#341: Salmon Tikka

The word 'tikka' means bits or pieces.  Chicken tikka is one of the most popular tikka dishes, but we shouldn't forget the delicious paneer tikka, aloo (potato) tikka and today's recipe for salmon tikka.  Tikka dishes are cooked over hot coals, and are marinated in yogurt and spices.  Tandoori chicken and chicken tikka are so similar, but generally, tikka dishes are boneless, so you can get right to that charred meat!  

This dish is best served with naan and raita (cucuber and yogurt), but is also delicious with quinoa (think Indian quinoa bowl) or on top of a salad.  Considering we're right around the corner from New Year's (my favorite holiday!), I think this would be great on a small toothpick (skewer one salmon, one red pepper piece, and one onion piece), and passed around before ringing in 2016!  Happy New Year!! 

Salmon Tikka

Ingredients:

18 oz. salmon fileet, skinless, boneless and cubed

1 red pepper, cubed

1 small red onion, cubed (small cubes)

2 green chilies, each cut into three pieces

1 teaspoon olive oil (to grease the pan)

For Marinade:

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped fine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon ginger, minced

1 cup plain yogurt

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cardomom 

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon salt

pinch of black pepper

Directions

1. In a bowl whisk together all of the ingredients for the marinade and set aside.  
2. Place the salmon, peppers and onions in a bowl with two chopped green chilies; pour the marinade over the mixture.  Let sit in the refrigerator overnight (or at least for 2 hours).  I had marinated and frozen mine, thawed it when I was ready to use, and it was still delicious! 
3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line a baking sheet with foil and grease with the oil.
4. Place the salmon, onions, peppers and chilies on the baking tray, removing any excess marinade.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Flip and drain off any liquid that is in the pan.  Cook for another 15 minutes.   
5. The salmon should flake easily when cut into with a fork, then you know it's done.  Take out of the oven and let cool before serving.  

#333: Salmon Thoran

I'm sure many of you have not heard of 'thoran,' but if you've had South Indian food (specifically food from Kerala), it's likely you've eaten this dish.  

Thoran is a dry stir-fried dish, usually made with vegetables, so this variation with salmon is quite unique.  The vegetables are cooked with a mixture of coconut, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and turmeric.  The vegetables are chopped and cooked quickly over high heat. Traditionally the recipe doesn't include garlic.  With time, Malayalis/Keralites, have modified the traditional recipe to include fish and sometimes garlic.  

We have posted quite a few thoran recipes on the blog in the past.  Here are a few other variations:

• Long Bean Thoran
• Drumstick Thoran
• Dried Anchovies Thoran
• Bitter Gourd Thoran - one of my personal favorites!
• Daikon and Green Pepper Thoran
• Pumpkin Thoran

We grew up eating all variations of these thorans! 

While the vegetable thorans are absolutely delicious, this week we decided to make a Salmon Thoran, because why not?  I'm consistently trying to incorporate salmon into my diet, and this spicy flavorful change is just the ticket. Try this out, and serve it with raita (yogurt and cucumbers), rice, or roti (Indian bread), or even on top of a mixed green salad.  

Salmon Thoran

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs salmon, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 tbsps plain yogurt
2 tbsps lemon juice
1 tbsp Fish Curry Masala (I used the Nirapara brand, but any brand should work)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp ginger/garlic paste (or grated ginger and garlic)
2 tbsps oil
2 tbsps grated coconut (or unsweetened coconut chips/flakes)
2 onions, chopped fine
3 green chilies, chopped
1 stem of curry leaves, leaves removed from stem
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1 split red chili 

Directions:  

1. In a bowl mix together the yogurt, lemon juice, fish masala, chili powder, turmeric powder, black pepper, salt and ginger/garlic paste.  Add the salmon to the marinade and coat the salmon in the yogurt marinade.  Marinate for 5-6 hours in the fridge.
2. Place a heavy-bottomed pan over medium heat and add oil.
3. When the oil is hot enough, add mustard seeds and red chilies.
4. When the mustard seeds splutter, add curry leaves, chopped onion and green chilies.
5. Now lower the heat, and saute the mixture until the onions are lightly brown in color.
6. Increase the heat to medium-high and quickly add the marinated salmon along with the marinade.
7. Watch the heat and do not let the mixture burn too quickly. Do not stir aggressively, because you don't want the salmon to break up.  
8. Cook on high heat tossing lightly until the salmon is cooked and the water is dried, brown.  Add additional salt if needed, and you're ready to serve. 

#320: Chicken Meat Loaf Muffins, By: V

This little guy looks tame enough, right?  Well, lets just say this isn't your mom's typical meatloaf.  Made with ground chicken these muffin-tin mini loaves are so easy to toss into a salad or alongside a delicious pilaf.  Plus the harissa, garam masala and vegetable mixture gives the loaves spicy heat and layers of flavor.  

Quick tip:  When you put them in the wells, use your thumb to make a thumprint into the top of each loaf, it will allow for the loaves to cook through well.

You can get Mina Harissa at your local Whole Foods, but now you can pretty much find harissa (a Morrocan red pepper sauce) everywhere, and it's amazing! It's even good on top of triscuits (my recent snack of choice).

Chicken Meat Loaf Muffins

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds ground chicken
• 3/4 cup finely diced onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tbsp garam masala

For the Tomato Mixture:

• 1/3 cup tomato paste
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tbsp ground mustard
• 1 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
• 1 tbsp harissa

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400  degrees Fahrenheit
2. Grease the wells of your muffin tin with 1 tbsp olive oil or Pan spray
3. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet
4. Add 3/4 cup finely diced onion (feel free to add any other veggies you would like - bell peppers or mushrooms are great options)
5. Let veggies cook for two minutes and then allow to cool down
6. In a small bowl combine: 1/3 cup tomato paste, 2 cloves garlic (minced/chopped), 1 tbsp mustard, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp worchestershire sauce, and 1 tbsp harissa 
7. In large bowl mix meat, veggie mixture, 1 large egg, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp paprika, and 1 tbsp garam masala.
8. Stir in half of the tomato mixture
9. Combine and form into rounded large meatballs to fit into the muffin tin - or just spoon them in, until they are slightly above pan edge
10. Bake for 10 minutes
11. During this time bring the remaining tomato mixture to low heat on the stove and reduce down until it coats the back of a spoon.
12. After the meat loaf muffins have baked for 10 minutes, take them out of the oven and top each with the remaining tomato mixture. Bake for another 15 minutes and serve.

#319: Fish Pollichathu (aka Fish Wrapped in a Banana Leaf)

I can't take credit for this post, so I'll leave my contribution to the 'taste assessment' portion of this blog post, and say that Fish Pollichathu is just one of the many ways that I love having fish.  The fish comes out of the banana leaf, so perfectly moist and flavorful...it's unreal! It can be hard to locate banana leaves, but my dad managed to get them from the local Asian super grocery store.  I say 'super' because the place is HUGE.  So, try digging around and google-searching to see if you have one of these amazing stores nearby, and get yourself some banana leaves, to make this dish.

And, with that, here's the recipe from...my mom!! Enjoy guys!!

This method of cooking fish is a Syrian Christian specialty in Kerala called Meen Pollichathu.  With the wide availability of seafood and plentiful green plantain leaves this spicy and tangy fish side dish turned into a much sought after delicacy for tourists and all those who visit Kerala.

Ingredients:

Tilapia filets- 10

Plantain leaves to wrap the fish (you could use aluminum foil)

Red Onions- 2 chopped fine

Ripe tomatoes-2

Green chillies- 2

Ginger-garlic paste- 2 Tblspns

Coriander powder-1 tspn

Chili powder- 1 tspn

Lemon juice- 1 Tblspn

Fennel powder-1 Tblspn

Coconut Milk- 3 Tblspns

Curry leaves- 2 stems

Olive Oil, Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1.  Wash and pat dry the Tilapia filets. Marinate with lemon juice, a little salt and pepper and keep aside. Add 1 Tbsp of oil in a saucepan and add the chopped onions and curry leaves and saute until it turns translucent.
2.  Add chopped tomatoes and keep stirring until the mixture turns mushy and soft.
3. Now add ginger garlic paste, crushed green chilies, dry powders and saute together for about 5 mins. Add oil if necessary
4. Turn off the fire, season with salt and pepper to taste and add coconut milk.
5. For an extra flavor, pan fry the fish without breaking each filet. The interior should be raw but gently fry the exterior to light brown.
6. Place the fish filets in the center of a piece of dry Plantain leaf. Make sure the leaf is big enough to cover the fish into a packet.
7. Now, place the onion spice mixture about 1 large Tablespoon of it on each filet+plantain.
8. Wrap the fish and spice package individually into small packets and place in a baking sheet and broil until the tops are crispy and the spice mix is browned inside the packet.
9. Remove carefully and serve in the plantain leaf. 

#299 Indian Fried Okra, By: V

Last week I posted a recipe for a quick keema that I made.  To accompany the keema and rotis, I made a fried okra dish.  I looked in my freezer after a long day of work and I spotted a bag of chopped okra.  Frozen vegetables are amazing for making a quick dish because you can throw them right from the frozen bag into a pan and it can really just defrost in there.  Yes, yes, sure you can thaw it with a few zaps in the microwave, but really that is all unnecessary.  Place the frozen veggies in a pan with a covered lid and let the magic happen.



Indian Fried Okra

INGREDIENTS:

12 oz cut okra

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 green chilis

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place the coconut oil in a pan on high heat and let it melt down.  After the oil is melted and you can feel the heat rise off the pan, turn the heat down to medium heat.  Take the pan off the heat and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and green chilies.  Let them pop around for about 30 seconds.  BE CAREFUL! They tend to splurt and pop up, so watch your hands.  Put this back on the burner.

2.  Add in the ginger, garlic, and turmeric.  Let these cook into the seeds and chilies for another 30 seconds.  Turn the heat back to high and add the okra (yes, even frozen straight from the bag).

3.  Stir everything together, coating the okra in all of the spices.  Cover with a lid and continue letting it cook on high heat for about 10 minutes.  Then take the lid off, stir in the salt and continue to cook, uncovered, for another 20 minutes.

4.  When it's browned or green or blackened - however you like your okra - it's ready to eat!

As for this weekend, I spent my day yesterday checking out two wineries in Leesburg, Virginia:  Fabbioli Cellars and The Vineyards and Winery at Lost Creek.  Fabbioli Cellars pairs each tasting with a small tasting to bring out the flavors in the wine and to give customers an idea of what they could make to accompany their wines, if they choose to purchase.  The image downstairs is from Fabbioli Cellars.  While the wines were interesting (a pear based wine, an apple based wine), they were a bit too sweet for my pallette and I preferred the wines at Lost Creek.  At Lost Creek we purchased a bottle of their 2012 Chardonnay to drink and enjoy on their property since the weather was beautiful.  This was our way of enjoying the last few warm days of the year.

Later that night we went out to the U Street neighborhood of D.C. to the infamous Twins Jazz and heard a great sax performance by Anthony Nelson and had a pretty delicious cheesecake and coffee to end the night.  Great way to enjoy a beautiful Saturday!  And, now, back to the work week, but on a positive note :) 

Twins Jazz:  http://www.twinsjazz.com/

Lost Creek Winery:  http://www.lostcreekwinery.com/

Fabbioli Cellars:  http://www.fabbioliwines.com/