Posts tagged as:

herbs and spices

Marinated Eggplant with Garlic and Herbs

November 23, 2009

Did you miss me? I hope you did.

Let me tell you what I was upto – I was writing a chapter for 55 Knives. Erm, what’s that? That is an upcoming e-book that will feature some really, really awesome food bloggers, including Nicole of Pinch My Salt and Sprouted Kitchen. I was (and still am) beyond flattered to know I’m in such good company. So, through last week, I was writing, rewriting, editing and proof editing my chapter of 1200 words.

Now this should be easy because writing a chapter is like writing a long blog post, right? Wrong. Unlike blogging, where I can assume you already know me, I had to write this book for a reader who doesn’t know me at all. Plus, it was deadline work. And while I can write up a blog post in well under an hour, writing this chapter was a whole ‘nother ball game. I finally turned in my first draft on Friday. One week late (see, I told you I don’t like deadlines) – with much of a push from orangefoodie.

UPDATE – MAY 2010: The 55 Knives book is now available and selling wonderfully! And if you haven’t had enough of your eggplant cravings, you can read my recipe for Stuffed Eggplant on page 71 of the book along with a short story on my love for food and cooking. So get your copy of 55 Knives today!

In other news, my mango chutney has been featured on Saveur. So happy to be on their list! There will be some bigger, better news soon enough but I need to hold on to it for just a little bit.

Now let’s get to that gorgeous eggplant recipe, shall we?

Eggplant, yellow chilli, sweet marjoram and marinade

I have been leafing through the recipes in the Ottolenghi book ever since I got it, and every recipe looks absolutely stunning. With loads of garlic and lemon in most of the recipes, I think this book was written just for me. Given my recent fascination with eggplant, I tried the marinated eggplant recipe. And my, was it delicious – served with a garlicky tahini sauce, I loved it! My mom enjoyed it so much, she reserved some to take for lunch to work the next day.

I recently found a yellow chili plant at a local nursery which I used instead of the red chilies. And I substituted oregano with its milder cousin, sweet marjoram. Plus I used the awesome infusion technique I learned when I made the now-famous garlicky baked fries instead of simply plopping the garlic into the oil. Fantastic results!

Marniated Eggplant with Tahini Sauce

Adapted from: The Ottolenghi Cookbook

Serves: 4

1.5 lb. / 750g eggplants

Olive oil for brushing

Salt and pepper for seasoning

Marinade:

1 mild red chili or 3-4 mild yellow chilies

2 tbsp coriander/cilantro, finely chopped

2 tbsp sweet marjoram, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

3 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp cayenne pepper

Tahini Sauce:

1/3rd cup / 75g tahini paste

1/3rd cup / 75 ml water

3 tbsp / 40 ml lemon juice

2 garlic cloves, crushed

Preheat oven to 220C/425F.
Trim the eggplants; cut them into wedges such that each wedge has skin on it.
Place the wedges in a roasting tray and brush with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake this for 15-18 minutes until they are golden brown and soft inside.
For the marinade, heat 4 tbsp oil with the garlic until the garlic is fragrant and just begins to sizzle. Turn off the heat. Let this cool a little and then add the other ingredients and mix well.
As soon as the eggplants come out of the oven, toss them with the marinade and let it sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours before serving. You can refrigerate this for up to 2 days. Make sure to serve them at room temperature, though.
For the tahini sauce, whisk together the tahini paste, water, lemon, garlic and salt thoroughly. The mixture should be smooth and creamy. If the mixture looks too thick then add a little more water by the teaspoon.
Serve the tahini sauce with the eggplants.

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Za’atar

May 9, 2008

Za’atar is an aromatic spice mixture used in the Middle East. Like many spice mixtures, there are many variations, but all contain toasted white sesame seeds, ground sumac, thyme and salt. Za’atar has a unique pungent and zesty flavor.

A friend of mine got me Za’atar from Dubai (I love it when I get authentic stuff!

). I have wanted it ever since I learned about Israeli cuisine some months ago and I finally have some wonderfully fragrant za’atar that will last me for a good one year at the least.

The type of za’atar mix differs depending on the region. My mix contains thyme, sesame, sumac, caraway, dill, turmeric, roasted wheat, salt and vegetable oil. With so much za’atar at hand, I found out some fun ways of using them. I’ve found a bunch of things with I could use it, one of the experiments was a za’atar chicken pilaf – a tad less hot for my taste, but quite flavourful and fragrant.

Za’atar can be used as a tabletop condiment – I say, sprinkle away on anything you eat. This is a good way to judge how much it complements your regular food. For a nice appetizer, cut pita bread into wedges, sprinkle with za’atar and olive oil and bake for 5 minutes at 200°C. Za’atar is used as a seasoning for meats and vegetables. It can be mixed with olive oil to make a spread or you could add some to a bottle of olive oil for the flavours to infuse – but this should be consumed quickly. It tastes so good when sprinkled on some garlic rice. I love a thick layer of za’atar and olive oil paste as a part of as a savory tart (mankeesh Za’atar). A few days ago I made some Shish Taouk and garlic rice sprinkled with za’atar. It was so good. But that’s makes for another post. Za’atar is often sprinkled on hummus too. I’m so excited about using this versatile herb mix for a ton of creative experiments!

Labneh
After hearing so much about labneh I thought I’d make some of my own today. I bought some full fat milk (to make it so, so creamy) to set some fresh yoghurt. What you’ll need:

Yoghurt
Salt
A clove of garlic
Extra virgin olive oil
Za’atar

Here are the steps I followed:

Hung the yoghurt in a muslin cloth for a couple of hours until all the whey drained out (about 3 hours).
Mixed the drained yoghurt with some salt and a whole clove of garlic until it had a hint of the flavour and then I tossed it out (since raw garlic can be so overpowering).
Spoon the creamy mixture on a plate and splash with some extra virgin olive oil.
Finally, sprinkle with lots and lots of za’atar!

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What is Kokum?

February 16, 2008

The then NY Times food critic, Ruth Reichl (Garlic and Sapphires) was on one of her visits to the New York restaurant, Lespinasse. One of the dishes she sampled was a Braised salmon and crisped Artichoke with a syrah wine reduction. It looked familiar – a fat slice of salmon on a bed of crispy fried strips of artichoke in a deep purple sauce, garnished with bread crumbs and chervil. However, there was an unusual element in it that escaped her. So she asked the waiter, and what she learnt was a new ingredient – Kokum.

Only after reading this, did I realise the exotic value of this local ingredient. The kokum lying at the back of my pantry earned a new found respect from me. Don’t get me wrong, I have always loved kokum in my food, but simply took it for granted until now.

Photograph sourced from Wikipedia.

So what is kokum? Kokum is native to the Southern regions of India and it didn’t quite go places, that’s why there is no English name for the fruit! The dried kokum that is used to flavour foods is usually purplish black in colour; the darker the colour, the better the kokum. After the fruit is picked, the rind is removed and then soaked in the juice of the pulp and sun-dried. Sometimes a good quantity of salt is used to speed up the drying process.

Kokum is sometimes confused with mangosteen fruit. They are similar only till the point of belonging to the same family – The genus Garcinia which itself has under its wing over 435 species! The binomial name for Kokum is Garcinia Indica and that of Mangosteen is Garcinia mangostana.

And how is it used? This tart fruit is used to add a sour twist, quite like the tamarind; to dishes hot and cold – be it coconut based curries, dals, chutneys, vegetables or pickles. My favourites being Goan Fish Curry from my Grandma’s kitchen, Sindhi curry and a refreshing drink made from kokum. Thinking of the drink, I fondly remember the summers I used to make Kokum Sherbet for my family, I was probably 10 or 12 then. Everyone enjoyed the refreshing drink.

It may be February now, but you don’t have to wait for the summer to down this drink, because this fruit can reduce fat, purify blood, aid in digestion and also reduce cholesterol!

Kokum Sherbet

100g Kokum

A pinch, Asafoetida
Salt, to taste

6 tablespoon jaggery or brown sugar
4 slit green chillies
3 tablespoon parsley, chopped
3 cups of water

In a pitcher add water and all the ingredients except the parsley. Let it rest for about 6-8 hours in the refrigerator. And if you want it speed it up, you could soak it warm water.

Large quantities of this sherbet are consumed in the coastal regions of southwest India to beat the sweltering heat. You can also buy yourself a bottle of the syrup that requires just the addition of water. You could even drop in a tea bag and make a different kind of iced tea!

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Try this: Mrs. Dash Seasoning Blend

October 17, 2007

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I simply love all Mrs Dash seasoning blends, just like I love all things versatile. It’s got the most delicious aroma and is made up of several herbs and spices. I use them in a lot of my dishes; pastas, soups, marinades, pizzas, salads, on crackers with cream cheese, just anything at all! The lemon blend is especially good with fish. It’s just so nice and zesty! On my wish list currently, is the Southwest Chipotle blend. (I love smoky flavours!)

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