Apple Mango Ginger Salad

This salad tasted delicious and I finished it all. The tartness of the apples with the delightful aroma of the mango ginger along with the other ingredients kicked it up a notch. Mango ginger is a root vegetable like ginger with a slightly sour taste of unripe mango and a sharp spicy taste of ginger in a mild form. It has great health benefits. It is mostly used in pickles and can also be used as a flavouring to enhance the taste in meat, chicken or vegetable preparations. Here I used it in this salad with great success. 

Ingredients:

1 Tart apple

1 hot house Tomato

6 garlic stuffed big green olives

1 tbs pickled mango ginger

1/2 cup grated carrot

5-6 Red/green leaf lettuce

Sesame seeds for garnish

Dressing:

2 tbs Olive Oil

Juice of half a lemon

Pink salt

Black pepper

1/2 tsp Harissa paste 

Brown sugar

Method:

1. Cut the apple into small dices. Chop the stuffed olives with the garlic and chop the pickled mango ginger. 

2. Gently squeeze out the seeds from the tomato, remove its stem and cut into small dices. 

3. Clean, wash, drain and dry the lettuce leaves. 

4.  Mix together the diced apples, tomatoes, grated carrots, chopped olives and mango ginger. 

5. Prepare the dressing by whisking together all the dressing ingredients till it emulsifies and changes to a creamy texture. Add this dressing to the salad and quickly mix well. 

6. Arrange the lettuce leaves on a salad plate. Spoon all the salad on to the lettuce leaves. Sprinkle some brown(roasted) sesame seeds on top for garnish. Serve immediately. 

Notes: 

1. Add the dressing just before serving the salad or else it will turn runny. 

2. You can pickle the mango ginger by cutting it into dices and adding vinegar and salt and store in a clean glass bottle. You could also use it in many preparations. 

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Next Up: Chicken Nuggets!

Due to loud, non-rhythmic pounding from a construction project next door, today's video, featuring a Super Bowl party-inspired chicken nugget, will be delayed until later this evening, or tomorrow morning. I hope/predict it will be worth the wait. Stay tuned! 

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Sloppy Dip – G.I. Joe (Generally Inspired-By)

Don’t let the catchy name fool you; this sloppy Joe-inspired dip really shouldn’t cause that big a mess at your Super Bowl party, just as long as your guests aren’t too sloppy themselves. You can test them by having them pronounce, “sloppy dip.” If they say it more like, “shloppy dip,” cut them off.

For me this checks all the boxes for a hot party dip. It’s relatively cheap, and easy to make, but maybe more importantly, it’s great hot, warm, or room temp. It’s also incredibly versatile, and I can think of about two-dozen things off the top of my head that would be great in this.

Like I said in the video, you don’t have to present this as a baked dip. You can just leave it on the stove, on low, for guests to dip into. People are always hanging out in that area anyway. Otherwise, you can broil it in any oven-safe casserole dish, or do it in a sauce pan like I did, which can also be kept on low heat after browning the cheese. No matter how you serve it, I hope you give this great, and sloppy dip a try soon. Enjoy!

Makes 12 portions of Sloppy Dip:  

2 pound extra lean ground beef

1 onion, diced

2 diced green bell pepper (1 cup)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons brown sugar

cayenne to taste

1 cup ketchup

2 cups chicken broth or water

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, divided

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Saffron Rice

Ingredients: 

1 Cup Basumathi Rice
A pinch of Saffron
Salt to taste
4 tbs milk


Method: 

1. Wash the rice 3 or 4 times or till the water is no longer murky. Then soak the rice for half an hour.

2. Boil at least 2 litres of water in a pot. When the water is boiling put the rice in it. Add 1 tsp of salt or a little more. The water should taste like sea water not too salty. Give it a stir and let it cook.

3. Check the grains to see if they are done. Take one grain of rice and press it between your thumb and index finger. It should be just a little gritty inside but soft outside. So it is time to stop cooking.

4. Drain the rice immediately in a colander.

5. Soak the saffron in 1 tbs hot milk in a mortar and pestle and crush the saffron threads till they soften and dissolve. Add the remaining milk and pour it in the rice pot. Throw in some mint leaves and close the lid, leave it to simmer for 2-3 minutes. Then switch off the stove.

6. Serve hot with any curry of your choice. You could serve the Saffron Rice  with the following Curries:

Green Masala Chicken Khorma
White Chicken Khorma
Butter Chicken 
White Methi Chicken

There's one more way of making saffron rice. Dissolve the saffron in hot water instead of milk. To this add a blob of unsalted butter. Let it rest for sometime till the saffron softens and leaves out color. Take a bowl of rice and add the saffron solution to it. Mix well. The rice gets saffron colored. You could sprinkle this rice on top of the white rice as garnish with some toasted nuts or mix this with the white rice and serve.

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Green Masala Chicken Khorma

I was kind of inspired by Farruqh Aziz's "Hariyali chicken khorma" on her interesting blog "CubesandJuliennes". She had made it in mughlai style with a rich and creamy sauce. But I wanted to keep it simple and make it in my south indian style which I love too. The concept was good enough to get me going. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

 Chicken 2 legs and 2 wings

1 Onion thinly sliced

1/4 cup Yoghurt
1/2 cup Coconut milk 

2 tbs Olive oil

4 - 6 Green chillies

1 sprig of Cilantro
A few fresh Mint leaves

2 black Cardamoms
1 inch Cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp crushed Black pepper

2 tsp fresh Ginger Garlic paste

For the ground masala

2 green Chillies

1 sprig of Cilantro

1/2 tsp whole Black pepper

1 tsp Coriander seeds

1/2 tsp Fennel seeds

2 Cloves 

3 green Cardamoms

Method: 

1. Clean wash and drain the  chicken,  Cut the onion into thin slices.

2.Put all the dry masala ingredients in a grinder and pulse them first before adding the chillies and cilantro with a pinch of salt.

3. To a sauce pan on medium heat add the whole spices - black cardamom, cinnamon and bay leaf followed by the sliced onions and fry till golden brown.

4. Add the ginger garlic paste and the ground  masala to the fried onions and saute then add the chicken pieces. 

5. Turn over and roast the chicken in the masala till it changes colour.  Add the yoghurt, whole green chillies, coconut milk and let it cook on medium heat till done. 

6. For the last finishing touch which gives the extra flavour toss in the crushed black pepper, cilantro and mint. Cover with the lid and switch off the stove. Let it rest for 2 minutes then serve hot with saffron rice and pineapple kachumbar salad. 

Notes:

 For the coconut milk,  I always choose "A taste of Thai" if not available then I go for Aroy D.   Unlike the other brands. "A taste of Thai" has 85% coconut milk and 15% water while Aroy D has 60% coconut milk and 40%  water with no preservatives or guar gum. There is another brand "Thai Kitchen" looks similar to "A taste of Thai" but not as good. It has guar gum in it which gives the milk a gooey texture. In cooking if the quality of the ingredients is not good then all the taste and flavour is lost.

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Spanish Farro – An Ancient Recipe for an Ancient Grain

Spanish rice was one of the first recipes I made for my parents after returning home from my first semester at culinary school. Ironically, I didn’t learn the recipe in class, but rather at a Mexican restaurant I worked at part-time.

I don’t remember much from that job, or decade, but I’ll never forget how that rice was put together, and that’s exactly how we’re doing it here – except for one minor detail. We’re not using rice.  

I really love farro, and have used it in various rice preparations, always with great results. This was no exception, and maybe my favorite so far. This larger, meatier, “ancient” grain pairs perfect with the spices, and I find it even easier to cook perfectly than rice.

If you don’t have a pan like the one used in the video, simply prepare everything in a skillet. Once your broth starts to boil, transfer it into a 2-quart casserole dish, wrap with foil, and proceed as directed. Either way, I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!  

Ingredients for 6 portions:

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup finely diced onions

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder, or other dried, ground chili

1 teaspoon chipotle

1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup “pearled” farro, rinsed, drained well

2 cups chicken broth

- Bake at 350 F for 50-60 minutes, or until farro is just tender

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The Cuban Sandwich – Hold the Mojo

I don’t do a lot of sandwich videos, which is a shame, since the blog posts are pretty easy to write. Anyway, as promised during the last bread video, here’s how I like to build a Cuban, or Cubano sandwich.

From the early, non-troll feedback, I hear we did a pretty good job, except apparently I was supposed to serve some mojo sauce as a condiment. We did a beef mojo, which would not be great in this, but I don’t think we’ve ever filmed the sauce. Consider it on the list.

Slices of citrus-roasted pork seem to be very common in the sandwich, but I prefer more of a pulled pork. I used our paper pork recipe, which was great, but carnitas, generously moistened with some of its ownfat, would also work quite well. 

I've always assumed that day-old bread was perfect for grilled sandwiches, but I've heard that real Cubans are made on fresh bread, and that people who use stale are crazy. What say you? Regardless of how fresh your bread is, I really hope you give this Cuban sandwich a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

There are no amounts given, since you are the Mark of your Cuban, and fully capable of deciding how much “stuff” to use. Good luck!

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The Cuban Sandwich – Hold the Mojo

I don’t do a lot of sandwich videos, which is a shame, since the blog posts are pretty easy to write. Anyway, as promised during the last bread video, here’s how I like to build a Cuban, or Cubano sandwich.

From the early, non-troll feedback, I hear we did a pretty good job, except apparently I was supposed to serve some mojo sauce as a condiment. We did a beef mojo, which would not be great in this, but I don’t think we’ve ever filmed the sauce. Consider it on the list.

Slices of citrus-roasted pork seem to be very common in the sandwich, but I prefer more of a pulled pork. I used our paper pork recipe, which was great, but carnitas, generously moistened with some of its ownfat, would also work quite well. 

I've always assumed that day-old bread was perfect for grilled sandwiches, but I've heard that real Cubans are made on fresh bread, and that people who use stale are crazy. What say you? Regardless of how fresh your bread is, I really hope you give this Cuban sandwich a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

There are no amounts given, since you are the Mark of your Cuban, and fully capable of deciding how much “stuff” to use. Good luck!

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Cuban Bread – Commence Operation Cubano Sandwich

I didn’t think I liked Cuban sandwiches, and even went so far as to publicly call them overrated, but it turns out I was eating them on the wrong bread. 

You can’t just use any old sandwich roll, and this fact was lost on me until I had one on the real deal. Shortly after finishing, I recanted every negative comment I’d previously made.

By the way, if you’ve never heard of a Cuban sandwich, stay tuned, because that will be the star of our next video. If you want to get a head start, besides practicing the bread, you’ll need some type of roasted, or pulled pork; and I’m happy to report we have many recipes that would work, including our famous paper pork, pulled pork, or carnitas.

One thing that makes this bread unique, besides the addition of lard, is the double-hit of yeast. We use dry yeast to start the dough, as usual, but also add a starter that we let ferment overnight. I assume that’s to provide a little extra flavor, as well as a some additional lift, but I didn’t want to do too much research, since I do enjoy a little mystery with these types of things.

Traditionally, some of the starter is saved, with a little fresh water and flour added, and kept in the fridge to make more bread. Not a bad idea, otherwise you can probably just add all of it to the dough. You’ll probably need a bit more flour, but as I stressed in the video, we’re going to be feeling for that anyway. So, stay tuned for the Cubano sandwich video, and in the meantime, I really hope you givethis bread a try soon. Enjoy!

For the starter:

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast

- mix well and refrigerate overnight

For the dough:

1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup warm water

- mix and let stand 15 minutes

- add starter from day before (reserve 1/4 cup if you want to keep your starter going), plus:

3 tablespoons lard
2 teaspoons fine salt

about 3 cups flour, or as needed (I used 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

and 1 1/2 cups bread flour)
water to spray tops of loaves

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Cuban Bread – Commence Operation Cubano Sandwich

I didn’t think I liked Cuban sandwiches, and even went so far as to publicly call them overrated, but it turns out I was eating them on the wrong bread. 

You can’t just use any old sandwich roll, and this fact was lost on me until I had one on the real deal. Shortly after finishing, I recanted every negative comment I’d previously made.

By the way, if you’ve never heard of a Cuban sandwich, stay tuned, because that will be the star of our next video. If you want to get a head start, besides practicing the bread, you’ll need some type of roasted, or pulled pork; and I’m happy to report we have many recipes that would work, including our famous paper pork, pulled pork, or carnitas.

One thing that makes this bread unique, besides the addition of lard, is the double-hit of yeast. We use dry yeast to start the dough, as usual, but also add a starter that we let ferment overnight. I assume that’s to provide a little extra flavor, as well as a some additional lift, but I didn’t want to do too much research, since I do enjoy a little mystery with these types of things.

Traditionally, some of the starter is saved, with a little fresh water and flour added, and kept in the fridge to make more bread. Not a bad idea, otherwise you can probably just add all of it to the dough. You’ll probably need a bit more flour, but as I stressed in the video, we’re going to be feeling for that anyway. So, stay tuned for the Cubano sandwich video, and in the meantime, I really hope you givethis bread a try soon. Enjoy!

For the starter:

1/2 cup warm water

1/2 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon dry active yeast

- mix well and refrigerate overnight

For the dough:

1 package active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup warm water

- mix and let stand 15 minutes

- add starter from day before (reserve 1/4 cup if you want to keep your starter going), plus:

3 tablespoons lard
2 teaspoons fine salt

about 3 cups flour, or as needed (I used 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

and 1 1/2 cups bread flour)
water to spray tops of loaves

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Next Up: A Very Special Bread

Another long, holiday weekend has come and gone; and so another Tuesday video won't be posted until Wednesday. Hopefully it will be worth the brief wait. Stay tuned! 

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Chicken Kadai Roast

I had no onions at home as it was the end of the week and I wanted to make something different with the chicken, something flavourful and dry without any gravy, something quick and easy but also healthy. I finally decided to make roasted Kadai Chicken. The whole spices gave so much flavour to the chicken while it roasted in the pan and without the onions and tomatoes it tasted even better. Above all it was so quick and easy and ready in less than 30 minutes.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients: 
1lb Chicken pieces
2 tsp Ginger garlic paste
1/2 tsp Deghi Mirch (Red chilli powder)
1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder
1/2 tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Coriander Powder
2 Green Chillies
Chopped Cilantro for garnish
Salt to taste
1 tsp Lemon juice
2 tbs Vegetable Oil

Kadai Roast Spices:
1tsp Coriander seeds
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp Fennel seeds
1tsp Black Pepper corns + 1/2 tsp for garnish
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes + 1/2 tsp for garnish
4 Cloves
4 Green Cardamoms
1 Black Cardamom
1/2 inch Cinnamon stick
2 Dried Red Chillies

Method: 

1. De skin, cut, clean and wash the chicken pieces. Keep aside to drain.

2. Heat oil in a non stick sauce pan or wok. Crush all the Kadai Roast spices with a mortar and pestle except the dried red chillies, just pounding them once or twice.

3. Add the dried red chillies to the medium hot oil in the pan, followed by the crushed kadai roast spices. Give it a quick stir and toss in the ginger garlic paste, then add the turmeric, chilli, coriander and cumin powders and red pepper flakes.

4. Quickly add the chicken pieces to this roast masala, turn over and roast well in the pan. Add the green chillies, cover the pan and let it roast on medium low heat for 5 minutes.

5. Do not add any water. After 5 minutes the chicken would sweat out and be a little runny as seen in the picture above. Turn over, cover with the lid and leave to roast on low heat for 5 more minutes. Keep checking the chicken from time to time, turning it over as it roasts in the pan. In 10- 15 minutes the chicken is well roasted and ready.

6. Sprinkle the lemon juice, adjust the salt till it reaches the bliss point, garnish with 1/2 tsp pounded black pepper, 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes and chopped cilantro.

7. Serve hot with rice. I served it with khichdi rice, cranberry tomato chutney and salad.

Tips: 

1. If you want to make it less spicy omit the red chilli powder.

2. Eat the chicken as soon as it is done.  The chicken would lose its flavour on reheating over and over again.

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Pâté de Campagne – Finally, Something Complicated

Every once in a while, I get a food wish that has nothing to do with a specific recipe, but rather it’s a request to post something complicated, and challenging to do. Well, this country-style pâté is about as close as we’re going to get.

Calling this recipe complicated is sort of a stretch; "involved” would probably be more accurate. There are many steps, and the ingredient list isn’t short, but none of the techniques are very difficult, or particularly time-consuming.

Coarsely grinding the meat is probably the most crucial step, but as you saw, if the meat is very cold, the attachment on your stand mixer will do an adequate job. If you don’t have one, you can pulse on and off in a food processor, and as long as your meat was partially frozen, this will work.

Another option is just to place your meat order with a real butcher, and ask them to coarsely grind it all together for you, after which you can simply process the rest of your ingredients, and add them to your already ground meat and fat. Speaking of fat, I used some chopped up bacon, but virtually any kind of pork fat will work. 

If you do use bacon, either in the pâté, or to wrap with, I suggest using one that’s lightly smoked, so as not to overpower the rest of the flavors. Anyway, I realize this may seem like quite a production, but if you enjoy charcuterie, this would make for a very fun, beautiful, and quite delicious project. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for one Pâté de Campagne (16 portions):

1 1/4 pounds boneless pork shoulder (aka “pork butt”), cut into one-inch cubes

6 ounces duck leg meat (meat removed from 2 or 3 legs)

4 ounces fatty bacon, chopped

4 ounces chicken livers, roughly chopped

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 shallot, thinly sliced

4 cloves minced garlic

1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley

25 grams kosher salt (about 5 teaspoons)

1/8 teaspoon “instacure” pink curing salt

3/4 teaspoon *pate spice mix

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup cognac or brandy

1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs

2 large eggs

1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup dried cherries, optional
1/2 cup pistachios, optional

8-10 sliced of bacon, or a few sheets of caul fat to line the **mold

* For the Pâté Spice:

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

** My bread pan was a little smaller than standard, but a regular 9 x 5 inch loaf pan should work perfectly here.

-- Cook in water bath at 350 F. until internal temp of 155 F. 

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Charred Broccoli Beef – Broccoli Week Continues

I saw a charred broccoli salad online somewhere recently, and for whatever reason I had the idea to try the same technique for a fairly classic version of broccoli beef. Getting to burn food on purpose is always fun, and in addition to adding a whole extra layer of flavor, I love how this looks.

There’s never been a pretty broccoli beef, but I’d say this is at least handsome, and to make it even more attractive, feel free to double the sauce. The amounts below make just enough to glaze, plus a few extra tablespoons, so it you want lots of sauce to saturate your rice, you should probably make extra.

As I mentioned in the video, never use cooking sherry for cooking with sherry.  Just use sherry. The kind you drink. The good news is, we’re going to let you buy the cheapest bottle at the wine store. Cooking sherry tastes horrible, and has salt added to it, which was originally there so cooks wouldn’t drink it.

If you do make this, and you’re wondering why it doesn’t taste as good as the one from the Chinese takeout place, well, I can answer that in three initials, M.S.G. I’m not a fan of what it does the body, and don’t use it in my cooking, but if you do sprinkle some in, I think you’ll find it remarkably close. Plus, they’re not charring the broccoli. I really hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:

For the beef:

1 pound skirt steak

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the sauce:

1/4 cup oyster sauce

3 tablespoons dry sherry

1 tablespoon soy sauce, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons ketchup

1/2 cup chicken broth

1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch (use 2 for a thicker sauce)

Final Assembly:

2 teaspoon vegetable oil (plus a little fat from frying the steaks)

3 cloves minced garlic

prepared sliced beef

1 pound broccoli florets, charred in hot oven with a few drops of oil

pinch cayenne

4 cups steamed rice for service

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Broccoli Soup au Gratin – Thin to Win!

It was one of those weeks. The holiday pushed me off schedule by a day; they’re doing construction next door, which means I can’t record at certain times; and if that wasn’t enough, this amazing looking soup was a total disaster – a temporary disaster – but a disaster nonetheless.

The good news is, I saved it in the end, and hopefully we’ll all be better for it. Turns out a cheesy crouton, like one you’d enjoy on a French onion soup, is a terrible idea, if your soup is extra thick, and bordering on a purée.

I came close to tossing everything, and ordering pizza, but what kind of example would that set? So I thinned it out, passed it through a fire mesh strainer, and gave it another try. This made it significantly better, and the ingredient amounts seen below have been adjusted, so you should get a texture similar to my final version.

I’m not sure when/if I’ll try this again, but if I do, I’ll use small croutons, so I can eat it without drenching all the cheesy bread with the first few bites. While I officially hope you give this a try soon, I secretly hope you experiment with better soup choices to use this potentially great technique. Enjoy!  

Ingredients for 6 portions:

2 tablespoon melted unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus probably more to taste
3 cloves minced garlic

2 pounds broccoli, trimmed

5 to 6 cups broth, or as needed to adjust texture

1/2 cup heavy cream

pinch freshly grated nutmeg

freshly ground black pepper to taste

cayenne to taste

6 round crispy croutons the same size as your crock (or 3 cups of little salad croutons)

3 cups shredded sharp cheddar, gruyere, or combination of the two
*Note: Be sure to adjust with more broth if need be, as well as pass the soup through a fine mesh strainer to achieve a finer texture.

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Next Up: Something with Broccoli

As you may have noticed, due to the holiday on Monday, Tuesday's video was published on Wednesday, which means that Friday's video will post on Saturday. Stay tuned!

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