India Night - Chicken with Ajwain in Makhani Gravy & Potatoes with Kadhai Spices

Tonight was India night...it about time we tried a theme based on a country outside the Western Hemisphere! The only think about India food is that it takes time!!! Things stew for something close to eternity- perfect for the crock pot, but unfortunately I was not that organized today. There was nothing in the kitchen as I got back from Japan yesterday and we didn't have time to go shopping until the afternoon. But, by putting on my Rachel Ray hat, I was able to tweak some recipes that I got from an Indian cooking class that I took a few years ago, in order to speed up the process. The taste may not be completely authentic, but everyone ate it up just the same!

In addition to the liberties I took to shorten the cooking and prep time, I reduced the spice level to make it kiddie friendly and eliminated certain spices all together because they weren't available at the normal grocery store and I did not have time to make it to the Indian one. I'll try to note the major deltas in the recipe, in case you want to try the "real deal" one day but I'm typing in what I actually brought to the potluck since you all know what that tastes like. The deltas are marked in parentheses and italics below.

First of all, both recipes called for garlic and ginger paste. Traditionally both are made by mortar and pestle and in India that use a special high speed food processor that make quick work of it. Unfortunately I was stuck with an ordinary food processor and no time to make a paste from scratch. So instead I stuck a good sized chunk of ginger (at least 6 inches long) in a mini food processor with some light olive oil and water to make something like a paste (more like a fine mince) and did the same for the garlic. Not exactly the real thing... I think a paste tastes more gingery and garlicy, but the real deal is a real pain in the you know what.

********
Note that Makha means butter in Hindi, and even though I didn't have all the ingredients, how could you go wrong with a sauce made with butter and cream?? Note how empty the dish is below! People were practically licking the bowl.



Chicken with Ajwain in Makhani Gravy

Makhani Gravy

• 1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes (2 1/4 lb ripe tomatoes chopped -- yeah right)
• 2 tsp fresh "ginger paste"
• 2 tsp fresh "garlic paste"
• 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced (6 serrano chilies)
• 1 tspn paprika (red chili powder - the paprika adds color & some flavor without the heat)
• 5 whole cloves
• 4 green cardamom pods (mine were old, so the real deal is more cardamom-y)
• 3 tspn butter (6 oz butter!!)
• 2/3 cup heavy cream
• 3 tspn honey
• 1 tbsp julienned fresh ginger
• (2 1/2 tsp kasoori methi or dried fenugreek leaves- not available in local grocery store but adds a pungent depth to Indian dishes)

1. Place the tomatoes in a saucepan and add the ginger/garlic pastes, the jalapeno, the spices and salt. Bring to boil and reduce to the consistency of thick paste.
2. (Force through strainer into a clean saucepan and return to heat - step eliminated for obvious reasons.)
3. Lower the heat then stir/whisk in the butter. When fully incorporated in sauce, add cream and stir.
4. If the gravy is sour, add honey, a teaspoon at a time until you have a well balanced sauce.
5. Stir in the julienned ginger (and the kasoori methi).

The Chicken with Adjwain

• 1 lb cubed chicken breast (original called for 2 1/4 lb medium shrimp but at $18/lb I made executive decision to change recipe to chicken).
• 3 tbsp canola oil (4 tbsp ghee - too much trouble to make, but would have definitely tasted richer with ghee instead of oil)
• 2 tbsn ajwain (a seed that tastes like oregano, and I miraculously happened to have on hand as I like to use it in chili)
• 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 2 jalapeno (4 serrano chili)
• 1 tbsp "ginger paste"
• 1 tbsp "garlic paste"
• 1 tsp paprika (1 tsp red chili powder)
• Makhani Gravy above
• (1/3 C chopped cilantro - oops forgot to buy at grocery store)
• (1 tsp garam masala - didn't have time to make from scratch and forgot to buy at grocery store. Would have tasted must better with it)
• (2 tbsps lemon juice - only if you make the version with shrimp)

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ajwain.
2. When the ajwain starts to sputter, add the onion, ginger, garlic, jalapenos, and salt and saute for about 3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken & chili/paprika powder and stir fry until chicken is done cooking - about 5 - 8 minutes depending on size of cubes
4. Add the makhani gravy and deglaze skillet, coating the chicken.
5. Stir in garam masala and cilantro... dish definitely would have tasted better with those in it. Oh well!

*****************

A Kadhai is a wok-like cooking utensil with circular handles on either side, used for frying, tempering and cooking vegetable dishes. They are often used by Indian food stalls and are associated with a certain type of flavor/cooking style (at least according to my teacher). The list of ingredients is long, but the actual dish is quite easy to put together.

Sauteed Potatoes with Kadhai Spices

• 7 medium gold potatoes sliced thinly into rounds (new potatoes work, too. You can use any small to medium potatoes with thin skins that cook relatively quickly)
• 2 medium yellow onions, halved and sliced thinly into moons
• 2 jalapenos
• 1 tsp "garlic paste"
• 1 tsp "ginger paste"
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp kalonji seeds (black onion seeds)
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (more if you like it more spicy)
• 5 curry leaves - usually you need to ask for it behind the counter at most Indian grocery stores --I didn't have time to get any.. but they definitely add a lot of flavor! Worthwhile to get if you have the time.
• 1 tbsp fresh chopped cilantro - oops, forgot to buy some
• 3 tbsps canola oil

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet/wok/kadhai
2. Lower the heat slightly and add cumin and mustard seeds. Cover skillet immediately with lid as these will pop!! If not popping, oil is not hot enough. Watch carefully as they are easy to burn.
3. When done sputtering, throw in the rest of the spices, (curry leaves,) ginger and garlic.
4. Stir-fry for a minute, and then add the sliced onions and salt, then saute until onions turn golden brown.
5. Add the potatoes, cilantro, jalapenos and toss well.
6. Cover skillet tightly with lid (very important!) and cook over low heat until the potatoes are tender, about 15 -20 minutes. You'd think there isn't enough fluid for this to work, but the residual moistness from the onions is enough to steam the potatoes. Trust me!

Mexico Night #3: Chicken and Tomatillo Stew

My contribution for the night was premised on host duties and what I had on hand from my CSA box. I knew I needed to keep those burners free, and hey! here's a dozen tomatillos in my produce drawer, which I supplemented at the Alemany farmers market.

This is based on a Rick Bayless recipe I'd made before. The first time I made it, I proceeded exactly as directed. I was suspicious of the recipe; because it's so simple, I assumed it would be quite bland. But even with plain new potatoes, it was lovely.

This time I opted for the slow cooker, sweet potatoes and no banana leaves*, but because I was tripling the recipe, I also added some prepared tomatillo salsa to punch things up a bit... just in case. I've pared the recipe back down to feed a more typical family, but rest assured you can double or triple away. This is great potluck food, or with the ease of the slow cooker, weeknight comfort food, a complete meal with the addition of a butter lettuce-and-radish salad and some good tortillas.

1 jar prepared tomatillo salsa (I prefer Herdez mild to La Victoria, which is more readily available but has a guar-gummy consistency)
1 white onion, cut into 1/4" half-circles
3-4 garnet yams, peeled and cut into 1/4" slices
1/2 cup cleaned cilantro leaves, chopped coarsely
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into ~3" pieces
1 dozen good-sized tomatillos, husked, rinsed and sliced into thin circles
1 7-oz. can rajas de jalapeño in escabeche (Embasa, Herdez or La Costeña are all fine)
Kosher or sea salt

Smooth two tablespoonsful of the salsa over the bottom of the slow cooker. Now layer the remaining ingredients: onions sprinkled liberally with salt, then tubers, cilantro leaves, chicken pieces, a bit more salt, and the tomatillos. Spread sliced jalapenos over all, as liberally as desired, and add 2 tablespoons-full of the escabeche liquid from the can (you will have remaining rajas and carrots, these will keep in the refrigerator for a few weeks -- the rajas are wonderful on a ham and cheese sandwich, while the carrots are good mashed into a vinaigrette).

Place the lid on the slow cooker and program to cook on high for six hours. The dish will hold on the warm setting for another two hours.

*Banana leaves are easily found in most Latino markets, and freeze well. I just didn't have any on hand. Use them to line your pot and you will have a more complex dish.

Mexico Night #2 - pork al pastor

So while we were in Sayulita, we had the best tacos ever at a little stand in the center of town -- just an open-air kitchen, a table of salsas and condiments, and 4 plastic tables in the street out front. Oh yeah, and did I mention the wood-grilled rotisserie of pork and pineapple? Yeah. That was good.



Thinking about what to bring for Sunday Dinner this week, there really was no other choice but to attempt Pork Al Pastor. The basic idea is to marinate thin slices of pork in a vinegar-chile-spice mixture, then grill it and serve in corn tacos with a little onion and cilantro on top.

I browsed Google and Chowhound for recipes, and found many duplicates of this recipe. There's also one from Bobby Flay, but it looked a little complicated. Here's my take on Al Pastor, based on the Bautista recipe. I bought the ingredients at our local mexicatessen. Preparation of the marinade takes about 45 minutes. Marinate at least 5 hours.

- 10 dried pasilla chiles
- 10 dried guajillo chiles
Soak in boiling water a few minutes, then pull off the stems and remove the seeds; set aside in a bowl. Wash your hands carefully -- they will be very hot.

Add to a blender or food processor:
- 3-4 tsp minced garlic (I cheated by using the stuff in a jar)
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- a generous pinch of sea salt
- peppers, one handful at a time
- 1 cup white vinegar
- I didn't include sweetness in my recipe, but in retrospect would recommend adding a little sugar or pineapple juice to the marinade. Let me know what works ...
Blend until smooth, then spoon into a saucepan and warm over low heat until the chiles are fragrant. Let cool.

Meanwhile, rinse and pat dry:
- 2# of thinly sliced pork. I went to a carniceria and asked what cut was good for al pastor; they gave me a 2.5 pound piece of lean, boneless meat, and sliced it into 1-cm thick filets. I imagine if you're trying to dress up this recipe, tenderloin would be quite tasty.
- skewer some pineapple and set aside.

Once the marinade is cool, slather each piece of pork with a spoonful, and layer in a wide dish. Top the slices with skewers of pineapple. Set aside for a while.

Grill the pork and pineapple (or cook in a 12" skillet). Once cooked, chop into pieces and combine with some leftover marinade (to taste). Saute in a skillet until mixture is hot and fragrant.

Before serving, chop half a white onion and a handful of cilantro. Slice up a couple of limes in wedges. Heat some soft corn tortillas. Serve by putting a spoonful of pork and a pinch of onion and cilantro in a taco; top with a squeeze of lime and maybe some salsa. Your tacos should look this good:

(Photo taken from Flickr by Jeffrey Beall)

Mexico Night - Pork in Pablano Chili Sauce & Cilantro Rice

Last Sunday was Mexico night, in honor of 3 members of our potluck crew who just returned from a vacation there. Unfortunately, I had already used up my vacation so couldn't go (boo hoo, next year!), but I had a lot of fun thinking about what to make.

In general I'm more of a Rachel Ray cook than French Laundry. I usually have some kind of idea of what I want to make and then do lots of research. I google, I epicurious, I foodtv it. I raid every cookbook I own. I would cooks illustrate it, too, but I'm too cheap. I read a million recipes, sort of develop an idea how I'm going to approach the dish, then go to the store where I buy way too many ingredients (so many ideas, so little time). So most of my dishes are riffs or a merging of a recipe or two or three. I rarely follow a recipe verbatim and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

*********************************

Anyway, I knew I wanted to make something Pork-ish (I don't know why) using the slow cooker (makes my life easy) and ended up merging a Cooks Illustrated recipe and a Rick Bayless recipe.

PORK in PABLANO CHILI SAUCE

• 2 T Vegetable Oil
• 4 lbs Pork Roast (or 2 2lb hunks)
• 1 Large Onion, cut up in medium dice
• 1 Bottle of Frontera Grill Roasted Pablano Salsa (conveniently available at our local grocery store)
• Juice of one lime
• Chopped cilantro

1. Liberally salt and pepper the pork
2. Heat up pan with vegetable oil
3. Brown Pork on all sides... or as many sides you have patience for. Make sure you have lots of nice fond. Remove pork and put inside Crock Pot.
4. Do not clean pan. Do not even turn off heat. Add onions to the pan and brown onions a few minutes
5. Add salsa to the pan to deglaze...scrape the bottom of lovely brown bits of pork. Mix with onions.
6. Once deglazed, add hot salsa & onion mix to crock pot.
7. Turn on low for 7 hours
8. After five or six hours, remove lid and shred pork with two forks in the crock pot (you could also remove and shred, but then you'd be a wimp). Cook remainder of time with lid off so that some of the moisture can evaporate and concentrate the flavors.
9. Once done, add lime juice and chopped cilantro to taste

**************************************

The next recipe is pretty much from epicurious with my own Rachel Ray approach.

Mexican Cilantro Rice

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 large onion
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 or 2 serrano chiles (seeded or not - I don't because I'm lazy and I like the heat)
• 2 C or so long grain rice (I didn't have "long grain" rice, but two almost empty bags of Jasmine and Basmati so I mixed the two. In order to finish the bags, I actually cooked something more like 3 cups of rice, but I didn't measure)
• 3 1/4 cups chicken broth (since I didn't measure my rice - too lazy - I used the ancient Chinese secret method of adding enough liquid so that with a spread hand, the liquid is one knuckle deep)
• 3/4 t salt
• Cilantro Dressing to Taste

1. Heat oil, add onion, garlic, serrano, salt and saute until it's pretty cooked
2. Mix in rice and saute for a couple of more minutes
3. Add chicken broth and bring to boil
4. Cover and reduce heat to low.
5. Check after 15 minutes. If still too al dente, add more liquid and check after 5 more minutes.
6. Move rice to bowl and let cool for an hour or so
7. Add cilantro dressing to taste - at least half a cup.
8. Best served at room temperature

************************************

This was part of the previous recipe, but I didn't really follow the proportions at all and instead approached the recipe sort of like how I approach pesto, with a lot of tasting to get what I want instead of blinding following the amounts... but I've included the amounts in case you are not as brave.

Cilantro Dressing

• 1 large bunch of cilantro
• 1/2 to 1 C Olive oil
• 5 T white wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1 t minced seeded serrano chile (are you kidding??? It's going in a food processor, don't bother. Cut off the stem and pop the whole thing in. If it weren't for the kiddies, I would have added more.)

1. Take bunch of cilantro, clean & dry, and chop strategically two or three times
2. Pop cilantro, white wine vinegar, garlic (don't bother cutting), ground cumin, chile in food processor. Process until almost smooth. Season with a bit of salt and pepper
3. While processor is running, add olive oil through feeding tube until it's a creamy consistency. Make sure not to add too much as it's easy to get too greasy.
4. Reseason if necessary

Welcome!!!

A bunch of us have been having potluck more or less every other Sunday for the past few months. Most of us used to be real foodies and cooks of multiple course dinner parties in our pre-baby lives but now, are just happy to have an opportunity to get together and make one or two really good dishes and enjoy everyone else's hard work. Oh yeah... and an excuse to drink on a school night.

This has led to lots of back and forthing about recipes and I thought, wouldn't it be a good idea to start a blog??? Who knows, we might just start a trend across America...

So here is a call to arms for Sunday potlucks, everywhere!