Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Indian food fun and easy

This is a very interesting interview of Anjum Anands. She's actually a very great author and in fact I was able to read her previous works and it was like actually eating something while reading it. Credits to the writer Kristine Hansen of Journal Sentinel.

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She's been called "the Indian Nigella Lawson" by Vogue - a very high compliment in food circles.

Anjum Anand's approach to developing recipes is as colorful as her past. Born and raised in Switzerland and London, she flies back and forth to Calcutta and Delhi often to see family.

Her first two books - "Indian Food Made Easy" (2008) and "Indian Every Day: Light, Healthy Indian Food" (2005) - were published in England and garnered her many fans, in part due to her approachable, fun style. Yet she's also spent time in the kitchen: at Café Spice in New York; and Tommy Tang and the Mondrian Hotel in Los Angeles.

Anand's latest cookbook, "Anjum's New Indian" (Wiley, $25), published in October. It details how to prepare easy-to-make regional Indian dishes, from raitas and chutneys to velvety mango mousse and dried pomegranate chicken. In May, her show "Indian Food Made Easy" debuted on the Cooking Channel, the Food Network's new sister station.

She recently talked about Indian comfort foods, her latest book and what it's like to cook on television.

Q. Where do you find inspiration for creating a particular recipe?

A. I'm inspired when reading about the ingredients of a region, and also by its history. . . .  A good example is when I wanted to create a menu for an episode in my second series, which was based around food from the region of Punjab and was to be filmed in Scotland.

The next day I saw someone eating a cranachan, a traditional Scottish dessert made with oats, cream, honey and whiskey. People from Punjab are known to love Scotch and also creamy, milky desserts. I put the two together and made an almond cream, into which I folded some whiskey and layered it with toasted oats and blackberries. It was absolutely delicious.

Q. Your book focuses on Indian food that's quick to make. What are your favorite weekday recipes?

A. It really depends on my mood and the season. I crave hearty curries when it's cold and lighter ones, grills and salads when it turns warm. My husband and daughter are vegetarian, so the meals are normally of this nature.

I make lots of one-pot dishes and lots of rice dishes. I regularly cook a brown-rice pilaf, which has both protein and vegetables. I love different earthy lentil curries and spiced soups. My current favorite is carrot, ginger and coriander soup. In the summer months, I often also add some substantial salads to my diet, like a spice-grilled mushroom salad with goat cheese or a tandoori-chicken salad with a delicious pistachio dressing.

Q. Can you suggest easy ways to incorporate Indian spices into a meal?

A. Marinate your red and white meats in freshly ground spices before cooking. Try a spice-roasted chicken, or make a marinade with ginger, garlic, yogurt, lemon juice and garam masala, and coat some lamb or lamb chops in this mix overnight. Grill or barbecue the next day.

Heat some oil and sizzle some simple spices before adding seasonal vegetables. Try potatoes with cumin, nigella, fennel and brown mustard seeds, or carrots with brown mustard seeds and buttered spinach with carom seeds.

Soups are a great foil for spicy flavors, so add spices as you cook, or add a little garam masala at the end.

Q. If you were to host a spontaneous dinner party this weekend, what would you serve?

A. I like to cook chicken or fish, as they are really quick and easy to make but still delicious. My favorites are a black pepper and ginger chicken or a North Indian, tomato-based fish curry.

I would then cook a low-maintenance, spice-crusted new potato dish and choose a seasonal green or even peas or some simple sautéed spinach dish to go with them. . . . 

The whole meal shouldn't take more than an hour to cook. Dessert would probably be a thick, saffron-scented yogurt dish with some seasonal fruit or, if time is really tight, good quality ice cream or sorbets, which are cooling and refreshing.

Q. What do you consider Indian comfort food during the winter season?

A. Hearty curries, stuffed shallow-fried Indian breads, crisp samosas and pakoras (vegetable fritters), sweet milky puddings and lots of sweet, milky spiced tea.



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Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Taste it: Mustards Grill's curried slaw

One word: EPIC. I didn't know this recipe is possible but well I tried it and it's so good. Thanks lansingstatejournal.com for this great article.

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Total time: 15 minutes. Servings: 4 to 8 Note: Adapted from a recipe in "Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook" by Cindy Pawlcyn with Brigid Callinan. Indian curry paste can be found in many well-stocked supermarkets as well as specialty cooking stores.

Total time: 15 minutes. Servings: 4 to 8 Note: Adapted from a recipe in "Mustards Grill Napa Valley Cookbook" by Cindy Pawlcyn with Brigid Callinan. Indian curry paste can be found in many well-stocked supermarkets as well as specialty cooking stores.

• Curry vinaigrette
• 2 tablespoons prepared Indian curry paste
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

In a medium bowl, whisk together the curry paste, mustard, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper until the salt is dissolved, about 30 seconds. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, and continue to whisk until fully emulsified. This makes a scant cup of vinaigrette, which will keep for up to 3 days, covered and refrigerated.

Slaw and assembly

• 4 cups thinly sliced green cabbage (about 1/3 head)
• 1 carrot, peeled and grated
• 1 red Fresno or jalapeno chile, seeded and thinly sliced
• Prepared vinaigrette
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 2 green onions, white and light green parts, thinly sliced on the diagonal

In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, carrot and chile.

Stir the vinaigrette to make sure it is emulsified and toss the slaw with just enough to coat lightly; you may not use all of the vinaigrette. Place the slaw in a serving bowl or divide onto plates. Garnish the bowl or servings with the cilantro leaves and green onion.

Each of 8 servings: 87 calories; 1 gram protein; 4 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 8 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams sugar; 90 mg sodium.

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Monday, February 14, 2011

Asian market opens in Mt. Pleasant

Imagine different flavors from different asian countries in one asian grocery store, cool right? Read this article by Susan Field from themorningsun.com and it'll amaze you.

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Hoping to help international students at Central Michigan University and those in the Mt. Pleasant area who have a taste for ethnic food, Angela Mohanrajan decided to open a business.

Mohanrajan opened Shakthi Asian Grocery Store at 2157 S. Mission St. just more than a week ago.

Shelves at the store are currently stocked with Indian food staples, such as basmati rice, curry
leaves, an assortment of pickles, henna, garlic and ginger paste, pure coconut oil, ghee, dried beans, spices and ready-made food products.

Mohanrajan, who is from Mt. Pleasant, opened the business after a friend offered to finance the venture.

She had long wanted to open an Asian market in Mt. Pleasant.

“Our goal is to try to get Indian food as well as other Asian foods,” she said. “We want to supply ethnic foods to international students and people who are driving to Lansing and Saginaw to get the products.

Most international students don’t have cars, making trips to Lansing or Saginaw difficult at best, Mohanrajan said.

Mohanrajan hopes to eventually have prepared Indian dishes. Her business does not have a kitchen, so she is working with the owners of the Flour Uprising in Mt. Pleasant to see if she can make the dishes a reality.

She also is working on getting coolers in the store to carry frozen and refrigerated products.

Near the door of the grocery is a wide variety of Indian flour and rice in bags weighing as much as 10 pounds.

Mohanrahan said rice is a staple in Indian cuisine, especially in the southern region.

Mohanrajan said her goal is to provide Indian food products as cheaply as possible. She is asking customers to suggest products they would like the store to carry.

“It’s a work in progress,” she said, adding that she has already placed orders from the suggestion list. “We’re trying to keep up with what our customers want.”

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Saturday, February 12, 2011

A TASTE OF DIFFERENCE: Tantalising duck curry

This article caught may attention. I never tasted a duck curry so when I read this and felt involved with the whole thing then I tried it immediately! From Sera Whippy of fijitimes.com.

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Imagine sinking your teeth into a tender piece of spicy, hot curried goat meat.

Mmmm....you can already taste the juicy tenderised meat coated in Indian spices and herbs just by thinking about it.

I'm not imaging this though. I did get a taste of this exotic dish prepared by Best Bites restaurant owners, Romika Devi and her husband Dijendra Naidu last Friday, and I can only describe it in one word - Lovely.

Duck Curry or Curry 'Ga' can be labeled as a mouth-watering delicacy that is usually prepared on special occasions by many families around Fiji.

The rich texture of the duck meat is incomparable.

Many an occasion would find the dish fly in minutes leaving those who arrive late to the kitchen or the table to brazenly scrap at the bottom of the pot.

However, if the need ever arises for a taste of duck curry, you can always be certain to find it as Best Bites restaurants in the Sugar city of Lautoka0.

Romika and Dijendra have found that duck curry sells like crazy.

"This is the only curry that sells very fast compared to the rest of the dishes we prepare daily. Although it is expensive people still love to buy it because of its tender meat and rare taste," said Romika.

The meat, which is, tender and completely covered in assorted spices is one of a kind.

The couple were happy to share the recipe which they swear all you curry lovers will not be able to resist once you've made your own.

"This is a traditional way in which we prepare it and it has never failed us. It is also my daughters favorite dish so I enjoy preparing it," Romika said.

My comments:

"The display alone was enough to make my mouth start to water.

I, however, resisted the temptation so I could get my interview first before I dug into the dish.

As she prepared the food, I began to wonder, how this dish would taste, because i can say truthfully that I can count on one hand just how many times I have eaten duck curry.

I had forgotten the taste and so when it was being prepared I started to dwell on the taste.

Maybe it would tender, or hard or something different.

And when it was before me, I had a taste.

It was like none other.

The aroma itself was intoxicating, let alone the display. The meat was indeed tender, surprisingly. The spices had evenly soaked into the meat, creating an overall unique taste unlike chicken curry.

I must say though that duck curry is best eaten with roti.

There is just something about roti that makes spicey foods taste even better."


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Indian Food Expert Shares Low-Fat Cooking Tips

An article by Joanne Camas from epicurious.com helped me to indulge Indian Food healthily!

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Love Indian food, hate the grease left in the takeout containers. I'm sure top-notch Indian restaurants go lighter on the fat, but my experience of local mom-and-pop dinners has been of fat-heavy meals.
Cue London's Tower Hamlets Council and the local Healthy Borough Programme. It's offering classes to Indian chefs who want to serve healthier meals, reports the BBC. The council tested Indian meals and found that an average 336 gram (12 ounce) portion of lamb curry with boiled rice clocked a whopping 920 calories, 10.15 grams of saturated fat, and 3.2 grams of salt.
The cooks are happy with the results of their classes: Meals with less fat, but no loss of flavor. And it's cost-effective, too.
To find out how Indian food in the U.S. could be made more healthful, I caught up with Monica Bhide, an authority on Indian cooking, cookbook author, and syndicated spice columnist for Scripps. Her most recent book is Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen.
Monica, do you think Western Indian cooking has tended to be less healthy than traditional recipes, with more cream, salt, etc.?
Actually, in my opinion, it is not Western versus traditional but more home cooking versus restaurant cooking. Most restaurant cooking does have a lot of unhealthy elements, but at home, dishes are really prepared differently, since the home cook is in control over how much salt, butter, ghee, cream, etc., is going into a dish.
Are there easy tricks for lightening up Indian recipes?
Yes, for sure. Typically Indian recipes (other than the deep-frying category) can be lightened up a lot if you consider how the oil is used. Unlike many Western cuisines where butter or fat is used to contribute to the taste of the final dish, in Indian cuisine, we can primarily focus on using oil simply as a carrier of the spices.
Let me explain: In a typical Indian dish, we first heat the oil and then add the spices we will be using in the dish. The hot oil helps the spices release their flavors, so it is being used in a dual capacity: being a carrier of flavor and also as a cooking medium for the food. One does not need a lot of oil to help spices release their flavor, nor do we need a lot of oil to actually cook the ingredients.
What healthy cooking methods do you use?
Using fresh spices adds a lot of flavor to dishes. In my cooking classes, nine out of ten times I will leave out the salt and no one will notice when they taste the final dish. Fresh spices add just oomph and taste to a dish, so the absence of salt is rarely noticed.
Also, I tend to cook my vegetables quickly with a little bit of oil, lots of fresh herbs and spices, and on high heat. Once they brown, then I lower the heat and cover and cook until they are cooked through. This helps cook vegetables without much oil.
Read on for Monica's low-fat advice for home cooks. . .
So, do you have any other tips for people who enjoy cooking Indian food at home?
Smart substituting can help you enjoy Indian dishes without giving up the flavors: For instance, many Indian dishes use yogurt in their preparation. You can substitute low-fat for full-fat yogurt, and in most cases, the difference is taste is barely noticeable. Same for coconut milk: Switch to the light coconut milk.
One trick I have learned with Indian cooking is to halve the amount of fat or oil the recipe asks for and see how the recipe fares. Most times the dish turns out just fine; sometimes, I need more oil.
Use ghee smartly. Instead of using it as a cooking medium (I use vegetable oil and not a lot of it), I use ghee at the end of cooking the dish. I heat a little bit of ghee, season it with spices, and then pour it over the cooked dish. It adds great flavor and a delightful buttery flavor to the dish without a lot of fat. (And when I say little, I mean little--a tablespoon at most for a dish that serves four).
Of course, another simple way is to switch your basmati rice from white to brown.
When we're eating Indian food in restaurants, what are the healthiest choices?
There are plenty of healthy choices on Indian menus, such as a lot of the tandoori items that are roasted instead of fried. Also many dishes on the menus of South Indian restaurants are very intrinsically healthy--like idlees (rice and lentil batter cakes that are steamed) or dosas (rice and lentil batter crisp crepes prepared with barely any oil).
Do you think it's time for more healthy Indian options?
Oh, yes. I think it is definitely time to stop drowning curries in oil and butter, and start showing how the cuisine can be good for your palate and your heart.
The cuisine uses spices a lot, so it is intrinsically healthy as long as you don't load the recipes with butter, oil, cream, etc. The American Journal of Epidemiology reported that a diet high in curry (which typically includes turmeric) may help the aging brain. Ginger has always been used in India as aid for digestion. Cinnamon is used for taste, but it comes with the added benefit of possibly helping lower cholesterol and is one of the most powerful natural antioxidants out there.



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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Butterfly Chicken Curry

I tried this recipe because it sounded so interesting given the name "butterfly" but no it's not the literal butterfly if that's what you think. Anyway, this is really good. So thanks http://www.taste.com.au for this awesome recipe.
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Butterfly chicken curry

Curry for kids: Warm them up gently with this low-heat, kid-friendly chicken curry.

Ingredients (serves 4)
1/4 cup Maesri massaman curry paste
400g can coconut milk
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 garlic clove, crushed
2cm piece fresh ginger, finely grated
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup salt-reduced chicken stock
300g orange sweet potato, peeled, cut into 3cm pieces
500g chicken breast fillets, thickly sliced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon lime juice
Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Method


Heat a wok over medium heat. Add curry paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add coconut milk, fish sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, cinnamon and stock. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.
Add potato and chicken. Cook, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and potato tender. Stir in onion and lime juice. Serve with rice.
Notes
You could use a large saucepan or deep frying pan if you don't have a wok.

Super saver: Use 500g chicken thighs, sliced, instead of breast and save around $2.00 in total.

Make the most of summer entertaining with pasta salad recipes, potato salads, barbecue recipes and fish & seafood recipes.

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