Recipes
Arabic Chicken Kabsa
Kabsa is thought of as the national dish of many Arab states. Consisting of rice, meat, spices and often vegetables, all the ingredients in Kabsa are traditionally cooked in a single pot. The protein often varies by region, and can include beef, goat, or even camel. Chicken is among the most common, though, and it's what we've stuck to here. We'll save the camel for next time.The spices are the star of the show in these Middle Eastern dishes, which use varied seasonings to create wide arrays of amazing flavor. Black lemon, or loomi, makes this simple chicken and rice version a standout. We toast the spices and pan seared chicken thighs to enrich the broth for the rice. The resulting Kabsa has many layers of flavor and makes an amazing one-pot dinner for a large group or family!
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Carrot Cake Smoothie
This Carrot Cake Smoothie is a guilt free way to have dessert for breakfast. We all have the craving from time to time, some of us more often than others. I blame mine on my childhood history with sugary cereals. This indulgent smoothie checks off all the craving boxes without any added sugar, gluten or actually baking a cake. It's a lovely combination with all the flavors you want in this classic dessert. Kashmiri Garam Masala is a workhorse of a spice blend because of its versatility. Toasted, sweet and savory all together, it has warm spices like cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, black pepper, cloves, and mace, giving this smoothie a ton of aromatic flavor that satisfies with every sip.Inspired by our Moist Carrot Cake in World Spice at Home, enjoy them both!
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Garam Masala Meatballs with Mango Chutney
These meatballs are sweet, spicy, fruity and tangy. We seasoned our meatballs with an all purpose blend, Indian Garam Masala. For the chutney, we used some over-ripened mangoes and chopped dried tart cherries, although dried cranberries would be delicious, too. Making it the perfect sauce adding warmth and bite from nigella seeds and cayenne. Chutney has a lot of uses and is normally used to add sweet and sour tang to Indian dishes. Next we strewed the meatballs in the chutney. After 45 minutes of simmering these meatballs melt in your mouth! We used beef here, but lamb would be delicious, too! Add a toothpick to them for an easy appetizer or serve over basmati rice.
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Pecan Sandies
Our favorite secret ingredient for baking, Kashmiri Garam Masala, infuses these cookies with subtle flavor in every bite. The cookies have a delightful texture that falls apart in your mouth and not on the plate just as it should be. The recipe makes extra spiced nuts that you can serve or gobble up while the cookies bake.
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Chole
We loved Chetna Makan on "Great British Bake Off" and her first cookbook, The Cardamom Trail was full of many flavorful and stunningly photographed dishes. For Chai, Chaat & Chutney: a street food tour through India, she returned home to India and the street food that she grew up on. The book has four chapters that are organized by cities that make up the four corners of India - Chennai, Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), Mumbai and Delhi. The fifth chapter? All masala and chutney recipes. Some recipes will look or sound familiar, others will not...but the photos and descriptions of the food will make you want to eat (or drink!) all of them. If you love Indian food or any form of street food, this is the cookbook for you! This recipe is a wonderful example how curries in the North of India use lots of fragrant and aromatic spices to make this mouth-watering vegetarian curry made with chickpeas.From the author: "One of the ultimate curries of the North, this chickpea curry is often paired with Bhatura, a deep-fried flatbread sold piping hot originally on the streets of Delhi but, now, all over the country. This combination should be on everyone’s must-try list when visiting India. You can keep it light by eating this curry with rice or chapatti, if preferred."
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Pumpkin Bread
Yay! Pumpkin season has arrived, and we're kicking it off with pumpkin bread. This recipe is delightfully moist, with a velvety crumb and heavenly spice. Pumpkin bread is a wonderful seasonal treat for breakfast, snacking or dessert. These loaves are not too sweet, and the combination of Kashmiri Garam Masala and Grand Marnier is delicious. The recipe makes two loaves and conveniently uses a single can of pumpkin purée. They come together quick and easy and you can mix up the spice and liquor pairings in all kinds of creative ways.
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Down South Goat Biryani
From My Two Souths and Chef Asha Gomez, we get this stunning recipe for Down South Goat Biryani. With her love of Deep-South cooking as well as her southern Indian roots, this recipe is sure to please all of those experimenting with biryani for the first or the tenth time. Don't worry if you can't find goat - Chef Asha says it's just as delicious with beef or chicken. If you're looking for a stand-out dish for fall entertaining, this dish is for you. From the author: "Biryani is a celebration dish. Weddings, birthdays, festivals, and other times of good cheer are the usual occasions when this iconic dish of rice with meat or vegetables graces our table, with almost the entire spice cabinet having been invited into the cooking vessel. Across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, countless renditions of this festive dinner abound, as do the many names by which it is known. I think the following recipe is my favorite version to make at home, though it is wonderful made with beef chuck roast or chicken thighs. I love the tender goat layered between saffron-spiced rice and baked, then dressed with roasted shallots, cashews, raisins, and a confetti of cilantro. As I fluff the flavored rice, I always remove the star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves - counting the fifteen spice hulls as I go - and set them aside to use as a garnish. Alternatively, you can tie all the spices except the saffron and cumin seeds in a piece of muslin to make a bouquet garni, which makes a quick job of removing the spice hulls. Or, if no muslin is available, but them in a tea ball and hang the ball over the side of the pot."
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Pumpkin Rolls with Kashmiri Garam Masala
Take your cinnamon rolls from simple to sensational with the addition of pumpkin and Kashmiri Garam Masala. When I started looking for a pumpkin dessert, because it is that time of year, the thought of pies, cookies and loaves just seemed...boring. Enter the pumpkin rolls. I was SOLD as soon as I saw this post on Smitten Kitchen, and in making them found the recipe spot on! I barely adapted it, just a little spice make-over with one of our secret ingredients, Kashmiri Garam Masala, and some maple in the frosting. The results should be illegal. I know I say that about all the desserts, but this one is seriously irresistible.We opted for maple syrup and buttermilk in the glaze to round out the flavor profile. Next time I think trying coconut oil in place of some of the butter could be tasty, and orange in the frosting. Stay tuned! This one will definitely be back.While the glaze does put them over-the-top, these beauties are so delicious they could stand alone...or with butter...or with maple syrup.
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Carrot Cake with Kashmiri Garam Masala
Sometimes change is good—and in this case the flavor is what’s new. Fans have deemed this the best carrot cake they’ve ever had! Serving a favorite dessert that is known and loved, like carrot cake, with a new twist is the joy of exploring with spice. Kashmiri Garam Masala lends roasted spice flavors of pepper, cardamom, and clove to this classic preparation, and the coconut oil adds wonderful moisture and a velvety texture.
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