Onion Beef Curry - Mangshoer DoPiaza

It is so hot here that we don't have an appetite for anything! Cooking feels like a chore and eating a tiring experience. I have trained our servant to read and cook so i can write up a recipe for him or hand him a bengali recipe and he can come up with a very delicious recipe. So, after racking my brain for a yummy meal that Cal and I would actually WANT to eat - I landed on this recipe. Served up with flaky parothas and cool cucumber yogurt - was very satisfying.

Please keep in mind to read this first then start cooking. South asian curries are all about patience and time. The flavors need time to really mix well for the delicious flavor to come out. So do the cooking in the steps and wait in between for few mins for the spices to blend well.

One tip for added flavor - marinade the beef for an hour or two in a paste of fresh garlic, ginger and onion with salt.

Ingredients

Beef: 2 pounds
Onion: 4 med to large (sliced)
Ginger: 1 inch (paste or cut small)
Garlic: 6 cloves
Dry red Chili: 6

Paste or powder: 2 Tsp. each
Turmeric
Chili powder
Coriander powder
Cumin powder

Ghee (clarified butter): 3 1/2 Oz.
Sugar: 2 Tbsp.
Dry bay leaf: 2 med. size
Salt: as per taste

1) Wash and cut beef in medium bite size pieces. Slice onions. Grind/paste together ginger, garlic and Dry red chili.

2) Heat the ghee in a pot. Add half the onions and sautee. Add beef and fry together for few mins. Add ginger, garlic, chili paste and stir and mix well.

3) Add the rest of the onions. Lightly stir and the spice powders and pastes of 2 tsps. each. Fry all and stir well. Cook few mins. Add sugar, salt and bay leaf.

4) Once it fries all together and sticks pastey add 7 oz. of water. Cook on med. high until the water dries or the oil rises to the top about 1/2 hour to 45 mins - depending on your meat and cooking temp. Check if meat is well cooked and tender. If not - add more water and cook longer.

5) Take off from stove, add some crispy fried onions on top and serve!

Enjoy!!

Fresh Mango Spicy salad

Green sour mangoes are in season and they make perfect additions to a curry, daal or on its own. The mangoes are a parrot green and white flesh and when u bite into it raw - it will pucker your mouth! I remember when I was a kid, there was a huge mango tree in front of our house. We could just pluck mangoes from our balcony and roof! Mmmmm... those were the lazy summer days. We wound eat the ripe ones right off the tree - but the younger "kaccha" ones we would slice then up and mix with some fresh f=green chilies, sugar and salt. Its delicious!!

Green mango
Slice them into thin strips. Mix with fresh green cili chopped up and mix with a little bit of salt and enough sugar to bring out natural flavor and not pucker your mouth.

Enjoy!!

hot Hot HOT!

It is just too Hot to be in the kitchen!! By the time I am over the stove - I am sweating like crazy and completely drenched by the time I am done! No central air. Can't put a fan in the kitchen cause it blows out the gas stove flame =( So - I apologize for not having any new recipes up right now!

I am looking for recipes that are cooler - like fruit salads, cold soups and fresh salads.

Mangoes are season as are watermelons and other sweet fruits!

Peanut Butter Chicken Curry

I came across this chicken curry recipe in my search for a light summer afternoon meal. Its been tweaked a bit - when do I not! - and the result is a very delicious and hearty curry. So here goes - and try your own twist :)

Ingredients

Chicken (i used half a chicken cut up into smaller pieces)
Peanut Butter: 2 Tb sp.
Oyster sauce: 1 Tb sp.
Turmeric powder: 1/2 Tsp.
Chili powder: 1 Tsp.
Cumin powder: 1/2 Tsp.
Coriander powder: 1/2 Tsp.
Garam Masala: 1/2 Tsp.
Lime juice: 4 Tbsp. (increase as needed)
Soy sauce: 2 glugs
Oil to fry
Water

1) Wash and clean chicken and cut into pieces. Skinless.

2) in a bowl mix together peanut butter, oyster sauce, lime juice (leave a little for the end), 1 glug soy sauce, all the powders and garam masala. Add the chicken and mix well and massge in the marinade. Leave aside for about 1/2 hour.

3) Add some oil on a pan and heat. Add the chicken pieces one by one and fry for about 2 mins . We just want a nice seal.

4) Add water to left over marinade in the bowl. About 1 - 1 1/2 cups. Add another glug of soy sauce and mix all. Once the chiken is well fried on the outside, add this watery mix in and bring to a boil.

5) I taste tested the flavor and mine needed a little bit of sugar to cut the saltiness of the soy sauce. You can adjust accordingly. Leave on simmer till the oil rises to surface and chicken well cooked.

6) The curry will thicken a bit. At this point - add the remainder of the lime juice and let sit.

Serve with fluffy rice!

Enjoy!!