Tamarind chutney

When tamarind is on the table, you know it's time for your taste buds to tango. There is a tartness which is best showcased with the addition of sugar.

Though the fruit itself can be found on almost universally, in Minnesota, I've found the shelf product vary from dehydrated pods, packaged and processed chutney, to my personal favorite: packets of slightly dehydrated pulp which look like little brown slabs. 

I haven't seen any tamarind in my local grocery store, but I usually have a stash of the dehydrated pulp in my pantry. I keep my tamarind blocks in the fridge and chip away at them as needed.

Today, I am making some tamarind chutney as a sauce for samosas, kebabs, and sandwiches.

Ingredients

Tamarind pulp 1/2 cup

Water 1 cup

Brown sugar 2 tbsp

1 tbsp roasted cumin

1 tbsp roasted and crushed coriander seeds

1 stick cinnamon

Red chili powder to taste

Salt 1 tsp

Optional: 2 star anise flowers

The first step is to place the tamarind, cover it with water and let it boil until the pulp breaks up. Take off from the heat. I strain the tamarind to remove the seeds, since with pulp, sometimes you get tiny chunks of seeds. If you're using whole tamarind, then you can remove the seeds  and fiber manually and blend the rest for a lovely thick texture.

To roast the cumin and coriander, just place the whole spice in a frying pan and roast until it releases its aroma and changes color. Keep a close eye because it can burn pretty quickly. I crush the spice after roasting. 

Return the tamarind and water to the pot and reheat. To the boiling mixture, and the spices and let it thicken. This chutney keeps and freezes well. Serve it as a dipping sauce or mix it with some yogurt and garbanzo beans for a snack.

Spur-of-the-moment Vegetable Soup

I'm a week behind for my French Fridays with Dorie. Today I made her stone soup. I opted to puree the soup (to make it more kid friendly). I separated a third of the batch into a smaller pot and then added alphabet pasta to make it more appealing to the kids.

 Honestly though, this was so tasty, they probably would've eaten it sans pasta.

Now I'm off to tuck the kids in for the evening. For bedtime, I think I'll share what I remember of the beggar's stone soup. 

Eggplant discs with tapenade

One of our favorite middle eastern restaurants in Minneapolis is the casual Marina Bar and Grill. In a corner of their buffet is usually a platter with salted, fried eggplant discs, topped with bell peppers and tomatoes. This is my version of eggplant discs, topped with a lemony tapenade. When I'm out of capers, I just add more lemon. Green olives are preferable, but black will do too.

1 eggplant
1 clove garlic
handful cherry tomatoes
Capers 1 tsp
olives 1/4 cup
lemon juice 1 tssp
olive oil 1 tsp
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper


Bake the eggplant at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.

Blend the rest of the ingredients together. When the eggplant is cool, peel the skin, twist off the stem and slice it into round discs. Top with the tapenade and some extra sea salt, if needed.

Cooking up some memories

Tahiri is one of those dishes that make me very nostalgic.  I think of it as my childhood comfort food. It reminds me of my grandmother, and childhood post-school lunches.

It's a very basic and versatile dish. This is the classic version, and the potatoes can be substituted with chunks of baked pumpkin or any other chunky vegetable. If you want some protein, you can add soy chunks or cubed, cooked chicken. The turmeric and chili give it a pretty yellow color that make it a nice fall dish.




Ingredients:

• A cup of rice (preferably Basmati)...... be prepared to wash and soak the rice for 15 minutes 
• 2 large potatoes, peeled, cut into large pieces
• 2-3 tomatoes, sliced
• A small onion OR 1/4 cup of the pre-fried onions
• 2 jalapeno peppers (optional)
• chili pepper (1/2 to 1 tsp; if you want a milder version, substitute with 1/2 tsp of paprika)
• tsp 1/2 turmeric
• 2 cloves
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste 
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 bay leaf
• salt 1 tsp
• water
• oil 4 tbsp
• 1 cup frozen peas

Before you start, wash the rice until the water is clear, and let it soak for at least 15 minutes.

Saute the onions in the oil until they are a golden brown (7-8 minutes on high heat). If you have pre-fried onions, then skip this step and fry the other spices first and add the onions with the tomatoes.

Once the onions are golden, add a little water, and the ginger garlic. Let it saute for a few minutes on high heat, then  add the rest of the spices. Add some water if the spice is sticking to the pan.
Add the tomatoes. Let this mixture bubble and fry until the tomatoes have lost their shape. This step can take around 10 minutes. I keep some water on standby just in case the spices start sticking or burning.

After 10 minutes, add the potatoes and a little water. I add half the salt at this point. Let it cook for another 12 minutes. You basically want to cook the potatoes until they're half done. You may need to keep adding a little water to prevent sticking. If you're adding additional protein, this would be the step to do it.

At this point, the rice has been soaking for 15- 20 minutes. I give it a few more rinses, drain the water then add the to the pot. Add the rest of the salt.

Let it saute for 2 minutes and stir it carefully to mix the masala. Add the frozen peas.
Then add water.

Adding water is the tricky part. I add enough so that it's just above the rice. If you add to much water, you'll be left with mushy rice. I also turn the heat down to medium low at this point. Cover the pan.

In 10 to 15 minutes the water will be absorbed and the rice would have swollen.  If the rice is not done and there is no water at the bottom of the pan, add just a little, stir and cover the pan again. Repeat in 5 minutes. Smell the cinnamon? Mmmmm.

 Hopefully my kids will enjoy this as much as I used to!

Crispy, crackly apple almond tart

This is my first attempt at blogging, and my first recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book, Around my French Table.  The recipe is for an apple tart on a phyllo dough base. Sandwiched between the apples and the phyllo dough is a delicious almond cream paste. The recipe is versatile, and you can substitute the apples for pears, figs or plums.

I chilled the almond cream overnight and assembled the rest of the pastry in the morning. I am an enthusiastic, but ultimately an amateur baker.

I was a little concerned about how much apple there was. Next time, I might cut back just a little bit on the apples. Or maybe the slices were too thick.

Regardless, it's a delicious recipe, and the phyllo base holds up great. The finished pastry was brushed with an apricot glaze.

Chicken tikka wraps

I'll keep my first post simple. Simple, that is, if you have cooked chicken tikka ready to throw into the sandwich. Any cooked chicken will do.

If you're lucky enough to have access to chicken tikka, then great! Otherwise, you'll have to do what I did: buy some chicken tikka marinade from your local grocery store, marinate chicken breasts in generous amounts of marinade, and bake until cooked.

Ingredient list:

Ripe avocados
Naan or any flatbread
Chicken tikka breasts (cooked and shredded)
Apricot preserves

Heat the naan until it is soft. Spread the apricot preserves on the naan. Add shredded chicken in a line, and top it with sliced, ripe avocados. Roll and serve.