madhur jaffrey's spiced rice with cashews

like most indian food, it's really easy to eat too much of this.

spiced rice with cashews

2 cups white basmati or other long-grain white rice
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp raw cashews, split in half lengthwise
1 medium-sized onion, peeled, cut in half, and sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garam masala
3 cups hot vegetable stock (make it by boiling 10 dried shitake mushrooms, 1/2 an onion, 2 carrots, for 20-30 minutes, then drain broth from veggies)

rinse the rice 4 or 5 times. cover rice with 4 1/2 cups of fresh water and leave to soak for 1/2 an hour. drain, and leave rice in strainer.

preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

use a heave ovenproof pot or 2-quart sauté pan with a lid. heat the oil over medium heat. Put in the cashews. Fry for a few seconds, until the nuts turn golden brown. remove nuts with a slotted spoon and set aside.

fry the onion slices in the same oil for a few minutes, until they begin to brown. add the drained rice, garlic, ginger, cayenne, garam masala, and salt. turn heat to medium low and stir and fry the rice for 7-9 minutes until rice is translucent and well coated with the oil.

add the heated stock. keep stirring and cooking on a medium-low flame for another 5-6 minutes. when the top of the rice begins to look dry (there will still be liquid left on the bottom of the pot), cover the pot with a well-fitting lid and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until rice is cooked through. remove pot from oven, stir in cashews and leave, covered, for 10 minutes.

when ready to serve, break up clumps in rice and spoon onto plates.

saag paneer

i could live off of this, especially since i have access to lots of free greens and milk. homemade paneer is the way to go. chard is a good green to use, as is spinach, although i think you get a little more mileage out of the chard.

5 bunches of chard
paneer
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated or minced
2 Tbsp butter or ghee, and 2 Tbsp veggie oil
cumin
turmeric
garam masala
cardamom
cinnamon
cayenne
nutmeg
yogurt

first blanch the chard bunches, one at a time. as you're blanching, cut off the stems and process them in batches in the food processor, or mince them up finely by hand.
heat the oil and butter in a pot and add the onions. cook for a few minutes before adding the mustard, cumin seeds, and turmeric. keep cooking for about 5 minutes. add the garlic and ginger, cayenne, garam masala, cardamom. cook until onions are translucent. add chard and cinnamon. cook until chard is completely soft, adding some liquid if you need it (milk or water). while the greens are cooking, fry the paneer in a little butter, preferably in a non-stick or cast iron skillet. add the cinnamon and grated nutmeg to taste towards the end of cooking. the nutmeg is really what makes this taste like what you get in indian restaurants, so keep adding it until it tastes right, probably about 1/4 tsp or so.
let the dish cool a little when it's done cooking, then add yogurt to desired taste and creaminess. stir in the paneer. serve with basmati rice!

balsamic basil strawberry crush

i love strawberry season (who doesn't?). i also love amazing, high-quality, aged balsamic vinegar that doesn't even taste like vinegar, and can be poured on fruit or vanilla bean ice cream or both. basil makes it all the better. this reminds me of a dessert i had at a restaurant in chicago. the dessert was composed mostly of tomatoes, and there were three arrangements of sweet tomato creations on the plate. one of them involved both tomatoes and strawberries, and it was accompanied by basil balsamic gelato. mmmm.

strawberries
high quality balsamic vinegar, aged 10 or more years
italian basil
maple syrup (optional)

serve with good vanilla bean ice cream, sabayon, or semifreddo

remove strawberry tops and quarter. put in a bowl and crush/squeeze slightly with hands to make them juicy. add balsamic to taste, then add chopped basil. let sit for 15 minutes, check for flavoring. add more vinegar for stronger flavor, and maple syrup if sweetness needs adjusting. delicious on top of Green and Black's vanilla ice cream.