The Spice of Life

Whenever I am at home more time than I would like, I experiment in the kitchen. It’s a creative venture that gives immediate results. Some of my concoctions surprise me with delight, but occasionally there is a mishap that gets tossed, which isn’t a problem because I’m cooking for one.

In fact, I have never cooked for more than 8-10 people and I wouldn’t enjoy it. I’d have to skimp on the quality of ingredients and I won’t do that.  

Last night I found that romaine lettuce that gets sautéed in butter with Vidalia onions, carrots, and broth makes a delicious soup. I garnished it with radish and avocado on top to add color since I didn’t have parsley.

This morning I found cauliflower rice simmered in oat milk with pecans, coconut flakes, and cinnamon makes an excellent filling porridge.

These might initially sound weird but trust me you have to be open to innovation.  That’s the key, I discovered this as a kid when I would bake.  I used my mother’s pound cake recipe and when I heard that orange rind gave baked goods a zest, I thought why not substitute orange juice as my liquid?

I enjoy going to restaurants and when something particularly teases my taste buds I go home and duplicate it.    

I did this recently with a leek and salmon quiche that I ate at Figaro Bistrot.

I had no idea what made it so fluffy so I added Greek plain yogurt to the cream and eggs along with leeks, salmon, and capers, and seasoned it with dill. I discovered a nice tanginess that was flavorful.  

One of my favorite cuisines is Indian.  My enjoyment comes from all the things they do with vegetables such as Chana masala, Patek paneer, and dal. One of the most popular dishes is chicken tikka masala. It's long been a staple in Indian cuisine despite actually being a British-originated dish. Similar to Indian butter chicken, tikka masala is spiced chicken simmered in a creamy tomato sauce. What makes both dishes so popular is the flavorful tomato taste, which is typically soaked into naan and eaten with basmati rice. Tikka masala started as a chicken-based dish, but the main protein can easily be swapped for shrimp, eggplant, or even tofu.

After going to BadMaash in DTLA, I copied the shrimp tikka masala I was served.  

First, you'll want a pound of peeled and deveined shrimp.  Next, grab your spices: paprika, salt, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, and chili powder. From there, you'll need fresh ginger, garlic, and onion, as well as butter, tomato sauce, coconut milk, and cilantro.

In Indian cuisine, it's common to serve curry dishes with naan, a pillow-like flatbread made in a tandoor oven. But why load up on carbs? All curry needs is a nice fluffy rice to accompany it.

If you need something quick and easy a simple cucumber salad is perfect for calming the shrimp's spice.

Here’s what you’ll need.

Ingredients

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined

1- 2 teaspoons chili powder, divided

1 - 2 teaspoons paprika

1 -2 teaspoons salt, divided, plus more to taste

3 tablespoons butter

1-inch knob ginger, peeled and minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon turmeric

½ teaspoon cayenne

1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk

Chopped cilantro, for serving‌

Steps:

Cook the shrimp in butter. Remove and reserve the butter.

Sautee the aromatics. Stir in tomato sauce. Add spices. Simmer.  Stir in Coconut Milk. Stir Shrimp back in.  Serve. A meal in 15-20 minutes.

On another note, my latest topics have been a reflection of the outer world, I've been pondering on something much deeper, more on that next time. Stay tuned.