Cooking Praxis #3-Indian Cuisine
1.) Research and inquiry about a course/meal
This time around researching for our cuisine recipes was pretty difficult. Christine and I looked through several cook books and online recipes but we had a hard time identifying ingredients, especially herbs and spices. Another issue we faced was not being able to identify the dish because it was "titled" or "described" in its original native language. Unlike Christine I had previously had Indian cuisine before when I was down in Washington D.C but it was hard to recollect what I had eaten especially the name of the specific dish. But after looking through cook books and websites we came back to our good "ole faithful" Betty Crocker Cook Book and decided to make Curry Chicken, Mango Chutney, Basmati Rice, and Carrot Pudding.
I was pretty excited about the chicken recipe. My mom makes a "Curry Chicken Salad" with peanuts and celery which is absolutely delicious so I was excited about a warm curry chicken recipe. As for the chutney, everything I had heard about it was about pickled flavoring and vinegar. Seemed pretty intimidating. And when it came to the carrot pudding I already had it in my mind that it would be extremely different to what I was used to. But I tried to keep an open mind while researching and cooking.
Recipes
Chicken Curry
"The blend of spices used in Indian curries represents more than 2,000 years of tradition. Curry mixtures were used to preserve food as well as to add a mouthwatering aroma."
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
chicken breast
1 teaspoom salt
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tablespoons water
1 cup dairy sour cream
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven until hot. Cook chicken over medium heat until brown on all sides, about 15 minutes. Drain fat from skillet. Sprinkle chicken with salt, onion and water. Cover and simmer until thickest pieces of chicken are done.
Remove chicken from skillet; keep warm. Pour liquid from skillet into bowl; skim fat. Return 1/4 cup liquid to skillet; stir in sour cream, curry powder, ginger and cumin. Heat, stirring constantly, just until hot. Pour sauce over chicken. Serve chicken with Mango Chutney and rice.
Mango Chutney
1 mango (about 1 pound), peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup vinegar
1 jar (2 7/8) crystallized ginger, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Heat all ingredients to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered until slightly thickened, about 45 minutes.
"The exterior beauty if the tropical mango hints at the mouthwatering, perfumed fruit within. The smooth skin flushes from a vibrant green to apricot- cold to orange-red. The fruit of the mango is creamy, bright apricot color; it is juicy and clings to a flat, oval central pit that runs the length of the mango. Because mangoes ripen after they are picked, they can be purchased quite green and set aside until the fruit yields to gentle pressure. Eaten by itself, this sweet beauty needs no sugar; mango is delicious in ice cream and sorbets, mousses, and refreshing, yogurt-based drinks."
Basmati Rice
1 cup rice
2cups water
Boil until tender.
Carrot Pudding
Gajar Halva (gah-jer hul-vuh)
"With gentle cooking, the natural sweetness of carrots comes shining through. Cardamom is a spice the Indians use to enhance sweetness, though it is not sweet itself. This rich pudding should be served in rather small portions. A bit of ice cream would add an American touch."
6 medium carrots (about 1 pound), finely shredded
2 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup margarine or butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted pistachio or slivered almonds
Heat carrots and half-and-half to boiling in 2-quart saucepan; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered, stirring frequently, until half-and-half is absorbed, about 1 hour.
Stir in brown sugar, raisins, margarine, cardamom and salt. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until brown sugar is dissolved and mixture is desired consistency, about 15 minutes. Garnish with pistachios.
2.) Gathering/hunting/harvesting
Gathering up our ingedients wasn't too bad. My mom had the curry, ginger and cumin. We went to Price Chopper to get our other ingredients: 1 lb. carrots, raisins, slivered almonds, one mango, half-and-half, sour cream and some other groceries we needed like milk and bananas. Our most expensive ingredient was Cardamom for $14.00. But being the cheap, starving college students we are we decided not to get it thinking it wouldn't be a huge loss to the recipe.
3.) Processing and preparation
Once we got home we pulled out all our ingredients and set to work. Christine and I split up our duties, both of us would help peel carrots for the carrot pudding, I would be in charge of the chicken and she would be in charge of the chutney. Since the pudding needed 45 minutes to sit and soak up the half-and-half we started that off first. Peeling the carrots was messy, never wanting to make it into its designated bowl. But with two people it was done in no time. After we set the milk and carrot peeling on low to cook we started out individual jobs. I set to work cutting off the fat from the chicken and warming up with oil in the skillet while Christine cut and peeled the mango. The chutney was easy, just slice and peel the mango, add the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil, then set on low to simmer. Same for the chicken, brown the chicken and then make the sauce from onions, curry, chicken fat and sour cream.
Compared to our previous meals the preparation was extremely easy which seemed amazing because looking at our completed meal it looked like a hard meal to make. I thought it would be a nice way to impress my Dad, you know show a meal that looks complicated and extensive but in reality was extremely straight forward and simple.
4.) Consumption
After I set the table and Christine put our individualized bowls on Carrot Pudding we made up our plates with our Curried Chicken, Mango Chutney, and Basmati Rice. Everything smelled great, the chicken smelling strongly of curry, the chutney giving off a vinegar-sweet scent and the rice smelling pretty plain. The first dish I tried was the chicken, which I liked a lot. Although I have to say I prefer it cold over warm. I then tried the chutney, tasting the vinegar first, then the garlic and mango. I didn't care for it because it was very sour tasting, nothing I had ever tasted before. The rice was good, I tried mixing it in with the chutney but that didn't help the intense taste. Once our pudding was firm and cold we tried out sweet carrot concoction. I immediately did not like it. I didn't care for the texture.
My overall assessment of the meal was that it was very different. I respect the Indian culture for their use of herbs and spices. I will definately eat the chicken and rice again, maybe even take another try at the chutney if their was less vinegar. As for the pudding, that's definately a "no-go."
Pictures
Carrot Pudding
Onions
Chicken
Ginger, Curry, Sour Cream, Salt, Cumin
Chutney
Basmati Rice
Carrot Pudding
Final Product
Christine and her Carrot Pudding