Recipes
Tadka Carrot and Cauliflower Salad
Sometimes we crave something hearty and filling, yet light enough to be healthy. This flavorful salad is able to achieve both! Tadka is a South Asian technique, also known as tempering, that uses hot oil or ghee to extract the essential oils out of spices. The result is a rich, flavorful, and aromatic oil — perfect to use as a dressing. For ours we use a base of Brown Mustard Seed, Yellow Mustard Seed, Cumin Seed, Turmeric, India Red Chile Flake and Asafoetida. These spices get lightly sautéed in oil, then a squeeze of lime juice and salt is added. The sauce melds together to coat the salad beautifully. The crunch from the mustard seeds and the umami from the asafoetida really makes this recipe stand out. Making this salad is quick, easy, and the ingredients are completely versatile. Beets, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale — any shreddable veggie would be delicious in this salad!Asafoetida is a great spice to use, especially if following a low-FODMAP diet. The flavor is nearly identical to that of onion and garlic, but it actually comes from the dried giant fennel resin. There is truly no spice like it!
Learn more
Sticky Tamarind Salmon
Here's a stunning, fresh new recipe for your next side of salmon. The sticky tamarind glaze is layered with flavor - toasted cumin for nuttiness and Limón-Chile for a touch of heat. This glaze comes together quickly and gets brushed on the salmon both before and after cooking. The fish is started on the stovetop and finished in the oven to create the perfect texture. Spoon a generous measure of glaze over the top to finish the salmon with cilantro and orange zest. Accompany this salmon with rice or turn it into a sweet and sour fish taco. There's a fusion of flavors on this platter that will become a favorite.
Learn more
Tostada Salads with Limón-Chile
Here's a great way to eat healthy and enjoy every bite, colorful tostada salad toppers turbocharged with Limón-Chile! Tostadas are a fried corn tortilla kept flat for easy loading of ingredients and we made two different salads to top this crunchy treat. Our first one was a shrimp salad, tossed in a creamy avocado and tomatillo dressing. To make the flavors sing, we garnished generously with Limón-Chile seasoning to add warm heat and tart 'pops' of flavor. For the second tostada, we kept it vegan with roasted Delicata squash. The cooked squash adds sweetness that contrasts with all of the textures in the raw vegetable medley. We lightly tossed the salad in olive oil and added our Limón-Chile, giving it a nice tang from the lime salt and sunny Marash chiles.Create your own tostada bar at your next neighborhood cookout! The sky's the limit with these crunchy canvases.
Learn more
Pasilla Oaxaca Black Bean Dip
We know it's wrong to have a favorite child, but Pasilla Oaxaca reigns as our favorite chile. Don't tell the others. They are great in their own ways, but Pasilla Oaxaca has it all. Piquant and smoky, without being too much of either, these chiles can be used in soups and stews, sauces and more. If you've never used them, this dip is a fantastic introduction. Pasilla Oaxaca chiles are dried smoked chilaca peppers. They have more heat than their ancho pepper siblings, but less than chipotle, they are smoky and have a great depth of flavor. Just pop one of these in while the beans are cooking, then blend it all up for this creamy dip. Tasty hot or cold, this dip is delicious.
Learn more
Achiote Paste
Fun alert! Spices offer so many ways to play with flavor and texture, and making achiote paste is a great one. Made with a combination of annatto seeds, spices and a little bit of liquid to bind it together, the paste can be used in a variety of rubs, marinades and sauces. Annatto seeds are the star and they provide an earthy flavor and deep red color to your food. The seeds are very hard and most easily ground in a high speed blender or electric spice grinder. Alternatively, you can put some elbow grease behind your mortar & pestle or molcajete to get the job done. Use the paste made fresh, keep it in the fridge or freeze in ice cube shapes so you'll always have some of this fantastic flavor on hand. The paste is traditionally formed into a brick for easy use.
Learn more
Aji Pimento Cheese Crackers
These little crackers combine a range of delightful chile flavors into every bite and will add a unique twist to your snacking or appetizer lineup. The mild pimento cheese is complimented with Aji mirasol chile peppers. They are mild and fruity with hints of tamarind and tomato. The pickled jalapeño on top adds a kick- but not too much. Orange zest brings the flavors together nicely.
Learn more
Arabic Chicken Kabsa
Kabsa is thought of as the national dish of many Arab states. Consisting of rice, meat, spices and often vegetables, all the ingredients in Kabsa are traditionally cooked in a single pot. The protein often varies by region, and can include beef, goat, or even camel. Chicken is among the most common, though, and it's what we've stuck to here. We'll save the camel for next time.The spices are the star of the show in these Middle Eastern dishes, which use varied seasonings to create wide arrays of amazing flavor. Black lemon, or loomi, makes this simple chicken and rice version a standout. We toast the spices and pan seared chicken thighs to enrich the broth for the rice. The resulting Kabsa has many layers of flavor and makes an amazing one-pot dinner for a large group or family!
Learn more
Garam Masala Meatballs with Mango Chutney
These meatballs are sweet, spicy, fruity and tangy. We seasoned our meatballs with an all purpose blend, Indian Garam Masala. For the chutney, we used some over-ripened mangoes and chopped dried tart cherries, although dried cranberries would be delicious, too. Making it the perfect sauce adding warmth and bite from nigella seeds and cayenne. Chutney has a lot of uses and is normally used to add sweet and sour tang to Indian dishes. Next we strewed the meatballs in the chutney. After 45 minutes of simmering these meatballs melt in your mouth! We used beef here, but lamb would be delicious, too! Add a toothpick to them for an easy appetizer or serve over basmati rice.
Learn more
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."
Learn more
