Paella Style Spiced Tomato Rice

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

If you’ve been reading my blog for sometime, or you have been following me on twitter, or facebook, you know I have a great love for traveling. Travel opens up the mind, gives me different perspectives and squashes prejudice. I learn so much through the things I see and the people I meet my travels.

One such person was Monika, whom I met in Melbourne. (More about my Australia, New Zealand, Fiji trip in later posts!). Both Monika and I were staying with a host family for the weekend. Our lovely hosts were Hungarian, lived in New Zealand, and then moved to Australia. Monika is Polish, grew up in Germany, and studied in Spain. Then there was me – grew up in India, studied in the UK and now live in the US. We were all representing at least 3 countries each, and combined, have traveled to over a 100. So you can imagine all the international conversations we had!

Monika and I were roommates for the weekend. We chatted through the night, lying on our bunk beds, discussing life, love, marriage and men in our respective countries. We both learnt so much from each other that weekend.

I decided to cook an Indian meal for Monika and our hosts. I was more than thrilled to find out that our amazing Hungarian hosts had a pantry full of Indian ingredients, including asafoetida and curry leaves!

When I finished making tomato rice (which Monika loved!) and pumpkin curry, the aroma of curry leaves, turmeric and fragrant basmati filled the kitchen. I was nearly transported back home. Only, I was in Australia, happily finding curry leaves in a Hungarian fridge!

This is for you Monika ♥

A good paella always has a crusty bottom called socarrat. To me, thats the best part of the dish. I’m always scraping up the delicious crusty rice! This dish is tomato rice, not paella, so we wont call its crust soccarat. But in any case, the bottom layer of caramelized basmati rice is just wonderful.

First, cook onions, garlic, and tomatoes, along with a little turmeric and paprika.

The tomatoes will break down, and the sauce will thicken and reduce to about half its original volume. Now add rice.

Stir the rice and let it toast a little. Then add water, cover, and simmer.

caramelized bottom layer – the best part!

How to get a paella style crust (socarrat) – when the rice is done, crank up the heat to high just for about a minute. This will make the rice in the bottom toasted and crispy. Thats it! Be careful not to burn the rice, you just want it browned a little.

You must use a wide skillet, preferably non stick, to achieve the crispy bottom layer. If you dont plan on creating the crust, a saucepan will do.

Tomato Rice with a Paella Style Crust: Recipe

serves 2-3

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 curry leaves
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 medium tomatoes (1 lb) chopped fine (about 2 cups when chopped)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika or chilli powder (adjust according to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sugar, optional
1 cup bastmati rice
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt (adjust according to taste)

Use a 10 inch non-stick skillet thats about 1 1/2 inches deep and has a lid. Heat oil in the skillet, and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add cumin seeds and let sizzle for a few seconds. Then add curry leaves and chopped onion. Cook on medium heat till the onion is lightly brown. Add garlic cloves to the oil, and stir for about a minute. Dont let the garlic brown.

Now add chopped tomatoes, turmeric and chili powders to the skillet. Add sugar if using (I like to use a little sugar if the tomatoes are too sour).

Cook on medium high heat, stirring occasionally, till most the liquid is gone, the tomatoes have broken down, and the sauce reduces to about half its original volume. This will take 10-15 minutes. You will land up with just over one cup of tomato-onion sauce.

To the reduced sauce, add rice, and salt. Stir on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Add water to the rice and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover the skillet and simmer for about 15 minutes, or till the rice is cooked and fluffy. Start checking the rice after 12 minutes to ensure it doesnt over cook.

When the rice is done, increase the heat to high. Let the rice sit on high heat for about one minute. This will form a tasty rice crust on the bottom, much like in a paella.

Serve tomato rice with my grandmother’s multi coloredvegetable raita.

Optional garnishes for tomato rice - roasted cashews, roasted peanuts, crispy fried onions, or chopped cilantro

Creamy Spinach Dal (Lentil Spinach Curry)

Posted on November 29, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

This wonderful bowl of palak dal or spinach dal curry is one of my favorite comfort food recipes for the winter. Just the smell of sizzling cumin, onion and garlic wafting through the house is enough to awaken anyone’s appetite. Serve this easy, filling dish with rice, rotis or bread.

Red choy or red spinach tastes great in this recipe

Any kind of dal or lentils will work here. You can use red lentils (masoor dal) in this dish as well. I like yellow lentils or mung or moong dal. I often use red spinach (Asian red choy or choi) in this recipe. Red spinach tastes a lot like spinach, but has red colored veins, and takes just a bit longer to cook than baby spinach leaves.

Some more delicious spinach dal recipes..
Palak dal or spinach dal recipe from vahrehvah.com
Spinach dal recipe on Mahanandi
Spinach dal recipe using toor dal on Chow and Chatter
Spinach dal curry recipe on Spicy Tasty

Creamy Spinach Dal or Spinach Lentils or Palak Dal Recipe

Serves about 4

1 teaspoon vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1-2 green chilies, slit (optional)
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
2 plum tomato, chopped
1 cup yellow lentils (moong dal)
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
2 tablespoon heavy cream
1 cup fresh, washed, baby spinach leaves or red choy leaves, packed tightly

Heat oil in a medium sauce pan. Add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the green chilly if using, and stir 30 seconds. Then add onion, garlic, and tomato. Stir on medium heat till they are soft, about 5 minutes. Add the lentils and turmeric and stir 2 more minutes.

Pour 3 cups water and add salt to the lentils. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a simmer. Place a lid on the saucepan and cook till lentils are done, about 15 minutes. Using the back of a wooden spoon, lightly mash the dal, so that the tomatoes and onion pieces are mashed into the lentils. Add the heavy cream and spinach leaves. Stir the spinach leaves into the dal till they wilt, about 1 minutes. Add more water to the dal, if needed.

Serve hot with rice, rotis or bread.

Baked Tofu Steaks with Mushroom Gravy

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

This is an easy, vegan thanksgiving main dish. The baked tofu is flavorful and chewy. And the vegan mushroom gravy has great meatiness, making this a very satisfying dish overall. Serve this thanksgiving entrée with some stuffing, and few vegetable side dishes.

I like to insert a few thin slices of garlic into the tofu before baking. I enjoy the little bits of garlic in the tofu. You could do this with carrots or celery as well, or just leave this step out.

I love chanterelle mushrooms and always use them in gravy. They have a nice meaty texture, and chicken like flavor. You could use a mix of whatever mushrooms you like. I’ve used buttom mushrooms, criminis, shiitakes and chanterelles.

The mushroom gravy with thyme and sage goes really well with the chewy baked tofu. You could easily make the gravy the previous day and re-heat it in the microwave. You could also marinate the tofu the previous day (flavor will be stronger), and throw it in the oven about an hour before you eat.

Some great baked tofu recipes..

Baked tofu recipe on Fat free vegan
Baked tofu recipe on the kitchn
Kalyn’s baked tofu recipe with soy and sesame
Simple baked tofu recipe on Vegweb
Smokey miso baked tofu recipe on vegan yumyum

Some great mushroom gravy recipes..

Mushroom gravy recipe on Epicurious

Martha Stewart’s vegetarian mushroom gravy recipe
Home brew chef’s wild mushroom gravy recipe using beer
Vegan mushroom gravy recipe on what do I know blog

Baked tofu steaks and Mushroom gravy recipe

serves about 2

One 14 oz block extra firm tofu, drained
1 tiny garlic clove, peeled

For the marinade
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
A pinch of dried Italian seasoning or poultry seasoning, optional
Cracked black pepper

Cut the tofu vertically in half. Then cut each half widthwise into two pieces. You will have 4 tofu pieces. Using a kitchen towel, pat the tofu pieces to absorb as much moisture as you can.

Make 2 small slits on top of each tofu piece. Thinly slice the garlic clove into 8 slices. Insert one slice of garlic into each slit on the tofu. Skip this step if you don’t like garlic.

Whisk together all marinade ingredients and pour into a dish. Place the tofu slices in the dish with the marinade. Carefully flip the tofu pieces so they are covered all over by the marinade. Let the tofu marinade for about 15 minutes.

Pre heat oven to 350f

Remove the tofu pieces from the marinade and place on a non-stick baking dish. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, flipping the tofu pieces every 20 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on your oven and thickness of tofu slices.

Tofu is done when it is firm and browned all over.

Mushroom gravy with thyme and sage

makes about 3 cups

12oz fresh mushrooms (a mix of white, crimini, shiitake, chanterelle etc)
2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or margarine
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme
3 large sage leaves, chopped
3 splashes sherry or red wine

For gravy
½ teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 cups vegetable stock or water (I used water)
2 tablespoons flour
Salt & pepper

Clean the mushrooms using a paper towel. Then slice them into even sized pieces. If using shiitakes, remember to remove and discard the stems.

Heat oil, butter or margarine in a large skillet. Add onions and cook on medium-low. When onions are soft, add garlic, thyme and sage. Stir for 30 seconds. Add chopped mushrooms. Increase heat to high and cook for about 3 minutes. Add the sherry or wine and continue cooking another minute or till the alcohol evaporates.

Whisk together all the gravy ingredients (balsamic vinegar through salt and pepper). Make sure there are no lumps. Pour this mixture over the mushrooms. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar if needed.

Brown Sugar and Chipotle Baked Butternut Squash

Posted on November 4, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

brown-sugar-chipotle-roasted-butternut-squash

Butternut squash.
Brown sugar.
Chipotle powder.
Bake.
Eat.

Its that simple and easy. We really liked the sweet and spicy brown sugar-chipotle combination. The puddle of brown sugar in the squash cavity is the best part!

brown-sugar-chipotle-baked-butternut-squash

Brown Sugar and Chipotle Baked or Roasted Butternut Squash Recipe

serves about 2 as a side dish

1 small butternut squash, about 3/4 lb
1 teaspoon olive oil or butter
3 tablespoons light brown sugar, more or less depending on how sweet you like it
1/4 tea spoon chipotle powder, or according to taste
salt

Pre heat oven to 350 f

Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds. Place the squash, cut side up, in an oven proof dish or baking tray that has been lined with foil. Brush olive oil or butter over the cut surfaces and insides of the squash. Sprinkle brown sugar, chipotle, and salt on the squash. I like to sprinkle just a little on top and put most the brown sugar mixture in the cavity of the squash.

Bake in the oven for about 30-40 minutes or till the squash is soft and sugar is bubbly but not burnt. Check on it periodically while baking, because sugar will burn easily.

Halloween Falafel Spiders

Posted on October 27, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

Whether you make these scary falafel spiders for Halloween or make just the falafel patties for a party, you will never go out for falafel again. Other than the soaking and frying, these homemade falafels are an easy, delicious vegan treat and so worth the effort. I always make extra and freeze the dough.

How to make falafel

Drain soaked chickpeas and defrosted fava beans. Place them in a food processor along with onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, cumin, coriander, chili powder, crumbled bread and baking powder. Grind to a coarse dough.

Form the falafel dough into balls, and flatten each ball a little. Fry in hot oil till golden. Flip the falafel gently and brown the other side.

How to make scary falafel spiders – a vegan halloween idea

Insert green pepper strips for spider legs. Apply hummus or cream cheese using a toothpick where the eyes and mouth should be. Stick olive pieces for the eyes and red pepper strip for the mouth.

Boo!

Note: Egyptian style falafel uses fava beas (also called broad beans). I love fava beans in falafel, but I also enjoy the texture of the soaked chickpeas. So I use 2/3rds chickpeas and 1/3rd fava beans in this falafel recipe.

I use frozen, shelled fava beans. If you cant find this, use ¼ cup dried, shelled fava beans and soak them over night along with the chickpeas. If you cant find or dont like fava beans, simply use 1/4th cup extra of dried chickpeas.

Dont be tempted to use canned chickpeas, dried chickpeas or garbanzo beans that have been soaked over night are the best.

If you dont want to make these falafels into spiders, simply serve them with pita bread, hummus, tahini, tomato slices and lettuce.

More falafel recipes..
A favorite falafel recipe using chickpeas only on epicurious
An easy falafel recipe on the hummus blog
Arab levant falafel recipe using fava beans by Clifford Wright
Egyptian falafel recipe
Fava bean and chickpea falafel with sumac recipe by the amazing Meeta

Halloween Falafel Spiders Recipe

Makes 8 falafels

For the falafel
½ cup dried chickpeas or grabanzo beans
½ cup frozen, skinned fava beans, defrosted. Substtute with an additional 1/4th cup dried chickpeas.
½ small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
¼ cup (loosely packed) chopped cilantro
¼ cup (loosely packed) chopped parsley
½ teaspoon cayenne or chili powder (use less for milder falafel)
¾ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons crumbled stale bread
½ teaspoon, or to taste, salt

Oil for frying

Place the chickpeas in a bowl, and fill with water. Soak the chickpeas overnight (about 8-10 hours).

After soaking, drain the chickpeas well and place them on several layers of paper towels. Place the defrosted, skinned fava beans on the paper towels as well. Dab the chickpeas and fava beans dry.

Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas, and the defrosted fava beans in a food processor. Add all other ingredients, except the oil, to the food processor. Don’t add water. Pulse till it forms slightly coarse dough (see pictures above). Sprinkle a little water if the mixture is too dry. If it is too wet, add more bread pieces and pulse again.

Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Form each part into a ball and flatten a little.

Heat oil in a skillet. Pour enough oil so that a falafel will submerge in oil half way (see pictures). When the oil is hot, test a small drop of falafel dough by dropping it into the oil. It should sizzle and float to the top of the oil. If it doesn’t sizzle and sinks, oil is not hot enough. If it gets too brown or black quickly, the oil is too hot.

Place the falafels, a few at a time, into the oil. When one side is browned, carefully flip the falafel and brown the other side. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels.

Serve falafels with hummus, tahini sauce, sliced tomatoes, lettuce, and pita bread.

For falafel spiders
8 falafels (recipe above)
1 small red pepper
2 medium green pepper
3-4 black olives
1 teaspoon hummus or cream cheese
A sharp knife
A tooth pick

Cut the red pepper in half, and remove the inner white membrane. Using a sharp knife, carve out a shape that looks like the spiders mouth. Cut out 8 mouths.

Cut each green pepper into 8 thin rings. Cut each ring into half. These are the spider legs.

Cut each olive into half lengthwise. Cut each half into 3 semi circles. These are the spider’s eyes.

Place a falafel on a serving platter. Take the green pepper legs and insert them into the sides of the falafels to look like spider legs.

Using a tooth pick, dot a little hummus or cream cheese where the eyes and mouth should be. The hummus or cream cheese will act as the glue. Then carefully place the olives for eyes and the red pepper for a mouth. Dot a little more hummus or cream cheese over the olive eyes.

Paneer and Tomato Curry

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

What an amazing weekend it was! Three childhood friends visited me, and we spent the weekend chatting, catching up and having a great time (N, I am still thinking of your amazing lychee martinis!).

When my dear friend Santha wrote to me requesting this paneer tomato curry recipe, I was flooded with memories of school lunch times and all the wonderful food we used to share from our little tiffin carriers. I was somewhat famous for this curry back in school. I’d take this dish and rotis for lunch every Friday. And I always had to take extra because it was so popular with my classmates. So I decided to make this curry for my friends for our ‘reuinion’ weekend.

Santha, this is for you ♥

Make sure you use ripe, juicy tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are ok, but you will get the best results if you use high quality canned tomatoes like Muir Glen or San Marzano.

Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese, easily available at Indian stores. For this recipe, you can buy raw paneer and shallow fry it yourself, or you can buy pre-fried packaged paneer (which what I use). Nanak brand paneer is quite good. Store bought paneer can be quite compacted and hard, so you need to soak it in hot water to soften it a bit.

Daily meals has a tomato paneer curry recipe using garam masala. Mahanandi blog has a paneer tomato recipe as well. Be sure to checkout Local eater blog’s delicious tomato paneer curry recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s world vegetarian cookbook.

Paneer Tomato Curry Recipe

Serves about 10

For the tomato gravy
6 large, ripe, juicy tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds, optional
1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped fine
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon or to taste, chili powder
Salt
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup. Use less if you want a less sweet gravy.

For the fried paneer
2 cups cubed paneer*
A large bowl filled with very hot, salted water

Make the gravy
Remove the core of the tomatoes. Quarter the cored tomatoes and place in a blender, along with 2 cups of water. Puree until the tomatoes have become a very smooth sauce. You should have about 8 cups of puree. Set this aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard starts to splutter, add the chopped onion. Cook on medium-low heat till the onion is soft. Add turmeric, cumin and chili powders. Stir for a few seconds.

Then carefully pour in the pureed tomatoes. Bring the gravy to a boil. Then reduce heat and let the curry simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes or till the curry has reduced a little and you can no longer smell raw tomatoes. Add more water if needed.

Fry the paneer
While the tomato gravy is simmering, work on the paneer.

Fill a large bowl with very hot water. Add salt to the water, and set the bowl near you.

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer cubes in batches.Flip the the paneer around so that all sides are lightly golden. Remove paneer cubes from the oil using a slotted spoon and place the fried paneer in the hot salted water. Be careful when doing this, the oil in the paneer will splutter when it hits the water. Repeat this with all the paneer cubes. Let the fried paneer sit in the hot water for about 15 minutes.

*Use the above method if you are frying your own paneer. Alternatively, you could use store bought, pre-fried paneer. Simply open up the package and dunk it in the bowl with hot salted water. Let it sit for 20 minutes; then proceed with the recipe.

If you are using homemade paneer, soak it in the hot water after frying for only 10 minutes. (Store-bought paneer is harder and needs to soak longer).

When the tomato gravy is ready, drain the paneer cubes from the water, and add to the gravy. Add salt to taste. Increase heat to medium, and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Then stir in ketchup and turn off heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve paneer and tomato curry with rotis or chapatis.

Tuscan Kale and Chickpea Pasta

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

Pasta e fagioli or pasta with beans is a traditional Italian dish. It is usually made with pasta and cannellini or white beans in a tomato sauce. I took inspiration from the pasta+bean concept and turned it into a hearty main dish of pasta, chickpeas and wilted kale.

The easiest way to wilt the kale for this dish is to dunk it into the pasta cooking water just before you are ready to drain the pasta. Then drain the pasta and kale together. Add any kind of fresh greens you like. Vegans can simply leave out the parmesan in this dish.

This goes to Presto Pasta Nights hosted by the lovely Claire of Chez Cayenne.

Tuscan Kale and Chickpea Pasta

serves 4-6

One 14 oz box of whole grain pasta (I used Barilla whole grain rotini)
12 large leaves Tuscan kale or any other variety of Kale, about 2 cups when shredded

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
Crushed red peppers, to taste
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons bottled, pickled capers + 2 tablespoons caper juice
2 cups of drained, rinsed, canned chickpeas
1/4^th cup dry white wine, optional
1/2 cup water
½ cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large pot, bring plenty of water to boil. Generously salt the water. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the pasta, and cook till pasta is al dente. Make sure pasta doesn’t over-cook.

While pasta is cooking, rinse the kale, and remove the tough ribs. Stack the kale leaves, roll up the stack, and cut into thin shreds. Set shredded kale aside.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook on medium heat till the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Then add crushed red pepper, and garlic. Cook 30 seconds. Add capers, caper juice from the bottle, chickpeas and white wine, if using. Let the mixture boil.

When most the wine has evaporated, add the water. Cook on medium-low heat for about 2 minutes, while mashing some of the chickpeas. Add more water for a thinner sauce. Stir in parmesan and turn off heat. Taste and add salt if needed. You may not need salt for this sauce because the capers and the parmesan are quite salty.

When the pasta is almost done, dunk the shredded kale into the pasta pot. Let the pasta and kale boil for about 10 seconds. Drain the pasta and kale.

Toss the drained pasta and kale with the chickpea mixture. Serve immediately with extra parmesan for sprinkling.

Pumpkin Halwa with Saffron

Posted on October 13, 2010 by Sala @ Veggie Belly

Diwali is the Indian festival of lights. We celebrate by wearing new clothes, lighting fire crackers and exchanging sweets. With Diwali around the corner, here is a recipe that celebrates both the Indian festival and the beautiful fall season here in America.

Halwa, also called halva, halveh, helwa, or halvah is a sweet usually made with semolina or wheat in south Asia and using nuts in the middle east. Carrot halwa is also common in India. In this recipe, I use butternut squash instead of the carrots. You can use either rose water or saffron in this recipe for flavoring. I chose saffron.

Traditional halwa uses khoa or khoya or mawa (milk that is cooked down so most the moisture is evaporated). This adds texture and richness to halwa. I use almond meal instead of khoya. Almond meal adds great flavor and helps thicken the halwa.

Be sure to take a look at Mahanandi’s pumpkin halwa using butternut squash. En Samayal Arai blog has a pumpkin halwa recipe using yellow pumpkin. Manta’s Kitchen has a pumpkin halwa or kaddu ka halwa recipe. BBC Food’s recipe for pumpkin halwa can also be used with carrots, zucchini or any gourds.

Vegans can try this recipe with coconut milk or almond milk. Earth vegan blog has a vegan carrot halwa recipe using almond milk.

For a great video on halwa making technique, watch Vah Chef’s carrot halwa video.

Pumpkin Halwa Recipe

serves 6-8

1 small butternut squash or any winter squash or pumpkin (weighing about 1.5 lb or 4 cups when grated)
4 tablespoons butter or ghee
2 tablespoons cashew nuts
2 tablespoons raisins
4 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 cup low fat milk
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons almond meal or ground almonds
A pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon saffron

Peel the butternut squash or pumpkin using a vegetable peeler or sharp knife. Halve it and scoop out the seeds and membrane. Cut it into large chunks. Using the coarse side of a box grater, grate the chunks. (A food processor will make the grating easier). You should have about 4 cups of grated squash.

Heat the butter or ghee in a large, wide, non-stick skillet. Add cashews, raisins, and cardamom. When the cashews get golden, add the grated butternut squash or pumpkin. Cook, stirring for about 2 minutes on medium heat.

Add the milk and condensed milk. Cook uncovered on medium heat for 15 minutes or till the squash is cooked, but still holding its shape. Stir the halwa occasionally so that it doesn’t burn or stick to the pan.

Add almond meal and cook another 4 minutes. The halwa is done when it has thickened and the liquid is no longer runny. The halwa will get firmer when cool. Add the salt and saffron at the end of cooking.

Cool the halwa a little, then shape into balls (optional). Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.