Madras - English-styled Indian Curry

This Madras is a very traditional English-styled Indian curry. A blend of black mustard seeds, salt and fresh ground pepper, turmeric, fresh or dried curry leaves, two or three little dried chilies, and a spice called asafoetida. It has a sharp and unpleasant smell when raw, but when heated, it mellows out into a smooth scent and flavor similar to caramelized onions.



Cook your vegetables and/or meat in sesame seed oil, half a lemon or lime's worth of juice, a splash of malted vinegar, and the spices on medium low. Add 3/4 cup coconut milk with the cream.

This was served with shaved savoy cabbage and basmati with peas. I ladled extra curry over the top and the rice soaked up the juices. The coconut milk and it's cream took the heat out of the spice, less cream would put the teeth back in this curry.

Halibut Cream Curry

2 tbls coconut oil                                          1 cup heavy cream

1 onion, minced                                           1 tbls garam masala

2 tbls finely chopped fresh ginger        Salt

4 garlic cloves, minced                        1 lb. halibut fillets, cut into 4-inch pieces

1 tsp cayenne pepper                           Small red potatoes, quartered

1 tsp turmeric                                           A pinch of saffron threads, crumbled

1 tsp ground coriander                         Peas

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt            Basmati rice

In large wok, heat the oil. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the cayenne, turmeric and coriander and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in the yogurt, then add the cream, garam masala and saffron and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Add the halibut to the sauce and turn to coat. Cook over moderate heat, turning once, until the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes. 

Pot boil quartered potatoes. Add rice, potatoes, and frozen peas to the wok, turning over gently. Cover for 5 minutes. Serve with a large salad and fruit.

Pineapple Teriyaki Turkey

This recipe is excellent for all of your leftover turkey, though any poultry will do.

Start rice in a pot on the back of the stove. In a fry pan, use whole butter or ghee to fry mustard seed, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and coconut powder. Once the butter just starts to brown, slide all of the seasonings into the rice pot, stir once, then cover.

In the same pan add the poultry that has been marinating in pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, malt vinegar, and flake salt. At this point you can also add your vegetables. I used baby carrots. Cook on medium low for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.




Add frozen peas to the rice, fluff with a fork, re-cover, letting sit for the last five minutes that the turkey is cooking..

In a large bowl, pour in the rice then add the glazed turkey. Dish and enjoy!

Raita and Naan

2 tsp each of yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup warm water, 3 cups of flour, 4 tbls sesame seed oil, and 1 tbls salt

Proof the yeast for 20 minutes. Blend all of the ingredients together. Allow to rise in a covered, oiled bowl for 1 hour. Divide into six even pieces. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and add the cookie sheet to warm. Roll out each piece and lay them on the hot pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve hot. Oil,  minced garlic, flake salt, and parsley are great on these!

Raita is slivered cucumber, strained yogurt, juiced ginger, mint, crushed coriander seeds and ground cumin. Blend well and chill before serving. Excellent with spicy dishes.

Aloo Dum (Potatoes In Masala) Vegan

6 medium red skinned potatoes, chopped to bite size
4 tbls sesame oil

6 big garlic cloves, crushed

4 tbls flake salt

Put in a large pan and cook until potato pieces are lightly browned and fully cooked. Slide the potatoes into a large casserole dish and set aside.

8 medium sized ripe tomatoes, each cut into four quarters
1 medium sized yellow onion, chopped
1 tbls corriander seeds
1 oz slivered fresh ginger
4 tbls cup fresh finely powdered coconut

3 chillies, minced
1 tbls cumin seeds 

2 tsp cumin powdered
½ teaspoon cracked peppercorns
1 tsp cardamon, ground

1 tsp cinnamon, ground

1 tsp clove, ground
2 tsp seasame seed oil

Put all of the ingredients into a sauce pot, cover, and cook on high for ten minutes. Turn down the heat and blend with a stick blender a few bursts until the sauce is chunky, not pureed.

Pour over the potatoes and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Serve with a large salad, raita, and naan.

Indian Cuisine: A dinner and a show.

Have you ever read a book, watched a movie, admired a glossy photograph in a magazine and imagined yourself doing that. Creating a pureed shmear of beets with an off centered Tournedos Rossini with spears of white asparagus? Or thinly sliced smoked quail with a crackling foie gras and a pineapple confit? Sure you do. That luscious almost erotic quality of a beautifully plated dish hits some primal nerve and drives us to want a small dish of something flavorful, fatty, something that hits our palates and tantalizes us as we try to figure out what that elusive ingredient is.

Today while taking a lunch break, in between running errands and carting children to the orthodontist I put my feet up for a short movie, called Today's Special. In the long list of food movies, this isn't really up there with the greats. It's no Like Water For Chocolate, it's no Babette's Feast, but it does intrigue the senses, particularly if you've ever eaten really good Indian food. 

It's like India Gate here in the city, or Kabab & Curry out on Transit. It isn't food porn but it sure entertains the palate. I refer to all Indian and Pakistani food as "dinner and a show", and this movie highlights that delightful aspect of that continent's cuisine. In the end you see all sorts of fancy dishing going on, but the real basic dishes stay true to form, five ingredient dishes, saucy, hot, ohhh...

So tonight is was a date like dinner for two with home made Tandoori chicken on fluffy Basmati that was fried in sesame oil before boiling water was added (This is the trick to perfect Indian rice). Minced mint, cilantro, deep red sweet peppers and garlic hummus with Lebanese flat bread and tangy plain yogurt.





Tandoori sauce: salt, ground pepper, cumin, coriander, garlic, ginger, chilies, onion, nutmeg, mace, turmeric, lemon juice, vinegar, sesame and olive oil, plain yogurt