Sabudana Vada (potato, peanut, and tapioca fritters) with coconut-sesame dipping sauce

Sabudana vada with coconut-sesame dipping sauce

Lately, I have been so busy cooking that I haven't had time to post!  This ridiculous flurry of activity started several weeks ago when I decided I wanted Ethiopian food.  I spent a weekend making a batch of niter kibbeh and another of berbere.  That same weekend I also made a huge jar of ginger/garlic paste, a jar of coconut chutney, and a wet spice blend for making green curry.

The next week, I found myself up to my eyebrows in Indian adventures.  I made a batch of paneer and a batch of milk solids.  I roasted and mixed up a variety of spice blends, including Madras curry powder, sambhar masala and a Punjabi garam masala.

Some things turned out quite undesirable, like the injera I made to go with my Ethiopian wats.  Ugh!  Not sure where I went wrong with such a simple recipe, but something was very not right!  But other things turned out amazingly good, like the tapioca, potato, and peanut fritters with coconut-sesame dipping sauce.

I more or less followed Ragahavan Iyer's recipe in his wonderful book, 660 Curries.  Here's what he says to do, with just a few changes:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pearl tapioca (rinsed, soaked for 20 minutes, drained)
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro
10 (or more!) hot chilies (such as Thai or cayenne)
6 large cloves garlic
2 thick slices fresh ginger (1/2 inch)
1 pound russet potatoes, boiled and coarsely mashed (I mashed mine by squishing them through my fingers!)
1 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on whether or not your peanuts are already salted)
Canola oil for frying


Method:
1.  Grind peanuts in food processor by pulsing until coarsely chopped.  Dump in large mixing bowl.

2.  Combine cilantro, chilies, garlic, and ginger in processor and mince.  Add to peanuts.

3.  Add drained tapioca and mashed potatoes to mixing bowl and mix well.  This will look and feel doughy.  You can knead it like you would bread until the ingredients are well blended.

4.  Grease or wet your palms and pull off about 2 T dough.  Roll into a ball and then flatten into a disc.  Continue until all the dough is used up.

5.  Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil over medium-high heat and fry fritters until golden and crispy on both sides.

6.  Drain on paper towels.


Ingredients for the sauce:
1 T Canola oil
1/4 c shredded, unsweetened flaked coconut
1 T white sesame seeds
1/2 c dry-roasted peanuts
2 T chopped cilantro
1 t kosher salt
1 medium tomato, cored and coarsely chopped
4 hot green chilies (more or less to taste)

Method:
1.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add coconut and sesame seeds and fry, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden.

2.  Transfer to a blender and add 1 c water plus all the remaining ingredients.  Puree until smooth and blended, scraping down sides of blender when necessary.

3.  Transfer sauce to a small pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer gently for a minute or so.

To serve, you can place a couple of fritters on a plate and spoon some sauce over.  Or you can place the sauce in a small bowl and dip the fritters.  The sauce is got warm or at room temperature.

Chilies, cilantro, garlic, and ginger

Minced herb and spices

Tapioca, peanut and herb mince, mashed potatoes

The dough

The patties before frying

Fritters with dipping sauce

Pesto Pizza

oh-so-easy pesto

I love this time of year!  Ripe, juicy tomatoes bursting off the vine, sweeter-than-candy sweet corn being sold on the honor system from yard-stands sprinkled throughout the countryside, endless varieties of eggplant and peppers and an over-abundance of fresh herbs.  Like basil!  I recently came home from a trip to a friend's house with bags and bags of basil.  She had given me sweet Italian basil, Thai basil, pepper basil, and Ruben basil.  What to do with all that basil?

Of course, the obvious answer is make pesto.  Which I did.  I made a big batch and tossed it with bow tie pasta and spicy Italian sausage.  It was yummy!  The next day I made another patch and slathered it on top of individual pizzas.  Oh!  So good!  Today, I'm going to use up all the rest of the basil and make pesto for the freezer so I can continue enjoying the taste of summer even when the winter snow is on the ground!

My idea for the pizzas was inspired by a bottle of Carmen's Habitual Habanero that I always have sitting on the counter next to the stove.  This stuff is soooo good!  Of course, you can make this pizza without the Carmen's oil, but you will have no idea what you are missing!!!  You can read about the company and order a bottle for yourself by clicking here.

For my pizza, I started out by spreading a generous layer of pesto on top of a bread square.

Next, I sprinkled on a layer of sliced red onions, covered that with thin slices of fresh, juicy tomatoes, then drizzled on the Carmen's Habitual Habanero.  (This stuff packs a wallop and will leave your lips tingling happily!)

I sprinkled the tomatoes with torn chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese.

After baking at 425 for 10 minutes, my pizza came out of the oven looking like this:

Here is my simple recipe for pesto.

Ingredients:


1/4 cup pine nuts
2 large cloves garlic
2 cups tightly packed basil
2/3 cups EVOO (olive oil)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese

Method:


1.  Throw the pine nuts, garlic, and basil into the bowl of a small food processor (I used a hand blender) and process until finely chopped.

2.  Blend in the olive oil and then the cheese.

3.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.