Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

Search Results for: curry

Curried Shrimp & Okra (Dharosh ar Chingri)

**One week left in my $50 Sur La Table Giveaway!! Ends 9/25/13**

IMG_1482ImageMy semester abroad in Rome was the most fantastic 4 months of my life (no offense husband, kids). Immersing myself in a language and culture I had studied and seen from afar for YEARS was just so rewarding. Living down the street from the pantheon and campo dei fiori was just other worldly. But what was even better than living down the street from the pantheon, was living down the street from the gelaterie by the pantheon: gelateria della palma and giolitti. And what was so awesome about campo dei fiori is the open air market that sits daily. Needless to say, I had amazingly fresh food every day. I remember the very first thing I ate was bruschetta with kind of lackluster tomatoes (it was January, duh) but with such fruity olive oil and complex, crusty bread, that I was completely satiated. And I ate like that for about a week or two, pizza al taglio, pasta a cacio e pepe, stuffed zucchini flowers, fried artichokes, all the non porcine Roman specialties. Until I started getting homesick. ImageImageWhen I got homesick, I called my mom, and made Bengali food. And for some reason, the first thing that came to mind when I thought of comfort food was mashed okra (dherosh bhorta). So I dragged my roommate and dear friend Jess (who just got engaged!!) across town, to the Bengali market. There, I found some puny okras, red onions, green chili and the mustard oil necessary to complete my gustative trip home (Jess, for the record, did not partake because of her texture issues. If you, like her, have an aversion to squishy foods, okra is not for you). After that, it kind of became a tradition…we would invite our friends over for a traditional Bengali meal in our tiny Roman apartment, usually consisting of rice, daal, chicken curry and some sort of fried veggie or salad. Then go out for gelato. Yeah, we knew how to party.ImageSince then I always associate okra with Bengali comfort food. And this dish is just such a tasty (and quick!) way to experience it. I made this EXACTLY like my mom, not straying the least bit (except that I use Kosher salt; she swears by the iodized stuff). There is, surprisingly, no garlic or ginger. It is a tad salty, but feel free to adjust it to taste. This usually isn’t served as the main accompaniment to your rice…those would be more along the lines of chicken, beef, mutton or some sort of large fish. But it’s definitely enough for me, as I could probably destroy the whole thing in one sitting. Enjoy!IMG_1483

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp light olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp coriander
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder (or cayenne)
  • 1 cup water
  • About 3 cups okra, diced (I used 15 large, fresh from my in-laws’ garden!)
  • 1/2 to 3/4 lb shrimp
  • 1 and 1/4 tsp salt, separated
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, for garnish

Directions

  1. Heat oil over medium high heat. Add onions and cook until soft.
  2. Add all the spices and water. Stir to combine.
  3. Add the okra and 1 tsp salt. Cover and cook until tender, about 5 minutes (check on it occasionally. If the water dries out, add 1/4 cup more).
  4. In a separate bowl, season the shrimp with 1/4 tsp salt. After the okra is almost fully cooked through, add the shrimp. Cover and cook an additional 2 minutes.
  5. When everything is cooked through, turn off the heat and add the cilantro.

Fishkill Farms

IMG_1332

My little guy munching on a cucumber, enjoyin’ da ambiance.

IMG_1336

seriously, could it get more perfect than this?

I read somewhere once about a 5th grader who didn’t know what a tomato was. This bit of disturbing news consistently motivates me to educate my kids about where their food comes from. I regularly point out fruit and vegetable plants in my neighborhood, show them around my in laws’ garden, and go some sort of fruit picking at least once or twice a year. This past weekend, we headed upstate to our favorite pick your own fruit farm. Now, I’ve been to a lot of farms in the tri state area, but nothing beats the picturesque beauty of Fishkill Farms, nestled in the heart of Hudson Valley, overlooking verdant rolling hills (cheesy? oh, I know). Located just south of Poughkeepsie, this place is really a throwback to my newlywed days. My husband and I started out apple picking there, about 4 years ago. But since then their offerings have grown: strawberries and blackberries in June, cherries in July, delicious stone fruit in August, and of course apples and pumpkins in the fall. They have a CSA and even sell at some farmers markets around the city. They are all about sustainability and minimizing the use of chemical pesticides, though they aren’t certified organic.

IMG_1351

Pickin’ peaches. Only a handful were really ripe for picking, but it was a lovely experience regardless!

IMG_1349

My dad is cracking up because the rooster pecked my son through the fence.

IMG_1337 IMG_1338 They have a great farm stand offering fresh produce, local cheese and dairy, farm fresh eggs, meat, and other goodies. The ice cream just makes the experience complete. Really delicious, locally produced Jane’s ice cream. Benches out back overlook the beautiful landscape. Livestock are great for the kids’ viewing pleasure, though not for petting since they’re not tamed. I’m glad they didn’t sell out that way… keeping it an authentic working farm rather than a cheesy petting zoo.IMG_1340 IMG_1341 IMG_1342 IMG_1343 The grill has been a great addition. They’ve hired a lot of super friendly Jamaicans who play Bob Marley over the speakers. It was so chill! Since we keep halal, I only tried the corn (which was delicious)! Other than that, since my parents were involved, we kept true to desi day trip style and packed our own lunch (you guessed it, nothing other than chicken curry). IMG_1344What a great way to enjoy this glorious summer weather, and get your city kids some exposure to agriculture and the countryside. I hope you are able to get to your own local farms for some fruit picking! Happy picking (and eating)!

Mashed Eggplant (Begun Bhorta)

IMG_0824

I feel like most people, when asked what their favorite vegetable is, would say corn or butternut squash or potatoes (though I bet they actually like the salt and fat that comes with the potatoes). Or perhaps mushrooms. But not me. I. Love. Eggplant. Stewed with tomatoes (imam biyaldi). Simply fried with salt and turmeric (chaak bhaji). In a curry with the insanely boney hilsa fish. In the Sicilian sweet/savory relish known as caponata. In every way except babaghanoush (sorry, haters gon hate). Or this way: charred over an open flame, peeled then mashed with simmering onions, tomatoes, garlic and spices.

IMG_0816Now, I know traditionally a bhorta consists of some boiled or steamed vegetable (or dried fish) mashed or really well mixed with raw onion, Thai chilli, mustard oil, salt and cilantro. But one fine day my mom made this and said hey, this is begun bhorta. And even though the cooking process more closely resembles a mishti kumro ghonto (think: spiced, simmered pumpkin mush), it stuck.

IMG_0809 Charring it is a bit of a pain. The juices get all over the burner. Peeling the charred pieces of skin is a pain. But the payoff is well worth it. You could perhaps do it under the broiler. I haven’t given it a go. Right now I am sticking to tried and true methods of prep. So, here it is:

Ingredients:

1 medium eggplant, poked all around with a knife or fork
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, diced (yellow or red)
2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1tsp garlic paste)
1 tomato, diced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp coriander
A pinch of chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
A handful of fresh cilantro

Directions:

Over a medium flame, start charring the eggplant by placing directly onto heat and rotating using a pair of tongs every two minutes or so (or with your fingers if you’re hardcore like my mom). It should be cooked all the way through in about 10 to 12 minutes. Prep the rest of the ingredients in the meantime.

When the eggplant is done, remove from heat and allow to cool. Then peel off the skin using your fingers or tongs, doing the best you can to get as much of it off as you can. Cut off the top and set aside.

Heat oil over medium high heat in a wok or fry pan. Add onions and tomatoes. Allow to soften a few minutes, then add garlic and the rest of the spices/seasonings (if you only have garlic/ginger paste on hand, use that). Add the eggplant and break up any chunks using a wooden spoon. Lower the heat to medium/medium low. Mix it all together and let the flavors combine while prepping the cilantro.

Off the heat, add the cilantro and check for seasoning. Serve with basmati rice or roti.

Note: as with most bengali cooking, you do not need to follow a recipe to a T to get fantastic results. Feel free to use chopped Thai chili in lieu of the chili powder. Or a dash of mustard oil for more of a kick. For example, I had some extra red pepper on hand so I added it. Made it look a ton prettier. Just don’t skimp on the charring because it really makes this dish.

Hasan’s Aqiqah

This past Sunday was my son’s (Hasan’s) aqiqah, an Islamic tradition wherein a family celebrates the arrival of new progeny with the sacrifice of an animal (one goat for a daughter, two for a son). Unlike birthdays or weddings, there aren’t a ton of customs to follow. The feast following the sacrifice isn’t widely observed, at least not in the Muslim community I grew up in. In fact the first aqiqah that I’d been to was my own daughter’s. This poses the thoroughly enjoyable challenge of creating one’s owns customs.

Menu Planning. First and foremost, who is my audience? Banglus. Don’t try to pass around beautiful, fresh tasting hors d’oeuvres. We are used to having our palates on fire. We even drink spicy lassis for goodness sake, to wash down our biryani. To start, I served my Lima Apa’s chatpati.

Chatpati is one of the great Bengali street foods. Dried white peas (or white vatana) are slow simmered in a spicy broth, then served with fresh diced tomato, onion, thai chili, cucumber, cilantro, hard boiled egg, potato chips and tamarind juice. I don’t know what her secret is…I’ve had many a bland chapati. But hers is perfectly salty, spicy, sweet and tart all at the same time. I have a feeling Shan might have something to do with it =)

On to the main course: salad and balsamic roast chicken got duped in this picture. But, that’s ok. The main attractions were the goat curries, done two ways. One is a spicy, traditional method (thanks to Hasan’s paternal grandmother) the other is a sweeter curry, made with yogurt, raisins and almonds (thanks to his maternal grandma). Then there was the mixed vegetable sauté. And the rice pilaf (palau). Don’t forget the naan and raw onions & thai chilis. Even with this spread, it wasn’t the most abundant I’d seen at some Bengali parties.

Sweet. Since the main courses were generously taken care of by relatives, I got to go all out on dessert (which is great since I really DO NOT care for bengali desserts).  Fleur de sel caramels as party favors. Chocolate cupcakes with white chocolate buttercream for the kids (I was less than impressed by the buttercream…the white chocolate did not shine through all the butter and confectioner’s sugar). Paula’s pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting (something seasonal), which were a huge hit! And finally, for the banglus, including my husband, a caramel-less flan (dubbed egg pudding by the banglus).

Despite the near chaos of cramming 30 some odd people into our cozy junior 4 apartment, a good time, and a good meal was had by all.

How to. Here is the recipe for the pudding. Adapted from Allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

  • 3 eggs
  • 1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
  • 1 (12 fl. oz.) can evaporated milk
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Place a nonstick 9 in round baking dish within a larger oven proof pan (such as a 9x13x2 glass tray).
  2. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Beat in condensed milk, evaporated milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Pour egg mixture into the round 9 in nonstick baking dish.
  3. Pour warm water into the larger dish so that it comes up about 1/4 to 1/2 an inch up the side of the pudding pan. Carefully transfer the whole thing to a rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
  4. Bake in preheated oven 60 minutes. Let cool completely.

The perfect cup of (milk) tea

IMG_4899Every South Asian is familiar with the following scenario: impromptu guests late in the afternoon. While you scurry to make your place somewhat presentable, you run through the inventory of sweet and savory snacks to serve. Then they say, “Oh we’ll just have some tea and be on our way.” Easy enough. Throw some water, milk and tea bags in a pot. Simmer, then sugar. Wait, is that 50/50 water and milk? Or am I supposed to use evaporated milk? How long should I simmer again? Aw, crap, the milk’s bubbled over.

A decent cup of milk tea (cha if you’re bengali, chai if you’re not, venti skinny extra foam chai latte if you’re a gringa) should not be a challenging endeavor. But when you’re on the go-go-go and Barista B. is serving up your caffeine fix every morning, you might forget the proper ratios, simmering times and techniques. After being consistently disappointed that the tea I concocted each morning did not live up to the $1 cup of tea from the local bengali joint, I decided to experiment with a few different techniques and ingredients to come up with a foolproof, delicious-every-time cup of cha.

First you need a really good tea (if you try this with Lipton, you WILL be disappointed). My tea of choice is PG Tips. The flavor profile is robust; it really stands up well to milk. Any good quality tea sourced from Assam or Darjeeling is ideal. I use 1 tea bag per person (1 tsp loose). Teas that are not as strong (Ceylon comes to mind) will require 1.5 tsp per person.

Second – evaporated milk. I’ve tried all reduced fat milk, half water, half whole milk, sweetened condensed milk. Nothing delivers quite as consistently as evaporated milk.

Third – a measuring cup helps.

Keep in mind, this will make 2 generous cups (not those teensy tea cups). Adjust sugar according to yourpreference. So, here we go:

Ingredients:

  • 2.5 cups of water
  • 2 bags/pyramids of strong tea (PG Tips, Tetley, etc.)
  • 1/4 cup evaporated milk
  • 2 heaping tsps sugar

Bring the water to a boil. Add tea bags and reduce to a simmer (you still want to see bubbles bursting, just not violently). Add the evaporated milk and set your timer to 5 minutes. This will allow the flavors to develop and the liquids to evaporate a bit, intensifying the flavor and richness. Add sugar and pour through a sieve.

Scaling up: this recipe scales well. To adjust simmering time, keep an eye on the hue. When the liquid has reduced a bit and the color looks like the picture, you’re good.

Spicing it up: add a pod of cardamom and/or cinnamon stick per 2 people if desired