Curried Crab with Coconut and Chili

So good that Emeli wore it!

The boys digging in like savages!

 Greg and I were watching the "Food Network" and Chef Curtis Stone came on to discuss the best dish he has ever made.  It looked so yummy and easy that we decided to give it a go!  We even went so far as to cover our table with a big sheet of plywood and put kraft paper on top of that for the shells!  Then we invited our friends Mike and Emeli over and feasted!!!!  It is delicious and I think this sauce would be excellent with fish, shellfish, chicken, veggies or even beef!!!!  DO NOT skimp on toasting and grinding the whole spices ~ the flavour that is produced is what makes this dish!!!!

CURRIED CRAB WITH COCONUT & CHILI

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lbs live crab (we used blue crab)

1/4 cup whole coriander seeds

1 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp whole black peppercorns

Sea salt, to taste

2/3 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup desiccated unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

5 garlic cloves

1 white onion, chopped

1 large green chile, chopped roughly

1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive)

1 medium ripe tomato, diced

10 fresh curry leaves (didn't have this so I used 2 tbsp hot curry powder)

2 tsp turmeric

1 tbsp chili powder

1 can of unsweetened coconut milk

• Place the crab in the freezer for 2 hours, or until it stops moving (this is really a humane way of killing them because they just go to sleep ~ especially if you are squeamish about killing them!  Otherwise buy frozen!!)  Remove the legs and crack them with a rolling pin.  Remove the top fo the shell and clean out the insides with your fingers.  Chop the crab and top shells in half.
• Heat a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and peppercorns.  Stir constantly until they become fragrant and toasted, approx 3 to 4 minutes.  Cool completely.
• To make the paste, grind the toasted seeds with a pinch of salt using a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder.  Transfer this dry mixture to a food processor and add the vinegar, coconut flakes, ginger, garlic, chile and onions.  Blend to form a paste.  
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over low heat.  Add the paste and saute until fragrant and some of the juices evaporate, approx. 5 to 10 minutes.  Add the tomato, curry leaves, turmeric, chili powder, and a pinch of salt and cook until the tomato are tender and melting into the sauce, approx 5 mins.  Add the crab and 1/2 cup water, increase the heat to medium and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the crab pieces are cooked through, approx 10 mins.  Mix in the coconut milk and simmer for 2 to 3 mins to allow flavours to blend.  DO NOT boil the coconut milk as it will split.
• Place the crab either directly on your kraft paper or on a big platter and dig in!!!

      

    

Saag Paneer (Indian Spinach with Homemade Cheese)

Saag...

Paneer...

 This is a classic Northern Indian dish that consists of spinach and fresh, unripened cheese made by curdling whole milk to separate the curds from the whey.  You can find it in many stores,
but as with most things, I find homemade best!

SAAG PANEER

Ingredients:

2 bunches spinach, trimmed

2 tbsp vegetable (or coconut) oil

3/4 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp finely grated fresh gingerroot

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro (AKA coriander)

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground coriander

Pinch cinnamon

3 plum tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped

1/3 cup Balkan-style yogurt

2 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp garam masala

8 oz paneer, cubed

Saag Paneer!!!

• In a large pot of salted boiling water, blanch spinach until just wilted; drain.  Chill under cold water and drain again.  In a food processor, puree spinach with 1/4 cup water and set aside.
• In a large deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat;  cook cumin seeds until slightly darkened (approx. 10 seconds).  Add onion and butter; saute until onion is golden (approx. 8 minutes).  
• Reduce heat to medium; stir in garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute.  Stir in fresh cilantro, cayenne, turmeric, ground coriander, salt and cinnamon.  Saute, stirring constantly, for 30 seconds before adding tomatoes.  Stir until tomatoes break down (approx. 3 minutes).
• Stir in pureed spinach; cover and cook, stirring occasionally and adding 1 to 2 tbsp water if mixture is getting too dry, until steaming hot (approx. 3 mins).
• Stir in yogurt, lemon juice and garam masala; bring to a simmer.  Reduce heat to low and add paneer.  Cover and cook until heated through (approx. 2 minutes)
• Serve and ENJOY!

PANEER RECIPE:

12 cups homogenized milk

1 cup lemon juice

1/4 tsp salt

• In a large saucepan, bring milk to a boil; remove from heat.  Add lemon juice; stir until milk curdles and separates into spongy white chunks (curds) and greenish milky water (whey).  Stir in salt.
• Pour into a double cheesecloth-lined stainer set over bowl.  Let stand until most of the liquid has drained off.  Fold cheesecloth over top; weigh down with a plate and full 28oz can.  Refrigerate for 8 hrs or up to 24 hrs.
• Remove cheesecloth and use!

*I substituted goat's milk yogurt - it is thicker and my family who is lactose intolerant can eat it!  I also omitted the butter and used coconut milk for the saag recipe...the paneer recipe I followed to a "T".

Fruity Beef Curry

As we have a freezer full of "Cooper's Farm's" hormone and antibiotic free, pasture raised, Angus-grade beef, and I was wishing I was somewhere far warmer than home, I created this sweet and succulent curry which fit the bill perfectly!

FRUITY BEEF CURRY

Ingredients

2 tsp EVOO

1 lb lean ground beef

1 tsp sea salt

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coarsely grated fresh gingerroot (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)

1 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

1 bay leaf

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp dried crushed red chilis

3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped

2 McIntosh apples, peeled, cored and chopped

Juice and grated peel of 1 medium lemon

1/2 cup sultana raisins.

2 medium bananas, cut into 1" pieces

1 cup chopped, ripe mango

2 tbsp liquid honey

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add ground beef and salt and saute until beef is no longer pink.  Add next 8 ingredients.  Stir together and cook for approx. 5 mins, stirring often until onion is soft.
• Add next 4 ingredients, stir and cook covered for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until apple just begins to soften.
• Add banana, mango and honey.  Stir, cook covered for 1 to 2 minutes, or until heated through and fruit is just slightly softened.  Remove and discard bay leaf.
• Serve over basmati rice and ENJOY! 

Toasted Spiced Chickpeas

We have all been suffering with colds and flu so I decided it was high time for a spicy meal (trouble was, I really didn't feel like cooking!)  So I decided the pulses are quick and easy to cook, and filling ~ perfect!
My friend Andrea had given me a book last year entitled "Indian Food Made Easy" by Anjum Anand and it is fabulous!!  I got this recipe from her book and ALL of us thoroughly enjoyed them...in fact we had seconds!

TOASTED SPICED CHICKPEAS

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 - 3/4 (depending on your taste!) tsp of red chili powder

1 1/4 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp garam masala

400g can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained

Salt to taste

2 tbsp boiled water

Handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped

• Heat the oil in a large skillet.  Add the cumin seeds and fry for about 30 to 40 seconds, or until they give off their aroma and start to darken.
• Add the remaining spices and salt and cook for 10 seconds.  Add the chickpeas and stir to coat well in the spices.  Saute for 2 minutes, then add the water and coriander leaves.  Cook for a further minute and serve!

*I didn't have the fresh coriander leaves, but the chickpeas were delicious without it still!*

Curry Pickled Cauliflower

In our CSA basket we received cauliflower for several weeks and when I looked in my fridge, I noticed that I had 1 large head and 2 smaller ones waiting to be used. Since I wasn't intending to use them this week, I decided to preserve them. In my "Complete Book of Pickling" by Jennifer MacKenzie, I found this recipe which is absolutely delicious! I forsee me using this pickled cauliflower heated up in boiled potatoes for a quick aloo gobi, or in muffaletta sandwiches, on an antipasto tray or in couscous, it is that versatile!

CURRY PICKLED CAULIFLOWER

Ingredients

2 large heads of cauliflower (about 5lbs)

6 cloves garlic, halved

1 tbsp finely chopped gingerroot

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tbsp pickling or canning salt

2 tsp curry powder

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/8 tsp ground turmeric

5 cups white vinegar

2 1/4 cups water

• Prepare canner, jars and lids as usual.
• Trim off all leaves from heads of cauliflower. Cut cauliflower into 1 1/2" florets, trimming off thick stems. You should have about 18 cups. Set aside.
• In a large pot, combine garlic, ginger, sugar, salt, curry powder, cumin seeds, turmeric, white vinegar and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often until sugar and salt is dissolved. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes until mixture is flavourful. Increase heat to medium-high. Add cauliflower and return to a boil, pressing occasionally to immerse cauliflower in liquid as it softens. Remove from heat.
• Using a slotted spoon, pack cauliflower into hot jars leaving 1" headspace, and adding 2 pieces of garlic per jar. Pour in hot pickling liquid, leaving 1/2" headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace as necessary by adding hot pickling liquid.
• Wipe jar rims and add hot lid disc on jar. Screw band down until fingertip tight.
• Place jars in canner and return to a boil. Process for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, remove canner lid and let jars stand in water for 5 minutes. Transfer jars to a towel-lined surface and let stand for 24 hours. Check lids and reprocess any jars that aren't sealed.

*If you purchase your cauliflower from a farm that doesn't use pesticides, like I do, make sure that you prepare a salt water bath in the sink to soak the cauliflower and rid it of any creepy-crawlies! 3/4 cup of kosher salt to 16 cups of cold water. Stir the salt into the water and then immerse the cauliflower florets for approx. 30 minutes. Drain and rinse the cauliflower prior to adding to the recipe.