Curry, My Way.

The white girl makes curry for her friends and family...

Vegetables in a hot-sweet sauce with accompaniments.  This curry is reddish orange--presents really well for guests.  Leftovers are stellar, so don't worry if there is a lot.  The best way to get started is to begin cooking the lentils first, prepare the spices, assemble and trim the veggies, grate the onion, garlic and ginger. So imagine you have all your ingredients lined up and ready to cook. I usually decide what vegetables I want in the morning when I go shopping.

This curry is equally good without dairy--for my vegan brothers and sisters.  Tofu can be sauteed in with the vegetables--delish.
For the carnivores out there, chicken or lamb is great with this dish.  I recommend more cooking time for the meat to tenderize it.  Add it before the onions, garlic, and ginger--see below--and cook until tender.  Add your sauteed vegetables midway through the process.

1. The Lentils.
1 cup blonde lentils
4 cups filtered water
1 tsp salt
Simmer 1 hour in a heavy-bottomed pan.

2. The Spices.
You can use curry powder, or store bought garam masala (a spice blend for curries).  I like to make my own garam masala, which I modify from time to time, depending on my mood.  I use a repurposed coffee grinder, but there was a time when I used a mortar and pestle.  If you grind by hand, you may want to put some salt in there to speed things up.  I use a combination of sweet and hot spices; my goal is to make something that is warming and rich. Your garam masala should be sauteed in butter or oil for a few minutes before anything else goes in.  If you like more texture, you can saute a teaspoon each of mustard seeds and cumin seeds until they pop.  Smells wonderful... also great with fried potatoes!
Here are the macro spices:
         Turmeric
         Dry mustard
         Coriander seeds
         Black Peppercorns
         Cumin seeds
         Cardamom
Here are the micro spices:
       Fenugreek seeds
       Cayenne
       Star Anise
       Cinnamon
       Clove
       White Peppercorns
       Red Pepper flakes
I use about 1 tablespoon of turmeric, 2 teaspoons of dry mustard 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seed, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper, 1-2 teaspoons cumin seed and 1/2 teaspoons cardamom.  Fenugreek, maybe 5-8 seeds, 1/8 teaspoons cayenne (more if you like a hot curry), a pinch of everything else.  I start with about 2 teaspoons of this mixture, and add a little more in the last 15 minutes, if needed.  You can correct your seasoning as the dish simmers, for example, additional cinnamon to smooth things out a bit.  (Homemade garam masala makes great deviled eggs, by the way.)

3.  Cooking.  I saute the spices and add one medium onion, grated, 2 tablespoons grated ginger, and grated garlic to taste--about 4 medium cloves--all grated. It will begin to boil pretty fast, so I then add 2 cups of filtered water, or vegetable broth.  Pretty soon you will have a nice looking sauce.  Feel free to add 1 tomato, seeded and chopped into small dice, and simmer very gently while you prepare the veggies. Also a teaspoon of grated lemon zest, at your pleasure.

Which vegetables will you use?
Whatever you like, but you will need about 4 cups total; how you proportion them is up to you.  I use carrots, eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper, and serrano peppers.  And potatoes.  At least two small potatoes.
If you like green leafy vegetables, I recommend putting them in in the last 10-12 minutes--more about that later.  I cannot think of any vegetable that would not be good--green beans, peas, sweet potatoes, chard...
I cut the firm veggies into bite-size pieces, and reserve leafy veggies for later.
If you use eggplant you may want to salt it and let it set for about 15-20 minutes--squeeze it gently before cooking.
OK, so I like to saute the firm vegetables in hot oil to get them just a little browned.  Then I add the sauce, 2 tablespoons tamarind concentrate, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and enough water to keep it a little soupy.  Simmer this for about 30 minutes, until all the veggies are tender and the sauce is like a light gravy.  I you are using leafy vegetables, add them after about 18-20 minutes of simmering. When it's done, correct the seasoning and allow to sit another 15 minutes.

4.  Meanwhile, back to the Lentils.  Heat 2 1/2 tablespoons butter or oil in a heavy bottomed pan with a good lid.  Saute 1/2 teaspoon each cumin, turmeric, and coriander.  Add 1 tablespoon grated ginger and stir, for another 2-3 minutes.  Add 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes and wait just a few seconds.  Then pour in the lentils and allow to simmer, covered, about 15 more minutes, or until the lentils are tender.  Squeeze a little lemon in the dish and serve with fresh cilantro.  (By the way, this is called Dal.)

5.  Ok, let's plate the dinner.  You will want some accompaniments. Serve the curry with yogurt and cucumbers mixed together and salted (called raita, some like it with cumin and black pepper.)  I like a flat bread or tortilla, slightly charred and buttered. You can find Naan bread at your local Middle Eastern Grocery--it is wonderful heated in the oven and slathered with butter.  Roasted peanuts or almonds, coconut, bananas, raisins, other dried fruit, and bottled chutney are all very good with this dish.  You know you're doing this right when your plate looks a little like a Jackson Pollock painting.  You can also serve with rice, if you wish.

Sunday for Dinner w/Danielle--Indian home cooking

Channa Masala--creamy tomato sauce, spices, and garbanzos--rich and mild.
Potato-green pea Samosas--steamed potatoes, peas, different spices, wrapped in a crispy-fried wrapper.
Tamarind Chutney--made with tamarind pods bought at JR Produce
Dal--made with lentils, spices, butter, and lime juice--hot!
Cucumber Raita--yogurt with spices and cukes--very cool!
Nuts and Raisins

All homemade, and soooo vewy, vewy good!

Recipes coming soon...

Fried chicken in a dutch oven

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbl. paprika
1 Tbl. salt
1 tsp. black pepper

Fryer, cut up

Dredge the chicken.  Allow to dry for 10-15 minutes. Fry in oil or oil combined with bacon grease (yum!).  1/3 inch, nice and hot. Brown all sides, about 15 minutes. Then cover with a tight fitting lid and cook another 20-25 minutes over low heat. Crisp for another few minutes without the lid. Drain on a rack.  Great served cold.

After a Long, Long Time..

Something scrumptious came my way...

Shrimp Enchiladas
Preheat oven to 350 F
Filling
1 1/2 cups parboiled shrimp, cut into 1/2 inch bits
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 rib celery, finely chopped, with a few bits of fresh leaf in the mix
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
fresh corn chopped off the cob
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp fish sauce (yep!)
a pinch of ground cumin

Heat 1-2 tbs olive oil in a large skillet, until shimmering. Saute the aromatics until moist, then add the  shrimp and corn. Saute further until the corn is mostly cooked--it should hold together slightly.

Execution
12-14 corn tortillas
1 1/2 cups warm red enchilada sauce--Hatch is good, homemade is better.
6-8 ounces grated jack cheese

More olive oil.

Saute all the corn tortillas in olive oil, just until warmed through--they will be too hot to handle, so use tongs.  Stack the tortillas in an 8x14 inch baking dish--ceramic is best, but metal will do. Let the tortillas cool just a bit.

Fill each tortilla with 2-3 tbs filling, and 1 tsp (just a pinch) of cheese.  Roll the tortillas loosely around the filling and line the enchilada side by side, right up next to each other.  Smear with enchilada sauce, adding just a little water if you feel like it.  Cover with the remainder of the cheese, and bake 15-20 minutes.

Serve hot with refried beans, salad, and a cold beer, if you like.

Multicolor tastes better!

Multicolored plates are not only prettier, they're better eating.  Think hash-browned sweet potatoes, mushrooms, purple cabbage, bright green peas, yellow squash, eggplant, beets.  Don't forget tomatoes, either. 

We had smoked baby back ribs with potato salad, sauteed onions and Swiss chard, pickled beets and jalapeno salsa.  Was that ever good!

I am going to vow to eat every (natural) color I can each day.

Hash

I live on hash.  I live for hash.  Unchallenging, plain-jane, anything works.  The best thing about hash, in my opinion, is you can add vegetables to it.  Fennel, chard, spinach, celery, carrots, beets and so on.  Then the protein--leftover roast beef, leftover chicken, turkey, tofu, tempeh, ground lamb, ground pork. You can even add dried fruit.  Raisins, cranberry, dates, prune.  And seasonings--think, now how your protein would go with the seasonings and the adjunct vegetables.  Hash is a lovely vegetarian dish--use any meat substitute you like, and carry on the same as for meat.  I like the mushroom protein stuff a lot.

How do you use hash?  For taco and burrito filling, a platform for eggs, in sandwiches, on a pizza, in salad, and best of all, on a plate with mayonnaise.  Or as a curry! Yay!

Tonight we had pork hash with braised fennel.  Harissa mayonnaise. (wow.)

Serves 2 hungry individuals.
1 russet potato, diced in 1/2 inch pieces--peel if you must, but I don't.  I just scrub the heck out of it.
2 ribs celery, diced finely
1/2 large onion, diced finely
1 large clove garlic (or more if you like), diced finely
1 lb ground pork
salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil, just to cover the bottom of a 10-12 inch skillet--cast iron is the best for this dish.

Saute the aromatics in the olive oil just until shiny and slightly moist.  Add the potatoes and meat, stir to blend and get the meat distributed throughout, over medium high heat.  Cover and lower the heat, and check on it frequently.  Allow the bottom to get really brown and crispy, then turn.  Takes about 20 minutes to get it just right.

Flavored Mayo-- 1 tbsp mayo, 1 tsp ( or to taste) harissa.

You can add a sauce to this--the above mentioned curry, leftover gravy, or a little broth.  I always serve this with the vegetables of virtue--chard, kale, fennel.

Pizza

This evening, I decided to make pizza. Because I like a lot of vegetables and meat, I thought it would be good to try out my latest rage: fennel and include some lean ground pork with mushrooms and onions.  The crust is thin.  You might consider brushing it with olive oil before you add the filling--I did not, but it was still crisp and tasty thru and thru. So this it how it came out--pretty good, and very filling.

Basic Pizza Dough
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
3/4 cup water
2 tbl olive oil
2-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp salt
Combine yeast and water allowing to stand about 5 minutes.
Stir in olive oil.
In a large bowl combine the flour and salt and add the yeast mixture, stirring until it just comes together.
Knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
Cover in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place, until doubled.
Punch the dough down and shape into a 12 inch round--I use a pizza pan with holes in it.

The technique I like is to stretch it a bit and then use the fingertips to poke the dough just firmly enough to move it around--I find I have better control over the thickness of the crust that way.

Filling
1 large fennel bulb, sliced in 1/2 inch slices lengthwise
Fennel fronds
1 tsp sugar

1 tbl Lemon juice

1/2 tsp grated lemon zest

Pinch of ground anise (optional)

1 medium onion, sliced lengthwise
1 lb ground pork

Oregano

Basil

Paprika

8 oz brown mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup (or more) of pasta sauce
8 oz grated mozzarella


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Saute the fennel slices in a little olive oil over medium heat until just turning brown around the edges.  Add sugar and anise and cook just a little longer.  Pour 1/2 cup water in the pan and braise until the fennel is nearly tender.  Add the lemon peel and lemon juice and allow to cook down, until no liquid remains. (Expect to cook the fennel for 10-12 minutes.)
Saute the onions in a little olive oil until moist and set aside. (do not brown)
Saute the mushrooms until just cooked and set aside.
Cook the ground pork, breaking it up into little bits and season to taste with oregano, basil, paprika, salt and pepper.

Shape the pizza crust and spread the pasta sauce over it to the ends of the crust. Sprinkle half of the mozzarella over the pie. Mix the meat, onions and mushrooms together and spread over the pie.  Spread the braised fennel over it and finally cover with the rest of the cheese. Scatter a few fennel fronds over all. Bake for 18-20 minutes and serve hot.