RECIPES

Articles tagged as turmeric (view all)

South Indian Chicken - Kori Gassi (h/t to Monisha Bharadwaj)

25 May, 2021 0 comments Leave a comment

We have one cookbook that I will never, ever be without. I mean, we have many wonderful cookbooks full of delicious recipes, but Monisha Bharadwaj's The Indian Cooking Course is a work of precision and breadth, full of information about Indian regional cooking. Some recipes allow you to get the dish on the table in 10 minutes, some several hours. The photographer, Gareth Morgans, knows his stuff and accompanies the recipes - as well as descriptions of spices and vegetables -with sumptuous photos. This recipe is adapted from Monisha's book.

We recommend using good-sized chicken quarters (thigh and leg), and not using breasts. We prefer the moisture and taste of quarters.

This recipe for Kori Gassi originates in Karnataka and creates an immensely rich tasting main course that's also good for you. We serve it with high heat sauteed green beans with a handful of sliced almonds and some salt. And rice. You could easily make it vegan by switching out the chicken for potatoes and cauliflower (adding the cauliflower towards the end of the cooking process).

2-4 tablespoons oil or ghee
2 small onions, finely chopped
3-6 cloves of garlic, minced or smashed or grated
a large thumb-sized piece of ginger, grated
a handful of unsweetened coconut, rehydrated in boiling water if dried
2 tablespoons of tamarind (or 1 tablespoon lime juice, added at the end)
1 teaspoon fenugreek seed
2 teaspoons coriander
2 teaspoons Kitchen Imp Garam Masala
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
1 hot chili, minced (optional)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 medium tomatoes, pureed, or 1.5 cup canned tomatoes and juice
2.25 pounds (more or less) chicken thigh quarters or just bone-in thighs, skin removed
1/2 cup coconut milk (full fat, as low fat will make the dish too watery)8 curry leaves, if you have them
salt to taste

Add 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee in a pan at least 10" across and 3" deep. Heat til the oil starts to shimmer. Add the onion and cook 5-8 minutes, til the onion is golden brown. Add the garlic and ginger, as well as the hot chili, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes on slightly lower heat. Add the Garam Masala and cook for another 30 seconds. Pour the onion mixture into a bowl to cool slightly.

In a separate frying pan, toast the coriander and fenugreek seed til slightly darker and aromatic. Set aside to cool and then grind or add whole to the onion mixture when you blend it.

When the onion mixture is cool enough, blend it, along with the toasted spices and the coconut, with a stick blender or in a blender. 

Sprinkle the chicken with the Kashmiri chili powder and turmeric. Add a tablespoon or two of oil to the pan and heat to a shimmer. Place the thighs into the pan with the curry leaves and, after 30 seconds, flip them. After 30 more seconds, add the tomatoes. Stir to mix the spices into the tomatoes. Raise the heat until the tomatoes start to bubble and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the tomatoes thicken slightly.

Add the onion mixture and cook, covered, until the internal temperature of the chicken is 135 degrees. Uncover and cook until the internal temperature of the chicken is 165 degrees. Turn the heat to low, add the coconut milk, and cook for a few more minutes.

Taste the sauce and season with salt as desired. 

Lentil Soup with Ginger and Spinach

13 February, 2017 0 comments Leave a comment

ghee or oil, 1 tablespoon 
garlic, 1-2 tablespoons minced 
onion, 1 medium, chopped 
celery, ½ cup diced
carrot, ½ cup diced  
garam masala, 1 teaspoon 
sweet turmeric masala, 1 teaspoon 
tikka masala, 1 teaspoon
tamarind paste, ¼ teaspoon, mixed into warm water (opt.)
ginger, 1 ½ inches, grated
coconut milk, 8-12 ounces
red lentils, 2 cups
chicken or vegetable stock, or water, 1 quart
spinach, 10-16 ounces
salt to taste

Heat the oil to a shimmer. Sauté the onion on medium heat for 3 minutes. Lower the heat to medium low, add the garlic, and sauté for another minute, then add the carrot, ginger, and celery and cook 3-5 minutes. Add the spices and stir to mix thoroughly for 30 seconds. Add lentils and broth and simmer 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender. Add more water or broth as needed. Add spinach and cook until tender. Add the coconut milk and bring the soup back up to a lower simmer. Taste, correct salt, and serve.

Dal with Spinach - Lentil Goodness for the New Year

05 January, 2016 0 comments Leave a comment

Like many of you, I over-indulged over the holidays. Not terribly, just a little more sugar, a little more meat, and several fewer vegetables than I like to. Yesterday, I shopped for the good stuff: spinach, peppers, lettuce, oranges, bananas, grapefruit, cabbage, eggplant, buttermilk, yogurt, and some lean beef so I can make my own ground beef. And all I wanted for dinner was a vegetarian, vegetable laden meal, satisfying, but not heavy. So I put some rice on to cook and made this.

a small thub-sized piece of ginger, minced or grated
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 fresh hot chili, minced, or one to two dried hot chilis
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup lentils (I used 1/2 cup red lentils and 1/2 cup split yellow peas)
water (or broth)
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
8 ounces spinach
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup dried, unsweetened coconut (optional)

Heat the oil to a shimmer. Add the onion and cook until it softens and turns golden brown. Add the garlic, ginger, and chili. Stir, cooking, 2 minutes. Add the turmeric, coriander, and cumin, mix, and cook another minute. Add the lentils and two cups of water. Stir, bring to a simmer, lower heat, and cover. Check every 15 minutes, stirring and adding water as needed. When the lentils are tender add the spinach and coconut. Cook until the spinach is wilted and tender. Add 1 teaspoon salt, taste, and add more salt as needed. Mix in butter and serve over steamed rice.

Serves 4 as a main course.

Lentil soup with Sausage and Spinach

06 March, 2015 0 comments Leave a comment

This soup is far more delicious than it should be, given how quick and easy it is. It takes 30 minutes, start to finish and is filling and nutritious. It's also easy to make vegan, should you wish.

8-12 ounces of sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
medium onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon urfa biber or harissa
3/4 teaspoon turmeric

Click title for the rest of the recipe

Eggplant Curry with Greens

15 September, 2014 1 comment Leave a comment

1 lb chinese eggplant tossed with olive or avocado oil to coat
1 1/2 tablespoon ghee or oil
2 small or 1 large onion, diced
3 cracked black cardamom pods, cracked (optional)
1 small hot chile, minced, if fresh, or crumbled, if dried
3 green cardamom pods, cracked and seeds removed, or a generous 1/4 teaspoon decorticated cardamom
1 tablespoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

(Click title for the rest of the recipe)

Chicken Sofrito

06 April, 2014 0 comments Leave a comment

Chicken Sofrito adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi

Just in time for Passover, or for spring, or for whatever suits your fancy, here’s a truly delicious, colorful, and easy chicken dish.  You can easily scale this for a larger group by doubling.

1 3-4 pound chicken, cut into quarters or pieces
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon pepper
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
the juice of one small or ½ a large lemon
3 cups diced white or yellow potatoes (not russets), cut into a 1” dice
Olive oil

Utensils needed: a shallow, heavy bottomed pan; a frying pan; a paring knife; a chef’s knife; a cutting board.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Heat the heavy pan.  Add 2 tablespoons of oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Mix the salt, pepper, paprika, turmeric, and sugar in a small bowl.  Pat the spice mixture onto the chicken and place the chicken, skin side down, in the pan.  When it is thoroughly browned, flip it and place in the oven.

Heat the frying pan to medium high and add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.  Add the potatoes and leave until they are browned on the first side.  Toss to turn and brown another side or two.  Take the chicken out of the oven, briefly put the pieces onto a plate, and put the potatoes and garlic into the pan. Place the chicken pieces atop the potato mixture and drizzle the lemon juice onto the chicken.  Put the whole shebang back into the oven until cooked to your desired temperature.