Author Archives: cameron.stauch@gmail.com

South Indian Snap Pea Coconut Stir Fry

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Early summer snap pea coconut stir-fry

The annual abundance of snap peas has started. I love their crispness and versatility in that they can be used, either raw or cooked, in so many styles of cuisine. On a visit to Chennai I was fortunate enough to meet a fantastic cook and author, Viji Varadarajan.  She spent the afternoon with me explaining the subtle nuances of a pure vegetarian Brahmin kitchen and household. For lunch she presented a sumptuous feast of close to 20 different dishes served on a large banana leaf. There were so many standout bites but one in particular summarized her style of cooking.  A simple long bean kari, accented with curry leaves, grated coconut and a few spices. It was vibrant, full of life, understated yet complex- much like Viji herself. Although this vegetarian recipe calls for snap peas, green or yellow beans, snow peas, or many other vegetables can be used to prepare this quick and easy recipe.

snap peas, curry leaves, freshly grated coconut and spices

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South Indian Snap Pea Coconut Stir Fry
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 1 pound (3 cups) snap peas
  • 3-4 branches (36-40 leaves) curry leaves, julienned
  • 2 tablespoons grated coconut, fresh or frozen
  • ½ dried red chile
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon oil
  • Salt, to taste
Instructions
Remove tip of each snap pea and pull string from side. Cut each snap pea into half inch pieces.

Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare an iced water bath.

As the water comes to a boil, heat ½ teaspoon of oil over medium high heat in a medium sized pan. Cook the chile for a minute or so until slightly crispy and toasted. Remove from pan and place the chile, coconut, cumin seeds and 1 tablespoon of water in a small food processor or mortar and pestle. Blend or pound to get a coarse mixture. Set aside.

Add cut snap peas to the water and cook for a couple of minutes. Using a slotted spoon remove from the pot and immediately chill in the iced water bath. After a few minutes, drain and set aside.

Heat the remaining ½ teaspoon of oil in the medium sized pan over medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and when they begin to pop add the curry leaves, blanched snap peas, blended coconut paste and a pinch of salt. Cook for 30 seconds or until warm. Serve immediately.

NOTE: This was originally posted on my blog India On My Plate on July 7, 2011

What’s The Deal with Kohlrabi?

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young kohlrabi and attached greensKohlrabi again was a featured vegetable in my CSA basket from Hilary Chop and Teamwork CSA. Holding it in my hands reminded me of my semester as a student in Vienna and my visits to the famous central Naschmarkt and seeing a knobby light green tennis ball sized vegetable for the first time.  It was described to me as a ‘cabbage turnip’.  At that point in time I tended to stay away from onomatopoeic foods- in this instance to ‘ turn up’ my nose to this vegetable. I did not think of kohlrabi until a couple of years later while thumbing through Madeleine Kamman’s ‘When French Women Cook’ and decided to make a light creamed kohlrabi dish with dill. Since then it made an annual visit into my Canadian kitchen each July.  I would julienne it for salads; make a smooth puree to accompany pork; or simply include it in a seasonal stir fry.

That was until I moved to Delhi where it would greet me in late October.  I would discuss different uses of kohlrabi (known as knol knol in Delhi or gaanth ghobi in the southern states) with the vendors from my favourite vegetable stall at INA market. The two recipes in this post make use of the entire plant. A comforting moong dal uses the leaves while the other, a spiced kohlrabi mash, highlights the main bulb.

Ingredients for dal with kohlrabi greens

Ingredients for the yellow dal with kohlrabi greens

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What's The Deal with Kohlrabi
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 3 cups greens (kohlrabi, spinach, swiss chard, or kale), roughly chopped
  • ½ cup moong dal
  • 3 cups water
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • ⅛ teaspoon turmeric
  • Salt, to taste

  • For Tempering: Tadka
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 1 plum tomato, seeded and diced
  • 1 dried red chile, halved
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
Instructions
Bring water to boil. Add kohlrabi greens and cook for 3 minutes or so until tender. Drain.

Put moong dal and 3 cups of water in medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric. Partially cover and simmer gently over medium low heat for about 20 minutes. The dal should be soft. Add the blanched kohlrabi greens, fresh spinach and some salt and cook for another couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare the tadka. In a small pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the cumin seeds and once they give off their aroma (about 20-30 seconds) add the shallots and cook for another 3 minutes or until the lightly brown. Add the tomatoes, red chile and cook for another minute or so. Pour the tadka over the dal and mix well. Serve immediately.
kohlrabi greens and yellow lentil dal

The finished dal: fresh, vibrant and alive with flavour

kohlrabi, tomatoes, onions, spices, garlic and ginger: ingredients for kohlrabi bharta

Ingredients for the kohlrabi bharta

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Spiced Mashed Kohlrabi "Kohlrabi Bharta"
Serves: 4
 
This recipe is a riff on the well known eggplant dish baingan bharta. This time I have used kohlrabi as the main ingredient. If you do not have enough kohlrabi you can add some turnip.
Ingredients
  • 1 ½ pounds (6-8 medium sized) kohlrabi, peeled and quartered
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green finger chile, deseeded and finely chopped
  • ⅛ teaspoon cayenne powder
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 plum tomatoes, seed and pulp removed, diced
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons coriander, roughly chopped
Instructions
Place quartered kohlrabi in a medium sized pot with 1 cup of water and salt. Bring to a boil. !Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. The kohlrabi should be tender and easily pierced with a knife (like testing potatoes for mashed potatoes). Drain and set aside.

In the same pot or in a medium sized frying pan heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds. Add the onion and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until lightly golden. Add the garlic, ginger, chile, spices and tomato. Cook for 1 minute. Add warm kohlrabi and roughly mash, ensuring that there are still nice big chunks. Cook for another couple of minutes until the ingredients are well mixed and the kohlrabi is hot. Adjust seasoning if need be. Garnish with fresh coriander and serve immediately.

 

Kohlrabi bharta as a finished dish

The finished kohlrabi bharta

NOTE: This was originally posted to my blog India On My Plate on July 9, 2011

Maple Walnut Kulfi

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maple walnut kulfiI like ice cream. No. I LOVE ice cream.  So much so, that I cannot keep it in my house.  I have been known, on too many occasions, to wake up in the middle of the night for a small taste and then realize that I have finished entire pint. Perhaps that is why I like kulfi, also known as ‘ice candy’, the Indian version of ice cream.  Kulfi is made by evaporating the water from milk, then sweetening and flavouring it before it is frozen.  This process creates a dense frozen dessert which thaws much slower than traditional custard based whipped ice creams. In the street, the kulfiwallah serves it on a stick, like a popsicle, but in high end restaurants it is offered as an element of a dessert.

When living in Delhi I was asked to cater an event which highlighted Canadian products. The warm season had arrived and I felt that a uniquely Canadian kulfi needed to finish the meal. Maple syrup and walnuts came to mind and so maple walnut kulfi was created.

With milk being the key ingredient I think it is important to use a reliable, full flavoured product. Recently at work, I was introduced to the fantastic milk of a cooperative dairy, Laterie de l’Outaouais, located across the river from Ottawa in Gatineau.  This employee owned dairy focuses on purchasing quality milk from farmers and then minimizing pasteurization to get a full flavoured, rich tasty product.  By far the best milk I have tasted in a long time. The maple syrup also comes from a nearby sugar shack in the Gatineau Hills.

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Maple Walnut Kulfi
 
Ingredients
  • 3 litres (12 cups) full fat milk
  • 1 cup maple syrup, amber or dark
  • ½ cup walnuts, toasted and then finely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
Instructions
Make the rabarhi (homemade evaporated milk)
Place milk in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently for about 45 minutes. Occasionally, whisk milk and bottom of pot to ensure that the milk solids do not catch and burn on the bottom. Reduce the milk by two-thirds until you have 1 litre. The reduced milk will be a light brown colour and have some small chunks of milk solids. Pour the reduced milk into another container to let cool to room temperature.

Place the reduced milk, maple syrup and , chopped walnuts and ground cardamom in a blender and puree well.

Pour the mixture to almost the top of each popsicle mould. Cover the top of the mould tightly with a piece of aluminum foil. Carefully press on the top of the aluminum foil to carefully see the outline of each popsicle filling. Using a paring knife pierce the aluminum foil in the center of each mould. Insert a popsicle stick fully into each opening (see photo below). Place in a freezer and freeze for a minimum of 4 hours or preferably overnight. (Most recipes suggest placing the popsicle sticks in when it is semi-frozen. Doing it the way I suggested means you can simply walk away and not worry about when is it semi frozen).

To unmold the kulfi, quickly run the sides of the moulds under warm water and carefully put out the frozen kulfi.
Notes
I have seen many recipes which suggest using canned condensed milk to make kulfi. Condensed milk is often sweetened with additional sugar and in the case of this recipe will make the final product too sweet. Similarly, in other recipes you most likely will need to reduce the sugar added when using canned condensed milk. My personal feeling it to make the rabarhi in order to produce a more natural less sweet kulfi.

Inserting popsicle sticks into moulds for maple walnut kulfi

Placing aluminum foil over the popsicle moulds and lightly press down. Make small slits with a paring knife in teh centre. This will help keep the popsicle sticks in the middle of the kulfi.

NOTE: This was originally posted on my blog India On My Plate on July 6, 2011 

“You had me at rhubarb”

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South Indian Rhubard Pachadi

This pachadi is a gorgeously light pink. The photo taken at night under poor lightly doesn’t do it justice in looks and flavour.

On my days off I often like to try out new recipes at home.  When successful I like to share the results with colleagues in my work kitchen.  One of them is a vegetarian.  She is also the most patient and most receptive in listening about my home culinary exploits.  The other day I went to work eager to share with her my recipe for Rhubarb Pachadi.  I explained to her that a pachadi, a South Indian version of raita, is a side dish where a singular vegetable or fruit is briefly cooked, in some cases raw, and added to spiced yogurt. In India it is considered to be a ‘salad’ where the yogurt is used as a dressing. However, I told her that it may be easier to think of it as a sauce and served with meals to contrast hot and spicy dishes.  A pachadi is great with rice and vegetables or for non vegetarians with pork, duck, chicken or even fish like halibut or pickerel.  Upon finishing my description of the recipe she told me how delish it sounded but that “you need to know you had me at rhubarb”.

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Rhubarb Pachadi
Serves: 4-6
 
Ingredients
  • 2 cups thinly sliced red rhubarb (do not peel)
  • 1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 green cayenne chile finely chopped
  • ¼ cup water
  • ¼ cup coconut, grated fresh or frozen
  • Tempering
  • 2tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 2 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 20 curry leaves
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 cup plain yogurt
Instructions
  1. Heat a medium sized pan over medium high heat. Add rhubarb, ginger, chile and water. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 10 minutes occasionally stirring and mashing with back of spoon. Add yogurt and coconut. Cook for 2-3 minutes then remove from heat and place in serving bowl.
  2. In a small frying pan heat the oil over medium high heat. Add mustard seeds and when they start to sputter add remaining ingredients. Stir fry for 3-5 minutes or until shallots are lightly golden brown. Spoon cooked onions and spices over yogurt. Serve at room temperature.
  3. The rhubarb pachadi can be stored, covered, in fridge for a few days. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

Ingredients for south Indian Rhubarb Pachadi

The Raja(n) of Butter Chicken

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The Best Butter Chicken in the World

On this Father’s Day, I would love to share a recipe from my own father but unfortunately the  kitchen was not his forte. Rather, it is my father-in-law, Rajan, who has developed an interest in mastering a small repertoire of dishes.  One of his most celebrated dishes in our family is the ever popular Murgh Makhani, or Butter Chicken.

During the early 1950s, my father-in- law’s Punjabi family, long settled in New Delhi, would head to the original Moti Mahal in Daryaganj to savour the tandoori fare of kebabs and rotis, dal makhani and their famous Murgh Makhani.  As a teenager he and his friends would visit the cheaper copycat dhabas along Pandara Road to get their Punjabi tandoori fix.

In1970, my in-laws moved to Canada. A big part of their culture shock (bigger perhaps than the ice and snow of their first Canadian winter) was learning how to cook their own meals for the first time in their lives.  Following my wife’s birth, each summer the three of them would return to Delhi and inevitably one of their first meals would be takeaway of butter chicken, dal makhani and rotis from Moti Mahal.

It wasn’t until the early 1990s that my father-in-law would actually attempt to make his own homemade version.  I have known him for over 15 years and have tasted the evolution of his recipe and even after living in India and travelling the country from top to bottom I can honestly say that have yet to meet a Butter Chicken which rivals my father-in-law’s. Perhaps it is the ‘andaaz’ (loose estimation) of his spicing; or the addition of whole cumin seeds which provide a randomly pleasant crunch; or that his recipe is based on bringing together his past and future communities- early taste memories of Delhi friends and family and later sharing his favourite meals with newly made friends in Canada.  The one thing that I am sure of is that when Rajan makes Butter Chicken ‘hat mai jadoo hain’, there is magic in his hands.

Happy Father’s Day!

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Rajan’s Butter Chicken
Serves: 4
 
Ingredients
  • 3 pounds bone-in chicken breast (each breast half cut into 2 or 3 pieces) or 2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 2” pieces ** or substitute 2 pounds paneer, cut into large cubes
  • Marinade
  • 1 teaspoon Indian red chile powder, or cayenne
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • ½ cup plain yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (homemade or store-bought)
  • ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
  • Generous pinch of saffron threads
  • Sauce
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1 tablespoon minced ginger
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon coriander powder
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala (homemade or store-bought)
  • 1 teaspoon Indian red chile powder, or cayenne
  • ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 2 cups pureed tomatoes, canned or fresh (if using fresh, peel and puree)
  • About ¼ cup butter
  • ¼ cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (optional), ground into powder
  • Handful coarsely chopped coriander leaves
Instructions
  1. In a medium bowl stir together chile powder, lime juice, and oil, add chicken, and turn to coat. In a small bowl mix yogurt and remaining marinade ingredients, then pour over the chicken. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 400°F. Remove chicken pieces from marinade (you can brush off excess marinade) and place on a large baking pan in the upper third of the oven. Roast for about 15 minutes; chicken will be starting to brown but not cooked quite through. Remove from the oven and set aside. Or better yet, grill chicken pieces on a barbeque.
  3. Put 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, for about five minutes, or until transparent. Add the garlic and ginger, the cumin seeds and powder, coriander, garam masala, red chile powder, and salt, and cook, stirring, for two to three minutes. Add the tomato puree, stir to blend, and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
  4. Add the roasted chicken to the simmering sauce and cook over medium heat at a strong simmer for another 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
  5. Stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons butter, and then add the cream and stir. Remove from the heat and taste for salt. Sprinkle the fenugreek powder and garnish with coriander leaves just before serving.
Notes
This recipe, Rajan’s recipe, is an improved version of the one I wrote for the film Cooking With Stella.