Goat Sukha

Whenever I order food from a particular Indian restaurant, I always include an appetizer of goat sukka (or sukha). As an aside, this particular restaurant allows its customers to choose between an American level of spice and an Indian level of spice for their dishes. I like a restaurant that not only caters to the local Indian community in this way, but also offers those options to someone like myself, who is not Indian. Given my love for very spicy foods, I always order my dishes from this restaurant at the Indian spicy or Indian very spicy level. 

Being able to choose spice levels in accordance with the Indian palate is important to me, because I want to experience the foods of southern India as one would prepare them for people who live in that region. Chefs and cooks alike across southern Indian states like Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have embraced chiles. In so doing, they create dishes that contrast with those from the north of India. 

A sukka (or sukha) is a dry curry dish that originates from the south of India. The word sukha is Hindi and means "dry." Unlike a typical curry, sukhas are not prepared with a yogurt, tomato, or coconut milk base. Instead, recipes typically call for a combination of chiles and spices that, when prepared, cling to the featuerd protein with a paste-like texture. And, as for that protein, it could be just about anything. The most common versions of sukhas feature mutton or lamb, but one can find many recipes for Mangalore Chicken Sukha or even Chana Sukha (for vegetarians).  

For this recipe, I attempted to recreate the goat sukka dish from one of my favorite restaurants. I had some extra goat meat from another recipe that I prepared (which will also be posted on this blog). I encountered some difficulty finding a goat sukha recipe, which I needed to ensure that I prepared the goat properly. I eventually decided to use a mutton sukha recipe, for which there are many, and incorporated the directions for preparing goat from that other recipe I mentioned above. 

In the end, this dish was good, but it was not the goat sukka that I would order from the restaurant. There are two reasons for this conclusion. First, I am not as good at cooking goat as the Indian cook or chef at that restaurant. (Despite my best efforts, the goat was a little overcooked.) Second, the recipe would probably translate to an Indian mild or Indian medium on spice level. As noted above, my minimum threshold is Indian hot. 

GOAT SUKHA

Recipe adapted from Relish the Bite

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 pound goat, cubed, bone-in
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• Salt, to taste
• Garlic, 5 cloves minced
• 5 dried chiles (e.g., Kashmiri)
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 cup onions, sliced thinly
• Few curry leaves
• 4 green chiles (e.g., jalapeno)
• 1 teaspoon chile powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• Salt, to taste
• 2 teaspoons oil
• Lime juice and coriander (cilantro), chopped, for garnish

Directions:

1. Prepare the goat. Place the goat, turmeric and salt in a sauce pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and boil until cooked, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the goat from the water, strain the water through a fine mesh and reserve. 

2. Prepare the base. While the goat is cooking, combine the garlic, dried chiles and fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle. Grind the ingredients, with a dash of salt, until they become a paste.

3. Prepare the curry. In a pan, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions, green chiles and curry leaves. Saute until the onions become translucent and the chiles become softer. Add the paste, along with the red chile powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. Saute well. 

4. Finish the dish. Add the goat and stir. Add some of the reserved water and let it cook until the water evaporates. Drizzle some lime juice and garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro). Serve with rice and naan. 

PEACE.

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Nepal

For many, the mention of Nepal conjures images of Mount Everest. Known locally as Sagarmatha or Qomolangma, Mount Everest boasts of the highest point above sea level. The thought of the mountain also conjures up images of intrepid mountain climbers moving from base camp to base camp, with their sherpas. Indeed, the mountain casts a long shadow, one that often obscures the tens of millions of Nepali who live not just in the mountains and the valleys, but also the plains below. 

I find the stories of the Nepali people far more interesting and compelling than those any person -- such as Sir Edmund Hillary or  George Mallory -- who ascended Mount Everest. Their stories told by the Nepalis are ones of struggle, resilience, and hope. Unlike those of Hillary or Mallory, these stories recount lived experiences that span three hundred and sixty-five days per year, each and every year.  

Many of those stories can be found on a website, Stories of Nepal. The website curates the short stories of everyday Nepalis by subject and by cmmunity. The subjects that got my attention had names such as A Right to Earn a Living, Of Hope and Resilience, Strive Struggle Trive, and The Future I Want. I also browsed the stories by communities, looking at the stories from each of Nepal's three ecological regions: the mountains, the hills and the terai (or plains). 

As I read through these stories, I began to notice the common threads: the poverty at home, the desire to have a better life, the paths that they took to achieve that goal, and the obstacles that they had to overcome. There are two measures of poverty: income poverty and human poverty. The former measures whether a person has enough income to meet basic needs, while the latter has a broader focus on whether a person has access to essential resources and opportunities necessary for a decent life. Significant portions of Nepalis across all regions suffer from both types of poverty: in the mountains, 38% suffer from human poverty and 42 percent suffer from income poverty; in the hills, 24% suffer from human poverty while 29% suffer from income poverty; and, in the terai, 33% suffer from human poverty while only 23% suffer from income poverty.

But, as they say, numbers don't tell the whole story. That is where the Nepalis themselves come in. Their contribution demonstrates the hard work that they endure, but the hope that they have for either themselves or their children. For example, Beyond these Mountains tells the story of one Nepali woman, Bhomo Karto Tamang, in Gatang, which is high up in the mountains. She was born in a relatively well-to-do family whose father herded 18 yaks, 200 sheep, and, in her words, "I did not count the goats." She talked about how strong her mother was and how she helped her mother prepare the barley flour. That flour was payment to her father's shepherds. When she grew up, she got married and her life continued much like her mother. However, unlike her mother, this woman decided with her husband to send their children to school. She wanted her children to experience what lies beyond the mountains, something that she never had.

Then there is the story of Hiralel Rai, who lives in Khotang, which is firmly nestled in the hills of Nepal. Rai loved to sing and dance as a kid. His conduct was frowned upon in school, as it was deemed the type of activity inappropriate for boys. That led to corporal punishment by teachers. Rai persevered and, eventually, became a teacher himself. In his own words: 

I am aware that the choices I make as a teacher, inside the classroom, will have a great impact on the lives of these children. Of what they will do and who they will become. So I am always careful as to what I do and what I say in class. I am not a strict teacher who only disciplines students. We all know we get bored in class so I make things fun. I tell stories. While I teach English, I also dance with them. I also sing with them. And everyone sings and dances with me. Freely, without any fear.

There are many more stories that are illuminating and inspiring about how people overcome their circumstances for the betterment of not just themselves but others. When one can see that in people, they are seeing the innate dignity that lies within all of us and that we all deserve. 

I strongly recommend reading Stories of Nepal, where the above stories and pictures come from. They provide a very good starting point to learn about the people. Now, it is time to learn about their cuisine, which is the focus of my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes. The main course, Bhuketo Maso, and the side dish, Piro Alu Dum, have their own stories to tell.

MAIN COURSE

My love for eating goat meat has made its appearance in my culinary challenge on more than one occasion, with Goat Curry from Guyana and two dishes -- Chichinga and Jollof Rice with Goat -- from Ghana. In preparing those dishes, I only tangentially touched, at best, or completely missed, at worst, an important subject: the role that goats play to help lift the poor out of poverty. That subject is harder to miss when one looks at Nepal, because quite a few non-governmental organizations have pursued initiatives to introduce goat farming to those who have little, and researchers followed behind to measure the impact. 

Goats are often referred to as the "poor man's cow." Like cows, goats produce milk and meat, but at a cheaper price to purchase and at a lower cost to maintain. One study estimated that a person could maintain four goats at the same cost as one cow. In addition, one can raise goats in areas where, due to lack of substantial vegetation, it would be harder to raise cows or other animals.  

There are many organizations that have worked to provide goats to poor Nepalis, to provide them with a means through which they can earn money through the sale of goat milk, or, over time, goat meat. Those programs were, in turn, monitored through research, including efforts that were funded by the United States Agency of International Development or USAID. One such research effort found that the provision of goats by Heifer International to poor Nepali women, along with training in animal husbandry, had positive outcomes on the living standards of those women. (I had to look for sources other than those of USAID because the current American administration has taken down EVERYTHING that USAID has done to help the poor around the world.)

For my main challenge, I decided to prepare Bhuketo Maso, which is a dry curry. The dish could be prepared with any kind of protein, such as chicken or lamb. However, I decided to use goat as a nod to the importance that this particular protein has in lifting many Nepalis of poverty. 

BHUKETO MASO

Recipe from Nepali Tummy

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound goat meat (clean and cut in 2 inch cubes)
• 1/2 tablespoon of cumin seeds or 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds or 1/2 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 cinnamon stick or 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon powder
• 3-4 dried red chiles or 1/2 tablespoon red chile powder
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon ginger-garlic paste
• Salt
• 4 tablespoons oil

Directions:

1. Prepare the spice mix. Add the cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chiles in a spice grinder. (If you are using ground spices, just combine). Grind until the spices are a powder. Remove to a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of water to make a thick paste.

2. Boil the meat. In a deep pan, add the meat, water (to cover) and 2 pinches of salt. Boil the meat until it is cooked, approximately 20 minutes.  Be careful not to overcook. 

3. Finish the dish. Heart the oil in a separate pan. Add the boiled meat and the spice paste, stir over medium heat and cook for 10-12 minutes. 

SIDE DISH

While Bhuketo Maso may be a dry curry, I prepared a side dish that did have a curry-like sauce. Piro alu dum is a potato curry that has a tomato base.  This provided a little contrast to the overall meal. 

Potatoes were actually introduced into Nepal back in the mid-19th century, when a British naturalist, Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, during an expedition to that country. While Hooker ultimately left, the tubers remained and became a vital crop across the country. They have an adaptability that works well in a country with differing regions, soils and climates. Nepalis are able to grow potatoes in areas where other crops could not thrive, thereby enabling them to produce a commodity that has taken a featured spot in their cuisine.

PIRO ALU DUM

Recipe from Cookpad

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 4 medium sized potatoes, cut into 4 pieces
• 10 cloves garlic
• 2 whole red chiles
• 1 medium sized tomato paste
• Salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chile powder
• 3 tablespoons mustard oil
• 1/2 teaspoon kalonji
• 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 2 tablespoons cilantro (coriander leaves)

Directions:

1. Boil the potatoes. Peel the potatoes. Heat a pot of water to boiling. Add potatoes and boil until tender. Remove from heat and drain the potatoes. While the potatoes are boiling, mince the garlic cloves and chiles, and then combine the two into a paste. 

2. Prepare the tomato-spice paste. In a bowl, add the garlic-chile paste, tomato paste, salt, turmeric powder and Kashmiri chile powder. Mix well. 

3. Finish the dish. Heat the oil in the pan on medium heat. Add kalonji and fenugreek seeds. Add potatoes and stir, mixing well. Add the tomato-spice paste and mix well. Add hot water and continue to cook, while the sauce thickens. Once the sauce is at the desired consistency, add coriander leaves and serve hot. 

*    *    *

In the end, I am grateful for having the opportunity to prepare this meal. I am much more grateful for taking the time to learn about the roles that the primary ingredients -- goat meat and potatoes -- has had in Nepali life and cuisine. Not everything that I read is reflected in this post. But, I wanted to make sure one thing is prominently set forth here ... the importance of development programs to help the poor lift themselves out of their poverty, and the critical work of those who oversee and implement those programs. Their work takes on moral and ethical obligations, which are gravely under threat. That is best saved for another post. Until then ... 

PEACE.

Advieh

Longtime followers of this blog may (or may not) remember a dish that I prepared 11 years ago -- Advieh-e Spiced Chicken Kebabs. That dish was my attempt to use an iconic spice mix from Iran in one of my favorite preparations, namely, kebabs. In that effort, I talked about the spice mix. I also ended my post by noting one truly special ingredient: dried rose petals. At the time, I did not have that ingredient and I decided to substitute a few drops of rose water. Improvisation that worked, but it was not truly Advieh. 

Time has passed and I now have dried rose petals among the many herbs and spices at my disposal. So, it was time to return to Advieh, to prepare it properly and to learn more about its place in Persian cuisine. 

Although no one has been able to trace the history of advieh to its origin, the use of this spice mix, or one very similar to it, can be found in recipes that can be dated as far back as 2,000 years ago. It should be noted that the history of the spice trade routes dates back as far as 1,000 B.C.E. One of the routes of the spice trace wound its way through what is now northern Iran. That trade route most likely provided the cinnamon, coriander, nutmeg, and cardamom used to prepare advieh. Over time, this spice mix has become what one described as a "cornerstone" or a "bridge" for Persian cuisine. 

As for the ingredients used to prepare advieh, there is no one definitive recipe. Like most recipes, there are variations that have developed over time and with different cooks. I tried to find a typical advieh recipe that includes the most commonly used ingredients. Each ingredient has a purpose: cinnamon, for its "sweet warmth"; cardamom, for its "minty undertones"; cumin, which adds earthiness; coriander, which supplies citrus notes; nutmeg, which gives a "spicy sweetness"; and, of course, rose petals, which provide a floral scent to the mix. Other recipes may add ingredients such as black pepper, cardamom or even saffron. 

I used this spice mix to prepare some roasted halibut for my beautiful Angel. Fortunately, because I had rose petals, she was able to experience advieh as it truly should be made. She loved the dish very much; and, I have some leftover mix to use on something more traditional, like chicken kebabs.

ADVIEH

Recipe from Meljoulwan

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 geaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon grond nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground rose petals
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions:

Combine all of the spices in a small bowl and mix well. 

PEACE.

Rohingya Tomato Soup

While much of the world (including myself) focuses its attention on the Middle East, there are atrocities that continue to unfold around the world. One such atrocity marked its seventh anniversary: Myanmar's ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya in the Rakhine state. 

Seven years have led to between 750,000 and 1.1 million Rohingyans being forced to flee Myanmar for neighboring Bangladesh. Most of the Rohingyans who fled to Bangladesh have found themselves in Cox Bazar, a district where there are thirty-three refugee camps that, combined, house over 930,000 Rohingyans as of July 2023. 

The camps are overcrowded, many of which exceed the guidelines established by the United Nations Human Rights Commission ("UNHCR"). For example, the UNHCR standards provide that the number of people per latrine should be 4-6 and, in emergency situations, up to 20 per latrine. Six of the refugee camps are at 30 people or more per latrine and one is as high as 54 people per latrine. The UNHCR standard also provide that the number of people per water supply should be 1 water supply for every 80 people. Nine of refugee camps exceed that standard, with one of them -- the Nayapara Refugee Camp -- having a water supply for every 1,931 people. Add in the lack of educational and employment opportunities generally in the refugee camps, and, the situation is very bad and getting worse for the Rohingyan refugees.

Rohingyan refugee camp in Cox Bazar (Source: Danish Refugee Council)

Life for Rohingyans who remain in Myanmar is also getting worse. Approximately 636,000 Rohingyans remain in Myanmar, where they are subjected to an apartheid legal system that refuses to recognize them as an ethnic minority (even though Myanmar recognizes 135 other minority ethnic groups). To make matters even worse, those Rohingyan remaining in the Rakhine State are caught between a military conflict between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army, a nationalist military organization. The situation continues to worsen and little is seen or heard as it is drowned out by events elsewhere in the world.

To be sure, I have spent quite a bit of time in recent months focusing on Palestinian culture and cuisine. However, I have talking about the plight of the Rohingyan people for years. I have previously focused upon the Rohingyans, their culture and cuisine, along with their plight. My prior posts can be found here and here. 

Rohingyan family (Source: CORE)

I return my focus to the cuisine of the Rohingyan with this recipe for a Tomato Soup. This recipe is not just any soup. It is a window that reveals a common bond shared between the Rohingyan people and many other groups of people from Pakistan to Thailand (and beyond). That window can be found in the combination of three ingredients: ginger, garlic and turmeric. Together those three ingredients are the base of a curry. And not just any curry. They are the fundamental building blocks of the original curries that emerged from the Indus river valley more than four thousand years ago. That historical curry is the foundation of curries across the subcontinent and into southeastern Asia. 

This connection proves a basic truth: despite an organized, governmental effort by Myanmar to strip the dignity and humanity from the Rohingyan people (by refusing to recognize their ethnicity and declaring them a stateless group), the Rohingyans have a common bond with the other peoples. This bond extends to the other ethnic groups across Myanmar. This tomato soup shares similarities with other curry dishes prepared in Myanmar, such as those who live in the Shan Hills. But the bond extends far beyond the borders of Myanmar, across not only the subcontinent and southeast Asia, but across the world.

ROHINGYA TOMATO SOUP

Recipe from SBS Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 12 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 40 grams ginger, grated
• 1 tablespoon ginger powder
• 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
• 2 tablespoons ground coriander
• 4 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 liter of water
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1.    Saute the vegetables. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and stir for 5-6 minutes until softened. Add the spices and stir until fragrant. 

2.    Add the tomatoes and water. Add the chopped tomatoes, water and season with salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 7-10 minutes until slightly thickened. 

3.     Finish the dish. Serve scattered with chopped green chiles and coriander (cilantro), with lime wedges and steamed rice on the side. 

PEACE.

Merken Especial

The Mapuche have a very interesting history, and, until very recently, it was one about which I knew very little. While I have been going out of my way to learn more about indigenous cultures, both generally and through this blog, I have to admit that my focus has largely been trained on North America, only occasionally diverting itself into Central America or the Caribbean. I had never really spent any time focused upon the indigenous people of South America. And, now I realize, that has left me with an incomplete picture of history before colonization and exploitation. 

The Mapuche have lived in a region in the central part of present day central Chile, as well as part of western Argentina, for centuries. They are a proud people, who resisted colonization by the Spanish, even to the point of having their own independent society until well into the nineteenth century. That ended when the Chilean army, as well as the Argentinian army, invaded and occupied the Mapuche lands. While improvements seemed to be on the horizon during the Salvador Allende administration, which passed the Indigenous Law recognizing the Mapuche people, all of that came to a screeching halt under the dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet. A once-independent proud people were reduced to what most indigenous nations face today: severe poverty, rampant discrimination, and a threatened identity. 

Yet, the culture continues, both within the Mapuche themselves and those who want to learn more about them. I fall in the latter category, as I was looking for recipes for a rather sizeable cut of picanha or top sirloin cap. My search led me down well trodden pathways, usually ending with recipes that involved the preparation of a chimichurri. Those pathways are well trodden for a reason: chimichurri is the go-to condiment for grilled meats in Brazil, Argentina and Chile. I wanted to do something different, and I wanted to take a path less taken. That led me to the Mapuche and to Merken.

Merken is a ground chile mix prepared by the Mapuche. The traditional preparation involves a particular chile: the goat horn chile or cacho de cabra. The chiles are first smoked and then dried. Thereafter, they are ground to a powder, producing one of two spice mixes. There is Merken Natural, which consists of the ground chiles and salt. Then there is Merken Especial, which includes not only the ground chiles and salt, but also toasted, ground coriander seeds. The preparation of the especial is rather exact in its proportions: 70% ground chile, 20% ground salt and 10% ground toasted coriander seed. 

Both preparations have an important role in Mapuche cuisine. They are used not only in rubs or marinades for grilled meats (which is my intended use), but also for soups and stews. Merken is basically that spice mix or condiment that is used much in the way cooks would use black pepper or cayenne pepper to season a dish. 

Finally, cacho de cabra may not be available everywhere. (It certainly was not available where I live.) I looked for suitable alternatives, which may include the aji pepper from Peru or even the Hatch chile from New Mexico. However, the key to merken is that the chile is smoked. That step is important because it imparts particular aromatic and taste elements. Not any dried chile can recreate those elements completely. For that reason, I went with an ancho chile pepper. Ancho chiles are sometimes dried with the use of smoke and are known for contributing smoke elements to dishes. If you have dried chipotle peppers, those would work well too. If you wanted to balance out the smoke, perhaps use a mix of dried ancho (or chipotle peppers) and dried guajillo or hatch chiles. 

In the end, I can say that this particular chile spice mix is incredible; and, I can only imagine what it would be like if I actually had cacho de cabra chiles on hand.  This recipe - and this post - represent a first step in learning more about the Mapuche, both their culture and their cuisine. Who knows where the next step will take me.

MERKEN ESPECIAL

Recipe from The Food Dictator

Ingredients:

• 8.5 teaspoons dried seeded cacho de cabra pepper flakes
• 2.5 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

Directions:

1. Prepare the ingredients. If the peppers are leathery, they will need to be crisped. Place them on a baking sheet and put them in a 350 degree Fahrenheit oven. Immediately turn off the heat and let the peppers sit in the oven a few minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and let them cool on the baking sheet. Toast the coriander seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant.

2. Prepare the mixture. Grind the salt and coriander seed together in a spice mill or coffee grinder until fairly finely textured. Crumble the peppers into the mill and grind the mixture to whatever consistency you desire. 

PEACE.

Rohingyan Beef Curry

We all miss home, but we cannot go back to the same fear. -- Nur Anya 

For decades, the Rohingyans -- a Muslim minority group --  have suffered under dehumanizing discrimination in Myanmar. The government refused to grant citizenship to the Rohingyan people, denying legal status to an entire ethnic group. Yet, the government passed laws that placed significant restrictions upon the Rohingya. For example, in the northern towns of Mungdaw and Buthidaugn, the authorities limited Rohingyan couples to two children. The government also requires Rohingyans to get approval before they can marry, as well as to travel or move outside of their home towns. These conditions are exacerbated by the fact that the area where most Rohingyans call "home," the Rakine State, is the least developed of Myanmar's states and has a poverty rate of 78%, which is more than double the national rate of 37.5% percent. 

The discrimination and repression led to violence in 2017, after a militant group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army attacked police and army posts. The military cracked down on the Rohingyan people. As the United Nations would later find in an after-the-fact investigation, the Myanmar military showed "genocidal intent" and, in a 2018 report, the UN determined that Myanmar found that the military engaged in "clear patterns of abuse" that included, among other things, the systematic targeting of civilians, promoting discriminatory rhetoric against the Rohingya and establishing a "climate of impunity" for the government's security forces. After approximately one year, it is estimated that the Myanmar military and security forces killed nearly 24,000 Rohingyans.

Fleeing Death and Destruction

The violence and death led to mass displacement of Rohingyans, significant numbers of whom fled as refugees to other countries. I previously touched upon the Rohingyan refugee crisis as part of my culinary challenge involving Myanmar. Approximately 740,000 Rohingyans fled into neighboring Bangladesh. Many more fled to Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. It was, at the time, the world's fastest growing humanitarian crisis.

Rohingyan refugees. Source: UNHR Australia

The stories of those who became refugees is heart-wrenching. As Nur Anya recounted from a refugee camp in Bangladesh: 

In Myanmar, we had our lands where we grew flowers, vegetables and many plants. We had a big house where all the family members lived together. The violence and the killing drove us to leave our homes. They brunt houses in my neighbourhood. They shot and killed a lot of people in my village. We were living with fear every day.  When we decided to leave, we had no other option.

It was the most difficult journey of my life. We walked 13 days and nights. To cross the river, my family used a handmade bamboo raft. There were a lot of people with us -- I could not say what the number was, it was so huge. 

As Rohingyans became refugees, many of their villages were abandoned and even more were distroyed. At one point, 176 of 471 Rohingyan villages -- or more than 1/3 of the villages -- had been abandoned.  The Myanmar government cleared entire Rohingyan villages and farms. The government then built homes, infrastructure and military bases in their place. 

Preserving the Rohingyan Culture

The end result, and perhaps the government's objective, was to eliminate the Rohingya people from Myanmar.  The government sought to take the legal status of the people -- that is, no recognition of the Rohingyans -- and make that a factual reality. This creates a clear and present danger to the Rohingyan identity and their culture, including their cuisine. The stories from the refugees include accounts where they had to leave everything behind, including all of their cooking utensils, which makes it harder for them to prepare food for themselves and their families. This leaves the people dependent upon food aid, which has become more difficult to obtain, leading to smaller meals or even skipped meals.

Rohingyan refugees eating a meal. Source: UNHCR

There are efforts to preserve that culture and its cuisine. One example involves the Endangered Material Knowledge Program (EDKM), which provides grants to conduct research on critically endangered knowledge. One project that was under consideration in 2023 was entitled, Rohingya Recipes and Food Practices of stateless Rohingya Community in Camps of Bangladesh. The project description noted the historical difficulty of the Rohingyan people when it came to food: they struggled to maintain the needed nutritional demands, whether it was at their homes in Myanmar or in the refugee camps in Bangladesh. The objective of this project is, among other things, to document recipes and practices of the Rohingyan people. 

This research is sorely needed, as there are few resources and research available on the Internet about the Rohingyan people, their culture and their cuisine. I was able to find a few recipes (which was more than my previous research when I was working on my Around the World challenge). I found a couple of recipes, including one for Rohingyan beef curry.

This recipe is a very interesting one. It calls for beef with bones. When I went to the grocery store, I had to improvise: I purchased some stew meat and some marrow bones. The "masala" for this curry -- turmeric, red chile powder, coriander, cumin, and garam masala -- provided for an aromatic cooking experience and a lot of flavor to build upon the garlic/ginger paste. 

The end result is a delicious beef curry with a slight kick. (I used Kashmiri chiles for the ground red chile powder.) I could not escape the thoughts about how this dish is just a memory for nearly a million Rohingyan refugees who have been forced from their homes and subjected to even greater poverty than what they previously experienced. I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to prepare this dish and prepare this post, as my effort to help publicize the Rohingyan culture and cuisine. More of this is needed so that the world does not forget the tragedies that unfolded over six years ago. 

ROHINGYAN BEEF CURRY

Recipe from SBS Food

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 large onions, diced
• 1 kg diced beef, with bones
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 2 potatoes, diced
• 1 tablespoon garlic paste
• 2 tablespoons ginger paste
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon red chile powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 3 teaspoons garam masala powder
• 4 tablespoons cooking oil
• Coriander, as garnish
• Green chiles, as garnish

Directions:

1.    Saute the vegetables and brown the meat. Heat oil on high heat in a large pot. Add onions, garlic paste and ginger paste. Stir for 2 to 3 minutes until brown. Add diced beef and bones and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, red chile powder, coriander and cumin. Stir-fry for 2 more minutes. Add the garam masala and stir-fry for another 2 minutes. 

2. Add the liquid and tomatoes. Add 1 cup of water and diced tomatoes and cook on high heat for 5 minutes. Add the potatoes in the last half an hour. 

3. Finish the dish. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) and green chiles. Serve with hot steamed rice.

PEACE.

Vindaloo Wings

If one was to look for a dry rub recipe for buffalo wings, they would most likely find a lot of commonality in the recipes. That commonality draws inspiration from Mexico (such as the use of ancho chile powder) or barbecue (with the use of smoked paprika, brown sugar and other ingredients). Those recipes may produce some very tasty wings,  but I want to go down a different path with dry rub wings. 

That is when I got to thinking of creating a dry rub that draws its inspiration from curries. More specifically, curries from India. Even more particularly, a particular curry that is symbolic of Goa. That curry is the fiery vindaloo. 

Typically, vindaloo is a sauce-based curry, with strong vinegar notes and a very spicy kick. There are a lot of recipes for a vindaloo paste, which could work well with buffalo wings. (I have used the paste in the past.) But, I wanted an even simpler preparation: just a spice mix.  

I found a basic spice mix that incorporates many of the spices that find their way into a vindaloo. These spices include chiles (of course), along with cardamom, cumin, coriander, cloves, and cardamom. The one spice that was missing, but which could usually be found in a vindaloo recipe, is turmeric. I could live without the use of the golden spice on this one occasion. 

One last note about this recipe, the chiles used in the spice mix are Kashmiri chiles. Those chiles are not as piquant as the chiles that would typically be used in a vindaloo. Goan dishes are well known for their use of the peri-peri chile, a very spicy chile introduced by Portuguese explorers and colonialists to the subcontinent. Kashmiri chiles have their own kick, which will probably be more appealing to people who do not ordinarily eat very spicy wings. 

VINDALOO DRY RUB WINGS

Spice mix recipe from Ministry of Curry

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound chicken wings, drumettes and flats
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 20 black peppercorns
• 4 green cardamom seeds
• 4 cloves
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 8 dried Kashmiri chiles

Directions:

1.    Prepare the dry rub. Add all the spices to a dry frying pan and lightly toast until aromatic, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer the spices to a plate to cool completely. Grind the spices in a spice grinder to make a fine powder.

2.    Prepare the wings. Add the wings to a bowl and add the apple cider vinegar. Toss the wings in the vinegar until they are coated. Then add the dry rub and toss until all the wings are well coated with the spice mixgture. 

3.    Cook the wings. Heat an oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lay out the wings on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Place the wings in the oven and cook for about 25 minutes or until the wings reach an internal temperature of 165 degrees Fahrenheit. Remove from the oven, allow the wings to cool for about 5 minutes and then serve immediately. 

ENJOY!

Native American Inspired Rib Roast

In my continuing quest to learn more about the cultures behind the cuisines, I have spent a lot of time reading about different indigenous cultures across North America (that is, the Canada, the United States and Mexico). One aspect of this educational endeavor has been to learn about the native ingredients that these indigenous cultures had to cook with, long before the arrival of conquistadors, colonists and more. I have been helped greatly by reading the books of, as well as following the work of, Native American chefs, like Sean Sherman.

Their work has opened my eyes and my understanding that there is more to the history of ingredients than what I have already learned or what I know. Just a few years ago, if someone would have asked me what cuisines would have incorporated juniper berries, my first thoughts would have taken me to Northern Europe or Eastern Europe. If someone asked me which cuisine utilizes sumac, I would have reflexively answered Turkish or Persian cuisines. I would never have thought to respond with Sioux, Ojibwe or any other Native American nation. Yet, both of these ingredients - juniper and sumac - have their place in Native American cuisine. 

All of this knowledge inspired me to create a rub based upon ingredients available to Native Americans before the colonial period. I knew going into this effort that I would be using juniper berries. That was the first ingredient. I needed to build around those berries. Fortunately, I found someone else who has been inspired by Chef Sherman: home chef Brad Prose, who has his own website, Chile and Smoke. I highly recommend the website. 

Prose has a recipe for a juniper spiced rub, which helped me to build this recipe. I used the proportions of coriander seed, Kosher salt and whole black pepper that can be found in his recipe, although I converted everything roughly from grams to teaspoons or tablespoons. As an aside, I should note that whole black peppercorns are native to South Asia and Southeastern Asia. I left peppercorns in because, from what I understand, there are native American equivalents that could have been used to achieve the same flavors and effects. 

I was less certain about other ingredients in Prose's recipe.  First, I left out the sugar, as Chef Sherman has left out sugar cane from his dishes. I also left out the chile flakes and garlic powder. My focus for this rub was more towards the Plains (for a reason I discuss further below), rather than the Southwest. This mean that chiles were less likely to be used (and it provides a future opportunity for a Native American inspired rub focused on the Southwest, as I have a lot of ancho peppers, chipotle peppers, and hatch peppers). As for the garlic, it is my understanding (right or wrong), that garlic was brought to the Americas by European settlers. While I am not sure about that understanding, I decided that I could leave it out.

Sumac (Source: Gardener Cook)

Setting aside the sugar, chiles and garlic left some holes that needed to be filled. At this point, I turned to what I learned. Sumac is native to all 48 contiguous United States and it has been used by Native American cooks to impart citrus notes to dishes. Adding sumac to this spice blend compounds the citrus notes provided by juniper berries. Rather than balance that citrus with the sweetness of sugar, I decided to go with dried thyme, which imparts earthier notes with hints of spice and sweetness. 

This rub had a specific purpose. I wanted to prepare a rub that could be used with a bison roast. Bison had an importance place in the cultures of the Plains tribes, such as the Sioux, Cheyenne and Arapaho. These cultures used the bison not only for food, but they used all of the bison - for their shelter, clothing, jewelry and much more. And, at one point, there were tens of millions of bison that roamed the Plains of North America. However, the bison were nearly wiped out as part of a systematic and largely successful effort to remove Native Americans from their lands by depriving them of this important food resource. By the 1880s, the large herds of bison had largely vanished, and the native cultures that relied upon the bison were severely impacted. That is history. Today, there are more than 60 tribes working to restore the herds, both on their tribal lands and in federal parks. The tribes and the federal government are even working together in the State of Montana through the Interagency Bison Management Plan. The Plan has the goals of promoting a free range bison population, while minimizing the risk of diseases and managing those bison that leave Yellowstone and enter the State of Montana.

Source: National Park Service

While I wanted a rub for a bison roast, I did not have one for this recipe. Instead, I had a beef rib roast. I have found that, to a large degree, bison and beef recipes are interchangeable as long as one important principle is kept in mind: bison has far less fat than beef (especially the beef produced in the factory farm setting). Thus, if I was using a bison roast, I would probably baste it more often and perhaps pull it out of the oven at a slightly lower temperature (such as 125 degrees Fahrenheit). 

While I had been holding on to the beef rib roast for a special occasion, honoring the cuisines of Native Tribes and making the effort to learn more about their cultures is just as good of an occasion.

NATIVE AMERICAN INSPIRED RIB ROAST

Recipe adapted from Chile and Smoke

Serves several

Ingredients (for the Spice Rub):

• 2 1/4 tablespoons of Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons of whole black pepper
• 4 teaspoons whole coriander seed
• 2 teaspoons juniper berries
• 2 teaspoons ground sumac
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme

Ingredients (for the Prime Rib):

• 1 standing rib roast, beef or bison
• Vegetable or canola oil
• 1 cup water, beef stock or beef broth

Directions:

1. Prepare the spice rub. Toast the whole spices (black pepper, coriander seed and juniper berries) in small skillet over medium to medium-low heat, until fragrant, move the spices around to avoid them from becoming burnt. Allow the spices to cool down and then combine with the ground and dried spices.

2. Cook the Roast. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Place the rib roast in a roasting pan with about 1 cup of water, beef stock, or beef broth. Cook the rib roast, covered, for about three hours; however, check the temperature after two and one-half hours. 

3. Finish the cook. When the internal temperature of the roast reaches about 125 degrees Fahrenheit, which is about medium rare. Pull out the roast, leave it covered and let it rest for about 15 to 20 minutes. The roast should cook another 5 to 10 degrees.

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Sri Lanka

As a young kid, I was always fascinated with maps, both new and old. I spent a lot of time going from continent to continent,  country to country. I spent a lot of time learning the geography of each country ... their shapes, capitals, major cities, and much more. Whenever I looked at these maps, one teardrop-shaped  island always caught my eye. It has the shape of a little teardrop, falling off the southeastern coast of the Asian subcontinent. I traced the outline of the island, from Jaffna at the tip, down the coast through either Colombo or Trimcomalee, to the bottom at Matara. All of those old maps referred to that little island as "Ceylon."  Go back further, and the island was referred to as "Serendip," short for serendipity. 

Since 1972, the country has been known as Sri Lanka (which translates as "resplendent island") or, officially, the Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka. The country is home to diverse groups, from the majority Sinhalese to a large minority of Tamils, along with Moors, Burghers, Malay, Chinese and indigenous people known as the Vedda. Nearly every major religion -- Buddhism, Hinduism, Christianity and Islam -- is practiced in Sri Lanka. This multi-ethnic country provides the setting for my latest Around the World in 80 Dishes personal culinary challenge.

This particular challenge has probably been the longest of my Around the World challenges in terms of the recipe planning. That planning began a few years ago. I met one of my best friends for dinner at a pop-up restaurant.  The menu featured a range of Sri Lankan dishes.  We selected a range of dishes from all of the categories on the menu. Every single dish was an amazing experience. 

Since that pop-up dinner, I had a lot of thoughts about what I would prepare if I would be presented with the challenge of making a main course from Sri Lanka as part of my Around the World in 80 Dishes culinary challenge. I started to organize my thoughts, but, then I realized that I needed to learn more about the cuisine itself. This challenge provided me with the best opportunity for that education. It was a challenge that I was more than ready to accept.

One common theme emerged very early in my research is the following: Sri Lankans curry just about anything and everything. As someone who loves everything about the cuisine from the subcontinent, this theme greatly appeals to me. It led me to spend some extra time learning about just what makes this cuisine so special. 

I searched the internet for articles about the ingredients, cooking processes and ingredients, finding some articles that provided a decent background into Sri Lankan cuisine. However, it was a the book Lanka Food that really fueled my research. The book provided an introduction into the cooking processes (such as use of chatty pots over a hearth) and ingredients (with explanations for ingredients that I have never heard of or used before, such as pandan leaves, goraka and Maldive fish chips).  Most importantly, it provided another source of recipes from which I could use as a guide for not only the main course, but also the accompaniments, such as the sambols.

One final note about Sri Lankan cuisine, which ties into something that has really caught my attention in recent months. It is how the cuisine incorporates the five flavors - sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami. I was first introduced to this concept through Vietnamese cuisine, where it is known as "Ngu Hanh" or "Ngu Vi." I got to learn more about this concept with my introduction to Sichuan cuisine, which actually adds additional flavors, such as "fragrant." As with Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine, Sri Lankan cuisine incorporates this balancing of different flavors, and, it often does so not just in one dish, but by the incorporation of multiple dishes, such as the pairing of a curry with a sambol.

For this challenge, I decided to do more than just the main course. I had too much information in front of me to simply complete the challenge and move on to the next one. I wanted to try to create that balance of flavors through not just one dish, but with a whole meal. So, here it goes....

MAIN COURSE

For the cuisine that curries everything, the most iconic of Sri Lanka's curries revolves around chicken. Sri Lankans refer to it as Kukul Mas. The history of this dish traces it to Colombo, which was the country's historical capital. (The capital, at least for legislative purposes, has moved to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte.) It is a dish that comes from the island's Sinhalese community. They represent a majority of the Sri Lankan population and their cuisine has been described as one of the most complex of South Asia. While I am still looking for an adequate explanation of that complexity, the one thing that I have learned from this challenge that there is a complexity in terms of how different flavors and textures are added to dishes. 

This chicken curry dish provides an example of another feature of Sri Lankan cuisine: the many variations of dishes. In some respects, there are as many variations of Kukul Mas as there are families and restaurants that prepare the dish. Many of the variations are based on the different spices used to create the curry powder. Other variations surround other ingredients. For example, some recipes for Kukul Mas use tomatoes or tomato puree (a nod to the colonial influences that brought the ingredient to the island). Tomatoes provide the curry with a reddish hue. Others, such as the recipe that I used, dispense with the tomato. These recipes result in a dish of golden chicken, thanks to the turmeric in the curry powders. Despite all of the variations, one common note among recipes is the preference for using a whole chicken, broken down into its constituent parts. This approach ensures that the bones are used and ensures that they provide additional flavor to the dish. In the end, regardless of the recipe used, the end result is a delicious dish that can be found on the tables of many homes in Sri Lanka.

KUKUL MAS CURRY

Recipe from Dish

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken (about 3 pounds), cut into pieces (or bone-in, skin on chicken thighs and drumsticks)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 cardamom pods, bruised
• 3 dried chiles
• 8-10 curry leaves
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 2 cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground fennel
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 stem lemongrass, bruised
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1. Prepare the chicken.  Joint the chicken, then cut the breast and thigh in half, leaving the wings and drumsticks whole.

2. Sauté the spices.  Heat the oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the cardamom pods, chiles, and curry leaves and fry for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the onion and cook until golden. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the ground spices and stir well to combine. 

3.  Sauté the chicken.  Add the chicken to the pan and stir until it is well coated with the spice mix.  Add half of the coconut milk, the lemongrass and cinnamon, cover and cook over low heat for 40 minutes to 50 minutes.  Stir in the remaining coconut milk, season with salt and cook uncovered for a further 5 minutes to 10 minutes. 

SIDE DISH

Although the Kukul Mas satisfies the challenge, I wanted to prepare an entire Sri Lankan meal.  The author O Tama Carey describes dhal as the "most essential side dish" in her Lanka Food cookbook (at page 183). A dhal is basically a curry that features a dried, split pulse - such as lentils, beans or peas - as the principal ingredient. Given Carey's description, I had to make a dhal to accompany my chicken curry. Dhals can be found across the subcontinent.

In Sri Lanka, dhals are commonly prepared with red lentils. The common ingredient belies a range of variations in dishes, with some dhals being spicier than others, and some dhals being thicker than others. There are also differences in how the dhal is finished, with some adding green leaves (such as curry leaves, which help reinforce flavors), while others get a garnish, such as fried onion, to add texture to the dish.

In my research for this challenge, I spent a lot of time at a local Sri Lankan grocery store called Spice Lanka. (BTW, I strongly recommend this small, family owned business, because they have a good selection of ingredients and the owners and staff are always very friendly.) I also purchased quite a few ingredients from the store, including a bag of red lentils. Those lentils enabled me to make this Sri Lankan dhal. 

DHAL

Recipe from O Tama Carey, Lanka Food, at 186

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 75 grams (2 3/4 ounces) coconut oil
• 5 grams (1/5 ounce) curry leaves
• 550 grams (1 lb, 3 oz.) brown onions, cut into medium dice
• 18 grams (2/3 ounce) finely chopped garlic
• 15 grams (1/2 ounce) finely chopped ginger
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 7 grams (1/4 ounces) black mustard seeds
• 5 grams (1/5 ounce) turmeric powder
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 4 2-inch pandan leaf
• Bottom 2 inches lemongrass stem, lightly bruised
• 525 grams (1 lb, 3 oz.) red lentils, thoroughly washed
• 450 ml (15 fluid oz) coconut cream

Directions:

1. Saute Ingredients. Melt the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over a medium heat, add the curry leaves and cook, stirring, for a minute or so until the leaves are fried. Add the onion, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6-7 minutes until the onion has softened. Lightly season with salt and pepper. Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, and cinnamon and cook, stirring, 1-2 minutes until the turmeric begins to catch the bottom of the pan.

2. Cook the lentils. Add the pandan leaf, lemongrass and lentils and give everything a good stir to combine. Pour in the coconut cream and 1 liter (36 fluid ounces or 4 1/4 cups) of water and mix well, then reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. the dhal is ready when all the lentils have just given away and turned yellow while still retaining a little texture. Re-season with salt and pepper and serve hot. 

CONDIMENT (SAMBOL #1)

"Sambal is a state of mind." While an Indonesian chef, William Wongso, may have uttered those words, the statement is seemingly universal in southern and eastern Asian cuisine. Sambals - or Sambols, as they are referred to in Sri Lanka (the only country that uses an "o" instead of an "a") are a condiment based upon chiles.  As Carey notes in Lanka Food (at pg. 209), sambols play an important role in adding flavors, spices and textures to dishes. 

There are many different sambols in Sri Lankan cuisine. I decided to make two of them for this challenge.  The first one - pol sambol - literally translates into coconut sambol. It is perhaps the most common sambol in Sri Lanka. It also serves as a good representation of the balancing of the five tastes. There is the sweet from the coconut, the umami from the Maldive fish chips, the heat from the chiles and the sour or bitter from the lime juice. 

POL SAMBOL

Recipe from O Tama Carey, Lanka Food, at 214

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 300 grams or 10 1/2 ounces of grated coconut
• 100 grams or 3 1/2 ounces finely sliced shallots
• 3 small green chiles, finely chopped
• 20 grams or 3/4 ounce Maldive fish chips
• 5 grams (1/5 ounce) chilli powder
• 3 grams (1/10 ounce) freshly ground black pepper
• 3 grams (1/10 ounce) sweet paprika
• 1-2 limes juiced
• Salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the ingredients. Place all of the ingredients, except the lime juice and salt, in a bowl and firmly mix them together with one hand, using a squeezing and kneading motion. This not only combines the ingredients, but it helps to release the oils from the coconut. Keep going until the texture of the sambol is almost a little sticky.

2. Finish the dish. Season to taste with lime juice and a generous amount of salt, mixing and squeezing again. Serve at room temperature.

CONDIMENT (SAMBOL #2)

For the second sambol, I decided to continue my exploration of new ingredients. This sambol introduced to me the use of dried shrimp. Much like the Maldive Fish Chips, the dried shrimp provided an almost umami flavor to this particular sambol.  

DRIED SHRIMP SAMBOL

Recipe from Asia Society

Ingredients:

• 1 cup dried shrimp
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 3 teaspoons chopped red chiles or sambal oelek
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, chopped
• 3/4 cup lime juice
• 1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the shrimp and the coconut. Floss prawns in a blender or food processor. Put desiccated coconut in a dry frying pan and toast, stirring constantly, until there is a rich brown color. Immediately turn out onto a plate to cool.

2. Blend the ingredients. Blend the chiles, onion, garlic, lime juice and salt to a smooth puree.  Add the coconut and blend again, adding a little water if necessary to produce a smooth paste.  Add the shrimp floss and blend again, scraping down the sides of the container with a spatula. Serve as a relish with rice and curries. 

*    *    *

This challenge may have taken a really long time to come together, but the end result was perhaps one of the most delicious meals that I have had in a long time. I really liked the Kukul Mas Curry and I will eventually make it again, perhaps adding some of the variations that I came across while researching the dish. As for the sambols, I think I should have them around like bottles of hot sauce. Fortunately, I have enough Maldive fish chips and dried shrimp to make both of the sambols ... again and again!

Until next time ...

ENJOY!