My Birthday Cake This Year is 🍫
Plus Indian Black Salt/Kala Namak and How to Pick The Correct Fenugreek
My NEW COOKBOOK, VEG-TABLE, is now named a Best Cookbook of 2023 and is available worldwide! Please check it out, and thank you for your support. If you have a moment to spare, please leave a review for Veg-Table on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, or the many indie bookstores where you purchased the book. Thank you!
Hello Friends!
I’m back from my book event at The James Beard Foundation’s Platform in New York at Pier57. Thank you to everyone who came out on a Sunday; it was wonderful to meet you. While I was only in the city for a few days, I made the most of it; I tried some new spots like the newly opened Cafe Sofreh in Brooklyn, I ate a few Caribbean empanadas at Pier 57, an NYC-style thin-crust pizza (I had to), Korean brunch at Her Name is Han, and COTE Korean steakhouse which was a phenomenal experience. I also visited the Condé Nast building (to do some stuff at Epicurious/Bon Appetit). I accidentally got off the wrong floor, which turned out to be Vogue’s offices, only to be greeted by Beyoncé!
This week’s newsletter is short. It’s my birthday week, and we’re celebrating our tenth wedding anniversary. I anticipate a lot of chocolate and some of my favorite foods over the next few days.
As a special birthday treat, I’m offering 20% off annual subscriptions for a limited time until May 4th, 2024. Your support of my work is greatly appreciated!
Thank you for making this year extra special!
Nik
For my birthday, I prefer cakes and ice cream. I skipped the ice cream this year and made this decadent cake with one of my favorite flavor combinations—chocolate and hazelnuts. A hazelnut praline is used as a garnish, and halfway through developing the recipe, I realized it might be fun to incorporate some of it into the frosting to fill the middle layer between the two cake layers. I was right. The cake is layered with flavor and texture and hits all the right notes. This is my 2024 birthday cake!
Which Fenugreek is the Right One?
Can fenugreek seeds be used instead of kasoori methi and vice versa in Indian dishes like palak paneer and butter chicken? What do fenugreek and maple syrup have in common? I answer all these questions in this short video.
Kala Namak, or Indian Black Salt, is a Boon to Vegan Cooking
If you aren’t using black salt or kala namak, you should now. It’s a marvelous savory salt rich in iron and sulfur, giving it many unique properties that will make your food more flavorful. I use it to make chaat masala, but I also add it to BBQ sauces and in grilling recipes to create a new layer of flavor.
Happy Birthday!
that cake looks beautiful!