Besan ka Poora, Kelaguen Mannok, Chickpea-Chard & Bread Soup

Besan ka Poora 
Poora (puri) are a kind of savory stuffed chilla or crepe from India, made with various kinds of wheat and non-wheat flours and a variety of vegetables for the stuffing.  Sweet or Punjabi Poora are a common Indian street food, and savory poora make a great breakfast or lunch.  Besan is the Hindi name for chickpea flour.

A friend of ours with extreme dietary issues has found these to be a varied and healthful part of her diet.  For my WW followers, one 8" poora is a filling 2-3 point meal!   Poora can be stored overnight in a zip-top bag, or even frozen individually then zip bagged.  This recipe makes 3 servings (or one large 12" poora):

1-1/4 cups Besan or Chickpea Flour
1/8 cup Onion or Green Onion, minced (1/8" dice)
1/8 cup Mushrooms, minced (1/8" dice)
1/8 cup Bell Pepper, minced (1/8" dice)
1/8 cup Scallion tops, minced (1/8" dice)
1-2 tsp Chana Masala (chickpea spice blend) or general purpose Garam Masala  
Water (about 1 cup)
                                             

Accompaniments:  shredded cheese and or chutney are common.  I used an English sort-of chutney called Branston Pickletm.  

Put all the dry ingredients in a bowl and toss lightly to combine and coat. 

Slowly add water and whisk until you get a thinner-than-pancake, crepe-like batter.  Let the mixture rest a few minutes to fully hydrate the flour.

Heat a small (9") skillet on medium-low (don't cook these hot and fast), add ghee, butter or oil to just to coat the pan, and ladle in 1/2 cup of the batter and tilt the pan to spread out the batter.  

Cook until the edges dry and bubbles appear in the middle.  Flip and cook another 2-3 minutes.  Repeat until the batter is gone.

Of course you can vary the fillings -- spicy chilis, minced summer squash, drained diced tomatoes, minced carrot or parsnip, cooked beans and other veggies work great here.   You'll want the veggies minced rather than large dice, so they have a chance to cook a bit.

You can also vary the flour --  lentil, oat, wheat, semolina, rice, even quinoa flour will give you variations in taste and nutrition.  You could even (heaven forbid) Americanize the dish by using Southwestern seasoning and chunky salsa.


Kelaguen Mannok  (Chicken Salad)
I first tasted this years ago when I lived on Kwajalen Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.  My simple take on this ubiqitous Chamorro (people native to the island of Guam) dish will brighten up any lunch box or buffet!  This list serves perhaps 15 people.  Use a couple chicken breasts and/or thighs and proportionally less other ingredients (except the coconut) for just a family.

1 Rotisserie Chicken
1 large Red Bell Pepper
1 Poblano Chili Pepper
optional hotter chilies
1 sweet Onion
4-6 oz unsweetened  Coconut meat
1/2 cup Soy Sauce (low-sodium)
1/4 cup White Wine Vinegar
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
Optional Smoked or Hot Paprika
Optional saffron Rice for a side dish
Street Taco size tortillas

Skin de-bone and chop the chicken.  Dice the pepper(s) and onion.  Grate or mince the coconut.    Combine it all in a large bowl.  Drizzle the soy, vinegar and lemon juice over and toss to combine.  

Serve kelaguen on tortillas like a soft taco,  with a side of rice if you prefer.  Classic Pacific island fare!

Chickpea, Chard & Bread Soup
Got this interesting recipe from Fiona Barnes, Sally's oldest friend, in the UK.  From the name you think it's going to be a chickpea and chard soup;  but it's really an onion soup with chickpeas and chard.   The recipe comes from Thomasina Miers of The Guardian newspaper.  The concept is similar to Greek avgolemono -- using egg yolks to thicken and enrich the broth.  

Just don’t let this come to a boil after you’ve added the yogurt/egg mix,  or you'll end up with scrambled egg soup!

2 Tbsp Butter
2 Tbsp EVOO
2-3 large onions, peeled and finely sliced
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
10 oz or 1 bunch Swiss Chard 
3 large cloves Garlic, 2 chopped, 1 crushed with a pinch of Salt
2 large pinches Saffron or Turmeric 
2 cans Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6 cups Vegetable Stock, or water
3 Egg yolks, beaten
1 cup Icelandic Skyr or Greek Yogurt

To finish
A pinch of Sweet Paprika
4-6 slices good Bread toasted and cubed
Grated hard Sheep’s cheese, like the Manchego I used
Lemon wedges

Sweat the onions, seasoned with salt and pepper, for about 15 minutes, until translucent and very soft. While the onion is cooking, julienne the chard leaves into ribbons,  and cut the stems into 1" pieces.

Add the minced garlic and saffron to the onions, cook for a couple minutes, then add the chickpeas and stock. Bring to a boil, add the chard stems, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and crushed garlic in a small bowl, and stir in the yogurt.

Reduce the heat to a low simmer (200F if using an electric pot like I was).  Add a ladle of hot broth to the yogurt/egg mixture, whisk to combine, then slowly whisk the mixture back into the pot. Continue cooking over a low heat for five minutes, making sure the soup doesn’t actually boil, or the yogurt will split. Taste and check the seasoning – it may need a little more salt.

Stir the chard leaves into the soup and leave them to wilt while you toast the bread. Drizzle the toasts with a little olive oil, then break them up and put into pre-warmed soup bowls.

Ladle the soup into the bowls, sprinkle with a little paprika, and some grated sheep’s cheese. Serve with lemon wedges.

Note:  Don't use the julienned leaves of the entire bundle of chard like I did!   It's 'way too much.  Suddenly it became chard with some broth rather than a balanced soup.  Be more judicious than I was, and add the chard in moderation.  Half the amount would have been plenty.

No-Cheesecake, Golden Beet Soup, Glazed Nasuri Donburi

Mango No-Cheesecake
Sally requested Mango Cheesecake for dessert at her Valentine's Day dinner.  This is a recipe from Kurbotm by WWtm, which is apparently Weight Watchers for young folks.  This recipe has all the flavor of cheesecake, but without all the calories of cheese and cream.  Turns out that Icelandic Skyr or Greek Yogurt make a good substitute for the usual cream cheese and heavy cream.

Nice recipe, and very tasty, but if you follow the directions below -- as I did this time -- the result will be pretty (as you can see) but it won't be what you expect.  Tasty.  Very tasty in fact.   But more of a custard than a cheesecake.  See my discussion at the below...

8" Springform Pan, bottom lined with parchment paper

Crust
8-9 'sheets' of Graham Crackers
2-3 Tbsp Almond not-Milk

Spin the graham crackers in your food processor to make fine crumbs.  In a bowl, stir the almond not-milk into the crackers to moisten them, then pack/press the mixture into the lined bottom of the springform pan to form the cheesecake base.   The parchment paper lining will make removing the cheesecake from the pan so much easier!

Filling
3 whole Mangos fileted (or equivalent frozen)
2 cups Siggi'stm plain Icelandic Skyr (zero points) or Greek Yogurt
2 Eggs
2 tsp Vanilla extract
1 Tbsp Cornstarch
pinch of Salt

Spin the mangos into a puree.  Reserve.  Spin the eggs, skyr, and vanilla.    Add 2 cups of the mango puree (reserve the rest), the cornstarch and salt to the egg mixture,  Spin again until smooth.

At any point here you will want to taste the mango puree and mango-yogurt filling.  Depending on how sweet and unripe-ripe-overripe your mangos are, and how sweet you want your final product, you may want to add upwards of a 1/2 cup of sugar to things. 

Pour two cups of the filling into the springform pan on top of the cracker base.   Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 35-45 minutes until the body starts to pull away from the sides and the center is just a bit jiggly.  Cool.  

While the bake is cooling to room temperature, make a sort of jelly topping from the remaining mango (about a cup) by simmering it with some sugar and a tablespoon or so of cornstarch or  unflavored gelatine, to thicken.  Pour this jam/jelly on top of the cooled cheesecake and chill for at least 3 hours before unmolding.  

As written above, I cannot recommend this for young or inexperienced bakers!   Whenever I find a new recipe I always make it exactly as-written the first time.  That way I know how to make it better the next time.  And I will make this again.   It was good, but it could be great!

However. 
1.  The crust needs to be parbaked or it turns soggy, unsupportive, and sad. 
2.  There isn't nearly enough cornstarch or other thickener to set the amount of filling properly, at the specified time/temp.   It started to slump the minute I removed the springform side.
3.  Double or triple the amount of thickener. 
4.  Increase the bake time to 60 minutes or the temp to 400F;  or some combination thereof. until the center is no longer 'jiggly".   If it's "jiggly" in the center it's just not cooked enough.  


Roasted Golden Beet Soup
We love golden beets.  So tasty and so much less mess to prepare than red beets.  

2-3 lbs Golden beets, peeled, sliced, dusted with Caraway  and roasted @ 400F for 30 minutes
1 large Sweet Onion, diced
2 stalks Celery, diced
4 cloves Garlic, chopped
6 cups Vegetable Broth
Bistotm Vegetable Gravy Crystals, to thicken
1/2 tsp Sweet Paprika
1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
1/2 tsp Coriander

Balsamic Vinegar, dressing.

Roast the beets.

Saute the onion, celery and garlic with the spices until soft.  Add mashed beets and broth.  Simmer,  Add Bisto to thicken as desired.  Definitely serve with splashes of balsamic!

Glazed Nasuri Donburi
More Japanese eggplant from our friend Wendy.  This time I made her, and us, Glazed Eggplant Ricebowls (donburi).

Eggplant  cut into 1/2" thick rounds, or 1/4" thick slices
Green Onions cut into 1-2' lengths and split lengthwise
Fresh Ginger cut julienne
Rice
1/4 cup Mirin
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1+ Tbsp Cornstarch

Sesame seeds for garnish

Cook the rice by itself.

Stir-fry the eggplnt in a skillet with just a splash of oil.  When mostly done, add the green onion and ginger and cook another minute or so.  

Pour in the mirin and soy sauce, sprinkle the cornstarch over, and toss/stir to combine and make a thickening glaze.  Add a little water if needed, to make enough glaze to coat all  the eggplant.  Plate with rice and fried tofu cubes  if you like (we did).  

Biryani, Eggplant-Mushroom Pasta, Almost Baked Beans

Biryani My Way
Hundreds, if not thousands of Indian Biryani "curry" recipes -- an "all in one" dish of vegetables and/or meat (even fish) spiced and cooked separate from spiced rice before being folded together. Not to mention at least half a dozen different ways to cook the dish! After perusing quite a few variations on the theme, I've come up with my own way to prep and cook this tasty dish. BTW -- although this dish has a LOT of spices in it, it is only moderately hot-spicy. Chances are you'll have most of this in your spice cupboard and refrigerator. Don't leave anything out!

Spices for rice:
1 whole Star Anise
4 whole Green Cardamon pods – black cardamon will do, but use only 2 pods
4 whole Cloves
10 whole Black Peppercorns
2 Bay leaves

2 cups Basmati Rice – extra long grain if you can find it. This type of rice is the key to good Biryani.  

3 Tbsp ghee or oil, divided
1 large Onion – thinly sliced, divided

Spices for Vegetable Marinade:
½ Tbsp Ginger, grated
½ Tbsp Garlic, minced
¼ tsp ground Turmeric
¼ tsp ground Cumin
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala
1 cup Greek Yogurt or Icelandic Skyr

Vegetables
1 cup Carrots cut into 1” x ½” strips
1 cup Green Beans cut into 1” pieces
1½ cups Mushrooms, halved or quartered if large
half the sliced Onion
½ cup Red Bell Pepper cut into 1” x ½” strips
½ cup kernal Corn
½ cup Golden Raisins
½ cup raw Cashews
1 cup Paneer cut into ½” cubes – or Queso Fresco cheese

Queso Fresco cubed

Mix the vegetables  (minus half the onion),  spices and yogurt, and marinate them for at least 30 minutes to several hours (if you have the time). Reserve.

Rinse and soak the rice in water for 20 minutes. Drain. Cook the rice in its spices. Reserve.

                                

Saute half of the onion in oil or ghee until lightly caramelized. Reserve for garnish.

Slow-cook (covered) the marinated vegetables, the remaining ghee or oil, and any marinade sauce, covered, until just coming tender. I cooked them at 300F in my electric skillet for about 30 minutes, addin a little water to prevent sticking. then letting it cook away at the end. 

Add the fluffed cooked rice and fold to combine. Last, add the paneer/cheese.

Cook covered another few minutes to heat everything through. Serve with a garnish of caramelized onion at show at the top of the page..


Mushroom-Eggplant Pasta
We got all these big beautiful mushrooms from the SW Florida Produce Co-op, and were gifted a huge batch of Japanese eggplant from Sally's friend Wendy.  Plus I got a BOGO deal on some good chickpea pasta, and here you go!

Banzatm Chickpea Cavatappi pasta
3 cups Mushrooms - Quartered
3 cups Japanese Eggplant
3 oz cubed Feta or Queso Fresca cheese

2 cups diced fresh Tomatoes
Italian Seasoning to taste

1/2 cup Water or Vegetable broth

Cook up the pasta to package directions.  Saute the other ingredients together with a splash of EVOO and when tender add 1/2 cup or so of water or vegetable broth.  Toss with the pasta and serve.

Almost Better Than Baked Beans
And they take less than half the time!  This started out as a "best baked beans" recipe from Food Network, to which I added diced bell pepper.  Then I simmered it in my electric soup pot for 2 hours instead of heating up the whole house and baking it for 4-6 hours. 

If you're not vegetarian/pescetarian like we are, add 8oz of cooked smoky bacon.  I used a Tbsp of Liquid Smoketm instead.

1 pound dried Kidney Beans
1 large Onion, diced
1 Bell Pepper, diced

3 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1+ tsp Smoked Paprika
15oz Pomitm Tomato Sauce
1/3 cup Molasses
1/4 cup Bourbon
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Liquid Smoke – I like Mesquite, but Hickory is better here
2 teaspoons prepared yellow or dijon Mustard
Kosher Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper to taste

If you're using bacon start by cooking it in your soup pot. Add the beans and 6 cups of water, and cook, covered,  for about 45 minutes @ 325F until the beans are getting tender.  Now add onion and garlic and everything else. Cook uncovered @250F another hour or so until the beans are completely tender and much of the liquid has reduced to a more gravy like consistancy. 

Serve by themselves, with hot cornbread on the side, or over baked potatoes like this: