Haleem (Minty Beef with Cracked Wheat and Lentils)

This was a while ago. Do I remember any details of the meal? I do not, except that it was tasty.

The recipe as written calls for cracked wheat and a lengthy pre-soak period. We made it with extra coarse bulgur and skipped the pre-soak, with good results. Note that even if you're making it with bulgur, there's still a long marination phase for the meat -- start early!

Haleem

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (p. 175)

Ingredients

• 450g stewing beef
• 30mL ginger paste
• 1mL garlic paste
• 120mL moong dal (skinned split green lentils)
• 120mL masoor dal (skinned split brown lentils)
• 120mL extra coarse bulgur
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 60mL canola oil
• 6 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 black cardamom pods
• 8-10 fresh green Thai chilis, stems removed, bisected lengthwise
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1½ tsp Kashmiri garam masala
• 120mL finely chopped fresh mint
• 120mL finely chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Combine beef, ginger paste, and garlic paste in a bowl. Toss until coated, then refrigerate, covered, for 6-8 hours.
2. Rinse the lentils, if needed.
3. In a large saucepan, combine the lentils (drained), bulgur, and 1L water.
4. Bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Skim off foam.
5. Stir in turmeric, then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and bulgur are tender, 20-25 minutes. Set aside.
6. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat.
7. Add cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves, and cardamom pods. Cook until they crackle and the cinnamon swells, ~30 seconds.
8. Add chilis and onion. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until the onion has released its liquid and begins to brown, 15-20 minutes.
9. Uncover and stir-fry until the onion is reddish-brown with purple highlights, 5-10 minutes.
10. Add the beef cubes and marinade. Raise heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until the meat browns, 12-15 minutes.
11. Add 240mL water and the garam masala and bring to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fork-tender, 15-20 minutes.
13. Add the lentil-bulgur mix and their liquid. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the flavours mingle, 10-15 minutes.
14. Remove from heat, stir in the mint and cilantro, and serve.

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This recipe got significantly overhauled by symbol. As written, there's too much broth for our quinoa, so that got reduced; the spices got tweaked and oil reduced, too.

For the final "drizzle with oil" step, the original recipe calls for ¼ C of olive oil. We had just made this tagine, and it produced lots of grease; we ended up skimming off about ¼ C of the sauce, of which maybe ¾ were grease. I've approximated this with schmaltz here. If you want to keep it vegetarian, use a reduced quantity of olive oil.

Moroccan-Spiced Roasted Vegetables and Quinoa

Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 50)

Ingredients

• 3 large parsnips (or 6 small ones), peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
• 2 large carrots (or 4 small ones), peeled and cut into 1cm pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ¼ tsp ras el hanout
• salt and pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp grease + 1 tbsp other sauce bits
• 1½ C chicken or vegetable stock
• 1 C quinoa, rinsed
• ¼ C dried apricots, quartered
• 3 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 2-3 tbsp schmaltz or other oil for drizzling

Directions

1. Toss parsnips and carrots with oil, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, ras el hanout, salt, and pepper.
2. Arrange on a baking sheet and roast at 400°F until vegetables are tender and starting to caramelize, 35-40 minutes
3. Meanwhile, bring the broth to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan.
4. Add the quinoa, cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, 12-15 minutes.
5. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl. Top with vegetables, apricots, almonds, and parsley.
6. Drizzle over schmaltz and serve.

Pyaaz Murghi (Chicken Breast in Onion-Turmeric Sauce)

This was a nice tasty easy chicken curry. I don't have much to say about it other than that. Not a fave, but I did enjoy it.

Pyaaz Murghi

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (p. 153)

Ingredients

• 2+2 tbsp oil, divided
• 1 red onion, coarsely chopped
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 500g boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced @ 2cm
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp Punjabi garam masala
• 3 (5cm×2.5cm) slices fresh ginger, julienned

Directions

1. Pour 2 tbsp oil, onion, salt, and turmeric into a blender. Puree to form a smooth paste.
2. Toss the chicken cubes with the paste and marinate for 30-60 minutes.
3. Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
4. Add the chicken and marinade and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, 5-6 minutes.
5. Deglaze with ½ C water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until cooked through, 5-10 minutes.
6. Stir in the cilantro, garam masala, and ginger. Return heat to medium-high and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens slightly.

Lauki Methi (Bottle Gourd Squash with Tomato and Fenugreek Leaves)

A nice simple side dish curry, this has a long simmering phase but comes together very easily apart from that. It has a mild but noticeable amount of heat to it.

Lauki Methi

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, pp.609-610

Ingredients

• 680g bottle gourd squash, peeled, cored, and cut into 2cm pieces
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 large tomato, cored and diced
• 2 c. chopped methi (fenugreek leaves)¹ (frozen works fine)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne

Directions

1. Put the squash in a bowl and toss with the turmeric.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the squash and stir-fry until lightly browned, 1-3 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato, methi, salt, and cayenne.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until fork-tender, 25-30 minutes.

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¹ Ayer reports that finely chopped cilantro also works nicely. ^Back

Mirch Palak Ki Subzi (Chile-Spiked Bell Peppers)

Despite the "chile-spiked" in the title, these didn't turn out all that hot using a single pepper; even the Kidlet was ok with them. We ended up being a bit short on pepper because one of them had gone bad, so I increased the spinach quantity to compensate, but I do think I'd prefer it with the higher pepper:spinach ratio called for in the original recipe, which is what I've written up here.

I also made it with frozen spinach, which was fine, although I think it might come out better with fresh (or perhaps with kale?).

Mirch Palak Ki Subzi

660 Curries p.544

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 large red bell peppers (1lb total), stemmed, cored, and cut into 1" pieces
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1-2 fresh green Thai chiles, stemmed and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp chickpea flour
• ¼ tsp ground turmeric
• ¾ tsp coarse salt
• ½ lb fresh spinach, rinsed

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the cumin and cook until they sizzle and turn reddish-brown and fragrant, 10-15s.
3. Add the bell peppers, garlic, and chiles and stir-fry until the peppers blister, ~5 minutes.
4. Add the chickenpea flour and turmeric and stir until the flour is lightly browned, ~1 minute.
5. Deglaze with 2 C water and the salt.
6. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
7. Add the spinach. Return heat to medium-high and cook, uncovered, until spinach is wilted and sauce thickens, ~5 minutes.

Yellow Rice (Sri Lankan)

This makes absolutely amazing rice! It's pretty and yellow (even if you make it with brown rice the turmeric does a nice job of colouring it). It's full of delicious toasted cashews and raisins. It's infused with the aroma of wonderfully flavourful spices. And it includes a generous quantity of ghee. What's not to like?!

Yellow Rice

Slightly adapted from Sri Lankan Flavours by Channa Dassanayaka

Ingredients

• 2 c. long-grain brown rice
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 6-7 fresh curry leaves
• 1 (7-8cm) cinnamon stick
• 6 black peppercorns
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 50g raw cashews
• 50g sultanas
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt (optional)

Directions

1. Combine rice, water, turmeric, salt, cloves, cardamom, curry leaves, cinnamon stick, and peppercorns in the InstantPot and give it a brief stir to make sure everything is well-mixed.
2. Seal InstantPot and set to pressure cook on "high" for 18 minutes and allow for a 10-minute natural release.
3. Meanwhile, heat ghee over medium heat.
4. Add cashews and sultanas and toast until cashews are golden-brown and fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside until rice is ready.
5. Once rice is cooked (including 10-minute natural release), release any remaining pressure, remove the lid, and fluff the rice.
6. Stir in the cashews and sultanas.
7. If desired, stir in the cilantro and yogurt as well.

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Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 2 c. long-grain brown rice
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 whole cloves
• 3 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 6-7 fresh curry leaves
• 1 (7-8cm) cinnamon stick
• 6 black peppercorns
• 2 vegan butter
• 50g raw cashews
• 50g sultanas
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• 2 Tbsp. plain coconut yogurt (optional)

Adobong Manok (Chicken Adobo with Turmeric and Coconut Milk)

This one turned out a bit soupier than intended, partly because I left it covered for part of the simmer and partly because we made up a double batch of marinade (expecting to marinate the chicken in a bag) and then found out that the bag had a hole in it and had to change our plans rapidly. It's quite tasty, though; although, as always, I'm not super enthusiastic about whole-chicken recipes due to the need to eat around the bones.

We made it with fresh turmeric, the first dish we've made using it -- the flavour comes through nicely and it makes the sauce brilliantly yellow, along with all the utensils we used in the cooking.

Adobong Manok

Authentic Recipes from the Phillippines, p93

Ingredients

• Marinade
• 1 tbsp freshly grated turmeric root (or ½ tbsp dry powder)
• 10 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ C cane vinegar or cider vinegar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• 1 chicken (~2 lbs), cut into 8 pieces
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 C coconut milk
• 2-4 finger-length green chilies, whole
• ½ tbsp fish sauce

Directions

1. Whisk together all marinade ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Mix in chicken and marinate overnight in the fridge.
3. Heat the oil over medium-high heat and add the chicken (reserving the marinade). Stir-fry until lightly browned, ~5 minutes.
4. Add the marinade and coconut milk, reduce heat to low, and simmer, uncovered, until the sauce thickens and the chicken is cooked through, ~30 minutes.
5. Stir in the chilies and fish sauce and serve.

It's been quite a while since I made this recipe, so I've probably forgotten some of the precise preparation details. I don't remember having any issues with the recipe as written though, so hopefully it's fine as is.

I was concerned that this recipe would be lacklustre and bland. I'm used to Jamaican patties being filled with delicious spiced beef. A meatless version seemed like it might not pack much punch flavour-wise. Boy was I wrong! These were delicious! The seasonings are superb and the combination of veggies called for works really well together. Just serve them with a nice spicy, vinegar-y hot sauce and you're good to go!

Vegetarian Jamaican Patties

Slightly adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients

Filling

• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. allspice berries, ground
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. red chile flakes
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 c. coconut milk
• 1/2 c. diced carrots
• 1/2 c. diced potato
• 1 c. fresh or frozen green peas
• 1 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
• 1 c. shredded cabbage
• 2 Tbsp. fresh thyme (or 2 tsp. dried)
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. ground white pepper

Pastry

• 360g all-purpose flour
• 300g whole wheat flour¹
• 4 tsp. turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 1/2 c. coconut oil²
• 4 tsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 c. ice water

Directions

Filling

1. Melt oil over medium-low heat.
2. Add onion, cinnamon, allspice, cumin, chile flakes, cayenne, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion has browned (8-10 minutes).
3. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk, carrots, and potatoes and cook until tender (~10 minutes).
5. Add peas, corn, cabbage, and thyme and cook for 3 more minutes.
6. Stir in lemon juice and white pepper and season to taste with additional salt.

Pastry

1. Combine all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour, turmeric, and salt.
2. Cut in coconut oil until mixture looks crumbly and sandy.
3. Stir vinegar into water.
4. Add water mixture to flour mixture 2-3 Tbsp. at a time until the dough just comes together.
5. Form into a ball, wrap tightly, and chill for at least 1 hour.
6. 1 egg, beaten (optional)

Assembly and Baking

1. Dust work surface with additional flour.
2. Roll dough out quite thin (~3mm). (It may be easiest to work with just half of it at a time.)
3. Cut out 13-15cm (~5-6") circles.
4. Spoon a couple Tbsp. of filling onto each pastry circle.
5. Fold pastry over to make a half moon shape.
6. Press with a fork to seal the edges.
7. If edges are not sealing well, try dabbing a little water onto the pastry before closing to help form a better seal.
8. If desired, brush with a little beaten egg.
9. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30-35 minutes.
10. Serve with hot sauce. (Preferably something vinegar-y and acidic.)

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¹ The recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour. I think I just used my regular (hard) whole wheat flour. This didn't seem to hurt it any. That said, if you have soft whole wheat flour handy, definitely go ahead and use it! ^Back
2 The recipe calls for chilled coconut oil. My house was cool enough the day I made this that I didn't feel the need to chill the oil first, but if you're doing this on a very hot day, you might want to measure out the oil and then stick it in the fridge for a bit to firm up. ^Back

Haree Phool Gobhi Paneer (Broccoli and Paneer)

While I'm reasonably used to seeing cauliflower curries, broccoli curries are much less common. Apparently broccoli was not traditionally grown in India nor part of the local cuisine. It is now found in Western-style supermarkets and Iyer features a few broccoli recipes in his book. This is one of them.

Haree Phool Gobhi Paneer

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 450g broccoli, cut into florets
• 1 Tbsp. amchur (mango powder)
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric¹
• 1 c. water
• 100g paneer, crumbled
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tsp. Punjabi garam masala

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
3. Add broccoli, amchur, and turmeric and stir-fry for ~1 minute.
4. Add water, paneer, salt, and tomato and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
6. Stir in cilantro and garam masala and serve.

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¹ Substitute fresh turmeric for dried if available. Peel a 1cm long piece of turmeric and slice it wafer thin. ^Back