Category: Indian
Baked Salmon with Turmeric and Onions
| April 3, 2013 | Filled under Fish & Seafood, Indian, Main Dishes |
This recipe is full of flavour thanks to the tasty blend of turmeric, hot mustard powder, and rice wine vinegar. I have my mother-in-law to thank for introducing me to this delicious dish. Her version involves pickling the onions, which really enhances the tastiness of this dish. However, it’s a little time-consuming for weeknight cooking so I’ve simplified her recipe to create a throw-together weeknight version.
I try to marinate the fish for at least 30 minutes while I prep my side dishes or putter around, but in a pinch, you can totally throw it in the oven right away. The sauteed onions add some serious kick in the flavour department. We have this with rice and simple sauteed vegetables to round out a simple home-cooked weeknight meal that’s light and healthy. Bonus, turmeric has been link to health benefits like liver detoxification and Alzheimers prevention. Read more about it here. Thanks to my mom-in-law for all her yummy home cooked meals. She’s super thoughtful and always makes our favourite meals when we are in town, and goes to great lengths to make sure I have lots of gluten-free options. I’m pretty lucky.
Indian Spiced Baked Salmon (Serves 2)
Ingredients:
- ½ teaspoon hot mustard powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 ½ teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar
- 2 salmon filets
- Salt and pepper
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 2 teaspoons canola oil
- ½ white onion, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Directions:
- In a small bowl, combine mustard powder, turmeric and vinegar. Whisk together to create a paste. Place the salmon filets on a small tray or plate and spread a thin layer onto each salmon filet, about ¼ teaspoon each. Season with a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes up to 4 hours.
- Preheat oven to 375 degree. Place salmon on a foil-lined pan with coated with non-stick cooking spray (or thin layer of canola oil). Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, depending on thickness and size of salmon.
- Meanwhile, heat a non-stick wok or frying pan to medium-high heat. Add 2 teaspoons of canola oil to pan and add onions and garlic. Turn heat down to medium and sauté for 5 minutes or until onions are softened and golden brown and fragrant. Add remaining mustard paste to onions until onions are evenly coated, about 30 seconds (no longer as the spices will become bitter). Remove from heat. Divide onions and place on top of cooked salmon before serving.
Golden Curry
| September 10, 2012 | Filled under Asian, Indian, Main Dishes, Poultry |
How do you get through dinners through the work week? Takeout? Frozen TV dinners? Meals from scratch? I tend to rely on all of the above since I’m not a huge fan of leftovers (exception is yam mein and pizza). Hubby D likes making a big batch Sunday night meal and reheating leftovers during the week, which admittedly cuts down on clean up and cooking. So with that game plan in place, it’s essential to get find meals that taste great as leftovers, and fast and easy curry is the perfect meal.
Some people think of curry as ‘spicy’ with burn-your-face-off type of heat rather than ‘full of flavour and aromatics’. There are so many curries in the world, spices and stews, and every region, culture, and family has their own unique way of preparing it. My family is from India and Pakistan, so our flavours and heat levels are a derrative of those spice-and-heat loving cultures. My mom makes a hearty and healthy vegetable curry with cauliflower, potato, and carrots while my aunts are known for their in-your- face spicy beef curry. As for me, I like to make Thai curries at home by my new fave is this golden curry that is mild yet full of flavour.
This curry is super easy to whip up and gets better as you re-heat it during the week. You can also freeze it and whip it out whenever you feel like some savoury comfort food. An added benefit of this dish is how cost-effective it is. Living gluten-free can rack up a serious grocery bill so finding healthy meals that don’t cost a fortune is a good way to balance the budget. Serve with some basmati rice and enjoy on a Sunday and all through the week.
Golden Curry Recipe (serves 4 to 6)
- 12 chicken thighs, diced
- 2 cups diced onions
- 2 cups diced carrots
- 2 cups sliced mushrooms
- 3 Tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 4 teaspoons curry powder (I used 1 tsp hot Balinese curry powder and 3 tsp regular curry powder)
- 4 teaspoons fresh coriander/cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
- Heat large cast iron pot or deep sided frying pan on medium-high heat. Add oil and chicken and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine.
- Add mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, stirring to combine. Add carrots and potatoes and curry powder and stir until all ingredients are evenly coated with curry seasoning.
- Add chicken stock and stir, scraping up any brown bits stuck to bottom of pot. Lower heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Garnish with coriander and serve with rice or bread.
Chili Lamb Chops
| March 7, 2012 | Filled under Indian, Main Dishes, Meat |
Word on the street is that lamb is a challenging type of meat to cook. I used to think so too until I found a few recipes that really proved how easy the tender meat is to work with. This recipe is amazing, simple, and full of flavour. I’ve done it here with lamb shoulder (it was on sale) but my preferred cut is rack of lamb, sliced along the bone into individual cutlets. The shoulder chop is great, but I find there is a lot of bone compared to the pricier, meatier rack. Either way, you can enjoy this tasty dish no matter what your budget or lamb-cooking experience is.
This recipe is super fast and is broken into 2 stages: make marinade and refrigerate; grill and eat. The longer it marinates the more flavour you get, but if you’re pressed for time, even 30 minutes can do wonders. And if you don’t have garam masala handy, try adding equal parts ground cumin and ground coriander for some lovely earthy flavour.
Using a mini chopper really helps speed up the prep time and I highly recommend trying one. Also, barbequing the meat outdoors would be ideal but since we don’t have one, this handy stove-top skillet does the trick (or a frying pan). I like serving these chili lamb chops with a mint yogurt sauce and rice or potatoes and a crisp salad.
Chili Lamb Chops Recipe (serves 2 to 4) Adapted from 500 Chili Recipes by Jenni Fleetwood
Ingredients:
- 4 lamb shoulder chops (or one rack of lamb, sliced long the bone into 8 cutlets)
- 1 red chili
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro/coriander
- 1 Tbsp fresh mint
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp crushed garlic
- 2 tsp crushed ginger
- 2/3 cup plain yogurt (I use goat or coconut yogurt)
- 2 tsp canola or vegetable oil
Directions:
- Combine chili, coriander, mint, brown sugar, garam masala, salt, garlic, and ginger in a food processor and grind until finely chopped. (If not using food processor, chop chili, ginger, garlic, coriander, and mint and mix in brown sugar, garam masala and salt).
- Add spice mixture to yogurt and stir to combine. Pour mixture over lamb and turn to ensure they are completely covered. Cover and marinate overnight.
- Heat oil in large wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chops and lower heat to medium heat. Turn the chops and continue to fry until they are cooked through – about 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium rare. Continue cooking until desired doneness is reached. Serve with rice or potatoes and a crisp salad.
Mint Yogurt Sauce
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 Tbsp chopped mint
- 1 Tbsp chopped flat leave parsley
- 1 clove garlic finely minced
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- pinch salt
- pinch pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Spiced Samosa Potato Salad
| September 12, 2011 | Filled under Indian, Salads, Sauces & Dips, Sides, Snacks & Appetizers, Vegetables |
Samosas are little pastry pockets of potato-y goodness, spiced with Indian flavours, deep-fried and served with refreshing cilantro chutney. My samosa-eating days came to a screeching halt when I went gluten free and my mouth would water with envy as my family and friends devoured them at parties and dinners. I’m sure I looked pretty pathetic as I sulked.
After going gluten-free, I attempted making samosa spring rolls using Vietnamese rice paper wraps, which turned out to be an epic fail. I was left with oil everywhere, grease burns, a burnt pot, etc. But I also had leftover samosa potato filling and chutney dipping sauce which I ended up combining to make a delicious potato salad. So now whenever I crave samosas, I make this spicy potato salad instead. It’s not only great for easy cleanup, but it’s also way better for my waistline and arteries.
The potato mix is adapted from 500 Chili Recipes, which D found at Borders in the clearance section for $5. Best $5 score ever. It’s such a great book with spicy recipes from around the world, pictures for each dish, and clear simple recipes – I definitely recommend this cookbook for anyone who loves exotic spicy eats. The coriander chutney is adapted from an old issue of Fine Cooking - one of my fave cooking mags.
What gives the potatoes a distinctly samosa-y flavour is the combo of onions, ground coriander, ground cumin, and peas. A little saute action to soften the onions and toast up the spices is key. Easy peas-y.
The coriander chutney is very refreshing – both sweet and tangy at the same time. Throwing everything into a food processor is all you need to do for this one. I use leftover chutney on salads. PS – if you like my blog, you can follow me on twitter or like my facebook group for updates. Thanks for your support.
Recipe Spiced Samosa Potato Salad (Serves 4 – 6 as a side)
- 4-5 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and quartered
- 2 Tbsp canola oil
- 1 cup finely chopped onion
- 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 cup frozen peas
- 2 Thai bird chilies, stem and seeds removed, finely diced
- 3 Tbsp chopped coriander and mint
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- salt to taste
Coriander Chutney
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and stems
Directions
- Combine all the ingredients for the chutney in a food processor or mini chopper and puree. Set aside.
- Boil potatoes in a medium pot. Meanwhile, in a non-stick frying pan or wok, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Add cumin and ground coriander, stir and saute for 3 minutes. Add peas and continue cooking until peas are heated through, about 1 to 2 minutes, and set aside.
- When potatoes are tender, drain and cut into 1/2″ cubes. Place in medium mixing bowl and add onion mixture, chilies, chopped coriander, lemon juice, and salt and stir to combine.
- Add 1/3 cup of the chutney and 1 tablespoon of oil to the potatoes and stir. Serve room temperature or chilled.
Aloo Chap (Spiced Meat and Potato Cakes)
| July 27, 2011 | Filled under Indian, Main Dishes, Meat, Poultry, Snacks & Appetizers |
Home cooking is a concept that I’ve been thinking about a lot in the last couple of months since my last post back in May. Since then, I moved from Scottsdale, Arizona back to my hometown of Toronto and in that time, l have lived in 5 hotels, my parents’ house, my inlaws house (AND gone to 5 weddings) before moving into our own loft downtown. And back in Scottsdale, we were in a temporary furnished rental for 3 months with our thngs in storage. So it’s been a long LONG time since I’ve seen a good deal of my stuff. And with this transient lifestyle, I’ve eaten at so many restaurants out of necessity that homecooking is something I’ve truly been craving.
It’s taken a while for me to get back into the swing of cooking at home. Time to find new grocery stores, find enough surface area to work on in our open concept kitchen, and find places to store all the stuff we unpacked. Finally, I feel like I’m there – home. And ready to get my home-cooking on. And for me, that means aloo chap – an Indian-Chinese word we use for potato cakes stuffed with spiced ground meat. It’s one of my family’s specialties.
Aloo is the Hindi word for potato – I thought it was a Chinese word until I was in my 20s. My first memory of eating aloo chap is going to one of my aunt’s houses a kid, my aunties working away to make a zillion aloo chaps assembly line style, and all of us cousins smothering the little potato rounds in ketchup before stuffing our faces. My aunts made two kinds – spicy for the grown ups and non-spicy for us kiddies. I think they must have used entire sacs of potatoes and half a cow to make enough aloo chaps to satisfy our entire family, and to have enough for leftovers to send home with everyone.
Now that I make them at home, I use ground turkey or chicken instead of beef, and gluten free breadcrumbs. Also, I pan fry them instead of deep frying for both health and cleanup laziness reasons. I know my adaptations are A-OK since I made these for my parents and they said they were just as yum as the ones my aunt’s make. This is a MAJOR compliment since these aunties are awesome cooks renowned for their massive spreads of all sorts of insanely delicious eats at our family functions. And now that I’m back in TO, I can enjoy this regularly. So happy to be home.
Aloo Chap (Spiced Potato Cakes)
Serves 3 – 4
Ingredients
- 5-6 medium sized yukon gold potatoes, peeled
- 2 tbsp canola oil, plus more for frying
- 1 large onion, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp chili powder or 1 finely diced chili pepper (optional)
- 2 Tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1/2 cup frozen peas
- 4 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 lb ground turkey, chicken, or lamb
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup gluten free bread crumbs
Directions:
1. In a medium pot, boil potatoes for 15 minutes or until fork tender. Drain, mash, and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat in a wok or frying pan. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, chili/pepper, cilantro and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occassionally.
3. Add ground meat and peas and continue cooking until meat is fully cooked and quite dry. Add salt and lemon juice.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine mashed potatoes and meat mixture and stir until fully blended. Spoon 1/3 cup of the mixture into your hand and shape into a round patty. Gently roll patty in breadcrumbs until coated and set aside on baking sheet until ready to cook. Repeat until all the potato mixture is used.
5. In a medium frying pan add about 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat. Add a few patties at a time and cook on each side until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Gently flip and cook the other side until golden brown. Continue until all the patties are done.
6. Serve hot with ketchup. For extra heat, add Tobasco or Mexican style hot sauce to the ketchup.
PS – you can also make these smaller and serve them as appetizers.
This is some of the cousins at a party sometime in the 80s. I'm absent in this picture... just like I was absent in many pix when I was in AZ. See how sad everyone is??? Except smiley Kim.
Tandoori Chicken Pizza
| April 13, 2011 | Filled under Indian, Italian, Main Dishes, Poultry |
I love pizza. Like insanely love it. And when I went gluten free, I thought my pizza eating days were going to be limited to the cardboard-like GF pizza doughs I had tried in a few restaurants or the strangely doughy mixes and frozen crusts I had found in the grocery stores GF aisles. But then I discovered this amazing mix at Whole Foods by Namaste and my pizza eating has multiplied from almost never to weekly. Even my pizza connoisseur husband is a huge fan of this thin and crispy dough – and he is tough gluten-eating pizza critic bordering on pizza snob. So the quest for a yummy GF pizza crust was over.
Now for the toppings. Although I love traditional Italian pizza toppings, I sometimes feel like having something closer to home. My family is originally from India and we would eat lots of tandoori chicken at our summer BBQs. Warmly spiced and pretty in pink, the chicken is a perfect topping for a Bollywood style pizza. The rest of the toppings follow the Indian spice route with ginger, garlic, coriander and balanced out with zuchinni, carrots and mushrooms. The baland of flavours
A quick note Namaste Pizza Crust – this dough is cake batter-like. Meaning it looks nothing like regular pizza dough. When you spread it onto the pan, you use just dump the batter onto the greased sheet pan and spread it around like you would frosting on a cake, until you get a thin even layer. And for $5.99/bag, you get enough mix in each package to make two 14″ pizzas which is the best bang for your GF buck, and it’s way more delicious and fresher than anything in the GF freezer. You just need a mixer, water, and some oil. Bonus: it’s yeast-free so it’s great if you have yeast sensitivities like me and my mom.
I normally use store-bought tandoori spice mixes or paste which you can find in the international aisle in many grocery stores. If you can’t find it or prefer to make your own, you can whip up your own using the one at epicurious.com (search tandoori – sorry I haven’t figured out how to include links here yet).
Recipe
Tandoori Chicken
- 2 Tbsp tandoori paste or 1 Tbsp tandoori spice mix (use less if you want less heat)
- 1 cup plain yogurt (soy, coconut, almond are great non-dairy or even goat yogurt)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (organic preferably)
Add tandoori mix to yogurt and mix. Cut chicken into 2″ pieces and add to tandoori mix until coated. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Place chicken in oven ready container and back at 400 degrees for ten minutes or until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices to make up 1 cup. Use any leftovers for next days lunch – perfect in sandwiches, wraps or on a salad.
Bollywood Pizza (Tandoori Chicken) – Yeast-free, Egg-free, Nut-free
- 1/2 bag of Namaste Pizza Crust Mix (1 1/2 cups)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp grated or minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
- 2 Tbsp grated or minced ginger
- 1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella (I use goat cheese)
- 3/4 cup zucchini, cored and sliced (see photo above – the cores can make crust soggy)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1 cup mushroom, thinly sliced
- 1 cup sliced tandoori chicken (from above)
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped
Equipment/Tools required: standard sheet pan or round pan at least 14″, mixer
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine Namaste crust mix with 1 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp olive oil. Mix with mixer for 3 minutes for 3 minutes (use whisk attachment if you have stand mixer). Batter will have the consistency of cake batter. Spread onto lightly oiled baking sheet in a thin even layer (make sure you fill the entire baking sheet for a light crispy crust). Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove crust from oven. Spread olive oil, ginger and garlic onto crust (leave 1/2″ border for crust). Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese, followed by mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, chicken, coriander and remaining cheese. Bake pizza for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly golden brown. Serve with drizzled olive oil and hot pepper flakes (optional).
I love pizza. Like insanely love it. And when I went gluten free, I thought my pizza eating days were going to be limited to the cardboard-like GF pizza doughs I had tried in a few restaurants or the strangely doughy mixes and frozen crusts I had found in the grocery stores GF aisles. But then I discovered this amazing mix at Whole Foods by Namaste and my pizza eating has multiplied from almost never to weekly. Even my pizza connoisseur husband is a huge fan of this thin and crispy dough – and he is tough gluten-eating pizza critic bordering on pizza snob. So the quest for a yummy GF pizza crust was over.
Now for the toppings. Although I love traditional Italian pizza toppings, I sometimes feel like having something closer to home. My family is originally from India and we would eat lots of tandoori chicken at our summer BBQs. Warmly spiced and pretty in pink, the chicken is a perfect topping for a Bollywood style pizza. The rest of the toppings follow the Indian spice route with ginger, garlic, coriander and balanced out with zuchinni, carrots and mushrooms. The baland of flavours
A quick note Namaste Pizza Crust – this dough is cake batter-like. Meaning it looks nothing like regular pizza dough. When you spread it onto the pan, you use just dump the batter onto the greased sheet pan and spread it around like you would frosting on a cake, until you get a thin even layer. And for $5.99/bag, you get enough mix in each package to make two 14″ pizzas which is the best bang for your GF buck, and it’s way more delicious and fresher than anything in the GF freezer. You just need a mixer, water, and some oil. Bonus: it’s yeast-free so it’s great if you have yeast sensitivities like me and my mom.
I normally use store-bought tandoori spice mixes or paste which you can find in the international aisle in many grocery stores. If you can’t find it or prefer to make your own, you can whip up your own using the one at epicurious.com (search tandoori – sorry I haven’t figured out how to include links here yet).
Recipe
Tandoori Chicken
- 2 Tbsp tandoori paste or 1 Tbsp tandoori spice mix (use less if you want less heat)
- 1 cup plain yogurt (soy, coconut, almond are great non-dairy or even goat yogurt)
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs or 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast (organic preferably)
Add tandoori mix to yogurt and mix. Cut chicken into 2″ pieces and add to tandoori mix until coated. Marinate in the fridge for 1 hour to overnight. Place chicken in oven ready container and back at 400 degrees for ten minutes or until cooked through. Let rest for 5 minutes before cutting into thin slices to make up 1 cup. Use any leftovers for next days lunch – perfect in sandwiches, wraps or on a salad.
Bollywood Pizza (Tandoori Chicken) – Yeast-free, Egg-free, Nut-free
- 1/2 bag of Namaste Pizza Crust Mix (1 1/2 cups)
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 Tbsp grated or minced garlic (about 4-5 cloves)
- 2 Tbsp grated or minced ginger
- 1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella (I use goat cheese)
- 3/4 cup zucchini, cored and sliced (see photo above – the cores can make crust soggy)
- 1/2 cup shredded carrot
- 1 cup mushroom, thinly sliced
- 1 cup sliced tandoori chicken (from above)
- 1/4 cup coriander, finely chopped
Equipment/Tools required: standard sheet pan or round pan at least 14″, mixer
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Combine Namaste crust mix with 1 1/4 cup water and 1 tsp olive oil. Mix with mixer for 3 minutes for 3 minutes (use whisk attachment if you have stand mixer). Batter will have the consistency of cake batter. Spread onto lightly oiled baking sheet in a thin even layer (make sure you fill the entire baking sheet for a light crispy crust). Bake for 20 minutes.
Remove crust from oven. Spread olive oil, ginger and garlic onto crust (leave 1/2″ border for crust). Sprinkle 1/3 of the cheese, followed by mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, chicken, coriander and remaining cheese. Bake pizza for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and lightly golden brown. Serve with drizzled olive oil and hot pepper flakes (optional).
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