Chaves - A food find and a good food day!

We ended up this afternoon in Mamaroneck by sheer chance, by way of a birthday party visit. It is but a town we have breezed by one or two times over the last decade and a half, nonetheless on this exceedingly chilly day, it held the charm of a land not discovered...

decided with my partner in crime, we should not spend the 11/2 hours of birthday party time indoors drinking apple juice and eating crackers but rather, exploring what the big bad world had to offer.

So, we set out at 11:58pm sharp to head for Carnival time, or the site of our redemption. Here we did the niceties, handed over the gifts and them gleefully made our escape... We had lunch somewhere, this I shall tell you later, but I was very excited at this find right on the corner of Mount Pleasant and Stanley... called Chaves - a Portuguese Ida. I unfortunately cannot tell what an Ida is, but it appeared to be a cross between a sophisticated Bodega and a bistro.

Well. this is a great joint to pick up a bunch of Portuguese ethnic offerings, a quick bite - they had a small but diverse selections of soups and stews, coffee and tea, parties and savory samples. Their grocery aisles consisted of several jars of pickled vegetables, peppers, canned fish, chorizo, and some frozen offerings...

Lots of bread, and in this compact space at least 2-3 shelves of beautiful hand painted pottery and serving ware. Not a place where you can spend a day, but definitely somewhere you can end up feeling thrilled and excited on a leisurely hour in the afternoon...

Pumpernickel - Comfort and Indulgence

A very unlikely find at least by my standards - this restaurant is a somewhat sophisticated cross between a diner and a good all American comfort food joint. It is not where I would go if I was watching my calories, but certainly where I would be going if I wanted good satisfying food.

Good service, a fairly extensive menu, I would prefer this more for lunch than dinnertime. Featured here is the pulled pork sandwich with there really crisp fried onions, that they call "freaky fried onions" and home cut potato chips called frips. My friend Helen who had joined me for lunch had the BLT, which had avocado to add to the richness of the sandwich. The place is famous for root beer that I actually passed on.

Spice and Herb Roast Chicken

There is fairly a deep love of the unusual, certainly when it comes to food - a love that has certainly enhanced my love and appreciation for many a unique food destination or item. But, then again lately a lot of the differences seem so strange - possibly after 10 years of marriage we are at the point where the quirks are not so cute..

Ok! Ok! we passed that during the 5 year mark, but Anshul still patienly does loads of dishes when I do my stress cooking, and well I put up with his episodes of not shaving for 2-3 days at a stretch. One of the joys of modern living is that most days we tend to be way too busy to realize...

Anyhow, all of this is about the fact that my husband does not really like roast chicken, not really his cup of tea. Anyhow, this particular variation works for most people that I know.

Desi Roast Chicken - Spice and Herb Roasted Chicken

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 2.5 hours (almost all inactive)

Ingredients

3/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped parsely
2-3 green chillies
1 large piece of peeled ginger
2-3 pods garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons of salt
Juice of 2 fresh limes (save the squeezed fruit)
1 tablespoon grated jaggery
3-4 pound chicken
2-3 tablespoons of ghee

Method of preapartion

1. Place the cilantro, parseley, chillies, ginger, garlic, ground cumin, salt and lime juice in a blender and grind to a paste.
2. Stir in the jaggery.
3. Rub this mixture all over the chicken, taking care to enter all the cracks and crevices and well under the skin. Stiff the leftover limes into the stomach cavity.
4. Lightly spread the ghee.
5. Heat the oven to 350 degees.
6. Place the chicken in a deep baking dish and bake for about 2.5-3 hours, until the chicken is well browned, and very soft.
7. Turn off the heat and let the chicken sit for 20 minutes.
8. Slice into pieces and serve.

Note: Please save the carcass for flavorful broth.

Meal plan monday - Week of 1/18

Yes, I know I made 2 half hearted attempts at doing this and then forgot about it, Dara's blog is always such an inspiration for meal planning.

While I make lists for all kinds of things, meal planning and cooking to a schedule does, not come naturally to me, but one does have to try. Especially the upcoming few weeks, I shall certainly be well served, if I did not spend all hours in the kitchen, simply dishing out food for the family, OK, I enjoy it but truly there are several other things on my to do list that get side tracked in the process and of course provides me with the perfect excuse not to do my grudging 20 minutes on the treadmill. With a visit from the in-laws, I know have all kinds of odds and ends in the refrigerator. I shall be having my aunt visit, next weekend and also have class on Sunday, so here is what is planned.

Monday - Zucchini Quesadillas (yeah, kids loved this and simple salsa),

Tuesday - Rice Cooker Birayani (this one is a winner, shall pose recipe soon),

Wednesday - Paneer parathas (made with leftover paneer) and cabbage stir fry,

Thurday - Hearty lemon chicken vegetable soup,

Friday - Paneer Matar, lentils and rice

Saturday - (Company again!)

Lunch - Lamb Curry, curried cauliflower and rice

Dinner - Penne marinara and Eggplant Parmesan

Sunday - Leftover lunch

Class food for dinner

The Meal Plan Monday initiative is from Org Junkie and you can find other meal plans on her blog. - I am an organizing junkie.

Alu Baigan - Golden potatoes and eggpants in a spicy tomato sauce

This melt in your mouth gently spiced concoction that simply melts in your mouth, did not start out with such delicious aspirations. In fact, it started out as a lone eggplant, occupying some space in the refrigerator. I asked my helper to cut it into wedges and keep this in a zip lock bag for me. This is something that she does on occasion, although her knife skills are really, really appalling, there is not too much damage one can do cubing a large eggplant.

Well, when I looked at the eggplant, I was quite disappointed, this time not because of the chopping, it happened to be a very seedy eggplant - letting me know rather gently it is not my season...

Well, I first thought of throwing it out, then I figured that I did need to make something. I then chopped a couple of potatoes and fried both the vegetables. Voila, the seedy not so pretty looking eggplant was transformed into a melting soft and luscious creation - testimony to the fact you cannot quite go wrong with some olive oil, eggplant and garlic.

Alu Baigan or potatoes with eggplants is quite a classic dish, there are several variations of this dish. I have for some reason never really tried it, but then as they say there is always a first time.

Here is how I did it,

Alu Baigan - Eggplant and Potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 large purple eggplant, cut into wedges

2 idaho or russet potatoes, cut into wedges to match the eggplant

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/8 teaspoon asafetida

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1-2 pods of garlic, minced

3 tomatoes, very finely processed in the food processor

2 teaspoons freshly powdered coriander

1 teaspoon powdered cumin

1 teaspoon or more red chili powder

1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Rub the potatoes and eggplants with half the salt and turmeric and set aside separate.

2. Heat half the oil and fry the eggplants, this can be done in batches, it takes about 4-5 minutes for the eggplants to brown and become comfortingly soft.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain (note this is very important since the eggplant does indeed absorb a generous amount of oil.

4. Fry the potatoes in the remaining oil (adding more as needed, all except 1-2 tablespoons), till the potatoes are nice and golden.

5. Remove and add the potatoes to the fried eggplants. The entire process for frying takes about 15 minutes.

6. Note, at this point, you should have oil left in the cooking wok, in this oil, add cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle, about 20 seconds.

7. Add in the asafetida, ginger and garlic and cook for about 1minute.

8. Mix in the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, red chili powder and the remaining salt and cook for 5-9. minutes on low heat until the tomatoes are well cooked and the oil re-appears.

10. Mix in the eggplants and potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, till the ingredients are well mixed.

11. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Just in time - Cumin Garlic Rice

Contrary to what we might believe, even on a busy night a simple homey meal, cheers and comforts like nothing else.

I tend to reach out for my favorite spices, my parent grains and work by simle instinct. Simple basic flavors in my world are - cumin, olive oil, clarified butter (just a drizzle), steaming white basmati. The meal pretty much cooks by itself while I shower.

A simple meal of rice and lentils never fails to cheer or revive, Dal- Bhaat (bengali) as I say it or Dal Chawal (Hindi) as my husband know it is the eternal simple basic food that we know and take for granted - just like water, home, love and safety.

The past week has brought us sad news with all the devastation in Haiti. Even when this little island nation was not part of one's consciousness, you cannot help realize that world is a sadder place this week. I met a new co-worker who had lost a lot of family and cannot reach anyone. The instant simple impact of loss was so sudden and real.

A calm meal like this is probably just perfect on any occasion.

Garlic Cumin Rice

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1 cup white basmati rice, washed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups water
1/2 cup green peas (frozen)
1/2 cup frozen corn

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and the ghee and add the cumin seeds and the garlic.
2. Let this cook for 1-2 minutes until your senses are enveloped in the wonderful scent of toasted cumin and garlic.
3. Add the red chili powder and the rice and mix through.
4. Gently stir in the water and green peas and the corn.
5. Bring to a simmer and cover and cook for 16-17 minutes.
6. At this point the water should have evaporates, the rice should have absorbed all of the water and the peas and corn should be clinging around the surface.
7. Leave the rice on the heat for about 10 minutes.
8. Fluff the rice gently and to mix in the flavors and serve.

Red Lentils with Swiss Chard and Nigella seeds

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

3/4 cup red lentils (masuur dal)
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)
1 cup chopped swiss chard
1 tablespoon ghee
1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

Method of Preparation

1. Place the lentils, water, turmeric, salt, ginger, swiss chard in a pot and cook for 15-20 minutes.
2. The lentils soften, turn yellow and then melt into a beautiful mush, yellow with soft flecks of green.
3. Heat the ghee and add the nigella seeds and cumin seeds and cook till the seeds sizzle.
4. Pour over the lentils and serve with the rice as desired.

Food and Our Household

Food is so essential to the fabric of our household, you can actually tell by what we are eating, what the well being of our household is like. When things are even keel, the meals are flavorful, generally healthy and something most people would enjoy.

Most of these make it to this place that I call my cyber home. Monday night, I cooked couscous with vegetables from the refrigerator - red bell pepper, mushrooms and corn kernels. Frozen and cooked with the couscous.

The shrimp was also quickly put together, but tasted really nice.

Tangy Mediterranean Shrimp

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon minced garlic

1 teaspoon spanish paprika

Juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound shrimp, shelled and de-veined

2-3 tablespoons minced parsely

1-2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 leek finely chopped

1/2 cup white wine

1-2 teaspoons chopped cilantro to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Mix the olive oil, spanish paprika, lemon juice, salt and shrimp and toss well.

2. Add in the parsely and marinate the mixture for 30 minutes.

3. Heat the butter and add the cumin seeds and the leek and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until the leek is soft.

4. Add in the shrimp mixture and the wine and simmer for 5-6 mintues.

5. Stir in the cilantro and serve with rice or couscous.