Curry-Palooza: Eggplant with Crushed Mustard Seeds & Yogurt

This week I had the opportunity to try a brand new curry involving certain techniques that I'm not at all familiar with. Margie of More Please picked this rather unusual recipe by Madhur Jaffrey who, I am convinced, has a knack for taking a few simple ingredients and turning them into something amazing. Every single time. 

This curry uses 'Paanchporan' - a Bengali spice-mix that I have never used before but discovered is the same thing as 'achari masala/spice-mix' which I have indeed used & am very fond of. I made my own 'Paanchporan' since I had all the whole spices on hand (it requires equal parts of cumin, nigella seeds, aniseed, black mustard seeds and fenugreek). I was skeptical about using such a large (seemingly to me) amount of fenugreek because experience has taught me that it has to be used sparingly or it lends a certain bitterness to curries. The recipe also requires the unusual method of crushing the mustard seeds, mixing them with water along with a bare pinch of cayenne pepper and simmering the eggplant in this mixture. Atypical as it was I found that this technique lent a wonderful 'mustardy' aroma to the curry and gave it a deep, yet unsaturated,  note of flavor. 

That said, I had a few minor issues with the execution: I diced my eggplant smaller than indicated, so it cooked faster and  turned out a little mushy. In addition to which the yogurt split when added and I found that the fenugreek did indeed make the curry a teeny bit bitter so it did not go down well with the rest of the family. Maybe it's my/our taste buds, or maybe it's that I need to improve on the technique of cooking with this particular spice, but I intend to reduce the amount of fenugreek seeds significantly when I prepare my Paanchporan mix next time. It's a shame about the bitterness because, otherwise, I really like the flavors in this simple and quick-cooking curry.

I know for a fact that the other Curry-Palooza members had no such issues & really enjoyed this curry. The recipe can be found on Margie's blog. Please check out the participants' posts by following these links:

Croque-Camille

More Please

Sage Trifle

Curry-Palooza is a monthly event. Members take turns picking random recipes each month & next up it's Camille's pick. I'm hoping she will throw a challenge our way!

If you'd like to join in the fun, please email either Rocquie or myself. 

Curry-Palooza: Muttar Paneer

Muttar Paneer reminds me of one of my closest friends. It used to be her favorite thing to cook. I haven't seen her in a few years so while I was stirring up a pot of it for Curry-Palooza this week, I wondered if she still likes to make it.  

I'm not very fond of peas but my husband and kids are. I had a bit of a disaster with the paneer that I burned over-fried but otherwise this was a fragrant, flavorful curry that my family enjoyed very much. My curry had a thinner consistency than the ones Rocquie & Margie made and I served mine with Pita breads instead of Rice.  I had planned on making my own Paneer but was then short on time so I used a bag of cubed, frozen paneer. For those who don't know - Paneer is simply cottage cheese that has been drained, pressed into a container with something heavy placed over the top for a couple of hours so that it retains a solid shape. I did a post on making homemade cottage cheese early last year & will hopefully get around to making my own Paneer soon!

Please check out Rocquie's blog for the recipe for Muttar Paneer, or the original source at A Pot of Tea and a Biscuit. 

Curry-Palooza is a monthly event & we take turns picking random Indian recipes each month. If you'd like to participate, please email either Rocquie or myself. I hope you will join us!

Curry-Palooza: Aloo Gobi

Rocquie & I have been discussing curries forever. 

A new cooking event/group seemed the best idea to take things a step further: Rocquie gets to further explore her love for Indian cuisine and I get to try out new things because I'm not entirely new to curries. So curry-palooza was born & we decided to blog about our endeavors in curry-making on the first Friday of each month. We're not cooking from any particular book and so far the only rules are that we take turns hosting the event & that we will blog once a month. I hope others will join us!

Aloo Gobi is an every day dish and I must admit that I usually turned up my nose at it as a very young child. Since then I enjoy cauliflower a lot better but have not attempted to cook this curry more than once and, needless to say, it was terrible the last and only time I made it. I use my Grandmothers' cooking as a benchmark because she lived with us when I was growing up and all the curries she made were wonderful. I never learned to cook from her while I had the chance and much later, I had to rely on her advice and instructions over the phone but could never quite get my food to taste like the dishes she had lovingly prepared for us. 

This recipe turned out to be like a deliciously warm, comforting hug: it is as close as can be to my Grandmothers' version & I was very, very happy to finally get it right. 

The recipe can be found here on Rocquie's blog Sage Trifle.

Aloo Paalak: Potato and Spinach Curry

While I was preparing dinner last night, I reminisced fondly how my grandmother would always scold me over the mess I made in the kitchen while I cooked.

According to her, I used too many utensils due to my constant need to measure things precisely and, in doing so, cluttered up her kitchen. I've improved only slightly over the years and so she wouldn't be too impressed if she were to see me now!

She lived with us while I was growing up, and the kitchen was her personal territory. Her repertoire was limited to very basic, every day food but the amount of love and attention she paid to its preparation belied the simplicity of her meals. 

Aloo Paalak is one dish that she makes extremely well. It is a very simple one to prepare but regardless of how many times I've made it; I still can't get it to taste like my grandmothers version. I'm not saying it's not good - it just doesn't taste like hers.

Lately I miss her immensely and don't know when I will be seeing her next so for now, Aloo Paalak mingled with comforting memories will have to do. 

Here's the recipe: 

Aloo Paalak

Spinach, 1 kg

Potatoes 2 medium, peeled and diced

Onions, 3 medium, thinly sliced

Tomatoes, 2 medium

Coriander powder, 1 tbsp

Salt, 1 tsp

Red chili powder, 1/2 tsp

Kasuri Methi (Dried Fenugreek Leaves), 1 tbsp

1-2 tbsp cooking oil

2-3 green chillies (stems removed) and approx. 2 tbsp chopped, fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Rinse Spinach well, pat dry and chop. Don't discard the stems - they contain a lot of flavor - chop along with the Spinach leaves.

Fry the sliced onion over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Add the tomatoes, coriander powder, salt and red chili powder along with a splash of water and stir fry over medium high heat until the tomatoes are pulpy and the oil has separated.

Add chopped spinach, stir fry for a couple of minutes.  Fresh Spinach releases its own water, let it cook in it over medium heat till the water is reduced.  Add approx. 1.5 cup water and simmer for a few minutes till the spinach is tender. Add potatoes, reduce heat, cover and simmer around 15 mins or until the potatoes are cooked (shouldn't be mushy or falling apart). 

Increase heat and stir fry a couple of minutes to dry  any excessive  water. 

Sprinkle the Kasuri Methi and mix well. Throw in the coriander leaves and green chillies, cover and turn off the heat.

Allow the aromas from the coriander leaves and chillies to infuse for a few minutes, serve.

Kidney Bean Pulao, Chicken with Nigella Seeds and Eggplant Raita

Aside from the the very few times we had people over for dinner, everything I have cooked in the past 4 months has been hurriedly put together, often boring and completely uninspired. I have not heard a single complaint. Not one. Did I ever mention that DH is a *very* patient man?

Everyone expected I'd get my groove back eventually. Because they know I'm happiest when pottering around my kitchen. My only condition is that I be left alone.

I haven't put a lot of thought into planning this meal or worried about whether or not all the different flavors will compliment each other. 

It doesn't matter. It's special because it's the first time in a long time that I'm thinking about food with some renewed passion. Which is a good thing.

Thinking about food & making it for people I love makes me happy.