[bnm query=”indian”]

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Popular Indian Restaurant Dishes

India has an amazing array of sub cultures each with their own cuisine. In the US we mostly find food from the Punjab region, but you may have other options near you. Here are a few of the most popular Indian dishes you’re likely to find at an Indian restaurant near you

• Tandoori Chicken – Chicken marinated with chili and yogurt that is roasted in a tandoor oven. Usually served on the bone.
• Butter Chicken – Also called murgh makhani, this is a curry with tomato, butter and cream. The chicken is chopped tandoori chicken.
• Chicken Tikka Masala – Similar to butter chicken but with more tomato.
• Aloo gobi – Fried potatoes and cauliflower with spices.
• Chana masala – Spicy chickpea stew
• Palak paneer – Pureed spinach with chunks of paneer cheese. This is my personal favorite!
• Vindaloo – Usually chicken or lamb in a spicy tomato and chili sauce
• Naan – Flat bread baked by sticking it to the side of a hot tandoor oven

My Favorite Dal Recipe

Dal is so comforting and tasty. Here is a favorite recipe of mine…

• 2 cups red lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 8 cups water
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 large yellow onion, finely diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 2 green chiles, minced (optional)
• 1 tbsp Indian curry powder
• 1 tsp whole mustard seed
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2 tsp salt, more to taste
• 15 oz can diced tomatoes, or 1 1/2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes

Cook the lentils in water (nothing else) until done. About 20 min on the stove or 5 min in a pressure cooker. Fry the rest of the ingredients except the tomatoes until the onions soften. Add the tomatoes and cook another 5 min. Add to the lentils and cook for 5 more minutes. Enjoy!

Most Suggestions Near You

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[bnm query=”vegetarian”]

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Veggie food can be amazing

Well made veggie food can be delicious. Whether you’re looking to eat healthier or just looking for something different, here are a few restaurant suggestions for how to get more vegetables.

• Indian restaurants often have mostly vegetarian dishes since about half the population in India is vegetarian. They eat lots of dairy, though, so it’s definitely not vegan.
• Salad restaurants like Sweetgreen and Fresh and Co. have delicious options that have tons of vegetables but can also include meat like chicken.
• Pizza is mostly vegetarian. If you can pass on the meat lovers, you’ll find nearly everything else is plant-based.
• Mac and cheese is vegetarian. It’s not exactly healthy, but it usually has no meat.

My favorite lentil patties

This recipe evolved from an Indian lentil dal into an interesting side dish.

• 1 lb bag of red lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed or minced
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds (optional)
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 cups of water

Fry onion in oil until it softens. Add spices and garlic and cook for another 30 sec. Add lentils and water. Boil on the stove top for 30 min or pressure cook for 10 min. Transfer cooked lentils into deli quart containers and refrigerate overnight. The next day carefully remove the lentils from the containers in one piece and slice into 1 inch thick patties. To serve, fry in oil for about 5 min on each side until crisp.

More Suggestions Near You

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[bnm query=”chocolate chip cookie”]

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Great Chocolate Chip Cookies are amazing

Here are a few of our favorite recipes for chocolate chip cookies. These will be better than anything you can buy at a supermarket.

• Serious Eats Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe
• New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

The Original Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipe

This is the recipe published on the bag of Toll House Chocolate Chips that started it all.

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 2 cups (12-ounce package) NESTLÉ® TOLL HOUSE® Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels
• 1 cup chopped nuts (Optional. If omitting, add 1 to 2 Tbsp. of all-purpose flour.)

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in morsels and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375F for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Personally, I like to underbake these a bit to get a chewier cookie.

More Suggestions Near You

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[bnm query=”croissant”]

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Croissants are HARD to make

Croissants are one of the hardest things to make yourself as a home baker. They rely on nearly perfect technique in order to achieve even a passable version of a croissant. If you’re going to try to make them yourself at home you should start from a well-tested recipe from a trusted site. We recommend these recipes…

• Serious Eats Croissant Recipe
• New York Times Croissant Recipe

More Suggestions Near You

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[bnm query=”salad”]

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Salad Chain Restaurants

For some reason, salad is something that chain restaurants do really well. Here are some of our favorite salad chain restaurants in no particular order

• Sweetgreen
• Chop’t
• Just Salad
• Salad and Go
• Tender Greens
• Fresh and Co
• Hale and Hearty

My Favorite Green Goddess Dressing Recipe

This is insanely simple and ultra delicious. It has a light oniony flavor and keeps in the refrigerator for at least a week, although it probably won’t last that long.

• One bunch of fresh chives
• 1 cup of mayonnaise
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• Black pepper to taste

Put everything in the blender or food processor and run until you get an even green color. It takes overnight for the onion powder to do it’s thing, so it’s best to make this the day before you want to use it. Store in the refrigerator for up to a week.

I’ve tried adding other types of fresh onion and garlic, but the flavor gets a little sharp after a couple of days. The combination of chives and onion powder makes for the perfect flavor that stays consistent.

More Suggestions Near You

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[bnm query=”mexican”]

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Types of Tacos you’ll find at a Mexican Restaurant

Mexico has so many different types of tacos. You won’t have to go that far, because you’ll find many of these at a mexican restaurant near you. Here is a list of 25, that is by no means comprehensive.

• Al Pastor – pork seasoned with chiles, spices and vinegar. Slightly sweet. Often cooked on a vertical spit with pineapple.
• Árabes – similar to al pastor but served on a flour tortilla similar to a pita.
• Barbacoa – beef cooked over an open flame or in the ground until it is meltingly tender
• Birria – beef or goat stewed in a rich red chile broth until it is falling apart tender
• Buche – pig stomach, similar to tripe but less spongy
• Cabeza – cow head which is fatty and delicious
• Campechanos – a mix of random leftover meats
• Carne asada – thin, grilled skirt steak marinated in citrus and spices
• Carnitas – pork simmered slowly in lard
• Cecina – partially dried, sliced beef covered in ground chile
• Chapulines – grasshoppers, yum
• Chicharrón – fried pork skin simmered in sauce until soft
• Chorizo – ground pork full of chiles, spices and vinegar.
• Cochinita pibil – pork seasoned with annatto and cooked wrapped in banana leaves
• Cueritos – pig skin pickled with chiles and spices
• De canasta – fried, then steamed tacos sold by street vendors in Mexico
• Huitlacoche – a mushroom that grows on corn
• Lengua – beef tongue
• Pescado – grilled or battered and deep-fried fish
• Pollo – chicken cooked may different ways
• Res – some form of beef
• Sesos – cow brains
• Suadero de res – beef cut similar to brisket that is stewed in lard and then fried
• Tinga – shredded meat in tomato, chiles and spices
• Tripa – beef stomach

My Favorite Al Pastor Recipe

This Al Pastor marinade can be used for making chorizo as well.

• 2 whole ancho chiles, seeds and stems removed
• 2 whole pasilla or guajillo chiles, seeds and stems removed
• 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1 tablespoon achiote powder or paste
• 1 chipotle chile packed in adobo sauce, plus 2 teaspoons sauce from can
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 pounds boneless blade-end loin, sirloin pork roast or boneless shoulder

Soak chiles in chicken stock and vinegar until softened. About 30 minutes. Blend all ingredients except the pork. Slice the pork into 1/8″ slices. Cover with marinade well and let sit for at least an hour or up to 24 hours. Grill or broil until slightly charred. Serve in warm corn tortillas with cilantro, onions and lime.

Most Suggestions Near You

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Fresca may be difficult to find, but it will be back in stock soon. COVID-19 impacted production of Fresca temporarily. Coca-Cola has stated that production is back to normal levels and that it will be returning to short shelves soon.

That’s great news! But where is it?

Where can I buy Fresca?

Fresca is still hard to find in cans. But, there are many retailers that have 2 liter bottles of Fresca in stock. Here are a few common places:

• Fresca at Amazon Fresh 2 liter for $2.20
• Fresca at Walmart 2 liter for $1.25 (pick up only!)
• Fresca at Target in a few different sizes

When will the Fresca shortage be over?

The increased demand for aluminum is still causing issues for all beverage manufacturers as of October 2021. As a result, it’s not certain when your favorite canned beverage will be back, including Fresca. In other words, don’t hold your breath for Fresca in cans.

Fresca in 2 liter bottles is readily available. Some people have found Fresca in cans at their local market. If you come across it, buy it! It may disappear and not come back for a while.

Alternatives during the Fresca shortage

Considering how popular Fresca is, there are not many similar alternatives. I could only find these alternatives that have the same combination of full-flavor, sugar free grapefruit:

• Wegmans Diet Wedge. Wegmans makes Wedge Diet soda that comes in plain grapefruit but also combos with grapefruit. It’s normally available in cans but looks like only 2 liter bottles are available. The four flavors available on the Wegmans site.
• Diet Squirt. This is probably the closest competitor to Fresca. It was in stock on Amazon in 20oz bottles when I checked Oct 11th, but there was only one in stock.

Other diet citrus alternatives

While they won’t taste like Fresca, there are several citrus-flavored diet sodas that might work for you until the Fresca shortage is over. Most of these are some combination of lemon, lime and orange flavors. They’ll likely be missing the bitter flavor characteristic of grapefruit, but will have the citrus punch.

• Diet Sun Drop. A lesser known competitor to 7up and Sprite. Sun Drop has been around for a long time in the South. Citrus flavor with caffeine. Sun Drop is available in cans on Amazon.
• Diet Mello Yello. More of a competitor to Mountain Dew than Fresca. Mello Yello packs a lot of citrus flavor, but also a ton of caffeine. Mello Yello is available in 20oz bottles on Amazon.
• Diet Mountain Dew. Just like Mello Yello, this contains lots of citrus flavor, but also caffeine. Mountain Dew is available in cans through Amazon Fresh.
• Diet 7up. This may not have been obvious as an alternative because the brand is so iconic. But, 7up is based on lemon and lime flavors. Caffeine free. 7UP is available in a 12 pack of cans on Amazon.
• Sprite Zero. Just like 7up, this is an iconic lemon lime soda. Caffeine free. Sprite Zero is available in a 12-pack of cans on Amazon.

Shortages affecting beverages

There are three main shortages affecting the Fresca shortage and other beverage manufacturing.

Aluminum is in short supply because of the high demand for sodas in cans. This is because more people are working from home and are buying canned sodas at home. The flip side of this is a major drop in the demand for sodas syrups in fountain machines because many restaurants are either closed or have reduced business.

Artificial sweeteners are nearly all made in China. When COVID-19 started there were some manufacturing plants in China that had to shut down. Most of them have since resumed production, but they are still trying to catch up on orders that came through while they were offline.

Many beverage bottling plants in the US were temporarily shut down at the start of the pandemic. Some remain operating at lower capacity because some workers have not returned to work because of safety concerns. This has caused manufacturers like Coca-Cola to temporarily stop production of some beverages so they can keep up with demand of their primary products.

Other beverages in short supply

One of the hardest hit categories of beverages has been caffeine free versions of major sodas such as Caffeine Free Coca-Cola and Pepsi Caffeine Free. Both of these have been temporarily suspended.

Read other stories I wrote about major beverage shortages:

• Caffeine Free Coca-Cola
• Coke Zero
• Pepsi Caffeine Free

Other flavors have also been suspended such as Cherry Coke Zero and other less popular variations.

Print

Homemade Fresca

Here is a way you can make your own Fresca using Sodastream's diet grapefruit mix.

Equipment

• Sodastream (optional)

Ingredients

• 12 oz Carbonated water Canned, botted or using Sodastream
• 15-20 ml Sodastream pink grapefruit syrup Adjust to your taste

Instructions

• Add syrup to carbonated water.
• Enjoy!

Notes

This is not really a recipe, but a simple way to enjoy Sodastream’s pink grapefruit sugar-free syrup even if you don’t have their carbonating kit. Simply add 15-20ml of the syrup to 12oz of carbonated water. You can get the syrup on Amazon for about $5, which makes enough for 25 – 12 oz servings.

Fresca FAQ

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The Jack in the Box secret sauce is a simple mixture of ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, A1 steak sauce, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of hot sauce. The addition of dehydrated onion and xanthan gum gives it the texture of the original.

If you’re a fan of Jack in the Box’s onion mayo sauce, formerly the star of the Ultimate Cheeseburger, check out my recipe for that.

The ingredients

The ingredients for this sauce are no mystery. Jack in the Box makes the list of ingredients for every one of their food items available via a link labeled “ingredients” at the bottom of this page. As a result, it was super easy to figure out.

If you read food labels a lot, it’s easy to identify the various components of the sauce. The rest if combining them in the right proportions.

• Mayonnaise is mostly soybean oil, eggs and vinegar
• Ketchup is mostly tomato paste, vinegar and corn syrup
• Mustard is mustard seed, vinegar and turmeric (for color)
• A1 steak sauce is the only common sauce to use raisin paste and orange puree
• Worcestershire is the only common sauce to combine molasses and tamarind
• Hot sauce is red peppers, vinegar and salt

The only other ingredient that isn’t included in any of the above is dried onion.

The Jack in the Box secret sauce recipe

This sauce will get better the longer it sits in the fridge. A responsible blogger would say that it will last in the fridge up to a week. I, on the other hand, would leave it in there and use it until it looks and smells bad. There’s really nothing in it that’s going to go bad in less than a few months.

Print

Jack in the Box secret sauce

This is the sauce formerly used on the Bonus Jack and the Jumbo Jack before 1999. It's still available in packets at some locations.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp ketchup
• 2 tsp yellow mustard
• 1 tsp white vinegar
• 1 tsp dehydrated onion or 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 large drop A1 Steak Sauce
• 2 drops Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 drop Tabasco or Sriracha, or other hot sauce optional
• 1/4 tsp Xanthan gum optional

Instructions

• Combine vinegar and onion and allow for spices to rehydrate for 30 minutes.
• Combine all remaining ingredients with vinegar mixture except xanthan gum (if using).
• Slowly sprinkle xanthan into mixture while stirring constantly to avoid lumps
• Allow to sit in the refrigerator for 30 minutes for the flavors to develop

Notes

The xanthan gum is optional and is there to thicken the mixture and provide a familiar fast food texture. It doesn’t add any flavor so is fine without it.

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It does NOT rust, period

The nitrogen-hardening process transforms the surface of the pan by infusing nitrogen atoms. This results in a surface that is extra hard. It also keeps the pan from rusting. This is similar to the way that aluminum pans don’t rust, but combining with oxygen to form aluminum oxide on the surface.

Both cast iron and carbon steel pans rust if they’re not 100% covered by a fully seasoned surface. This pan will never rust even if you leave it unseasoned!

It does not scratch

The extra hard surface left by the nitrogen hardening process makes the surface nearly unscratchable. You’ll be able to scratch through the seasoning, just as you can with cast iron and carbon steel. But, the pan underneath won’t scratch. So you can reseason it to restore the finish to perfect any time.

It seasons like vintage cast iron

The surface of the pan should be seasoned like cast iron in order to create a non-stick surface. The main difference, though, is that the surface of this pan is super smooth already! Unlike newer cast iron pans that come with a rough texture, this pan starts perfectly smooth, and stays smooth after seasoning. People pay upwards of $300 for polished cast iron and vintage cast iron with smooth interiors. This pan has that for $30.

It is non-stick

Just like any well-seasoned cast iron or carbon steel skillet, this pan is non-stick. The smooth surface makes it even more non-stick than my cast iron.

It’s not a teflon pan, though. You do need to heat it up first and add at least some oil to prevent food from sticking. But if you do, it will work like a charm.

It has no coating to scratch off

Unlike teflon pans, this pan has no coating that can scratch off. It’s non-stick ability comes entirely from polymerized oil that forms the “seasoning” of the pan. This is how cast iron and carbon steel remain non-stick as well.

With your teflon pan, when the coating gets worn off, where do you think it goes?!?! It ends up in your food!!! So essentially, you ate the coating that is no longer on your teflon pan. That can’t be great for your body.

It is lighter than cast iron AND carbon steel

This is the lightest iron or steel skillet you will ever own. A Lodge 10.25″ cast iron skillet weights 8 lbs. A DeBuyer 10.2″ carbon steel skillet weighs over 4 lbs. This 11″ nitrogen hardened pan weighs only 3 lbs! And it’s almost an inch larger! Compare for yourself:

• Lodge 10.25″ cast iron skillet at Amazon
• DeBuyer 10.25″ carbon steel skillet at Amazon
• 11″ Nitrogen hardened skillet at Amazon

FYI: I have all three of these skillets. I love them all, but I use the nitrogen skillet 95% of the time, but it’s so light.

It heats up faster than cast iron or carbon steel

Because this pan is lighter than both cast iron and carbon steel, it heats up extremely quickly. It also heats very evenly.

It sears a steak as well as cast iron

I love a hard sear on a steak or burger. I heat this pan up to smoking and it sears as steak as well as any cast iron pan. In fact, because the surface is so smooth, you end up with an even better crust than with newer rough cast iron pans.

It’s oven safe

Just like cast iron and carbon steel, this pan has no plastic parts or teflon coatings. It’s 100% metal so can go into the oven at ANY temperature. In fact, if you want to reseason it, you can run it through the oven’s cleaning cycle to strip off the seasoning and start from scratch.

The handle on this pan stays cool

This pan has a handle that stays cool on the stove top. I use this pan every day and have never needed to use a hot pad to hold the handle. It is designed to stay cool for as long as the pan is in use.

It includes a really nice tempered glass lid

I would have been happy with this pan without a lid. But, it includes a really nice one!

Here is my baby

This is my pan after a year of nearly every day usage. The surface may look a little rough, but it’s just from variations in color of the seasoning. I’m about due to reseason it! I love the glass lid. It’s so useful!

Comparison of similar, popular pans

The truth is, all of these pans are great. With proper care and use, they will all last a lifetime and make amazing food. The nitrogen hardened pan edges the others out in my opinion because of it’s inability to rust, lighter weight and stay-cool handle. These small things make daily use a dream!

The post My favorite pan is better than cast iron and carbon steel appeared first on Frugal Cooking.

[bnm query=”best donuts”]

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Why are donuts so good?

Let’s face it. Even bad donuts are good. Donuts are the perfect combination of sugar, fat and carbohydrates to make your brain crave them. They also come in so many different flavors and shapes that there is really something for everyone.

My Favorite Donut Recipe

This will rival your favorite donut shop yeast donut.

• 1 ¼ cups milk
• 2 ¼ teaspoons (one package) active dry yeast
• 2 eggs
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, melted and cooled
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling out the dough
• 2 quarts neutral oil, for frying, plus more for the bowl.

Mix all ingredients except the oil until you have a soft dough. Roll out to 1/2″ thick and cut out any donut shapes you like. Set cut donuts on a floured baking sheet an inch apart and cover for an hour until puffy. Fry in 375 F oil about a minute on each side. Cover with sugar, cinnamon or make a glaze from powdered sugar and a little bit of milk.

More Suggestions Near You

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