Kitchen3N

Recipes and food fun from Apt 3N

Fish Curry

IMG_5310I was going to write about how comfort food for me is not cream laden, starch based dish. About how I would be disappointed during weekend lunches when my mom would bring out a pot of fish curry yet when I moved out to my dorm it was those memories that comforted me during cold, dark and lonely weekday nights. And one of the few things that connected me to my childhood as a married woman cooking for her own family. IMG_8319But I realized I’ve written all of that before. And as touching as it is, I can’t dwell on it. Not with all that’s going on. I am sick of the vitriol being spewed from my screen. From fellow commuters. From people I’ve shared a hometown with for years. But I’m emboldened by the acts of good among all the recent backlash against my community. The little Texan boy that donated his savings to a mosque in his neighborhood that was vandalized. Brandon of HONY, who appeared on Fareed Zakaria, pleading the case of the Syrian refugees. Justin Trudeau and the choir that welcomed refugees with a rendition of Tala Al Badru Alayna – the song that the people of Medina sang to receive the Prophet Muhammad and his followers when they left Mecca due to persecution.IMG_5319Scapegoating, racism, xenophobia – these are nothing new to mankind. But social media is. So I ask you, during these historic times, will we find ourselves as complacent as the citizens of the world during WWII? Will we let the negative news saturate our feeds? Or will we use the platforms we’ve been given to help our neighbors, speak the truth and contribute to the forces of good?

Ingredients

  • 2 tilapia filets (about 3/4 pound total), cut widthwise into 1/2 in to 3/4 in pieces*
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 3 tbsp light olive oil
  • pinch anise seeds (optional)**
  • 1/2 large onion (or 1 medium one), sliced
  • 1 Roma tomato, sliced into half inch slices
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 jalapeno, tip cut off and sliced down the middle
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • dash cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled, deveined, with the tail on
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

  1. Season tilapia with turmeric and salt – rub to coat the fish with the spices.
  2. Heat oil over medium high heat in a large wok or fry pan with high sides. Lightly fry the fish about 2 minutes on each side to get a nice golden brown crust on them. I like to use tongs for this. Do this in two batches. Set aside browned fish on a plate or bowl.
  3. In the same oil, add the anise seeds and onion and cook until onions are translucent – about 4 minutes. Next add tomato, garlic, and jalapeno. Cook for 1-2 minutes, then add cumin, coriander, salt and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine then add 1/2 cup of water to allow the spices to cook down. When the water is almost fully evaporated, add shrimp and stir with the vegetable and spice mixture. Allow to cook for 1 minutes. Then add 1/2 cup more water, the tilapia and bring to a boil. When it reaches a boil, put the lid on and the heat low and allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.***
  4. Meanwhile chop cilantro. When the shrimp and tilapia are cooked through and the broth looks like a broth (homogenous in appearance, not like water with bits floating in it), then turn off the heat. Add the cilantro and taste for seasoning.

*Cook’s note: you can substitute about 2-2 1/2 pounds of bone-in, gutted and de-scaled fish that have been cut into thirds (e.g. porgy, whiting, buffalo). You can skip the shrimp in that case. We’re looking for flavor here (bones of the fish or tails of the shrimp).

**You ever notice that the French use Pernod (anise liqueur) to bouillabaisse (fish stew) and Italians add fennel to cioppino (fish stew). There’s just something about the combination of anise flavor with fish that just works!

***I know most recipes warn of overcooking shrimp but my personal taste is – I like it with a bit of a bite to it!

Coconut Egg Curry (Deem Bhuna)

IMG_2326This weekend was a welcome respite from the bitter cold of the past few months. Temperatures soared to the 50s (watch out LA, we’re catching up). I refused to wear socks…despite that fact that all the snow hadn’t fully melted. We took it all in. Enjoyed our walks instead of rushing from building to car to store then back.

But now the week has begun and and with it, freezing temps. So you can imagine my efforts to avoid multiple trips to the store. I’m pulling out all the stops to use up pantry ingredients. And I know how my readers love a CHEAP, QUICK and DELICIOUS weeknight meal.IMG_2322This doesn’t look like your usual curry (for lack of liquid). This type of dish is called a bhuna: where the liquids are allowed to evaporate for the most part, leaving a concentrated flavor enhanced usually by a large amount of caramelized onions. Most Bengalis would leave a dish like this for special occasions, typically shunning the high amount of cholesterol by the egg and coconut milk combination. Except now, according to recent studies, the cholesterol/fat found in both is good for you (but perhaps not for South Asian populations??). Who knows what to believe anymore with studies constantly disproving what we thought to be true for so long. I’m going to go with my usual wisdom: enjoy in moderation!

Ingredients

  • 6 eggs
  • 1/4 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 12 oz can coconut milk
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 3/4 tsp cumin
  • 3/4 tsp coriander
  • a pinch of turmeric (optional)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 green chilis (or more if you like)
  • 1 tsp salt (or to taste
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper (or white pepper for a more mild heat)

Directions

  1. Place the eggs gently into a small saucepan and add enough water to cover the eggs. Bring to a boil over hight heat, then put the lid on and turn off the heat. Let sit for 6 minutes. Then run under cold water to help cool down enough to peel. PEELING TIP: crack on the counter and roll around. That helps loosen the shell.
  2. In a small nonstick saute pan, heat a tablespoon of oil over high heat. While it heats, toss the eggs with a pinch of turmeric and salt. Once hot, add the peeled eggs and let it sear on one side, after 30 seconds or so, stir to brown the flip side (do the best you can with this). Remove from heat.
  3. In a large saute pan, heat the remaining oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and saute until they are brown around the edges (8 to 10 minutes). Add the coconut milk, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric (if using), bay leaf, chilis, salt and pepper.  Let it simmer over a medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, toss to combine, and check for seasoning.

VARIATIONS

Simple bhuna: ditch the coconut milk for water. Increase turmeric to 1/2 tsp.

Tomato and cilantro: use 1 cup water instead of coconut milk and add 1 tomato, diced. Garnish with 1/4 cup chopped cilantro.

Korma: Ditch the turmeric. Use milk or half and half in lieu of coconut milk. Garnish with raisins and slivered almonds.

 

Bengali Chicken Curry

IMG_6344There is no coconut milk in your chicken curry if you are Bengali. There is no curry paste or any other amalgamation of ingredients someone else deems necessary for your comfort-in-a-bowl chicken curry. There is only your mother, your childhood, the pieces of white meat that no one ever wanted, the potatoes that you cared for only on some days, the jhol (broth) that was literally chicken soup for your soul (but only the first day, after that it just got too cardamom-y), and the leftover bones that you LOVED to chew on as you churned out every last drop of flavor but NEVER admitted to doing outside of bengali circles.

Of course this is my childhood we are recollecting and thus my mother’s recipe. There is very little room for improvement…though one could probably use chicken stock (even better, homemade chicken stock) in lieu of the water. Let’s leave that for another day, another post. For now, amidst the pristine image laid out for you of a little girl enjoying every minute of being elbow deep in her favorite food, there are some hidden perils that threaten. Hear me out: have you ever, during the course of your meal ever landed on a “flavor bomb” ? One of those whole peppercorns, cloves or worse, entire cardamom pod?? It’s disgusting! It’s painful! It’s downright heinous. Takes half the joy out of the meal. I just thought of taking the extra step of pouring the jhol through a sieve and voila! Flavor. Bomb. Out.

I hope this recipe takes you back to your childhood!

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 heaping tsp cumin power
  • 1 heaping tsp coriander
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder (use more or less depending on the potency of your chili powder and how spicy you like it)
  • 1 3 lb chicken cut into curry pieces (either 10 or 12 pieces in total)
  • 1 tsp garlic paste (or minced garlic)
  • 1 tsp ginger paste (or minced ginger)
  • 1 – 1.5 cups of water (water should come about 2/3 of the way up the sides, not covering the meat)
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cinnamon stick or 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 4 whole cardamom pods or 1/4 tsp cardamom
  • 5-6 whole peppercorns

Directions

  1. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a saucepan or any medium sized pot (about 4 qts) with high sides. Add the onion and let soften for 4-5 min. While onion cooks, prep your garlic and ginger, if necessary, and combine the ground spices in a bowl.
  2. Add spices to the onions, mixing well. Add the chicken pieces, turning to coat with as much of the masala mixture as possible. Let the chicken and spices cook for 4-5 minutes, taking care not to burn the spices (reduce the heat if necessary). Add garlic, ginger, water, salt, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and peppercorns. Stir, then increase the heat to bring to a boil.
  3. Reduce to a simmer and cover. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes, removing the lid during the last 10 minutes if there is too much liquid.
  4. Check for seasoning. Add more salt or spice as needed.
  5. Optional: Transfer chicken pieces to a serving bowl. Pour the broth through a sieve to catch all the whole spices and push through all the last bits of curry through the sieve using a spoon.

Variations

For a bigger (4 to 5 lb chicken)

  • 1/3 cup vegetable oil
  • 1.5 to 2 small yellow onions, sliced
  • 1.5 heaping tsp cumin power
  • 1.5 heaping tsp coriander
  • 1.5 tsp turmeric
  • 3/4 tsp chili powder (use more of less depending on the potency of your chili powder and how spicy you like it)
  • 1 4 to 5 lb chicken cut into curry pieces (about 12 in total)
  • 1.5 tsp garlic paste (or minced garlic)
  • 1.5 tsp ginger paste (or minced ginger)
  • about 2 cups of water
  • 2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 5-6 whole cloves
  • 5-6 whole cardamom pods
  • 7-8 whole peppercorns

Increase cooking time by 2-3 minutes, testing the thickest part of the thigh to check for doneness.

To give it a refresh

Try sautéing some tomatoes into a large fry pan or wok and add the leftover chicken curry. When thoroughly heated through, remove from heat and add some chopped fresh cilantro.

Your Mama’s Goat Curry (almost)

imageI wanted this blog to be part-South Asian cooking primer, part musings on Mediterranean/American/Italian cuisine and part dessert food-porn. I haven’t had much opportunity to cook South Asian food post baby no.2, mainly because I’ve been blessed with my mom’s good old home cooking most of the time.

But since it was Eid ul Fitr and my mom ran off to the homeland for a month, I got a chance to whip up some of the good stuff. The stuff that when I asked my husband to give a taste, rolled his eyes back and said “THIS is what makes the world go round”. Now, I won’t take all the credit. It’s a pretty standard curry recipe: onions, garlic, spices – with the exception of tomato paste. That’s a nifty little trick I learned from my mother in law. Intense tomato flavor and meat tenderizer in one. But it’s the meat that makes all the difference. Goat meat, very popular in the subcontinent, not so much in the states – is so flavorful, so tender. Though not as overpowering as lamb can be. I usually get ~3lbs from the shoulder/ribs/foreshank area.

I know it looks like a lot of ingredients, but they are seriously things to invest in if you enjoy south asian cooking.

image

Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 large yellow onion or 2 small
  • 2 tbsps garlic/ginger paste (or 5 garlic cloves and 1.5 in ginger root, minced)
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 tsps cumin powder
  • 2 tsps coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
  • 2 tsps turmeric
  • 4-5 lbs goat meat (cut into small pieces)
  • 2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • 6 cardamom pods
  • 6 cloves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4-5 peppercorns
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2.5 cups water

Directions

Heat oil over medium high heat in a nice, big pot. Slice onion and add to hot oil. Let it soften (for 5 to 8 minutes) and add the garlic/ginger paste, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, chilli and turmeric and mix  well. Let the spices cook for 2-3 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep he spices from sticking to the bottom. Add the goat meat pieces and stir to coat every piece with the flavor base. Let cook for 10 minutes (similar to the searing stage of a meat braise). Add salt, then the garam masala (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and peppercorns). Add water and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let simmer for 45-90 minutes, depending on the age of the goat. Young goat cooks in as little as 45 min.

Taste for doneness (meat should be tender) and seasoning.