To commemorate my paternal grandmother’s first year death anniversary, I am posting a series of my grandmothers favorite recipes. This potato kurma recipe is second in the series. Read my first post in the series here.

My grandmother with my father

My grandmother with me

Of everyone in our family, I think I spent the most time with with my grandmother. She raised me, I shared a room with her, and went with her every where. I was always by her side. And I learnt a lot from this amazing woman just from tagging along. “Don’t depend on anyone. You must learn to do things yourself”, she’d say again and again. Every time I traveled with her, which was a lot, she would teach me again and again how to be independent. Through her, I experienced the joy that comes from not depending. As early as 10 years old, she’d make me check in at airports. There I’d be, not even reaching the counter, checking in for the two of us. It made my 10 year old self feel empowered and confident.

My grandmother also often said it was important to learn to cook and I think its one of there reasons I took an interest in cooking early one. (Ironically, she never cooked herself!). She relished this potato kuruma, often having her cook make it for dinner with fresh chappatis. This kurma, made with coconut milk and topped with fried onions, is rich and comforting. And the home made masala which is the flavor base of this kuruma is well worth the effort.

Take care not to overly brown the chills and the spices in the masala. If you over toast the spices, the kuruma will taste bitter. The trick is to stir constantly so the spices toast evenly. Remove the spices from the heat as soon as they smell fragrant.

Potato Kurma with Fried Onion Recipe

serves about 4

Ingredients
For the Masala
1 teaspoon oil
6-8 dried red chilis
2 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon uncooked rice, optional

For the Kuruma
1lb yukon gold potatoes
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cup finely diced yellow onion
6 curry leaves
Salt
1 cup coconut milk

For the topping
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions or shallots
1 dried chile
6 curry leaves

Method
1. First make the masala. Heat oil in a small skillet, and add chilis. Cook them on medium heat just till they turn color, about 45 seconds. The chills should still be fairly red in color, not black. Remove the chiles and place on a plate.
2. To the same pan, add the remaining masala ingredients. (No need to add extra oil). Fry till they are fragrant and lightly browned, about 45 seconds.
3.Using a spice grinder, grind the chiles and spices using a little water, into a thick paste. Set aside.
4. Now make the kuruma. Peel and cube the potatoes. You should have approximately 5 handfuls of cubed potatoes.
5. In a large wok or saucepan, heat the oil and add onions and curry leaves. Cook on medium heat till the onion is soft, about 1 minute.
6. Add the potato cubes and cook, stirring for about 5 minutes.
7. And the ground masala paste and salt. Stir well.
8. Add enough water to cover the potatoes (about 2 cups). Bring to a boil. Then cover the wok with a lid, and let the potatoes cook on a lively simmer till the potatoes are soft but still holding their shape. Then remove the lid, and continue cooking till most the water is absorbed.
10. Now pour in coconut milk. Stir and turn off heat.
11. While the potatoes are cooking, work in the topping – heat oil in a small saucepan, add mustard seeds and let them pop. Then add all remaining topping ingredients and sauté on medium heat till the onions are browned.
12. Top kurma with the fried onion topping. Serve kuruma with rotis or naan.

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Pea and potato fritters (aloo mutter tikki) are a popular snack or appetizer in India. This is an updated version of the traditional tikki. I coat the fritters in panko bread crumbs before shallow frying them to create a crispy, golden, delicate crust. Tikkis are usually served with a sweet, tart tamarind sauce. I serve the fritters with tamarind jelly instead. I added a little fruit pectin to the tamarind to achieve a nice jelly like texture. The pectin is totally optional and the end result will taste equally delicious with or without the pectin.

 The main ingredient here are green peas and potatoes. I used 1 cup of peas and 1/2 cup of boiled potatoes because I wanted the peas to be the star of this dish. Add more potatoes and less peas if you like.

 Start by sauteeing frozen peas, boiled potatoes, chili powder and cumin.

 Then form the potato-pea mixture into discs. Dip the discs in flour and water. Then roll in panko. Shallow fry till crisp and golden on the outside.

 The end result is a gorgeous, golden fritter waiting to be doused in sweet, tart, cumin scented tamarind jelly..

For the tamarind jelly, I used seedless tamarind pulp that comes in a block. You can find this at the Asian store. You must boil the tamarind pulp first to extract the juice. Strain the tamarind water, and add sugar, cumin and fruit pectin to it. Boil the jelly for about 10 minutes. It will thicken up nicely and when cool, become jelly-like. The fruit pectin is totally optional. The pectin only adds to the texture and not to the flavor of this jelly.

Why did I call this a jelly and not a jam? For a great write up on the difference between jam and jelly, see this article from Tastes Like Home.

For a tamarind jam recipe using fresh tamarind, see this post from Coffee and Vanilla

When the jelly cools, it will thicken up. Once cool, store it in an air tight container.

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When we eat edamame, S and I usually have a contest. We see who does a neater job sucking the edamame out of their pods. I win. Always. Eating edamame in its shell is fun, but for making this amazing ravioli, shelled edamame is very convenient. All you have to do is open a bag and thaw. God bless whoever invented shelled edamame!

For the filling

1/4 scant cup walnuts
1 cup Edamame, shelled and frozen
1 small garlic clove
1 tbsp white wine
Salt and Pepper
2 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

18-20 wonton wrappers

Place the walnuts in a large pan. Toast the walnuts on medium heat until they are lightly browned. To the pan, add frozen, shelled edamame, garlic clove, white wine, salt and pepper. (Make sure you season the mixture well, it makes a big difference in the final result!)

Let the wine bubble away on medium heat, about 1 minute. When the wine has evaporated, transfer the walnut-edamame mixture to a food processor. Blend into a smooth paste.

Place about 18 to 20 wonton wrappers on a clean work surface. Place a teaspoon full of the walnut-edamame mixture in the center of the wonton wrapper. Then sprinkle some chopped chives on top of the mixture.

Dip your finger in water and coat all four sides of the wonton wrapper with water. This will help the edges to stick. Fold the wonton over to make a triangle. Make sure none of filling is leaking out. Press the edges together to seal. Repeat for all wonton wrappers.

In a large pot, bring plenty of water to a gentle boil. Place the ravioli a few at a time into the water. Boil them gently for about 1 minute. (A rapid boil may break apart the ravioli). Ravioli are done when they rise to the top. Remove the ravioli from the water and place on a towel and gently pat dry. You could spray them with a little olive oil to keep them from sticking.

For the Spinach Mushroom Saute

8 oz box of mushrooms
1 small garlic clove
3 tbsp white wine
4 cups fresh baby spinach tightly packed
2 tbsp fresh chives chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Chop the mushrooms. Rise spinach leaves, and finely mince the garlic clove. Heat olive oil in a pan. Add the chopped mushrooms in a single layer. Cook the mushrooms on medium high heat, moving them as little as possible, until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes.

Then add the minced garlic, salt, pepper and white wine. Let the wine bubble and evaporate a little. Then add the spinach leaves and sauté till they are just wilted.

To serve the ravioli – place the spinach mushroom sauté in a serving dish. Place the ravioli on top. Garnish with chives.

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Just as I was prepping to make these yummy savory pastries, we heard a little ‘thud’ outside. S and I went out to the deck to see what was going on. It was a little red bird lying motionless and belly up on the deck. Little red feathers were floating down. We quickly realized what had happened. The poor bird had crashed into our living room window mid-flight. Apparently 100 million birds die each year, crashing into transparent windows.

S was going to sweep up the bird after dinner. And I returned to making the Jamaican patties, which incidentally were so incredibly super fabulously good that I can’t stop thinking about them. Next time I will have to make a few million of these and freeze them. Anyways, I digress. So when I opened the oven door to take out the freshly baked, heavenly smelling patties, I head another sound outside. I peeped out the window.

The dead bird was waking up and about to fly away!
The dead bird smelled my wonderful Jamaican patties and came back alive!!
Or that’s what I’d like to believe.

I later read online that many birds that hit windows are just passed out, not dead. Good we didn’t bury the poor fella when we found him. But I still think the bird woke up because it smelled the Jamaican patties.

 Jamaican Style Curried Kale and White Bean ‘Patties’
makes 8 muffin sized ‘patties’

This is my interpretation of a Jamaican patty, so its not exactly authentic, but very tasty nevertheless. A traditional Jamaican patty or pattie is half moon shaped and generally filled with meat. The flaky outer crust is made with flour and butter or shortening, and the crust is yellow from the addition of turmeric. As a short cut, I used store bought puff pastry with turmeric sprinkled on top. I baked these in a muffin pan. You don’t have to use a muffin pan, you could bake them like you would a turnover.

1 sheet puff pastry
1 can Cannellini Beans
1 bunch Kale
¼ tsp chopped green chili, or scotch bonnet (this is a very hot pepper), or a few pinches of crushed red pepper
1 tsp minced or grated garlic
1 tsp minced or grated ginger
1 tbsp curry powder (my curry powder is very mild so I used 1 tbsp. start with half, taste, and then add more if needed)
¼ tsp + 1/8 tsp turmeric
1 tsp vinegar
Salt
½ tbsp milk for brushing
½ tbsp vegetable oil

Thaw the puff pastry for 45 minutes. While the puff pastry is thawing, work on the filling.

In a large pot, bring plenty of water to a boil. Add some salt and the vinegar to the water. The vinegar will help retain the color of the kale. Remove and discard the tough stems from the kale. Roughly chop the kale. When the water comes to a boil, drop the chopped kale in the water. Blanch for 1 minute. Then drain the kale. Wash it with cold water to stop the cooking process. Squeeze out all the water from the kale and set aside.

Drain and wash the cannellini beans. Heat oil in a skillet and add the garlic, ginger and chopped chilies, (or scotch bonnet peppers or crushed pepper). Cook, stirring on medium heat for about 30 seconds. Then add 1/8th tsp turmeric and the curry powder. Cook another 20-30 seconds. Make sure the curry powder doesn’t burn.

Now add the cannellini beans and blanched kale to the skillet. Turn off heat. Add salt and stir the mixture until everything is well combined.

Pre heat oven to 400F.

Spray a 12 cup muffin pan with non stick baking spray. You can skip this step if you are using a non stick pan.

Lay out the thawed puff pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll out the pastry sheet a little. Then using your hands, lift and gently stretch the pastry sheet to make it thinner.

Sprinkle 1/4th tsp turmeric all over the pastry sheet. Spread the turmeric as evenly as you can using your fingers. Now take a fork and prick all over the pastry sheet. This will ensure it doesn’t puff up on the oven.

Cut one third of the pastry sheet and set side. Cut the remaining pastry sheet into 8 equal squares. Gently stretch each piece out so that it lines a muffin cup. Place each square of pastry sheet into each cup of the muffin pan. The side with turmeric should be touching the pan. The side without turmeric should be touching the filling. If the corners of the pastry sheet are sticking out, cut them and use them to patch up other parts of the lining.

Once you’ve lined all the muffin pan cups, fill them with the kale-white bean mixture. Take the reserved one third pastry sheet and cut it into 8 pieces. Gently stretch the pieces so they fit over the muffin pan cups. Place them over each cup, fold over the corners and lightly pinch the edges together.

Brush the tops with milk. Bake for 20 minutes or till the ‘patties’ are golden.

This goes to the monthly mingle event over at Meeta’s lovely What’s For Lunch Honey? blog.

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This is a hearty one pot meal for a cold night. You can put it together with minimal fuss, so this is also a great dish to make on a busy work day. This is a flexible recipe – use any kind of rice, veggies and beans you like. I used a blend of brown rice, red rice, barley and rye. My vegetable of choice was broccoli. You could use mushrooms, peas, cauliflower, roasted eggplant or roasted winter squash. Many Cajun dishes like gumbo and jambalaya get their smokey flavor from smoked Andouille sausage. I used liquid smoke and some smokehouse almonds to get that wonderful smokey flavor; the crunch from the almonds is a definite bonus.

Cajun Brown Rice with Veggies and Red Beans
makes 4-6 servings
 
1 large onion
2 ribs celery
1 red or green pepper
4 cloves garlic or 1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp paprika
1 ½ tsp dried thyme
2 tsp Tabasco sauce
1 1/2 tsp liquid smoke, optional
2 cups Brown rice
4 cups stock or water (you might need more or less depending on the type of rice you use)
2 cups Broccoli florets
1, 16 oz can of Red kidney beans
1, 16 oz can of Sweet corn
½ cup Smokehouse almonds
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil

Finely chop the onion, celery and pepper. Mince the garlic. Drain the sweet corn. Drain and rinse the red kidney beans. Chop the almonds into small bits.

Heat oil in a large deep pot. Add the onion, celery and red or green pepper. Saute on medium heat till the onion is translucent. Now add the garlic, paprika, thyme, Tabasco and liquid smoke. Saute 30 seconds.

Add the rice to the pot, stir and cook for about 2 minutes. Then add the salt, pepper and stock or water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, place a lid on the pot and let the rice cook on a low simmer. Cooking time for the rice will depend on the type of rice you are using. Read the instructions on the rice package for cooking times. Mine took about 45 minutes.

In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the broccoli florets to the rice, stir and put the lid back on. Let the broccoli florets steam for about 5 minutes.

Then check rice for doneness – rice must be completely cooked but not mushy and all the liquid should be absorbed. Once rice is cooked, stir in the beans, sweet corn and almonds. Mix well and turn off heat. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

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Rose flavoring is used mainly in Turkish sweets and desserts. I also had some really nice rose flavored tea in Istanbul. This drink is inspired by all the rose flavor I encountered in Turkey.

Rose Pomegranate Fizz
makes 2 cups
 
4 tbsp Sugar (more, if you like it sweeter)
3 tbsp Water
2 tbsp Pomegranate molasses*
¼ tsp rose water
2 cups chilled club soda or seltzer
A few rose petals

Microwave the sugar and water just until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. Then mix all ingredients together except rose petals. Stir well to combine.

To serve, pour into glasses and float a few rose petals on top.

Notes
Make sure you use roses that haven’t been sprayed with pesticides. Rinse the rose petals in cold water before using.

*If you dont have pomegranate molasses, use pomegranate juice. You may have to experiment with the pomegranante juice and club soda ratio (start with equal amounts of each).

This recipe yields a slightly sweet drink. Thats how we like it. If you want your drink to be sweeter, just use more sugar.

How to make your own rose water

I found rose water in my local grocery store. It will also be available in middle eastern stores. If you cant find rose water, here is a link to make your own on www.tipnut.com. See the section titled ‘homemade rosewater’. The recipe calls for steeping 1 cup of rose petals in 2 cups boiling water. Then cool, strain and use.

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Did you watch Top Chef this week? Are you as excited as I am about Carla’s tofu dish?!

I didn’t quite expect her to make a vegetarian, tofu dish and win her round! I have to say, I wasn’t a big fan of Carla…till I made her tofu, that is! It’s not that I don’t like Carla, but my focus was on other contestants. Like Jamie, who consistently makes good dishes and is a no-drama kind of girl. Or Fabio. Oh, Fabio! I think he’s pretty cute in all his Italianness. And who else can say things like “give me a monkey’s a*s to stuff with fried banana and I’ll make it taste good” or “I’m 30 years old and sleeping on this bunky bed”.

So with cool Jamie and quirky Fabio around, I kind of didn’t notice Carla. Then Carla made this wonderful vegetarian dish that put her in my radar. I couldnt wait for the week to end so I could try this recipe for friday night dinner. The pecan and oat crust is simply brilliant. I can think of a lot of uses for it. So thank you, Carla! I did make some changes to this recipe, see the notes at the end of this post.

 
Carla’s Pecan and Oat Crusted Tofu
Makes about 9 pieces
Adapted from Carla’s recipe on Top Chef, season 5, episode 10

For Tofu and Marinade
1 block (18oz package) of Tofu, firm or extra firm
3 tbsp soy sauce
¼ cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp chili paste (I used sriracha)
1 Orange, zest and juice. Reserve ½ tsp zest for the crust
1 lime or lemon, zest and juice

For the crust
¼ cup Oats (the quick cooking kind)
¼ cup vegetable stock
1/4th of a bay leaf
¼ cup chopped pecans
½ tsp orange zest
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp Olive oil

Drain the tofu block and wrap it tightly in 4 layers of paper towels. Place a plate over the wrapped tofu and let it sit for about an hour. This will help remove some of the moisture from the tofu. You could skip this step if you wish; Carla didnt do this.

Cut the tofu into equal sized squares. For an 18 oz pack of tofu you should get about 9 squarish pieces. Place the tofu pieces in a zip lock bag or shallow dish. Pour in the soy sauce, water, garlic, chili paste, orange juice and zest, lime juice and zest. (At this point you can taste the marinade and add more lime juice or soy sauce if needed). Make sure all the tofu is coated in the marinade. Place the tofu with marinade in the fridge for atleast 30 minutes. I marinated the tofu for 1 hour.
Pre heat oven to 375F

Heat a large non stick pan. Spray some olive oil or non stick spray on the pan. When the pan is hot, remove the tofu cubes from the marinade and place in the pan. On high heat, sear the tofu on all sides. The tofu must be browned on all sides.

Transfer the tofu to a non stick baking sheet. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake the tofu for 25-30 minutes. Turn the tofu pieces over half way through.

To make the crust
Bring the vegetable stock and bay leaf to a rolling boil. Turn off heat and immediately add the quick cooking oats to the stock and stir.

(If you are not using quick cooking oats or instant oats, you will have to cook the oats in the stock for a few minutes).

Mix in all other ingredients for the crust. Mix well using your fingers. Then crumble the oat mixture onto a baking sheet. Spread it evenly. Bake in a 375F oven for about 10 minutes or till the mixture is slightly brown and dry.

To assemble the dish, place tofu cubes on a plate and top with the oat pecan crust.

This photo goes to Jugalbandi’s Click event, this month’s theme is Tofu/Cheese.

Notes
This recipe is slightly different from Carla’s original recipe that appeared on the Top Chef show, season 5, episode 10.

I baked the oat pecan crust separately in the oven. Carla’s recipe calls for the seared tofu and crust to bake together.

I also increased the baking time of the tofu to 25-30 minutes because I wanted a crispy exterior. Carla’s recipe only bakes the tofu for 10 minutes.

I thought the original recipe might be a bit too salty and citrusy. So I cut down on the soy sauce and citrus juice. Taste the marinade and adjust the soy sauce and citrus according to taste.

Don’t let the marinade go to waste. Place the marinade, along with one tablespoon of brown sugar in a pan and bring to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute or till the sauce thickens a little. Use this sauce on vegetables, rice or tofu.

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My entire neighborhood is ablaze with fall colors. Everything around me seems to be a brilliant, orange or red. There is no better time than now to bring out that Acorn squash that’s been sitting on my counter. Its the perfect shape and size to stuff with a fluffy, nutty brown rice that smells like the fall. But I’ve always wondered how squash got its name. Winter squashes especially are so hard, you cant exactly “squash” them! Then I discovered that the name comes from the native Indian word “Askutasquash” which means “eaten raw”. So here is my recipe for brown rice pilaf in askutasquash bowls

This is my entry to Culinary Bazaar’s blog event, A Worldy Epicurean’s Delight. This month’s theme is American food.

Ingredients

Acorn squash – 6
Brown rice – 1 cup
Vegetable stock or water – 1 3/4 cup
Onion – 1
Garlic – 4 cloves
Carrot – 1
Celery – 2 stalks
Water chestnut – 1/4 cup chopped. Substitute toasted walnuts.
Thyme – 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1/4 tsp
All spice or clove powder – 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg – pinch
Lemon juice – 1 tsp
Parsley chopped
Salt – about 1 1/2 tsp
Pepper
Olive oil or butter – 2 tbsp

Pre-heat oven to 400. Wash and dry the squash. Place on a kitchen towel and carefully cut the top off with a sharp knife like the picture below. I like to score the top first where I want to cut it. Then I make the deeper cuts to remove the cap. Trim some of the flesh off the cap. Scoop the seeds and fiber out. Drizzle a little olive oil on the inside of the squash, sprinkle with salt and pepper. If the squash is not stable, slice off a little from the bottom of the squash to make a stable base.

Pour a little water in an oven proof pan. Place the squash with lids on in the pan. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Check the squash half way through, if the water dries up, add a little more. If the tops are getting burnt, cover with foil. Squash is done when it is fork tender.

To prepare the rice, heat a skillet with olive oil. Chop the onion, carrot and celery finely. Add to the oil and saute for about a minute. Then add minced garlic and saute another 30 seconds. Add the rice, thyme, cinnamon, nutmeg, all spice/clove. Saute on medium heat for about 4 minutes. Pour in the vegetable stock or water, lemon juice, salt and pepper. If you are using stock, you’ll need less salt.

Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat, cover the pan and let the rice simmer for about 30 minutes or till cooked. Cooking time may vary depending on your rice.

Stir in the parsley and water chestnut/walnuts. To serve, spoon the rice into the acorn squash bowls. Scoop the squash along with rice to eat.

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