cardamom
Beef and Green Bean Curry
This is a curry made up of beef and some flat Italian green beans that I froze at the end of summer. I had been feeling too unwell to go to the supermarket, so this had to be a pantry meal day.
You could use regular frozen green beans, or fresh, blanched green beans for this.Peas would also work well.
1-2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 pound beef cubes for stew
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 ½ teaspoon madras curry powder
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon turmeric
8 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 pound frozen beans
1 cup tomato puree
13½ ounce can coconut milk
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Heat oil over high heat. Add onions, garlic, beef, 1/2 a teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of each: madras curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Saute 3 minutes over high heat.
Cover and reduce heat to low, cooking for a further 5 minutes.
Add water to cover. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.
After 45 mins, frozen beans, 1 cup tomato puree, 2 teaspoons curry, 1/2 teaspoon garam masala, coconut milk, and 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
This was added to the Homestead Blog Hop
Thanksgiving menu : Roasted Turkey (with a Lemon Garlic Marinade)
I love Thanksgiving. I love being with friends and family. I love the sentiment of being thankful. And, I really, really love Thanksgiving dinner.
I have heard lots of people say that they don’t really care for turkey. That it’s bland or blah, or whatever. I do really like turkey. When it is brined and then properly seasoned, it is really good. (Is that enough really’s?)
I don’t particularly like plain turkey OR plain gravy. This is anything but plain turkey. This one has a marinade that hearkens to my childhood in the Caribbean. It has lots of garlic, olive oil, spices, a lemon AND a lime (or you can use 2 of any of them, but I like to use one of each because each imparts a slightly different flavor), soy sauce, and mustard. Also, when it is nicely spiced like this, the gravy you make with the pan drippings also has a tangy, lovely flavor.
I have also heard complaints of being intimidated by trying to cook a turkey. Something about it being the size that it is seems to make it more complicated than it actually is. Take it one, easy step at a time, and it comes out perfect every time.
I always stuff my turkey, but I know that some people are squeamish, so you can also roast un-stuffed if you prefer. Just follow the roasting times according to whether or not you stuff it, for food safety reasons.
Thanksgiving menu : Roasted Turkey (Lemon Garlic Marinade)
~12 pound Turkey (fresh or thawed according to directions)
Brine
1 cup apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
3 cardamom pods
3 bay leaves
1 onion, sliced
1/2 cup coarse sea salt (or regular table salt)
Juice (and rinds) of 2 lemons
Place all ingredients in pot. Add 5 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Rinse turkey of all package juices. Gently loosen skin from breast, and as deep into the leg/thigh area as you can without ripping skin. Place in container big enough to submerge turkey completely. Add brine to container, topping off with cold water to completely cover the turkey. Allow brine to enter in between the skin and meat by raising skin a bit as it submerges.
Let brine for about 2 hours.
Drain brine and rinse turkey completely. Place on a large tray.
Marinade
1 ½ stick butter, softened
1-2 teaspoon mustard
1 ½ teaspoon oregano
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 lemon, juiced (reserving rind)
1 lime, juiced (reserving rind)
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper to taste
In a food processor, place all marinade ingredients, except butter. Process till smooth. Add butter and process a second time to combine. It gets nice and thickly emulsified, so it stays in place on the bird, and doesn’t drip off during the marinating process overnight.
Using the lemon and lime rinds you just juiced for the marinade, rub all over the turkey.
Rub marinade all over turkey, including under skin to get it onto the turkey breast as well. Also rub a bit into cavity (and on the neck).
Place in fridge overnight.
When ready to cook, remove from fridge. Let stand to get to room temperature.
Preheat oven to 325 F. Place turkey (including neck) in roasting pan.
Roast till internal temperature reaches 165 F on meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the leg. Baste liberally and often throughout the roasting process.
You will want to let rest for 15 minutes before cutting into it, so that all the turkey juices reincorporate into the meat, and not run out when you carve it.
Meanwhile, pour out all the lovely pan juices, and use to make gravy.
If you don’t have a meat thermometer, you can follow the guides below from the USDA website . Mine was perfectly done at right around 3½ hours for my just-under-12 pound bird.
| Unstuffed | |
|---|---|
| 4 to 8 pounds (breast) | 1½ to 3¼ hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 2¾ to 3 hours |
| 12 to 14 pounds | 3 to 3¾ hours |
| 14 to 18 pounds | 3¾ to 4¼ hours |
| 18 to 20 pounds | 4¼ to 4½ hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 4½ to 5 hours |
| Stuffed | |
|---|---|
| 4 to 6 pounds (breast) | Not usually applicable |
| 6 to 8 pounds (breast) | 2½ to 3½ hours |
| 8 to 12 pounds | 3 to 3½ hours |
| 12 to 14 pounds | 3½ to 4 hours |
| 14 to 18 pounds | 4 to 4¼ hours |
| 18 to 20 pounds | 4¼ to 4¾ hours |
| 20 to 24 pounds | 4¾ to 5¼ hours |
Brine note – you can use regular vinegar/lemon and water without adding anything else (such as the coriander or onion), as in this post, doubling the vinegar/lemon.
Added to Tasty Tuesdays linky roundup. Go on over and check it out!
Chicken Maqlouba with Cauliflower
“Heat oil in pot; brown chicken (or beef or lamb), onions, garlic, and spices. Add water to cover and boil…” This is the start of many, many Mediterranean dishes. Once you have the cooked chicken and the richly flavored broth, you can go on create some really good meals, whether soups, stews, or grain-based dishes. I’ve added the tag “start with boiled chicken” to this recipe and will continue to use it for all such dishes.
Maqlouba is no exception, in this case we start with chicken. Maqlouba is a traditional Palestinian dish, whose name literally means “upside down”. It is a layered dish of meat, rice, and vegetables. Maqlouba usually features either cauliflower or eggplant as the main vegetable, to which you can add potatoes, carrots, chickpeas, tomatoes, peppers. When it is cooked, it is then flipped onto a serving platter. This particular maqlouba has chicken, cauliflower, potatoes, and carrots.
Traditionally, the vegetables are deep fried. I prefer to roast them, in order to cut down on the oil used.
A note about the chicken: the most common way to make maqlouba is to layer the chicken at the very bottom of the pot, then add the vegetables, then the rice. I personally prefer to remove the chicken to a baking sheet, drizzle or mist some oil on it, and broil. If you want to try it cooked in the rice, you start the layering with chicken, then vegetables, then rice.
The below recipe made enough for 2 adults and 2 kids, plus enough leftovers to have another complete meal.
Chicken Maqlouba with Cauliflower
4-6 lb chicken pieces
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp allspice
1 tsp turmeric
1 bay leaf
3 cardamom pod
2 small potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
1 cauliflower, separated into florets
2 small carrots, peeled, halved crosswise, each half thickly sliced lengthwise
1 T cooking oil
1 T extra virgin oil
salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
2 cups jasmine rice
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
salt
Olive oil for drizzling over chicken (1-2 Tablespoons)
juice of half a lemon
1 teaspoon sumac
400 degrees 20-30 minutes. In a large bowl, place potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, oil, salt, pepper, and cumin. Make sure all the vegetables have a coating of oil and spice. Place in baking tray and roast 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Season chicken with onion, garlic, allspice, turmeric, cumin, salt and pepper to taste, and cooking oil. Allow to marinate an hour if desired. Heat pot over medium-high heat. Add seasoned chicken including oil and all the seasoning ingredients, bay leaf, and cardamom. Stir over medium-high heat about 10 minutes. Add water to cover chicken and bring to a boil over high heat. Skim off any scum that rises to the surface. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-45 minutes, until chicken is completely cooked.
Meanwhile, rinse rice with cold water until water runs clear. Cover with cold water, and allow to soak for 20 minutes.
One chicken is cooked, remove it to a baking tray. Squeeze the juice of half a lemon over the chicken, drizzle with some olive oil, and sprinkle with sumac.
After chicken and the vegetables are both ready, you can start the layering.
Start with a layer of cauliflower
Follow with potatoes and carrots.
Cover with rice, adding salt, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, and 1 teaspoon turmeric.
Add hot chicken broth to cover rice, plus about half an inch. Don’t worry if one or two of the veggies escapes and peeks out of the top.
Bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 15 minutes, or till all the liquid is absorbed. (Broil chicken during the last 5 minutes that rice cooks)
Serve with finely chopped salad and/or yogurt.
Vegetarian variation: Prepare vegetables and rice for layering as in the original recipe. Instead of the chicken and the resulting broth, heat oil and cook onions, garlic, and spices. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Layer as in the recipe above, starting with vegetables, then rice. Add enough stock to cover rice, plus half an inch. Cook for 15-20 minutes until all stock has been absorbed. Flip onto a serving platter.
Lamb Curry with Potatoes and Spinach
Last weekend, a good friend of mine posted some pictures of her trip to the British Virgin Islands, while I was braving frigid weather in the Mid-Atlantic region. So, naturally, I needed some Caribbean food to warm me up. This is a take on the traditional Trinidadian “Curry Goat”. I did not have any goat meat handy, but I had about a pound of bone-in lamb for stew. I also had some spinach and a tomato that I decided to throw in, though I don’t typically add those to West Indian curry dishes.
This was very good, and almost made up for my lack of Caribbean vacation.
1 lb lamb for stew, cut up
1 onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup spinach chopped
4 medium potatoes, cut into large chunks
2 tablespoons Curry powder *
2 teaspoons Cumin
4-5 Cardamom pods (optional)
1/2 teaspoon Coriander seeds (optional)
2-3 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Season lamb: place lamb in a large bowl, add onions, garlic, parsley, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Combine everything well, and let marinate in the refrigerator, at least half an hour, up to 24 hours.
Allow meat to come to room temperature. Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a medium sized pot over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 teaspoon cumin, turmeric, cardamom pods, coriander seeds, and bay leaves. Stir into the oil and let bubble a bit. Add meat and all it’s been seasoned with. Brown the meat for 3-4 minutes, then cover the pot and reduce heat to low and allow to cook till meat and onions release their juices, about 10 minutes.
Add water to cover. Allow to come to a boil on high heat. Cover and reduce heat to low, simmering for 30 minutes.
Add potatoes, spinach, and tomatoes. Adjust salt and seasoning.
Allow to simmer about 30 minutes more, or till lamb is tender and potatoes are completely cooked.
*I love Chief brand curry powder. It is pretty much the only kind I use (no, I am not affiliated with them 🙂 ), but if that is not available, any good madras curry works.
** Instead of the spinach and tomato, I usually add chickpeas with the potatoes.
