Indian Spiced Vegetables, Sabzi Masala

Masala Beans

Our friend Farah, she of the famous Masala Kale, which has garnered over 500 page views on this blog, is at it again.

"With so many of my friends and family eating vegetarian, I am motivated to make vegetable dishes that are interesting and delicious," says friend, neighbor, and locally renown cook Farah Kapoor.  She adds, "Even among non-vegetarians, there is a lot of interest in local produce.  I saw some fresh okra and some lovely long beans at the Farmers' Market last week and was inspired to create a Masala Sabzi,  (spicy vegetable) recipe." 

Both the beans and the okra were transformed into something wonderful.  This is not to say that fresh off the farm they aren't already pretty wonderful, but Farah's version makes them spectacular.

She starts with fresh okra, purchased from our favorite Sunday Farmers' Market.

Masala Okra

Ingredients

1 medium white onion finely diced
1 tomato
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 Clive of garlic finely chopped.
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 pound okra or long beans or green beans or haricot verts. Slice into rounds.
2 tbsp canola or olive oil
1/2 tsp red CHILLI powder (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala (optional)

Method

1. Start by heating the oil in a skillet.
2. Add the onions and garlic and sautee for 2 minutes.
3. Next add the cumin seeds, coriander powder and the dry spices and saute until fragrant. This might take a minute or two.
4. Add the diced tomato and let it all come together for another couple of minutes. Add salt to taste.
5. Finally add the okra or green beans to the masala paste. Cook for a few minutes until vegetables are tender.
6. Garnish your vegetables with a handful of chopped cilantro.

Enjoy.

Farah's Indian Lamb

We love Indian food.  Regrettably, and despite the burgeoning local food scene, we have not found a really good, authentic Indian restaurant in Philly.  (Recommendations welcome.)  Happily, we have several Indian friends who are marvelous cooks and we make it a point to appear at their dining tables on a regular basis in order to enjoy this favorite cuisine.

We've featured Farah Kapoor before; she's our go-to girl for Indian recipes, and we couldn't very well showcase lamb without a curry. 

 So here, in all its glory, is Farah's Lamb Rendang.  (See cook's notes and ingredient sources below.)

Lamb Rendang Recipe (Spicy Lamb Curry)

Equipment:

Crock Pot

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs boneless leg of lamb (or any other stewing meat), cut into cubes
7 tablespoons oil
1/4 piece turmeric leaf (optional), thinly shredded
10 kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, cut into 2-inch length
1 1/2 cups coconut milk
2 tablespoons desiccated coconut, lightly toasted
2 small sized potatoes (optional), peeled, and cut into bite-size
salt and sugar to taste

Spice Paste:

3 tablespoons oil
10 dried red chilis, soaked in warm water and seeds removed
5 fresh red chilis, seeds removed
2 stalks lemongrass (white part only), lightly smashed
7 shallots, or 1 small red onion
1 clove garlic
1/2-inch ginger, peeled
1/2-inch galangal  peeled (if not available, skip and double amt of ginger)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 candlenut OR 4 cashews, lightly smashed
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

1. Plug in the crock pot/slow cooker and turn setting to High. Blend all Spice Paste ingredients in a food processor until fine. Scoop out, and set aside. Season lamb cubes with a little salt and put aside.

2. In a wok, heat up oil, stir-fry turmeric leaf and kaffir lime leaves until fragrant.

3. Turn heat to slightly medium-high, add blended Spice Paste, stir-fry until fragrant, or until color changes for 5 minutes.

4. Put in lamb cubes, stir well and continue cooking for 5 minutes.

5. Pour in coconut milk and toasted coconut and bring to a quick boil. Turn off heat and move all pre-cooked contents from wok into crock pot and braise for 1 1/2 hours.

6. Remove pot cover, stir and check to make sure the dish is not too dry and the lamb is tender enough to your liking.

7. Mix in potatoes, cover pot, and continue cooking for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender enough. Turn off heat. Unplug crock pot and allow the dish to sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour. The sauce will slowly evaporate, and may appear slightly dry and thickened. The Lamb Rendang is ready to dish up. Serve with steamed white rice or coconut rice.

Cook’s Notes:

You may substitute coconut milk for yogurt, milk, evaporated milk or other dairy products, however it will alter the taste of an authentic Rendang.

Desiccated coconut may be replaced with a two tablespoons of coconut milk.

Rendang tastes better when served the next day. If possible, store some overnight in refrigerator.

If you have trouble finding ingredients, we recommend a trip to one of the Indian Grocers in West Philly.  International Food and Spices at 42nd and Walnut (closed Tuesdays) or Dana Mandi Asian Spice at 42nd and Chestnut are both excellent sources. 

Farah's Indian Kale

Our previous post promised Kale, and being women of our word, we're here today to deliver...

How much do you love Modern Family?  Here's my fave foodie scene, from an episode last season:

Cam: Hey Daddy!  How was the Farmers Market?

Mitchell: Well it was great, but guess what the new spinach is?

Cam: Umm, radicchio?

Mitchell: Kale.

Cam: Nooooo!

Mitchell: I know, I was just as blown away as you are.  I see kale as more of a garnish or buffet decor; I don't see it anchoring a meal.

Sorry, Cam and Mitch, much as we love you, we disagree.  We are indebted to our dear friend, Farah Kapoor, pictured here with her handsome (and surprisingly trim, given the food that comes his way) husband.  She taught us new way to prepare kale, which we recently learned was bursting with Vitamin C.   Farah has graced these pages before.

She introduced us to Malaysian food, shared her recipes for saffron chicken, and jalapeno pakoras and has hosted us on numerous occasions.  So we are delighted to tap her again for her newly developed Indian Kale recipe.  Even my teenage daughter, who claims to loathe kale, gobbled this up, so it is definitely joining the rotation in our house.

14 ounces chopped up and washed kale
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 onion diced
2 shallots diced
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbsp Garlic finishing butter (optional)
1/2 cup chicken or vegetable stock
Salt to taste

1. To the oil add the onions garlic and shallots and fry till translucent.

2. Add the dry spices and sauté until fragrant.

3. Add kale and stock and just keep turning the kale until all the spices are distributed and the kale has wilted. If more liquid is needed add a little more water.

4. The kale needs to be wilted and the stalks a little crunchy.  This takes 5-10 minutes tops

5.  Remove from heat and add some finishing butter if you like.

6.  Garnish with a handful of chopped cilantro and fried shallots.

My Malaysian Lunch Adventure

She did not wear this to lunch, but she still looked lovely in her Philly attire.

I was invited to lunch with my dear friend Farah.  She hails from Singapore, is a legendary cook and hostess, and had a hankering for a taste of home.  Banana Leaf Malaysian Cuisine at 1009 Arch St. was our destination.

The atmosphere was pleasant; lots of bamboo-esque wood,  pastel colors, and a clean, uncluttered feel.  Upon arrival,  I put myself in the hands of my friend, and she proceeded to order typical Malaysian/Singaporean dishes.  "This takes me back to childhood," she said, "We had a canteen at school that sold this type of street food and I ate these dishes for lunch every day."

We started with a Rojak, which is a cold salad of fruits and vegetables.  When Farah ordered it, the server, who obviously knew her stuff, questioned the decision.  Farah assured her that she was from Singapore, was familiar with the dish and repeated the order.  The server then looked at me.  "She wants that?  You sure?".  I thanked the server for looking out for me but insisted that I wanted to try everything the way the chef prepares it.  She politely suggested that we have the sauce on the side.  I politely insisted that I would be fine with the dish as it comes.  When the server left, I asked Farah to dish on the dish.    "It has a rather pungent sauce, sort of sweet and sour fish sauce, and I just love it" she said.    I do a lot of Asian cooking and my kitchen is equipped with fish sauce, oyster sauce, and other authentic regional ingredients, so we were confident that I would be fine with this dish.   We were wrong.  Oh, so very wrong.  Farah tucked in happily, relishing the salad of her childhood.  I gulped down a heavily sauced cucumber whole with tea and passed her the plate.

Rojak--not for everyone.

Which brings me back to restaurant rule #1:  Listen to your server.  They do, after all, know the food (and their customers) rather well.  

All I can say is that like Gefilte fish, marmite, and tripe, none of which appear in my culinary ethnicity, rojak is something that you have to grow up eating to enjoy.  Or perhaps it is an acquired taste.  I can confidently say that I will never acquire it, but different strokes for different folks.

I fessed up immediately to the wise waitress.  As she passed by, I said, "You were right.  I don't like it.  I should have listened to you."  She chuckled good naturedly and brought our remaining two dishes, which were much more to my liking.

The Sarong Barong was a "bowl" made of fried taro, which was filled with lightly sauced, stir fried pieces of chicken, corn, snow peas, mushrooms and cashews.  It is important to appreciate the true divinity of this taro bowl.  Picture deep fried mashed potatoes and you are in the neighborhood.

And finally, the Singaporean Rice Noodles...now, I've never met a noodle I didn't like and these did not disappoint.   Tossed with shrimp, egg, bean sprouts and Chinese cabbage, these lovely strands were downright addictive.

So, in the immortal words of Meat Loaf...."Two out of three ain't bad."  I would return to banana leaf in a heartbeat.  The service was great (if only I'd allowed myself to truly benefit from how great), the price was right, the food was delicious, and the place immaculate.

Thank you Farah, for a lovely lunchtime adventure.  For our next girls' day out I'll have to come up with something equally regional and evocative of my heritage--Irish, German, Czech, and Dutch.  Oh, dear.  Not the most thrilling cuisines in all the world.  I may have to lay claim to a culinary ethnicity that is not technically in my blood to feed you properly.  Suggestions welcome!

Curry in a Hurry

What's better than a spicy, hot curry to warm up these cold wintry nights? Lest you fear the grind of grinding spices and endless simmering, fear not. We've got a gorgeous recipe that will whet your appetites, impress your friends, tantalize your tastebuds, and best of all can be done in a jiffy, courtesy of our friend Farah.

Farah Kapoor's Curry in a Hurry

Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs cod cut in 1 1/2 inch pieces--John Yi's cod is perfect for this recipe; monkfish works, too.
1 jar good quality marinara sauce
1 tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp cream
A handful of fresh cilantro chopped

Method
1. Empty the jar of marinara sauce into a pan and mix in the bay leaves, coriander, cumin and chili powders.

2. Cook on low for about 10 minutes until you smell the spices.

3. Dust the pieces of fish with salt and pepper.

4. When the mixture is simmering, add the fish and cook for about 5 minutes until just cooked through.

5. Add cream and cilantro; remove from heat and enjoy with basmati rice or naan.


We thought this speed cooking competition in China was interesting; Farah's recipe is not this quick, but her fish is no longer moving when she serves it.....