Author: lsbanu

I cook, eat, read and write.

Taste Testing Tikkis [Saveur’s Fish and Potato croquettes and more]

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This week’s recipe experiments and inspirations included: Comedian Aziz Ansari’s Mom’s Chicken Korma recipe posted on the Lucky Peach Magazine website, Saveur’s Fish and Potato Tikkis with Chile and lime (April Issue) and finally Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Summer Cake.

First up, Saveur’s Fish and Potato Tikkis…

I had a pound of cod in my packet and just had to use it all instead of the 8oz portion the recipe calls for. So, the fish and potato pattie was closer to a fishcake with a dominant potato taste. My grocery store was completely out of cilantro. No regular, no organic, no little tiny herb packets with two springs that cost $3. The cilantro would’ve added a freshness. The dish was rescued by the cilantro chutney. I really liked the poached cod in cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, bay leaves and peppercorns. The fish became gently infused with all these surprisingly warm flavors. I can imagine a simple summer dinner of poached spiced cod with a light lemony sauce. Works well as a snack or with a bowl of dal or salad on the side, hot or room temperature. Aside from including more fish, I also added a half of chopped shallot. The frying gives the patties a light savory crust. With a base of mashed potatoes, how could I go wrong!

3 whole cloves
2 green cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
8 oz. skinless cod or red snapper fillets
1 lb. russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Kosher salt
1⁄2 cup whole-wheat bread crumbs
2 tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 tbsp. roughly chopped cilantro
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 small green Indian chile or serrano, stemmed, seeded, and minced (optional)
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
Mint chutney, for serving
In a small saucepan, combine the cloves with the cardamom, bay leaf, cinnamon, and 2 cups water and bring to a boil. Add the fish, return to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and poach the fish until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon or tongs, transfer the fish to a bowl and let cool. Discard the spices and cooking liquid.
Meanwhile, cover the potatoes with generously salted water in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let them cool completely.
Add the potatoes to the bowl with the fish along with the bread crumbs, lime juice, cilantro, cumin, and chile, season with salt, and lightly mash the potatoes with the other ingredients until evenly combined. Form the mixture into six 3-inch-wide, 3⁄4-inch-thick patties.
In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the patties and cook, flipping once, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer the fish patties to a serving platter and serve while hot with mint chutney on the side.

 Strawberry Summer Cake…

While my grocery store did not have cilantro it did have an abundance of bright red strawberries. We really didn’t need another cake ( we still have a few pieces of a chocolate chip bundt cake waiting to be eaten). But the market spoke, of course, I listened. The house smells sweet and fruity like strawberry jam, like summer even though it is gray and rainy outside in my little Indiana suburban cul-de-sac. I have hope for warm weather and juicy produce ahead.
I used buttermilk instead of whole milk (which I rarely have at home). Reduced the amount of sugar just a bit. Baked it about 10 minutes longer than the recipe suggests. The cake rises to hug the strawberries as it bakes while the strawberries release and caramelize into pools of fruity sweetness. Sigh… So sweet. Would be fantastic with whipped cream.

 

Strawberry Summer Cake
Adapted, only slightly, from Martha Stewart

I recently picked up some barley flour and fell in love with it. We tend to associate whole grain flours with heartiness and heaviness, but this is neither — it’s silky and delicate, like the best cake flour you’ve ever bought, and it has a subtle creamy, nuttiness to it that goes fantastically with berries. This cake works like a dream with 100% all-purpose flour but if you’ve got barley flour around, swapping it in for half the volume is beyond delicious, adding a real depth to a deceptively simple cake.

I am ever-so-slightly on the fence about the sweetness of this cake. I like it, but I wouldn’t hate the batter itself with 2 tablespoons less sugar (i.e. 7/8 cup sugar instead of a whole one). If that’s your inclination, go ahead and dial it back as well. Leave the sugar on top. It contributes to the berries turning into jam.

6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate
1 1/2 cups (188 grams) all-purpose flour (can swap 3/4 cup or 94 grams all-purpose flour with 3/4 cup or 75 grams of barley flour, see Note)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 cup (200 grams) plus 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup (118 ml) milk
1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
1 pound (450 grams) strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter a 10-inch pie pan or 9-inch deep-dish pie pan (what I used). I did not test this with a standard 9-inch pie plate but looking at the margin of space leftover in my deep-dish pan after baking the cake, I suspect you’d be safe. Updated 6/13/11: This cake does not work in a standard 9-inch pie pan; it will overflow. Big apologies to anyone who learned the hard way! This cake would work, however, in a 9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan. The 10-inch would make a thinner cake than pictured.

Whisk flour or flours, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Mix in egg, milk and vanilla until just combined. Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth.

Pour into prepared pie plate. Arrange strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer (though I had to overlap a few to get them all in). Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries.

Bake cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake cake until golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) Let cool in pan on a rack. Cut into wedges. Serve with lightly whipped cream.

Do ahead: Cake can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 days, loosely covered, but good luck with that.

and finally,  Fatima Auntie’s Korma (a.k.a, Comedian Aziz Ansari’s Mom)

The ground cashews give this korma a special luxurious nutty creaminess. My family’s does not include cilantro, fennel seeds, nuts or tumeric but does include raisins. This was a really nice extra festive and rich version of a korma. My korma was on the spicy side because I used two red thai chilis giving the dish a hidden angry heat after the initial nutty sweetness. Due the cilantro shortage at my local grocery store, no cilantro was added. I imagine the cilantro would’ve added a brightness. Didn’t hurt the delicious dish at all. Gotta say… Fatima auntie, I’d cook with you anytime. And, deshi brother Aziz, good for you for celebrating your mom and all the yummy food she makes for you! Thank you both for sharing your story and recipe with Lucky Peach and us.

  • 2 lbs skinless chicken, preferably dark meat, cut into 2″ pieces
  • + salt and pepper, to taste
  • 1 t turmeric powder
  • 3 cloves garlic, pounded into paste
  • 1/2 C yogurt
  • 1 1″ piece ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 T vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2–3 green chilies, seeded if desired
  • 1 t garam masala
  • 1 t ground coriander
  • 1 t ground fennel
  • 1/2 C cashews
  • 1/2 C cilantro leaves
  • + ghee rice or chapati, for serving
  1. In a large bowl or plastic bag, combine the chicken pieces, salt, pepper, turmeric powder, ginger, garlic paste, and yogurt. Marinate in the refrigerator overnight.
  2. When you are ready to cook, heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and chilies with the garam masala until fragrant and brown, about 10 minutes. Add the marinated chicken, and fry for about 10 minutes.
  3. In the meantime, grind the coriander and fennel with the cashews and cilantro leaves in a small food processor or mortar and pestle. Add this mixture to the chicken, and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 40 minutes. You will see the oil rise to the top of the mixture and it will smell awesome with all of the spices. I usually cook some ghee rice to go with it, or some chapati.

Thai Tea Experience – Try the World

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IMG_2440Jim got me a subscription of Try the World treat boxes. Yay…thank you, my beloved one! The first two to arrive were Thailand and France. The boxes are beautiful and the contents are nestled in gourmet worthy fancy packaging. Just beautiful. Unpacking the box is like revealing a wonderful layered and shareable gift. Each box offers “three taste experiences.” If anything, the boxes are effective enticements to travel and experience the authentic versions of the packaged offerings. As you can see in the image, the tea experience included lemongrass tea, seasoned and spicy rice cracker, waferlike crispy “cookies”, shredded dried coconut and honey-sweet coconut flower nectar. Loved the gently sweet, salty and spicy experience. Lemongrass tea is so soothing and bright. I’m hooked and need more. Thailand is very high on my wanderlust list. Yes…very high.

Daal Basics

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IMG_2483I’ll be the first to admit that lentils, beans, chili are not the best-looking dishes. I’ll also admit that a well-prepared daal can be comforting, filling and satisfying enough to overlook the unfortunate  aesthetic challenge. Most uncooked beans are beautiful and vibrant in color. I found vibrant red azuki beans at my local ethnic grocery store and ironically lured by their beauty bought them without ever having cooked the beans before. It became my culinary experiment for the weekend. After an unsatisfying recipe search online, I decided to treat it like any other daal.

  1. First step, boil the lentils (red, split pea, yellow, azuki, kidney, urad etc.) until soft. Add atleast double amount of water…more water the bigger the bean. These azuki beans were soft within an hour over a low simmer. You want the water to cover the beans by atleast an inch.
  2. Add tumeric and salt. A teaspoon of each for every cup of lentils is usually enough.
  3. The next part is where you can get as fancy or keep as simple as you like.  Saute in ghee or the oil of your choice: onion slices for a basic daal….at this point you can also include: garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cumin seeds, garam masala, coriander leaves, dry chili peppers, bayleaves, depending on what you have. You can also add coconut milk or cream for the heavier beans like kidney or azuki to give the daal a heartiness. On the other end of the spectrum for a light summer daal you can boil and strain red or yellow small kernel daals, add lemon juice, cilantro and mint for a bright broth.
  4. Pour the flavored oil over the beans. Mix in or  leave the flavored oil and toasted spices floating above the rich soup. Enjoy as a soup or with rice or bread.

My failed search made me realize that I can make deshi dishes as simple or as complicated as I want. Let your pantry decide for you. If you have the spices use it, if you don’t, staples of onions, garlic, and chili flakes are enough. For the azuki soup,  I included almost everything mentioned above. I was happy with how it turned out. Smooth and luxurious because of the cream, spicy because of the peppers, sweetly warm because of the garam masala and cinnamon. Try your own version soon. Throw in your pantry of spices or don’t. Either way the beans will do most of the work.

Enjoy,

Hungryphil

Indiana Candy Making History – Edible Indy

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This week my article about Indiana candy history was published in Edible Indy Magazine! It was a such a fun story to write and “research.” What a pleasure talking with people so invested in their  craft! I want to especially thank Warren and Jill Schimpff. They are naturally entertaining and informative teachers. Here are a few pictures from my visit to their store in Jeffersonville. Check out my article for more details on charting your own Indiana candy tour! Visit the Schimpffs and the other candy makers this summer. The issue also includes  wonderful and delicious histories of canning, mason jars, breweries and more. Find a copy, better yet subscribe at http://edibleindy.ediblefeast.com/

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Traditional Fish Candy referencing the Ohio River

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Some of their beautiful and colorful candies

 

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Warren makes Red Hots
Candycollectionhires.jpgMy bag of candy that I brought home with me! The Turtles were chewy, crunchy and velvety chocolate smooth

Wobblyogi Wednesday -YTT Journal Week 7

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This week we tried to twist, bind, open our hips and open our mind (by reading the first book of Patanjali). My brain is unlikely to recover. All my adult life I have worked to expand my mind, to use the art of reasoning, to imagine things…so much so that I studied architecture and philosophy as long as I could. Wrote a dissertation about dwelling in the world. And here I am trying to restrain my mind in order to dwell in the world! What! Mind blown……

The two sutras so far that have me twisted and bound are numbers 2 and 17. Yes…I was stuck at number two…after the very first sentence….”Now yoga instruction.”

2: “The restraint of the modifications of the mind-stuff is Yoga.”

17: “Samprajnata samadhi (distinguishing discerning) is accompanied by reasoning, reflecting, rejoicing and pure I-am-ness.

Instead of taking over the world we are trying to notice ourselves in the world. See ourselves as a perspective and not the perspective. Avoid the mouse brain delusion and disappointment.

pinky_and_the_brain_by_jrwcole-d4atvge-606.jpgBook Patanjali Book One tells us why we practice yoga….to restrain the brain. These sutras present yoga as a combination of mental restraint and mindful reasoning, reflecting, rejoicing and recognizing the “I” that appeals to the universal. The self is both restrained and empowered by encouraging selfless and limiting selfish acts. Thinking should help us be kind, not right or worse righteous. Non-judgmental thinking is an incredible challenge. It is so easy to put things in boxes of right,wrong, good or bad. I don’t know if we can  ever see our intentions clearly. Yoga, if anything is  a working evolving practice of seeing ourselves in the world.

We were also introduced to a kundalini practice and a short Ashtanga practice. The rhythm and use of breath were unique in each. All these diverse styles of yoga show how widely the connecting practice is interpreted. We started learning about all the considerations of balancing, building up, slowing down, safety, creativity, modifications and more in sequencing poses. Our homework involved observing a yoga class. While it was difficult for me to watch a class and not participate, the process was helpful in noticing a class from a teacher perspective. The small details of class managment…music, delivering a prop, responding the rising stress in the room etc. We have two more observations to complete. Next time I’d like to focus on how students receive the cues.

For next week, we (the 8 of us) are collectively teaching a class to ourselves and our homework is to individually design a whole session. I feel eager, ready and apprehensive. It seems like we’ve been learning to spell words are now expected to form sentences that make sense. I suppose stuttering is better than babbling.

At this two month mark, I feel more porous….like a sponge, stretched, twisted, squished, soaked and drained. I am quick to notice the few aches and pains that pop up. I find I notice and enjoy what I eat more. When I  feel stress rising in me, I try to remove myself sooner than I would have before. I notice when I feel a negative emotional charge or a hook, conversely, I also notice the positive charges. I still struggle in meditation, in quieting the mind, allowing my mind to roam as it pleases. For now.

I am so thankful for my gentle and patient guides, Jacqueline and Betsy and my seven curious and kind companions in this journey.

Wishing all of you easy breathing,

Wobblyogi

 

 

Image fromhttp://8tracks.com/spocktine/soundtrack-for-world-domination

Food Poem- There will be things you do by Kim Dower

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you won’t know why.
Maybe waiting to tie
your shoelaces

until everything else
is in place.
Could be you’ll slide

your egg yolks aside
eat every bit of bacon,
toast, whites while the forsaken

yellow orbs stare at you
from the side pocket
of your empty plate.

People will ask
why do you save
your yolks for last

and you won’t know—
won’t recall
the cousin from the south

came to visit one summer
ate his eggs so odd
your family said

stuck with you
like the way
you love to be kissed

on the back of your neck
can vaguely recollect
your mother’s kisses

after your bath
too gentle for memory.
There will be things you do

you won’t know why
like the way you look
up at the sky

when anxious or blue
it’s what your father
used to do

every family trip
when nothing else
was right

except those clouds
moving north by northwest
through the night

he showed you
what pilots knew:
factors for safe flying

are visibility
and how low
and mean the clouds are.

“There Will Be Things You Do” by Kim Dower from Last Train to the Missing Planet. © Red Hen Press, 2016.

From the Writer’s Almanac: http://writersalmanac.org/page/5/

Date Night and Duck Breast with Pomegranate-Chile Sauce

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It is spring break for schools in the area. The girls abandoned us to brighter places with their respective other parents.  I can’t remember the last time I cooked for Jim. Just Jim. So…on an unusual weeknight dinner date at home, I decided to make

Caesar Salad, Duck Breast with Pomegranate sauce, Mushroom Risotto and Chocolate Creme Brulee.

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Most of this I had never made before. It was a risk. But, if it turned out badly we could always just order pizza. There was no urgency or expectation. Perfect for cooking experiments for a forgiving and kind loved one.

What I learned:

The anchovy paste I used tasted bitter for the caesar salad dressing. Next time I’m sticking with the canned anchovies. I like those better.

The Duck Breast was perfectly cooked thanks to the Epicurious Roast Duck Breast with Pomegranate-chile Sauce  recipe. Dear Ms. Selma Brown you are an artist.

  1. Score the duck breast.
  2. Cook skin side down on a dry pan (it won’t stay dry for long).. 7 minutes.
  3. Flip cook other side for 1 minute.
  4. Bake in preheated oven at 400 degrees for 5 minutes.
  5. Let meat rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

I adapted the sauce [now my new favorite!]

1/2 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water. Simmer until caramalized.

Add 2 cups pomegranate juice and 2 cups chicken broth.

I didn’t have dried California Chilies. I did have dried Carolina Reapers…I simmered one-half in the sauce for five minutes. It was HOT….even for me. I was afraid that I would injure Jim with this lovingly prepared lethal sauce.

Reduce until thick. About 25 minutes.

Add one and half teaspoon of Chipotle in adobo sauce and Balsamic vinegar each. This gives the sauce a surprisingly beautiful smoky warmth along with the fruity sweetness.

I strained it. I was left with this deep red, translucent sauce with a honey consistency and spicy hot strength. Amazing. I want to bottle it and share.

It held when I drizzled the sauce on the plate but once I added honey in an effort to tame the angry heat…the sauce sort of dissolved. Maybe next time I’ll drizzle the honey on the duck breast itself and leave the red drizzle alone. Regardless, this was easily one of the best duck preparations I had. Complex flavors, crispy skin, tender meat. Each bite felt full. Next time maybe add some greenbeans to the plate.

The Mushroom Risotto was perfect company for the duck. Next time I need to remember to add more liquid before I serve. The rice had tightened up a bit and lost its creaminess. Basically, every cup of rice needs about 3-4 cups of water.

The Chocolate Creme Brulee was a grown-up cross between chocolate mousse and pudding. I adapted it from Michael Symon’s recipe. Didn’t use a tart shell. The salt in the salt and coffee in the recipe add a……hmmmmm…this is different but familiar taste.

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Jim helped with the salad, slicing the duck and torching the creme brulee sugar.

We were both very happy with dinner.

Wishing you delicious dinners with your beloved,

Hungryphil

 

 

 

Beef Nehari and Paratha

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Dear vegetarian and healthy eating friends, please stop reading.

I confess, bone marrow is delicious….. incredibly luxurious and surprisingly under-appreciated. We got two very large beef bones, cut up into six, 3-inch pieces for about $5. I wanted to try making a spiced beef bone soup tradionally sopped up with warm naan or hearty bread.

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Beef Nehari

  1. I had 3lbs of bones and 1 lb of meat. Brown. Set aside.
  2. Saute 1 cup of sliced onions in the beef browning oil.
  3. Add…1 tablespoon of ginger paste, 1 teaspoon of black cumin (Shah Jeera), 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cardamom pods, 3 cloves. Saute until fragrant. (add whatever spices you prefer to flavor your soup)..I think Chinese five spice would be good too.
  4. Add the bones back. Add enough water to cover the bones.
  5. Simmer for 2 hours. Add salt and pepper.
  6. Simmer for another hour or two until the meat relaxes and tenderizes.
  7. Sprinkle red chilies and cilantro. Serve with Naan, Paratha or any flat bread.

The paratha recipe is a bit trickier to explain. A lot of it is about “feeling” the gluten develop. I used bread flour and my parathas turned out denser than usual…less light, flaky…flattened croissant texture that I like. My grandmother was a master at this. Watching her make these buttery flatbreads was mesmerizing.

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This is the point where the bread is rolled out, ghee is applied and the dough is rolled up into these rosettes to be flattened…and rolled out again. This process gives the bread its flaky layers.

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The fried eggplant on the right bottom of the image turned out to be bitter. Oh well. The cucumber, tomato, cilantro, shallot and vinegar salad helped balance the rich bone soup.

With the leftover spicy beef broth, I’m planning to make a rice pilaf. I imagine it will taste close to a biriyani. Maybe add some peas and serve it with a cool cucumber yogurt raita.

Good for a cold winter day and shared with a crowd.

Looking forward to the end of winter,

Hungryphil

 

 

 

Wobblyogi Wednesday – YTT Journal Week 5

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yoga-timeline-all1.pngI find myself surprised to be at week 6 reporting on week 5. Where did the time go? It feels long in terms of how much I’ve learned and short in terms of knowing that there is so much more to learn. This week was mostly devoted to discussing the history, the branches and styles of yoga. Mapping the stylistically wide and historically deep world of yoga has left me happily lost.  What combinations would my yoga practice include: Hatha, Vinyasa, Yin, Jnana, Karma, Kundalini? This was as much about my own history and what brought me to yoga as it was about discussing the hazy, dense lineage of yoga practice that feeds into yoga teacher training in small-town Indiana.

Much like the practice of breathing and asanas that honor my body, it seems I have to feel my way through yoga history and principles in a way that honors my mind and my own personal background. Our discussions didn’t shy away from concerns about religious incompatibility, cultural discomfort with chanting and Sanskrit terminology, or distractions of disengaged students. “What is yoga to me?” is the question that resonated like a meditative chime throughout the week. For me, for now,  yoga is an attentive practice uniting mind, body and breath.

For us in the West, more important than the 5000 year old birth of yoga in India is the 1893 arrival of yoga to Chicago with the words of Swami Vivekananda. As Jacqueline explained, each of Khrishnamacharya’s students approached yoga differently. B.K. S Iyengar, himself sickly as a child, saw yoga as a therapeutic strategy involving attention to alignment and the use of various props. T.K.V Desikachar, learning from his father, saw yoga as an individual practice with attention to breath as shared, Pattabi Jois, saw yoga as a way to direct restless and active children-youth and thus developed more physically demanding sequences.  Indra Devi, the first woman and Westerner to be trained opened the first yoga studio in the U.S. and introduced yoga in China and Argentina.

Yoga in the modern world risks commercial dilution of principles while at the same time is recognized as a therapeutic and preventative path towards holistic health. Understanding and assessing contemporary yoga practices around us today, require awareness of our own preferences and needs. What you look for in a yoga teacher or studio will be guided by whether you want a rigorous fitness based practice or a restorative preparation for meditation…and all combinations in-between. One day your body may crave energy and another day calmness. Finding our way to what we need at that particular moment is the benefit of exploring the historical and pedagogical map of yoga. I have to restrain my philosophical penchant for definitions and just enjoy the path of attentive living.

Walk on and keep breathing wherever the day may take you. This is what I learned this week at yoga teacher training.

May we all find the corners of the yoga world that nourish us.

Bowing to the happy places inside you,

The Wobblyogi

Image from: http://gisyogafall2015.blogspot.com/2015/09/complete-notes-yoga-history-singleton.html