Potato Masala with Forbidden Black Rice (part 3 of a 3 curry meal)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

Tweet

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

~

This is the third & final installment in my curry trilogy.  Please read the first one – my

Thai Green Curry Coconut Shrimp

as it boasts both a great recipe and also a funny story about being here:

The second curry is my

Indian Yellow Curry Cauliflower with Coconut Milk

These three curries are all very simple & make a very pretty presentation when plated together.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Potato Masala

INGREDIENTS

2 large potatoes (or 3 cups) – peeled & cut into chunks

1 large onion

2 medium tomatoes

1 cup peas

1 TBS red curry (or other curry powder)

2 tsp chili powder

4 garlic cloves

1 TBS prepared ginger paste (or chopped fresh ginger)

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

2 TBS garam masala (or make your own – recipe HERE)

6 dry curry leaves (or fresh) – optional (they can be hard to find)

1/2 cup chopped cilantro – plus more for garnish

olive oil

S&P to taste

DIRECTIONS

Put the chopped potatoes in a pot with enough water just to cover them.  Boil until they are almost tender. Remove from heat and set aside – retaining the potato water.

In a food processor, mince the onions with the garlic cloves & ginger paste.  Set aside.  Then mince the tomatoes & set aside.

Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a large saute pan.  Add the onions with the garlic & ginger and the curry leaves (if using) and fry over medium heat until the onions become a light golden color.  Add tomatoes, chili powder, red curry powder, & blend.  Add cumin & coriander, garam masala & saute until all the flavors have a chance to meld.

Add the boiled potatoes & as much potato water as is needed to get the gravy to a consistency you like.  Add the peas.  Add tap water if you think you need it.  Add salt to taste.  Heat through.  Remove the dry curry leaves (if you can see them) as you would do with bay leaves.

Serve with rice & cilantro as garnish.

 

Forbidden Black Rice

Just use two parts water to one part rice.  For example, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add 2 cups rice & return to a boil.  Reduce heat, wrap a kitchen towel around the pot lid & cover the pan.  Be CAREFUL that your kitchen towel is nowhere near the flame.  You don’t HAVE to take this step but it is supposed to produce a fluffier rice.  Let the rice sit unmolested on lowest heat for about 45 minutes.  Check the texture.  If it isn’t soft enough yet, let it sit another 15 minutes.

Or just use a rice cooker.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Indian Yellow Curry Cauliflower with Coconut Milk & Forbidden Black Rice (part 2 of a 3 curry meal)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

Tweet

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

 

~

This is the second of three curry recipes I will be posting today.  The first is my Thai Green Curry Coconut Shrimp.  Be sure to read that blog post as it also outlines a pretty embarrassing experience here:

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Indian Yellow Curry Cauliflower with Coconut Milk

INGREDIENTS

1 head of cauliflower – cut into florets

6 tbs oil

2 TBS cumin seeds

Spice mix

2 TBS coriander seeds

2 TBS cumin seeds

Ginger, garlic & serrano paste

1 tsp salt

10 cloves garlic

2 inch hunk of fresh ginger – peeled & diced

2 serrano peppers – seeded

Sauce

1 onion – minced

1 cup peas

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 14oz cans (or about 4 cups) coconut milk (lite, if you prefer)

4 ripe tomatoes

1 cup yogurt (optional)

1 lime, juiced

4 tsp salt (or to taste)

1 cup chopped cilantro plus more for garnish

DIRECTIONS

Cut your cauliflower into florets.  Set aside

Dry roast (in a dry frying pan) the 2 TBS each cumin & coriander seeds.  They should become fragrant in a few minutes.  Definitely agitate the pan to avoid burning the spices.  When they are just browning, remove them & transfer to a mortar & pestle & grind them into a fine powder.  Set aside.

In a food processor, puree the salt, garlic, ginger & serranos.  Set aside.

Puree the tomatoes in your food processor.  Set aside.

Mince the onion in your food processor.  Set aside.

In a LARGE saute pan, heat the 6 TBS of olive oil & toss the cauliflower florets n it with 1 TBS of the whole cumin seeds.  Stir occasionally & fry until the florets begin to brown in sections.  Remove from heat & set aside.

In that same pan,  add a bit more oil & the other TBS of whole cumin seeds.  Once they start popping, add the minced onion.  Fry for about 10 minutes of until they just start to turn golden.

Add the ginger, garlic & serrano paste & stir.  After a minute or two, add the dry, ground spice mix, coconut milk, tomatoes & cauliflower & peas & stir to combine. Simmer for about 20 minutes or until your cauliflower is tender.  Stir in the yogurt (if using), the juice of the lime and a cup of chopped cilantro.  Taste & add salt if you think it needs it.   Heat through & serve over rice with more cilantro as garnish.

Forbidden Black Rice

Just use two parts water to one part rice.  For example, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add 2 cups rice & return to a boil.  Reduce heat, wrap a kitchen towel around the pot lid & cover the pan.  Be CAREFUL that your kitchen towel is nowhere near the flame.  You don’t HAVE to take this step but it is supposed to produce a fluffier rice.  Let the rice sit unmolested on lowest heat for about 45 minutes.  Check the texture.  If it isn’t soft enough yet, let it sit another 15 minutes.

Or just use a rice cooker.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Thai Green Curry Coconut Shrimp with Forbidden Black Rice & the GYN (part 1 of 3 a three curry meal)

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

Tweet

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

 

~

 

I want to vent a little about going to the gynecologist.  Nobody enjoys going to the gyn.  Nobody.  Look at this Cronenberg contraption.

There is something embarrasing about the pot holders on the stirrups.  I don’t know why, especially as they should be the least of my worries as I am asked to “scoot down,” repeatedly, by my impatient doctor – asked to scoot down until I fear I am going to catch my socks on my earrings.  But for some reason, they bother me.

What bothers me more is the fucking paper modesty provisions.  And when I am paying a virtual stranger $220 to fondle my ovaries, manhandle my boobs with her icy hands & sneakily slip a finger up my ass, I’d like the courtesy of some cotton-made products to wrap myself in as she skulks out of the room & I slump, weeping in humiliation, onto the floor.  Look at that blue thing.  It is like a fucking matador vest.  How is a paper SHRUG supposed to make me feel like I am being provided any cover at all?  And the blanket for me to wrap around my fat ass as I sit waiting for this medical rape is also made of paper.  I was so nervous in there waiting for her that I began to sweat.  Yeah – sweat.  Which caused the paper blankie to begin to disintegrate & stick to me in patches – like toilet paper on shaving cuts.  I was so exposed & humiliated &  apparently not even worth the expense of a hospital gown – I felt the need to stage a minor protest and keep my socks on during the exam.

Take THAT, Dr. Mengele!

Before the sweating commenced, I tried to make the best of my paper fashions & initiated a little modeling session.

Don’t judge me for going there without make-up.  She doesn’t deserve the effort.   I get a cotton gown that reaches below my belly button during the ordeal – then we can talk.   Until then, she gets to see my every zit & crack & wrinkle on my face – as well as those on my vulva.

I sent a picture to my mother during my wait & she noted that my earrings matched my paper bippy top.  It inspired me to try to sex it up.

As you can see – I failed.  There is only so far you can take a paper outfit.

Then the doctor came in and what did she say?   “Oh, look!  Your earrings match your top!”

She is lucky I didn’t try to force a silent-but-deadly out on her while she flipped around with the cranks on the stainless steel speculum.   You know, those things come in plastic, too.  Doesn’t plastic seem more humane?   Warmer?  Less noisy?  My paper garments felt even more ridiculous in a room with a woman armed with a metal penetration device.   I then wished  I hadn’t so meticulously wiped the exterior of my pee pee sample cup with the wet nap they provided.

Anyway – after the exam & the lecture about fucking calcium supplements & the third degree about potential symptoms of menopause – they fleeced me for the $220 I mentioned earlier & then added insult to injury by refusing to validate my parking.  $10 later, I sped from the scene of these crimes, secure in my garments of man-made fibers.

So – now to the curries.  I made three last night.  I will post each recipe individually.  They are all delicious & each is quite different from the others.

For this recipe, I used a can of green curry paste that I bought at Bangluck Market.  They cost about .79 cents or something.  If you have no Asian market nearby, you can buy this stuff on Amazon – HERE.  This recipe is as easy as dumping everything into a pan & heating it – so I recommend these curry pastes very highly.

Black rice can also be purchased online – if you cannot find it locally.  Black rice is considered a superfood by some – as you can see HERE.

“Brown rice is good for you, but black rice is even better. That’s because the bran hull contains significantly higher amounts of vitamin E, which bolsters the immune system and protects cells from free radical damage. In fact, black rice contains more anthocyanin antioxidants than blueberries, according to a study from the Louisiana State University Agricultural Center.”

I made mine in a rice maker but it can be made stove top, as well.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Forbidden Black Rice

Just use two parts water to one part rice.  For example, bring 4 cups of water to a boil.  Add 2 cups rice & return to a boil.  Reduce heat, wrap a kitchen towel around the pot lid & cover the pan.  Be CAREFUL that your kitchen towel is nowhere near the flame.  You don’t HAVE to take this step but it is supposed to produce a fluffier rice.  Let the rice sit unmolested on lowest heat for about 45 minutes.  Check the texture.  If it isn’t soft enough yet, let it sit another 15 minutes.

Or just use a rice cooker.

Green Curry Coconut Shrimp

INGREDIENTS

1 4oz can green curry paste

1 14oz can coconut milk (lite or not – your call)

1 potato – peeled & cut into cubes

3 carrots – chopped

1 cup peas

1 lb shrimp – cleaned

1 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Cilantro for garnish

Lime wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Put everything in a pot & simmer until the vegetables are tender.  You can elect to put the shrimp in after the veggies are cooked to avoid overcooking the shrimp.

Serve with rice & garnish with chopped cilantro & lime wedges.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Forbidden Black Rice & Herbed White Beans with Seared Mushrooms, Fried Sage & Black Truffle Oil

All Photos © Christine Elise McCarthy 2013

Follow @celisemccarthy

Tweet

To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.

~

Asian markets & birthdays.  On the surface – not much in common.  But, for me this year – both offered much culinary inspiration.  The Asian markets (often posted about here on my blog) are a wonderland of exotic ingredients, not all of which are exactly appetizing – like these giant water bugs available at Bangluck Market:

but there are lots of other delicious things there – like this black rice:

Four pounds for $11.  Not bad!

And my birthday netted me a pasta cutter & two new Cuisinart food processors & this array of exotic ingredients:

including this incredible bottle of wine

and this gorgeous little bottle of truffle oil!

So – black rice in hand and bottle of truffle oil demanding to be tried – I looked up rice recipes.  Nothing struck me.  “Black rice & beans” most brought up images of black beans & white rice & I thought – why not make black rice with white beans?  I couldn’t find a recipe where anyone was doing what I envisioned so – I made this up.  The white beans are adapted from this recipe HERE.  Look how pretty theirs were.

And they were perfect because they are truly white – the contrast I needed for the very inky, black rice.

I kinda made up the rice & the mushroom-sage topper.  The mushroom sage thing is a nice touch (I LOVE fried sage) but not necessary.  You could serve the rice and beans plain or with another topper – corn or peas – or with a veggie side – like I did last night – my Jack Daniels Whiskey & Honey Glazed Carrots.

Nothing in this dish is difficult to execute.  If you don’t have fancy food rings to create a dramatic presentation, maybe use a ramekin or other bowl.   Or you could just do the traditional rice & beans serving – create a mound of rice in a bowl & then a moat made of beans – or a ring of rice with the beans center stage.  A sprig of rosemary or thyme on top & you have a gorgeous presentation.

This rice is sometimes called Forbidden Rice and here is a little info about its history & nutritional benefits.  In ancient China, black rice was considered the finest grain and only served to the Emperor, therefore, “forbidden rice,” as it was off limits for the general public.

Anyway – like the mushroom-sage topper, the black truffle oil is also unnecessary but an amazing & delicate addition to this recipe of subtle flavors.  If you can swing the cost – a small amount goes a LONG way.

Also – this will make a lot of beans – maybe more than you really need.  I quick soaked a single cup of beans & then added them to a pound of dry unsoaked beans – hence the two tone nature of the beans in my images.

Oh – and look at this cool photo my camera took on its own!  I don’t know why – but I kinda like it.

Lastly – this could easily be made without the cheese rind for a vegan option.

PRINT THIS RECIPE

Forbidden Black Rice & Herbed White Beans with Seared Mushrooms, Fried Sage & Black Truffle Oil

INGREDIENTS

For the mushroom & sage topper

Black truffle oil to drizzle (optional)

1 TBS butter

2 TBS olive oil

10-15 sage leaves

4 garlic cloves – minced

10-15 mushrooms – sliced

For the herbed white beans

1 lb dry small white beans

8 cloves garlic

4 sprigs rosemary (or more)

4 sprigs thyme (or more)

the rind of a hunk of Parmesan – or other form of Parmesan

Salt to taste

For the black rice

2 cups black rice

4 cups stock

1 TBS olive oil

5 garlic cloves – minced

Zest & juice of a lemon

Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

For the herbed white beans

With kitchen string – tie up the rosemary & thyme into a bundle.

Heat your oven to 400.

Quick soak the beans by bringing a large pot of water to a boil.  Add beans – bring back to a boil.  Remove from heat & let the beans soak, covered, for one hour.  Drain & rinse them.

Put all the ingredients for the beans into a large dutch oven or covered casserole.  Cover with fresh water that comes about an inch over the beans.  Bake for 45 minutes.  Stir the bean & bake another 45 minutes.  The cheese rind & garlic should begin to break down.  Test the doneness of the beans & cook them in 15 minute increments.    They should be very tender in about 2 hours but your results might vary a bit – so check them after 90 minutes.  If they get too thick – add more water.  If the cheese & garlic do not break down completely, you can either blend them with a hand mixer (immersion blender) or fish them out & blend with a small amount of beans in a food processor.  I used a wooden spoon to mash some of my beans to create a thicker creamier dish.

When the beans are done – remove the herb bundle & add salt to taste.

For the black rice

Heat the olive oil in a lark stock pan.  Saute the garlic about thirty seconds.  Add the rice & the lemon juice & zest.  Stir to coat all the rice with oil.  Add 4 cups of stock & bring to a boil.  Cook as per package directions or reduce heat to low & cook, covered, about 45-60 minutes – checking after 45 minutes for doneness.

For the mushroom & sage topper

Heat ONE TBS of the oil oil with the butter.  Fry the sage leaves for about a minute.  Drain on a paper towel.

Add the other TBS of olive oil & add the garlic.  Saute one minute then add the mushrooms.  Cook on high heat until the mushrooms begin to brown.  Remove from heat.

Assemble the rice & beans as you will & then top with a bit of the mushrooms & a few fried sage leaves.  Drizzle with truffle oil.  Devour.

PRINT THIS RECIPE