FIRST OF ALL -- CONGRATULATIONS TO MY BUDDY WHO IS NOW (WELL, AT 11:00 A.M. EDT) CIGGIE FREE FOR 31 DAYS!!!!! YAYYYYYY!!!!!!
A momentous day for him and those who love him. Like anyone who has quit for more than a day, he is keenly aware of good things and things he wishes were better. Good things involve the senses of smell and taste -- he knows he doesn't smell like an old ash tray. A could be better thing is he still has a bit of brain fog -- not serious because I know him, but enough that he is aware of a lack of total sharpness. He deals with very detailed and complex math, science, regulations and mechanical stuff so he can tell the difference. I'm pretty confident that will pass. Lots of things change and improve as the days pass.
E.g. I always could sort of smell the chemical crap in the bread aisle at the grocery store. Since I've stopped smoking, I try never to walk down that aisle -- especially since I don't buy bread! The smell makes me gag. Ok, enough about him - let's talk about us and food!!!
Good morning GUSspices!!!! Can you imagine flumpty spice???? For some reason, I can.
OMG!!!!!
I want to just dive into all of those colorful powders and special thingies. How gorgeous. I love Indian food. It is one of the pure sensory pleasures in life -- better than sex. Ok, it would be great to have it and then sex.
Vegetarian Indian food will make you cry with joy. Also, if you are a carnivore, you can use it as a side with a meat/fish dish. Slather it on basmati rice!
One of the most brilliant Indian Vegetarian restaurants in NYC seems to have disappeared. I think it was called "Woodwinds" and it was near the United Nations. Stunning food but can't find it anymore, alas.
You can try to cook almost any Indian recipe. Just wait a few years before inviting your Indian friends who have mothers/fathers who are brilliant cooks. I'm ordering a Punjabi cookbook and going to practice over and over and over again. There's a father/son who bought a liquor store near the lake. The Dad is supposed to be a brilliant cook. I finally found out it was Punjabi cuisine. I have until May to do my tests.
Youz guyz can just cook (use a light hand on spices) and amaze your family and friends.
Also, too, you won't want a ciggie after Indian food. You'll want to sit back, relax and say: "Ahhhhhhh!"
You can thank/blame shesaid for this amazingly brilliant diary.
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Ok, there are a zillion Indian cuisine spices and only Indian women and men who have been raised by generations of Indian women and men know how the perfect blend works for each dish. I have a few excellent Indian cookbooks -- but I know they are all trying to make us feel better because we probably will try but not really get the exquisite composition of one of the great cuisines of the universe.
Here's a place to find a list and explanation of the basic Indian spices. You really just need to get a good cookbook -- I recommend any of Madhur Jaffrey's for the fundamentals.
And really, avoid any recipe with "tandoori" in the name. You don't have a tandoori oven. You will never have a tandoori oven. And if you did have a tandoori oven, you wouldn't know how to use it. I've read that you can line your oven with unglazed quarry tiles. Hahahahahaha!!!! Ok, I use them for a pizza/French bread stone -- but no way for a tandoori oven. I'm waiting for my pen pal sugar daddy to buy me one and pay for a mentor.
Tandoori recipes basically call for seasoning which makes the chicken or fish look orange -- that's not what tandoori is all about. Trust me. I'm an internationally famous literary genius.
I just threw out my 7 year old jar of garam masala -- but here's a recipe for a blend. It is better to make your own.
Garam masala
Ingredients
For the garam masala
1 tbsp cardamom seeds (if you can't buy the seeds then buy cardamom pods and shell them yourself)
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp black cumin seeds (you can use regular cumin seeds if black aren't available)
1 tsp whole cloves
1/3 of a whole nutmeg (you can break a whole nutmeg by placing it on a cloth and bashing it with a meat mallet or rolling pin)
a medium stick of cinnamon, about 5-8cm/2-3 inches, broken up into 3-4 pieces
Preparation method
Put all the ingredients in a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind as finely as possible.
Store in a tightly lidded jar, away from heat and sunlight and use as needed.
From:
PBS: Madhur Jaffrey
Mixed Vegetable Curry
Ingredients
½ medium-sized aubergine, about 100g/4oz, cut into 2cm x 1cm/¾in x ½in pieces
2 small carrots, about 100g/4oz, peeled and cut into 2cm x 1cm/¾in x ½in pieces
100g/4oz green beans, cut into 2.5cm/1in pieces
1 medium-sized potato, about 100g/4oz, peeled and cut into 2cm x 1cm/¾in x ½in pieces
100g/4oz peas
50g/2oz desiccated unsweetened coconut (reconstituted weight) that has been reconstituted by soaking in hot water, or frozen grated coconut (available from some Asian grocers), or freshly grated coconut
4 fresh hot green chillies, roughly chopped
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp white poppy seeds
3 medium-sized tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp plain yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp roughly chopped fresh coriander leaves
Preparation method
Place the aubergine, carrots, green beans and potato in a medium-sized pan. Add 250ml/8fl oz water.
Bring to the boil, add the peas, then cover, turn the heat to medium and cook for four minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.
Meanwhile, put the coconut, chillies, salt and poppy seeds in the bowl of a food processor. Add 150ml/5fl oz water and blend to form a fine paste. Set aside.
When the vegetables are just cooked, add the spice paste. Stir and simmer gently for five minutes.
Add the tomatoes, yoghurt and garam masala. Stir gently to mix well. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 2-3 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
To serve, place the vegetable curry into a serving dish and garnish with the fresh coriander.
From
Manjula's Kitchen
This is a great website -- includes videos to help you out and recipes for spice blends.
Mushroom, Corn and Cashew Curry
Corn and mushroom in tomato and spicy cashew gravy makes a delicious main dish. Cashews add a creamy and rich texture to the dish. This is a quick and easy recipe. This goes well with any Indian flat bread or plain rice.
Recipe will serve 2-3.
Ingredients:
3 cup sliced mushrooms
1 cup corn kernel/ bhuta ka dana (I am using frozen corn kernels)
1/4 cup cashews (kaju)
2 cup tomato chopped
1 teaspoon ginger chopped
1 teaspoon green chili chopped
2 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder (lal mirch)
2 teaspoon coriander powder (dhania)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon cilantro chopped (hara dhania)
Approx. 1-1/2 cups water
Method
Blend the tomatoes, cashews, ginger and green chili to make creamy paste. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil. If the cumin seed cracks right away, the oil is ready.
Add cumin seeds, asafetida as cumin seeds crack add tomato paste.
Next add coriander; red chili powder, turmeric and salt. Lower the heat to medium and cook the spice mix for about 4-5 minutes until mix start leaving the side of the pan.
Add corn and mushrooms, mix it well and add about 1-1/2 cups of water. Cook for about 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Corn and mushrooms should be tender and gravy should be thick in consistency.
Mushroom Corn Curry is ready serve hot with Roti or plain rice.
Also from:
Manjula's Kitchen
Masala Zucchini
Masala Zucchini has a nutty and spicy flavor. It’s great as a side dish. For this recipe, I used a popular Bengali spice mixture known as punch poran. Punch poran is a blend of five spices which gives a very unique flavor to Zucchini.
Recipe will serve 3
Masala Zucchini Recipe by ManjulaIngredients
2 zucchini large size with skin, sliced in 1/2 inch thick. This will make about 4 cups of sliced zucchini
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (Methi dana)
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf)
1/4 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalonji)
2 whole red chilies
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
1/2 heaping teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon mango powder (amchoor)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Notes
First 5 spice mix cumin, fenugreek, mustard, fennel, and nigella seeds known as Punch Poran. You can make your own mix or buy the mix in Indian grocery store.
This recipe works best with large and firm zucchini.
Method
Mix the first 5 spices to make Punch Poran cumin, fenugreek, mustard, fennel, and nigella seeds. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a flat sauce pan over medium high heat. When oil is moderately hot add the spice mix as cumin seeds and mustard seeds crack add whole red chili stir for few seconds. Add turmeric, red chili powder and salt stir and add zucchini.
Stir fry for about 1 minute lower the heat to low medium, and cover the pen. Let it cook for about 2-3 minutes, doing this zucchini will leave the moisture that will help to stir fry them.
Remove the cover bring the heat to medium high and stir fry for about 3-4 minutes. Zucchini should be tender not mushy.
Add sugar, mango powder and lemon juice, stir and mix it well. Turn off the heat Masala Zucchini is ready to serve.
Serve Masala Zucchini with roti, paratha or any bread. This also good with rice.
Variations
You can also use bottle gourd (in Hindi it is known as lauki, or ghia) but do peel the skin before slicing and slice them about the same size.
From:
Veggie Recipes of India
Very lovely pictures for step by step prep.
Cabbage Kofta Curry
cabbage kofta: crisp & soft cabbage koftas (fried dumplings) in a spiced curry/sauce.
Serves: 3-4
Ingredients
for the cabbage koftas:
3 cups chopped cabbage, chopped finely
1 cup besan/gram flour
¼ tsp turmeric/haldi
¼ tsp red chilli powder/lal mirch powder
¼ tsp garam masala
1 tsp carom seeds/ajwain
1 tsp curd/yogurt
a pinch of asafoetida/hing
a pinch of baking soda
salt as required
¼ cup water or as required
salt as required
oil for shallow or deep frying
for the gravy:
3 medium size tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large size onion, finely chopped
½ inch ginger, crushed
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 black cardamom
2 green cardamoms
1 inch cinnamon
2-3 cloves
1 small to medium bay leaf
¼ tsp turmeric powder/haldi
¼ tsp red chilli powder
½ tsp coriander powder/dhania powder
2 tbsp oil or butter
½ tsp crushed kasuri methi/dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
1 tbsp oil or butter to be added in the last step (step 9 of preparing the curry/sauce/gravy)
2 cups water
2-3 tbsp cream
salt as required
some chopped coriander leaves for garnishing
Instructions
preparing the cabbage koftas:
in a mixing bowl, take the finely chopped cabbage, ajwain/carom seeds, turmeric powder, red chili powder, garam masala powder, asafoetida/hing, curd/yogurt and salt.
mix well and keep the cabbage mixture aside for about 25-30 mins.
the kofta mixture would have become moist as the cabbage would release its juices.
add besan/gram flour & baking soda and mix well.
if the mixture looks dry, then you can add some water. if its too moist and batter like, then no need to add any water. i added about ¼ cup water.
stir very well.
heat oil for shallow or deep frying the cabbage koftas in a kadai or pan.
drop spoonfuls of the batter and fry the koftas till crisp and golden in medium hot oil.
drain the cabbage koftas on paper towels to remove excess oil and keep aside.
preparing the curry/sauce/gravy:
in the same kadai, remove the excess oil that we had used for frying the kofta and keep about 2 tbsp oil.
or you can just use fresh 2 tbsp oil or butter.
first add the bay leaf, black cardamom, green cardamoms, cinnamon and cloves. fry the whole spices till fragrant…. about 10-15 seconds.
then add the onions and fry till the onions get golden.
add the crushed ginger-garlic and saute till the raw aroma of the ginger-garlic goes away.
add the tomatoes and all the dry spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder.
stir and saute till tomatoes soften and oil starts to leave the sides of the mixture.
let this mixture cool and then grind this sauted onion-tomato mixture with some water to a smooth paste with about ¼ or ½ cup water.
in the same pan, gently heat about 1 tbsp oil or butter.
add the ground masala paste and stir with the oil.
immediately add 2 cups water and again stir well.
add salt & simmer the mixture till it thickens a bit and reaches a medium gravy consistency.
the curry should be cooked well.
toward the end, add cream and stir. then add the crushed kasuri methi & stir again. switch off the fire.
if serving immediately, then add the cabbage koftas. if serving later, then reheat the curry/sauce and then add the cabbage koftas.
cabbage kofta curry goes best with rotis, naan and steamed rice or jeera rice. garnish with coriander leaves before serving the cabbage kofta.
serve the cabbage koftas with rotis, naan or jeera rice.
Notes
the kofta recipes makes about 20-23 koftas. in the gravy i added 12 koftas and the rest i served as snacks.
you can adjust the amount of water as required and make the gravy/sauce slightly thick or thin as per your choice.
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