We kept this a secret, so needless to say, when Sonali walked into the pungent aroma of curry, she knew we were up to something special for her.
We started off with something simple and familiar - chicken salad with curry. Jessica took this one on, and turned out delicious. She served the salad on pita triangles and in bibb lettuce cups.
Ingredients include:
1/2 pound cooked chicken
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup yellow raisins
S&P
1/2 cup cashews
Jessica also prepared a cool Grilled Red Onion & Cucumber Salad, courtesy of our favorite Food Network hunk, Bobby Flay.
Ingredients include:2 red onions, peeled and sliced 1/2-inch thick, crosswise - then grilled
Olive oil Salt and pepper
3 cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/2-inch thick
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh oregano
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Yogurt-Mint Dressing:
1 cup plain yogurt, drained in fine sieve about 30 minutes
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup mint chiffonade
Salt and freshly ground pepper
I decided to stick with what I know - Chicken Skewers! I am infamous for these somehow...
I served them with a Coconut Curry Sauce, provided by Williams Sonoma (if I havent mentioned it before, my mom works there :)). I was almost going to attempt a homemade sauce, but even I felt a little intimidated by how many ingredients the recipe called for.
This next recipe we found from Rachel Ray. It even has a clever name only RR could come up with - Naan-Chos, based on its main ingredient Naan bread, and the nacho-esc way it is served.
Ingredients Include:
1/2 cup-extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, cracked
4 slices Tandoori Naan Bread
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/3 handful chopped parsley leaves
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
1 can chick peas, drained
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
Hummus:
In a food processor, combine chick peas, lemon, cumin, cayenne and remaining garlic and oil. Season spread with salt, to your taste.
Salsa:
1/3 seedless cucumber, skinned and chopped
1 vine ripe red tomato, seeded and chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoons fresh mint leaves, from 5 or 6 sprigs, chopped
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon coarse salt
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400 degrees F and cook bread with cheeses until melted (about 15-20 min.). Then top with hummus spread and salsa, and serve! In the words of RR, it was super YUMO and a big surprise hit with the ladies.
I also took on the challenge of creating an Indian desert. It was far from simple and took me about 3 hours to make (perhaps a slight exaggeration).
This little cake-that-could, required every type of sweet spice ever brought over by Columbus, including ground mace, which I later discoverd is a complicated term for PEPPER! Good grief. Along with a dozen eggs....individually seperated. I am the world's WORST egg cracker so that was interesting!
It was great fun to make, and turned out very good, despite my intial reservations. I would compare it to a very dense, layerd crepe. I served it with some cinnamon dolce ice cream, and topped with confectioners sugar (layman's terms: powdered sugar).
Cooking Ethnic Rating:
Complicated? YES
Tasty? YES
Ingredients? Some hard to find, but well worth the search if you have the time.
Crowd Pleaser? I would say 95%.
Here's to trying new things!
My favorite items to roast are carrots, Brussels sprouts, asparagus, red onion, sweet potatoes, squash and broccolini.
