Going South Indian Without the Heat

I love Indian food. The flavors just absolutely do it for me. My husband enjoys the flavors as well, though he will not tolerate the heat. While I don't mind some heat to my food, I also do not want so much chili that I can't even taste the food for the spice. So, generally, I either eliminate or cut waaayyyy back on the chili called for in a recipe. I add only enough to make it piquant, without the fire. 
 

South Indian Lamb Curry

Indian restaurants, much like many other ethnic restaurants with fiery foods, often offer the heat in gradations. And still, "mild" is often too hot for my husband. I can normally tolerate medium. I know full well that learning to tolerate the heat of chilies and fiery spices is something that happens over time. Since I normally cook for my husband, I don't use a lot of chili. Therefore, my mouth hasn't been accustomed to the heat. 

South Indian Lamb Curry

All this is in preface to the fact that south Indian foods are known to be highly spiced and outright HOT. Yet my recipes are NOT. So this is a caveat: if you want the heat, please feel free to add as much or as little of either a chili powder (such as cayenne, or a Kashmiri pure chili powder, Resham Patti or other) or of hot green and/or red fresh chilies of your choice to any recipe. This recipe I am writing about today is one from the southeastern part of India; the state called Tamil Nadu.

Things that I have found to be more commonly found in southern Indian foods, aside from hot chilies, are things like tamarind, mustard oil, Panch Phoron (a mix of cumin, mustard, nigella, fennel and fenugreek seeds, most of which are in this recipe), coconut, and more fish and other seafood among many other items. Yogurt, termed "curd," is commonly used in many applications, from eating it plain or mixed with spices as a side to a dish, to using it as a marinade base. Yogurt seems ubiquitous all over India, but with these spicy dishes, yogurt is helpful. My recipe here below uses yogurt, hot chilies, tamarind, mustard oil and lots of brown mustard seeds. It is a lamb curry, and since our local Walmart store has started carrying a few cuts of lamb, this has facilitated my love of lamb curries. I used two lamb "steaks" for this recipe. In summer, one of these lamb steaks is enough to serve both my husband and myself, for dinner. I used two of them in this recipe, so we would have enough of the dish for another meal, tonight.

South Indian Lamb Curry

Serves 4 

1½ to 2 pounds lamb stew meat cut in 1-inch chunks, or may use beef
----- 

South Indian Lamb Curry

MARINADE:
⅔ cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons white poppy seeds, optional
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
4 whole cloves
3-inches true cinnamon stick, crumbled
1 (or up to 4) dried red chili, seeds removed, crumbled

---- TO MAKE THE DISH:
1 tablespoon mustard oil, or other cooking oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
2 medium onions, finely chopped
10 - 12 fresh curry leaves 
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon finely minced fresh garlic
1 - 1½ teaspoons salt
(2 green chilies, minced finely)
(1 teaspoon pure red chili powder)
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
6-ounces water

Make the marinade: About two hours before making the dish, stir together the plain yogurt and turmeric in a medium bowl and set aside. Place the remaining marinade ingredients into a dry skillet over medium heat and stir or shake pan constantly until the spices are very fragrant. Pour onto a plate to cool, then grind the spices in a spice grinder and add to the yogurt in the bowl. Stir well, then add in the lamb pieces and stir to coat. Set aside for 2 hours.

To make the dish, if using mustard oil, first heat the oil to the smoke point, then remove pan from heat for a few seconds, before adding in the brown mustard seeds. If using other cooking oil, just heat as usual, then add the seeds. Allow the seeds to pop and splutter. This is easiest with a lid on, as they tend to fly out everywhere as they pop. Shake the pan constantly until the noise has slowed. 

Add in the onions and curry leaves and cook, stirring often, until the onions are golden. Add in the ginger, garlic salt, (and chilies and chili powder if using) and cook for about 3 minutes or until fragrant. Add in the tomato paste and water. Stir together to mix well, then add in the meat with its marinade and stir. Cover and bring to boil, then reduce heat to very low. Cook for 45 minutes to an hour, until the meat is tender, stirring often, and checking to see if the mixture needs more liquid. It should be on the dry side, but not burnt. Garnish with cilantro. Serve over rice.



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.

Curry Leaf is Great in Indian Cuisine

Ah, Curry Leaves. I do miss them. In Florida I had a plant that grew beautifully, giving me the ability to run out and pick them as needed. I just love the flavors and aromas imparted when using them in a dish. The first time I saw this plant I had no idea what it was. When living in Louisiana, we had Indian acquaintances, and Priti had a plant in her yard. It was not until much later that I found out what it was and got a plant of my own. I was so glad I did, as I used it very often. Once I learned the flavor, I added it to many of my Indian meals.

Curry Leaves - Murraya koenigii

The plant easily self-sows, and I soon had a second plant growing alongside the first. I figured it could be my backup, in case something happened to one. At the time I owned the plant, I had no idea that the seeds were also edible, and never even took photos of them, though they were abundant.

Not to be confused with the European Curry Plant, Helichrysum italicum, Curry Leaves come from the Curry plant, Murraya koenigii. It is a tender, evergreen shrub reaching up to 20 feet tall in its native southwest Asian habitat. It grows in the foothills of the Himalayas, southern India and Sri Lanka, and is cultivated in many Indian gardens. The leaves are a mid green in color and grow about 16 to 20 on each small stalk. The small, star shaped white flowers grow in clusters in summer, followed by edible, peppery tasting black berries. It is best to use the leaves fresh as they have little flavor once dried. A handful of dried leaves are needed to take the place of just a few, if fresh.

Closeup of Flower of the Curry Leaf Plant

The leaves have the flavor of a curry dish, and lend this flavor where used, along with a slight citrus-like scent. The whole leaf stalk may be added to a dish and removed later. The leaves may be fried quickly at the beginning of cooking to release flavor into the oil being used. Curry leaves are an ingredient in Madras curry powder, and are often used in dishes with brown mustard seeds and dried red chiles. This Indian dish using curry leaves is one of my favorites, though the photo is not my own:

Fragrant Lemon Rice

Serves 6 - 8

Fragrant Lemon Rice

6 cups cooked basmati rice (2 cups raw makes
6 cups cooked)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds
½ cup raw peanuts or cashews
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon fresh garlic, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
20 - 30 curry leaves (2 - 3 sprigs)
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup water, if needed

If rice has just been made, cool completely first, stirring often. Put in refrigerator and stir occasionally until cool.

Mix together the ginger, garlic, sugar, turmeric, curry leaves, salt and lemon juice. Set aside.

In large frying pan, over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Add the mustard seeds, saute until they turn grey and start sputtering, about 30 seconds. Make sure not to burn. WARNING: Mustard seeds can sputter out of the pan very easily!

Add the peanuts or cashews and saute until light brown, about two minutes. Add the spice mixture and saute for an additional two minutes. Add the rice and mix well with the spices, mustard seeds and peanuts. Continue stirring until everything has been mixed together and the rice is heated through. This dish is best served hot or at room temperature.

Closeup of Curry Leaves

This Fragrant Lemon Rice recipe is easily made with leftover white rice, and also makes a good Indian breakfast meal. While the Curry leaves really add wonderful flavor to this dish, the dish can easily be made without them. The leaves, with their slightly resinous and citrus-like flavors enhance the lemon flavors, but are by no means completely necessary to make this lovely and fragrant dish. If you have access to curry leaves though, you must give them a try.

Growing this plant is very rewarding

Curry Leaves

Grow this plant as a small shrub outdoors in temperate climates, or in a container to bring indoors. This is a great way to keep curry leaves available for all your Indian and Asian cooking. The small tree has elegant foliage and a unique aroma. Botanically it is so closely related to citrus that it can serve as a rootstock for grafting lemon trees. The plant needs moist, rich soil and full sun to part shade and a temperate climate. It can be grown from seed or cuttings in summer. Plants grown in cool areas or under too much cover tend to attract aphids, scale and red spider mites, so keep the plant in sun. The curry tree will be far smaller, if grown in a container. If you are so fortunate as to find this plant, do try growing it. The rewards of having this marvelous flavor at hand are great.

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.

Faux Caviar aka Pickled Mustard Seeds

Bread and Butter Pickles 

Summer produce is beginning to hit its stride. Tomatoes are finally ripening up here so far north. And pickling season is in full swing. These last couple of weeks I have made about 8 quarts of Bread and Butter Pickles for my husband. I am not the pickle fanatic he is, though I do love these pickles. It just isn't the thing I think of when sitting down to a meal. Last summer I made about 18 quarts of his Mom's green Lime Chunk Pickles, and he does love them, but I believe he loves the Bread and Butter Pickles more, on a daily basis. So this summer I am focusing on making these. I will keep making them, a bit at a a time until the season ends. It is easy enough to do on a small scale like this. And still very rewarding. I will never be the "Queen of all Things Pickled" that his Mom was, but I hope I am honoring her memory in making these.

My Mom canned some things when I was young, but pickles were not necessarily top of her list. She canned lots of fruit and beets and made some delicious Stewed Tomato relish; she made a lot of jams. Mom and Dad had bought an upright freezer way back then, and mom started freezing a lot of fruit, particularly strawberries and vegetables like green beans, corn and others. Recently I had made some pickled red onions that just taste superb and really set off a sandwich or make a wonderful garnish at any meal. Since I was making those on a 1-quart basis, I have not bothered with getting out the canning pot and doing the water bath. I just pop them straight into the fridge for immediate use. 

While I am not so much into pickling things, I have done my share of canning. When I lived in Guatemala, they had no decent pickles at all. In my later teens I had gotten to like dill pickles, but in Guatemala there were no such things. I had my trusty Joy of Cooking, and made dill pickles from that cookbook, to the delight of all my in-laws there. I grew the cucumbers, going out daily to pick small ones, gathering them up until I had enough to make a few jars. I grew my own dill also. I usually had a few quarts of various canned foods and jams on top of the kitchen cabinets, for when we had company.

Pickled Mustard Seeds

So a few weeks ago I was reading one of my cooking magazines and noticed something about pickled mustard seeds. I read further to find that they will make that little "pop" in the mouth like caviar, and so they have been sometimes called "Faux Caviar." Pickling mustard seeds, I wondered? But why? Once again, it appears that these are a good topping for little appetizers. The pickled seeds can be used like a sweet mustard on a sandwich. They are versatile. I was intrigued. As I usually do, I went online and searched for recipes, finding that there are about as many recipes and techniques as there are people making them. One had a process of boiling them, draining, boiling and draining various times before even getting to making them pickled. Others just tossed all the ingredients into a pan and cooked them. The methods were all over the board, for style. 

I wanted to make these, but not if it involved that much work. I will work for things when I feel it is worth my time, as with making an Indian or a Guatemalan meal. Making pickled mustard seeds was not that high on my list. I had never tried them, never even heard of them, prior to that day. I just wanted to see what they were like. I created a middle-of-the-road recipe.

The results were both surprising and not. Surprising because, though I knew the recipe involved vinegar and sugar, the flavor was much like a whole grain honey mustard. They did have a bit of a pop in the mouth, but not as much as I had anticipated, based on what I had read. Spread on bread for a sandwich, they are amazing. I haven't had cause to use them to garnish an appetizer. Use them to top pork chops. They will brighten any fatty dish. Use them in cole slaw or red cabbage. Try them in a vinaigrette or aioli. They will really brighten up fish. 

Pickled Mustard Seeds or Faux Caviar

So for now, they are in the fridge, waiting for their turn. Here is my recipe, broken out into grams or ounces also:

Pickled Mustard Seeds

Makes about 1¾ cups

Pickled Mustard Seeds or Faux Caviar

½ cup (3 ounces / 85 grams) yellow mustard seeds
1 cup (8 ounces / 240 grams) plain rice vinegar
¼ cup (1.8 ounces / 51 grams) sugar
½ teaspoon (.07 ounces / 2 grams) salt

In a saucepan, combine the mustard seeds and vinegar and allow to soak for 1 hour. Once the hour is elapsed, add the salt and sugar and bring to boil. Lower heat to a simmer and let the seeds cook for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the seeds are tender and will pop when chewed. Pour into a clean jar with tight fitting lid and let cool. Store in the refrigerator until needed.

Once cooked, the seeds will thicken the liquid significantly. When cooled, the mixture is thick as any mustard.

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.