Gravlax with Spicy Mustard Sauce

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This Swedish dish takes two days to make, but it’s well worth the effort. After curing, the gravlax is sliced as thinly as possible, placed on black bread, and served with a little of the mustard sauce spread over it.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup sugar

  • 1/3 cup kosher salt

  • 2 teaspoons coarsely ground black pepper

  • 2 small bunches dill, coarsely chopped

  • ½ bunch chervil, chopped

  • 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped

  • 1 bunch lemon balm, chopped

  • 2 tablespoons prepared hot mustard (with chiles)

  • 1 tablespoon mustard powder

  • 2 tablespoons sugar

  • 2 tablespoons white vinegar

  • 4 tablespoons canola oil

  • 2 tablespoons freshly chopped dill

  • 2 salmon fillets, about 1 ½ pounds each

Instructions

In a bowl, combine the sugar, salt, and pepper to make the sugar mixture. In another bowl, combine the dill, chervil, parsley, and lemon balm to make the herb mixture. In a third bowl combine the mustard, mustard powder, sugar, vinegar, oil, and dill to make the mustard sauce. Cover and refrigerate the mustard sauce.

Place 1 fillet skin side down in a shallow bowl. Sprinkle ½ the sugar mixture over the fillet, ½ of the herb mixture, the rest of the sugar mixture, and the rest of the herb mixture. Place the second fillet on top of the first, flesh to flesh, and wrap with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped fillets in a shallow pan and weigh them down with something heavy, like bricks covered in aluminum foil or a cast iron skillet.

Refrigerate for 24 hours, then flip the fillets, weigh them down, and refrigerated for another 24 hours. Serve with the mustard sauce.

 

Madras Fried Chile Fritters (Molagi Bajii)

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Bajiis, the unstuffed Madras version of chiles rellenos, are popular tea-time snacks in Madras and other cities of Tamil Nadu. They are often accompanied by a mango chutney like the one in this section, and the taste combination is delicious. Serve with fruit drinks or beer.

Ingredients

  • 2 cups vegetable oil

  • ½ cup corn flour

  • ½ cup rice flour

  • 1 teaspoon salt

  • ½ cup water

  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin

  • 10 green New Mexican chiles, roasted and peeled, stems on, slit length-wise on one side

Instructions

Heat the oil in a skillet or wok over low heat.

Combine the flours and the salt in a bowl and add a teaspoon of the warm oil. Blend in the water and whisk to make a thick batter.

Turn the heat under the skillet or wok to high.

Rub the ground cumin inside the chiles and dip them in the batter. Reduce the heat to medium and fry the chiles in the oil for 2 minutes, turning once, or until they are golden brown all over.

Moghul Chicken Dilruba

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This rich, spicy-sweet chicken dish from northwestern India has distinct Moghul influences. “Dilruba” means “sweetheart.” The Moghuls controlled most of India from 1526 until 1839, leaving behind some of India’s most famous architecture, including the Taj Mahal. The Moghul emperors loved to eat, and twenty-course meals were common in the royal courts. Not surprisingly, Moghul rule had a greater influence on Punjabi cuisine that that of any other conqueror.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium onions

  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger root

  • 6 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

  • 1 3 to 4 pound chicken, skin removed, cut into small serving pieces

  • 1 cup fresh plain yogurt

  • 1/4 cup almonds

  • 1/4 cup walnuts

  • 1/4 cup melon, pumpkin or squash seeds (optional)

  • 1 cup milk

  • 2 tablespoons garam masala

  • 1 teaspooon ground turmeric

  • 2-3 fresh green cayenne peppers, minced, or substitute any small, hot chiles such as serranos or jalapeños

  • Salt and ground cayenne to taste

  • A few strands whole saffron, soaked in two tablespoons warm milk

  • Minced fresh cilantro and whole almonds and cashews for garnish

Instructions

Put the onions and ginger into a blender or food processor and process to a smooth paste (about the consistency of apple sauce). Heat the butter in a heavy, deep skillet and gently brown the onion mixture, stirring often.

Add the chicken and yogurt. Combine well and cook over medium heat until the mixture becomes rather dry and the chicken begins to brown.

Grind the almonds, walnuts, and melon seeds until quite fine. Stir them into the milk. Add this mixture to the chicken along with the garam masala, turmeric, chile peppers, salt and ground cayenne pepper.

Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is very thick (about 10 to 15 minutes). Stir in the saffron and milk mixture and cook for 1 to 2 minutes longer.

Garnish with cilantro and nuts and serve hot.

Jungli Mans

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‘This is amazingly tasty considering the limited ingredients. It is also quite hot, so serve it with some plain white rice.’

Ingredients

lamb, ghee, salt, water

Instructions

In the Mewari language of Rajasthan, jungli mans refers to a dish that would be prepared by a stranded hunter who only had the basics with him. It is amazingly tasty considering the limited ingredients. It is also quite hot, so serve it with some plain white rice.

  • 2 pounds lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes

  • 2 cups ghee (clarified butter) or substitute vegetable oil.

  • 10 lal mirch chiles, or substitute dried cayennes or mirasol, stems removed, left whole

  • 2 teaspoons salt

  • Water as needed

In a pot, heat the ghee or oil and add the meat, stirring constantly for 10 minutes. Add the whole chiles and salt and continue cooking. Add water as necessary to make sure that the meat neither fries nor boils, but is essentially braised. Continue cooking until the meat is tender, about an hour more, stirring occasionally. Remove the chiles before serving.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Heat Scale: Hot

[Article excerpted from The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia, William Morrow, 1999]

Texas Fajitas

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There is no such thing as chicken or tofu fajitas because the word refers specifically to skirt steak that is marinated and grilled. This is actually a simple recipe to prepare, and it works best when grilled over mesquite wood, or natural charcoal with mesquite chips. The technique known as smoke-grilling is perfect for this meat, and flank steak can be substituted for the skirt steak. Tradition holds that fajitas were first perfected in south Texas in the 1960s and quickly became a staple for Mexican restaurants–and others–north of the border. It is a classic example of combining several methods to make tough meat more palatable: marinate it, grill it, and slice it thinly against the grain. Note: This recipe requires advance preparation.

Ingredients

For the Marinade:

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

  • 3 jalapeño chiles, seeds and stems removed, minced

  • 1/3 cup lime juice

  • 1/3 cup soy sauce

  • 1/3 cup red wine

For the Fajitas:

  • 2 pounds skirt steak

  • 8 flour tortillas

  • Grated Monterey Jack and cheddar cheese

  • Sour cream

  • Guacamole

  • Grilled onions

  • Prepared Barbecue Sauce

  • Salsa of choice

  • Commercial hot sauce to taste

 

 

Instructions

Combine the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and mix well. Place the steak in a glass dish and pour the marinade over. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator overnight.

Grill the steak over a hot fire until medium rare, about 10 to 15 minutes, or if you can measure the temperature with a probe, 150 degrees F. internal temperature. You can also check for doneness by cutting into the steak. Remove from the grill and slice thinly against the grain.

Quickly heat each tortilla on the grill. Serve the sliced steak wrapped in a tortilla, and topped your choice of of condiments among the cheese, sour cream, guacamole, grilled onions, barbecue sauce, salsa, and hot sauce.