Ohio cooking

I've been in Ohio the past few days, working as a visiting assistant professor at a small, adorable liberal arts college. Since it's one the college's dime, we've done alot of eating out at nice places, but last night, after a large lunch with great students, we were fed up with dining out (ha). You know, restaurant mouth from a little too much salt and too much food.

Since Professor G is a vegetarian, we decided to make vegetarian Indian food, something that I often do on this blog. However, I was lacking my usual set of spices, so we made do with what was available at the local grocery store, mostly spice mixes. Flipping through one of her cookbooks, we choose the veggie biryani, lentils, and a raita recipe. I also saw pretty sprouts (which are woefully out of season but still called my name). I haven't been in a huge grocery store like that since I visited my parents over Christmas.
I also learned that small town video rental stores on a Friday night can be as slow as Brooklyn.

Veggie biryani (adapted from Girl Can't Cook)
1 1/2 c. of basmati rice
4 tables of biryani spices (found in the glass jar in the "ethnic aisle" of a larger grocery store)
1 onion, diced
garlic and ginger, diced
1/2 c. of raisins
1/3 c. of slivered almonds
1 yellow squash, cut into thin coins and sliced in half again (they should look like half-moons)
2 carrots, also cut into 1/2 moons or 1 red pepper, cored and sliced
1/2 head of broccoli chopped
Oil/ghee
Juice of one lemon
3 c. Water

Cook the onions in the ghee/oil until soft, over medium heat. Add the spices and stir, another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir until the kernels are well coated. Add the vegetables and water, and stir over high heat until it reaches a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cover for 30-40 minutes or until the rice is cooked and the liquid gone.

Raita (also adapted from Girl Can't Cook)
1 1/4 c. of plain yogurt
1/2 teas salt (or to taste)
1/2 teas of cumin
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 English cucumber, cored and grated
2 Tbs of cilantro
lemon juice


You can skip this step if you don't mind a water Raita (I don't), but if you do, combine the cucumbers, tomatoes and salt in a colander and let the excess water strain out (maybe like 10 minutes). Add the tomato/cumber mixture to a medium sized bowl with the yogurt, cilantro, cumin, and lemon juice. Add more salt to taste.

Roasted brussels sprouts with garlic
Olive oil
salt
3 cloves of garlic chopped
about 20 Brussels sprouts, with the ends trimmed off, cut in 1/2

Preheat the oven to 400. Add the chopped garlic and sprouts in a shallow baking dish, with the cut sides down. Drizzle with oil oil (about 1 1/2 Tbs) and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the tops and bottoms of carmelized (we overcooked ours just a bit but they tasted delicious). Add salt to taste when done.

Quick and easy dal (that I always make and force Blokey to eat)
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlice
1/2" of ginger root, grated (we didn't have that, rural Ohio seems to be missing this ingredient)
2 tomatoes chopped (or 1/2 of a tetra pack of chopped tomatoes)
1/4 c. of plain yogurt
1 1/2 T. of Madras curry spices (in a glass jar from the supermarket)
1/2 teas. red pepper (spice, not the bell variety)
lemon juice
1 c. of dry lentils.
oil

While the rice is cooking, bring 4 c. of water to a boil. Add the 1 c. of lentils and bring to a boil again, and then lower heat to a simmer and cover. They should be done in about 20 minutes. In a medium sauce pan, saute the onions in oil over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and stir, another 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook until they begin to break down into a mush. Add about 1 1/2 Tbsp of the curry spices and stir. Remove from the heat until the lentils are done. Drain, and add to the tomato-spice mix. Cook again over medium heat until the spices and lentils are well incorporated. Add lemon juice, red pepper, and yogurt and stir.
The pictures aren't as appetizing as the food. As G said, it was a bit monochromatic, but the taste was anything but boring. We all ate too much and had to hold our bellies as we watched "Funny People."

International Solidarity with 9/11/73

(A riff on Chilean stew, with South Asian elements)


It's been a while since I've updated, and this is because I've moved. But I finally made it over to Jackson Heights, Queens, the south Asian capital of New York city. Man, i've never been to South Asia but I've been in South Asian districts of London and it felts very similar- busy, chaotic, incredibly diverse (in the south asian groceries by my parents' house in exurb Atlanta, I am typically the only non obviously S.Asian looking person). But I felt very much at home with the Central American, South Asian, East Asian populations mixing with the occassional white urban gentrifier.
I bought really cheap cauliflower, a few pickles (including a mango one for one of my roommates), and a good garam masala (I refuse to pay a dozen plus dollars for the Whole Foods/Dean and Deluca variety). I went home, looked around the fridge and came up with this: (it's a marriage between Tomatican- a Moosewood cafe version of Chilean stew, and Aloo Gobi)

Butter (Lima) bean and cauliflower curry with brown basmati rice
(approx time: 40 minutes)
serves 2-3 (I am hungry so I ate about half)

Ingredients:
1 frozen pack of butter beans (approx 12 oz)
1 can of chopped tomatoes (Hunts or Muir Glen, everything else taste tinny)- you could also use 1 fresh tomato and some tomato paste and water)
1/2 cauliflower head (or whole)
1 small onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, diced
1/2" of ginger root, diced
1 jalepeno or similarly hot peper chopped, or 1/2 teas of cayenne
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon of coriander
1 teaspoon or less Garam Masala
salt to taste
oil or ghee for sauteeing
brown or white basmatic rice

Garnishes:
plain yogurt, chopped cilantro, Indian relish

1) cook rice (as much as you want- i did 1 1/2 c.) according to directions (typically 2:1 water to rice for brown, 1.5:1 for white).
2) Brown onions in oil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, jalepeno for 2-4 mintues, until onions are tender and the peppers are making you cough (a little)
3) add spices except garam masala to onion mixture, stir for 1 minute
4) add tomato/canned tomato. Let simmer for 2 minutes
5) add beans and cauliflower. increase heat to high until this starts to bubble and lower to a simmer. Add lid and stir occassionaly, 10 minutes (if the liquid is too low, then add some water) until the beans are tender but cauliflower still has some bite
6) add Garam Masala- stir another 2 minutes
7) remove from heat. Serve rice and any garnishes

It doesn't look pretty but it tasted damn good:
(that green stuff in the middle is coriander relish, coriander being the Queen's way of saying cilantro).

On an somewhat related but important for me anyway topic, I love Indian medicine remedies,
especially for the gastro-intestinal area. Imagine my delight as I found these in the checkout "impulse buy" area for a mere $1.99:



They are "special pills for all gastric disorders, indigestion, wind flatulations and other digeston disorders." I took some with water before eating dinner. They tasted a bit like farts and here I am, having eaten a bit too much, feeling comfortable and carefree. Thanks Chiran1a!