Indian Apple Pie Part Deux

We gave the pie another take and it came out very nicely. We used a traditional 1/2 & 1/2 crust (half whole wheat & half white baking flour). For the filling we used six Granny Smith apples, 1 tablespoon of red pepper, 1 tablespoon of cardamon, 1 tablespoon of cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of garam masala, and 1 tablespoon of cumin. Mixed in with this was 1/2 a cup of dried low fat coconut, 1/2 a cup of pecans, and 1/2 a cup of organic sugar. We didn't roast the spices before hand like the last time. Lisa believes it was missing a little something as a result. I am now addicted to eating this pie and have had 2 pieces each day for the last 3 days; albeit modest pieces. I can not bear to put it in the bin so the rest will be traveling to the office with me in the a.m. There is a scene in the Dom Deluise film Fatso where he orders Chinese food for the family and ends up eating it all in the car as he drives home from the pick-up place. Let's hope the a.m. is not a repeat of that scene.

On Wednesday we are going to explore some new rices to use as a base and/or accompaniment to meals.

Michael

Chutney Love and Living Out of Bounds

I am fast acquiring a chutney habit. Chutney is a thin or thick sauce of fruit or vegetables, mild or spicy, sweet or savory, cooked or raw, that is eaten in the morning or afternoon or evening. That seems perfectly clear doesn't it? Chutney is varied and versatile. All are yummy and easy to make. I like to make one raw and one cooked chutney at the beginning of the week. The cooked chutney will last about a week in the fridge. The raw chutney, depending on the ingredients will only last a couple of days. So, for example, a fresh coconut and mint chutney is delicate (the coconut and mint still have their active enzymes intact and will soon spoil) and is best eaten soon after it is made. A hearty cooked plum chutney is like a jam (with heat killing any molds on the surface and deactivating the plant enzymes and sugar acting as a preservative) can be eaten up to a week after it is made.

OK enough with the chemistry lesson. Last week I made a Roasted Toovar Dal and Coconut Chutney from Lord Krishna's Cuisine. OH BOY. You can see a picture of the split peas and coconut dry roasting. The smell of this was scrumptious. It filled the house with nutty, rich, spicy fragrance. The roasted ingredients were then blended with water, chilis, yoghurt and a bit of salt. The final product was like a rich, smooth, cream. Nice with dosas. It came in handy when I was looking to make a quick fish dinner. I spread it over and under tilapia filets and wrapped them up in parchment and foil (or you could bake in a baking dish) and popped them on the grill for 10 minutes. The result was gourmet.

I also made a Spicy Plum Chutney (also from LKC) and have been eating that all week. This morning, I had dosas with a raita made from yoghurt mixed with the plum chutney. I love that chutney + yoghurt = instant raita!

So, let's review: chutney is good. chutney can be used as a baking sauce for fish or chicken or tofu or whatever. chutney can be used to make instant raita.

Michael and I were talking yesterday about why it is that people continue to do things or live in ways that are not healthy (physically, spiritually, emotionally, psychologically, or financially). It started as a conversation about footwear. Michael likes to wear comfortable footwear and had recently bought some new sneakers. The conversation wandered to why people continue to wear shoes that, quite literally, injure and deform their feet, cause back and knee pain, and are just plain dangerous. I noted that it was difficult, particularly for women, in the 1980's (when I was starting my career) to find footwear that was comfortable and stylish. Even the so-called "comfort pumps" resulted in corns, callouses, and overall pain. To say nothing of the issues with women's hosiery. After spending my days squirming in uncomfortable skirts, hose, and pumps, I adopted the habit of wearing stylish pants suits with oxford-type or loafer shoes. This was nearly unheard of for women attorneys at that time. I may have been one of the first women attorneys for the government, if not the first, to go to Tax Court in a pants suit. I was actually told that I was rejected for a promotion because I had worn a pants suit to the interview. That was the only reason given. Can you believe it?

Anyway, since this is a food blog, we also wonder why folks continue to eat what is referred to among us "healthy eating types" as the Standard American Diet (SAD)? You know, lots of meat, high gylcemic carbs, low fiber, overcooked veggies, tons of processed items and mass market cakes, cookies, candy, and ice cream. Whether it is habits acquired in youth (eating what your parents eat); marketing (commercials, ads, and in-store display and shelving techniques); community pressure; or perceived convenience, people seem unable to let go of old ways and even acknowledge that there might be something that is more appropriate to their own health or that is even just tastier!

Seems that folks don't like to go out of bounds. Sixteen years ago, when I announced to my friends and colleagues in Philly that I would be moving to California, the universal reaction was something like: "You'll fit in just fine with all the fruits and nuts." You see, I was known for my strange ways: eating tofu, eschewing animal foods that were harvested or raised in inhumane or environmentally damaging ways, boycotting certain foods in support of farm workers, etc.

Some people have commented that this project must be really hard to do. After all, eating an exotic food every day, all that cooking, how do you know what the ingredients are, etc. Well, that's the whole point isn't it. What I am discovering is that Indian restaurants by and large offer mostly the same sort of fare and do not go out of bounds in offering dishes that represent the kind of everyday fare (or even banquet fare) that is enjoyed by Southeast Asian families. (See review of Gordon Ramsay's Great Escape). Accordingly, if the only exposure one has to Indian food is from restaurants, one is missing out on 90% of the experience. Check out the recipes on this blog; you would be hard pressed to find anything like them in a typical Indian restaurant catering to "American" tastes. As for the cooking, I cook anyway, so, as I have said in other posts, it is not a big change in lifestyle and in some ways is easier.
Discovering something different is what this project is all about.

We hope that this project will takes not just out of our culinary bounds, but that we will discover what other bounds we are living in and break out of those as well.

Recipes

Roasted Yellow Split Pea and Coconut Chutney
Lord Krishna's Cuisine

2 T ghee, nut or vegetable oil
1/2 t black mustard seeds
1/4 cup yellow split peas or toovar dal
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
2/3 cup warm water
2-3 hot jalepeno chilies, chopped
1/3 yoghurt
1t salt
1/4 t yellow asafetida powder (hing)

Heat ghee or oil is a large frying pan. Drop in the black mustard seeds and fry until they begin to pop. Add the toovar dal and dry roast until the color darkens two shades. Add the coconut and stir fry 2-3 more minutes.
Place dal-coconut mixture in a blender and process to a powder. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth and creamy.

Spicy Plum Chutney
Lord Krishna's Cuisine

3 T ghee or mixture of butter and corn oil
1/2 t fennel seeds
1/4 t nigella seeds (kalonji)
1/2 t black mustard seeds
2 hot green chilies chopped
1 1/2 pounds Italian plums, pitted and chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cup sugar (I used 1/2 cup)
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup chopped toasted walnuts
1/4 cup fresh or dried ribbon coconut (I used dried grated)
2 T minced ginger

Heat the ghee or oil in a large heavy bottomed saucepan. Fry the seeds and chilies until the seeds start to pop. Add the plums, raisins, sugar, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes until thick. Remove from heat and stir in the walnuts, coconut and ginger.

You say Samoso I say Somasa...

I have Gershwin's song Let's Call the Whole Thing Off in my head every time I think of samosas. I'm not sure why. Maybe a remnant of listening to the Harry C. Jr. version the first time I ever had a decent one; maybe it is the fact the common US variety is a potato staple. We had a couple of samosas with dinner tonight and they were wonderful. It would be nice to come up with a baked version - which is a story for another day. The samosa as most know is an Indian filled pastry - hopefully a flaky one - filled with spiced meats or potato. They should be served with a mix of chutneys. Often considered a snack food they go just fine as an appetizer. Like many Indian foods there are regional differences. Apparently there are varieties in Northern India filled with raisins and pomegranate and topped with cumin, a much more exotic version than the common cauliflower, potato, and pea seasoned filling one will find in the UK or the US. Our friend John A. will be taking a 2 week trip to India with his better half shortly. We'll see if he can do a guest post with his samosa/tea shop experiences.

This weekend we will be giving the pie covered in an earlier post another take and doing some chutneys. Cheers :)

Moti Mahal Butter Chicken Meets Ramsay Meets Primavera

On the left is a cross-section of the delightful Indian apple pie - it was better the next day. I came home tonight to a phenomenal butter chicken recipe developed by Gordon Ramsay on his trip to India (based upon the Moti Mahal version) that Lisa adapted - replacing double cream for yogurt and using 1/3 the butter called for in the original recipe. There are a number of different versions of this recipe floating around, the key ingredients for the sauce are ghee, garlic, gloves, ginger, cardamon pods, cloves, corriander, garam masala, tumeric, chilli power, tomato puree, lemon juice, and dairy. The dish is so popular there are, get this pre-made butter chicken pastes for purchase (including on-line via Amazon). We can't vouch for any of them; but post one here out of utter shock/surprise. http://www.amazon.com/Asian-Home-Gourmet-Chicken-1-75-Ounce/dp/B000JX09HW.


We are going to work up a kosher version and perhaps replace the dairy with something; or, simply substitute the chicken for another protein. This chicken is really all the rage for a reason. It was hands down the best Indian poultry dish I ever had. We will get better with the pictures, the picture on the left is my plate a couple of minutes in to dinner when I realized, my goodness this is so amazing we need to photograph this. We had the same issue at the start with our first set of parathas (getting so excited we ate them before there was time for pictures).

Surprising and Delightful

Surprising and delightful. Take a look at the pie. What is surprising about it? Well, first, the cool crust. Michael has secretly been reading food blogs and got this crust idea. We needed an unusual crust to indicate that this is an unusual pie. I think that the outside of a pastry or goodie has to indicate somehow what is on the inside. We can talk about whether it needs to be a direct statement or should be a bit more coy or cryptic or ironic. So, Michael had the challenge of coming up with a crust that was not a regular apple pie crust. The second surprising thing about this pie is that the inside is not your run-of-the-mill apple filling. It is a fully spiced apple chutney! Yes, it includes cumin seeds, cayenne, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, cardamon, coconut, and walnuts.
Delightful is the taste. What a fun experience to bit into an apple pie and taste the cumin and then the cayenne. What is that next taste? Walnuts? Coriander seed? Nutmeg? I think this is a much more satisfying experience than a straight-up pie.
Surprising and delightful. My darling husband, who thought to make a pie out of chutney, who created a fun and charming crust, who just couldn't wait for this pie to cool. Yup, he's surprising and delightful.

I will post a recipe for the pie as soon as I have perfected the crust. This one did not come out quite right. Stay tuned.

So, it was hot here last week and I was craving some refreshing and cooling salads. Once again, I ate them up before I could take pictures. Lord Krishna's Cuisine was the source of my salad binge. I decided to do a mung bean and cucumber salad. This is a simple salad of soaked split mung beans, thinly sliced cucumbers, and julienned ginger that never made it out of the mixing bowl. I love the idea of soaked or lightly sprouted raw legumes in a salad. (I like to keep my diet about half raw foods).
Next, I did a string bean/yogurt salad that was just so rich that I almost felt guilty eating it. Then sweet potato salad with a maple citrus dressing. Then a spinach salad with a spiced citrus vinaigrette that I made up.

So here are the recipes:

Mung Dal Cucumber Salad
Lord Krishna's Cuisine

1/4 cup split mung dal (with or without skins)
1 cup water
1- 1 1/2 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
salt to taste
1 or 2 cucumbers (I used two persian cucumbers)
lemon or lime juice

Soak the dal in the water for at least 4 hours. Drain. Mix the dal with the ginger and salt. Cut the cucumbers into quarters lengthwise and then into one inch chunks (seed the cucumbers if you are using regular large cucumbers). Mound the dal onto a serving plate and surround by cucumbers and sprinkle with lemon or lime juice.

Green Bean in Yogurt Poppy Seed Sauce
Lord Krishna's Cuisine

3 T white poppy seeds or chopped cashews
2 hot green chilis
1/2 in ginger, chopped
1/2 t cumin seeds
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander or parsely
3/4 cup plain yogurt
1 pound green beans, trimmed, cut into 3 in pieces and steamed until tender-crisp
3 T butter or ghee
1 bay leaf
1t salt
1/4 t nutmeg

Powder the poppy seeds or cashews in a food processor. Add the chilis, ginger, cumin, half of the fresh herb and the yogurt. Blend until creamy. Heat the ghee in a large frying pan and toast the bay leaf. Pour in the green beans, yogurt sauce, salt and nutmeg and stir until combined and thickened. Can be served hot, warm, or cold.

Sweet potato salad in Maple-Lemon Vinaigrette
Lord Krishna's Cuisine

One sweet potato
1 T maple syrup
1 T orange or tangerine juice
1T lemon or lime juice
1/4 t salt
1/4 t ground black pepper or cayenne (or both!!!)
2 - 3 T olive oil
1/3 cup fresh coriander or parsley, chopped
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 medium tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped

Peel and dice the sweet potato. Steam or boil until tender. (Can also bake the potato and then dice) Combine the next ingredients (except for tomato) in a small bowl. Pour the dressing over the diced sweet potatoes. At serving time, gently mix in the tomato.

Lisa's Spiced Lemon Vinagrette

Juice of one lemon
2T olive or other oil
1/2 t each of cumin seeds, fennel seeds, fenugreek seeds.
salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil and gently toast the seeds. Allow the oil to cool for a few minutes. Mix the oil and seeds with the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Use to dress your favorite salad greens.

Sweet Meat Pies - This Paratha Rocks the Pan

The key to this set of parathas is in the 'fixings. Start with a sweet potato salad mixture (sweet potato, ginger, orange juice, maple syrup, olive oil, lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper). Boil and cool one regular russet potato. Mash the sweet potato mix and the russet potato together in a bowl. Mix in some dry masala and some red pepper to taste. Place the filling into your partha dough (we've included some recipes for the dough in earlier posts :) ). Fold over the ends to cover the mixture, flatten, and then cook about 2 minutes on each side. Brush each side lightly with extra virgin olive oil.

If you want a really good puff on the paratha and some extra flakiness (for the dough - getting flaky people is another story altogether) I've found using a rolling pin and doing multiple folds with the assistance of the pin is very helpful. A picture of the work in process and in the pan are included to the right. This one has a nice blend of hot spice, a bit of starch, some sweetness - it reminds me of a mellow BBQ marinade. Lisa has been hard at work on some chutneys this week including an apple coconut one that we are saving to eat with a Dodger game on Saturday. Pictures and and recipes to follow. Michael

Help End Poverty and Hunger

I suppose it makes sense for food bloggers to talk about helping those who don't have enough to eat. This article in the New York Times
about food insecurity in India reminded me how very lucky we are and how much we need to make sure that we care for those who need our help. Two organizations that we support are making a difference at a local and individual level in alleviating poverty, despair, and hunger in the world. Click on the logos or the names to go to their sites and donate.

American Jewish World Service (AJWS) is an international development organization motivated by Judaism’s imperative to pursue justice. AJWS is dedicated to alleviating poverty, hunger and disease among the people of the developing world regardless of race, religion or nationality. Through grants to grassroots organizations, volunteer service, advocacy and education, AJWS fosters civil society, sustainable development and human rights for all people, while promoting the values and responsibilities of global citizenship within the Jewish community.

Heifer International is a global nonprofit with a proven solution to ending hunger and poverty in a sustainable way. Heifer helps empower millions of families to lift them out of poverty and hunger to self-reliance through gifts of livestock, seeds and trees and extensive training, which provide a multiplying source of food and income.

Before you make another meal, make a donation to one or both of these organizations.

Goin' Smoothly

So, I spent some time today going over the old blog posts and trying to set up my recipes page linking to the recipes in the posts. That is coming along. I realized that I am at a sort of equilibrium phase where I have my routine for cooking and eating my Indian foods. I am actually eating mostly Indian (or Indian inspired) foods all day. So here is how my day goes. In the morning, I make a smoothie and a dosa. Since I always have the batter on the counter, it is just a matter of heating up the pan. For lunch I have pre-made foods such as a rice, dal, chutney, vegetables, tofu or paneer, etc. I make a lot of good stuff once or twice a week and just re-heat for lunch.
For dinner I often make chapti, roti, or paratha and have that with another smoothie or some dal and veggies. Check out tonight's dinner. The roti recipe is below. Accompaniment is a sweet potato and parsnip sambar (see recipe section for Quick Sambar).

I picked up the smoothie habit when I did a cleanse from the book Clean by Alejandro Junger. His recipes include lots of spices such as tumeric, cinnamon, and cardamon for their cleansing and healthful properties. So a morning smoothie might look something like this:

Morning smoothie

Choose from the following ingredients and mix and match (amounts are up to you)

frozen fruit such as mango, peach, pineapple,
fresh fruit such as apple or pear
raw almond butter
raw cashews or cashew butter
avocado
fresh young coconut meat
raw pumpkin and raw sunflower seeds
spinach
romaine lettuce
coconut water
coconut milk
chili peppers
fresh herbs such as basil, watercress, parsley, mint, dill, coriander
dried powdered spices such as cardamon, tumeric, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, allspice

To make a smoothie, put 8-10 oz of pure water in your blender and add 1/2 - 1 cup of fruit, a generous handful of greens, 1-2 Tablespoons of one or two fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, coconut) and a complementary herb and spice blend. Blend it up until very smooth (if not using frozen fruit, add a couple of ice cubes to keep it cold or put the blended smoothie in the fridge to cool).

Tonight, I made a roti that was out of this world. I just used a basic roti concept and put together this little gem:

Chili, coconut, mint/basil roti

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup besan (chickpea flour)
1t salt
1/2 -1 serrano chili - minced
1T each fresh mint and fresh basil - minced
2T dried shredded coconut
1/3 - 1/2 cup water

Mix together the dry ingredients, including chili, mint, basil and coconut in a bowl.
Add water a bit at a time until you get a workable dough (not too wet, it will come together when you knead it). Knead until soft and pliable. Set aside under a bowl or towel to rest for 30 min. Cut the dough into 6 pieces and roll each into a ball. Flatten each ball and roll out to a six inch circle. Heat up a skillet and place one roti at a time on the hot skillet. Cook until brown spots form and then flip. It may or may not puff up. Flip again and cook briefly until it seems done. Try to resist! HA! can't do it, can you?

Anniversary Makhni

Our 9th wedding anniversary is on Monday. Every year we dedicate an entire weekend to this milestone and celebrate the things we love about one another. Some years we adopt a theme. Since we are in the middle of the Paratha Project no theme required this year. (This is much better than the year we did a whole tropical thing complete with watching a ton of old Gilligan's Island episodes. Although I think Lisa looks lovely with her imitation Mrs. Howell blue diamond ring I liberated from a costume jewelry store in Glendale.)

Sol gave us an unintentional gift today, full into the swing of our project he wanted a snack to accompany his movie watching with Yael. "Dad, do we have any Indian food left that would be good with this movie?" "Chicken Makhni and garlic naan? Yeah, that sounds good." In a world where most 7 year olds would prefer a bag of fried/salted something or other this is a nice present to receive. (Chicken Makhni is a tandoor cooked chicken served in a saffron and tomato sauce; and fun to say, particularly if you repeat it a couple of times.) We took this evening off from the Indian food and had a delightful time at Crustacean in B.H. Sunday will be a day of cooking and baking :)

Answer to Dosa Dilema

The answer to Michael's observation that dosas can't be whipped up in a hurry is here. http://vahrehvah.com/Rava+Dosa+Quick+version:3281 Semolina dosas without the soaking and fermenting. The key is to have potatoes cooked up and in the fridge. If you want rice/dal dosas, just keep the batter on the counter or fridge at all times. You can always have a batch brewing and make dosas any time.

I also have been throwing together a quick stir fry of tofu and veggies with an almond meal sauce at breakfast time to eat with my dosas. Here is a picture and a recipe.

Lisa's tofu almond veggie

Amounts are up to you.

Extra Firm tofu, cut into cubes
veggies of your choice (zucchini, spinach, eggplant, carrots) cubed
Ginger, cut into matchsticks
Red pepper flakes
garam masala powder
water
almond meal

Heat oil in a saute pan, saute the ginger and red pepper for a minute. Put in tofu and toss and stir fry until slightly golden. Throw in the veggies and stir fry until tender. add garam masala and cook for a minute. Add some water (you want to make a little bit of a sauce) so maybe a half cup of water and deglaze your pan a bit. then stir in about two table spoons of almond meal and simmer lightly until the sauce is thick. That's it.
Eat it with rice or dosas or chapati.

Short Stack, Short Stack, Syrup on Top

Indian Breakfasts. Hmm. Griddle cakes with some type of sweet topping are nothing unique to the US. This morning a friend brought in some Rawa Dosas for me to sample at the work place. They were fantastic and served with sambhar although a bit of grade B maple syrup would have probably been delightful as well. The down-side to this treat is they are more labour intensive to make than the typical pancake. I've seen Lisa whip-up buckwheat pancakes in a few minutes. The recipe and ingredients for the Rawa Dosas are below. Something we'll give a go at over a weekend. I couldn't see doing this on a workday night/afternoon and putting them up for another day.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup semolina, 1 1/2 cup of rice, 1 1/2 cup split black gram lentil, 1 cup sour curd, 4 yukon gold potatos, handful of mustard seeds, 1/3 tsp tumeric powder, 1/3 teaspon chilli powder, curry leaves to taste, 1 tsp sea salt

Steps:
Soak the rice for a couple of hours, grind the rice to a batter and add H2O to make a paste, soak semolina in the curd for an hour and mix with batter and store for 2 hours. Add salt and ferment for 12 hours. Cut the potatos into small pieces. Heat 2 teaspons of oil in a pan, add potatos, salt, chilli powder, and tumeric and then mix in to dough. Oil pan and then spoon in pancake sized amounts and cook about 2 minutes (flipping between).

Are We Don Gorske?

Don Gorske of recent fame from the Morgan S. film Super Size Me reportedly ate at least one McDonald's Big Mac for the past 36 years, surpassing 23,000 in total (and apparently only missing 8 days during that streak). So what makes me think of Gorske. Today I was in a Starbucks coffee shop buying an iced Chai and it occurred to me that many of their patrons stop there every day for a cup of coffee/tea and perhaps some pastry. Is it an escape from the drudgery of their work-day, some type of routine, a guilty pleasure, or OCD of the Gorske type with perhaps less of a potential adverse health impact (by all reports Gorske is 6'2", 185 lbs, and in good health - so he's apparently beating the odds with his habit or addiction depending on your view). Given the chance I think I could easily drink a cup of decaf Chai (preferably iced) every day for 36 years; but I don't think anyone would want to write a story about it - even if I did keep the receipt for every cup like Gorske did for his Big Macs.

Then there is the concept of our project itself - making and eating at least one Indian meal a day for a year. There's a point behind this project of course. Something broadening and mind opening (we hope) about it with the upside of also providing us with a meaningful activity to do together and culturally enrich our lives. It is hard to say the same thing about the Big Macs and probably equally hard regarding the coffee and tea thing. When I came home tonight Lisa had a pot of Chai ready for consumption. A mixture of black peppercorns, fennel seeds, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamon, and decaf English Breakfast tea. It was easy enough to drink 2 small cups of it, which I did. I am no more a Don Gorske than the next Starbucks regular but something inside me has me wondering whether we should really care about the Big Mac guy and whether our blog will inspire others to try something new in the culinary field for a sustained period of time to break out of a rut, bring them closer together with someone, or expand their interests?

Chai Tea? Isn't that Redundant?

It is hard to believe we have gone this long without writing about Chai. I believe Chai translates to "tea." But, most commercial versions of it in the US call it "Chai Tea?" Huh, does that make sense? I reminds me of when people refer to tortellini as tortellinis - adding the "s" to an Italian name for a type of pasta that is already in the plural form. On Sunday the kids and I went for a city hike to the Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on North Robertson. I'm not much of a fan for the great outdoors; I like the scenery and exercise but the lack of an available/reliable/clean loo is often a deal killer for us.

Back to the Chai. We tried a decaf iced version of the CB&TL Chai that had a very delicate cinnamon undertone. Solly was particularly fond of it. Later in the day we played around with our own versions in the kitchen. There are hundreds of different recipes easily found on the web. The one we made had a cardamon seed base with cinnamon and a little black pepper to which we added some fresh clover honey. The first batch didn't come out well and we used it to water the garden. The second batch was a bit better and we'll experiment with it some more over the next few weeks. One limitation to our test - we didn't add any dairy or soy substitute to it which is probably a good thing since it meant there was no cover up for Chai. Our recipe is as follows:

Spices: 8 black peppercorns, 2 cinnamon sticks, 2 cardamon seeds
Other: 1 1/2 cups of waters, 2 table spoons of clover honey, and 2 tea bags of strong black tea

We've attached a link below with some nice recipes to try out. Michael

http://www.chai-tea.org/recipes.html

Electric Karma on 3rd Street

Electric Karma. Modern Indian music, think Monsoon Wedding, with low sofas, and a pleasant and eclectic decor. We went with a tofu saag which Sol said was not only fantastic; but, that he had to stop eating because his stomach was going to explode. We sampled their breads as well. The garlic naan was to die for; the best we have seen in a long time. The kids started with a couple of samosas that were juicy and spiced just right. This is a place that does not go through the charade of trying to be high-end foo-foo cuisine. The dishes are appropriately proportioned, the staff friendly and informed, and the place down-to-earth and welcoming. It is a good place for a dinner get together, a party with old friends, or a family gathering. We are going to try and replicate the saag on Sunday. Michael

Cool Coconut Rice with Pistacios

Today was a day to experiment in the kitchen. We made a coconut rice with cinnamon, cardamon seeds, black pepper, and dry roasted pistachios. Saffron was added for some extra kick. We adapted this from the G. Ramsay book and some different traditional rice dishes profiled in the Krishna book. It came out OK. There is clearly a trick to cooking with basmati rice and I haven't gotten it down to perfection yet. I did a basic scrambled egg over the rice and shredded some pecorino ramano over the dish - kind of an Indian staple meats breakfast meets old school Italian meal. This is real comfort food and would go nicely as a breakfast with a copy of the New York Times Sunday paper and a good cup of tea.

On Saturday we are going to explore a place on the West Side called Electric Karma. The seating and decor look quite nice; and, our expectations are high it will be pretty authentic based upon some reviews we've read of it. Michael

Trader Joes' & Indian Food

Lisa is in Philly and South Jersey this week. Her father Jerry has passed at the age of 94. Solly suggested we take today to explore Trader Joes' and the type of Indian take and carry meal we could make. We tried putting together a tikki-tofu-rice meal from pre-packaged items. But it lacked a bite and had a mushy texture. The hit was something likely cooked up in the company's Pasadena lab; a masala tandori naan. We could not find a recipe for it anywhere on-line or in the classic cookbooks. A bit doughy but with plenty of spice. Cooks well at 450 degrees for 5 minutes - a few drops of water on top before re-heating will do wonders for it and the texture. Solly says it pairs best with cheddar cheese and pears.

Jerry your spirit, humor, sense of family, and friendship will be missed. Michael

Dal-roti khaya?

Dal-roti khaya? I learned that this is an idiomatic expression to ask someone if they've eaten lunch yet? Literally translated this means "did you eat bread and lentil soup?" One of Michael's mates taught me that. I had corresponded with him and his wife to ask if they could clarify the difference between roti and chapati. Well, the response was delicious. I was treated to a culinary/cultural/linguistic lesson that took me through many regions of India!

First, I the big picture: there is very little difference between roti and chapati. The terms are often used interchangeably and moreoever in north & central India, people generally refer to Bread as Roti.

Then a bit of culture: For example, if some asks a friend "Dal-roti khaya?". He means "have you had lunch?", literal translation "did you eat bread and lentil soup?"; here the Roti could be any type - chapati, puri, naan or roti. hope you get the idea.

Now for some culinary detail: Technically, the three main differences are a) Chapati's are thinner & flufflier b) Chapati uses fine wheat flour ( usually thin or medium) c) rotis could be wheat or other flour.

Finally a course of linguistics: There are also regional variations. e.g in Gujarat, chapatis are called 'rotli' in local language; in Maharastra (where Mumbai is), chapati is called 'phulka-roti', in Southern India it is called 'chapathy', in Punjab (where most Sikhs are), roti generally means 'makke-di-roti' i.e. roti made of corn.

I'm full!

Just wanted to show you all how really easy it is to put together these meals. First, I always have some dosa batter in the fridge (it keeps for a couple of days) so I can make a fresh dosa whenever I feel like it. Second, always have leftovers: Michael made aloo paratha on Sunday and we had some potato-pea mixture left over. So, this morning, I quickly cooked up a dosa and then sauteed the left over potatoes with some fennel, fennugreek, and cumin seeds and used that to fill a couple of dosas. Check out the photos. YUM!

what? huh? where am I?

Whew! I spent the last couple days in a spice-induced trance, I think. So, on Friday afternoon, I decided to make some paneer. That's a fresh cheese and it's easy to make. Now, I have a bit of a history with cheese making: a very unfortunate history. When I was about 11 years old, I got it into my head that I wanted to make cheese. I persuaded my parents to get me a cheese making kit. I did all the steps (my parents memorialized this in photos, wish I could find them), and the cheese turned out - just dreadful. I wish I could have had a bit more encouragement to keep at it...I just didn't realize that cheese making is an art, and requires practice. In today's internet age, I could watch videos on how to make paneer at Manjula's Kitchen, and feel pretty confident that I could do it. I made an attempt a couple weeks ago that did not turn out very well. I discovered that I added too much lemon juice to the hot milk. So this time, I tried and added the juice a teaspoon at a time. Well, it turned out just great! You can see the soft curds in the muslin, the pressed paneer (after about an hour), the sauteed cubes and the final dish, zucchini, eggplant, and bell peppers with panner and some chapati. Hooray! I did it, I made paneer. It was quite good, mild, firm, and creamy delicious. That is what led to the trance. The dish I made was from Lord Krishna's Cuisine. Heavy on the fresh ginger and hot red pepper. Out of this world. No, really, I think I ended up in another universe. OK not really, but I did feel transported to new culinary heights. I made the paneer with regular whole cow's milk, but I think I might try goat milk next time. I like a stronger taste and that might be good.
Here is the recipe for the dish I made - I added eggplant, because I had eggplant.

Panir Louki Tarkari
Lord Krishna's Cuisine

1/2 T ground coriander
1/2 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground fennel
1/4 t tumeric
3/4 t garam masala
1/4 cup fresh or dried grated coconut
1/2 cup water
4 T ghee or mixture of veg oil and butter
6 0z fresh panir, cubed (go to Manjulaskitchen.com on my links to see how she makes it)
1 whole dried red chili (I used crushed red pepper)
1 inch peeled ginger sliced thin
7-8 small zucchini or other summer squash, cubed
2 small red or yellow bell peppers, cut into thin strips
1 1/4 t salt
1 medium tomato, diced
3 T chopped fresh cilantro or parsely

Combine the coriander, cumin, fennel, turmeric, garam masala, coconut, and water in a small bowl and set aside.
Heat ghee or oil in a large saute pan or wok. Saute panir cubes, until nicely browned. Take out of pan and drain on paper towels.
Add a bit more oil to pan if it is dry and then add chili and ginger and stir fry for a minute. Add zucchini and bell peppers (and any other firm veggie, like eggplant) and saute until tender-crisp. Add salt, spice paste, tomato, and panir cubes and saute until the spices are cooked out and smell delicious. Add fresh herbs to serve.

See, now isn't that easy? This dish is transcendent. Eat it with chapati and a beer and have a lost weekend of your own.