Keema

Happy Friday everyone!  I can't wait until this day is over and I can go home and make a delicious Shepard's Pie for some friends that are coming over tonight.  Now let's talk New Orleans, my first night there my co-worker and I met up with some of his friends at this amazing French restaurant called Meauxbar.  My co-worker had told me wonderful things about their food and before we went I had already looked at the menu and knew exactly what I wanted to get.  We ordered a lot of items and shared them all but some of my favorite items (pictured below) were the escargot in bone marrow and the beef tartare.   I was especially impressed by the flavor in the beef tartare. This tartare was even better than some of the tartare I had in Paris, there was a perfect tangy-ness to it.  If you ever find yourself in New Orleans make reservations at this place.  After dinner the entertainment continued as we walked down Bourbon Street and ran into a pre Mardi Gras parade on Canal Street.  I even got my first set of beads but not the way some people get them, my coworker was nice and gave me some.  After a long day of traveling and a night full of adventure we eventually made it back to our hotel rooms to sleep and prepare for the crazy work week we had ahead of us.  More stories to come!  But now let's talk about this delicious recipe that I adapted for last night's dinner.  This is an Indian dish that is so simple to make and has tons of flavor, enjoy! (I personally halved the recipe and served it over pilaf rice).

Serves 6

The Ingredients
1.5 lbs lean ground beef
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 teaspoon each cinnamon, turmeric, ginger
1 tbsp curry powder
1/2 cup chicken broth (to add moisture if needed)
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil


The Process
1.  Heat up some olive oil in a pan over medium-high heat.  When hot add beef and onions and cook until browned.

2.  Then add tomatoes, peas, potatoes and spices along with salt and pepper to taste.

3.  Bring to a simmer and cook for 25 minutes. Add chicken broth if it becomes too thick. It should have the consistency of chili.

4.Serve over rice, couscous, or your favorite grain.


This dish is very healthy so here are some nutritional facts for you:
Calories 199.2
Fat 7 g
Saturated Fat 2.6 g
Sugars 2.4 g
Carbohydrate 12 g
Fiber 2.7 g
Sugars 2.4 g
Protein 22.5 g

Dahiwale Mushrooms

Otherwise known as Mushroom Yogurt Curry.  I came across this recipe in my daily research obsessing about food, it is delicious and very healthy.  I seem to be on an ethnic food cooking binge when I reflect on the last 10 recipes, must be because I love trying new things.  Next week The Portland Kitchen will be hosting a cook-off and I will be there to help, observe, and hopefully be a guest judge again!  If you just started reading my blog you should check out their website, they are an amazing local non-profit that I volunteer for.  Speaking of food check out this fantastic culinary reference tool showing the history of food and recipes.  It has a large amount of information and I could geek out on it forever!  This weekend we are headed to Eugene to hangout with my boyfriend's family and we have some fun plans mapped out, including seeing his family's cemetery.  I find it fascinating to see how far back a family's lineage goes all in one town.  My family seems to move around too much to have that much history in one place.  Onto the recipe, I served this over a bed of roasted broccoli.

Serves 3

The Ingredients

20-24 Button Mushrooms
1 large Onion, finely chopped
2 large Tomato, thinly sliced or chopped
½ tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste (grated ginger and pressed garlic)
2 tsp Sugar
½ tsp Cumin Seeds
1 tbsp Oil

For yogurt marinade:
1 cup whole fat plain yogurt
½ tsp Turmeric Powder
½ tbsp Coriander Powder
½ tsp Cumin Powder
1 tsp Red Chilis
½ tsp Ginger-Garlic Paste
Salt to taste


The Process
1.  First prepare the yogurt marinade by whisking the yogurt to remove any lumps. Add all the spice powders listed above in the list along with ginger-garlic paste and salt to taste. Keep it aside till needed.

2.  Clean the mushrooms and cut them in half or quarters depending on the size of mushrooms.

3.  Place all the chopped mushrooms in a large bowl and pour yogurt marinade to it. Gently mix them all using fingers so that every individual mushroom piece is coated with the marinade. Keep it aside covered with a cling film for 15-20 minutes for all the flavours to blend well.

4.  Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds to it. When cumin seeds start to sizzle and change colour, about 30 seconds, add finely chopped onions to it. Sauté the onion till it turn golden, about 3 minutes, on medium flame.

5.  Add ginger-garlic paste and sugar and fry them till the raw smell disappears, about 2 minutes.
Mix in thinly sliced tomatoes and cook them till they turn pulpy and release their juice, about 3 minutes.


6.  Add marinated mushrooms and fry them till they start to release their juice. Cover and let them cook for 5-10 minutes, mixing them in between, till they are cooked thoroughly.

Eggplant & Potato Indian dish (Aloo Baingan)

I am always up for cooking new recipes and I don't cook enough Indian food so this was an attempt and great success.  This meal was not only vegetarian but very healthy too, it is nice to have a dish that is warm and hearty enough for the winter but doesn't make you feel too full or slow you down with too many carbohydrates.  The recipe has a lot of steps to the process so I would suggest that you make it on a night when you have a little extra time.  I also added a little more yogurt so definitely taste it and see what you like.  And I topped the dish with feta cheese which was tasty but I bet it would be even better with paneer. I didn't want to rewrite the entire recipe because of it's length so I will post the pictures I took and here is the link to the original recipe:

Aloo Baingan

Turmeric Pork

Pork chops or pork loin are often a part of my weekly meat intake and I always steam/fry them in broth or bake them...and while these two methods are bold and tasty I do love to try new recipes and change it up.  I was a little weary of the recipe I adapted from Eating Pleasure because it seemed very simplistic and I also know how strong of a spice turmeric is.  But paired with a side of sauteed yellow onions and mushrooms, and grilled zucchini a wonderfully flavorful balance was found.

Serves 3

The Ingredients
3 medium pork chops (pork loin chunks), thinly sliced
2 tablespoons sesame oil
5 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil (for pan)

The Process
1.  In medium bowl mix together sesame oil, soy sauce, turmeric, and pepper.  Add sliced pork chops and let marinate at least 20 minutes.

2.  When done marinating put medium skillet on stove over medium-high heat.  Add olive oil to pan and let heat up.  Then add pork and marinade and cook for about 6 minutes, or until done. Enjoy!

I will mention that when I make this recipe again I will try adding some crushed garlic to add a more complex flavor to the dish.

Lemon Cilantro Rice

This recipe also came from Closet Cooking which I mentioned in my previous blog.  Though instead of lemon, the original recipe calls for lime.  I used lemon because it is what I had and because I used lemon in the Tandoori Chicken.  This rice is super simple, it is pretty much pilaf with a little extra, and it was a perfect side dish to balance out the spiciness of the Tandoori Chicken.

Adapted from Closet Cooking
Serves 4

 The Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 cup brown basmati rice
2 1/2 cups water
1 hand full of cilantro, chopped
1/2 lemon, juiced

The Process
1.  Heat oil on medium heat in saucepan.  When hot add onions, cook for 5 minutes.

2.  Add garlic to saucepan and cook for 2 more minutes.  Next add the dry rice to the saucepan and toast the rice for about 3 minutes.

3.  Add water to saucepan and bring to a boil.  Then cover and reduce for about 40 minutes or until rice is done.

4.  When rice is done add the cilantro and lemon juice and stir well. (note: I also added soy sauce after, very good).

So like I said a nice and simple rice and flavor to compliment the Tandoori Chicken.

Tandoori Chicken Skewers

While trying to use up all my food before buying more I was presently surprised that I had all these ingredients laying around except for the lemon, which my lovely friend brought over.  This recipe is based off of one on a food blog I love to read called closet cooking.  This blog covers so many different flavors and with everything that I have made I have yet to be even slightly disappointed.  I did change the recipe around some, especially since I didn't just have garam masala laying around, in fact I created it with a recipe that is posted on closet cooking.  I paired this tandoori chicken with lemon cilantro rice and steamed red cabbage with soy sauce and butter.  My lovely friend Elisa also brought over a scrumptious bottle of slightly sparkling pinot grigio, it went very well with the chicken.  And now the recipe:

 Adapted from Closet Cooking
Serves 2

The Ingredients
1/2 cup plain non-fat greek yogurt
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 medium red onion, grated
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
1 tablespoon garam masala (I didn't have whole spices so I halved the portions and used ground spices)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound chicken breast, cubed for skewer
Salt to taste

The Process
1.  Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl, then add chicken.  Let marinate for at least 1 hour.

2.  Turn oven on to broil, and put chicken on skewers.

3.  Grease pan and place skewers on pan.

4.  Broil for about 5 minutes each side, or until cooked through.

Enjoy!  It is a little spicy, but in the most perfect way.

Garbanzo-Tomato Curry

This recipe I found while trying to find a yummy vegetarian meal to cook for my lovely friend Jovan.  After being picky and wanting a new sort of flavor in my life I decided that this dish coupled with cauliflower fritters would be perfect new taste and adventure (nerdy I know but it IS an adventure) haha.  Anyways this meal also can after a hellish weekend full of stomach flu and rice cakes....ie boring and shitty. Anyways I'm feeling better and cooking away again:)


Adapted from Sunset
Serves 4

The Ingredients
1 small yellow onioin, chopped finely
1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, grated
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1 can tomatoes, diced (keep fluid)
Salt
Olive oil
Cottage cheese for garnish (optional)

The Process
1.  In a large skillet add some olive oil and heat over medium high heat, then add onion, garlic and ginger.  Cook until mixture begins to brown about 6 mintues.

2.  Add garbanzo beans, tomatoes (with juice), curry powder, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cayenne and salt to taste, mix well.  Bring to a boil and then simmer uncovered for about 6-10 minutes to thicken.

3.  Put on plate (with cauliflower fritters) and put some dollops of cottage cheese on all and eat eat eat!

This is obviously a very healthy meal but let me give you some nutritional facts to make you feel extra good about what you are eating:)

Nutritional info: Calories 264; Sat. Fat .7g; Protein 13g; Fiber 8.2g

um awesome:)