winepairings – Salt… as needed

Every family I know has a Thanksgiving tradition they strictly adhere to and so does mine. I can say with all certainty that never has a Turkey crossed my kitchen doorstep. And all because the “Holy Trinity” does not like turkey. Anyways, our family tradition has been to cook a couple of Cornish Hens instead of the traditional turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. We stick with the usual sides like mashed potatoes, potato salad, cranberry chutney (must share this recipe with you soon), brussel sprouts cooked in bacon, corn bread stuffing and pecan and or pumpkin pie.

Of course as with every family, recipes evolve over time making them unique and special. So over the years what started off as a Stuffed Chicken Tandoori has emerged as a Lamb mince stuffed Cornish Hen. Its a small bird, definitely more flavorful, can be served as a whole bird (conducive to table top carving) and most important, we don’t have humongous amounts of left overs.

Here is the recipe; From my kitchen to yours.

Lamb Mince Stuffed Cornish Hen

2 Cornish hens

3/4 cup oil (shallow frying)

Marinade: ( overnight)

4 tbs Ginger – garlic paste

1 tbsp red chilli powder

Juice of 1 lemon

salt as needed

Stuffing:

1 lb Lamb or Turkey mince

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 1/2 tsp Garam Masala

15 almonds soaked, peeled and sliced

2 hard boiled eggs minced

2 “piece ginger julienne

salt as needed

Basting:

4 tbsp sour cream or yogurt

3 tbsp heavy cream

1/2 tsp black pepper powder

a couple pinches mace powder

a couple pinches nutmeg powder

10 strands saffron

1/4 tsp green cardamom powder

In a broad bottomed pan heat oil and brown the marinated birds, one at a time, over medium heat, turning gently with cooking tongs so they are nicely browned on all sides. Take the birds out of the pan on to a paper towel to drain the excess oil. To the same oil add onions and saute till transluscent. Now add the mince and saute till nicely browned. Put in the Garam Masala, ginger and almonds and saute for about 10 minutes. To finish add the minced eggs and salt and cook for a couple minutes, stirring gently, and take off the flame.

After it cools , stuff the birds with this mince, leaving enough for a side dish.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Place the bird on a roasting pan, baste with the sour cream sauce and roast for 30 minutes (or till cooked), basting regularly till all the sauce is used.

Garnish with Fresh chopped coriander.

Happy Cooking and a Very Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Wine Suggestions:

Lambrusco or Pinot Noir. If you want to go really bold, a Zin works really well with the strong flavors of the spices.

So this was supposed to be the name for my blog initially but was rudely struck down by my L&M (Lord and Master) and the PKs (Prodigal kids). The general opinion (to put it mildly) was it sounds like ‘Korean Flavor’, go figure. But what do I, having stayed home for 20+ years know about the world and the way it turns, so I gave in and spent another 6 months looking for a new name – Salt as Needed. Miracle of miracles they approved, Bless my heart ! And the journey starts…….

In India when something is referred to as Curry or Kadhi it really means some kind of a gravy or ‘liquidy” dish made with either lentils, legumes,yogurt, veggies or a protein. Every region in India has their own version of a curry. Western India uses a lot of dry coconut,turmeric, cumin, coriander , jaggery or sugar with tamarind and kokum (Garcinia Indica) used to add acidity to the curry . In the North they use red chili powder, coriander, cumin, cardamom, cloves and bay leaves along with tomatoes or yogurt to form their curries. . The South uses fresh coconut, black pepper,dry red chillies, coriander and cumin seeds with tamarind in their lentils and veggies. It is very interesting, in the East they use a lot of coconut milk but very few spices like mustard seeds, fennel seeds and black cumin with jalapeno peppers used for heat in their curries, relying more on the natural flavors of the veggies and protein and keeping it delicate. Growing up in India, the famous “Sindhi Kadhi”, laden with veggies in an aromatic lentil based tamarind and tomato broth, was a Sunday staple at my house (promise to share that recipe soon).

When I moved to the USA, I saw a lot of curry powder or Madras curry powder on grocery shelves that smelt and tasted nothing like what we used in Indian cooking. They were the English version of the curry powder, a leftover from their days of colonizing India- which like their Raj(rule)- they did a terrible job of.

So let me share with you my version of a Shrimp Curry that is like me, a lot of East and a little of the West :

Curried Shrimp garnished with crushed pappadums served with mini pita pockets

1 lb medium sized shrimp ( shelled and deveined) drained and dried on a paper towel

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small onion finely chopped

2 cloves garlic crushed

7-8 Curry Leaves* torn in half (see note)

1/2 tbsp chili powder

1/2 tbsp curry powder ( recipe given below)

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp lemon juice

1-2 pappadums** crushed

6 Mini pocket Pitas

SALT AS NEEDED

Curry Powder or Garam Masala ( for Milder curries)

8 tsp Green Cardamoms seeds only

6 tsp Cumin Seeds

6 Tsp Peppercorns

1 tsp Cinnamon powder

1 tbsp Cloves

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

Dry roast all the ingredients (except the cinnamon powder)for the curry powder in a pan and grind or finely crush in a mortar and pestle. Store in an airtight bottle a cool place.

Heat oil in a flat bottomed pan, add the chopped onions and saute till translucent . Now add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes. Put in the red chilli powder, curry leaves, tomato paste, salt and cook on low flame stirring all the time for 5 minutes. Add a couple tbsp of water if required. Now increase the flame to medium and add the shrimp in a single layer cooking it for 2 minutes on each side. Take off the stove add lemon juice and sprinkle curry powder all over and lightly toss. The shrimp should be thickly coated with the tomato gravy and have no extra moisture.

Serving Suggestion:

Take a shallow platter or low bowl, pour the shrimps in the center and arrange pita triangles or baby pitas all around. Garnish the shrimp curry with crushed pappadums, giving the dish a variety of textures and tastes all in one bite. You could serve it with a side of sliced red onions too. Serve hot as an appetizer or entree.

HAPPY COOKING FROM KAVITA ATUL!!

Wine Pairing :

I paired this dish with the Pavao, Vinho Verde, a white from Portugal with crisp flavors and just the right acidity and and just enough sweetness to complement shellfish.

Side bar :

*You can find curry leaves, which have a strong citrusy/lemon grassy aroma, in Indian grocery stores but if unable to do so substitute with Basil or Parsley as both are mild herbs that would not overpower the sweetness of the shrimps.
Curry Leaves
**Pappadums are available in Indian grocery stores in various flavors- cumin, pepper, plain etc. choose any that look good to you. They are easy to cook in the microwave. Place them one at a time on a paper towel and cook them for 30 seconds on each side (cooking time may vary with different microwaves). They will crisp up and the way to check preparedness is by making sure there are no doughy parts left. Once again if you are not able to find them, crush plain potato chips and use instead.
Crisp pappadums
Pitas need to be toasted before serving too.
Mini Pita pockets

Saute Onions,Garlic Curry Leaves and Chilli Powder

Add Tomato paste

Tag: winepairings

Thanksgiving with Hen

Curry ‘n’ Flava with Kavita Atul