Arroz con camarones (Costa Rican paella)

This is a classic South American dish, called different names in different countries.

2 lbs raw shrimp, deveined
2 tsp cumin
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbs canola or sunflower oil
2 cups uncooked rice (I used valencia rice)
3 tbs butter/ oil
1 red onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tomatoes, peeled and seeded, diced
3 tbs parsley, finely chopped, plus more to garnish
½ cup of white wine
Salt and pepper

Marinate the shrimp with salt, pepper, 1 tsp of cumin, let it marinate for an hour.
Bring 3-4 cups of water to boil in a large pot, add the shrimp and boil for about 2 minutes. Do not overcook or the shrimp will be chewy. Remove the shrimp from the water and reserve the water they cooked in to prepare the rice.

Chop up 1/2 the shrimp into small pieces and leave the other 1/2 whole.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or pot, add the minced garlic, cook for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat. Add the bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, parsley, salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tsp of cumin. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
Add the white wine to the vegetable mix and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the onions and peppers are tender. At this point, add the rice to the garlic and vegetable mix, and mix well until the rice is coated with oil. Add double the cups of water as compared to the rice. Use the water that was used to boil the shrimp. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low. Cover with a lid and allow rice to cook slowly, monitoring for water and adding a little as needed. When the rice is about 1/2 cooked, add the chopped shrimp to the cooking rice mix. Once done, add the remaining shrimp during the last minutes and mix well. Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.Sprinkle with chopped parsley and garnish with shrimp with tails on.

Serve with avocado slices, tomato and onion salad, lime slices.

Sri Lankan Goat Curry

I love Sri Lankan food for its spiciness and rich curries. Lip smackingly hot!

1 lb goat/ lamb, cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small green chilli, diced
2 tsp fenugreek seeds
10 curry leaves
1/4 cup thick coconut milk

Marinade:
1 tbsp coriander pwdr
1/2 tbsp cumin pwdr
1/2 tsp turmeric pwdr
1 tbsp red chilli pwdr
1/2 tbsp black pepper pwdr
2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
salt


In a bowl, mix the cut meat with the marinade spices along with 1/4 cup of water to make a thick paste. Coat the meat and allow to marinate for 1/2 hour.

In a pressure cooker, take some oil and heat. Add the fenugreek seeds, green chilli and curry leaves, and when spluttering, add the onions. Allow to brown nicely. When golden, add the meat with marinade and brown on high heat for 2 minutes. Add 1 cup water and pressure cook for 10 minutes.

Once cooled, open the cooker and set back on open fire. Check salt and add as needed.
Add the 1/4 cup of coconut milk and bring to a boil. Enjoy!

Chicken Stew with Kale and White Beans

I made this dish some weeks ago on a very COLD Chicago evening. Warming and hearty, and I found another use for kale! Serves 6-8.



3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
5 medium mixed potatoes; diced (I used Yukon gold, red and purple)
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion; chopped
1 large shallot; minced
2 carrots; peeled and diced
6 cups chicken stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese; finely grated
5 cups chopped kale
15-ounce can white beans; drained (the original recipe asked for cannellini beans which I could not find)
salt and pepper to taste


Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and shallot and sauté, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cubed potatoes and cook 15 minutes until softened. Add in chicken stock, thyme, chicken cut into cubes, Parmesan, salt and pepper bring to a simmer. Add the kale and beans and simmer for another 20 minutes, until the kale is tender and the beans are hot.

Enjoy with crusty bread, or on its own!

Bagara baingan

Deepthi's authentic andhra recipe(sorry we ate it up before we could photograph it!)

Serves 4

8 small eggplant slit partially
Onions, 1 1/2, sliced
Green chillies, 4-5 slit lengthwise
Ginger-garlic paste, 2-3 tsp
Whole roasted peanuts, handful
Curry leaves, 10
Cilantro, handful chopped
Cinnamon, whole, 2" stick
Cloves, 2
Bay leaf, 1
Methi seeds, 1 tsp
Jeera, 1 tsp
Dhania Pwdr, 1 tsp
Haldi, 1 tsp
Chilli Pwdr, 1 tsp
Tamarind paste, 1 tsp
Salt, oil to taste

Put slit brinjals on a baking sheet and broil for 10 mins till skin is charred.

Heat oil in Wok. Add jeera, cinnamon, bay leaf, cloves, and methi seeds. When spluttering, add add onions, chillies, and brown. Add Ginger-garlic paste and cook till raw smell disappears. Add peanuts, salt. Roast for a bit and take off flame. Grind to a paste in the blender. Add back to the wok, and add tamarind and water (1cup). Put in remainder of powders. Let simmer. add the brinjals that have been broiled along with curry leaves. Let cook for 5 mins. Take off gas and garnish with dhania leaves. Enjoy with white rice!

Gujarati Dal

1 cup toor dal

1/2 cup masoor dal

1/2 tomato, chopped in big pieces

1 chilli, chopped

1 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp chilli pwdr

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp cumin pwdr

1/2 tsp coriander pwdr

mustard and jeera seeds, for seasoning

Cook dal with 2 cups water in a pressure cooker with the tomato, chilli, salt. Once cooked, open cooker and mash dal with additional 2 cups water. Put it back on the stove, and bring to a boil. Add the chilli, turmeric, cumin and coriander powders, lime juice and sugar. Once boiling, season with mustard and jeera seeds in oil.

Kale and andouille soup

V made this tasty, wholesome, winter soup with help from James Peterson and his own sense of what might work, using leftover kale and andouille sausage. Made me proud :)

Serves 4

1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed but left more or less whole
4 andouille sausages, defrosted if frozen and cut into 1/2 inch thick discs
1 medium sized bunch of curly kale leaves torn into bite sized bits
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme or 1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
1 tbsp all purpose flour
1 cup of partially cooked rice
4 cups of chicken stock
Juice of half a lime

1. Heat about a 2-3 tbsps of olive oil in a soup pot. Cook andouille sausages until they are lightly browned but not necessarily fully cooked. Remove and reserve.
2. Now, add onions and lightly brown them. Add garlic and cook until you can smell the garlic.
3. Add the partially cooked rice and stir it around to mix well. Season with salt, pepper and thyme.
4. Pour in stock along with Kale and sausages. Bring to a simmer, reduce heat, cover and let cook for another 10 mins until the rice and kale is completely cooked through.
5. Combine flour with a couple of tbsps of hot soup in a cup to make a paste. Add this paste back into the soup. Let simmer for a minute.
6. Turn off the heat and stir in the lime juice. Adjust for salt and pepper if necessary.
7. Serve with warm french bread.

Baked whole red snapper with potatoes

Source: James Peterson's Fish and Shellfish

Serves 2

1 2lb whole yellow eyed red snapper (sea trout or bass can be used as well)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large idaho potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8 inch slices
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp chopped fresh thyme or 1/4 tsp dried
Salt and pepper
3 tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp of capers or 15 brined black olives, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 400 deg.
2. Coat the bottom of a baking dish large enough to hold the fish with olive oil. Arrange an overlapping layer of potatoes. Sprinkle with half of the garlic and thyme, salt, pepper and some more olive oil. Spread on another layer of potatoes and sprinkle the rest of the garlic and thyme, salt, pepper and olive oil. make another layer if you have more sliced potatoes left.
3. Bake potatoes for 20 mins.
4. In the meantime, wash the fish in cold water. Dry and rub it with olive oil, salt and pepper.
5. Place the fish on top of the potatoes and arrange tomatoes and capers around it. Bake for 30 mins or until the fish is done.