Back from India

Sorry I haven’t posted in a while. I was in India on vacation and have finally recovered from jet lag! I will post something soon 🙂

Creamy fenugreek and peas curry (Methi malai mutter)

This is one of my favorite recipes even though I don’t like bitter tasting greens (or bitter anything, for that matter). Fenugreek leaves are known for their bitterness and are considered medicinal. Cooking fenugreek leaves with Indian spices reduces its bitter taste and brings out its smooth, earthy flavor. Adding cream just takes it to the next level!

I first had this dish in India when I was in college. After I came to the U.S., I tried to recreate it from memory and my husband and I were very impressed with the results 🙂 . This recipe does take some time, and of course, a trip to the Indian grocery store. If you don’t have fenugreek leaves, you could also try making this curry with spinach or watercress leaves.

 

Let’s get started!

Ingredients-

3-4 tbsp of cooking oil (I used refined coconut oil as usual)

1 bay leaf and 1 small piece of cinnamon

½ tsp turmeric powder

½ to 1 tsp cumin seeds

2 big bunches of fresh fenugreek leaves

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, finely chopped

A handful or two of frozen petite green peas

1 tsp each of minced garlic and grated ginger (or more if you prefer)

1 tsp each of coriander powder and cumin powder

2 tsp garam masala (or according to your taste)

1 tsp tomato ketchup

Cream (enough to make a sauce). I didn’t measure how much I put in, probably ½ a cup.

Salt and cayenne pepper to taste

1 tsp sugar (optional, but I think it helps balance the bitterness of fenugreek). I tend to prefer savory dishes that are both spicy and sweet at the same time. If that’s not you, then just leave out the sugar completely.

Procedure

Pick the fenugreek leaves off the stems. The stems are pretty thick and won’t necessarily cook completely. This is quite time consuming, but worth it! Wash the leaves well to rinse off any dirt. Chop them and set them aside.

Heat the oil and add the bay leaf, cinnamon and cumin seeds to it.

When the seeds crackle, add the chopped onion and the salt. Sauté the onion until it gets translucent.

Add the garlic and ginger followed by tomatoes, turmeric powder, garam masala, cumin powder, coriander powder and let the tomatoes cook thoroughly.

Then add the tomato ketchup and peas and continue to cook. Add about a tablespoon of water if you feel there isn’t enough moisture.

After about a minute, add in the fenugreek leaves and let them wilt. You won’t need to add any water as the leaves will release water.

When the leaves are fully cooked, add the cream and stir.

Give a final taste and adjust any seasonings accordingly. Remove from heat and your curry is ready to serve with some Indian flatbread or rice 🙂 Enjoy!

Indian style rice krispies (chivda)

This is a savory snack that you can make in 10 minutes using any unflavored, ready-to-eat crispy cereal. I used Rice Krispies because that’s what I had at home. This is a dry snack and will last for months in an airtight container (if you have enough self-control, that is). When I was a little girl, I always thought chivda was a complicated snack to make and that it took a lot of time. I hadn’t actually tried making this myself until recently. The Rice Krispies just make it so much more delicious and it melts in your mouth….

 

Here’s what you’ll need-

2.5 cups unflavored regular Rice Krispies/any similar cereal

2-3 tbsp cooking oil (I used refined coconut oil)

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp fennel seeds (for a beautiful sweet flavor)

½ – 1 tsp lightly crushed coriander seeds

¼ tsp asafetida (omit if you don’t have it)

¼ to ½ tsp turmeric powder (too much will make any dish bitter)

3 curry leaves, cut into small pieces (only found in Indian grocery stores, they have a wonderful aroma)

A handful of roasted, unflavored peanuts

A handful of roasted chana dal (optional; could use roasted or fried cashew nuts instead)

Salt, sugar and cayenne pepper to taste (I used about ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cayenne, and 3 tsp sugar)

 

Procedure

Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. When it’s hot, add all the seeds, asafetida, turmeric powder and curry leaves to it. Reduce heat slightly and stir until the curry leaves dry out completely (about a minute at most).

When they are crunchy, add the peanuts and the chana dal and fry for a few seconds until they change color slightly; taking care not to burn them.

Add the cereal, mix thoroughly to get all of it coated with oil. You can turn off the heat at this point (Especially if using an electric burner), or keep it at the lowest setting (if using a gas stove). Add salt, sugar and cayenne pepper while continuing to stir. Give it a taste and add more salt/sugar/cayenne, if you need to.

Remove from heat and spread a on a plate to help it cool down. Sprinkle with roasted/fried cashew nuts (optional).

 

Some people also like to add fried golden raisins to this dish. You can use a variety of seeds/nuts or spices for this snack based on what you prefer. The important thing to keep in mind is that everything you add to this has to be dry to prevent spoilage.

Enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee!

Here’s what we had for lunch on Christmas day – Paneer in green sauce

Like most of us, I, too was in a festive mood as Christmas was fast approaching. This had already resulted in an impulse purchase of brownie mix a few days ago – something I hadn’t bought in years! I couldn’t wait to make the brownies. But I still hadn’t decided what I would make for lunch. (Wait! Brownies are not lunch???? :O )

Aaaanyway, so on Christmas day I finally got to make the brownies (try that as an experiment in self-control 😉 ). And for lunch I made paneer in green sauce. Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp clarified butter or refined coconut oil (or whichever oil you normally use for cooking)

1 medium to large onion, sliced

2 generous handfuls of baby spinach

1 handful of coriander leaves

1 medium tomato, sliced (I used tomato-on-the-vine)

1 medium green bell pepper, chopped

Half a block (7oz) of store bought paneer, cut into triangles

1 tsp each of minced garlic and grated ginger

1-2 tsp garam masala

½ tsp each of coriander powder and cumin powder

2 cloves and 2 pieces of cardamom

1 small piece of cinnamon

½ tsp each of cumin seeds and turmeric powder

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

1-2 tbsp cream

Lime wedges for garnish

Procedure

Boil the onion in a covered saucepan until thoroughly cooked. Check for translucency and softness. It should take approximately 15-20 min on low to medium heat. Once it’s cooked, add the spinach and coriander leaves in the pot, check if there’s enough water, and close the lid. Continue cooking until the spinach and coriander have wilted. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside to cool.

Once it has cooled down, place it in a regular food processor and pulse a few times until you get a coarse purée.

Heat a non-stick pan and add the clarified butter to it. When the butter is hot, add the cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods and cumin seeds and stir for a few seconds.

When the cumin seeds crackle, add turmeric powder, garlic and bell pepper and reduce heat slightly.

Stir a few times until the bell pepper is halfway cooked. Then add the tomatoes, salt, cayenne pepper, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder, grated ginger and continue to cook until tomatoes are done.

 

Add the spinach purée and let the mixture cook until most of the moisture has evaporated.

Add the cream, stir it in and finally add the paneer. (You could also crumble some of the paneer and add it to thicken the sauce).

Stir gently to coat the paneer pieces taking care not to break them. Remove from heat.

Serve with any Indian flatbread and a lime wedge on the side. The lime juice will really bring out the flavors, so do not skip it.

Stir-fried cauliflower with onions and tomatoes

This is my daughter’s favorite vegetable. It is prepared it by combining stir-frying and sweating techniques. According to Wikipedia – Sweating in cooking is the gentle heating of vegetables in a little oil or butter, with frequent stirring and turning to ensure that any emitted liquid will evaporate. Sweating usually results in tender, sometimes translucent, pieces. Sweating is often a preliminary to further cooking in liquid; onions, in particular, are often sweated before including in a stew. This differs from sautéing in that sweating is done over a much lower heat, sometimes with salt added to help draw moisture away, and making sure that little or no browning takes place. This combination is commonly used to prepare Indian dishes where no sauce/gravy is involved.

Ingredients

3-4 tbsp oil (I used refined coconut oil, you can use whichever you normally use)

1 medium to large onion, chopped

3/4^th head of a medium cauliflower, cut into small florets (I used 3/4^th because I had already used 1/4^th a few days ago)

1 tomato chopped (I used tomato-on-the-vine)

½ tsp each of cumin and mustard seeds

½ tsp turmeric powder (gives Indian food its yellow color)

1-2 tsp garam masala

1 tsp coriander powder (omit if you don’t have it on hand)

1 tsp cumin powder (again, omit if you need to)

1 tsp kasuri methi (optional)

1 tsp tomato ketchup (don’t overdo this)

Salt to taste

Cayenne pepper to taste

3-4 tbsp cream (optional)

You could also use 1 tsp each of grated ginger and minced garlic, especially if you omit some of the dry spices.

Cilantro leaves, finely chopped, for garnish

Procedure

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan on medium heat.

Once heated, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and let them crackle.

Add turmeric and onions.

Stir-fry the onions until they start to change color. Add salt to help draw out the moisture from the onions. Add ginger and garlic (if using) and fry for a few seconds.

Add tomatoes, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala, kasuri methi, and let it cook for a few minutes.

When the tomatoes are fully cooked, add the tomato ketchup, mix well and then add the cauliflower.

Mix it well so that the florets are well coated. Reduce heat slightly and cover the pan. This is so the cauliflower can get steamed in its own moisture. After about 5 minutes, stir, and put the lid back on.

You can add about 1 tsp water to prevent burning. Repeat. When the cauliflower is almost cooked, you can increase heat to medium and continue to stir-fry without covering the pan. This will give the cauliflower a beautiful caramelized brown color. Don’t overdo this step or else you will have burnt cauliflower!

Reduce heat, add the cream and let the water evaporate. The cream gives richness to this otherwise dry dish. (Adding fried cashew nuts at this stage would be simply awesome!)

Remove from heat and sprinkle the cilantro. Serve with any Indian flatbread.

Clarified butter

Here is an easy, 1 ingredient recipe – clarified butter. It is believed by many that it is almost mandatory to cook Indian dishes in clarified butter (also known as ghee in Hindi, and thoop in Marathi). While this is not the case, it is certainly found in most Indian households. It is an aromatic and healthy fat that can be used for cooking as well as for drizzling on top of almost all other foods.

So, how do I make it? Simple. Just boil butter for 25-30 minutes on medium heat and you have clarified butter.

Start with the best quality unsalted butter you can find on the market. It will take a few trials and errors before you find The One. For me it was Whole Foods’ store brand “365” that produced the best results. Signs of really good ghee/thoop are that it is nutty and has a noticeably granular texture.

The pictures that follow are a visual guide to the various stages butter will go through before it becomes clarified. So let’s get started!

  I used 8 sticks (2lbs) of butter. You can very well start with 4 sticks.

Into a 3 qt saucepan they go! Don’t increase the heat beyond medium throughout the entire process. There is a very good chance that the butter will boil over just like milk!

Once the butter melts, keep stirring gently but constantly for the next 25 minutes or so.

The butter will start to get foamy. This is the stage you have to watch carefully or else the butter will boil over. Sometimes there is very little foam, at other times there may be a lot of it. If you feel like the foam is bubbling up too fast, do not panic! Simply remove the pan from heat for a few seconds, keep stirring constantly, let the foam subside a bit, put it back on the burner. You can also reduce the heat slightly until the foam subsides and then get it back to medium.

The foam will go away very soon, and you can breathe again 🙂 But don’t stop stirring…. From here onwards, the butter will start to get clearer and the white milk solids will separate from the fat.

Notice the milk solids beginning to stick to the sides. Also notice that I am stirring throughout 😉

The color begins to change and gets darker. The dark color is due to the browning of the milk solids at the bottom of the pan.

At this stage, turn off the heat and remove pan from the electric stove to prevent further browning. Don’t worry if this looks burnt. It’s not. Keep the pan in a place where it can start cooling down. When the clarified butter becomes lukewarm and is still liquid, pour it through a very fine meshed strainer into a metal storage container. This prevents all the brown milk solids from getting into the ghee. Ghee/thoop does not require refrigeration.

I like to call this “liquid gold”.