Tag: main course
Vegetable Madras Curry
Vegetable Madras Curry
When most people think of Indian curry, this is what they are generalizing. Madras curry is a popular South Indian dish consisting of a variety of vegetables in a soupy curry sauce made from madras curry powder, onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes. Serve the curry with steamed basmati rice and parathas.
Ingredients
- 1 onion diced
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp ginger minced
- 4 tbsp madras curry powder
- 4 roma tomatoes diced
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 1 head cauliflower cut into florets
- 3 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 bunch spinach chopped
- 1 cup frozen peas
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes. Add in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 more minutes.
- Add in the curry powder and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes.
- Pour in the stock. Add in the cauliflower and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Add in the spinach and peas. Cook for 5 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
Beef Pares
Beef Pares
Beef pares is a classic Filipino dish influenced by Chinese asado(meat braised in stock/soy/sugar/star anise). In this case, I used beef brisket. You can also use cheap braising cuts like chuck, arm, short ribs, shanks, or bottom round. The first part of this dish requires the brisket to simmer for a couple of hours, while creating a clear and flavorful beef stock(using another Chinese technique that’s influenced this dish). Once the meat is tender enough, it is sautéed with onions, garlic, and ginger and simmered in the asado sauce until the majority of the liquid has evaporated. The beef is served with garlic fried rice and a side of the broth to dip the meat in.
Ingredients
Beef Broth
- 2 lbs brisket cut into 1 1/2” cubes
- 6 cups water
- 1 onion quartered
- 5 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tbsp salt
Beef Asado
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 small onion diced
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 star anise
Garnish
- green onions chopped
Instructions
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add in the cubed brisket. Simmer for 10 minutes, skimming the top of the water for scum. Drain the brisket and rinse any excess scum off.
- Add the brisket back into the pot with 6 cups of new clean water. Bring to a boil. Skim off any remaining scum.
- Add the onions, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaves, and salt. Cover. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 2 hours.
- Strain the broth. Set the beef aside. Discard the bay leaves. Keep the broth warm.
- Mix 1 cup of the hot broth with the soy sauce and brown sugar. Set aside.
- Heat up the cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger for 5 minutes.
- Add the brisket in. Sauté for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the sauce. Toss in the star anise. Simmer for 10 minutes until the majority of the liquid has evaporated.
Moroccan Lamb Kebabs
Moroccan Lamb Kebabs
Kebabs are a staple street food in Morocco, as well as a go to for the grill at home. Lamb, and sometimes beef, are marinated in cumin, coriander, paprika, garlic, and olive oil. The lamb is skewered with thin slices of beef fat in between to add an extra richness, then grilled over open flames. While you’ll see many Americanized versions of Moroccan lamb kebabs drowning the meat in cheese or a yogurt sauce, tradionally the kebabs are served with just pita, sliced cucumber, and tomatoes. No sauce. It’s all about the flavor of the meat.
Equipment
- metal skewers
Ingredients
- 3 lbs boneless leg of lamb cut into 1 1/2” cubes
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1 tbsp smoked paprika
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- 3 tsp lime juice
Instructions
- Mix together all of the marinade ingredients.
- Marinate the lamb for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Turn on your oven’s broiler. Place 5-6 pieces of lamb on each metal skewer. Place the lamb skewers on a rack on a baking sheet lined in foil.
- Broil for 5-6 minutes a side.
