Homemade Macroni Cheese.

So I just decided to make America’s favorite dish Macaroni Cheese from scratch and for some reason wanted Southern style dont ask me why. So I browsed and found some strange names as food titles like Cowboy food Cowgirl food..Marlboro man food..And all I wanted is a cow kid food oops I mean, my kid food… aren’t they they hardest to please!...Here is what I decided to try with few changes.

Ingredients

• 4 cups Dried Macaroni
• 1 whole Egg Beaten
• 1/4 cup (1/2 Stick Or 4 Tablespoons) Butter
• 1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
• 2-1/2 cups Whole Milk
• 2 teaspoons (heaping) Dry Mustard, More If Desired
• 1 pound Cheese, sharp cheddar or make your own mix and avoid Mozzarella.  Grated approx 4 cups.
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Seasoned Salt, More To Taste
• 1/2 teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
• Optional Spices: Cayenne Pepper, Paprika, Thyme

Preparation Instructions

Cook macaroni until very firm. Macaroni should be too firm to eat right out of the pot. Drain.

In a small bowl, beat egg.

In a large pot, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together over medium-low heat. Cook mixture for five minutes, whisking constantly. Don’t let it burn.

Pour in milk, add mustard, and whisk until smooth. Cook for five minutes until very thick. Reduce heat to low.

Take 1/4 cup of the sauce and slowly pour it into beaten egg, whisking constantly to avoid cooking eggs. Whisk together till smooth.

Pour egg mixture into sauce, whisking constantly. Stir until smooth.

Add in cheese and stir to melt.

Add salt and pepper. Taste sauce and add more salt and seasoned salt as needed! Pour in drained, cooked macaroni and stir to combine.
Serve immediately (very creamy) or pour into a buttered baking dish, top with extra cheese, and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top.

Carrots Beetroot and potato Tikkis/ cutlets

This delicious patties melts in your mouth and looks as good as it tastes. Its a  simple effortless recipe and a healthy appetizer. I have to thank my friend M&M for this recipe. She herself is a wonderful cook. Her specialty though as I think, is Indian sweets and appetizers apart from many ..Here is her version.

1.       2 potatos ( medium size)

2.       2 beetroot ( medium size)

3.       1 cup chopped carrots.

4.       2 Tbsp ginger.

5.       1 tsp amchoor

6.       1 tsp chaat masala

7.       ½ tsp red chili powder

8.       3 to 4 green chilies

9.       Coriander half a bunch

10.    ¼ tsp garam masala

11.    Salt to taste.

 ½  cup Bread crumbs for binding

Peel potato and beetroots steam them in pressure cooker and Drain.

In food processor, Add  all 1-11 ingredients and run processor for less than 30 seconds..Make sure batter does not turn into paste. Set aside. Heat oil in a pan, add the mixture. Stir until the mixture does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Cool and then add bread crumbs. Make into desire shapes and shallow fry until crusty on top. Serve with your favorite chutney.  

Steamed/ fried dumplings

So I try Chinese dumplings. These give "rustic" a real run for it's money.  They are so versatile to use , throw them in soup deep fry , steam or pan fry. Though Chinese have perfected this art but we are not too far from it too When I made them I remembered Modak. Here is my version of Dumplings. I start with veg. Options for non veg is mentioned below.

1. 1/2 pound firm tofu/ 1/3 cup Paneer
2. 1/4 cup coarsely grated carrots
3. 1/2 cup shredded Napa cabbage
4. 2 tablespoons finely chopped red pepper
5. ¼  cup finely chopped scallions
6. A tbsp of hot sauce from Chinese store. I buy the one in jars you can see pepper flakes in it.
7. 2 teaspoons finely minced fresh ginger
8. 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
9. 1 tablespoon soy sauce
10. 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
11. 2 teaspoons sesame oil
12. 1 teaspoon kosher salt
13. 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
14. Bowl of water, plus additional water for steamer
15. 35 to 40 small wonton wrappers
16. Non-stick vegetable spray, for the steamer
17. For non veg : choose 1/3 pound of minced pork, chicken and add a tbsp of garlic and ginger paste with the rest of ingredients.
18. The dipping sauce : 
19. 1/3 c. dark soy sauce
    3 slices ginger, minced
    2 tsp. Oriental sesame oil
    1/2 tsp. sugar
    1/3 c. rice vinegar
    3 cloves garlic, minced
    1 tsp. chili oil

Directions

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

In a food processor add number 1-8. Run for less than ½ a minute, the mixture should look crumbled and not paste. Remove in a bowl and combine with numbers 9-13.

To form the dumplings, remove 1 wonton wrapper from the package, covering the others with a damp cloth. Brush the edges of the wrapper lightly with water. Place 1/2 rounded teaspoon of the tofu /paneer mixture in the center of the wrapper. Shape as desired. Set on a sheet pan and cover with a damp cloth. Repeat procedure until all of the filling is gone.

There are three  ways to make them either pan fry, steam or drop them in hot water.

Steam method: Using a steaming apparatus of your choice, bring 1/4 to 1/2-inch of water to a simmer over medium heat. Spray the steamer's surface lightly with the non-stick vegetable spray to prevent sticking. Place as many dumplings as will fit into a steamer, without touching each other. Cover and steam for 10 to 12 minutes over medium heat. Remove the dumplings from the steamer to a heatproof platter and place in oven to keep warm. Repeat until all dumplings are cooked.

Hot water method:  Boil 10 to 12 cups of water. Once it reaches boiling point, drop dumpling. In few minutes they will float on top . Remove and drain.

Pan fry method:  In 3 tbsp of oil shallow fry dumplings on low heat, turn them frequently until light brown in color.

Veg Wonton Soup

My tried and tested recipe  yesterday and it just came out yummylicious, I admit that I mixed two recipes online, one of Emeril Lagasse and the other from another blogger..I improvised by adding, removing few ingredients. Here is my version:
Ingredients:
  2 medium carrots
1/2 of a cabbage ( baby bok Choy from Oriental shop)
1 yellow onion and a bunch of scallions
  dried Fungus ( oriental shop)
1/2 tsp chopped garlic and ginger paste
3 stalks of green onion, finely sliced
1 package of firm tofu and use just 5 tbsp mushed
1 package of wonton wrappers (Oriental shop)
1 package of fresh egg noodles
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper.. optional
3 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 Tsp corn flour ( optional)

spices:
chilie garlic sauce( Oriental Mart)
lite soy sauce
Hoisin sauce

pinch of salt
Step 1: The soup!
  lets start with the stock and let it simmer away while we make the dumplings. In 2tbsp oil ( any)  add chopped garlic. Take 1 1/2 carrots and cut into big chunks and throw in a medium pot. Now add in 1/2 of a cabbage, roughly cut in half. Cut an onion into sections and throw  in as well. Stir fry a bit may be like 10 minutes . Fill the pot with water. (I added 12 of 8 oz cup) Add pinch of salt and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Let that simmer for about 45 to 50 minutes
Step 2: The dumplings!
To my processor I added diced cabbage,( 1 cup ) few stalks of green onions, equivalent to 8 baby carrots and few tbsp of tofu, 1 tsp of chilli garlic sauce . Chop in your  processor, it should look like  a little chunky crumbs dont turn it into paste.  In a wok, add tbsp of sesame oil, add above mixture and a little salt and stir fry. Cook until soft flipping the over several times – about 5 minutes total. Turn off heat and set aside. Once cool, finely dice the mushrooms and add to the mixture bowl.  Sprinkle the corn flour on top, toss to combine and we’re ready to wrap! Take about 1/2 a tablespoon of filling and put it in the middle of the wrapper, take one corner of the wrapper and fold it so it meets the diagonal corner. Crimp down the wrapper along the filling and set aside. Continue until you run out of wrappers! suggestion watch You tube on how to wrap wonton or dumplings ..mine usually turns out dumplings even though I start as Wonton :-)
Drop them gently in boiling water and let it cook until they float on top.
Step 3: The cooking!
Once your stock is ready strain the broth. I usually use carrots from this stock by crumbling them with fork and add it to the pot again. Boil soup and add cooked dumplings. Dumpling are already cooked so all you are doing at this point is to heat soup and Serve immediately with sauce. I prepare mine with 4 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp chilli garlic sauce, 1/4 tsp hoisin sauce.