Channa Masala in the Fagor Pressure Cooker Chickpeas

If you have a pressure cooker, it is really easy and convenient to make channa masala. The beauty of this recipe is you can use the pressure cooker for everything!

You can find my recipe for Channa Masala here.

Ingredients
1 cup chickpeas
1 tea bag
6 cups water
2 tablespoons, vegetable oil
2 medium onions, diced (yellow onions preferred, white onions in a pinch)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
2 green chilies, sliced (if you like it spicy, add more!)
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
.5 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons minced coriander leaves
1/4 teaspoon Garam Masala
Shredded Ginger (for garnish)

Add 5 cups of water and 1 tea bag to the pressure cooker with 1cup uncooked, un-soaked chickpeas.  

Cover and lock lid (Don’t bring the tea to boil beforehand). Place pressure cooker on setting 1. Bring to pressure over high heat for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, bring pressure down to ambient pressure. Remove the lid, reserve 1 cup of the liquid and drain the rest of the chickpeas in a colander. Add a little oil to the pressure cooker.

Add onions and stir fry till golden. Add ginger and chilies, continue to stir fry until their aroma is released. Last, add the garlic and stir fry a few seconds until golden.

Add coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and red pepper powder. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes.

Add tomatoes, reserved tea liquid and chickpeas.  

Cover and lock lid of the pressure cooker. Place on setting 1. Turn gas to high. Cook for 10 minutes on HIGH pressure.

After 10 minutes, bring pressure down to ambient pressure.

Salmon with Blue Chair Fruit Plum Jam

I am always looking for new ways to use great food products-jam from Blue Chair Fruit, a local jam company here in Oakland, is one of them.

We were in Seattle a few months ago visiting friends. As a present for staying at our generous hosts house, we brought them Blue Chair Jam, needless to say they are powerfully impressed!  If you can get your hands on any of their jams, count yourself very lucky! Each jam is handmade, crafted with skill and perfection. Rachel, the owner, sourcing everything locally, and seasonally. They are fantastic jams, and there really is no reason to buy any other sort of jam! Honestly!

Robyn and I got some fresh Salmon from Pike's Place and cooked up this dish. The kicker was using Blue Chair Fruit Plum jam! It really made this dish!

This dish can be made on the grill or barbeque. It works equally well if you have a broiler on your oven with a flame. I used my oven with the broiler. Make sure to  re-position the tray in the oven so it is directly below the broiler, otherwise your fish will not caramelize properly.

Ingredients
Fresh salmon fillet (not a steak cut), cleaned and de-boned
Salt and Pepper
Blue Chair Fruit, Plum jam
2 lemons, sliced thinly
1/2 for juice


In an oven broiler
Place lemon slices on a cookie sheet. Lay the salmon on the lemon slices (this will prevent sticking). Adjust the rack so it is directly below the broiler.


Lay the fish on the lemon slices, skin side up and facing you. Salt and pepper the skin and place in the broiler.

Turn the broiler on HIGH. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until the skin is cooked and puffy, but not charred.

Place additional lemon slices on the cooked skin. Gently flip the fish, so the lemon slices are now on the bottom. The flesh of the fish should be on top, with lemon slices. Remove the lemon slices on top. Squeeze any remaining juice from the lemon slices on the fish and discard.

With a brush, gently spread the plum over the flesh of the fish. The heat of the fish should make the jam a little runny. Give it a good coating of jam. Salt and pepper the fish again.

Place the fish back in the broiler and cook for an additional 3-4 minutes, until the fish is cooked. I usually like my salmon slightly cooked, otherwise it gets too hard. You want the jam to caramelize a little.

On a barbeque grill

If you are using a grill, heat the charcoal until very hot. Lay the lemon slices on the grill in a rectangle pattern. Lay the fish on the lemon slices, skin side up and facing you. Salt and pepper the skin. Add some of the jam and gently spread it over the fish with a brush or butter knife. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Gently flip the fish. Take advantage of the lemon slices, it will make it easier to flip the fish.
Cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until done.

Pozole, Mexican Corn Soup

This is a traditional soup that has been eaten for thousands of years in Mesoamerica. Pozole uses hominy, or dried maize kernals. Although the recipe can be made using regular corn kernals, it really helps if you can get hold of some hominy. Most Mexican stores will have them dried. You can also get some canned hominy, which eliminates the need to soak the hominy overnight. Either way, it is a delicious recipe and perfect for a cold winter night! Obviously, using homemade chicken stock imparts a delicious flavor.



Ingredients
Olive oil
1/4 white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves peeled and whole
1/2-1 lbs chicken breast or thigh, diced
Oregano
Salt
pepper
2 Tomatoes, diced

Rich Dark chicken stock,  1/2 to 3/4 cup


Hominy, 1 cup dried or canned
Water

Avocado, sliced

Fresh lime juice

 

Saute the onions and garlic in a large sauce pan with some olive oil. Be sure not to let the garlic get too dark.

















When the onion and garlic release their aroma, add the chicken, oregano, salt and pepper.

Stir fry for a few minutes until the chicken is white and no longer raw.














Add the tomatoes, and give them a good stir, letting them
sweat out their juices.

Add the chicken stock and cook for several minutes.

Add the hominy and give it a good stir.

You will need to have the hominy completely submerged in the liquid created by the tomatoes and chicken stock. If you don't have enough liquid to cover the hominy, add water or more chicken stock until the hominy is completely submerged in liquid.














Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes. Check the hominy after 15 minutes. If it is not cooked to your likeness, continue to cook in the liquid until the hominy is as soft as you want it. If you are using canned hominy, it has already been cooked, so you just need to cook for 3-5 minutes to heat up the hominy and distribute the flavors. If you are using regular corn, you don't have to cook the mixture for 15 minutes--it will probably be much less.



Serve with freshly squeezed lemon or lime, avocado, salt and pepper.

Spicy Mabo Tofu

The first time I had Mabo Tofu was in Japan. I was studying abroad in Kyoto, and decided to make a visit to Kobe's Chinatown. It was cold and rainy, as many cities in Japan are in the winter. This dish really hit the spot-warm, spicy and delicious.

Mabo Tofu is a Japanese take on a Sichuan dish. Tofu is stir fried with leeks, ginger, garlic and tomatoes. The Sichuan original has the addition of fermented black beans, which are quite tasty, but I can never seem to motivate to cook them. Some preparations can overdo it with the sesame seed oil, but a good Mabo Tofu should not be oily.

I replaced the beef with ground turkey, I found it to be a little cheaper (and healthier!). This dish is great by itself, with freshly cooked rice or with noodles!

Ingredients

Meat Mix
1 lbs ground meat (Turkey, lamb or beef)
3 tablespoons brandy
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Vegetable Mix

Raiyu (Chinese Hot Chili Oil)
Sichuan Peppercorn Oil
Dried Mikan from the Raiyu, sliced
Leek, minced 5 tablespoons

Ginger, peeled and minced 2 tablespoons
Garlic  minced 1 tablespoon
1/2 teaspoon roasted Sichuan peppercorns
3 tomatoes, skin removed, diced
1/2 cup fish stock
3 teaspoons Morrocan Ketchup or regular ketchup mixed with 1 teaspoon harrisa
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon Korean Chili Pepper
Tofu, cut into cubes

Remove the tofu and wash gently. Place the tofu on a plate. Place a second plate on top of the tofu. Place a book or a heavy object (pot with water?) on the top plate. Let the tofu sit for 20-30 minutes as you prepare the other ingredients. This will force water out of the tofu, making it firmer.

Heat the Raiyu and Sichuan peppercorn oil in a wok until very hot, but not smoking. When their aroma is released, add the ground meat and stir fry for several minutes until the meat is no longer pink. Remove the meat.

Add more Raiyu and Sichuan peppercorn oil to the wok. Stir fry the leek, ginger, garlic and peppercorns for several minutes, until the leeks is cooked through.










Add the tomatoes and stir fry for a few minutes until the tomatoes begin to sweat and break down. Add the fish stock, Morrocan Ketchup, paprika and chili powder. Stir to incorporate. Taste. Add additional paprika and chili powder to taste. Add the cooked meat back into the wok.

Add the tofu, cover and reduce the heat to low. Cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes, or until the tofu is cooked through.

Serve with cooked rice!

Roasted Shishito Peppers

Shishito Peppers are Japanese Green Peppers. These peppers are usually served at Izakaya-Japanese style pubs. They are super simple to prepare and quite delicious!










Ingredients
Shishito Green Pepper
Kosher Salt
Olive Oil


Heat a little oil in a frying pan or wok. Add the peppers when the oil is hot, but not smoking. Stir fry for several minutes until part of the skin of the peppers chars and turns black.

Remove from heat. Sprinkle with salt, mix and serve in a bowl.

Simple and delicious!

Soy Braised Chicken Wings

This is a twist on a very traditional Chinese dish. Whole chickens are slow simmered in soy sauce, shaoxing (Chinese Rice Wine), ginger, garlic and dried mikan peels. I replaced dried mikan peels with freshly squeezed mikan (tangerines) juice and their peels. I also replaced shaoxing with Apple Brandy. I replaced balsamic vinegar with Fig Balsamic Vinegar, to give it a hint of complexity. Finally, to offset the saltiness of the soy sauce, and an additional note of complexity, I added honey'd preserved figs. Its absolutely delicious!



Ingredients
1 lbs chicken wings
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup of Apple Brandy or Applejack (Regular brandy will work too)
1 tablespoon peeled, sliced ginger
3 scallions, chopped
7-8 garlic cloves, whole with skin removed
2 mikan (tangerines)
Honey'd preserved figs  5 tablespoons
Fig Balsamic Vinegar  1 tablespoon
Brown Sugar (optional)

Procedure

Remove the chicken wings from the refrigerator and allow to come to room temperature.

Mix the soy sauce, Apple Brandy, ginger, garlic and scallions together in a wok.

Wash and peel the mikan. Add the peels to the wok.

Add the mikan to a food processor. Remove the seeds from the mikan and discard. Blend the mikan (sans skin and seeds). Add the pureed mikan to the wok. Add the ginger and garlic to the wok.

Over medium heat, bring the soy sauce mixture to a gentle boil.

Add the honey'd preserved figs and gently mix the figs into the soy sauce.

Add the Fig Balsamic Vinegar to the soy sauce mixture. Taste. Adjust accordingly--if the soy sauce is too salty and powerful, add more brandy, figs, fig balsamic vinegar or brown sugar.

Add the chicken wings to the wok. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the chicken is fully cooked, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. The internal temperature needs to reach 165.
 

Steak on the barbie

I ordinarily don't eat steak--it's expensive and all that meat can't possibly be good for you if you have it regularly. But once in a while really is a treat! I found these steaks on sale at our local Whole Food on their Friday sale.

This is an Italian twist on a traditional steak. I got the recipe from Chef Fabio Viviani---You can watch his video on steak here.

A tip I learned from Chef Viviani:
1) Don't salt your steak before cooking it. Instead, you freshly cracked pepper. A lot of pepper. The cracked pepper will help create a thin layer on the steak which will seal in the juices. The salt with draw out the moisture in the meat and dry out your steak. If you want salt, add it at the very end!

2) Use a fresh branch of rosemary as your basting brush. Heat activates the oil in rosemary and really brings out its flavor. If you have some rosemary oil, use that!

3) Look for marbling in the steak. The marbling helps lock in the juices--so they will stay inside the steak and not leak out during the cooking process.

A few tips I learned along the way:
1) Bring you steak to room temperature before grilling. For this recipe, I made a mix of chopped garlic and olive oil. I then let the steak marinade in that for about 1 hour at room temperature.

2) Make sure your grill is clean and oiled. Noone wants the reminants of whatever what cooked on the grill two weeks ago in their food. Its best to clean the grill after your last grilling job, when the grills are hot, food doesn't stick as well.

3) Oil your grill before you add your meat. The best way to do this is to bunch up a paper towel and douse it in oil. Wrap it in one thin layer of aluminum foil and puncture the aluminum foil several times with a fork. Use a pair of tongs to brush the grill when it is hot with the oil.

2) Make sure your grill is nice and hot! When heating your coals, use a chimney starter--they are really inexpensive and work great. They take a little bit longer to heat up your charcoal, but it is much better--no one wants to taste lighter fluid on their food!

3) On that note, be sure to use natural charcoal. Some manufacturers will douse their charcoal in lighter fluid for an easy light...Don't but these brands.

4) If you have any natural wood to burn it, use it! Natural wood works really well, and imparts a delicious flavor to meat! The best part is that if you use natural wood logs, they turn into charcoal as they burn, saving you a trip to the store. I will place two logs of wood on each end of the barbeque, and then add the hot coal in between. The heat of the coals will make the logs burn, so you get a good combination of flame and slow heat from the charcoal.





5) Use steak with the bone in. It will help lock in moisture.

Ingredients
1 steak
Freshly cracked pepper
Garlic
Olive Oil
1 rosemary stem
Fresh Thyme
Salt



Bring the steak to room temperature.

Drizzle the steak with olive oil on both sides. Massage the olive oil in.

Cover your steak with freshly cracked pepper. This pepper will help create a seal which will lock in the juiciness and flavors of the steak so be liberal with it.

Fire up your barbeque.
Cook on high heat for 7-8 mintues. Don't be constantly prodding the steak. Just close the cover and let it cook undisturbed.

After 7 minutes, add some fresh thyme to the top of the steak (the raw side) and flip the steak. Brush the top of the steak (the cooked portion) with the rosemary brush. Sprinkle some salt on the cooked side.

Place a meat thermometer inside the steak. The temperature needs to get to 145 F (62.7 C) for 15 seconds.


Cover and cook for another 7-8 minutes.

Once the steak is done, remove from heat and let it sit for 5 minutes or so. The internal heat will continue to cook the steak. 

Serve with mashed potatoes, salad or sauted mushrooms. I found the flavor so intense from the wood fire and the rosemary, that the steak didn't need any seasoning at all. 

Once you are done grilling, clean off the grill while the coals are still hot with a grill brush. Let the coals burn out naturally. The wood you used will have turned to charcoal, so you can use that charcoal the next time you barbeque.