WTFood

Warning… This stuff is SPICY. This recipe has been adapted from the book 50 Great Curries of India by Camellia Panjabi.

Ingredients for the curry paste:

• 4 tbsp sunflower oil(or canola)
• 4 average sized red onions diced
• 2 large handfuls of cilantro
• 1/2 packed cup of mint leaves
• 4 green chilies(I used Serrano)
• 1/2 cup raw unroasted cashew nuts

The rest of the ingredients

• 2.25 pounds of skinless chicken(I used breasts) cut into pieces
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 green cardamoms
• 2″ cinnamon stick
• thin 1″ piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
• 5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1.5 tsp coriander powder
• .5 tsp cumin powder
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp lemon juice

Step 1

Soak the cashews in a cup of water for 30 minutes. While they are soaking heat the 4 tbsp of oil in a large saute pan or skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and fry them for 25-30 minutes until they are brown but not burnt. If they start to stick add a very tiny bit of water.

Step 2

Drain the water from the cashews. Let the onions cool down a bit then put them in a food processor or blender with the rest of the paste ingredients. Blend until smooth.

Step 3

In the same pan heat 2 tbsp of oil over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick. Cook for 2 or so minutes until it starts to unfurl.

Step 4

Add the cardamoms, bay leaves, ginger, and garlic and saute for 1 minute or so.

Step 5

Add the chicken pieces and saute for 5 minutes.

Step 6

Add the coriander and cumin and saute for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Step 7

Add the green paste and saute for 3 minutes.

Step 8

Add the salt, sugar, lemon juice, and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and simmer until the chicken is cooked.

Step 9

Eat

I love this recipe. It’s easily one of my favorite Indian dishes and it’s really easy to make. This recipe comes pretty much straight from the book, Lord Krishna’s Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. If you like Indian food and want to learn how to cook your own, this book is pretty much the bible.

Ingredients you will need for the beans:

• 2.25 cups dried red kidney beans(I used dark red beans from Whole Foods)
• 6 cups of water
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 tsp chili pepper or paprika (add more if you want the beans spicy.. I added about 1/2 tsp)
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp butter or ghee

The rest of the ingredients:

• 2.5 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/3 tsp ajwain seeds (might need to go to an Indian store to get this)
• 3 tbsp minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 tsp garam masala. (Whole Foods sells this in bulk. It’s also very easy to make yourself, which is what I do)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 green chili pepper diced (I used serrano)
• 1.5 tbsp lemon juice
• 5 tbsp sunflower oil, ghee, or peanut oil
• 6 ounces of paneer cut into half inch cubes. I make this myself, but you can buy it at any specialty grocery store or Indian market.
• 4 medium tomatoes diced (I used 2 cans of organic diced tomatoes drained because out of season tomatoes have no flavor)
• 1 tbsp ghee or butter
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro or parsley chopped.

Step 1

Soak the kidney beans in 4 cups of water overnight at room temperature.

Step 2

Drain the beans, but keep the soaking water. Add enough cold water to the soaking water to make 6 cups.

Step 3

Put the beans, the 6 cups of water, and all the bean ingredients into a nice sized sauce pan and bring to a boil. Cover and turn the heat down to low and simmer for 1.5-3 hours or until the beans are soft and tender.

Step 4

Mash up 3/4 cup of the cooked beans to a puree. With a slotted spoon transfer the cooked beans to a bowl. There should be about 1.5 cups of liquid still in the sauce pan from the beans. If there’s a lot more than that, boil it until it evaporates some or remove with a spoon. Keep the liquid.

Step 5

Combine the coriander, cumin, fennel, and ajwain seeds in a coffee grinder or spice grinder and reduce to a powder. Transfer to a small bowl.

Step 6

Place the ginger root and 1/2 cup of water in a blender and blend on high speed until it’s a smooth liquid. Add this liquid into the small bowl with the grinded spice mixture. Add the garam masala, turmeric, salt, and lemon juice and stir it really well until it’s a fine paste. Add water if it’s too thick.

Step 7

Heat 5 tbsp of the oil or ghee in a large pan(I used a saute pan). It helps if it’s nonstick, but mine was not and I lived. When the oil is hot drop in the paneer cheese and stir fry for 5-7 minutes, carefully turning the cubes so each side gets nice and browned. Transfer them to a plate lined with a couple of paper towels to soak up excess oil.

Step 8

Pour the spice paste into the pan you just cooked the paneer in and stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and green pepper and cook for about 8 minutes or until the tomatoes are reduced to a thick paste.

Step 9

Add the whole cooked beans, mashed beans, paneer, and the reserved cooking liquid from the beans(should be around 1.5 cups). Simmer on low for 15 minutes. Right before serving stir in the 1 tbsp of butter and the cilantro or parsley.

I have not been cooking as much lately because I’ve been so busy with work, but I did manage to find some time to make some Chole(Chickpea Curry). I’m not quite ready to post the recipe though. I want to try a few more things to perfect it before posting it. I served it with some thick slices of toasted sourdough bread, which surprisingly went very well with it.

I am a huge fan of Dals. Dal is actually the national dish of India. They are basically just a type of bean stew with spices. I used Whole Urad and Red Chouli beans with this particular recipe, but you can use any kind of dried bean or lentil. You typically cook the beans or lentils with some spices until the beans are done, then pour a spicy “tempering oil” into the dal and serve. This particular tempering oil mixture is a lot thicker than most. It has shallots, garlic, ginger, serrano peppers. It turned out delicious. One of the best Dals I’ve ever had. This dal has whole spices in it, so if you don’t like biting into whole spices, grind them before adding them. I kind of like using whole spices. It adds a “burst of flavor” when you bite into one.

Ingredients you will need for the bean mixture:

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups of dried beans or lentils washed and drained (I used Whole Urad and Red Chouli). If using whole beans make sure you follow the cooking instructions which may include soaking overnight.
• 4 black peppercorns
• 8 green cardamom pods
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp salt
• 2″ piece of cinnamon stick
• Enough water to cook the beans
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• 1/2 cup of fresh chopped cilantro

Ingredients you will need for the tempering oil mixture:

• 3 tbsp canola oil
• 2 cups of finely diced shallots
• 7 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 2 fresh green serrano chiles diced (I included the seeds. If you’re a wimp, then don’t)
• 1/8 tsp of asafetida (Optional, but helps with digestion. You can get it at any Indian market)

Step 1

Heat the oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Add the cinnamon stick and cook it(and stir it around) for about 2 minutes or until it starts to unfurl.

Step 2

Add the spices (black peppercorns, cardamoms, cloves, cumin) and stir fry until the cumin starts to turn dark brown(probably about 2 minutes).

Step 3

Add the beans/lentils, turmeric, salt, and enough water to cook the beans. Check the instructions on the beans to see how much water it asks for. I used 6 cups of water, which ended up being a bit too much. Stir, bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer until the beans are done. Make sure and periodically check if the beans need more water. If you added too much water, simmer it without the top on until it’s just right. After the beans are done, use a spoon or spatula and mash half of the beans in the pot.

Step 4

Heat the 3 tbsp of canola oil(for the tempering mixture) in a sauce/saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and stir fry until they are nice and brown. This will take 15-20 minutes. If they start to stick add a few drops of water.

Step 5

Add the garlic, ginger, asafetida, and hot green chili and stir fry for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add a tiny bit of water if anything is sticking.

Step 6

Pour the tempering mixture, lemon juice, and cilantro into the Dal and stir.

Step 7

Search for and remove the cinnamon stick then eat. I recommend this dish with some basmati rice and flat bread(like Chapati).

I have seriously been trying to make the perfect omelette for about a month now. This is the closest I’ve come to something that looked AND tasted good. The stuffings include Porcini mushrooms, Gorgonzola cheese, and walnuts. I briefly stir fried the mushrooms and walnuts in a little olive oil before adding them to the omelette.

I’ve been using Alton Brown’s omelette show as a reference. He makes it look so easy in the video, but it’s tough! Something always goes wrong.

Ingredients you will need:

• 1 can of unsweetened coconut milk (or make your own which is very easy)
• 1 tsp sesame seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 cloves of garlic cut up a bit
• 8 black peppercorns
• 1.5 tbsp fresh ginger(diced)
• 1 inch of cinnamon stick broken into pieces or 1 tsp of cinnamon.
• 4 green cardamoms
• 3 cloves ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clove )
• 1 tbsp of red chili pepper(to your preference) (kashmiri HIGHLY recommended)
• 3/4 cup of shallots chopped
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts cut up into whatever size you prefer
• 2 large tomatoes chopped
• 1tsp of salt
• 1 tsp apple vinegar
• 1/2 tsp of garam masala (any decent grocery store should have bulk garam masala. If not, it’s VERY easy to make it yourself.)

Hardware you will need:

• Coffee/Spice grinder
• Food processor or blender

A lot of people think cooking Indian food is tough, but it’s really not. I highly recommend buying whole spices and grinding them yourself. You will not only save a ton of money but your food will taste a lot better. This does not just go for Indian food, It goes for all food. Here are the main spices you will need for this recipe:

The spices from left to right: Cardamom, Cloves, Sesame, Coriander, Cumin, and black pepper. If you buy spices in bulk they are extremely cheap. I bet all these spices in this picture cost me a total of $5. If you bought the already grinded pre-packaged jars you’re probably looking at $30 or more.

Step 1

combine all these spices pictured above as well as the cinnamon(if you used a cinnamon stick, not if you are using powder) and throw them in an empty skillet on medium low heat and toast them until they are fragrant. This brings out the flavor in the spices and is an important step. Make sure you don’t burn them. I usually will shake the pan and keep the spices moving every 30 seconds or so.

Step 2

pour the toasted spices in a spice/coffee grinder and grind to a powder.

Step 3

combine the diced shallots, ginger, garlic, and spice mixture in a food processor or blender and make a thick paste. Add water as needed(I had to add about 1/4 cup of water).

Step 5

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Once the oil is nice and hot, add the curry paste you just made, along with the chili powder and fry in the oil for 5 minutes. Stir it a lot.

Step 6

Add the chicken and fry for 5 more minutes

Step 7

Add the tomatoes and salt and fry for 5 minutes

Step 8

Add the can of coconut milk and simmer until the chicken is done, stirring often. Add water if necessary.

Step 9

Add the garam masala and vinegar and stir it in.

Step 10

Taste for salt and eat. This meal goes great with rice and some bread(chapati, naan, etc)

Misc Notes

• If you used pre-ground spices, you don’t have to toast them.
• Kashmiri chili powder makes this dish MUCH better. Kashmiri chilis have a very nice dark red color and the flavor is relatively mild. If you don’t like really spicy food or you only have extremely spicy chili powder, feel free to decrease the amount of spice. This will affect the color of your curry though. It will not be as red.
• Homemade coconut milk improves this dish a lot. It’s easy to make. Shred a cup and a half of coconut and soak it in 2 cups of warm water for 20-30 minutes and then pour it through a strainer or cheesecloth.
• Try and find very red/ripe tomatoes for the recipe. I usually buy mine at the farmer’s market. You can also use canned tomatoes which will give your curry more of a red color.