Tag: Summer

Sri Lankan Egg Curry

Posted on

This mildly spiced egg curry is perfect at any meal with some flatbread, be it roti, naan, or even buttered sourdough. Top off your toasted bread and jammy eggs with a dollop of seeni sambol, and you’ve got the perfect bite.

Ingredients:

For the eggs:

  • 6 large ggs
  • 2 teaspoons coconut oil
  • 1/2 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 2 tomatoes, diced
  • 1 4-inch piece pandan leaf (optional)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons Sri Lankan roasted curry powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

For the temper:

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 8 fresh curry leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1 green chili, sliced
  1. Soft boil your eggs: fill a medium saucepan with water bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Carefully lower the eggs into the water and cook for 6 1/2 minutes, maintaining a gentle boil. Get a bowl filled with ice water ready, and when the eggs are cooked, transfer the eggs with a slotted spoon to the bowl of ice water. Once the eggs have cooled, peel the eggs and set aside.
  2. Make the curry: Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a medium frying pan and add the onions. Fry for 4 minutes, until the onions become translucent. Add the garlic, tomatoes, and pandan leaf, if using. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until the onion begins to brown, then add the water, curry powder, and turmeric. Mix and cook for 2-3 minutes, then stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 7 minutes, stirring constantly, until slightly thickened and glossy. Season with salt and remove from heat.
  3. Make the temper: Heat the oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the curry leaves, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and green chili. Fry for 1-2 minutes until everything is fragrant. Remove from heat.
  4. Before serving, gently reheat the curry and add the eggs, stirring carefully to coat them in the curry for about 2 minutes. Pour the temper on top of the curry and serve.

Dukkah-ish and Chocolate Ice Cream Topping

Posted on

This is the easiest and most delicious topping to take your vanilla ice cream to the next level. I hesitate to call this sprinkle dukkah (dukkah adjacent, maybe?), since dukkah is an Egyptian blend of seeds, nuts, and spices and this sprinkle is a blend of seeds, nuts, and chocolate. Two out of three ain’t bad I guess.

This topping would be just as satisfying on yogurt too, if you want to keep things healthier.

Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup chopped salted dry-roasted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
  • 2 tablespoons chopped dark chocolate
  • 1/2 teaspoon flaky sea salt
  • 3 cups vanilla ice cream
  • 3 tablespoons tahini, warmed
  1. Lightly toast peanuts and, sesame seeds in a small skillet over low, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small plate; let cool, about 5 minutes. Stir together cooled peanut mixture, chocolate, and salt in a small bowl. Scoop 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream into each of 6 bowls. Drizzle each with 1/2 tablespoon tahini. Sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons dukkah.

Silken Tofu with Avocado and Furikake

Posted on

I stan soft tofu. Soft tofu with mushrooms, chilled soft tofu with a spicy soy sauce, soft tofu in dessert, it doesn’t matter. My current favorite is this: a super-simple block of soft tofu with creamy avocado and crunchy bits of furikake. I’m not sure what’s faster : the amount of time to make this dish or the amount of time it takes for me to devour it.

Ingredients:

  • 1 14-ounce block silken tofu
  • 1 avocado, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons lime juice
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons furikake
  1. Cut the tofu into 1/2-inch-thick slices and arrange them on a plate. Shingle the avocado slices across the top of the tofu. Drizzle with the soy sauce, lime juice, and oil, then sprinkle with furikake. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Mushroom Wontons in Chili Oil

Posted on

Steamed, boiled, or fried, I’m a sucker for any and all dumplings. I keep a few different kinds in my homemade rotation, and these boiled wontons are my new favorites, thanks to a generous drizzle of chili crisp, soy sauce, and vinegar at the end.

These make enough for large crowd, but don’t be surprised if you end up wanting to eat them all yourself.

Ingredients:
  • 1 package wonton wrappers
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
  • 2 cups garlic chives, chopped
  • 10 shiitake mushrooms, chopped
  • 1 1/2-inch piece ginger, minced
  • 1 tablespoon dried shiitake mushroom powder, made from 1 or 2 dried shiitake mushrooms ground in a spice grinder
  • 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Chili crisp, soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, chopped green onions, chopped cilantro, and sesame seeds, for serving
  1. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, garlic chives, shiitake mushrooms, ginger, dried mushroom powder, shaoxing wine, sesame oil, sugar, and pepper. Set aside.
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
  3. Place a small spoonful of filling (about 1 teaspoon) in the center of one of the wonton wrappers. Fold the bottom part up so that the dumpling forms a half circle and press all the way around to seal. Flip the dumpling over, grasp the two corners, and connect them by pinching one on top of the other. Repeat with remaining wontons and filling.
  4. Working in batches to prevent overcrowding, drop the wontons in the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the dumpling floats to the top and is cooked through. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle boil.
  5. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the wontons straight from the cooking water to into a serving platter.
  6. Serve immediately with a few generous spoonfuls of chili crisp, soy sauce, black vinegar, green onions, cilantro, and sesame seeds to taste.

Chicken Keema

Posted on

Don’t be deterred by the long ingredient list for this super flavorful and aromatic ground chicken curry. You can make it ahead of time and the flavor only gets better in the fridge overnight. Serve it with rice, yogurt, and some fresh herbs on the side for the perfect meal.

Ingredients:
  • 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon Kashmiri chili powder (depending on how spicy you want your keema to be)
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1 pinch asafetida powder
  • 2 serrano or bird’s eye chiles
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 4 curry leaves
  • 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
  • 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 cup chopped yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
  • 4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1/2 cup plain Indian or Greek yogurt
  • 1 cup frozen green peas
  • 2 pounds ground chicken
  • 6 teaspoons butter
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the asafetida power, serrano chiles, bay leaf, curry leaves, dried fenugreek, 1 teaspoon of the turmeric, and the onion. Stir everything together and saute until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the ginger and garlic to the pot. Saute until they begin to turn golden, about 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat.
  3. Transfer the onion and spice mixture to a food processor. Reserve the pot. Add the yogurt to the food processor and pulse until a paste is formed, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
  4. Place the peas in the reserved pot over medium heat. Cook the peas until they are thawed, about 1 minute. Add the ground chicken and 1 cup of water, stirring well, then add the butter and cook until it is melted, about 5 minutes.
  5. Add the remaining teaspoon of turmeric and the Kashmiri chili powder to the chicken. Stir everything together, cover the pot, then reduce the heat to low. Cook for 10 minutes.
  6. Stir in the black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir in the yogurt paste. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes more.
  7. Stir in the garam masala and remove the pot from the heat. Garnish with cilantro and serve.