Hungry Like the Wolf

>>>Aloo Daal<<<

2007-11-22T04:16:00.000-08:00

Imagine doubling the daal's deliciosity (and alliterating into the bargain)! Potatoes are the answer.

INGREDIENTS:

1/4c channa daal (the hard yellow lentils)
1/2c masoor daal (the tiny orange lentils)
2med chopped potatoes
oil
1tbs ground cumin
1tbs ground fenugreek seed **TOASTED FIRST, else it will be horribly bitter**
1tbs ground coriander seed
pinch ground ajwain (optional)
pinch asafoetida
1tbs turmeric
1-2tbs tamarind paste (to taste)
1-2tbs chili flakes (to taste)
salt
1tbs mustard seeds
3-4 whole cloves (optional)
chopped cilantro 1/4c (optional)
water

INSTRUCTIONS
1) In one pot, put in the channa daal with double the water it takes to cover, along with the turmeric and a bit of oil (I read on another food blog that doing so gets lentils to cook faster AND IT IS SO TRUE) and the cloves; bring to maximum and once it's on rolling boil, reduce and cook covered for about 30 min (until they're pretty squishy). Add the masoor daal with more water (you're going to have to eye it. It needs to be squishy but not soupy, a thinnish porridge consistency) and finish cooking that. Stir occasionally. When it's cooked, add tamarind and salt to taste. Leave aside.

2) In a frying pan, heat oil to medium-high and fry the potatoes until they taste just about done. Add the ground spices and fry everything together until it smells good and looks like it's going to burn soon. Immediately scrape ALL the pan contents on top of the daal (you'll hear a beautiful sizzle) and stir together. Eat immediately, with bread or rice. The potatoes make a mild, creamy, salty break from the runny, spicy, sour (ish. depends on how much tamarind you like) daal. Potatoes are superstars in the curry kitchen.

Hot and Bold Chickpea Curry

2007-07-24T22:52:00.000-07:00

(Sanja is away with the camera, so I don't have picture evidence of this beautiful thing)

This is a strongly tomato-flavoured, chunky masala, with lots of heat and sweetness as well. I'm experimenting with new spices these days; my collection is up to 15!!

Masala:

1 TBS kalonji
1 TBS cumin seed

1/2 TBS turmeric
1-2 TBS garam masala (I added aniseed and black cardamom to mine and it elevated the flavour from pleasant to intoxicating)

Other stuff:

1/2 cup oil
2 med onions (chopped finely)
1 head garlic (crushed)
1 tin whole tomatoes (crushed by fist...FUN)
3 dried cayenne peppers (optional)
1 tin cooked chickpeas
2 TBS demerrara sugar
some frozen peas
1 small bunch cilantro
some kasuri methi (I used about a tablespoon, but I am a novice)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Dry-roast the cumin and kalonji for a bit, until you can smell them, then cool and grind. Set aside. Fry onions for 5-10 min, stirring frequently, until they are light brown (if you have the patience, wait longer and get them really brown...but I never do). Add the crushed garlic and fry for another 3 minutes or so. Add cumin and kalonji powder and fry for a minute. Dump in the tomatoes, garam masala, turmeric, dark sugar and some salt (don't overdo, you can correct later). Crack in the dried cayennes and stir frequently while the tomato water boils off and you get a thick goop. Add drained chickpeas and 1/4 cup frozen peas or so. Sprinkle the dried methi leaf on top, then stir in the cilantro. Serve with rice or chapatti. This is a lip-smacking dish.

BEAN AND CHICKPEA CURRY

2007-04-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

A basic recipe. Three of us consumed this one (with plenty left over for a fourth) and it knocked all socks off!
And I cannot stress this enough--ingredients and measurements are not set in stone! You can make any kind of curry within these guidelines!

INGREDIENTS:
1lg chopped onion
1/2head crushed garlic
1/2tin crushed tomato (a little more than a cup)
1lb cooked red beans
1c cooked chickpeas
1/2c oil
2c water
1/2bunch chopped cilantro
1/3c sour cream

masala:
1stick cinnamon
1tbs mustard seeds
1tbs ground cumin
1tbs ground coriander
1tbs chili powder
1tbs ground fenugreek seed
1tsp turmeric
salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:

Heat element to medium-high and fry the mustard seeds for about 30sec in the oil. Add onion and cinnamon stick; fry until they're translucent and soft. Add the mashed garlic, fry for 2-5min, then add all ground spices EXCEPT fenugreek seed. Fry the masala for 3-5min, then add the crushed tomato and fenugreek seed. Fry the mixture for a few minutes, then add the water. Stir until everything is the same consistency and bring to the boil, then plunk in the beans and chickpeas. Leave this to cook, covered for 10-15min, while you chop the cilantro (it's what I did!) or do anything you need to do. Come back and add salt. When the consistency is good--that is, some of the water has evaporated--turn the heat off. Stir in the sour cream, then fold in the chopped cilantro. Serve with white rice or any bread you like. Eat immediately!

RED BEANS and bacon

2007-04-19T12:14:00.000-07:00

In my house, beans are never cooked without bacon. As a result, the recipe is instantly delicious and ridiculously easy. This is how my mother makes red beans--

INGREDIENTS:
1/2kg dry red beans (or however much you want)
1 hefty slab bacon (NO strips, please! If you buy pancetta-style bacon regularly, then the leftover hard rind is just the thing to use in this recipe)
a few chopped bell peppers
salt and pepper as needed

extra topping:
young feta

INSTRUCTIONS:
Boil the beans plain until they've softened somewhat, then plunk in the bacon and peppers and keep boiling until the beans have released their gooey liquid and you've got a red stew on your hands (the smell of bacon should convey itself to your nostrils at this point). Serve topped with young feta and some crunchy bread.
This recipe may be complicated to your heart's content. Just don't forget the bacon!

SUMPTUOUS VEGGIE KORMA

2007-04-19T12:11:00.000-07:00

There's a restaurant in my neighborhood whose chef makes beautiful cream curries; they're sweet and milky, their pale sauce speckled by a complex network of black seeds. So, I tried to re-create it at home and I've come reasonably close. While the dish is not enough to make me stop going to the restaurant, it is wonderful. The whole seeds give pockets of explosive crunch to the sweet cream sauce.
There's no garlic in this recipe because I didn't have any on hand, but to be frank, I didn't miss it.
Please make in a non-stick pan of some sort, as it is very easy to burn spices otherwise.

INGREDIENTS:

SPICES
1tbs mustard seeds
1tbs cumin seeds
1 stick cinnamon
8-10 whole cloves (the most important part of the masala)

1tbs ground coriander
1tbs chili powder (or to taste)
1tsp turmeric

OTHER STUFF
1lg onion, chopped
1/2cup oil
1/2cup crushed tomatoes
1/2cup whipping cream
1/4cup sugar
1cup water
1/2cup chopped cilantro
1/2cup french green beans
1cup cubed tofu (middle firmness)
1cup diced vegetable mix (I get the kind with carrot, corn, peas, lima beans, etc.)

THESE LAST THREE are fully customizable; whatever veg combo you like. The tofu is there for protein, as there is precious little otherwise

salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS:
Fry the onion in the oil alongside the whole spices, until it is soft and translucent. Add the ground spices and fry for a good 5 minutes, stirring well. Then plunk in the crushed tomato and stir some more, until the oil separates from the tomato-spice mix. Then, add water and tofu and cover. After at least 15 minutes of percolation, add the sugar, salt and remaining vegetables. Cook for 5-10 minutes, stirring every so often to make sure nothing's sticking to the bottom. When the sauce is thick enough and all the vegetables cooked through, turn the heat off and add whipping cream and cilantro. Stir well once and serve, with white rice or a drier Indian bread.
If you're not fond of crunching a clove every so often, make sure to remove them before serving. Bon apetit!

ONE UP CRÊPES

2007-04-18T10:54:00.000-07:00

Crepes are not just French food. Bosnians, for example, make them on a regular basis (though they've been countrified in translation to "pancakes"). We make big ones and roll them up with jam or eurocrem (trans. "eurocream"), the classic progenitor of Nutella.
This particular recipe is fusion, because my friend Pang dug up the idea to a) use whole wheat and b) load the batter with butter. I've never gone back, and my mother also favours this version, after years of making them her way.
The thing to remember about crepes is that every batter will be different; it's no use measuring things out, just go in basic splotches and add milk or flour to thin or thicken as needed (don't go over two eggs, however, else you get omelet). You'll know when the batter hits the pan if it's too thick or thin, and it can go either way no matter how religiously you follow a recipe. So, arm yourself with confidence and modify, modify, modify.
Also essential in crepe making is a) a nonstick vessel and b) the correct amount of oil. Too much is pure poison for the veins, but too little will not allow the batter to spread nicely. Oil spray has never worked for me, but if know how to wield the stuff, I don't see why it can't be used instead.

INGREDIENTS:
1/2c melted butter
2 eggs
anywhere from 1-2c whole-wheat flour
~1l milk

Some kind of spread

INSTRUCTIONS:
Whisk together the butter and egg, then pour in milk and whisk the lot. Add flour in increments until the batter is nice and runny (as pictured above). Whisk the batter so that there aren't any lumps. It needs to be soupy but not watery. It is much better if it rests for at least an hour (a day is ideal).
If the crepe doesn't form a solid sheet when you pour it into the pan, add flour. If the batter doesn't run smoothly enough across the pan when you're turning it around, add milk.
Heat a non-stick pan to medium-high. Pour on about a teaspoon of oil and spread it around the bottom of the pan. While pouring (something less than 1/4cup's worth of batter, depending on the size of the vessel) into the pan, rotate the pan slowly so that the batter spreads across the bottom. Wait until it looks somewhat cooked on top. Slowly prod the sides to see if it's come unstuck from the bottom. Then, flip over and briefly cook on the other side. ***It is essential that the crepe be cooked enough before flipping; so many tears I've cried over a too-soft crepe I've flipped when it comes back all smushed into itself, completely useless. Deposit the done crepe onto a plate and continue the process, adding a bit of oil each time. If you happen to put too much oil for one crepe, there should be enough left over so that you don't have to oil the next one. This way, the fat content is somewhat moderated.
You can roll and eat these as you make them, or save up a fat stack for later. Hot or cold, they're delicious.

Nuts and bolts

2007-04-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

A great deal of what I'll be posting here is Indian cooking, as that's the kind I do most often these days.
Below are my spices:

Some close-ups:

clove

mustard and cumin seed. beautiful!

okay, I know lentils aren't a spice, I just happen to keep them in my spice rack and they add colour to the photo-shoto.

cinnamon bark

ground coriander

There are two categories: whole spices and ground spices. Whole spices are fried alongside the onions from the beginning of the curry. I tend to eschew garam masala; it's much easier for me to fry clove and cinnamon into the onions. It tastes punchier as well, I think.
WARNING!!! fenugreek seed an exception to this; it needs to be fried for VERY short periods of time else it becomes bitter. Generally it should be the last spice you put in. Me, I rarely put it in at all, because I'm so paranoid it'll get bitter. But I'm working on it.
The ground spices are added after the garlic and ginger are just about fried (g&g go in after the onion has softened). One thing to note is that chili powder is not set in stone; you can use fresh chilis (dumped in at the same time as g&g) or chili paste--anything goes.

Besides spices, Indian cooking requires:

-A non-stick vessel. Do not even try to fry spices in a stainless steel pan. It will go to hell--this is a well-attested consequence.
-Some kind of grinding mechanism. Cumin, especially, should be purchased in seed form. One, it's very cheap; two, the fragrance and freshness of just-ground cumin is irreplaceable. As cumin is the leading spice in many curries, it needs to be top-notch. However, seed cumin just as it is has its charms as well. Sometimes you want one or the other, so the best idea is to buy it in seed form and grind as needed. I have a mortar and pestle I was quite intoxicated with for a while, but I'm going to be honest--it's very hard to grind things finely with it without killing the upper arms. I find a grinder (just a regular coffee grinder) saves me a lot of crunchy bits in my cumin powder and energy I'll need to stir.
-Onion and, as aforementioned, garlic and ginger. I find ginger optional and can do just fine without it, mostly because it's a bit of a pain in the ass to peel and grate. Garlic, on the other hand, is really fun because you have to crush it. It adds something indispensible to most curries, and you can never have too much. However, there's still nothing quite like the smell of ginger and garlic frying together. Both is ideal.
-Crushed/diced tomato. I buy it in large tins, one of which will do me for about three curries. Tomato is the ultimate spice-binder and thickener; I have found it very difficult to produce tasty curries without frying the spice-onion mix in tomato first. It takes on a wonderful ripe sweetness as it cooks and prevents a "watery" flavour even if you add lots of water. I find chickpeas especially cannot do without tomato.
-Creaming agent (for lack of a better word). This is the stuff added at the end of the curry to pull everything together and impart a substantial creaminess. You can use coconut milk/cream, sour cream, buttermilk, yoghurt, whipping cream; all of them impart a different flavour to the curry.
-Chopped cilantro. This is not optional. It will absolutely transform a curry. Even the plainest daal will have a spectacular kick to it with cilantro.
-Oil, duh. I put it here because it is extremely important in Indian cooking not to skimp on the oil (or ghee). Everything must be nicely fried, not steamed and scraped at the bottom of the pan. While we're here, the oil vs. ghee debate--
In my experience, they don't taste terribly different, only ghee has a bit more of a pleasant smell to it and gives the frying onions a lovely yellow colour. However, it is more expensive than oil.
-Staples. Basmati rice is the only rice that will do. Bread, however, has a thousand possibilities. Any kind of nice bread will go with curries, Indian or no. Soupy daals especially, I find, are excellent conduits for regular whitey bread.

WHAT CAN BE CURRIED?

Just about everything!
One of the reasons I'm so addicted to Indian cookery is because any vegetable/protein combo works, and patchy fridges don't have to cause any despair. Tofu, legumes, paneer, meat, fish, seafood, leafy greens, beans, peas, carrots, corn (yes! corn!), potato, cauliflower, tomatoes, squashes, peppers, asparagus, okra, eggplant--any one or any number of them together works!
The only guideline is the natural fit of vegetable flavours together. Sometimes the combo seems unlikely but can prove completely addictive. For example, my boyfriend's mother makes very tomato-y chickpea-tofu-spinach curries--absolutely fantastic. There's nothing like them. My own general policy is to put in a legume, then follow up with some frozen veg mix. Foolproof.

While we're on the subject of customizability, one thing is worth mentioning--there's no such thing as an Indian recipe to be followed to a T. How much of this and that goes into a dish is completely up to Individual taste (for example, pretty much the whole world is against me on the amount of cilantro I feel needs to be added to a curry). Measurements are not to be taken as commandments, but loose guidelines; there is infinite room for subtraction, addition and substitution.

Recipes incoming!