Catching Up

Time flies when you're having fun with little boys. Especially if the weather has finally turned Spring- like. That said, today is back to being around the freezing point. So back to coats and looking forward to the day when I can put them away until next year. I did get a chance to do some writing.... about another cookbook... Bal's Quick and Healthy Indian ... and a couple of really wonderful dishes from it.

Grilled Shrimp with Garlic & Fennel Dip

Punjabi-style Mushrooms

Both dishes, plus a great tip on making rice (never my strong suit) were delicious. The shrimp will be made often as an appetizer or part of an International Tapas... meaning tasty nibbles from just about anywhere, served all together. The leftofter mushrooms were even better the next day as filling for an omelet. I was too busy enjoying the aroma and the taste to get a photo.

Now I'm off for another visit since, shortly after taking the picture at the top of the page, I said I had to leave and Boaz said ... "that's a very BAD idea!" Dinner tonight will be Mexican Chicken Mole from another lovely book I've been reading by David Lebovitz... The Sweet Life in Paris More about that later.

Don't forget that Friday is another Presto Pasta Night Roundup and this week, Allie of Yum in Tum is hosting. Send your PPN entries to bahpeanut (at)gmail (dot)com and cc ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by tomorrow night (Thursday) to be included.

Indian Food On the Brain

Perhaps it's the latest two cookbooks that have come across my desk... How to Cook Indianby Sanjeev Kapoor, who is new to me, but often called "the Rachel Ray of India" and currently touring North America, promoting his new book, and Bal Arneson (a long time favorite of mine) with a new book called Bal's Quick and Healthy Indian. Perhaps it's that I love Indian food and have, on more than one occasion, created a feast for friends and family (the photo is of a gathering before we left Toronto, the menu is still a favorite of ours). Perhaps it was the Malabar Coconut Shrimp I made at Kraft Canada, Or perhaps because there's a lovely Indian grocery shop right here in Halifax that actually has all the ingredients I could need.

I will be writing about the books very soon, but I thought I'd direct you to America's Test Kitchen's latest video that hit my inbox - Easy Chicken Tikka Masala. It had me drooling before breakfast. I always love the tips, techniques and well tested recipes from the kitchens if Cooks Illustrated, Cook's Country TV and, of course America's Test Kitchen.
What's your favorite Indian dish? Perhaps I'll include that at my next Indian feast.

Thursday Delight - Boaz & Indian Food

I love my Thursdays with Boaz - yesterday we watched Shrek 3D. Of course Bo loved his "glasses" so much, he tried walking around in them...not a great idea.

I also had Indian food on the brain, wanting to make some very tasty looking treats from my newest cookbook...more later. Supper-making was definitely going to be a challenge though.

My daughter was going to come by with the baby, but needed to eat an early dinner because she was off to write an exam (she did fine, by the way), her husband was not quite sure about his ETA (shopping with his sister for an anniversary present for his parents), and my Honey, who was supposed to be home around 5:30 to get in his "kids fix", ended up having to work late.

All in all a very staggered meal. And let me preface by saying that although I love Indian food, I rarely make it. That's because I think it takes all day...and that's because when I do make it, I make a gazillion dishes. The truth is...most dishes are either very quick, last minute or long slow cooking that takes but a few minutes to prepare and then left alone, filling the house with exotic aromas.

These Palak Pakoras (hard to tell they're golf-sized balls from the photo) are the exception to the rule. The "batter" doesn't take long to throw together, but you have to deep fry them...no gasping, please. If you do that at medium high heat (360F/180C) they take about 5 minutes per batch (I can only do 4 at a time) and come out crispy, not greasy. So it took me about 45 minutes. My challenge was to do them before Bo arrived. Somehow exceedingly hot oil and a curious two year old don't mix well. That meant a very early start to the day.

This awesome Masala Shrimp & Avocado (my Honey's not a fan of avocados and he didn't even notice...just thought the dish, heavenly) took less than 5 minutes to saute after letting the peeled shrimp sit in their rub for about 15 minutes.

An old family favorite Turmeric Rice (very aromatic) is from one of my favorite Indian Cookbooks -Madhur Jaffrey's Illustrated Indian Cookery. It was easy to do between reading a bunch of new Thomas the Tank Engine books a friend gave us and him reading them to me.

And, because I never think I have enough food...I roasted some salmon fillets just dusted with a gorgeous red Tandoor masala powder. No recipe required...unfortunately...no photo either. But trust me, it was beautiful on the table beside that vivid yellow rice, light green shrimp and the dark green pakoras.

Oh...and did I mention that Boaz made the papadum. He was very good at pressing the right microwave buttons and letting me know when it stopped turning around on the plate.

Turmeric Rice - Peelay Chaaval

Turmeric Rice – Peelay Chaaval
From Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery

Printable Recipe

Serves 6

Prep time: 5 minutes
Soak time: 30 minutes
cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:
15 oz/450ml basmati rice
2 pints/1.2 l plus 1 pint/600ml water
1 tsp salt
¾ tsp ground turmeric
3-4 whole cloves
1” cinnamon stick
3 bay leaves
3 tbsp butter or ghee (Indian clarified butter) cut into small pats

Directions:

1. Put rice in a large bowl and rinse several times, until the water is clear. Drain and pour 2 pints/1.2 litres fresh water over the rice and let it soak for 30 minutes. Drain rice in a sieve.

2. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, combine the rice, 1pint/600ml fresh water, salt, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves. Bring to a boil.

3. Cover and reduce the heat to very low. Cook for 25 minutes without lifting the lid. Turn off the heat and let the pot rest (still covered) for another 10 minutes.

4. Add the pats of butter to the rice and gently mix with a fork.

5. Remove the whole spices before serving.

This is a great rice to accompany any grilled meat, fish or chicken dish.

Related links: Food and Drink Recipes meat Indian Food