Feral Cooks

Good food shouldn't be tame

Kheema Mattar

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I’ve recently been obsessing over Indian and Indonesian food, so please bear with me as I go through this phase.

Many Indian foods can take a long time to cook, are somewhat complicated, and require a vast array of ingredients that many folks don’t keep on hand. Kheema Mattar does not fit that mold. It’s a quick dinner that’s easy and cheap to make. And it is NOT overly hot and spicy.

By the way, “kheema” means “ground meat,” and “matter” means, from what I’ve found, “peas.” And that’s just what you’ll need: ground meat and peas.

The recipe is from “India: the Food and the Lifestyle.” And here’s the thing: I didn’t think it was flavorful enough. Good flavor, but it should be stronger. Next time, I will pretty much double the amount of spices and ginger/garlic paste. I do wonder if the recipe was “dumbed down” for the average non-Indian palate.

What you’ll need:

  • 2T vegetable oil, or ghee, if you have it
  • 2t cumin seeds
  • 1 large onion, ¼-inch chop
  • 1T garlic and ginger paste (if you don’t have any, throw some chopped garlic and peeled ginger in a food processor)
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1t curry powder, hot, mild or sweet
  • 2 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
  • 1t ground coriander
  • 0.5t chili powder
  • 0.25t ground turmeric
  • pinch of sugar
  • pinch or two of salt
  • ½t ground pepper
  • about 1 lb lean ground beef or lamb
  • 2.25 cups of still-frozen peas

What to do:

Heat the oil or ghee in a large fry pan on medium heat. When the oil’s hot, add the cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds, until they start crackling.

Add the onion, garlic and ginger paste, bay leaves and curry powder and fry until the onion starts to soften.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes, then add the coriander, chili powder, turmeric, sugar, salt and pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds.

Add the ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, until the meat is no longer pink. Then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the frozen peas and simmer for 10-15 more minutes, until the peas are hot. If there is liquid in the pan, just keep the pan on the heat and let the extra liquid cook off.

Serve with naan, basmati rice or another of your favorite Indian side dishes.

 

Thai Ribs: The Thrill Of The Grill!

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I ate these at a friend’s house and they were delicious. So I tried to recreate them at home so that I did not have to wait to be invited back.

The first try was good, but incredibly salty. This is the third attempt. You probably wonder how I devise and store recipes. I would like to share the method right here.

Unlike BBQ ribs, which smoke for hours at a low heat, Thai ribs marinade for 2-4 hours and are then cooked very quickly. They are charred and chewy. They also cooked on the grill, rather than requiring special equipment. They are perfect for summer.

Assemble the above ingredients for your marinade.

I take the large knobbly bits off the ginger and then use a peeler to take the skin off. In Asia, where they use ginger on a daily basis, the skin is thin, delicate and pink. Here it is leathery, old and needs a peeler to remove it.

Garlic…

Onion…

Cilantro.

Soy sauce and Fish Sauce.

Place in a food processor and pulse to chop.

Add water and blend to a puree.

Add ribs and marinade to a glass bowl and leave at room temperature for 2-4 hours. Safety says place pork products in the fridge. Because I do not want to be sued, I will tell you to ignore the previous instruction and refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Prior to grilling, remove the ribs from marinade. Some marinade goodness clinging to the ribs is just fine.

Grill the ribs for 8 minutes a side.

I also made a couple of sous vide lamb cutlets and corn on the grill.

 

Delicious!

Easy French Onion Soup

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French onion soup has always been a favorite appetizer of mine, though I don’t seem to find the time to make it very often.

Of course, recipes vary for this very old type of soup, but this one is pretty easy. A quick bit of research reveals that the basis of today’s recipes go all the way back to ancient Greek and Roman times. Today’s form of the soup evolved from the 1650s, according to The Food Timeline. That’s quite a history.

The simple recipe presented here is from Bon Appetite, October 2011. It’s flavorful and doesn’t require exotic ingredients.

What you’ll need (for 4 servings):

  • 2 medium onions, chopped finely
  • 1T unsalted butter
  • 1T good (or not) brandy
  • 4 cups of unsalted beef stock (broth works, too)
  • Salt and pepper
  • *¼-inch toasted baguette slices that will fit in ramekins
  • 1 cup of Gruyere cheese
  • Sliced chives or scallions as an optional garnish
  • 10-0z. ramekins

*Make sure to use a true baguette. I used toasted hard-roll slices, which quickly got soggy and did not allow the cheese to brown properly. It did, in fact, ruin the soup.

What to do:

Begin heating your oven to 450 F

Caramelize the chopped onions in a large skillet in any way you see fit. Low and slow works best, in my opinion.

When onions are done, add butter to the pan and mix to ensure the onions get coated.

Remove from heat and add the brandy, returning the pan to the heat until the brandy is absorbed.

Add the beef stock and bring to a simmer for about 5 minutes or so, until the liquid is somewhat reduced. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Divide the soup into ramekins and top with the baguette slices and cheese.

Put the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbly, which takes about 4 or so minutes.

Serve piping hot.