Archive for the 'Indian' Category

Lentil & Swiss Chard Stew

Published on November 23, 2010 in Beans + Legumes, Indian, Main Courses and Soups + Stews. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .


I make a variation of this dish quite often and especially now that we are looking at a very loooong and cold winter coming our way, it will probably go into heavy rotation around here. The constants are the lentils and some type of green; what varies are the other veggies and spices.



This time I went the Indian route, which gives a nice spicy kick to the hearty and basic veggies. If that’s not your style, you can go more Provençal with thyme, bay leaves and rosemary. And now that I think about it, this stew is also pretty similar to the yummy hambone lentil soup my mom always had waiting for us after skiing (minus the hambone, mind you). No wonder I like it so much. I’m a sucker for a Proustian food memory…

Lentil & Swiss Chard Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
1 large potato (I used an Idaho), peel and diced
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional)
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 quart vegetable stock
3-4 cups Swiss chard, stems and big ribs removed, coarsely sliced into ribbons
Salt
Black pepper

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a heavy stockpot. Sauté the onion for a few minutes until translucent. Add the carrots and cook for another 2-3 minutes and then repeat with the celery. Add the potatoes and then the spices, including salt, cook for another 5 minutes or so. Add the lentils and then the stock. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Cover partially and simmer until the lentils are soft but not mushy, about 25 minutes. Stir in the chard and cook just until wilted, but still bright green. Check for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.

* Garam masala is a traditional Indian spice mixture consisting of some or all of the following: black pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, cloves, ginger, star anise and nutmeg. The mix I used contained the first 6 spices.

Sri Lankan Deliciousness

Published on October 4, 2010 in Indian and Travel. 0 Comments Tags: , , .


I can’t confirm the deliciousness myself, but I’m going to go by the photo on this one. My one and only brother and almost Irish twin, John, is currently bopping around the stunning island nation of Sri Lanka. He flew there a couple weeks ago on a one-way ticket and although there wasn’t enough room for me in his suitcase, I am getting regular updates on sun, fun and, of course, food.

Which brings us to this meal, which is the standard lunch fare at Nautiluss restaurant in Unawatuna, a beach town 15 miles outside Galle. For $5 US, you can enjoy a boatload of curries along with coconut sambol (top left) and dal* (top right), all served with rice, pappadums, and beer. In the above photo, going clockwise, there’s curried fish, beets, okra (which they call lady fingers in Sri Lanka, as will I henceforth) and potatoes. I don’t see how you can go wrong with this meal. Serious bargain. And confirmed delicious by my brother.

He says the most interesting veg curries he’s had so far include banana flower, manioc, lotus root, ash plantain and water spinach, the latter three appearing in the below photo along with the ever present dal, sambol and fish curry.

John’s hooked me up with Anushka, the manager of the restaurant, so I’m going to get some Sri Lankan curries in the rotation soon. And because I found a lot of conflicting versions of the coconut sambol (some have dried fish powder (not so fond of this)/some don’t, lemon vs. lime, garlic or not, etc.), I will get the skinny on that recipe straight from the source. Stay tuned!

* From what I can tell Sri Lankan dal differs from Indian dal in the addition of coconut milk. Um, yes please.

Chow Down: Indian Food in BsAs

Published on May 10, 2010 in Field Trips and Indian. 0 Comments

When you live in Buenos Aires and your husband is a vegetarian (and yes, I realize this statement does not apply to a lot of people), it’s not necessarily easy to find a veggie-friendly meal out. Having said that, Buenos Aires has become quite a bit more vegetarian-friendly in the last few years with articles in the NY Times and others touting meat-free restaurants. Of course, Indian food is always a safe bet. However, there aren’t a whole lot of Indians in Argentina (only about 1,200 or so Wikipedia says), so the Indian restaurant scene is a bit limited. Let’s just say there is no Little India, like Sixth Street in NYC.

But we have found a few places we like and it’s nice to get out for a meal where there is (occasionally) adult conversation. When we go out for Indian, we always get veggie samosas to start, either channa saag (my personal favorite) or saag paneer (Ryan’s) and then some other veggie main course, like veggie biryani or aloo gobi (cauliflower and potato tomato curry).

Here’s a quick round-up of the Indian restaurants we’ve tried in Buenos Aires:

Mumbai
Honduras 5684; Palermo Hollywood
Tel: 4775-9791

http://www.mumbai.restaurant.com.ar

This place is my favorite. It’s got the red velvet drapery bordello thing happening which reminds me of so many of the places on Sixth Street in NYC, but it’s more spacious and a step up in terms of quality of service and food. And they get extra points for making me Chana Saag even though it’s not on the menu. Excellent mushroom bhajee and great garlic naan. And you have the option of going mild, spicy or “Indian spicy” — and it really is spicy, which is usually not the case in BsAs (there is a major aversion to spicy food here, which is mindboggling to me, Queen of Hot Sauce).

Taj Mahal
Nicaragua 4345; Palermo
Tel: 4831-5716

http://www.tajmahalbuenosaires.com.ar

I recently tried this place out on a girls’ night out and had mixed feelings. The space was nice, a bit more contemporary Indian with nice framed elephant embroideries and subtle lighting (no bordello drapery here). I felt like it was difficult to judge the food, as we all ended up ordering very similar things — either that or everything tastes alike! I had a chicken tikka masala, which was tasty, but rather salty. A friend’s dal was quite good, but I always feel like that’s more of a side than a main course. I think we need to give this place another go and do a full-on veg meal, so I’m reserving judgment until then.
UPDATE: Went last weekend for our 4th anniversary (yes, I was also wondering why we weren’t on a plane to Mendoza for the weekend…) and had an all-veg meal. And while we branched out and tried what I was hoping would be very different main dishes (aloo gobi, mushroom mutter, vegetable dumplings in a white sauce), many ended up tasting really similar! So, I’m afraid that may be the way it is here. Having said that, if you like spicy tomato-based curries, then you’ll love this place.

Tandoor
Laprida 1293
Tel: 4821-3676

http://www.tandoor.com.ar

The food is really good here, but the atmosphere at Tandoor is akin to dining at the morgue…very, um, quiet. Nevertheless, the space is a lovely windowed corner in Barrio Norte and the service was excellent (if a bit stiff — sorry, no pun intended). No channa saag, but the saag paneer was very good. We also had the aloo gobi, which was nice. The real highlight was the vegetable samosas — they were flavorful and fluffy, not just blobs of fried potato with a pea or two thrown in. Tandoor has a more varied menu than the other places we’ve been, and they’ve apparently imported not only their very own tandoor oven from India, but the chef as well! A bit pricier than the other restaurants. Good solid food, but a bit sedate.

Bangalore
Humboldt 1416; Palermo Hollywood
Tel: 4779-2621
Now if you’re looking for a party spot, Bangalore would be it. It’s essentially a cross between a curry joint and an English pub. The downstairs area is full-on pub where you can get dosas and basic pub grub (fries, burgers, etc.), along with jugs of gin and tonic and several different beers (including locally made cider and three ales from the Pilar-based Stones Brewery. You can also get the same menu that’s offered upstairs. Upstairs — the “restaurant” part — is a groovy, low-ceilinged little seating area with just a few low tables with comfy cushions and pretty lamps. Very romantic (minus The Who, which I seem to recall was blaring at top volume from the pub area down below). The food, however, left a bit to be desired. I realize sometimes a shrimp curry is just that — shrimp in a curry. I was a bit surprised when I got my plate and there was not a single other vegetable in the dish. What was really disturbing was when Ryan ordered the calabaza (directly translated as pumpkin, but what we’d call squash in the US) curry and received, literally, a giant hunk of calabaza sitting in a puddle of curry. Very odd. And not terribly good. I will say their chapati was excellent, but other than that, not impressed with the food. Stick to the pub (and gin & tonics) downstairs.