Tag Archives: Indian

Aug17

Homeland roots: Grilled Butter Chicken, Okra Masala, Dal and Coconut Rice

Posted on August 17, 2015 by athaidek

What’s preventing you from trying something new? Do you ever think about the movement in your body that physically prevents you from doing new things? Like, what is that invisible switch that I swear exists in everyone’s throat which prevents men and women, young and old people from saying that which they want to say but are afraid to evoke? What kind of magic do you have to conjure to turn that switch off and stand up for yourself or for something you want or to take a risk??

Well I’m really just trying to get you riled up for my first attempt at Indian food. Let me tie these two things together. I’m half Indian – what that means is that for more than two years in elementary school I had a cop out costume of wearing either a sheet as a sari or one of the Indian dresses my dad or relative brought back from India along with a Magic-markered henna tattoo on my hand and a bindi. What it means is that I grew up wishing my mom would make Uncle Ben’s rice when I tasted this new buttery sensation at school one day after only eating basmati rice with every dish (yes, gumbo, chili, you name it, it was basmati). What it means is that my racial ambiguity let me get away with telling my kindergarten teacher that I spoke Spanish (at least until parent-teacher conference). What it means is that I grew up learning to taste spicy, rich, curry-ful foods and had a pickle on the table most nights at dinner.

And NOW, what it means is that I was so spoiled growing up eating Indian prepared by mostly my dad or grandma, that I am so scared of ruining those memories by messing it up. So maybe this isn’t a huge thing for me to try new, but at its core what it means is I’m treading new territory. One of the worst things about starting something new is how daunting it is to think that it might take you a while to master it, right?

I’m here to tell you that these three recipes are good places for you to start with basic Indian recipes. The biggest step is making sure you can get the right spices and not being worried that your entire kitchen is going to smell like curry for a day or so.

My dear friend Kate is the one who encouraged us to make this meal as she LOVES Indian food and is a great friend to experiment with. Take these recipes on with your family member, someone you go on adventures with, or impress your co-workers with your attempt at a new cuisine. I was blessed to have my sister and two of my close girl friends cook with me for a lovely Sunday night dinner partay.

Lentil Dal – from the NY Times, serves 4 -6

1 cup brown lentils, rinsed

1 small onion, roughly cut up

2 garlic cloves, cut in half

1 bay leaf

4 cups water

2 TBS oil

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp curry powder

salt

yogurt and cilantro to top

Make sure to start this recipe first, lentils take a while to cook! Combine the lentils, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 30 minutes. Add salt to taste (under-salt slightly because you will be reducing the liquid), and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes, until the lentils are falling apart tender and fragrant. Remove the onion and garlic and discard.
Heat the oil in a large, heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the spices and stir as they sizzle for about 30 seconds, until very fragrant. Add the lentil with their liquid and cook, stirring and mashing with the back of a wooden spoon, until the mixture thickens, like refried beans. You may need to add some more water. Add salt to taste, once the mixture has reduced to the desired consistency.

Grilled Butter chicken thighs, halved from this recipe – serves 4

1/2 onion, quartered

1.5 garlic cloves, chopped roughly

1.5 inch piece of ginger, chopped roughly

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp paprika (smoked or sweet is fine)

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 tomato or 1/2 tin cherry tomatoes (I forgot these so just used half a tomato)

1 cup Greek or plain yogurt (make sure it has at least some fat content…you need the fat for flavor)

1 tsp salt

2 TBS melted butter

4 large bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

A few hours before cooking (at least 1 hour and up to 6), puree all the marinade ingredients (all ingredients except the chicken) in a food processor or blender until smooth.
Put your chicken thighs in a large freezer bag or large bowl and pour marinade over. Ensure that the marinade covers all the chicken pieces and place in the fridge to marinate.
About an hour before cooking the chicken, take out of the fridge so it comes to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350.

4. Place chicken with marinade in a large baking dish and bake for around 20 minutes. During this time start to get your okra cooking. At the ten minute mark, light up the grill to med/high heat. You really need to be cooking on your friend’s porch – one which has a beautiful banana pepper plant, an OVERFLOWING mint plant, basil, as well as bell peppers.

5. After 20 minutes in the oven, take the chicken out of the oven and place each piece on the grill, shaking off the marinade.

6. Grill for about 7 minutes on each side, then put chicken on a clean plate and let rest for a few minutes.

Okra (Bhindi) Masala from Veg recipes of India

12 oz frozen cut okra (look in the frozen veggies section of your local grocery store)

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1/2 TBS minced ginger mixed together with 2-3 cloves of garlic minced to make a paste

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp garam masala (they sell it at Kroger I promise!)

salt

oil

Heat a tablespoon of veg or olive oil in a large skillet until medium-hot. Add the frozen okra and cook for around 4-7 minutes until the okra is green and just cooked (can be a little undercooked you will put it back in the pan later). Place okra in a small bowl and add a little more oil to the pan.
Add onions on med/high heat until they become soft and translucent.
Add your ginger-garlic paste for another minute.
Add tomatoes (don’t worry it will be liquidy) for a few minutes until the tomatoes break down and start to caramelize with the onions.

5. Add spices and salt until they cover all the ingredients. Make sure to add a good bit of salt here.

6. Add the okra back into the saute and let mix with the spices for a few minutes.

Last but not least, Coconut Rice!

Following the instructions on the rice bag, boil 1 part rice with 2 parts liquid – only substitute a little over half the liquid with coconut milk. Add a pinch of salt and reduce heat to simmering. Cover until rice is done. You may want to add in some coconut milk at the very end for extra flavor.

Serve everything together with lots of fresh cilantro, lemon slices, and yogurt to top! Have your favorite (and only) sister over to enjoy with you!

Dec23

Samosas Round 2: Lamb, Sweet Potato, and Pea Samosas

Posted on December 23, 2013 by athaidek

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So I ate a REALLY GOOD lamb samosa from a package yesterday and was so curious about how I could re-create the hearty spice of a lamb samosa mixed with the richness of a sweet potato. I’ve seen a few sweet potato + lamb recipes before, but really, I adapted a strictly lamb-based samosa to create these as my parsnip samosas came out a little too sweet for my liking last time.

Keep your eyes peeled for the first video post in the works! This is my first try so stay patient with me here. Ok I love these samosas because they are very forgiving. I started with happyyolk’s referenced Saveur recipe for the dough after trying a healthier one last time. For a baked samosa, you’re not going to get much better than this. The dough is not super flakey like a galette kind of dough, but it has just enough butter to give it enough flake to have a crunch to it. If you’re not frying these babies, then that’s the closest you’re gonna get.

There’s a methodology to this madness guys. Don’t put yourself in a cook vs. baker category. We can do both here. Get the dough right and you’ll be much more confident experimenting with the filling. Besides, I told you already, there’s butter in this dough, so if you are lacking a little flavor in the filling, you still got the butter going for ya.

Are you one of those people that wants a filling-ish appetizer? I am. I need one of these meat and potato pockets to keep myself going until dinner-time. Whatever time you eat these, they are a good afternoon snack or appetizer.

Here’s how we start. First, prep your dough. Follow Saveur’s recipe to make the dough. They suggest using around 6 tablespoons of water, but mine came out to about 8. And if you have a food processor, by all means use it here. Wrap up your dough and let it refrigerate while we make the filling.

Ingredients:

1 sweet potato, cooked in the microwave until mostly soft, about 6-8 minutes

1/4 lb ground lamb

2/3 cup frozen peas

1 onion, chopped

2 big or 3 small garlic cloves

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp coriander

3/4 tsp cumin

a pinch of whole mustard and whole cumin seeds (and fenugreek if you have it)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock, plus more in case

Start by toasting your whole mustard and cumin seeds to bloom the spices. If you don’t have these, don’t worry about it. Honestly I was just experimenting with using whole seeds :). Once fragrant, empty into a small bowl and set aside.

Heat olive oil on medium heat, add your chopped onion and let soften until translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add garlic for one more minute. Add in the curry powder, cumin, salt, coriander, tumeric, and coat the onion and garlic with them.

Add the lamb and break it up into small crumbles. Peel your soft sweet potato and cut into small chunks while the lamb starts to brown. Once it browns, add in your sweet potato. Now add in your hot pepper flakes and the whole toasted seeds. At this point, the oil will be mostly taken by the lamb, so add in your chicken stock and add the frozen peas.

Let it simmer on medium heat, slowly breaking up the sweet potato as it softens. Continue to add chicken stock if it looks dry. Once the peas have lost their frost, turn the heat down to very low, put a cover on the skillet, and let the filling absorb the stock and spices. The point here is to make sure you’ve got a thick enough filling.

There’s no worry on this step, timing and look of the filling is entirely up to you and your eyes only. Just think about what texture you want when you bite into a spicy pillow with a little crunch on the outside. Now we’re in a happy place! One it looks about ready, turn off the heat, cover, and lets get those pillows ready.

Take the dough out of the fridge and prep your oven to 450 degrees F. Break off your dough into ten even pieces and roll them into little balls. I cut the dough in half and made each half into 5 pieces. Cover the balls you are not using with a towel. Starting with the first ball, roll it into a flat circle. Add a spoonful of filling on one half, making sure there is room at the edge for crimping. Swiftly fold over the other side into a half moon and press the top and bottom layer together lightly to close. Some of your filling might puff out, that’s okay! It’s rustic remember.

Starting at one end, fold the edge together toward the filling, snuggling in the pocket. Continue to fold the edges over one another, crimping the open edge inward so it again, “snuggles” the filling in tightly! It’s okay if it doesn’t work out the first time, you’ll get the hang of it. The key is to just keep going in the same direction so there are no air pockets in the seam. Place the samosa on a greased cookie sheet and continue with the others, until you have 10 samosas.

Bake for 15 minutes at 450 on the middle rack, then turn the samosas over and cook for another 3-5 minutes until both sides are speckly golden brown. Let cool for about 5-10 minutes. Enjoy with some chutney, Indian pickle, or by itself!

Jul31

Phoebe’s Indian Hot dogs with Mango Relish and Curry Mayo

Posted on July 31, 2013 by athaidek

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Another one of those things I just HAD to try despite how much I try to stay away from hot dogs. Not exactly one of those foods you want to eat regularly, but the toppings for this dish I would DEFINITELY make again. Mango relish and curry mayo? Yes please.

She uses some nitrate-free ones which I would have used if we didn’t already have some other ones. This meal was a quick prep dish that was the perfect meal for two with leftovers for someone coming later. Serve with really any sides you want or it could even be an appetizer if you made little mini dogs with this relish and the mayo as more of a dipping sauce.

After a rough day, I could prep the ingredients in advance while on the phone with one of my friends. The only time when he realized I was multitasking was when I started the food processor and it sounded like I was on a construction site 🙂

I followed Phoebe’s recipe found here and finally found those top-cut hot dog buns my Dad is always asking for.

Highlights: Prep the relish in advance and use a mini food processor if you’ve got one. My mom wanted a bit more spice but I think it has a strong bite to it. This relish could later be used for a sandwich, atop any Indian dish or on some crostini. Or even as a topping for baked chicken or something.

The convenient thing about being on the phone with Brian at this time was his familiarity with ingredients common to Asian dishes. Thus, I found out how you’re supposed to cut up a mango. AFTER having already cut it up. So that’s how this mess happened. I ended up like scraping the side of the (invisible) mango pit. Seriously, where in the world is the mango pit? It looks exactly like the fleshy part so you kind of have to stab at it. Clearly this was my first experience with the mango. So, chop it up.

Chop up a jalapeno and scrape out the seeds.

A few steps later… adding the pureed garlic, shallots, cilantro, jalapeno, etc into the chopped mango (see it happened somehow, no pit involved!)

MMMM mango relish