"Friday Shrimp" on Tuesday - An Aarti Party!

My daughters and I got hooked on The Next Food Network Star.  I rarely watch the Food Network but was really drawn into the show this season.  Our favorite contestant, and ultimately the winner, was Aarti.  Aarti "experiments adventurously with Indian flavors and incorporates them into American classics."   We loved her personality and that she brought something different to the Food Network (and she's a blogger!). 

My daughter Ashley really likes Indian food so I have been dabbling with different Indian spices and dishes.  Since *gasp* college is right around the corner for both of my girls, I have made an effort to have a really nice meal each night featuring their favorite foods.  So in honor of Aarti's win, we had an Indian inspired dinner featuring Aarti's dish "Friday Shrimp."  I served the shrimp with basmati rice, Bihari Green Beans Masala, and homemade garlic naan.  It was a feast! 

We loved the shrimp but next time I will cook the garlic a little before stuffing the shrimp to mellow it slightly.  I loved the turmeric and coriander seasoning and the crisp fennel salad - just perfect!  The green beans were so delicious and would make a fabulous vegetarian main dish.  The spices combined with the coconut milk and crunchy almonds were fantastic!  The garlic naan was fluffy and buttery - need I say more?!  Oh, and we definitely don't need to worry about vampires!  So much garlic! 


Bihari Green Beans Masala

Yield 2 to 3 servings
Time 40 minutes
Recipe courtesy Julie Sahni

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil or light olive oil
2 tablespoons sliced almonds
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro.

Method

1. Heat the oil in a 3-quart sauté pan over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring, until light golden. Remove from heat and transfer almonds to a plate or bowl; set aside for garnish.

2. Add onion, garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili pepper flakes and salt to the unwashed sauté pan, and return to medium heat. Sauté until the onion is tender and begins to fry, about 4 minutes.

3. Add coconut milk and green beans. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes.

4. Sprinkle beans with lime juice, and toss lightly. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with almonds and cilantro. If desired, serve accompanied by plain cooked rice or roti flatbread.
 

Bangain Bhartha that's bangin'!

I love eggplant so much.  It is definitely in my list of top 10 foods.  I make Italian and Greek inspired eggplant dishes but never have tackled an Asian eggplant recipe.  The first time that I had an Indian eggplant dish was in the spring at a restaurant in Media, PA near my daughter's college in Swarthmore.  It was so good and has left me craving it ever since.  It is a vegetarian dish made with roasted eggplant, onion, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, jalapenos, peas, and lots of spices.  Savory, sweet, spicy, creamy - perfect.  Served with basmati rice and garlic naan - oh yeah!   Well, when I got several eggplants in my CSA box, I just knew that I would have to try and recreate the baingan bhartha from Shere-E-Punjab. 

I searched all over trying to find a recipe that seemed to match what I had at the restaurant.  I distinctly remember peas and tasting garam masala.  The waiter had asked how spicy I wanted the dish and I responded with 8 out of 10.  He seemed a little surprised that I would want it so hot but it was perfect for me.  I can handle spicy food.  I finally found a recipe that seemed just about right on the blog showmethecurry.com - I followed their spice mixture pretty closely but did not have asofoetida so I went without it.  I used only one jalapeno (I could have used a little more heat) and grilled two Japanese eggplants totaling just over a pound.  I also used five plum tomatoes.  The resulting dish was fantastic!  I served it with basmati rice.  I also made garlic naan from the same site - so good!  It was great to step out of the box and try something new.  The bad thing about this - no leftovers and I am already craving this dish again!!

CSA Mizuna with Indian Spiced Chickpeas

Well this was an especially rough week at work, as our biggest deadline of the year is June 15th.  The earliest we ate dinner was 9pm.  No natural daylight left even on one of the longest days of the year as evidenced in the photos!  As late as I may get dinner on the table, I prefer home cooking to takeout especially when I have beautiful CSA ingredients to use. 

I received another huge bunch of mizuna in my CSA box that I was determined to put to good use.  This is an ingredient that I had not previously used so I have been doing some experimenting.  I made it with orecchiette and sausage which was good but my family prefers broccoli rabe.  I also have added the mizuna to salads and made a stir fry.  My very favorite use for mizuna was added to Indian Spiced Chickpeas - so delicious!  I served the chickpeas as a side with Martha Stewart's Indian Spiced Chicken burgers (from Everday Food: Great Food Fast) on garlic naan but this could easily be a vegetarian main course.  I had the leftovers for lunch the next day.  Perfect! 

Indian Spiced Chickpeas
Adapted from http://www.god-dess.com/services_recipesMay03.html

2 cans chickpeas – drained and rinsed
¼ c oil
1 c finely-diced onion
1 inch finely minced peeled ginger root
4 cloves minced garlic
1 t turmeric
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1 t salt
1 chopped jalapeno – seeded and diced
1 14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes - drained
2 T lemon juice
1/2 c water
3 cups coarsely chopped mizuna
1 c yogurt
1 c fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat and sauté the onions until softened. Next add the garlic, ginger, jalapeno and spices and cook for about a minute. Next add the chickpeas, tomatoes, lemon juice and water. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the mizuna and cook until wilted. Lastly stir in the yogurt and chopped cilantro.

Garam Masala Chicken

Garam masala translates from Hindi as "hot mixture." However, the spice mixture is not hot as in hot pepper (such as cayenne or scotch bonnet) hot. It refers more to the intensity of the spice mixture. The garam masala spice mixture varies by region in India but usually contains black & white peppercorns, cloves, bay leaves, long pepper, black cumin, cumin seeds, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, star anise and coriander seeds. It is absolutely delicious. If you haven't tried it, please do! This recipe is adapted from "Garam Masala Chicken with Roasted Vegetables" from Aida Mellencamp. I use less oil, less salt, and add the vegetables halfway through the cooking time. Otherwise, I follow the recipe. By adding the vegetables a little later, they still are nicely browned but have a little "bite" to them instead of being mushy. Also, by adding them later, I mix them with some of the chicken drippings, eliminating the need for added oil. The yogurt makes the skin nice and crispy and beautifully browned. I also have skipped the marinating process before and it was still fantastic. My whole family loves it!

Oh, and RG - I hope that things are going well at IR!

Ingredients
1/4 cup peanut oil
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 (2-inch) piece ginger, sliced
8 medium garlic cloves, smashed
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 (4 to 5 pound) whole chicken
1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, halved
1 pound butternut squash, large dice
1 medium red onion, large dice
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt (I use Greek)

Directions
In a small bowl, mix together 1/4 cup oil, garam masala, ginger, garlic, and 1 tablespoon salt. Place chicken in a large baking dish or plastic bag, loosen the skin from the breast and legs of the chicken and, using your hands, spread a good part of the mixture underneath. Rub the remaining mixture inside the chicken cavity and over the skin. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine. Loosely cover, refrigerate, and let marinate 30 minutes or up to 12 hours.

Arrange the rack in the center of the oven and heat oven to 400 degrees F.

Remove chicken from marinade, let any excess drip off, and reserve marinade. Let chicken sit at room temperature while oven warms up, about 30 minutes.

When the oven is heated, place chicken, breast side up and roast until skin begins to brown about 45 minutes. Toss potatoes, squash, and onions with the remaining marinade and season with salt and pepper. Add the vegetables to the roasting pan with the chicken (approximately half through the cooking time). Brush yogurt on chicken and continue roasting until chicken is well browned, juices run clear when inner thigh is pierced with a knife, legs move easily in the joint, and a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the thigh registers 160 to 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about another 40 to 50 minutes. Let chicken rest at least 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

Indian Chicken Burgers & Spiced Chickpeas

Well, I picked up some beautiful NJ grown cilantro, So that is my inspiration for tonight's dinner. This one is for my friend RG. I am not too adept at Indian cooking but love the flavors. I am not sure how authentic these recipes are but definitely Indian inspired, delicious and pretty healthy. I am happy with the results of my efforts tonight. We were so hungry and it was so good. I realized later that I never took a picture of the final plate with the naan, sauce, cucumbers and cilantro!

Indian Spiced Chicken Burgers

( Savory Spicy Sweet, originally from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast)

I served the chicken burgers with Naan and Indian Spiced Chick Peas - Yum!

Indian Spiced Chickpeas - delicious recipe on god-dess.com So good!