Magical fenugreek

I LOVE Indian food.  My first exposure to Indian cuisine came during my college years at Brandeis University in Waltham, MA, which has quite a few restaurants serving mostly Gujarati (north Indian) dishes.  Ever since, I have sought to learn more about the techniques and ingredients unique to this cuisine.  

My first Indian cookbook, Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking taught me a great deal and I still refer to it today.  My main gripe with it is that there are very few recipes that can be made in under one hour.  Recently, to my delight, I found a recipe in Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian that is relatively quick to prepare--much time is saved because unlike many of the recipes in Sahni's book, there is no chopping and frying of onions, and only two ingredients need prepping.  Somehow this recipe manages to produce a curry that is hearty and rich, despite having fewer ingredients and a shorter cooking time than nearly all other curries I've made.  My guess is that there's something magical in the fenugreek seeds.

Crumbled Potatoes with Peas (Aloo Matar)

1 to 1.25 lb boiling potatoes (try to get small potatoes that are about the same size)

3 TBS canola oil

3/4 to 1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds (available at Indian grocery stores)

1 large ripe tomato, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1 tsp garam masala (Whole Foods carries their own blend, or visit an Indian grocer)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 C hot water

1 to 1.5 C frozen peas

1.25 tsp salt, or to taste

chopped cilantro for serving

Boil the potatoes in their jackets until tender--usually about 20 minutes.  Once they are cool enough to handle, peel them and then, using your hands, break them into rough, 3/4 inch pieces.  (Reserve about one half of one of the potatoes to thicken the sauce.)  Heat the oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add the whole cumin seeds and fenugreek seeds and let sizzle for about 30 seconds, until they start smelling fragrant.  Carefully add the chopped tomato and the ground spices and be prepared to shield yourself as there will be some spattering.  Quickly begin to mash the tomato mixture into a pulp over the heat until it comes together into a thick, pulpy sauce.  Let this simmer and thicken for about 5 minutes, until the oil begins to float on top of the tomatoes.  Add the hot water and stir.  Add the potato pieces and peas.  Mash up the reserved potato pieces by hand or use a ricer and add to thicken the sauce.  (You will probably want to experiment with how much mashed potato you add until you get the consistency that's right for you.)  Bring to a gentle simmer and stir in the salt.  Cook until flavors have melded and the peas have lost some of their bright green color--about 15 minutes.  Serve garnished with chopped cilantro.  Basmati rice or breads make a nice accompaniment.

Change of Plans

Some weeknights I'm a little too ambitious and plan a dinner that is too time intensive.  Tonight was one of those nights.  I spent a little longer than expected at work and didn't want to skip the gym.  This is when I rely on my repertoire of meals that can be concocted out of ever-present pantry staples.  One of my favorites in this category is very simple--linguine with a quick, garlicky tomato sauce.  I think the key to this dish is using the best possible canned tomatoes you can find.  I love that I can get this on the table in under 30 minutes.  This recipe is also easily embellished by the addition of shrimp or sausage.  You can add raw shrimp during the last few minutes of cooking and they cook up perfectly tender.  Buon appetito!

Linguine with a quick tomato sauce

3-4 TBS good olive oil

1/8 tsp (or more to taste) crushed red pepper flakes

4-5 (or more) cloves garlic, minced

1 14.1 oz can Bionaturae whole, peeled tomatoes

1/2 tsp honey

1/2 tsp salt

1/3 pkg linguine

2-3 TBS chopped flat leaf Italian parsley

Heat olive oil in medium saucepan until it shimmers.  Add red pepper flakes and swirl for a few seconds, then add garlic and saute for about one minute.  Add tomatoes and crush in the pan (I use a potato masher).  Add honey and salt and simmer over low heat while you cook the pasta.  Under cook the pasta by about 1-2 minutes.  Drain pasta (reserving about 1/4 C pasta water) and return to the pasta pot.  Add the tomato sauce, stir and return to high heat.  Finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, stirring frequently and, if necessary, add additional pasta water to help finish cooking the pasta if it is too dry.  Remove from heat and prior to serving, toss in the parsley.  Drizzle a little extra olive oil over the pasta if you like.  Top with grated parmigiano, pecorino, or whatever you have on hand.

Thank you, Ina!

I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn that I enjoy watching the Food Network.  While a lot of the programming is more entertainment than how-to, there are a few shows that I thoroughly enjoy--one of them being Ina Garten's show, Barefoot Contessa.  Ina has a casual elegance about her that is very appealing.  It also helps that the shows all center on her entertaining fabulous guests at her chichi home in the Hamptons.  Who wouldn't want to make dinner for Mel Brooks? Hmmm... it might actually be hard to enjoy the meal if he were at the table and had us all in stitches the entire evening--maybe not.

While watching an episode of the show this past weekend, Ina introduced me to a quick, easy and delicious way to prepare fish--baked under a spread of seasoned creme fraiche.  She had me on the creme fraiche.  I'm a total sucker for this delectable dairy product.  The first time I had it was in France served over sweetened chestnut cream.  The combination of sweet and tart flavors was unforgettable.  If you're unfamiliar with creme fraiche, it's a little like sour cream, but less tangy and more subtle with a less viscous consistency.  It's heaven, but it's also terribly expensive.  (I haven't tried making it at home, but apparently it's quite easy.)

Here's the recipe for Ina's Mustard Roasted Fish.  It's easily a weeknight meal when paired with a quick grain like couscous (see recipe below) and a veggie.  Those with eagle eyes might notice that my capers were used as garnish on the fish.  No, this was not a creative flourish--I simply forgot to mix them into the topping.  Additional preparation notes:  I didn't have shallots on hand, so I used one clove of garlic instead.  I also used cod fillets rather than snapper.

Couscous with Roasted Red Pepper and Parsley

1.5 C water

3/4 tsp salt

1 heaping tsp VegeBase powdered bouillon

1 C couscous

3 TBS chopped roasted red pepper

2-3 TBS minced parsley

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan, add salt, bouillon powder and couscous.  Stir until combined and turn off heat.  Let pot stand over the extinguished burner for about 5 minutes and then add the red pepper.  Just before serving, add the minced parsley.  (Adding it too soon before serving will diminish the beautiful bright green of the parsley.)

Cheap and cheerful

Most of our meals are based on items that are low on the food chain (translation:  lots of beans and veggies) for both health and environmental reasons.  A happy side effect of this dietary philosophy is that we save money--and who doesn't love that, especially since we're in the midst of the Great Recession? 

This recipe has been developing over quite some time and I feel like it's finally approaching greatness.  It has also become a more substantial meal with the addition of corn.  When I first concocted it, it was just a bean affair, and now it's just one veggie away from the Native American trinity--also known as the Three Sisters.  Maybe one of these days I'll throw in some squash.  It's a tasty stew and benefits from traditionally Mexican seasonings, including chipotle en adobo, cumin, cilantro and oregano.  Make a pot on a chilly night and savor the flavors for the next few days--it'll be even better the second time

Southwestern Bean and Corn Stew

2-3 TBS olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, cut into small chunks

1 chipotle chili, chopped*

2 cans black beans-do NOT drain

1-2 TBS tomato paste

1-2 tsp ground cumin

1-2 tsp oregano

1 tsp salt

6-8 sprigs of cilantro (both stems & leaves), coarsely chopped

1.5 C frozen corn kernels

Heat olive oil in deep saucepan until shimmering.  Saute garlic for about 30 seconds, or until fragrant and add the red bell pepper.  Continue sauteeing until the pepper has softened a little, but is still firm.  Add the chipotle and stir until the chile has been incorporated into the vegetables.  (*When chopping the chipotle, consider doing so on top of a piece of wax paper so as to prevent the juices from staining your cutting board.)

Add the beans and their liquid along with the remaining ingredients, except the corn.  Stir to combine, bring to a simmer and then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 15-20 minutes or until flavors have melded.   Add the frozen corn and increase the temperature to medium and then cook only until corn has been defrosted and the stew has been brought back up to serving temperature--about 5-7 minutes.

Serve with a grain--rice and quinoa go well with this.

I'm back!

After a lengthy absence, I'm excited to be back in the blogosphere to share my culinary adventures.  You might be wondering why I stopped posting.  The primary reason is that when our apartment was burglarized my camera was stolen along with my tripod mount.  In typical procrastinator fashion, I took a long time to file an insurance claim and a long time to replace my camera--a very long time.  (Surprisingly, the insurance company was very quick to send the checks.  Who would have guessed?)

My love of food and cooking hasn't diminished and I'm looking forward to exploring new recipes, cuisines and techniques in the kitchen.  I'm also determined to finally learn all the bells and whistles on my not-so-new-anymore camera, so stay tuned for some better photography.

See you online!