Category Archives: vegetarians

paneer

i’m planning for another indian dinner and so i made paneer today. it’s very easy, just bring milk to boil, add lemon juice and stir until the milk curdles. strain on musselin cloth and rinse with cold water. press into a solid form and you’re done. (if you need more detailed instructions – there are plenty around on the net…)

Ingredients:

  • 1.5l milk (3.8% fat)
  • 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice

i think i could have done with a bit less lemon juice, but i was impatient while waiting for the milk to curdle.  now the cheese is in the fridge and i’m curious how it will turn out.

in the lower right corner you can see whey – this is what’s left after straining the paneer.

spinach pancake for st.patrick’s

st.patrick’s is generally not observed in germany, but i thought it would be nice to eat something green tonight. these spinach pancakes (adapted from this recipe) were made like this: prepare 250g spinach, fresh (should be blanched an chopped) or frozen (should be unthawed and cooked for a few minutes).  in a bowl, mix 200g flour, 1/2 tsp sea salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp baking powder1/4 tsp baking soda, 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg. in another bowl pour 250ml buttermilk and beat in two eggs. add 2 tsp melted butter. stir this mixture into the dry ingredients, then stir in the spinach. adjust consistency with a bit more buttermilk if needed. cook pancakes in a buttered pan, 2-4 minutes each side. pancakes that are done should be placed in the oven at 175°. mix a cup of sour cream with 1tbsp lemon juice and serve with the pancakes. we had also carrot salad with it.

i’ll leave you with the two other greens i found in the kitchen and a selection of st.patrick’s day greeting cards.

panini al rosmarino e formaggio

i tried these rosemary buns from the silver spoon today, but they were not really satisfying. the dough was quite stringy and dry, even though i added some more milk to it than it was written in the recipe. a few minutes before the end of the baking time the buns are filled with a mixture of heavy cream and cheese. but i think also the dough-cheese ratio could be improved… so i’ll skip posting the recipe.

apple pie coffee cake

“i don’t have any eggs, but i want to bake cake!” – in such cases it is a good idea to check for cakes at vegan yum yum. i ended up with the apple pie coffee cake, modified it a bit here and there (added almonds and actually de-veganized it by using dairy products instead of soy milk …) and here is my version:

Ingredients:

apple filling

  • 800g apples
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 100ml orange juice + 3 tbsp
  • 2 tsp corn starch

batter

  • 200g flour
  • 60g ground almonds
  • 130g sugar
  • 1.5 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • 50ml plain yoghurt
  • 70ml heavy cream
  • 60ml milk
  • 100ml sun flower oil

for sprinkling

  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon

to prepare the  filling, peel, core and chop the apples. sprinkle with sugar and set aside for a few minutes. in a large pan melt butter and slowly cook the apples in it for about 10 minutes. lid should be covered. then add orange juice (i guess apple juice would be better, but i didn’t have any at hand) and boil for about 2 minutes. mix corn starch with 2-3 tbsp cold orange juice, stir in and boil again for 1-2 minutes. the filling should thicken now and can be set aside.

for the batter mix in a large bowl flour, ground almonds, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and sea salt. in another bowl mix plain yoghurt, heavy cream and milk (at whatever ratio of this ingredients your fridge allows, of course you may also want to switch to the vegan original by using soy milk) and sun flower oil. pour over the flour mix and stir a few times. spread a bit more than half of the batter in a greased sprinform tin (mine is 26cm in diameter), spread apple filling on top of it, then spoon remaining batter on top of the cake, the apple filling should still be visible though.

mix sugar and cinammon and sprinkle on the cake, bake at 175° for 30 minutes, reduce heat to 160° and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce to 150° and bake for another ten minutes.  (this was how it worked for me, but check for instructions on baking time also the original recipe.)

the cake just vanished during one afternoon coffee… and of course it is always a good idea to visit vegan yum yum, also without lacking any ingredients.

yeast pastry with apple, almonds and pistachios

these swirls/rolls are made like this: in a large bowl mix 300g flour, 1/4 tsp salt, 35g sugar. make a well in the middle. crumble 20g fresh yeast into the well, sprinkle a knife tip of sugar on it and disolve the yeast in 150ml lukewarm milk. let it stand for a few minutes, until the yeast-milk-mix becomes bubbly. add  70g cold butter, cut in smaller chunks. knead well until the dough comes together nicely. cover with a dish towel and let it rise on a warm place for at least 30 minutes.  meanwhile prepare the filling: chop 30g of pistachios, grate one large apple. mix together with 3tbsp ground almonds, 2tbsp sugar and 3tbsp creme fraiche. when the dough is risen, knead again for a few minutes and then roll it out to a rectangle (approximately 25 x 45 cm). brush with 3tbsp of melted butter. then spread the filling on it. roll it up and cut in slices (about 3cm wide). put the rolls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, cover again with a towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes. brush with 1tbsp melted butter mixed with 1 tbsp milk (which i used) or 1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp milk. bake at 180° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. i like these rolls especially because they are very fluffy, and the filling is moist and not to sweet.

BreadBakingDay #28 - last day of submission April 1, 2010this is a sumbission to bread baking day, an event created by zorra and hosted this month at tangerine’s kitchen.

coconut custard with pineapple

we had some coconut milk left from yesterdays bombay curry, and with one sachet of vanilla custard powder, 20g sugar and some milk it became our dessert today. just fill up the coconut milk (we had about 250ml) with milk until you have 0.5l liquid*, and prepare the custard according to manufacturers instructions, probably with a bit less sugar. i also added a knife tip of cardamom. let it chill in the fridge and serve with pineapple.

*referring to german custard package sizes

green lentil dāl with spinach

we had indian food tonight, consisting of green lentil dāl with spinach, bombay curry with tomatoes and coconut milkcarrot raita, rice and naan bread.  bread, curry and raita were made with recipes from the grosses buch der asiatischen kueche (but i found similar versions on the internet 1,2,3). the bread started as a disaster, as i made only half the amount of the recipe, but added the full amount of liquid to the batter. with a lot more flour and two tablespoons i was able to shape bread-like things on the baking tray, and in the end they were not half bad.

the dāl was made like this: cook 130 g green lentils for about 30 minutes until they are done. in a large pan heat 1 tbsp clarified butter (or use ghee which i did not have), add 1tbsp grated ginger, 1/4 tsp chili pepper flakes and 1.5 bay leaves and stir for a few seconds. add 200g spinach (i used frozen spinach) and 1/2 tsp coriander and cook for 5-10 minutes. add the lentils and 1tsp salt (optionally a bit water), cover the pot and let it simmer at low heat for 20 minutes. season with 2 tbsp lemon juice and black pepper. i also added 1 tbsp crème fraîche.

salad with celery, carrots and nuts

this is another relatively elaborate – but oh so delicious – salad. and if you like a salad that represents a complete meal, this is definitely the way to go. cut 3 celery stacks in small pieces, grate 2 carrots, grate about 60g parmesan and mix together. add 3 tbsp toasted sun flower seeds, 3 tbsp raisins and 2 tbsp chopped cashews. prepare a dressing from 3 tbsp lemon juice, 5 tbsp sun flower oil, 1 tbsp runny honey, salt and black pepper. toss over the salad and let it stand for at least 30 minutes. meanwhile make croûtons from 2-3 slices bread, or buns – whatever you have at hand.  mix the croûtons and some fresh cress with the salad – ready to eat.

pineapple peppermint dessert

i don’t remember where i first read about this idea – but it’s really a great one. those two flavours go together very well and make for a refreshing and light desert. plus it takes only minutes to prepare it: cut a pineapple in bite-sized pieces. chop the leafes of 4-5 twigs of peppermint and pestle with 1-2 tbsp sugar. this becomes peppermint pesto, and it’s used to marinate the pineapple in it. the marinated pineapple can be enjoyed as it is or served with plain yoghurt.

sunday fridge clean up: vegetable lasagna

for dinner on sunday evening i gathered all the vegetables remaining in the fridge and put them together into a vegetable lasagna. i found: 2 celery stalks, 3 carrots and one shallot in questionable state, about 100g baby peas, one tomato, half an onion, 150g mushrooms, one zucchini. slice, dice, cut all the vegetables, then sauté for a few minutes each, throwing them in the pan in the following order: onion & shallot > carrots > celery > peas > mushrooms > zucchini > tomato. some origano can go in there as well. add 500ml vegetable stock and let it simmer for another few minutes. add 2 cans (à 400 ml) crushed tomatoes, let it again simmer. finally add 100ml heavy cream and season with salt and black pepper. it is quite runny by now, but that’s ok. i don’t like the bechamél that goes usually into lasagna, so all the liquid needed for the pasta comes from the sauce. assemble the lasagna with about 250g lasagna sheets and lay 125g mozzarella slices on top. ( i also sprinkled a bit grated parmesan – another leftover – between three of the layers.)  bake at 175° for 25 minutes.