Collard Greens with Indian Spices

Had some lovely rainbow collards and needed an accompaniment so fish curry, so whipped this up - with great success.

Ingredients

• 1/2 bunch collard greens, chopped very small (1/2")
• three cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp. ginger, minced
• one small hot or medium-hot pepper, diced fine (I used jalapeño)
• 1 tsp. black mustard seed
• 1/2 tsp. tumeric
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• several ounces high-temperature oil (sunflower or similar)

Procedure

1. Add enough oil to coat and have a thin layer in base of wok, and heat to medium-high
2. When oil is shimmering, add mustard seed and fry until grey and popping, 2-3 min.
3. Add garlic; fry for 20-30 sec.
4. Add ginger and pepper, and fry for 3-4 min.
5. Add remainder of spices and mix well
6. Add collards and stir well so all are covered in oil and spices; cover wok
7. Cook covered 10-15 min., occasionally stirring to keep from all sticking to wok
8. Serve hot and enjoy!

Verdict

Fantastic. Spicy, flavorful, and a nice charred flavor on the edges. Worked very well with my fish-potato curry.

Minar Indian Restaurant

After venturing out to the Post Office around lunchtime, I was lured into a cafeteria-style Indian restaurant offering 10 different dosas - basically I can't turn down any food if it's encased in a delicious, starchy wrapper. And I'm glad I went to Minar - the dosa was top-notch, tasty if a little on the soggy side in places after my trek back to the office. The potato-and-pea filling was solid, but the real standouts were the coconut chutney on the side (could eat a cup of that) and the sambar. Man, the sambar - super-flavorful, savory, and with a slow-building burn that set my scalp pleasantly sweating. And at $5.95 for the masala dosa ($7.25 for the paneer, which I plan on trying in the future), an excellently economical and filling lunch.

Mint Raitha

Had all the necessary ingredients, so looked into a few recipes and combined them by bits and bobs.

Ingredients:

1 large cucumber, grated

• 2 c. plain yogurt
• 5 spring onions (white sections chopped and green sections reserved)
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 1/4 c. chopped mint
• 1 tsp. roasted cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. ginger, finely chopped

Procedure:

1. Prepare ingredients
2. Mix in large bowl
3. Chill for at least 30 min.
4. Enjoy!

Verdict:

Very nice; a keeper.

Rasika

Yes, Rasika is the real deal. It was a special occasion, my bro's birthday, and so the hefty prices were not beyond the beyond, though I would hesitate making a habit out of it. The onion uttapam was unreal, the tandoori lamb chops fantastically tender and tasty, and the crispy spinach (flash-fried) in the palak chaat was simply astonishing, one of those "I've never had anything like this" deals. That being said: the chicken green masala was good-not-great, and ditto for the paneer. The dal makhani was oversold to me a bit - it was really good but I'm not sure the best I've ever had. The breads were very good, the chutneys and raita fine - Haandi does them all better. Rasika is an excellent restaurant, but guys, your Flash website is just crap.

Vidya's Garlic Pickle

My cousin Amanda and her husband Peter lived in Madurai, India for a while (Peter for several years across a couple of stretches) and among the wonderful things they returned with was serious cooking chops, and a book of recipes from their friend Vidya. The shining star of those recipes, without question, is the Garlic Pickle, reproduced below. I just made a batch and even my inexpert execution produced an obscenely tasty result.

Vidya's Garlic Pickle

Highly spiced preserves such as these are served as a condiment with rice meals. Prepare a batch and keep in the fridge. They last for months, getting better with time.

Ingredients:

• 6 to 7 cups of fresh peeled garlic (cloves should not be bigger than ¾ inches in length, and larger cloves should be cut into halves or quarters)
• 2 cups of fresh Indian sesame oil (do not use Chinese roasted sesame oil)
• 3 tablespoons fenugreek
• ¼ cup tamarind concentrate
• 1 cup water
• 3 tablespoons turmeric powder
• 3 tablespoons black mustard seeds
• 6 tablespoons red chili powder
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Procedure:

1. Roast 3 tablespoons of fenugreek in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, until the fenugreek turns reddish golden. In a blender, grind the fenugreek into a coarse powder. Set aside.
2. Dissolve the tamarind in 1 cup of water, and set aside.
3. Heat the remaining sesame oil, and fry the mustard seeds until they pop and turn gray.
4. Reduce heat to medium, add turmeric and chili powder, and stir thoroughly.
5. Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute.
6. Add the tamarind water and roasted fenugreek powder, and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to a simmer.
8. Add salt and sugar.
9. Continue to cook for 3 to 5 minutes on low heat, stirring gently.
10. Cool the pickle mix, transfer it to a glass jar or other airtight container, and refrigerate. This pickle can be served right away, but it tastes better after one or two weeks or more of soaking in oil and spices. The recommended serving size varies depending upon an individual’s tolerance for spicy food, but a small servings of one teaspoon is a reasonable starting point. Garlic pickle can be served with any Indian dish, but it is particularly delicious with curd rice.

Potatoes, Spinach, Peas

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. potatoes
• bag o'spinach
• can o'peas
• lotsa garlic
• ginger
• cumin
• butter
• milk
• yogurt

Directions:

• Heat water to boiling in pot; boil potatoes for ~10 min., and set aside
  
• Chop garlic and ginger
• Heat skillet to medium-high with butter; add garlic and ginger and sauté for a minute or two
• Add spinach, turning and covering in butter, ginger, garlic; cook until spinach is sauteéd down, and set aside
• Chop boiled potatoes into 1/2" sections
• Add more butter to same pan, then potatoes
• Cook potatoes for several minutes over medium-high heat, adding cumin and some milk
• Add peas, adding milk, yogurt, cumin to desired consistency
• When potatoes are softening, add spinach back, lower heat to medium-low and again add milk and yogurt to desired consistency.
• Enjoy!

Verdict: While loosely based on a fairly traditional Indian potatoes'n'peas dish, this was a total ad-lib of a recipe, taking only a small amount of inspiration (essentially, boiling the potatoes and the prep of garlic and ginger) from my other favorite potato dish. As it happens, it worked out really, really well, so I think this is both a keeper and a distinct recipe from the other potato dish, which is much spicier.

Sweet Potato Psuedo-Curry

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. sweet potato, chop into 1/2" cubes
• 1 large onion, sliced lengthwise thinly
• 3-4 medium tomatoes / large can of tomatoes (diced, crushed or whole), diced
• garam masala
• cumin
• salt
• butter
• milk
• yogurt

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F
• Place sweet potatoes in baking pan; cover in garam masala and cumin
• When oven is ready, place pan in oven; bake until charred and slightly softened, and set aside
• Heat butter in large skillet; add onions and cumin to taste, cook until softening
• Add tomatoes and milk; cook down to sauce, adding cumin and garam masala to taste
  
• Add sweet potatoes and yogurt to thicken sauce; cook until sweet potatoes are softened further, adding yogurt and milk to desired creaminess of sauce, and salt to taste
• Serve with rice

Verdict: The first of my invented psuedo-curries (dating to my "making it all up as I went along" days in New Cross Gate), this is a long-time stand-by. I always receive comments along the lines of, "I don't think I've ever had sweet potato curry before," which is almost always correct as it's not a common ingredient in Indian cooking, at least as expressed in American restaurants serving Indian food. No, just a post-national bastardization of two of my favorite foods - tomato-based curries and the sweet, sweet, sweet potato.