Weekly Cooking (and related issues) Thread

[Jamestown1630]

I fell in love with Indian food by encountering it in little hole-in-the-wall places – first at the eatery at Union Station in D.C., and again at a surprisingly wonderful strip-mall restaurant near my home.

I was very happy when my local grocery chain started selling packaged, boil-in-bag versions of various Dal, Chana Masala, and other items. They weren’t like restaurant fare, just pretty good when I needed a fast Indian Flavor Fix. But they are so expensive! so I recently decided to strike out on my own and try to make some of these things at home.

My first attempt was a Chickpea dish (Chana Masala) which turned out really good – much better than the packaged stuff, and even fresher and brighter than the hole-in-wall offering. I used this recipe, and the only change I made was to cut down the garlic a little bit – next time, I don’t think I’ll cut it down. I used a fat Jalapeno for the pepper:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/236564/chana-masala-savory-indian-chick-peas/

Garam Masala, a traditional and widely-used spice mixture, is best when you roast the herbs and grind them, as you make each dish. But for convenience, I’ve bought a bottled one. If you want to make your own from prepared spices, here is a recipe:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/142967/easy-garam-masala/

Another item that my local restaurant makes is a little onion fritter – Onion Bhaji – and I would go there just for this! There are lots of recipes for Onion Bhaji; here is a simple one:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/onionbhaji_85976

But what makes the Onion Bhaji really special is the sauce served with it – a mint/cilantro ‘chutney’:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/cilantro-mint-chutney-238020

-JT

[pugmama]

This is an easy recipe that we like;

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2012/03/madhur-jaffreys-shrimp-biryani.html

[pugmama]

This is also another favorite recipe:

https://www.splendidtable.org/recipes/cilantro-chicken

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you! I’ve wanted to try Indian food but didn’t know where to begin.

[Liz]

Splendid Table is a fab web site. Their Turkish Stuffed Candied Apricots recipe borders on the aphrodisic.

Turkish Candied Stuffed Apricots with Pistachios

ING ◦1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt ◦1/4 cup sugar ◦1/2 teaspoon rose water ◦1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon juice ◦Salt ◦2 cups water ◦4 green cardamom pods, cracked ◦2 bay leaves ◦24 whole dried apricots ◦1/4 cup shelled pistachios, toasted and chopped fine

FILLING Combine/chill yogurt, teaspoon sugar, rose water option, lemon zest, pinch salt.

SUGAR SYRUP Bring water, cardamom pods, bay leaves, lemon juice, and remaining sugar to simmer over medium-low heat; cook/stir/ dissolve sugar about 2 minutes.

APRICOTS Stir apricots into syrup, return to simmer; cook/stir occasionally, until plump and tender, 25-30 min. Using slotted spoon, transfer apricots to plate and let cool to room temp.

FINAL Discard cardamom pods and bay leaves. Bring syrup to boil over high heat; cook/stir til thickened/reduced to 3 tbl, 4-6 minutes; let cool to room temp.

Pipe in filling; dip exposed filling into chp pistachios; transfer to serve.

SERVE Drizzle apricots with syrup and serve.

[Silentgypsy]

I don't know how the hell this morphed into a Mexican cooking discussion,...

That's what is so enjoyable about this thread! Instead of grousing about hijacking, this group joyously digresses and spreads happiness and knowledge while they're at it. An altogether fun group of people!

[Liz]

An altogether fun group of people!

Amen.....JT is top funner.

[Silentgypsy]

Yep!

[leaning conservative]

I did a Stanley Kowalski shout out to you, but forgot to put your name in the send.......doh! Good to see you.

[MightyMama]

I don't know how the hell this morphed into a Mexican cooking discussion I've done THAT in the kitchen, never mind on the Internet. Set out to make French market soup one morning, but by the time I was done it had somehow migrated to Mexico...

[leaning conservative]

I completely agree, a wonderful site of friendship & good food. Thank you JT for providing a respite from the craziness of the rest of the world.

[Jamestown1630]

I’ve never made them, but they look easy enough, and fun.

[Jamestown1630]

I always say that no matter what happens in the world, we still have to eat! and we may as well enjoy it.

[txhurl]

fun group of people!

---

Late to the Airplane! chorus :)

[Liz]

..........we gotta get that on a tee shirt............

[Yaelle]

No! I’ve seen it though. I’ve used liposomal C before to great effect. I will check into it.

[Jamestown1630]

I like what Jacques Pepin often says, channeling Voltaire:

“Imagine how tiresome it would be to have to eat three times a day if God had not made it a pleasure as well as a necessity.”

[Liz]

Agreed.....its enlightening collecting the cumulative wisdom of people like Pepin and all the master chefs in the world.....not to mention all of our accomplished FR chefs.

[Jamestown1630]

One of the most satisfying ways to start is with some of the quick flatbreads, and sauce or chutney - a warm chapati with a raita sauce is simple and divine:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/85469/indian-chapati-bread/

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/raita-indian-yogurt-cucumber-condiment

And if you ever get to an Indian grocery store, you can buy packages of “Papadum” - really thin discs made of black lentil flour that seem like rice paper; and when you toss one into hot fat, it puffs up into a delightful cracker-like bread.

[Jamestown1630]

This is a lovely article by Jacques, on food and memory:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/09/dining/jacques-pepin-food-memories.html?_r=0

[Silentgypsy]

Thank you for the suggestions and links!

I made puri from a recipe in a ladies' magazine about 50 years ago. It called for yogurt in the dough and it was crisp and delicious. That was my last attempt at making Indian food. My husband's former roommate is from Trinidad and they made some Indian dishes for us which were very good. Since we live in a rural area of TN, we don't get the opportunity to shop for different ethnic foods, but we can get some less commonly found herbs and spices if we drive about 70 miles to stores in a more densely populated area. Learning about seasoning sounds like fun.