Kashmiri-Style Raan

Many recipes have a history; and, for this leg of lamb recipe, that history can be traced to the fourth century B.C.E.  Alexander III of Macedon -- known as "Alexander the Great" -- was leading his armies on a path eastward into what was known then as Bactria. The region was well established along the Silk Road in an area that is divided amongst common-day Afghanistan, Pakistan and Tajikistan. While history confirms Alexander's conquest of the mountainous region in which Bactria could be found, what comes next is the subject of some dispute.

As one story goes, it was 327 B.C.E. when Alexander the Great had just conquered the Hindu Kush, a mountainous region that could have been the southern part of Bactria. Basking in the victory, Alexander married Roxane, the daughter of Oxyartes. The centerpiece of the wedding feast was known as Sikandari Raan or Alexander Raan. Alexander would go on to appoint Oxyartes to serve as the governor of Bactria.

Another story paints a different picture: Alexander the Great sent his army into the Battle of Hydaspes in 326 B.C.E. The battle took place along the Jhelum River in what would become northeastern Pakistan. By the end of the battle, Alexander's forces had captured the local king, Porus. Alexander asked Porus how he would like to be treated; and, the defeated monarch replied "treat me like a King would treat another King." Alexander the Great released Porus and the two became friends. A feast was held to celebrate the friendship. The centerpiece of that feast was a leg of lamb.

The true story, along with the recipe for that leg of lamb, are lost to history. Nevertheless, the centerpiece of the feast is still known as Sikandari Raan. And, unlike any conqueror or king, this leg of lamb recipe lives on today as the focal point of many celebratory meals. 

I prepared raan for my own little celebration, namely, by birthday. I chose to prepare a Kashmiri-style raan, because I thought that this meal is reflective of Kashmiri cuisine. This cuisine is perhaps the most meat-centric of all the subcontinent cuisines, as Kashmiris eat more meat -- mainly lamb and mutton -- than in any other region of Pakistan or India. This aspect of their diet corresponds to the importance of livestock itself, as there is a long history of nomadic herders raising sheep in the region's valleys. While Kashmiri cuisine may be heavy on the meat, it is much leaner when it comes to the use of spices in recipes.  Commonly used spices include chile powder, ginger powder, saffron, aniseed, and asafetida.  

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of Kashmiri cuisine is the distinction between Muslim and Pandit (Hindu). This distinction mostly revolves around the ingredients used to prepare the dishes. On the one hand, Muslim Kashmiris use onion, garlic and tomatoes in their preparations, while the Hindu Pandits do not. Another difference lies with the protein, as Muslims tend to use more lamb and mutton, while the Pandits use goat or chevron more in their dishes. 

This Kashmiri-style raan is clearly inspired by the Muslim preparations, as it incorporates not only lamb, but also onions in the recipe. It also follows the traditional preparation, which incorporates two marinades. The first marinade is a dry rub, which is first applied to the leg of lamb. The second marinade is a wet rub, a combination of Greek yogurt and even more spices). Some recipes combine the two marinades together, but the Kashmiri-style raan recipe that I found retained this two-step approach.

Apart from the time it takes to prepare the lamb, this is a very easy recipe to make. The difficult part is to decide what should accompany the roasted lamb. I prepared a traditional Kashmiri pulao, and I even had an ambitious goal of preparing one or two sambals to go with it. (The sambals did not happen.) One can also just serve some naan and a salad alongside the lamb. 

KASHMIRI-STYLE RAAN

Recipe adapted from from Big Oven

Serves several

Ingredients (for the dry rub):

• 10 green cardamom pods (seeds only)
• 1 star anise
• 2 mace 
• 4 dried bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons fennel seeds
• 2 inch cinnamon stick

Ingredients (for the marinade):

• 1 1/4 white onions, thinly sliced
• 7 garlic cloves mashed or roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
• 2 inches of ginger, peeled, roughly chopped
• 1 1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon honey

Ingredients (for the lamb):

• 1 leg of lamb (about five pounds)

Ingredients (for the gravy):

• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 inch ginger
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 12 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons ground almonds
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare the lamb and the first marinade. Trim all of the fact from the lamb and, using a sharp knife. Roast the dry rub spices in a dry frying pan over a low heat for about 10 minutes. Shake the pan a few times as they release their aroma. Cool slightly and grind to a fine powder. Rub this spiced powder all of over the leg of lamb, in the cuts as well. Leave to marinate for 40 minutes while you get the second marinade ready. 

2. Prepare the second marinade. Soak the saffron threads in hot water for five minutes. In a large frying pan, add the oil and fry the onions until light brown. Turn off the heat and cool. Set half of the onions aside. Add the remaining half of the onions, garlic, ginger, and 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt to a blender. Blend into a smooth fine paste. In a large bowl, add the blended paste along with the remaining yogurt, chile powder, and saffron (with water). Season to taste and mix well. Pour this marinade all over the leg of lamb, mixing well to ensure that it is covered well. Drizzle the leg of lamb with honey. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight or two nights. 

3. Roast the lamb. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Roast the lamb in a covered baking dish for 1/2 hour. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit and cook for 25 minutes per pound, around 1.5 hours until the meat is tender. 

4. Prepare the gravy. Blend the garlic and ginger to a smooth paste with a space of water in a grinder or blender. Heat a large frying pan with the oil. Add the paste and fry over a low heat for 2 minutes. Add the spiced powders along with the yogurt and ground almonds. Add any leftover marinade and juices from the baking try to the pan. Fry for 4 minutes. Add 6 tablespoons of water and simmer over a low heat for 12 to 15 minutes. Stir often to make sure that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Add a little more water if required to thin it out slightly. Season to taste and keep warm.

5. Finish the dish. Serve the ran on a platter with the fried onions, shallots, mint and pomegranate, as well as pulao and gravy.

PEACE.

Morning Tsampa

In a prior post, I began the exploration of tsampa, one of the most fundamental aspects of the Tibetan foodways. The cultivation of barley, along with the roasting of barley berries, gave rise to a foodstuff that provided sustenance to the Tibetan people, allowing them to expand their culture and civilization across the high, arid Tibetan plateau. As part of this journey, I made my own tsampa, roasting the barley and grinding it down into the finest powder that I could with what I have. 

Now it is time to go further down those foodways, to explore the uses of tsampa. A British adventurer and food writer, Peter Fleming, once recounted a basic way of preparing breakfast with tsampa: 

You fill your shallow wooden bowl with tea, then you let the butter melt in the tea (the butter is usually rancid and has a good cheesy flavor); then you put a handful of tsampa in. At first it floats; then like a child's castle of sand, its foundation begins to be eaten by the liquid. You coax it with your fingers until it is more or less saturated and has become a paste; this you knead until you have a kind of doughy cake in your hand and the wooden bowl is empty and clean. Breakfast is ready.

Fleming provides quite the description, and, maybe someday I will try to prepare breakfast in that manner. That date may have to wait until I have some rancid butter. 

More recent accounts, such as one by Barbara Hazelton, who visited Tibet in 2016, provide a similar glimpse into how tsampa is eaten at breakfast. Hazelton wrote: 

The trip to Tibet is long and arduous, and over these many trips to Tibet, I have found I have developed my wits and ways of adapting to this fierce world. In the monastery, the food, tiresome, over-fried and boiled vegetables and tasteless white rice which the kind, bow-legged cook Karma carefully prepares for the "foreigners," Rinpoche's guests, I discovered one gloomy cold morning, can be avoided by taking refuge in the warm cozy kitchen, where one finds the dzo yogurt from the nunnery and the leather bag of tsampa from the cook's family, hanging on a post by the kitchen stove and in the decorated wooden bowl, dried cheese, and sugar. This is where the monks gather and laugh and chat, as they make their morning tsampa balls and slurp the heavy nourishing butter tea, in the kitchen y the long black metal stove filled with fragrant wood, that snaps and spreads out its waves of welcome heat. 

This account -- with its dzo yogurt and tsampa -- provides a tie-in to what I decided would become my attempt to make a breakfast meal using tsampa. 

The recipe, Morning Tsampa, comes from the Beyond the Great Wall cookbook, which was written by Jeffery Alford and Naomi Duguid. That cookbook taught me how to make tsampa in the first place, so it seemed only appropriate that it should guide my on my next step: to incorporate the roasted barley flour into a dish. 

The Morning Tsampa recipe, like many tsampa recipes, is very simple. It involves up to four ingredients, namely, tsampa, yogurt, berries and some sugary ingredient like maple syrup or honey. Those ingredients are combined in a bowl and eaten. The combination of tsampa (which is high in fiber, has important minerals, and promotes the growth of healthy gut bacteria), along with the yogurts and berries, probably represents the healthiest breakfast that I have ever had in my life time. 

For that reason, I have resolved that this dish will constitute the start of my day whenever possible. It also represents a significant step forward on my Mindfulness Foodways, as it not only represents a notable improvement in my diet, but one based upon an ingredient and foodstuff that has an important place in our world. 

MORNING TSAMPA

Recipe from Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Daguid, 

Beyond the Great Wall, pg. 181

Ingredients:

• About 1/2 cup whole milk yogurt, plain or sweetened
• 3 tablespoons Tsampa, or to taste
• Handful of berries or chopped fruit (optional)
• Honey, sugar or maple syrup, to taste

Directions:

Place the yogurt in  bowl and stir in the tsampa thoroughly so it is all moistened. Add fruit and a sweetener (honey, sugar or maple syrup) if you wish.

PEACE.

Chicken Tikka

Emperor Babur (born Zahir ud-Din Mohammed) established the Mughal Empire. He marched his armies from Kabul into the northern reaches of the subcontinent.  Babur conquered broad swaths of land, but just not as much as his ancestors, Timur (on his father's side) and Genghis Khan (on his mother's side). 

Yet, as the story goes, this great emperor had a fear of ... chicken. The fear was not necessarily of the bird in its live form, clucking around while pecking for food. Emperor Babur feared dead chickens. More specifically, dead chickens with bones in them. The great emperor was scared that he would choke to death on a chicken bone. That would not be a very good final chapter for an emperor. 

To avoid such an ignoble end, it is said that the emperor ordered his cooks to remove the bones from the chickens when they were prepared. The chicken was still bathed in spice-laden yogurt, threaded to skewers and placed over charcoal. The only change was that there would be no chicken bones to be found. This dish came to be known as Chicken Tikka, which is basically a boneless chicken version of Tandoori chicken. 

This recipe is a very simplified version of what is prepared by chef Vikram Sunderam, the owner and chef of Rasika. In my humble opinion, Rasika is one of the best, if not the best, Indian restaurant in the Washington, D.C. area. Chef Sunderam's original recipe calls for ingredients such as pathar ka phool (a seasoning made from bark) and deghi mirch (a Indian red chile powder). The substitutions contained in this recipe really do make it easy to have this dish as part of a regular course of meals throughout a week. 

Finally, the recipe calls for a Cilantro and Yogurt Sauce as an accompaniment to the chicken. When I clicked the link, I was taken to a Tzatziki recipe, which does not seem very Indian in nature. The link should have taken me to a Raita recipe, such as this one from the Modern Proper.

CHICKEN TIKKA

Recipe from Vikram Sunderam, available at Food & Wine

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 4 garlic cloves minced
• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
• Kosher salt
• 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Cilantro and Yogurt Sauce, for serving

Directions:

1. Prepare the chicken. In a spice grinder, pulse the mustard seeds with the five-spice powder, pepper, turmeric, cayenne, and bay leaf until fine. Transfer the spice powder to a medium bowl. Add the ginger, garlic and yogurt and season with salt. Add the chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

2. Grill the Chicken. Light a grill. Remove the chicken from the marinade and brush the pieces with the melted butter. Oil the grate and grill the chicken over high heat, turning occasionally, until lightly charred and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Serve with the Cilantro and Yogurt Sauce.

• ENJOY!

Grouper Tandoori

I am a very big fan of tandoori cooking. The method focuses upon a round oven, made of bricks, clay or metal, fueled by a charcoal or wood fire.  The tandoori oven utilizes that fire to cook using radiant heat and hot-air convection cooking. But, my love of tandoori cooking goes beyond the cooking method.  It goes to the masala and the marinade, as well as how they work together when the protein goes into the oven and comes out with the red hues and the crispy edges.

The foodie in me wants to get a tandoor oven, but I can't bring myself to purchase one.  (I realize that one could probably get a big green egg to "recreate" the experience, but those are just as or even more expensive.) The lack of a tandoor oven leaves me with two options: (1) eat out at Indian restaurants more often, which I don't mind; and (2) do the best with what I have, which is also okay.  But, cranking up a gas grill or using the broiler in the oven does not do justice for a tandoori recipe.

Nevertheless, I found myself considering a tandoori recipe when I was searching the Internet. At the time, I was on vacation. I had went to a local seafood market and purchased a couple pounds of grouper.  I needed a recipe and I wanted to do something different. I found a recipe for Tandoori Fish. This recipe was not only different, but presented a challenge given the state of the appliances and the grills at the rental house. Nevertheless, it was a challenge that I was willing to take. And, it was well worth it.

Grouper and fillets (source: Citarella)

There are a couple of reasons that explain why grouper is a great candidate for a tandoori recipe. The fillets are mild in taste, which provide a great tableau for the masala or spice mixture.  The fish allows for the spices -- which include garlic, ginger, chiles, coriander, and black pepper -- to shine through in the final dish. Grouper fillets also have a high oil and moisture content, which enables them to withstand the heat of the cooking process without drying out. (This is very important, because it allows for some room for error if one accidently overcooks the fish.) The result is a reddish fillet that produces large, buttery, spiced flakes that are very delicious.  

It was the perfect combination of recipe, cooking process and ingredients that resulted in a very tasty dish. For someone who traditionally orders tandoori chicken or lamb, this recipe has opened up my mind to using fish for this dish. If only I could find grouper close to home. 

GROUPER TANDOORI

Recipe adapted from Raj's Kitchen

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of firm fish
• 3/4 cup of thick plain yogurt
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic paste
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
• 1/4 teaspoon green chile paste
• 1/4 teaspoon red chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon coriander powder
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced into rings, for garnish
• 1 small green bell pepper, thinly sliced, for garnish
• 1 lime cut into wedges, for garnish
• Springs of cilantro, for garnish

Directions:

1.  Prepare the marinade. In a medium bowl, add yogurt, garlic paste, ginger paste, green chile paste, red chile powder, ground black pepper, salt, coriander powder, lime juice and olive oil.  Mix until all ingredients are combined well.  Add fish pieces to the yogurt marinade and gently rub the marinade into the fish.  Leave in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight. 

2. Bake the fish. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking dish with foil and lightly spray with oil.  Turn the fish over frequently to prevent it from sticking.  Cook fish for about 10-12 minutes or until fully cooked. 

3.  Finish the dish.  Garnish with onion rings, green pepper, lime and coriander sprigs. 

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Lebanon

It has been a few months since the last chapter of my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes.  That last challenge was to make a main course from Pakistan.  I chose to make Karahi Gosht, which is a spicy lamb curry dish that could often be found in markets and street stalls.   While my challenge is to make main courses, I have always been intrigued by street food, which, for many, serves as a main course, whether for lunch or dinner.

So, my next challenge takes me to the country of Lebanon, where I will make a main course that could easily be served on the street and markets.  The main course is Shish Taouk (or Shish Tawook) This dish is common throughout the Middle East, although it is more because the preparation is common: marinating chicken cubes in yogurt and spices, followed by cooking the chicken over a fire.  While this dish can be found in many countries, including Turkey and Syria, I thought it would be a good way to introduce myself to Lebanese food.

The history of Lebanese culinary traditions is an ancient one, with many of the dishes being traced back to the Roman era and even the Phoenician civilization.  While they have their own unique origins, those culinary traditions also incorporate spices and cooking methods from the Turks, whose Ottoman Empire ruled over the lands that would eventually become Lebanon from 1516 to 1918, as well as the French who controlled the area until 1946. 

As with any country, dishes vary by region.  Lebanon has the coastal regions along the Mediterranean Sea, along with the fertile Bekaa Valley.  The fertile areas, which could support crop production, comprise only about 30% of Lebanon.  Yet, farmers are able to produce a wide range of fruits and vegetables, which serve as the basis of dishes served across the country, including its capital, Beirut, which was once known as the "Paris of the Middle East."  The capital was, and continues to be, a sort-of crossroads, one that has for centuries brought spices and dishes to a very small and very complex country.  

MAIN COURSE

For this challenge, I am drawing from the Turkish influence over Lebanese cuisine.  Skewers of chicken, marinated in yogurt and spices and grilled over spices draws inspiration from the Turks.  Indeed, the name Shish Taouk comes from Şiş,which is Old Turkic for "skewer" and Takagu, which is Old Turkic for "chicken."  Yet, these tasty skewers of grilled chicken are served in restaurants and food stalls not only in Beirut, but in cities throughout the country. 

SHISH TAOUK

Recipe adapted from The Spice Kit

Serves 4

Ingredients (for the chicken):

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken

4 wooden skewers, soaked in water

Ingredients (for the marinade):

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of lemon juice

2 tablespoons of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baharat

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon oregano

Ingredients (for the sauce):

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced

1/4 teaspoon garlic, minced

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon fresh mint

1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

1.  Marinate the chicken.  In a large bowl, combine marinade ingredients and mix smooth.  Add chicken and evenly coat the pieces.  Cover and refrigerate 4-8 hours

2.  Prepare the grill.  Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit or an outdoor grill to medium high heat and lightly oil the grate. 

3.  Grill the chicken. Thread chicken on skewers and grill 4 to 5 minutes each side or bake 7 minutes each side until chicken is done. 

SIDE DISH

And, if you have Shish Taouk in one of those Lebanese restaurants or from one of those street stalls, that tasty chicken will most likely be served with a garlic paste sauce known as toum, hummus and tabouleh.  For this challenge, I decided to make a side of Lebanese tabbouleh. This side is a salad made from tomatoes, parsley, garlic, mint and onions   The dish originated in the mountains of Syria and Lebanon, and it spread from there.  As the story goes, the dish was mocked by some as simply a means to "scrimp" on meat. This critique was easily solved by serving the salad with some meat, like Shish Taouk.  

LEBANESE TABBOULEH

Recipe from NYT Cooking

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1/4 cup fine bulgur wheat

1 small garlic clove, minced (optional)

Juice of 2 large lemons, to taste

3 cups chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/2 pound ripe tomatoes, very finely chopped

1 bunch scallions, finely chopped

Salt, preferably Kosher salt, to taste

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

1.  Prepare the dish.  Place the bulgur in a bowl, and cover with water, by 1/2 inch.  Soak for 20 minutes, until slightly softened.  Drain through a cheesecloth-lined strainer, and press the bulghur against the strainer to squeeze out excess water.  Transfer to a large bowl and toss with the garlic, lemon juice, parsley, mint, tomatoes, scallions and salt.  Leave at room temperature or in the refrigerator for two to three hours, so that the bulgur can continue to absorb liquid and swell.

2.  Finish the dish.  Add the olive oil, toss together, taste and adjust seasonings.

*     *     *

In the end, both the Shish Taouk and Tabbouleh recipes are very good and, apart from the time taken to marinate the chicken, very easy to make.  This also represents a slight change in how I will approach future challenges.  In the past, I tried to make complex dishes, with many sides.  That was easy to do when it was just my Angel and me, but with our two little cherubs, finding the time to do such cooking is hard.   This dish represents my 24th challenge, leaving me with 56 to go.  If I am going to finish the overall challenge anytime soon, I will need to do these more than once every few months.  So, until next time (which hopefully will be soon)...

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: India

It has been well over a year since I completed a dinner for my personal culinary challenge, Around the World in 80 Dishes. The last challenge was to prepare Mauritian Duck Curry, along with Chana Masala, dishes from the island country of Mauritius.   The cuisine of Mauritius is heavily influenced by immigrants, especially those from India.  For the next challenge, I'll will travel from Mauritius to India.

The timing could not be better.  I undertook and completed this challenge during Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights, an important festival for Hindus, Jains and Sikhs.  Diwali unfolds over five days, with the third day being celebrated as the main festival or "Festival of Lights." The lights were originally clay lamps, lit for reasons that vary with the celebrants.  For example, lighting lamps represents the victory of knowledge of ignorance.  Darkness represents ignorance, as well as wickedness, violence, anger, bigotry, injustice and suffering.  The lighting of lamps allows light to overcome darkness, which is not only a metaphor for knowledge overcoming ignorance, but also illustrates how light reveals the beauty that surrounds us.

Of course, the Diwali celebration involves far more than lighting of clay or electric lamps.  Families decorate their houses, set off firecrackers and, of course, partake in a feast of food.  The feast of food that I prepared included two main courses and a side dish, all of which are part of this culinary challenge.
 

MAIN COURSE

While I made two main courses, only one can satisfy the challenge.  That dish is Rogan Josh, an aromatic and very tasty lamb stew or curry.  The dish originated in Persia, which gave the red curry its name.  According to Wikipedia, Rogan means "clarified butter" or "fat" in Persian, while Josh basically means to heat or boil in an intense or passionate way.  The dish was introduced to the subcontinent by the Mughal Empire, where it became very popular in the Kashmir region. 

The Kashmiri version features braised lamb chunks cooked with a gravy based on browned onions or shallots, yogurt, garlic, ginger and aromatic spices, such as cloves, bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon. The red color of Rogan Josh traditionally comes from liberal amounts of dried, de-seeded Kashmiri chilies.  These chiles are more akin to paprika than the cayenne chiles used by Indian cuisine.  

Personally, I love Rogan Josh and this dish has been on my "to do list" for some time. This version is a simplified curry based upon a recipe by Vikram Sunderam, the chef and owner of the very popular Washington, D.C. restaurant Rasika.

ROGAN JOSH

Recipe from Food and Wine

Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/4 cup canola oil
2 pounds boneless lamb shoulder, cut into 1 inch pieces
Kosher salt
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons, minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Madras curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 bay leaves
1 14 ounce can tomato puree
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
2 cups water
1 teaspoon garam masala
Cilantro leaves, for garnish
Basmati rice and warm naan for serving.

Directions:
1.  Brown the lamb.  In a large, enameled cast-iron casserole, heat the oil. Season the lamb with salt and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the lamb is browned, about 12 minutes; using a slotted spoon, transfer to a plate.

2.  Add the remaining ingredients.  Add the onions to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until lightly browned, 4 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, curry, turmeric, cayenne and bay leaves and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato, yogurt and water; bring to a boil. Season with salt.

3.  Simmer the stew.  Return the lamb and any juices to the casserole. Cover partially and simmer over low heat until the lamb is very tender, 1 hour. Stir in the garam masala; cook for 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice and naan.

SIDE DISHES

Although the Rogan  Josh satisfies the culinary challenge, I try to make some other dishes, whether appetizers, side dishes or desserts as part of the Around the World in 80 Dishes.  Since I have not done a challenge in awhile, I decided to do another main or side dish.  This dish -- Daal Saag -- features yellow split lentils and spinach.  I have to admit that I do not cook very much with lentils, so this presented a whole different type of challenge.

DAAL SAAG
Recipe from Merilees Parker and

Available on the BBC's Food Website

Serves 4

Ingredients:
8 ounces of yellow split lentils (moong dal)
3 1/2 cups of water
2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida or fennel seeds
2 tablespoons of fresh ginger, grated
2 green chiles, de-seeded and chopped
8 curry leaves
3 1/2 ounces of spinach
2 spring onions, trimmed and chopped

Directions:
1.  Prepare the lentils.  Put the daal in a heavy based saucepan, pour in the water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer for about 1 hour until the lentils are really soft.

2.  Heat the spices.  Heat oil in a large pan.  Add the mustard seeds, turmeric, cumin, asafoetida or fennel sides, ginger, chilies and curry leaves.  Fry for 2 to 3 minutes.

3.  Add the daal.  When the daal is cooked, add to the pan and stir in spinach and spring onions.  Heat for an additional two minutes.  Season and then serve.

Whenever you make a curry, whether Rogan Josh or Daal Saag, you should always have a pullao, or rice.  This particular rice dish includes carrots, potatoes and green beans. 

VEGETABLE PULLAO
Recipe from Merilees Parker and

Available on the BBC's Food Website

Serves 4

Ingredients (for the garam masala):

1 tablespoon of cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon of black peppercorns
1 teaspoon black cumin seeds (or regular cumin seeds)
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1/3 whole nutmeg
1 medium stick of cinnamon, broken into pieces

Ingredients (for the pullao):
Basmati rice, measured to the 1 pint level (2 cups)

Thumb piece of fresh ginger, grated

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 hot green chile, finely chopped

1/4 pound of potatoes, peeled and cut into dice

1/4 carrot, peeled, cut into dice

1 1/2 ounces of green beans, cut into segments

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 1/4 teaspoon salt

1 pint water

Directions:

1.  Prepare the garam masala.  Put all of the spices in a clean coffee grinder or other spice grinder and grind as finely as possible. Store in a tightly lidded jar, away from heat and sunlight. This makes about three tablespoons.

2.  Prepare the rice. Wash the rice in several changes of water then drain. Put the rice in a bowl, cover with water and leave to soak for 30 minutes, then drain again.

3.  Heat the spices.  Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan (with a tight-fitting lid) set over a medium-high heat. When it's hot, add the mustard seeds.  As soon as they begin to pop - a matter of seconds - add the chilli, potato, carrot and green beans and stir. Add the turmeric and garam masala and stir for one minute.  Add the ginger and saute, stirring, for another minute.

4.  Add the rice and other ingredients.  Drain the rice and add it to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and stir the rice very gently to mix it into the other ingredients and coat it with the oil and spices. Cook this way for two minutes.  Add the 570ml/1 pint water and the salt and bring to the boil. Cover the pan with a very tight-fitting lid (if you don't have a very tight-fitting lid then cover the pan with foil then a lid) then turn the heat to very low and cook for 25 minutes. After this time try a grain of rice to see if it's cooked - cook for a few more minutes if necessary.

5.  Finish the dish.  Once it's cooked you can leave it with the lid on and the heat turned off for up to half an hour before serving. Or serve at once on a serving plate.

*     *     *

I have to say that I completed the challenge successfully.  The Rogan Josh was amazing and I can understand why it is a very popular dish in India.  I also learned that I still have a lot of work to do when it comes to making large amounts of rice.  The pullao was good, but I have difficulties getting the right texture with the rice.  I can do it in small batches.  However, when cooking for large crowds, it is a little more difficult, at least for me. The one thing is that I still have over fifty challenges to go.  I am sure that there will be many more opportunities to make rice.  

Until next time ...

 ENJOY!

North African Merguez Sliders

I love to barbecue and grill food, and I follow a lot of chefs, BBQ pitmasters, and professional grillers, always looking for ideas and inspiration.  One of my favorites is Steven Raichlen, whose television shows -- BBQ U and Primal Grill -- are always interesting to watch.  When I recently came across Steven Raichlen's recipe for lamb sliders, I thought it would be a great dish for a Super Bowl party.

Raichlen's recipe called for the use of ground lamb and his Planet Barbecue North African Rub.  I did not have any of the rub.  So, I began to think about what I could use as a substitute.  If Steve Raichlen was drawing inspiration from the flavors of North Africa, from countries like Morocco or Algeria, then I needed to focus on a substitute spice mix.  The first thought was Merguez, the mix used to make the sausage of the same name. 

Merguez is a type of fresh sausage (as opposed to dry sausage) that is common throughout Northern Africa and the Middle East.  It is usually made with mutton or beef, with a spice mix that draws from a range of interesting and flavorful ingredients.  A Merguez spice mix typically includes paprika, along with fennel, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and chile powder (or cayenne pepper).  The best part is that Merguez sausage is typically grilled, just like Steve Raichlens' recipe for the lamb sliders. 

So I found a couple recipes for a Merguez Spice from About.com and MarxFoods.com and set about to make the spice.  The recipe below produces a lot of the spice mix; and, in the end, I used about 2/3 to 3/4 of the mix with the meat.  I tried to eyeball how the spice was being incorporated into the ground lamb to make sure that it was not too little or too much.  I would suggest adding about half of the mix (a little at a time while mixing with your hands).  After that, continue to add a little of the mix, a tablespoon at a time, until it seems like there is enough of the spice mix throughout the ground lamb. 

NORTH AFRICAN MERGUEZ SLIDERS

Recipe is adapted from Steven Raichlen's Planet Barbecue and

About.com and MarxFoods.com

Serves 4

Ingredients (for the Sliders):

1 1/2 pounds of ground lamb

1 small onion, minced

2 tablespoons of Merguez spice mix

Greek yogurt

Sliced tomatoes

Slider buns or mini-pitas

Ingredients (for the Merguez Spice):

1/4 cup sweet paprika

2 tablespoons of ground fennel seeds

2 tablespoons of ground cumin seeds

1 tablespoon of ground coriander seeds

2 tablespoons of salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

3/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper

Directions:

1.  Make the lamb slider patties.  Combine the ground lamb, onion and Merguez spice mix.  Form two inch patties.

2.  Grill or cook the patties.  Grill or cook the patties either over high heat on a grill or under the broiler of a stove, approximately 3 to 4 minutes per side.

3.  Plate the dish.  Spread a thin layer of Greek yogurt on the bottom of the slider bun or the mini-pita.  Place one slider on the bun or pita. Top with sliced tomatoes.

This dish turned out really well.  The lamb burgers actually had the spice and the consistency of Merguez sausage.  Although making your own spice mix generally takes more work and a lot more guesswork when it comes to adding it to the ground meat, the end product is often that much more rewarding.

PAIRING THIS RECIPE

The lamb sliders are spicy, both in terms of piquancy and in terms of flavor.  The use of cayenne pepper provides the heat, but the combination of coriander, cumin and fennel also provide a different type of heat.  Given the different types of heat, a lighter, refreshing beer or wine would be best paired with this dish.  With respect to a beer, a pilsner beer would work very well, providing a refreshing break from the spice.  One such pilsner is the following:

Dogfish Head Ales -- My Antonia
Czech Style Pilsner
Milton, Delaware, USA
Aroma of hops, lighter body with hop taste

If you are looking for a wine, fruity wines like Pinot Grigios and Pinot Gris, as well as Vinho Verdes, will probably not stand up to the trifecta of the coriander, cumin and fennel.  Still, a white wine like a Vouvray, which has honey and floral notes, would work well to complement the flavors of the sliders.  I have not reviewed any Vouvray wines, but, when I do, I will add it to this recipe. 

ENJOY!

Chef Bolek's Catfish "Curry"

My experience with curries comes primarily from eating them, not cooking them.  I love Indian curries and one of my personal culinary goals is to learn how to make various types of curries and to learn the differences between the curries of the different regions of India, as well as learn the differences between curries of India and other countries, such as Thailand and Malaysia.

For this particular recipe, I drew from my limited experience in making Lamb Korma.  I bascially borrowed the spice ingredients, with a few tweaks.  I made this dish for my beautiful Angel, who does not eat meat.  This led to the first change ... I made it with catfish instead of lamb.  The Lamb Korma recipe I made called for two masalas ... a curry masala and a garam masala.  For the second change, I used the garam masala, but used a sweet curry powder (with fenugreek and turmeric powders) instead of the curry masala.  The third change was the addition of some vegetables, like eggplants and bell peppers.  Finally, I decided to use Sanaam chiles, which are chiles from India, to provide a little heat to the dish.

Overall, this dish turned out well, but it falls short of being a curry.  It is more like a "Chef Bolek-ized" curry. Still, I have to start somewhere.  And this was a tasty starting point.

CHEF BOLEK'S CATFISH "CURRY"

A Chef Bolek Original

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:
1 pound of catfish, cut into even sized pieces
1 small eggplant or 1/2 of a large eggplant, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1 large shallot, diced
1 cup of bell peppers, diced or thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic, diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1 teaspoon of garam masala powder
1 teaspoon of sweet curry powder
1/4 teaspoon of fenugreek powder
1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder
2 dry Sanaam chiles, ground into a powder
1 teaspoon of minced ginger
2 cups of water
3 tablespoons of non-fat yogurt

Directions: 

1.  Saute the vegetables.  Heat the vegetable oil in a deep skillet.  Add the onions and the shallots, sauteing the vegetables for about ten minutes.  Add the garlic and continue to saute for a minute.  Add the bell peppers and the eggplant, along with the garam masala and sweet curry powders.  Continue to saute for about eight minutes.

2.  Add the tomato and liquid.  Add the tomato and 1 cup of water.  Bring to a simmer and continue to cook for eight minutes.  Add the remaining cup of water, cover, and simmer for twenty minutes.

3.  Add the fish.  Add the catfish and continue to simmer for about five minutes or until the catfish is cooked.  Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt.

ENJOY!

Lamb Spiedini with Sicilian Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

Sicily has a long, interesting culinary history.  One of the most interesting periods in that history is the period of time in which the Saracens (Arabs) controlled a good part of the island.  The Saracens brought advanced irrigation techniques, which improved the ability to grow fruits and vegetables.  The Saracens also brought a wide arrange of foods and ingredients, including peaches, melons, dates, rice, sugar cane, oranges, lemons, and raisins.  They also brought cloves, cinnamon and saffron.  

However, the one of the most influential ingredients introduced by the Saracens during the time they controlled western Sicily is couscous.  Like many types of pasta, couscous is made from semolina.  Unlike those pastas, the semolina is not ground fine, but left coarse so that, when water is added bit by bit, little clusters begin to form.  The clusters ultimately become the couscous. 

Generally, couscous would be served as a primi or a first course.  However, in this dish, it is served alongside spiedini (skewers) of grilled lamb.  In many Italian regions, families could not afford or did not have access to beef.  For protein, they would raise lamb or pigs.  This recipe calls for the use of boneless leg of lamb, which is marinated for at least one hour or overnight (I chose overnight) in olive oil, basil, rosemary and garlic.  This marinade provided a lot of flavor to the lamb, as well as helping to curb the gaminess that turns off many people. 

Personally, I love lamb and I really liked this recipe, which comes from Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita.  The lamb turned out very well and so did the couscous.  I made one alteration to the recipe.  Instead of using red and yellow bell peppers, I also used orange bell peppers.  The the color of peppers, along with the red onions, which actually had a purplish hue after cooking, provided a lot of color to the dish. And one last note: I forgot to make the yogurt sauce.  I guess I have to save something for the next time....

LAMB SPIEDINI WITH SICILIAN COUSCOUS AND YOGURT SAUCE

Recipe from Frank Stitt's Bottega Favorita at 178

Serves 4

Ingredients (for the lamb):
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 rosemary sprigs
3 basil sprigs
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds of boneless leg of lamb, cut into 2 inch cubes
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste

Ingredients (for the Sicilian Couscous):
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups of Israeli couscous
Kosher salt, to taste
Ground pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced into 2 inch pieces

2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and sliced into 2 inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1 inch dice
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 rosemary sprig
1 basil sprig
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
Scant pinch of cayenne pepper
1 bunch basil, leaves removed and torn into pieces

Ingredients (for the Yogurt Sauce):
1 cup of plain yogurt
1 tablespoon of mint, chiffonade
Squeeze of lemon juice
Kosher salt
Pinch of freshly ground white pepper
Minced scallion or garlic

Directions:

1.  Combine the garlic, rosemary, basil and olive oil in a shallow bowl.  Add the lamb, massaging the marinade into the meat.  Refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight.

2.  To make the rosemary skewers, remove most of the leaves from each sprig, leaving 1 to 2 inches of leaves at the very top.  Cut off the very bottom of each sprig on an angle to create a sharp point.  Thread 4 to 5 cubes of lamb onto each skewer and set aside on a platter to come to room temperature.

3.  To prepare the couscous, combine the water and butter in a small saucepan and bring to a boil.  Meanwhile, toast the couscous in a large dry skillet over medium heat until nutty brown, about 3 to 4 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl.

4.  Prepare the grill.

5.  Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat.  Add the red and yellow bell peppers, onion, garlic, rosemary, basil and cinnamon.  Saute until the vegetables are soft and slightly caramelized, about 10 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl with the couscous and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, chickpeas, cayenne and torn basil.  Toss well, then taste and adjust for seasoning. 

6.  Season the lamb spiedini with salt and pepper.  Grill, turning occasionally, for 6 to 7 minutes total for medium rare.  Transfer to rank to rest.

7.  Meanwhile, prepare the yogurt sauce by combining the yogurt, mint, lemon juice, salt to taste, and white pepper or Tabasco in a small bowl.  Transfer to a serving bow, and sprinkle with the scallions or garlic if desired.

8.  Spoon the couscous onto one side of the dish and place the skewered lamb on the other side, flanked by a bowl of the yogurt sauce.

ENJOY!

For more about the culinary history of Sicily, as well as the role of couscous in that history, check out Foodmaven and Recipes4Us.

Hot Wings with Blue Cheese Yogurt Sauce

Occasionally, I watch the show "Throwdown with Bobby Flay."   In each episode, Bobby Flay challenges a cook or chef known for making the best of a particular dish.  In one episode, Bobby challenges the "Wing King," Drew Cerza to a throwdown to determine who makes the best wings.

People who know me know I love wings.  At first, I loved wings with the hottest sauce that was served.  I still remember one bar I went to in my home town where I had an informal challenge with the cook.  He would make the wings as hot as he could and I would eat them.  The showdown came one day, when I was with my dad at the bar.  The waitress brought out the wings, with her arms fully extended (so as to avoid breathing the fumes).  I ate all of the wings, and, in the end, the cook expressed amazement.  I remember his words well, "damn, I used an entire bottle of Tabasco sauce to make those."  

Today, I still like hot wings, but, now I am more interested in sauces with complex flavors, rather than simply sauces that are the hottest that I could find.  This recipe calls for the use of various chiles, namely  ancho, hatch and chipotle.  These chiles add not only heat, but a smoky flavor as well.  And, while Drew Cerza may have beaten Bobby Flay in the throwdown, I think that Bobby's recipe is the better one. 

HOT WINGS WITH BLUE CHEESE YOGURT SAUCE

Adapted from a recipe by Bobby Flay
Serves many

Ingredients for the Wings:

3 pounds of chicken wings

3 tablespoons of ancho chile powder

1 1/2 teaspoons of garlic powder

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons of pureed chipotle chiles in adobo sauce

1 tablespoon of Hatch chili powder

1 tablespoon of dijon mustard

2 tablespoons of honey

1 stick of unsalted butter

Ingredients for the Sauce:

Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish (optional)

1 cup of Greek yogurt

1/4 cup of crumbled blue cheese

2 tablespoons of finely grated red onion

2 tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro

Salt, to taste

Ground pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Make the blue cheese sauce.   Combine the yogurt, blue cheese, onion and cilantro in a small bowl and then salt and pepper to taste.  Refrigerate for at least thirty (30) minutes prior to serving.

2.  Prep the dry rub for the wings.  Heat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.  Add the 1 tablespoon of ancho chili powder and garlic powder in a bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Lay the wings on a baking tray and sprinkle the powder over the wings.  Cook the wings for at least 30 minutes or until done.

3.  Prepare the sauce for the wings.  Bring the vinegar, chipotle puree and 2 tablespoons of ancho chili powder and the Hatch chili powder to a simmer over medium-high heat.  Whisk in the mustard, salt, honey and butter until smooth.  Add the wings and mix to cover and coat.

I should note that when I made these wings for my most recent Super Bowl party, I forgot to put out the Blue Cheese Yogurt Sauce.  Still, the wings came out well.  You could definitley taste the smokiness of the sauce thanks to the chipotles and anchos.  The wings were not as hot as I expected they would be.  I used a medium Hatch pepper, but I could have made it hotter by using either a medium-hot to hot pepper.  If you choose to use a hotter pepper, you should be mindful about the amount that you use in the sauce.

ENJOY!

Around the World in 80 Dishes: Greece

The eighth stop on my culinary adventure is Greece.  While Ethiopia may have been the birthplace of mankind, Greece is, in some ways, the birthplace of cooking.  In 320 B.C., Archestratos wrote the first cookbook.  Ancient Greek cuisine focused typically on wheat, olive oil and wine.  The use of meat was not common; instead, fish was the principal protein, which is to be expected given the large amount of coastlines and islands that are a part of Greece.  Oregano, parsley and dill are the principal herbs used in Greek cuisine.  Over time, more spices were introduced into Greek cooking, principally because of the country's geographic position between Europe and the Middle East.

THE APPETIZER

Returning to the present day, my personal challenge requires me to prepare a main dish; however, I wanted to make a Greek meal.  I decided to begin with a mezze, which is an individual plate designed to each provide a different eating experience.  Normally, one would have a couple of mezzes; however, given I have to make a main dish for my personal challenge, I decided to make only one.  The mezze is Domatokeftedes, a dish from Santorini of fried tomato fritters.  

DOMATOKEFTEDES

Adapted from Whats4eats.com

Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 cup of fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 bunch of parsley, chopped
1/4 bunch of mint, chopped
2 scallions, minced
1 tablespoon of dried oregano
3/4 cup of flour
3/4 teaspoon of baking powder
Salt, to taste
Ground pepper to taste,
Olive oil for frying

Directions:

1.  Prepare the batter.  Mix the tomatoes, herbs, scallions, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Adjust seasoning to your tastes.  In a separate bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together, then stir into the tomato mixture to make a batter.  If the batter is too thick, add a little water.  If it is too thin, add a little flour.

2.  Fry the Domatokeftedes.  Heat the olive oil on medium-high.  Drop small spoonfuls of the tomato mixture into the oil and flatten slightly. Watch for splattering.   Fry on one side until brown and then flip to brown on the other side.  Drain on paper towels.  Serve either immediately or at room temperature.

To accompany the Domatokeftedes, I decided to make some Tzatziki, which is a cucumber/yogurt sauce or meze that is typically identified with Greek cuisines (although there are variants of this sauce in Bulgarian, Turkish and Persian cuisines). The Tzatziki was a great dipping sauce for the Domatokeftedes.

TZATZIKI

Adapted from About.com

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of vinegar
1 clove garlic, diced finely
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/8 teaspoon of white pepper
1/2 cup of Greek yogurt, strained
1/2 cup of sour cream
1 cucumber, diced and seeded
1/2 teaspoon of fresh dill

Directions:

1.  Combine the olive oil, salt, garlic, vinegar and pepper in a bowl.

2.  In a separate bowl, blend the yogurt and sour cream with a whisk.  Then add the olive oil mixture and stir well.

3.  Add the cucumber and dill.  Continue to stir and then refrigerate for at least two hours.

THE MAIN DISH

For the main dish, I decided to make Psari Spetsiotiko or Fish Baked with Tomatoes and Breadcrumbs.  This dish is supposed to have originated in Spetses, which is fishing town southwest of Athens.  It is a simple fishing village food consisting of fish baked with breadcrumbs and a tomato sauce that includes parsley, honey and a few other ingredients. 

PSARI SPETSIOTIKO (FISH BAKED WITH TOMATOES 
AND BREADCRUMBS)
Adapted from Whats4eats.com
Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:

1 pound of fish fillets

3 tablespoons of olive oil

1 cup of breadcrumbs

1/2 lemon, juice only
1-2 garlic cloves, diced finely

1 cup of crushed tomatoes

1/4 cup white wine

1 teaspoon of honey

1/8 cup of chopped parsley

Salt, to taste

Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  Prepare the fish.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Spread the half of the olive oil in a baking dish large enough to hold all of the fish in a single layer.  Sprinkle half of the breadcrumbs over the bottom of the dish.  Lay the fish over the breadcrumbs.  Sprinkle the lemon juice over the fish.

2.  Prepare the sauce.  Heat the remaining olive oil over medium.  And the garlic and saute briefly for one minute.  Add the tomatoes, honey, wine, parsley, salt and pepper and simmer for about 5 minutes.  

3.  Cook the fish.  Pour the tomato sauce over the fish and sprinkle with the remaining breadcrumbs.  Bake in the oven until the fish is cooked through, about fifteen to 20 minutes, and the breadcrumbs have formed a golden crust.

THE SIDE DISH

Finally , I decided to make a vegetable side dish to accompany the Psari Spetsiotiko.  I wanted to challenge myself with the side dish, so I decided to make something with artichokes.  Artichokes have their place in Italian cuisine and I have read a lot about the use of artichokes in recipes.  They also have their place in Greek cuisine.  So, for the side dish, I decided to make Aginares Latheres (pronounced ahg-kee-NAH-rehs lah-theh-RES) or αγκινάρες λαδερές. 

AGINARES LATHERES (ARTICHOKES WITH VEGETABLES)

Adapted from About.com
Serves 2-3 

Ingredients:

1 carrot, cut in to thick slices

1-2 potatoes, cut into cubes

1 bunch of scallions (or 1 onion), chopped

1-2 tablespoons of olive oil

1-2 tablespoons of fresh dill, finely chopped

1 1/2 lemons, juice only

1/2 tablespoon of flour

1 teaspoon of sea salt

1/4 teaspoon of pepper

1/2 to 1 1/4 cups of water

Directions:

1.  Prepare the artichokes.  Clean the artichokes by removing the outer leaves and the stems.  Cut off the top (down to just above the choke) and scoop out the choke with a spoon.  Trim off remaining leaves around the sides to leave just the pale colored heart.  Rub the artichoke hearts with lemon as soon as each is cleaned and immediately place the hearts in a bowl with water and half of the lemon juice.  This will prevent the artichoke hearts from turning black.

2.  Saute the vegetables.  In a soup pot, saute the scallions or onion until translucent.  Add the carrots and potatoes and continue to saute for about 5 minutes more.  Thereafter, add the artichoke hearts, dill, celery, salt, and pepper, continuing to stir.

3.  Add liquid and flour.  Add the remaining lemon juice to about 1/2 cup of water.  Add flour and continue to mix until smooth.  Add the mixture to the pot, stirring until it is mixed well with the vegetables.  Add the remaining water to cover the vegetables and bring to a boil.

4.  Finish cooking the vegetables.  Then reduce the heat so that the vegetables simmer.  Cover and let cook over low heat until the vegetables are done, after about one-half hour.

*     *     *

Overall, the Domatokeftedes (along with the Tzatziki) and the Psari Spetsiotiko were very good and I would definitely make these dishes again.  The Agineres Latheres did not turn out well, primarily because of my inexperience with cooking artichokes.  I did not include any pictures because I was not happy with the final product.  I included the recipe, which was reduced for two people, for anyone who wanted to try it.  You can also click on the about.com link to get the full recipe. I definitely intend to try cooking with artichokes in the future, but I think I need to do more preparation before attempting this Agineres Latheres or any other dish featuring artichokes in the future.

In the end, this may not have been my best meal (although I have to say again that the Domatokeftedes were very good), I think that it was definitely a good experience.  Well, until next time....

ENJOY!

To learn more on Greek cuisine, check out Wikipedia or Greek Food.