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Favorite Recipes

These are some of my favorite recipes both from around the internet and from my own attempts at recipe development. Many are vegetarian both for cost reasons and because it is better for the environment.

Black Bean Burgers

I make these frequently. They are adapted from a recipe by J. Kenji Lopez-alt, one of the most influential chefs in the modern internet era. His scientific approach to many common cooking questions has been a great help to me in the past and his recipes are among the only ones I don't skip the preamble on most of the time, simply because the context he provides is that valuable. That said, the original recipe, linked here makes some choices that I don't follow. My edited version, below, is a bit less southwestern and less expensive overall.

• 1 to 1.5 cups dried black beans
• 1 diced medium onion
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1-2 chipotle chilli(s) in adobo sauce
Get a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, take one out, and freeze the rest in a ziplock bag. Freeze it flat and you can take them out one at a time just by breaking off whatever you need.
• Spices, maybe 1 Tablespoon in total, to taste
I like a teaspoon each of cumin, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder but you can take this in most any direction. Kenji's recpie commits to the southwestern influence completely but someday when I remember to I will try it with indian spices and update this with my recommendation.
• 1/2 cup mild cheese, shreaded or diced small
Most types of cheese will work, if you use something that isn't salty, like Feta, you will need to add additional salt to ensure the patty is seasoned properly. Unlike ground beef, you can salt this mixture before cooking without an issue. I still salt and pepper the outside when I make them, however.
• 3/4 cup panko
• 1 egg
• 2 Tbsp mayo

Boil the black beans till soft and discard the boiling water. Spread the cooked beans on a sheet tray and bake in an over at 350 farenheit for about 20 minutes, or untill the beans are slightly dry and getting crunchy. Let cool. While cooling, sautee the onion in a little olive oil then, once it has a little color, add the garlic and chipotle. Add the spices and sautee for about 30 seconds or untill fragrant, then remove from heat. Once cooled, add the onions and spices to the food processor, process for a few seconds, then add the beans. Don't over process at this stage or you will loose a lot of the texture of the beans, I like to process till the largest beans are roughly cut into thirds. Turn it all out into a bowl, gently mix in the remaining ingredients, form into patties, and sear in a hot pan, maybe 4-5 minutes a side. Keep in mind there is raw egg in this so you do want to make sure this is cooked all the way through. I put a patty in the pan, salt and pepper the top, then when the first side is done, flip it and salt and pepper the other side, then add cheese, cover, and wait for it to be done.

Hummus

If you think about it, hummus is basically just bean soup. This recipe is adapted from the Middle Eats youtube channel, linked here. I have adjusted it to fit my needs better.

• 1 Cup dried gabanzo beans, aka chickpeas
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 3 Tbsp lemon juice, or to taste
• 2 tsp salt
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp baking soda

Soak the beans overnight in cold water, drain off the soaking water and boil in fresh water with the baking soda for a few hours or untill tender. Drain well then add to blender with all other ingredients and blend till smooth. Sometimes I need to add some water to get it to blend and not just sit above the blades but I try to add as little as possible because I prefer a thick hummus.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses
• 1 stick butter
• 1 large egg
• 1tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt (omit if your butter is salted)
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 bag chocolate chips

Beat sugar into butter completely, add egg and vanilla, beat well, then add remaining ingredients and mix till just incorporated. Bake in a 300 degree farenheit oven for about 18 minutes or untill lightly browned.

Butter Chicken

Adapted from the Bombay Chef. A fantastically simple and very good tasting but rich curry. Original linked here.

For the marinate:
• 2/3rds of a pound boneless chicken breast(around 2 breasts), cut into bite sized pieces
• 1 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
• 1 tbsp Red chilli powder
• Salt to taste
• Oil to pan fry

Combine the above ingredients and let marinate for at least 15 minutes
For the gravy:
• 1 LB Tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1/2 medium onion, roughly diced
• 1 tbsp garlic paste
• 1/4 cup cashews
• 1 tsp kasoori methi
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 4 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp kashmiri chilli powder
• 5 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp milk
• 2 tbsp malt vinegar / 1.5 tbsp White Vinegar
• Salt to taste

Fry marinated chicken in a pan, remove from heat, then sweat the onion in some of the butter, then add the garlic paste, garam masala and chilli powder and cashews, sautee for 30 seconds then add the tomatoes and salt. Stirr and simmer for 15 minutes then remove from heat and puree with a stick blender. Strain back into pan and add remaining butter, milk, kasoori meethi and chicken, and simmer 5-7 minutes.

Stromboli Dough

Adapted from Sallys Baking Addiction. linked here

• 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
• 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active-dry yeast (1 standard packet)
• 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface

Knead 5 mins in mixer or till passes window pane test. Rise ~ 1 hour. Stretch, fill, and bake at 400 for 25 minutes.