In an attempt to cook more seafood, ML and I have come up with a list of dishes we love and want to make and will slowly work down that list (more to come on this later). Our first dish was a paella of course. It is said that paella originated in the farms as a means of cook large amounts of rice in one go for the farmers. As this dish grew in popularity so did the ingredients change. Over the years as this recipe got adopted by people near the Mediterranean cost, the proteins that went into this dish changed from rabbit, snails, duck to include more seafood.

Here is an amazing recipe for seafood paella that can be cooked up in under an hour and much to the chagrin of your local Spanish restaurant owner.

Serves 5-6

Pre-heat the oven to 450° F. Take 1/2 lb of peeled and deveined shrimp, 1/3 lb of scallops and 1/2 lb of calamari (chopped into 1/2″ wide pieces) into a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 2-3 minced cloves of garlic, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/4 teaspoon of pepper and mix well. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator for later.

If you do not have a paella pan (14-15″ shallow skillet), no worries as you can use a large Dutch oven instead. Cut up a red bell pepper into longitudinal slices about 1/4-1/2″ in width. Heat 2 teaspoons of olive oil in the Dutch oven and toss the cut bell pepper into the pot. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the skin is peeling and is slightly black. Remove from the pot and set aside. We will add this the paella at th end.

Chop up an 8 oz. chorizo into 1/4″ slices. You can chop them on the bias (diagonally at a sharp angle) for a larger surface area and even cooking. Toss the cut chorizo into the pan on medium heat for 4-5 minutes. Once the chorizo is dark brown and the fat has been rendered, remove from the pot and set aside.

Next we’ll make the Sofrito, which is the aromatic combination of tomatoes, garlic and onions cooked to a paste that serves as the base of the paella. Using the same oil from the chorizo, toss in 1 cup of chopped onions and heat on medium heat for 3-4 minutes. While the onions cook, drain a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer or lining a pasta strainer with paper towels. Squeeze out as much water as you can. Toss in 7-8 minced cloves of garlic and stir for a minute. Add in the strained diced tomatoes and cook uncovered for 4-5 minutes.

To the dutch oven, add in 2 cups of rice. A short grain rice works better as they are more absorbent, such as Italian arborio. Allow the rice to soak in the sofrito for 4-5 minutes. Once the rice has absorbed some of the aromatics, mix in 3 cups of chicken broth, 1/3 cup of dry white wine, 1-2 bay leaves, 1/4 teaspoon of salt and 1-2 strand of saffron if you have (these are expensive and hard to come by but are worth it for the aroma they create). Add in the chorizo to the pot. Bring the mix to a boil and then cover and place the pot into the oven for 15 minutes.

Remove the pot from the oven, uncover and toss in the seafood medley we made earlier. Mix in well with the rice. Even out the rice in the pot and add in a dozen mussels seam-side down so that they cook from the inside with the heat from the rice. Add in the strips of red bell pepper. Cover and place the pot back into the oven for another 15-20 minutes until seafood cooks and rice absorbs all the liquid.

Remove from the oven and let the paella sit covered for 5 minutes. Check all mussels have opened up, discarding those that haven’t. Serve in a bowl with freshly chopped parsley and a wedge of lime.

Toss in 4 cups of chopped baby portabella mushrooms. Mix the spices with the mushrooms well. Cook until the mushrooms have softened. Add a half cup of thawed frozen peas and stir until peas have cooked. Sprinkle some salt for taste and serve hot.

You can also replace and/or add potatoes to this recipe. To do so, chop up 2 large potatoes into cubes and add to the skillet with the onions. Make sure the potatoes are cooked (soft) before adding the peas and mushrooms.

A while back I had posted a recipe for Indian chicken curry but realized that I was missing a key step in the process. The step thats required before you cook the chicken in the spices is to create a strong concentrate of spices, tomato sauce, onions, garlic and ginger (see the second image above) – almost a paste like consistency. This is a key step in any Indian curry and is a base for a plethora of Indian dishes. The base of this paste could vary, either tomato based, or yogurt based but the process is the same.

Tomato curry base

Heat up some vegetable or canola oil in a large 12″ skillet. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds, 3-4 large peppercorns, and 2 bay leaves until just brown. Add a medium minced red onion, with a sprinkle of salt. Cook the onions until they are brown (3-4 minutes). Add in 3-4 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of crushed/chopped ginger, 2 teaspoon of garam masala, 1 teaspoon of ground coriander, and 1 teaspoon of turmeric. Mix the spices well on medium-high heat in the spices and let them cook until they are brown and mushy. Add a 2 tablespoons of tomato paste and continue to cook the onions-garlic-ginger paste until reduced to a pulp (see second picture above). This paste-like concentrate is key to any curry that you make. Put heat on medium-

Potatoes

Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and sprinkle in some salt. Add 2 medium sized potatoes to the pot and cook. Remove the potatoes a few minutes before they are done.

Chicken

Pat dry a pound of bone-in chicken breasts and/or legs and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Once the curry base is ready, place the chicken in the skillet. Add a 1/2 cup of water to the skillet and cook the chicken until you are unable to see any pink on the top (add more water if curry starts to dry). Add in 2 cups of water along with the potatoes and cover. Let the chicken cook completely (about 20-25 minutes). Garnish with some freshly chopped cilantro.

Serve over rice.

This curry base can be used to cook tofu/paneer, or any other meat (lamb, beef) and vegetables.

This is a hearty & healthy recipe from Eastern Europe I learned from a good family friend, Julia. According to wikipedia,

Kasha is a cereal commonly eaten in Eastern Europe. In English, kasha generally refers to buckwheat groats, but in Slavic countries, kasha refers to porridge in general and can be made from any cereal, especially buckwheat, wheat, barley, oats, and rye. At least a thousand years old, kasha is one of the oldest known dishes in the Slavic cuisines of the Eastern European cuisine.^[1]

Serves: 2

The Kasha

Boil one cup of the buckwheat groats in 2 cups of chicken broth. Add a little olive oil to the pot while the grains are boiling. Once the water is boiling, turn the heat to low and let the buckwheat cook for 10-12 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

The Salmon

While the kasha cooks, remove the skin from .5 lbs of salmon fillets and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with a splash of olive oil and add the fillet to the pan. Cook salmon until just done on both sides. Remove from the skillet and cut into cubes.

The vegetables

Finely chop up half a shallot, a couple cloves of garlic, and slice half a cup of mushrooms. Using the same skillet to cook the salmon, add a tablespoon more of olive oil and heat. Once the pan is hot again, toss in the chopped shallots and cook till lightly brown. Add the garlic, mushrooms and a half cup of frozen peas and carrots to the pan. Sprinkle some salt and let the vegetables cook for about 5-10 minutes.

Once the vegetables have cooked, mix the kasha with the salmon and vegetables in a bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve.

Recommended wine pairing: Riesling

Making my first trip to the farmers market by Grand Army Plaza this year, I picked up some fresh mackerel from the fish stand. Mackerel is the type of fish you want to get as fresh as possible since it has a poor shelf life. Now I usually cook this very flavorful fish in a very minimal way – sprinkle some salt and pepper, sear in a pan and serve with a wedge of lemon. Today however, I came across this recipe from Mark Bittman and decided to give it a go.

Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sake or dry (fino) sherry
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
5 or 6 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 or 4 crushed garlic cloves
4 mackerel fillets, about 1 pound total, skin on
Cooked white rice for serving
Chopped scallions for garnish

Method

1. In a 12-inch skillet with a cover, mix together all ingredients except fish, rice and scallions. Add 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, uncovered.

2. Add fish skin-side down and simmer until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (You can hasten cooking a bit by covering pan, but it is not necessary.) Spoon a fillet and some sauce onto a mound of white rice; garnish and serve.

via Recipe of the Day: Mackerel Fillets – Bitten Blog – NYTimes.com.

The sauce is quite delicious by itself and a good accompaniment to the rice. Sprinkling a few drops of lime adds a nice tang to the sauce.

I’ve been on a bit of an Indian cooking spree lately (partly to prove to ML that I can indeed cook indian food). Here is another well known north indian dish that you usually see in restaurants served with paneer. I’ve tried this before with extra-firm tofu, but its even better with chicken (and a little light cream).

Serves 2 (Time: 30 minutes):

To cook the chicken first, take a small skillet and add about half a tablespoon of olive oil and place on medium high heat. Generously season 1/3-1/2 lb of chicken breast (boneless & skinless) with Adobo and garam masala. Once the pan is hot, toss the chicken breast in and brown on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side). Remove from heat – don’t worry if its not completely cooked – and chop up into 1″ pieces and place aside.

To cook the spinach, start by pouring about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet and place on a medium-high heat. Mince a couple cloves of garlic and ginger enough to yield about a tablespoon each and toss into the skillet once the oil has heated. As the garlic starts to brown, bring the heat down to medium and add about 2 tablespoons of garam masala and a tablespoon of red chili powder (more or less depending on your spice preference). Mix in the skillet for a few seconds and then add 3/4 lbs of spinach leaves (chopped before hand into roughly 1″ chunks). Constantly stir the spinach as it starts to wilt. Once the spinach has wilted, add in about 1 cup of plain yogurt along with 1/2 cup of light cream. Add a pinch of salt and let the contents of the skillet continue to cook as the water from the spinach evaporates. After a couple minutes, add in the chicken (with any juices that its collected) and let the entire dish cook for another few minutes until most of the water from the spinach has evaporated and your left with a creamy spinach puree. Adjust seasoning to your preference and serve with rice or naan.

This is one of my favorite Indian dishes (fried potatoes in a lot of spices) that you can get at most roadside restaurants and stalls in New Delhi and will almost never let you down (what happens later to your gastrointestinal tract is another story). Traditionally, this is made by deep frying the potatoes in a vat of vegetable oil. However, in order to make it a bit cardiovascular friendly, I used extra virgin olive oil instead of regular vegetable oil and boiled the potatoes first so as to not have to let them sit in oil for too long. The recipe requires chaat masala which can be found at any Indian grocery store or a place that sells Asian spices. This is a pretty handy spice to have around as you can use it to make a lot of different Indian dishes (I’ll post a few more recipes that will use this spice in the near future) or goes great with raw fruits like mangoes and guavas.

Serves 2-3 (cooking time approx. 20 minutes):

Boil 2-3 large russet potatoes in water with a pinch of salt. As the potatoes are cooking, pour about 1/8″ of extra virgin olive oil (just a small layer enough to cook the potatoes one surface at a time) in a 12″ skillet and put on medium heat. Remove the potatoes before they are completely cooked, about 8-10 minutes (you don’t want them to be mushy when you add them to the skillet) and cut them up into 1/4″ cubes.

Once the skillet starts to smoke, toss in half a teaspoon of whole cumin seeds (this provide a strong cumin flavor to the oil that can’t be accomplished by cumin powder). Add half the potatoes into the skillet (carefully as hot oil tends to splatter), along with a teaspoon of chaat masala and a teaspoon of cumin powder. You can also had a pinch of red pepper powder to give it an extra kick. Let the potatoes cook in the skillet with the medley of spices. Once the potatoes start to brown, remove them from the skillet and place in a serving dish. Repeat the same with the second batch. Add salt to taste and garnish with some chopped cilantro.

]]> http://blog.nihaargupta.com/2009/10/north-indian-potatoes-or-aloo-chaat/feed/ 1 http://blog.nihaargupta.com/2009/10/egg-noodles-with-ground-turkey-in-a-creamy-mushroom-sauce/ http://blog.nihaargupta.com/2009/10/egg-noodles-with-ground-turkey-in-a-creamy-mushroom-sauce/#comments Tue, 20 Oct 2009 00:56:52 +0000 nihaar http://blog.nihaargupta.com/?p=598

It’s been a while since I posted a recipe here last as I have not been cooking much lately. Recently however I have started to dine in more often and hopefully that will result in more recipes on this blog.

Last night, in the mood for some home cooked pasta, I thought of using up some ground turkey lying in the freezer and making some pasta with meat sauce. Much to my chagrin however, I realized I was out of pasta sauce and had to improvise. Surprisingly enough, what came out was quite delicious.

Serves 2:

To cook the egg noodles (about 2 cups), take a large pot and fill it half way with water. Add a pinch of salt, place on high heat and bring to boil. Once the water starts to boil, add in the egg noodles. In the mean time heat up a half a teaspoon of olive oil in a 12″ skillet until hot. Finely chop half a small white onion and a clove of garlic and add it to the skillet. Allow the onions and garlic to brown for a couple of minutes. Season half a pound of ground turkey with Adobo seasoning and add to the skillet. As the turkey cooks, chop up a large portabella mushroom cap into half in cubes toss into the skillet to cook for another 2-3 minutes.

As the mushrooms, turkey and onions cook, add half a cup of chicken broth and bring to a boil. Turn the heat to low and add a tablespoon of cream cheese and a teaspoon to thyme. Stir well so that the cream cheese dissolves. Once the cream cheese has dissolved, take a tablespoon of water in a cup and mix  thoroughly with a teaspoon of corn starch. Add the mixture to the skillet and let simmer.

Strain the water from the cooked egg noodles and add them to the skillet. Simmer for a couple of minutes longer and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot.

This is one of my favorite dishes growing up that my mom usually reserves for when she is having people over for dinner. Having asked her for the recipe a while back, I finally decided to give it a try and now wonder why I haven’t made this before.

Serves 2:

Preparation time: 40 minutes

In a large bowl, take a 1.5 lbs of skinless chicken breasts and toss them with 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, and a teaspoon of salt. Let the chicken marinade in the yogurt for about 10-15 minutes.

While the chicken is marinading, finely chop one red onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic as well as 2 large russet potatoes into 1/2″ pieces. Heat up a 12″ skillet with a tablespoon of vegetable oil. As the oil begins to smoke, toss in the onions and add a teaspoon of salt, two teaspoons of garam masala, a teaspoon of coriander powder, and a pinch of red pepper (or more depending on your spice preference). Let the onion brown for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat and add in the and garlic along with a tablespoon of minced ginger, 2-3 bay leaves and a couple of cloves (if you have them).

Add the chopped red potatoes and the marinaded chicken breasts into the skillet with the aromatics. Cover and let it simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Once the chicken and potatoes are cooked, add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with rice or naan.

Here’s another great clean-out-the-fridge recipe that’s both nutritious and comforting. Having a lot of various vegetables left over from a recent BBQ, I thought of throwing them all together in a one-pot chicken and rice dish. So without further adieu, here’s the recipe:

Serves 4:

Heat up a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a dutch oven on high heat. While the pot heats, take about 1 lb of boneless and skinless chicken breasts and season them with salt and pepper. Once the pot starts to smoke, toss the chicken breasts in and let cook for about 4-5 minutes on each side. While the chicken cooks, chop up about half of a large red onion, a few cloves of garlic (to taste), a handful of baby portabella mushrooms and some ginger (approx a tablespoon’s worth).

Once the chicken is seared on both sides, remove it from the pot and place on a plate to the side. On a low-medium heat, add another tablespoon of vegetable oil and toss in the chopped aromatics, mushrooms and half a teaspoon of salt. Once the onions become translucent (approx 8-10 minutes) add in a cup and a half of long-grain rice. Also add a tablespoon of cumin and half a teaspoon of ground red pepper to give the dish additional depth. Mix the rice well with the pot and let it absorb the flavor for about 3 minutes. Pour 3 cups of chicken broth  into the pot and bring to a simmer. Cover and let the rice cook for about 10-12 minutes on low heat.

Add the chicken back into the pot, along with a can of chickpeas (rinsed), a cup of chopped tomatoes and 2-3 tablespoons of chopped cilantro. Let everything cook for another 5-7 minutes while stirring periodically. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.