turkish restaurant
On my list to try...
Turks & Frogs ($$$$)
Turkish
323 W 11th St, New York 10014
Btwn Washington & Greenwich St
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January 28, 2007
No-Knead Bread
While home with mom this past weekend, we cooked to our heart's content. While stuck in the hospital, she saw Martha discussing this bread and so we decided to look it up and test it out. It was surprisingly easy! As the article in the new york times suggests, you can let time do the work. It was surprisingly easy and made a beautiful loaf of artisinal-looking bread. I recommend you make this bread right now!
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising
3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.
1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.
2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.
3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.
4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.
Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.
Fragrant Rice
1 c. basmati or elephant brand rice
2 c. water
1 tsp salt
1 large cooking onion, finely chopped
1 medium red potato, diced into 1/8 in.
5 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
2-3 in cinnamon stick, cracked
pinch of fresh ground sweet green pod cardamom
1/4- 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 c frozen peas
Rinse rice and set aside
Heat 1.5 tbsp oil or ghee until hot and add cloves, bay, cinnamon, and cumin seeds and swirl around for a moment or 2 until spices foam. Add rice, vegetables (except peas), salt, cardamom, and masala. Cook over medium heat until wholes appear and rice is al dente. Add peas, cover and cook 10 mins on low heat. Turn off and let sit 5-10 mins.
Dahl Mahkani
This month's theme for our supper club was Indian, so of course I quizzed Aunt Ann on her favorite meals. She gave me a list of different recipes and said she recommended this dish. I bought a pressure cooker for the job - new kitchen equipment! Since I've never seen a pressure cooker in action, I didn't know what to expect. They're a bit scary at first! There are detailed instructions and warnings of blow ups if they're not followed. Don't worry because I survived my first pressure cooker experience.
1.5 c raw whole urad beans
3 large cooking onions, cut into thin slivers
pinch of heeg (asofoedita)
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 28 oz can plum tomatoes
1 small indian chili, minced
1 inch piece ginger, minced
2-3 tsp ground coriander
red pepper to taste
1 tsp amchoor powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1-2 tsp salt if needed
Soak beans overnite with water covering by 3 inches.
Add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp oil and cook beans with water in pressure cooker for 25 mins.
While beans are cooking, peal the onions and cut in half top to bottom and into long thin slivers.
Heat oil, add heeg to oil, followed by cumin seeds. Brown, then add onions and stir fry for 8 mins on medium heat until browned. Add indian chili and ginger and stir for 2 mins. Add can of tomatoes and squish with hands to break up. Add the cooked beans, ground coriander, red pepper, amchoor powder, garam masala, and salt.
Enjoy alone or with fragrant rice.