Pasta, Rice and Bread

Chickpea Curry with Spinach “Puttu”

November 19, 2024

I absolutely love puttu, the ubiquitious steamed ground rice dish that is popular in Sri Lanka and South India. I also cannot remotely figure out how to make puttu for the life of me. Enter couscous, a not-so-authentic shortcut that emulates that puttu feeling and satiates my cravings (oh, how I wish the Bay Area had more Sri Lankan and South Indian restaurants). Adapted from the Rambutan cookbook, this spinach-flecked puttu goes perfectly with fiery chickpea curry.

For the chickpea curry:

2 golf ball-sized pieces of tamarind, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for 10 minutes
2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
1 red onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
20 curry leaves, divided
2 14-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons Sri Lankan curry powder
1/2 can coconut milk (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

For the spinach puttu

3/4 cup couscous
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon coconut oil
1/2 pound spinach (or kale), finely chopped
1 serrano chili, finely chopped
1 red onion, divided: 1/2 finely diced and 1/2 thinly sliced
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup fresh grated coconut (frozen is fine)
10 curry leaves
2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 lime

Make the chickpea curry: Squeeze the tamarind with your fingers, then discard the seeds and skin through a fine-mesh strainer, saving the tamarind water.
Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, and fry until the onion is lightly browned. Add the fenugreek seeds and 10 curry leaves and fry, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
Add the chickpeas, tamarind water, salt, and Sri Lankan curry powder. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 20-30 minutes with the lid partially covering the saucepan. Stir in the coconut milk and cook for 3 minutes to warm through. Plate in a serving bowl and set aside.
In the meantime, make the temper: heat the remaining tablespoon coconut oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining 10 curry leaves and black mustard seeds. After about 1 minute, when the curry leaves are crispy, pour the temper over the chickpea curry.
Make the spinach puttu: Place the couscous and boiling water in a saucepan, sprinkle with salt to taste, stir, and tightly cover. Set aside for 12 minutes until couscous is tender. (Alternatively, cook couscous according to package directions.) Gently fluff couscous with a fork and set aside.
In the meantime, add the oil to a saucepan over medium-high heat, and saute the spinach, serrano chili, onion, and a pinch of salt for 4 minutes, until the onion is softened. Remove from heat.
Gently fold together the spinach mixture, couscous, sugar, and grated coconut and set aside.
Put the curry leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, fenugreek seeds, and red onion in a small saucepan and cover with 1 1/2 inches water. Bring to a boil and after 2 minutes, add the coconut milk and stir until it is heated through. Remove from heat and just before serving, squeeze in the lime juice. To serve, pour the fenugreek mixture over the puttu and serve alongside the chickpea curry.

Sri Lankan Yellow Rice

November 3, 2024

This super easy yellow rice goes well with almost anything but my favorite way to serve it is alongside vegetable or legume curries, especially roasted squash curry. Or simply top with with a fried egg, some sambol and a spoonful of yogurt, and you have yourself an easy and satisfying rice bowl.

1 heaping cup basmati rice
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
4 cardamom pods, lightly smashed in a mortar and pestle
4 cloves
10 black peppercorns
1 teaspoon turmeric
10 curry leaves
2-inch piece pandan leaf
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
3/4 cup coconut milk
3/4 teaspoon salt

Rinse and drain the rice and set aside. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onion and fry for 5-7 minutes, until it is lightly golden brown. Add all the spices, the curry leaves, the pandan leaf, and the rice. Fry for 3 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 12 minutes, until the rice is tender. Remove from the heat, remove the whole spices from the rice, and serve.

Kimchi Mac and Cheese

October 29, 2024October 31, 2024

I love kimchi. I eat it straight out of the jar. To me, kimchi is torshi-adjacent — after all, my family has been buying kimchi since before it entered the American lexicon in the 1990s. We eat it alongside all manner of khoresh and rice. It works!

Kimchi is versatile. And if it works so well with Iranian food, then why not with American food too? Behold, your new favorite mac and cheese recipe. Tangy, fermented kimchi is the perfect foil to cheddar cheese. I can’t get enough.

1 pound elbow macaroni or similar
1 cup panko
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk, warmed
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 teaspoons gochujang
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
3 1/2 to 4 cups grated aged extra-sharp cheddar cheese
1 cup kimchi, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
Put the panko in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil, mixing until the panko is evenly coated. Set aside.
In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Drizzle in the warm milk, continuing to whisk to get rid of any clumps. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the mustard, gochujang, nutmeg, and salt. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, for a few minutes.
Remove from the heat and add both cheeses, macaroni, and kimchi and mix until the pasta is coated with the sauce. Pour the pasta into a wide, shallow, oven-proof baking dish, top with the panko mixture and transfer the dish to the oven.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the panko topping is golden brown and the cheese sauce is bubbling at the edges.

Bulgogi Japchae

September 24, 2024

What’s better than bulgogi or japchae? Bulgogi and japchae at the same time, of course. I’ve published a similar japchae recipe here before, but this one is different in that the seasonings are more like bulgogi and there’s the addition of spinach. Try both versions out and see which one your prefer.

For the japchae:

Scant 1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 bunch spinach
8 ounces Korean sweet potato noodles
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 carrot, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
1/2 to 1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 green onions (green parts only), chopped into 3-inch pieces
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
4 to 6 shiitake mushrooms, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
3 garlic cloves, minced

For the bulgogi:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound ribeye or sirloin steak, very thinly sliced
1/2 yellow onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
3 tablespoons avocado oil

Make the bulgogi: in a large bowl, mix the soy sauce, sesame oil, brown sugar, honey, and garlic. Add the beef, onion, and sesame seeds and stir until all the beef is coated. Cover the bowl and marinate, refrigerated, 1 to 5 hours.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons of the oil, then add half of the meat and onion mixture and cook, stirring occassionally, until the meat is cooked through and the onion has softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer the meat to a bowl and repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and meat and onion mixture. Set aside.
Make the japchae: in a small bowl, whisk together the soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil to blend. Set aside.
Fill a medium bowl with an ice bath. Fill a large pot halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add the spinach to the boiling water, let cook for 15 seconds, then transfer the spinach to the ice water. (Keep the boiling water in the pot.) Let the spinach cool, then drain. Squeeze the excess water out of the spinach, roughly chop the spinach, and set aside.
Add the sweet potato noodles to the boiling water and cook until soft, about 5 minutes or according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
Heat a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the avocado oil, then the carrot, bell pepper, green onion, yellow onion, mushrooms, and garlic, and stir to mix. Stir-fry until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the spinach and noodles and stir for about a minute, then add the soy sauce mixture and toss with tongs to coat all the ingredients. Add the bulgogi and mix again until the meat is distributed. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Japchae can be refrigerated for up to 3 days and reheated.)

Ginger-Ponzu Tuna Poke

June 22, 2024

Remember a few years ago where fast-casual poke spots were opening up in what seemed like every other corner? I liked that. It was a food trend I could get behind. I love poke bowls, especially in the summer, but I’ve started making them at home more often because a lot of those poke restaurants aren’t around anymore (come back please!).

This gingery tuna poke gets its creaminess from the addition of macadamia nuts and an unmistakable herbaceousness from shiso leaves. You can use salmon just as easily as tuna here.

1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice (preferably Meyer) ponzu
2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon finely sliced fresh shiso (Japanese or Vietnamese), plus more to taste
1 tablespoon crushed unsalted roasted macadamia nuts, plus more to taste
2 teaspoons sesame oil, plus more to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger, plus more to taste
1 pound skinless sushi-grade tuna
Sea salt, to taste
Toasted white sesame seeds
Cooked short-grain white rice and nori seaweed, for serving

Directions

Stir together soy sauce, lemon juice, green onions, shiso, macadamia nuts, sesame oil, and ginger in a medium bowl. (Mixture should be slightly creamy.)
Cut tuna into bite-size (about 3/4-inch) cubes. Add tuna to ponzu mixture in bowl; gently stir together until well coated.
Season with salt to taste. Adjust flavors with additional ponzu, green onions (pungency), shiso, macadamia nuts, sesame oil (velvety richness), ginger, and/or salt to taste. Serve atop individual bowls of rice and garnish with sesame seeds, more shiso leaves, and nori seaweed; serve immediately. (Poke itself can be made up to 1 day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.)