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Grilled Herb Shrimp – Ina Garten Fridays

 Appetizers, From Around the world, Non vegetarian, Sea Food  15 Responses »
Apr 052013
 
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Grilled Herb Shrimp

Ina Garten  - The woman who rekindled my passion for cooking.  It was a very boring rainy afternoon in the Keystone  resort.  Boring because it was almost fall but not quite the colorful fall, it was not winter yet and we were at a ski resort doing nothing because it was raining with lightening and thunderstorms.  With the kid being a tiny elementary schooler then, who religiously fell asleep at nap times, I had nothing better to do than flip the TV on and watch something, anything.  This story is from when I first moved to the US and TV as a ritualistic watching had not yet ingrained in my system.

On the screen was this warm personality who was cooking for someone coming over to her house.   And the way she went  about the business of cooking on TV, made me yearn to go back home and be with my mom.  My love for Ina and her books and shows started on that boring, rainy day in Keystone.

 

Grilled Herb Shrimp

So now you can understand why I am so thrilled about this blog group. It’s all about Ina. The first Friday of every month,  we will  blog one course using an Ina Garten recipe.     Each food blog will feature a recipe on the same day.  So most of the time we won’t know until the last minute if more of us are making the same recipe.  I am thinking one of these days we may all be posting the same recipe ! That would quite interesting! For today’s post I made the Grilled Herb Shirmp.  It’s quick, flavorful and so easy to put together.

Featured below are the wonderful bloggers who are on this journey with me -

 

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Grilled Herb Shrimp – Ina Garten Fridays

Grilled Herb Shrimp – Ina Garten Fridays

Recipe adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/4 medium yellow onion
  • 2 Tbs fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 Tbs fresh basil
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp coarse salt
  • a dash of ground pepper
  • 1 Tbs cup olive oil
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 Lb shrimp peeled and deveined, tails intact
  • Vegetable oil, for grilling

Instructions

  1. In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the onion, garlic, parsley, basil, mustard, salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. You don't need a paste, just a whizz or two to make a mince. Alternately mince the onion, garlic and herbs and mix with the rest of the ingredients.
  2. Add in the shrimp and leave it at room temperature for at least an hour.
  3. Heat a grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat.
  4. Brush the rack or pan with vegetable oil to prevent the shrimp from sticking.
  5. Skewer 5 to 6 shrimp on a skewer
  6. Grill the shrimp on each side, until opaque and lightly charred, about 1 1/2 minutes.
http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/04/grilled-herb-shrimp-ina-garten-fridays/
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 Posted by on April 5, 2013 at 1:47 PM

Hot and Spicy Schoolyard Shrimp – Guest Post for Creative Culinary

 Appetizers, Guest Posts, Sea Food  6 Responses »
Mar 252013
 

Shrimp651

“Food is humanitarian: sharing it bridges cultures, making friends of strangers pleasantly surprised to learn how much common ground they ultimately share.” ―Anthony Beal

Food is how I met Barb, the creator of the wonderful blog-  Creative Culinary  .  She started The Front Range Food Blogger group for the local bloggers to get together and meet and talk about food, eat food, shoot food and make everything about food the biggest deal.  I met her and many other  talented local food bloggers. The journey to know them, learn from them and with them has been wonderful.

A few days ago, Barb asked me to fill in for her at her blog.  She is dealing with a lot of stuff right now and this is the least I could do to enable her to take a moment to breathe deep.   Along with prayers for her and her family,  hop on over to her beautiful blog to enjoy the story behind why this dish is called the schoolyard shrimp and to get the recipe for this simple, yet delicious shrimp 65 dish.

 

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Barb’s blog is the one stop blog for everything creative.  If cooking is not your thing, you MUST hop on over and read her Friday posts to get your sip on.  Amazing cocktails, breathtaking photos and wonderful content.

 
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 Posted by on March 25, 2013 at 6:00 AM

Kashmiri Kabargah – Fried Lamb Ribs

 Appetizers, Kashmir, Lamb  5 Responses »
Mar 202013
 
Kabargah

Kabargah

As I sit to write this post, I am feeling nostalgic. Kabargah is a dish that features in all our major celebrations and as we have established by now, all our celebrations begin and end with food as the main focus.  More than a couple of decades ago, when Kashmir was still the peaceful paradise, and I was still a child with a bright future and so much potential ( or so my parents thought), major celebrations in Kashmir were celebrated very traditionally.  I would look forward to these celebrations or ‘saal’ as we call them. Saal means an invitation and it also means a celebration.  The Saal is a sight to behold for the serving of the meal is a ceremony by itself.

 Kabargah

Rows of people sit together, a long fabric is spread for the thaal (plates) to be placed on. Imagine it to be a place-mat, only that it is placed on the plush Kashmiri silk/wool carpets and spreads out for a couple of dozen people at one go. A beautiful Tasht – t – Nari  is presented and the guests wash their hands. Are you re- reading this?  Yes the guests are seated when they wash their hands.  You can close that open mouth now! ;)

After the guests have washed their hands, the food is served one dish after the other. The volunteer servers, who are usually close friends and family, bring in food and serve it. One of the dishes served is the Kabargah.

Ribs of young lamb or goat, cooked in milk and spices then fried in ghee (clarified butter). The key is to have them fork tender with the boiling and crispy and juicy with the frying.  It is an art form and here is my recipe.

 

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Kashmiri Kabargah – Fried Lamb Ribs

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Kashmiri Kabargah – Fried Lamb Ribs

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds Lamb ribs ( I used a rack of lamb but traditionally only ribs are used)
  • 6 cups water
  • 2 cups milk and 1 Cup water – mixed together
  • 1 tsp garam masala ( Use Zafrani Garam Masala by Shan - it's the closest thing to my blend)
  • a pinch of asafoetida
  • Salt
  • 1 star anise ( 1 tsp fennel powder - the traditional way)
    • For yogurt batter :
  • 4 Tbs yogurt
  • 1 tsp chilli powder
  • 1/2 tsp garam masala
  • Ghee for frying ( begin with half a cup ghee)
  • Salt.

Instructions

  1. Bring the 6 cups of water to boil and add in the ribs. Continue to boil until the brownish riffraff floats to the top.
  2. Remove this riffraff with a spoon and throw it away. Continue until you don't see it floating to the top anymore.
  3. Now drain the water and wash the meat under a spray of water.
  4. Bring the milk and water mix to a boil.
  5. Add in the meat , salt, asafoetida, the garam masala and the star anise or the fennel powder and cook on slow heat until the meat is fork tender.
  6. The timing for this will depend on the quality of meat.
  7. The better quality ribs will be done before the milk evaporates and for others you may need to cook almost until the milk evaporates and then some more.
  8. Once the meat is tender, remove from the milk, and let drain on a wire rack.
  9. Mix the yogurt with a little salt, chilli powder and garam masala. dip the boiled ribs in this mix. Keep on a wire rack for a few minutes.
  10. Heat up some ghee in a pan and fry the ribs, a few at a time. Ensuring you don't overcrowd the pan.
  11. When they are nice and golden crisp , you know they are ready.

Notes

If you are pressed for time, you may first pressure cook the ribs for a few minutes and then cook them in milk and spice.

If your butcher refuses to hand over just the ribs, go ahead and make this with chops.

http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/03/kashmiri-kabargah-fried-lamb-ribs/

 
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Black Bean & Cucumber Salsa

 Appetizers, Beans, Healthy choice, Mexican, vegan, Vegetarian  5 Responses »
Feb 062013
 
Black Bean & Cucumber Salsa

Colorful, zesty and full of flavors, black bean & cucumber salsa is my go to salsa.  A few months ago I cooked a Mexican themed dinner for my friends. I made the  black bean & cucumber salsa to go with chips. While one of my friends gave us all a facial, (Yes, we do that kind of stuff ! ) we sipped wine and ate salsa.

 

 

My friend Tina loved this salsa instantly.  She wasn’t a fan of the hotter one I made with mangoes, but this she loved!  She has recreated this in her kitchen a few times since and so have I. It’s quick if you use canned beans, it’s super easy and is very flavorful.  Salsa making should be fun and this sure is!

There is really no recipe for it, just mix in a few things and Voilà! Serve it with grilled fish or chicken for a complete meal or have it by itself for an appetizing salad or make this into a dip for the baked tortilla cups.

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Black Bean & Cucumber Salsa

Black Bean & Cucumber Salsa

Ingredients

  • 1 can black beans
  • 1 cup chopped English cucumber
  • 1/4 C diced tomato
  • 1/4 C finely chopped shallots
  • 3 tbs lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs chopped cilantro
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • salt to taste
  • 1/2 tsp finely chopped jalapeno/ Thai chili
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin

Instructions

  1. Drain the beans and give them a quick rinse.
  2. Then let drain again.
  3. Take a medium sized bowl, add in all the ingredients. Carefully mix once or twice.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour to let the flavors come together.
http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/02/black-bean-cucumber-salsa/
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Steamed Edmame with copy cat Xo Sauce

 Appetizers  2 Responses »
Jan 182013
 
Edmame with dried shrimp and scallops

American Football Season! The perfect time to cook a lot of fun finger foods. If the rest of the world can stop saying that this is a game where the “foot” part of the anatomy is used occasionally for a punt or a field goal and a lot of running, it actually is a fun sport to watch. But I don’t live in the rest of the world anymore and I sometimes do watch American Football. I am not sure if  I like the game more or the food involved with it. Let’s not get into those uncomfortable details.

For this weeks power food blog group we have the delicious, nutritious Edmamme that is high in protein, Folate, omega-3’s, fiber, vitamin K, vitamin B2, Manganese etc. Though it doesn’t feature as a regular on my dining table, we do love eating these once a while.

Steamed Edmame with Copy cat Xo Sauce is from one of our favourite restaurants in Denver – Zengo .  Recipe source : the Washingtonian.  The very first time we ate the Edmame with their Xo sauce, we knew we were hooked for ever. It has such a perfect balance of sweet, savory and hot that it is hard not to reach for just one more and before you know the bowl is empty and you are craving some more.

This bowl of edmame is the perfect food for a football game. Make a bowlful and cheer for your favorite team. And this is what I made for this weeks 38 Power foods food blogging group.

38 Power Foods blog group  focuses on one ingredient each week taking inspiration from the book ; Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of the whole living magazine. Each week we all  come up with recipes, stories, articles to encourage eating nourishing food.

Jeanette at jeanetteshealthyliving ; Martha at Simply Nourished Living ; Mireya at Myhealthyeatinghabits ; Alyce at More time at the table ; Casey at My Sweet and Savory;   Minnie at TheLady8Home

 

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Steamed Edmame with copy cat Xo Sauce

Ingredients

  • 2 slices prosciutto, diced very fine
  • 1/3 c dried scallops, soaked in warm water for a couple of hours, then strained and shredded fine
  • 1/3 c dried shrimp, diced fine in the food pro
  • 1tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 pound edamame
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • Schimi togarashi ( to sprinkle over)
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • ¼ cup minced red onions/shallots
  • 1 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tsp red chile flakes
  • 2 - 3 tablespoons sesame oil

Instructions

    Make the Sauce
  1. Heat the sesame oil and pan fry the prosciutto, a little at a time until it crisps up.
  2. Scoop out from the oil and keep aside.
  3. Next fry the scallops, in batches and scoop out.
  4. Follow it by frying the shrimp, this will froth up, so be careful.
  5. Next fry in the onions and the garlic, until completely caramelized.
  6. Add in the sugar, chillie flakes. Switch off heat and mix everything except the Schimi Togarashi and the oyster sauce.
    7. Make the Edmame
  7. Steam or boil the Edmame.
  8. Add to a wok or pan on high heat and stir in 2 tbs of the sauce, add oyster sauce and mix to coat evenly.
  9. Scoop out and serve hot, adding a dash of schimi togarashi on top

Notes

you may find it difficult to fry the ingredients in little oil, but it can be done on low heat and a lot of patience.

bottle up the rest of the sauce and keep in the fridge

http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/01/steamed-edmame-with-copy-cat-xo-sauce/

 
Sujata Haldar, Lakshmi Krishnaswamy, Bhavna Kalra, Shilpa Sehgal liked this post
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Green Peas Salad

 Appetizers, Healthy choice, Non vegetarian, Salads  12 Responses »
Jan 132013
 
Pea salad

 

The Green peas are a legume and so a very good source of protein.  A cup of raw green peas packs 30% of an adults daily fiber requirement and about half  the supply of the good old Vitamin C.  In addition to that they are also a good source of vitamin K which you know is great for your bone function.

I don’t think I have ever looked at peas with more reverence than I do now.  I do tend to put them in most of my quick fix dishes as they don’t really need much cooking.  But until now, I just thought they were just a convenient food that tasted good too.  Not any more. the power food blog group changed how I think about food.

For this week’s power food blog group, I chose to feature this twist on the pea salad. Quick ,Easy, Delicious!

38 Power Foods blog group  focuses on one ingredient each week taking inspiration from the book ; Power Foods: 150 Delicious Recipes with the 38 Healthiest Ingredients from the editors of the whole living magazine. Each week we all  come up with recipes, stories, articles to encourage eating nourishing food.

Jeanette at jeanetteshealthyliving ; Martha at Simply Nourished Living ; Mireya at Myhealthyeatinghabits ; Alyce at More time at the table ; Casey at My Sweet and Savory;   Minnie at TheLady8Home

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Green Pea Salad

Ingredients

  • 2 C Garden Peas (shelled)
  • 1 thai green chilli
  • 2 perfectly boiled eggs
  • 3 tbs finely chopped onions
  • 1/2 tsp roasted cumin powder
  • 2 tbs no fat sour cream/ yogurt
  • salt

Instructions

  1. Steam the peas for about 3 minutes . I used fresh peas from the pods. If you are using frozen peas, simply defrost them in cold running water and steam for a couple of minutes or so.
  2. while the peas are steaming, finely chop the thai green chilli and coarsely chop the eggs.
  3. In a bowl , put the peas in and mix some salt, the cumin powder, onion, the chilli, the yogurt/ sour cream.
  4. Add in the eggs.. mix.
  5. If you have a fresh sprig of mint in your herb garden, put that on for effect!
  6. Serve cold - as a salad or with some bread crisps as an appetizer
http://www.spiceroots.com/2013/01/green-peas-salad/

Reposted on Jan 14, 2013.
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