We are in Christmas stretch now so Thanksgiving is certainly old news. I want to leave my usual TG note here especially since it is quite useful as a reference. Molu had gone off to college for the first time this year and Kannan has started higher studies. Thankfully both Universities are not too far from us and it was nice to have us all together for more than the usual weekend. Went for the full bird this time and was rewarded with a good gravy. This has become easier over the years and the TG 101 posts have made it even more so. Turkey was a 10-12 pounder organic one pre-ordered from Whole Foods as always. Alton Brown is still the king when it comes to turkey roasting and gravy making although I skipped the apple onion step inside the turkey while baking and it still turned out moist and yummy. As we head towards Christmas, I want to wish a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all readers. Leaving you a plate stuffed with items from this year's TG table.
Cheenachatti
There is an aroma in the air...Could it be Fish or Fried Rice? Maybe it is Dessert? Let's find out..
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Sunday, March 28, 2021
Rice, Coconut, Jaggery Dumpling aka Kozhukatta for Lazarus Saturday
This nostalgic snack seems to be connected to the Eastern Church origins of Kerala christianity. The native name in Malayalam seems to have originated from the shape and content of the snack which is stuffed with a coconut and jaggery mix. Here 'kozhu/kozhi' is for hen and 'katta' could be for the egg shape. This is my conjecture upon finding that the Saturday before palm Sunday has no commonly used name in Roman catholicism while it is celebrated as Lazarus Saturday in Eastern Christianity. A sweet snack named lazarkia is made in Greece and Cyprus to celebrate Lazarus Saturday. That day is simply known as 'kozhukatta sani' in our families and 'sani' of course is Saturday.
Saturday, March 27, 2021
Fish Biriyani!
The sheer convenience of working from home has turned me into a biriyani maker to my own surprise. It is happening mainly due to the fact that I can make a plan and prepare fried onions and raita ahead of time. Planning is more organized because of weekly online grocery shopping where I am sure of what we can have that week. So just add chicken, beef or lamb to the list, then tomatoes, cilantro and mint and you are pretty much set so long as you have biriyani rice, cashew nuts and raisins in stock. H always signs on to make papads which is one less worry. My dwarf lime tree has yielded enough for a year and the limes are preserved through freezing or simple refrigeration which covers for any lime needs. Same story with the curry leaf plant. There is always a container or two of yogurt and enough eggs in the house to round it out.
Not sure if I'd ever tried making fish biriyani before but now that it is done, there is no looking back. Absence of daily commute is essential for this activity as otherwise a quick trip to the Indian grocery store for frozen king fish (neymeen) may not happen at all. The main advantage of this fish is a single round bone in the middle which is easily discarded. A fact that was quite agreeable to my bone weary son who likes biriyanis in general. Molu seemed reluctant to fight with the fish at all but I am sure she will come around. Chicken is her goto for biriyani.
Elements of most biriyanis are the same but the protein here being fish, I didn't resort to my trusted Instapot this time. Alas, not much was lost and the final product more than made up for the sad omission of this trusted utensil. On top of recently acquired biriyani knowhow, I also referred to this vlog from salukitchen. There is a quite efficiency in this smart lady's no-nonsense yet tasty, gourmet quality and flavorful recipes with which she sustains her five person family on a regular basis. A feat not easily achieved even if one tried. Without Doordash to fill in the gaps, I am sure to be a nervous wreck by the end of the pandemic stay at home period where the distinction between work and home gets blurrier by the day. Simply closing the laptop just is not enough separation anymore I tell ya. Ok, 'nough rambling for now and let us go to our recipe for the day and see where that takes us.
Monday, March 8, 2021
Flattened Rice Flakes with Brown Sugar aka Aval Vilayichathu
The Ultimate Breakfast Burrito
I've been trying wraps, burritos and the likes with a variety of fillings. Looks like we now have a sure fire recipe that I call a breakfast burrito just to identify it with a name.
Easy to make, yummy to eat and flavorful to the hilt. No competition here. Below are the steps to make this delicious meal in a roll. Good news is the roll can be a chappathi, tortilla or any flat bread that takes your fancy. No need to roll if what you have at home is not big enough. Just fold it once, hold both ends together with your God given fingers and start attacking from one end to the other for finger licking goodness. Makes enough for 4 people.
In The Mix
olive oil - 4 tbsp
rosemary fresh- 1 tbsp
garlic - 5-6 cloves peeled and crushed
ground pepper - 1/4 tsp
shallots - thinly sliced
(you can use any ground meat like chicken, beef or turkey or even fried fish. vegetarians can substitute with chickpeas or soya chunks)
eggs - 5
milk - 1 tbsp
tomato - 2 medium
cumin powder - 1/4 tsp
lime juice - from 1 lime squeezed as needed
serrano chili - 1 seeds removed and sliced thin
cilantro fresh - 1/4 cup
salt - 1/2 tsp
grated cheese to sprinkle on top - as needed
organic wheat tortillas - as needed
How To Do
Heat oven to 425C for baking the potatoes after cooking them.
Slice 2 shallots, toss with olive oil and salt and air fry at 390C for 5-6 min on each side and mix with the baked potatoes. Can add this to potatoes while they are being baked. I just prefer the air fried version.
Eggs ** Break eggs into a cup, add milk, salt to taste and beat. Add to the pan set on medium heat, scramble the eggs and set aside in another bowl.
Microwave a tortilla for 10-15 seconds, spread the salsa mix, sausage, potatoes, eggs and sprinkle with cheese on top if you like. Fold together, take a mouthful and continue. Take another tortilla and repeat as many times as you want:-)
Tuesday, January 19, 2021
Instapot : Malabar Chicken Biriyani
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
THANKSGIVING 101 : Part 3/3 The Feast
The TG-day is here but good news is, you can afford to wake up a bit late since you are a prepared cook this time around. Today we are preparing all the things that make the thanksgiving table what it is. A family feast!
Thursday : (Start around 10AM)
First thing to do is to set out 2 sticks of butter and one 8oz pack of cream cheese to bring those to room temperature.
Slice 7oz of mushrooms, chop 1tsp each of parsley, sage, thyme, rosemary and set aside. Crush and chop 3 garlic cloves. This is also the time to chop 2 onions, 2-3 celery sticks and some parsley if you are not using pre cut (~24oz) mix from the store.
Take out all shelves from the oven except one. Keep it in the middle for all cooking except for the turkey when it should be in the last slot.
Bring out the roasting pan and fat separator. Prepare some fresh sprigs of sage, rosemary and thyme for the turkey.
Corn Bread
Since we want the oven to be free for the turkey, most of today's activities are with this in mind. Make corn bread from the box following instructions. Krusteaz is my new favorite brand for corn bread. Soft and delicious every time.
Mash Potatoes & Stuffing
While corn bread is in the oven, start boiling the pot of water from yesterday. And start peeling the potatoes. Cut each into 2 or 3 pieces, add to the boiling water after adding enough salt. Cook uncovered on medium heat, set timer for 20 min and go on to the next step.
While potatoes are cooking, brown 1lb. of sausage in a large pan on medium heat for ~7 min and set aside in a plate. Melt 3 tbsp of butter and add 24 oz. of onion-celery-parsley mix and cook uncovered for 10-12 min.
If the first 20 minutes of potatoes are done, then cover and cook for another 15 min or longer until you are able to come back to it. Keep an eye on the corn bread timer.
Add garlic-sage-thyme-rosemary and sliced mushrooms to the stuffing and cook uncovered for another 12 min. Add about 2 tsp each of salt and pepper to taste. Grease a large baking pan with 1 tbsp of butter and set aside for stuffing.
Add 1/4 cup sherry, roasted chestnuts and mix well together. Add back in the sausage, and 10-16oz stuffing mix and mix together with 500-600ml of chicken broth. Add to the greased pan, cover with foil and set aside. We'll come back to it after the turkey is roasted.
Remove corn bread from the oven once done and set the temp to 425F for roasting beans/asparagus.
Drain the potatoes and add back to the same pot, mash on low heat if too moist for 6-8 min and turn off heat. Add 1 1/2 sticks of butter, 8oz cream cheese, 1/2 cup half and half and mash together. Add 1/2 tsp seasoned salt, enough pepper and fresh herbs if any, mix together and set aside in serving dish. Mashed potatoes are done!
Roasted Beans/Asparagus
Cut off the edges of beans, lop off an inch or two of the asparagus, wash, drain and dry on paper towels. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, place in single layer on a foil lined cookie sheet and cook at 425 for 3-5 min on each side. Keep covered in foil and set aside in an oven safe serving dish. Set oven temp to 500F which shouldn't take long since the oven was in full use up till now.
Turkey
The breast meat weighed about 7 lbs this year. First combine the herb mix that came in the brine pack with some canola oil and set aside. Now it is time to take out the brining turkey, clean and pat dry it with paper towels. Rub generously with the oil mix and tack on as many sage, rosemary sprigs as possible. Cover with foil to get the shape in for later stage and remove foil.
Then roast as usual at 500F for 25 min uncovered with 1/4 cup water in the pan.
Bring oven down to 350F, add another 1/4 cup of water and insert thermometer so that the temp is measured at the lowest point in the meat (~50-60).
Cover with foil and roast again for 1 hour 45 min till the thermometer reads 160. The 1/4 cups of water added to the pan helped retain moisture and also helped to create some semblance of drippings at the end. I think I will take it out around the 1.5 hour mark next time when the thermometer showed 142 and it can continue to cook outside the oven to retain even more moisture. During this time when turkey is roasting in the oven you can quickly clean the kitchen, take that much needed shower and even start to set the table. Once turkey is done, remove thermometer, keep covered and let rest before carving.
While turkey is resting, add the stuffing pan to the oven and set to bake for 20 min. Start the gravy step at this time.
Gravy
Remove the turkey to cutting board and place the pan on the stove. Will need two burners in parallel on medium-low heat. Whisk the drippings and add 8 oz red wine and 24 oz chicken broth at the same time to the pan. Continue whisking for 2-3 min and transfer to a 4cup fat separator with stopper inserted. Discard any extra liquid. Wait 5 min for the fat to settle on the top. Turn off the heat.
Check on stuffing and if the 20 min are done, remove the foil and bake uncovered for another 20 min. Add the beans/asparagus pan to the oven towards the last 5 min to warm it up. Even the mashed potatoes can be warmed up here if it is in an oven proof dish.
Back to the gravy. Once the fat is settled, remove the stopper and pour out the bottom liquid to another container bringing the fat to the bottom. Add 1-2 tbsp of the fat back to the pan and discard the rest. At medium heat, add 1/3 cup all-purpose flour by sprinkling around the pan and whisking vigorously. Now add the liquid back in small amounts and continue to whisk until blended well. Do this for 5-6 min, add salt and pepper to taste and herbs if any for flavor. Remove from heat and pour into serving container.
Crescendo!
Remove all the items from the oven, carve the turkey and finish setting the table. You are ready to enjoy the most delicious meal ever!