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Vegetable Korma & Grilled Tandoori Chicken

/ Emily / Leave a comment

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In college my friends and I frequented an Indian buffet a couple blocks from campus. For a mere 6 bucks you could fill a Styrofoam box to max capacity and have food for at least 3 days. My friends always got creative– figuring out how to layer rice, naan, curries and tandoori in order to maximize space. I was laughed at the first time I went with them for putting salad in there. I quickly learned that salad was simply waste of space in this situation.

In addition to the college survivalism benefits, I found the aromas and flavors to be out of this world. A great thing about Indian food is that it does not skimp on spice! And a not so good thing is that a lot of restaurant Indian food tends to have a lot of cream and butter in it. Which although I have a special place for in my heart (wherever the cholesterol is stored), my belly does not always feel the same. Luckily, there are (easy) ways to make this delicious and aromatic food at home without feeling like your tummy is going to burst (tmi?). So this week you get TWO recipes, they can be made separately for a filling dinner or together for an Indian feast.

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Indian Spice Blend                                                                                                                          

With Indian food it all comes down to the spices. For the sake of time, you may want to blend together a big batch of spices that you will use as a base for these (2) recipes.

Here is what I did:

  • 1 T. tumeric
  • 1 T. cumin
  • 1T. Smoked paprika
  • 1 T. ground ginger
  • 1 T. salt
  • 1 T. pepper
  • 1 T. garam marsala
  • 1 T. coriander
  • 1 t. allspice
  • 1 t. clove
  • 1 t. cinnamon

 Vegetable Korma                                                                                                                        

Korma is basically a dish that consists of vegetables cooked in a spicy, cream sauce. You can really do whatever veggies you like. For mine I just used what I had on hand. If you change it up, remember some veggies cook faster than others. Without realizing it, I made this recipe VEGAN! So if you skip the chicken, this will make a very satisfying meatless meal. This makes a big batch (6-8 servings). I froze half the batch.

Ingredients

  • 1 TBL. Coconut oil
  • 2 large potatoes, peeled & diced
  • 1/2 lb green beans, ends cut off and cut in 1/3rds
  • 2 large carrots, cubed
  • 1 can garbanzo beans
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 inch of fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • 1 can stewed tomatoes
  • 1 small can tomato paste
  • 1 cup water
  • Big pinch of salt
  • 4 TBL. Indian spice blend
  • Handful of cilantro, chopped
  1. In a large stock pot over medium heat, sauté onion in coconut oil until translucent.
  2. Add the garlic, ginger and spice blend.
  3. Add potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and tomato paste and 1 cup of water (or just enough water to cover potatoes). On medium- high heat, cook until potatoes and carrots are almost tender (about 10 minutes).
  4. Add green beans and garbanzo beans and simmer until green beans are cooked.
  5. Turn heat down to low and stir in the coconut milk. Taste and see if it’s “spicy” enough for you. Adjust your seasonings, as you like! Serve over jasmine rice and garnish with fresh cilantro.

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Grilled Tandoori Chicken                                                                                                          

  This is a very tasty way to have chicken. The yogurt and lemon give it a lightness while keeping it super moist. The extra spices will give it a bit more color and spice. Side note; don’t expect the bright red tandoori you may be used to at the restaurants. This recipe is food coloring free!

  • 1 cup plain yogurt
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 TBL. Indian spice blend
  • 1 TBL. Smoked paprika
  • 1 TBL. Turmeric
  • 1 tsp. cayenne pepper
  •  6 chicken drumsticks
  • Slices of lemon for garnish
  1. Mix marinade ingredients until well blended. Coat chicken in marinade and cover with plastic wrap. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, no longer than 12.
  2. Preheat your grill to medium- high. Grill chicken for about 30 minutes. Turn every few minutes until each side has a good char on it. Adjust heat down to medium and finish cooking, turning occasionally. If using a meat thermometer, you should be aiming for 165 internal temp. Serve with jasmine rice and vegetable korma.

Let me know what you think about these recipes and if you’d like to see more dinner ideas. I take requests! Maybe you can even come over to my house and taste test with me. -E

Carnitas

/ Emily / 1 Comment

I cannot turn down a good taco. I’m not talking the crunchy shelled, “ground beef” varieties peddled by your corner Taco Bell. It’s the soft corn tortillas (perhaps doubled up), the pile of slow-cooked meat filling and those bright, fresh toppings that suit my fancy. Unfortunately we have not discovered our “taco spot” in town. It seems like everyone who is a fan, seeks out the place that becomes theirs. Taco trucks, taquerias, sometimes disguised in little tiendas- that is where you find the real deal. We are hopeful that we will find “our” place here someday. In the meantime, I can’t get too glum since I am married to someone who shares my love for tacos and has mastered cooking one of my favorite varieties: carnitas. I shadowed his process and documented it to share with fellow taco connoisseurs. This is a dish that you should cook on a Sunday when you are hanging around the house. It’s slow-going, but worth it in the end. DSC_0056

Carnitas Tacos

Ingredients

  • 2lb Pork shoulder
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • several dried chiles
  • 2 tsp. white pepper
  • 1 tsp. coriander
  • 2 tsp. paprika
  • 1 bottle Mexican Coca Cola
  • package small corn tortillas
  • cilantro
  • white onion
  • limes
  • pickled veggies (optional, link to recipe below)
  1. Heat oven to 200 degrees. Rub down the pork with the spices. Pour cola over top and add the chilies and garlic. In the picture you can see I used my enameled cast iron stock pot. This is the ideal dish to cook in, as you will be using the stove top after its cooked in the oven. If you don’t have something similar, use a glass baking dish (preferably with a lid) and then you can use a skillet for the end portion.
  2. DSC_0010Cook the pork for 4-5 hours. Once the pork is falling apart, it’s ready for the next step.
  3. If using a glass baking dish in the oven, transfer to a wide, deep skillet or stock pot. Place on the stove top over medium heat without the lid. Simmer until most of the juices and cola have evaporated, approx. 15 minutes.
  4. Once most of the juices have evaporated and what is left is a little fat, crank the heat up to high and “fry” for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom for those tasty browned bits. The meat should look moist, but not dripping.
  5. Steam corn tortillas in microwave or crisp in a skillet. Our method is wrapping about 10 tortillas in a wet papertowel and microwaving for about 1.5 minutes.

Top with your favorite toppings. We always have cilantro, diced white onion and limes. This time I made some quick pickled veggies (a la Muchas Gracias, for my Oregon friends). You can find the recipe I used here. http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2014/10/pickled-jalapeno-chile-recipe/

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Kyle chopping cilantro with one of his hand forged knives.

The Soup that Made my Husband say, “I Like Kale”

/ Emily / Leave a comment

It’s raining out, getting darker earlier and the natural inclination to cook and do things indoors is taking over. I love hearty soups. Not really a fan of the pureed versions… Just doesn’t do it for me. This soup is really satisfying, flavorful and pretty easy too. Oh, and it’s true–this simple soup actually made Kyle say he liked kale– which means it must be good!

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Kale, Potato and Sausage Soup

Ingredients

  • Olive Oil
  • ½ lb Spicy Italian Sausage (ground)*
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 10ish crimini mushrooms (optional)
  • 5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
  • 6 c. water
  • 1 Tbl. “Better than Bullion” chicken stock**
  • 5 medium red potatoes, cubed
  • 1 can Cannelinni beans
  • 1 lb. kale, chopped
  • salt & pepper
  1. In a large pot heat oil and add the sausage. Cook until browned. Remove the sausage with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard all the fat minus about a tablespoon.
  2. Add onion, garlic and mushrooms. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, stirring.
  3. Add the water, bullion and potatoes. Boil until the potatoes are tender. Turn the heat down to medium so you have a nice simmer going and add the beans, kale and sausage. You now just want to cook it until the kale is tender enough for your liking. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Don’t overdo the cooking at the end or you will lose that beautiful bright green color in the kale! Top with fresh grated parmesan if you’ve got it!

*If you want to make it healthier, you can do ground turkey. If you go this route make sure to add more spices as the ground turkey can be a little bland. I’d recommend red pepper flakes, thyme, oregano etc.

**I like using the Better than Bullion. I think it gives great flavor and ends up saving tons of money on chicken stock (and space in the pantry!). That said, if you prefer chicken stock, I’d use one large container (usually 32 oz and then add 2 c. water)