Author Archives for Swati Raje

Mango Cole Slaw

I came up with this recipe about seven years ago when I hosted a BBQ at my house for 80 people.  It was a hot day and I needed to make sides that would hold up without spoiling in the heat over a period of five or six hours.  I really enjoy cole slaw with BBQ but it’s often too gloppy and is most certainly not heat friendly when made with mayonnaise.  A good cole slaw must be crisp, fresh and dressed just right, but does not necessarily need mayonnaise.   And so I remembered an Indian cabbage salad (koshimbir) that my mom sometimes makes and decided to use that as my base.  The result was a big hit and I’ve made it for many summer parties since then to equally rave reviews.  

Last night I was pressed for time and was asked to bring a side to a BBQ and made it again. This time I decided to finally write down and publish the recipe since several at the table asked me for it.

Ingredients:


1 head Cabbage
1/4 head Purple Cabbage
2 Carrots thickly grated
1 large Mango – peeled, cored and cut into small dice
1/4 cup Champage wine vinegar (sometimes I will use Verjus instead)
2 Tbsp Lime juice
1/2 Tsp Sugar
1 Tsp Sea salt (or to taste)
Freshly ground Black Pepper
1/4 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
1 Tsp Cumin seeds
1 Tsp Black Mustard seeds
1 Thai green chili – finely chopped
15 – 20 Kefir Lime leaves or Curry leave (if leaves are large, chiffonade them)
1/4 Cup Cilantro – chopped

Recipe:


Remove outer leaves of cabbage and cut into quarters with core at the base. Remove the core from each piece and halve each again vertically.  Thinly slice each piece with a sharp knife into a fine shred.  Repeat with purple cabbage.  You may do this in the food processor but I often find that the shred is too fine resulting in a mushy rather than crisply slaw.  If you’re really pressed for time, many markets sell a bagged cole slaw mix.  It’s not quite as fresh but will do in a pinch.  Combine shredded cabbage into a collander and thorough rince under cold water and leave aside to drain while grating carrots.  In a large bowl combine green and red cabbage & carrots.  Add the Champagne wine vinegar, lime, sugar, sea salt & pepper and mix thoroughly (generally easier with your hands).  Place a small skillet over medium high heat and add olive oil, cumin seeds and mustard seeds.  When the seeds start to sizzle & pop, add the chillies.  Once the chillies stop sizzling (about 10 seconds), add the kefir lime leaves all at once and quickly and immediately step back as they will pop & splatter vehemently for about a second.  Once the popping stops, pour the hot oil over the cabbage mixture and mix thoroughly (if using hands, be careful of the pockets of hot oil).  Add mango & cilantro and mix again.  Allow to sit at room temperature for an hour mixing occasionally until the cabbage has “cooked” in the marinade.  

Serve chilled or at room temperature.  Enjoy!!

Note : You can add more heat to this by using one more Thai chili or reduce the heat by using a seeded serrano or jalapeno.  For anyone who may want to eliminate the salt, I do recommend adding at least some.  Not only to bring out the flavor but also because it helps to cure and cook the cabbage along with the acids.  Kefir Lime leaves or Curry leaves as they are often called can be found at most Indian markets.  There really is no substitute for these in this dish.  You can try adding lime zest but the taste will not be the same.  Some day I’ll have to blog about the word “Curry” which is so misunderstood, misused and completely butchered by most, including prominent chefs.  

Summer in the City – Part 1 – New York, NY

I have recently embarked on a project that is very exciting and daunting at the same time.  It is, perhaps, my biggest undertaking ever – ok maybe having a child was a bit bigger. For the past several years I have been planning to finally put in the kitchen of my dreams in my house.  What started out as just a kitchen renovation, quickly turned into something that involved excavation and gutting most of my home which meant that I had to dial down some of my kitchen dreams to shift the budget to other necessities like bathrooms. I moved out of my home several weeks ago and construction began two weeks ago.

My old kitchen

How it looks today








Given the extent (and expense) of this project, there are no major travel plans in my immediate future and most certainly not for this summer.  So I’ve decided to take the time to go on some adventures in and around New York City and take you along with me. The plan is to try and find some new things to do that I have not done before.  The City is always changing with new neighborhoods, restaurants and things to do cropping up all the time and so I thought it would be fun to do a little exploring.

Despite the gloomy weather yesterday, my son and I decided to head to NYC right after his morning tennis lesson.  We headed in just around lunch time and took the PATH train from Jersey City to Christopher Street.  We walked up Hudson St trying to decide where to eat.  There are many well known restaurants in that area like The Spotted Pig or Barbutos, but I like to go to some of the more neighborhood type places instead of what’s rated on Zagat as many of the popular places tend to also be touristy.

Merguez with Hummus & Salad

Our walk led us to Meme (pronounced May May), a small Mediterranean restaurant with outdoor seating on Hudson Street just north of 11th.  The menu had brunch items like Shakshuka, Melawach along with some small plates and salads also.  Everything looked and sounded delicious and we had some trouble deciding.  My son opted for the spiced lamb burger and I ordered the merguez which came with hummus and a salad.  The lamb burger was flavorful & juicy and served on a firm baguette instead of roll.  It came with grilled onions & tomato, a small side salad & fries and was topped with feta cheese.  My son said it was so good that he didn’t even need to add ketchup.  My merguez was equally delicious with great flavor and just the right amount of heat.  With the crisp salad, dressed only with lemon juice, and the smooth hummus, it more than satisfied my hungry stomach.

Lamb Burger w/ Fries


With our stomachs full and the sky starting to throw down a little drizzle, we started walking towards our one planned destination for the day – The Whitney Museum of American Art.  The Whitney, as it’s often called, has recently moved back downtown to the Meatpacking district on Gansevoort St.  The building, designed by Renzo Piano, is quite interesting and certainly depicts the theme of this museum which is contemporary art.  I had acquired passes for us in advance which allowed us to skip the rather long line in front to get tickets.  Honestly, I’m not sure I would have bothered otherwise. 

Outdoor Space at The Whitney

We perused through all the floors of art work, each devoted to different periods throughout the twentienth century.  I can’t say I understood or appreciated much of it, but we certainly found it entertaining.  Like the artist who had cut a square of old wallpaper and framed it to look nice, or another who had stuck a whole bunch of “VIA AIR MAIL” stickers on a canvas board.  I’m not sure how either is art but hey I subscribe more to the notion of “Art for art’s sake” than “Art is in the eye of the beholder”.  Maybe I just don’t get it.  Either way, we enjoyed the outdoor sculptures and making up stories about them, and taking photos from the outdoor areas on the upper floors which has some great vistas around NYC.

A View of the High Line from The Whitney


After the museum, my son devoured a crepe with Nutella & bananas from a street cart before we headed off to walk on the High Line for a little bit in the still drizzly weather.  How that kid can eat so much and yet remain so thin is a mystery to me.  From the High Line we made our way to Chelsea Market on 9th Ave to see what we could scramble up for dinner.  The market has gotten far too popular now and I’m not sure I like it as a tourist attraction.  There are great food options and one can find some wonderful fish and meat there, but the prices now reflect the tourist trap feel and the crowds are unmanageble and off putting.

The sky threatened stronger storms and so we decided to make our way back to the PATH station and head home to hunker down in our temporary home with some bread, cheese and a movie.  But not before stopping at Eleni’s for some Butterscotch Cookies – my child was hungry again!!

Restaurant Review : Pier 701 Restaurant & Bar

Does a beautiful view and outdoor seating make up for mediocre food?  I say not.  Recently I was meeting friends from out of town for dinner and Piermont NY was a good central location since we were each in three different directions.  I’ve been to a few restaurants in Piermont which I liked, but chose to try a new one as I thought it would be nice to give the out of towners a view of the Hudson and the Tappan Zee Bridge.  With this in mind I made a reservation at Pier 701.  I was feeling optimistic for a nice day so we could sit outside, but unfortunately it was not to be.  We had a long, cold winter and spring seems to want to linger on this year.  And so we were seated indoor which was fine.

We ordered our drinks and a bowl of mussels arrabiatta to start.  The cocktails were good except that the bartender felt it was ok to substitute a wedge of lemon for lime in my friend’s drink and couldn’t understand why it made a difference.  Really?  She changed it upon our insistence.  We were all quite hungry after a long day of work, and so when our mussels arrived, we dug in.  The mussels themselves were just ok and quite small with too many shells empty, but the arrabiatta sauce was delicious with just the right amount of heat.  We would have been happy with a bowl of sauce and bread and would rather have skipped the mussels. If I were the chef, I would take the mussels off the menu rather than serve sub-par quality ones to my guests.

For our meal, we all ordered the special entrée which was a fillet of sea bream described as served on a bed of coconut jasmine rice with a curried carrot puree and spring vegetables.  When I order the special in a restaurant, I expect it to be a standout dish.  After all, the chef has decided to present it more prominently than the usual menu which implies that this is something that he/she paid extra attention to developing for that evening.  I couldn’t have been more disappointed.  The puree was more like a soup and essentially covered everything in the bowl including half of the fish.  The taste of curry powder overpowered the “soup” and essentially everything else in the bowl, the rice was buried underneath and the vegetables had gone to mush.  The fish itself was good and fresh but under-seasoned.

Overall, we had a good time, but mostly just because we were in good company. While the food wasn’t awful, it certainly wasn’t something I would go back for.  But it got me wondering if I would have noticed the flaws in the food had it been a beautiful day and we’d been seated outside with a view of the Hudson.  I’m really not sure of the answer to that. So many factors play into a successful dining experience, but for me food is the one that is most important.  I’ll have to think about this some more the next time I go to a restaurant with a great ambiance and see if I can evaluate the food independently.

Dim Sum, Pizza & a Party Cure the Winter Blues

If you live in the Northeast, you know how difficult this winter has been.  Last winter was pretty cold and snowy too so I think having two in a row has proved particularly trying for us.  For me, working from home adds to the doldrums that have set in.  But I am not one to complain (usually) and generally try to find something positive. 

I have been religious about going to the gym every morning because it gets me out of the house at least once.  I have been getting together with friends whenever possible, skiing whenever feasible, and making weekend plans to avoid being cooped up in the house too much.  It’s really not that hard with all the friends and family I have nearby.  This past weekend I made plans with some friends from Lancaster, PA to take a Dim Sum cooking class in Brooklyn and then just spend the day in the city doing whatever came to mind.  I also had a party in the evening that I was invited to and so planned to stay overnight for ease.

I started my day on an early morning train into Penn Station and the train ride alone invigorated me despite the cold temperature outside.  I switched to the subway and took the E train to my hotel to check in and collect my friends.  After a quick breakfast, we headed to the Brooklyn Brainery in Prospect Heights for our Dim Sum class.  It’s located in a neat little neighborhood of Brooklyn near Grand Army Plaza among old brownstones and local businesses.  

The Brainery is a store front that looks like a classroom inside with tables and chairs and a kitchen at the back.  There were about 15 students on this particular morning and our instructor was Diana Kuan, author of “The Chinese Takeout Cookbook”.  We learned much and had fun making Steamed Pork Buns filled with rich roasted pork belly, Shumai filled with ground port and shrimp, and Chinese Broccoli in Oyster Sauce.  We learned about the different sauces and ingredients used in Chinese cooking as well as when to use each one.  I finally know the difference between regular and dark soy sauce.  The best part of course, was that we got to eat what we cooked and it was delicious.

My first Shumai
Our group’s Shumai in the Steamer
Chinese Broccoli w/ Oyster Sauce
Pork Buns ready to steam










After class was over, I had planned to get together with friends who live in the area.  If you’re a regular reader, you know that I know people everywhere I go.  So we walked across the farmer’s market in Grand Army Plaza and made our way to their house.  The next two hours were spent sharing stories over some awesome cheese and a great bottle of Burgundy at the kitchen counter, at which point we decided it was time for some pizza and so we all headed off to Franny’s on Flatbush Ave.


Pork Cheek & Beef Tongue on Toast
Franny’s makes the kind of pizza you find in Italy; not the greasy, cheesy, thick crust pies you find on every street corner in New York City (my friend D calls those NY pizza).  Luckily real pizza can be found in more places today than ever before at restaurants like Roberta’s, Pizza Fresca, Motorino, and others, but Franny’s is one of my favorites.  We ordered a bottle of Conti, two pizzas, some salumi and a pork cheek & beef tongue terrine as suggested by D.  Everything was delicious but that terrine, which was served warm, was exceptionally good and if you ever find yourself at Franny’s it is a must order.  We ended our meal with a single cannoli because they looked too good not to at least try one and it did not disappoint. Our stomachs filled and satisfied, we headed back towards our hotel in Manhattan.

Holy Cannoli

We ended the evening at a friend’s 40th birthday party in the presidential suite of a hotel in the Meatpacking District.  Initially intending to only stop in for a little bit, we ended up having a lot of fun and staying till our feet got tired.


Presidential Suite at Dream Downtown

On my train ride home the next morning, I felt a twinge of guilt for shirking my responsibilities at home, but it was gone as quickly as it came because I knew I had made the right decision to escape for just one day to go out and have a little fun during this long winter season.  It would carry me till the thawing of Spring.

Chicken Soup

With very little time during the week after a long day of work, I’ve been trying to prep or cook my weekday meals on Sundays.  The crazy weather we’ve been having here in the Northeast just begged for me to make soup yesterday.  So I went through my pantry and refrigerator to figure out what kind of soup was in my near future.  And here is what I made based on what I had on hand :

Ingredients


2 Cups chicken meat pieces (I used leftover thighs that I had roasted with lemon and garlic)
2 Cups chicken broth (I used the canned variety)
1 large onion chopped finely
5 ribs of celery – peeled and chopped finely
2 large carrot – peeled and chopped into small chunks
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 Tbsp chopped fresh dill
8 – 10 cloves roasted garlic (I used what was in the roasted chicken) – mashed to a paste
1.5 cups chick peas (I had dried, soaked chick peas that I had previously steamed.  You may use canned but the dried ones hold up better)
Salt & Pepper to taste

In a stockpot, heat 3 tbsp olive oil on medium heat.  Once hot, add the onion, celery and carrot and saute until onion is soft and translucent.  Add the dry herbs, salt, pepper and roasted garlic and stir to combine.  Leave on heat for 1 to 2 minutes.  Add chicken, chick peas and heat through.  Add broth and bring to a boil.  Once it starts to boil, add the dill and turn heat to simmer.  Simmer for about 20 – 30 minutes.  Add seasoning as needed after tasting.  Serve with crusty bread.  

Note : This soup can be varied in many ways. You may use chunks of chicken breast, add barley or cannelini beans instead of chick peas or use different herbs.  I found the roasted garlic really gave this soup an amazing rich flavor but if you don’t have it and don’t have time to roast some, I would add some a few cloves of chopped fresh garlic.

I also made Massaman style beef stew in the crock pot which I will post the recipe for after I modify it a bit.  As my son said upon tasting – “It’s missing something”

Stay warm and safe out there!!

1 … 10 11 12 … 27
Blog at WordPress.com.