Chicken & andouille jambalaya from the freezer tonight. Rice was kind of a mush, which was actually perfect on a cold, drizzly evening. Lots of Frank’s hot sauce. Salad of romaine, the BF’s leftover cole slaw & Russian dressing, and avocado.
and last night the BF made a carbonara-ish dish, a green salad with BC dressing, and leftover Korean fried chicken from a take-out meal my sister & I had. i left half my pasta behind so I could eat a piece - so good, even reheated.
weirdly, someone inadvertently put bananas in our cart at the supermarket over a week ago, so i finally made banana bread on Saturday - one with walnuts, one without. they turned out a little dark (i think my sister’s fancy oven runs hot) but they tasted good. especially smeared with butter. but doesn’t everything?
First marinade of lemon juice, salt, and chilli powder (if using bone-in chicken, make deep slashes in the flesh and rub everything in - if using food color this is when to add it).
Second marinade - hung or Greek yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, cumin and coriander powders, more red chili powder (some Kashmiri or paprika for a bit of color if you care), some garam masala, some more salt.
Let this marinate overnight (or longer). I have been prepping large batches and then freezing portions (defrost in the fridge). I add a tbsp of besan (gram flour) or cornstarch and mix well about half an hour before grilling (when I take the meat out of the fridge) - it’s not traditional, but it makes the yogurt and spices crust the chicken a bit (and cornstarch somehow tenderizes - so don’t add it at first or the chicken gets mushy).
When you grill the chicken (I thread the tikka on flat metal skewers), baste with ghee or butter and chaat masala. We have been skipping that (because I don’t do the grilling), so I just add the chaat masala before serving.
ETA - you can also get ready Tandoori Masala (Shan, Rajah, Badshah, Everest are all good) but careful with those, as they often run spicy (and salty). If I’m using those, I use about a heaped tsp per pound, then supplement with the spices I mentioned above so I can control the heat.
Chicken & andouille jambalaya from the freezer tonight. Rice was kind of a mush which was actually perfect on a cold, drizzly evening. Lots of Frank’s hot sauce. Salad of romaine, the BF’s leftover cole slaw & Russian dressing, and avocado.
and last night the BF made a carbonara-ish dish, a green salad with BC dressing, and leftover Korean fried chicken. all good, but i left half my pasta behind to eat a piece of that chicken.
and weirdly, someone inadvertently put some bananas into our cart at the grocery store about 10 days ago, so i finally made some banana bread with them. one with walnuts, one without. they came out kind of dark (i think my sister’s fancy oven runs hot) but they still tasted good. especially slathered in butter. but doesn’t everything?
We were supposed to have leftovers, but we ate leftovers for lunch so dinner was prepped and cooked.
Roasted green beans (confirming again I don’t like roasting green beans), potatoes… Anna? no cream thinly sliced pressed down and baked, and braised lamb shoulder with the dregs of last night’s wine.
A big salad harvested from “my” garden (but not by me, so my poor lettuces were decapitated… sigh… I did, however, gently explain how to harvest the various greens next time).
Lamb was cooked sous vide overnight, and quick-braised in the IP with the aromatics. Really delicious.
I’ve been doing more improvised dishes lately, like this maifun using fish cakes, shiitake mushrooms and the usual stuff. The rather large scallions are from my garden.
Long day today and not much time to get creative. Simple baked breaded pork chops tonight, Spanish rice, and my famous bacon-brown sugar-bourbon Brussels Sprouts, but with a twist…I added peas! Been adding them to a lot lately, mainly rice. I like the green plus the added crunch/pop.
Sadly, it is true. There is no indian spice that can create the signature bright red color of tandoori chicken. Some may claim Kashmiri chillies can, but not for grilled food.
That said, I do agree that tandoori fish and prawns are delicious! My dad absolutely adores both, and with prawns the bigger the better!
(As an aside, “swagat” means “welcome” in India in many of our languages - i’d wager a guess that this symbol is featured on the sign and/or menu: )
Ahh, Pete and Elda’s. I have such great memories of eating there. Haven’t been since I moved back, somehow. I’m adding it to the shortlist- thanks for the reminder! My mom would be very jealous of yours haha
I took myself to the Asian Food Store in Marlboro yesterday, and came so close to grabbing a jar. Now that I know it’s good, I’m adding it to my (extensive) list for the next trip!
ETA: Hell, I can grab an extra jar if I make it back up there before you do, and drop it off for you.
That’s my go to store as it is the closest one to me in south Monmouth county. How was the experience? I’m bored with the produce I can get locally and am itching to go.
Overall it was pretty solid. I had never been before, so not sure if the things they didn't have were due to the current...situation, or the norm. Very few fresh herbs, but plenty of other produce, and while I saw a few sad heads of lettuce most was really good quality. Frozen foods looked to be more picked over, but there were a bunch of dumplings, some scallion pancakes, etc. I can't speak to the meat/seafood availability; I'm vegetarian. I was able to get everything I wanted, plus some impulse grabs, and found better deals on a few things I'd planned on getting at Wegman's, like spaghetti squash.
Nice! Your description of the produce sounds about right on average. Prices are always great but sometimes the quality is not there, especially for those items that are prepacked. Those shiitakes look good - I buy them almost every time I go.
Because Mr Bean continues to go to work everyday, and comes in contact with people I always wear my mask and practice physical distancing to protect others. How was it at the store?
ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
260
Thank you for the full rundown! I do have a premade tandoori mix, although I don’t recall the brand - have since decanted it into a spice jar.
I keep hoping someone will come up with delivery here in SoCal, as we are still isolating.
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ChristinaM
(Hungry in Asheville, NC (still plenty to offer tourists post Hurricane))
263
Last night made sesame-peanut noodles with a dressing loosely based on David Lebovitz’s recipe. I kept the chili out and made a spicy chili crisp with oil, Chinese chili flakes, sesame seeds, soy sauce, Sichuan peppercorn, fried mushroom drippings, and fermented hot bean paste. The toppings were poached chicken breasts brushed with sesame oil, crimini mushrooms fried with soy sauce and sweet soy sauce, plus soybeans, peas, green beans, and celery that I blanched in salty ginger-scallion water, as well as chopped radish, cucumber, and scallion.
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