey water separately, switch off. Drain it using a not too thick, not too thin cotton cloth. Press the extra water out with a pair of kitchen tongs. 

          Tie the cloth into a knot and hang it from a faucet for about an hour to drain the remaining water. Open the cloth and knead the milk solids for about 5 minutes, then shape it up with your hand and wrap it with the cloth. 

Now place something heavy on top of it and leave it undisturbed for about 6 to 8 hours. Then remove it and dice them into small cubes (1/2" side) and can freeze it till you use it in a curry.

Note
You can use any milk, usually I use the 2% or full fat milk, the less fatty the milk, there'll be more whey water and less milk solids. Don't use fat free milk.
You can use the whey water to make dough for rotis or bread, or also to curdle the milk for making the next batch of paneer, you can refrigerate it for about a week.
If you are using the paneer for a spicy gravy where the lemon smell is not going to be a problem you can do it the above way, if you are using it to make sweet dishes where the lemon flavor would be problem, then wash the paneer, wrapped up in the cloth before hanging it from the faucet to drain.
If the cubes don't retain their shape when added to a gravy, then the weight you placed on it was not heavy enough, place like a heavy pot of water or something about 10 to 15 pounds.

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