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Chana Masala and Delightful Accompaniments

A big thank you to my friend Paula, who recently threw a beautiful Bollywood-themed birthday party, for kindly sharing some of her delicious recipes. This event also inspired me to create a wonderful curry dish. Now I’m able to pass these delights on to you!

At Paula’s party, all of the guests appeared in colourful, gorgeous saris and brought with us tasty dishes to share. The night was filled with Paula and her talented musical friends’ tunes; in fact, Paula possesses an extraordinarily beautiful voice and melted all of our hearts with her singing. Sunshine, good company, irresistibly tasty food, enthusiastic music–what more can you ask for? Thank you again for the wonderful time, Paula!

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Chana Masala

Serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon canola oil

Spices

1 teaspoon fennel or anise seeds

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Garam masala

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground clove

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 large bay leaf, torn in a few pieces

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small knob ginger, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, finely chopped and juice saved (makes about 2 cups)

About 3 cups cooked chickpeas (I use cooked ones from 1 cup dried chickpeas)

1 ½ cups chicken stock or water

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups cooked Basmati rice

In a large heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter, add the oil and fry all the spices over medium heat. When the spices give off a nice scent, add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté until soft and onion becomes translucent.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, and cook until softened. Add the chickpeas, salt, generous amount of black pepper and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with Basmati rice.

Spicy Blackstrap Chicken

This chicken is quite sweet, but adds a nice caramelized smokiness to a plate of Indian cuisine. Combined together with the curry and the below salad, it is just perfect.

Serves 6-8

6 to 10 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in about 2 inch pieces

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

¼ cup cane sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ tablespoon turmeric

½ tablespoon ground saffron

½ tablespoon ground cumin

½ tablespoon whole coriander seeds, freshly ground

Preheat the oven to 375F. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Combine the molasses, sugar, salt and all the spices. Place the chicken in a large cast iron pan and pour over the molasses mixture. Roast until chicken produces a caramelized look, for about 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot along with below dishes.

Curried Apple and Celery Salad

Serves 6-8

¾ cup slivered almonds

4 sticks celery

2 medium apples (I like this salad with Granny Smith)

½ cup raisins or dried cranberries, or mixture of both

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped finely

Dressing

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon curry powder or a mixture of small amount of following spices;

Turmeric

Ground ginger

Ground coriander

Ground cumin

Garam masala

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from ½ orange)

Chop the celery stalks into ¼ inch pieces or, using a food processor, make small slivers. Peel, core, and chop the apples into ¼ inch pieces. Make dressing by thoroughly combining all the ingredients in a bowl.

Combine the almonds, celery, apples, raisins, parsley and the dressing in a large bowl. Keep refrigerated until serving time. Serve with the curry and the chicken.

Fried Cumin Tortilla and Cucumber Raita

Make a large platter

2 packages of whole wheat tortillas

Olive oil

Ground cumin

Coriander, freshly ground is preferred

Brush a cast iron frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and add ¼ teaspoon of each cumin and coriander. When the pan is hot, add tortilla and fry until golden brown. Flip over and fry the other side. Repeat for the rest. Cut into wedges and serve around a small bowl of raita (recipe follows) on a large platter, pointy part facing toward the raita for a pretty presentation.

Cucumber raita

½ cup grated cucumber

¾ cup plain yogurt

¼ tablespoon ground cumin

½ tablespoon cane sugar

Salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Adjust the sugar and salt to your liking. Chill and keep refrigerated until serving time.

Coffee Marinated Pork Tenderloin and Coffee Ice Cream

While visiting Japan, I was reminded of some of my favourites from our family recipes as much as I got inspirations for new recipes. Before I began to forget all the foodie excitement, I quickly started trying to recreate and adjust the Japanese recipes back in Canada. Today, I posted this tenderloin recipe that my twin sister always prepared for our family and friends at her BBQ / garden party along with other amazing dishes. This is the one of the easiest yet tastiest dishes when you crave good protein for dinner.

Inspired by this recipe, I thought I would group together all the coffee influenced recipes from my travel journal. It took me a couple of attempts to achieve the texture and taste that I desired for this. Although I NEVER drink instant coffee due to its inky taste, for this recipe I used good quality organic freeze dried ones, made by Mount Hagen Organic Café, that I had picked up from a local organic store. As a result, the recipe was easier to execute and I loved the result!

I’m planning to introduce matcha (Japanese finely ground green tea) influenced recipes as a counterpoint to today’s coffee recipes sometime soon, so stay tuned!

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Coffee Marinated Pork Tenderloin

I really liked the pork, marinated for only 2 hours, since the smoky roasted coffee flavour enhanced the taste of the pork. I also experimented with marinating pork overnight, but the coffee tasted a little acidic after many hours of oxidation while being marinated. Nevertheless, it’s important to grind the coffee beans with a spice grinder just before making the rub for the best result. So I’d stick to the 2 hour marinating method, as it gave me plenty of time to do other chores in the kitchen and to prepare the best matching salad (recipe below) to accompany this dish. The grainy texture and saltiness from the rub don’t require any other sauce aside from a citrus note from the following salad to help balance everything out. Oh, you’ll love this combination!

Serves 3 to 4

1.5 lb pork tenderloin

For rub

1 tablespoon freshly ground coffee

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Make the rub by combining all the ingredients in a small bowl. Rinse the pork and pat dry. Rub the pork all over and marinate it covered for 2 hours in a refrigerator.

Preheat the oven to 390F. Roast the pork on a rack in a baking pan until the thermometer inserted into the centre reaches 142F, for about 20 to 25 minutes. Cover the pork with a piece of tin foil and rest it on a cutting board for 5 minutes. At this point, the temperature rises about 5 degrees. If you desire the meat with a slight pink tint when you slice it, watch the timing of carving closely. But make sure the meat reaches 145F to ensure safe consumption.

Slice the pork and serve warm along with the following spinach salad.

Lemony Spinach Salad

Serves 3 to 4

If you plan to serve this salad with the above pork dish (as I strongly recommend!), you can start preparing it when the pork is 10 minutes away from being done. The key to this salad is to take time to infuse the flavour of the pancetta into the onions and mushrooms over low heat. Also be sure to combine the hot onion mixture into the spinach to lightly wilt the leaves. No salt is added to the dressing due to the amount of saltiness derived from the pancetta.

1 teaspoon butter

1 teaspoon olive oil

100g thinly sliced pancetta, cut into strips

½ onion, thinly sliced

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

A lump of goat cheese

150g baby spinach, washed and drained well

Big handful of pecans

Dressing

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

In a large skillet, melt the butter and add the olive oil over low heat. Sauté the pancetta, onion and mushrooms until the onion becomes very tender. In the meantime, make the lemon dressing. Combine the lemon juice, olive oil and black pepper in a small empty glass jar with a lid on, and shake until emulsified.

Roast the pecans until they give off a nice roasted scent, for about 5 minutes. I use the heat that is left after I take the above pork dish from the oven.

Combine the spinach, the hot onion mixture, pecans and lemon dressing in a large bowl. Crumble the goat cheese over the salad and toss well.

Serve with the pork tenderloin.

Coffee Ice Cream

Makes about 1 quart

1 ¾ cups whole milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 egg yolks

2 ½ tablespoons good quality instant coffee

1 ½ cups whipping cream (Avalon for the best flavour if you are local)

¼ cup Kahlua (coffee liqueur)

For serving

½ cup Kahlua

A bar of white chocolate

In a saucepan, heat 1 cup of milk over medium heat. In a small bowl, beat the eggs, add the sugar, and mix well.

While stirring the egg mixture, add the hot milk in a few instalments. Return the mixture to the saucepan and add the coffee. Stir well and continue cooking until the mixture thickens, about 12 minutes.

Remove from the heat, strain to another large bowl and let the temperature drop a little bit. Add the remaining milk, cream and the coffee liqueur, and whisk well. Cover the mixture and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Churn the ice cream mixture according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Freeze in a sealed container overnight.

When serving, simmer down the coffee liqueur to about half of the amount or until thickened. When it cools down, it gets thicker. Transfer to a small jar for serving. Leave the chocolate in a warm place to let it slightly soften. For the topping, shred the chocolate using a vegetable peeler.

Serve ice cream in an individual chilled glass. Pour a generous amount of coffee syrup over top, and sprinkle with the shredded chocolate.

Thoughts About Eating

By now, you know I like food. In fact, I enjoy the act of eating as much as the food itself. It takes a wee bit of courage to share my feelings here but lately, I have found it difficult to maintain equilibrium in the act of “eating.” Do I eat to sustain myself or do I eat to please my mind as well as savouring the taste of delicious food? I recently realized that I was in the latter situation. I was drowning in a big bowl of food.

However, I had an opportunity to participate in a Reiki class last weekend where I learned a great deal about myself. When I was told by a Buddhist Reiki master practitioner that “Anything is normal” and “Everything is okay in this world,” I thought whew, what a relief: after all, it is okay to be myself. It is okay to be just me. In this fast-paced society, it is hard to gasp a breath in order to try to catch up with the rest of the crowd. When I started to become overwhelmed by this rhythm is when I started losing balance in the act of eating. The same could be said in photography too. I remember reading Brian Ferry’s post “Honesty” in which he talks about how photographers are trying to be similar in terms of styles in the hopes of succeeding as others did. I totally agreed with what he stated. It is not necessary to make our work look like someone else’s because we have our own voices. This is what I learned at the meditation class. I have so much energy within me and I can redirect this energy for healing my tired soul. I have everything I need in me. I have all the tools I need within “Me.”

This class not only taught me that we have energy within us to heal illness or pain by redirecting the energy where needed with intention but also made me realize the importance of mindfulness in every aspect of our life. Such as: eating mindfully. What a coincidence to learn something I was having trouble with. The eating experience starts from when I harvest food, and then continues as I prepare, cook and serve it. Observe the food, smell the aroma, feel the texture, hear the subtle sound and taste umami. And most of all, appreciate every bite of it. Rest your chopsticks, forks or knives while discerning the flavour of food. Chew it and be mindful of what you are eating. Good nutritious food makes these actions very enjoyable.

With this in mind, I started to practice slow eating, which led to satisfaction with just the right amount my body needed. Indeed, the old adage that less is more was proven in this moment. No more thinking about something else or flipping on the iPad while eating in order to obtain inspiration for the day. There is something more to this act of “eating.” This is what we do everyday whatever you do and wherever you are as long as the human being exists. So far the experience has resulted in building a good relationship between food and myself. This is how I’ve come to find peace and happiness in my food life. The class was an eye-opening experience. We all know about mindfulness but how easy it is to forget if we are not aware of it.

We do eat everyday but the question is how do you eat each meal in your day?

Have a great mindful Thanksgiving to everyone in Canada!!!

Halibut with Genovese Pesto

Serves 2

2 pieces halibut

Salt and Pepper

6 tablespoons or more Genovese pesto (recipe follows)

Lightly sprinkle the halibut with salt and pepper and lay on an oiled baking sheet.

Broil at 400F until flakey, for about 7 minutes or so depending on the thickness of the fish. Take the baking sheet out of the oven and test with a knife. The centre may still look slightly pink but that’s okay.

Smear the pesto on top of the fish and broil until top nicely browned and the centre of the fish is no longer pink but moist, for about 5 minutes. Don’t overcook. Take the fish out of the oven, cover with a piece of aluminum foil and let stand for a few minutes.

Serve immediately.

Genovese Pesto

Thank you to the Heather Hills Farm Society for taking me on a tour and showed me around their beautiful hazelnuts trees and vibrant coloured heathers. It was fun picking the nuts off the branches too. I ate the fresh nuts in a salad on the same day, and they had a texture reminiscent of water chestnuts; however, I used the roasted nuts that I purchased from them in this recipe.

Makes 1 x 350ml jar

2 cups fresh Genovese basil leaves

1 cup parmesan cheese, grated (I mix Padano and Romano half and half)

2/3 cup hazelnuts

5 garlic cloves, peeled

7 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and black pepper

Roast the hazelnuts lightly on a baking sheet in the 350F oven until a nice aroma emerges, for about 5 to 7 minutes.

Place the basil, cheese, hazelnuts and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the mixture becomes coarse paste. In the meantime, add oil in a steady stream. Pulse a few more times until emulsified and stop when your favourite consistency is achieved (I like keeping some hazelnuts in large chunks). Adjust with salt and pepper.

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to a week. Or you can freeze any leftovers right away.

Adapted from Linda Collister’s Sensational Sauces.

Red Cabbage Carrot Salad

Serves 2

2 large carrots, peeled and julienned

½ small red cabbage, thinly sliced

½ red bell pepper, sliced thinly

A few leaves of Thai basil, cut in strips with scissors

Juice of 1 lemon

A pinch of cane sugar

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon Tamari soy sauce

Salt and black pepper

Mix all the vegetables in a large bowl.

Make the dressing by combining the lemon juice, sugar, oil and soy sauce in a small jar. With a lid on, shake well until emulsified. Adjust with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the vegetables with the dressing. Toss and let stand for about 10 minutes.

Serve immediately.