These pastries can be made bite sized or large enough to have for dinner. But however you make, you will want more of this beautiful earthy combination of bulgur wheat and mushrooms garnished with fresh herbs and wrapped in puff pastry dough. We tweaked the recipe to our taste. Since we made this on a weekday, we did not have the time to make the pastry with sour cream as Marlena says in her recipe. We instead used puff pastry sheets. This tasted so good, that when we had two on the plate to take pictures and by the time the plate returned to the kitchen, there was only one! You know who the culprit is

Mushrooms and bulgur wheat for sure are made for each other. The caramelized onions and mushrooms folded in with fresh herbs and bulgur wheat is a match made in heaven. It is a whole dish and we can rave about it for hours together. As kids, we have had vegetable puffs (read loaded with potatoes). Around 4 pm, bakeries nears schools will bake them fresh and woo you to come there dragging your parents asking for just one puff and end up buying some pastries as well. Good marketing technique eh?

Here is our version of Marlena Spieler’s Knishes

Uncooked bulgur wheat – ¼ cup cooked in ¾ cup water, strained.

Butter – 1 tsp

Vegetable oil – 1 tsp

Onion – ½ cup, finely chopped

Garlic – 1 tsp

Button mushrooms – 6, finely chopped (large)

Cayenne – 1 tsp, optional

Cilantro – ½ cup, finely chopped

Italian Parsley – ½ cup, finely chopped

Salt & pepper to taste

Thawed Puff pastry – 1 sheet

To make the filling

• Heat a sauté pan with the oil and butter mixture.
• When the oil is hot, stir in the onions , sauté on medium low heat until they turn golden brown
• Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds,
• Add the mushrooms and cook for roughly 10- 15 minutes until the water the mushroom releases is completely absorbed and it turns a little brown
• Add the cooked bulgur wheat and allow the flavors to blend together for about 2-3 minutes
• Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Sauté well so that it is all well incorporated.
• Add the chopped herbs and stir well. Allow this mixture to cool.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
• Roll out the puff pastry just a little bit  on a floured surface and cut into the desired shape and size you like
• Place the filling the in the centre, brush edges with water and fold up and pinch together to seal.
• Brush with egg mixture if you like or bake in the oven for roughly 8-10 minutes until they turn golden brown.
• Serve warm.

Variations:

• You can try different variations of herbs like rosemary , dill or a combination of herbs
• Of if you want to reduce the use of puff pastry, place the filling in lightly buttered ramekins, cover the ramekins with the puff pastry sheet and bake.
• For a potluck, place the filling in a tart/quiche pan, cover with puff pastry sheet and bake.

Go over and see what Mel & Eileen have cooked today.

Sunday with Marlena Speiler

After you have tried this at home, We have a feeling that you will not like the store bought ones. This is a recipe that we will not try changing and tweaking and our quest for the best falafel recipe ends right here. Try it and be assured that you will be in falafel heaven. Falafels are a classic Israeli snack!

On our way back from playing the role of Santa, the weather was cold,  did not really feel like driving 20 miles to our local fav wings place (wingstop) while still wanting some.

Feeling adventurous, stopped got some frozen wings  and headed straight home. Shankari had already googled some wings recipes as I was driving home and armed with the various instructions, I came up with my own set.

Ingredients

Chicken wings 1 doz

Cayenne – 2 T

Garam masala – 1 T

Oil -  -3 T

Tapatio hot sauce – optional

Onion – 1, thinly sliced- optional

Steps :

1. Boil the wings in an heavy pan which has a good lid ( I used Shankari’ s le Cruset pan the first time, and our good ole pressure cooker the second) Let it cook for 7 – 10 minutes. It should not over cook to the point where meat falls off.  I add a tsp of turmeric and salt to the water

2. Drain the water from the pan and let the floating fat wash off, I rinse the chicken as well to clean out any of the fat that might be sticking if needed. Put the wings on a paper towel and pat to remove as much water as easily possible.

3. Rinse off pan and put it back on the stove at medium heat. Add 2-3 TBSP oil, salt, chilli power, garam masala and turmeric power. Mix in the hot oil and add the wings and stir to coat the wings. Stir fry for 2 – 3 minutes. Add sliced onions and stir.

4. Set the oven to broil, and add the wings  and onions in a pan. Broil for 3 – 4 minutes and turn the pieces to brown the other side. I leave the onions in the oven a little longer than the wings, as I like the onions crispy.

5. Add tapito sauce in a small bowl and coat the wings evenly.  You can skip this step if you want the wings less spicy

While I did not use the onions in my final plating, I like the flavor the onion imparts to the wings, and also the crispy onion tastes awesome by itself.

Sundays with Marlena Spieler

We had a great time this week..the three of us were on TV for a cooking segment on Latkes. We celebrated a Birthday and an Anniversary. After having festive spreads almost everyday, we wanted something simple and Hummus seemed the right choice.

When we started making Hummus, we couldn’t stop with just one kind. The three flavors we made were- Regular, Roasted Bell pepper and Chopped red jalapenos. We liked all three flavors and when we did not enough of each of them, we mixed it all together and that was the fourth flavor

The recipe here is for the basic hummus.

Cooked Chickpeas- 1.5 cups

Tahini Sauce-  4-5 T

Lemon Juice – 3-4 T

Salt & pepper- to taste

Extra Virgin olive oil- 2 T

Chopped Parsley- For garnish

Cayenne- For Garnish

• In blender or food processor, place chickpeas, tahini, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Blend to the consistency you prefer.
• Transfer the contents to a serving bowl. Check for seasonings.
• Add either chopped jalapenos or roasted bell pepper.
• Drizzle olive oil and give it one stir.
• Garnish with parsley and sprinkle cayenne.
• Serve with warm wedges of pita bread.

Variations: Add either a couple of tablespoons of  chopped bell pepper or chopped jalapeno for an added kick!

Mel has an interesting recipe today, go check her blog out. Eileen is cooking sweet & sour cabbage.

Sundays’ with Marlena Speiler- Mushroom Caviar

Mixtures of finely chopped sauteed vegetables served with fresh bread or toast is a very common tradition in Jewish households. The texture of the dish is the reason why it is called Caviar and not the actual content, says Marlena.

Be sure to check my fellow bloggers dishes, Eileen and Mel

Sundays with Marlena Spieler

We know what you are thinking, how does liver and vegetarian even come in the same sentence?  Marlena has made this wonderful appetizer just for vegetarians. Let’s be  honest here, We may have not been adventurous enough to try this if we were glancing through a cookbook.  This project is indeed a blessing! In her cookbook, Marlena mentions that vegetarian versions of chopped liver is very popular in Ashkenazi kitchens.

This appetizer can easily be a conversation piece at a dinner table once the hosts says what it is and a neat to have your kids have some veggies too

We made a few changes to the recipe, we noticed that the chicken liver recipe had dill and scallion to it, so we decided to add that to the vegetarian version as well. We also changed some of the proportions.

Vegetable oil- 3 T

Onions – 2 cups, roughly chopped

Peas- 2 cups

Green Beans- 2.5 cups, roughly chopped

Walnuts- 1 cup

Hard boiled eggs- 3

Dill- 2 T, finely chopped

Scallions-  2 T, thinly Sliced

Salt & pepper to taste

Matzo crackers or Rye bread to serve.

• Heat oil in a pan and when the oil is hot, saute the onions until till they turn slightly golden brown.
• Add the peas, beans and season with salt and pepper.
• Continue to cook until the beans are tender.
• Switch off the stove and allow it to cool.
• Transfer to a food processor, add the walnuts and eggs and process until it becomes a thick paste.
• Transfer to a bowl and garnish with dill and scallions.
• Serve with toasted rye bread or matzo crackers.

If you are a vegetarian who does not consume eggs, omit the eggs and try dried tofu instead. We can also try adding different fresh herbs for garnish. A dash of lime juice might also give it an added kick!

Watch Mel’s space for some Fragrant Beetroot and Veggie Soup with Lamb Kubbeh & Eileen’s for Roasted chicken with grapes and fresh ginger. Come back on Wednesday for another heart warming soup.

Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!!

Hello Everyone,

Sundays with Marlena Spieler

We are so happy to have moved to this new website of ours which is a labor of love, a gift from our  dear sister and 12 year old niece. It is weird, but it feels like having moved from a rental property to your own home .

Moving on, Our Jewish Cooking project is a fun ride. We are learning, cooking and tasting new dishes that we may have generally drooled over, but not cooked at home. And that is precisely why we wanted to do this and we are thoroughly in for a gastronomical treat.

The flu had found us and when we recovered we craved for warm soups and something deep fried. We did not want to over indulge- latkes and tomato soup with couscous fit the bill for us. Latkes were served with apple cranberry sauce, which had just the right balance of sweet and tart and lemon zest  gives it the oomph that we like.

The only specialty ingredient you need for Latkes is Matzo meal that we easily found at Whole Foods. When we called Trader Joes, they said they only carry it during the holiday season. Hmm haven’t we started seeing advertisements asking us to get ready for the holiday season? Sorry we  digressed a bit

Latkes adapted from Jewish Cooking by Marlena Spieler

Idaho Potatoes- 3 medium sized ( About 2 cups)

Grated white onion- 3/4 cup ( about half an onion)

Egg- 1, lightly beaten

Matzo meal – 2 T

All Purpose Flour- 1 T

Baking powder- 1/2 tsp

Sugar- 1/4 tsp

Salt- to taste

A dash of Tabasco

Vegetable oil for shallow frying

• Peel, wash and grate the potatoes. Put the grated potatoes in a colander and squeeze the water off the potatoes as much as possible.
• In a large bowl, combine the grated onions, potatoes with the rest of the ingredients and stir well to combine.
• Heat a non stick pan and drizzle about a tsp or more oil into the pan.
• When the oil is hot, ladle about 2-3 tablespoons of the batter on the skillet.
• Cook over medium high heat. Flip the latke when you see the edges browning. Cook approximately for a minute or two on each side, remember this depends on the type of stove you have).
• Remove from pan and drain on a paper towel.

Serve hot or keep them warm in the oven.

KCRA3 News segment on 12.16.09

Serve this Apple Cranberry sauce or sour cream/yogurt.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Granny Smith Apples- 2, peeled and roughly chopped

Cinnamon Stick- 1/2 inch piece

Lemon Zest- of 1/2 a lemon

Lemon Juice- 1 tsp

Sugar- 4 tsp or more per your taste

Fresh Cranberries- 1 cup

• Peel, core and roughly chop the apples and place them in a pan over medium heat along with the cinnamon, lemon zest and juice.
• In Marlena recipe, she says not to disintegrate the apples, but mine just got that way and no complains, we loved it.
• Add the cranberries and sugar in the pan and let it cook on low covered until you finish hearing all the cranberries popping.
• Check for seasonings and serve with latke.
• Next time, we might add a wee bit of ginger powder.

Like this was not enough we also made tomato soup with couscous, recipe is here

Please don’t forget to check Eileen and Mel’s blogs who are also cooking some delicious dishes from Marlena’s Cookbook. More about Marlena and her cookbooks can be found here.

This is a Sephardi dip from a Libyan Jewish restaurant. I have made a few changes to the recipe- can I restrain myself from doing that, Nah!.

The original recipe called for ground ginger,cumin and curry powder. I decided to use fresh ginger. When I saw curry powder, I started researching on what spices make a curry powder and some of the common ingredients were cardamom, turmeric powder, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and cayenne. I made my own , ( 1 T- cardamom seeds, 1 T- Cumin, 1/2 tsp- Coriander seeds. Dry roast the three spices and powder along with cayenne and turmeric)

This recipe is perfect for Thanksgiving and to use your left over pumpkin from Halloween.

Red Onion – 1/2, finely chopped

Pumpkin- 1 1/2 lbs, peeled and chopped

Curry Powder- 1 tsp

Jalapeno- 1, finely chopped ( I did not remove seeds)

Cilantro – 1 tsp, finely chopped

• Heat oil in a saute pan, add onion and garlic.
• Cook until the onion turn soft, immediately add the pumpkin and cover with a lid. Let it cook on medium low for about 15 minutes.
• Add rest of the spices and cook for about 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in the canned tomatoes and cook until the water has completely evaporated.
• When the pumpkin is tender, mash the pumpkin coarsely with a masher.
• Squeeze lemon juice over the pumpkin and stir well.
• Check for seasonings and adjust per taste.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro.

I served the dip with pita bread. We simply loved this dip. I would eat this even with a steaming cup of rice.

You can buy Marlena’s cookbook here. For more fun recipes from Marlena’s cook book , check Mel & Eileen’s blog.

Indian Chinese cuisine is the adaptation of Chinese seasoning and cooking techniques to Indian tastes. It is said to have been developed by the tiny Chinese community that has lived in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) for over a century.Indeed, in a curious twist, Indian Chinese has followed the mainstream Indian expatriate community as they have spread across the world, providing expatriate Indians with a taste of authentic Indian Chinese.- Wikipedia

Gobi (Cauliflower) Manchurian is one such dish which has a slight Chinese influence with the use of soy sauce and garnished with scallions.

I first had Gobi Manchurian in Salem, India in an Indo-Chinese restaurant and was hooked to it. Mom never made it at home and in Chennai, Chinese road side vendors sold Gobi Manchurian along with Chowmein. I have tried various recipes and we personally like this one the best.

When we started breaking the cauliflower into florets we realized we did not have tomato ketchup, scallions or bell pepper which are some key ingredients, but we made do without it, and did not miss a thing.

All purpose flour – 4 T
Corn Starch – 4 T
Farina/Rava – 2 T
Chill Garlic sauce – 1 T (use sparingly, if you want it less spicy)
Ginger – 2 tsp (finely minced)
Garlic – 2 tsp (finely minced)
Salt to taste
Water to make a batter – ½ cup, approx
Large Cauliflower – Broken into florets.
Vegetable oil for deep drying

For the Sauce

Oil – 3 T
Onion – 1 cup, thinly sliced
Serrano chillies – 2, thinly sliced (remove seeds if you can’t take the heat)
Ginger – 1 T, chopped finely
Garlic – 3 pods, chopped finely
Tomato paste – 2 T
Apple Cider Vinegar – 1 tsp
Jaggery – 3 T ( use brown sugar if you don’t have jaggery)
Chilli Garlic Sauce – 1 T or more to suit your taste.
Soy Sauce – 2 tsp

We prefer making the sauce first and then went on to deep fry the cauliflower.

• Heat oil in a wok or a pan and when the oil is hot, start sauteing the onions and after a minute, add the chillies, ginger and garlic and saute until the onions turn translucent. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
• Add the tomato paste and stir well, so that you have no lumps of the tomato and it is well incorporated with the onion.
• Stir in the cides vinegar, jaggery, chilli garlic sauce and soy sauce and cook on medium low until the jaggery has melted and your house smells divine.
• Check for seasoning, if you want more heat, add some more chilli garlic paste.
• Set this aside.
• Heat oil in a pan and while the oil is getting hot, start working on the cauliflower.
• In a medium sized bowl, add all the dry ingredients first, followed by ginger, garlic and red chilli paste. Mix well and slowly start mixing in little water at a time to make a smooth batter.
• Dip the cauliflower in the batter and immediately start deep frying. Add as many florets as your pan can hold.
• Deep fry until they tirn golden brown and set it on a paper towel to drain all the oil.
• After you complete frying all the florest add it to the sauce and saute on medium high for about 3 minutes.
• If you have scallions, you can garnish with them.

This is a great appetizer to serve, but I don’t think I have the patience to deep fry a whole batch . Gobi Manchurian taste best when it served piping hot!

Eileen and Sue, this is for you. Thank you for all your support and your friendship.

It has been a chaotic with cooking classes and parties to attend. I wanted to be served, rather than serve anyone any food, be it frozen or even sticking in the microwave, so off we went to our favorite hole in the wall Mexican resturant and that immediately gives me the boost I want and then off to cooking in our tiny kitchen.

We have recently begun to buy vegetables and fruits from here and it is such a delight that we do not have to go shopping to any store, forget saving gas, we save some moolah from not buying spices and “stuff” that has to patiently wait for it’s turn.

We got some cauliflower in our box last week and decided to make Cauliflower Manchurian. Now, we have a spice mix that we got from Salem. The vegetable vendor, who carries a large basket over her head is quite the entrepreneur, when you buy a Cauliflower, she asks if you would like the Manchurian mix and sells that as well. Kind of like Amazon saying, “if you buy this, you may also like this”

We mixed a batch of some blanched cauliflower with that spice mix and baked it in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes and then broiled for 5. With no oil, we must say the results were fantastic, but the spice mix was SPICY!

Another batch, here is what we did

AP Flour – 1/4 cup
Corn Starch – 2 T
Red Chili Powder – 1 tsp
Ginger – 1 T (minced)
Garlic – 1 pod (minced)
Turmeric powder – 1/2 tsp
Water – a couple of tablespoons

Make a smooth batter and add the cauliflower & mix till they are well coated. Let it sit for atleast 30 minutes.

In the meanwhile do this..

Onion – 1/2 cup thinly sliced
Green Chillies – 1 slit in two
Bell Pepper – 1 (chopped)

Heat about 2 T oil in a pan, and start shallow frying the cauliflower until it turns dark brown. Flip it over and do the same. Repeat the process for the entire batch and set it aside on a paper towel.

In the same pan, add the onions, green chilly and bell pepper and saute for a few minutes.

Add

Regular ketchup – 1 tsp
Hot Ketchup – 1 tsp
Soy Sauce – a sprinkle
Red Chili paste – 1 tsp

Combine the sauces with the cauliflower and serve!

This is all we had for dinner last night – two different versions of the cauliflower along with some fruits.