Week 7b - Pineapple and Green Peas in Almond Broth
13 February, 2011
One of my friends gave us The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking as a wedding present eight years ago. It is supposed to be the most comprehensive, useful guide to Indian Cooking around. (It's roughly the size of a phone book.) I have to confess that I've always been intimidated by it. I'm pretty sure I've only cooked one or two recipes from it ever.
So I tried this.
Ananas Hari Matar Shorba is a rich, soup-like curry with pineapple and peas cooked in a spicy nut puree. It is finished with freshly ground nutmeg and stir-fried almonds and cashews.
This is a definite winner.
Yes, you can taste the peas, which somehow work perfectly with the fresh pineapple. Yes, the nutmeg stands out; it's delicious - it ties the nuts and chilies together with the rest of the dish. The niftiest note though, was the garnish of stir-fried nuts. I may or may not have over-cooked them, but they took on this intensely "popcorn-y" flavor that was perfect with the curry. They also added a note of crispness to the dish.
I wrote this all down in the book. Now that it's a little grease-spattered and marked up, it's a little less intimidating.
Grade - A
[Leftovers Note - like seemingly all curries, this was not nearly as good the next morning as it was when it was prepared. Throwing out leftovers is a hard lesson, but I think it needs to be done.]
Week 7b - Pineapple and Green Peas in Almond Broth
13 February, 2011
One of my friends gave us The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking as a wedding present eight years ago. It is supposed to be the most comprehensive, useful guide to Indian Cooking around. (It's roughly the size of a phone book.) I have to confess that I've always been intimidated by it. I'm pretty sure I've only cooked one or two recipes from it ever.
So I tried this.
Ananas Hari Matar Shorba is a rich, soup-like curry with pineapple and peas cooked in a spicy nut puree. It is finished with freshly ground nutmeg and stir-fried almonds and cashews.
This is a definite winner.
Yes, you can taste the peas, which somehow work perfectly with the fresh pineapple. Yes, the nutmeg stands out; it's delicious - it ties the nuts and chilies together with the rest of the dish. The niftiest note though, was the garnish of stir-fried nuts. I may or may not have over-cooked them, but they took on this intensely "popcorn-y" flavor that was perfect with the curry. They also added a note of crispness to the dish.
I wrote this all down in the book. Now that it's a little grease-spattered and marked up, it's a little less intimidating.
Grade - A
[Leftovers Note - like seemingly all curries, this was not nearly as good the next morning as it was when it was prepared. Throwing out leftovers is a hard lesson, but I think it needs to be done.]