Cashew Cardamom Rice Pudding

1 cup cooked basmati rice
1 cup milk, I used 2%
1 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2 cardamom pods, seeds crushed
1/2 cup chopped cashews

In a large nonstick saute pan over medium heat, combine the cooked rice and milk. Heat until the mixture begins to boil. Decrease the heat to low and cook at a simmer until the mixture begins to thicken, stirring frequently, approximately 5 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium, add the coconut milk, sugar, and cardamom and continue to cook until the mixture just begins to thicken again, approximately 5 to 10 minutes. Once the mixture just begins to thicken, remove from the heat and stir in the cashews. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

(Original recipe called for raisins and pistachios, which also sounds good.)

Two Pea Curry with Garam Masala Roasted Carrots

Garam Masala Roasted Carrots

4 carrots, peeled
1/4 c olive oil
2 T Garam Masala

Slice carrots lengthwise into 4 thin strips. Toss with olive oil and spices and spread out on a caking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes or until brown in a 400 degree oven.


Easy Two Pea Curry

2 cardamom pods
1 t turmeric
1 T fresh ginger*
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/2 t mustard seed
1/2 t cumin
5 T sunflower oil
1/4 c chopped onion
1 c frozen (thawed) green peas
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/4 c diced tomatoes (and juice from the can)
1 c fresh baby spinach leaves

Gring mustard seed and cardamom in a mortar with pestle. Add oil to large pan on medium heat. Add spices, garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant. Add onion. Saute until translucent. Add peas, chickpeas. Saute 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and reserved juice from can. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes. Just before removing from heat, add spinach and stir it through the curry until it wilts but remains bright green.

*My trick with ginger is to keep it frozen and then cut it with a vegetable peeler. The strips dissolve in the hot oil without having to mince them with a knife.

Potato Korma Curry

I started out with best intentions, but as the preparations for the two curries started to become time-consuming, and my evenings are a narrow window of feeding 2 adults, an 8-month-old, giving baby a bath and then getting her down for the night, I backed out of a delightful andhra aloo recipe I found online once my potatoes were boiled and improvized a quick solution with a spice packet I found in the back of my cupboard.

3 large potatoes, unpeeled, whole
1/2 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1/3 large white onion, chopped
1/4 c water
1 packet of Sukhi's Korma Curry paste

Boil potatoes until they are done when poked in the center, about 30 minutes. Cool, peel and cut into cubes. Heat curry paste and water in a large pan on medium heat. Add onion and saute for a few minutes. Add potato and tomatoes (with some of their juice from the can). Heat for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

*Here's what's in the Korma curry paste: onions, canola oil, ginger, poppy seeds, vinegar, cashews, garlic, granulated onion, salt, coriander, tumeric, chickpea flour, lentil flour, sugar, cardamom, cayenne, black pepper, cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, citric acid, spices, lemon grass, shallots, kafir leaves, lemon oil.

It was tangy and had some heat! Unlike any curry I've made from scratch at home. Maybe because I don't usually have all of the ingredients (like kafir leaves or lemon grass on hand).

Golden Dal

from the yummy food blog Mental Masala. there squash and kale are added, but I was doing a separate potato & tomato korma curry so I just wanted the dal. it's hard to find Indian recipes for dal that don't assume you have a pressure cooker!

1 cup toor dal
6 cups water
1 T. vegetable oil or ghee
3/4 t. turmeric
1 dried bay leaf
1 hot green chili
1 T. grated ginger

1 t. brown mustard seeds
2 t. cumin seeds
1 t. fenugreek seeds
2 dry red chilies
1 T. sugar or jaggery

Cooking the dal
Pick through the dal for stones, sticks and other unacceptable items. Rinse the dal thoroughly, drain, and put into a large pot. Add the 6 cups of water, 1 T. oil, bay leaf, green chili, ginger, and turmeric to the pot containing the dal. Bring to a boil (be careful that it doesn't boil over), then reduce the heat to medium-low, partially cover the pot and cook until the dal are tender (30-40 minutes). Add 1 t. salt or more to taste. Reduce heat to very low.

Heat some vegetable oil or ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. Have a pot lid handy in case the mustard seeds start to scatter and splatter. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin, fenugreek, and dried chili, cook for about 30 seconds, then add the sugar. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds, or until the sugar carmelizes. Pour the spiced oil over the dal and stir. Add the cooked squash and stir.

Creamy Curried Cauliflower Soup

I took the curried cauliflower recipe from this old post and buzzed it through the blender with about 3 cups of vegetable broth and 1 cup of goat's milk. It made a thick, hearty soup that is nicely spiced.

Green Peas and Tofu Curry with Indian Rice

Green Peas and Tofu Curry
This is almost Matar Paneer, but I'm not a big fan of paneer cheese. Cubed tofu makes a nice substitute and picks up the color and flavor of the curry well. This could have vegan had I used canola oil instead of ghee, and soymilk instead of regular yogurt. Even so, it was a light curry, not very saucy and rich. And, even though the tomatoes were from a can, their acidity contributed an essential flavor foil to the creaminess.

8 oz. extra firm tofu, cubed
1 1/2 c fresh green peas
1/2 c yogurt (I used Wallaby nonfat plain)
1/2 c tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c onion, diced
2 tiny chili peppers
2 T cilantro, chopped
2-3 T ghee
Spice:
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
salt to taste

Preparation

Heat 1 T ghee in a pan over medium heat. Fry tofu in ghee until it's a golden light color. Remove tofu from pan. Heat remaining 1-2 T's ghee. Add the onions and fry until light golden brown. Add all spices, chili pepper and salt. Stir few seconds. Add tomatoes. Stir again for few minutes, take care that spices do not scorch. Add yogurt, peas and tofu. Stir gently. Cover and reduce heat. Allow to simmer for 20 minutes or until peas begin to break apart. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or Indian bread.

Indian Rice
Into the rice cooker, add:
2 c basmati rice, rinsed
4 c water
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1 t cumin seeds
1/2 t ground turmeric
3 cardamom pods, bruised
pinch of sea salt

It all cooks together in the normal cycle and the steam smells amazing. The finished rice is flavorful, bright yellow, and a delicious complement to the Green Peas and Tofu Curry.

Potato Dosa

Tonight I made a way-too-spicy sambar soup, dosas from a container of pre-made fresh batter bought at Patel's over the weekend, and a spicy ginger potato filling for the dosas. P ended up dropping by and I do believe it was him who, 10 years ago, fed me my first home-cooked curry. Also one of the first in a string of "let me cook for you" friends.

The dosa mix- a thin batter of lentils, rice and salt- can be further thinned with water and easily cooks up into thin, crispy crepes ready to be stuffed with goodies. Goodies in this case was Chili-Mashed Potatoes with Ginger, adapted from the Vege Table book I've been cooking from all week. This was excellent topped with the Coconut Chutney I made on Saturday, and with some store-bought mango chutney.

2 1/2 lbs. baking potatoes
1/2-2 jalapeno chilis
1 1/2 c yogurt
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 T of ginger paste
2 T cilantro for garnishing

Peel potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces. Cook in a large pot of boiling water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain, and using a potato masher, mash them coarsely. Add the chilies, ginger paste and yogurt and continue to mash until mixture is smooth.

*
I've got to either dump or doctor up the sambar. I'm not sure what went wrong with it, but all notion of HOT overwhelms any of the other flavors.

Curry two times

These are two more of the dishes I made on Saturday, shown as reheated office lunch-- but yum, do they hold up well as leftovers!

Again, from The Vegetarian Table: India cookbook. This series has been indispensable. The Veg Table France and North Africa have also gotten a thorough workout (with the splattered and encrusted pages to show for it).

*
Curried Cauliflower

1 large cauliflower (2 lbs., trimmed into small florets)
1 T coriander seeds
1 t cumin seeds
1/2 t fennel seeds
2-3 T ghee or oil (I used olive oil)
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely julienned
1/4 t cayenne powder
1/2 t turmeric
1/2 T sugar (Sugar in the raw)
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 T chopped cilantro

In a mortar, pound the cumin, coriander, and fennel until crushed (I gave them a whirl in the Vita-Mixer instead). Heat all but 1 t oil in large pan or wok over medium heat. Stir in ginger and fry for about 20 seconds, then add the crushed spices, cayenne, turmeric, sugar and a sprinkle of water. Within seconds, add the cauliflower and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. (I added about 1/4 c water to keep cauliflower from scorching. All of the water evaporated off and/or kept the cauliflower from drying out.) Reduce heat to low, cover and cook to the desired tenderness, shaking the pan occasionally; 15 to 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with remaining oil, and garnish with cilantro.


*
(a new favorite thing)

Curried Eggplant and Spinach

3 medium eggplants (1 1/2 pounds)
3 yellow bell peppers (I used red)
1/4 c chickpea flour
1 t turmeric
2 T Garam Masala
1 1/2 t salt
2 or 3 T ghee or evoo (I used evoo)
1/2 c water
cooking oil spray
1 1/2 T brown mustard seeds
2 T grated fresh ginger
1-3 hot green chilies, minced
1/2 t cardamom seeds, crushed
1 T sugar (Sugar in the Raw)
2 lbs. plum tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 lbs. spinach, trimmed and chopped (I used one whole package of ready to eat organic baby spinach leaves)

Preheat oven to 400. Peel and cut eggplants into 1/2 inch cubes. Quarter, seed, devein, and cut the peppers into 1-inch pieces. Combine the eggplant, peppers, chickpea flour, turmeric, 1 T garam masala, salt and half of the oil in a bowl. Pour in the water and toss to mix. (Next time: spray baking sheets thoroughly with canola oil spray before spreading mixture out on them. Spread the vegetables in a single later on two baking sheets and roast the vegetables until they are browned and tender; 20 to 25 minutes. Set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and fry until the seeds pop. Add the ginger, chilies, cardamom, sugar, and tomatoes and stir-fry until tomatoes are somewhat pulpy; 4 or 5 minutes. Add the spinach, cover and cook until the spinach is bright green and softened. Stir in the eggplant, season with salt and simmer together for 15-20 minutes.

J's Indian Benedict

While it was all by the book, the feast for 6 involved 4 dishes I'd never made before with everything needing to be prepared or finished within 15 minutes to serving, so the kitchen was a little chaotic as our guests arrived, and I wasn't able to sit much with the appetizers and soup course, but once everything else came together it was a banquet I could enjoy (with another bottle of the St. Michelle Reisling). Things got too busy for a photo op-- as it is, I'm called the "food paparazzi." But as the leftovers get eaten, I'll post the feast redux.

In the meantime, J invented "Indian Benedict" (pictured above with coconut chutney) this morning.

One of the curries from last night was the egg curry posted on this yummy blog.

So one egg poached in this curry sauce assembled atop sauteed fresh spinach over a whole wheat English muffin.

*

Coconut Chutney
from Yamuna Devi's The Vegetarian Table: India

1 c grated fresh or dried coconut (I used dry)
2 cups yogurt
2 t unrefined corn oil (I used olive oil instead)
1 t brown mustard seeds
1 large jalapeno chili, seeded and slivered (I used 2 or 3 of the tiny Thai hot chilis I keep in the freezer)
1 t split urad dal
1/4 t yellow asafetida
15 fresh curry leaves

Whisk coconut and yogurt together in a bowl. Fry the oil, mustard seeds, chilis and dal in a small pan until the dal turns brown and the mustard seeds crackle and pop. Add the asafetida and curry leaves and let them sizzle for about 10 seconds. Pour the seasoning into the yogurt and stir to mix.

By-Ear Kheer

Saw The Namesake today which a. made me a twinge sorry for passing up a chance to go to Russia this summer but to resolve instead to read all heretofore unattended to Russian literature presently on my shelf, b. resolve to go to India someday, c. in the immediate term cook something with cardamom in it.

Leftover rice in the fridge, and brown rice syrup and rose water in the pantry yet to be experimented with, I undertake a kheer, though without any official reference to what constitutes one. Only after to I peek at the internet to discover many fantastic variations, with sweet potato, bread, carrots, vermicelli, cashews, you name it.

C, who sat next to me at the movie and has a hissy whenever I eat anything curry in her presence, squirmed as the character Ashima, newly arrived in the States, topped a bowl of Rice Krispies with red chili powder and peanuts, but I thought it was a luminous moment of food as character development.

2 cups of leftover rice (I used white sushi rice because that was lingering around from last week's stirfry)
2 cups soymilk (or "spymilk" for the keyboarding-challenged)
dash salt
dash freshly ground nutmeg
fresh ground cardamom, 1 pod
2-3 T brown rice syrup
1 T rosewater
4-5 strands saffron

Added all of these things as I thought of them, while the rice and soymilk base was stirred pretty constantly over a low flame with a wooden spoon. I expected the saffron to turn the whole works more of a vibrant hue than it did, perhaps more was needed. I thought that the rice syrup added a good level of sweetness, though when I've had this dessert in Indian restaurants it is significantly sweeter (and more rich with coconut milk or full fat real milk). Also, the consistency of mine was more sticky rice than porridge out of preference. The soup-inclined would be advised to add more milk.

Toasted almond slivers finished off each serving, or, my serving anyway. Made 4-6 servings.

**Apparently the thing to do with the saffron, besides tripling the amount, is to crush the strands in a tablespoon of warm milk. Next time.

J's curry

T'was an odyssey of chickpea, garam masala, garlic, onion, spinach, tomato and ghee. Delish.

Aloo Palak

Apparently that failed garam masala baked potato wedges got my dander up for some curry, and the polenta dish I was planning to make tonight didn't thrill either of us at the thought of it, and when the only fresh produce in the house is spinach and potatoes, well, that's got palak written all over it.

The lack of food styling and lighting consideration in the photo above is due to the hungry photographer who, after smelling the fantastic coriander and cumin for the past 20 minutes, couldn't wait to have at it.

I think Aloo Palak is usually pureed, but J and I like chunks, so I boil the potatoes first and them set them aside to cool. The rest goes pretty quick-- though this is my Americanized shortcut speaking. The more traditional references I've consulted make the process much more multi-faceted. I've done it both ways and both are yummy.

Chop up 1 bunch of spinach. Once cool, cut potatoes into bite-size chunks. Also slice one whole medium onion. Press 3-4 cloves of garlic through a press. Grate about a tablespoon of fresh ginger. Dice one small chili pepper, I use these miniscule, frozen little buggers from my local Indian grocery. I'm not sure what the variety is called, but they are pellets of fire. If you're using a jalepeno or something like that, it might be a teaspoon or two. Measure out the spices:
1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp red chili powder, a pinch or two of salt.

Heat 2-3 tblspns of olive oil in a pan and add spices. Stir and give them a minute or two to start releasing their oils, then add onion, ginger and garlic. Stir this all around and let it cook together for another 2-3 minutes, or until onions start to turn translucent and the kitchen is really fragrant. Then add the spinach. The water content of the spinach seems to keep the spices from scorching, which is good. Burny-tasting spices are one curry mistake I've learned from. Once the spinach has cooked down for a minute or two and there's room enough in pan once again, add the potato chunks. Stir this all together and reduce the heat. This is where I also add some soymilk to give it a bit of a "sauce" and some creaminess. Tonight I only had about 1/4 of a cup left, but this worked just fine. Once all the flavors cook together- a few more minutes- the dish is ready to eat.

To accompany the Aloo Palak, I dug into the freezer for a soup I bought in the frozen section of Patel Bros. grocery.. which is a comprehensive source of all Indian dry good and spices one could need, plus some produce. They also have a freezer wall of mostly-vegetarian ready-to-eat wonders from all over the subcontinent. I've toyed with the idea of making a Sambhar soup for a while, and I bought this frozen one partly to get a sense of what's up in the sambhar realm. This brand Recipes of Udupi South Indian Vegetarian Cuisine claims to be all natural, and there is nothing with an x, y or z in the ingredients, so I think it may be true. This was a nice tangy soup, protein-full with 3 kinds of dahl, a tomato base and piquant tamarind heading up the curry.

I also made a batch of stovetop quickie rotis with a cup of chickpea flour for added protein.
That's:

1 c. of durum atta (whole wheat durum flour)
1 c. ladu besan (chickpea flour)

and then just add water gradually until you have a sticky dough. I usually work it into a ball and then let it rest, covered with a damp paper towel for about a half an hour, or while I do other things, but I'm not sure if this is really necessary.

Then just spray a griddle with some canola oil, form into pancake size patties and cook until brown on both sides.

These come out like hearty pancakes, but without the chickpea flour, I've turned this basic formula into chapattis and given the time to hold them over an open flame so they inflate and get fluffy. After tonight's dinner I tried one of the extra rotis spread with Adriatic fig spread and that turned out to be a good combination too! Kind of like a chutney, only... Croatian.