Papaya Chicken

The best advice I can give in making this dish, is focus on the preparation before starting; there are a lot, I mean a lot, of spices to be scooping out while the onions are caramelizing, and eventually burning. This is the main meal to which the Chana Masala would go well with (we made this again, with Chana Masala spice mixture this time instead of Garam Masala). The asafoetida in this dish is a spice that I've seen only in Indian dishes (until more recently, as a tincture to be put on the stomach of babies to reduce gas - a benefit from Thailand), and is very pungent and somewhat unpleasant when raw (and will likely stink up your place for a short while), but is used to reduce gassiness when eating lentils or cruciferous vegetables. This dish tasted quite good, an interesting spicy chicken paired with papaya, though I think I should have taken my beautiful Bride's suggestion, to cook the papaya a little with the chicken (on the other hand, cooking too long will deactivate the beneficial enzymes that papaya contains).

Papaya Chicken
From Everyday Indian by Bal Arneson
2 Tbsp corn or grapeseed oil
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/2 tsp asafoetida
2 Tbsp grated garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp Spanish paprika
1 tsp salt
900 g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1 cup cubed ripe, juicy papaya

Mix together the cumin seeds, ground cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, paprika and salt.

Place the oil, fenugreek seeds and asafoetida in a non-stick skillet over medium heat and cook for 10 seconds. Add the garlic, ginger and green chili, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the onion and sauté for four minutes, until caramelized. Add the cumin spice mixture, and cook for 10 seconds.

Add the chicken and cook for 2 minutes, until it is almost done. Stir in the yogurt and cook for another 2 minutes, until the chicken is fully done. Add the papaya chunks, and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, stir in the papaya chunks, and serve with brown rice or whole wheat naan.

Chana Masala

We came across this Punjabi recipe in this health magazine, this recipe is from the author's mother (and was called My Mother's Chickpeas), and decided to try it. Chana Masala is a blend of spices which you can find prepared in most supermarkets, which pairs well with chana, or chickpeas; alternatively, as we did, and sometimes more commonly in recipes, you can use garam masala spice blend. The Chana Masala recipes I've eaten, usually have somewhat of a sauce to them; this one is dryer. Still good-tasting. Have this is a side dish, alongside one with meat.

Chana Masala Chickpeas
From Everyday Indian, by Bal Arneson
2 Tbsp corn or grapeseed oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
2 Tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 green chili, finely chopped (more for garnish)
2 tsp Chana Masala or Garam Masala
1 tsp salt
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or use one 14 oz can)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Place the oil, onion, garlic and ginger in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes, green chili, chana masala and salt. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly.

Add the chickpeas to the skillet and cook for 1 minute. Turn the heat off, cover the pan with a lid, and let sit for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with cilantro or chopped green chili, if desired. Serve with brown rice.

Restaurant Review - The Host

We've been to The Host's Mississauga location several times (33 City Center Dr., at the corner of Robert Speck Parkway, just west of Hurontario, by Square One), there are two others, one in Yorkville and one in Richmond Hill, and enjoyed their all-you-can-eat buffet (only at lunch Thursday to Sunday - about $15 per person on the weekend); we'll likely go back again. You can also eat a la carte at other times, prices are fairly reasonable ($9-15 per dish). The buffet has a number of interesting South Indian and Indian dishes, including meat and vegetarian ones, with appetizers, soups and salads (pretty typical of most buffets). Some of our favourites are the Murgh Makhni, or Butter Chicken (an award winning dish); Rara Goat, with a brown curry of tomatoes and onions (ok, I like that one); Fish Amritsari, Punjabi white pasa fish marinated in spices and deep fried in gram flour batter (excellent!); Panir Makhni, homemade cottage cheese cooked in buttery tomato sauce; Gulab Jamun, a dessert made from milk solids and flour in a syrup flavoured with cardamon and rosewater (wonderful! I could eat half a dozen of these, and have!); their Nan is also tasty.

Curry Leaves

Highly valued in South India and Sri Lanka, the leaves of the Curry tree, also known as Sweet Neem, are interesting; you can smell curry with the fresh leaves, especially when fried in oil. You can best use them with fish or coconut milk curries. They are best fresh, though their shelf life is short; you can also freeze them indefinitely (separate the leaves from the stems and remove any bad leaves); or you can dry them (to dry, put whole stalks with leaves between newspaper sheets and place in a warm area, like the top of a refrigerator), though this way they lose their flavour quickly.

Where do you find curry leaves? In specialty Indian stores, or certain Chinese supermarkets (which is where I found these). You can also sometimes find young curry tree plants for sale; you can grow them indoors and thus have a constant supply.

For a delicious recipe, try Eggs with Curry Leaves.

Khakhara Bajri

These thin crispy Indian snacks from Surati Sweet Mart Limited made from millet, flour, palm oil, and spices are really tasty. They are a little spicy, a warning for those not so adventurous, but there are milder versions available, as well as a host of other flavours; interesting to me just from the back of this package would be the Methi (Fenugreek) and Schezwan.

Eggs with Curry Leaves

When I saw this recipe, I knew that it would taste good, because I have enjoyed the taste of curry leaves in other, Indian, dishes, I especially like the fragrance that comes when they are fried. We had no scallions, so we omitted those from the original recipe, I think it could only have been better than it did taste; we enjoyed it two ways, I ate it on bread, my beautiful Bride enjoyed it on rice.

Eggs with Curry Leaves
adapted from a recipe from Mangoes & Curry Leaves by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid
4 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 tsp butter
1 tsp vegetable oil
5 to 8 fresh or frozen curry leaves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp minced ginger or ginger mashed to a paste
1/4 cup finely sliced shallots

Whisk the eggs in a bowl until very smooth, add the salt and set aside.

Heat a heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the butter or ghee and oil, and when the butter is just melted, add the curry leaves, ginger and chili and stir-fry briefly. Add the shallots and scallions, reduce the heat to medium, and stir-fry until the shallots are softened, about 4 minutes.

Beat the eggs briefly again, then pour into the hot pan. Lower the heat to medium-low and use a wooden spatula to gently fold the cooked edges of the egg in toward the centre of the pan. As the mass of egg starts to set, run the spatula under the central mass of egg and turn it over. Cook a little longer; the eggs should be just set but still soft and tender.

Eggplant and Mushroom Curry

This is very similar to the Eggplant Masala we made recently, this one uses cumin seeds instead of black mustard seeds, does not have tamarind, and adds tomatoes. Still, it turned out fairly tasty, probably even better than the eggplant masala. You can use any kind of mushroom here, likely button mushrooms work best, but we had some King mushrooms left over. It is interesting how the slow addition of water to the onion spices mixture transforms it into a paste; each tablespoon of water bubbles up with the heat of the pan.

Eggplant and Mushroom Curry
adapted from a recipe from Six Spices by Neeta Saluja
6 Tbsp cooking oil, divided
8 ounces sliced King mushrooms
1 medium eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp red chili powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 medium tomato, chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

In a medium-size pan, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. When oil is hot, add sliced mushrooms and eggplant. Stir-fry until vegetables start to turn brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Heat remaining oil in the same pan. When hot, add cumin seeds and stir for a few seconds. Add onions and garlic. Cook until they become soft, stirring often to prevent burning.

Stir turmeric, chili and coriander powders into the onions and garlic. Add 2 tablespoons of water at a time until all the water is used up and spices form a smooth paste.

Add mushrooms, eggplant and salt. Stir well with the spices. Cover, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are cooked. Add tomatoes and cook for another 2 minutes.

Garnish with fresh cilantro and serve hot.

Asparagus and Sweet Potato Curry

I like sweet potatoes, and my beautiful Bride likes asparagus (ok, most vegetables), so this recipe, found by my beautiful Bride, created a great and delicious curry dish. The spices and ingredients are Indian in nature, and work well with the sweet potato and asparagus.

Asparagus and Sweet Potato Curry
3 Tbsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp powdered turmeric
2 bay leaves
1 tsp coarse sea salt
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can coconut milk
1 large sweet pototo, peeled, thinly sliced
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
salt and black pepper
cilantro to garnish

Warm coconut oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add mustard seeds and cook until seeds pop, 2-3 minutes. Add onion and saute 5-7 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala, chili powder, turmeric, bay leaves and salt, and saute another 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add tomatoes and their juices to food processor with metal blade and quickly pulse a few times to break them up. Pour tomatoes and coconut milk into saute pan with onions and spices. Fill coconut-milk can with water and stir well to incorporate any coconut milk that may have been left behind. Add to saute pan and mix well. Add sweet potatoes and simmer over low heat about 20 minutes, until potatoes are tender and sauce has thickened. Add asparagus, cover, and simmer 3-5 minutes, until tender but al dente. Remove from heat.

Salt and pepper to taste, garnish with cilantro, and serve immediately.

Restaurant Review - Avani Asian Indian Bistro

The restaurant Khaarma was recently bought out and renovated, we thought to go check it out. A big sign proclaimed an Executive Buffet, costing $9.99, for a limited time, they asked us when we entered whether we wanted go for the buffet, we said yes. There were no other customers in the dining area when we arrived, though it filled up quickly about a half hour later. Perusing the menu we were given, we found that it was a different kind of buffet, there were no tables to go and choose your own, instead you choose from Starters, Mains and Sides, and afterwards a dessert. You could choose three each of five Starters (vegetable pakoras, tandoori chicken, potato roll, Manchow soup or fresh salad); three of the six Mains (four vegetarian and two meat); there were no limits on the Sides.

We each chose vegetable pakoras and Manchow soup (a Moroccan totally vegetarian spicy soup); I chose potato rolls and my beautiful Bride chose the fresh salad. The Manchow soup came first, it was quite delicious, though quite spicy. The vegetable pakoras were quite good, though they were cold (I suspect they were made earlier in the day, but at least they could have nuked them), and the potato rolls (mashed potatoes with peas rolled into cylinders and then fried) were quite good, and hot. The fresh salad had an interesting little oil dressing that pleased the palate of my beautiful Bride.

Being mostly vegetarian, my beautiful Bride chose three of the four vegetarian Mains, I chose the other of the chose, plus the two meat-based Mains. They arrived in small sterling silver bowls with two handles. The butter chicken and the lamb curry that I ordered were both delicious. The other one, a Karahi Paneer dish, with green pepper and curry, was also good. My beautiful Bride enjoyed the Karahi Paneer, also her Paneer dish, which was tomato-based, and her Dal Makhani, which is a black lentil dish. She would have liked her Saag Ghobi, which is fenugreek leaves (like spinach) and potatoes, but she found a foreign object in it that put her off. Otherwise, it was quite good.

The sides that we could have included a vegetarian chow mein, basmati rice, which was excellent with the other dishes, a raita or cucumber and yogurt, very sour, and garlic Naan, quite good, not excellent, but a good Naan.

Overall, we thought that the food was very good, and we could come back here. I don't know quite how much it would cost for the buffet when it comes off special, but, if it's not too expensive, it will be worth going than once in a while.

Better Butter Chicken

So, what did I do with the rotisserie chicken that I made on Sunday? I made this recipe, taken from the new book by Janet and Greta Podleski. Janet and Greta are two Canadian sisters, who decided to create and publish a cookbook filled with humour, the first is called Loony Spoons, the second Crazy Plates; after being rejected by many publishers, their book ended up becoming a best-seller for a long while. I liked their first two books, and have them, and leafed through their latest, coming across this recipe, that looked good and easy to make. Really, it took about 45 minutes to make, not including the time to make the rotisserie chicken, which you could buy in advance from many supermarkets. I changed the recipe slightly, opting for a little more heat by substituting the called for chili powder with chipotle powder, and adding some fresh tomatoes, as the can I had of diced tomatoes was not quite 19 oz. Of course, at the end, I took a little to taste, and it tastes as great as it looks. I like the chunkiness of the chicken, the golden yellow of the turmeric, and the red from the tomatoes. I'm having it for lunch with basmati rice.

Better Butter Chicken
(adapted from a recipe from "Eat, Shrink and be Merry!" by the Podleski sisters)
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup chopped onion
2 tsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp grated gingerroot
1 tsp chipotle powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 can (14 oz/540 mL) diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup fresh tomatoes
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 whole cooked rotisserie chicken, skin removed and cut up
1/3 cup light (10%) cream
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro, if desired

Melt butter in a deep, 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook slowly, stirring often, until onions are tender, about 5 minutes. Add gingerroot, chili powder, turmeric and cinnamon. Cook 1 minute.

Add undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add cut-up chicken, cream and sour cream. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro.