World Famous Haleem

One of the most interesting things about food from Andra Pradesh (the state in India where Hyderabad is located) is that it feels so exotic! Perhaps to people not from India, all Indian food is exotic, but I really think there is something extra special about the food from this region, for 2 main reasons. (1) It's more of a cultural melting pot than many other parts of India, so the food has influences from places you wouldn't expect and (2) it's ever so spicy!

Amar and I attended many parties in celebration of his brother's wedding (congratulations Avi & Divya!), at at one of them, they served world famous Hyderabadi Haleem. Haleem is a dish made with wheat, lentils, lamb, spices, and ghee combined and cooked in such a way to provide a creamy, almost porridge like consistency. It's believed to have originated in Persia, and usually, it's only served during Ramadan. The chefs made an exception in celebration of the wedding, so everyone had a chance to try. (Well, all the non-vegetarians, that is!)

Return from India!

I am finally back from India, and now that the holidays are wrapping up, I can return to posting. I have some great food stories and pictures from India to share, as well as some delicious items from our mini Christmas Party at home in LA.

To all my readers, have a great New Years! More deliciousness to come in 2010.

Cherry Cordial Kisses

I hardly ever write something blatantly negative about a product, but today I tried a Cherry Cordial Kiss and it was so horrible, I just had to warn everyone. It's really sad... I grew up on Hershey's Kisses and loved them. The almond ones were pretty good too. Now there are so many varieties and variations, it's confusing! And certainly not appetizing (Pumpkin spice Kisses? Seriously??!). Most of you out there are probably clever enough to NOT buy Hershey's Kisses flavored like Cherry Cordial, and I should have also paid attention to that instinct. But no, I gave in. And instead I was left with a mouthful of waxy, poor quality chocolate meets cherry Tylenol.

No, I'm not kidding.

There are some very awesome candies out there during the holiday season, but I have to say this is just not one of them.

Chinese Islamic Restaurant

Rosemead, CA

No, it's not an oxymoron. Amar really wanted to go to one of these for his birthday, so off we went. I have to say, I couldn't eat much of what was on the table, so I'm not sure if it was good. The two things that I did eat, eggplant w/ a spicy sauce and sesame onion bread, only the latter was really something I'd want to eat again.

Anyway, I'll post my pictures from the meal, and you can decide!

Sesame Onion bread --- sort of like a thicker, breadier onion kulcha

Chicken Noodle Salad

Eggplant & Spicy Sauce


Lamb Stew, a house specialty

Moo-shoo Beef pancake, Peking style

Thai Corn Soup

I love Thai flavors but find that when I cook them at home, I end up muddling them too far with Indian flavors, and then I don't really end up with Thai food, but with some sort of weird hybrid. I came across this recipe and it had great reviews so I decided to try it. When I followed the recipe, it came out sort of bland, so I added a few extra touches of my own the second time, to spice it up.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon light olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

4 to 5 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into short, narrow strips

Two 15-ounce cans light coconut milk

1½ cups rice milk

One 16-ounce bag frozen corn

2 teaspoons good quality curry powder

¼ teaspoon Thai red curry paste, more or less to taste

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

½ cup minced fresh cilantro

I added:

1 green chili, diced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon of Thai red curry paste (instead of 1/4 teaspoon)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the oil in a small soup pot. Add the garlic, the white parts of the scallions, and the bell pepper. Add green chili here, if you choose. Sauté over medium-low heat until softened and golden, about 2 to 3 minutes.

2. Add the coconut milk, rice milk, corn, curry powder, the green parts of the scallions. If using the curry paste, dissolve it in a small amount of water before adding to the soup. I also added three fourths of the cilantro and the lemon juice here.

3. Bring to a rapid simmer, then lower the heat. Cover and simmer gently for 5 minutes. Season with salt and remove from the heat.

4. Serve, passing around the cilantro for topping.

YUMMY!

Quick Whipped Potatoes

One of the BEST wedding gifts I received was my Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. It has made my life so much easier… particularly because I LOVE whipped potatoes. And so does my husband. And so does anyone that comes over to my house for dinner. And the best thing is… everyone thinks they are so labor intensive and time consuming. Well, not if you have a stand mixer!



You can make them with or without skins. I prefer with skins for two reasons: (1) it adds elements of color and texture to your potatoes and (2) it is easier and faster to make than without skins.

What you’ll need:

4 pounds of white or red potatoes
2 to 5 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter (you can skip this, if you want)
Salt to taste

(1) Peel potatoes if you want your whipped potatoes to have no skin. Dice the potatoes into pieces about 2 inches by 2 inches (you can quarter small potatoes, and cut larger ones into 6ths or 8ths).
(2) Boil potatoes in a pot of boiling, lightly salted water until they are cooked through and soft.
(3) Drain the cooked potatoes. Using the whip attachment on your stand mixer, add them into the bowl. Turn the setting on mix (not faster!).
(4) As the potatoes begin to mash, slowly add in butter (if desired). Add in cream slowly. You can add more or less cream depending on the consistency you are looking for.
(5) Once added, you can turn the whipping speed up one notch. Be careful to avoid splattering.
(6) That’s it! Plate and serve alone or with toppings like chopped chives, gravy, or cilantro pesto.

Spice Rubbed Lamb Chops

My hubby LOVES lamb, and as a vegetarian, I've always been a little bit timid to try cooking it. The other day, the San Jose Mercury did an article on Indian inspired recipes. One of them inspired me, and I took the plunge. Amar had and awesome meal of spice rubbed lamb chops and whipped potatoes... made by yours truly.





Ingredients
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoon finely grated garlic
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cayenne
½ teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon coriander powder
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
8 lamb rib chops (about 1 pound, 4 ounces)
3 tablespoons canola oil

1. Mix together the ginger, garlic, salt, cayenne, cumin, coriander and turmeric to form a thick, slightly dry paste. Rub the chops well with this mixture and set aside to marinate for at least 2 hours and up to 8 hours in the refrigerator.

2. Grill the lamb chops over high heat, or to cook them on the stove, heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Sear the lamb chops to the desired doneness, 4 to 5 minutes on each side for rare. Let rest briefly before serving.

Recipe from Ruta Kahate"5 Spices, 50 Dishes"