Indian Mac and Cheese (Masala Mac)

So, I started a new job in the Washington, D.C. area and moved out of New York City, so I'm officially on a mission to find good Indian grocery stores in the area and good Indian food.

But when I went back to NYC for some work training, I got a chance to finally try something I really wanted to eat the entire time I was in the city - masala mac and cheese from S'Mac in the East Village.

It's my favorite guilty pleasure with Indian spices, how can I resist? - or you for that matter.

So I decided I would try to create my own recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of macaroni, cooked in salted water, drained (use directions on box)
• 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 cup of shredded gruyere or provolone
• 1/2 cup of parmesan
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 tbsp. of butter
• 2 tbsp. of flour
• 2 tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of coriander
• 1 tsp of onion powder
• 1 tsp of garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric
• 1/2 of red chili or cayenne
• 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
• oil spray
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium pot over medium heat, melt butter and add flour to it. Blend to make a roux. 
2. Add milk to mixture and heat through. Try not to boil it, so stir regularly.
3. Slowly add cheeses. Each time you add some stir it in until it it's melted through.
4. Add spices - cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, turmeric and chili.
5. Add cilantro to the mix and add cooked pasta.
6. Taste mixture and add salt and pepper as needed.
7. Place the entire pot of mac in cheese in a brownie pan or casserole dish that has been sprayed with oil.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 mins. covered. Uncover and baked for an additional 10 minutes until bubbly.

To find more info on S'Mac go to:
http://www.smacnyc.com/home.html

Gourmet: Goan Gobi Curry (Cauliflower Curry)

Excuse the state of the photos, they were taken from my phone, but this was a part of my gourmet meal I had with my mom and roommate Sara, as a part of graduation weekend at Vermillion in New York City.

Vermiilion is a Latin-Indian fusion restaurant off Lexington Avenue, near an area in New York City known as "Curry Hill," for obviously all of it's Indian restaurants and stores. I had originally heard of the place while watch The Iron Chef on the Food Network when Vermillion's chef, Maneet Chauhan, battled Iron Chef Morimoto.

I was so intrigued by the fusion because although I've noticed many similarities in the the types of foods Latinos and Indians eat -- I was excited to find out how the flavors would blend.

Anyway, Sara and I enjoyed so much food, literally SO MUCH FOOD including tandoori skirt steak (seared churrasco in a classic indian marinade, plantain chips, garlic spinach), cauliflower portuguese (stewed in a goan gravy + coconut rice), juhu ki pani puri (street indian chaat, flour shells, spiced potato, chili mint water) and my mom had paneer konkani (cheese, oaxacan crepas de huitlacoche/mexican truffle, inca red quinoa).  THESE PICTURES DON'T EVEN GIVE JUSTICE TO WHAT WE ATE!!!

Anyway, I was really inspired by the food and I wanted to try making the Cauliflower Portuguese, otherwise known as Goan curry. It's called Goan after an coastal/beach area in India known as Goa. After Portuguese conquistadors came to the area, and some later settled, it has been greatly influenced by Portuguese cuisine. Goan cuisine in general is a mix of spicy and sweet flavors.

Similarly, this dish is sweet with the help of coconut milk and spicy with the help of chilies. 


Although many times shredded coconut is blended into the paste, I used coconut milk instead. Also Goan curry is usually accompanied with shrimp, but I made this vegetarian version for the sake of mimicking what I ate at Vermillion -- but using shrimp instead of cauliflower is yummy too!


Ingredients:

• 1 can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup of vegetable broth
• 1 head of cauliflower, stems removed and cut into florets
• 1 tsp of curry paste
• 1 tsp of ginger, grated
• 1/2 tsp of garlic minced
• 1 green chili, chopped with seeds
• 1/2 tsp of turmeric

Directions:

1. Over medium heat, place broth in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add cauliflower and allow to steam for 5 to 6 minutes or until tender.
3. Add garlic, ginger and chili to the cauliflower and allow the flavors to blend. Some to all of the broth will boil away.
4. Add coconut milk, turmeric and curry paste and allow stew to simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. 
5. Add salt or pepper if desired.

An Indian-American Holiday

So Christmas is a big deal in my family, even though we're Hindus. My mom and i both went to Catholic schools growing up and grew up in an environment where Christmas was a big deal, so we've carried on this tradition.

Plus as a family we're pretty open-minded religiously, so we don't mind celebrating the birthday of someone who brings so many people joy. And - on top of that my aunt is Jewish, so we're open to anything, we'd do Hanukkah too if we had a chance.

Anyway, like any family gathering we have a mixture of American and Indian cuisines.

This year the menu was extra special - my Wednesdays of planning and preparing International foods with my roommate, Sara, paid off, and I decided to cook some of those recipes. Most of my family enjoyed all of the food, although I will admit, the brussel sprouts may not have been their favorite. But it's never a bad thing to open your family's culinary palate.

Because these recipes come from other Web sites - I will link to those sites, but I have made adjustments to some of the recipes. Most Indians don't eat pork products, so bacon is a no no. I also adjusted any vegetarian recipes so they didn't include chicken stock and used veggie stock instead.

Maple-Roasted Chickens with Sage Butter
Instead of using turkey as Tyler Florence's recipe calls for, I used two chickens and roasted them side-by-side in the oven. I did not stuff the chickens with stuffing because I personally think that is gross, plus vegetarians then can no longer eat the stuffing.
Another trick - cook chicken breast side down for 30 min per chicken first and then flip over a cook normally according to directions that come with the package.

Southern Cornbread Stuffing
Again unlike Paula Deen, I did not use chicken stock. I substituted with veggie stock. I also did not add poultry seasoning. You can use a store bought italian seasoning, or just add salt and pepper.

Balsamic Braised Brussel Sprouts
so this recipe, courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, another food blog, uses pancetta. I cut that out and the flavor didn't change.

Butternut Squash Risotto
This recipe was delicious - even about 3 or 4 days later. Just make sure you have a lot of stock on hand, because the rice take s along time to cook. Ina Garten uses chicken stock and pancetta, which I again replace with veggie stock. Still tastes amazing.

As for the Indian dishes:

My grandmother made fried rice. I will test out a recipe soon and add it as a separate entry.
My mom made my chick pea masala recipe from this blog. My mom's friend, Sonai, brought two very traditional Indian dishes - Dhokar Dalna and a fish dish, I'll figure out what it's called later and add a recipe to the blog. This recipe was a adapted from Ahaar, another blog about Bengali cuisine.

Dhokar Dalna, a lentil cake in sauce.
serves 6 to 8, Prep: 30 min., Cook: 45 min.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cholar dal (chana dal/Bengal gram)
• 2 medium tomato, chopped
  
• 2 large Idaho potatoes, chopped into cubes.
  
• 1 tsp ginger, grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp cumin seed powder
• pinch of asafoetida
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp chilli powder
• 2 green chillis
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp ghee
• 2-3 tbsp oil
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Wash and soak Bengal gram lentils in water for 4-6 hours. Drain water and grind the dal to a paste in a mixer.
2. Heat 1 tsp oil and temper it with 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, asafoetida, 1/2 tsp ginger paste, 1/4 tsp turmeric powder and salt. 
3. Pour the ground dal and cook till the mixture is soft and sticky, but not completely dry.
4. Smear little oil in a dish. Pour the cooked dal and spread evenly on the dish. Press lightly with your spoon so that it sets properly. Cool and cut the dhoka into square or diamond shapes. 
5. Heat two tbsp oil and fry the dhokas to light brown. Remove and keep aside. 
6. Then heat the rest of remaining oil in a deep bottomed pan and temper it with the 1/2 tsp remaining cumin seeds. Fry for a minute till it stops sputtering. 
7. Add cubed potatoes and brown. They will become more tender as they stew in the pot with other ingredients.
   
8. In the meantime, puree the tomatoes, ginger and green chillies together. 
9. Add the pureed mixture with turmeric, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin seeds powder and saute for 3-4 minutes on low heat.
10. Then, add about two small cups of of water and salt and let it simmer for 4-5 minutes. 
11. Add the fried dhokas, and bring the curry to a boil. 
12. Reduce heat and simmer for another 4-5 minutes till the dhoka starts to soak up part of the curry.
13. Put ghee and garam masala and take it off the heat. It should be the last thing added. just before the dish is taken off the heat. 

Serve with warm rice.