Indian Food Week: Part 3, Finale

Last night's performance of THE MAGIC FLUTE was a success (though a rather long evening for the audience-Prof. Hubs is a truly dedicated fan to stay through the whole thing-the show finished around 11:20!) I am looking forward to the freedom I experience in a few days time when the score of the opera finally winds its way out of my brain-I literally have it running through my mind at ALL HOURS. It could be worse. Thankfully it's Mozart as opposed to Gilbert & Sullivan, but it would still be nice to have some peace in that mind of mine.

Today I round out this week of Indian Food posts with a wonderful recipe for Chai Spiced Rice Pudding (Kheer) very loosely based on a recipe by Alton Brown. It's a great way to rid yourself of extra cooked rice (especially fragrant basmati) and a delicious finish to an Indian (or any) feast. It's also easily customizable to suit your diet-dairy free? OK! Just use soy or all coconut milk and it's vegan and it is also naturally gluten free as written.

MASALA CHAI RICE PUDDING

1 cup cooked rice (I like basmati)

1 cup milk of your choice (I used 2%)

1/2 cup half-half (you could instead use cream, milk, soy...whatever!)

3/4 cup light coconut milk (or regular...as you like)

up to 1/4 cup of sugar (I used about half that...I don't like it too sweet)

1/2 tsp ground cardamom (this is expensive, I know...but it is SO. SO. GOOD.)

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of ground clove

1/4 tsp ginger

pinch of black pepper

In a large saucepan, combine milk and rice. Heat until just boiling, then lower heat and add simmer until the mixture begins to thicken slightly (about 7 minutes on my stove.)

Add the cream, coconut milk, sugar and spices and cook until the mixture starts to thicken again, about 10 minutes stirring occasionally with a wisk. When mixture begins to thicken remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature. Serve at room temp. or cooled.

Feel free to add garnishes like raisins, pistachios, cinnamon, etc.

Enjoy!

(Note: Indian rice pudding is a bit soupier than the American variety.)

Central Asian Feast

Inspired by some flavors I have encountered recently, not to mention my study of the Russian Language, I decided to provide Prof. Hubs with a Georgian feast last night. Now, this feast was in no way an AUTHENTIC Georgian feast as I have neither visited the Democratic Republic of Georgia nor have I ever tasted anything cooked by an authentic Georgian. So, this feast was really more of a 'Central Asian Inspired' feast... Especially since a few of the recipes were inspired by Nigella Lawson-about as Un-Central Asian as one can get.

The meal included Khachapuri (Georgian cheese bread,) Roasted Chicken stuffed with a tart-cherry rice stuffing, Beet salad, and garlicky cooked Beet Greens. It was seriously yummy.

Below you'll find the recipes for the Chicken with stuffing. It's really, REALLY good and this rice will be making a repeat appearance in our kitchen soon. There is a delicious 'foreign-ness' to the taste of the rice and yet it's quite simple to make. Although it would be wonderful with any meal it really is a great compliment to a beet salad (chopped beets, walnuts, balsamic vinegar, bit of mayo, s&p,) and cooked greens...

GEORGIAN STUFFED CHICKEN

inspired by a recipe by Nigella Lawson

1 whole chickens
2 Tbsp soft butter
S&P

FOR THE STUFFING
3 Tbsp butter
1 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 cup brown basmati rice
1/2 cup dried sour cherries, roughly chopped
2 cups water
4 tablespoons chopped parsley

For the stuffing, melt butter in a large saucepan (one that has a lid). Finely chop the onion and garlic, and add to the pan with the butter, frying over a medium heat until the onion softens and begins to color.

Add the rice and chopped cherries, and give everything a good stir so that the rice becomes slicked with the butter. Add the water and a sprinkling of salt and bring to the boil, then clamp on the lid and cook at the lowest heat possible for 30 minutes. While the rice is cooking, preheat your oven to gas mark 425. When the rice is ready, by which I mean, all the water will be absorbed and the rice be more or less cooked, fork through the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the cherry-studded rice into the cavities of the chickens and around the bird.

Rub the chicken with the butter, drizzle with S&P and roast in the oven for 50 minutes-1.5 hours, depending on your oven. The skin should be golden and crispy and the meat cooked through; test by piercing the bird between thigh and body and if juices run clear, the chicken’s ready. Remove from oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before carving and serving.

surprising use for an impulse foodie purchase

Last Spring when Prof. Hubs was living in Boston we would spend part of our weekends together on various kitchen experiments. I really enjoyed tasting the ethnic eats available in Boston and on one particular visit Prof. Hubs, his roommate, and I all visited a Korean market in Cambridge in search of some foodie finds. In addition to several giant jars of Kimchee I picked up a beautiful bag of Korean sweet brown rice. At the time I thought I was buying short grain brown rice (my fave) because I did not read (nor do I now read) Korean. Much to my dismay when I prepared the rice (washed it 3 times, cooked it 1:2 parts water) I ended up with a sticky, glutinous 'porridge.' That's when I set to googling and learned the Brown sweet rice is actually brown STICKY rice, used for desserts, etc. This bag of rice has sat in my pantry for a few months untouched. Then a couple of days ago I was struck with a possible use for the rice which produced a PHENOMENAL culinary success.

Now, think for a moment. What is one of the yummiest fall side dishes of all? Butternut squash risotto, of course! And what's the problem with typical risotto? It's made with WHITE rice (Arborio, etc.) How can one enjoy a perfect fall risotto but not sacrifice whole grain goodness??? BROWN SWEET RICE to the rescue!!!

One caveat to this substitution-brown rice takes about twice the amount of time to cook as does it's white cousin. However, this rice is so naturally glutinous you can easily let it cook, covered, and unattended for bits at a time between the stirring. So I think this makes up for the extra 25 minutes...

BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO WITH BROWN RICE

cooked insides of 1 butternut squash (halved and roasted for an hour so that the 'meat' is soft, then scooped out of the skin)

1 cup brown sweet rice

up to a container of low-sodium chicken broth

up to 1/2 bottle of dry white wine

1 shallot, minced

olive oil

s&p

lots of parmegiano reggiano, for serving.

First, rinse your sweet rice in water 3 times. This helps reduce the stickiness. You may also soak it for several hours or overnight. Dry rice grains (just make sure there's no extra water hanging out with those grains when you're ready to start cooking.)

In a large saucepan, heat oil over med-high heat. Sauté shallots in the oil until soft and translucent. Then add rice. Stir rice around in shallot/oil mixture for about 3 minutes. Then add 3/4 cup broth and 3/4 cup wine. At this point you can hang out with the rice and stir, or you can cover the pot and go watch a few minutes of tv. When the rice has absorbed most of the broth and wine, add another 1/2 cup of each and give it some nice stirs. At this point you may cover again for a few minutes until the broth and wine are absorbed. Basically, just repeat this procedure until the rice reaches the correct al dente texture. For me this took about 45 minutes. When that texture is reached (or about to be reached) add your squash, stir around. Add s&p. Remove from heat. Add parm. to taste and ENJOY!!!

Next time I'll share with you my sweet potato whole wheat gnocchi :)

New Year

Last Friday was a particularly exciting day as it was the first paycheck Prof. Hubs received from the institution that employs him. You see, he hadn't been paid since JUNE so July, August, and September were all somewhat tight but we did it by combining the moneys from my various incomes, some wedding gifts, and to quote Somerset Maugham: "an iron will and the grace of God." As one can imagine, a paycheck was a WONDERFUL way to begin the weekend.

On Saturday, Prof. Hubs and I made one of our great exodi to a nearby city in order to purchase vittels from Trader joe's and a few clothing items as the cold weather makes its way to Midwestia. I awoke that day with a strange anticipation for the shopping. After a leisurely breakfast which included some coffee brewed with cinnamon, we began our excursion. (Note: I am not a coffee drinker anymore. I quit coffee after an intense relationship with it during my time in Paris where I consumed around 8 espresso shots a day and wondered why I had insomnia and jitters.) About a half hour after I ingested the coffee I felt like I was on drugs. Seriously scary drugs. I had a meltdown during the shopping. It was a really UN fun time. No more coffee for me...which is too bad. It's so tasty. Especially when brewed with a bit of cinnamon...

In spite of my bad coffee 'trip' we picked up some excellent treats at Trader Joe's. And from these treats I whipped up this comforting and delicious Arroz con Pollo (chicken with rice) which you can make extra healthy using brown rice.

(NOTE: if using brown rice, do NOT try to cook it in the chicken stew as with white rice. Cook it in a separate pot with some chicken broth and then add it to the chicken stew about 15 minutes before serving. Brown rice will not cook up properly in this recipe if used like white rice.)

ARROZ CON POLLO

based on a recipe from Food and Wine

INGREDIENTS

1. 1 tablespoon olive oil
2. 4 chicken thighs
3. 4 chicken drumsticks
4. 2 tsp paprika mixed into 1 cup of flour for dredging
5. 1 tsp oregano
6. a few shakes tabasco
7. 2 teaspoons salt
8. 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
9. 1 small onion, chopped
10. 3 cloves garlic, minced
11. 1 red bell pepper, chopped
12. 1 green bell pepper, chopped
13. 1 3/4 cups canned tomatoes, drained and chopped
14. 1 tablespoon tomato paste
15. 2 cups canned low-sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
16. 1 cup white rice, (I like basmati)
17. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

18. DIRECTIONS

    1. In a large, deep frying pan, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture and season with 1/4 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Cook the chicken, turning, until well browned, about 8 minutes in all. Remove. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan.
    2. Reduce the heat to moderately low. Add the onion, oregano, and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to soften, about 2 minutes. Add the bell peppers and cook, stirring occasionally, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes longer.
    3. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, tabasco, broth, and the remaining 1 3/4 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the rice and add the chicken in an even layer. Simmer, partially covered, over moderately low heat until the chicken and rice are just done, 20 to 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley.