Je Mange la Ville » Indian

FFwD: Braised Cardamon Curry Lamb

mlb — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 17:48:44 +0000

Oh geez, I have been so lazy. I’ve made a couple of really nice meals lately and been out to dinner twice and I’ve blogged about none of these things. I need to get my act together here. Let’s kick that off with this week’s French Fridays with Dorie, shall we?

I am a huge fan of lamb but almost every lamb stew I’ve attempted I’ve been disappointed with…until now. I loved this! I’m not sure even why this is the one lamb stew to rule them all, but it was. It just worked for me, you know? I used my sweet curry powder from Penzey’s and also ground cardamom seeds (I ground them in the coffee grinder), so the cardamom was very fresh tasting. I also added a pinch of dried ginger and extra garlic. Oh and a dash of cayenne for a little heat. Oh, now that I’m thinking about it, I only added one diced apple. Mainly, because it was a fairly big one.

We had this over some cooked bulgur (normally, I would have gone the rice route, but I had bulgur in the fridge). I also served some garlicky yogurt and toasted flat bread on the side.

We’re not supposed to post the recipe for FFwD, but I found it online here, so knock yourself out: Scrumptious Seattle.

Okay, here are links to everyone’s posts and here are my pictures!

Mint ready to be de-leaved and stems tied together.

Onions, spices, plus I added a chopped yellow bell pepper to the mix.

Diced lamb added in. With all the other stuff in the pan, it didn’t sear that well, but it seemed to work out fine in the end.

A fig. Calimyrna to be exact.

Everything added and ready to braise.

Fresh mint leaves on top, about to dish up.

Red Lentil Soup with Garam Masala Recipe

mlb — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 14:53:09 +0000

Well, it looks like it is still Winter. Make a big pot of this and snuggle under a blanket or something!

Red Lentil Soup with Garam Masala
Adapted from the Spice House
2-1/2 cups dried red lentils (about one pound)
2 medium onions, chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp chili powder,
1 1/2 tsp coriander seed, ground
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp cumin seed, ground
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp cayenne chile pepper
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/8 tsp ground cloves
6 cups lamb or chicken stock (or vegetable broth would work too)
2 cups water
Optional garnishes: yogurt and cilantro leaves

Rinse and drain lentils in a fine mesh colander.

Cook onions and garlic in oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until golden and soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in salt and spices and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, 5 more minutes.

Stir in lentils, stock and water and simmer until lentils fall apart, about 30-40 minutes. (Old lentils may take longer to cook.)

Let soup cool slightly. I cook my lentils until they really fall apart, but if you want a smoother soup, let cool a few minutes and puree in a blender/use a stick blender and reheat before serving.

Garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt and fresh cilantro leaves.

The Unrelated Saga of Dr. Ladybug
About a month ago I found a ladybug in some thai basil I bought at HMart. I took it outside and let it go. Afterward I told jwa about how I rescued a ladybug and he was all, “Oh…it’s too cold. It’ll die.” I hurried outside and brought it back inside and fashioned out a swanky ladybug pad with a tupperware container and some plant leaves.

We named her/him Dr. Ladybug (after Dr. Girlfriend — kind of fitting), but s/he also answers to Dr. Mrs The Ladybug. Apparently, ladybugs will eat moistened raisins and like damp paper towels for water, for The Google told me so. We’ll release her next month or so when it’s warm enough outside.

Albacore Tuna with Apples, Hazelnuts, Red Leaf Lettuce, Curry Dressing & Flatbread

mlb — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 05:45:16 +0000

This was an experiment that was based on a lunch that I recently had in Cannon Beach. It was at the Lazy Susan Cafe (not bad — definitely overpriced, though), but it was basically just a quick meal to tide us over until dinner that night — Cilantro-Chicken Pizza at Pacific Way Cafe!

But anyway, I was intrigued by this tuna-curry-hazelnut salad that was on the menu. I ordered it and was presented with a big pile of romaine, flaked tuna, hazelnuts and apple cubes, all with a curry dressing. It was not pretty to look at but it had a really great, interesting taste. So much so that I couldn’t help but wonder how those flavors would be if presented a little nicer, using tuna steaks (instead of canned tuna) and generally just fancifying it up a little. Here’s the answer that I came up with — Albacore Tuna with Apples, Hazelnuts, Curry Dressing and Red-Leaf Lettuce.

Tuna Marinade
1 tbsp curry powder
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp mango juice (had some leftover from the other night’s halibut)
1 clove garlic, peeled and mashed
1 tsp white wine vinegar
3/4 – 1 lb albacore tuna steaks, cut into 1-inch cubes (I’ve found that Trader Joe’s frozen albacore steaks work great for this)
Juice of half a lemon

Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl or sealable plastic bag. Add the tuna cubes and let marinade in the refrigerator for about 2 hours. Make sure you smoosh it around a little to get all the tuna coated before you put it in the fridge.

When ready, heat a grill pan, sprinkle the tuna cubes with a little salt and cook the tuna, getting nice grill marks on all the sides — probably 4-5 minutes total. Take it out of the pan a bit before you think it’s completely done. It’ll finish cooking through off the heat. Pile it in a bowl, squeeze half a lemon over it, and cover it with foil until you’re ready for it.

Dressing
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper

Whisk all ingredients and set aside until needed, which will be in a couple of minutes.

The Rest
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
1 green apple, cubed
Red leaf, romaine or other lettuce
Toasted flat bread or naan

In a bowl, combine the torn lettuce leaves, hazelnuts and apple. Toss with the dressing. Serve with the bread and tuna cubes. You can make a sandwich by putting some salad on the bread and topping with tuna (what I did) or have a pile of salad, a pile of tuna and a piece of bread and eat in that fashion (what jwa did). No matter which you choose, it’s so, so good.

Wow, I just realized we’ve had a lot of fish lately. Awesome.

Weekend Cookbook Challenge 8: Ek handi murgh aur masoor

mlb — Mon, 04 Sep 2006 19:26:34 +0000

You can check out the full round-up here:
Weekend Cookbook Challenge Round Up at Once Upon a Feast.

Today’s post is one day early for the 8th Weekend Cookbook Challenge. The theme this month was a Foreign cookbook and the co-host is Ruth from Once Upon a Feast. Thanks to both here and WCC’s Sara.

For this event, I picked a dish (well two of them actually) from the cookbook, Quick & Easy Indian Cooking. It’s a cookbook that I’ve had for a while but hardly ever use. The Ek handi murgh aur masoor is Chicken, Red Lentils and Green Beans in One Pot. You could easily omit the chicken and make this dish vegetarian. I also made Poori, which are deep fried puffy breads.

There are a lot of ingredients but don’t let that scare you — it’s worth it.

Chicken, Red Lentils and Green Beans in One Pot (Ek handi murgh aur masoor)
6 tbsp vegetable oil
3 bay leaves
5 whole cloves
6 cardamom pods
2-inch stick of cinnamon
3 dried hot red chilis
2 pounds chicken (skinless & boneless), cut up into smaller chunks (I used chicken breasts but you could use breasts or thighs or a combination)
1 2/3 cups red lentil, sorted, washed and drained
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt
ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
6 oz green beans, washed and trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, sliced into thin half rings
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 – 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 medium tomato, chopped (or 10-12 cherry tomatoes)
Garnish: Chopped cilantro
Optional: asafetida *

Add three tablespoons of the oil into a large non-stick pan and set over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the bay leaves, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon stick and red chilis. Stir a few times until the bay leaves start to darken. This will make your kitchen smell wonderful. Next, add the chicken pieces in a single layer and brown on each side. Remove the chicken from the pan and spread out on a plate. Leave the oil and spices.

Turn off the heat and add the lentils, turmeric and five cups of water. Return the heat (high) and bring to a simmer. Cover partially and cook for about 20 minutes. In the meantime, sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt, lots of black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of the garam masala and the lemon juice on the chicken. Rub in and set aside.

When the lentils have cooked for 20 minutes, put in the chicken, all accumulated juices, the green beans and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat to low and simmer for another 20 minutes, stirring every so often.

Two minutes before the chicken and lentils are finished cooking, put the remaining oil in a small pan and set over high heat. If you are using it, add the asafetida and then cumin seeds. Ten seconds later, add the onion. Stir and fry until the onions get a little brown. Add the garlic. Adjust the heat if your pan gets too hot.

Add the ground cumin, the coriander, one teaspoon of garam masala and then the cayenne pepper. Stir and add the tomatoes. Now, pour the whole mixture into the lentils. Combine and serve over basmati rice with a little chopped cilantro. Now, onto the puffy bread…

Deep Fried Puffy Bread (Poori)
2 cups chapti flour or 1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 cup AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
7-8 tbsp water or milk

Add the flour(s) to a bowl and mix the salt in. Dribble the oil over the top and mix it in with your fingertips. Slowly add the water or milk to form a medium-soft ball of dough. Knead for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth. Form into a ball and rub it with a little oil. Set it aside, covered, for 15 – 30 minutes.

A few minutes (10-15) before eating, pour enough oil (I use one full jar of peanut oil) into a large, tall pot. Set over medium heat and bring up to 350 degrees. As it heats, divide the dough into 12 balls. Roll each one into a 5-inch circle. Keep the circles covered with plastic wrap while you work.

When the oil is up to temp, add a poori and use the back of a slotted spoon to pull the poori back and forth carefully in the oil. It should puff up. Turn the poori over and fry the second side for a few seconds (I think I cooked mine for about 10-15 seconds per side). Remove with the spoon and rest on a large paper towel-lined platter. Fry all the pooris this way.

Eat the pooris with your lentils and chicken over basmati rice.

* According to the book, asafetida is a brownish resin used in Indian cooking. There is also a ground variety. You can find it in an Indian grocery store. I didn’t look too hard for it but it will definitely add something to this dish if you can get your hands on some.

Vegetarian Week: The Soup Peddler’s Mulligatawny

mlb — Thu, 08 Jun 2006 14:04:16 +0000

Today’s recipe comes from the awesome cookbook, The Soup Peddler’s Slow and Difficult Soups, by David Ansel. I love this book because the author tells an amusing story of soup making and soup delivery to his customers by bike — it’s both cookbook and memoir.

In addition, the recipes are oh so good and both carnivorous and herbivorous in variety. Obviously, the mulligatawny features the latter ingredients, as I am posting about it this week. Lentils, curry, potatoes, apple and assorted vegetables meld together for a slightly spicy, totally satisfying soup.

The Soup Peddler’s Mulligatawny
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter) or olive oil
2 medium white onions, diced
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 tbsp curry powder
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
2 cups red or green lentils, rinsed
2 14-oz cans coconut milk
6 cups water
1/2 cup cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Granny Smith apple, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic
2 Roma tomatoes
1 cup spinach leaves (my addition)
Salt to taste
Garnish: plain yogurt

Heat the ghee or olive oil in a soup pot over medium heat and saute the onions and carrots. When the vegetables soften and begin to release their juices, about 10 minutes add the curry and stir well.

Continue to saute 2 minutes longer, then add the potato, lentils and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Add the water as necessary to keep a soupy consistency.

After about 20 minutes, when the lentils are soft, add the cauliflower, apple and celery. I actually skipped the cauliflower because I didn’t have any — but if you have some, throw it in! Cover with more water if needed and bring back to a simmer.

In a blender or food processor, puree the olive oil, garlic, tomatoes and spinach.

Stir the puree into the soup and season to taste with salt. Cook for 5 more minutes and serve. Garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt.

So, Vegetarian Week is almost over here at je mange la ville. I almost feel ready to face whatever mega-meaty offerings are served at the Anthony Bourdain dinner at the Heathman next week…