What do you think of first when you think "Indian cuisine"? Curry, probably. Hot curry. Not everyone's favorite flavor.
Kim spent hours in her new book, picking out the perfect menu. Which included Coconut Chicken Curry. The spices for this very mild curry are a beautifully fragrant collage.
By the time we got everything spread out and work stations established, I was mentally thanking Dennis for the wonderfully huge counter space he built - what a perfect place for a cooking adventure! Kim worked on the snack (appetizer) while I prepared "fresh coriander" better known in my garden as cilantro.
It's not easy to find really good ripe mangos. Kimberly did a good job, arriving with three candidates for the Mango Lassi drink, and the Mango Icecream dessert. The mangos were peeled, sliced off the huge pit, then blended almost smooth in the food processer.Here's the recipe for the lassi, which is a cooling yogurt drink - perfect for hot summer days. (click on the photo to enlarge)
Here's the lassi, served over ice cubes and sprinkled with a dash of ground pistachio - delicious ice-cold creamy refreshment with a sparkle of mango. Yum! The grandpunks call it Mango smoothie...
The Onion Bhajias snack starts with a batter made of chickpea (garbanzo) flour, minced garlic and spices. Thinly sliced onion is mixed in....
then dropped in clumpy gobs into hot oil to fry crisp and tender.
This large pan was emptied in nothing flat...the two youngest grandpunks ate them to the last crumb. I ate a few too many, almost didn't have room for dinner. This super simple and tasty snack will be on the request list - good thing we have about twice as many onions planted in the garden this year...
Kim's mom, Janet, joined us for the cooking adventure. She was in charge of the Oasis naan. I went through this recipe in a previous post. Janet loves to make bread, and has a deft hand at kneading.
After a 3-hour rise, the dough is divided and then patted out into rounds...
sprinkled with cumin seeds and sliced scallions and baked at 500 degrees.
We strolled out for a garden visit, to see if any cucumbers were willing to jump into the raita. This is our first garden tomato of the season! A small Brandywine - but a RIPE TOMATO, nontheless.
Vegetable raita is a cooling yogurt condiment, with chopped onion, cucumber and tomato. The crowning touch was freshly toasted cumin seed, coarsely ground in my little Bosch coffee grinder - the best tool ever for grinding flax and other seeds.
The finished raita is chilled, then garished with copped cilantro when served. This cooling condiment is a common curry side-kick, in many different flavors.
One of the items no self-respecting Indian cook would be without, is ghee. While it can be found in some grocery stores, it is easy and much more satisfying to make your own. You simply melt, on low, a pound of unsalted top quality butter. Without stirring, let it slowly come to a boil. The boiling removes water, and separates out the solids. This is the same method for making clarified butter (you know, what you dip lobster into...), but for ghee you wait a few minutes longer, until the tiny curdy residue that sinks to the bottom of the pot is light brown, and the amber oil smells like croissants fresh from the oven. Heaven!
As the butter comes to a boil, keep the heat low, resist stirring. Blow on the foam to view the bottom from time to time. By the time it nears the end, there will be very little foam. Strain through a fine sieve or doubled cheesecloth. It will keep, unrefrigerated, on the counter in a lidded jar. It has a high heat point, and even though an oil it has some touted health benefits.
The plated dinner: Coconut curry chicken, rice flavored with toasted cumin seeds and bay leaf, Garlic dal (lentils), Vegetable raita, and naan. Some of the most choice flavors from India. The cabin is going to smell good for a week! Toasting the seeds and spices before grinding releases the most astounding aromas.
To finish off the perfect menu, Kimberly made Mango icecream. Vanilla icecream was blended with mango puree and some milk, then refrigerated as a sort of soft-serve. It had been made well ahead of dinner, so we threw it into the freezer until about an hour before serving. With very ripe mangos, no sugar is needed.
A scoop of Breyer Vanilla Bean, a scoop of Mango icecream, garnished with sliced almonds - and a few raspberries from the garden. Perfection to end a perfect meal. Thanks, Kimberly and Janet...
We love to have Kim come visit!
Here's the lassi, served over ice cubes and sprinkled with a dash of ground pistachio - delicious ice-cold creamy refreshment with a sparkle of mango. Yum! The grandpunks call it Mango smoothie...
The Onion Bhajias snack starts with a batter made of chickpea (garbanzo) flour, minced garlic and spices. Thinly sliced onion is mixed in....
then dropped in clumpy gobs into hot oil to fry crisp and tender.
This large pan was emptied in nothing flat...the two youngest grandpunks ate them to the last crumb. I ate a few too many, almost didn't have room for dinner. This super simple and tasty snack will be on the request list - good thing we have about twice as many onions planted in the garden this year...
Kim's mom, Janet, joined us for the cooking adventure. She was in charge of the Oasis naan. I went through this recipe in a previous post. Janet loves to make bread, and has a deft hand at kneading.
After a 3-hour rise, the dough is divided and then patted out into rounds...
sprinkled with cumin seeds and sliced scallions and baked at 500 degrees.This dimpled bread is a tantalizing combination of crisp and chewy, and you should smell it baking!
We strolled out for a garden visit, to see if any cucumbers were willing to jump into the raita. This is our first garden tomato of the season! A small Brandywine - but a RIPE TOMATO, nontheless.Vegetable raita is a cooling yogurt condiment, with chopped onion, cucumber and tomato. The crowning touch was freshly toasted cumin seed, coarsely ground in my little Bosch coffee grinder - the best tool ever for grinding flax and other seeds.
The finished raita is chilled, then garished with copped cilantro when served. This cooling condiment is a common curry side-kick, in many different flavors.
One of the items no self-respecting Indian cook would be without, is ghee. While it can be found in some grocery stores, it is easy and much more satisfying to make your own. You simply melt, on low, a pound of unsalted top quality butter. Without stirring, let it slowly come to a boil. The boiling removes water, and separates out the solids. This is the same method for making clarified butter (you know, what you dip lobster into...), but for ghee you wait a few minutes longer, until the tiny curdy residue that sinks to the bottom of the pot is light brown, and the amber oil smells like croissants fresh from the oven. Heaven!
As the butter comes to a boil, keep the heat low, resist stirring. Blow on the foam to view the bottom from time to time. By the time it nears the end, there will be very little foam. Strain through a fine sieve or doubled cheesecloth. It will keep, unrefrigerated, on the counter in a lidded jar. It has a high heat point, and even though an oil it has some touted health benefits.
The plated dinner: Coconut curry chicken, rice flavored with toasted cumin seeds and bay leaf, Garlic dal (lentils), Vegetable raita, and naan. Some of the most choice flavors from India. The cabin is going to smell good for a week! Toasting the seeds and spices before grinding releases the most astounding aromas.
To finish off the perfect menu, Kimberly made Mango icecream. Vanilla icecream was blended with mango puree and some milk, then refrigerated as a sort of soft-serve. It had been made well ahead of dinner, so we threw it into the freezer until about an hour before serving. With very ripe mangos, no sugar is needed.
A scoop of Breyer Vanilla Bean, a scoop of Mango icecream, garnished with sliced almonds - and a few raspberries from the garden. Perfection to end a perfect meal. Thanks, Kimberly and Janet...
We love to have Kim come visit! Yes, she got to milk the goats.
1 comment:
That was so mouth-watering! Indian food is some of my favorite. I especially enjoy curry dishes and the breads!
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