Kale Yogurt Raita

I don't know why I didn't think of this recipe sooner because I love spinach yogurt raita so much, which is a similar idea. Traditionally, yogurt raita is served as a side to go along with rice, bread, curry or lentils and helps to cool things down if there is a lot of spicy dishes.  It's one of those recipes that you can really be creative with as far as the vegetables you mix into to it. The most popular is cucumber, but my favorites are radish, tomato & onion, carrot and now kale!

What's really great about this recipe is that kale is available seasonally almost all year round, which probably also explains why it's on most every Brooklyn menu these days. It's my favorite green hands down because even when sauteed, it's still quite substantial and I just feel so healthy after eating a bunch of it.

Raita is prepared differently depending on what part of India too. In the South, where my mother is from, you can mix coconut in to it and pour tempered spices of black mustard seeds, asafetida, red chili and curry leaves on top at the end.  I made this radish raita video in that way:



In North India, where my dad is from you mix in some roasted cumin powder and red chili powder.  The roasted cumin powder is called bhuna jeera and every household has some in the cupboard to sprinkle on yogurt dishes.  In the North, sometimes, raita is made with boondi, little fried chickpea flour batter balls:

This is optional, but you can also sprinkle some black salt or kala namak in to the raita. In Hindi, kala means black and namak means salt. It is a volcanic rock salt found in India that is actually greyish/pinkish in color and has a kind of sulphuric smell to it. It's definitely an acquired taste, but it's really good for you because it's packed with iron and all sorts of minerals. I am hooked on it and put it in my yogurt, curries, kefir, fruits and in chaat. You can get this salt at the Indian store or in some health food stores.

In North India there are a quite a few vendors selling fruit chaat, which is fresh fruit with a sprinkling of a chaat masala powder that tastes sweet, sour and salty. Many will be carrying their own specially made mixtures, which all contain the magical black salt.  It's the salt that gives the chaat it's unique pungent flavor. You can also ask vendors for some of their personal chaat masala to take home with you.

This is a fruit chaat vendor I photographed in Mumbai, along with a kid that has the most awesome hair:)

On my last trip to Delhi, my family bought guavas from this vendor in Chandni Chowk and he also was carrying his own special mix of chaat masala, which we brought home with us:

As you can see in this photo, my family gets really serious and involved when it comes to picking out produce:

So if you have some black salt, I would try it out, but if not you can make this recipe without.  For this particular raita variation, I sauteed the kale with some garlic, cooled & mixed it in to the yogurt and added in a bit of lemon & black pepper.  This preparation gave it a kind of a Greek tzatziki (cucumber dip) taste, which was delicious.

The recipe is great to put on most anything or just snack on throughout the week if it lasts that long:) Also, part of this recipe can be done ahead by cooking the kale and then assembling the whole dish the next day. It's a great side to add on to any dinner if you are wanting one more dish on the table that will go with everything.

Kale Yogurt Raita

Ingredients
leaves from 4 kale stems, chopped
3 cups plain yogurt, beaten
2 teaspoons oil
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon roasted cumin powder, bhuna jeera
1/4 teaspoon chili powder or to taste
salt or black salt to taste
black pepper to taste
lemon juice
cilantro, chopped

Method
Heat oil in a small pan under medium high heat.  When warm, add garlic. Sautee garlic for a few seconds until fragrant and throw in chopped kale.  Cook kale for a few minutes, until wilty.  Add salt and a good squeeze of lemon.  Cool kale by putting in refrigerator or in the freezer if you need it faster.

When the kale is cooled, mix in the yogurt well. Then add in the cumin powder, chili powder, salt or black salt and black pepper if you are using and mix well.  Mix in cilantro to your taste as well.  Before serving, sprinkle a little more cumin powder and chili powder on the top with a garnish of cilantro.

Upcoming: South Indian + Food Photography Class

Kosambri photographed by Clay Williams

I'm so excited to announce that I'll be working with buddy and talented food photographer Clay Williams on an upcoming class at the Brooklyn Brainery that will take place Saturday, June 15 from 2-4PM.  For this class, I'll be teaching a South Indian recipe and Clay will be teaching the students how to shoot it with a digital SLR.

Clay's photography is beautiful and I'm honored to be working with him on this project. His photos have appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times, Travel + Leisure, Edible Brooklyn and you can find more of his stunning work in his portfolio and on his blog, ultraclay.com.

I'll be teaching everyone how to make kosambri, one of my favorite dishes.  Kosambri is a traditional home cooking dish from Bangalore where my mother is from.  It's a salad made with fresh vegetables, coconut, soaked lentils, lemon, cilantro, fried spices and curry leaves. It's a hearty salad that is full of flavor and protein from the lentils.  In the class, students will be given the opportunity to make the dish hands on with me and learn more about South Indian cooking and its ingredients.

Clay will then walk the class through the basics and some tricks of food photography using a digital SLR.  He'll also discuss optimal lighting conditions and hacks and give an overview on photography elements such as aperture and white balance.  I'm especially excited for Clay's portion of the class to get some additional pointers myself:)

You can sign up for the class at Brooklyn Brainery, which is a very special place if you haven't already checked it out. I love working with Jen and Soma who run this unique space where they offer classes from all walks of life. Check their recent schedule of classes to see what I'm talking about. I definitely recommend signing up for their email of upcoming classes, which sell out right away. They also just secured a new spot in Prospect Heights with an awesome backyard and excited to see what they do out there.

Be sure to sign up early if you want to join us!

South Indian Food + Photography: Learn How To Cook It & Shoot It Like A Pro
June 15
2-4PM
Brooklyn Brainery
190 Underhill Street
Sign up

I made a video of the preparation with my friends Alana and Paul so you can get a sense of what kosambri is all about and see what you're getting into;)

Whole Yellow Peas Curry

I have been making my way through my stash of dried legumes and arrived at whole yellow peas, which are used in Indian dishes by my family in North and South India.  In the North, they're called 'matar' in Hindi and in the South, they're called 'batani' in Kannada. I don't hear about these peas that often though here in Brooklyn and am surprised because they're not only tasty but super good for you.  They're rich in protein and fiber and good for lowering cholesterol.  I think their relative, the split yellow pea has taken the spotlight but I have to say I prefer the texture of the whole yellow pea better. When cooked, they still kind of keep their shape, as opposed to the split yellow pea that totally disintegrates.  They have an earthy, creamy taste to them too.

I cooked these whole yellow peas in a North Indian style to make a curry with ginger, garlic, garam masala and a few other spices and finished it off with some lemon, cilantro and yogurt. This curry makes for a super hearty dinner and goes really well on rice or with a roti. You can also add more water to the recipe and turn it into a soup.

One tip if you want to cook your whole yellow peas faster is to soak them in water the night before.  They will only take about 10 minutes to cook in a pressure cooker and I have given detailed instructions below on how to use a pressure cooker.  If you are using a pot on the stove top, the peas will take about 60-90 minutes to cook.  If that is your option, this recipe could be done in parts where you cook the peas on a weekend or a week night and finish the dish on another night.

Whole Yellow Peas Curry
Ingredients
1 cup dried whole yellow peas, soaked overnight
4 cups (pressure cooker); 7 cups (without pressure cooker)
2 tablespoons ghee or oil
1 teaspoon cumin seed
pinch of hing or asafetida
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, grated
1 green chili or jalapeño, minced
1/3 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
juice of 1/2 lemon
cilantro, chopped
salt
yogurt

Method
Wash dried whole yellow peas in water and cover them with 2 inches of water to soak overnight.

Drain the dried whole yellow peas and put them into a pot with 7 cups of water if you are cooking cooking in a pot and 4 cups of water if you are cooking in a pressure cooker (instructions for using pressure cooking are below).  Turn the heat to medium high heat. You will get some foaming on the top so skim that off with a spoon.  When the foaming stops, mix in salt and the turmeric powder.  When the peas are boiling, start to simmer them at lower heat until they are soft, about 60-90 minutes.  If you are using a pressure cooker, you will cook them for about 10 minutes. If they are not completely soft at this point, boil them for a bit more but they will be close at this point.

In a separate pan, heat the oil under medium heat. Add in the cumin seed and asafetida. When the cumin seeds starts to brown and get fragrant, throw in your chopped onions.  Let the onions cook until they are translucent. Add in your garlic, ginger and green chili and give a good stir. Cook for a few seconds and then add in the garam masala. Stir the pot well so you get the smell of the fried spices.

Add to the pot of fried onions and spices, the cooked dal.  Mix well and add more water to get to your desired consistency and salt to taste.  Cook together for 5 minutes at low-medium heat.

Turn off the stove.  Add lemon juice and chopped cilantro and stir.

Serve in bowls with a dollop of yogurt with rice or roti on the side.

How to Pressure Cook Dried Whole Yellow Peas
Soak 1 cup dried whole yellow peas overnight.
Wash off peas and add to pressure cooker with 4 cups of water.
Bring peas beans to a boil, skimming off foam with a spoon in the process.
Turn heat to medium, add salt and turmeric and place cover and stopper on top.
Once the stopper starts to rock, cook peas for 10 minutes
Turn heat off.
Only after the pressure has completely released from cooker, should you open it (as a check, make sure the pressure valve is no longer raised).
Check that peas are cooked and if not, boil for a bit more with lid off.

Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) Enchiladas

I recently took a trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico with my family to celebrate my father's 70th birthday. While there, I consumed an insane amount of enchiladas and learned a lot about the local chiles.  If you eat authentic New Mexican food, you will most likely at first burn your tongue off (in a good way) because the chiles are super hot, but they also have a unique earthy & fruity flavor to them.  These chiles have a deep and dark reddish brown coloring to them.  I loved the flavor so much, I brought back some of the special New Mexican red chile powder from The Chile Shop.  I definitely recommend trying out New Mexican chile powder (and using it in this recipe), which differs from the more usual varieties like cayenne, ancho, pasilla and chipotle. The name of the chile powder I bought is called Dixon Medium Hot, which is hotter than the most commonly used New Mexican chile called Hatch.  You can find New Mexican chile powder in specialty markets or order it online.

It's obvious New Mexicans are pretty serious about their chiles from the number of ristras, dried chili bunches, hanging all over the place.

This recipe is actually one of my favorites that I've been dying to share on the site, but this was the first time I made the sauce with real New Mexican chiles. It's essentially a Mexican-Indian enchilada, corn tortilla filled with rajma, a North Indian kidney bean curry and baked with enchilada sauce (recipe below courtesy of The Chile Shop in Santa Fe) and cheese.  Rajma is kind of like the lesser known, but just as delicious, relative to channa masala, that's made with kidney beans instead of chickpeas.  I like to make my rajma with spinach too.  This enchilada recipe is a hearty one for vegetarians and you can omit the cheese if you are vegan.

I've been really into this Mexican-Indian theme for quite some time and used to run a supper club called Masala Loca with my friend Sabra who now runs Skytown in Bushwick.  Sabra is half-Mexican so we had a lot of fun combining our family recipes from Mexico and India together and found there was a ton of overlap of ingredients. The two cuisines come together really well and have a lot of complementary flavors.  This is a photo of some Indian tamales we created together, one filled with tamarind chutney and white cheese and the other filled with mustard greens & ramps curry and jack cheese with butter masala sauce and mint chutney on the side.  If you're interested to see more of the Mexican-Indian foods and events I've done in the past go here.

From making enchiladas quite a bit, I've figured out some tricks so you don't end up with soggy enchiladas.  You just need to do a few things to make this happen: use corn tortillas, fry the tortillas lightly and lightly dip them into warm enchilada sauce before filling and putting in a greased pan. The oil acts as a barrier to the sauce so they don't start to break up apart.

This recipe is really versatile in that you can make some of the parts of it beforehand and assemble the enchiladas on another day.  In the past, I've also stuffed them with a variety of different Indian curries like potato and paneer & swiss chard and served them with different chutneys on top like coconut.

Rajma (Kidney Bean Curry) Enchiladas

Ingredients
12 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded jack or cheddar cheese
diced onion (optional)
vegetable or canola oil

Enchilada Sauce (Red Chile Sauce), courtesy of The Chile Shop Santa Fe
Ingredients
2 tablespoons oil
1 large clove of garlic, smashed and minced
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 scant tablespoons flour
6 tablespoons Dixon Medium Hot chile powder or other New Mexican chile powder, vary amount according to your taste
2 1/2 to 3 cups vegetable broth
1/4 teaspoon salt

Rajma with Spinach Recipe

For garnish
sour cream or Greek yogurt
iceberg lettuce, chopped or shredded
Spanish or black olives, sliced (optional)
hot sauce (optional)
cilantro, chopped

Method

To make Enchilada Sauce:
Saute garlic in oil for 1-2 minutes over low heat.  Add oregano, cumin and flour.  Stir until golden. Blend together chile and broth until smooth and add to flour mixture.  Simmer very gently for 15-20 minutes. Chile scorches easily, imparting bitter taste; cook slowly, stirring frequently.  Sauce should be thick enough to heavily nap a spoon.  Keeps 1 week refrigerated. Can be frozen.

Make rajma with spinach recipe.

Assembly of Enchiladas:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Oil the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.

In a non-stick pan, fry each corn tortilla in oil for a few seconds until pliable and soft. Don't cook until they are crunchy.

Set them aside on a paper towel.

Warm up your enchilada sauce and place in a flat dish or plate.

Take one fried corn tortilla at a time and dip completely in the enchilada sauce. Shake off excess sauce, you want it to be coated lightly, but not completely doused with sauce.

This part may get messy as you are working with the sauced tortilla so just be ready for it! I just use my hand for filling it too. Fill the enchilada with 2-3 tablespoons of rajma and spinach curry (can add a little cheese or diced raw onion too if you like) and roll closed. Place seam down in the baking dish. Repeat for each enchilada.

Spoon and spread sauce over the enchiladas (reserve some for serving with cooked enchiladas if you like it more saucy) and top with shredded cheese.

Place in the oven for about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted to your liking.  If you want it to be more brown, you could turn the heat up to broil for a little until the cheese browns more.

For each plate, put down some enchilada sauce (optional) and place enchilada on top. Garnish your enchiladas with shredded lettuce, olives and cilantro. Serve with sour cream or Greek yogurt and hot sauce on the side.

Speaking @ NY Trav Fest This Sat

This Saturday at 2:30 PM, I'll be speaking on a panel at the NY Trav Fest. The NY Trav Fest is a two day affair (April 20-21) held at the Bohemian National Hall and features tons of great panels & speakers in the travel and food worlds from places like National Geographic, Lonely Planet, Edible Magazine, Travel+Leisure,  etc.

The panel I'll be on is moderated by Editor-in-Chief of Brooklyn Based, Annaliese Griffin and called The Art of the Day Trip: Exploring New York Neighborhoods.  I'll be talking about what spots to visit on a day trip to the Indian neighborhood of Edison, NJ and also discuss some of what New York has to offer with regards to Indian foods and shopping.  Joining me on the panel will be writer Allison Meier who will be taking the audience through a historical tour of Brooklyn.

You can view the complete NY Trav Fest schedule. There are also options to attend tours and cooking classes! To purchase your tickets for 1 or both days, go here.  

My Interview w/ Asia Society on South Indian Food

I was super flattered when Asia Society recently contacted me for an interview to talk about South Indian foods. I have been doing a lot of work to preserve my family's recipes from Bangalore on this blog, in cooking classes and in writing for other publications so was very excited to hear that there has been a growing interest in South Indian cooking.

As a bonus, my interview was also featured on the New York Times Dining Journal blog under their "What We're Reading" segment and in Bon Appetit, and the noted Indian chef, Sanjeev Kapoor apparently liked what I had to say and shared the interview with his community too!

All in all, I'm happy when I hear that people are becoming more aware of regional styles of Indian cooking and going beyond conversations having to do with just chicken tikka masala and naan;)

You can visit Asia Society to read my interview with writer Farisa Khalid.

Instant Garlic Pickle

This Friday, I'll be preparing this instant Indian garlic pickle recipe for an eHow.com cooking video, but I'm sharing it here with you first!  On my last trip to India, I became inspired to make a garlic pickle when I tried it for the first time from a stall owned by a pickle maker named Kushiram in the Delhi neighborhood of Malviya Nagar.  If you visit his New Kushiram Achar store, you'll meet a very jolly man who loves making and selling his pickles:



Indian pickle is a bit of an undiscovered condiment I'm finding. When I have people over and put it out on the table, many times there is a little confusion as to what to do with it.  It's called pickle because it's preserved, but it really functions similar to Sriracha sauce where you just add a little to give whatever you're eating a spicy kick that is also sour and salty at the same time.  It gets addictive after you've tried it for the first time and you want to add a little bit of it to most everything you eat - in rice, with curry, mixed in with yogurt, in sandwiches, with eggs, etc.

In North India, pickle is referred to as achar and in South India it's called uppinakayi.  Depending on the region, different items are pickled with particular oils and spices.  Some examples of pickles are green mango, carrot, lemon, tomato, gooseberry, red chili and garlic.

You can make instant pickles right on the stove or make pickles that will be ready in months and stay good for a year or even longer.  The more lengthy process involves salting, spicing and drying out and preserving the item, often in the sun.  I'm a newbie to pickle making and am still working my way up to the more laborious pickles by trying out the instant pickle varieties first.  So far, I've made instant pickles of gooseberry (American variety) and string beans.

Pickle making in India is serious business. There are vendors that sell produce specifically for making pickle. These are some gooseberries called 'nellikayi' in Kannada for sale at Gandhi Bazaar Market in Bangalore.

You can even find pickle makers on the streets. This Delhi vendor wheeled around all of his pickles on a cart and he makes so many varieties. This is his green mango pickle:

And in every family, there is usually an Aunty that excels in the art of pickling. For instance, my mother's Aunt Indra in Bangalore makes an extraordinary nellikayi pickle, which I was lucky to bring back home from my last trip.  Growing up, these pickles would only be taken out on special occasions and now I do the same with my rations.

I made my garlic pickle recipe in a South Indian style using mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds and sesame oil.  Usually garlic is used in North Indian pickles so this pickle is kind of a reflection of me, a North/South Indian mutt:) Enjoy!

Instant Garlic Pickle

Ingredients
1 cup small garlic cloves, peeled
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
lemon juice, ¼ cup
large pinch asafoetida or hing
1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons jaggery or brown sugar

Method
Peel garlic, slicing any overly large pieces.

Dry roast fenugreek, coriander seeds and cumin seeds until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Make sure not to burn the fenugreek because it gets really bitter. Grind in a coffee grinder and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok, add asafoetida (hing) and mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the garlic cloves and mix in the turmeric powder.  Sauté for 3 minutes stirring continuously.

Add the chili powder, salt and roasted spices and cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Add the jaggery, lemon juice and cook until liquid reduces a bit and oil separates, few minutes.

Turn off heat.

Transfer into sterilized containers with lids once cooled. You can serve immediately.  This pickle can stay fresh for a month when stored in the fridge.

You can also choose to keep the pickle in a cool, dry place for 3-4 days and eat it after that time. Pickle tastes better the longer it preserves.