Welcome to the Basics. As part of my posts I create many powders, pastes, sauces etc. This page will attempt to capture those creations, which can be referred to and used in many preparations. Lets call them β The Basics π Cooking is 50-50 β creativity and basic combinations.
The Table is ordered in Alphabetical order for easy access to the basics π
The Basics β¦. | β¦.. How to prepare | |
---|---|---|
Avocado foam | Recipe link | |
Avocado Tomatilla salsa | Recipe link | |
Cilantro Jalapeno chutney | Recipe link | |
Chocolate frosting | Recipe link | |
Chocolate sauce | Recipe link | |
Chutney β roasted carrot and peanuts | Recipe link | |
Green thai curry paste | Recipe link | |
Guacamole | Recipe link | |
Mango Orange puree | Recipe link | |
Massaman curry paste | Recipe link | |
Pesto | Recipe link | |
Red thai curry paste | Recipe link | |
Strawberry sauce | Recipe link | |
Tempura style veggies | Recipe link | |
Tikka Masala sauce | Recipe link | |
Vanilla ice cream | Recipe link | |
Yellow curry paste | Recipe link | |
White sauce | Recipe link |
Avocado foam recipe
Avocado foam recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 Avocadoes not too ripe
- 2 tbsps Sour cream
- 2 tbsps Cilantro
- 2 pods Garlic
- 1 Jalapeno (or green chillies) desired spice levels
- Salt
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients to a smooth paste, do not add any water
- Season with salt
- The texture should look like whipped cream or foam
Avocado Tomatillo salsa recipe
Avocado Tomatillo salsa
Ingredients
- 4 Avocados medium ripe
- 1 Tomatillo
- 1 Jalapeno
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Roast the Tomatillo wedges and slit jalapenos until blistered
- Cool and blend well to a puree
- Peel, de-seed and mash the avocados with salt
- Add the puree and mix very well
Cilantro Jalapeno chutney
Cilantro Jalapeno tangy chutney
Ingredients
- 1 bunch Cilantro with stalks
- 1 Jalapeno
- 1 pod Garlic
- 1 tbsp Tomato paste
- 1/2 Lemon juiced
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Using a blender grind to a smooth paste β cilantro, jalapeno and garlic
- Add the tomato paste, salt and lemon juice and mix very well
Chocolate frosting
Chocolate frosting
Ingredients
- 10 Dates soaked
- 1/2 cup Milk
- 1/4 tsp Corn starch
- 2 tbsps Cacao powder
Instructions
- Blend the soaked dates into a pulp with milk and corn starch
- Add the cacao powder and mix well
- Heat on low for 5-7 minutes and let it thicken
- Store in glass jars after cooling completely
Chocolate Sauce
Chocolate Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 cup Cacao powder raw
- 1 cup Maple syrup 100%
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Start a dutch oven pot on low flame
- Mix maple syrup with 1 cup of water and bring to a low boil
- Add vanilla extract
- Add the cacao powder and keep stirring to mix it in
- Bring to a very low boil and turn off heat
- Cool completely and store in glass jars in refridgerator
Roasted Carrots and Peanut chutney recipe
Roasted Carrots and Peanuts chutney
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 15 Baby Carrots
- 1/2 cup Peanuts with skin
- 1 Jalapeno
- A handful of Cilantro stalks and leaves
Seasoning-
- 1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
- 1/4 tsp Urad dal
- 1 tsp Oil
Instructions
- In a cast iron skillet, roast all 4 ingredients with just a drop of oil
- Cool and grind to a smooth chutney in a blender
- Heat up a tsp of oil and season Mustard seeds and urad dal
- Add to chutney and mix well
Green thai curry paste recipe
Green thai curry paste recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds
- 1 tsp Coriander seeds
- 1 tsp Black peppercorns
- 2 inch Ginger
- 4 pods Garlic
- 5 Green chillies
- 2 tbsps Cilantro (coriander leaves)
- 1 Shallot
- 2 inch Lemon peel white parts removed
- 2 inch Lemon grass stalk
Instructions
- Dry roast all of the ingredients and grind to a fine paste with 1/2 cup waterΒ
- Store in airtight glass jars for upto a month in the refridgerator and 6 months in freezer
Guacamole recipe
Guacamole β hand mashed and fresh
Ingredients
- 4 Avocados ripe
- 1 Onion finely chopped
- 1 Jalapeno finely chopped
- 3 pods Garlic finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Cilantro finely chopped
- 1 Lemon squeezed
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Deseed the avocados and mash them roughly
- Add all the other ingredients and mix very well, DONE !
Mango Orange puree recipe
Mango Orange puree recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups Mango cubes
- 3 Oranges
- 4 Star Anise
- 2 tbsps Maple Syrup
Instructions
- Take the oranges and make slits in the skinΒ
- Take a large cooking pot, add the mango chunks, whole oranges, star anise, maple syrup and 2 cups of water
- Put a lid on it and cook for 45 minutes to 1 hour checking and adding more water as needed to submerge the oranges and cook it completely
- The skin of the orange must be completely cooked and turn pale in colorΒ
- Cool, remove the spices and blend to a smooth pureeΒ
- Refrigerate for 1 hour to thicken
Massaman curry paste recipe
Massaman curry paste
Ingredients
- 4 pods Cardamom
- 2 sticks Cinnamon
- 5 Cloves
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1/2 tbsp Cumin seeds
- 4 dried Red chillies deseeded
- 1 tbsp Lemon rind
- 1/3 tbsp Peppercorns
- 1 Star anise
- 1 tbsp Nutmeg grated
- 1 small Shallot
- 1/2 inch Fresh Ginger
- 10 pods Garlic
- 1 tbsp Miso paste (in place of fish sauce)
Instructions
- Take a small skillet and roast the shallots and garlic on a low flame to brown color, remove to a plate
- To the same skillet, add all the other ingredients and roast until well roasted, let it cool
- In a blender, grind both sets of roasted ingredients to a coarse paste, it should not be smooth. Add drops of water as needed.
- Store in airtight glass jars in refridgerator for up to a month or in the freezer for upto 6 months.
Pesto recipe
Basic Pesto recipe
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 2 cups Curly leaf Parsley packed
- 1/2 cup Pine nuts toasted
- 10 pieces Walnuts (optional) toasted
- 3 pods Garlic peeled
- 1 large Jalapeno
- 2 tbsps Lemon juice
Instructions
- Toast the pinenuts and walnuts and keep aside
- In a blender, add the parsley, toasted nuts, garlic, jalapeno and blend to a smooth paste with 1-2 tbsps of water
- Add the lemon juice and salt to taste and mix very well
Red thai curry paste recipe
Red thai curry paste
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 1 Shallot large
- 2 pods Garlic
- 4 Red chillies
- 2 inch Ginger
- 6 stalks Cilantro
- 1 tsp Black pepper
- 1 tsp Miso paste
- 1 tsp Lemon grass powder
- 3 pieces Lemon peel
- 1 tsp Coarse sea salt
Instructions
- In a blender β grind all the ingredients with few teaspoons of water to a thick paste
- Store in air tight container in refridgerator for 1 month or freeze for upto 6 months
Strawberry sauce recipe
Strawberry sauce
Ingredients
- 30 Strawberries
- 1 cup Maple syrup
Instructions
- Wash and chop the strawberries
- In a large dutchoven, add the maple syrup and strawberries, bring to a boil
- Simmer and put a lid on and let it cook for 20 minutes
- Turn off heat and let it cool down completely
- Puree to a smooth sauce without adding water, in a blender
- Store in airtight glass jar in refridgerator
Tikka Masala sauce recipe
Tikka Masala sauce
Equipment
- Immersion blender
- InstantPot
Ingredients
- 1 large Onion cut into pieces
- 3 pods Garlic
- 1 inch Ginger
- 1 Yellow Pepper cut into squares
- 1 Green Pepper cut into squares
- 4 Red chillies dried
- 4 Green chillies
- 10 stalks Cilantro with leaves
- 4 Roma tomatoes cut into big pieces
- 1 tbsp Kasoori Methi seasoning Dried Fenugreek leaves
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into the InstantPot
- Add 1 cup of water
- Cook on High Pressure for 10 minutes
- Release pressure and open, let it sit for 10 minutes
- Carefully using the Immersion blend, blend to a smooth Puree
- Tikka Masala Sauce is ready
Tempura style veggies recipe
Tempura style veggies
Ingredients
- 2 cups Broccoli florets
- 2 cups Cauliflower florets
- 4 tbsps Corn meal
- 2 tbsps Fine corn flour
- 4 tbsps Sesame oil
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Toss all of the ingredients very well and spread on a cookie sheet
- Bake at 450 degrees for 20 minutes
- remove from oven, stir together and spread evenly
- return to oven for another 10 mins until crisp and crunchy
Basic Vanilla ice-cream
Basic Vanilla ice cream
Equipment
- Ice-cream maker
Ingredients
- 2 cups Heavy cream
- 2 cups Whole milk 2% also works well
- 3/4 cup Maple syrup
- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract OR pods of a Vanilla bean
Instructions
- Mix all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and pour into the frozen base of an ice cream maker
- Churn for 25 minutes for basic Vanilla ice cream
- NOTE β if adding toppings, churn for 20 minutes and add toppings, churn for 5 minutes to mix-in
- Freeze for 2-3 hours for firm icecream or serve immediately for soft-serve ice cream
Yellow curry paste
Yellow curry paste
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 3 Shallots
- 2 pieces Ginger
- 3 pods Garlic
- 8 Dried Red Chillies hydrated in water
- 1 tbsp Coriander seeds
- 1 stick Lemon Grass
- 1 bunch Cilantro stalks
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Curry powder
Instructions
- Wrap shallots, ginger and garlic in aluminium foil and bake it a 350 degrees for 10 minutes
- (This step brings out the sweetness of the ingredients)
- Next add all the ingredients to a blender and grind to a smooth paste with just drops of water
- Store in airtight glass jars for upto 3 months in refridgerator or 1 year in freezer
White Sauce
White Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Butter VEGAN OPTION β Olive oil or vegan butter
- 1 tbsp Plain flour Whole wheat flour also works well
- 1 cup Milk VEGAN OPTION β Almond or Oat milk
Instructions
- Start a small saucepan on low heat
- First melt the butter
- Second add the flour and mix throughly without any clumps
- Third add the milk slowly mixing evenly to avoid clumps, take off the heat while doing this step
- Once throughly incorported, return to low heat and mix until desired thickness