Sunday, 6 March 2011
Watch me making chai from scratch on CTV.
Do any of you watch The Big Bang Theory? We do, and we are all addicted to the show, even Aditi. She can sing the whole theme song, including the autotrophs drooling and the neanderthals developing tools (The Barenaked Ladies would be so proud!). Anyway, I digress. The reason I brought up the show is because, if you've watched it, you'll know that one of the favourite pastimes of the boys is teasing the staff at the Apple store. Well, one of my favourite things is to tease the wait staff at coffee shops here when they ask me if I want 'chai tea'... I tell them they've just asked me if I want 'tea tea', as the word 'chai' basically just means 'tea' in Hindi (and assorted Indian languages)
Tea. The ultimate comfort drink, anytime day or night. Well beloved of the English and all over the world, including China and India. The variations in the way people drink tea is amazing, each region having their own twists and traditions. The Chinese like it light, the English love their 'builder's tea', the Japanese have an entire ritual around it, and the Indians... well, we love our tea stewed to death with spices and sugary enough that it could be classed as a dessert. Kim at Jhovaan has a really interesting post here on Badawi Shai or Bedouin Tea.
I read this article in Maclean's the other day and had a bit of a snigger at it. Tea snobs, for example, or this whole thing of serving masala chai in 'silence'. I get that people don't want to be disturbed by others yakking away on mobiles, but the whole snobbery around masala chai did bring about some snorts of laughter. Laughter, because,
a) India is probably the least quiet of any country in the world and
b) Chai is one of the basic necessities of Indian life, so to be snobbish about it is actually laughable.
Another example from the article '“They” are the growing minority of masala chai snobs. “The demand for better masala chai can be explained by what happened to yoga,” noted Venk Prabhu, owner of Shanti Tea...“People realized that yoga was more than just exercise. They realized, ‘Hey, we’re only doing part of the practice. We want to be purists.’ Same goes for chai.” (Maclean's 2011)
Errrr, what??
The killer line for me was '“We learned that chai is all about having that Zen moment and lingering. Customers acquire a more sophisticated palate and aspire to another level.” (Maclean's 2011)
This is the point I totally lost it, and fell over laughing!! Zen in a cup of chai? Aspiring to a higher level? Of what? I would imagine the chaiwallahs in India would have a really good laugh at that too.
Anyway, the article did push me write this post on chai. Now, masala chai, like curry powder has no one recipe. So to claim that my recipe is authentic will be arrogant and erroneous. What I will say though, is that this is a recipe that is perfected by me, and has been enjoyed by my family. Everyone in India (and the world, including Starbucks) will claim that their chai recipe is the best, and it could very well be the truth (don't know about the Starbucks version though!) But the whole point of chai, is that it will always be as individual as the person preparing it.
It could be as easy as throwing some cardamom and ginger into a cup of black tea and swirling in lots of milk and sugar. Or you could, as in the Maclean's article, spend an entire day stirring a pot of chai. Either way, you adapt the recipe to suit your taste and spice cupboard.
I will, however, make the extravagant claim that nothing beats the taste of freshly brewed chai, with those lovely spicy hints, and warm memories of cold winter's days in Delhi, sitting around in dhabas, debating politics :-) Betcha not even that Montreal teashop can top that!
(Printable Recipe)
1 tsp whole green cardamoms
1 tsp whole cloves
1 or 2 inch piece of cinnamon
3 - 4 petals of a star anise
½ tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
½ inch piece of ginger, crushed
Around 4 tsp of loose strong black tea (or 2 black teabags)
Boiling water
Milk and sugar to taste
Method:
Take the seeds out of the cardamom pods. In a mortar and pestle, crush all the spices coarsely. Don't worry about getting them into a fine powder.
Mix the loose tea (or teabag) and the spices in a teapot. Add the ginger and just boiled water and let it steep for at least 3 - 5 minutes. The tea will be quite strong, so if you prefer a lighter tea without milk, then steep for only 2 minutes.
Strain the tea into mugs or teacups, add milk and sugar to taste, and serve.
Thursday, 3 March 2011
You know how sometimes you have an 'aha' moment? Well, I had one of these moments recently. It came upon me when I checked out the March challenge for 'We Should Cocoa' hosted by Chele of the Chocolate Teapot. The special ingredient for the challenge was lime. Now I am not a huge fan of citrus, but somehow absolutely love limes. Perhaps its the memories of our lime tree back home in Mangalore, with all its fragrant associations and its hundreds of fresh green fruits (And no, I am not exaggerating, that little tree really did produce hundreds of limes, year after year). And of fresh lime soda, a staple cool drink that took away the mugginess of the Indian summer. Or, of the amazing taste of Mary Berry's key lime pie that I first made back in England. Well, whatever the reasons, as soon as I read the word 'lime' I knew exactly what I was going to make for this challenge.
Actually, come to think of it, the theme also reminded me of my very first appearance on MasterChef UK. Along with the other six contestants, I was sitting outside the studio, waiting for the show to kick off with the box of mystery ingredients, our very first challenge. We were all, understandably, nervous, and people kept batting around ideas as to what would be in that mystery box. I was getting quite worried, but suddenly I thought of my mum's mince cutlets. I honestly have no idea why they came to mind, but they did. And guess what? As we entered the kitchen, and were given our first glimpse of the box, I was astounded to see that the box had almost every single ingredient to make those cutlets. It was my very first culinary 'aha' moment. I made those cutlets, and got rave reviews from the judges, and thus, passed the first test of the MC kitchen. The rest, well, that is all well documented, isn't it :-)
That 'aha' moment, at Chele's lime challenge inspired me to make this absolutely delightful key lime pie, that is really so simple to make, but looks as if you've slaved over it all day. The recipe has been adapted from Mary Berry's 'Foolproof Cakes'. It looks like Nigella Lawson has a similar recipe too, but mine has been worked out using Mary's recipe with my own additions. I also reworked the measures into cups, so I could make it easier for myself.
It being awards season, I should say a big thank you to 'We Should Cocoa' and some of the other blog events like Dom's Random Recipe Challenge, Jacqueline's Slow Cooking Challenge that I have been taking part in. They have made a huge difference to my blogging style. Whereas previously I was a slapdash cook, and an equally slapdash blogger, nowadays I put great thought into my dishes, actually writing out the recipes as I modify them, making a big effort with the presentation, the photography and the style of writing, as well as thinking much harder about how to blog them. I have been known, for the past few months, to bore my husband silly with new ideas for the blog and how to fit them all in. To his credit, Kay has been quite supportive, and recently has even been talking about getting my very first DSLR (totally can't wait for it, yayy) And of course both Kay and Aditi are big fans of the actual dishes, so its not like they get nothing out of it :-)
So anyway, here is the recipe for a totally scrumptious pie. I experimented quite heavily with the basic recipe, and I am quite pleased to report that, unlike some of my other culinary experiments, this one was a complete success. The dark chocolate crust adds a layer of complexity, as well as a hint of bitterness to the otherwise super sweet pie. The filling is creamy and decadent, but with a bright, clean flavour of lime that works really well with the chocolate. It doesn't need baking, which makes it the perfect make ahead dessert, and its a beautifully subtle palate cleanser after a heavy meal. In two words, absolutely perfect!
Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)
Makes one 9 inch pie or two 4 inch mini pies
For the crust:
150g ginger digestive biscuits (I used McVities Ginger Nuts) or you can use a plain digestive instead
5 - 6 tbsp butter (75 g)
2 tbsp cocoa
½ tsp ground ginger (opt)
¼ cup sugar
2 squares grated dark chocolate
For the filling:
Juice of 5 limes + zest of 1 (if using key limes, which are smaller, use 7)
1½ cups sweetened condensed milk (400 ml)
1 cup heavy cream (250 ml)
To decorate:
100 ml whipping cream
25g white chocolate
Method:
Crush the biscuits into fine crumbs.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the crushed biscuits, cocoa, ginger (if using) and the dark chocolate. Stir together until well mixed.
Grease a springform cake tin (or 2 mini tins), and pour in the biscuit-chocolate mixture. Using the back of a spoon, form a crust, bringing it up the sides, and pressing quite firmly into the tin. Chill in a fridge for at least one hour.
To make the filling, whisk together the heavy cream and the condensed milk until well combined. Add the lime juice, and whisk well. You will notice that the mixture stiffens up nicely when you add the juice.
Take out the prepared crust from the fridge, and gently pour in the filling leaving a little space at the top. Put back in the fridge, and chill well, if possible overnight.
Just before serving, whip the whipping cream till it forms soft peaks. Spread on top of the chilled pie. Grate the white chocolate and zest the reserved lime on top of the pie, and very gently unmould from the tin to serve.
Wednesday, 2 March 2011
One of my most memorable dishes is a very simple chickpea and spinach stew that a friend made for us back in Terrace. Our friend, lets call him DS, is always super busy, being a very well respected and loved doctor in the community. As our families are quite close, we get invited over to dinner to his whenever we go to Terrace to visit. DS owns a slow cooker, and he almost always makes a dish in it that is perfectly cooked, and beautifully spiced.
I remembered that particular dish when Jacqueline over at Tinned Tomatoes challenged us to come up with a dish for the slow cooker. Now, unfortunately, I don't have a slow cooker (now added to the ever growing list of appliances that I really really need), but as Jacqueline says, the dish doesn't really have to be cooked in a slow cooker, just be suitable for it.
I looked all over for that particular recipe of DS's, but had no luck. I called MIL who figured that DS must have got it from one of his numerous slow cooker cookery books, but of course, I couldn't particularly ask him to remember a dish he'd served me over five years ago :-) So I decided I would try and recreate the taste myself.
I had some help from a Canadian Living recipe, but I adapted it quite heavily, in addition to making my own Madras Curry Powder. In the end, I was thrilled to discover that the stew tasted very much like that long remembered taste of DS's stew. It was mild enough that Aditi (who is usually quite wary of spicy food... yes, this is my daughter!) scoffed a whole lot, and asked for seconds. But it was flavourful enough for me and Kay, who is usually quite particular about his stews. The addition of all the lovely veggies made it very nutritious, and if you skip the coconut milk, its beautifully healthy too.
What more can you ask of dinner, pray tell?
Recipe:
(Printable Recipe)
1 small butternut squash, cubed
2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
A big handful of fresh spinach, washed and torn roughly
1 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
2 fat garlic cloves, microplaned or smushed to a paste
2 tbsp Madras Curry Powder (if using store bought, use the mild variety)
3 - 4 tbsp tomato paste
400 ml hot vegetable stock
Around 100 ml light coconut milk (optional)
Salt to taste
Method:
(I will give the method I used to make the stew first, then the slow cooker method)
1. In a big pot, heat the oil on a medium heat, and add the diced onion. Fry for 3 - 4 minutes, until the raw smell disappears, then add the ginger and garlic. Sauté for an additional minute.
2. Add the curry powder and the tomato paste, and fry together for 5 - 7 minutes, adding a teeny dash of water if the mixture is too dry.
3. Add the cubed squash, potatoes to the onion mixture. Stir, then add the hot vegetable stock. Simmer for 5 -6 minutes, then add the drained chickpeas. Stir everything together, and leave to simmer on a low heat for 10 - 15 minutes, or until the potatoes and squash are tender.
4. Season to taste.
5. Stir in the spinach, and cook for a few minutes, until the spinach wilts.
6. Swirl in the coconut milk just before serving.
7. Serve with rice or any Indian bread.
Slow Cooker Method:
Follow steps 1 and 2 in a heavy pan instead of a pot. Place the cubed squash, potatoes and chickpeas in the slow cooker. Add the onion-tomato mixture and the stock. Stir together, then cook on its lowest setting for roughly 4 hours. Open the cooker and stir in the spinach. Cook an additional 5 minutes. Season to taste. Swirl in the coconut milk just before serving.
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