The author notes that these salads are best made with feggous or "Armenian yard-long cucumbers". They are long and skinny, slightly curved, with thin wrinkled or furrowed skin, and very small seeds. She says that if you can get these cucumberes, they need not be peeled or seeded.

I didn't have any Armenian yard-long cucumbers. I just used one good-sized English cucumber. But I left its skin on and seeds in anyway. I prefer the aestherics of the dark green skin in the salad. And I prefer the lack of labour and waste of leaving the seeds in. Besides, I find that most English cucumbers seem to have fairly small seeds anyway.¹

This is a very simple salad. Quick and easy to make. The hardest part is wringing out the cucumber so that you don't end up with cucumber soup! I tried doing it with paper towels as suggested in the recipe this time. But I think I might want to experiment with using a fine mesh seive next time. Or maybe even my nut milk bag. I'll see what works best.

Grated Cucumber Salad with Orange Flower Water

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

• 450-500g cucumber, grated
• 2 Tbsp. sugar
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp. orange flower water
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Grate the cucumber and then squeeze out the excess moisture. (I'm still experimenting with the best way to do this. Use whatever method you prefer.) Set the cucumber aside.
2. In a serving bowl, combine the sugar, lemon juice, orange flower water, salt. Mix well.
3. Add the cucumber and toss to combine.
4. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
5. Sprinkle with cinnamon just before serving.

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¹ It seems that through either selective breeding or hormonal treatment, a lot of produce has reduced or no seeds these days. I kind of miss the watermelon seeds... Yes, I know you can still get watermelons with seeds, but you have to look for them. They no longer seem to be the default. The seedless watermelons have taken over. ^Back

This is probably best done with lamb, but the recipe specified lamb or beef. And we have a lot of beef right now. So that's what I used. I liked the little meatballs. Although I wish the sauce was a bit thicker. I've been debating whether it would be nice to head it back up and add a little flour or cornstarch to turn it into a sort of gravy.

Kefta Tagine with Herbs, Spices, and Lemon

Slightly adapted from The Food of Morocco by Paula Wolfert

Ingredients

Kefta

• 450g ground beef or lamb
• 3 Tbsp. crème fraîche or grated beef suet¹
• 2 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Sauce

• 3/4 c. hot water, divided
• 1/8 tsp. crushed saffron threads
• 1 tsp. sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/8-1/4 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/8 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 onion, minced
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter or ghee
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 c. chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Directions

1. Combine all the kefta ingredients. If you have a food processor, combine them in the food processor and process until everything is well mixed and broken down. If not, just mix it with your hands as best you can.
2. Form mixture into olive-sized meatballs. (The original recipe says this should make ~24 meatballs, but I got twice that number. I guess they have really big olives in Morocco!) Cover and chill until ready to cook.
3. Meanwhile, combine the saffron, cumin, ginger, pepper, cayenne, and turmeric and add ~1/4 c. of the hot water. Stir and set aside to steep while you chop the onion.
4. Place a tagine on a heat diffuser and warm over medium-low heat.
5. Add the onion, butter, and spice-water.
6. Rinse the spice-water container out with the remaining half cup of hot water and add that as well.
7. Add the salt and 3/4 of the cilantro.
8. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
9. Add meatballs to the sauce, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
10. Turn the meatballs, cover, and simmer for 15 more minutes.
11. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice.
12. Sprinkle with the remaining cilantro and serve with rice, couscous, and/or bread.

¹ I didn't have either, so I used 2 Tbsp. of tallow mixed with 1 Tbsp. of heavy cream. ^Back

Palak Pakodi Kadhi (Spinach Fritters in Yogurt Sauce)

I decided to flip through the appetizer section of the curry book to look for dinner inspiration this time. We don't tend to make as many of the recipes out of this chapter since a lot of them are fried, fiddly, insubstantial, or some combination of the above. I felt like I could handle a little fiddly frying this week though, so I planned to make one of the beef appetizers and then picked out these spinach fritters to serve with it. (Two fried dishes, I know! But I figured I might as well go for it while I had the hot oil going.)

Palak Pakodi Kadhi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Fritters

• 2 c. chickpea flour, sifted
• 250g fresh spinach leaves, rinsed and chopped
• 2 tsp. bishop's weed/ajwain¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. ground cayenne
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 3/4 c. water²

Sauce

• 1 c. plain yogurt
• 1 c. water
• 1 Tbsp. chickpea flour
• 1 tsp. garlic paste
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
• 2-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds

Directions

Fritters

1. Add enough oil to a wok (or other appropriate vessel) for deep frying and heat to 180°C (350°F).
2. Combine sifted four with chopped spinach, ajwain, salt, cayenne, and turmeric.
3. Pour in water and quickly mix to combine everything and form a thick batter.
4. Use ~1 tsp. of the batter for each fritter. Drop them into the hot oil and cook, turning occasionally, until golden-brown all over.
5. Remove from oil and place on rack or paper towels to drain.

Sauce

1. Meanwhile, combine the yogurt and water and whisk until smooth and homogeneous.
2. Beat in chickpea flour.
3. Fold in garlic paste, salt, turmeric, cilantro, and cilies.
4. Melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
5. Add the cumin seeds to the hot ghee and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
6. Reduce heat to medium and pour the yogurt mixture into the pot with the cumin and ghee.
7. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until thickened (~15 minutes).

Assembly

1. Place a few fritters on a plate and pour ~1 Tbsp. of sauce over each fritter.
2. If desired, serve with a bit of rice or bread to mop up any extra sauce.
3. Do not pour the sauce over all the fritters at once! (Unless you plan to eat them all very quickly.) The fritters will get soggy if they sit in the sauce for too long, so they should be served immediately.

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¹ Substitute 1 tsp. dried thyme + 1/2 tsp. ground black peppercorns if ajwain is unavailable. ^Back
2 Iyer says to use 1/2 c. water, but I ended up with more of a dough than a batter when I did this. I added an extra 2 Tbsp. or so, but I think a bit more water probably would've been better. Use your judgement. ^Back

Malai Tikka Sarki (Tender Marinated Beef Cubes)

I wanted a beef curry recipe that I hadn't tried yet, so I took a look through the appetizer section of the curry cookbook to see what I could find. I really liked the sound of gosht kebab aur pudhinay ki chutney (beef kebabs and mint chutney), but Iyer describes that dish as "wickedly hot", so I figured it might not fly with the Kidlet. Instead, I went for the recipe on the page before: an interesting combination of hot, crispy fried beef cubes soused with a cold cucumber-pigeon pea sauce. Definitely something a bit different!

Malai Tikka Sarki

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Beef

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g boneless beef sirloin (or similar), cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated¹
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Beef

1. Combine the ginger paste, chilies, and salt.
2. Add the beef and stir to coat.
3. Cover and chill for at least 24-36 hours.
4. At some point while the beef is marinating, prepare the sauce up to the chilling stage.
5. When ready to cook the meat, pour enough oil into a wok (or other appropriate vessel) for deep frying and heat to 180°C (350°F).
6. Put the eggs in one bowl and the breadcrumbs in another.
7. Toss about half the beef with the eggs.
8. Roll the egg-coated beef cubes in the breadcrumbs until completely breaded.
9. Carefully add the cubes, a few at a time, to the hot oil.
10. Cook, turning occasionally, until brown and crisp all over.
11. Repeat with remaining beef.

Sauce

1. Thoroughly rinse the pigeon peas.
2. Drain the peas, then add to a small pot with the water.
3. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
4. Transfer peas and cooking water to a blender and purée until smooth.
5. Transfer pigeo pea purée to a bowl.
6. Stir in cucumber, chilies, scallions, and salt.
7. Melt ghee over medium-high heat.
8. Add cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
9. Pour this ghee-cumin seed mixture into the cucumber sauce and stir to combine.
10. Cover and chill until ready to serve.
11. Just before serving, stir in the lime juice and cilantro.

Assembly

1. Place a few hot, crispy beef cubes in a bowl and top with a generous portion of cold cucumber sauce.²

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

Protein

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g paneer, cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Vegan Version

Ingredients

Protein

• 1/4 c. ginger paste
• 2-3 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g extra-firm tofu, pressed and cut into 2-3cm cubes
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp. oil (any kind)
• 1/4 c. flour
• 1/2 c. unsweetened almond or oat milk
• 1 c. dry breadcrumbs

Sauce

• 1/4 c. skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal)
• 1 c. water
• 1 large English cucumber, grated
• 1-4 fresh green Thai or finger chilies, minced
• 2 scallions (green onions/spring onions), minced
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil or vegan butter
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

Proceed with recipe as directed for beef version but, when breading the tofu, first toss it with the oil and soy sauce, then dredge it in the flour, then toss it in the milk, and finally roll it in the breadcrumbs before frying as directed above.

Gluten-Free Version

Either the original or vegetarian version can be made gluten-free by using gluten-free breadcrumbs.
The vegan version is a little trickier to make celiac-friendly as it contains flour and soy sauce. I believe coconut aminos and some forms of tamari are both gluten-free. And cornstarch, rice flour, or a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour should work fine for dredging the tofu.

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¹ Iyer says to peel, halve, and seed the cucumber before grating. I opted to leave the skin on and the seeds in. This made the sauce a little greener and a little wetter, but I was still happy with the results. And skipping the peeling and seeding makes both less work and less waste, so I'd be inclined to stick with this approach in the future. ^Back
2 Since I was having this as part of the main course rather than an appetizer, I served it on a bed of rice. The rice wasn't part of the original serving suggestion however. ^Back

Kuru Patlican ve Biber Dolmasi (Stuffed Dried Eggplant and Peppers)

I made a lot of impulse purchases at the halal grocery store a few months back. There were lots of interesting and tasty-looking things and I just kind of grabbed a bit of each without being entirely sure what I was going to do with it all. I think we've managed to use up almost all of the jams and preserves now. And all of the sweets. But I still had a bag each of dried eggplants and dried peppers that had yet to be used. As well as a jar of Turkish pepper flakes. (And a bunch of dried citrus as well, but that doesn't come into play in this recipe, so we'll just ignore it for now.)

Dolma Kuru Patlican Dolmasi

Slightly adapted from Ozlem's Turkish Table

Ingredients

• 12 dried eggplant shells
• 15 dried bell pepper shells
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 Tbsp. biber salcasi (Turkish hot pepper paste) or 1 tsp. Turkish pepper flakes
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 2 tsp. dried mint
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 450g ground beef
• 2 Tbsp. pomegranate molasses¹

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the dried shells. Boil for 3 minutes, then drain, reserving the water.
2. Shock the blanched shells in some very cold water, then drain again and set aside.
3. Combine onion, garlic, parsley, pepper paste (or flakes), tomato paste, 1 Tbsp. of the oil, cumin, mint, salt, and pepper in a large bowl.
4. Massage and squeeze the mixture with your hands for a minute or two.
5. Add the rice, beef, and pomegranate molasses and mix well.
6. Pour the remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil into the bottom of a large pot or Dutch oven.
7. Stuff the shells with the filling. Pack it down a little bit, but don't fill them right up to the top. The filling will expand as the rice cooks.
8. As each shell is filled, place it in the pan. Try to fit them all into just one layer if possible.
9. Pour ~2 1/2 c. of the reserved cooking water into the pot with the dolma.
10. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat, cover, and cook for another 35 minutes.
11. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5-10 minutes before serving.
12. Serve with Turkish pepper flakes, plain yogurt, and/or tzatziki.

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¹ I only just realized that I forgot the pomegranate molasses! The ingredients were listed in a weird order and I had to keep jumping around the recipe. The dolma came out delicious anyway, but I did feel like they needed more tomato and/or more acid. The pomegranate molasses probably would've balanced everything out beautifully! Oh well, I guess I can drizzle some over the leftovers tomorrow. ^Back

I was up early this morning, so I decided to browse the egg book to look for tasty breakfast ideas. This ended up being one of the few recipes that I actually had all the components on hand for, so I rolled with it.

It does make rather a lot. I probably should've done a half batch. But I didn't want to worry about what to do with the other half tin of tomatoes, so I just went all-in and made a huge pan of eggs. It'll be breakfast for the next few days, I think.

Scrambled eggs with Olives, Onions, and Tomatoes

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 20 green olives, pitted
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 800mL diced tomatoes¹
• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 Tbsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/8 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• buttered bread or toast²

Directions

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the olives. Boil for 1 minute, then drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium-low heat.
3. Add onion, olives, and sugar, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and bay leaf and cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes.
6. Beat the eggs with the cilantro, cumin, salt, and pepper.
7. Increase heat to medium and pour in the eggs.
8. Cook, stirring as necessary, until the eggs are set.
9. Serve with buttered toast or crusty bread.

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¹ The original recipe called for using whole tinned tomatoes, draining and reserving the juice, halving the tomatoes, scooping out the guts, draining the pulp and seeds, and then returning the tomato flesh to the reserved juice. You then add the tomatoes to the pan and break them up as they cook. I opted to use a tin of diced fire-roasted tomatoes in place of the whole ones. This meant that I could just open up the tin and add the contents without having to faff about with seives and knives and whatnot. Maybe not quite as authentic, but definitely a lot easier! ^Back
2 Make it gluten-free toast and this meal becomes celiac-friendly as well! Back

This was a cast-about-wildly-for-breakfast-ideas sort of morning. I just got back from a big camping trip and haven't had a chance to do groceries yet, so I needed to work with what we had on hand. I spent a while perusing the internet for ideas and eventually landed on a sweet potato hash recipe that looked promising. I mean, I didn't have the bell peppers... or the carnitas... or the avocado, but I figured it'd give me a jumping off point at the very least. If this meal were a movie it would be "inspired by" rather than "based on" is what I'm saying.

Sweet Potato Hash with Ground Beef

Adapted from The Modern Proper

Ingredients

Hash

• 1/4 c. bacon grease (or other fat of your choice)
• 4 sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2-2/3 c. mixed dried veggies¹, reconstituted (to make ~2 c.)
• ~1/2 Tbsp. hot paprika
• salt and pepper, to taste

Beef

I didn't really measure anything for the beef. I just tossed spices in 'til it smelled about right. I've tried to guess at approximate measurements below, but it's not super precise.

• 450g ground beef
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1-2 cloves garlic, minced
• ~1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• ~1/2 tsp. hot paprika
• ~1 tsp. sweet paprika
• ~1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
• ~1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• ~1 tsp. dhania-jeera masala
• ~1/2 tsp. garlic powder
• ~1 tsp. dried chopped onion
• ~1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
• ~1/2 c. chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
• ~1/2 tsp. cornstarch
• 2-4 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Toppings

• eggs
• cilantro
• salsa and/or pico de gallo
• avocado and/or guacamole
• hot sauce (preferably Tabasco or similar)

Directions

Hash

1. Melt the bacon grease over medium-low heat.
2. Add the sweet potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-7 minutes.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Add the onion, garlic, and reconstituted veggies and cook for another 5 minutes or so.
5. Sprinkle in paprika, salt, and pepper and cook for another minute or so.

Beef

1. Heat a pan over medium-low heat and add the beef, breaking up any large chunks as you go.
2. Add salt, garlic, pepper, hot and sweet paprika, chili powder, oregano, dhania-jeera masala, garlic powder, onion, and Worcestershire sauce and cook until beef is no longer pink.
3. Increase heat to medium-high and add tomatoes, stock, and cornstarch. Cook for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Stir in cilantro.

Assembly

1. Fry one or two eggs per person.
2. Scoop a portion of hash into a bowl.
3. Add a portion of beef on top of the hash.
4. Place one or two fried eggs on top of the beef.
5. If desired, top with salsa, guacamole, cilantro, and/or hot sauce.

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¹ I would normally use fresh (or leftover cooked) veggies for hash but, as noted, just returned from camping trip so I didn't have much in the way of fresh veggies on hand. I think the dried mix I used had a mix of onion, potato, carrot, celery, and red and green bell pepper in it. Whatever it was, it seemed to work well. ^Back