Green Bean Thoren (Indian Stir Fry)

 

When we were in Cochin, we went to a wonderful cooking demonstration at Nimmy and Paul's house (http://www.nimmypaul.com/). We had such a great time. They have a beautiful house and were so warm, and it was great to see a house after having been in hotels for two weeks. Nimmy brought us back to her lovely clean and organized kitchen (I wish I could have a kitchen like it!) and taught us a few Indian dishes including this Thoren. She then served us an incredible dinner with those dishes as well as a few more she'd been working on all day - yum! Jamie and I agreed it was our best dinner of the trip, and such a fun and interesting night.

I made the green bean thoren last night (though I had to omit the fresh coconut because I couldn't find any, and I had to use dried curry leaves instead of fresh which I know are not nearly as good, but it was all I had) and it was fabulous! Such a tasty, new way to have green beans. I'll definitely be making it again, and Nimmy says you can make it with other vegetables like carrots, cabbage, pumpkin, etc.

Chicken Tikka

Jamie and I had some incredible tandoori chicken in Udaipur and even though we've only been back in the states since Saturday, we're both already craving more Indian food. Chicken Tikka/Tandoori Chicken is a simple weeknight meal and is SO tasty! The chicken is tender and flavorful, and cooks in 25 minutes and it's a nice cheap dinner if you buy chicken legs. If we were serving more people, I would buy a whole chicken and cut it into pieces and remove the skin. One secret is cutting little slashes in the chicken and rubbing the mixture in there. If you don't have tandoori spice, it's kind of a mix of chili powder, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, ginger etc. Mmm. Jamie said he never wants to eat any other chicken every again, so needless to say, it was a hit! I served it with Green Bean Thoren, courtesy of Nimmy.

Back!

We got back from India early Saturday morning after a looong flight. What an incredible trip! After 16 days, we never got sick of the food and I now love Indian food even more than before. It was so fun to try all of the new dishes and the difference between north and south was huge. Heavy curries in the north and lots of fresh, grilled seafood and coconut in the south. Yum!

We took a cooking class in Kerala with this great woman, Nimmy, so I will definitely be making some of those dishes soon!

Meanwhile, here are some pictures of food just to make everyone jealous and hungry...

 Fish mongers in Cochin

Restaurant that cooks the fish across from the fish mongers, so good!!

Honeymoon!

I'm on my honeymoon! Please forgive the lack of posts while I'm away. Jamie and I got to Delhi yesterday afternoon. It's such an incredible place, unlike anything I've ever seen. Sensory overload! The food has been amazing and I will be attempting to recreate it when we get back. So far the favorite was koothu parotta- a sort of fried rice type dish with torn up parathas (sort of like a large scallion pancake/a thicker roti) and onions, egg, tomatoes, and peppers, accompanied by some mint-coconut chutney. Yum!!

I'll try to post more, but no promises.






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Location:India

Chicken Liver Pâté

Chicken liver pâté sounds kind of fancy and scary, but it's actually super cheap and pretty simple to make. There are  very easy versions, like this, and this one is slightly more complicated. It has a wonderful flavor and texture and is a real treat. Don't eat this every day or you'll get gout. But for special occasions, definitely whip some up to share with friends - as long as those friends like chicken liver pâté. (It is an acquired taste.) I got the recipe from MarthaStewart.com and it's great.

See, $2.19 for more than enough chicken livers.

Ingredients:

15 tablespoons (1 7/8 sticks) unsalted butter

3/4 pound chicken livers, rinsed and drained

Bacon Caramel Popcorn with cashews, almonds, and chipotle

Yum! This stuff is like crack. I made it the other day and decided it would be a great Christmas present for a few lucky friends. Now that I have given them away, I can post about it! This is such a treat for a movie night, or for putting in a pretty Ball jar and giving as a present. The salt, chipotle, bacon, and caramel go together amazingly well, and you might find yourself mining for the caramelized bacon - it's unreal. If you don't have tea, you can skip that step. (Also, this recipe is from here.) I think this would also be amazing on vanilla ice cream. I may have to test it out with the last jar (I can't bring myself to part with it.)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup popcorn kernels

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

¾ lb thick bacon, chopped

1/4 cup unsalted raw cashews

¼ cup almonds

1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or coarse sea salt

1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 Rooibos tea bag

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300°F. Heat popcorn and oil in covered heavy large pot over medium-high heat until kernels begin to pop. Shake pot until popping stops and pour the popcorn into very large bowl. 

Sunday Night Roast Chicken with Root Vegetables

Yesterday was a rainy Sunday and I was just really in the mood for a nice roast chicken. Roasting a chicken on top of root vegetables is always an easy 1-pot dinner, and I had some extra time, so I brined the chicken, too. (You don't need to brine a chicken if you buy a kosher chicken.) I think it added some flavor and made it juicier. This is a really nice Sunday dinner, hearty and with good flavors. Feel free to change the root veggies and do carrots or potatoes or butternut squash - whatever you like.

Ingredients:
1 4 lb chicken

Brine:
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup salt
4 garlic cloves, crushed
tbsp black pepper corns
water