Another Great Dinner with Chicken and Hummus

I started this blog yesterday, and somehow it vanished overnight, so here it goes again! 

I had decided to cook a pound of chickpeas with the intent of making hummus. It took about 2.5 to 3 hours to cook them. It seems it shouldn't have taken that long for them to get soft after being soaked overnight, but maybe they were older than they should have been. Who knows? Eventually they did get soft, and I made hummus with all but a cup of them. 

To Make Hummus with freshly cooked Chickpeas

Hummus (click for my original recipe)! Yum! With a whole pound of cooked chickpeas, it takes more of the other hummus ingredients than what is stated in my recipe, which uses just one can of chickpeas. While a whole pound of dried chickpeas cooks up to a lot more than two cans worth (double the original recipe), I have gotten by with using double the amount of the tahini, lime/lemon juice, garlic and olive oil from my recipe. I do not cook my chickpeas with any salt at all, as salt is said to toughen the beans, making them harder to get cooked through properly. More salt will be needed, but as an individual preference, it's best to add a teaspoon, taste and adjust as needed.

Hummus from Scratch

Freshly Made Hummus

Makes a large amount, possibly 8 cups!

1 pound dried chickpeas, soaked overnight
-----
drained cooked chickpeas, cooking water reserved
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 tablespoons tahini
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice
1/2 to 2/3 cup good quality olive oil
1 teaspoon salt, more if needed

To cook the chickpeas: Drain off the soaking water, place the chickpeas in a large pot, cover with water by about 1 inch and bring to boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook them until soft, anywhere from 2 to 3 hours, depending. This time they took a full three hours, possibly the chickpeas were old  Once cooked through, pour the chickpeas into a colander set over a bowl to catch the cooking water. Keep this water aside.

Pour the cooked, drained, cooled chickpeas into a food processor. Add in the tahini, lime juice, garlic and a cup of the cooking water and process until very smooth. Add in the olive oil in a thin stream, while processor is running, to incorporate. If the mixture seems soft, you may not need all the olive oil. If you've used all the olive oil and the mixture is too stiff, add more of the cooking water, until you have a good consistency. Check for salt, adding more if needed. Will keep in the fridge, well-covered, for a couple of weeks.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay, I had the hummus made, and it was delicious! Then I started thinking about dinner, and had absolutely nothing planned. Nothing was coming to mind. I started thinking about chicken, mainly as it cooks quickly. And that was as far as I got. So I wondered if there was anything to do for dinner that would incorporate hummus and chicken? I went online.

Veggies to Roast

What came up that interested me was hummus bowls. The first site I came across was one from No Spoon Necessary, and the recipe is called Easy Chicken Hummus Bowls. I was enchanted by the photos, with everything arranged so prettily and all the things in there that I love: tomatoes, cucumber, Feta, olives. Mmmmm-mmmm! However, two problems: 1) I was at the tail end of my groceries. Almost no fresh anything left in the house, though by some fluke I still had some Feta!! 2) My husband wouldn't touch, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers or olives with a 10-foot pole anyway. 

Okay, so how to get around that issue? I thought I would oven roast some veggies that I did still have: yellow beet, shallots, green pepper, parsnip and carrot. Hubby's not keen on parsnips or carrots, and "hates" beets. This beet was yellow, so he didn't realize it was in there, and he does seem to eat mixtures like this if they are well flavored. Okay. Check.

That recipe idea in No Spoon Necessary called for cooked chicken and then a dressing is poured onto it for flavor. I was more of a mind to either pan saute or roast the chicken breasts I had gotten out. So, I went on searching to see what else was out there, so the next place I came to was called Plays Well with Butter, and her recipe is called Grilled Chicken Shawarma Hummus Bowls. I loved the idea of all the spices on the chicken marinade, and the chicken is grilled in that recipe. It was still in the high 90s outside and I just had no desire to stand out in that heat over the grill. I opted to roast the chicken and the veggies. 

Shawarma Chicken and Vegetables with Hummus

All I can say is, tail end of groceries notwithstanding, this dinner was just fabulous! I did add olives to my bowl. My husband ate his without. But it was a dinner full of sighs and moans of pleasure. So, thanks to those out there with great ideas.

Shawarma Chicken & Vegetables with Hummus

Serves 4

Shawarma Chicken & Vegetables with Hummus

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts

MARINADE:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 - 4 cloves fresh garlic, minces
2 teaspoons honey, optional
1+ tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sumac, optional
1 teaspoon zah'tar, optional
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
------
VEGETABLES: (or substitute others - root vegetables are great)
1 medium yellow beet (or red if preferred), peeled, 1/2" cubes
2 large shallots, in 1/2" chunks
1 green pepper, cut in 1/2" pieces
1 large parsnip, peeled, cut in small cubes
1 large carrot, peeled, cut in small chunks
-----
For SERVING:

• hummus, whatever kind preferred
• Feta cheese
• olives of choice, optional
• Fresh tomato and cucumber, if desired
• Shawarma Chicken and Vegetables

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.

Make the marinade by whisking together all the marinade ingredients. Set aside. Slice the chicken breasts in half across the width, so you have two, much thinner, filets. Slice across the thin pieces, making 1/2-inch-wide strips. Place the chicken strips in a bowl and pour on half the marinade mixture and mix well. Cover and let stand.

Set the prepared vegetables into the remaining marinade and toss well. Pour the vegetables into the prepared baking dish and bake the vegetables for 30 minutes, stirring once halfway through. At the end of 30 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven, pour on the chicken pieces with the marinade, arranging the pieces into a single layer over top. Return to oven and bake for about 20 minutes more, until vegetables are tender and chicken is cooked through.

To serve - per bowl: Place a good-sized dollop of hummus into a bowl, smearing to one side. Spoon on 1/4 of the chicken and vegetables per bowl. Sprinkle on Feta cheese, crumbled. Optionally, add in olives, fresh chopped tomatoes, cucumber slices, to taste.

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Last year I made Indian food a lot. I mean a LOT. I don't think a month went by that I didn't make something Indian. So last year in January I made a Goan Pork Vindaloo, and here it is, May 2017, and more than a year later and I am finally getting to a blog post. I guess I put off blogging about a few really great dishes, just because since I did so much Indian cooking last year I thought I really had to get more variety in here. So this blog is about the Vindaloo, and I have a couple of other recipes, one for a pork curry from Coorg, and another is a chicken curry from Telangana. I will get to them soon, as I would love to make them again.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

As is usual with a new dish, I research it first, seeing what people do - and true to form, outside of a very few ingredients, the recipes and ingredients are vastly different from one recipe to the next. I finally came down to selecting ingredients and spices mainly from two recipes. One recipe is terribly long, and the other is terribly short. For the same basic recipe! So I look through, select what sounds good to me, discard what does not, and put together a mixture that most often turns out really great. Since all the ingredients are found in SOME version of the recipe, somewhere, I feel it is an authentic enough version of this dish.

Pork is not a meat eaten in most of India, but the state of Goa on the lower-western side of the country was colonized by the Christian Portuguese, and their foods and habits were mixed into the culture there. Thus, pork came to be eaten in this area of the country. I love pork anyway, and it is nice to see pork in an Indian recipe. I had never made a "vindaloo" before. My understanding was that vindaloo was a fiery hot and spicy dish, and this is indeed so, although if spicy heat is not your thing, simply reduce the amounts of the hot spice added to the recipe. My recipe is in no way over the top spicy, though it does have some. Other than that, I had no real clue to what constituted a vindaloo. Wikipedia has this to say:

" . . . derived from the Portuguese carne de vinha d'alhos (literally "meat in garlic wine marinade"), is a dish of meat (usually pork) marinated in wine and garlic."

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Though the Portuguese sailors' version of what made a "vinha d'alhos" (which the Indians found easier to pronounce "vindaloo) is nothing at all like what the Indianized version came to be, I really happen to love the Goan style of this dish. Once looking at the ingredients I had chosen for my vindaloo, indeed it is pork marinated in wine (vinegar) and garlic. Outside of that, I guess you'll have to give it a try and see just how delightful it is.

The dish calls for tamarind paste, which, granted, is not in everyone's list of pantry items, but I do happen to have it in mine. I have both the tamarind pods and a plastic jar of tamarind paste, which is very thick. I used the paste in this dish, and used a teaspoon if this thick stuff mixed into water to dissolve. I could have taken a few of the whole pods, peeled back the brittle outer casings and soaked them for a half hour or so, then squeezed and pressed through a sieve. Either way would work. If you do not own tamarind, add in more lime juice or red wine vinegar. The dish is meant to have a sour quality.

Curry Leaf Plant

Another ingredient that I did not have on hand at the time of making this recipe, was the curry leaves. Murraya koenigii, or curry leaf, is a bush-like shrubby plant with lots of long stemlets with leaves that run on either side of the stem. The leaves have a vaguely citrusy quality and add a lovely flavor to a dish. I found fresh leaves on Amazon (of course) and ordered them. They can be frozen, then pull out what is needed for a recipe (usually about one stemlet of leaves). They do turn slightly blackish in the freezer, but maintain their fresh flavor. Drying the leaves leaves them relatively tasteless, so they are best frozen, unless you happen to live in a more temperate climate and can grow your own. When I lived in Florida, I had a couple of good sized plants and used them often.

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Goan Pork Vindaloo

Serves 4 

2 pounds pork tenderloin, in small cubes
2 - 3 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons brown mustard seeds
2 onions, finely chopped
4 - 6 cloves garlic, minced
10 fresh curry leaves, optional
2 teaspoons Tandoori Spice
2 "Indian Bay Leaves" called Tej Patta
1½ teaspoons salt

MARINADE:
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon black cardamom seeds
6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
1-inch true cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon Indian pure ground chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder or 2 tablespoons fresh turmeric, grated
2 - 4 green chilies, minced, optional
⅓ cup red wine vinegar or lime juice
2 tablespoons palm sugar or brown sugar
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (if very thick variety, dissolve 1 teaspoon in 2 tablespoons water)
6 - 8 cloves garlic, smashed
1-inch piece fresh ginger, minced

Make the Marinade: Place the first 7 marinade ingredients into a dry skillet over medium high heat and stir constantly until the spices are very fragrant, but not smoking. Turn them out onto a plate to cool.

Once slightly cooled, pour the spices into a blender container with the turmeric and pure chili powder. Blend to a fine powder, then add in the remaining marinade ingredients and blend to a smooth paste. Combine the marinade with the pork pieces and stir to mix well, then refrigerate in a sealed container of zip-top bag for 8 to 48 hours.

Making the Vindaloo: Heat the oil or ghee in a large skillet. Add in the brown mustard seeds and cook, stirring and swirling the pan until the seeds begin to pop. Add in the onion and minced garlic with the curry leaves and cook until onions are soft and translucent. Add in the Tandoori Spice and Tej Patta with the salt and stir for a few seconds, then add in the pork with its marinade and add just enough water to make a stew-like consistency. Bring to boil, lower heat, cover and simmer until the pork is cooked through, about 20 - 25 minutes for tenderloin meat. If using other pork meat, simmer for 45 to 50 minutes. Serve with a squeeze of lime juice if desired. 



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Delicious Maple Soy Salmon Appetizer

To start off, I want to say that first my sister told me she had tasted something like this at a Whole Foods Market. She had no recipe, but only told me they said it was salmon marinated in maple syrup and soy sauce. Then while we were conversing one evening, somewhere we found a recipe that sounded somewhat like the one she was describing. I wrote down the amounts. Yesterday, at last, I got a nice piece of salmon and thought, much like Tom Wilkinson in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, "This is the day!"

Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon

I followed the ingredients I had written down, but amazingly, or maybe not so amazingly, after looking online to see if I could actually credit someone, after viewing a dozen different recipes with tiny differences, none - quite - matched the one I had found months ago. There are a lot of variations. To start, I am not overly fond of salmon. I have to really be in the mood, and then I do enjoy it. This recipe intrigued me on a couple of points. I had a recipe for shrimp marinade; the absolute simplest of mixtures. It made the most divine shrimp I have ever had (find that recipe here). Considering how simple the marinade was for the shrimp (or scallops! equally as good if not better), I felt that maybe here was a new recipe, just as simple, to make salmon taste just as good. While the way my sister told me about was for the salmon served as little appetizer bites, I am absolutely certain it would work perfectly for nice salmon filets also.

While the recipe is simplicity itself, there are many little variations, as I noted while perusing the web. The addition of garlic to the marinade, and / or a little Asian sesame oil (the dark, toasted kind) both sound really lovely. These might be something to try the next time I get in a salmon mood. The recipe calls for marinating the salmon for 24 hours. Obviously this requires forethought. It also calls for a cup of maple syrup, so between the salmon and the syrup, the recipe is not inexpensive to make. But the outcome? Oh, so heavenly!

Yesterday after setting the salmon to marinate, I sat thinking that since I was going to be eating this all by myself (my husband will have nothing to do with anything fish or seafood), what might be a good thing to serve it with? I had some cole slaw in the fridge, and I am positive that would have been great.

 

Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon, with Beets and Horseradish to serve

Thinking on the sweet flavors in the marinade though, I thought about a little bit of my Beets with Horseradish leftover in the fridge. In my family, Beets with Horseradish is a traditionally Easter accompaniment for ham. Ham, often basted with sweet flavors seemed to be a similar concept to the sweet flavors of the salmon. In my mind, somehow, this just sounded really good together, so I had to try it out. Once I made the salmon, just a little bit ago, I tasted a bite or two just as is. It is absolutely, perfectly, decadently, insanely - good.  And then I got out the Beets with Horseradish and tried a bite with that. O - M - G! It was the perfect match! It came out tasting precisely as I thought it would. Despite the fact that maybe the color combo is not the best, the flavors were just perfect. The perfect accompaniment.

I had wondered also, what exactly would the marinade do to the salmon? When I pulled the salmon cubes out of the marinade this evening, the pieces were sort of candied-looking and just a little translucent. I felt this boded well for the outcome, and as it turned out, it did. While not overly sweet, "candied" seems an appropriate word. 

So this is the recipe as I made it. I am sure someone out there might say "that is my recipe". Maybe even many someones, because as I mentioned recently, it seems there is just no recipe under the sun that is really new. Remember to look for a piece of salmon that has some really good thickness, so decent sized cubes can be cut. The maple syrup can be the darker Grade B type. This is what I did:

Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon

24 ounces thick salmon filet
1 cup pure maple syrup
⅓ cup soy sauce (I used Lite)
¼ cup fresh ground cracked pepper

Combine the soy and syrup in a container with lid or a quart zip-top bag. If the salmon has skin on, remove the skin and cut the salmon into cube shapes at least 1 ½-inch x 1½-inch where possible. Place the cubes into the container with the marinade, making sure they are completely covered. This is easiest in the zip top bag, as all the air can be pressed out on sealing. Refrigerate the salmon for 24 hours, turning various times to ensure even coverage of the marinade.

When ready to bake, have ready a small bowl with the cracked pepper. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Cover a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray the foil with cooking spray. Remove the salmon cubes from the marinade and dip one side of the salmon cube into the cracked pepper, then place it on the prepared baking sheet, pepper-side up. Bake the salmon for 3 to 4 minutes, as desired. Mine was done - even the largest pieces, at 3 minutes. Serve immediately.

           Salmon out of the marinade                     |          dipped in cracked pepper and ready to bake

If choosing to marinate individual serving sized filets instead of cubes, the timing might have to be slightly longer, but remove from the oven as soon as the fish will flake. This happens rapidly, so watch carefully.

May 3rd Update:

Arugula Salad with Pepper Crusted Maple Salmon flaked over top

As I was the only one eating the salmon last evening, there was obviously some left over. While all the recipes I read online said to eat immediately, I did wonder what it would be like reheated, or even cold. Well, let me just say that cold from the fridge was still stupendous. I had gotten a package of arugula, and thought I would have a salad with the cold salmon flaked over the greens. It flaked easily and beautifully. I added carrot, just because I like carrots! The salad with the cold fish was truly an amazing experience. So, if there is concern about leftovers, do try them on a salad. I don't think it would be possible to be disappointed! Another idea is to use it in a Nicoise style of salad, instead of tuna, and which I plan to try soon!



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Making a Lamb Curry

It's been about 2½ weeks since I wrote. An unexpected trip came up, and unfortunately, the time and place I had intended to write had no wi-fi hookup. Then I was with my sisters and families and while I had an absolute ball seeing family again, there was no time at all left over to write a blog. But shopping - ahhhh. We Shopped. Capital "S".

I am home now, and just before we left on this trip I had received delivery of a whole, butchered lamb, much to my joy. Lamb here is extremely expensive, if one can even find it, so when I was at the Farmers' Market just over a month back, I was overjoyed to see a sign saying "Ask Me About Lamb!" I went to the woman and asked! She said they raise sheep and were looking to get into the market a bit more widely around here. I was overjoyed to tell her right there and then that I wanted a lamb. As I said, it was delivered just before our trip, so I had not had an opportunity to use it before we left. As soon as we got back I remedied that right away.

My husband and I love lamb, and one of my most favorite ways to make it is in something Indian. I had made Keema Matar (ground lamb with peas) in past, but since living up here, I have only been able to make it with beef hamburger meat. Our dinner was so delightful. Yesterday I wanted to try out the stew meat. In these parts they call it "chislic", and it is used most often to either fry or stew and often is served with toothpicks as an appetizer. Marie said she used hers most often to make her curries. I was a little dismayed to find out just how much fat was on these bits and pieces of meat. To use it as chislic would have been fine, as frying the meat would render a large portion of the fat away. To use in a curry type dish (without browning the meat), this was just far too much fat for my taste. I easily trimmed off ½ pound of fat from the 1½ pound package of chislic meat. Oh well.

Lamb Korma with rice and Chapatis

My Korma Konundrum

There is a recipe that is in all of my Indian cookbooks (about 6 or so), called Korma. Usually made with lamb, this dish has a sauce that is very pale and in some cases, bland. Surprising, when you think about Indian cooking to have a recipe come out so bland. I have tried various iterations of the recipe from many of these books and have never been quite satisfied. It is one thing to have a nice, light sauce with lots of flavor. I love my Chicken and Dumplings with its creamy-white sauce and great flavor. The Korma has mostly been, well, meh. I sat down yesterday with all my books laid open to the page with this recipe, to try and piece together what, exactly makes Korma. I created a recipe based on my findings. I am not Indian, though I just love all the flavors and spices. How much of what I did is genuinely authentic, I have no clue. All I can say for sure is that the result was most excellent.

From my study of all the recipes in all these books, there are some things that stand out as common parts of this recipe. One is the particular masala used. Masala is a mixture of spices; nothing more. In the case of a Korma, in every book these spices were at minimum coriander, cumin, cinnamon and cardamom. I added a tiny bit of cloves and a small tej patta leaf, both found in one particular recipe. Another thing that is common to all the recipes is the use of plain yogurt for a marinade. A third thing common to all the recipes is the use of nuts to thicken the sauce. Most common (and according to one book's explanation, most authentic) is almonds, though cashews can be used. A fourth thing is that the sauce is created from pureeing together onions and garlic (at minimum), with the possible additions of fresh ginger root and green chiles to your tolerance lever. Some add in dried red chiles also. I do not mind some slightly hotter dishes, but my husband is a South Dakota boy, born and bred, and he jokes that ketchup is the hottest he can stand. 

One thing only differed in one of the recipes. When it came to making this pureed sauce, most books had one pureeing raw onion, garlic and ginger. One book only called for first sauteing the onions golden, adding the garlic and ginger to the pan to make them fragrant and then pureeing this combination into a sauce, along with the blanched almonds. This seemed to make more sense, as I have been looking for more flavor. 

One complaint about the Kormas I have made, aside from lack of flavor, is that the sauce always seems to be enough for 2 or 3 recipes worth of meat. If the almonds are supposed to thicken the sauce, there is just no way to thicken this much runny liquid, and the cooking time would have to double in order to cook out some of the liquid. By first sauteing the onions, garlic and ginger, and then pureeing with the almonds, the mixture was so thick I had to add far more than the ½ cup of water I had allotted to this task. Beef or lamb stock could (and perhaps should) be substituted for the water, but I hadn't enough time to accomplish the making of a stock beforehand. Water it was, then.

Blanching Almonds

Peeling Blanched Almonds

Blanching almonds is an easy enough task. It can be a bit time-consuming, depending on how many almonds need to be used. When blanching and peeling a pound of them for making almond paste, it is time consuming indeed. For the purposes of this small recipe it was a snap. It is best to use whole, raw almonds, when blanching and peeling. Place the almonds into a saucepan and just cover with water. Bring the pan to a boil, remove from heat and let rest for a minute. Drain and rinse with cold water, then hold an almond in one hand and pinch the skin (which is now very loose) at the thicker end. The white almond will start to pop out of the pointed end. Once in a while, one almond will be contrary and pop out the blunt end, but not often. Do this with each almond, until they are all done.

If using for a sauce such as this Korma, they are now ready to use. If looking to process into a powder that will be stored, they will first need to be dried completely, so as not to rot.

Lamb Korma

Serves 2 to 3

Lamb Korma with rice and chapatis

LAMB MARINADE:
1 pound lamb stew meat, in small chunks
½ cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon saffron threads
1 tablespoon rosewater (or plain water, if rosewater is not available)
1 teaspoon salt

SAUCE:
1 tablespoon ghee or cooking oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 - 3 green chilies (serrano, jalapeno)
½ cup almonds, blanched and peeled
½ - ¾ cup water or stock

MASALA:
1½ teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-inch true cinnamon stick, crumbled
¼ teaspoon cardamom seeds (or remove the seeds from two green pods)
2 whole cloves
1 small tej patta (Indian Bay leaf), veins removed, crumbled

Make the marinade: Stir together the saffron threads with the rosewater or plain water and set aside for a few minutes while preparing the meat. In a bowl large enough to hold the meat and yogurt, mix together the yogurt with the saffron and its soaking liquid and the salt. Add in the meat and toss to coat completely with the marinade. Cover the container and refrigerate for about 2 hours.
 

Sauteed onion mixture in blender  |  blanched almonds added     |     mixture pureed with water     |     finished sauce

Make the sauce: Set the almonds to blanch as described above. Heat a skillet and add in the ghee or oil with the onions and saute, stirring very often until the onions begin to turn golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. While onions are sauteing, prepare the green chilies. If you love the heat, remove the stems and chop them whole. For less heat, remove seeds and membranes also before chopping. Add in the garlic, ginger and chilies and saute for another 3 to 5 minutes, until the ginger and garlic become very fragrant. Pour the sauteed mixture into a blender. Add in the blanched and peeled almonds and some of the water or stock and blend until smooth, adding more water by small amounts, only as needed. If done earlier in the day, or even a day before, place this pureed mixture into a container with a lid and refrigerate until needed.

Masala Spices

Make the Masala: Heat a dry skillet over medium heat until quite hot. Add in all the whole spices and stir constantly and shake the pan often until the spices are very fragrant and lightly toasted, about 1 or 2 minutes, depending on how hot the pan. Pour the toasted spices at once onto a plate to cool. Leaving them in the pan will overcook or burn them. Once cooled, grind them in a small spice grinder or with a mortar and pestle. Set aside until needed.

Make the Korma: In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon more ghee or oil. Add in the sauce and the Masala mixture and stir well to combine. Add in the meat with its marinade and stir well. Cover and cook the mixture over low heat for about 45 minutes or an hour. Serve the Korma with rice. Chapatis make a nice accompaniment - recipe in next blog!

My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.