The grocery store has had discount pork ribs available for the last few weeks, but I've resisted buying any because I was worried that I wouldn't have the wherewithal to get them cooked. I was finally feeling up to the task this weekend, so I grabbed a pack and decided to try this somewhat unusual curry-inspired rib recipe.

They were very tasty! They looked beautiful and the glaze was delicious. I thought that the sauce might be superfluous on top of the glaze and the marinade, but it was fantastic and really added a lot. The ribs were good without the sauce, but even better with it.

While the flavour was excellent, they weren't quite as tender and juicy as I would've liked. I think that could be down to the cooking method. The instructions for charcoal said to cook them over indirect heat. But the gas grill instructions had you putting them over low, direct heat. I think that next time I might try indirect heat, even if I am using a gas grill. And I might try wrapping them for the initial cooking time as well.

Because I haven't dialed in the cooking time and technique yet, I've just written up the instructions for what I actually did first. Below that I'll put suggestions for what I'd like to try next time.

Indian Fusion Pork Ribs

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Ribs

• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. coarse salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1.8-2kg pork ribs

Glaze

• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1/4 c. jaggery or brown
• 1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies (or 1/2 tsp. cayenne + 1/2 Tbsp. sweet paprika)
• 2 tsp. balti masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Sauce

• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 1-3 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
• 2 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Directions

1. Combine the ginger paste, garlic paste, salt, and turmeric and mix well.
2. Slather the mixture onto the meat side of the ribs and chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
3. Preheat barbecue to high.
4. Reduce heat to low, then add the ribs, meat side down. Cover the grill and cook for 35-45 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, combine the tomato paste, jaggery, vinegar, oil, ground chilies, balti masala, and salt to make the glaze. Set aside.
6. Flip the ribs meat side up, cover the grill, and cook for another 20-25 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, combine the garlic and chilies and mash to a pulp with a mortar as pestle.
8. Heat the oil over medium heat.
9. Add the onion and cook until edges start to brown (~5 minutes).
10. Add the garlic-chile mixture and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
11. Add the tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, salt, and turmeric and cook until vinegar has mostly evaporated.
12. Add the water, bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened (~10 minutes).
13. If you desire a smooth sauce, blitz it with a blender.
14. Once ribs are cooked through, brush all over with the glaze.
15. Return to grill, meat side up, cover grill, and cook for another 10-15 minutes.
16. Remove from grill and rest for ~5 minutes before serving.
17. Meanwhile, rewarm the sauce (if necessary) and sprinkle in the cilantro (if using).
18. Cut the ribs apart and serve with the sauce (either pour it over or serve it along side for dipping).

Suggested Improved Cooking

1. Prepare and use marinade as directed above.
2. Preheat one side of grill to 150°C (300°F).
3. Wrap ribs in foil or place on a baking sheet and cover with foil.
4. Place over indirect heat, cover grill, and cook for 1.5-2 hours.
5. Meanwhile, make the glaze and sauce as directed above.
6. Increase the grill temperature to 190°C (375°F).
7. Transfer the ribs to direct heat and baste top side with glaze.
8. Cover grill and cook for 5 minutes.
9. Flip and baste other side with glaze, cover grill, and cook for another five minutes.
10. Repeat, glazing each side once more with 5 minutes of covered cooking between each.
11. Cut ribs apart and serve with sauce.

This recipe didn't really work. I actually found it quite tasty, but it was excessively wet. And Reiver found it too wet and walnut-y to be properly tasty. I think this one is salvagable, but it doesn't quite work as written. The recipe below reflects my recommended fix rather than the original.

Apple-Carrot Loaf

Adapted from CakeLove in the Morning by Warren Brown

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c. carrots, peeled and grated
• 1/2 c. apple, peeled and grated
• 1/2 c. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1/4 c. oil
• 2 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
• 1/2 c. sultanas

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and grease and flour a 23x13cm (9x5") loaf pan.
2. Combine the carrots, apple, brown sugar, ginger, oil, eggs, and honey and mix well.
3. Sift the baking powder into the flour.
4. Mix in the cinnamon, salt, walnuts, and sultanas.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 180°C (350°F) until done (45-55 minutes).
7. Cool in pan for 5-10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to finish cooling.

I wanted to make something a bit special for dessert last night. These not only fit the bill, but had a pleasingly short bake time. I didn't have enough ramekins, so I used some extra-large muffin tins instead. I suspected that the cakes might cook a bit faster in the muffin tins than in the ramekins, so I shaved a minute of the baking time. It turns out that I should've gone with my original instinct and shaved a full three minutes off the baking time! The resulting cakes were soft in the middle, but decidedly not "molten". Oh well... now I'll know for next time.

I also used 72% dark chocolate because that's what I had on hand, but I think that was actually a bit too dark for this recipe. If I do it again, I'll use 50% dark chocolate instead. They weren't bad as-is, but they were a bit darker and more bitter than I would've liked. But with a slightly less dark chocolate and baked for just a couple minutes less, I think they would've been perfect.

Photo goes here.

Molten Chocolate Cakes

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 250g dark chocolate (pref. 50%)
• 55g butter
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 4 large egg yolks
• 6 Tbsp. sugar, divided
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder, sifted
• 3 large egg whites

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and grease six ramekins or a 6-well jumbo muffin tin. Dust generously with cocoa powder.
2. Gently melt the cocolate with the butter.
3. Mix in the vanilla and set aside to cool.
4. Beat the egg yolks with 3 Tbsp. of the sugar and the cocoa powder.
5. Drizzle in the chocolate mixture while beating. (Resulting batter will be very thick.)
6. In a clean bowl with a clean whisk, beat the egg whites until frothy.
7. Gradually beat in the remaining 3 Tbsp. of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form.
8. Stir half of the meringue into the batter to loosen it.
9. Gently fold in the remaning half of the meringue.
10. Spoon the batter into the prepared ramekins/muffin tins.
11. Bake at 200°C (400°F) for 10-13 minutes. (10 minutes for muffin tins, 12-13 for ramekins.)
12. Turn cakes out onto plates and serve warm with ice cream, whipped cream, and/or raspberry coulis.

Sirka Paneer (Vinegar Paneer)

This is a really interesting curry. It has a lot of elements to it, both in the bulk and the flavour elements. It's full of potato and cauliflower in a tomato-y sauce (like aloo gobhi). But the sauce is also full of vinegar and chilies (like a vindaloo). But then it also has the bouncy paneer and creamy coconut milk added at the end. It's almost like you're getting three curries in one!

I do find the vinegar with the coconut milk slightly confusing to my palate. I'm used to a curry either having the sharpness of the vinegar or the creaminess of the coconut milk, not both. It is a tasty curry, but I think it's a bit too confusing to ever be a favourite for me. That said, I do appreciate how hearty it is with the paneer, cauliflower, and potatoes.

Photo goes here.

Sirka Paneer

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c. water, divided
• 1/4 c. malt or cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1-2 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies
• 1-2 dried red Thai or cayenne/arbol chilies
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp. ginger paste
• 1-2 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 2 c. cauliflower florets
• 2 medium-sized potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 250g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes and fried¹
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine 1/4 c. of the water with the vinegar, tomato paste, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fresh and dried chilies, garlic, and ginger in a blender and purée.
2. Heat the oil over medium heat.
3. Add the onion and cook until just starting to brown (3-5 minutes).
4. Add the paste and cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Add the remaining 1 c. of water to the blender and swish it out. Add this to the pan.
6. Add the cauliflower, potatoes, and salt to the pan and bring to a boil.
7. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
8. Add the paneer and coconut milk and simmer for another 10 minutes.
9. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

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¹ Tossing the paneer cubes with a little oil and air-frying at 200°C (400°F) for 10 minutes works very well and saves a lot of time and effort. Alternatively, you can sometimes find bags of pre-fried paneer cubes in the frozen section of Indian grocery stores... ^Back

Tamatar Paneer (Tomato Paneer)

I was going to make a lamb curry next, but I found some paneer on sale at the Indian grocery store and decided to cook that as our protein tonight instead.

I love this curry. The paneer makes it satisfying and high-protein. And while it takes a bit of time to cook the onions down, it's not particularly difficult and doesn't require many spices or other ingredients. And while the cream is moderately expensive most of the other ingredients are quite affordable. Especially if you can get a good deal on the paneer! The cream also makes it deliciously rich and luxurious. Oh, and it also doesn't require marinating or pre-frying the paneer. So, pretty great all round!

Tamatar Paneer

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 onion, halved and sliced
• 6 green cardamom pods
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. ground cayenne or Kashmiri chilies
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. water
• 250g paneer, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Melt ghee over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cardamom, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low.
3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is nicely browned (~20 minutes).
4. Add the tomato paste, coriander, cayenne, and turmeric and cook until darkened (3-5 minutes).
5. Add water, paneer, and salt and cook, covered, until sauce thickens (~15 minutes).
6. Add the milk and cream and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Stir in cilantro and serve.

This was meant to be spiced clementines with toasted pound cake but a) we didn't have enough eggs or sugar left to make the pound cake and b) it felt like a bit of a waste. We were going to have them with some store-bought sponge, but the local Countdown was all out. So we ended up just spooning them over a bit of vanilla ice cream instead. And they were quite tasty that way. A nice, refereshing summer dessert.

Spiced Clementines

Slightly adapted from Dessert of the Day by Kim Laidlaw

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/2 c. water
• 4 allspice berries, lightly crushed (or 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground allspice)
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 star anise, lightly crushed
• 2 black peppercorns, lightly crushed
• 1 vanilla bean
• 6-8 clementines
• 1/4 c. fresh mint¹

Directions

1. Combine the sugar, water, allspice, cinnamon, star anise, and black peppercorns.
2. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out. Add both the seeds and the empty pod to the pot with the other ingredients.
3. Bring to a boil and cook until sugar has dissolved completely.
4. Peel the clemeintines and slice crosswise.
5. Add clementine slices to syrup and remove from heat.
6. Allow to steep for 20-30 minutes, then serve over cake or ice cream and top with mint.

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¹ I completely forgot about the fresh mint when I made this. Even though that was half the reason for doing it since I had a bunch of mint in the fridge that needed using. Whoops! ^Back

This is meant to be made with fresh pears, but we had tinned pears to use up, so I just tossed them in. I've written up the instructions for fresh pears. If you're using tinned, then just omit the water and only add the pears for the last minute or two of cooking.

Whole Wheat Walnut Waffles with Maple-Pear Sauce

Slightly adapted from The Breakfast Bible by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Waffles

• 190g whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 40g butter, melted
• 50g unsweetened applesauce
• 2-4 Tbsp. finely chopped walnuts

Sauce

• juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 2-4 pears, peeled and sliced
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp. water
• zest of 1/4 a lemon

Directions

1. Combine the flour and sugar and sift in the baking powder.
2. Beat the eggs into the milk.
3. Mix in the vanilla, butter, and applesauce.
4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to combine.
5. Mix in the walnuts.
6. Preheat your waffle iron.
7. Pour in a portion of batter and cook according to manufacturer directions.
8. Repeat with remaining batter.
9. While waffles are cooking, toss the pears with the lemon juice.
10. Melt the butter over medium heat.
11. Add the pears and cook for a minute or two.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low, add the maple syrup, water, and lemon zest and simmer until pears are tender (5-7 minutes).
13. Transfer pears to a bowl, increase heat to medium-high and cook until sauce is syrupy (5-10 minutes).
14. Serve waffles topped with pears, sauce, and extra walnuts (if desired).