Thai Green Curry Chicken with Zucchini

I love making Thai Green Curry paste, since it uses my two favorite herbs - Cilantro and Basil. Typically you should be using Holy basil also called Tulsi, but those leaves are much harder to come by, so I end up doing this with a very practical version usually readily available ingredient such as sweet basil and ginger instead of galangal. The results are quite acceptable. It makes for a quick and flavorful curry.



Green Curry Paste



Ingredients


1/3 cup fish sauce
1 lump size palm sugar
10 green chillies
2 tbsp freshly ground coriander
1 2-inch piece ginger or galangal
2 cloves garlic
1 cup chopped cilantro- leaves and stems
1 cup chopped basil
2-3 kafir lime leaves or 1 tsp grated lime zest

Method of Preparation

1. Dissolve the palm sugar in the fish sauce. This takes a little bit of time, so I actually do this first and then prep and chop the remaining ingredients.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients into a food processor.
3. Add in the fish sauce with sugar and process till smooth.

Green chicken curry with zucchini

Serves 4 people

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
1/2 cup green curry sauce
1/2 lb chicken cut into large chunks (boneless thighs work well for this recipe).
1 can light coconut milk
2 green zuchinis was and cut into a dice to match the chicken


Method of preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the shallots with the green curry sauce and chicken and cook for about 10 minutes.
2. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Add in the zucchini and cook for 5-7 more minutes.
4. Serve with white or brown jasmine rice.



Method of Preparation



1. Disolve the sugar in the fish sauce, this takes some time to dissolve so I actually leave this to soak while I prep the remaining ingredients.

2.

WHB - Round-Up WE 1-21-08

Well, everyone has sent quite and interesting collection of recipes, we start with Peter who as sent us this cheese and chilly appetizer recipe. One of my favorite combinations, sounds very interesting. The recipe uses a Greek red chillie pepper and Peter says,

"What makes it unique is that Boukovo is oven dried or better yet, the red chili gets dried over smoky, burning embers. Think smoky red chili flakes."

http://kalofagas.blogspot.com/2008/01/chillies-cheese-snack-moukobo.html



Next we have a lovely winter soup from Anne-Marie of Ambrosia and Nectar. This is celeriac, cabbage and chickpea soup. Anne Marie adds some kale and tops it with a generous dash of parmasan cheese. The interesting flavor here is fennel seeds.

http://divineambrosia.blogspot.com/2008/01/celeriac-chickpea-and-cabbage-soup.html



Gay from A scientist in the kitchen presents us with a wonderful steamed tilapia in banana leaves using the three stapple ingredients of the filipino kitchen - onion, ginger and tomato.

http://ascientistinthekitchen.net/weekend-herb-blogging/stuffed-tilapia-steamed-in-banana-leaves/



Meera from Enjoy Indian Food, presents us with the method of growing your own Wheatgrass and then making wheatgrass juice. Sounds like a lot of fun and healthy too!

http://enjoyindianfood.blogspot.com/2008/01/wheatgrass-juice-superfood.html



Tami from running with tweezers presents a simple and beautiful recipe pairing tomatoes with tarragon. Now, this I have never tried, but given how well tomatoes work with mint, cilantro, basil, .... why am I surprised. Have to add this to my list of must tries.

http://runningwithtweezers.typepad.com/runningwithtweezers/2008/01/the-simple-life.html



Katie from A Thyme for cooking, shares her mothers food philosophy, and trying to ensure my two youngsters get a nutritious balanced upbringing I cannot agree more with "mom's" wisdom and a lovely recipe for sausages and sauerkraut.

http://thyme2.typepad.com/thyme_for_cooking_/2008/01/my-mother-had-z.html



Lalaine from "The Cook mobile" presents an elegant and classic recipe of salmon paired with a cilantro almond pesto, served with crusty bread.

http://thecookmobile.com/roasted-salmon-with-cilantro-pesto/



Kevin from Closet Cooking sends a recipe for wild mushrooms sauted with butter, sherry and lemon, sounds perfect with almost anything.
http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/2008/01/wild-mushrooms-sauteed-in-butter-sherry.html



Syrie from Taste Buddies, uses cilantro, mint and parsely to create a wonderful shrimp salad. The shrimp is marinated in Harissa and sumac and then served topped with baked onions and fennel and crumbled sheep cheese. Sounds like a perfect mix of flavors.

http://allthingsnice.typepad.com/tastebuddies/2008/01/moorish-prawn-s.html

Another nourishing soup, a garbanzo, white bean and lamb soup seasoned with rosemary. This one is from the creator of WHB, Kalyn at Kaylyn's kitchen. Sure wish I had a bowl of this soup right now.

http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/01/garbanzo-and-white-bean-soup-recipe.html

Joanna from Green Giraffe Gourmet, sends us a beautiful purple and green creation of Beetroot Gnocchi and Pea Pesto, everything high on the the nutrition index, she warns us about the extra flour needed in this recipe.

http://gggiraffe.blogspot.com/2008/01/whb-beetroot-gnocchi-with-pea-pesto.html

Helene from New from my Kitchen, sends me a recipe for Blushing Agaricus, which is a dish consisting of mushrooms, tomatoes and chicken with garlic. A simple and complete meal.

http://neuesausderkueche.wordpress.com/2008/01/17/whb116/

Rosa from Edible Adventures in Paris, sends a smooth and satisfying rice pudding recipe seasoned with saffron and lemon. I was very intrigued by the use of creme fraiche in this recipe since I had always assumed that this would curdle the milk.

http://rosajackson.blogspot.com/2008/01/saffron-rice-pudding.html

Ulrike, from Küchenlatein, sends a very seasonal stew of winter vegetables, fried sausage and parsely.

All of this compiling is now making me very hungry.

http://ostwestwind.twoday.net/stories/4620335/

Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska, sends us her cure for the winter chills - Black Peppercorns, which she uses generously in this beef stew.

http://medcookingalaska.blogspot.com/2008/01/recipe-peppery-beef-stew.html

Susan from the well seasoned cook sends us, these very delicate and elegant looking green tea cream puffs, that look like they would be perfect with green or black tea,

Green Tea Cream Puffs

Anna from Morsels and Musings sends us a rice recipe, Arroz con Palmitos, where she pairs rice, cheese and palm hearts in a well-seasoned and satisfying casserole.

http://morselsandmusings.blogspot.com/2008/01/rice-w-palm-hearts.html

Pam from the backyard pizzeria, sends us a well-spiced version of ratatouile, and I agree with her that the movie by the same name is an absolute must-see.

http://backyardpizzeria.blogspot.com/2008/01/rmy-does-ratatouille.html

Haalo, from Cook Anything at least Once, decides to try lemon verbana. A delicate herb that is a must try for lemon lovers. This is combined with cucumber, to make a very delicate light green sorbet, something my daughter would love.

http://cookalmostanything.blogspot.com/2008/01/weekend-herb-blogging-116.html

Jerry from Jerry's thoughts musings and rants, sends us another interesting post on fennel and tells us about one of his Christmas gifts, that you guessed it, was a cookbook.

http://jdeq.typepad.com/jerrys_thoughts_musings_a/2008/01/oven-slow-roast.html

Chris from Melle Cotte, sends us another soup recipe, this one is a split soup, that is cooked using a herb bouquet.

http://melecotte.blogspot.com/2007/12/split-pea-soup.html

Jennifer from Likes to Cook, sends a soup recipe using farro (an ancient wheat variety) and chickpeas. The soup also uses majoram for seasoning which sounds very flavorful and interesting.

Here it is

Wandering Chopsticks, sends in a recipe for yam and shrimp fritters that sounds lovely, would go well with any of these soup recipes.

http://wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com/2008/01/banh-tom-vietnamese-shrimp-and-yam.html

Finally, the last soup recipe, is one using carrots and mint, this is my contribution to this weeks, WHB, thank you everyone for participating.

http://cookingwithrinku.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-think-i-can.html

Ok, so somemore that I missed...

A very interesting recipe for Savory soy pancakes served with a cilantro topping. I actually try something similar with good old fashioned bisquick, but these seem much healthier.

http://cookingfromatoz.blogspot.com/2008/01/soy-pancakes-not-kidding.html

Lia from swirling notions, sends us a recipe for an orange kumquat cake. She replaces quite a bit of butter in the cake with silken tofu. Sounds quite intriguing and healthy too.

http://swirlingnotions.com/2008/01/12/though-shalt-not-covet-thy-neighbors-oranges/

Liz's at "from our kitchen" sends us a recipe for Faux Stowe Crackers with rosemary.

http://etherwork.net/blog/?p=495

So, yes if you do stop by this blog, do check out these additions.

Please visit all these wonderful blogs, to check out the recipes.

I think I can!

Gosh, I have been meaning to get back and blog but it just has been one thing after another. The last week has been awful since I have been down with the flu. It is supposed to be my turn to host WHB, an event I have not even been able to participate in for the past several weeks. Well, I had actually cooked this really lovely smooth textured soup last week, with overtones of cumin and ginger laced with mint. Seeing all the wonderful entries that are filling my mailbox, I finally got inspired to write this up.

Carrot Pumpkin Soup with Ginger and Mint

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp black pepper

1 tbsp processed ginger chunks (I use trader joes)

2 leeks peeled and thinly sliced

2 lbs carrots peeled and cut into pieces

1 lb fresh pumpkin peeled and cut into pieces

1 parsnip peeled and cut into pieces

3 cups chicken broth

Salt to taste

1/2 cup fresh cream

2-3 tbsp finely chopped mint leaves

Method of Preparation

1. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil and pop the cumin and pepper.

2. Add the ginger and leeks and saute for 15 minutes till very soft.

3. Add in the carrots, pumpkin and parsnip and mix lightly.

4. Mix in the broth and bring to a simmer.

5. Cook under pressure for 20 minutes.

6. Cool and blend into a puree with the cream.

7. Check seasonings.

8. Heat but do not bring to a boil prior to serving and serve garnished with mint.

Gobi Moomphali - Cauliflower with peanuts

There are few things that work better for a quick weeknight dish than a classic simple dry vegetable dish infused with the basic goodness of a few staple spices. The peanuts in the recipe are an inspiration to get my daughter to eat.

So here you have it, Gobi Moomphali

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp asafetida

2-3 dried red chillies

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cauliflower cut into floretts

1 tsp salt

1/2 cut peanuts roasted

Method of preparation

1. Heat the oil, and add the mustard and cumin seeds, when they crackle add in the asafetida, chillies turmeric and cauliflower.

2. Cook on medium heat turning frequently till the cauliflower begins to brown lightly.

3. Add the salt and peanuts and cover for 10 minutes and cook on low.

4. Check seasonings and serve.

Potatoes and Garlic - How can you go wrong?

Several years back, I tried potato pancakes and confessed to a jewish co-worker that I liked them and they had potential for improvement. Her candid statement to me was, potatoes and garlic, how can you go wrong? what not to like?

Several variations of latkes, I agree, what's not to like?

So here is a variation that I tried a couple of days back. The key to good latkes in my opinion is to use a good hand grater, the food processor squishes texture a bit much....

Potato Pumkin Latkes

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 cup grated red pumkin

1 cup grated idaho potatoes

2 green chillies minced

3 cloves of garlic minced

2 shallots finely chopped

3 tsp flour

2 tbsp cilantro finely chopped

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method of preparation

1. Place the pumkin and potatoes in a colander to drain, the excess water out for half an hour.

2. Squeeze the excess water out and mix with the chillies garlic, flour, cilantro and salt.

3. Heat the oil.

4. Drop by tablespoons and fry till crisp

5. Serve with sour cream on the side.

This goes out to Anna at Morsels and Musings, a good recipe thinking of the feel good spirit of Hannukah. Not necessary jewish, but, the good thing about having kids in the house is that one can celebate anything without boundaries, and good food tastes wonderful irrespective of the origin.

A classic with leftovers

Yes, like a lot of others who have leftover turkey, I have been trying to find creative ways to use it up. Today, I had some more company, who wanted to try my leftovers. I did need to add some creative touches to make sure that the food was presentable.

My turkey this year turned out to be very good. I had brined it and cooked it with stuffed apples. So I was trying to figure out how to use the leftovers without too much fuss. Well, one stopgap in Indian food is the makhani or tikka masala base. Its comforting creamy flavors make it a surefire success with anything you can think of, so why not left over turkey. Here is how I made the sauce,

Makhani Sauce for Leftover Turkey

Serves 10

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp carom seeds (ajowan)
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger
2 green chillies, minced
3 pods garlic, minced
1 cup crushed tomatoes
3/4 cup sour cream
salt to taste
1 tbsp tandoori masala
1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
1/2 cup light cream
1 tsp garam masala

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin and ajowan.
2. Add the onion, ginger, chillies and garlic and saute briefly.
3. Add in the crushed tomatoes and cook till the oil begins to separate.
4. Add it the sour cream, salt and tandoori masala and cook for five more minutes.
5. Add the methi and cool slightly.
6. Blend into a smooth sauce with the cream.
7. Add in the garam masala.

The unique taste in this particular version is created by the dried fenugreek leaves that are abundantly available in the Indian grocery stores. I love them while making parathas or other things where I substitute them for fresh leaves.

I am sending this in for WHB, an event I have not had time to enter in a long while. This weeks WHB is being hosted by truffle, a visit to whose blog reminded me that peaches are still in season several parts of the world..

Roaseted Pepper and Seared Shrimp Salad

A rather fussy and elaborate salad, good for a light meal, involves several steps, but overall works out pretty well. The key ingredient here is the roasted green peppers. It is amazing how much the flavor of pepper improves with the roasting.

Roasted Bell Pepper and Seared Shrimp Salad

Serves 3

Ingredients

For the Dressing

1 cup cider
3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 stick cinnamon
1 dried red chilli

For the salad

2 green bell peppers
2 cups of baby spinach leaves
2 oz crumbled goat cheese
2 tbsp pine nuts

For the shrimp

1/2 lb shrimp
juice of one lime
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp olive oil.

Method of Preparation

1. Mix the cider and vinegar with the chilli and cinnamon. Bring to a boil and cook till 1/3 in volume and cool
2. Place the green peppers under the broiler and cook on low broil for 5 minutes on each side.
3. Cool, peel and cut into thin slices.
4. Mix with the spinach and goat cheese.
5. Marinate the shrimp with the lime juice, salt and pepper for 15 minutes.
6. Heat a grill pan, add the oil.
7. Cook the for a few minutes on each side.
8. Place on the salad, top with pine nuts and serve.






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