For Elisa's first time hostessing our Indian supperclub, I knew that Priya and Sapna were making recipes that they grew up eating. I adore family recipes. It's a way to get to know your friend a little better. For me, it ranks up there with knowing when their birthday is, who taught them how to ride their bike, what football team they root for and how they take their coffee. It says something about how they grew up and if I really think about it, it's very much like meeting an actual family member.
Jody and I shared a cab with our bags of goodies in tow. We reached the door of Elisa's apartment and were greeted by a barking and enthusiastic Sammy. A cute daschund with a rusty-colored coat, his long hair became curly, wispy tendrils at his ears. For the rest of the evening, he would visit all of us in turn and make himself at home on our laps. With sleepy, half-closed eyes, he'd lift his head and woof if you stopped giving him love.
Elisa's apartment had an enormous window with a view of the city under which plushy couches surrounded a dark, brown leather ottoman. There was a kitchen with a huge pass-through facing the city lights, a tall, black armoire to house her tv and a gorgeous red, chinoiserie cabinet that served as her workspace. The decor was a good match for the food. Rich, comforting, exotic and warm.
We laid out the food buffet-style atop the spacious countertop of the pass-through. There were samosas, mango lassis, sabudana khichidi (tapioca/potatoes), roast cauliflower with onions, dal, palak paneer and chicken tikka masala. Elisa set out naan that she had picked up and rice steamed in a cooker on her kitchen countertop.
The two standout recipes for me were, of course, the ones made by Priya and Sapna. Priya's samosas were absolutely beautiful. Exquisitely flat-wrapped little triangles, she had played with her original family recipe and used wonton wrappers. They were lightly crispy to the bite and were stuffed with a flavorful, ground meat spiced with jalapeno and tumeric. Sapna's dish was sabudana khichidi which I was excited to try since I had never had eaten it or even seen it on any restaurant menus. After a long soaking in water, the tapioca is mixed with fresh cilantro, peanuts and cooked potato. The mixture is dressed with lemon juice, mustard seeds and chilies. It was like a salad of sorts with chewy tapioca mixed in with the crunch of the peanut, the soothing cubes of potato and the brightness of cilantro.
Stephanie was one of the last girls to arrive. A handful of us were nestled comfortably on the couches. There were some pointed looks among all of us and some furious whispering. "Is Steph...?" "You ask." "Uh-uh..I am NOT asking. You ask." After dropping off her carved pineapple, piled high with fruit, Stephanie turned around and said. "So I have some news." This statement sent us into an immediate flurry of cheering and excitement. Steph didn't even finish her sentence. Normally, one of the tinier people I know...she had an adorable baby bump. We all instinctively knew the minute we saw her. Steph was pregnant! The first supperclub baby!
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Chicken Tikka Masala
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless chicken thighs
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 fresh green chili, deseeded and chopped
6 fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup plain yogurt (avoid low fat or non-fat yogurt for a richer flavor)
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 cup Basmati Rice
1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
Directions: Cut chicken into bite sized pieces; set aside. Combine in Food Processor half of the chopped onion, garlic, ginger, chili, mint, lemon juice and tomato paste. Process until mixture is a fine paste. Combine this mixture with yogurt and spices blending well. Add chicken and mix until chicken is coated. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
When ready to cook. Heat ghee in large heavy skillet until hot. Saute' remaining onion in ghee until onion is transparent. Add chicken mixture and water and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve with prepared Basmati rice.
While chicken is cooking; prepare Basmati rice according to package directions. During last 5 minutes of cooking, add fennel seeds to top of rice. When rice as completed cooking and all water is absorbed; toss to distribute fennel seeds. This recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala serves/makes 4
http://www.cdkitchen.com
Notes from Elisa: I made a view variations and additions to this recipe as follows:
I used boneless chicken breasts, instead of thighs & Natural Greek Yogurt instead of regular plain yogurt.
After the chicken had marinated overnight in the sauce, I began cooking it over the stovetop.
In the pot, as I was heating the Ghee (butter) and onions, I added:
1tsp Curry Powder
Then in a separate bowl I mixed:
2tsp Creamed Coconut
2Tbls Heavy Cream
3Tbl Tomato Puree
1tsp Garlic Puree
1tsp Ginger Puree
1tsp Sugar
1Tbl Natural Greek Yogurt
1/3 cup water
Add the chicken to the onion mixture and mix. Pour the separate bowl of ingredients over the chicken mixture and mix well. Then Follow heating instruction on recipe.
5 minutes before the end of cooking I added
1tsp Garam Masala
If you wish to adjust consistency of sauce, add water to make more runny and or some additional tomato puree to thicken it.
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Moong Dal & Masoor Dal with Browned Onion
6 oz Moong Dal
6 oz Masoor Dal
2 pints water
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
Generous pinch ground asafetida
1 tsp cumin seeds
3-5 dried, hot red chillies
1 small onion, peeled & cut into very thin half rings
Combine dals in bowl and wash. Drain and put in a heavy pan. Add water & tumeric, stir & bring to simmer. Cover but leave lid very slightly ajar, turn heat to low and simmer gently for 40 to 50 minutes or until tender. Stir a few times during cooking. Add the salt and mix. Leave covered, on very low heat, as you do the next step.
Put the ghee in a small frying pan over high heat. When hot, put in asafetida, then, a second later, the cumin seeds. Let the cumin seeds sizzle for a few seconds. Put in the red chillies. As soon as they turn dark red, put in the onion. Stir & fry on medium-high heat until the onion turns quite brown & crisp. Pour contents of frying pan into dal pan. Cover the pan immediately to trap the aromas.
Madhur Jaffrey
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Samosas
1 lb lean ground beef
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2 - 1 jalapeno (blend with garlic in food processor with small amt of water)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 turmeric
1/2-1 tsp chili powder
Put garlic mixture and seasonings into pan with beef. Cook over med-high heat. Stir while meat is cooking so it doesn't clump. It's done when meat is dried out and almost sticking to bottom.
Let cool.
1 med yellow onion - chop finely
coriander - minced.
mix onion and coriander into cooled meat.
wonton wrappers - take out about 15 minutes before to defrost.
white flour and water to make a thick paste.
-Cut square wrappers down middle to make two long rectangles. cut triangles off top and bottom of rectangles.
-Take two wrappers together, fold right side from center to make a triangle. inch tip of triangle down.
-Fold left side over triangle. flip over to reveal pocket. fill with meat.
-Paste first top layer down then paste second layer to first layer. paste side seam down. (make sealed pocket so meat doesn't get oily).
-Heat oil on low-medium heat. add samosas. turn over a couple of times over a couple of minutes then turn heat up to medium high to brown. Turn heat back down before adding next batch.
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Sabudana Khichidi
1 cup sabudana(sago, or tapioca)
1/2 tsp sugar
2 green chillies chopped finely
1/2 cup crushed ground nuts(coarse)
1 boiled & peeled potato
2 tsp oil
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 pinch hing (asafoetida)
Salt to taste
Few coriander leaves
Few curry leaves
How to make sabudana khichidi :
-Wash and soak sabudana in water just enough to loosen and light for minimum 2 hrs.
-Chop the potatoes into small cubes. Mix crushed groundnuts, sugar and salt and keep aside. -Heat the oil/ghee in a pan and add mustard seeds. When the mustard seed crackle add cumin seeds, green chillies and curry leaves.
-Add potatoes and stir well. Mix sabudana mixture and mix gently.
-Garnish with coriander leaves.
-Sprinkle some lemon juice over it and serve hot.
www.indianfoodforever.com
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