Hint of mint salmon

Boy last night was I exhausted. I was up way way too late on Saturday, just doing this and that and the next day I had promised the kids I would take them to the zoo. Come 7:30am, I was buddled in bed - just way way to early

for me on a Sunday. I really wanted to bail out, my responsible other half reminded me how disappointed the kids would be. I finally agreed! The Bronx zoo, if you have not visited it is really a wonderful place to be. Just has an awful and overpriced cafeteria! I understand people do not go to the zoo to eat. Well, by 4pm, we were all exhausted. All except Dad took a nap in the car. I came in and whipped up a really quick dinner. I was too tired to even take proper pictures. I made salmon with a really simple horseradish and mint dressing. Did I tell you that I cannot live without my food processor? I served this on cous-cous. Which actually was on the list to make for a while, ever since Deepta heard that her Dad had some for lunch, she is convinced it is the thing to eat! She likes the name - here is my fish.
Hint of mint salmon
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves 3-4 (it works for our family of 2 grown-ups and 2 kids)
Ingredients
1 small red onion
1 large piece of peeled ginger
1/3 cup prepared horseradish
1/3 cup mint chutney
2 dried red chillies
Salt to taste
1 lbs sock-eye salmon
1/3 cup olive oil
Lime or lemon slices
Method of preparation
1. Process the onion, ginger, horseradish, chillies and salt into a smooth puree.
2. Apply this on the salmon and set aside for 5-7 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in a skillet. Place the salmon on a single layer and cook for about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Serve immediately, garnished with lime.
Deepta's Arabian Cous-Cous (Hey you have to learn to sell!)
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 cup tri-colored couscous
1/2 tablespoon salted butter
1/3 cup orange juice
1.5 cups of water
2 tablespoons organic dried cranberries
2 tablespoons chopped pecans
Additional salt if needed.
Method of Preparation
1. Place all the ingredients in a rice cooker and stir lightly and let this cook till done.
2. In 15 minutes, you get soft fluffy couscous.
Dinner in 30 minutes!
I am sending this to Indrani and Appayan, who is hosting a really neat event spotlighting fish.

Modak - Rice dumplings stuffed with coconut

I want to play too, I kept thinking everytime I saw the Indian Cooking Challenge I wanted to join however I was concerned about whether I would be able to do the posts on time. However at the end of the day, the temptation and inspiration to cook authentic traditional dishes got the better of me. I joined in a couple of weeks back, and decided to start with Modak.

I have often looked at the descriptions of these lovely rice flour dumplings stuffed with rich and gooey coconut but never been brave enough to try them. I made them following the recipe from mints on the website completely. This itself is a challenge for me not to try and improvise. I made this is with quite a bit of trepidation, but honestly this turned out very well. The first few modaks had slightly more covering that needed, but after shaping a couple I got the hang of this. As I see the other pictures, I shall get a better idea of how to shape them. The recipe is as follows.

Modak from Mints

Ingredients Needed

For the Stuffing -2 cups freshly grated coconut (she says you can use frozen unsweetened coconut - that is what I used)

1 cup jaggery (grated)

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1 tsp cardamom powder

one pinch nutmeg (optional)

2 tbsp water (her mom uses milk, I did that too)

For the outer layer or Cover -

1 cup rice flour

1.25 cup water

pinch of salt

1 tbsp oil

Method for preparing the Stuffing

Roast the poppy seeds in a small skillet and let it cool down. Grind it coarsely and keep it aside. In a heavy bottom pan, take add the grated jaggary, and the milk and melt. Add in the grated coconut. Keep stirring so that it does get burnt in the bottom.In about 5 -7 mins you will see the mixture getting solid, at this stage add the cardamom powder (I did not use nutmeg).

When you see the mixture turning yellowish, more like golden and sticking to the sides, you can turn off the flame add the poppy seeds powder, mix well and set it aside to cool down.

Method for preparing the outer cover

I used a pressure cooker container for this. Start boiling water and add the salt and oil.When water starts boiling, lower the heat and slowly add rice flour. The flour needs to be added gradually however the overall process is quite speedy. The end result here is a snowy smooth mixture.

Now close the lid and take the pot off the heat. Let the covered pot cool down for 15 minutes or so. At this point the dough needs to be further kneaded, I used my hands for this, but it is soft enough to use a mixing spoon. 1-2 tablespoons of flour can be added to make this more manageable, but actually the rice flour worked fine.

Making the Modak

For making the Modak divide the dough into 20 balls and the stuffing into equal size of 20 balls. These modaks need to be shaped closer to a garlic, my look like fat macaroons. You actually get moulds for these. Shape the rice flour mixture like a kachori, and place the coconut filling inside it. Cover and seal.

They get placed in a steamer and steamed for about 15 minutes. After that they are left to settle as is for 5-10 minutes. These are traditionally eaten with ghee. I was so curious to try them, I had them immediately.

Onion Ribbons

I have been a little troubled today with the news about Senator Kennedy, it somehow feels that the past few weeks have generally had sad news in the public sphere. It really did not help to hear that my son had "hit" a teacher in pre-school. What would possess this kid and why would he do this. I am not sure how to grapple or deal with such strange behaviour. I generally kept myself busy in the kitchen. I did what I always do, fuss around with food. I had these round Texas onions that I wanted to grill. These are different from the normal red onions that I get. I cut them into thick slices and then without realizing I separated a ring. I was quite surprised at the delicate texture, the red or yellow onion is denser. Without realizing, I did a few more and then proceeded to complete the exercise. I ended up with a cutting board full of onion ribbons. I drizzled these lightly with balsamic vinegar before grilling these ribbons and served them for dinner with shrimp.

I am sending this as an entry for Click a monthly photography event hosted over at Jugalbandi.

White lentils with beetgreens

When you work with beets, you also get plenty of beet greens. And when life gives you beet greens - make lentils. I have to confess, for some strange reason over the past several weeks I have been finding several unusual uses for lentils. It just is not something I would think of using in a Pasta sauce. Don't get me wrong, lentils fuel the engine of this house. It is one of the sure work foods with my kids and actually for that matter the "man and his family". Lentils for an Indian child is much like the rice and beans in a spanish household. I tried them this time with white lentils (urad dal).

Beetgreens while having a mild taste do have a stunningly pretty appearance. I loved pulling these out of the soil, cleaning them and enjoying the colors while I worked with them. Lentils are always a comforting dish for me to cook, I love the quite simplicity of the end product.

Urad Dal with Beetgreens and Garlic

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

3/4 cup white lentils (urad dal)

2 tomatoes (coarsely chopped)

2 cups of chopped beet greens

2 cups of water

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon finely diced garlic

2 dried red chillies

1 lime

Method of Preparation

1. Place the lentils in a pressure cooker and turn on the heat. Lightly dry roast the lentils till they are very lightly browned.

2. Add the tomatoes, beet greens, water, turmeric and salt and cook under pressure for about 15 minutes.

3. Cool and remove the pressure.

4. Heat the ghee and the oil and add the cumin and the garlic and cook till the garlic is lightly browned. Add in the red chillies and cook for about 10 more seconds.

5. Pour this seasoned oil over the lentils and mix lightly. Squeeze in the lime juice and enjoy.

I am sending this entry to two events, the monthly my legume love affair hosted by the well seasoned cook and the chard challenge at daily musings.

Red Therapy

A plate full I can deal with, a food processorful is daily fare, but there has been much more than usual going on. I am reaching the end of something I have worked on for a while but am really loosing steam on the project.

Also, my son is getting to a new phase, we are trying to get him more independent for next year. It might seem long, but is not that much in the real scheme of things. Aadi and I don't deal with change well. I am really struggling with little things like not helping him with the t-shirt that both of us know he can handle by himself. I have a harder time being firm with him. In general, there is just too much going on, as with other things when I am stressed out I cook. Lately I have been blogging a little more than usual, oh well there are worse things that I could be doing.The beetroots and the beetgreens are quite normal this time of the year, but yesterday I stared at the latest batch like I had never seen them before. Well, if you really focus on the vivid color it is truly quite stunning - hence beetroot red. Well, I have to confess now that I put this in perspective I dont think anyone other than the beet can mimic this stunning color. So it really is not an apt expression but then again, neither is turning tomato red.

I decided to capitalize on the natural sweetness of the vegetable and made beetroot halwa. This is my first attempt at making this, I have for some reason just not done much with beets except roasting them. I loved the results. I used lowfat milk some sugar and clarified butter.

We ate this greedily for breakfast before we set off on a one-day trip to explore the valley. You shall hear about that later.

Beetroot Halwa

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients

6 small to medium sized beets

2 cups lowfat (2% milk)

3 cardamoms

1/2 cup sugar (adjust this to your taste)

2 tablespoons ghee

Toasted coconut to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Peel the beets and grate them in a food processor.

2. Place these in a heavy bottomed pan and pour the milk over the beets. The effect of the milk turning pink is quite dramatic.

3. Add in the cardamoms and cook the liquid on medium low heat stirring occasionally until the milk is almost evaporated, you can seed the beets again in clumbs with the thick liquid boiling away around the sides.

4. Add the sugar and continue cooking until all the liquid is evaporated.

5. Add the ghee and mix well the the mixture is a soft, dry glistening mass. I cook this to leave some texture in the dish, you can grate the beets finer for a completely mashed variation.

The theme for this month's Sugar High Friday is vegetables, so I am sending this red creation over to the expatriate kitchen, that is hosting the event for August. The event was started by the Domestic goddess.

Bhindi Do Piazza

It has become an interesting game, to see what every few days brings from the little backyard. I have to tell you I am surprised to see this year, how much we have been getting from such a little lot, that to with just Anshul tending to it, since my black thumb is not much use. His enthusiasm has been a joy for me.
Anyhow my children love bhindi or okra and feel rather sad that they cannot eat the spicy variation we get in restaurants. I do cook okra every week but it is a simple sauted version not the crispy fancy indian restaurant fare. I just cannot bear the thought of adding so much oil to a vegetable.
I tried baking this today and had really good results. I will make a few tiny tweaks the next time around in that I shall try to add the eggplant later. Do-piazza reffers to "double onions" I actually added two kinds here. This is how I made this dish.

Bhindi Dopiaza - Roasted Okra with pearl and red onions

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients

10 pearl onions, peeled, halved and sectioned
1 lbs okra, cut into slices tips and tops removed (note: wash the okra before cutting it)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
Olive oil sray
1 tablespoon oil
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tomato coarsely chopped

Method of Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Place the okra on a baking dish in a single layer, add the salt, turmeric and cumin. Spray generously with cooking spray and place in the oven for 10 minutes. I added the onions with the okra and this overcrisped some of the onion, so I am suggesting adding the onion after 10 minutes and re-sprayng at this time. Cook for another 15 minutes.
3. Heat the oil and add the red onion and saute lightly and then add the tomato and cook till somewhat soft, gently stir in the onions and okra and enjoy!

Rich and slow cooked chicken curry

This chicken curry is a little on the fussy side for a weeknight dinner, but yet all it took to produce a nice intense flavor is a little extra cooking time, some additional stirring and just a little more oil. Sometimes, I realize that time and a little extra patience is what makes good food memorable.

I did not make any luchis (puffed Indian bread), but this is what I would have liked with this curry, but did make some light lemon basmati rice. We had our friend Anju over and we enjoyed this with the rice and simple lentil creation that I shall share later. We were up late, drinking good wine, talking about good times. I did pay for this later through mugs of bad coffee at work, but sometimes we all need a break from the mundane.

Rich and Slow Cooked Chicken Curry

Prep Time: 7 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 4-6 people

Ingredients

2-3 cloves garlic

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled

1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

2-3 green serrano chillies

2 tomatoes

1 bunch (about 1 cup) cilantro leaves and tender stems

2-3 cardamoms

3-4 cloves

1 large piece cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 dried red chili

4-5 tablespoons oil

1 cup chicken stock

2 lbs skinned chicken (I would recommend dark meat on the bone)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon garam masala powder

Extra cilantro for garnishing

Method of Preparation

1. Grind the garlic, ginger, onion, green chillies, tomato and cilantro into a relative smooth puree.

2. Dry grind the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and red chili and set aside.

3. Heat the oil and add spice mixture and cook lightly. Add in the tomato puree and cook for a good 15 minutes, stirring as needed until the mixture is fairly dry and begining to get fried.

4. Add the stock if needed to let the mixture get well browned but not burnt.

5. Add in the chicken and salt and continue cooking on medium heat for another 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. The chicken should be brown and well coated with the spice mixture.

6. Stir in the remaining stock and simmer the chicken for about 10 minutes. The chicken should be nice and soft and there should be a good thick sauce.

7. Garnish with the cilantro and garam masala and serve.

Lemon Rice

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 teaspoon oil or ghee

2-3 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 cup basmati rice

1 teaspoon salt

1 lime

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil or ghee and add in the bay leaves and turmeric and cook for a few seconds.

2. Quickly add in the garlic and cook till the garlic is fragrant.

3. Add in the rice and the salt with 1 and 3/4 cups of water and bring the water to a simmer.

4. Squeeze in the lime juice. Cover and cook for 18 minutes at this point the rice should be a pale yellow mixture and the water should be absorbed.

5. Turn off the heat and leave the rice undistured for at least 5 minutes.

6. Remove the cover, fluff and serve.

A chat cafe blossoms in Hartsdale

This weekend here by most standards was just way too hot for Indian food, and really not something that you would be thinking of, however when the spice is right, it still makes for a lovely meal. Masala Kraft Cafe, ended up being the object of our destination.
We were actually in Scarsdale on Central Park Ave, to run a couple of errands and I realized that it would be too late to get home and have a timely lunch. This was naturally intensified by the fact that I really did not want to be in front of a hot stove. Additionally, I was quite intrigued after I read this review. We do have decent chats and snacks on some of the menu's of local restaurants but really no real "chat house" around here. A chat house really is an indianized variation of a bistro but generally lighter fare.
Masala Kraft cafe was a totally pleasant surprise. The restaurant was bright and sunny in its appearance - the set up was very tasteful and done in cheery but pleasant tones - earth red, light mustard yellow and the plates and serving ware were in shades of black and white. Very visually appealing!

The menu was very interesting and had a good blend of south India dosa (traditional rice and lentil) crepes and chats ( a north indian melange of yogurt, chutneys and crispy crackers and vegetables). We tried a couple of these,

The papri chat shown above and the sev puri chaat shown below. The chats tasted very fresh, loved the fresh chickpeas and the delicate notes of the light sev. The sev puri chat in particular was nice because unlike some variations it did not have an overdose of potatoes.

The dosa had some innovative offering like cheese dosa (I though my kids were the only ones who liked Cheese dosas) and in particular, we got a salad dosa, that had a light filling of beet, arugula and avocado. See this is where the menu offers some innovative notes without getting ridiculous. There were some fun sandwiches and falafels on the menu as well. I did not quite understand the Tiramisu on the menu but, I am sure it had plenty of takers.
The dosas came with a choice of chutney - coconut, mint, and tomato. We tried the coconut and tomato, these were both very good. They also came with sambhar (spicy lentil soup). While we did not try the special, it was a creamy paneer curry to placate some of tikka masala lovers. They plan of having an ongoing special as a full meal, closer to what some people associate with an Indian restaurant. We tried the mango lassi and the thandai. I was very pleased with the latter.

What was a disappointment was their mini samosas. These were too salty, strangely spiced and greasy. Anyhow, what you see below if their TV menu, saves on paper. The restaurant is self-service and low maintenance without compromizing on elegance.

The picture below is the very lively and friendly waitress doing the "Macarena" with my daughter. Well, I can certainly not complain about them being kid friendly. In fact, my daughter wanted to be back today. I am delighted about this addition to the food landscape and I am sure we will be back soon!

The Cookery - Everybody loves it and so do we!

There is a saying that before deciding on a new restaurant, one should try it twice. Well if the restaurant is Dave Di Bari's cookery , in Dobbs Ferry, you can actually very happily take this advice and want to go several times again for good measure. The first time we wanted to try the place was on mother's day but they do not take reservations for small groups and that really is not the day to go to such a well liked place, without reservations.

Well, recently Anshul and I celebrated a decade of marriage, actually that also makes it ten years of living in Westchester County. The food scene has changed a lot for the better in these past few years, in fact restaurants like the cookery are quite symbolic of this change. This place was just lovely in its casual comfortable set-up. It has some really nice homey touches, like bread being served in ricotta cartons, comfortable aged wood tables, cotton kitchen towels being used as napkins.


The menu should have just been a small plates menu, since their appetizers were so good we did not even get to the main course. In fact, they were a little startled to see us make a meal of the appetizers. I did get back there at lunchtime and try one of their pasta's with a friend. What we loved was the polenta with lamb sausage (I wonder where one can find some). The creamy polenta was gently laced with apricots and some tomato jam. The pork a la plancha was just so amazingly soft. The calamari in the calamari salad was soft and well done.

We did try the easter pie, above this was actually a little too salty for us. It essentially is an Italian version of a quiche. We also tried the grilled scamozza cheese with tomato jam. This is something we might get again if we return back with the kids. It was a little too heavy for us. The tomato jam while very good, I think is a little too extended in its use.

I returned and tried the ricotta crostino, which was very interesing since the bread had been heated on the grill adding a lovely rustic touch to the bread. The organic lettuce salad was nice and refreshing, the dressing had a very distinct taste of lemon zest.

We tried the radiatore with lamb although the mint could be a little more pronounced. This restaurant overall is an amazing blend of sophisticated comfort food. The overall beauty of the compact menu is that it would be really easy to zone in on which dishes work for you and which do not. If there was one change that I could make, I would lose the TV - I know it is in the bar area but for such a compact place, the event does spill over to the dining area.

You Say Tomaayto...

The tomatoes in our garden are begining to make their appearance as are the "friendly squirrels. This esplains why some of these beauties have been picked a little before they have been vine-ripened. We do eat a lot of tomatoes, but I have been having a little difficulty keeping up with the harvest.
Also while some of these tomatoes are being put away in paper bags to ripen, I am also getting a few tomatoes that are slightly damaged and green. These would spoil if I actually did not use them right away, so I tried making this jam. It is really very close to a bengali chutney in the light tempering but it is then a jam, thick and sweet. I used lemon juice actually lime juice to add a little bit of tartness, and I think we were very happy having this with some bread and cheese.

Spiced Tomato Jam

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Makes 1.5 cups of Jam

Ingredients

1 teaspoon ghee

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 dried red chillies

1 large red tomato (firm) (coarsely chopped)

3 green tomatoes (coarsely chopped)
Juice of 1 lime
1 1/4 cups of sugar

1 large stick cinnamon

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the ghee and add in the fennel seeds, when they being to sizzle add in the red chillies.

2. Add in the tomatoes and the lime juice followed by the sugar.

3. Cook on low heat until the sugar is melted, stirring frequently.

4. Add in the cinnamon and cook till the mixture is fairly thick, this takes about 30 minutes. The mixture should be thick and soft like a thick jam.

This would be lovely on thick bread!

Reclaiming counter space - mostly in the kitchen!

All right, I have realized that I am completely bursting in the seams in terms of kitchen space. This is not as easy as I would like to believe, my kitchen while not huge is certainly adequately spaced. I am really good at organizing my world electronically but unfortunately everything else can be quite unweildy. I also have a hard time getting rid of things! Not to mention the clutter caused by kids bowls, drinking cups, etc. But again, this really is a very small part of the problem... Most of the problem is really caused by my love of buying spices, beans, lentils, you get the idea... More often than not I try a new vinegar, use it for a dish and then it sits on the counter accumulating dust, the same holds true for teas that I try (it does not help that I like leaf tea and Anshul prefers teabags), so this is going to be my organize my kitchen project. It shall include disposing off several things to reclaim the counter-space in my kitchen. This is going to be painful and so I do need to share this exercise really for inspiration and therapeutic reasons. I am giving myself two weeks for this exercise. I know that is ambitious but sometimes, you have to bite the bullet!

So, today I actually filled two garbage bags full of trash - this is what got tossed out, cheap plastic ware (looked pretty at some point of time), empty duplicate cartons, misc dried spices and herbs, I just dont use these anymore, lots of old powdered spices, package of Handvo mix, old appam mix, two pots that I had no idea existed, mismatched tupperware, three readymade food packages (rajma and amritsari chole) that someone brought along all the way from India, to save me the inconvienience of cooking from them. Well, tomorrow I shall have to take a hard look at the appliances.

Mental notes - Costo is not for food shopping for our family, I do not need to buy poppy seeds or Amchur powder in a very long time.

Dal and Cauliflower Bhartha - Summer 2009!

What makes Summer 2009 different, I honestly am not sure and yet it is different. Possibly because I have actually learnt to appreciate little things through my children's eyes - I do hope that I do not ever lose that perspective.

Small things make a big difference in their worlds, they are also content most days! For example, the highlight of Aadi's world today was to see me use a new pair of cat clippers on Benji! Anshul has been happy with the garden project, I am so happy to finally have more tomatoes than I can use, even if this is transient it is not a mean feat in our household, we are practically addicted to tomatoes!

Well, I have also learnt to love blueberries! For some reason, I restricted my summer berry love to just raspberries and strawberries, thus far!

The other night, I made this very simple bhartha, where I actually substituted cauliflower for potatoes. I was curious to see how this would turn out and in the process realized how important mustard oil is too me. No, I do not use it everyday or for every meal, but I guess when I need it it is an essential. I do not really even have pictures to post of this

A bharta is a puree, usually of eggplant or potatoes. This particular variety is the bengali variety, which does include lentils and usually is made with starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes, pumpkin, taro and of course potatoes. I made this with red lentils (masuur dal) and cauliflower and loved it!

Kofi and mushur daler bhorta - Dal and Cauliflower Puree

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

2/3 cup of red lentils

1 small potato, peeled and cut into quarters

1/2 a head of medium cauliflower

1 clove of garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tomato, quartered

1-2 tablespoons mustard oil

1/2 red onion, very finely diced

2 green chillies, finely chopped

2 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Place the lentils, potato, cauliflower, garlic, salt, turmeric and tomato in a pressure cooker. Add 1/3 cup of water.

2. Bring the pressure cooker to full pressure and cook for 3 minutes. Cool naturally and remove the pressure.

3. What you should see is a well steamed caulflower with spices clinging to it, a wilted tomato and soft flaky lentils that are fairly dry.

4. With a firm hand and a wooden spoon, mix the vegetables and lentils into a smooth puree.

5. Mix in the other ingredients and enjoy as a side dish or even a dip or spread.

An Indian Sunday Buffet - Malabar Hill

I am not quite sure what motivates people to an Indian restaurant Sunday brunch, I imagine it might be different things for different people. There are many reasons why Anshul and I end up trying out a Sunday lunch buffet, however I hate to tell you, most often a gourmet meal is not the highest on our list of expectations. Sometimes we have been pleasantly surprised and on other other occasions we have not been terribly unhappy - that is precisely the value proposition of this popular Sunday food format. You have a huge array of items - there is usually something for everyone, the kids are thrilled with the variety and usually end up making a meal despite fussing about the spice , just because of the novelty of the items available and sometimes because of the dessert. This is generally our baseline and level of expectations when we try a new Indian brunch!
Today at Malabar Hill was not very different. We had made a snap visit to Albany, to visit my BIL, since my mom-in-law was visiting. We were not able to do much of what I would like to do on the 1-87 trail and drove back to make it in time for lunch at Malabar Hill at Elmsford.
This restaurant initially had much more of a Western Indian focus, which is apt given that Malabar Hill is located in Mumbai, in Western India. A good 3-4 years back I believe this changed ownership which actually added variety, improved the decor and created a fare that is a hybrid of northern and southern Indian classic dishes.
The food had a decent variety and certainly satisfied us travelling farers. My kids loved the tandoori chicken, which actually meant that the chicken was overly soft rather than crisp and was fairly bland. The dosas (Indian rice and lentil crepes) were crisp and nicely done, the offerings on the Chaat table were adequate but not particularly happening!

Based on the original premise, I would be happy to return to this place enroute to errands to get a predicatable bite but chances are I would not add this on my "special places" list. However, I might be over-rule by my daughter who thinks the chicken was done just right!

Westchester Farmers Market Blogathon - TGIF

What a difference, the weather makes! I ventured out this afternoon to get some lunch on Cedar Street, Dobbs Ferry and was so happy to see so many more shops at the Farmers Market! These were not as much as some of the other markets, particularly the Pleasantville Market, that I end up going to a lot! However, it does have enough, one can actually also pick up a makeshift lunch here. Well, here is the first interesting store that I did not highlight...

They had some interesting granola cookies, their goodies are priced at $3.50 per package or $9 for any three items.

I fell in love with these olive oil and cornmeal cakes. Thank goodness I bought only two. I ate about 1.5 myself and shared the rest with Anshul! I am going back for these next week. This baking outfit is run by three sisters.

These little grapes are interesting and so cute, I picked up a carton, I think Deepta will like them in her lunch box. The good news is that I am surving the lunchbox saga pretty well!
These fresh-cut bouquets of seasonal flowers are the prettiest things I have ever seen! Despite myself I bought myself a bunch for my office! I hope they stay fresh over the weekend I should have brought them home.

New veggies that I did not notice last week!

This young man of course, deserves the salesman of the year award! He asked me for an ID. I mean honestly!
For dinner, we had some really flavorful blackbean soup, I shall tell you how I made it later, Good night and have a great weekend everyone!

Westchester Farmers Market Blogathon - Day 4

Somedays, you just keep it simple. We had an incredibly simple and quick. This does not mean you cannot do flavorful! What we had tonight was filled with all the goodness of my shopping. The onions and cilantro used in the eggs was actually from the Elmsford Farmers market, which I have featured before. The eggs are scrambled with torn spinach leaves from our garden. The corn is roasted on an open flame, brushed with a lime, cumin and melted butter emulsion. Kids loved it so did we!!!

Blogathon - Day Two

I was out pretty late last night, unusual for a weeknight, that too a Monday and I am just so tired today, I am glad we have this blogathon going on, because it is motivating to post this entry rather than loosing it in the shuffle. Something that happens to me so often. Well, along with the mint we went a little overboard with the pepitas (pumkin seeds) in this recipe. Let me tell you if you have not tried toasted pepitas before be prepared to be completely swept away with the rich taste. The kids have been generally excited with the new "nut" so they were rather eager to try it. The sauce for this 20 minute wonder is made my evening. Best of all the sauce was really just cleaning out the blender bowl after the chutney was made.

Seared Salmon with a creamy mint sauce

For the sauce

3 tablespoons nutty mint/cilantro chutney
3-4 tablespoons lowfat sour cream (you can your about 1/2 cup light cream if you want to be indulgent).
1/2 cup water

For the salmon

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 lbs salmon, cut into 4 pieces
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon pepitas

Method of Preparation

1. Blend the ingredients for the sauce and place in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 2 minutes on high.
2. Add the butter and oil in a heavy bottomed pan and cook on low till the butter begins to brown.
3. Mix the cumin, pepper and salt together and rub onto the salmon.
4. Place the salmon in the pan in a single layer and cook until browned on both sides.
5. Remove and place the salmon in a single lay on a flat serving dish.
6. In the same cooking pan as the salmon, add the pumpkin seeds and the nuts and toast these until they darken just a little.
7. Pour the sauce over the salmon and top with the toasted nuts and serve with a salad.

The nutty mint chutney is really a cross between a salsa and what in Indian cooking is considered a fresh savory chutney. The later chutneys unlike their sweet counterparts are not cooked, they are a spicy melange of fresh herbs and some spices and some nuts (such as coconut) for enriching the base. They are great as a condiment but also useful for light marinade and sauces as used above. So here is how I made this variation.

Nutty Mint Chutney

Makes 1/2 cup

Ingredients

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (you can use tender stems if you wish) (

1 cup loosely packed mint leaves

1/2 cup grape tomatoes

1/2 cup pumpkin seeds

1 teaspoon dried pomegranate seeds (note these are different from their fresh counterparts, however you can actually use 1/2 cup fresh pomegranates for a different taste)

2-3 hot serrano chillies

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

Juice of 2 limes

Method of Preparation

1. Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a blender and blend for a good 3-4 minutes until smooth and thick.

2. Place the chutney in a glass container (with a lid) and use as needed with a 3-4 days of preparation.

Farmers Market Blogathon - Day One

We have been having this swift and very wet summer, in fact, it has been too wet for several things like just sitting out in the back porch, inhaling the scent of a smoking grill. However if you do love hydrangeas like me we have certainly been blessed with beautiful colorful "hydrated" blossoms. I shall post my hydrangea pictures soon! This week, some of us in Westchester are also paying homage to another beautiful summer tradition - farmers market produce. Please follow the blogs , to see what the markets have in store for you!
Last Friday, I visited the Dobbs Ferry Market, some of the pictures here are not very clear because - did I tell you, it was rainy?

Lots of greens, we have been having a lot of them in our own garden so I have been staying away from them, but I did pick up a lot of fresh mint and a huge bunch of green onions.

Yes, beautiful fresh strawberries, I ate a whole carton of these at lunchtime today, cannot imagine a healtier lunch - well compared to some of the other things I end up eating.

I did not get any peaches, but as you can see these were beautiful!

These hot green chillies were labeled "finger chillies!". Let me tell you these are really potent. I made a fish curry with these. I have no idea what to do with the rest of them.

Tucked in the corner here was a stand from "Sprout Creek Farms". They had cheese and breads. They also had some very interesting Spring Rolls. These were made of lamb and vegetables bursting with the fresh flavor of mint and ginger. Speaking of mint, I went a little crazy with mint yesterday.