And We Can Cook Too!

Written by: Sushma Sharma and Pavita Singh

“Cooking is love made edible.”

Konversai is proud of its multi-talented and diverse team. We all come from different backgrounds, have different interests, and play different roles in making Konversai what it is. One of our commonalities, though, is that we all love food. Food is one way that we express our love and our passion. Today you’re in for a real treat, as our team members have shared their favorite recipes (and hence a part of themselves) for you to enjoy. If you give any of these a try, let us know how they turn out in the comments below!

Bon appetit!

Egg Curry by Sushma Sharma

This is my favorite comfort food. The recipe has evolved as I have explored new sauces from all over the world. I change the ingredients all the time, but the one below is my favorite, tried and tested. It goes best with white rice.

Ingredients (amount can be modified according to your liking):

• 2 tbsp. olive oil

  

• Cumin seeds
• Ginger paste
• ½ large onion (sliced thin and long)
• 1 bell pepper (sliced thin and long)
• 1 tomato (sliced thin and long)
• Turmeric powder
• Chaat masala powder or dry mango powder
• Salt
• Chili powder
• Pickled jalapeño
• Tabasco sauce
• 2-4 boiled eggs sliced in half
• White rice

1. Add olive oil to a pot. Add cumin, ginger paste, and sliced onions until cooked. Make sure it is not completely wilted.
2. Add in the sliced bell peppers and sliced tomatoes. Let them cook for a little while.
3. Add turmeric, chaat masala, salt, pickled jalapeño, Tabasco sauce, and a bit of chili powder. Let it simmer.
4. Add in the sliced boil eggs and let cook for 10 minutes on medium heat.
5. Serve over white rice.

Pesarattu by Tamil Vengan

I love this recipe because it’s simple, easy to make, and tasty!

Ingredients:

• Whole green moong dhal – 1 cup

  

• Raw rice – 1/2 cup
• Onion
• Ginger
• Chili
• Cumin seeds
• Salt
• Carrot (optional)

Steps:
1. Soak the grains in enough water for around 6 hours. 
2. Drain the water and grind them with 3 tsp of chopped onion, 1 inch ginger, 1 green chili, 1 tsp cumin seeds, and salt per taste. If you like, you can add chopped carrots.
3. Pour the batter onto a hot non-stick pan and spread with a ladle
4. Drizzle drops of oil to the sides and sprinkle chopped onion, cilantro leaves over the pesarattu (dosa).
5. When the bottom side is golden brown, flip the pesarattu
6. Serve hot with chutney.

Beer Cheese Soup by Ellyn Howard (and the guidance of Epicurious)

I absolutely love a great soup! And what could be better than beer and cheese all mixed together and topped with bacon (or shiitake mushroom bacon for the vegetarian crew)? This is a flavor-filled dish that I cook often and I make plenty to share or for leftovers. I recommend Guinness for the beer, both in the soup and on the side ;). Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium leeks (white and pale green parts only), cut into 1/4-inch dice (2 cups)

  

• 2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
• 2 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch dice (1 cup)
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
• 1 (12-oz) bottle ale such as Bass
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 lb extra-sharp Cheddar (preferably English; rind removed if necessary), grated (4 cups)
• 4 bacon slices (3 1/2 oz total), cooked and crumbled

Steps:

1. Wash leeks in a bowl of cold water and drain in a colander.
2. Cook leeks, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaf in butter in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to moderately low and sprinkle flour over vegetables, then cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes.
3. Add milk, broth, and beer in a stream, whisking, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 5 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, and pepper.
4. Add cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly, and cook until cheese is melted, 3 to 4 minutes (do not boil). Discard bay leaf.
5. Serve sprinkled with bacon.

A great vegetarian alternative for the bacon in this recipe is shiitake mushroom bacon! Very easy to make:  

Slice 0.5lb shiitake mushrooms. Mix in a bowl with 2Tbs liquid smoke and 1Tbs Olive oil. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and cook in 350-degree oven for 20 minutes or until brown and crispy. Season with salt and pepper while cooling.

Arroz con Pollo by Sandra Giraldo

Arroz con pollo (Rice with chicken) is one of my favorite Colombian dishes. Its main ingredients are rice and chicken, but they are not the only ones as a lot of people might think when they first hear of it. Arroz con pollo is a perfect dish for those special occasions when we want to share and spend time with our loved ones, e.g. family gathering and birthdays. I make this dish very often and I consider it as a very special part of my Colombian culture.

 

15 min Preparation

45 min total

4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded in small pieces
  
• 1 cup of the water where you boiled the chicken.
• 2 hot dogs sliced into small pieces.
• 3 teaspoons canola oil
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 1/2 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 small tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cups of rice
• 2 cups of regular water
• 1/2 cups of mixed veggies in pieces (carrot, peas, beans, yellow corn)
• 1/2 chicken bouillon cube
• 1/2 packet of seasoning with saffron
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• Salt to taste

Steps:

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pot over low heat. Stir-fry the chopped peppers, tomato,  garlic and onion, and stir until they’re golden brown.
2. Add rice. Remember to stir everything well.
3. Add the cup of chicken water, the 2 cups of regular water, the chopped veggies, shredded chicken, bouillon, seasoning and salt. Stir and let cook at medium heat for approximately 10 minutes or until the rice dries.While this is cooking, in a medium pot, add the hot dogs cut into small pieces, ketchup and the remaining oil. Stir and cook at low heat for 3-4 minutes constantly stirring.
4. Once rice has absorbed all the water, add the sausages with ketchup, cover the pot, and cook at low heat for 10 minutes or until the rice is soft.
5. Turn off the heat and let it stand for 5 minutes.
6. Serve using a medium bowl as mold.

Enjoy a food trip to Colombia!

Goat Biryani by Sandhya Sivakumar

Biryani is one magic word for me and my family. We love it and we love the togetherness while having it. Yes, it is a rich food loaded with all have-nots, but it does have its pros too. Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 2 pounds goat meat

  

• 2 cups Jeeraga samba rice
• 1 cup peeled shallots
• Half cup curd (yogurt) (beaten)
• Half cup coriander leaves (chopped)
• Half cup mint leaves (chopped)
• 1 big onion (sliced thinly)
• 1 tomato (diced)
• 3 tablespoons ginger and garlic paste
• Green chili
• 3 cardamoms
• 3 2-inch cinnamons
• 3 cloves
• 1 small mace
• 1 small stone flower
• 1 spoon red chili powder

For Grinding:

1.Grind shallots without adding water.

2.Grind green chili, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. Mace together with very little water.

Steps:

1. Soak rice in water before the preparation.
2. Marinate meat in some curd, ginger, and garlic paste, preferably for 1 or 2 hours
3. Add onion slices into oil and sauté until it gets crispy. Then add shallots, paste, ginger, and garlic. Sauté for some time and then add green chili paste.
4. Cook the above until the oil separates.
5. Add meat. Fry it on all sides evenly. To this, add curd and sauté for some more time.
6. Add half a cup of water and cook the meat until done.
7. Drain the water from the rice completely and sauté it on a pan over medium heat in a little oil until the rice is coated with oil on all sides.
8. To cook one cup of Jeeraga Samba rice, we need proportionately two cups of hot water.
9. For the meat gravy, bring together one cup of stock, 3 cups (or little less) of water, and tomato (optional), and bring it to a boil.
10. Add rice to the above gravy and start cooking over low to medium heat with a close watch. Note: This cooking can also done in the oven at 350F for half an hour to one hour.
11. Occasional stirring would do good, but please don’t over do it.
12. Turn off the heat once the rice is done.

This can be served with along with curd raita and lime wedges.

Vegan, Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Blossoms by Pavita Singh

As much as I’ve always loved baking, I’ve also always had a reputation for being somewhat of a clumsy cook. In particular, when I first started baking, I always made a big mess when attempting to crack eggs. My messy “egg-stravaganzas,” in addition to my sister’s recent transition to a vegan diet, inspired me to explore alternatives for eggs in baking. My fascination with the chemistry of baking and the interaction of ingredients drove me to experiment with different egg-free vegan recipes.These luscious, creamy, vegan, gluten-free peanut butter blossoms are the result of one such experiment. This recipe is easy! And the best part is that no one can tell the difference between these cookies and non-vegan, non-gluten-free cookies.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of peanut butter

  

• 1 cup of brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon of Bob’s Red Mill Vegetarian Egg Replacer
• Hershey’s Dark Chocolate Kisses

Steps:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
2. Begin by mixing one tablespoon of egg replacer with three tablespoons of water. Stir thoroughly.
3. Then mix the 1 cup of peanut butter, 1 cup of brown sugar, and your egg substitute thoroughly until you have cookie dough.
4. Grab a spoonful of cookie dough and roll it into a ball. Place the cookie dough ball on your cookie sheet. Flatten the cookie dough ball with a fork, creating a criss-cross pattern.
5. Repeat this process until you have used all the cookie dough.
6. Once the oven is preheated, place the cookie sheet in the oven for 9-10 minutes.
7. While the cookies are baking, unwrap as many dark chocolate kisses as you have cookies.
8. After 9-10 minutes, carefully remove the cookie sheet from the oven. Immediately press one dark chocolate kiss into each cookie. Let cool for 3-5 minutes.

Pizzelles: Traditional Italian Cookie by Hannah Jones 

Ingredients

• 3 eggs, room temperature

  

• ¾ cup sugar 
• ½ cup butter melted and cooled
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ½ tsp. anise extract (can use almond extract as an alternative)
• 1 ¾ cups flour
• Pizzelle Iron Press

Steps

1. In large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar. 
2. Add cooled butter, vanilla, and anise. 
3. Sift flour and baking powder together and add to egg mixture. The batter should be stiff enough to be dropped by spoon. It can also be refrigerated and used later.
4. Place 1 heaping teaspoon batter on each grid and bake according to directions for your Pizzelle iron. 

To keep pizzelles crisp, store in an airtight container.

Did you know that you can get paid to make your favorite meals? No, you don’t need to become a pro chef. You can take a much simpler route by joining Konversai. Konversai is a knowledge-sharing platform that allows you to connect with anyone anywhere in the world about any topic you can think of, all via live video. Whatever knowledge, skills, or experiences you have, there is someone somewhere in the world who would be willing to pay to connect with you and learn from you. So if you love to cook and want to make some extra cash while sharing your passion with others, Konversai is the place to be. Don’t need the money? You can hold sessions for free or donate your earnings to a charity of your choice. If you want to learn more about different cuisines or are looking for a specific recipe, there is sure to be someone on Konversai who can help you.

What are your favorite recipes? Get on Konversai today and share them with people all over the world!

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