Tandoori Chicken Sandwiches

Brahaman Chicken from India
You don't have to use this variety
in these delicious sandwiches!

This is more Indian-adjacent than truly Indian but it is absolutely delicious and has familiar Indian flavors. 

It is a Bon Appetit recipe that we came across in one of my daughter's cookbooks. It delivers on so many levels, first of which is extreme flavor. It's easy and can be made ahead, so is perfect for the upcoming football season when the afternoon game means you're busy until dinnertime. (We've got a lot of Chiefs and Cowboys games to watch after all!)

Tandoori Chicken Sandwiches

Ingredients

Sandwiches
6 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
12 slices sourdough bread

Indian mayonnaise
1 cup packed fresh mint leaves
1 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño chili, seeded, minced
3 tablespoons chopped onion
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
1/2 cup mayonnaise

For Sandwiches:
Step 1
Arrange boneless chicken breasts in single layer in large glass baking dish. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice: season with salt. Mix plain yogurt, chopped fresh ginger, chopped garlic, ground cumin, ground coriander, cayenne pepper and turmeric in medium bowl. Pour yogurt marinade over chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cover chicken and refrigerate 3 to 8 hours.

Step 2
Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat) or preheat broiler. Remove chicken breasts from marinade (do not wipe clean). Grill or broil chicken until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Cool slightly. (Chicken can be prepared up to 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature.)

Step 3
Lightly toast (or grill) sourdough bread. Spread 1 side of each piece of bread generously with Indian Spiced Mayonnaise. Slice chicken breasts diagonally. Place slices of 1 breast atop each of 6 sourdough bread slices. Top with remaining bread slices. Cut chicken sandwiches in half. Serve sandwiches warm or at room temperature.

For Mayonnaise:
Step 4
Combine 1 cup mint leaves, 1 cup cilantro leaves, minced jalapeño chili and chopped onion in work bowl of processor. Process until very finely chopped. Mix in cider vinegar. Add mayonnaise and process just until combined. Season mayonnaise to taste with salt and pepper. (Mayonnaise can be prepared 3 days ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate.) Makes about 1 scant cup.

Curried Peanut Sauce / Dip

Mom gave me a hand-written note with this sauce on it. I was surprised when I saw it was from Bon Appetit which had it down only as a dip. We took our cue from the sauce and, thinned with some chicken broth, it made a super-duper tasty sauce for simmering your choice of meat and vegetables to serve over rice.

So easy!


Curried Peanut Sauce / Dip

Step 1
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 tablespoons red curry paste (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium. Add curry paste and cook, stirring frequently, until paste begins to stick to bottom of saucepan and is very fragrant, 2–3 minutes.

Step 2
1 14.5-oz. can coconut milk

Whisk in coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Continue to cook, whisking occasionally, until mixture turns darker in color and is slightly reduced, about 3 minutes.

Step 3
1/2  cup creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon honey
Salt

Remove saucepan from heat and whisk in peanut butter, vinegar, fish sauce, and honey. Season to taste with salt. Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight portable container and chill.

As a sauce
Add some chicken broth to thin the sauce and simmer meat and vegetables in it.

As a dip
Season to taste with salt; it should be well seasoned since the things you are dipping in it may not be (i.e., boiled eggs, cukes, etc.). Let cool to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight portable container and chill.

Ginger-Turmeric Potatoes and Green Beans (Aloo Faliyan)

This is easy and absolutely delicious either at room temperature or hot. It does take a bit of chopping, but is totally worth it. From Milk Street: Tuesday Nights by Christopher Kimball.

GINGER-TURMERIC POTATOES AND GREEN BEANS
Serves 6
Start to Finish: 45 minutes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons yellow or brown mustard seeds
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 ounces small Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (don't use russet or starchy potatoes - they'll break down)
12 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/3 cup cashews, toasted and roughly chopped
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 to 1 serrano, minced (optional)

In a large skillet over medium, heat oil until shimmering. Add shallot, ginger, mustard and cumin seeds, and pepper flakes. Cook, stirring frequently, until shallot has softened and is just beginning to brown, abut 2 minutes.

Stir in turmeric, potatoes, green beans, salt and water. Then cover and cook until potatoes are just barely tender, bout 8 minutes. Uncover pan. If all of water has cooked off, add 1 to 2 tablespoons, then continue to cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender and pan is dry, another 2 to 5 minutes.

Off heat, stir in lemon juice. Season to taste with salt if needed. Fold in tomatoes, cashews, cilantro and optional serrano.

Bollywood Kitchen

Bollywood Kitchen

Home-Cooked Indian Meals Paired with Unforgettable Bollywood Films

You’re invited to a party where the food and entertainment are both in Technicolor. It’s “dinner and a movie” in this vibrant, beautifully photographed tour of Indian food and films.

Indian cuisine and Indian cinema share much in common – bold colors and flavors with plenty of drama. But to the uninitiated, they can seem dizzying. Let Sri Rao be your guide. As one of the only Americans working in Bollywood, Sri is an expert on Indian musical films, and as an avid cook, he’s taken his mom’s authentic, home-cooked recipes and adapted them for the modern, American kitchen.

Sri has paired each meal with one of his favorite Bollywood movies. Sri will introduce each film to you, explaining why you’ll love it, and letting you in on some juicy morsels from behind the scenes.

This is a quick read and I'm happy to say it is absolutely solid on the movies. I've seen a lot of the author's selections and they are a good representation of new and old Bollywood movies that are very accessible. He also has three supplemental movie recommendations for each major selection so that if you like a film you can explore similar ones. Those also were right on the money. His descriptions are engaging and I liked the bits of extra information he scattered throughout the book.

The recipes are a good blend of his mother's Indian home cooking, adapted for the American kitchen including Indian takes on American food, such as the Bollywood Burger and seasoned sweet potato fries. Sri grew up in America and he understands how to keep recipes authentic but not time-consuming.  I also like the fact that each movie is matched with a full meal, so you don't have to wonder what side dishes to come up with.

I made the Keema and the Chicken Rollups (street food that is like Indian chicken fajitas). Both were very good, though much hotter than I like. I'd advise cutting the cayenne in half if, like me, you don't like it hot.

The way the recipes were adapted were definitely easy although the author seems to have too generous a sense of portion size. For example, the Keema was supposed to serve 4-6 using 2 pounds of hamburger. Oy veh! We halved it and it served the three of us with leftovers for 2. So keep a judicious eye on his proportions compared to how many you want to serve.

Recommended for those wanting to dabble in Indian food and movies!

Quick, Mildly Spiced Beef

This is from Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries II. It is a lot like a korma-style mild curry from an Indian restaurant.

I don't know if I'd call it "quick" since that tends to mean 20 minutes, but it was straight-forward and easy and probably took me about 45 minutes. This has a lot of sauce and is wonderful with rice.

Quick, Mildly Spiced Beef

oil
500 g cubed chuck steak (I used hanger steak)
2 large onions, thinly sliced (I think English onions are smaller than ours. I used one large onion and it was plenty.)
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp garam masala (or whatever curry powder you have around)
500 ml veg or beef stock (I used chicken stock)
1 tbsp grain mustard
200 ml double cream (a.k.a. heavy cream)
salt and pepper

Warm the oil in a heavy shallow casserole. Season the beef with salt and pepper, then brown on all sides in the toil, turning only occasionally. remove from the pan with a draining spoon.

Meanwhile halve, peel and thinly slice the onions, and garlic. Add the onions and garlic to the pan, letting them soften a little but not brown beyond pale honey color. Stir in the ground cumin, coriander, and garam masala, then continue cooking for five minutes before returning the meat and any juices to the pabn. Pour in the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes, till the liquid has reduced by half.

Stir in the mustard, pour in the cram and bring back to the boil. check the seasoning before serving

Pistachio and Yogurt Chicken Curry

Another home run from Made in India by Meera Sodha. This is a rich, spice-filled, flavorful chicken curry which fills the house with a tempting aroma. I can't stress how much we all loved this.

Pistachio and Yogurt Chicken Curry

Makes 6 servings
Prep time: 10 minutes. Cook time: 50 minutes.

1-1/4 cups unsalted shelled pistachios (divided)
2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, sliced into fine rings
2 medium whole canned or fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes
1 tablespoon coriander seeds, crushed
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1-3/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 cup chicken stock, warmed
4 tablespoons plain whole-milk Greek yogurt (plus extra to serve)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Hot cooked rice


In a food processor, pulse 1 cup pistachios to a fine powder; remove and set aside. Next, make a paste of the ginger and garlic in food processor or using a mortar and pestle.

In a large skillet (for which you have a lid), heat oil over medium heat and then add the onions. Sauté onions until caramelized, around 20 minutes, being careful not to burn. Add garlic-ginger paste and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Add tomatoes. Place a lid over skillet and let tomatoes cook 5 minutes, until starting to break down. Add black pepper, garam masala, chile flakes, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon and salt. Stir, cooking 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Add chicken to pan.

Cook chicken 2 minutes per side or until seared on both sides, then add ground pistachios. Stir and cook 2 minutes, then pour in warmed chicken stock. Gently stir in yogurt. Place lid over skillet and simmer about 15 minutes or until chicken reaches 160°. Taste and adjust salt or chile as desired. Stir in a small amount of water if sauce becomes too thick. Squeeze lemon over curry just before serving.

Serve over rice topped with a dollop of yogurt, remaining pistachios and additional lemon juice, if desired.

Green Soup (Hara Shorva)

This is from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking. She says it is India's version of cream of pea soup. But It is both more highly spiced and more delicious than a traditional pea soup. The spices lift this soup to a whole new level. With a salad and maybe a roll it is a delicious meatless meal.


Green Soup

1 medium potato, peeled and roughly diced
1 medium onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 cups chicken stock
3/4 inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
5 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/2 fresh hot green chili
10 ounces shelled green peas, fresh or frozen
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon ground roasted cumin seeds (we usually skip this step)
2/3 cup heavy cream

Combine the potato, onion, chicken stock, ginger, ground coriander and ground cumin in a pot and bring to a boil. Cover and turn heat to low, simmer for 30 minutes.

Fish out the cube of ginger and discard it. Add the cilantro, green chili, peas, salt, lemon juice and ground roasted cumin seeds. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered for 2-3 minutes or until the peas are just tender.

Empty the soup into the container of an electric blender in 2-3 batches and blend until it is smooth. Put the soup into a clean pot. Add the cream and bring to a simmer to heat through. Serves 5-6.

Ferrari (Pan-Fried Potatoes with Peanuts, Black Pepper, and Lemon Juice)

This is another side from Meera Sodha's Made In India. I feel like India gets forgotten when Americans learn about other cultures, which is a huge loss because it's a country with so many complex, amazing cultures and such a long history. Learning about Indian food is exciting for me, because it's so much more than most non-Indian Americans suspect.

Meera writes, "'Ferar' means 'to fast' by abstaining from certain foods, which a lot of Gujarati Hindus do on designated days throughout the year. Peanuts and potatoes are some of the things which can be eaten on a fast day, hence the creation of Ferrari."

I personally like that this dish can also be eaten by Catholics on Fridays, because this dish was so much more than I thought it would be. It's fast, easy, and its wonderfully flavorful and spiced.

2 oz peanuts, unsalted and unroasted
20 peppercorns (1/2 teaspoon)
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
14 oz new potatoes, chopped into 1 1/4 inch cubes
1 fresh green chili, very finely chopped*
1 3/4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 oz cilantro, chopped
1/2 lemon

*I used a jalapeno. I seeded mine because I'm a wimp. This did not make the dish bland, so if you're worried about too much heat, you should have no compunctions about seeding it.

Coarsely grind the peanuts using a food processor or mortar and pestle, remove, and set to one side, then grind the peppercorns in the same way.

Put the oil into a wide-bottomed frying pan on a medium heat. When it's hot, add the ground peppercorns and cumin seeds and, a minute later, the potatoes.

Stir-fry the potatoes for around 12 minutes, until they start to brown. Spear them with a knife to see if they're done (they will slide off easily if they are, and, if so, add the green chili, ginger, and salt. Continue to cook for another 5-6 minutes to cook the ginger and brown the potatoes.

When the potatoes are nicely brown, check the seasoning and transfer to a serving bowl. Scatter over the peanuts, add the cilantro, and squeeze over the lemon before serving.

Spicy Lamb Burgers

Another Meera Sodha recipe to go with your baked masala fries. Because many Indians do not eat beef, lamb is a common base for meat dishes. You can always substitute beef if you wish, but we did use lamb when we made these.

As Meera notes: This recipe uses chickpea flour (besan) which is readily available in most big supermarkets, but if you can't get hold of it, you can use all-purpose flour to bind your mixture instead.

1 onion, very finely chopped
1 fresh green chili, finely chopped
3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 3/4-inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 cloves of garlic
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons garam masala
a few grinds of the pepper mill
1 1/2 tablespoons chickpea flour (besan)o
14 oz ground lamb
1 tablespoon canola oil

Put the onion, green chili, and cilantro into a bowl. Grate the ginger and crush the garlic and add them, too. Then ass the salt, garam masala, black pepper, chickpea flour, and ground lamb and use your hands to mix everything together.

Divide the mixture into four balls and flatten them into round patties with your hands. Put the oil into a non-stick pan on a medium to high heat and, when it's hot, add the patties. Cook for 5-6 minutes on each side.

Baked Masala Fries

I checked out a Meera Sodha book from the library in the hopes of expanding my culinary horizons to Indian food, and I'm not giving it back until I have to. Made In India is a wonderful introduction to many basic, mostly simple Indian recipes. These baked masala fries are easy and very good, as well as versatile. I say versatile because we actually made them with sweet potatoes instead of the suggested varieties, which changed them a little, but I would have loved them either way. Put some of these in the oven and they'll be ready by the time your spicy lamb burgers are done!

4 large potatoes (russets, Yukon Gold, or all-purpose)
2 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon canola oil
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Peel the potatoes and chop them into your perfect fries. I cut each potato into 3 pieces lengthways and 3 again to make 9 long fat fries from each one.

Put all the potatoes into a lidded saucepan, cover generously with cold water, add 1 teaspoon of salt, and put the lid on the pan. Bring to a boil on a medium heat, then lower the heat and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft and fluffy around the edges.

Drain the potatoes in a sieve and shake them a bit to fluff up the edges, but be careful not to break them. These fluffy edges will turn into nice crispy ones later.

Put the oil into a roasting tray and put the tray into the oven for around 2 minutes to heat it. Take the tray out of the oven and carefully put the potatoes into the oil (lower them gently so the oil doesn't splash out), then coat the potatoes in it.

Put the tray back into the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, shaking it a couple of times during the cooking time to turn the fries over. When you take them out they should be crispy and brown all over. If not, leave them in for a bit longer.

In a bowl, mix together 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, the chili powder, and cumin, and sprinkle evenly over the fries.

Serve them as quickly as you can, while they're still hot!

Cooking the Books: Green Beans with Ginger

In my personal challenge to "cook the books" and work my way through cookbooks I own, I've been a bit lax in moving on. Some is because I've been busy, but some is because I "discovered" a cookbook that is so good I keep choosing "just one more" recipe before moving on to another book.

It's the 1973 classic, Introduction to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey, which I see that Knopf republished in 2011. These days anyone interested in Indian cooking knows that Jaffrey has written many cookbooks. Back in the day, though, she wrote the book almost in self defense as she told the story in the introduction. An actress in New York, she would have people over to dinner or throw parties and invariably was asked for the recipes for the delicious fare. Finally, she decided it was easier to write a cookbook than keep jotting down recipes on scraps of paper, some of which got passed on so many times that she wound up attending a party where every dish had been prepared from her recipes. The hostess said that the recipes "seem to be floating around."

The result was a gift to anyone who ever wanted to cook "real" Indian food at home. One of the things that I appreciate most is that it was written in the 1970s when no one expected you to always have access to whole or exotic spices, to grind them by hand, and so forth, which can be quite daunting these days when reading cookbooks that don't allow anything but the most authentic methods. These never sacrifice flavor but are realistic in what the average cook may have on hand (or be willing to put time into). You may also notice the age of the book when you see ingredients like "Chinese parsley." No one at the time (at least in Kansas, I can tell you) had ever heard of cilantro.

 I have used it once or twice before and can't say why I never pursued it further. My recent addiction began before Easter, when we had a couple over to watch Monsoon Wedding and cooked Indian food to make it a theme evening. Even our Easter dinner featured grilled lamb and green beans from this book.

It is those green beans that I share with you now. They were a bit hit and I myself just couldn't get over how different they were from any green bean I'd ever tasted. And how delicious ...

Note: I didn't use cilantro because we had a guest who doesn't like it. As someone who used to dislike cilantro's flavor, I wouldn't wish that experience on anyone (for me, it tasted very soapy). I'm quite glad that my taste changed and I now love cilantro.

Green Beans with Ginger

Serves 4-6

1-1/2 pounds fresh green beans
A piece of ginger, about 2 inches long and 1 inch wide, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 fresh hot green chili (optional), washed and sliced very fine
3 tablespoons chopped Chinese parsley (fresh coriander greens or cilantro)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1-1/4 teaspoons garam masala (I used garam masala from Penzeys, but that may be very different from Jaffrey's intention ... I give her recipe below)
2 teaspoons lemon juice (or to taste)
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

Wash the beans. Trim the ends. Slice them into fine rounds about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. (This takes a while, so it is best to sit down somewhere with a chopping board and sharp knife and do about 8 beans at a time.) When all the beans are chopped, set aside in a bowl.

Put the ginger in the blender with 3 tablespoons of water and blend at high speed until it is a smooth paste. (I grate the ginger by hand, but do add the 3 tablespoons of water when continuing with the recipe below.)

Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. While it is heating, pour in paste from the blender and add turmeric. Fry, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, then add the sliced green chilies and the parsley (cilantro), and after another minute, put in the green beans and continue cooking and stirring for about a minute. Add the cumin, coriander, 1 teaspoon of the garam masala, lemon juice, salt, and 3 tablespoons of wate. Cover skillet, turn flame very low, and let beans cook slowly for about 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so.

To serve: these beans can easily be cooked in advance and reheated. Serve them in a warm dish, with 1/4 teaspoon garam masala sprinkled on top.



Garam Masala

To make about a cupful you will need:

25 cardamom pods (use seeds only)
1/2 cup whole black peppercorns
1/3 cup whole cumin seeds
1/4 cup whole coriander seeds
3 sticks of cinnamon, each about 3 inches long
4-6 whole cloves

Combine all ingredients and grind very fine, using an electric blender or a coffee grinder. (If you want to make your garam masala less hot, decrease the amount of black peppercorns and increase the cumin proportionately.) Store in a tightly covered container, away from sunlight and dampness. If carefully stored, this garam masala can be kept for a couple of months.

Curried Beef with Potatoes and Peas

Thanksgiving left me all cooked out and we lived on leftovers from that and other recent meals for several days.

However, this dish, which is Cooking Light's version of an Indian dish called Tori Keema, appealed to me so much that I made it twice within the last two weeks. It is easy, savory, and quick ... all highly appealing qualities whether faced with feast cooking recovery or a mid-week meal.

I have rearranged the cooking instructions somewhat to only use one pan. I also use more oil than they call for, though the as little as possible needed to get the job done.

Start some rice cooking before you put this on and you'll have a great dinner with little effort.

Curried Beef with Potatoes and Peas

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled red potatoes (I always use a baking potato)
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound ground round
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup frozen green peas
1 cup chicken broth
2-1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 tablespoon mango chutney, such as Major Grey (don't sweat this if you don't have any)
1 teaspoon salt (my amount, not CL's)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add potato, cook 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove to bowl.

2. Cook beef and onion in skillet over medium-high heat until browned; stir to crumble. Stir in peas.

3. Add potatoes, curry powder and broth; cook 2 minutes. Add chutney, salt and pepper; simmer 1 minute. Sprinkle with cilantro, if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

A Delightful Sampler of Recipes from Around the World

STREET FOOD by Tom Kime

This cookbook is a charming if quick look at the recipes of street vendors all over the world. Laid out with DK Publishing's customary focus on photography and clean style, the recipes and prose are highlighted in a way that literally made my mouth water (and that is not enviable when one is reading at 11:00 at night with no way to get Spiced Grilled Chicken with Coconut Cream!).

Author Tom Kime had the enviable task of traveling the world to choose the best of the best, eating his way through the streets of India, Sri Lanka, the Caribbean and more. The result is a collection of recipes are that are both savory and simple. I especially enjoyed the Indian and Southeastern Asian recipes, but my mouth is wired that way. I have the Potato and Cumin Curry and Crispy Paratha (stuffed with scallions, ginger, cilantro, and jalapeno) marked to try. Even though the Southern Europe recipe selection was not what I usually think of (showing just how varied the recipes are), the Pan Fried Red mullet with Preserved Lemon, olives, and Parsley also is marked as a must try. Of the recipes that were of sorts that I already have made from other sources, most notably the Vietnamese and Thai selections, Kime's recipes looked not only authentic but streamlined enough to make me contemplate them for the near future. He accompanies these recipes with journal entries that put the recipe in context of his travels. I could have done with more of this but I love to read about travel as much as food so that is a personal inclination more than a criticism.

Two features I really liked in this book were the Recipe Navigator, which helps sort our unfamiliar foods in categories such as "Best in a bowl," "Finger food," A meal in itself," and the extensive menu ideas in such categories as Barbecue, Leisurely Lunch, or Cozy Night In.

Spinach and Tofu Paneer

This is for Alicia. It isn't exactly what she wanted but I discovered that out of my 154 cookbooks (I actually stopped to count them ... shocking number!), I have only 3 Indian cookbooks and neither had it. However, I did have this recipe that sounds pretty close from This Can't Be Tofu by Deborah Madison. Also using tofu sounds a lot easier than coming up with fresh Indian cheese. I really detest "vegetarian" cookbooks but this one grabbed me when it came out. It was riveting and made me believe I actually could cook and enjoy tofu. Too bad I've never put that to the test by making a recipe from it. This might be the one that breaks that barrier. I will include Madison's introduction because it explains why I thought Alicia might like the recipe.

For a long time it seemed to me that there was more than a superficial resemblance between the white Indian cheese called paneer and tofu. When I finally made the classic Indian dish of spinach and paneer using tofu, it tasted amazingly at home in the cumin, ginger, and chile-laced sauce. There's a little going back and forth between the skillet and a food processor but this is an easy dish to make. I serve it over rice with a sprinkling of toasted black sesame seeds.

1 carton firm or soft tofu
Salt
1 large bunch spinach, stems discarded, leaves well washed
1 jalapeño, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 serrano chile, coarsely chopped (I would seed this too)
1-inch knob ginger, peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 cup diced onion
2 tablespoons ghee, butter, or vegetable oil
1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon, plus a pinch, nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/3 cup yogurt

Dice the tofu into pieces about the size of a sugar cube or a little smaller. Bring 6 cups water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt and lower the heat to a simmer. Add the tofu, turn off the heat, and leave for 4 or 5 minutes pour into a colander to drain. (If you've used soft tofu, remove it with a slotted spoon.) Set aside.

Steam the spinach until wilted, then remove it to a cutting board and chop. When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water.

Put the chiles, ginger, garlic, and onion in a food processor, and process until finely chopped. Heat the ghee or butter in a nonstick skillet, add the onion mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.

Add 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, nutmeg, cayenne, and 1 cup water. Simmer for 5 minutes, then return the mixture to the food processor, add the spinach, and puree.

Return the mixture to the skillet, add the half-and-half and the tofu, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Serve over basmati rice.