It’s been awhile since I’ve made anything ‘purely’ Indian, but the best tip I got (and have used) for the rice (basmati) is to THOROUGHLY wash it until the rinsing water runs clear.
PS: Cardamom pods keep like FOREVER when properly sealed and in the fridge. That’s how I used up my two cup supply over several years with no discernable loss in potency.
Please note that the only (current) use I have for mayo is for tuna fish sandwiches… that with finely chopped celery, onion, and carrots (mirepoix), dried dill weed, a little lemon juice, some olive oil (the good stuff; see below), garlic powder, and ground black pepper. My modest variation on a Dean & Deluca recipe.
As far as the olive oil goes, the greener the better; we keep bottles of it around. And I don’t use tuna canned in olive oil since I’d bet the house that they use the cheapest crud available (and possibly near rancid to boot). I figure it’s impossible to drain/separate canned olive oil from the tuna, so I only buy tuna packed in water; very easy to drain and squeeze out.
It’s a common ‘hack’, actually. Works OK from a toasted bread point of view, but doesn’t taste the same as frying in butter. (Half butter, half olive oil is a good alternative.)
But I’ll never use Hellmann’s again, for two reasons:
They changed their recipe, but insist that they haven’t (not as good, plus the lying);
Even after they sued Just Mayo because they claim the word “mayonnaise” is defined as being made with eggs, they did something else, which seems to be related to a false claim of contaminants in a batch, requiring a recall that wasn’t actually needed, to undermine Just Mayo’s positive trajectory in the marketplace so that now it’s not possible to find it anywhere.
The weird thing is, Just Mayo tastes like Hellmann’s used to.
If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know. Mayo is a crucial component in deviled eggs and egg salad, and homemade mayo just doesn’t work for those.
Are you sure it shows up as actually in stock? I’ve even gone to a few Walmarts to check (that’s how desperate I am!) and there were never any. On Amazon, they’re “out of stock” except for the industrial size, which is probably nearing its expiration date at this point. It’s also supposed to be at Target, but nope. And Whole Foods…one of their smallest stores in Chicago actually had the new Just Egg product available, but not the mayo.
As am I! This is not easy. This takes a couple hours to make, and much of that time is active.
Here’s how I did it:
Cook three onions in vegetable oil and in spice blend, until onions turn translucent. I used cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, and cardamom pods, all fresh ground.
While onions are cooking, boil about a pound and a half of rice in one pot and four otatoes in the other. Be sure to slightly undercook the rice. After potatoes are boiled, cut them into eighths and deep fry them in vegetable oil until golden brown.
When onions turn translucent, add four pounds of bone in chicken parts and brown on both sides.
Add second spice blend of cumin, turmeric, paprika, one clove garlic, and about one cubic centimeter of ginger. Also add three jalapeno peppers.
As the spice rises, add a cup of yogurt. Let this mixture cook for a half an hour.
Get a big pot. No, a bigger one. SMDH, the biggest one you have. Seriously? Anyway, add half the rice to the bottom of the pot, then the chicken mixture, then the potatoes and three onions, then a cup of tomato juice and another cup of yogurt, and then more rice. Cover and cook for another half an hour.
Some hints:
Yes, make sure the rice is not cooked all the way through.
That must be the boiled and fried potatoes added to the mix.
Also don’t wear light colored clothing when you’re cooking this or any other Indian dish, if you care about your clothes at all.
If you mean online… no, I didn’t check for stock status then. I didn’t intend on ordering any. Anyway, this time I put one in my ‘cart’… and a ‘get in-stock’ flag popped up. I guess that says it all.
My household does WW (formerly known as Weight Watchers) and their current plan is more or less paleo-based: discouraging carbs and emphasizing fruit, veggies, and lean meats. So I use a lot of cauliflower rice and suchlike. Oven fries are hit or miss, so here’s a zero-WW-points version: banana fries!
• Buy the greenest, hardest, unripest bananas you can find. Not plantains.
• Peel and slice into narrow sticks.
• Season and roast until browned and crispy.
Since they’re unripe they’ll be more starchy than banana-y.
We have tacos quite a bit in my house, and one favorite are chorizo con papas, aka ‘breakfast tacos’. I got the recipe from Rick Bayless! It’s easy.
• Dice and brown an onion with a little garlic.
• Meanwhile, dice two or three boiling potatoes (the kind with the waxy skin), cover with plastic wrap with a few holes punched in it, and microwave for about 2 minutes to soften them.
• Brown chorizo with the onions. I honestly prefer the “Soyrizo” from Trader Joes – tastes just as good but has way less fat to deal with and is about two bucks.
• Drain and add the diced potatoes and cook until everything’s a little crispy on the edges.
• Eat in tacos with cilantro and a squeeze of lime. For the full ‘breakfast taco’ experience I highly recommend topping with a fried egg.
Chef John is a treasure, even if his food is a little bit unhealthy. I know he sops up the excess bacon grease with a paper towel, but it seems like a lot of bacon grease remains. And I think he must own stock in the cayenne market.
And they do, so I’ll try it. Won’t work for my vegan daughter, but she’s my youngest and will move out soon, so I can go back to my evil vegetarian ways!
Sunday night means plenty of time to cook, so tonight it’s banana chilies stuffed with pork and prawns and lots of coriander, black pepper and garlic (or for our household vegetarians, mushroom, rice, spring onions et al), cooked in a Thai red curry with lots of basil and lime juice to finish. Based on a recipe in Charmaine Solomon’s Thai cookbook, adapted over the last thirty years.
