Bhatkali Biryani - Indian rice dish

2 1/2 cups basmati rice                                   salt to taste
1/4 cup cooking oil                                         3 tomatoes, chopped
8 whole cloves                                                 4 green chile peppers, halved lengthwise
4 black cardamom pods                                   7 1/2 cups water
4 cinnamon sticks                                           1 onion, sliced
4 large onions, sliced thin                              2 tbls lemon juice
1 tbls garlic paste                                             2 small carrots, chopped

1 tbls ginger paste                                           1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves         1 sweet red pepper, chopped
3 tbls chopped fresh mint leaves                 2 tbls plain yogurt
1 pound lamb chops                                      1/2 tsp saffron

1 teaspoon salt                                                 2 tbls warm milk

1 tbls oil                                                        


Place the basmati rice in a large container and cover with several inches of cool water. Let stand 30 minutes and then drain.

Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet over medium hear; fry the cloves, cardamom pods, and cinnamon sticks in the hot oil until fragrant for about 1 minute. Add the onions. Cook and stir until the onions are lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Stir the garlic paste and ginger paste into the onion mixture; cook until the garlic and ginger is fragrant, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the cilantro and mint over the mixture and cook 1 minute.

Add the lamb chops to the skillet; season with salt. Cook and stir the lamb for about 20 minutes until the meat begins to brown.

Stir the tomatoes, green chile peppers, carrots, peas, sweet red pepper into the mixture; continue cooking until the oil begins to separate from the gravy, about 10 minutes. Add the yogurt and lemon juice; cover and cook until the lamb is tender, about 15 minutes. Add water as needed to keep the mixture from getting too dry.

Bring the rice, 7 1/2 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a saucepan until the rice is nearly done yet a little chewy, 10 to 15 minutes. Drain any excess water.

Heat 1 tbls oil in a small skillet; fry the sliced onion in the hot oil until lightly browned. Layer about half the rice in the bottom of a deep pot with a lid. Spoon the lamb masala over the rice. Spread the fried onion over the lamb masala. Top with the remaining rice. Stir the saffron and warm milk together in a small bowl; pour over the top layer of rice. Cover the pot with the lid and place the pot over low heat; cook until the rice is thoroughly cooked, about 15 minutes.

Super Gyro Shawarma

Art by Anna Rettberg

So by now I should be able to post this and not worry about posting *Spoiler Alert*, right? If you haven't seen it yet, stay till the very end. You never leave a Marvel movie till the projector shuts off. If you stayed, congratulations, you're awesome! I decided to try my hand at making some Super Gyro Shawarma...

2 lbs  lamb fillet (picked up from African Market Halal in the Westside)
3 1/2 oz. tallow, suet or lard
1/4 cup vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp each of nutmeg, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, ground cloves, allspice, finely ground pepper, mistika (pestle ground gum mastic also called arabic gum), and sea salt

Cut the lamb fillet and fat into very thin strips.

Mix the seasoning together with the vinegar and the olive oil.

Combine the lamb and fat strips in a bowl with the seasoning mixture and let marinate overnight, or at least for three hours.

Homemade pita bread

Heat a large skillet, set to high. Add the lamb and fat strips and cook over high heat until the fat melts and the lamb strips turn brown.

Serve with lemon juice thinned tahini sauce, thinly sliced red onion, thin strips of lettuce, hummus (red pepper hummus from the Lexington Co-op), tomatoes, tzatziki, and cracked pepper all rolled in a warmed fluffy pita bread.

Peach, Beet and Tarragon Pie with Homemade Vanilla Bean Chip Ice Cream

Peaches from Tom Towers Farm

Sunset Beets from Bozard Farm

Tarragon from Native Offerings

I came across this pie in search of Amish pie recipes. It called for cubes of soft cheese and other herbs and little crisp bits of sausage, but I was looking for something sweeter.

So I left out the the cheese and sausage and limited the bouquet of herbs down to one, the licorice flavored French Tarragon and one spice, cinnamon.

I reduced the sugar to one cup and added two extra pats of butter. The crust was crimped, washed with melted butter and cream and sprinkled liberally with cinnamon and sugar.

Baked for 40 minutes at 380 degrees, the pie was robust and savory. Couldn't tell by eye which were peach and which were beet after baking, but the flavors were noticeable enough. Mixed reviews from the family. However, since I love earthy and savory flavors, I really enjoyed it.

The vanilla bean chip ice cream was a snap to make. The bean soaked in hot water and then was minced and added to 1 pint of heavy cream, one cup of milk, 1/2 cup raw organic sugar and 2 tsp vanilla bean paste. Blended for 30 minutes in the ice cream maker, this soft ice cream was a great accompaniment to this unusual pie.

Beef Sukha, Curried Potatoes, and 7 Grains

Sukha is from coastal west India and combines styles from Malabari and Goan provinces.

This onion looked so juicy and delicious, like an apple, that I had to capture it before rough chopping it and frying it in a pan with oil, cinnamon, cloves, and vinegar.

1 1/2 lb beef
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp white pepper
3 tsp curry powder
2 tsps cumin powder
1 large onion chopped
2 tbsps ginger paste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder (optional)
2 1/2 cups yogurt
3 tsp vinegar

These diced potatoes are boiled in just enough water to cover them. Drain and add one stick of unsalted butter or 8 oz of ghee. Sprinkle liberally with curry and cover until the butter has melted.










Seeds of Change 'Tigris' is so good it's....I can't say anything more without sounding like a paid sponsor. But really, it's just that scrumptious!

So to top off all of this amazingly complex flavorful food I found this sparkling water to go with it. 

My family really liked the lavender, which is very nice, but I was impressed with the DRY cucumber soda which suited the dish. I highly recommend them!

Rennisance Chicken Stewed in La Fiera Puglia's Moscato, Shallots, Apples, and Dried Fruits

Chicken fried then stewed in La Fiera Puglia's Moscato, dried cherries and currants, a sliced Pink Lady apple, minced ginger and shallots, and freshly grated cinnamon and nutmeg.

 Dredge chicken thighs in flour, salt and pepper and fry in olive oil. Then remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Add 1 1/2 cups Moscato to the pan and scrape up the flour bits. Add dried fruits, minced shallots and ginger, sprinkle in the cinnamon and nutmeg.

Stir well and then layer in the apples. Cover and reduce the heat, cooking for 10 minutes. Then add in the chicken and continue to cook for 20 more minutes.

Serve with bread and butter and the the rest of the Moscato.

Mile High Apple Pie

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) butter, chilled
1 ounce (2 tablespoons) lard, chilled
6 ounces (approximately 1 cup) all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling dough
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 cup ice water, in spritz bottle

Place butter and lard in freezer for 15 minutes. When ready to use, remove and cut both into small pieces.

In a large glass or ceramic bowl, combine flour and salt pulsing 3 to 4 times with a  hand mixer. Add butter and pulse 5 to 6 times until texture looks mealy. Add lard and pulse another 3 to 4 times. Spritz surface of mixture thoroughly with water. Pulse 5 times. Add more water and pulse again until mixture holds together when squeezed. Place mixture in large zip-top bag, squeeze together until it forms a ball, and then press into a rounded disk and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Chill your pie pan in the fridge.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Cut along 2 sides of the plastic bag, open bag to expose dough, and sprinkle both sides with flour. Cover again with plastic and roll out with a rolling pin to a 10 to 11-inch circle. Open plastic again and sprinkle top of dough with flour. Remove pie pan from the fridge and set the pan on top of the dough. Turn everything upside down and peel plastic from bottom of dough. Set aside the second disk of dough. Trim edges if necessary, and then place back in the fridge for 15 minutes.

Peel, core and cut up 10 to 12 nice sized Ginger Crisp or Golden Delicious apples and pile into the center of pie. Sprinkle liberally with sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add several pats of butter. Layer second crust on top and pinch edges. Make no less that 4 slits. Wash crust liberally with heavy cream, half & half or whole milk and then sprinkle well with sugar. Bake at 375 degrees until golden brown.

Serve warm with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream!