Spiced Mousse au Chocolat

I've been somewhat intrigued by the texture of snow or stiff egg whites once they are chilled.  Mousse is so mysterious because you can break down pretty much anything and fold it into magically snowy egg whites and have this airy yet decadent dessert.  It is one of the reasons I liked the Tiramisu process and outcome.  Here is a traditional French recipe with just enough tinkering to make it my own.  I've been eating Mousse au Chocolat since I was very young, but only while visiting family in France.  I ended up thinking it was just something too impossible to recreate at home (yes I was very very young to be thinking that).  Yes, my mother is still afraid of raw or runny American eggs, just as she wouldn't eat any type of steak with a touch of pink in it.  She would only trust the French eggs from the neighbors yard but still would never have them raw or runny but for this tiny blissful exception.  After returning home to California after a summer in France, we would talk about all the wonderful things we ate and salivate just thinking about the next time we would get to spoon a bit of velvety chocolate mousse into our mouths.

Time went by and Mousse au Chocolat has been ever present in my life since moving to France, so I never really had the urge to make it.. Until very recently with my snowy eggwhite infatuation.  The first time I made Chocolate Mousse, my brother helped me.  I don't know why but this dessert is just a family affair.  Epwhen we were younger we would each be assigned a step in the process, and the best part, of course, was the clean up.. Or the licking of the mixing bowls and whips.. Full of smooth chocolately raw egg goodness!

Serves 4

Ingredients

100g (3.5oz) dark chocolate (I used 75% and 80%)

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp chile powder

4 small or 3 large eggs, yolks separated

50g cane sugar

Directions

1.  Beat the egg yolks well with the sugar.  Set aside.

2.  In a separate mixing bowl, make snow with the egg whites and a pinch of salt.  Make sure they are nice and stiff.  Set aside.

3.  Break the chocolate into pieces in another separate bowl along with the butter, cinnamon, and chile powder.  Place the bowl on a pot of simmering water, making sure the bowl only touches water and not the bottom or sides of the pot.  This is called a "bain marie."  I don't know who Marie is, but it helps the chocolate melt gently without being scorched by direct heat.  Whisk as it melts into a nice house mogenous mixture.

4.  Here comes the tricky part.  It works better with 4 hands if you can organize that.  Turn the heat off the simmering pot, but keep the bowl on the hot water.  Carefully pour the yolk/sugar mixture while continuing to whisk.  If you do this correctly, the chocolate will not clump and the yolks will not curdle.

5.  With your 4 hands, fold the chocolate mixture into the snowy egg whites.  Do not whisk.  You want to keep that fluffy snow texture.  Do this gently until all the chocolate is incorporated.

6.  Pour into one large serving dish or 4 small portions, depending on if you're planning on serving this family style, or fancy style.

7.  Chill for at least 4 hours.  This will make those egg whites set and become a firm mousse texture.  I had some hardened chocolate I just flicked over the top of my mousse before refrigerating.  That happened because I did this with only 2 hands.  Yes, my mousse helper happens to be too far away to fly over from Phoenix for this small but delicious event.

Enjoy chilled.

The spices are subtle, but you can feel them there.  Chocolate is so much better when enhanced with cinnamon and chile!
Ooh I think next time I'll play around with the spices and add cumin or ginger to the mix!

Quinoa Spaghetti with Pesto and Baked Pollock

A few weeks ago I bought some quinoa spaghetti hoping it would taste good but not really expecting it to.  I didn't want to "waste" anything spectacular (like my Sicilian clams) on it but I still wanted it to be memorable just in case it was palatable.

Tonight I whipped up some incredible pesto.  You can't really go wrong with pesto can you?

Well it turns out that this was not only palatable, it was incredible and surprisingly light.  The texture was very similar to normal spaghetti and I didn't have any clumping issues while it cooked.

After looking at the ingredients, I understood why..

Yes.. Jardin Bio makes quinoa spaghetti.. but it only has 10% quinoa in it!  The rest is whole wheat.

Aaah marketing...

Of course, I should have looked at the ingredients before buying, but this may have been the rare occasion I actually didn't look, and with "gluten free" being all trendy nowadays, I didn't think they would even mix quinoa with any gluten products.  Lucky for me, none of this really bothers me.  It's actually a great pair because this spaghetti actually has the texture of... well.. spaghetti!  It's got 3% parsley and 0.5% garlic as well, but I'm actually happy I didn't "waste" any of my incredible Italian CoOp olive oil on any fake spaghetti.  I felt so proud and fancy that I even added a bit of balsamic vinegar art.

Serves 6

Ingredients

500g (1lb) dried quinoa spaghetti, cooked al dente

3 filets pollock (or any white fish.. mine was frozen)

2 tomatoes, roasted 15 minutes

1 large zucchini, sliced and griddled or oven roasted until golden

few pinches piment d'espelette

1/4 cup pine nuts

2 Tbsp capers

1 handful sundried tomatoes, chopped

1 cup reserved pasta cooking water

glassy balsamic vinegar for garnish

for pesto:

5 cloves garlic

1 bunch basil

pinch fleur de sel

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup extra special olive oil

3 pickled pepperocinis (fiber from Le Turc)

1 handful grated parmesan

Directions

1.  Cook the pasta in a large amount of salted water according to package instructions until al dente.  Before draining, reserve some of the cooking water.

2.  While this is happening, roast the pollock on an oven tray for about 10 minutes at 200°C 400°F.

3.  While all that is happening, make the pesto by blending it all together.  Add more olive oil if necessary.

4.  Brush a bit of pesto onto each fish filet, then cut each filet in half.

5.  Toss the al dente spaghetti with the roasted tomatoes, zucchini, pine nuts, capers, remaining pesto, sundried tomatoes, and add the pasta cooking water to make it creamy.

Serve in pasta bowls with a half filet of pesto brushed pollock per person.  Drizzle some glassy balsamic vinegar for that last bit of creative inspiration your inner Queen is letting you express.

Ahh I wonder how inspired I'll be by Dusseldorf..

Chili Con Carne

For most "normal" people, today would have seemed like judgement day.  Today I was given an ultimatum by facebook into turning my private account into a public page with no privacy control.  If I didn't do this, I would lose everything.. my history, photos, friends, comments, likes.. everything I've basically clicked on since I opened my account.
I wouldn't say I define myself by what I post, but since I've had lovely puppy pictures I wanted to share, Facebook has sort of been a weekly or even daily checkpoint.  It's something I like to scroll through to look at bull terrier pictures or as a feed for any cooking blogs I follow but don't want emails letting me know something is new.  It's also the only place I easily connect with my family long distance and closest friends.  The ones that know me best and judge me the least.  The family that wants to see my photos but doesn't want a backed up inbox.. and I don't want to have to pick and choose who to send which pics depending on who may be interested.  All the advantages of having an account are reduced to nothing once identity conditions become mandatory.  I liked having my surname on there and at least feeling falsely secure that if anyone really googled me, they wouldn't find anything too personal.. the only public face photo of me being on this blog, which I am obviously proud of, but which doesn't mean everybody needs to know where I work or who my friends are and what I look like in a bikini (especially here in France where it's not standard summer attire to even chill in short shorts when it's blazing hot unless you're at the beach).
I chose to give that up... for now.  We'll see how long that lasts.  If I come back, I won't come back as my true name or as my dog's name.. because apparently, they don't appreciate that at Facebook.  The worst part is that is seems like part of a sneaky governmental scheme I read about in a book called "The Circle" which completely gave me the creeps about technology and confidentiality.  I don't even have a personal cell phone by the way.
Anyway, all these WTF emotions were a perfect transition to my mega beef chunk Chili Con Carne.  This time, I made it closer to the Texan style than the Ohio style.. meaning more chiles and meat.
Yes!  By pure translation, Chile con Carne means chiles with meat.. not beans with adornments as I've been naming my chiles as of now.  I'm not saying my other versions aren't the bomb.. I'm just saying that the Tex-Mex Chili resembles that I have portrayed here.  It's the first time I make it this way, but I think this recipe is going to stick.  It has tons of flavor and is sooo meaty with the chunks of beef instead of ground beef.  The flavor is so much fuller and less superficial this way.  I approve!
Serves 7-8
Ingredients
10 oz dried kidney beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
450g (1lb) stew beef, cut into 1 1/2"x1 1/2" cubes
4 dried chiles de arboles
1 dried ancho chile
2 bay leaves
1 tsp sea salt
2 large onions, chopped
1 jalapeno, chopped
1 large bell pepper, chopped (I used red for the theme)
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 Tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp five-spice or allspice
lots of freshly ground pepper
5 cloves garlic, grated
water to cover (4 or more cups)

garnish:
sliced avocado
grated red cabbage
chopped cilantro
chopped green onions (I used shallots)

dollop sour cream (I used plain yogurt)

grated gruyere cheese

Directions

Place everything but the garnish in the slow cooker and cook on low for 7-9 hours.

Remove the bay leaves and discard.  Remove the ancho chile, chop, and stir back in.  Remove the chiles de arable and reserve for the ones who appreciate the heat.

Serve neatly with the garnish and then quickly unmake the bed..

If you keep all the chiles de arboles for yourself.. don't be bashful when the heat starts to resonate from within you.. to be seen by all who will never understand the Innuendos...

This chili is the non-superficial, true to self version.

It is even better the next day.  I should know.. today is the next day, and I've never felt so tasteful as to proudly announce I'm quitting the worldly social drug of the 21st century... 

Be free.. be free...

Bun Nem Nuong - Vietnamese Meatballs

Ah meatballs.. let me reflect on my love for thee..

You make me feel creative and sneaky.. for only I know what you are composed of.

I love that I can go down any path with you and you'll happily follow.  Add fennel seeds and garlic, you are Italian.. add worcestershire sauce and tabasco, you are American, add garam masala and turmeric, you are Indian, add soy sauce and doubanjiang, you are Chinese, add lemongrass and fish sauce, you are Vietnamese..

And that last idea is the one that stuck.  This all happened because the ground veal was on sale 2 for 1.. and I can never resist a good deal.  The real dealmaker was when I went to the store for some cilantro and came back with some thai basil.

Thai basil!

I've never seen it before and I'm sure I won't see it again for quite some time, so I jumped on the occasion.  It is very different than "normal" basil.  It is more tart and lemony and actually doesn't really taste like basil, but it has it's own world happening.  

I love when life gives me a subtle wink..

Yield 44 meatballs

Ingredients

500g (1lb) ground meat of your choice (I used 350g ground veal, 150g ground turkey)

2 carrots, finely grated

3 cloves garlic, finely grated

1 inch piece ginger, finely grated

1 egg

1 tsp baking powder (I used alsa)

2 leaves napa cabbage, finely diced

2 green onions, finely diced

1 large handful thai basil, chopped

1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 Tbsp)

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tsp five spice

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

4 Tbsp water or more as needed

for pan frying:

2 Tbsp oil (I used olive)

Directions

1.  Make the meatballs by mixing all the ingredients together.  I did it with my hands, but traditionally you would use chopsticks and stir in one direction.  Let sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour refrigerated.

2.  Add in more water if needed.  The mixture should not be dry.  You should be able to form balls with your hands but it should be very gooey.  Make bite sized balls out of the mixture.  Mine were a little bigger than a lychee.

3.  To help the meatballs keep their shape, steam them on high for 5 minutes.

I did this in 3 batches in my steamer basket.  They can be done at this point if you want them to.. but I like the extra step.

4.  To get a nice color on them, when ready to eat, do a last minute pan fry of the meatballs.  Heat the oil in a wok and add as many meatballs as you are going to eat.  I froze the ones I hadn't pan-fried yet for future use.

They are now ready to be either dipped in a sauce and eaten as an appetizer like potstickers..

or used as a topping to a Bun noodle salad.. as I did.

I'm very pleased with these meatballs.  They had a nice texture with a good mouthful of flavors.  I'm glad I used veal instead of pork, which to me smells funny in Asian style meatballs.  They were very juicy, as I was hoping and were a perfect addition to my Bun salad collection.  These would be great dipped in hoisin sauce or rolled in some sesame seeds for a future dim sum party!

These would work well in a romaine lettuce wrap or as a sandwich.. or even with some fried rice too.

The unmade bed picture is always my favorite...

Cozze e Vongole alla Posillipo - Mussels and Clams in a Spicy Tomato Sauce

There is one last part of the Calamari and Sarde meal I had in Milan that I needed to recreate before feeling myself again.  We asked the owner if she had anything spicy to serve us, and since she didn't really have anything officially spicy on the menu, she had her husband cook up a mix of mussels and clams in a spicy tomato sauce that was so out of this world and seemingly simple that I absolutely had to make it at home.  It was so delicious, in fact, that I didn't get enough time to snap a photo of it before all of the hungry tired people started to dig in!  We had walked for over 10 hours that day to their defense.
I cook mussels quite often and clams not as often as I would like to, but I usually just do them simple French style, "Marinière," which does not mean "marinara" but just simply steamed with shallots, parsley, and finished off with some black pepper and served with fries.  I once did them on the plancha.. which was lovely, but I never in my life thought of making them with a spicy tomato sauce.  Why I have no idea...

Serves 4 as an appetizer or over pasta

Ingredients

500g (1lb) fresh mussels, cleaned and bearded

500g (1lb) fresh clams, scrubbed

5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

8 cloves garlic, 6 sliced and 2 grated

2 shallots, sliced (optional)

1 fresh red chile, sliced

1/2 tsp oregano

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 can crushed san marzano tomatoes
juice from 1 lime

1/2 tsp cracked black pepper

handful fresh basil, chopped

chopped flat leafed parsley for garnish

Directions

1.  In a large pot, heat 4 Tbsp of the olive oil on high along with the red pepper flakes.  Add the garlic and onion slices and the red chile slices.  Cook until onions are soft and garlic is fragrant.

2.  Add the white wine to all that lovely heat.  Swish around for 2 minutes, then add the can of tomatoes along with the oregano and lime juice.

3.  Simmer into a thick sauce.  No really, you want that sauce thick.  The mussels and clams release a lot of their inner selves which will make the sauce "saucy" again.

Turn the heat up, add the grated garlic along with the mussels and clams, stir around quickly, then cover and let "steam" for about 5-7 minutes, or until the open.  

4.  Uncover and bring the temperature down.  Stir in the basil and parsley.  Before serving, add the freshly ground black pepper and the last Tbsp olive oil for a nice finish.

Serve as is (as they do in restaurants) as an appetizer to share.. or as I did over some hot al dente linguine for a meal.

This craziness is so tingly I may have to make this spicy tomato sauce every single time I do mussels...

Korean Spicy Baby Squid with Cabbage

I haven't gotten over my desire to eat squid, octopus, and mussels yet and I really don't think that's going to be going away soon.  I had the opportunity to cook for 1.. myself, and when that comes along, I like to put myself through an individual pleasurable experience full of heat and flavor.
This type of meal makes my eyes roll back and my nose run.. but it makes my soul smile..

Similar to the grilled version, Onjingeo Tonggui
Serves 1 as a main, 2-4 as an appetizer

Ingredients

250g (8.8oz) baby squid, cleaned, tentacles separated, and rinsed

1 cup shredded cabbage

Marinade:

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
juice from 1/2 lime
2 small cloves garlic, grated

1 tsp fresh ginger, grated

1 tsp black vinegar

1 Tbsp Sriracha sauce or chile paste

Garnish:

1 Tbsp chopped cilantro

1/4 tsp sesame seeds
Directions
1.  Make the marinade by stirring all the ingredients together.  Put 2 Tbsp of the marinade into the shredded cabbage and stir the rest with the squid tubes.  Let marinate for 10 minutes.
2.  Heat a wok to high heat and cook the marinated cabbage for 2-3 minutes.  Set aside.
3.  In the same wok, add the squid along with the sauce.  Cook for no longer than 4 minutes, stirring.  If you cook longer, it will become rubbery.  You want it tender and nice and juicy.  They will shrivel a bit, but that's cute.

Serve cabbage topped with the squid garnished with chopped cilantro and sesame seeds.
Mine had a lot of sauce, but I like it that way.  You can add hot white rice to sop up that extra spicy sauce.

This level of spiciness takes me gently into a deep Nirvana...

Sicilian Stuffed Sardines - Sarde Beccafico

To accompany the stuffed calamari as an all time winner of my favorite meal I discover in Italy was this other Sicilian dish, Stuffed Sardines.  I can't say whether I liked the calamari or the sardines best, but what I can say is that being able to have both on the same plat for the same meal is a real treat.  I did the best I could to recreate the experience.  The stuffed sardines have a bit of sweetness happening with the raisins and pine nuts.  It's a lovely dish I had much pleasure tasting, analyzing, researching, and recreating.  The best part of hosting an Italian dinner is doing something spectacular without fillers such as pasta!

Adapted from CookingwithNonna

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a meal

Ingredients

10-12  large sardines, gutted and butterflied (central bone, head, and tail removed)

drizzle olive oil

1 onion, sliced into moons

Stuffing:

2 1/2 Tbsp raisins

2 1/2 Tbsp pine nuts, toasted

50g (1.7oz) breadcrumbs toasted in olive oil

3 cloves garlic, grated

1 Tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

few grinds black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

juice from 1/2 lime

Directions

1.  Mix all the stuffing ingredients together.

2.  To stuff, lay a sardine flat on its skin.  Place 1 1/2 tsp stuffing on the narrow side and roll it up.  Do this with all the sardines and fit them in a pan with slices of onion between them to keep them rolled up.

3.  Sprinkle the rest of the stuffing on top along with a drizzle of olive oil.

4.  Bake at 180°C 355°F for 20 minutes.  I ended up adding halved cherry tomatoes into the pan.

Serve as an appetizer or as a meal along with other items.

I served mine with Calamari Ripieni and Eggplant Parmigiana over some Arugula.

This is the best Italian meal I've ever put together in my life.  It was preceded by some Nocellara del Belice olives and succeeded by Tiramisu with Grappa.  It also brought back some happy memories of my trip with the family..

The original dish I was trying to recreate is pictured here:

I couldn't find any blood oranges because they're apparently not in season, but I'm very pleased with my recreation of the dish!  I will definitely be doing this again.  The longest part is butterflying the sardines, but since you can buy them already butterflied, this dish could take no time at all to prepare and only 20 minutes to cook.  

Oh!  

And it didn't make the house smell of fish, strangely.  I would never do stove top sardines inside, but baked sardines work great for indoors!

Sicilian Stuffed Squid - Calamari Ripieni

When I was in Milan, I had squid and octopus many times, but the most memorable of those times is when I had calamari the Sicilian way.  It appeared on the English menu just as "Stuffed" as if it was so obvious that it would be calamari and no extra precisions were needed.  There is another Sicilian "stuffed" recipe including sardines, and I will get to that soon, but these calamari were really intriguing.  I had figured out most of the ingredients after indulging that evening, but a bit of research on the Sicilian recipe brought to my surprise the use of capers.  I couldn't figure those out on my own simply because I'm used to using capers more as a salad or bagel topping than cooking with them.  It is very Sicilian to add capers to things, so I happily recreated this gem..along with the other gems I tasted that night.

Serves 4 as an appetizer or 2 as a meal

Ingredients

300g (10.5oz) cleaned calamari tubes (I used 24 small but use 4 large whole if you can find them)

drizzle olive oil

Stuffing:

3 cloves garlic, grated

70g (2.5 oz) breadcrumbs

handful chopped flat leaf parsley

1 Tbsp capers

2 Tbsp pecorino cheese

3 Tbsp olive oil

few grinds black pepper

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

pinch fleur de sel

Directions

1.  Make the stuffing by mixing all the ingredients together.  If using whole calamari, chop up the tentacles and add them to the stuffing.  If using just the tubes, take 4 of the small tubes and chop them up into the stuffing.

2.  Carefully stuff each tube.  They will shrink during cooking, so just keep that in mind.  If using larger tubes, you may need to "sew" the end with a toothpick.  I decided not to do that.  If you have extra, sprinkle some of the breadcrumbs over the stuffed tubes and drizzle some olive oil on top of them.

3.  Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C 355°F.

These were perfect and exactly what I was hoping!  They were subtley spicy, wonderfully tender.. full of texture from the crunchy breadcrumbs on the exterior and punch from the capers and cayenne on the inside.  It was also very easy and can be prepared ahead of time and cooked during happy hour!

I served this along with the stuffed sardines for an Italian dinner party and everyone was very enthusiastic about it.. to the point of overeating...

Here is the pic from the Sicilian restaurant in Milan I was trying to replicate:

Aside from the fried onion rings, I think I did a rather decent job!

Tiramisu with Grappa

After spending almost a week in Milan, I was able to check off my list of things to eat in situ: pizza, risotto, calamari, octopus, sardines, and gelato.  I didn't eat any pasta but I wasn't really trying to.  The pizza is ok but not better than what we can get here in France.  The gelato was amazing.  That texture is just to die for!  Octopus is usually served marinated in a salad or as a carpaccio, which is awesome.  The calamari was out of this world.. More on that in the next post.  What I didn't check off my list is tiramisu.  Between the olive oil tasting, the salume from different regions, and the Nocellara del Belice olives, I never found the opportunity to eat tiramisu in its mother country.  No problem.. I bought some grappa during my travels!  Since I've never made this dessert, I decided to include it in my Eataly dinner party.. Made the authentic way, with grappa.

Grappa is the distilled part of the grape leftovers after the juice is used to make wine.  It's kind of like eau de vie of grapes..

Yield 6 servings

Ingredients

3 eggs, yolks and whites separated

pinch salt

1 packet vanilla sugar

100g (3.5oz) cane sugar

250g (8.8oz) mascarpone

approximately 24 biscuits cuillère (sponge lady fingers)

25cL (1 cup) expresso or strong coffee, cooled

3 cL (1 floz) grappa or marsala

dark chocolate shavings for garnish

Directions

1.  Beat the yolks with the sugar and mascarpone until homogenous.

2.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff.. or as I like to say, make snow.

3.  Gently fold the snow into the mascarpone mixture.

4.  Prepare your assembly.  Mix the grappa and coffee together in a dish.  Dip each lady finger into the coffee grappa mixture.  Don't drown them.  Just a quick dip.

5.  Lay the dipped ladyfingers into your mould.  Tiramisu doesn't hold well, so use individual moulds if you want it to be pretty when served.

6.  Spoon the mascarpone mixture over the ladyfingers.  It should cover them.

7.  Repeat until desired layering.  I made 3 layers, which was perfect and I reached the top of my mould.
8.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours for it to "set" in a similar way as mousse au chocolat.  During this time it will firm up.  It's actually better the next day.

Before serving, add some chocolate shavings or cocoa powder for garnish.

The texture was exactly what I was hoping for.  With desserts like this, you don't know until you serve if it worked or not.  The next day was even better because it was much much firmer.  I'd recommend doing this early in the morning for a dinner party or even doing it the night before for best results.  The grappa was a bit strong.  I didn't mind, but I might use only 1 cL next time.. just for the aroma.

Maa Chole Ki Dal - Split Urad and Chana Dal

I'm very happy to welcome a newbie to my pantry, unhusked split urad dal or black gram.  I've used it whole before in a Punjabi Dal Mahkani, but as any bean, pea, or lentil, whole and split are like night and day.  The cooking times and uses are different.  There is another level added when the subject is unhusked, meaning it still has its skin on.  It's usually in the husk that the most nutrition can be found, but certain beans are better off husked for digestibility.  The urad husk happens to sit well with me, so I'd rather have it unhusked.  The husked split urad are usually used to make idlii and dosas, or as a thickener in rasam or sambar due to their creaminess, but I've rarely seen them as a dal dish on their own.  I love the contrast of white and black on the split ones.  They made me so curious I couldn't wait to share..
Adapted from VegRecipesofIndia.
Serves 5-7 as a side

Ingredients

1/2 cup unhusked split black gram (urad dal), well rinsed and soaked 45 minutes

1/2 cup husked split gram (chana dal), well rinsed and soaked 45 minutes

2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp sea salt

Seasoning:
1 Tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

pinch asafoetida (hing)
1/4 tsp turmeric

3 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 inch piece ginger, grated

1-2 green chiles, slit

1 onion, chopped

2 tomatoes, chopped

1/2 tsp garam masala
salt to taste
cilantro and lime for garnish
Directions
1.  Simmer the dals in the water and salt until tender, about 20 minutes.
2.  Make the seasoning.  Heat the oil in a wok and add the cumin seeds until they crackle, then add the hing and turmeric until they fizz.
3.  Add the ginger, garlic, and green chiles and cook, stirring for about 30 seconds.
4.  Add the onions and let them sweat, then add the tomatoes.  Cook until they become mushy, then stir in the garam masala.
5.  Add the seasoning to the dal.  Cover and simmer for 5 more minutes or just put back on heat when ready to eat.

I served this topped with chopped cilantro and a hefty squeeze of lime with pappadam and Stuffed Brinjals.

The taste is very different from the "usual" dals.  The split unhusked urad melts in your mouth and the chana dal is not overwhelming.
Dals are my weak spot.  I could eat it every day and never tire.

Barli Vangi - Stuffed Baby Eggplant/Brinjal

I raked up the courage to go to my Indialand store today.. although it is in an unfamiliar neighborhood downtown, which means parking is a nightmare, I prepared a backpack and tennis shoes and decided to go through with it.  I needed a refill of all my daals and curry leaves which should keep me good for probably the next year.  I think I inherited this stocking up problem from my mother.  I definitely do have a bomb shelter in beans, lentils and rice, but there are just so many different varieties I can never just pick one!
As I was checking out, a lady behind me was holding some little yellow beauties.  "Oooh what are those?" I asked her.  "These are baby eggplants from Ivory Coast."
I pretty much dropped everything and dashed for those eggplants.  I lost my spot in a long long line but I have been fantasizing about baby eggplants for quite some time now.  I have scouts prepared to report back to me if they happen to see them.  I have seeds waiting to be planted when I move into my new house so I can just grow my own and stop having to look for them.  All this and for once I passed by and I hadn't even noticed them there.  I knew I would be stuffing them India style.  I'll eventually do other things with them, but I just wanted to stuff them this time.
As I started making this and setting up all my ingredients, I pulled out my bag of desiccated coconut only to realize I only had about 1/4 cup left.. and the original recipe called for 1 whole cup.  How in the world did I forget I needed coconut while being in Indialand stocking up on all the daals and spices I'd run out of??  I improvised and added some white poppy seeds to the mix.  To avoid losing the coconut flavor, I used 1 cup coconut milk instead of water for the broth.  I actually like the texture of it this way.. it's smoother.
Adapted from VegRecipesofIndia.

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g or 1lb baby eggplants, slit from the bottom with an X

2 Tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

pinch asafoetida (hing)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 cup coconut milk (or water)

1 cup water
1 Tbsp tamarind

Stuffing:

1/2 cup peanuts

2 Tbsp sesame seeds

2 Tbsp white poppy seeds

1/4 cup desiccated coconut

1/2 inch piece of ginger

5 cloves garlic

1/2 onion

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garam masala or goda masala

1/2 tsp coriander powder

pinch of salt

chopped cilantro for garnish

Directions

1.  Dry roast the peanuts, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and desiccated coconut until fragrant.  You can do this separately.  When cooled, grind into a powder.

2.  Make a paste by blending all the other stuffing ingredients together and then stirring in the powder.  Add a little water if needed.  It should not be liquidy.

3.  Stuff some paste into each of the eggplants into the slit.  I did not have any leftover paste and was able to stuff them well.

4.  Heat the oil in a wide heavy based pan.  Add the cumin seeds and wait until they crackle, then add the hing and listen for the fizz.  I like that part.

5.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, then add the tomatoes and place the stuffed eggplants into the pan.

6.  Cook for about 1-2 minutes, then carefully turn each one onto its other side and cook for another minute.

7.  Add the water and coconut milk along with a pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, then add the tamarind and simmer, covered for about 30-35 minutes.

I served mine with some Maa Chole ki Dal and basmati rice topped with cilantro and a squeeze of lime.

This was the perfect ending to an oh so interesting day...