Murgh makhani and other Indian feats

Yesterday was an unexpectedly Indian kind of day.

Morning walk yielded this neighbor's artwork, a little early for Diwali, but maybe it's a welcome to visiting family. Stenciled chalk.

Then I followed through on a plan to make the fairly modern Indian dish, butter chicken, murgh makhani. It's rich with butter and cream, for me whole milk, and takes a bit of doing, not high-level skills, just time.

I followed the Bombay Chef on YouTube for this but had to adapt the ingredients to what I had. Instead of fresh tomatoes, tomato paste, big chunk, a la America's test kitchen where I first saw that substitution.

I didn't have crushed methi leaves, just the seeds (aka fenugreek) so I crushed a few of them. I did have all the spices, chili powder, garam masala, all that, why are you not surprised.

First you marinate, really rub, the chicken pieces in spices, leave a while, then make what I call the sauce, Indians call the gravy.  

This involves another slew of spices, garlic paste, I used minced fresh, ginger paste, I used minced fresh, tomatoes, I used paste, onions, he used shallots, butter galore, cream, whole milk for me, sugar,  malt vinegar, cashews, lengthy simmering, blend till smooth, add in the chicken now fried, and heat all over again, then taste. Wow. Worth the work. 

Container, minus one emergency helping for the cook in case there are no leftovers, now in the freezer, ready for next week's Handsome Son dinner Chez Mom. To be served over jasmine rice.

Later I went out with my spade to dig up that errant sedum I'd promised to my neighbor, Aditha. She instantly ran out to help and I explained it was for her anyway, so she and her husband happily transplanted it across to her side of the little front area. 

So it's now out of harm's way, too close to the sidewalk before, being trodden on by kids playing, threatened by landscapers edging.

Indian art, cooking and neighbors gardening, not a bad day.

Today I still have to eat, here cream of  tomato, chickpea, cashew.  Thai basil starting to grow again in the house, ready to garnish everything that gets within range.

Unhemmed napkin playing a finished one on this blog.

And Neighbor Gary is coming over to replace the ceiling light later. 

Later Textiles and Tea. All good.

Soup and salad served

 A large pot of soup happened last evening. Snow prep. So here's lunch today.  Tomato, many onions, chickpeas added after the blending. Tomato salad with just oil and vinegar, sea salt, black pepper. Ripened on the windowsill.

A very red lunch, tomatoes in every form.

Then another run at banana bread, only with banana, no adventures with pumpkin this time.  I just happened to have three ripe bananas, first time in many weeks.  One cup AP, half cup wholewheat pastry flour, golden raisins, crushed walnuts, fresh ginger chunks.

If it ever stops snowing, and neighbors help with digging out my car, some of this may find its way to their house. Right now, that's not for today.  Nobody has even tried to get out, except one hardy soul went somewhere, plowing through the dug snow.  I can't even get to my car, snow too deep.

 Dessert.  Pretty good, too. I like ginger in cake in little cubes like this.  I'm not a fan of prepping ginger for the freezer, but it lasts for ages, and I'm usually glad I did.

Post Holiday Nice Simple Food

After the lovely feasting of the last few days, with all kinds of extras just because, it was good to cook something simple today.  And Handsome Son may be over for dinner tomorrow, so he can have some, too. Thinking of seafood pasta for our main course, in fact it's marinating in lemon juice with lime slices right now, but this soup, with hot biscuits, will come before.

This is chickpea and tomato soup, with added yogurt whey, curry leaves, rosemary and some chicken broth.  Very easy to make, no chopping of onions, even.  And not long either.  We are at the time of year when I have no more farm tomatoes, and use canned ones, since the tomatoid objects in the "fresh" food section are not really worth it.

The hot biscuits, this time with fennel seeds added in, waiting to bake, are a good partner for the soup.

So here's today's lunch


I did have a bit of chocolate for dessert.  Just to finish it off, neatly.

Food again!

Getting back to normal health, and food has reappeared in my kitchen.

Here is a weird dish, the kind of thing it's best to live alone to cook, no need for comments from roommates (!) which consists of what was originally going to be sausage and mash, Vienna sausage, that is, and potato flakes.  Not enough energy for more elaborate food prep, aside from wrist still out of action which precludes a lot of things such as peeling, chopping, etc.  

Anyway, turns out there wasn't enough in the potato flake box, after I'd boiled the milk, always make it with all milk, so I added in some orzo, and here's the second day result, using up the leftovers.  Few chunks of sharp cheddar on top, and finished it in the oven.  I heart my cast iron pans now developing a great nonstick surface and making wonderful crisp outside to this kind of dish. Top pic shows the start, before the cheese began to melt in.

 Second picture shows right before it went into the oven.  You'll see a lovely crust developing underneath it.  It made a very interesting meal, despite the unpromising start.  Ketchup on the side.

Then my dear friend G. came over a couple of days ago with my regular supply of curry leaves, along with a great helping of some spicy veggie dish of her own cooking, which vanished before I took pix, oh well, and I have to tell you that since she's introduced me to them some months ago, curry leaves are now my secret weapon.

Any place you might use a bay leaf for flavoring, I use curry leaves, a sprig of them.  The flavor is wonderful, deep, interesting in vegetable dishes, no wonder vegetarian G uses it a lot.  Kardi Patta in Hindi, in case you have a local store where you might find them.  G. always gives me them since the smallest quantity they come in is too large for her small family, but works for both of us.

So here's the fastest soup in the world, perfect for a day, of which I've had a few lately, where you just can't be pestered to cook seriously.  I use very few canned goods, but in winter I do get diced tomatoes, not worth using those red bullets in the stores, and I do like canned chickpeas, though I  cook them from scratch when I remember the day before I need them.

Anyway, rinse the chickpeas very very well, add one can chick and one can tomatoes to pot, rest a twig of curry leaves on top, heat to boiling, turn to simmer and let it do that for a while, to let the curry leaves work.  I happened, this is unusual, to have some Swiss Knorr chicken bouillon cube things, and crumbled part of one of them in, with about a cup of water at the outset. 

Then after it's simmered for a while, remove about half the soup, blend and return it to the pot. You take out the curry leaves and discard them before serving, and this makes a really good soup.  Thick enough to be interesting, but with whole dice and chickpeas in it for nice texture.  Enough for two days for one person. Highly recommended. 

And when I don't put in the chicken bouillon, this is a soup I can share with G. who is a religious vegetarian, very careful about it.  I like in winter to leave her a little pot of homemade soup to come home to after her brutal commute, so she can have an instant hot meal, and share with husband R.  Just a little friendship thing.