Recipes

Vegan Richa's Instant Pot Lentil Keema with Peas

20 min

Keema recipes are found throughout India. This tasty recipe uses lentils and walnuts in place of ground meat that is usually used in making keema. Including spices such as Sage, Cassia Indonesian Cinnamon, Cardamom Seed, Nutmeg, and Indian Cayenne, along with garam masala and Baharat, give this easy-to-make dish complex flavors. Keema is very versatile, and can be used in tacos, sandwiches, burritos, or just served with rice. Richa Hingle is a longtime World Spice Merchants customer, as well as a prolific and award winning recipe developer, blogger, and photographer based here in Seattle. The recipes she has on VeganRicha.com are easy to follow, with step-by-step photos so that even the novice vegan cook can make delicious food. She loves to show people how easy it is to cook vegan Indian or other cuisines, which are allergy friendly and have gluten-free and soy-free options. Her latest cookbook isVegan Richa's Instant Pot™ Cookbook which has many adaptations, swaps for allergies and special diets, full nutritional information, and will become your go-to guide for healthful, flavor-forward meals that are a breeze to get to the table.

Piña Colada

One sip of this cocktail will take you right to the beach. This creamy, frozen drink is ridiculously easy to drink. There's a reason you'll find these in paradise destinations. So make yourself a pitcher of this Caribbean favorite, kick back in a beach chair, and enjoy! For a layer of aromatic bliss, shave some nutmeg on top before taking a sip. Nothing compares to freshly grated Nutmeg - the warmth compliments the rum and coconut. Experiment further and add Jamaican Allspice or our Kashmiri Garam Masala to give a little extra something-something to your staycation.

Cooling Green Tea Punch

Get ready for warm weather with this Cooling Green Tea Punch! We like to keep iced tea on hand all summer long, and this combination of green and herbal makes a wonderful cocktail base. The Rwandan Green is mild, while the peppermint is mellow and cooling. White rum, nutmeg and lime lend Caribbean flourish to make your cocktail hour feel as good as a beach vacation.

Gingerbread Caramels

Some spices are just born leaders, with big loud voices and an overwhelming presence. Mace can be one of those show-offs, unless properly tamed. Mace is actually the lacy outer covering of the nutmeg, but its flavor is a bit earthier than nutmeg - think bass vs. soprano. Here we're getting the most out of it's character by combining it with other spices to recreate the scintillating flavor of freshly baked gingerbread, but in a soft, chewy caramel candy, perfect for gift-giving this holiday season.Now there's nothing to fear in caramel making, as long as you follow a few simple rules. Rule #1 is know your altitude. Sugar cooks quicker (which means that water evaporates faster, and that's what control's your ultimate texture) at higher altitudes, so the general rule is to subtract 2 degrees for every 1000 feet above sea level from your final temperature. For example, our basic, sea level recipe calls for a final cooking temperature of 240 F. for a soft caramel. My kitchen is around 3000 ft., so, after a bit of experimenting, I finally altered the target temperature to 238 F. It may take a few tries to find the softness that you prefer - I like my caramels a bit on the softer side. The second rule to follow is to STIR CONTINUOUSLY while cooking the caramel. Dairy products burn really easily at high temperatures, and you don't want that. Thirdly, know your thermometer. Test it by filling a large glass with ice and enough water to separate the cubes. Let it sit for a minute, then insert your thermometer - it should read 32 degrees. If not, make a note of how far off it is, and adjust your cooking accordingly. And remember, the caramel mixture will be extremely hot, so resist the temptation to taste it until it's cooled off. I like to keep a dab on my spatula for tasting purposes, since it will cool off quickly. Follow these few rules, and you'll find yourself on the road to candy making success.Note: To make clean up a breeze, after you pour out the caramel refill the pot with water. Cover and bring to a boil, then set aside for a few minutes. The hot water and steam will help dissolve the cooked sugars.

Quatre Epices

Despite its name, which means "four spices" in French, this blend never seems to keep strict count on the number of its ingredients. Quatre Epices can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. Often included in paté, forcemeat and sausage making, it is equally at home in gingerbread or cake, such as in this delicious French Quatre Epices Cake, as seen in Sunset Magazine.

Melange Classique

This fanciful French blend combines nutmeg and pepper with a healthy harvest from the herb garden, to satisfy all your taste buds. Melange Classique is an all purpose seasoning for stews and roasts, pate, stuffing and bean dishes. Melange Classique will work well as a rub on any meat, particularly lamb, duck and pork.

Hahn Family Sweet Treats

No Thanksgiving or holiday dinner would be complete without the desserts. Pumpkin pie is par for the course, where sweet treats are concerned, but few folks stop there. Every family has their own unique preferences, and this collection of recipes has something for everyone. The applesauce cake will have even the most ardent fruitcake detractors coming back for a second slice. Perfect for the holidays, it can be made and enjoyed year round. The shortbread is recipe was adopted from a Scottish woman who lived down the street from Mom when she was growing up in Boise. We've tried other shortbread recipes, but always come back to this one. Make these and I'm sure that they will disappear as quickly as they always did in our home. These recipes brought to you by World Spice Family Favorites. Thanks, Sherrie! For more holiday treats, check out all our dessert and pastry recipes.

Heavenly Béchamel and More Fun with Mace Blades

Of the five classic French "mother sauces," béchamel gives us some of the most rich "small sauces". Although béchamel may be the most simple to prepare, that doesn't mean it can't also show off some pretty complex flavors. Taking the time to create layers of flavor in the building blocks of a recipe ensures that the sauces and dishes created from those blocks will build palaces of flavor. As the recipe below demonstrates, there are not many ingredients in the basic béchamel sauce; just milk, roux, and the onion cloute. An onion cloute is an onion studded with cloves and a bay leaf, and although I've seen some recipes call the cloute optional, it is not. The onion cloute is essential, as it is the only flavor added to the milk besides butter. An Italian chef I once worked for insisted that a béchamel was never complete without a bit of nutmeg, an ingredient that was conspicuously absent from béchamel recipes in my traditional French culinary education. Once I tasted his version, I never again made my béchamel without a dusting of freshly ground nutmeg to finish it. Never, that is, until a few weeks ago when we were lucky enough to get the first shipment of mace blades we've been able to secure in years. I had always used a mixture of mace powder as well as a little extra freshly grated nutmeg when making creamed spinach from a béchamel base, but I had been reluctant to to try including mace powder in every batch of my béchamel for fear of the flavor being overpowering. This is a perfect application for mace blades! By adding a nice mace blade or two to my onion cloute, I could get the subtle mace flavor I was looking for without overshadowing other flavors. Béchamel itself is used in many recipes for lasagna, croque madames, or soups, but there are quite a few other sauces that can be derived from a basic béchamel, often by adding just a few ingredients. The French call these "small sauces" and some of my favorites are: Cheddar cheese - add some shredded cheddar cheese, Mustard Powder, and Worcestershire sauce or Worcestershire powder. Mustard sauce - add some prepared mustard. Crème Sauce - just whisk in some heavy cream (I also like to add a heavy pinch of Piment d'Espelette.)

Quatre Epices Cake

This recipe from our friends at Sunset Magazine promises a citrus and sweet taste, followed by a glow or a kick — depending on whether the signature French four-spice blend is made with white or black pepper. Well, our Quatre Epices delivers the best of both, with prized white and black peppercorns!