Indian Recipes from the CSA Newsletter

Our CSA, Eatwell Farms, has been hitting it out of the park lately. From a spicy "Sicialian pesto" to tonight's offerings, this newsletter is becoming a go-to for good food. I made the two dishes below with some grilled chicken thighs I had frozen with a tandoori spice and yogurt marinade, and some whole wheat chapati from the frozen food section at New May Wah. Miriam made chapati sandwiches with the chicken, dal and some tamarind chutney she loves.

I don't want to lose track of either of these:

Radish Dal

This is easily one of the most delicious dals I've made, although I like the super-simple standards. I didn't have all the ingredients in the original recipe, but I would make it again exactly this way. Made easier by putting it together the night before.

1 c toovar dal (split yellow lentils)

1.5 T canola oil

2 t brown mustard seeds

1 lg onion, small dice

2 T finely grated coconut

1 T sambhar powder*

1 large tomato, fine dice

2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)

2-4 radishes, quartered and sliced 1/8" thick

1 t jaggery or raw sugar

1 t salt

2-3 cups water

Soak the lentils in water for one hour

Heat a medium-size heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds, and as soon as they start popping, add the onion. Sprinkle lightly with a bit of the jaggery and salt, and stir and fry till the onions are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the spices, stir, add the coconut, stir, and add the tomatoes and curry leaves. Stir to combine and cook a few minutes. Add the tovar dal, the jaggery, salt and 2 cups water.

Bring to a boil, turn down to a simmer, and cook until the lentils fall apart, about 40 minutes for red lentils or 1.5 hours for yellow lentils. Add water if necessary per your preferred consistency. Delicious!

*I didn't have sambhar powder, but after perusing several recipes, arrived at the following mixture:

1 t ground coriander

1/2 t each ground cumin, ground fenugreek

1/4 t each ground black pepper, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, ancho chile powder, ground urad dal

Since these ingredients are supposed to be toasted, I added them to the browned onions and stirred a bit till fragrant before adding the tomato and coconut.

In looking up the difference between red lentils (which I had on hand) and yellow (which I did not) I found this recipe, which I plan to return to -- and to investigate her blog, too!

Benghali Fried Greens

1 T canola oil

1/2 t ea cumin, fennel and brown mustard seeds

1/4 t cayenne and ground fenugreek

2 t minced garlic

1.5 cups diced onions

1/4 t raw sugar

1/2 t salt

3/4 lb. stir-fry mix, chard or kale, chopped

4-5 radishes, grated

Bring the oil to med-high heat in a wok. Add the seeds, stir and when the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the ground spices and garlic. Stir for 10 seconds and add the onion. Add the sugar and half the salt, stir, lower the heat to medium and fry for 10 minutes, until the onions are deep golden brown. Return heat to high and add the greens and radishes. When the greens brighten, add the remaining salt and cover to steam for one minute. Uncover and stir-fry until the greens are completely cookd.

Happy New Year!

Like many Bay Areans, I've adopted the African-American tradition of cooking up black-eyed peas for New Year's. Last year I made a very traditional version of Hoppin' John with ham hocks and collards, finished with a vinegar-based hot sauce. This year I never got around to buying my ham hocks and found myself looking at a few Niman ham steaks in the refrigerator case. Fortunately, my sister had scored me a link of Spanish-style chorizo at Fatted Calf. I reasoned that it would add some porky goodness as well as some heat, and what isn't better with that smoky paprika flavor? I finished the soup with Tabasco, the vinegar hit is an important flavor component, so if you don't like heat, add a jot of white vinegar.

I'm not crazy about black-eyed peas in most preparations, I find the flavor can be a little muddy. But this soup was wonderful, something I'd make again nomatter the holiday. It went perfectly with some jalapeno cornbread and a nice cold beer.

Truly, the pantry is the mother of invention.

Chorizo, Collard and Black-eyed Pea Soup

1.5 cups dried black eyed peas

2 medium yellow onions, small dice

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 bay leaf

1 long link Spanish-style chorizo

1/2 cup beer (not too hoppy)

2 bunches (about 15 leaves) collard greens

1 t salt

6 cups chicken stock

Tabasco or other vinegar-based hot sauce

Place the rinsed peas in a large-ish pot with 1/2 diced onion, the garlic and the bay leaf. Cover with 6 cups water and bring to a boil. Skim scum off the top, partially cover and simmer for 1.5-2 hours. The fresher the peas, the shorter the cooking time. When the beans are done as desired, drain and allow to cool.

Meanwhile, quarter and thinly slice the chorizo. Saute the onion in 1 scant tablespoon olive oil, add the chorizo when the onion has softened. Keep heat on medium, do not allow the sausage to crisp. Saute ~5 minutes, then add the beer, bring to a boil, then lower heat, cover and stew for another five minutes. The previously hard and dry sausage should be somewhat soft and crumbly.

While the chorizo is stewing, cut the collards off their stems and slice the halved leaves crosswise into 1/2 inch strips. Rinse thoroughly in cold water, use two rinses if necessary, then drain in a colander.

Add the collards, sprinkle with the salt, and stir. Cover the pot and braise the greens over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes, until the greens are tender. [You can cook the greens much longer if desired, but I prefer them with a bit of bite left.] Add the stock and bring to a boil. Stir in the black-eyed peas, simmer for 5-10 minutes to allow the flavors to meld, and finish with the hot sauce to taste. I used 1 teaspoon so that MZ could tolerate it, and we added more to taste at the table.

Riff references: Tijuana cornbread