Tested recipe: Coconut-cashew lamb curry

I have returned from my long holiday and an unintentional absence from blogging. The challenge will resume next weekend, but until then, here is a recipe I tried yesterday:
A slightly altered version of Kid Josh: Curried lamb with cashews and coconut milk, from a cookbook I have already reviewed: Charmaine Solomon's Indian Cookbook.

This is originally a Maharashtran Parsi recipe. I have written it down as I prepared it, i.e. with half the meat of the original and a nearly full recipe of sauce. The original serves six, but this should make a nice meal for 2-3 persons. The original is very hot, using 10 green chillies, but all I could get was a large green chilli that turned out to have hardly any heat at all, and as I didn’t feel like running all over town in search of hotter chillies, I used that and added some cayenne powder.

The recipe:

3 tsp chopped fresh ginger
5 tsp chopped garlic (about 5 average cloves)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground loves
1/4 tsp powdered cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
500 g meat from a leg of lamb, fat trimmed off and cut into large cubes

4 tbs oil
1 1/2 cups water

200 g raw cashew nut kernels, finely ground
1 1/2 cups coconut milk

4 large potatoes, quartered and fried
100 ml uncooked rice for each person


Purée the ginger, garlic and chillies in a blender. Add the spices and salt and mix briefly. Divide this mixture in two and marinate the lamb in one half for about 30 minutes. Set the other half aside.

Heat 2 tbs oil in a large saucepan and brown the meat in it. Add the water, cover and simmer on low until the meat is tender and the stock has been reduced to about 2/3 cup. In this case the meat had been in the fridge since Thursday, so it was nice and tender to begin with. Getting it fully cooked and to nearly the “melt-in-your-mouth” stage only took about 40 minutes, but it took another 15 or so minutes of rapid cooking in an uncovered pan to reduce the stock. Separate the meat and stock and set both aside.

Now is a good time to start cooking the rice and frying the potatoes. No instructions are given, as I assume no-one would tackle this recipe unless they knew the basics first.

In a saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tbs of oil to medium heat and fry the other half of the spice purée until it changes colour and starts to stick slightly at the base of the pan. Add the coconut milk, stock and ground cashews, mix well and simmer, stirring, for a few minutes. Add the meat, mix well and let it simmer without stirring until oil rises to the top. (Note: this has to happen at low heat, as the sauce is so thick that it will burn at higher temperatures). Do not cover the pan. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Serve hot with the fried potatoes and hot rice.

Notes:
Another time I would not serve the potatoes, as the rice is starchy enough by itself.

This is a nice dish with a lovely mingling of flavours and since I made it mild, I could taste both the coconut milk and the cashews in it. However, I would never, ever serve it to guests. Why? Well, it doesn’t look very good, even for a curry. In fact it looks like brownish lumpy porridge (and I am being charitable by likening it to another kind of food). This is why there is no photo.

Sample recipe from The Spice Cookbook: Malai korma

Have I mentioned I love Indian food? This looks like a fairly authentic recipe for a korma, a type of mild, creamy curry in the North-Indian Mughal style. Kormas can be made with all sorts of meat, and also with potatoes and/or vegetables.

This Wikipedia article has information on the cooking of kormas that I recommend reading before making this recipe.

Ingredients:
1 kg (2 lbs.) lean leg of lamb

Marinade:
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup yogurt

Trim the meat and discard excess fat. Cut into cubes, about 2,5 cm (1 inch). Add onion, ginger, turmeric and yogurt, mix well and refrigerate overnight.

Sauce:
1 cup chopped onion
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup yogurt
3 tbs butter or margarine
2 bay leaves
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup blanched almonds
1/2 cup heavy cream, undiluted evaporated milk, or, if you want some South-Indian influence you can use coconut milk
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt

To cook, sauté chopped onion in 1 tbs of the butter until golden. Add the lamb and cook, stirring often, for about 10 minutes or until meat is dry. Add the yogurt and bay leaves and cook another 10 minutes, uncovered, or until meat is dry. Add the water and again cook until the meat is dry. Put the almonds through a food processor, making sure not to mince them very finely - they should be in small pieces rather than powdered (recipe suggests using a food chopper with a medium blade). Add to lamb, followed by the remaining ingredients, and cook slowly for 10-12 minutes. Do not boil or the cream will curdle.

Serve with hot, plain cooked rice.

--

This would have been my choice for the recipe of the week, but I will be visiting my parents over the weekend and my father doesn't like this kind of food, so I am choosing something else. I do have every intention of testing and reviewing this recipe at some point in the future.

Aloo gobi: Indian potatoes and cauliflower – mild version

I arrived at this recipe after some experimentation with different recipes for this classic Indian dish. In reality, I never measure for it, but this is close enough to the aloo gobi that I make. I generally don't put chilli peppers in it unless I have a cold, chilli being an excellent way of unclogging a stuffed nose.

Serves one as a main dish, two as a starter, three to four as a side dish.

2 medium potatoes, cubed
equal amount of cauliflower, divided into florets
1/2 onion, chopped
2-3 cm piece of ginger root, grated or very finely chopped
1 tsp yellow mustard seed
1 tsp cummin (or to taste)
2 tsp coriander (or to taste)
1 tsp turmeric
garlic to taste
salt
1/2 cup water
1 tbs cooking oil (2 tbs if you are not using a non-stick pan)

For hot version, add as much fresh, chopped chili pepper as you can stand and remember to serve the raita – it's cooling.

Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. When hot, add the mustard seeds and put a lid on the pan. Allow seeds to pop for about 20 seconds, lower the heat and add cummin, coriander, turmeric, garlic, ginger and onion, mix well and fry gently until the onion begins to turn transparent. Take care not to burn. Add the cauliflower and potato pieces and mix to coat with spices. Fry for a couple of minutes, then add the water and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the potato pieces are cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Serve as a side dish with meat, or as a main course with chappatis or naan and a raita (yogurt salad).

Raita:
1/2 cup plain yogurt or buttermilk
1/2 tsp cummin seeds
1/2 tsp ground cummin
1/2 cucumber, finely chopped
dash of salt

Stir salt, spices and cucumber into yogurt and serve chilled. Very good with spicy dishes.

Recipe of the week, part 2: Murg Vindaloo (Chicken Vindaloo: Goan vinegar curry)

1 roasting chicken, about 1,5 kg (3 lbs), or equivalent weight in mixed chicken pieces
4 tbs oil for frying
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Curry paste:
2 tbs cummin seed
1 tbs black mustard seeds
3 tsp chilli powder or to taste
1 tbs chopped ginger
1 tbs chopped garlic
1/2 cup vinegar (this means regular white vinegar, not any of the flavoured kinds)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Cut the chicken into small serving pieces: drumsticks, thighs, and divide the breast into four parts.

To make the curry paste, grind the cummin seeds, mustard seeds, chilli (if using), ginger and garlic in a blender with the vinegar. The spices should be finely ground. Add the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. The pan should be steel or enamel, not iron, because it can react with the vinegar (aluminium would be too light). When the oil is hot enough to cook with, remove the pan from the heat and add the curry paste. Stir for a few seconds to heat the paste (it will not blend well with the oil, so don't try), then add the chicken pieces to the pan and stir to coat well with the paste. Let stand for an hour or longer to marinate (although Solomon doesn't mention it, do refrigerate the chicken. You don't want to risk getting food poisoning).

After an hour or more of marinating, return the chicken to the cold pan and bring to the simmering point over low heat, add salt and pepper and simmer, covered, until the chicken is tender. Stir from time to time to prevent the spices from sticking to the pan.

Serve with plain white rice.


Alterations and substitutions:
I only used half the amount of chicken given in the recipe, but made a full recipe of spice paste to ensure I had enough. I used chicken wings instead of a whole chicken. I cut the wings into three parts and discarded the tips, as these have very little meat on them.
I had to use brown mustard seeds because I couldn't find black.
Neither substitution should matter where taste is concerned, as the chicken is supposed to be chopped into pieces anyway and brown mustard tastes very similar to black.
Instead of 3 tsp of chilli powder, I put about 2 tsp of cayenne pepper.

There was one ooops! moment: I made up my mise en place before starting and didn't keep the little bowl of salt and pepper separated from the rest, so I accidentally added it to the paste (it's not good to be absentminded when working in the kitchen. At least there was no blood this time). This shouldn't matter much, except pepper tends to lose its kick when cooked too long, so I added a little more near the end of the cooking time.






Recipe review:
Knowing the tart taste of vinegar, it can be daunting to start using it as a cooking ingredient, but millions of people the world over can hardly be wrong, so I decided to give it a try.

The spice paste smelled lovely when ready, and I could not smell any trace of vinegar. When I put the chicken in the pan, the paste was so thick that it looked as if it would immediately stick and burn to the pan once it got hot, but after a few minutes of simmering, the juices started coming out of the chicken and the spices and juices formed a sauce in the pan. At the same time, the spices would slip off the chicken and sink into the sauce, so I stirred the chicken well every few minutes to make sure every side of the pieces got to soak in the sauce and absorb its flavour.
I cooked the chicken for 30 minutes, which is enough for wings, but would give it another 15-20 minutes if mixed chicken pieces are used.

The end product was tender and spicy, but not too hot. While I like the taste of chilli in food, I prefer it not to be very hot, because I want the rest of the ingredients to be more than just texture, i.e. I want to be able to taste them. 2 tsp of cayenne was just right, but think I would like to try making the recipe with no chilli at all, just to taste the full richness of the other spices. There is a slight sharp aftertaste, no doubt due to the vinegar, which gives an extra flavour note to the dish.
Serving it with plain white rice was good, as the clean taste of the rice made a good compliment to the spiciness of the chicken.

P.S. It is even better cold.

Recipe of the week, 1: Pakoras

This week I chose two recipes as the recipe of the week. The first, Pakoras, I have already tested. The other I will try tomorrow. Here is the recipe:

Pakoras (vegetable fritters)

3/4 cup besan (chick-pea flour, also known as gram flour)
3/4 cup self-rising flour (or 3/4 cup flour + 1 tsp baking powder)
1 1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
Approx. 1 cup water
2 medium potatoes
1 medium aubergine (eggplant)
1 medium onions
A few fresh spinach leaves
Oil for deep-drying

Mix together besan, flour (baking powder, salt), garlic, salt, garam masala, chilli and water and beat until smooth and light. The batter should be about the thickness of pancake batter. Cover the bowl and set aside for at least an hour (don't refrigerate).
Peel the potatoes and cut into thin slices. Drop the slices into cold water so they will not turn brown. Remove and pat dry just before frying. Wash but do not peel the aubergine and cut into thin slices. If it's large, cut it into bite-size pieces. Peel the onions and cut in half lengthways. Then cut into thin slices lengthways, leaving a bit of root at the end to keep the slices together (looks a little like fan). Wash and dry spinach and tear into pieces.

Heat the oil in a wok, karahi, a deep frying pan or deep-fryer. Dip individual pieces of vegetables in the batter, let the excess batter drip off and drop into the hot oil. Only fry a few at a time to keep the frying temperature high (if the temperature is too low the pakoras will be tough and oily). Pakoras should be light and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper and serve warm with a fresh chutney or raita for dipping.



Omissions and changes to the recipe: I used only half an aubergine and substituted the other half with half a zucchini, I only used half an onion, and no spinach, as I would have had to buy a huge packet in order to get the few leaves the recipe calls for. (Another time, I might use arugula instead of spinach).

Recipe review:
Most recipes for Pakoras I have seen instruct the user to make the batter and use it right away, with no standing time. I assume the standing time in Solomon's recipe is to give it time to start fermenting so it will puff up more.

The batter required more (about 1/4 cup) than the given amount of water to get to the right thickness. When dipped into the hot oil, it puffed up nicely and turned a lovely golden colour. Using the given amount of spices (garam masala, garlic and chilli) and salt, it has, when cooked, a mild spice flavour and could, in my opinion, use double the garlic and chilli and a little more salt, but of course I ate them without a dip and perhaps the recipe takes into account that they would be served with dip. I could not detect a difference in taste from a spiced Orly batter, meaning that I probably could have used double the given amount of flour and left out the besan.

I sliced the vegetables into slices about 5 mm (1/2 cm) thick, which turned out to be just right for the aubergine and zucchini, but too thick for the potatoes which were a little short of being al dente by the time the batter had turned golden. The onions were mostly perfectly al dente. It was difficult to slice a half onion into even-sized fan slices, and next time I will probably just quarter the onion and slice the quarters and when I'm done frying the other ingredients I'll mix the onion slices into the batter, give it a good stir and drop it into the oil by the spoonful.

The fritters were crisp and not too greasy, but as I mentioned before, the batter was somewhat lacking in flavour. The fritters are good cold as well as hot, but the batter loses it's crispness as they cool and the juices from the vegetables penetrate the batter. And while I didn't make a chutney or a raita or indeed any kind of dip, I think that when served as party snacks it would be best to serve these pakoras with a choice of several different dips, for example something sweet, something tart and something spicy.

I imagine it would be very good to chop all the vegetables into small pieces and mix everything together to make mixed fritters. This batter would, I think, be excellent for shrimp and fish fritters. I also think that bell peppers (capsicums), mushrooms, cauliflower and julienned carrots would make excellent pakoras, not to mention jalapeño peppers.

Indian recipe: Badam Kheer (creamed almond; Uttar Pradesh)

4 cups milk
1 cup cream
1 tbs ghee
1 cup almonds, skinless
6 tbs sugar
1/8 tsp saffron strands
2 tbs boiling water
1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Garnish (optional):
Flaked almonds
Edible silver leaf

Put milk, cream and ghee into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly. When it starts to boil, turn the heat to the lowest temperature that will keep it simmering and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

If you need to remove the skins for the almonds you must blanch them (I buy them skinless so I can skip this step): Put them in a small saucepan with some water and cook for 2-3 minutes, drain and plunge into cold water. The skins will then slip off quite easily.

Slice the almonds very thin, using a vegetable peeler. If they are soft from being blanched this is easier to do. Alternatively, grind the almonds in an electric blender. Add almonds and sugar to the milk and cook, stirring. Pound saffron strands in a mortar and pestle, dissolve in the boiling water and add to the milk. Continue cooking until it is the consistency of custard. Remove from the heat, stir in the cardamom and pour into a dessert dish. Cover and chill before serving. If you like, you can garnish the pudding with a few flaked almonds and silver leaf.

More Indian food: Blogs and websites

Here are some interesting websites and blogs I have found that offer Indian recipes (and sometimes more than just Indian). The links will open in new windows.

Indian vegetarian recipes. A collection of Indian recipe suitable for vegetarians.

Indian Food Kitchen. A website with a collection of Indian recipes. The advertising is a bit annoying, but the recipes are worth the annoyance. There is also a blog.

Indian recipes. This blog appears to have gone static, but the recipes have not.

Mahanandi. Gorgeous food photography and heaps of recipes.

Indian food & Andhra recipe. This blog has interesting recipes and beautiful food photography.

Food recipes, Indian food recipes. This blog seems to have gone static, but it has some nice recipes with photos.

Indian recipe: Alu Mattar Rasa (potato and pea curry, Utter Pradesh style)

1 large onion
1 fresh red chilli
2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
2 tbs oil
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 cup shelled peas
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
500 g potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 tbs yogurt
1tsp garam masala

Peel and roughly chop the onion. Seed the chilli and remove the stalk. Purée together the onion, chilli and ginger, adding a little water if necessary. Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan and fry the purée, stirring, for 3-4 minutes. Add turmeric and coriander and fry a little longer. Add the peas, hot water and salt, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Add the potatoes. If the peas are very young and tender, they can be added with the potatoes. When peas and potatoes are half-cooked, add the tomatoes and continue cooking for a few minutes more. Tahe the yogurt and stir with a little water until smooth, then add to the vegatables. Simmer until the cooking liquid thickens. Sprinkle with garam masala and stir gently to mix. Serve garnished with fresh cilantro (leaf coriander).

Indian recipe: Machchi Do Piaza (Bengali curried fish)

500 g (1 lb) firm white fish fillets
2 tsp ground turmeric
Lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tbs chopped fresh ginger
2 tsp chopped garlic
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 large onions
1/4 cup mustard oil or other vegetable oil
4 fresh green chillies, seeded and sliced
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water

Wash the fish and rub with half the turmeric and lemon juice and set aside. Put remaining turmeric, chilli, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and one roughly chopped onion into a blender and purée. Slice the remaining onion very finely.
Heat the oil in a saucepan and fry the sliced onion, stirring frequently, until it is golden. Remove from pan and reserve. Put the spice-onion purée into the pan along with the chillies. Stir over medium heat until the colour of the paste darkens and the oil separares from the paste. Add the fish, salt and water and simmer, covered, for about 15 minutes. Do not stir, so as to not break up the fish, but shake the pan occasionally. Add the fried onions after 10 minutes. Serve with rice.

Indian recipe: Dhal Mulego Thani (South Indian lentil mulligatawny)

The Tamil phrase "Mulego Thani" translates as "pepper water" in English.
This is a soup.

1 cup masoor dhal (red lentils)
2 medium onions
1 tsp sliced garlic
1 small cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
6 cups water
1 tbs ghee or oil
6-8 curry leaves
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp garam masala (see yesterday's recipe)
1 cup coconut milk (optional)

Wash the lentils well and soak for about an hour. Drain, put into a saucepan with the water, 1 onion (chopped?) and 1/2 tsp garlic, cinnamon, peppercorns and bay leaves. Bring to the boil, cover ans simmer until lentil and onion are soft. Strain through a sieve, mashing the lentils and discarding the spices.
Slice the remaining onion very thinly. Heat ghee or oil in a saucepan and fry the onion and curry leaves until the onion is dark brown. Add the lentil liquid, salt and garam masala and simmer for a couple of minutes. For a richer soup, add the coconut milk at the end of the cooking time and stir until it is heated through.

Indian recipe: Seekh Kebab (minced meat on skewers) and Garam Masala (spice blend)

750 g (1 1/2 lbs) finely minced lamb
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp garam masala (see recipe below)
2 tbs roasted chick peas, ground, or besan (chick pea flour)
2 tbs ground almonds
2 tbs finely chopped cilantro (fresh coriander leaves)
1 fresh green chilli, seeded and finely chopped
2 tbs yogurt
1 tbs lemon juice

Combine all ingredients, mix and knead together until smooth. Divide into six even portions and shape the portions of mince into long sausages around the same number of flat barbecue skewers. Barbecue or grill until browned on all sides and cooked through. Serve with rice, naan or chappatis.

Smaller portions make excellent finger food.


To make garam masala:
4 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs cummin seeds
1 tbs whole black peppercorns
2 tsp cardamom seeds (roast pods and remove seeds, then measure)
4 x 7,5 cm (3 inch) cinnamon sticks
1 tsp whole cloves
1 whole nutmeg

In a frying pan, roast the spices separately: coriander, cummin, pepper, cardamom pods, cinnamon, and cloves. The spices are roasted when their smell begins to rise from the pan. After roasting, peel the cardamoms and discard the pods and only use the seeds. Put the spices into a blender or spice grinder (not a pepper mill) and grind to a fine powder. Grate the nutmeg finely and add to the mixture. Store in an airtight container.

Cookbook of the week #3: Charmaine Solomon's Indian Cookbook

I love Indian food, from the meat dishes of the north to the hot vegetable dishes of the south. My favourite ethnic restaurant in Reykjavík is an Indian/Pakistani place called Shalimar which serves authentic Indian food, both meat and vegetarian dishes.

Cardamom Chai (spiced milk tea), Lassi (buttermilk drink with flavouring), Aloo Gobi (potato and cauliflower dry curry), Rogan Josh (red lamb curry), and a spicy chick pea dry curry for which I don't know the Indian name, are part of my kitchen repertoire. I know how to cook chappatis, and I have cooked various other classic Indian dishes, such as Aloo Mattar Samosas (potato and pea-filled deep fried savoury pastries), Tandoori chicken, Koftas (meatballs in yogurt sauce), several different Dhal (lentil) dishes and Raitas (yogurt dip), the westernised Chicken Tikka Masala (possibly the world's most popular curry) and the Anglo-Indian Kedgeree, which I have never been able to stomach as a breakfast dish like the British, but will happily have for lunch.

On the other hand I have never made a Pilau or a Biriani (I'm not even sure what the difference is), Naan bread, Balti dishes, chutney of any kind, Indian kebabs (except a kebab version of Tandoori chicken), and the only Korma dish I have made is the abovementioned Koftas. I have never even tried Pakoras, Vindaloo dishes or an Indian fish or pork dish of any kind and I have only tried one kind of Indian sweet, which I had to eat for the sake of being polite while very sick, so I don't remember what they were like. (I do like halwah, but have never tried a specifically Indian kind).



This book offers recipes from all over India, plus a handy guide to common ingredients and spices, a guide to cooking methods, and recipes for several common spice mixes used in the dishes. While my dream Indian cookbook is Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking, this one (and the two others I have) will do just fine until I get my hands on Sahni's book.

The possible recipe choices:

Pakoras (vegetable fritters). I don't know why, but I never tried these snacks while I was travelling in Pakistan and India, perhaps because I had developed quite an appetite for samosas. A strong contender for recipe of the week.
Thosai (South Indian lentil and rice pancakes).
Rajasthani Pilau (spicy rice).
Mattar Pilau (rice and peas, Uttar Pradesh style).
Moti Pilau (spiced rice with meatballs, Uttar Pradesh style).
Alu Mattar Rasa (Utter Pradesh-style potato and pea curry).
Cho Chori (Bengali spicy dry vegetables).
Dhal Mulegoo Thani (South Indian lentil soup (the basis for Mulligatawny?)).
Machchi Do Piaza (Bengali curried fish).
Jhinga Kari (Keralan hot prawn curry).
Chingri Kari (Bengali prawn mustard curry).
Tikka Kebab (North Indian chicken kebab, the basis for Chicken Tikka Masala).
Murgh Vindaloo (Goan chicken vinegar curry).
Shami Kebab (minced lamb and lentil patties, Uttar Pradesh style).
Seekh Kebab (North Indian minced meat on skewers). I first tasted minced meat kebab in Iran, where I didn't catch what it was called, but when I later tasted the Indian seekh kebab, I realised it was basically the same dish. Whatever its name or nationality, I love it but have never got round to trying to cook it, so this is a strong contender.
Kid Josh (Maharashtran Parsi-style curried lamb with cashews and coconut milk).
Tabak Maaz (Kashmiri spiced lamb ribs).
Badam Kheer (Utter Pradesh-style creamed almonds).