Desi in Panama City

Amar and I were not the only Indians to be in Panama City last week. Actually, there seems to be a huge collection of Indians that call Panama City home, as we discovered when trying to locate a taxi at PTY to get to our hotel. Someone had left a copy of an English language newspaper strewn across the back seat, which Amar promptly started leafing through. Right smack on page two was an announcement about how an upcoming festival complete with parade was NOT a little known Catholic holiday, but rather a ratha yatra festival celebrating the fifth year anniversary of the Hindu temple in Panama City! We briefly entertained the idea of going (just to see!), and then decided against it. We didn't just get off a six hour flight from Los Angeles to come to Panama to meet more diasporic Indians! A trip to the temple may have been auspicious, but I was eager to hit the beach.

Panama City is an interesting place, and Panama earned the nickname as the cross roads of the Americas because of the number of cultures that pass through its borders on a daily basis. The city has a population that contains people of many different origins: native Indians, Europeans, Columbians, Chinese, and Indians from India, to name a few. Many more use the infamous Panama Canal as a means of transportation for goods from different parts of the world. Due to favorable tax rates, and use of U.S. Dollars as currency, lots of Americans are retiring in Panama. It's an extremely cosmopolitan city, and not doesn't have the same reputation of San Jose, CR -- There is so much to do here than just "get out". From the restorations in the Casco Viejo, to the exciting nightlife off Calle Uruguay, I knew that Amar and I were going to really enjoy our first visit to this fabulous Central American City!

Thankfully, the roads weren't crowded on Saturday morning, and we were at hour hotel about 30 minutes after getting into a cab. Unfortunately, the taxi was $27 to our hotel! All the guide books said that this will be the most expensive taxi ride as taxis directly from the airport completely rip you off. Once we checked in, Amar snapped a picture of the view outside our hotel. As you can see, the city is developing!

Gourmet Pizza, Part 3

I completely admit this isn't the most appetizing picture.  The most awesome thing about this pizza is that it's a little bit unexpected.  The first time I ever tried fresh corn on a pizza I was sitting in a cafe on the the strip adjacent to Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro.  It was so delicious I kept thinking that I have to try this at home but never did. 

Anyway, I came across a great recipe for a corn relish, made a few edits, and decided to give it a go as a pizza topping.  A few other things you can do with this:  (1) use it as a relish on fish, (2) add a few tortilla chipas for an indian - inspired twist on chips and salsa, or (3) fantastic pizza topping!

Ingredients

1 can whole corn kernals
1/4 red onion, chopped
1 serrano chili,  chopped (de-seed to reduce heat)
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp chaat masala powder (careful with this ... it can get spicy)
1/2 lemon, juice
salt, as needed

1) Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

2) Use as relish for fish, topping for pizza, or pair with tortilla chips for an awesome chips and salsa treat!

Gourmet Pizza, Part 2

A classic Pizza made at home!  The traditional Margarita Pizza has been around forever!  And it's simple and delicious.  Just tomatoes, mozzarella, and basil.  Since I was making so many different pizzas and didn't want to invest in 3 different cheese, I still used mild, white cheddar.  I also added tomato sauce, because I just love the stuff. 

Ingredients

Pre-made pizza crust

Tomato Sauce

Cheese - any kind

1 small tomato (roma is best)

3 to 5 basil leaves, shredded or torn

salt / pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven according to directions of the ready-made pizza crust.

2)  Pre-warm crust for about 2 to 3 minutes in warm oven. Spread tomato sauce onto a pre-warmed crust.

3) Top with cheese, as desired. Top with tomatoes and basil. 

4) Cook in oven according to directions on ready made crust package.

5) Remove from oven. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6) Slice with pizza cutter and serve!

Gourmet Pizza, Part 1

As you all know, I'm a pizza addict. With the economy in its current state, my husband and I have been reluctant to engage in our weekly "order in pizza" night. When did the price of pizza go up so much? On the east coast I used order a large pizza for around $10 or less. Something is going on out here, because it's much more expensive now. I think the only place I can find a $10 is at Costco.

Anyway, we still decided to have pizza night last weekend, except I was in the kitchen making the pizza! The advantage of making pizza for pizza night is that you can make a variety of smaller pizzas. We had three different kinds: BBQ pizza, Spicy Corn pizza, and Tomato-Basil pizza.

When it comes to the crust, there are a couple of things you can do:

1) Go to your local pizzeria and offer to buy some pizza dough directly from them.

2) Buy frozen dough from the grocery store.

3) Purchase a ready-made crust from the grocery store.

For my BBQ pizza, I chose option 3.

Ingredients

Ready-made Pizza Crust

Cheese - any variety you like (I used mild, white Cheddar)

1/4 Red Onion, sliced in rings

1 - 2 tomatoes, sliced

BBQ Sauce (any variety you prefer)

Pizza / Marinara Sauce

Grilled chicken (optional)

Grilled Tofu (optional)

Cilantro

Salt / Pepper to taste

1) Preheat oven according to directions of the ready-made pizza crust.

2) Mix 1 part BBQ sauce to 2 parts Pizza Sauce. This is important! If you use only BBQ sauce, the pizza will be extremely salty and unpalatable. Pre-warm crust for about 2 to 3 minutes in warm oven. Spread this sauce onto a pre-warmed crust.

3) Top with cheese, as desired. Top with red onions, tomatoes, and cilantro. If desired, add grilled chicken or grilled tofu.

4) Cook in oven according to directions on ready made crust package.

5) Remove from oven. Add salt and pepper to taste.

6) Slice with pizza cutter and serve!

Imported Ethnic Foods; Ethnic Fare, but Buyer BEWARE!

Not the happiest note, although when I was reading this article, it seemed eerily familiar. Hard to believe it was written in 1986. There are a few places I shop where the same is still true today.

Please be careful when you buy your ethnic groceries. Always be sure to check dates / expiration, and confirm storage temperatures. If something looks messy or wrong, don't buy it!

Imported ethnic foods; exotic fare but buyer beware
FDA Consumer , Dec-Jan, 1986 by Chris W. Lecos

The scene is a familiar one for anyone who has ever shopped in an ethnic food store. The shelves are stacked with a variety of exotic, packaged goods one would not find readily--if at all--in a huge, neat, fluorescent-lit supermarket, and many of the products are labeled in the same foreign language being spoken by the store's operators and most of its customers.

There is an unknown number of such stores in the United States today. Some have been in operation for decades--a legacy from immigrants who brought to this country their distinctive cultures, including their food preferences. Others are more recent, sprouting in urban areas populated by the waves of new immigrants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and other areas.

Many of these stores are small, family-run operations. Their patrons are not only immigrants and their U.S.-born offspring, but also other Americans whose appetites and curiosity are whetted by the cuisines of foreign countries.

Until recently, ethnic food stores generally did not attract much attention from local health inspectors. No outbreaks of food poisoning that could be linked to the products sold there had ever been reported, and the number of customers was usually small, compared to supermarkets and other high-volume food stores.

Now, this is all changing. In a recent memorandum to state health officials, FDA's Division of Federal-State Relations warned that random inspections by the agency in various parts of the country had uncovered an "unacceptably high rate of defects" in many improted, packaged foods that were earmarked for sale through ethnic stores and restaurants. To protect the public from the potential health hazards those defects pose, FDA has developed a 10-point program that includes fostering federal-state efforts and increased surveillance by the agency itself of foods coming into this country.

Full Text of Article

Pan-Roasted Spiced Chicken with a Honey-Lemon Sauce

Pan-Roasted chicken is something that everyone seems to love making at home. It's actually the first ever meat recipe I mastered (little secret - I AM a vegetarian! But don't let that scare you, just because I don't eat it, doesn't mean that I can't cook it.). The original recipe is for Lemon-Rosemary Pan-Roasted Chicken (I'll share next time I make it at home), and it is really good, but after making that a few times, I decided to spice it up and add my own twist.

This is a great recipe to impress the in-laws, so if you have them over sometime soon, you may want to try this, particularly if you are looking for something delicious with an Indian twist. A side of curried potatoes, or green veggies, and you are ready to go!

Ingredients

6 to 12 pieces bone-in, skin on chicken (6 – 8 drumsticks are the easiest to maneuver for newbies)
Kosher Salt
Black pepper (freshly ground is best)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided into 3 tbs. and 1 tbs.
1/3 of a cup fresh lemon juice
1 - 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
3 to 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
5 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
1/4 teaspoon ginger paste

1 - 2 teaspoons honey (adjust for sweetness)

2 heaping teaspoons garam masala
large, oven-proof skillet

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Dry chicken by patting with a paper towel and season it with salt and pepper. Rub with garam masala on all sides, and even under the skin, if possible. Do NOT remove the skin.

2) Over medium-high heat, heat 1 - 2 tablespoons (if you have 12 pieces, err on the side of 2 tbs, if just 6 pieces, 1 is probably fine) of olive oil in skillet. Once hot, add chicken pieces skin side down and cook until deep brown. This should take about 7 minutes. Turn over, and cook on the other side for an additional 2 minutes. Note, if the chicken “sticks” as you try to turn it over, give it another minute or two on the first side. It should not stick aggressively once browned.

3) Make a sauce in a small bowl by combining lemon juice, remaining olive oil, vinegar, garlic, 2 tbs of cilantro, ginger paste, and honey.

4) Once the chicken is done on the other side, arrange it skin-side up on the skillet. Mix the sauce, and then pour it over the chicken. Don’t remove the fat in the pan that accumulated during the browning of the chicken unless there is an excessive amount (over 2 tablespoons).

5) Move the skillet to the oven and bake until the chicken is cooked through and a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees. Anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five minutes depending on the cut of meat.

6) Remove from oven and place pieces of chicken onto a serving dish. Add the remaining cilantro to the sauce in the skillet and mix. Pour the remaining sauce out over the chicken. Serve warm.

Masala Chai Ice Cream

A masala is a mixture of spices, and contrary to popular belief, it does not have to be a mixture of hot or spicy spices.  (Garam masala, however is a mixtures of spicy spices, as the word garam means hot or spicy.)  Masala chai is tea infused with a variety of spices.  Usually, the extra spices are ginger, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom, but others can be added as well.  Generally, the tea is not spicy, but depending on the mixture of spices you add can make it a little spicier than expected.  

One of our wedding gifts was a Cusinart Ice Cream Maker, which we used all of once, to make basic vanilla ice cream at home.  The true ice cream addict that I am, my mind started churning on what I could make next.  I absolutely love chai lattes, so I decided to concoct a recipe that could turn a chai latte into chai ice cream.  It turned out wonderfully, so for anyone with an ice cream maker, do try it out.

Ingredients

4 egg yolks

250 ml milk (100% milk fat), about 1 cup

250 ml heavy cream

150 ml sugar (less if you don't like your ice cream very sweet)

3 tablespoons masala tea powder

If you don't have masala tea powder, you can use two or three black tea bags, 3 crushed green cardamom, five or six cloves, about 1/2 a teaspoon of minced ginger, one cinnamon stick.  

1)  Beat the egg yolks and sugar until the volume of the mixture increases and turns pale yellow.  It will be smooth and custardy.

2) Heat milk and cream over stove, stirring constantly until scalding.  Add in tea powder or tea bags and collection of spices.  The milk will turn a light coffee color.  Continuously stir to make sure the milk does not burn or boil over.

3).  Strain milk mixture to remove spices and/ or tea powder.  Take a small portion of the milk mixture, and add it slowly to the eggs and sugar, while beating constantly.  Make sure you do this, so that you can bring the temperature of the egg mixture up to the temperature of the milk without cooking the eggs.  Add a little more of the milk and continue beating.  Finally, add the rest of the milk and beat until fully incorporated and smooth.

4)  Cover and set aside in the refrigerator or freezer to cool.  Once room temperature, pour the mixture into your ice cream maker, following directions as provided by the manufacturer.

5)  Serve and enjoy!  

If you can't get the ice cream "frozen" enough in the maker, you can put it in the freezer.  Because of the eggs, the ice cream will stay fairly creamy, even if finished off in the freezer.

Refreshing Coconut Mojito

Nothing beats a relaxing weekend! Except maybe an awesomely refreshing drink! My husband and I are getting ready for our upcoming vacation to Bocas Del Toro, Panama and I was feeling in a tropical mood. Ever since the economy declined, heading out to the bars to spend $8 or $10 (or $12 at some spots in LA!) hasn't really been something we're inclined to do anymore. However, I developed quite a reputation for drink crafting in graduate school, and on these lazy-day weekends, I pull out all my supplies and create some great drinks for me and my hubby to enjoy at home.

To match our upcoming vacation, I created the perfect island drink. It's something familiar, but with a little special twist, that makes it oh-so yummy! (Sorry Rachael Ray, but I REFUSE to say YUM-O!) And it's very easy, something you can make at home in a snap to impress your family and friends.

Ingredients

Bacardi Light Rum (or any brand of light rum)
White granulated sugar
3 juicy limes
1 bunch of mint
1 can of coconut milk
club soda or lemon lime soda (diet works, if you prefer)
martini shaker
cocktail glass
muddler (or a good old tablespoon, if you don't have one)

1) Slice the limes into eighths. Juice 3 eighths of a lime into the martini shaker. Discard two of the lime rinds, but drop the third into the shaker.

2) Add about 5 shredded mint leaves into the shaker.

3) Add 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar into the shaker (you can adjust this based on how sweet you like your drink).

4) Add 1 to 2 shots light rum.

5) Muddle the contents of the shaker. If you don't have a muddler, go ahead and use the back of a tablespoon to get in there. Basically, you want to break up the mint leaves, to infuse the sugar and other ingredients.

6) Add 2 to 3 teaspoons of coconut milk. Add ice. You'll probably want to add a decent amount of ice.

7) Shake, shake, SHAKE!

8) Dump out into cocktail glass.

9) Top off with club soda or lemon-lime soda (club soda keeps it less sweet).
It may froth slightly at the top, so be careful when adding in the soda.

10) Garnish with fresh mint, and a straw!

If you don't want this to be a coconut mojito, you can replace the coconut milk with any fruit juice or fruit puree that you like (my favorites are passion fruit juice or blackberry puree). And, if you are like my hubby who doesn't like the carbonation, you can omit the club soda. Just be sure to put a little more ice in the shaker. Beware: Without club soda or lemon-lime soda to mellow it out, this variation is not for the faint of heart.

I love making cocktails at home, and I'm working on compiling a collection of tips so you can love making cocktails at home, too. They'll be up here soon. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Top Chef - FINALLY an Indian Contestant

I LOVE Top Chef! It's definitely my favorite show, and you can only imagine how happy I was to see that Top Chef New York (Season 5) included Radhika Desai, a chef of Indian origin.

In the first episode of the season she mentioned that just because she was Indian she hoped that everyone didn't think that all she cooked was rice and curries. She makes a good point, a lot of people (Indians included!) think that it's impossible to create an Indian inspired menu without rice or "curry". That's hardly the case, and Radhika proved it time and again as she infused Indian spices or elements into her dishes on the show. My personal favorite was her "kabob dog", where she created a lamb and pork spiced sausage with mint and tamarind chutney, garnished with onions, cucumbers and lemon. However, sometimes she seemed to fall short, particularly when it came to leading others in the kitchen. Considering her forced leadership role in restaurant wars, it's not surprising that she was cut at the end of the episode.

I think Radhika sets a great example for starter chefs experimenting with Indian food: you don't have to overload your dishes with numerous unfamiliar spices to pick up Indian flavors, and other cuisines lend themselves to "Indianization" if you are thoughtful with flavor combinations. Despite your family background, Indian cooking may not be innate (It wasn't for me!). It takes time, effort, and patience to perfect your skill. Experiment and practice! It's the only way to become truly comfortable in the kitchen.

Oh no! I forgot to buy that!

As starter chefs, we can hardly be expected to have everything we need in the kitchen all the time, and at our fingertips. I found this great list from Vegetarian Times that helps you substitute ingredients that you are likely to have in your kitchen if you can't find or are out of the ingredient that the recipe calls for:
If you don't have...

Atta (chapati flour)
Use 1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour plus 1/2 cup sifted whole-wheat flour

Chana dal
Use Split yellow peas

Curry powder
Use Mixture of ground ginger, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, turmeric and fennel

Garam masala
Use Mixture of 1 tsp. cardamom seeds, 1 Tbs. cumin seed, 1 Tbs. coriander seed, 2 tsp. black peppercorns, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cloves, and 1 tsp. nutmeg

Jaggery (coarse palm sugar)
Use Date sugar or brown sugar

Toor dal, urad dal, mung dal
Use Red lentils

This list just shows the Indian substitutions, but the site is comprehensive and has subs for Asian, Mexican, and Mediterranean, too.

Pulled Coffee

The first time I ever saw my granny do it, I was amazed. I was just 4 years old, spending the summer in Bangalore. Little did I know, but I was falling in love with a long standing tradition: Indian Filtered Coffee. The secret to the unique taste of this coffee is that it is only about 80% fresh ground coffee and about 20% chicory, or an herb that is dried and ground and sometimes used as a coffee additive. The coffee is filtered with a special contraption, and it is usually extremely strong (tada! Indian - style espresso!)

My granny used to take this coffee and add a few tablespoons of it to boiling milk and sugar in a steel container. Then came the really cool part: she poured it back and forth in this elaborate dance where streams of milk moved in large arcs (hence the name "pulled" coffee). And when she was done, the liquid was semi-cooled, but frothy, sweet, and incredibly delicious.

Frothy, pulled coffee in a south Indian "dabarah"

Unfortunately, I haven't really found a way to perfectly replicate that amazing taste at home, but I like do something to make coffee at home a little more special.

Ingredients:
1 shot of espresso
1 cup milk
2 green cardamom pods, crushed
sugar, as desired

1) Bring the milk and crushed cardamom pods to a scalding boil on the stove. Be sure to watch and stir constantly! Milk can easily burn or boil over.

2) Strain milk (to catch the pods) into a coffee mug. Add 1 shot of espresso and sugar (as desired). Enjoy!

3) If you are lucky enough to have a South Indian "dabarah", instead of pouring the milk, sugar, and espresso into a mug, pour them into the dabarah and "pull" the coffee back and forth by pouring it in high arcs between the dabarah and the associated steel glass. Be sure to be careful and hold everything by the rims! The coffee will be hot. Once frothy, pour into the steel glass and enjoy! Watch an expert.

Cardamom is a pricey spice, but it's the perfect thing to add an element of flavor and interest to a plain cup of cafe au lait.

The Simplest Pizza -- Ever!

I have a serious problem. I'm addicted (and I mean ADDICTED) to pizza. I could eat it everyday, for every meal. Actually, if I could eat it every day for every meal, I'd die an extremely happy (albeit chubby) woman.

In my single days, I did eat more than my fair share of pizza. I ate by the slice at little shops in Manhattan, and from pizza delivery joints in Los Angeles. I loved it all: thin crust, deep dish, hand-tossed, even frozen. I was an equal opportunity pizza eater. But that all had to come to an end. I got married and the thought of ordering pizza for dinner every other night was just out of the question. Not to mention the fact that most pizza is not only fairly void of nutritional value, but just chock full of calories.

I had to find a way to satiate my pizza cravings, post-marriage. I didn't think that hiding in the closet with pieces stuffed in my pockets was going to work, so I invented my own home-style pizza. A pizza that is somewhat better for you than what you can find in the freezer at your local grocery store, and definitely better for you than what you can order from outside. And best of all, it tastes so good, you can make one for each family member and they will love you! Everyone will be waiting for pizza night. I used to serve this to my friends in grad school after we'd come home from a night out. It's cheaper and faster than waiting for delivery, and much better for you, too.

Ingredients

2 - 3 tablespoons tomato sauce

2 tablespoons shredded cheese (any kind you like... I use a white mild cheddar)

1 table spoon shredded parmesan

1/2 clove garlic, diced

2 - 3 button mushroom caps, sliced (or any other topping you'd like, e.g. bell peppers, olives, pre-cooked cubed chicken, or pepperoni)

garlic salt

cracked black pepper

1 whole wheat pita

crushed red pepper (optional)

diced serrano chili (optional - only for the super spicy!)

1. Warm pita in toaster oven for about 1 minute. You don't want the pita to become crispy, just warmed through.

2. Remove pita from oven and spread tomato sauce over pizza. Shake garlic salt (minimal) evenly across tomato sauce. Shake crushed red pepper across tomato sauce for extra heat, if desired. If you want it really spicy (desi-style!), distribute diced serrano chili across tomato sauce.

3. If you don't like raw garlic, I advise you skip this step. Spread 1/2 clove of diced garlic across tomato sauce.

4. Evenly placed sliced mushrooms across top of tomato sauce, as shown below:

5. Top with shredded cheese (both parmesan and other). Add fresh cracked pepper as desired.

6. Return to toaster oven for 2 to 3 minutes, or the cheese is melted to the level you like.

7. Remove from oven, plate, slice (if you want!), and enjoy!

I put mushrooms on this because they are fairly high in protein content compared to other low-cal toppings, but you can add almost anything you want onto this pizza. Just watch that you don't add too much cheese which can really load on the fat and calories. I promise you won't need it, because it tastes so good without it. The whole wheat pita delivers a boost of fiber. Most importantly, it just tastes fabulous!