I'm pretty tired so I'm not going to do a big write-up for this. It's a simple-but-delicious onion-poppyseed flatbread. The dough came out very wet and I ended up using ~50g more flour than the recipe called for. Other than that, it was very well-behaved though.

I left out 2 Tbsp. of the oil called for. I feel that 3 Tbsp. was plenty for the amount of bread produced. I also left out the last 1/2 Tbsp. of salt as there was already plenty of salt in the dough and in the onions. I didn't feel like it needed more.

It might be interesting to try making it with whole wheat four or a mix of whole wheat and white next time. Working a bit of rye flour in might also be nice. I think the rye would go very well with the onions.

Pletzel

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2016

Ingredients

• 475g all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1 2/3 c. water
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant (rapid-rise) yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2-3 onions, chopped fine
• 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Directions

1. Combine the flour and 2 1/2 tsp. of the salt and make a well in the centre.
2. Pour in the water and mix, working from the centre outward, until combined. Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes.
3. Add yeast and sugar and knead for 10-20 minutes.
4. Pour 1 Tbsp. of oil over the dough and flip it over a couple times so that dough gets completely coated in oil. Cover and set aside to rise for 2-3 hours.
5. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp. of the remaining oil over medium heat.
6. Add onions along with remaining 1 tsp. of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are golden-brown (~10 minutes).
7. Remove from heat and stir in poppy seeds. Set aside.
8. Coat a rimmed baking sheet in remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil.
9. Turn dough out onto oiled sheet and press into corners of pan with oiled fingers. If dough resists stretching, let it rest for 5-10 minutes before continuing.
10. Proof, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes.
11. While dough is proofing, preheat oven to 250°C (475°F).
12. Prick risen dough with a fork 30 or 40 times.
13. Spread the onion-poppyseed mixture over the surface of the bread, leaving ~1cm border around the edge.
14. Bake at 250°C (475°F) for 18-20 minutes.

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Variations

Multi-Grain Pletzel

Ingredients

• 300g all-purpose flour
• 100g hard (strong/high grade/bread) whole wheat flour
• 25g rye flour
• 3 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1 2/3 c. water
• 1/2 Tbsp. instant (rapid-rise) yeast
• 1 1/4 tsp. sugar
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 2-3 onions, chopped fine
• 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds

Assuming this works well, I'd try it again with even more rye flour, but I wanted to keep the proportion of rye low to start since it can make it difficult to achieve good structure in yeasted breads.

Kela nu Shaak (Banana Curry)

This curry really surprised me! I've eyed the recipe several times over the years. I always had my doubts about it. I was pretty sure I wasn't going to like it. Curried bananas just seemed too weird! I mean, I like curry and I like bananas, but I was not convinced that those would be two great tastes that taste great together.

Just goes to show what I know! This was delicious! Sadly the Kidlet didn't care for it, but TF and I both really liked it. So much so that we'll probably make a double batch next time. Who knew that curried bananas could be so delicious?! (Well, aside from Iyer and the Gujarati people, of course.)

And, not only is this curry very good, it's also very quick and very easy! The whole thing comes together in ~15 minutes and requires only eight ingredients. And the only things that need to be chopped are the bananas and the cilantro, so there's almost no prep!

Kela nu Shaak

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 fresh green Thai, finger, or serrano chilies, stems removed
• 2 firm-ripe bananas, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp. ground Kashmiri or cayenne chilies
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add the cumin and chilies and stir-fry for 20-30 seconds.
3. Add the banana, salt, turmeric, and ground chilies, cover, and reduce heat to medium.
4. Cook, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
5. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

I don't make scalloped potatoes very often. I like them, but we tend to eat more rice and pasta than potatoes anyway and if I am doing potatoes, I generally prefer to either try something completely new or go for the classic and mash them. So scalloped potatoes tend to get left by the wayside, despite being delicious.

But, given that we had both potatoes and balchao masala on hand that needed to be used up, this seemed like the perfect dish for tonight. I don't think it will replace traditional scalloped potatoes for me, but it was quite good. And, even if I don't end up making this recipe again, I may try swapping out the milk in regular scalloped potatoes for coconut milk in the future. I liked the sauce it produced. (Although I may want to experiment with "lite" coconut milk next time; regular coconut milk is pretty calorically dense!)

Balchao Scalloped Potatoes

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 400mL coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. balchao masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 450g potatoes, sliced
• 3-4 scallions, sliced
• 10 fresh curry leaves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and lightly grease a casserole dish.
2. Whisk the balchao masala and salt into the coconut milk.
3. Layer ~1/3 of the potatoes into the prepared dish and pour in ~1/3 of the coconut milk mixture, then sprinkle over ~1/3 of the scallions.
4. Repeat layers until all the potatoes, coconut milk, and scallions have been used up.
5. Place the curry leaves on top.
6. Bake, covered, for ~45 minutes.
7. Uncover and bake for another 10-15 minutes.

This is a pleasingly simple and straightforward side dish.

Parmesan-Roasted Cauliflower

Cook's Country February/March 2020, by Alli Berkey (p.12)

Ingredients

• 1½ C freshly grated parmesan
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp minced thyme
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• 2 lbs cauliflower florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Combine parmesan, cornstarch, thyme, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
2. Toss cauliflower with oil in a large bowl.
3. Add parmesan mixture and toss until well coated.
4. Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.
5. Bake at 450°F until tender and browned, 20-25 minutes, turning after the 15 minute mark.

Some of the spice blends Iyer gives recipes for in 660 Curries are very simple -- like the two-ingredients dhania-jeera masala. It doesn't get much more straight-forward than that! Most of them are a bit more involved. But this East Indian bottle masala is by far the most complex of the various blends and pastes in the book. It incorporates an astounding 20 ingredients! And, according to Iyer, this is one of the simpler bottle masalas out there. He explains that the recipes tend to be family secrets and that a given recipe may contain anywhere from 20 to 75 different components! It reminds me a bit of some of the descriptions I've read of Moroccan ras el hanout: each shop or family tends to have their own recipe, they're all closely-guarded secrets, and the ingredient lists range from long to very long.

Since this makes a very large batch (due to the sheer number of ingredients), Iyer recommends sharing with friends and/or using it as a general-purpose seasoning. He advises adding it to soups, salads, or pastas to give them a unique flavour boost. I haven't been remembering to do this, but possibly I should try it out the next time I'm casting about for spices. I bet it'd be great in scrambled eggs!

East Indian Bottle Masala

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. dried red Thai, arbol, or cayenne chilies
• 2 Tbsp. yellow split peas (chana dal)
• 2 Tbsp. soft wheat berries (kanak)
• 1 Tbsp. uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1/2 c. coriander seeds
• 1 Tbsp. mustard seeds
• 1 Tbsp. sesame seeds
• 1 Tbsp. white poppy seeds
• 1 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. cardamom seeds from green pods
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg shavings (or 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg)
• 3 whole star anise
• 3 cinnamon sticks, broken into smaller pieces
• 3 blades mace (or 1/4 tsp. ground mace)
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 Tbsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1 Tbsp. ground turmeric

Directions

1. Combine everything except the ground spices in a bowl.
2. Preheat a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the mixture and toast, shaking frequently, until the chilies begin to blacken and the rice and split peas begin to brown (4-6 minutes).
4. Transfer the spices to a plate to cool.
5. Once the mixture is completely cool, transfer (in batches, if necessary) to a spice grinder and finely grind.
6. Stir in the ground spices: nutmeg (if you didn't use nutmeg shavings), mace (if you didn't use whole blades of mace), ground Kashmiri chilies, and turmeric.
7. Store in an airtight container in a cool dark place for up to 6 months².

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¹ If you don't have Kashmiri chilies, you can substitute a 1:3 mixture of ground cayenne and sweet paprika. That said, as I write this up, I've found myself contemplating the ingredient list and I think I'd seriously consider swapping the Kashmiri and cayenne chilies next time. Instead of 1 c. of dried cayenne/Thai/arbol and 2 Tbsp. of ground Kashmiri, I think I'd be inclined to use 1 c. of dried Kashmiri chilies (whole, stems removed) and 6 or 7 dried cayenne/Thai/arbol chilies. I think that using more Kashmiri chilies and roasting both kinds would produce a blend with less heat, but a more fruity and complex flavour. (Not that a mix this complicated necessarily needs more complexity, but I do really enjoy the flavour of Kashmiri chilies...) ^Back
2 Iyer only recommends storing this mix for up to 2 months. That said, we've had ours for several years now and it's still very flavourful and potent, so I figured 6 months was probably a reasonable middle ground. ^Back

I found a bone-in leg of lamb on sale at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I nabbed it and stuck it in the freezer for later. I was initially planning on trying out a Cook's Country recipe with it. But then I spotted this recipe in the contemporary curries chapter of 660 Curries. Iyer notes that a beef roast makes a perfectly fine alternative to lamb here, but... I like lamb and I wanted to give it a try this way.

The roast is, as expected, delicious. I mean, it's lamb smeared with a spiced nut paste; what's not to like? But the sauce really stole the show. It was amazing! I think the long cooking time really brings out the best in everything.

Leg of Lamb with Onion-Coconut Sauce

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Lamb

• 1 (1.1-1.4kg) bone-in leg of lamb
• 1/4 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1/4 c. raw cashews
• 1/4 c. raw shelled pistachios
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1-2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Sauce

• 1-2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. bottle masala
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 (400mL) can coconut milk²
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Make four or five 6-mm deep slashes in the meat and set it in a shallow baking pan.
2. Add the yogurt, almonds, cashews, pistachios, and ginger and garlic pastes to a blender and purée until smooth.
3. Pour the nut paste into a bowl and stir in the chilies and salt.
4. Slather the marinade over the lamb, being sure to coat it thoroughly.
5. Cover and chill overnight.
6. The next day, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
7. Meanwhile, place a rack in a roasting pan (or on a rimmed baking sheet). Spray it with cooking spray and transfer the lamb to the prepared rack. Allow to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Reserve any marinade that doesn't cling to the lamb.
8. Roast the lamb at 220°C (425°F) until lightly browned on the outside (10-15 minutes).
9. Reduce temperature to 160°C (325°F) and cook for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove lamb from oven and baste with any reserved marinade. If the pan is dry, pour a little water in to help keep everything moist and prevent the drippings from burning.
11. Continue to roast until meat registers 57-60°C (135-140°F) in the thickest part (60-80 minutes). Check every 20 minutes or so to see if the pan needs more water or if the meat drippings are in danger of overflowing.
12. Meanwhile, heat the oil for the sauce over medium-high heat.
13. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry until caramel-brown (10-15 minutes).
14. Add the tomato paste, bottle masala, and salt and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the paste begins to look oily on the surface (1-2 minutes).
15. Add the water and deglaze the pan.
16. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
17. Reduce heat to medium and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to just over half its original volume (20-25 minutes). Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
18. Once lamb is done, remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes.
19. Slice the lamb and stir the cilantro into the sauce.
20. Serve the lamb, allowing diners to top with sauce at the table.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 2 tsp. I scaled this back slightly for the sake of the Kidlet. I used 1/2 Tbsp. this time and that seemed to be okay. Might try the full amount next time. Also, if you don't have Kashmiri chilies, you can substitute a mixture of 1 part ground cayenne to 3 parts sweet paprika. ^Back
2 We used regular coconut milk this time around because we had a can that was getting close to its expiry. That said, you could probably shave quite a few calories by swapping the regular coconut milk out for lite. ^Back

Hare Tamatar aur Aloo ki Subzi (Green Tomato and Potato Curry)

We've had the option of getting green tomatoes in our produce basket weekly. And, since that's not something I'm normally able to find in the grocery store, I've been trying to take advantage of their availability. I don't have many recipes for green tomatoes, but I'd like to work my way through the ones that I do have. Whereas the last green tomato curry I tried was based solely on the unripe fruit, this curry combines them with another solanaceae vegetable to give a very different result.

Hare Tamatar aur Aloo ki Subzi

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1-2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 225g potatoes, cubed
• 225g green tomatoes, cut into large chunks or strips
• 2 tsp. bin bhuna hua garam masala
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the garlic and stir-fry for until reddish-brown (1-2 minutes).
3. Add the potatoes, tomatoes, garam masala, salt, and turmeric and reduce heat to medium.
4. Cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes have browned a bit (8-10 minutes).
5. Add the water and deglaze the pan.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until potatoes are tender (10-15 minutes).
7. If you would like a thicker curry, mash some of the potato and tomato pices with the back of a wooden spoon.
8. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.