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By Madhuja, on May 21st, 2013  Guava crumble bars They say that there are three events that are the most stressful times in one’s lives – when one gets married, when one is looking for a job and when an immediate family member dies. They really should add a fourth one to this list – buying a house.
For the past five months or so, my life has been absolutely consumed by the house hunt process. I cannot even tell you how many hours have gone down the drain searching for houses, setting up meetings to go see them, researching different neighborhoods, comparing prices, going through our budget over and over again to see what we could afford, and repeatedly getting frustrated when nothing, absolutely nothing, worked out for us.
We fell head over heels in love with the first house we saw, but it was on short sale and after waiting for three excruciating months for the deal to go through, we finally had to back out. The house that we had set our heart upon, didn’t work out for us. We put in offers on other houses that we liked, only to be told that there were multiple offers on it, and we immediately backed out because the last thing we wanted was to get involved in a bidding war.
The process was incredibly frustrating since neither The Professor nor I had that long a laundry list of things we wanted in the house! Yes, we wanted a nice, safe neighborhood (who doesn’t?), a decent open layout, something that was close to his work and had a neat backyard. Not too much to ask for, right? And yet, the process of finding the right house took close to five months and in the end we didn’t even get close to our dream home. We got a house that we liked, one that needs a LOT of work and one that can eventually be really nice. But still, it will be nowhere near to our dream home…
I could go on and on about how frustrating the past few months have been. But why dwell on that when I can tell you about this awesome dessert that I made? It is crunchy and chewy and bursting with the guava flavor in every bite! And your house is going to smell amazing when the coconut bakes in the oven!
 Guava crumble bars To tell you the truth, baking desserts has been my way of coping with the stress of the house hunt, so don’t be surprised if the next few posts are all about dessert! This is just the beginning of a long line of sugary goodness that I am going to throw your way! You better be ready!
Here is the recipe – 
Double layered guava crumble bar
Adapted from here and here
Makes 16 squares
Ingredients
1 cup coconut oil, at room temperature
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
zest and juice of 2 limes
2 cups All purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
3 cups cornflakes
1 cup sweetened coconut flakes
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
21 ounces guava paste, thinly sliced (I used the Guayaquil brand)
Method
1. In the bowl of a stand-in mixer whip the coconut oil and brown sugar until thoroughly blended. Add the 2 eggs and mix well. Add the vanilla, lime juice and zest and mix for a few more seconds.
2. Add the flour, rolled oats, cornflakes, sweetened coconut flakes, baking powder and kosher salt. Using the lowest setting, mix until everything is well combined and the dough is starting to pull away from the sides. Stash it in the fridge for 30 minutes and start preheating the oven at 375F.
3. While the dough sits in the fridge, prep the baking pan. Thoroughly grease an 8” square pan with butter. Place a large piece of parchment paper in the pan, with enough to drape over the edges, and butter that too. You are going to use the extra parchment paper on the sides to help lift the crumble bar out of the pan.
4. Once the dough has chilled for half an hour, take it out of the fridge. Pat down two cups of the dough into the bottom of the pan (return the rest of the dough to the fridge) and using either your palm or another piece of parchment paper, pack it into a smooth, compact layer. Bake it for 10 minutes until the top is beginning to get golden brown.
5. Now it’s time to add the first layer of guava paste! Take the pan out of the oven and layer half of the thinly sliced guava paste on top of the base layer. Since the paste is not going to become too gooey in the baking process, you don’t have to leave too much of a border on the sides. Be careful, the baking pan is going to be warm! Scoop out two cups of the chilled dough (and return the rest back to the fridge). Crumble the two cups of dough all over the guava paste and using a piece of parchment paper, press it down into as smooth a layer as you can. Don’t worry if it is somewhat lumpy at places – it’s all going to work out just fine! Bake for 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.
6. Time to add the second layer! Take the baking pan out of the oven and layer the rest of the guava paste slices on top. Careful, the pan is going to pretty hot by now! Crumble the rest of the dough (should be about 2 cups) on top of the guava, and again use the parchment paper to smooth out the top. Bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is a beautiful golden brown and is firm to the touch.
7. Put the pan on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Using the extra parchment paper on the sides, gently lift out the crumble bar. Cut into squares and enjoy!
 Guava crumble bars
By Madhuja, on February 11th, 2013  Chocolate and raspberry Sacher torte It is no secret that I am addicted to watching food shows on TV. Whenever I am in the mood to watch something, I almost always want to watch a cooking show, unless of course, the Broncos or the Nuggets are playing! A quick run through of the programs that get recorded on our DVR will show that I am especially fond of watching shows that showcase different cuisines – Mexican, French, all kinds of Indian food, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese – I love them all! I may not have had the chance to travel extensively, but I am quite the globetrotter in my kitchen!
I had seen the recipe for this Viennese Sacher torte on America’s Test Kitchen and made a mental note to try and make it later. The process had looked a little daunting, but as usual, they had it broken down into small easy-to- follow steps, so I felt encouraged to try. Besides, how can you not try to make a dessert as stunning as the Sacher torte?! It is an absolute showstopper!
 Chocolate and raspberry Sacher torte I made the Sacher torte for the first time over Christmas as a gift for my father-in-law and The Professor liked it so much that he wanted the same cake for his birthday. Chocolate and raspberries are one of my all time favorite combinations, so I was more than happy to make the cake twice in such quick succession! Yes, this cake takes a while to come together and yes, there are lots of little steps involved. But it is so worth it! It is a rich, fudgy cake that you want to savor with every mouthful. You get to relish the deep chocolate flavor and marvel at how well it pairs with the sweet and tart raspberry filling. And if that isn’t enough, you also have a nice almond-y crunch in every bite. And it looks so, so pretty on the plate. Really, what more could you want from your dessert?
Here is the recipe –
Chocolate and raspberry Sacher torte
Using this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen
Makes one 9″ cake, enough for 12 servings
Ingredients
12 tbsp unsalted butter
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate ( I used Ghirardelli bars)
2 tsp almond extract (could substitute with vanilla)
1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
1 3/4 cup toasted almond slices, divided
1/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 tsp Kosher salt
5 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
5 oz bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% cocoa bars)
1/2 cup heavy cream
12 fresh raspberries
Method
Preheat the oven to 325F. Cut out parchment rounds to fit the bottom of the cake pans. Generously butter the cake pans, put down the parchment round and butter on top of it again. This is a very delicate cake, so we need all the precaution we can!
1) In a big glass bowl add the butter and semisweet chocolate. Microwave for about 90 seconds, checking and stirring after every 30 seconds. Don’t let the chocolate burn! Add the espresso powder, mix and set aside to cool.
2) Using a food processor, blitz 1 cup of the toasted almond slices until they become finely ground up, like almond flour. Don’t process the almond for too long though, or you might end up with almond butter and not almond flour! Dump the almond flour in a small bowl and mix the all purpose flour and salt into it. Set aside.
3) In the same food processor bowl, pulse the remaining 3/4 cup of almond slices. You want them to break up just slightly – these pieces are going to be used for decorating the sides. Set aside in a small bowl.
4) Without washing the food processor bowl add the five eggs and blend for 3 minutes. The egg mixture will turn frothy and a pale yellow color. Add the sugar and blend again for a few seconds.
5) Add the egg mixture to the chocolate and butter mixture. Add the almond extract. Using a whisk gently fold the eggs into the chocolate. Don’t use a spatula – you are going to deflate all the air that has been incorporated into the eggs. Fold gently until there are no pale yellow streaks left in the bowl.
6) Now it’s time to add the almond flour! Sprinkle about 1/3 of the flour mixture on the chocolate and egg mixture. Using the whisk, gently fold the flour in. Repeat for the rest of the almond flour.
7) Gently pour in equal amounts of the mixture in the two prepared cake pans. Smooth out the tops very gently with a spatula. Let the cakes bake for about 15-20 minutes, until the top is set and the cake tester comes out clean. Let the cakes cool completely before sliding a plastic fork around the edges of the cake pans and gently flopping the cakes out on to wire racks.
8) Let’s make the ganache topping now! In a glass bowl add the bittersweet chocolate and 1/2 cup of heavy cream. Microwave for 30-60 seconds, checking and stirring every few seconds to make sure that the chocolate does not burn. Set aside.
8) Now it’s time for assembly! Place small parchment pieces on the cake stand/plate on which you are going to serve the cake. I use about 4 small rectangular pieces that cover the entire edge of the cake stand. These parchment pieces should hang over the edges – the idea is that you place the cake on top of the parchment pieces, decorate the cake and these parchment pieces catch all the drippings/garnishes. You can then gently slide out the parchment pieces from underneath the cake and you are left with a clean cake stand!
9) Warm up the raspberry jam for about 15 seconds in the microwave – it should be easily spreadable. Flop down one cake bottom side up on the cake stand. You want the bottom side to face you since it is the flatter side and so the second layer will sit easily on it. Spread the raspberry jam on the cake, leaving about 1/2″ border on the side. Gently place the second cake (the top side facing you) on top. Make sure that the two cakes are well aligned at the sides. Gently pour the chocolate ganache on top of the second cake. Using an offset spatula or a butter knife, spread it out smoothly over the top and also over the sides. Don’t worry if it drips over the sides – you have the parchment pieces underneath to catch all the spills!
10) Scoop up small handfuls of the almond pieces and gently press them to the sides of the cake. Make sure that the entire cake gets an even coating of the almond pieces.
11) Arrange the raspberries in a pretty circle around the edge of the cake. Refrigerate until the ganache is set. Cut into big slices and enjoy!
By Madhuja, on February 4th, 2013  Moist fudgy brownies Have you ever tried a recipe where you felt if you tweaked it just that tiniest bit, it would be the best thing ever? Have you then proceeded to try ten different versions of it, each time altering the recipe just a wee bit, getting frustrated by how close you were to the mark, but how you couldn’t quite get there?
Well, this fudgy brownie recipe was one that I just could not stop tinkering with. I tried so many different combinations over the past few months that it became difficult to keep track of them. I added more butter. I added nuts (see photo below). I subbed some of the butter with vegetable oil. I cut out the white sugar completely. I added more brown sugar. I added more cocoa powder. I added more chocolate chips. I did a dance before putting them in the oven.
But something, something was always off. It was either too oily, too crumbly, not sweet enough or the biggest dagger of them all – not chocolatey enough. How can you have brownies that are not chocolatey enough?! That is sacrilege!
 Moist fudgy brownies (with nuts) Now, don’t get me wrong – the original recipe by Nigella is very good, it’s just that both my husband and I crave the really intense chocolate flavors in our desserts. And now, I am happy to report that all that time spent perfecting this recipe was totally worth it, because this brownie has chocolatiness (just coined a new word, hah!) oozing out of its every pore.
Don’t be shy to add all the chocolate this recipe calls for – the embarrassingly large quantities of cocoa powder and chocolate chips really make these brownies what they are. I’ll admit, I said a little prayer to the cacao gods when I dumped the second cup of chocolate chips in the batter, completely convinced that I was going to have a hot gooey mess on my hands, but it worked, and how! You could, of course, go all fancy on me and use the finest chocolate bars and Dutch processed cocoa powder and all that stuff (mail me a piece or two, will ya?), but the humble grocery store chocolate chips and cocoa powder work just fine!
 Moist fudgy brownies The name of my recipe probably gives it away, but this brownie really is incredibly moist and intensely fudgy, but once cooled has that lovely crackly top that all good brownies should have. (This crackly top was a little tricky to achieve. I had a vague recollection of America’s Test Kitchen saying something about the perfect ratio of saturated and unsaturated fats to use in the brownie batter, in order to get the right moistness to crackly texture, but as with most good advice that I received in my life, I only remembered bits and pieces of it). However, I slogged it out in the kitchen, and as you can see, this recipe produces the most beautiful cracked top.
 Moist fudgy brownies And while we are talking about beautiful tops, can we talk about this gorgeous wooden board that my father-in-law made for me over Christmas? It is made with spalted maple (see those beautiful black lines?) and is one of the most gorgeous pieces of wood I have ever seen in my life! It is absolutely stunning! I cannot wait to shoot more photographs using it!
And I can tell you right away that you can expect even more photographs of dessert in the next few days – a dense, ooey-gooey chocolatey dessert, to be exact. The Professor’s birthday is coming up and he has requested a classic Viennese chocolate cake (can you guess what it is?), so stay tuned for more recipes dripping with chocolate!
Meanwhile, here is the brownie recipe –
Moist fudgy brownies
Adapted from Nigella’s everyday brownie recipe
Makes 15 -20 squares
Ingredients
4 tbsp vegetable oil
12 tbsp butter (1 1/2 sticks)
2 cups (12 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 1/4 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
1 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp kosher salt
4 eggs lightly beaten
big splash of vanilla
Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 375F.
1) Mix the vegetable oil, butter, semi-sweet chocolate chips and brown sugar in a heat safe bowl. Microwave for 2-3 minutes, checking after every 60 seconds and giving the mixture a good stir. Don’t let the chocolate burn!
2) Add the cocoa powder, flour, baking soda and salt to the chocolate mixture. Gently mix together. The batter is going to get pretty stiff but keep mixing gently until there are no streaks of flour left. Microwave for another 1 minute. Stir.
4) Add the eggs and vanilla and again, mix everything well.
5) Pour the batter into a greased 9″ x 11″ baking pan. Bake for about 25- 30 minutes – the top will be set, but a cake tester will come out slightly moist. Let the brownies cool completely in the pan and then cut into squares. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, if you wish. Enjoy!
By Madhuja, on January 28th, 2013  Adai (Savory Indian lentil pancake) A few years ago, on one of our frequent trips to our favorite South Indian restaurant, my husband had commented, “If I have food like this everyday, I can turn vegetarian in a heart beat”. I could understand The Professor’s sentiment – the gigantic spread of utterly delicious, vegetarian food at that Udupi restaurant would make even the most hard core meat lover appreciate vegetarian fare. I don’t think we ever had a dish at that restaurant we didn’t like!
Since my husband loves South Indian food so much, we make a point of going to a restaurant to get our fill of dosas, appams and vadas, every single time we are in India. His love affair with South Indian food started on his very first trip to India – we were in Sikkim(!), at a tiny mountaintop restaurant, sitting outside in the warm winter sun and enjoying the terrific view of the Himalayas stretching out for miles and miles. A little boy served us some steaming hot uttapams and my husband absolutely l-o-v-e-d them. He gave that little boy probably the biggest tip of his life that day!
 Adai (Savory Indian lentil pancake) Since The Professor did turn vegetarian a few months ago, I have been trying to learn more South Indian recipes to cook for him. When I saw this recipe for adai on TV, it looked so unusual from anything I had ever made before, I knew I had to try it! I played around with the recipe a bit and finally came up with something that both of us enjoy a lot.
These adais are very filling and super nutritious – you can tell with every bite that you are having something that is really healthy! I love how the spices mildly flavor the pancakes and how well they mesh with the coconut flavor. The combination of the rice and lentils make these pancakes soft in the middle, but crunchy at the edges (my favorite part!). Since I added some extra vegetables and nuts to the batter, I always feel as if I am having a complete meal, one that doesn’t really need anything else on the side, other than this coconut chutney, of course!
(Sorry about the pic – it has been really difficult to shoot in the weak winter sun without getting obscenely long shadows, but I had to show you the kind of breakfast I am craving these days!).
 Adai (Savory Indian lentil pancake) Here is the recipe –
Adai (Savory Indian lentil pancake)
Adapted from this recipe
Makes about 20 pancakes – feeds a lot of people!
Ingredients
1 cup long grained rice
1/3 cup urad dal
1/3 cup masoor dal (red lentils)
1/3 cup chana dal (split chickpeas/Bengal gram)
1/3 cup toor dal (yellow pigeon peas)
1/3 cup split moong dal
2 carrots, roughly cubed
3 fresh green chilies (Serrano or jalapeno), roughly chopped
handful of fresh curry leaves
1 cup grated coconut (fresh or dessicated)
1/2 tsp asafoetida
1 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp turmeric
3 cups coconut milk (about two 13.5 oz cans )
1/2 cup chopped scallions/green onions
big handful of peas
big handful of corn kernels
big handful of peanuts
Coconut oil, for frying
Method
1) In a big bowl soak the rice, urad dal, masoor dal, chana dal, toor dal and moong dal in 3 cups of water for 3-4 hours.
2) Using a food processor, grind the rice and all the lentils, along with the water they were soaked in (in small batches, if you have a small processor). The paste should be quite thick at this point. As we are going to be adding coconut milk in a minute, try to not add too much water.
3) In a big bowl dump the rice and lentil paste. In the food processor, grind the chopped carrots, green chillies and curry leaves until you get a coarse paste. Add this paste to the rice and lentil paste.
4) Into the same big bowl add the grated coconut, all the spices, salt, coconut milk, chopped scallions, green peas, corn kernels and peanuts. Mix everything well. You should have a thick batter, but one that is still pourable.
5) On medium heat add about 1 tsp of coconut oil to a flat bottomed skillet. Once the oil is hot, add about 1/2 cup of the adai batter and using the back of the cup, gently spread the batter so that it forms a circular shape. Cook on both sides until it is golden brown and crispy at the edges. Cooking time will depend on how thick your batter is and how thinly you have spread it out.
[If your batter is too thick, try adding a splash of water to loosen it up. If your batter is too runny, try adding more dessicated coconut or some rice flour].
6) Before you fry any more adais, do a taste check with your first pancake. Is it uncooked in the middle? If yes, then you know that should cook the pancakes a little longer. Also, keep an eye on the heat – if the skillet gets too hot, the adais will crisp up at the edges without the middle getting fully cooked.
This is also a great time to check for salt! Once the seasoning is to your liking, repeat the process with the rest of the batter.
7) Serve immediately with coconut chutney. Enjoy!
By Madhuja, on January 27th, 2013  Pork vindaloo Our friends often ask us for recommendation for a good Indian restaurant in town, and my answer is always the same – there isn’t one! I have had Indian food in several restaurants all over the US and the food tastes exactly the same everywhere – rich, mildly spiced and generally blah. I don’t know if they share recipes amongst themselves or what, but it is unsettling how bad the food is.
Even if you can look past the annoying fact that the menu heavily favors North Indian dishes, you cannot get past the facts that the sauces are almost always drowning in heavy cream, with little cubes of dry chicken breast meat floating in it and a generous hand with red food coloring.
You are always served a little bowl of masoor dal to have as soup and a plate of limp salad to go with it.
The rice always comes with the obligatory cubes of carrots and couple of peas perched on top.
There is always gulab jamun to end your meal.
Everything on the menu is rich, oily and decadent and you only have about 5 different sauces offered with different kinds of meats and fish. Talk about limited choices! [Thank goodness that there are quite a few good South Indian restaurants that showcase regional cuisines - but they are mostly located in big cities, so out of reach for a lot of people].
Not only do most of these restaurants not represent regional cuisines, they also completely fore-go authenticity when they do attempt dishes like the Goan vindaloo. Granted I have never had Goan vindaloo in India, but I had seen various recipes of vindaloo on TV and they never, ever resembled the ones I had had in the Indian restaurants here! Just because in Hindi “aloo” means potato, here you are served a searingly spicy chicken and potato curry which bears no resemblance to the authentic vindaloo, (which originates from the Portuguese “vindalho”, meaning wine and garlic).
 Pork vindaloo Well, I had had enough of fake vindaloo and I wanted to make the real thing! So, I searched and searched online, looking for authentic recipes (the ones from Goan mommies are always dependable!) and finally mish-mashed a couple of those recipes to come up with my own.
So, is this the real deal? Will this get me a pat on the back from a Goan grandma? Well, I couldn’t really tell you because I have never had it in Goa, but it sure tastes good (and nothing like the ones in the restaurants here, which is always a good sign)!
You can tell right away that this dish is going to be special when you start grinding up all the spices together. And when those spices hit the oil, it just makes your whole house smell incredible as the pork slowly simmers on the stove. The low and slow cooking also ensures that the pork is fall apart tender and moist and delicious. This dish definitely needs a cut of meat that can hold up to a long cooking process, so don’t use chicken breast meat, as that is definitely going to dry out.
I was a bit hesitant about using too much vinegar (I am not fond of tart dishes) but it mellowed out with the long cooking time and had the most lovely flavor. I saw recipes calling for different kinds of vinegar, but I had malt vinegar at hand, so that’s what I used. If someone could please let me know the right kind of vinegar to use for authentic Goan vindaloo, it would be wonderful!
Here is the recipe –
Pork vindaloo
Adapted from this , this and this recipe
Serves 4
Ingredients
1.5 lbs pork (shoulder or country style ribs), cut into 1″ cubes
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
10 green cardamoms
5 cloves
1 star anise
4″ piece of cinnamon
1 mace
1 tbsp ginger paste
15 garlic cloves, peeled
3 jalapenos, roughly chopped up
1/4 cup malt vinegar
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 large onion, finely chopped
vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
Method
1) Dump all the spices (except the mustard seeds and the turmeric powder) and the vinegar into a food processor. Process until it is a very fine paste. If needed, add 1/4 cup of water. Check to make sure that there are no big chunks of whole spices in the paste. If needed, use a spice grinder for all the whole spices and then mix it with the rest of the ingredients.
2) In a non-reactive dish mix the pork cubes with the vinegary spice paste. Cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.
3) In a heavy bottomed pan add vegetable oil on medium heat. When the oil starts to shimmer slightly, add the mustard seeds and stir until they start popping. Add the onions and salt and saute until they are soft and translucent. Add the turmeric and give it a good stir.
4) Add the pork and all the spice paste to the pan. Stir and make sure everything is well mixed. Lower the heat to a low-medium and cover with a lid. Check frequently to make sure that the mixture is not sticking to the bottom. The meat should release enough liquid to cook the dish and the vindaloo sauce should be quite thick. However, you can always add a tiny amount of water if your sauce is getting stuck to the bottom of the pan. Cook until the meat is very tender – about 45 minutes to an hour. Taste to make sure that it doesn’t need any more salt.
5) Serve immediately with steaming rice. Enjoy!
 Pork vindaloo
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