Rinku Bhattacharya's Blog, page 90

Wednesday Chicken Curry – Boodhbarer Moorgi

Days of my childhood just seemed so much more relaxed. While, I did my share of activities, I do not remember the jostling of activities that seem to take up the weekends. Some of it probably had to do with the fact that life indeed was a little more relaxed, and the rest as I often say is nostalgia. That wonderful filter that allows us to explore the past through rose-tinted glasses.

Food was a very big deal, fortunately, at least I have been able to carry on that part of childhood into our household. Growing up, a lot of my friends had a tradition of a heavy Sunday lunch, usually replete with mutton or goat meat or at least a slow cooked Chicken curry. This was less of a Sunday tradition in our household, since almost all of us had a thing for late mornings and lazy brunches, which if you are Bengali like me will usually mean a meal replete with luchi (puffed, deep fried breads) and alur dom (spicy dried whole potatoes). My father and I revelled in sleeping in late, something that actually gave my mother the time to catch up on things, and read her Sunday Statesman in peace. Her sunday rituals also included, catching up with the relatives that did not merit the everyday call (aka, read her sister-in-laws), but were important enough to catch up with to co-ordinate family events, weddings, discuss childrens grades and stuff.

Everyday conversational relatives, had classic topics such as the new saree shop, or the increase in vegetable prices, election news all hot button issues. While some of this seemed trivial to me, I now realize that the symbolism of this second category is that they really included events that impacted her life directly, on a daily basis and therefore not surprisingly reserved for the daily relative category. Actually, I have probably truly disappointed mom, in the saree department as I rarely wear all the lovely sarees that she had selected for me as a part of my wedding collection. I make a note to do better in this department as I move on to talking about the chicken curry, which is the recipe that we shall eventually get to.

However, the meat curry that we talk about is something I am familiar with, I have enjoyed it in various non sunday appearances. It is even christened Robibarer moogri or, Sunday chicken. The term sunday, implying slow, relaxed and leasurely. A ritual in some households that began with actually selecting the live chicken to be cooked.

We are talking about onions cooked slowly and caramelized, with a gradual addition of spices that are cooked until aromatic and then the chicken is well browned in this spice blend and finally simmered to slow perfection with potatoes. The potatoes, in this style of chicken curry are extremely essential since they absorb loads of flavor allowing for a very flavorful curry that is enjoyed with steamed white rice.

For some reason, memories of this chicken curry filled and haunted me this Wednesday. I had most of the ingredients, but did not really have a whole free-range chicken on hand. The free range chicken can be simmered longer to allow for soft perfection. Being a Wednesday evening, I also did not have the hour that would be needed to allow justice to the Robibarer Moogri, hence I came up with my Wednesday chicken curry. A chicken curry, that is almost as satisfying as its parent but with some short cuts and the use of boneless skinless chicken thighs we have a recipe that is great for a well attended weeknight table. Today’s recipe is more about practical indulgence, the kind you can fit into the weekday routine with maybe just a little planning. I used some fingerling potatoes, that I was able to pick up at the farmers market and used some tomatoes and green chilies to add to this chicken curry. So, I feel, that this curry merits its own status, the status of a Wednesday chicken curry, reserved for that weekday, where you want something special but maybe not as elaborate as the Sunday Chicken Curry.

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Wednesday Chicken Curry – Boodhbarer Moorgi

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

A savory and well flavored chicken curry, redolent with Bengali seasonings, filled with hearty fingering potatoes, practical enough for a weeknigh dinner.

Ingredients

2 pounds of boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into 1 inch sized pieces
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon red cayenne powder
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tablespoons oil
1 large red onion, cut into a fine dice
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 pods garlic minced
2 to 3 bay leaves
1 stick of cinnamon (about 2 inches, broken)
11/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 dried red chili
11/2 teaspoon sugar
2 tomatoes, diced (about ¾ cup)
Freshly chopped coriander leaves

Instructions

Place the chicken in a non-reactive mixing bowl and sprinkle with the cayenne, turmeric and salt and set aside.
Heat the oil on medium heat for at least a minute in a heavy bottomed pan and add in the onions and continue cooking for several minutes, stirring frequently allowing the onion to soften and then turn gently golden.
Add in the ginger and the garlic and continue stirring for another minute or so and add in the chicken.
Add in the bay leaves, cinnamon and start stirring and browning the chicken.
While the chicken is cooking, place the coriander seeds, cumin seeds and the dried red chili in a spice grinder and grind until smooth.
Add to the chicken and cook for about 5 minutes, until the chicken in well browned and softened.
Add in the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes or so, until the tomato has softened.
Add in about ¾ cup of water and simmer the curry for about 15 minutes, until the chicken is very soft and the sauce is nice and smooth.
Sprinkle with coriander leaves and serve with rice.
Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://cookinginwestchester.com/2013/08/wednesday-chicken-curry-boodhbarer-moorgi.html

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Published on August 13, 2013 19:16

Beet Greens with Potatoes and Nigella Seeds – Alu Laal Shager Chorchori

Today is an incredibly hectic day, the last day of mom’s visit, I seem to want to pack everything between these last few days. The children have been feeling the same way, too! I think my poor mother has critiqued countless versions of Maacher Chop, supervised the picking of several buds of Mocha or banana blossom flowers.

She has in turn watched my daughter current dance piece and listened to her piano pieces enough times to forget that Beethoven might have really existed and the little fellow too has regaled her with his art work and music.

Meetings in a world where family members do not live close to each other, often entail farewells and tonight was her last dinner with us for this visit. Among other things, I cooked some beet greens with potatoes, using a simple Bengali seasoning. My love for Beet Greens is well known, and to add some spark to our family repertoire I created this recipe to join the other summer recipe that is already a family favorite.

The delicate reds in the leaves seep into the potatoes giving them a pretty and very unique color. This recipe is also created for Stephanie, for her Dog Days of Summer event that supports her kickstarter project. I hope that you will consider stopping by to support the project.

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Beet Greens with Potatoes and Nigella Seeds – Alu Laal Shager Chorchori

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Beet Greens get a nice Bengali touch, from the addition of nigella seeds. A colorful seasonal recipe that will warm and brighten your table.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons mustard oil (can be substituted with regular olive oil)
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
1 small to medium red onion, very finely chopped
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 fingerling potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 to 3 green chilies, slit
2 cups finely chopped beet leaves

Instructions

Heat the oil on medium heat for about a minute.
Add in the nigella seeds and add in the onion and sauté it for 3 to 4 minutes and let it turn lightly golden at the edges.
Add in the ginger and sauté well.
Add in the potatoes and mix well. Add in the potatoes and the salt and mix well and add in sugar.
Stir in the green chilies and mix well.
Add in the beet leaves and cook for 4 minutes, stirring and mixing well until the beet leaves wilt and mix into the potatoes.
Serve as a side to any meal of your choice.Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://cookinginwestchester.com/2013/08/beet-greens-with-potatoes-and-nigella-seeds-alu-laal-shager-chorchori.html

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Published on August 06, 2013 05:55

A Castello Cheesy Summary

Mambo 64 in Tuckahoe

I have been lucky to have my mother visit us this summer. This is her second visit without dad, this visit has been a little easier for all of us. The children in particular have enjoyed their time with her, especially Deepta, who has enjoyed sharing all her little activities with grand mom.

The best part of her visit for me has been our Fridays. I have been able to take off the Fridays, and we have tried to get in some Mom and me time. Simple things, like working in the kitchen together, spending some time getting a slow cooker for my brother, or trying out a new cuisine for mom.

The past Friday offered the perfect opportunity for me to check out the new Latin Beat in town – Arlen’s new restaurant Mambo 64. I wanted mom to get a glimpse of the Latin flavors that Anshul and I love so, much but wanted her to be able to do it at her pace, in a comfortable manner. I could not have picked a better place.

The restaurant sophisticated colorful vibe, does not for a moment mask the “down home” feeling right from the moment you walk in. Since, I had gone at lunchtime, I loved the fact that I could enjoy the perky ambience and walk around and peruse the bar, chat with Arlen and Chef Anne. All about the place, nudged some of my memories of our visit to Peru.

The restaurant has some lovely mambo and rhumba murals, that are designed by Arlen’s brother. Isn’t she lucky to have such a talented family! But, now let’s get down to the real deal, let us talk about food. We started off with a lovely and refreshing Strawberry salsa, very fruity and very seasonal and some lovely almonds that instantly brought back memories of Spain.

They have a lovely pre-fix at lunch time for $12.95 and I picked their classic Cuban. Mom, ordered their dinner shrimp entrée served over a green salsa and coconut lime rice. Absolutely lovely presentation!

As for the Cuban, order it at your own risk, it is huge and absolutely detectable. I had enough leftover for an evening snack! The overall menu that the restaurant offers is compact, but there is a lot of nice variety packed in. For example, my mother does not eat meat, but we had no problem finding her enough options to choose from.

The three dessert were all sounding so good, I settled for the lacy oatmeal cookies that came with a colorful serving of ice cream and fruit and ensured that I was going to be back to the restaurant very soon. I have to mention how attentive everyone was, all through the meal, leaving you with the feeling of visiting someone home.

The check arrived in a quaint cigar box, that included glasses and a flash light. For me a good meal is often about the details and the experience at Mambo 64 does not disappoint. It is a wonderful addition to ever growing Westchester restaurant scene and I look forward to heading back soon.

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Published on July 30, 2013 20:32

Bengali Red Lentils and Brocolli

We have heard of people describing food in poetic and comforting terms, and the closest thing that evokes poetic feelings for me is well made red lentils or mushoorir dal. We Bengalis can rapsodize about these buttery smooth lentils every day of our lives. Well, today’s variation goes beyond poetry, this variation is an accomplice in my efforts to get my mother to enjoy broccoli. Chances are if my husband was reading this post, he would like to highlight that the broccoli, I speak of is not just any old florets of broccoli, they are like almost anything else that I cook in summer, tender stem pieces of green beauteousness, that he has grown. This year, I have truly been thrilled to see how enthusiastically, mom has been relishing my crazy forays in the kitchen. However, I am a believer to get someone to like something, we need to start traditional.

To be fair to mom, she is a little confused. Chances are she first about broccoli when President Bush was around, and we all know what his views on the broccoli are. Well, times they are a changing. We have a different captain of the ship today, and this is what President Obama feels. Gosh! who knew that there was a correlation between broccoli and politics! Despite, being a politically obsessed family, I knew that it would take more than just presidential endorsement to have mom give a nod to the broccoli, it would take the comforting and quintessential red lentils and then some.

Well, jokes aside, all things considered I paired the broccoli in a simple stew of red lentils. A tender delicate comforting bowl of well seasoned goodness. The broccoli cooked along side the red lentils was cooked in a typical no fuss Bengali manner, none of the fuss, associated with green and blanching or icing the vegetables. It was simmered till tender soft in pools of the thick and buttery soft red lentils laced with gentle kisses of spices. I finished this off, with the traditional tempering of golden crisp onions. Growing up in our house, not all lentils got the caramelized onion

finish, this was left for the comforting and soothing lentils.

Buttery red lentils, soft and flavorful broccoli and delicate bits of caramelized red onion. What do you expect a mother to do? A few bites later she declared, “onekta kopir moto (a lot like cauliflower)”, considering that the mild mannered cauliflower was a family favorite, looked like we had a winner!

It has been a while since I participated in one of the events that I liked a lot, MLLA, or my legume love affair an event started by Susan to celebrate lentils, that is currently with Lisa and is hosted this month by Aparna at My Diverse Kitchen.

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Published on July 26, 2013 16:45

Banzai Hibachi Grill and Steakhouse – Double Digits for Deepta

I will start this post out with a disclaimer! I am not really a huge fan of the Hibachi fare, at least the ones that I have sampled. I generally love the concept, like the idea of a sans cookware, fresh cooked concept, but there is not enough distinction for me in terms of the taste. Hibachi restaurants, do however serve a huge purpose in our “dining out” lives, because the kids love the fanfare of eating in a Hibachi place.

So, since these places fit the healthy food bill, for the most part, they are for us about entertaining the kids. So, this post is long overdue, since this was a part of my daughter’s tenth birthday. I know, time flies when you are having fun. This was a big deal!

Even the brother (mine, that is) flew down from Seattle and we collectively trotted to Banzai in Hartsdale. The first thing that catches, your eye here is the loud décor, with notes of a diner masquerading as a nigh club. The big bold colors, thrilling the kids. I personally found the red, white and blue themes just a little odd.

While ours was a family group, the table across us had a kids birthday group of about 7 kids. Now, 7 kids and 2 adults might at other times seem a little out of balance, but the hibachi chefs knew the entertainment aspect of their craft well. From peeing sake men containers to beating rice hearts, everyone was duly entertained.

So, now onto the food. Since, we ended up trying a bit of everything, the fried rice and noodles were predictably good keeping the scallops and chicken company. The lobster and shrimp were a little on the tough side, which is really worth pointing out since these items were both pretty pricey. They were good enough to bring over a cake with a candle. This was a surprise and brought a huge smile to the birthday girl’s face.

Yes, the dessert selection was wide and the desserts were good! All in all, if you are looking for a fun place, especially one that entertains the kids and a willing to notch down your expectations just a little bit regarding the food, this is just the place for you.

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Published on July 22, 2013 20:17

Apple Relish with Mint – Book Review and Giveaway

Apples are probably in season almost all the time in New York, I am still amazed to find the range of varieties that this versatile fruit has to offer. The recipe that I am about to feature today, whips up the apple, into a simple relish and offers you a different way to celebrate the everyday apple. Lovely and enticing as the recipe is, I want to share a little more about the author of the recipe and her latest cookbook.

Many moons ago, when I was a graduate student I remember my delight in spying a small no-fuss volume entitled something like Healthful Indian Cooking at our local library. Closer observation and exploration, led to my realizing that the collection of recipes were mostly influenced by South Indian flavors. It was a small pocket sized book, with a yellowish cover and a chock-ful of user friendly recipes.

This was the first edition of Alamelu’s cookbook, that is currently on to its third edition called Healthy South Indian Cooking. I

I am delighted to report that Alamelu has paired up registered dietician Margaret Pfeffer with to come up with her second cookbook, Indian Inspired Gluten-Free cooking. Sticking to her general emphasis of healthy Indian cooking, this time Alamelu has moved her focus to the ever increasing Gluten-Free population.

The beautifully illustrated book, has over 100 simple and well tested recipes using powerful, but essential India spices. The essential spices of garlic, curry leaves and black pepper all hallmarks of Alamelu’s Chettinaad heritage are prominently enmeshed in the recipes of the book. The book includes several lovely vegetable recipes, ranging in diversity from tri-colored bell pepper stir-fries, simple mushroom sautés to well seasoned spaghetti squash dishes. Super grains like Quinoa get a lovely Indian makeover, from the addition of pistachios, vegetables and Indian spices.

What I love about the simplicity of these recipes is that they allow plenty of room for embelishment and are of course, great just as they are.

I have already shared a stir-fried mushroom recipe that has been inspired by her cookbook here. I will also tell you, that while I do have a preference for this lighter quick fix recipes, especially in these super-hot summer days, there is a hearty lamb stew that has my name on it and will show up on my table one of these days.

The book offers good information in the basic ingredients, however is a little stark and dry in its presentation. However, possibly in a world where we do not see enough cookbooks that cut through the chase and offer just the recipes this book might offer a welcome change. In keeping with the saying, A picture says a thousand words, the simple instructions are supplemented by stunning pictures, that offer a good visual on what the finished dish should look like. One lucky reader, will be recieving a free copy of the cookbook and for all the others, I encourage you to visit pick up a copy for yourself.

To qualify for the giveaway, please stop by facebook page and like me. Then in the comments, please let me know that you have done this and why you would like a copy of the cookbook.

Now, onto the recipe that I have spruced up a little with some mint and ginger.

Print

Apple Relish with Mint

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
11/2 teaspoons freshy grated ginger (my addition)
1 granny smith apple shredded (note, I used a honeycrisp, grated it with the skin on and added 11/2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon red cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon black salt
2 teaspoons minced mint (my addition)

Instructions

Heat the oil on medium heat and add in the mustard seeds and wait for the seeds to crackle.
Stir in the ginger and saute lightly for about 30 seconds.
Add in the apple and saute lightly for about 2 to 3 minutes, until the apple softens and the juices begin to run.
Add in the red cayenne pepper and the black salt and mix well.
Cook for another minute and stir in the mint and mix well. Cool and serve as needed.

Notes

Recipe adapted from,
Indian Inspired Gluten Free Cooking
Alamelu Vairavan and Margaret Pfeiffer May 2013

Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://cookinginwestchester.com/2013/07/apple-relish-with-mint-book-review-and-giveaway.html

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Published on July 16, 2013 13:50

Broccolli and Red Onion Quesadillas – Castello Moments

My son is a cheese buff, for his young age, he loves the idea of trying out different cheeses. So, it was not much of a push for me to participate in the Castello Moments cheese campaign, and work on this sponsored post.

Currently, the line has three hard cheeses the Classic Bergkase, the Hirten and the Weissbier, each of which have their own distinction and character. What I ended up with are family sized wedges of all three of them. I decided to work with the Hirten for this recipe. A crumbly textured cheese with light pine and caramel notes, I felt that this would hold well to the spicy flavors of my kitchen.

I first tried the cheese as a simple snack, it slices into pretty slightly crumbly slices and works well with most of the red wines in our house. Moving on to the cooking domain, I had made a simple pasta dish pairing it with broccoli, the pictures for my pasta dish are lost in the latest tech shuffle.

This weekend, I was inspired to make my own tortillas and I shall save that experience for another post, because it is certainly worth its own place in the sun. These tortillas were then converted into quesadillas pairing them with garden fresh broccoli. I usually do the same thing with a mild tasting cheddar. My son has however pronounced that this cheese is better, so it looks like we have a thumbs up for the Hirten.

The cheese is definitely a hard cheese, which I found makes it a little difficult to grate, however, it slices easily and I used the slices for the recipe.

Print

Brocolli and Cheese Quesadilla -

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

A simple recipe for quesadillas.

Ingredients

Olive oil or Grape seed oil for cooking
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup of finely chopped broccoli
12 6 inch sized whole wheat tortillas
11/2 cups of sliced or grated cheese (such as cheddar or the hirten cheese, used here)

Instructions

In a small pan add about 1 tablespoon of the oil, add in the onion and the broccoli and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables soften to the point of being tender crisp.
Heat a large skillet, place the tortilla over the skillet and begin heating.
When the tortilla begins to turn warm, sprinkle with some of the cheese on one half, add some of the broccoli mixture and some more cheese.
Cover the tortilla with the other half and press down with a flat spatula.
Lightly sprinkle with the oil and let the half moon quesadilla turn a little crisp, turn on the other side and repeat to let the cheese melt.
Remove from the fire and cut into wedges and some with some guacamole if desired.Schema/Recipe SEO Data Markup by ZipList Recipe Plugin2.2http://cookinginwestchester.com/2013/07/brocolli-and-red-onion-quesadillas-castello-moments.html

Win a Private Cheese Tasting in your own home – enter by clicking on the banner below. Castello Moments and this post is a collaboration between the blogger and Arla Foods USA.

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Published on July 16, 2013 10:41

Chili Tofu and Technical Issues

This month has been a busy and balanced month. In various ways, the flavors of this Chili Tofu, synchronizes with the kind of month that I have been having. The flavors are sharp and full of fun.

I have managed to squeeze in a few days of vacation, spread over the few weeks that my mother is visiting. Since these vacation days are loose days, without any major purpose other than taking things at a slightly slower pace, and fitting in some, together time with mom, they have been immensely relaxing. I have filled them with shopping, catching up with Bollywood movies, and I some loose errands and bits of time for myself.

It is the simple things in life, that sometimes help in creating balance. Those rare simple things that we often do not think of getting into our lives.

I have been enjoying creating new dishes for mom. She seems to want to take a break from the regular cuisine of her days. To my surprise, she has also been wanting to learn some new flavors, and one of the recipes that caught her fancy was this Chili Tofu. This recipe is a lighter take on the Indo-Chinese style chili dishes. The flavors here are presented with a generous

Somewhere in the middle of fireworks and traffic, we managed to get in a week on the road, travelling up to ME, to Acadia National Park. It always amazes me to see the natural beauty of these sanctuaries, offering us beautiful family friendly recreation that works for all age groups.

The local was beautiful and rejuvenating, but just a tad too hot, although the young people in the group did not seem to mind. The kids enjoyed the junior ranger program a lot. This was their second try at this, with the first one being at Yellowstone. I was happy to be away, the long drive allowed me to actually read and finish a really interesting novel when I was not driving.

I am a die hard night person. Well, one of my planned projects was to back up and organize an SD card that had a select 125 pictures. Except that I had a novel experience planned, and not a pleasant one at any rate. Somehow, this disk had gotten whacked out, all the files appeared deleted… I managed to detect this about 10 new pictures, once I noticed the new sequencing of numbers. Emotions, ranged for shock and disbelief to a need to fix things.

The internet is a wonderful place. After some research, I realized that the data might be retrievable after all. I had broken the cardinal rule here, I had recorded over the data. While this was not intentional, that is what the new pictures were doing they were copying over the old data out of their own volition. Following a bunch of threads, I landed on this page and actually did manage to retrieve quite a lot of my data.

This now brings me back to this recipe, and the post that I had started a while ago when the spring onions were first surfacing in the markets. The preferred tofu for this recipe was the firm slice able variety.

Print

Chili Tofu and Technical Issues

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

A simple and flavorful stir fry with sharp green chili and fresh tasting green onions.

Ingredients

4 to 6 whole green onions
3 green chilies minced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons white wine
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
3 tablespoons oil
2 cups of slice able tofu, cut into cubes
1 tablespoon ginger
3 pods of garlic, minced

Instructions

Separate the whites and green of the onions. Chop them both and set aside.
In a mixing bowl mix in the green chilies, soy sauce, white wine, sesame oil and honey and mix well.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick wok, until very hot.
Carefully add all the tofu, single side down and cook for about 1 minute on both sides until the tofu is lightly browned.
Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon.
In the oil add in the ginger and the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
Add in the white onions and saute for 3 minutes, until the onion is nice and translucent.
Add in the tofu and mix well. Stir in the soy sauce mixture and cook for 2 minutes, until the mixture is absorbed.
Add in the spring onion greens and cook until wilted and serve the tofu with a side of rice.
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Published on July 12, 2013 20:04

Spicy Mushrooms with Garlic, Black Pepper and Chives

Summer often reminds of the shorter shelf life of things, I tend be more cognizant about the shelf life of this. It is the season of fermentation (think dosa), easy banana breads and simple stir fries that tend to showcase the best of the fresh produce that is so readily available. This is where today’s Spicy Mushroom comes in handy. This lovely stir-fry is adapted from Indian Inspired Gluten-Free Recipes a book packed with flavorful and easy recipes.

Ones that fit into the fast paced days that I have been having the past few weeks. Yes, so far, it has not really been an easy, breezy summer. With my mother visiting, I have been trying to eke out more time in already packed days to spend with here, but it has been a very pleasant visit.

The recipe is so simple and not fuss, that it is difficult not to stick to it, however I did play around with it just a little adding some fresh chives towards the end along with the cilantro. Also, added a very small hint of fresh lime. None of these additions were really needed, but then again, I can rarely stick to a recipe even ones from my own cookbook. Actually, speaking of the book and vegetables, if you want ideas to embellish your veggie repertoire you might want to pick up a copy.

Print

Spicy Mushrooms with Garlic, Black Pepper and Chives

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

A lovely easy to make flavorful stir-fry with baby bella mushrooms.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds (my addition)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 or 2 coarsely crushed red chilies
1 medium sized red onion, thinly sliced
2 pods of garlic, thinly sliced
2 cups thickly sliced or quartered baby bella mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons freshly chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon freshly chopped chives (my addition)
1/2 lime (my addition)

Instructions

Heat the oil on medium heat for about 1 minute and add in the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds and wait until the mustard seeds begin to crackle.
Add in the dried red chilies and the red onions and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes until the onions wilt and begin to turn slightly crisp at the edges.
Stir in the mushrooms and cook for another 4 minutes, adding in the salt.
Add in the ground black pepper and the cilantro and chives and mix well.
Squeeze in the lime juice and serve. This dish makes a wonderful side dish with almost anything.

Notes

Recipe Adapted from Indian Inspired Gluten-Free Cooking
Alamelu Vairavan and Margaret Pfeiffer

Hippocrene Books (2013)

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Here is hoping that you will pick up your copy of my cookbook, The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles.

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