Cook Without Book

               Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds   broccoli crowns, cut into long spears 3 cups   turkey (light and dark meat, shredded into large pieces), warmed 2 tablespoons   unsalted butter 1  small onion, thinly sliced 1 cup   presliced mushrooms 3 tablespoons   all-purpose flour 1 1/2 cups   homemade turkey broth or low-sodium canned broth, heated 2 tablespoons   dry sherry 3 tablespoons   heavy cream 1/2 cup   freshly grated Parmesan, divided 1/4 cup   sliced almonds Preparation In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook broccoli about 5 minutes, or until tender; drain. Butter a 9 x 13 x 2-inch baking dish; arrange broccoli across the bottom. Top with turkey; cover with foil to keep warm. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Sauté onions and mushrooms until golden brown (add a little broth if mixture seems dry). Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute...

Yield:  Makes 4 servings (serving size: 1 sundae)                    Ingredients 1 tablespoon   plus 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup 1/2 teaspoon   chili powder 1/2 teaspoon   ground cinnamon 1/8 teaspoon   ground red pepper 1/4 cup   sliced almonds 1  pint vanilla light ice cream 1 cup   frozen pitted cherries 1/4 cup   English toffee pieces 2 ounces   bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 375°. Stir together first 4 ingredients (through pepper) in a small bowl. Add almonds, and stir gently until well-combined. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, and spread nuts in a single layer. Bake in middle of oven, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes or until golden brown and fragrant. Remove parchment from pan, and let almonds cool on paper. Nuts will crisp as they cool. 2. Break nut mixture into pieces. Portion ice cream int...

Strawberry Phirni Creamy rice Indian dessert with fresh strawberries. Cooking Time:  20-30 minutes Servings:  4   Preparation Time:  15-20 minutes   Category:  Veg f Ingredients • Fresh strawberries 12-15 • Rice,soaked and ground 4 tablespoons • Milk 5 cups • Sugar 3/4 cup • Green cardamom powder 1/2 teaspoon • Almonds,blanched 6-8 • Pistachios,blanched 8-10 Method Boil milk in a deep non stick pan. Chop the strawberries and place in another non stick pan. Add 2-3 tbsps sugar and cook on low heat. Mix the ground rice with 2-3 tbsps milk till smooth. Add this to the boiling milk and stir. Let it cook on low heat, stirring a few times in between. Add cardamom powder and mix. Chop almonds and few pistachios. Add and mix well. Cook till the phirni thickens. Add remaining sugar and stir till it dissolves. Switch off heat and add strawberry mixture, mix well. Pour mixture into individual kasores and set asid...

Kurmura Tadka A tasty snack made from puffed rice. Cooking Time:  5-10 minutes Servings:  4   Preparation Time:  5-10 minutes   Category:  Veg Ingredients • Puffed rice (kurmura/murmura) 4 cups • Almonds 10-12 • Green chillies 2 • Oil 2 tablespoons • Mustard seeds 1/2 teaspoon • Asafoetida a pinch • Turmeric powder 1/4 teaspoon • Curry leaves 20-25 • Chole,roasted 1/2 cup black • Salt to taste • Sugar 1 teaspoon Method Heat a large kadai. Halve the almonds and the green chillies. Pour oil into the kadai and when it is heated add mustard seeds and let them splutter. Add asafoetida, turmeric powder and sauté for ½ minute. Add curry leaves and almonds and sauté till the leaves are crisp. Add the roasted chana, salt and sugar and mix well. Add kurmura and mix well. When it is completely cooled store in airtight container.

Prep Time:  45 minutes Cook Time:  1 hour, 35 minutes Yield:  Makes 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)                  Ingredients Cake: Cooking spray 1 cup   sliced almonds 1/4 cup   all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon   sugar 3 tablespoons   unsalted butter, melted 3  (8-ounce) blocks 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened 1  (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk 2 tablespoons   amaretto (almond-flavored liqueur) 1 teaspoon   vanilla extract 3  large eggs, at room temperature Brittle: 3/4 cup   sliced almonds 1 cup   sugar 2 tablespoons   water Dash of salt Preparation 1. Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Coat a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray; set aside. 2. To make cake crust: Place almonds, flour, and sugar in a food processor; process until nuts are finely ground. Add butter; pulse until combined....

                             Ingredients Sauce: 1 cup   granulated sugar 1/4 cup   water 2 tablespoons   agave nectar 5 tablespoons   unsalted butter 1 tablespoon   pure vanilla extract 1 1/2 teaspoons   sea salt Juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons   espresso powder dissolved into 2 tablespoons boiling water To serve: 8  waffle cones (such as Keebler) 2  pints vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt 1/3 cup   sliced almonds, toasted Preparation 1. Combine sugar, water and agave nectar in a heavy medium saucepan; stir well. Cover, and boil until sugar has dissolved (about 5 minutes), stirring once or twice. Cover again, and boil until bubbles are large and mixture is thick (4 minutes). Uncover, and continue boiling 6 minutes or until mixture is golden. 2. Remove pan from heat; place bottom of hot pan in cold water. Carefully add the butter, vanilla, a...

Nettle Pasta It's quite easy to find nettles in the markets for most of the year here. But don't worry if you can't get a hold of them, you can substitute kale or spinach, no problem. 6 - 8 ounces stinging nettles* 8 ounces small dried pasta (orecchiette, orzo, etc) extra virgin olive oil 1 large clove garlic, minced a big handful of toasted almond slices 3 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds a handful of onion sprouts feta cheese, crumbled - as much or as little as you like fine grain sea salt Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt well, as you would for pasta water, and add the nettles straight from the bag so as not to get stung (or use gloves to handle them). Boil until the nettles wilt, just 20 seconds or so, then use a slotted spoon to remove the nettles from the pot. Run under cold water, drain well, then strip the leaves from any big stems. Chop the leaves into a paste. In the meantime, bring the nettle water back to a boil, add the pasta, a...

Jau ki Kheer Barley kheer made special with rooh afza. Cooking Time:  20-25 minutes Servings:  4   Preparation Time:  20-25 minutes   Category:  Veg Ingredients • Barley,soaked 1 cup • Milk 4 cups • Ghee 1 teaspoon • Almonds 3 tablespoons + for garnishing • Khoya/mawa,grated 1/2 cup • Sugar 5 tablespoons • Green cardamom powder a pinch • Rooh Afza 2 tablespoons Method Heat ghee in a non stick pan, add 3 tbsps almond slivers and sauté for a minute. Add barley and milk, mix and let it come to a boil. Cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, stirring at intervals, till the barley is completely cooked. Add khoya, sugar and cardamom powder and mix till sugar dissolves. Cook till the kheer comes to a boil.Switch off the heat, add rooh afza and mix well. Cool and transfer into a serving bowl. Garnish with almond slivers and serve chilled.

Corn Ki Kheer Corn cooked with milk, sugar and dried fruits Cooking Time:  10-15 minutes Servings:  4   Preparation Time:  15-20 minutes   Category:  Veg Ingredients   • American corn kernels,Blanched and coarsely ground 1 cup • Milk 4 cups • Sugar 1/2 cup • Cashewnuts,broken 10 • Almonds,broken 10 • Saffron (kesar) a few strands Method Boil milk in a deep non-stick pan. Add ground corn and sugar and mix well.  Add cashew nuts and almonds, mix well and cook for ten to twelve minutes on medium heat.  Serve hot garnished with saffron strands.

Almond Praline A scrumptious crunch topping that can be used in many desserts, especially sundaes. The crunch of almonds together with caramelized sugar imparts a wonderful texture to recipes. While i have included it in the recipe of chocolate nougat cake, but it can even be eaten by itself! Preparation Time:  5 mins Cooking Time:  7 mins Makes .75 cup Ingredients 1/2 cup  blanched and  roasted almonds (badam) 1/2 cup   sugar 1/2 tsp   vanilla essence oil  for greasing Method Combine the sugar and vanilla essence in a broad non-stick pan and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes or till the sugar melts, while stirring continuously. Remove from the flame, add the almonds and mix well. Spread the mixture on a greased flat surface and allow it to cool and harden. Scrape it out using a palate knife and coarsely powder it using a mortar-pestle (khalbatta). Store in an air-tight container and use as required. Handy tips: ...

Almond Pistachios Praline Triangles A delicious praline made of nuts and poppy seeds. A great snack for any time of the day. Preparation Time : :   10 mins. Cooking Time : :   15 mins. Serves 4.  Ingredients 1/3 cup  coarsely  powdered almonds (badam) or  pistachios 2 tbsp   melon seeds (charmagaz) 2 tbsp   poppy seeds (khus-khus) 1/4 tsp   cardamom (elaichi) powder 1/2 cup   sugar oil  to grease Method In a heavy bottomed pan, add the sugar and melt it over gentle heat, stirring continuously till the sugar is light brown in colour (caramelised). Remove from the fire, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Pour this mixture onto a greased marble or stone surface. Using a large greased rolling pin, roll out the praline as thinly as you can. While it is still warm, cut into triangles. Allow it to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container. Tips Sugar burns very quickly, so ...

Malpuas Hot malpuas are irresistible, whether had plain or with a topping of cold rabadi. Try making this delightful treat at home itself, and with a slight twist. In this version, i have avoided deep-frying the malpuas and cooked them with minimal ghee in a frying pan. They turn out as soft as ever. Preparation Time:  10 mins Cooking Time:  20 mins Makes 8 malpuas Ingredients 4 tbsp   plain flour (maida) 1/2 cup   fresh cream ghee  for greasing and cooking For The Sugar Syrup 3/4 cup   sugar 2 tsp   rose water 2  pinches  saffron (kesar) strands  dissolved in 2 tsp  milk For The Garnish 1 tbsp   almond (badam) slivers 1 tbsp   pistachio slivers Method   For the sugar syrup Combine the sugar and ¾ cup of water in a broad non-stick pan, mix well and cook on a medium flame for 5 to 7 minutes or till the sugar syrup is of 1 thread consistency. Add the rose water and switch off the flame. Add t...

Sweet Rice Try this simple version of the popular meetha chawal. You do not need to prepare any syrup for this version of sweet rice, as the rice and sugar are cooked together. With the addition of saffron, cinnamon, cloves and bayleaves, a sweet, spicy aroma fills the whole house kindling everybody’s appetite! Preparation Time:  5 mins Cooking Time:  6 mins Makes 6 servings Ingredients 7 cups   cooked rice (chawal) 1 1/2 cups   sugar 4 tbsp   ghee 50   cinnamon (dalchini) 2   cloves (laung / lavang) 2   bayleaves (tejpatta) 2  pinches of  saffron (kesar) strands  dissolved in 2 tbsp warm  milk a few drops of  saffron colour For The Garnish 1 tsp   almond (badam) sli vers    1 tsp   pistachio slivers Method Combine the rice and sugar in a bowl, mix well and keep aside. Heat the ghee in a broad non-stick pan, add the cinnamon, cloves and bayleaves and sauté on a mediu...