Recipes
Chole
We loved Chetna Makan on "Great British Bake Off" and her first cookbook, The Cardamom Trail was full of many flavorful and stunningly photographed dishes. For Chai, Chaat & Chutney: a street food tour through India, she returned home to India and the street food that she grew up on. The book has four chapters that are organized by cities that make up the four corners of India - Chennai, Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), Mumbai and Delhi. The fifth chapter? All masala and chutney recipes. Some recipes will look or sound familiar, others will not...but the photos and descriptions of the food will make you want to eat (or drink!) all of them. If you love Indian food or any form of street food, this is the cookbook for you! This recipe is a wonderful example how curries in the North of India use lots of fragrant and aromatic spices to make this mouth-watering vegetarian curry made with chickpeas.From the author: "One of the ultimate curries of the North, this chickpea curry is often paired with Bhatura, a deep-fried flatbread sold piping hot originally on the streets of Delhi but, now, all over the country. This combination should be on everyone’s must-try list when visiting India. You can keep it light by eating this curry with rice or chapatti, if preferred."
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Down South Goat Biryani
From My Two Souths and Chef Asha Gomez, we get this stunning recipe for Down South Goat Biryani. With her love of Deep-South cooking as well as her southern Indian roots, this recipe is sure to please all of those experimenting with biryani for the first or the tenth time. Don't worry if you can't find goat - Chef Asha says it's just as delicious with beef or chicken. If you're looking for a stand-out dish for fall entertaining, this dish is for you. From the author: "Biryani is a celebration dish. Weddings, birthdays, festivals, and other times of good cheer are the usual occasions when this iconic dish of rice with meat or vegetables graces our table, with almost the entire spice cabinet having been invited into the cooking vessel. Across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Malaysia, countless renditions of this festive dinner abound, as do the many names by which it is known. I think the following recipe is my favorite version to make at home, though it is wonderful made with beef chuck roast or chicken thighs. I love the tender goat layered between saffron-spiced rice and baked, then dressed with roasted shallots, cashews, raisins, and a confetti of cilantro. As I fluff the flavored rice, I always remove the star anise, cardamom pods, cinnamon sticks, cloves, and bay leaves - counting the fifteen spice hulls as I go - and set them aside to use as a garnish. Alternatively, you can tie all the spices except the saffron and cumin seeds in a piece of muslin to make a bouquet garni, which makes a quick job of removing the spice hulls. Or, if no muslin is available, but them in a tea ball and hang the ball over the side of the pot."
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Black Cardamom Pastries
Eastern European cuisine doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should Enter Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine and Eastern Europe, by Olia Hercules! We always love to see an under-appreciated or rarely used spice get some time in the spotlight, as is the case in this recipe for Ukranian Verhuny fried pastries with Black Cardamom. This unique spice has the sharp camphor of green cardamom along side a musty, earthy flavor that complements these pastries exquisitely. A fantastic recipe! From the Author: "These are Ukrainian “angel wing” pastry crisps. Originally, they used to be fried in lard (think of Portuguese pastel de nata lard pastry). I add some ground black cardamom seeds to the sugar, but feel free to use vanilla sugar instead. "
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Sultry Spiced Short Ribs
Slow cooked short ribs are the perfect vehicle for spices, and these spiced short ribs have a secret ingredient. A milder cousin of the better known variety, Black Cardamom Pod has a deep smoky, earthy flavor profile. It pairs perfectly with the sweetness of Star Anise, and the piquant flavors of cinnamon and peppercorns to give these short ribs a sultry and mysterious flavor.
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