India

This menu for the last couple of weeks was all over the board, in regards to the nation of India. We covered almost every region in two weeks; from the North, South, East and West. Our menus consisted of a pineapple smoothie, vegetable samosas, Chicken korma kashmiri style, cucumber/tomato/onion Katchumber, Spinach with Curd Cheese, Red Kidney Bean Dal, Mushroom Rice, Flat Bread, Banana Erccherry, fermented lentil crepes with potato masala stuffing, shrimp curry, kerala-style lamb, cauliflower fritters, basmati rice, deep-fried puff bread, yogurt with cucumber and mint, and spiced tea.

The pineapple smoothie was very easy...just add the ingredients and blend. It included buttermilk, fresh pineapple, sugar, yogurt, and a dash of salt. We garnished the drink with chopped pistachios and lime zest. The vegetable samosas reminded me of another stuffed pastry with veggies and seasoned with lemon juice. The Kashmiri chicken was relevant to the three stage Indian cooking style. First I warmed the spices in the hot oil and added the vegetables to the gravy; I then stewed the pan seared chicken in the gravy until done.

John made the cheese for the spinach curd cheese dish and it turned out great. It was made my mixing milk and yogurt; then adding lemon juice and salt to create the curd. It was hung to dry in a cheesecloth (finally making cheese in a cheesecloth; not just tying up spices) until it was firm. Warning...be careful not to overcook your spinach; finish browning the cheese before you start on the spinach.

The red kidney bean dal is a mixture of cooked kidney beans; some mashed with heavy cream, garam masala, dried chiles, lemon juice and salt. It was actually very good...kind of reminded me of Indian re fried beans. The banana erccherry is a mixture of ripe banana, coconut, mustard seeds, green chiles (jalapeno), curry leaves and then made into balls and fried golden brown. I loved these fritters...it was a mixture of sweet, spicy and savory. Here are some of the photos of our work...please excuse the blurry photos; the camera didn't want to focus that day.