Black Hound

170 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003
(212) 979-9505

The other place I stopped by after the pizza in NYC was the "Black Hound" pastry shop. This is a well known bakery in East Village. Exquisite preparation and care is taken of the products and they are really art pieces. I tried the Pear Almond Cake and the Chocolate Gianduja Cake.

The Bavarian cream on the Pear Almond Cake along with the toasted almonds was just divine. Next I dug into the Gianduja which had crushed pralines on the sides and cute marzipan flowers. The buttcream was smooth and rich in flavor.

A complete dessert binge just on these two, despite the vairety that my pictures captured. Those I will definitely get off my checklist the next time around. Altogether a perfect ending to Father's Day.

Numero 28 - Napoletana

176 2nd Avenue, New York, NY 10003-5738
(212) 777-1555

This weekend I tried out a new pizza place in NYC. Numero 28 - Napoletana - on Father's Day. I decided to use the "Living Social" coupon at this location on 2nd avenue in East Village. It turned out to be a lively place with seating inside close to the brick oven or on the sidewalk. We chose the sidewalk as it was a nice warm day. The staff was courteous and was accomodating to make use of my 'Blackberry' version of the coupon. I had forgotten the printed version home!

Our server was helpful in suggesting that we could taste two types of pizza in one order of the 18" size by splitting the toppings. We had him split it into the Margherita – tomato, mozzarella, basil and the Vegetariana – mozzarella, fresh vegetables of the day. The pizza came out on a wooden server at correct temperature and with cripsy edges. I must say the dough was delicious and with a glass of genuine Chianti it tasted wonderful.

The pasta entree that we also took part in was with deep pomodoro flavorful sauce and basil. The pasta was a bit too al dente for me but the sauce complemented the dish very well. The pricing was just right - $20 for the 18" and $11 for the pasta dish. The only complaint about the place was my visit to the restroom. Surely it needed attention. We do plan to visit this place again soon as it is also close to my favorite pastry shop - the Black Hound.

Palak Paneer

The spices in here are very mild but have a rich aroma. The texture is smooth and velvet like. It is a very healthy dish with protein, iron and calcium. The lemon juice used in this recipe helps to retain the green color of the dish and also acts as a digestive agent.

Ingredients
450 gms - Spinach, washed
or
20ozs. - Two 9 ozs. Packets
400gms - Paneer
2 tbsp - Vegetable Oil
1 tsp - Cumin Seeds
2 tbsp - Ghee
2 cloves - Garlic, chopped
1 medium - Onion, chopped
1” - Ginger, finely julienned
4 pods - Cardamom, crushed
½ cup - Low fat Yogurt
½ tsp - Turmeric Powder
1 tbsp - Coriander Powder
1 ½ tsp - Salt
½ tsp - Black Salt, optional
1 tsp - Garam Masala
4 tbsp - Milk
1 tbsp - Lemon Juice

Method
Heat 4 cups of water in a stockpot. Add the washed spinach and cook for 2-3 minutes. Strain and run through cold water for just a few minutes, in order to stop further cooking. Grind it in a blender. Set aside. In a saute pan, heat the vegetable oil. Wash the paneer and pat dry with a paper towel. Place the whole cube in the pan and fry it on all sides till it is a little brown in color. Let it cool on a chopping board for 5 minutes and cut it into small cubes. Quick frying paneer in whole or large cubes saves time and also gives it a crisp edge.

In a large saute pan, heat ghee and add cumin seeds. Let them crackle for 30 seconds. Now add the chopped garlic, ginger and onions.

Cook till the onion starts to sweat. They should look translucent and should not turn brown. Add crushed cardamom and cook for 1 minute and then combine yogurt. While yogurt is cooking, add turmeric, coriander powder, salt and black salt.

To get a smooth spinach paste, you can add some of the water that was used to boil the spinach while using the blender.

Let the oil separate from the mixture, and add the pureed spinach and simmer for 5 minutes. Add paneer cubes and cook them for 5 more minutes. Now add garam masala and milk. Simmer for 2 minutes and then add lemon juice. Mix well and serve it with jeera rice or naan.