Chickpea Cucumber Salad

I've made this salad before. I don't repeat recipes that often, so if I do, it means the recipe is more than so-so. This is a Martha Stewart recipe and although I don't usually trust her recipes, this looked and sounded too good to pass up...and fortunately for me, lived up to it's promise.
I changed a couple of things here though. I skipped the currants and only used 1 tbsp olive oil. Everything else remained the same.
Don't skimp on the fennel seeds, they're key here...and remember to salt the salad thoroughly. It'll take it from bland-land to wonder-land that quickly. A good way to make this salad even more substantial is to add some cherry tomatoes and shredded chicken. I added all those extras to my salad and it made it very filling. I guess the good fat(from the olive oil), the protien(from the chickpeas and the chicken) and the fiber(from the carrot and the chickpeas) does the trick. The recipe serves four.

Goat Cheese Frittata

I made this frittata to make use of the amazingly good goat cheese I got from L.A. a while ago. I searched for goat cheese recipes on Williams-Sonoma site and came up with a huge number of frittata recipes. Since I love frittatas, I decided to go with the flow.
I chose a recipe which features a lot of summery ingredients. The cherry tomatoes and the corn just scream summer, don't they? Although the cherry tomatoes weren't that great in the finished recipe, the corn defintely were. They added a subtle crunch and sweetness to the whole savory goat cheese thing and I loved it.I did not change any ingredients from the recipe but I did major changes to the technique. I did not cook this frittata completely on the stovetop. I first cooked the frittata on one side (on medium heat) on the stove top. I then finished it in a broiler for the top side to cook.The frittata was easy to cut and serve. It also looked very pretty on a cute plate :) We had this frittata as part of a meal that consisted of green rice & tandoori chicken. Yum!

Souffleed Banana Pancake

I love baking pancakes in the oven. They get all puffy and taste like pudding with a crust on the outside...yummy! I've made dutch babies before and loved them. This time, I decided to try a banana souffleed version.
Half the bananas are first caramelized in some butter and brown sugar. Then the other half goes in the pancake batter in the form of a puree. So the banana flavor is distributed through-out.

The walnuts in there..... I wasn't so fond of even though I love walnuts. I think chopping them up and mixing them in the batter would have made a difference. I halved the recipe from here. Halving the recipe meant it would serve three (according to them), right? Nope! Unless the three persons they're talking about are kids, I'd say it serves two only!

The pancake is not that hard to make...the only time consuming part is whipping the egg whites to stiff peaks. Everything else is easy peasy. Try it and see.

Banana Bread

Whoo! I'm so excited to be posting my first recipe after a loooooooong hiatus. I first made this bread a while ago for a friend whose daughter is allergic to dairy products. I made it without chocoliate chips at that time. This time though the bread is going to some friends of Niaz, and I have a feeling they won't like the bread plain. So I added a whole bunch of chocolate chips to make it interesting.

This bread first came about because I had a bunch of bananas that ripened all at once......apparently, that's usual :) So I decided to make some bread to give away. I'll be making something special with the leftover bananas tomorrow. You'll just have to wait and see what it is :)

I made this recipe from the ever reliable Williams-Sonoma site. It is the easiest banana bread recipe you'll ever come across. Just mix the batter and pour. No need for a mixer or a whisk. A wooden spoon is all you need.

P.S: For those of you who asked about my food allergies, they are very much in control.....and thanks a bunch for asking(I have very kind readers!). Apparently I have chronic seasonal allergy which aggravates my food allergies even more during fall and winter. But for now, as long as I avoid food I'm severely allergic to(list most fish), I'll be fine. I can still eat things that I am mild to moderately allergic to(dairy, eggs, etc.)....they give me tiny hives on my face, but nothing that I mind too much.......or can't deal with :)

Open to Public!

All right people, I give in! I've gotten numerous e-mails(somewhere in the vicinity of hundreds) since I made my blog private asking for permission to view it. So I took off all the personal blog posts I had here so far and brought my food blog back to you. I hope you all enjoy going through my favorite recipes again :)
Bon Appetit!

P.s: I'd also like to plug in some advertising for my other blog, Fitness & Training. The concept of my Fitness & Training blog goes against the very idea of gluttony I present here on Trial & Error, but you are all smart people and know what to eat to be healthy.......so I'm not gonna apologize for the gluttony I present :D But I will apologize for the horrible pictures I post there. I take 10-15 pictures of my daily eats everyday and I can't be expected to spend 10 minutes on each shot. That'll just eat up my whole day!

Potato & Roasted Garlic Soup

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This soup is perfect for days when your fridge and pantry are almost empty. I was running through a list of things I have in my pantry when I realized I could make the potato roasted garlic soup I recently marked in my California cookbook. The soup took such a short time to make that I actually contemplated making dinner rolls too.....oh well, laziness took over. But I'm sure they'll go really well with this. This is a very homey soup, the kind you have while watching a movie or while reading a book. While it might not be the kind to wow your guests with, it'll still hit the spot.

Recipe Notes: The original recipe called for russet potatoes but I had only red waxy potatoes and fingerling potatoes. Fingerling potatoes are supposed to be very good for purees so that's what I used. I didn't peel the skins either since I used a food mill to puree the soup later. The food mill separates the skin. So I was saved one task :) You don't have to use chives for garnish, you could subsitute other herbs like parsley or heck, even cilantro!Recipe adadpted from California - Williams Sonoma
I rate it 4 stars
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 head garlic
1 tsp olive oil
4 tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
2 lbs russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 cups stock
2 cups water
1 1/4 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
1 3/4 cups water or milk
3 tbsp chopped chives
Procedure: Preheat oven to 400 F. Take a square piece of aluminium foil that can cover the garlic head completely. Drizzle the olive oil over the garlic head and pack the aluminium foil around it. Bake for 40 minutes or more till the cloves are soft. In a 4 quart saucepan, heat butter on medium heat till it melts. Add onions and bay leaf and cook for 10 minutes. Add potatoes, stock and water. Bring to a boil on high heat and then cover and simmer on low for 25 minutes or till the potatoes are tender. Remove the garlic cloves from the garlic head and add it to the soup. Puree the soup using a blender or a food mill(with medium mesh). Transfer it to a 5 quart saucepan. Add the additional water or milk. Add salt and pepper. Bring it to a boil and serve hot with chives spirnkled on top.

Salmon Coconut Milk Curry

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This is my favorite fish curry with coconut milk. I've made three variations of fish with coconut so far and this is defintely the best. I guess it has something to do with the fact that this recipe uses a whole lot of ginger and garlic. But don't be alarmed. You won't be able to taste the ginger and garlic individually....they will meld into a fragrant sauce, which is so good by the way, you'll be licking your plate clean.
After having gorged on non-Indian food for the past two weeks, I knew the time would come soon when I would cravy some sort of a curry. Fortunately that day fell when I had fresh salmon in the fridge. Looking up fish recipes in my Indian cookbooks made it very obvious that this was the only recipe that I had all the ingredients to. Sometimes things just work in wondrous ways, don't they? :)
P.S: Since I drafted this post, I've come to know I'm severly allergic to salmon (and a host of other things....it's a very long list, trust me).
On the bright side, I won't be visiting the ER on such a regular basis :)
Recipe Notes: The original recipe calles for a whole pomfret. I hate eating fish with bones. That's why I prefer having my fish in fillet and boneless form. So I substituted salmon here. I used about 2 lbs salmon even though only 1 1/2 lbs of pomfret was required. So you can go ahead and subsitute any fish you want. Just keep an eye on the cooking time.Recipe adapted from Mangoes and Curry Leaves
I rate it 5 stars
Serves 6
Ingredients:
3 tbsp oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup thinly sliced garlic
1/4 cup thinly sliced ginger and then sliced into tiny matchsticks
5 serrano chiles, slit
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 cup chopped tomato
1 1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup curry leaves
1 14.0z can coconut milk
1/2 cup water, or more
scant 1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1 1/2 to 2 lbs salmon or any fish you like - in 3 inch piecesProcedure:
Heat oil on high in a wide deep saucepan of about 5 quarts. When the oil is hot, add the onions and saute for 1 minute. Lower the heat to medium and add garlic, ginger, chiles and black pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes till the onion is soft and the spices are fragrant. Add tomato and cook on same heat for 4-5 minutes till soft. Add turmeric, cumin and salt. Mix thoroughly. Add 1/2 the can of coconut milk along with water, curry leaves, mint and half the cilantro. Raise the heat to high and bring it to a boil. Add the rest of the coconut milk and lay the fish pices in the sauce. Bring the sauce back to a boil and then lower the heat to medium and simmer till the fish is done, about 10-12 minutes for the salmon. Sprinkle the rest of the cilantro on top and serve hot with rice.

Cinnamon Buns

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I have been baking a lot of bread recipes lately. It's either the effect of the weather or I'm enamoured by my baking book....could be both too! :)
Either way, I'm having fun. My apartment is acting as a temporary bakery and everyone around me seems to be enjoying it, especially me. After all, who can turn down a freshly baked cinnamon bun for breakfast? My husband is not a big fan of cinnamon in desserts, but give him a cinnamon bun and he'll happily munch on it. Almost every trip to Ikea ends up with a bag of potato chips and a cinnamon bun. Although the smell of cinnamon sometimes overwhelms me, I'm still all for it in desserts.
These buns are so soft that pillow companies should start looking into it. And don't even start me on the cinnamony interiors.....yummm. Ooh, and the glaze too! Drooooool. I better go grab abother bun...we'll ignore the fact I've already had three, shall we? :)
P.S: The last picture was of the corner cinnamon bun, that's why you don't see any cinnamon filling.
Recipe Notes: Had the dough contained more sugar, I would have given the recipe 5 stars. But it just wasn't sweet enough for me(I might try adding upto 1 cup sugar in the dough the next time). The bread part, on the other hand, was perfect! You can also make the dough upto the first rising a day ahead. Just punch, roll, cut and place into pans. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let it come to room temp for 30-40 minutes. Bake as directed. My oven gets really hot, so I baked mine at 350 for 20 minutes. This recipe can also be used to make sticky buns. Ill post the recipe if I try it out :)
P.S: The glaze is not optional! It's very important to the buns.....so don't skip it!!
Recipe adapted from Essentials of Baking - Williams Sonoma
I rate it 4.5 stars
Makes 16 rolls

Ingredients:
5 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
5 cups flour plus extra for kneading and dusting
zest from 1 orange
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup or 4 oz. butter at room temperature
6 tbsp sugar
2 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1/4 cup heavy creamProcedure:
Dissolve yeast in warm milk in a large bowl and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Add in sugar and eggs and whisk with a spoon. Add flour, orange zest, salt and butter. Using the spoon or your hands, form a rough dough. Knead this dough for about 10 minutes, using extra flour as needed. At the end, the dough should be soft, but not sticky. Place this dough in an oiled bowl covered with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm draft free spot for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, till the dough is doubled in volume. Meanwhile, make the filling by mixing the 6 tbsp sugar and 2 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Punch down the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Cut the dough in half. Roll one half of the dough into a 10 by 15 inch rectangle. Brush with half the melted and cooled butter. Sprinkle half the filling. Roll the dough, jelly roll fashion, starting from the end farthest from you. Cut this roll into 8 equal pieces, each about 2 inches wide. Place the buns in the middle, barely touching, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Place these buns on another baking sheet if you have it or in a 9 by 13 inch baking dish. Cover loosely with a kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap and let rise for 30-40 minutes till puffed up. Preheat oven to 400 F. Bake for 20-25 minutes, till the buns are golden brown and a skewer inserted into middle comes out clean. Let cool in pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Make the glaze by mixing confectioners sugar and heavy cream in a bowl. Using a pastry brush, apply this glaze generously over the rolls/buns. Serve by pulling apart the buns. They are best served warm. Heat each leftover bun for 15-20 seconds in a microwave.

Challah Bread Pudding

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Remember the challah bread I made a while ago? I froze half the bread to make pudding later. The later finally turned into now (I can't help it when other desserts call out for attention too!). The pudding was a breeze to make. I know bread puddings are the essence of 70s food but for me, good food never goes out of style. Especially not comfort food, and bread pudding falls right into that category. My husband is not much of a custard-y dishes fan, so he thought the pudding was ok. For me though, it was fabulous. Especially with whipped cream. That's what I had for dessert last night and then for breakfast today :)

Recipe Notes: You can also use brioche bread instead of challah but don't use any other kind. The texture will be completely different otherwise. You could also use other dried fruits like cherries, apricots etc. instead of craisins that I used here. The original recipe called for baking 40-45 minutes but mine took about 5-7 minutes longer.Recipe adapted from Essentials of Baking - Williams Sonoma
I rate it 4.5 stars
Serves 6

Ingredients:
3 cups lightly packed challah bread cubes (no crust)
1/2 cup craisins
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp salt
2 cups whole milk
Whipped Cream to serve alongside, optional

Procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 2 quart baking dish. Put some water to boil in a pan. Spread the bread cubes in the baking dish. Scatter the craisins around. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, nutmeg and salt. Pour in milk and whisk until blended. Pour this mixture over the bread cubes. Tilt the pan on all sides so the bread soaks it up evenly. Let it sit for 20 minutes. Put this dish in a large roasting pan. Pour boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the baking dish. Bake for 45-50 minutes, till a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove the baking dish from the water bath. Let cool on wire rack completey. Serve at room temperature or chill and serve. It's best served chilled with whipped cream on the side.