Russia

 This winter seems to be dragging on longer than it should so I thought I'd give a culinary shout out to folks who spend more time in winter than any other season. Russian cuisine is fairly simple and robust, though a tad single-noted as far as I've experienced. Today's dish is called Rassolnik and it is literally a dill pickle based beef soup. I love dill pickles-- so much, in fact, that I used to get them for Christmas! This was an easy, fairly quick soup to make but I'll probably just eat a pickle if I'm craving this much salt again. 

Technically, the meat in this soup is beef or pork kidneys, but I used beef soup bones since my town doesn't generally have organ meats available. It is also, apparently, a favorite hangover cure in its homeland. 

Take beef or pork kidneys (or bones) and simmer them in water for at least 1 hr. Add a handful of barley after the water begins to simmer and stir on occasion to prevent burning. Vary your bones to water ratio depending on how much soup you'd like. 

After an hour, remove the meat and dice it into bite sized chunks. Replace meat in broth. Add 1-2 Tbsp salt. 

Dice 1 full cup of dill pickles and sautée them briefly in oil (2-3 minutes) before adding them and 1 cup of pickle juice to the broth. Dice 1 medium potato and add it to the broth. 

Sweat 1 chopped carrot, 1 chopped stalk celery, and 1/2 yellow onion (chopped) for 10 minutes. Add to soup. Add a bay leaf if you have one, it might help add some depth to the soup. Simmer an additional 15 minutes or until potatoes are soft. Serve with a spoonful of sour cream and additional dill to garnish (which I didn't have). 

Butter chicken

Butter chicken is fairly ubiquitous across Indian restaurants and cafes worldwide. It's one of the dishes Indians were proud I had heard of, when I visited the country. The most basic butter chicken is yogurt and spice marinated and finished in a highly spiced, gingery tomato and butter sauce. The following recipe was adapted and translated from observations and conversations with several Indian women I met. 

Marinate 2 -3 lbs cubed raw chicken for up to 24 hours in:

1 1/2 cups full fat greek yogurt 

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2-4 Tbsp turmeric

2-3 Tbsp garam masala

When ready, melt up to 1/4 lb (but no less than 1/8 lb) over medium heat and cook:

1 med onion, chopped

4 cloves chopped garlic

3 Tbsp minced, peeled ginger

After 5 minutes add:

1 cinnamon stick (or 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon)

1 chopped tomato or 1 can diced tomato

2 red chilies (jalapeños if you don't have other options), diced or sliced

Pinch kosher salt

After 10 minutes add:

Marinated chicken and all spiced yogurt

Up to 1 c chicken broth

Bring mixture to a simmer and reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.  

Stir in:

1 1/2 c cream

1 Tbsp tomato paste

Handful of slivered almonds

Additional salt, if needed

Bring to temperature and remove from heat. 

Serve over rice with chopped cilantro to garnish. I made papdi bread I found in a local Indian grocery, but you could serve it with naan as well. 

This recipe doesn't taste like the butter chicken I get at the restaurant but was so wonderfully well balanced and flavorful that it's staying in my rotation!

Braised goat with curry peanut satay

Goat meat, as of 2010, comprises 6% of the global red meat consumption. It is a staple food for many cultures and geographic regions, but is not commonly found in your average US grocery store. I recently found frozen packages of various cuts of goat in my regular grocery store and nabbed one for a new culinary experience. 

I'm not too familiar with this meat but after my research decided to treat it similarly to lamb. Following, you will find the cobbled together recipe for braised and quick roasted goat with curry peanut satay sauce. 

Combine the following ingredients to use as a braising liquid:

1/3 c soy sauce

1/4 c cooking sherry

2 Tbsp lemon juice

2 Tbsp honey

2-3 cloves garlic, minced or crushed

1- inch ginger, grated or minced

Braise the meat as appropriate for the cuts of meat you can obtain. My braise was 30 minutes because the cuts were rather thick, for a goat. You don't want to cook the meat to well done unless your cuts are fibrous. Mine turned out to be rather choice! After braising, sear/ roast the meats on a hot, oiled cast iron skillet or baking sheet (heat oven to 425). Again, time depends on your meat, but you want to get a nice color on the meat.  Remove the meat to rest. 

Satay sauce:

1 Tbsp butter

1 small yellow onion, chopped fine

2 Tbsp or more, to taste, peanut butter

2 Tbsp curry powder

1 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp chili paste, hot or sweet

1 Tbsp lemon juice

Up to 1/4 c water or braising liquid

1 tsp sugar

Sautée onion in butter for 3-4 minutes. Add curry powder and sautée 1-2 minutes before adding remaining ingredients. Bring to temperature and desired consistency. 

I scarfed a beautiful T-bone cut hot off the pan and smothered in satay but made this beautiful warm salad 3 days later. 

Goat tastes very similar to lamb but slightly different, almost a touch sweeter or lighter. The cuts I bought were tender and juicy at medium temperature and I will certainly buy goat meat again, should I find it!

Back to India

I recently was lucky enough to visit India for a friend's wedding and came back with a new appreciation of the cuisine. While mostly everything still had cumin in it, the amount was not offensive and I enjoyed nearly everything I ate. I'm going to spend a bit of time trying some recipes I picked up during the last few weeks. 

This week I decided to try my hand at paneer, naan, and palaak. Paneer was one of the easiest things I've ever made and was so tasty that I doubt I'll buy it in the package again. 

1/2 gal whole milk

Pinch of salt

1/4 c lemon juice

Cheesecloth

Bring the milk to a simmer and remove from heat. Add salt and lemon juice, stir very gently to not break up curds. Line a colander with cheesecloth and place into a large bowl. Pour curdled milk into colander. Set bowl of whey aside and rinse curds with water. Squeeze majority of water out with hands and then twist the cheesecloth and place it between two plated. Place a heavy weight on top and allow to drain for an hour or more. 

Naan:

Mix 1tsp active dry yeast in 1/4 c hot tap water and 1 Tbsp sugar. Allow to bubble for 10 minutes (longer if it is as cold as my house in the dead of winter). Add 1 c plain greek yoghurt, 3/4 c warm milk. 

In a large bowl, mix together 2 c each all purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt. Pour wet ingredients into the center of the dry ones and bring mostly together with a wooden spatula. Knead into a ball with hands but do not knead past this point! Allow to rise for an hour. Cut into about 8 equal portions and roll to an oval shape, 1/4 inch thick. Cook for 2-3 min each side in a lightly oiled cast iron skillet over medium heat. Garnish with olive oil, fresh herbs, garlic, etc. 

Palaak

In a food processor, bring together 1 medium yellow onion, 1-2 jalapeño peppers ( seeded), 2 inches peeled fresh ginger, 2 cloves garlic, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1 tsp ground cardamom, 1/4 tsp allspice until smooth. Sautée over medium low heat for 10 minutes in 1 tbsp butter or ghee. Add 2 10-oz packages thawed spinach, 1 tsp salt, reserve whey from paneer to keep everything saucy. Cook for 30 minutes, adding whey as needed. Add 1 c plain yoghurt, fresh sliced paneer, 2 tbsp whole milk or cream. Stir together. 

Serve over rice with hot naan and eat with your right hand. I could have been more heavy handed with my spices and you could certainly add garam masala or cumin, if you like. 

Join me again for egg curry, butter chicken, and paani puri!