A SPICY VALENTINE'S NIGHT....
                                                         WITH MOI?

What are YOU doing this Valentine's Day? Is it a bit forward to ask you to spend that night with me?

Now calm yourself. I'm a good Indian girl. Momma didn't raise no scandalous fool! However, momma did raise me to know how to make chutneys galore and an array of appetizers to pair with them. I would love to share my know-how with you this February 14th. Come single, with your Boo, or with friends but, just come with an empty belly and celebrate this Valentine's Day in the Masala Merrynade spirit!

What you get from this experience:

• a bottomless cup of masala chai
• easy-to-recreate recipes to take home for 6 Odiya chutneys
• a sampling of all chutneys with a spread of fritters, samosas, and cutlets all while watching me give a demo of each chutney
• a sumptuous vegetarian dinner after appetizers galore
• a jar of homemade chutney to take home

To sign up, visit:
http://www.sidetour.com/experiences/spice-up-valentine-s-day-with-a-chutney-demo-and-tasting

Hope to see you there!

SOMETIMES IT PAYS TO BE SUPERFICIAL: A GUIDE TO BUYING FRESH FISH

We’re all aware of the adage that beauty is skin deep. But let’s face it, the first thing we notice when we meet someone is their exterior beauty: their skin, their eyes, their scent, and traits of such nature. In short, we notice the way they present themselves to the outside world. Some may deem this route of weeding out potential partners superficial. However, there is one place where your superficiality will prove useful: your local fish market.

In this market, you have to be privy to the exterior as the skin, eyes, and even the touch of the skin give you important clues as to whether or not your choice is a worthy investment. No, this does not mean your mahi mahi should look like Meghan Fox (ok, honestly I just wanted to use her image and reference her because she's hot... and I was hoping the image would draw you in.) However, there is some wisdom that can be transferred from the proverbial meat market to your local wet market.
 

Eyes

Eyes are windows to the sole, or any other fish for that matter. Look for clarity and brightness. You’d be wary of a date with dull and lifeless eyes, right? Expect no less of your fish. Not that it should be winking back at you but, a fish with cloudy eyes is an indication that it is well past its prime. Your fish should also have bulging eyes. Eyes that are sunken reveal a dehydrated fish, which means it spent more time on ice than in the water before you take it home.

Stankness

There’s nothing that poses more of a deal breaker than a date who emits foul odor. You certainly don’t want your date smelling fishy. But you think its OK if your fish smells fishy though, right? Wrong. If you walk into a market and your first waft smells intensely of fish then be warned, the seafood is not fresh. Truly fresh fish should smell of the sea and have an almost briny scent.

Skin

Come on, let’s be honest, we notice a person’s skin right off the bat, too, right? Well, things like discoloration on skin is neither appealing on people nor fish. Both are at their height of attractiveness when the skin has a healthy sheen and flesh appears firm. Touching the flesh of your prospective fish is highly recommended if your fishmonger allows you to do so. If you press the flesh of a fish and the skin does not bounce back, you know you have an old fish on hand. If you don’t even wanna touch your fish, don’t take it home. It’s no good for you. Same goes for a potential boo. Granted, personality is very important. But come on, if touching his or her skin screams cootie and not booty then is it really gonna last?

Gills

Finally, a truly fresh fish should have gills that are vibrant red, and not brown. Your date on the other hand should not have gills at all, red or otherwise. If so, then I don’t know what to tell you, except that you’ve hit rock bottom and it’s probably time to take on a hobby. Suggestions for hobbies? Cooking! Now that you know how to purchase fresh fish, I recommend you try my recipe for an Odia classic, macha bhaja (pan fried fish) that’s easy to prepare and damn delicious.

Recipes

I’ve included a recipe for ada-rosuna bhata (fresh ginger-garlic paste) that can be used in my fish recipe. Now days you can find ginger-garlic paste in most grocery stores. However, a fresh batch will surely elevate the taste of your fresh fish, or any other dish for that matter. You may keep it in your refrigerator and reap its benefits for up to 10 days. It’s a good thing to have on hand. Perhaps make this on a night you don’t have a date? Perhaps make macha bhaja on a night you wanna stay in and make something different but quick for you and your date?  

Do your thing, whether that's dating or cooking, or both. And remember, if at first you don’t succeed, there are always other fish in the sea. You just have to know what to look for.

 

ADA-ROSUNA BHATA (Ginger-Garlic Paste)

yields approximately 3/4 cups bhata

Ingredients

• 30 whole garlic pods, sliced
• 3 ounces fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

How to throw down

Place garlic and ginger in blender and puree until smooth. Transfer to air tight container or jar. Refrigerate if not using immediately.

MACHA BHAJA (PAN FRIED FISH)

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon fresh ada-rosuna bhata (see recipe above)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder
• 2 pounds catfish steaks (about 1.5-inch thick)
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• lemon wedges and thinly sliced onions for accompaniments (optional)

How to throw down

1. Place ada- rosuna bhata, salt, turmeric, and chili powder in a bowl and mix to combine.
2. Add catfish to bowl and coat evenly with spice mixture.
3. Heat a big skillet over high heat (you want to use a bigger skillet so you don't overcrowd your fish thus ensuring that the temperature of your oil doesn't drop significantly). Once the pan is hot (about 1 minute), add oil.
4. Allow oil to heat (about 2 minutes) and add fish to skillet. Cover skillet to prevent oil from splattering. Reduce heat to medium-high.
5. Fry fish for 4 to 5 minutes. Flip. Cook for another 6 minutes.
6. Remove from heat. Transfer to serving dish. Garnish with lemon wedges and onions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAVE THE CHICKEN FOR YA CURRY

I wanted my first real meaty post to be nothing short of I am woman! Hear me roar! Try my curry! However, somewhere between the creation of my blog and gathering material for it, LIFE happened. I found myself in a relationship and then a series of breakups with the same man. Even a Bollywood flick would be jealous of our melodrama, meandering, and convoluted plot lines.

Suddenly all my tales of love and food, pieces I thought would be valuable blog fodder just didn’t seem relevant. So I put off writing recipes and did what any self-respecting woman would do. I sang along with Anna Kendrick’s rendition of You’re gonna miss me when I’m gone into my hairbrush in the privacy of my bedroom about kabazillion times. I spent hours bending my sister’s ears. I had my closest friends rally around me and we deciphered the failed relationship like it was the Da Vinci code. I re-read Melissa Bank’s “The Girls’ Guide to Hunting to Fishing”, always my go-to book post relationship maleficence (it’s the literary equivalent of cookie dough, something I ceremoniously consume only after breakups for comfort). In short, I went through the steps needed to purge myself of the woes and blues afflicting the heart. However, as the days went on and I gained insight and support, the one thing I couldn’t seem to retrieve was my appetite. Break my heart. Squash my dreams. But steal my appetite? Oh hellz no!

And then it happened. The post-apocalyptic conversation with the EX that sets a woman straight. I’m listening to him give me his version of why and how things went wrong. But all I kept hearing is bok bok bok bok. CHICKEN! Bok bok bok. The conversation drove home a very potent realization: he would always be too cowardly when it came to taking responsibility for his feelings and actions. Sure, he was manly in many ways. But he was pure chicken in the ways that mattered most.

After talking to him I felt the peace to love and let go. I begrudgingly admitted to myself that I had been dating a chicken and that I had enabled his chickenosity (that’s not a real word until now, folks) because it was easier. Yes. I had allowed myself to engage in a 10 month love affair with poultry.

Realizing this gave me my I am WOMAN, hear me ROAR moment. And then I realized, no no, the roaring was my belly. I was hungry dammit. I was finally hungry! The break-up had made me not eat for weeks. Ok. A WEEK. But that’s like doggy years for me. I was craving comfort food. If my western counterparts needed chicken soup for the soul, then I needed chicken tharkari (curry) complete with aloo (potatoes) and savory, spiced jhola (curry gravy). I needed to make my Bou’s (“mother” in Odia) recipe and fill myself up, literally, with nothing but goodness.

With appetite back in tow and the desire to return to the kitchen and cook up some comfort, I had another epiphany, one that wasn’t as palatable as Bou’s curries. It dawned on me that he wasn’t the only one who was a chicken. I had been one, too.

I knew during many points of our relationship that some things just didn’t add up. I always had gnawing feelings that we were trying to mold one another into people we weren’t at the present and possibly may never be. There were certain expectations that I had that I never uttered simply because I didn’t want to be deemed that girl. But what was I so scared of? Another failed relationship? Or that if I didn’t say it out loud I limited the risk of being disappointed? Or that if I put certain expectations out in the cosmos and he wasn’t willing to meet them, then we’d be over? That I would have the answer I didn’t want but secretly knew? Bok bok bok bok bok.

Somewhere along the line I had chickened out. I had chickened out of laying everything out on the table. I had chickened out of saying in no uncertain terms that I did or did not want very important things. Chicken, chicken, chicken. There was a chicken epidemic going on in New York and I’m here to save you from it.

Now come closer to your computer screen and have this wisdom seared in your cranium, men and women alike. This took some months for me to get and you’re getting this for free; repeat after me, concerning chicken: YA DON’T DATE, YA MARINATE! And DON’T BE A CHICKEN. Cook some chicken! I know, I know, you are what you eat, right? Wrong. What if it’s as easy as allocation. Save the chicken for ya curry and then be a MAN or be a WOMAN, well hopefully always, but particularly during those pivotal moments when it really matters. I’m sharing Bou’s chicken tharkari recipe with you. Cook this. Eat this. Take the time to marinate your chicken. Take the time to make the jeera masala. Making all the pastes from scratch make a difference. The bursts of flavor will slap the stupid out from you.  It’s not the quickest curry recipe, but it’s worth it. All the good stuff takes a little time though it may take you a coupla tries to get it right. I don’t even know if we’re talking about curry any more. But I will say, fill yourself up with all kinds of love and comfort so you can go forth and tell your man or tell your woman, this is me, take me or leave me as I am. And if you get left for saying so, is that so bad in the grand scheme of things?

DON'T BE A CHICKEN. Enjoy the spicy life!

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JEERA MASALA
Yield = 1 ½ cups

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ounces ginger, peeled and diced
• 8 garlic pods
• 1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds
• 2 dry chilies
• 4 ounces cold tap water

How to throw down:

1. Place all the ingredients in blender. Blend until paste consistency forms.
2. Transfer paste to a jar or container and store in the refrigerator if not using immediately. To maintain the integrity of your jeera masala, do not refrigerate and use longer than 1 week; at most, you can stretch it out for ten days. You can keep it in the freezer for up to 3 months.

BOU’S CHICKEN THARKARI

Serves 4

Chicken Merrynade (Its like marinade. Get it now?) Ingredients
 

• 3 pounds chicken thighs, skin removed and halved

• 2 tablespoons sour cream

• 1 tablespoon grated ginger

• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

Tharkari Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons canola oil

• 2 whole cinnamon sticks

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 small onion, thinly sliced

• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

• ¼ cup jeera masala (see recipe above)

• ½ pound potatoes, quartered

• 12 ounces water (you can use chicken stock, too)

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

 How to throw down:

1. Combine all ingredients of chicken merrynade in a mixing bowl. Marinate for at least 2 hours.

2.  Heat a heavy bottom pot over high heat on the stove.

3.  Once the pot is hot (takes about 2 minutes) add 2 tablespoons oil. Heat oil for 2 minutes.

4.  Add cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Stir. Cook for 2 minutes.

5.   Add onions and turmeric and saute for 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium. Add jeera masala and stir to mix.

6.  Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot and continue sauteing masalas for 2 to 3 more minutes.

7.  Add marinated chicken to pot. Return heat to high. Stir to mix, making sure chicken pieces are evenly coated with masalas. Sauté for 10 minutes.

8.  Add potatoes to pot. Stir. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

9.  Add water or stock to pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to medium-high. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes.

10. Add garam masala and stir to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low and keep cover off. Continue simmering for another 5 minutes.

11.  Remove pot from heat and transfer to serving dish.

GETTING TO KNOW ME OVER CHAI

Greetings! Before I tell you about myself and we do a lil meet and greet I think, at the risk of appearing bossy from the get-go, that you should step away from the computer, make some chai, and come back to get to know me. I say this only because I truly believe that all it takes is one good cup of masala chai to cement any relationship so, shall we?

MASALA MERRYNADE CHAI (4 servings)

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces water
• 4 ounces whole milk
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 heaping teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
• 5 green cardamom pods, crushed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon powder
• 3 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• 3 tablespoons loose leaf black tea

How to throw down:

• Place water, milk, and all the masalas in a saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil. Remove from heat. Add tea. Steep for 2 minutes. Strain out leaves and masalas. Pour into cup and read my blog.

Now, a bit about tea before a bit about me. Chai preferences and procedures vary from person to person and from household to household. Depending on where home is in India, you may use fennel seeds, black peppercorn, star anise, and condensed milk instead of or along with the ingredients I listed. Green tea may be used instead of black. Milk quantities may outweigh water. The recipes are endless! Even in my family of five, chai preferences differ from Satpathy to Satpathy. My parents tend to only add freshly grated ginger and sugar. In fact my dad, despite eagerly slurping down any cup I put in front of him, often gripes that my chai is too strong and sugary. But like I always say, I prefer my chai like I prefer my men: dark, bold, and sweet. Can I get an AMEN? Or can I just get a man. Too early for such banter? Ok. Moving on...

Very recently, in an attempt to have just a wee lil less of me to love, I have omitted sugar from the process. Instead, I add a little agave syrup to my cup and that does the trick. Some people wake up with a raging hard-on. I wake up with a raging sweet tooth. It happens. But fret not, even without sugar, there’s a still lot of me to love. I tend to have an appetite for life and love and that’s where this blog comes in.

So, a bit about me. I’m 33 years young and a bunch of other stuff all at once. Woman. Cook. Daughter. Sister. Mausi (aunt). Friend. Lover. Writer. Indian. American. Dreamer. Self-appointed Bollywood superstar. Clumsy. And always hungry. I was born and bred in Nashville, Tennessee which accounts for my sometimes big hair. I’d like to think there are sometimes big thoughts in all that big hair, thoughts about food and culture, culture and love, love and food, who we are, how we eat, what we cook, who we cook for, how we gather around food, what we eat when we’re alone in the dark. Who we want to be seen as in the light. Ah, the categories and topics, much like a possible ingredient list for masala chai, are endless.

The big hair and big thoughts, and everything in between, have served as my constant companions in New York. Five years here (with a brief stint abroad somewhere tucked in there) has seen a degree in classic French cuisine, the pursuit of a Masters in Food Studies, numerous internships and jobs in recipe development, colorful meals, colorful men, and meaningful conversations and interactions that have colored my worldview. Lots of color and vibrancy. Lots of everything really, be it questions, answers, friends, or food. Think of me as the Curry Bradshaw of New York if you will.

Aside from musings from friends and experiences here in New York, you’ll see cameos in written form from my family. They have shaped and continue to shape who I am.  My mother has single-handedly molded my culinary world view, so much so that I am currently working on a cookbook that captures, or strives to at least, her culinary prowess. Its my way of giving props to her and our shared identity of cultivating a sense of self not through food alone but, more specifically, through cooking and filling the bellies of the ones we love with what we make.

You’ll find me referencing anecdotes from my parents and my Odia upbringing quite a bit. Chances are you have no idea what Odia is or where on the map of India Odisha sits. You'll quickly learn however. My hyphenated identity of straddling two worlds of being both an American Southerner and American Odia permeates my food and my language for better or for worse. I love my shrimp tharkari (curry) with grits. I'm trying to come up with a fool-proof recipe for masala fried chicken. I like my mashed potatos made with ghee. I feel torn between how to spend my energy: shall I perfect my buttermilk biscuits or do I play with flavor profiles to make the most sumptuous chutneys? You’ll find recipes for that and so much more here.

The posts will be frequent as my hunger for merriment deepens. So enjoy your chai and feel free to post comments, suggestions, recipes, tips, and anything else you desire on my blog along the way. Welcome to MASALA MERRYNADE and gratitude in advance for stopping in!