Bengfort.com

Syrup (Chaashni)

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water

1. Bring it to boil. Boil for 2 mins

Gulab Jamun

• 3 cups non fat dry milk powder
• 1 cup all purpose flour (Maida)
• 1 tsp Baking powder
• Whipping cream
• Oil for frying.

1. Mix non-fat dry milk powder, all purpose flour and baking powder well.
2. Knead it with whipping cream to medium consistency.
3. Make small balls
4. Heat oil on low heat. (Keep it at 3 if electric range)
5. Fry the balls on low heat continuously turning them for even heating
6. Fry until evenly brown.
7. Remove from pan and put directly in the syrup made above. (the syrup should be warm to hot)
8. Leave them in syrup for 15 mins. Turn them once after 7-8 mins
9. Remove from syrup.
10. Gulab Jamuns are ready to eat.

Masala

• One large onion
• ½ tsp Ginger-garlic paste
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ¾  tsp turmeric powder
• ½ tsp Red chilli Powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp dry mango (amchur) powder
• 1 tbsp Oil

1. Grate onion ( may be in a mixer)
2. Heat oil
3. Add cumin seeds
4. Add ginger-garlic paste.
5. Fry until brown.
6. Add grated onion
7. Fry until brown
8. Add turmeric, chilli, coriander and amchur powders.
9. Fry on low heat for 2-3 mins.
10. Masala is Ready

Note: If ginger –garlic paste is not available, peel and grate 1-2 bulbs of garlic. Fry until brown. Grate ginger and add with tomato paste.

Chhole

• 2 cups Chick peas (Chhole)
• ½ tsp Chhole masala
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste

1. Soak chhole for 3-4 hrs
2. Boil in Pressure Cooker for 30 -40 mins. (Make sure they are soft or pressure cook for additional 15 mins)
3. Add chhole to above masala
4. Add water
5. Add salt
6. Boil on low heat for 10-15 mins
7. Remove from heat and add chhole masala

Note: Garam Masala can be added if chhole masala is not

Ben's Easter Quiche with Wine

This morning I made the most amazing Easter Quiche for our Easter brunch. For our Easter lunch, we had our usual Sunday Lunch fare- Roasted Lamb with Garlic, Sage, and Thyme; Green Bean Casserole; Mashed Red Potatoes with the skin on; Grilled Garlic and Coriander Asparagus; and Strawberries with Angel Food Cake and Heavy Whipped Cream for dessert, only the Yorkshire Puddings were missing! But as you can see from this menu, Jaci does lack a main dish- and to that end I decided to make a vegetarian- tomato, chives, and cheese quiche.

Now, normally when you make quiche you might imagine labors including using lard and flour and a refrigerated pastry- however, with some help from some very suggestive recipes, I came up with a recipe that was fast, easy, and incredibly delicious. In fact, the quiche was ready in 50 minutes or so, from start to finish, including baking. The secret- using Pilsbury Crescent Roll dough for the crust, rather than making your own pastry crust. This recipe was so fast- it is perfect for an Easter Sunday morning on the way to church- when you want something memorable, but fast enough to get you out the door for the sunrise service. And thus- Ben’s Easter Sunday Quiche was born! I can fully imagine that this will soon become an Easter tradition in our household.

Ingredients:

• One can Pillsbury’s Refrigerated Crescent Rolls
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Four chopped Green Onions
• 1/2 cup chopped chives
• 1 medium tomato, chopped
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup cream (heavy or light)
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Pop the can of the Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough and roll the dough into a ball. Roll out on a flat surface with a little flour into a circle. Press the dough into a deep dish, 9 inch pie plate, making sure that the dough reaches over the top of the edges. Beware- the dough can be tricky to roll, and you want to use as little flour as possible, since the butter in the dough gives enough grease that you don’t have to add additional to the pie plate.Also note- don’t use baking beans at the bottom of the plate like you might do with a normal quiche- the crescent roll dough doesn’t need them!

Sprinkle a half cup of the cheddar over the bottom, then layer the chives, green onions, and tomatoes over them. Note: here you can use ham or cooked bacon if you wish as well, but this dish is better vegetarian in my opinion. Mix the cream and the eggs in a separate bowl until well blended (try not to beat too much air into the mixture), then add over the top of the ingredients in the pie crust. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for 40 minutes, or until firm. I recommend leaving the quiche sit for 5 minutes after removing from the oven, then serving with fruit- grapes and melon! Enjoy!

The Cosmo- the drink of choice for the ladies of Sex and the City, has as a result become the ladies drink of choice for feminists everywhere. And although my wife would prefer a champagne cocktail (thankfully trying to embody Audrey Hepburn rather than Sarah Jessica Parker), during her girls nights, it is often cheaper and a lot more fun to have a Cosmo night with the girls! Several variations follow- try them at your own risk- these tasty treats can really sneak up on you!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 4

Cosmopolitan

New York Cosmo:

• 1 cup Vodka
• ½ cup triple sec
• ½ cup cranberry juice
• ¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Preparation

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour through a strainer into four martini glasses.

High Ball Cosmo:

• 6 ounces lemon vodka
• 4 ounces Cointreau
• 4 ounces cranberry juice
• 8 tsp freshly squeezed lime juice
• Long thin piece orange zest

Preparation

Fill a cocktail shaker with ice. Add the vodka, Cointreau, and cranberry and lime juices. Cover and shake vigorously to combine and chill. Strain the cosmopolitan into a chilled martini glass. Twist the orange zest over the drink and serve.

Also try stirring in a pitcher.

Champagne Cosmo:

• 4 ounces vodka
• 2 ounces Cointreau
• 4 ounces cranberry juice
• Champagne

Preparation

Mix vodka, Cointreau, and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker with ice to combine and chill. Fill a champagne flute about a quarter of the way  with the Cosmo mixture, then add Champagne to fill.

The big (Sour) Apple:

• 4 ounces vodka
• 2 ounces Melon liqueur
• 2 ounces Southern Comfort
• 4 ounces lime cordial

Preparation

Pour all ingredients into a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake well and pour through a strainer into four martini glasses and garnish with a sour gummy worm or lemon twist.

I didn’t know if I should include this recipe in the China section, the England section, or the World section but since I found this particular recipe on the back of a corn flour box in England, I am going to place it in World, labeled as Oxford! The sweet and sour sauce can be used for any meats, or without meat for a sweet and sour fried rice. For the meat, we use chicken and shrimp, but I am sure this method applies to any meats you might want to use (but be warned, tastes may vary!) Generally the sherry can be cooking sherry or Harvey’s Bristol Cream (if you want to spend for that) and we haven’t had any problems using whatever was in our decanter. Enjoy!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4-6

Ingredients:

Sweet and Sour Chicken

For the meat:

• ¾ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sherry
• 1 egg- beaten
• 4 tbsp corn flour
• ~ 1 lbs meat (chicken or shrimp is best)
• oil for deep frying

For the sweet and sour sauce:

• 3 tbsp demrarra sugar (pure cane)
• 8 oz. can of pineapple cubes, drained (save juice)
• 3 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tomato, skinned and chopped
• ½ green pepper, deseeded and chopped
• ½ red pepper, deseeded and chopped
• 2 tbsp corn flour
• 2 tbsp water

Directions:
Mix soy sauce, sherry, egg, and flour together in a bowl. Add meat and marinade for at least 30 minutes.

Put sugar and vinegar in a pan and heat until the sugar dissolves. Add in the peeled and chopped tomatoes (less the seeds if you can manage it) and boil it into the sauce- the tomatoes are what makes the sauce red! But before the tomatoes are full sauced add the pineapple pieces, and peppers and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Make pineapple juice to 150 ml (5 oz) by adding water. Then add juice to the pan. Blend the corn flour with 2 tbsp of water, and then add the mixture to the pan. Bring the sauce to a boil, and simmer until the sauce thickens and clears. Set the sauce aside to rest.

Heat oil in a wok and then deep-fry the meat, a couple pieces at a time, until golden brown. Make sure the meat stays warm while it is all cooking. Then reheat the sauce over low heat.

Serve meat pieces over rice with the sauce poured on top. Use extra sauce to serve on the side.

At the Bengfort House in England (2006-2008), Jaci and Ben received a “vegbox” every Tuesday afternoon from Riverside Farm, a local organic farm north of Oxford. It supplied us with a good bit of food that usually lasted us the entire week. The box always included potatoes, onions, carrots, etc- so called “useful food” by Jaci and Ben; but also came with a surprise vegetable from Black Kale to Crown Squash to Swiss Chard. One week we received a strange looking cabbage, and not knowing what else to do with it, we used this recipe from the Farm to make curried cabbage, and it was actually quite good!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20-25 Minutes
Servings: ~4

Ingredients:

• 1 medium cabbage
• ½ cups water
• 2 tbsp butter
• 3 large onions, coarsely chopped
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1 tbsp hot madras curry powder
• ½ cups milk

Directions:
Cut cabbage into 1-inch slices, and separate the leaves into pieces. Place the cabbage in a heavy skillet with the water and cook, covered over medium heat for 20 minutes or until cabbage is fork-tender.

While the cabbage is cooking, melt the butter in a second skillet and sauté onions until they are translucent. Add the flour and the curry powder, stirring to make sure they are well-mixed. Cook for 2-3 minutes. Then add the milk and continue to cook until the sauce is smooth.

When the cabbage is cooked, drain it and place it in a serving dish. Pour the curry sauce over it and serve hot.

I discovered borshch while traveling to Tver as part of a language study abroad program with the Naval Academy in the summer before my Firstie year. Being a vegetarian in Russia seems like it would be easy, especially because most Russians don’t eat a lot of meat- they can’t afford it. However, in an effort to be a good host, and thanks to communication difficulties, the babushka I stayed with tended to serve a lot of meat and needless to say, vegetarian borshch was a welcome relief. The secret of good borshch is to brown the vegetables separately in a frying pan before adding them to the soup.  And don’t skip the lemon juice–it may seem unneccessary, but the acidity of the juice ensures a deep crimson colour!

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30-35 Minutes
Servings: 6 dinner-sized bowels

Borshch

Ingredients:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 beets, grated
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1  turnip or parsnip, chopped
• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 cups water
• 1 head cabbage, chopped
• 3 stalks celery, chopped
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 1 cup tomato juice
• ½ cup sour cream, for garnish
• dill, for garnish

Directions:
In a large skillet, brown the onions, beets, carrots, potato, and turnip/parsnip separately in oil with one tbsp of lemon juice. Stirring occasionally, sauté for about 10 to 12 minutes. Meanwhile, in a large pot bring the water to a boil.

When water is boiling, add the cabbage, 1 tbsp of lemon juice, and celery; the vegetables will cool the water, so bring it back to a boil. When boiling again, add the browned vegetables from the skillet, salt, and pepper; simmer until the vegetables are soft, but not mushy; about 20 minutes. Finally add the tomato juice.

Serve hot OR cold, depending on the season; topped with a generous dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of dill.

Wondering what to do with our yellow split peas that we just discovered did NOT make good dal. I came across this recipe and tweaked it to make it more Ben and Jaci friendly. (ie. removing the pork for Jaci, adding the pork for Ben, and tossing in a few more spices to make it a little more appealing to our American palates). It actually turned out very good. The only thing is the pastry dough- which you can get in the freezer section.

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Medium
Prep Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Cook Time: 18-20 minutes
Servings: ~6

Ingredients:

• 41 g can apricots in juice
• 12 oz cooked pork in strips (optional)
• 75 g split peas, cooked as directed
• 3-4 spring onions, chopped
• black pepper and salt, to taste
• 1 tsp cumin
• 12 sheets filo pastry
• 25 g melted butter (¼ tbsp)

Directions:
If yellow split peas are dry, soak them in water overnight. (If you cannot, then soak them for an hour, and boil longer).

Place peas with water into a pot and add water until covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer until soft- about 30 minutes. Most of the water should be boiled off, but drain the excess water.

Pre-heat oven to 190° C or 375°F

Drain apricots but reserve the juice. Chop the apricots and add to a bowl with the pork, cooked split peas, cumin, onions, and about 45 ml of the apricot juice (about 3 tbsp). Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix to combine.

Cut the filo sheets into squares, and brush edges with butter , and paste on another square, at an angle. Spoon on filling, and bring corners together to seal the parcel using more butter if necessary.

Place parcel on a greased baking sheet, brush outside with a little butter and bake 18-20 minutes

Guacamole is easy to make from scratch, but not as intuitive as it sounds. Jaci and I get fresh avocados from our veg box, and we had to learn how to make Guac without the instant guac mix pack at Giant! This recipe should give you good guacamole in no time.

Recipe Summary

Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 Minutes
Servings: Enough for Tacos, Nachos, etc.

Ingredients:

• 2 Avocados
• 1 Tbsp Lemon Juice
• ½ clove garlic, crushed
• ½ tomato, finely chopped
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ¼ tsp ground cumin
• 2 drops hot pepper sauce

Directions:
Use a paring knife to split avocados in half, lengthwise through the top and bottom. Using a spoon, pull out the pit, and separate the flesh from the skin, making sure to get all of it out into a bowl.

Use a fork to mash the avocado into a paste-like mixture, add the lemon, garlic, cumin, and hot pepper sauce, and continue to mix well. Finally add the tomatoes and the onion, and fold together.

Serve immediately with Tacos, Nachos, or any other Mexican dish!