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.
Ingredients:
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.
‘Tis the season for pumpkin and all manner of squash. And yeah, I know, squash isn’t the most exciting vegetable, but I promise you that this comforting coconutty Sri Lankan curry will change your mind. You can use any kind of pumpkin or orange squash here, but I like to use butternut squash (delicata works well too). Don’t skip the roasting step — it adds a ton of flavor.
Ingredients:
For the squash curry:
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon Sri Lankan curry powder (recipe follows)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
20 curry leaves, divided
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 cardamom pods, lightly smashed in a mortar and pestle
1/2 of a 14 ounce can coconut milk (about 3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 1/2 inches ginger, peeled and minced
1 lime
For the Sri Lankan curry powder:
6 teaspoons coriander seeds
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
3 teaspoons fennel seeds
3 teaspoons black peppercorns
10 curry leaves
3 teaspoons dried Kashmiri chiles
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Make the Sri Lankan curry powder: In a dry pan over medium-low heat, toast the coriander, cumin, fennel, and black peppercorns for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until they’re fragrant, and pour them into a bowl. Add the curry leaves and dried chiles to the pan and toast for about 3 minutes, stirring often until the curry leaves are completely dried (make sure the chiles don’t burn). Remove from the heat and when cool, grind in a spice grinder until fine. Stir in the turmeric and store in a jar. Curry powder will keep in a cool, dry place for months.
Make the curry: Roast the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Place butternut squash on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon coconut oil and season with salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the curry powder. Roast squash for 25 minutes, until tender and golden and beginning to brown at the edges. Remove from oven and set aside.
Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and when hot, fry the onion until beginning to brown. Add 10 curry leaves and garlic for one minute, then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamom. Fry for 1 minute.
Pour in the coconut milk and add the turmeric and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and the roasted squash. Cook at a gentle simmer for 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat.
In the meantime, heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a small pan and add the remaining 10 curry leaves, letting them crisp up.
Plate the roasted squash curry in a serving bowl, top with the tempered curry leaves, the fresh ginger, and squeeze the lime juice over. Serve with rice.
Behold, my favorite Indian dish of all time. If you’ve been around for a while, you know that this is a no-slander zone when it comes to okra. Adapted from Food & Wine, this version of bhindi masala is a little bit different in that it includes finely chopped peanuts for an extra dose of heft and flavor.
Serve with rice or flatbread, or if you’re like me and can’t help yourself, eat straight from the pot with a spoon.
Ingredients:
For the bhindi masala:
1 pound okra
1/4 cup avocado oil, divided
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup unsalted roasted peanuts, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon finely chopped serrano chile
1/2 teaspoon chickpea flour or all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
For tomato tarka:
4 small tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
1 tablespoon avocado oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chile powder
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
Make the bhindi masala: cut okra crosswise into 1-inch pieces, and arrange a single layer on a baking sheet. Let stand, uncovered, at room temperature until cut sides feel dry, 1 to 2 hours.
Make the tomato tarka: pulse tomatoes in a food processor until mostly smooth, 8 to 10 pulses. Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-low for 2 minutes. Add mustard seeds; cook, stirring often, until seeds begin to pop, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in sugar, chile powder, coriander, turmeric, and salt; stir in tomatoes. Bring to a simmer over medium, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and a spoon leaves a trail when pulled through sauce, about 20 minutes. Cover and remove from heat. Set aside.
Make the bhindi masala: heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium. Add fenugreek; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant and sizzling, about 10 seconds. Add okra; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender and charred in spots, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Stir in peanuts, cilantro, salt, sugar, cumin, garlic, serrano chile, chickpea flour, coriander, turmeric, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Cook, stirring often, until fragrant and peanuts are lightly toasted, about 2 minutes. Season with salt to taste. Remove from heat.
Mix tomato tarka into the bhindi masala over medium-low, stirring often, until warm, about 2 minutes. Serve on a platter and garnish with additional cilantro.
Summer may be over but I’m still happily working through the last of the warm weather produce. This buttery eggplant with a tangy, deeply garlicky, and creamy sauce is one my favorite eggplant dishes that I made this year.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup tahini
4 peeled black garlic cloves
1 tablespoon mirin
3 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
3 1/2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons rice vinegar, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided
1 red Fresno pepper chile, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
1 1/2 pounds Japanese eggplant (about 3 eggplant), roll-cut into 1-inch pieces
Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
Process 1/4 cup water, tahini, black garlic, mirin, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, 2 teaspoons vinegar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender until smooth, 30 to 45 seconds. Set tahini dressing aside.
Stir together chile, remaining 3 1/2 tablespoons vinegar, and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl; set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a cast-iron skillet over high until a wisp of smoke rises from skillet. Add half of the eggplant to skillet; immediately stir to coat with oil. Cook, stirring often, until just tender and browned in spots, about 6 minutes. (Skillet will appear dry.) Transfer to a plate. Repeat process with remaining 3 tablespoons oil and remaining eggplant.
Reduce heat to medium. Add cooked eggplant, chile mixture, and remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce to skillet; cook, stirring constantly, until eggplant absorbs chile mixture, about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Spread 1/2 cup tahini dressing on a platter. Top with eggplant mixture, and garnish with green onions.
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.
Ingredients:
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.)
