Daring Cooks: Appam and Curry (Indian Dinner)

Wow - no posts since June - it has been a busy summer. I feel so guilty for missing the last few months with The Daring Kitchen and I almost missed this one too but this month was a challenge I really wanted to try. The challenge was to make Appams and a South Indian/Sri Lankan dish to go with them. I decided to take it a little further and do a whole Indian meal. Most Indian food that I have eaten has been at Indian restaurant buffets and I have never attempted to cook it myself so I thought this would be a fun challenge. I knew my wife might not enjoy all of this food herself so I gave her the task of finding someone who would. She thought she was going to get an Indian couple from work to come but the schedule did not work. Then she texted me from church all excited because she found out someone there had been to India and were available for a dinner - good - we have two more people willing to test out my Indian cooking.

Since I decided to do a whole meal I had a lot of planning to do. I had just been to a local Indian restaurant so I kind of had an idea of what goes into a meal but was still a little clueless. I sent off an email to an Indian buddy of mine and let him know my requirements and what my ideas were. He was a great help telling me what I was doing that didn't seem right and gave me a few other ideas for what goes together and what to have for a proper Indian dinner. He even offered me some of his Mom's recipes.

I made my first trip to an Indian grocery for this challenge. Going to foreign groceries is always something I love to do and this was no exception. I love seeing all the vegetables and spices and other ingredients that I have never seen before. I picked up some okra, curry leaves, and a few spices that I would need.

Anyway here is the dinner - I won't include any of the recipes because - well because that would be a lot of work for all this stuff - but if you are interested in anything please ask and I will get you the recipe or the link to my source. I will start with the two requirements for The Daring Kitchen challenge. You can find the recipes for the first two items here in the Daring Kitchen recipe archives.

The first item is the Appams. I have had several kinds of Indian bread but don't think I have ever had these. They are a little strange to put together - soaking and grinding raw rice, then add yeast and a very small amount of cooked rice, then 8+ hours of fermenting on the counter. The dough rises and falls all by itself overnight since it is fairly thin. Then when you are ready to cook you thin it out with some coconut milk and cook them one at a time. I figured since they looked kind of like crepes I would cook them in my crepe pan and it worked perfect. They are thin on the edges and more puffy and "bready" in the middle. They were great with the curry and tasted very mild with the texture of a bread. One of our guests just rolled up the curry like a taco - probably not very Indian but it worked.

To go with the Appams I decided to fix one of the dishes included with the challenge - the Malabar Chicken. I did tone down the heat a lot so my wife would at least try it but did leave all the other flavor in. This dish had a lot of herbs and spices that I don't normally cook with but it smelled very good to me. It had a lot of flavors I recognized from Indian food but the dish was different from any curry that I have had before - I think just because it had a lot of tomato. It also had coconut milk but it was not as predominant of a flavor as in a Thai curry.

Now that the Daring Cooks items are out of the way here is the rest of the meal I did. I started the meal with some Eggplant and Onion Pakoras. I actually just went on a food tour of Minneapolis yesterday and part of the food tour was pakoras at an Indian restaurant and they were great. I had an eggplant in the fridge from my CSA and thought it would work for pakoras - I did a quick web search and apparently eggplant pakoras are a thing so I went with it. I also did some onion and cilantro pakoras and they were both very good - I especially liked the onion ones that were kind of a fritter style. They batter is very flavorful with some spices in it and it fried up nice. I also made a Cilantro and mint Chutney - I did add a little heat to the chutney and it was very tasty on the pakoras.

Anyone that has been to an Indian restaurant probably knows this one - a Mango Lassi. Very easy to make and very refreshing on a hot day.


This is a Cucumber Raita. This a very nice summer salad - very similar to some typical American cucumber salads - but with a few extra spices in there.

This is Bhindi Masala ( I think that translates to Okra mixture). I knew okra was African and I knew it was Southern US but I didn't know it was Indian. I am not sure if I have ever had it when it wasn't deep fried but I did enjoy this preparation. It was just onions fried with the okra and a bunch on Indian spices.

For dessert I decided to go with Gajar (Carrot) Halwa. This is just shredded carrot cooked for a long time in milk - then a little bit of sugar and cardamom added. I don't think it is typical but I saw several pictures of it molded like this and I think it made it a nice looking dessert. It was definitely not a typical American dessert - not very sweet or rich but it was kind of nice for a change - mild spice and just a little sweet.

Thanks to Mary from Mary Mary Culinary for this months challenge. It was great fun cooking all this.

Daring Cooks: Grilled Potato Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

This month was another interesting month with the Daring Cooks. Like last month it is a contest and like last month I am creating my own recipe. Not sure if I am very good at creating my own recipes but it is fun to try. I do want to thank everyone who voted for my grilled squash salad in an edible woven bowl in last months edible container contest. I came in third place with a lot of tough competition.

This month the challenge was to create a delicious and healthy potato salad. The challenge is being sponsored by the United States Potato Board who will be picking the top five recipes and selecting the winners this month.

I love potato salad but one thing I don't think of when I think of potato salad is healthy. I once made a potato salad with light mayo and YUCK - light mayo is not a product anyone should have to eat. So it was time to think outside the box. One thing I do often in the summer is to grill potatoes - delicious - so I decided to start there. Now what other flavors to use. I used some pretty basic spices and herbs that I normally use when grilling potatoes. After that I decided to scan the grocery store for inspiration. It is raspberry season here and raspberries are on sale here. I am not sure I have ever had raspberries with potatoes so I am not sure why I thought it would work but I did. I also had some raspbanero jam that I received as a gift from my wife's cousin. The jam is made and sold by some friends of theirs at the hixton blue collar cafe and it is delicious. I love to eat it just spread on crackers. If I am ever in Hixton, WI (or if I figure out where Hixton, WI is) I will have to check out their other products. I know most of you will probably not have quick access to raspbanero jam so I would recommend just using raspberry jam along with some cayenne if you want the heat.

There result was really good. It was nothing like any potato salad I have had before but it was a tasty and health alternative. I think the raspberries went well with the potatoes. The combination of the sweet and hot was very nice with the grilled potatoes and peppers. Here is what I came up with - I hope you enjoy!

Grilled Potato Salad with Raspberry Vinaigrette

Serves about 4

Ingredients

• 2 lbs red potatoes - I use the larger ones but doesn't matter
• 2 t vegetable oil ( or olive oil if you like )
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/4 t paprika
• 1/4 t dried thyme
• 1/4 t dried rosemary
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• 1/4 t black pepper
• pinch cayenne if desired
• 1 red bell pepper ( or any other color), seeded and cut into 1" squares
• 1/2 sweet red onion, course diced
• 1 cup raspberries
• 1 T fresh basil, chopped

For Vinaigrette

• 1/4c cider vinegar
• 1T vegetable oil
• 1T dijon mustard
• 1T raspbanero jam ( or raspberry jam or jelly)
• pinch cayenne if desired and you did not use the raspbanero jam.

Directions

1. Heat gas or charcol grill.
2. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1" cubes. Parboil potatoes for about 6 minutes - they will be almost cooked but not quite. Drain and put into a large bowl.
3. Add 2t oil, salt, paprika, thyme, rosemary, garlic powder, black pepper, cayenne, and bell pepper to bowl and toss.
4. Place potato / pepper mixture on hot grill. Flip them once or twice with a spatula and cook until there are some nice grill marks on potatoes. Should take about 10 minutes.
5. Allow potatoes to cool to room tempurature.
6. Put all ingredients for vinaigrette in a blender and mix until well blended. If you used raspberry jam you may want to strain the seeds at this point.
7. Toss cooled potatoes with onions, raspberries, basil and vinaigrette. Add vinaigrette a little at a time so you don't have too much.
8. Serve immediately.

Daring Cooks: Edible Containers

Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! was our Daring Cooks’ April 2011 hostess. Renata challenged us to think “outside the plate” and create our own edible containers!

Yup - that was the whole challenge. We could make whatever we wanted for an edible container and put whatever we wanted into it. In some ways that is the hardest kind of challenge since it is so open, but it is also fun to try to come up with something creative. Renata gave us several examples of things we could do - but I kind of wanted to come up with something different.

I thought of the idea of weaving something but kind of ruled it out. When my wife, Lara, later suggested it ( and I couldn't think of anything better ) I decided to give it a try. I shaved off thin peels from zucchini and yellow squash. I microwaved them a little to soften them up. I can't say the weaving was easy. I am not normally one to give up on something but I tried it before my wife got home from work and gave up. I did not expect it to work but my wife got it to work - she has done some basket making - who knew that would be a helpful skill in the kitchen.

I think the basket turned out pretty nice. It was cute and "edible". It was also very difficult and I would not want to be making these for a large dinner party. For the contents I made a grilled squash salad. The salad is very easy and quick to make. It tasted very good and looked nice and springy in the basket.

Thanks to Renata of Testado, Provado & Aprovado! for this months challenge. Renata is one of my favorite Daring Cooks. She always has very creative solutions to the challenges and she is always very active in the forums and commenting on peoples blogs. Check out her blog - it is in Portuguese but she has an English version as well.

Grilled Squash Salad

Serves about 4

• 3-4 zucchini and yellow squash
• 8-12 peppadew peppers (these are hard to find so another sweet or slightly hot pepper could be substituted)
• 2 T vegetable oil (or EVOO)
• 1 T kosher salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• juice from 1 lemon
• 2 clove garlic
• 2 t fresh basil
• 1 T Parmesan cheese

1. Wash the squash well if you are not peeling it. Julienne the squash (I used a mandolin).
2. Mix the squash with 1T of the oil and the salt and pepper.
3. Mix the remaining 1 T oil and remaining ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Cook squash mixture over a medium-hot grill until tender (only takes 2 minutes or so).
5. Toss the squash with the lemon juice mixture.

Barefoot Bloggers: Scalloped Tomatoes

Here is something a little different. I wasn't really sure what this would be like but I have been wanting to try something like this for a while so I didn't want to pass this one up.

It is about a month early for fresh tomatoes here in Minnesota so I ended up using some Roma tomatoes. I think that was a good choice since I saw lots of comments on the food network site about soggy bread - the Roma tomatoes were so meaty that soggy bread is not an issue. The store I shopped at didn't have a French broule so I used a loaf of French sourdough and it worked well.

I served this for my father's day dinner and it was a big hit. Nice crispy chewy bread along with tomatoes and garlic and cheese. I ended up serving them just slightly above room temperature and they were great but they would be even better a little warmer. As someone on the food network site commented - "Think bruschetta hot on your plate". Thanks to Josie of Pink Parsley Catering for this pick.

Scalloped Tomatoes

Source: (Barefoot Contessa Farm Stand Food)

Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

• Good olive oil
• 2 cups (1/2-inch diced) bread from a French boule, crusts removed
• 16 plum tomatoes, cut 1/2-inch dice (about 2 1/2 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup julienned basil leaves, lightly packed
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large (12 inch) saute pan over medium heat. Add the bread cubes and stir to coat with the oil. Cook over medium to medium-high heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the cubes are evenly browned.
3. Meanwhile, combine the tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are done, add the tomato mixture and continue to cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the basil.
4. Pour the tomato mixture into a shallow (6 to 8 cup) baking dish. Sprinkle evenly with the Parmesan cheese and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly. Serve hot or warm.

Barefoot Bloggers: Spring Green Risotto

I was hoping for a recipe I could use in my Mother's Day meal this month but since I decided to do a brunch thing it didn't quite work out that way. After cooking a big Mother's Day meal I had to make the first recipe of the month the next day so I was at least hoping for quick and easy - I didn't get that wish either.

The recipe was a typical risotto with all the constant stirring that goes with a risotto. I like risottos but it is something that is hard to make while watching a two year old. It is also hard to make anything else for your meal since they require a fair amount of attention. This risotto was probably even more complicated than most since you have to cook a bunch of veggies to start and then you blanch and add the asparagus half way through along with a bunch of other ingredients.

It sounds like I am complaining. This was really good and it is not really hard to make - it just takes time. The flavors were all really good together. I hardly ever make anything with fennel in it but I love the flavor of it. Thanks to Kimberly at Indulge and Enjoy for this pick. She has a lot of good looking vegetarian recipes on her site.

Spring Green Risotto

(Source: Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, page 147)

Serves 4 for dinner, 6 for appetizer

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 tablespoons good olive oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)
• 1 cup chopped fennel
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 2/3 cup dry white wine
• 4 to 5 cups simmering chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 pound thin asparagus
• 10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted, or 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh peas
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese, preferably Italian
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
• 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the stock to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take 25 to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Drain and cool immediately in ice water. (If using fresh peas, blanch them in boiling water for a few minutes until the starchiness is gone.)
3. When the risotto has been cooking for 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding stock, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.
4. Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives. Set aside, off the heat, for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese.

Barefoot Bloggers: Caramelized Butternut Squash

I guess I lied on Monday when I told you to check back on Tuesday. I decided I would only be able to do three of the five recipes so I will be posting Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. So for my second recipe I chose the Caramelized Butternut Squash. It is definitely that time of year in Minnesota - it has been very cold, even for MN. This recipe is for Butternut Squash but I picked up a Buttercup squash instead. You can pretty much use any of the winter squashes interchangeably.

The recipe is very easy to put together. I cut the recipe in half and used only one squash. The only tricky part was peeling the squash - This is probably a good reason to choose Butternut - I think the smooth squash would have been a lot easier to peel. Once I got past that the rest was a snap.

The squash tasted very good. It was a hit for the entire family, including Victor. The brown sugar just adds a little sweetness - not too much at all in my opinion. It is a little more effort than the way I normally roast squash just cut in half but this recipe will be a nice way to mix things up on occasion.

Caramelized Butternut Squash

(Source: Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, Page 151)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 2 medium butternut squash (4 to 5 pounds total)
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Cut off and discard the ends of each butternut squash. Peel the squash, cut them in half lengthwise, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into 1 1/4 to 1 1/2-inch cubes and place them on a baking sheet. Add the melted butter, brown sugar, salt, and pepper. With clean hands, toss all the ingredients together and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet. Roast for 45 to 55 minutes, until the squash is tender and the glaze begins to caramelize. While roasting, turn the squash a few times with a spatula, to be sure it browns evenly. Taste for seasonings and serve hot.

Barefoot Bloggers: Sautéed Broccolini

This is my first bonus recipe.  Every month the Barefoot bloggers has a bonus recipe that you are not required to make - and this month they have two bonus recipes to make up for not having on last month.  This month I am not going to be able to make the other required recipe.  Actually it is not that I am not able - it is just that I know my wife will not eat it and I am not actually sure I would even like it.  The recipe was Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts chosen by Anne of Anne Strawberry (Sorry Anne).  My wife doesn't like tomato and I am not a big fan of goat cheese.  To make up for this I will make both of the bonus recipes.  It isn't really that much of a chore since both look good to me.

The first bonus recipe I made was the Sautéed Broccolini.  There wasn't really much too the recipe.  It did call for a quick blanch which is a little different - I think it is mostly just to help the broccolini keep the nice bright color and makes the saute time very quick.  

The reviews on this were mixed.  My wife was not very thrilled with it.  I can't say I was surprised because when I make her eat broccoli, she only eats the flower part and not the stem - broccolini is pretty much all stem.  I liked the recipe.  The garlic and lemon were nice.  I did serve this at the same meal as the Chicken Piccata which might not have been the best choice since the lemon got to be a bit much.  For the tie-break my 20 month old son loved the broccolini - which is pretty impressive since he only has front teeth to chew it with - it had to be a little difficult for him to eat.

Thanks to Mary of Meet me in the kitchen for this bonus pick.  It looks like she has some good kid stuff on her blog that I will have to check out.

Sautéed Broccolini

(Source: Barefoot Contessa Thanksgiving Episode)

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 bunch broccolini

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 lemon, zested

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Blanch the broccolini in a large pot of boiling salted water for 2 minutes. Drain immediately and immerse in a bowl of ice water.
2. Melt the butter in a large saute pan. Add the lemon zest and garlic and stir. Drain the broccolini and add it to the garlic mixture and heat for 2 minutes. Add the lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt and the pepper, and toss well before serving.

Barefoot Bloggers: Butternut Squash Risotto

Since I joined Barefoot bloggers halfway through the month I figure I only have to do one recipe this month. Normally I suppose I should do the second recipe which is Vegetable Pot Pie. While the recipe sounded good, I just made Chicken Pot Pies. Hopefully it is OK if I make the first October recipe instead.

This is a night of firsts for me. This is my first barefoot bloggers recipe. This is my first time making risotto. This is my first time cooking with saffron.

I had always thought that risotto was a little difficult to make. It is not really that difficult. A risotto is just a short grain rice (normally Arborio) that is cooked slowly. You add a little liquid and cook until it is absorbed, then add a little more liquid and cook a little more, repeat...

I noticed a lot of the other Barefoot bloggers skipped the saffron. There is good reason for that. Saffron costs about $10 for 1/2 gram. It comes in a spice bottle - inside the bottle is a little envelope - inside the little envelope is a littler envelope - inside that is a small amount of the red threads which are saffron. It takes an acre of flowers ( a crocus) to harvest 5-7 pounds of saffron. Saffron is the most expensive spice by weight - but I have read that is is not the most expensive by use since it takes such a small amount. Anyway, saffron was on sale at Target this week. It still cost me $11 but I got 1.5 grams of it - now I need more recipes for it - if you have any good ones let me know.

It is a good time of year for this recipe. It uses butternut squash which is plentiful in the fall. You dice up the squash and roast it in the oven. It turns nice and brown on the edges and looks very nice in the rice. I would not have thought of adding squash to a risotto but it added a little bulk to the rice that was nice - I would have been satisfied with this as my main dish.

I wish I had made one without the saffron so I could compare and see if it was worth it. I am sure it would be great without the saffron but in my opinion the saffron probably made it better. Saffron has kind of a fragrant flavor. My wife said it took some getting used to but she ate seconds so I guess it was not too bad for her.

Thanks to Rachel from Rachel Like to Cook for this recipe.

Butternut Squash Risotto
(Source: Barefoot Contessa Family Style)

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash (2 pounds)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter
• 2 ounces pancetta, diced
• 1/2 cup minced shallots (2 large)
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
   
2. Peel the butternut squash, remove the seeds, and cut it into 3/4-inch cubes. You should have about 6 cups. Place the squash on a sheet pan and toss it with the olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes, tossing once, until very tender. Set aside.
3. Heat the chicken stock in a small covered saucepan. Leave it on low heat to simmer.
4. In a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the pancetta and shallots on medium-low heat for 10 minutes, until the shallots are translucent but not browned.
5. Add the rice and stir to coat the grains with butter. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Add 2 full ladles of stock to the rice plus the saffron, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Stir, and simmer until the stock is absorbed, 5 to 10 minutes. Continue to add the stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring every few minutes. Each time, cook until the mixture seems a little dry, then add more stock. Continue until the rice is cooked through, but still al dente, about 30 minutes total.
6. Off the heat, add the roasted squash cubes and Parmesan. Mix well and serve.