I'm back with homemade coconut yogurt and more...

Hello again! Excuse my absence. Life was full and I chose to cut off my blogging for awhile to focus on more important things. Being a mom of two small children, and growing a third, life gets pretty busy and writing, I am sad to say, was what had to take a break for awhile. However, I have no regrets. I learned more things about my children and enjoyed life away from my computer. But with that freedom also meant a focus on my son and a journey into food issues . This meant a totally new way of looking at and cooking food. I always drag my feet in the beginning because it is a step away from what I am used to but in the end it is quite a refreshing experience and makes me a better cook, mother and wife.

With my "new" cooking I have created new recipes. Many have failed but there is less and less of that these days. My in-laws actually told me my food was really good and eating at our house was a fun experience. I had served them a version of Pad Thai and placed chopsticks at the table for them to use. My father-in-law hadn't eaten with chopsticks for a long time and truly enjoyed the experience. With that said, I am going to try and start adding recipes to my blog again. Not only to help whomever may stumble upon this blog, but mostly to my family and friends, who seem to have a strong desire to help me in my cooking adventures. It is nice to have offered help these days. Everyone is feeling the strain financially with the current economic crisis,but as my husband wraps the end of medical school my food budget for a family of four, with one eating gluten-free and two others eating gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, caffeine-free, chocolate-free, nightshade-free and citrus-free, has been hacked down to $125 a week. Some weeks I want to cry at this amount, especially when you add in the vitamins and toiletries that also have to meet the "free" needs. Other weeks it isn't so bad and it makes me dig deep and use my creative gene. At least that is what I keep praying to God for, "please open my mind and eyes to being creative and resourceful". So far, so good. Though stop by my house on a day when it isn't so creative and you may find in a heap on the middle of the kitchen floor crying because my brain can't create one more meal that is safe to eat. I hate those days but they are become less frequent. It is 8 months along pregnancy hormones too, which coupled with limited money makes me a mess, but I take it day to day. Lately, these days are good.

The first recipe I will start off with is my recipe for homemade coconut yogurt. It took me about four tries before I came up with one but I am pretty satisfied. Though I really do want to make my own coconut milk but for now I use canned.No one here likes to eat the homemade coconut yogurt plain in a bowl but we all like it in smoothies, Indian dishes and breads. Next week I am going to make homemade cashew or almond yogurt which I think will also be delicious. Along with this recipe I am going to add a recipe for an Indian dish using the homemade yogurt, plus recipes for homemade nightshade-free Indian spices and Indian naan. Now, it won't be with any fancy photos because I am terrible at taking photos and also because I am running into an error every time I attempt to take my photos of my camera. Oh well, it is on my to do list but definitely close to the bottom.

The following, of course, can be adapted to what works for you and your family. I have found the best recipes come from trial and error because you adapt it to your tastes, time and budget. Hope these recipes are helpful to those reading! Happy and delicious eating!

Coconut Yogurt

3 cans unsweetened canned coconut milk, I used Whole Foods 365 coconut milk
(It does have guar gum in it, which is why I am trying to make my own coconut milk.)
1/8-1/4 teaspoon non-dairy starter


Place coconut milk in a big pot and warm to about 120. Let it cool until 110. Take a little coconut milk out and add starter to it. Stir in until it is combined and then add it back to coconut milk in the pot. Pour into containers and place in yogurt maker. I like to let it sit in the yogurt maker from anywhere between 12 and 24 hours, usually the latter.

Alternatively, you could make your own homemade nut milk (cashew milk or almond milk) and then warm it anywhere between 110˚ to 120˚. If you heat it to 120˚ then let your nut milk cool back to 110˚ before adding starter. Take a about a ¼ cup of the nut milk out and stir in the correct amount of non-dairy starter and then add back to the larger amount of nut milk. Pour into containers and place in yogurt maker from anywhere between 12-24 hours.

After yogurt maker turns off, stir yogurt once and then place yogurt in the refrigerator. It is said that the yogurt will keep to about two weeks. Additionally, if you save about ¼- ½ cup of your yogurt you can use it as the starter in the next batch you make. This will save money too.

Dahiwail Chicken Coconut Curry
(gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, citrus-free, nightshade-free)
adapted from the Dahiwali Chicken Curry from Mothering Magazine January/February 2009

2 tablespoons light cooking oil
3-4 cardamom pods, bruised
1-2 dried bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
3-4 whole cloves
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground gingerroot
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder ( I pounded coriander seed into a fine powder, about 1 teaspoon)
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
1/4 teaspoon garam masala powder* (see homemade recipe below)
salt to taste
1/2 cup-1 cup homemade coconut yogurt
1lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped for garnish OR 1 tablespoon dried cilantro

Heat oil in a large pan. I used my wok, but then again I love cooking in my wok and use every opportunity to do so. After oil is heated, toss in cardamom, peppercorns, bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves until they begin to sizzle and pop. Add onions and fry 3-5 minutes on medium-high heat until soft. Add the gingerroot and garlic and fry about 1 minute, stirring often. (I needed to add a little more oil here to keep things from burning but you be the judge.)

Add cumin, turmeric, coriander, garam marsala and salt; fry about 1 minute. Slowly stir in yogurt to form a gravy sauce. It is here you will have determine the amount of coconut yogurt you use. Add more or less depending on how your sauce looks or how it tastes to you.

Add the chicken pieces and simmer on low heat. Using a lid will cook it faster but I didn't use my wok lid. After chicken is cooked completely; serve warm garnished with cilantro leaves.

I served this with coconut milk rice and gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nightshade-free, citrus-free naan. (The recipes are below.)

*Homemade garam marsala:
2 tablespoons cumin seed, or in a pinch you can use ground cumin
2 tablespoons coriander seed
2 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
2 teaspoons cardamom seed (I bought the whole pods at Whole Foods and opened them)
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1-3 bay leaves

Grind all ingredients in a blender until a fine powder. Store in glass jar.


Coconut Milk Rice
2 cups gluten-free long-grain white rice, I used Lundberg
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk, I used Whole Foods 365 coconut milk
1- 1 1/2 cups filtered water

Combine all ingredients in a small pot and cook covered until rice is cooked. Check rice frequently and stir when needed.

Naan
Gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, citrus-free, nightshade-free

2/3 cup warm unsweetened alternative(non-cow) milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 ¼ cup rice flour
¼- 1/3 cup tapioca flour
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons canola oil
2/3 cup coconut yogurt
1 egg, lightly beaten
olive oil, for brushing (optional)

1. In a bowl, mix warm alternative milk with 1 teaspoon sugar and the yeast. Let bowl sit for 4-5 minutes.
2. Mix flours, xanthan gum, salt, baking powder into a bowl.
3. Add remaining sugar, oil, yogurt, egg and yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
4. Preheat oven 550˚. While oven is preheating egg-size balls and roll out to ¼ inch thick. Use extra flour to prevent sticking.
5. I used cookie sheets, so put the cookie sheets into the oven until naan turns a light brown. Once cooked, remove and brush with optional olive oil. Serve warm.

Store any unused naan in a freezer safe bag and place in freezer. To reheat you may toss in microwave for about 20-30 seconds or in a warm oven. Naan is also great to eat with hummus. And if you are looking for a gluten-free hummus (and pita bread) check this recipe out,as well.