We went out for Mike's birthday last week to Kokila, a very good Indian restaurant specializing in Southern cuisine, and while I loved my dishes, his bhindi masala was just superb. Hopefully this one comes close!
Followup: Oh yeah. This was GREAT! I've never liked okra, but this rocked!
Copied with slight variations from this wonderful blog
1 lb bhindi (okra)
1 medium yellow onion
1-2 ripe tomatoes, (1 is enough if it is large)
2-3 T oil
1/8th tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp amchoor (dried raw mango powder)
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt, or to taste
2 T chopped cilantro, optional
Clean okra with a damp towel, and after it is completely dry, slice into thin rounds, discarding the ends. Slice the onion thinly and dice the tomato finely.
In a large wok, heat the oil, and add mustard seeds. When they start to pop, add cumin and fennel seeds, followed by onion, and saute for a minute. Add turmeric and okra and saute till it starts to change color slightly. Let it cook for a few minutes, then add the tomatoes and chili powder, and continue to stir-fry on medium-low heat until everything is cooked together, which takes 5-10 minutes depending on the okra. At the end, add salt, and the remaining spices, and keep cooking for a few more minutes on low heat, stirring if required. Add cilantro.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Mango chicken curry with rice
I've been searching for a curry my mother used to make for a very long time. However, the base of it was a KnorrSwiss curry mix that isn't available any more (believe me, I've tried to find this!) and Mom added to it with curry powder she'd gotten in Johannesburg, asking a friend to bring some back for her, after we moved elsewhere. The curry used mutton or chicken, and stewed all day long in its sweet/savory sauce. It was served over rice with lots of 'sambal' accompaniments - chopped peanuts, tomatoes, bell pepper, raisins, onion, mango chutney. Now obviously, I'm not going to make a real chicken curry, but there is a new product on the market that's astoundingly similar to chicken - gardein. The texture is so very like chicken that with the right treatment it's a perfectly satisfactory replacement - otherwise, I think I'd use chickpeas, potatoes, or dry-fried tofu pieces in its place.
I found the following recipe here and got rather excited to see if it might be the same (or similar) to that early favorite of mine - in fact, it's what I used to beg for as a birthday dinner, year after year! I'll paste it in, with my changes:
Mango Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
* 3 Tbsp (or more) of vegetable oil
* 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
* 2 Tbsp yellow curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 mangos, peeled and diced
* 2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
* 1 1/4 cup water
* 4 gardein 'chicken' breasts, rinsed and dried, chopped in 1" cubes, or 1 container of tofu, cubed and dry-fried.
* 1/3 cup golden raisins
* 1/2 cup coconut milk
* Salt and pepper
* Cilantro for garnish
Method
1 Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and another tablespoon of oil, cook for a couple more minutes. Add the curry powder and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for one minute more.
2 Add the vinegar, water, and a 1/2 of the chopped mango to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Purée the sauce, pulsing until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.
3 Add Gardein pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes.
4 Add remaining mango pieces to the pan. Stir in the cream. Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two, uncovered. Do not let boil! Or the cream may curdle. Adjust seasonings. If a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not sweet enough, you can add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.
I found the following recipe here and got rather excited to see if it might be the same (or similar) to that early favorite of mine - in fact, it's what I used to beg for as a birthday dinner, year after year! I'll paste it in, with my changes:
Mango Chicken Curry Recipe
Ingredients
* 3 Tbsp (or more) of vegetable oil
* 1 large onion, chopped (1 1/2 to 2 cups)
* 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
* 2 Tbsp yellow curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 mangos, peeled and diced
* 2 Tbsp cider vinegar or white vinegar
* 1 1/4 cup water
* 4 gardein 'chicken' breasts, rinsed and dried, chopped in 1" cubes, or 1 container of tofu, cubed and dry-fried.
* 1/3 cup golden raisins
* 1/2 cup coconut milk
* Salt and pepper
* Cilantro for garnish
Method
1 Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the red bell pepper and another tablespoon of oil, cook for a couple more minutes. Add the curry powder and cumin, cook for a few more minutes. The spices will absorb some of the oil, so if anything begins to stick too much to the bottom of the pan, add a little more oil to the pan. Add the ginger and garlic, cook for one minute more.
2 Add the vinegar, water, and a 1/2 of the chopped mango to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a low simmer for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pan from heat. Scoop the sauce into a blender. Purée the sauce, pulsing until smooth. Return the sauce to the pan.
3 Add Gardein pieces and raisins to the pan. Return to a low simmer. Cover the pan and let cook for 8-10 minutes.
4 Add remaining mango pieces to the pan. Stir in the cream. Let cook at a very low temperature for another minute or two, uncovered. Do not let boil! Or the cream may curdle. Adjust seasonings. If a little too sweet, add a little more vinegar. If not sweet enough, you can add a dash of sugar. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over rice. Garnish with cilantro. Serves 4.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Tofu pot pie
This recipe was cobbled together from several others, and ended up being really good - as someone has said, pot pie's one of those all-forgiving recipes. Much credit to Vaishy, whose terrific pastry crust recipe we used, and to Susan, whose recipe supplied an herbal template for the filling - though I went my own way with how it went together, being somewhat short of time after a trip to a used bookstore! As an added note, I really wish stores would not use lard by default in their premade crusts. When we realized we'd be running late, I suggested getting one of those Pillsbury crusts, which are so great to work with - but none of those, nor any of the store brands, used anything but lard.
Pie crust
(original here):
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp transfat-free vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried herbs (Vaishy used rosemary and thyme; we used thyme, sage, onion powder, and poultry seasoning to go with the filling)
Mix together all the ingredients. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork until no large lumps remain. Add just enough cold water and stir with a fork to mix. When the dough comes together, divide into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling
original here
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
-- saute these veggies in a little olive oil (about 1 tsp) til fragrant and just a bit brown, set aside
8 ounces portabellas
-- slice mushrooms. place in hot covered pan (I use my heavy cast iron for this) medium-high 'til mushrooms lose their liquid and become quite fragrant. set aside.
2 large carrots, diced
1 L potato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
-- boil in water sufficient to cover for 10 minutes, drain and mix with other veggies.
1 package extra-firm tofu
-- cube and dry-fry to lightly brown and let some water cook out. mix with veggies, set aside.
1 1/2 c veg broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper -- or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
-- bring to boil, simmer for around 10 minutes. remove bay leaves, then thicken by removing some of the hot broth and mixing it with the cornstarch slurry mentioned below.
6 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
I found it still wasn't thick enough so ended up adding besan (chickpea) flour. Make sure you let the thickened mix cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat & stir in the last few ingredients.
1 cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon mellow white miso
Assembly
Use deep-dish pan. fill crust and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until top crust is brown and filling is bubbly. Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes.
Pie crust
(original here):
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 tbsp transfat-free vegetable shortening
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dried herbs (Vaishy used rosemary and thyme; we used thyme, sage, onion powder, and poultry seasoning to go with the filling)
Mix together all the ingredients. Cut the shortening into the flour with a fork until no large lumps remain. Add just enough cold water and stir with a fork to mix. When the dough comes together, divide into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the refrigerator while you make the filling.
Filling
original here
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/4-inch dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
-- saute these veggies in a little olive oil (about 1 tsp) til fragrant and just a bit brown, set aside
8 ounces portabellas
-- slice mushrooms. place in hot covered pan (I use my heavy cast iron for this) medium-high 'til mushrooms lose their liquid and become quite fragrant. set aside.
2 large carrots, diced
1 L potato, cut into 1/2-inch dice
-- boil in water sufficient to cover for 10 minutes, drain and mix with other veggies.
1 package extra-firm tofu
-- cube and dry-fry to lightly brown and let some water cook out. mix with veggies, set aside.
1 1/2 c veg broth
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper -- or to taste
1 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
-- bring to boil, simmer for around 10 minutes. remove bay leaves, then thicken by removing some of the hot broth and mixing it with the cornstarch slurry mentioned below.
6 tablespoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 tablespoons water
I found it still wasn't thick enough so ended up adding besan (chickpea) flour. Make sure you let the thickened mix cook for a few minutes, then remove from heat & stir in the last few ingredients.
1 cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon mellow white miso
Assembly
Use deep-dish pan. fill crust and bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until top crust is brown and filling is bubbly. Remove from oven, let rest for 10 minutes.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
