Bhindi (Okra) Curry

I hate okra. You know that song - "Great green gobs of ..."?

Well, it always made me think of okra. It is slimy, gummy, gooey, green grossness.

I HATE okra.

But I like this curry. And it is made with okra.

Okra. There's a reason the soup that incorporates it as a mainstay is called "gumbo". "Mucilaginous" is the best, most polite way to describe okra. Mucilaginous. The very word has the ring of authenticity. That's got to be an onomatopoeia if ever there was one. Mucilaginous mucilaginous mucilaginous - I really HATE okra.

Poor okra has really gotten a bum rap all these years. Poor okra does not, after all, entirely deserve it's reputation as the slug of the vegetable world. It turns out that okra does not, in fact, HAVE to turn into something that exudes long strings of slime that something deep inside you knows will never never never EVER wash off.

It can do so, and easily does. But it doesn't HAVE to be that way. With a little tender loving care, you too can make unslimy, tasty okra dishes.

There are two ways to get around the sliminess of okra. One is to deep fry the little buggers so you sort of cauterize the wounds, causing them to cease their relentless gooey oozings. It works, there's no doubt, but it's really sort of an unnecessary step if you're going on to make a main dish with it anyway. Plus, I don't like deep-frying much. Plus plus, I can't shake the idea that deep frying okra somehow contaminates the oil permanently (as I typically use deep-frying oil at least 3 times before discarding). I'd have to be sure I was using the deep frying oil on it's last trip before the Long Goodbye if I were ever to risk deep-frying okra.

But that's just me.

The other is to pan fry the okra, sliced into little wheel-shapes, in a single layer, until they are brown and crispy. This does take some time, but it is time well-spent. So first I'm going to describe the technique, and then I'll put the actual recipe under that.

JUMP to the ACTUAL RECIPE if you don't want to read all about the technique.

The first way to fend off the oozies it to use the freshest, least mature okra pods you can find. If they're longer than 3", they're edging towards doddering okra senility. If they're longer than 4", AVOID AVOID AVOID! *SHUDDER*

So get the smallest, firmest pods. It's unfortunate but an awful lot of grocery-store okra is going to be, shall we say, "overdeveloped" for our purposes, but you can still make it work as long as you stay away from the biggest pods.

Wash your okra, then dry it THOROUGHLY. I toss it in a dishtowel and then lay it out on another, dry dishtowel to air dry. Yes, this takes some time, but it's time you spend doing other more useful and fun things. Like reading the 9 million free books I downloaded onto the e-reader my son gave me. YES!

When the okra is completely dry (I mean COMPLETELY dry, because any hint of wetness will bring on the oozies big time), cut it into wheel-shaped rounds, about 1/4" thick. Discard the stem end. Whether or not you discard the pointy end is purely a matter of - dare I say it, in connection with okra - aesthetics.

Yes, it will start to ooze while you're doing this. Your knife blade will collect a layer of goo with embedded okra seeds, and you will occasionally have to remove the odd piece of okra that has glued itself to the side of your knife. However, be of stout heart! Persevere in the face of adversity! Fear not! All will be well, and all manner of things will be well.

Heat a T or 2 of oil in the largest frying pan you have - because you want to fry these up in a single layer, as much as possible. Shallow is fine, as long as the surface area is as large as possible. (Alternatively, you can stir fry these in a wok at high temperature, which would probably go faster, but I don't have a wok at present so this is how to do it sans wok)

As the oil heats, I add cumin seeds first, then as they start to brown, drop in the mustard seeds (quantities are coming later, patience, gentle reader!), and as soon as the mustard seeds pop I drop in the curry leaves, which fry just long enough for me to pick up my already-cut-up okra slices and dump them right in the pan there. Stir around quickly to sear/seal the cut faces of the okra. Reduce heat to medium and settle in for the long haul.

I have never timed this but it's a strictly go-by-looks sort of operation anyway so I'm not sure timing would be of any real use. How fast the okra browns up and "crispens" is going to be a function of how hot "medium" actually is on your stove, what sort of pan you're using, the age of the okra (older okra will take longer to properly "cauterize" and may actually get tough if you go too fast), how willing you are to stand and stir, etc.

Since I am unwilling to stand and stir, I'm happy with the medium heat and checking the okra every once in awhile to give it a stir, flip it over, and generally patiently wait for it to get brown and crispy. DO NOT cover with a lid while this is going on, or you will be trapping steam = water = GOO.

Once the okra is all brown and nice and crispy (and it does take awhile), you can add in the onions, garlic, and other spices, and finish cooking.

OK. Now for

THE ACTUAL RECIPE

1/2 lb of okra
1/2 to 3/4 lb of diced potatoes (I actually julienned mine on my mandoline, which turned out roughly 2" long pieces of potato that looked sort of like short shoestring fries)
2 T oil
1 tsp cumin seed
1 tsp black mustard seed
about a half dozen curry leaves
1 med onion (to taste), diced
2 - 3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground red chili (NOT "chili powder")
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek
OPTIONAL - 1/2 tsp good quality curry powder (not any American grocery store stuff)
2 T cilantro, coarsely chopped

You can make this with just 1 lb of okra (no potatoes) if you wish.

1. Wash and dry the okra, as above.
2. While okra is drying, dice or julienne potatoes and fry with as little oil as possible until they are nearly done. This will only take a few minutes because the potatoes are cut small. Set aside.
   
3. Heat oil in a large skillet
4. Fry the cumin seed, then the mustard seed, then the curry leaves (as above).
5. IMMEDIATELY add the okra, stir well
6. Reduce to medium - NO LID! Stir well, and stir occasionally till okra turns brown and crispy
7. Add onions, salt and garlic - stir 'til onions start to brown.
8. Add turmeric, chili powder, fenugreek, and curry powder (if you are using it). If I'm using curry powder I will typically leave the turmeric out or cut it to 1/4 tsp.
9. Add the (precooked) potatoes.
10. Stir well to coat with spices as evenly as possible.
11. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or chapatti, puri, or naan.
    

Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe

Restaurant reviews are not really part of what I intended for this website, but the Curryblossom is so good that I just had to make an exception.

I love Indian food. I even like Indian-ish food. But the truth of the matter is that most Indian restaurants in the US are not real Indian food, they're an odd sort of Punjabi-Bengali-American-ish fusion that you would never find in any Indian home.

If you're fortunate enough to live in an area where there are a LOT of Indians, you may have stumbled across some of the exceptions to the above rule of thumb, but I have never had the good fortune to live somewhere like that. Mostly I've gotten used to the dishes inflicted on us by the more typical places serving sort of Indian-ish cuisine. Actually sometimes I like that style of cooking - but it's really not real Indian food. It is, however, what a lot of people now expect when they go to an Indian Restaurant.

After having tried several of the Indian restaurants in the area, I was pretty well resigned to the typical sort of Indian-ish fare I've come to expect over the years. Don't get me wrong - some of the other places in town are fairly good presentations of that sort of cuisine. But there was nothing new or special about any of them, including the one place in Durham where I found "Masala Dosa" on the buffet (the buffet - something else that seems ubiquitous now for Indian restaurants in the US). In fact the dosa were tough and rubbery. Not sure how that happened, but it was a disappointment. The only upside to that was that my dosa aren't THAT bad, so I got to feel superior. (They're not good, mind you. They're just not as bad as THAT.)

So one day I'm wandering around in downtown Chapel Hill, as I am wont to do (since it seems I'm perpetually a little bit lost these days), and I come upon the end of the run of restaurants on that section of Franklin Street. I want Indian food. Or Thai. Or good Chinese. Unfortunately there are no really good examples of any of those in Chapel Hill (at least not that I've found so far), and I'm just not up for the OK Indian-ish fare that's available. Plus the last time I set foot in the "upscale" Indian restaurant that everybody thinks is so good, they were SO incredibly rude that I ended up walking out. (I did go back another time - basically I got caught on foot in a downpour, and it was a choice between getting soaking wet or going in there. I chose wrongly - I went in.)

So I wander over to where there's a restaurant named "Penang", and discover that that is where there USED to be a restaurant named "Penang".

Darn! I was at least willing to TRY a new Thai place. Well at least I'd been told they served Thai food, although it sounds Malaysian. Anyway. Then I notice a little sign stuck in the grass strip there that says "Vimala's Curryblossom Cafe" - in "the courtyard", which I am guessing is to be reached by walking back between the (now missing) Penang and the OTHER empty storefront next to it.

I walk back, and there, tucked into a corner, is Vimala's. Drat it all, it's only 11 AM and they don't open 'til 11:30.

Oh well, I have a book, and there are places to sit. And I don't get around as well as I once did, so I'm happy enough to sit down, take a load off, and wait for them to open.

Eventually I wend my way into the restaurant proper. This is definitely not a "trendy", upscale place, like that restaurant which shall remain nameless of the rude rude staff, but that's not something I much care about (in fact I find that kind of ostentation a bit off-putting). I am a little worried, however, when I look around and see many many young people of the decidedly non-Asian-Indian variety behind the counter and in the kitchen. And that's ALL. Pretty sure I didn't spot anybody over the age of say 25-ish.

"Sigh" I sighed to myself. Well, I guess crunchy-granola-Indian-fusion is at least something different. (Yes, I was being a little judgmental. I'm sorry. I'm getting crotchety in my old age I think, LOL!)

Oh well. Like I said I don't get around that well anymore, and frankly I'd already walked through the vast majority of Restaurant Row without feeling like stopping anywhere else. So I lit.

I did feel a bit better when Vimala herself made an appearance (ah, there is the person who knows real Indian food! Little did I know how WELL she knows real Indian food.)

All I can say is, they blew my socks off. This is real Indian food like your mother would feed you, if she was South Indian. And if your mother is South Indian, then I hope she fed you food this good.

That day I had the Baingan Bharta, which was really good. I didn't notice the Masala Dosa on the menu until after I'd already ordered, so of course I had to go back for that another day. Except, when I did, the Uttapam seduced me away (oh, fickle fickle! To wear one's stomach on one's sleeve!) So of course, I STILL had to go back for the Masala Dosa.

The Masala Dosa comes with a thick, flavorfuly spiced sambar; coconut chutney; a dollop of potato curry; and something called "gunpowder", which I discovered, much to my embarrasment, I had been calling "chat masala" for something like 20 years. In my own defense, I think I finally figured out how I came to mislabel that. Long long ago I came across some of this stuff in an Indian grocery which was only labeled in Hindi. At least I assume it was Hindi; let's just say it WASN'T labeled in English.

"What's this?" I asked the proprietor. "Oh, that's spice powder." she says. I asked what was in it, and was told ground urud, ground chana, and some miscellaneous spices. You're supposed to mix it with ghee and serve with idli. Only I can't make idli, remember? I was afraid to try again after reducing my blender's motor to a smoking mass. So I didn't buy it.

This had to be over 20 years ago because I (barely) remember it being in Ohio.

Then a few years ago - maybe 5 - I came across something labeled "chat masala" in an Indian grocery in Missouri.

"What's this?" I asked the proprietor. "Oh, that's spice powder."

OK. So now "spice powder" becomes linked with "chat masala" as well as that stuff in the not-marked-in-English bag from 15 years before. Now put these 2 items next to each other and they look NOTHING alike; but it had been 15 years between sightings, after all, so I didn't realize at the time.

Now fast forward to the present day.

"My dad gave me this," sez my son, showing me some stuff in a bag that IS labeled in English, "What's it for?"

This stuff says "Chutney Powder". It looks vaguely familiar. I read the ingredients. 81% black gram, it says. (That's urud dal). "For idli, dosa" it says further on the packet. Oh yeah! I know what this is! Spice powder! CHAT MASALA!

So for years I've been calling this stuff "chat masala" when it was nothing like. Vimala set me straight, LOL! (It's GUNPOWDER. GUNPOWDER.)

But I digress. Since I have a strong aversion to anything coconut flavored - say, coconut chutney - I asked that they hold the chutney. Shortly Vimala herself came out and offered me several alternative chutneys. I picked the ginger chutney, and oh what a good choice that was!

Let me tell you, if I thought I'd had my socks blown off to start with, the Masala Dosa had to have blown me totally out of all my clothes and left me naked with all my food-related nerve endings tingling like they'd been struck by lightning. Which they had. (No, don't try to picture that. It would be a hideous sight. Just take it for a bit of hyperbole in service of TRYING to describe just how good that Masala Dosa was.)

I'm serious. It was so good I was bouncing in my chair making nomnom noises. There was a guy standing at the counter laughing at me. I was having paroxysms of joy!

Go ahead. Laugh at me. I've been cooking and eating Indian food for almost 35 years and except for my friend Usha's cooking, I haven't had anything that good outside of India. I make kind of crummy dosa myself, using cheaty kind of recipes that use pre-ground flours instead of fresh-grinding the whole dal and rice as you should. After burning the motor of my blender out lo these 30 years ago I never tried an authentic recipe again. So these were GOOD.

If you are ever anywhere in the area, give Vimala's a try. You only THINK you've ever had authentic Indian food up to now.

Unless of course your mother is Indian . . .

Honey Mango Banana Bread

I make a lot of Indian food (in case no one had noticed that) and one of the products I have in my pantry at all times, for no particular reason, is mango pulp. It comes in large cans and it is, well, mango pulp.

I love mangos but you don't get good mangos here in the US (unless you're fortunate enough to live in Hawaii). Even so, I can only eat one raw mango because my lips blister if the juices touch my skin. So there I go, whenever I can manage to get a ripe-ish mango, carefully peeling it and cutting it into small chunks and ever so carefully edging it past my lips without brushing the skin . . . YUM!

If I eat 2, the inside of my mouth gets a bit raw, but one is safe. I don't know what causes it, but cooked mango products don't cause the problem.

So there's the mango pulp. I buy it all the time but I almost never actually use it because I don't know HOW. It wasn't something my ex's family used, so I've never really figured out what to do with it, other than make Mango Lassi (a drink with yogurt) which I don't really care for. My son used to eat it right out of the can with a spoon. Pretty sure that's not the intended use for it either. I keep hoping to figure out something useful to do with it because I absolutely LOVE mangos. So far I haven't really come up with very many uses for it.

In an attempt to incorporate some of this yummy ingredient into my repertoire, I came up with the following modification of a standard banana bread recipe (from the King Arthur website). It makes a very moist, flavorful quick bread. There's just a hint of the mango - in future I'd like to try incorporating some ripe mango chunks into the bread for a stronger mango flavor, but lacking ripe (or at least ripe-ish) mangos, this isn't a bad effort.

• 8 T (one stick) butter
• 2/3 c brown sugar
• 1/4 c honey
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 T cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 12 oz mashed overripe bananas
• 1/4 c mango puree
• 2 large eggs
• 10 oz by weight flour

I used King Arthur All Purpose flour, which is about the same as anybody else's bread flour at 11.6% protein.

1. Cream together butter, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat til it has a smooth consistency.
2. Add the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the flour and beat till smooth again. I do this in my Kitchenaid stand mixer with the wire whip.
3. Replace the wire whip with the beater blade and beat in the flour, stirring just to mix. You want a smooth mixture but don't over beat it or it will be heavy and dense.
4. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and pour the batter in. Smooth the top so it's more or less even-ish.
5. Bake in a 350 F oven for 45 mins, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cover the top with foil towards the end if the top is browning too fast.
6. Let cool, slice and serve.

Matar Paneer

Whenever milk goes on sale, I buy a gallon or two of whole milk and make paneer. My son prefers Paneer Makhni or some other form of paneer in a gravy, but my first love is and always has been Matar Paneer (peas and paneer curry). Although I must admit that Saag paneer is now possibly in a tie position for my favorite paneer dish. However today I'm making Matar Paneer, so here goes.

Ingredients

• 1 c paneer
• 1 c peas, fresh or frozen (never canned!)
• 1/2 c onion
• 1/2 c tomato, finely chopped
• 1/4 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp coriander powder
• 1/4 tsp turmeric
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1/4 tsp cayenee
• 3 T ghee
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 c paneer whey or water

Directions

1. Pan fry the paneer cubes (about 1" cubes) using as little oil or ghee as possible. In my Scanpans I can do this without any oil at all, and usually do. Just brown the cubes on at least 2 sides, or all 4 if you have the patience. Set aside.
2. Heat the ghee over a low-medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and fry gently til the onions soften and begin to turn golden.
3. Add the turmeric, salt, garam masala, and coriander powder and fry about a minute longer.
4. Add the diced tomatoes and cook until they begin to soften.
5. Add 1/2 c of the whey and simmer for about 5 mins until the tomatoes become a pulpy sauce.
6. Add another 1/2c of whey and the peas, cover, and simmer until the peas are cooked. If you are using fresh peas from the garden, you may need to add another 1/2 c of whey to fully cook them (frozen peas will cook faster).
7. Remove the lid, add the paneer, and cook, stirring gently, until the remaining liquid has been absorbed by the paneer or has cooked down.
8. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice, puri, or chapati.

Paneer - or Ricotta. Whatever!

So I'm cruising through the blogosphere and come across instructions for making ricotta cheese at home. I'm looking at this and lo and behold - it's basically unpressed paneer. Technically, ricotta cheese is made from whey leftover after making a cheese that uses rennet. I don't know about you, but I don't do much cheese making using rennet. Using whole milk makes an acceptable substitute, plus I already know how to do this - it's just paneer without the pressing!

Basically all paneer/ricotta cheese is is heated milk with acid added to separate the curds and whey, and then strained. Paneer is either kneaded or pressed, ricotta cheese is only drained.

The acid used could be lemon juice, lime juice, or distilled white vinegar. The acid most often called for in paneer recipes in the states is lemon juice. However using lemon juice requires that the paneer be washed or soaked in cold clear water for a couple of hours to remove the strong lemony flavor that leaves.

While I found the Serious Eats recipe interesting (for one thing I'd like to try the microwave method next time I make paneer), it calls for an inordinately high amount of acid - 1 T per cup of milk, which would be a full cup of acid for a gallon of milk. That's about 4 times more acid than I've ever needed to make paneer!

I usually don't need to use even the full amount of acid normally called for to make paneer, because I have found that I can often get the curds and whey to separate just using organic plain yoghurt. If that doesn't completely separate the curds out, just 1 T of lemon or lime juice, or distilled white vinegar will usually complete the job. I've found that distilled white vinegar doesn't leave a noticeable aftertaste when used in this small amount, and just 1 T of lemon juice leaves only a very slight lemony taste, not enough to be unpleasant if it's noticeable at all. This cuts out the whole soaking/rinsing step altogether and produces a smooth paneer with a neutral flavor.

One other thing I do to make paneer that I don't think most other people do (actually I've never known anyone who does this but me) is to use powdered milk to increase yield. This will make the curds denser and less ummm, fluffy? Not sure how to put it, but it gives it a consistency that is fine when you're planning to press it anyway, but not really what you want for desert paneer or ricotta cheese. You want desert paneer to be nice and smooth and creamy. For ricotta cheese, the additional milk solids increase the risk of ending up with curds that are too dense or even rubbery. The addition of powdered milk to grocery store 3.5% milk is optional for paneer intended for main courses, and should definitely be left out for any other use.

Finally, I do not find the addition of salt to be either necessary or desirable. YMMV.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

1 gallon whole milk, or, better yet if you can find it, raw Jersey milk.
1 c powdered milk (optional for paneer for main dish)
1/4 c organic plain yoghurt (you need LIVE culture)
1 to 2 T distilled white vinegar or lemon or lime juice, if the yoghurt doesn't fully separate the curds and whey

A colander
A large stainless steel or enameled pan or stock pot
A milk jug filled with water or other weight (not needed for ricotta or desert paneer)

Flour sack cloth or clean muslin intended for cheesemaking. Don't try to use typical cheesecloth - the stuff that looks like gauze. The weave is too loose. You want a lint free cotton muslin or linen towel, or flour sack cloth. You used to be able to get good flour sack cloth towels at Walmart but the ones they carry now are a much looser weave. The old ones were lots better, but the new ones will do. Or you could try these:

Flour Sack Cloth Towels

I can't tell from the pictures how tight the weave is but they're at least no looser weave than what you can get in Walmart, if you can find them there.

DIRECTIONS

Add the powdered milk if you are using it and stir well.

Heat the milk to just barely simmering. DO NOT LET IT BOIL! Mostly because you greatly increase the chances of making a mess, and also it just doesn't need to be that hot.

When you see the first few bubbles, add the yoghurt and stir. The curds should separate quickly. If the whey still looks milky, add the vinegar or lemon juice one T at a time until the whey is a thin yellowish-green color. It almost never takes more than 1 T. Remove from heat immediately.

Line a colander with your muslin or sack cloth. If you want to reserve the whey, suspend the colander over a large pan to catch the whey - you can use it to make soups and curries, to make chapati or puri, or just google "uses for whey".

After the whey has drained off, twist the towel to make a sort of a bag and suspend it over the sink or a pan to finish draining. (One way to do this is to tie this makeshift bag to a spoon laid across the top of a large stock pot).

FOR RICOTTA CHEESE:
Let the curds hang for about 15 minutes. Do not press. Unwrap it and you're done. The sooner you use it the better.

FOR INDIAN DESERTS such as Ras Gullah:
For desert use, you will not press the curds, you will instead leave it hanging until the curds are cool enough to handle and you will knead the curds.

FOR MAIN DISHES such as Mattar Paneer:
Fold the straining cloth over the drained curds, remove from the colander, set on a plate or inside a pan and put a heavy weight on top to press the curds. I usually put the paneer wrapped in the muslin in the bottom of a large pan and set a plate on top of it, then put a milk jug full of water on top. I let that sit in the fridge overnight. Take it out the next day - there will be additional whey pressed out - unwrap it, cube it, and you're good to go.

That's all there is to it.

Basic South Indian Curry

Nothing creates as much confusion and misunderstanding in Indian cooking as the use of the term "curry". Even dictionaries frequently define this incorrectly when applying it to culinary practices.

First, let me clarify for those who don't know, there is no such spice as "curry". Curry powder is a masala, or spice mix, which could contain any of several spices. Typical curry powder contains turmeric, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and ground red chili. Other ingredients may include cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, asafoetida, cardamom, black pepper, or mace. There is no one true curry powder, it's just one of many types of masalas used in Indian cooking and varies from one cook to another, let alone from one region to another. Cheap pre-packaged curry mixes frequently include a large amount of turmeric, giving it the yellow color that many Westerners have come to believe is typical of curry. In India, at least, there really is no "typical" curry powder.

However, such has been the popularity of "curry powder" in the west that "curry powder" has become common inside India as well. Many cooks in India now rely on this as a staple of their cupboard, but there is still wide variation in the actual makeup of the mixture, so that each cook has a particular formulation or brand that they swear by which may bear little resemblance to someone else's favorite.

I actually don't have a lot of dishes that call for curry powder. I have more dishes that call for a different masala blend, garam masala. This, too, does not have a single formulation, but could be formulated in many different blends. It can still be a useful shortcut.

More typically, Indian cooks use individual ground and whole spices in characteristic ways. I'm most familiar with South Indian style of cooking, so I'm going to give you a basic "curry" recipe today.

This is a basic technique for making a vegetable curry.

We will be quick frying spices in hot oil, and some of these spices will burn quite rapidly, so you need to prepare all ingredients in advance.

Gather the following in small bowls (my bachelor son has been known to use a roommate's shot glasses) so they are ready to use immediately:

GROUP 1:
1 tsp urad dahl
1 tsp chana dahl

GROUP 2:
1 T whole cumin seed

GROUP 3:
1 T black mustard seed

GROUP 4:
1 1/2 tsp crushed red chili pepper
(HOT chilis, not American style chili powder)
10-12 fresh neem or "curry" leaves
If you absolutely can't get hold of fresh, you may use dried, but it's not nearly as good.

Group 5:
1 T garam masala
1 tsp turmeric (optional)

Group 6:
1 to 2 onions, chopped
1 T minced ginger or ginger paste
2 tsp minced garlic OR 2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 minced green chilis (OPTIONAL, only if you want it HOT)

VEGETABLES - add salt to taste with your choice of veggies

For the vegetables you could use 2 or 3 cups of the veggies of your choice, such as:

Potatoes
Potatoes and cauliflower
Carrots, tomatoes, green beans, zucchini, yellow squash
Eggplant
Eggplant, tomatoes, green peppers
Eggplant, tomatoes, carrots
Cabbage
Cabbage and potatoes

or just use your imagination. Just have them ready to go before you start frying the spices.

Now for the spice fry:

Heat 2 or 3 T of oil in a good quality heavy frying pan. The pan needs to be large enough to accommodate your veggies.

Turn heat to fairly high. Add GROUP 1 when it's hot, but not all the way heated up.

When the dahls start to turn color, immediately add GROUP 2, the cumin seed.

When the cumin seed starts to brown, IMMEDIATELY add GROUP 3, the mustard seed.

If the oil is hot enough, the mustard seed will start to pop within just a second or two. If they don't start popping in 10 or 15 seconds, turn the heat up just until they do. Immediately add GROUP 4, the crushed red pepper and fresh curry leaves.

The crushed red pepper will burn VERY quickly, so LOSE NO TIME, as soon as it starts to cook add GROUP 5, the ground spices.

Stir well and quickly add GROUP 6, the onions, garlic, and ginger. Turn the heat down to kind of medium and add your veggies according to how much time they need to cook - longest time required first. Stir well to coat. You may add a bit of water, cover, and cook on a lower heat to cook the veggies through. Not too much water though as this is usually intended to be a dryish curry, but cook it to YOUR taste. If you want a bit of sauce, just add a bit of water, but this isn't intended to be saucy.

Feel free to experiment with this. For example, fresh (but not dried) curry leaves can go in earlier, say with GROUP 3 or even GROUP 2. The dried curry leaves will tend to burn fairly quickly, but you could get away with a bit more with the fresh as far as length of cooking time. Change the amount of garam masala, or substitute or add a good curry powder (I would leave the turmeric out if you use curry powder).

Easy Garam Masala

A masala is a mixture of spices. Garam Masala is a frequently used mix which varies a lot from one cook to the next, let alone from one region to another. I've occasionally seen Garam Masala referred to as "curry powder" but it is a different mix. Curry powder as we in the west think of it is not actually a traditional Indian masala mix, but similar mixes have become popular in India because of their popularity in the West. "Curry powder" constituents vary widely depending on the manufacturer. Many cheap blends use a lot of turmeric, giving curry powder the yellow color we of the west have come to associate with "curry". Garam Masala, however, is a different masala altogether.

Garam Masala is best made from whole spices which are lightly roasted in a dry frying pan and then ground. I use a coffee grinder which is used for nothing other than grinding spices. You can usually find one for around $20. However, if you don't have access to the whole spices or a grinder, this recipe using ground spices is a fairly good substitute. Ground spices quickly lose their flavor and aroma, but if your spices are not too old this is a fairly good substitute.

Easy Garam Masala

1 T ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
1 ½ tsp ground cardamom
1 ½ tsp ground pepper
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp ground nutmeg

Blend all ingredients well. Store in a tight container.



Here is a recipe for Garam Masala from whole spices. It's from one of Julie Sahni's cookbooks - I forget which one.

Whole Spice Garam Masala

2 tablespoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
1 (3-inch) stick cinnamon, broken up
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg

Instructions:

Put the cumin, coriander, cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon, and cloves in a dry heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Toast the spices, stirring occasionally, until they turn several shades darker and give off a sweet smoky aroma, about 10 minutes. Do not raise the heat to quicken the process, or the spices will brown prematurely, leaving the insides undercooked. Cool completely.

Working in batches if necessary, transfer the mixture to a spice mill or coffee grinder and grind to a powder. Stir in the nutmeg.

Use immediately or store in an airtight container in a cool, dry place.

Tofu - getting it right!

I don't eat a lot of meat, and my son eats even less. Several times over the years I've given tofu a try and came up "icky" every time. It tastes fine in restaurants or when prepared by other people, but every time I've tried it, it comes up bland at best, or crumbles to moosh at worst.

Well I've finally figured it out! The answer, as is often the case, is all in the prep.

I'm not even going to try to mention every wrong thing I've ever tried, but I will say that one of the "wrong things" has been trying to fry the tofu in oil before doing anything else with it.

All that happens when you fry raw tofu in oil is you're giving it a chance to soak up the oil. Tofu is like a sponge - whatever you put it in, it absorbs. Oily tofu is not my idea of yummy.

So here's what I've been doing instead. Note that this is only possible because I've been cooking on my son's ScanPans for the past several weeks - I bought him a set of the new ScanPans as a college graduation present and they're way better than my ScanPans (of the previous generation of technology) ever were! Gotta get me some of them!

To make this technique work, you need really good non-stick cookware like ScanPans, or a well-seasoned (and I do mean WELL seasoned) cast iron skillet.

I have not tried this technique with Silken Tofu, but if you're using that, skip the first step. Silken tofu doesn't need to have excess moisture removed.

Take your firm or extra firm tofu, drain, and press between clean, lintless kitchen towels (I use REAL cheesecloth, not the gauzy stuff but the real thing, sometimes called flour sack cloth) or paper towels to squeeze the moisture out.

I USED to think I needed to squeeze moisture out of the tofu before starting this - read it somewhere or someone told me so - but have found this not to be the case, and the tofu texture is better (I think) if I don't do this. Just frying it gets enough of the moisture out without turning it into little teeny bricks.

Slice the tofu to about 1/2" thick, then cut those in quarters to get triangular pieces. You could cube it, the shape is not actually all that important, we just want some regularity in the size of the tofu pieces.

Heat a heavy non-stick frying pan to a fairly high heat - water drops scattered on the surface should sizzle and jump. Lay your tofu pieces out and fry to a golden brown, then flip and brown the other side. This takes several minutes and the purpose is partly to get even more moisture out, as well as sealing the outside so it doesn't fall apart when you cook with it. I press gently from the top with a small metal spatula to help get even more of the moisture out. You can use metal with ScanPans, but some nonstick pans may not be so forgiving - use your judgment. I prefer a metal spatula because the plastic ones tend to stick, things stick TO them, and they aren't as handy flipping things.

When the tofu is as brown as you would like (could range anywhere from light golden brown to a quite deep brown, depending on your personal taste), flip the pieces and brown the other side. I will often then also flip them up on each edge, but that's not required.

When the tofu is browned to your liking, remove from the pan and soak for at least 30 minutes in a marinade. There are lots of marinade recipes out there for tofu . If you google them you will find them. But here's the recipe I used tonight, which is my own concoction and worked out quite well:

TOFU MARINADE:

for approx 1/2 block of tofu

1/4c fish sauce
3 T soy sauce
1 T lemon juice
1 T lemongrass, finely chopped
2 T finely minced ginger or ginger paste
1 diced green chili OR 1-3 tsp hot chili paste
2 T chopped cilantro, leaves and stems
1 T crushed garlic

Here is another marinade

Mix well in a glass or food-safe ceramic bowl (some metal bowls may react with acidic ingredients and change the taste), then add the fried tofu. Allow tofu to marinate for at least 30 minutes. If marinating for longer than that, cover and place in the fridge. I marinated for about 6 to 8 hours and it came out really well. My son even complemented me on it!

You can use the above prepared tofu in any recipe that calls for tofu. Also, the cooked tofu will store much longer than the raw stuff.


THAI STYLE STIR FRY:

Yeah, not really pad thai because it uses woon sen (bean thread noodles, made from mung beans). Not really Pad Woon Sen because it uses pre-canned Pad Thai sauce. BUT yummy!

I made this using what I had in the cupboard and the fridge, except for the bean sprouts which my son picked up on the way home (they don't keep long, it's best to buy them as needed).

Green beans - some.
Sorry, didn't measure
used french style frozen until it looked like "enough".
green onions 3-4
ginger paste, about 1 T
bell pepper, about one whole, cut in strips
2 carrots, cut into strips about 2 to 3" long
1 to 2 extra large eggs

approx 1/2 c Pad Thai Sauce (1/2 of the Thai Kitchen jar)
1 to 2 T Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce
the pre-canned pad thai sauce is much too sweet without this.

4 bundles bean thread noodles (about 2.5 oz)
These came in 8 bundles, total weight 10.4 oz (300g).
Different brands are packaged differently.

Finally, cilantro garnish

If your tofu has been in the fridge, take it out before you begin the rest of the preparations.

Chop all your ingredients before you start stir frying and have them ready. Once you start stir-frying you need to move quickly.

Have a bowl or bowls ready to remove the veggies you've stir fried. I'm using a non-stick skillet to approximate stir-frying which means 2 things - first, you're not going to get the pan near hot enough to really stir fry. Second, it will not cool quickly as a real wok (not a wok-shaped object, but a thin metal wok) would so you need to remove things or they overcook - pushing them to the side as you would in a real wok does NOT remove them from the heat.

Actually it means 3 things. I use a LOT less oil than you would have to use in a regular pan. Adjust your oil use accordingly!

Soak the bean thread noodles in VERY hot water for 5 or 6 minutes.

If they're not "done" (bite one to see if it's the consistency you want) in 5 or 6 minutes, stick the (non-metal) bowl in the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes. They should be "done" unless your microwave is really weak or you have too much water in the bowl (water just to cover). Some people cook them in the stir fry pan, but I only reheat, I want them done beforehand. If you do it my way be careful not to cook them to mush!

My method of doing stir fry at present is fairly haphazard so I won't attempt to recreate it in detail here.

Basically, I add a small amount of oil to my 12" ScanPan frying pan - 2 or 3 T. This lasts me through all the veggies until I'm ready for the tofu (see below).

I stir fry the vegetables one or two at a time, remove, then do the next batch, reserving bean sprouts for last. I stir-fried the ginger and onions together since the ginger paste doesn't stir-fry well on it's own. If you want to watch someone doing it for real, check this out:

How to Stir Fry Woon Sen

When all the veggies except the bean threads are done, scramble 1 or 2 eggs in the pan. Remove that.

Then add a small amount of oil to the pan and add the drained, marinated tofu, at a lower heat - we're reheating them, particularly if they've been in the fridge. Place the lid on the pan and let the tofu warm thoroughly, stirring occasionally. The heat should be only moderately high. When the tofu is starting to get fairly warm, add the bean sprouts.

Moving quickly now, you don't want all your ingredients to get cold and you don't want your bean sprouts to cook to mush:

Add prepared, drained bean thread or rice noodles to the pan
Stir well to coat with the oil and aid in heating them up.
Add the sauce and stir well to coat.

Add in all the other cooked ingredients and cook only to heat through, stirring and lifting the noodles with a fork to mix well.

SERVE with a scattering of coarsely chopped fresh cilantro and a wedge of lime.

This makes a dry, tasty stir fry with a bit of a bite. Not really very hot at all - if you want to increase the heat, stir in some crushed red pepper when you're stir-frying the ginger and onions.

Makes enough for 2 people with leftovers for one the next day. This is even better as leftovers!

Tomato Dahl

Where to buy Indian ingredients

About Dals

Tomato dahl is as much a comfort food in Indian culture as tomato soup seems to be for many people here in the US (hence all those Campbell's soup commercials).

Personally I don't at all care for tomato soup, but I do love the Indian version!

If you're not afraid of calories or cholesterol, serve this drizzled with ghee.

1 c Toor dal, dry
3 c water

2 small cans of chopped tomatoes or 4 to 6 chopped Romas

2 large onions
3 green chili peppers, diced

1 tsp chana dal
1 tsp urud dal

1/2 T cumin seed

2 tsp black mustard seed

2 dry red chilis, to taste

6 to 8 curry leaves

Masala: mix together and put aside:
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 T coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
2 tsp salt

First set the dal to cooking. Use 1 c dal to 3 c water. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 40 minutes to an hour, until the dahl is very soft and has absorbed most of the water.

Heat 2 to 3 T of oil in a karhai, wok, or large skillet.

When the oil is hot, add chana and urud dal. When the dal begins to brown, immediately add cumin seed.

When the cumin seed begins to brown, add mustard seeds.

When the mustard seeds begin to pop, immediately add the crumbled red pepper and the neem leaves.

The red pepper will begin to cook very quickly, as soon as it begins to brown add the masala. Fry the spices for a couple of minutes, stirring frequently, then add the onion and green chilis.

If you are using canned tomatoes, cook the onions until they are nearly soft, then add the canned tomatoes and mix well. If you are using fresh tomatoes, add the tomatoes with the onion and the green chilies and cook until soft.

Add this mixture to the dahl, stir well, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to distribute the flavors throughout.

Chop some coriander leaves (cilantro) and garnish to serve.

Serve with long grain rice, preferably basmati rice.

Enjoy!

About dal

This has been moved onto my static pages, see the links above for "Dal"

Bombay Potato Fry

2 T Oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
2 T curry powder
1 tsp ground cumin
4 to 6 medium russet potatoes
Salt to taste (about 1 tsp)
Cilantro (coriander leaf), chopped, for garnish

1. Peel and quarter the potatoes, then boil for about 5 to 10 minutes, until they just start to cook but are still crisp.
2. Drain and cool the potatoes, then cube them into about 1" cubes
3. Heat the oil over a medium high heat. If the oil doesn't coat the bottom of your pan evenly, add a bit more oil.
4. When the oil is hot, quickly drop in the mustard seeds. They will start to pop almost immediately if the oil is hot enough. (If not, next time heat the oil a bit longer before you add them).
5. When the mustard seeds start to pop, quickly add the onions and garlic and stir well.
6. Fry the onions until they start to soften, then add the curry powder. Stir well.
7. Add the cubed potatoes and fry until they are well coated with the spices and are browned on the edges.
8. Garnish with chopped coriander
9. Serve with basmati rice.

Enjoy!

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Carmelized Onion and Angel Hair Pasta

Blame this one on my son.

If you don't like onions - and "like" should be more properly spelled "LOVE" - you're not going to like this dish.

If you are, like me, solidly addicted to onions, then you just might be in for a treat.

This is an adaptation from a recipe I read 25 years or more ago in a cookbook. I have no idea what the original recipe was like, and I can't remember the cookbook. But this dish has been one of my favorites from the very first time I cooked it.

It's simple.

Carmelize some onions.

Cook some angel hair pasta.

Ladle the carmelized onions over the angel hair pasta and chow down!

Done. Bye now. Later. Shortest posting you're likely ever to see from me.

OK, seriously, I'll tell you how to carmelize the onions, but that's about the extent of any actual cooking. And even that's not a big deal.

CARMELIZED ONIONS

Cut up 2 or 3 lbs of onions, in thinnish slices.

Dump them in your crockpot.

Drop in about 1/4 to 1/2 stick of butter (about 1 T per pound of onions).

Turn the thing on medium, go to bed, and 8 to 10 hours later, voila!

Carmelized onions.

I used to spend a couple of hours doing this on the stove top. I like this method muuuuch better.

And you actually might want to start them early in the morning for dinner (I love onions but I'm pretty sure even I don't want to eat them at 8 AM).

OK, seriously, that's it, done, tata, buh-bye.

Masala Chai - Indian Railroad Tea

Photo courtesy of Shrk

It took me YEARS to finally figure this one out. Tea is such a simple thing. You would think.

After I'm-not-kidding like 20 years of stumbling around and finally all but giving up, I finally figured out the secret to authentic Indian railroad tea.

It's using CHEAP TEA. The cheaper the better. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. The stuff that sells for like $4 a lb. Not that expensive Assam or Darjeeling that'll set you back $16 to $20 for 4 oz. CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP loose granulated (mamri-style) black unflavored tea, the kind of stuff that looks frighteningly like gunpowder.

You can buy this ultra cheap tea at any Indian grocery or online. But more on that later.

On to the Masala Chai Recipe!

First thing you should understand - chai is just the Hindi word for "tea". So if you ask for "chai tea" you are asking for tea tea. And if the brand of tea you are using is Tata, then Tata chai tea is the same as saying Tata Tea Tea. (Sorry, I can't resist puns and alliteration. Get used to it if you're going to read my blog, LOL!)

What we are talking about is spiced tea, or masala chai. Now there are a LOT of different ways to make this, and most are probably about as "authentic" as the next, but this recipe is my favorite. It tastes the most like the stuff the vendors hawk at the railroad stations and hand through the windows to travelers.

If you've been drinking "Chai tea" from Starbucks, or the stuff labeled "Chai" that comes in cartons at the yuppy organic groceries, be warned - that's not Indian Railroad Tea. It's not what most Indians I know think of when they talk about masala chai. That stuff has all sorts of extra ingredients like vanilla and cinnamon and who knows what else in it that you wouldn't find in Indian Railroad Tea because the watchword of the day is "tasty", yes, but also "CHEAP".

CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP. A category not to be achieved if you are loading the tea up with vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and whatnot. Also it detracts from the simplicity of the recipe, which is another requirement for Indian Railroad Tea. These guys are (or at least used to be) brewing this stuff by the gallon right there by the railroad tracks, or at least as close to the station as they can get and not get arrested. Then they send runners out with trays and trays of the stuff, steaming hot, as the train pulls into the station. Then there's a mad flurry while competing runners (often from competing tea makers) jostle and jockey to be the first to sell out and run back for more. I've seen runners working in relays, where one guy pushes his way to the front of the crowd, empties his tray, and runs back to the back of the crowd to grab another trayful from a confederate, sort of like a bucket brigade only for tea. (Picture courtesy of Shabbir Siraj)

So anyway, quick, easy, tasty, and CHEAP are the watchwords for Indian railroad tea.

This is not your Starbucks Chai here. But it's REALLY REALLY good, and a heck of a lot cheaper than $6.75 a cup.

OK. Here's the recipe. Let me say right from the start, DO NOT try to substitute ground spices for the whole seed. You won't be able to strain it out and the proportions won't be right. Use the whole spices as indicated. You can substitute cardamom in the pod for the hulled cardamom, but I prefer to use the hulled variety (loose seed) because it's easier to deal with, cleaner, and generally cheaper ounce for ounce.

Masala Chai - Indian Railroad Tea

2 c water

2 c whole milk

1 T fennel seed

1 1/2 tsp whole hulled cardamom, or 6 to 8 bruised cardamom pods, to taste

4 to 6 whole cloves

4 T Indian CTC mamri-style (granulated) loose tea, or 4 to 6 cheap unflavored black tea bags

Sugar to taste

Directions

1. Boil the water. Add the whole spices and leave at a slow boil for 3 minutes.
2. Add the WHOLE milk and bring back to a slow boil.
3. Add the tea or tea bags and boil on low for no more than 2 to 3 minutes. It can get bitter if you leave it on the heat longer than that.
4. Remove from the stove, strain, and serve.
5. Sugar to taste.

It's important to use a CHEAP granulated tea - for years I tried to make this using the best Darjeeling and Asaam teas that I could find and it never came out right. The cheap granulated tea (basically what we put in tea bags) is the key - it takes a strong flavored tea to stand up to the flavor imparted by the spices. This stuff will be labeled "CTC" or "mamri-style" tea.

The brand of mamri-style tea that I most often use is Brooke Bond Red Label. I've also occassionally used Brooke Bond Taj Mahal and Tea India. There are cheaper mamri-style teas and they work fine too, but be warned - you may need to experiment with the amount and the brewing length. Some teas costing as little as $2 a pound (454 grams is about a pound, that's a common size for Indian packaged teas) will quickly get bitter if you brew them too long. With cheaper teas you may need to cut brewing time (after you add the tea to the boiling water/milk) to 2 minutes instead of 3, and you may need to use a little more tea to make up for the shorter brewing time. Be prepared to experiment a bit.

Also, you do NOT allow this tea to steep. You brew it and then you strain it through a very fine strainer immediately upon removing it from the heat. Allowing it to steep will make it bitter.

Finally, if you can't find an authentic mamri-style tea, you can try cheap tea bags. Again, you may need to experiment a bit to get the flavor right. One of these days I'm going to buy some cheap decaf tea bags and try for a decaf version, because I have a sensitivity to caffeine and if I drink a whole quart of masala chai (which I will cheerfully do because the stuff is like liquid crack to me) I will be pinging off the ceiling for hours.

But I haven't gotten around to it yet.

Now, where to buy ingredients? You can buy from a local Indian Grocery or you can buy from an online source. I've often found the spices I need in Organic Groceries that have bulk spices for sale. You CAN buy the spices in any grocery store, but in the amounts used here you'll find them to be very very expensive. The mamri-style tea I've never found outside an Indian or International grocery.

To locate an Indian Grocery near you (in the USA):

Thokaloth.com Indian Grocery Locator
SearchIndia.com Indian Grocery Locator

And here are some online resources as well:

iShopIndian.com
India Spice House
India Blend
Indian Foods Co

A Google search will probably turn up some more if you want to look around.

That's it! It took me longer to tell you how to make it than it will take you to actually make it.

Tasty, quick, simple, easy, and cheap. My favorite kind of recipe!

Sailing the Spice Islands

I grew up in the Midwest on a fairly typical diet for the time. Meatloaf, fried chicken, pot roast. "Italian" food was spaghetti or pizza; "Chinese" food was the impossibly exotic Sweet and Sour This'n That served by a local hot spot decorated in a "polynesian" theme.

"Vegetables", properly cooked, were boiled to near unrecognizability, unless they were fried to nearly the same state. Meat was sometimes treated the same way ("Dredge the roast in flour, then boil until tender"). "The Joy of Cooking" still had the section on how to clean game - and people still used it.

My mother had two kitchen gadgets. One was a copper bowl she never used that was ostensibly for making meringues (but in actuality gathered dust where it hung on the pegboard - yes, most of our kitchen tools were hung on a pegboard, ala Tim Alan).

The other was a plastic cylindrical thingy with round flat inserts and a sort of a push rod thingy that I believe was called a "hamburger press". The idea was you dropped a dollop of the raw meat into the cylinder thingy, topped it off with one of the round inserts, then squished it flat to make the Perfect Patty. You could make several of these - six is the number that springs to mind - and then freeze them for quick burgers at a later date. The circular discs had a tendency to slip at odd angles if you loaded up too many patties for squishing at once, making a lopsided burger that was thicker on one side than the other. Oh well.

That was the extent of kitchen tomfoolery in my household. Oh, we had lots of kitchen gear, but they were all TOOLS (hence the appropriateness of the Peg Board). We had two sets of pots, the "everyday" pots which were cast iron, and the "good" pots, which were Revere Ware Copper Bottomed Pots and were considered the height of culinary cookware attainable by mere mortals. When I took over as Kitchen Witch at the tender age of 6, the "good" pots quickly became the "everyday" pots, as the cast iron ware in general weighed more than I did.

Some of our kitchen tools were quite frightening. There was the meat grinder, and yes, I used it on a fairly regular basis. We also had a butcher's saw, bone saw, meat saw, whatever the proper name for the thing was - an implement that would no doubt be totally at home in a modern-day slasher flick, but not so much in a modern day kitchen. Unless your name is Hannibal Lector, that is.

I contend that it is my early exposure to What Goes Into Home Cooking that largely turned me off meat in later years. If adults don't want to know what goes into sausages, then 6 year olds don't need to know what that chicken looked like BEFORE it got fried. Not to mention beef liver, which came in a huge slab that had to be cut up before being, yes, "dredged in flour" and fried with onions.

Do you know what happens to your fingers as you dredge strips of beef liver in flour? Let's just say "ICK!" and leave it at that. Even eggs had to be carefully sorted, breaking them one by one into a teacup lest you come across one that had been fertilized.

Again, just say "ICK!" and leave it at that.

So, somehow, while learning to cook in ways to keep the small town Midwestern palate of 40 or 50 years ago happy and well fed, I did not develop a love of the very food I was cooking for others. Possibly I'd have been better off if I had had some guidance in the kitchen other than being tossed in the deep end with a stepstool and a cookbook. At any rate, I developed a very low tolerance for the "ICK!" factor and a dislike for most of the very dishes I was cooking. Even now the smell of corned beef and cabbage can put me Right Off food altogether for hours.

Every once in awhile, my brother will wax eloquent about some dish I cooked routinely in our youth. He'll go on and on about how good it was, what a wonderful aroma wafted from the kitchen when I was cooking it, and how eagerly he anticipated dinner on the occasions when I was preparing said dish. He'll look at me expectantly, and I just stare back at him blankly, because invariably it is some concoction or other that I would never, at that age, have even CONSIDERED actually eating, especially not if the title included any of the words "Salmon", "croquette", "pot pie", "casserole", or "soup". Don't be too impressed; one of the dishes he remembers so fondly was our family's version of "Spanish Noodles" which basically consisted of egg noodles, Campbell's Tomato Soup, and a pound of ground beef.

Once I left home, I virtually stopped cooking. Given that I didn't much care for meat, and given that "vegetables", in my milieu, generally meant something green and boiled to squishiness, I didn't have a lot of culinary options anyway.

That I knew of.

Then I met and started dating my ex and a whole new world opened unto my wondering eyes - and nose, and taste buds.

A world where "spice" meant a whole lot more than black pepper.

A world where vegetarian cooking was the norm, and people expected their vegetables to taste like something besides each other. Where "vegetables" meant more than carrots, peas, lima beans, and green beans chopped, sliced, cubed, and frozen into submission.

Where garlic was more than the stuff they put in bologna that made people avoid getting too close to you after lunch. Where cabbage took on many different forms, totally distinct from "boiled". Where a mango is a fruit and not a green bell pepper.

Where ginger was something much, much more than a pale tan colored powder in a can that you used on rare occasions to make cookies.

Where the exotic became attainable, but never (to me) ordinary. A whole new world of Spices.

Now I began to understand why countries went to war over control of "the Spice Islands".

Kalonji. That's onion seed. Zheera, cumin. Ajwain, Carom seed. Dhanya, coriander. Methi, fenugreek. Curry leaves. Amchur, mango powder. Hing, asofoetida. Imli, Tamarind. Saffron or it's poor cousin, turmeric. Chili peppers - not the anemic "chili powder" blends I was familiar with, or paprika, but REAL, fiery, hot chilis. Fresh ginger.

Since then I've embarked on a long journey of discovery, finding herbs, foods, and spices from foreign lands that to me were utterly novel and unique. Over time I've picked up a repertoire of Indian dishes which I have of late begun to flesh out with cuisine from Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, China, and Japan.

I'm still learning, still exploring. My sensibilities are not the sensitivities of a native from any of those lands, nor even my own. I'm the quintessential Barbarian, knocking at the gates, or more likely knocking them down, in search of culinary booty. When I've done looting the area, what I concoct may or may not much resemble a "native" dish. I'm inspired by, I borrow from, I out and out steal bits and pieces and stick them together in no doubt odd and garish - but tasty! - ways.

So, armed with the East Indian recipes I've developed over 30 years, internet access, and a half dozen South-east Asian cookbooks, I'm tackling new frontiers (for me) in Indian, Thai, Indonesian, Vietnamese, and Korean cuisine.

Kitchen Barbarian. Coming soon to a cookstove near you.