Birthday Special 2016

Ariel's birthday is here again, and a new No Free Lunch tradition is born. As with last year, I made a cake. This time, though, I made it entirely on my own. In all likelihood, I will never post a cake recipe on this blog, except maybe a Chinese sponge cake, if I ever get around to it. I like to tinker and experiment with recipes and put my own twists on a dish. Baking is often described as a precise science, and I don't have the expertise or confidence to tinker with cakes. I am, however, going to continue posting pictures of Ariel's annual birthday cakes.

This year, I made a yellow cake (recipe from The Kitchn) with chocolate frosting (recipe from Kraft). I went with a mathematical theme, taking advantage of the rare perfect cube. I promised to do the same for 64.

For the main course, I made leg of lamb and mushroom kebabs on the grill. Remember, folks, winter is no deterrent to the ambitious griller!

Paneer Makhani

For the first recipe of the year, I'm charging forward into the uncharted territory of north Indian cuisine. While I love Indian food, it's very far outside of my area of expertise (such as it is). When I eat at a great Indian restaurant, I'm amazed by the depth and complexity of the flavors that can only come from a mastery of the vast library of spices used on the subcontinent. As an amateur, it is difficult to match this, but it is certainly fun to play around with new flavors. I'm very happy with how this dish turned out, and would encourage anyone to give it a try.

Paneer makhani is a Punjabi style dish that combines Indian cheese with a rich tomato sauce. It is similar to the famous murgh makhani, also known as "butter chicken." Perhaps the most interesting component of the sauce is the addition of cashews, something I had never considered before. I enjoyed having the nuttiness in sauce, adding another layer to the flavors. As the name suggests, butter is also a big part of the sauce. It would be possible to replace at least some of the butter with oil and the cream with half and half to lighten it up if desired.

As I usually do with dishes I have never made before, I took to the internet to come up with a recipe. The recipes widely differed on the herbs and spices and even on the cream. I have done my best to come up with a version with the most consistently used ingredients, and it turned out great. I attempt to strike a balance between tradition and accessibility. As such, I generally avoid whole spices, which traditional Indian recipes start with. You can certainly go this route, however, and I'm sure the results will be even better.

The two exotic ingredients here are the paneer and fenugreek leaves. Paneer is a firm, mild cheese that is quite common in Indian cuisine, often compared with cottage cheese. I have been able to buy it frozen from an Asian store. It can also be made at home, but I have not tried this. From my research, I found that fenugreek leaves are very much a staple herb for Indian cooking. Despite this, they were hard to find. I went to two different Asian groceries, and couldn't find them. I finally got a hold of them at an Indian store. If buying fenugreek, keep in mind the box may use the Hindi name kasoori methi.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, diced
• 1/2 cup unsalted cashews (pieces are fine)
• 3 Tbs butter
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 Tbs grated garlic (about 2 large cloves)
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 Tbs fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), see notes following recipe
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 cup crushed tomato
• Approx. 1 cup water
• Salt to taste
• 400 g (14 oz) paneer
• 2 Tbs cream

Instructions

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cashews. Cook a few minutes and add ginger and garlic. Cook together a few more minutes. Add the bay leaves, fenugreek, garam masala, cardamom, and cinnamon. Stir in and cook down another minute.

Add the crushed tomato and about 1/2 cup water. Stir together, bring to a boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, cut the paneer into small pieces, about 1/2 to 3/4 inch on a side. I cut my slab into 36 pieces.

Blend the sauce into a smooth mixture. Add more water as needed. It is easiest to use an immersion blender, but a regular blender or food processor could be used. Taste the sauce and add salt to taste. Add the paneer and stir to coat. Cook another five minutes, stirring as you go. The idea is just to get the paneer heated through. Before serving, stir in the cream. I served with steamed rice and baked chicken.

Notes

The amount of fenugreek leaves (1 Tbs) is in line with the recipes I found online typically use. When I made the dish, I misread my notes as 1 tsp, so I have not tested it with the intended amount. It still turned out very well, but I preserve the original proportions in the recipe.

The same basic sauce can be used to make the chicken version (murgh makhani). Marinate chicken in yogurt, lemon juice, and spices. Grill or bake the chicken, cut into small pieces, and add to the sauce in place of the paneer.

Four Years of No Free Lunch

No Free Lunch reaches its fourth birthday today! It's fun for me to look back at the last 116 posts and have a pretty good record of the things I ate in the last four years, minus a lengthy break. 2015 was a good year for the blog, and I almost hit my goal of getting at least one post in a month. Being able to pay homage to great family traditions (and not just my own) with Sam's Spaghetti and Indy's family bean recipe were certainly highlights. I had always envisioned this blog having a somewhat wider scope than it currently has, and going into 2016 I am going to experiment with some different kinds of articles, in addition to the recipes. I want to focus a bit more on the culture around food and drink, so stay tuned. As always, be sure to follow me on Twitter for the newest posts.

To celebrate the birthday of the blog, I invite you to join me on a trip back through time as we examine some of my favorite posts. Looking back to the first few months of the blog, it is quite apparently I am now a vastly better cook. Yet, I'm proud of the pace I achieved, and there is still some great stuff from the "classic" era of No Free Lunch. Let the nostalgic self-indulgence begin!

Grandma's Tangyuan

Also known as "peanut butter balls," this was the third recipe I wrote. More importantly, this is what convinced Grandma that I wasn't going to starve to death while living alone. As a bonus, this is the clearest shot of the faux-granite in my old apartment. I still enjoy these from time to time, though I haven't made them in a while. Like many early recipes, an update may be forthcoming with corrected proportions.

Guinness Stew

In week 2 of the blog, I launched the rather ambitions "Pub Week" with the first of what would turn out to be several posts on booze-based stews. This was the first time I used the internet to cobble together a recipe for a post and, it turned out great. Jason's attempt at it was judged "SOOO GOOD" by his future wife. You're welcome.

Scotch Eggs

Pub Week continued with the first time I really nailed the presentation and the photo. Just looking at those makes me want to break out the Fry Daddy. Scotch Eggs turned out to be surprisingly easy to make, and are well worth it.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This was easily the most complex recipe on the blog when it was posted. This is what made me really start to expand my spice cabinet, and I haven't looked back. While I have not made it again in the years since, I remain very proud of this one. That being said, I do still use the marinade for chicken.

Portuguese Chicken

This one makes the list because it remains, to this day, the most visited page on the blog. If I were to make it today, it would be a little different, and probably better, but it is what it is. As I noted at the time, this is a fairly obscure dish in English-language sources. This is one that could be well worth an update.

Char Siu

This is one of the recipes on the blog I make the most often. This one really launched my ongoing obsession with Chinese fermented bean products, which now occupy an entire shelf in my fridge. This is another one I have tinkered with over the years, and is probably due for an update. It is also a (very?) long term goal to create fluffy char siu bao, and I hope for them to make an appearance here one day.

Minnesota Hotdish

Sometimes the old ways are the best. In some ways, this is a guiding principle of No Free Lunch, and nothing exemplifies that spirit like a good old hotdish. It's truly a comfort food for the Midwestern soul. I also happen to have made one today!

Rava Kesari

How could we forget my attempt at rava kesari? To date, it's the only dessert recipe I have posted, and, to western eyes, a very obscure one. Without a doubt my favorite Indian dessert, it's always a treat to find at Indian restaurants. This is definitely one I'll be trying to perfect in the future.

Ariel's Amazing Strawberry Jam

Ariel hijacked my blog and wrote all in yellow. The jam was great, and I hope she will make some more contributions in time. I certainly couldn't make 150 potstickers in a day without her there to roll out the dough!

Grandpa's French Bread

Family traditions have always been an important cornerstone of No Free Lunch, and I can think of no better example than this. I practically grew up on this stuff. A slice of French bread with a piece of cheese melted on top was a great after school snack. This bread remains my go-to recipe.

Emerald Fried Rice

Fried rice has been a staple of my diet my entire life, so it's no surprise No Free Lunch has featured no less than four recipes, including the very first one. This one is my favorite, and it reminded me to stop overthinking fried rice. If anyone asks how to season fried rice, you tell them "salt and Worcestershire sauce." Really, that's it.

Lovers' Shrimp

Peimei's Chinese Cookbook has been a huge inspiration, and I've really enjoyed making and writing about these classic recipes. Lovers' Shrimp quickly became a household favorite, and it's always a great option for a fast and easy dinner. Try adding some minced garlic for a nice variation.

Chopped Liver

Four years ago, I never would have imagined I would be rendering my own chicken fat. With that done, I suppose it was only a matter of time for the meat grinder to come out. It was a real treat to be able to contribute to a Passover tradition, and doing so completely from scratch made it even better.

Shredded Pork with Steamed Buns

This post has possibly the best photo on blog, really showing how much better food looks when photographed outdoors. This meal came together very well, combining two different Peimei recipes into a real standout post.

Chicken Kebabs

Out of anything on No Free Lunch, this is probably the one I am currently making most regularly. A great dinner couldn't be easier than this: mix chicken pieces, yogurt, spices and throw it on the grill a few hours later. If you're lacking skewers and a grill you could easily broil them on a sheet pan.

Potstickers, the Hard Way

It took three posts and almost four years of tinkering to finally perfect my potstickers. First came the addition of cabbage to the filling. Then dissatisfaction with frozen skins lead to rolling our own dough. Finally, the filling came up to scratch with black mushrooms, ginger, and seasoning. I am very proud of how these came out, and they are easily one of No Free Lunch's greatest achievements.


Well, there we have it, a trip back in time. If you have any suggestions on what to cover this year, let me know in the comments!