Deepika Blogs…

Asparagus Risotto – A Knockoff!

Do you knock off more than just designer clothes? I do… You know I love to cook. But I also love to dine out. My favorite part of dining out? Coming home and recreating that dish in my kitchen my way.

Last month at Engine Co. No. 28 restaurant at PR Weekend Los Angeles, I fell in love with the Asparagus Risotto and decided that I needed to make this at home.

So, I got to work…

Gagan is away this week and even though it’s just me at home, I often take this time to try out new recipes and treat myself 🙂

Here’s my take on Asparagus Risotto and I must say I am very pleased with my version.

Now usually while making Risotto, it’s 1 part arborio rice and 6 parts liquid (water/stock). I do equal parts of water and vegetable stock which I heat up in separate pots so if I have any left over stock I can stick it back in the fridge.

Ingredients
———–
One bundle Asparagus ( I think it’s about a pound??)
One cup Arborio rice
1-2 shallots, finely chopped
6 cups stock or water
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese (use more or less depending on your taste)
salt and pepper to taste
splash of white wine (if you like to add it in your risotto, I don’t)
butter, oil

Method
——-
Start your Risotto the usual way. I do butter and oil combo, saute shallots, add the rice, toast it, then start adding hot stock (you want to keep your stock/liquid really hot on the next burner. Keep stirring as the stock cooks and evaporates. I was watching Alton Brown’s Good Eats show one night and he gave a great tip on when to add more stock to risotto. Take your spatula and give it a vertical sweep across your pan. If you see liquid oozing out from both sides, you are good, if it’s pretty dry like it is in this photo, it’s time for more stock.

Ok, so you keep doing it until your risotto is almost done. Oh, and don’t forget to add salt and pepper.

While your risotto is cooking, lets prepare the asparagus. Snap the ends off and steam the whole bundle for 5 minutes. Take the asparagus out from the steamer and reserve 4-5 stems. Stick the rest in a food processor, add a little bit of stock or water and puree it.

When your risotto is almost done, instead of the last batch of liquid, add the asparagus puree. Chop the reserved asparagus and add it to the pan as well. Finally, add the Parmesan cheese and serve!

So, there you go… Asparagus Risotto. I hope you’ll like it as much as I did. So now tell me, what do you cook when you are home alone?

Life’s little treasures

In this world of Virtual Reality, iPods, DVRs, Digital Cookbooks and such, one of my most prized possessions is Gagan’s grandmother’s recipe book.

In the 9 years I’ve been married to Gagan, his grandmother has showered me with more love than I can ever imagine possible. She is the one woman I aspire to be someday but even if I am an ounce of what she is, I’ll consider my job done. For Dadima’s (Hindi for Grandma) motto her whole life has been to LOVE.

That’s it.. Plain and Simple – Unconditional Love!

She is over 80 but is so full of life it’s amazing. And when it comes to skills, can I just say that she is a woman of 1000 hobbies! Seriously… be it knitting, crocheting, sewing, flower arrangements, gardening, decorating and last but not the least COOKING she ROCKS! I just have to spend 5 minutes with her to feel inspired and rejuvenated again. And the most amazing thing is that she still wants to learn more! She is continuously trying new recipes, new tricks.. .what not.

Which is why when I was in India last year and she showed me her recipe books and asked me if I would like them, I felt so honored, so special! I touched her feet ( it’s customary to touch feet of elders in India to show respect and even though people don’t do it anymore that often, I think its the most beautiful form of respect, providing you really mean it. ), hugged her and thanked her.

Her recipe books while not crammed with recipes (most of them are in her head, did I mention that she has super sharp memory!) are still very special. They contain not only the main entrees, but also herbal recipes for treating common colds, sore throat, indigestion and you name it. It’s a mine of information. In the books are recipes for her legendary “Magic Masala” as we call it. Magic masala is a spice blend which she makes by carefully weighing and measuring 11 spices, roasting some and leaving some raw. The spice blend is then ground finely and added to prepared foods. We call it magic masala because you add it to any dish and it totally transforms it. It’s like magic! Her recipe book also has clippings from newspapers, magazines from years ago. Basically it’s something no digital cookbook can match.

So while flipping through the pages of her books, I came across this super quick chocolate cake recipe (eggless of course) which was cooked in the microwave and was ready in 10 (yes 10!) minutes. That night I baked that cake and served it to everyone in my family.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve flipped through the pages of her books feeling so much more closer to her. Sitting thousands of miles away from Dadima, I’ve figured out a way to bring her into my kitchen every month.

Each month I’ll make something from her cookbook and call it a “Dadima Night”. And no substitutions whatsoever!

So join me if you will in this journey of Traditional Indian Cooking at it’s best – Dedicated to Smt. Vimlesh Rani ( Dadima ).

Polenta – Indian Style!

So since Gagan turned vegetarian a few months ago, I try to come up with inventive recipes for him. He loves Polenta but we find it a bit too bland for our taste so I came up with this solution. Now polenta is very similar to a south indian dish called Upma which is made with cream of wheat/semolina instead of corn meal. So I thought… why not make it with instant polenta instead? And I came up with this.

Doesn’t it look pretty with all the veggies and specks of black mustard seeds? Good, and good for you!

You start with a little bit of oil and add some mustard seeds to it when the oil is hot. After they “pop” add chopped onion. When the onion has cooked through add your favorite veggies (chopped finely) to the pot and cook for another five minutes. Add salt, paprika, lemon juice. Then add boiling water and finally add polenta and stir continuously until its thick. I also add chopped cilantro just before its done. You can use any combination of veggies. I used green beans, bell peppers and frozen peas.

I love to cook and try new things whenever I can. Keeps life interesting!