SPAMmers and others trying to game the public space that is the internet are going to break the whole darn thing. Here's an excellent email I got SPAMmed with today:
I am contacting you about cross linking. I am interested in poubelle.com because it looks like it's relevant to a site for which I am seeking links. The site is about cosmetic treatment company, which offers acne treatment, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, removal of stretch marks and other services.
I suppose if I write an article on how to scald a hog there might be some relationship to "laser hair removal" but I somehow doubt it.
Okay, if you are a real Indian cook, please don't read this. I'll be the first to admit that my "Indian" cooking only grazes the surface of what can be a simply incredible cuisine. But, if you (like me) are just someone trying to "follow along" you might find this interesting.
Yesterday, I BBQed some "tandorri chicken". I place that in quotes because a) I don't really know how to spice this dish properly, and b) BBQ/smoking is really no substitute for a real "tandor" cooker. I marinated the chicken in yougurt, cumin, cillantro, and a commerical "tandorri chicken" mix. The later is an easy way to get the red color, as it contains powdered food dye. If you want to be traditional, you mix the spices yourself and buy powdered red food coloring. I figure that for the casual foodie a commercial mix (I use Sharwood's) is no better or worse than adding powdered red coloring.
But for me, the real treat is the next day. My favorite "Indian" dish is "chicken tikka masala". My understanding is that this is kind-of-sort-of based on a real Indian dish known as "butter chicken." But at this point, it has become so bastardized that you really can't tell where one ends and the other begins. For me, no matter, the combination of Indian spices with a heavy cream sauce is hard to pass up. My version always starts with "tandorri chicken" that I have offset smoked on the grill. For the sauce, I use a combination of standard Indian spices "garam masala" plus lots of cumin and corriander seed. I also add any extra yougurt marginade that I used for the chicken. I heat this up in a pan with heavy cream, and cook on low heat until it has obviously become a sauce. The chicken I large dice and re-heat in the sauce. Garnish can be cillantro, cashews, both, or neither.
The reality for me is that this 2nd day dish turns out to be much better than I get at the majority of Indian places. The reason is that I'm using a slow-ish smoked chicken, which adds amazing flavors to the dish. I suspect that in India, likewise chicken tends to be cooked over wood or charcoal fired ovens, whereas here in the states the vast majority of places use gas. I don't blame my $7.95 all-you-can-eat buffet friends, mind you. I'm just saying that when I have the time to make it myself, it is one heck of a treat.
To offset the heavy cream of this dish, I also used up some cubed lamb I had in the freezer in a run towards "lamb vindaloo." Again, I'm not even close to the real thing, which has much more heat, and much more mustard components. I used the recipe you'll find first if you hit Google (ie, Google for "lamb vindaloo" and pick any of the top 20 links). It turns out to be from Esquire (1986-ish) and is an acceptable start. I didn't have any tamarinde in the house, so I swapped out some tomato paste and apricot jam. The Esquire recipe also omits potatoes (which I require in a vindallo so I added one large, diced medium, and added it 30 minutes before serving) and underestimates the cooking time for the lamb (they say 30 minutes, 1:30 is more reasonable). So, I braised the lamb for an hour, and then added diced potatoes and cooked for another 30 minutes.
The only interesting thing about this version is that it points out a basic concept for vindaloo. You slow cook onions, garlic, and ginger together to form the start of the sauce. Spanish and Mexican cooks might notice this as similar to a "sofrito" (sp?), which is a common basis for dishes from that background. It just goes to show you that nothing is new under the sun -- just about ever culture has at one time or another employeed every method.
Anyway, with a quick cookup of some basmatti rice, it was a heck of a good quick, but not really authentic, Indian meal. Let the hate-email start!
I'm sure this is going to turn into a rant by the end of it. But at least like Jake Johansen (when is someone going to release "This'll take about an hour" on DVD?) I'm telling you up front...
As I was preparing to step out of the house this AM in order to pick up foodstuffs, I found myself dispairing at the current state of food markets here in the wilds of suburbia. And no, if you live in a city where you've got these neato daily markets within walking distance I am not interested in hearing how good you have it. I already know how much you suck. Hmm, sliding downhill already I can see.
Now I'm not going to include individual meat markets, and produce stores, and farmers markets, and bakeries. a) these are few and far between and b) the hours just stink unless you don't work. What I'm talking about is trying to find a good quality, reliable, one-stop, not-break-the-bank expensive place to pick up the half-dozen things I typically need for a given meal.
When I first moved to California, the markets were not nearly so bad. I've watched the one most convienient to my house steadily head down hill, and it has now gotten to the point where I only use it when I must. The problem is that no one good alternative exists, and thus any reasonable shopping trip involves multiple stops. My current options are thus now:
Safeway -- the above mentioned chain. The prices are reasonable enough, but you've got to enroll in their stupid frequent shopper program. Meat department is now good only for battery raised chickens. Reasonable selection of beer and wine here. For some strange reason they carry a good assortment of Indian prepared condiments. Much more troubling is that like most chains now they seem to carry more non-food items than food items. And the bulk of the food is prepared/frozen. Not my bag, baby. Open 24/7, however. That can come in handy.
Trader Joe's -- a west-coast based chain. Strange assortment of goods, sometimes at good prices. They carry my beloved Plugra butter at basically the same price as I would pay for normal butter at another chain, and less than half what a high-end store would charge. But there is always something you need that Trader Joe's won't carry (a recent example is that they have every sugar related product you can think of, but no molassass), so you have to also stop someplace else. If I recall they carry every variety of non-dairy based frozen ice cream like products, but no actual ice cream. Reasonable bread selection. But they also suffer from the "huge aisles of frozen prepared foodstuffs" problem. They also don't open until 9 AM.
Andronico's -- a high-end mini chain. Everything you need, and usually pretty high quality, but at jacked up prices. They carry a good cross section of Bay Area artisinal bread. I usually go here for speciality meat, or basic produce if I don't need to buy a large amount. They of course have plenty of prepared foods, but not at the cost of not carrying the basics. Also, the frozen stuff tends to be a better quality. For example, they carry a locally made frozen raviolli rather than national brands. And their frozen puff pastry is made with butter rather than shortening. If I just don't have the energy to run around to everyplace, I go here and try hard to limit the quantities of the purchases to avoid sticker shock.
Draeger's -- an even higher-end mini chain. The prices here are insane, but if you need it, they probably have it or can get it. Quality of goods generally even better than Andronico's, but boy do you pay for it. Did I mention expensive? The one nearest to me also isn't their best. meriko used to live in San Mateo near their mega-store and man is it sweet! I'd probably ignore the prices and shop there if I lived close to it. But I don't, and I don't.
PW Super -- a mini chain. Reasonably close to home and what looks like a good replacement for Safeway. They also "feature" a frequent shopper card, but I've noticed that if you don't have one the checkout people will scan theirs. For some reason I never leave here satisfied. It might be the dank lighting and a certain hard-to-place dingy-ness. What I probably should do is some week or three make a point of always driving home that way and stop there. Maybe if I got myself more oriented to the store I'd do better.
Cosentino's -- another mini chain. Actually, they are probably the best bet for me for a single source shopping experience. They're price-wise someplace between a chain and a higher-end grocery store. Unfortunately, they are "the other direction" away from my normal vector of travel down a city street with more than the normal share of cops and lights that always seem against you (I know, I lead a hard life). A plus is that this same said street gives me a return trip past Ranch 99, PW Super, and Safeway. So if I miss something, I can always grab it that way.
Costco -- you never get out of Costco for under $200. But for sub-primal cuts of meat, recently cut, generally Choice quality, at rock bottom prices they are pretty hard to beat even with the yearly $35 "membership fee." Also handy for that 25 pound bag of potatoes, or 6 pounds of mushrooms, or 4 pounds of lettuce. Cheapest and best source of lamb racks around. But you can never tell for sure what they will have, specialty items are of course out of the question, and sometimes you just don't really need that much nutmeg. Not open until 11 weekdays, and 9:30 weekends. But I probably go once a month or so to stock up on canned goods (tomato products mostly) or pantry staples like oil and rice or large cuts of meat or "root cellar" items.
Smart & Final -- another warehouse style store. They sort of place themselves as the 7-11 of the resturant industry. It's fun to shop here, but you are bound to need something they don't have. Only cheap and ready source of subprimals for real BBQ (like pork butt and packer cut brisket). They also carry "manufacturing cream" in large and cheap sizes.
Whole Foods -- increasingly growing national chain. Great for produce, good priced bulk foods, and (in what always seems to me to be non-obvious) an excellent meat department. But they let their politics get in the way of selling stuff I actually need, so it turns again into another stop on the drive. Whole Foods replaces the aisle of useless non-food toys and greeting cards and Christmas lights with aisles of useless supplements and annoying smelling potions and lotions.
Ranch 99 -- I think a West Coast based mini chain. Specializes in Asian food. As such, it is the best place to pick up seafood. Also duck priced like chicken. Only cheap and easy source of block-frozen shrimp, live clams, live crab, live lobster. They'll also sell you the smallest quantities of meat you can imagine if you need only a bit. But it obviously isn't going to fill out Joe American's shopping list. And, sad to say, that includes me. An added bonus, however, is that when you spend more than some amount you get coupons that you take into the deli and pick up free pork buns. Mmmmm, porks buns.
On today's shopping list is:
- charcoal
- ice
- some kind of chutney
- naan-style bread
- lemons
- cillanto
- bell pepper
I've got chicken marinating in a tandorri-style sauce, and am going to grill and serve with bread and perhaps also make a side of channa masala. Also, I've got everything I need to make a duck gumbo except for the bell pepper. I think I'm going to make a play for Cosentino's and see if I can't do this in one shot.
Wish me luck, it's a nightmare out there.