This Cook's Country recipe emerged from a desire to make a biscuit recipe that compromised a bit on quality in order to gain a lot of speed -- which mainly means that instead of rolling out the dough and cutting it to get flaky biscuits, you press it into the pan to get fluffy ones.

To symbol, this is not a good tradeoff. In their estimation the flakiness is the entire point of biscuits, and if they aren't flaky, why bother? For my part, though, I find these quite tasty in their own right, and the rolling and cutting is the part I like least about making biscuits, so it's actually a pretty good deal.

Pat-in-the-Pan Buttermilk Biscuits

Cook's Country

Ingredients

• 1 + 1 + 10 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 4 c. cake flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. salt
• 2 c. buttermilk, chilled

Directions

1. Put 10 Tbsp. of the butter in the freezer to chill for ~15 minutes.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat to 450°F.
3. Grease an 8" square baking pan with 1 tablespoon of butter.
4. Leave the remaining 1tbsp out to soften.
5. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
6. Add chilled butter and smash between your fingertips into pea-sized pieces.
7. Gently stir in buttermilk until no dry pockets remain.
8. Using spatula, transfer dough to greased pan.
9. Flour your hands and pat the dough into an even layer and into the corners of the pan.
10. Using an oiled dough scraper, cut into 9 equal squares, but do not separate.
11. Bake until golden brown on top, ~30 minutes.
12. Let cool for 5 minutes. Turn out onto wire rack, brush with melted butter, and let stand for 10 minutes.
13. Pull apart and serve.

I wasn't actually expecting to be that enamored of this cold chopped veggie dish, but it's actually really tasty. The acidity of the lime juice means it works well with fish and seafood. In this instance I actually made it as an accompaniment to a simple paneer curry. I simplified the preparation a bit, but I don't think it suffered for it.

Kachumber

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 large English cucumber, cubed¹
• 1 medium tomato, cored and cubed
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, chopped
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tsp. Chaat Masala

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients and mix well.
2. Serve room temperature or chilled.

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¹ The original recipe says to peel the cucumber and scoop out the seeds. I didn't bother with any of that and just chopped up the cucumber with the skin on and seeds in. I think it was just fine that way. Not to mention easier prep and less waste. ^Back

This is one of my all-time favourite spice blends. I love adding it to the curds when I'm making paneer. It complements dairy particularly well and I also quite like it with legumes.

Balti Masala

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. black cardamom seeds
• 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 2 tsp. cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

Directions

1. Preheat a skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add fennel, coriander, cumin, mustard, cloves, cardamom seeds, nigella, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks and toast, shaking frequently until spices are toasted and fragrant (1-2 minutes).
3. Immediately transfer to plate to cool.
4. Once cool, transfer to spice grinder and finely grind.
5. Stir in cayenne and ground nutmeg.

Mulayam Paneer Bhurjee (Crumbled Paneer with Scallions and Tomatoes)

Aside from the need to chop thousands of scallions, this is an extremely easy recipe to put together. You can start by making the paneer and then let it drain while you prep everything else. Once you've got everything chopped and ready to go, it's just a matter of sizzling the cumin for a few seconds before jumbling everything into the pot to cook. Five minutes and it's done! Seriously, probably one of the easiest curries you'll ever make.

Mulayam Paneer Bhurjee

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 250g Malai Paneer¹, crumbled²
• 250g scallions, chopped
• 250g tomatoes, cored and chopped
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. Balti Masala
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2-4 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-20 seconds.
3. Add remaining ingredients and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
4. Serve with roti and Katchumber.

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¹ If making your paneer fresh (recommended), 1L of half-and-half (10% cream) and 30-35mL of vinegar should produce just the right amount of cheese for this recipe. ^Back
2 Since this recipe calls for crumbled paneer anyway, I just didn't bother pressing it in the first place. If you're using store-bought paneer, then go ahead and crumble it. But I think this recipe really does benefit from a fresh, creamy homemade paneer. And skipping the pressing step makes it extra easy. ^Back

Manjal Mullangi Pattani Kari (Indian-Style Carrots and Peas)

I was looking for a relatively simple vegetable side-dish to serve with the beef curry I made for dinner tonight and this worked out quite nicely. I ended up serving the beef over rice along with some leftover kale, mixed flatbreads (naan and paratha), and these spiced carrots and peas.

Manjal Mullangi Patani Kari

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unrefined sesame or canola oil¹
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. Sambhar Masala
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 400g carrots², peeled and sliced into coins
• 2 c. frozen green peas
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they stop popping (30-60 seconds).
3. Immediately add onion and cook until nicely browned (2-3 minutes).
4. Add salt, cumin, coriander, Sambhar masala, and turmeric and cook, stirring constantly for a minute or so.
5. Add carrots and peas and stir to coat.
6. Pour in water and bring to a boil.
7. Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.
8. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes.
9. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

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¹ I only had toasted sesame oil, so I decided to go with 1 Tbsp. each of canola oil and toasted sesame oil. ^Back
2 I only just realized I ended up using way more carrots than the recipe called for. Technically it was only supposed to be 227g of carrots, but I had a brain fart when converting to metric and was thinking it wanted 450g of carrots and I'd just make do with the 400g I had on hand. Whoops! Oh well, I liked it with the extra carrots and I'd probably do it just the same way if I were making it again. ^Back

Rasa Vadai (Lentil Fritters in Spicy Tamarind-Lentil Broth)

This curry has a lot of moving parts and definitely isn't something I'd want to attempt on a busy weeknight. It is quite tasty though and it's very satisfying to watch the fritters puff up as they fry. And it was a huge hit with the Kidlet. She wants us to make it all the time now!

Rasa Vadai

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries

Ingredients

Fritters

• 1 c. skinned split black lentils (mapte beans/urad dal)
• 3/4 c. water, divided
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• oil for deep frying

Broth

• 1/4 c. skinned split pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 6 c. water, divided
• 1/2 tsp. + 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 Tbsp. uncooked long-grain white rice
• 2 Tbsp. yellow split peas (chana dal)
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 2-3 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chiles
• 1 tsp. tamarind paste or concentrate
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground asafetida
• 1 medium tomato, cored and chopped
• 15-20 fresh curry leaves
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions

Fritters

1. Rinse the lentils several times, then cover with warn water and let stand at room temperature for 1-4 hours.
2. Drain.
3. Add to blender jar with 1/2 c. water and purée, scraping down sides of blender as needed.
4. Transfer batter back to empty bowl.
5. Pour 1/4 c. water into now empty blender jar and run blender to rinse out any residual batter. Add this watery mixture to the batter in the bowl.
6. Stir in salt.
7. Using spatula, vigorously beat batter for 2-3 minutes to work in as much air as possible.
8. Pour 2-3" of oil into a wok or Dutch oven and heat to ~180°C (350°F).
9. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter into the hot oil and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown all over. You can probably cook 8-10 at a time depending on the size and shape of your vessel. Try not to overcrowd the fritters though.
10. Once cooked, remove the fritters to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Broth

1. Rinse the pigeon peas several times.
2. Combine pigeon peas with 2 c. water and bring to a boil, uncovered. Skim off any foam that forms.
3. Reduce heat to medium or medium-low and simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat 1/2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat.
5. Add rice, split peas, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, peppercorns, and chiles and cook until browned but not burnt (2-3 minutes). Immediately transfer to plate to cool.
6. Once toasted spice mixture is cool, transfer to spice grinder and finely grind.
7. Combine the tamarind paste with 4 c. water and mix well.
8. Add ground spice mixture, salt, turmeric, asafetida, tomato, and curry leaves.
9. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
10. Reduce heat to medium and cook, uncovered for 15 minutes.
11. Meanwhile, tansfer cooked pigeon peas and any residual cooking liquid to blender and purée.
12. Heat 1 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat.
13. Add mustard seeds and cover. Cook until mustard seeds stop popping (30-60 seconds).
14. Dump mustard seeds and oil into tamarind broth.
15. Stir pur&eacue;ed pigeon peas into broth.
16. Add cilantro.

Assembly

1. Once broth and fritters are all cooked, place a few fritters in a bowl or soup plate and ladle a generous quantity of broth over them.
2. Serve immediately.

This is Cook's Country's take on the classic strawberry and spinach salad with sweet poppyseed dressing. Their version reduces the sweetness, amps up the poppyseed flavour with toasting, and adds quick-pickled red onions, which I'm quite happy with.

Spinach & Strawberry Salad

Cook's Country

Ingredients

• ½C red wine vinegar
• ⅓C sugar
• salt and pepper
• 1 red onion, sliced thin
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• ½C sliced almonds
• ¼C oil
• 1tsp dried mustard
• 1lb strawberries, hulled and quartered (~2½C)
• 1lb baby spinach

Directions

1. Whisk together vinegar, sugar, and ⅜tsp salt in a small bowl.
2. Microwave until hot, about 2 minutes. Stir in onion and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
3. Toast poppyseeds in a small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, 1-2 minutes; transfer to bowl and set aside.
4. In the same skillet, toast almonds until fragrant and golden, 3-5 minutes. Set aside.
5. Whisk oil, mustard, poppyseeds, and ½tsp pepper into vinegar-onion mixture.
6. Combine strawberries, spinach, and almonds in a large bowl. Pour over dressing and toss to combine.

Chowli nu Shaak (Amaranth Leaves with Peanuts)

This is ostensibly an amaranth leaf curry, but the recipe notes say that you can substitute spinach, collard, kale, or mustard greens in a pinch. We had a bunch of black kale on hand that needed to be eaten, so I figured this would be a good way to use it up.

I wasn't expecting much from this curry given the short ingredient list and watery sauce, but I needed a quick and easy vegetable dish to go with the lentil dumplings and broth I'd made and this fit the bill. That said, this actually surpassed my expectations. It was a lot more flavourful than it looked like it was going to be!

Chowli nu Shaak

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 450g red amaranth or black kale leaves
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. asafetida
• 1/2 c unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 c. water

Directions

1. Rinse the leaves very well. Trim out stems and slice the leaves into ribbons.
2. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
3. Add mustard seeds to oil, cover, and cook until the seeds stop popping (30-60 seconds).
4. Remove from heat and add cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and asafetida.
5. Return to medium-high heat and add a handful of leaves. Cover and allow to wilt slightly before adding another handful. Repeat until all leaves have been added and wilted.
6. Add peanuts, salt, sugar, and water.
7. Cook, covered, for 10-15 minutes. If you like a slightly thicker sauce, remove the lid for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

This corn was so, so good! I'd definitely make a double batch next time. The flavour is excellent and everyone loved it.

Miso Honey Butter Corn

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2019

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 4-5 c. corn kernels¹
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 Tbsp. honey
• 3 scallions, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. white miso
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add corn, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until tender and spotty-brown (~10 minutes).
3. Remove from heat and stir in butter, honey, scallions, miso, and soy sauce.

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¹ Fresh is best, but frozen will work in a pinch. If using fresh corn, you'll need about six ears. ^Back

Poached Tilapia with Tart Coconut Milk and Garlic (Kokum Muchee)

This fish curry comes together astonishingly quickly and easily; it also seems like it would scale well. You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly for different fish, or thicker (or thinner) cuts, and if the fish is frozen or particularly thin the initial searing step may do more to cook the fish through than to sear it, but that's ok; the main event here is the sauce that coats it.

If you can't secure kokum, dissolve ½ teaspoon tamarind paste or concentrate in the boiling water instead, or, failing that, the juice of one lime or lemon.

Poached Tilapia with Tart Coconut Milk and Garlic

660 Curries

Ingredients

• ½tsp ground turmeric
• 1lb (450g) skinless tilapia filets
• 5 pieces dried black kokum, each roughly 5cm×2.5cm
• ¼C (60mL) boiling water
• 2tbsp (30mL) corn oil
• 4 medium-sized garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, stems removed, cut in half lengthwise, seeds left in
• 1C (240mL) coconut milk
• 2tbsp (30mL) finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rub the turmeric over both sides of the fillets. Refrigerate, covered, for at least 30 minutes.
2. Combine the kokum and the boiling water in a small bowl, and let it steep for 10-15 minutes to absorb the flavour of the kokum. Remove the kokum pieces and squeeze them over the bowl to extract any remaining juices; discard the kokum husks and reserve the liquid.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the fillets and sear on both sides until browned, ~1 minute/side. Remove to plate.
4. Add the garlic and chiles to the skillet and cook until garlic starts to brown, ~1 minute.
5. Add coconut milk and deglaze the skillet. Stir in the kokum liquid.
6. Return fish to skillet. Continue to boil, uncovered, spooning the sauce over the fillets until they start to flake, 3-5 minutes.
7. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Broccoli with Ginger and Coconut (Nariyal Hare Phool Gobhi)

A quick curry to make when you want something a bit punchier than plain broccoli. Not noticeably spicy, despite the sambhar masala.

The original recipe calls for more water and a longer simmer, but symbol and I both like our broccoli fairly lightly cooked.

Broccoli with Ginger and Coconut

660 Curries

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp (30mL) corn oil
• 1 tsp (5mL) cumin seeds
• 2tbsp (30mL) finely chopped fresh ginger or ginger paste
• 1lb (450g) broccoli, cut into ~2cm florets
• ¾tsp salt
• 1tsp Sambhar Masala
• 1C (240mL) shredded fresh coconut, or equivalent reconstituted¹

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and cook until they sizzle and turn reddish-brown, 5-10 seconds.
2. Add ginger and stir-fry until golden brown, ~1 minute.
3. Add broccoli, salt, and spice mix and stir-fry so that the spices coat the broccoli, ~1 minute.
4. Add ½C water and stir together. Wait until water boils, then lower heat to medium, cover, and cook until broccoli is just starting to become tender, ~2 minutes.
5. Stir in the coconut and simmer, uncovered, until warmed through, another 2-3 minutes.

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¹ To reconstitute dried coconut, use half the volume in dried coconut (½C for this recipe), boil an equal amount of water, pour over, and let stand 15 minutes, then drain. ^Back