Back in the Saddle

I finally found my groove again. In case you couldn't tell, I've been kind of cranky and under the weather recently. The holidays do this to me every year. But this past couple of weeks I've been on an Indian food kick, which started at my in-laws in Raleigh, when we made a wreath of 108 vadai (deep fried lentil cakes, shaped like doughnuts), wrapped it in foil, and brought it to the temple for Hanuman.

Making food for God reminded me that every time I make food, I am making it for God. I really needed that.

Later on my sister-in-law showed us how to make stuffed parathas with leftover potato curry. A paratha is basically a chapati fried in a bit of oil. And a chapati, if you don't know, is basically the Indian tortilla. My daughters learned the process of rolling out and stuffing the parathas amazingly quickly, and I rejoiced at the thought that someday in the not-too-distant-future they would be able to make me dinner. What a glorious day that will be! (I like making food for God, but I'm more than OK with others doing it too.)

Back at home I went on a North Indian spree and made channa masala (chickpea curry) with chapatis. I then followed that up with a riff on sag paneer made with collard greens instead of spinach. Sag paneer is basically a spiced creamed spinach with cubes of fried paneer (mild cheese). And more chapatis, which my older daughter rolled out entirely on her own! This saved me a ton of work and she loved every minute of it. Hooray for child labor!

I thought of passing on the recipe for collard greens paneer today, but then realized it would make more sense to just give my North Indian formula, so that not only could you make collard greens, but really anything North Indian. It's pretty easy, but requires more thought and experimentation on my part. Sorry to tease you like that. The collard green paneer will be worth coming back for though, I promise.

In the meantime, I wanted to share another recipe that totally knocked our socks off, based on a recipe from Yamuna Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking. But before I do, I just have to talk about this book. I've owned it for several years, and it has been worth every bit of the $40 I spent on it. Most of the time it sits on my bookshelf collecting dust, but every so often I am in need of inspiration, so I take it down, turn to a random page, and begin reading. And every single time I am inspired to keep on cooking. There are just so many good ideas and exciting flavor combinations in this book.

So, anyway, I made these bananas for dessert the other night. The sauce will force you to lick your plate clean, and then be quite despondent that you have not made a double batch. So I recommend you double the recipe. (Also, please don't be put off by this picture. The bananas really were delicious. Unfortunately, with winter my access to natural lighting is limited and the bananas were so good we ate them all and didn't save any for me to photograph in daylight the next day. And I don't have $173.95 to buy a Lowel Tota-Light. Nor do I necessarily want to, as it goes against the grain of my lo-fi ethic.)

Broiled Bananas with Citrus, Toasted Almonds, and Vanilla Yogurt

Based on a recipe from Yamuna Devi's Lord Krishna's Cuisine

Juice of one lime

Juice of one orange (large chunks of orange are OK, even desirable)

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom*

2 tablespoons melted ghee or butter (ghee is preferable)

4 firm bananas

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons blanched slivered almonds

Vanilla yogurt (for spooning on top)

Preheat your oven's broiler. In a small container mix together the lime juice, orange juice, cinnamon, and cardamom. Lightly grease a small rimmed baking sheet with a little bit of the ghee. Slice the bananas in half lengthwise and place on the baking sheet cut side up. Pour the juice over the bananas, drizzle with the rest of the ghee, and sprinkle the brown sugar on top.

Place the baking sheet under the broiler, and broil for about 4 minutes, or until the bananas are a bit browned and bubbly. Sprinkle the almonds on top of the bananas and return to the broiler for a couple more minutes, until the almonds are golden brown. Serve with dollops of vanilla yogurt on top. (This makes an excellent dessert, but I think it would also be great on oatmeal or French toast for breakfast.)

*If you have a coffee grinder, I recommend grinding whole cardamom pods in it. Then grind your next batch of coffee beans without cleaning out the cardamom residue. Best coffee ever!