Making this dish this weekend

[chadci]

I have a good work friend who is from AU. and often brings me in a sample of his "creations" they loosely follow different ethnic recipes but he adds his own little spin on them.

Yesterday he brought me an Indian dish and it was just wonderful. I've never been a big Indian food fan but this is more stew like than anything. I'm going to add cauliflower to the mix to make it a little more hearty for me. Everyone else will eat it over rice with flat bread.

Also, I tried to remove all of his "side notes" but if I missed any, just ignore them AND he made it ( as will I) with chicken instead of shrimp.

Bhagari Jhinga/ Stir fried Shrimp in an aromatic tomato-cream sauce
the Madhur Jaffrey version

Sauce (for more sauce, especially if making with chicken increase
these quantities)
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar (sweetener) (I'll use Splenda)
1 teaspoon garam masala (He brought me in some today, my cubicle smells wonderful)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 - 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro (more the merrier)
1 fresh hot green chili finely chopped (Madhur always says leave in
the seeds which is one of the reasons I love her - for the family...)
1 tablespoon fresh lemon/lime juice (bottled works, fresh is best)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (or coconut milk)

For stir frying the shrimp
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3 cloves garlic peeled/finely chopped
1 1/4 pounds medium sized shrimp (or chicken)

To make sauce
Put tomato paste in bowl add salt, sugar, garam masala, cumin,
cayenne, cilantro, green chili, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water.
Mix well, add cream and stir in. Set aside.

Shrimp/chicken
Put oil in wok/fry pan and set over medium-high heat (too hot will
probably burn the spices). When oil is hot put in the mustard seeds.
as soon as they begin to pop (should just be a few seconds) put in the
garlic and stir until garlic turns medium brown the add the
shrimp/chicken and cook. Add the sauce, lower heat to medium and heat
the sauce through until it begins to simmer (or is warm enough).

I usually make more sauce, make it with chicken, make it a little
spicier and tomatier (which makes it less creamy than the original
would be) and add onions and or zucchini to flesh it out .

[mizski]

That sounds wonderful! I agree on the garam masala...it does have a wonderful aroma and a unique flavor so important to dishes like this. I think I'm going to leave the chili seeds out though. I'm going to try this with chicken also...I'll have leftovers and chicken works better as a leftover than shrimp does.

BTW, have you tried the tomato paste in a tube? It's great for recipes like this where you only need a little bit. Thanks for posting this recipe.

[chadci]

I have tried tomato paste in a tube and you're right, it works well. I also like lemon grass in a tube, well, that's about the only way you can get it around here.

High in the low 50's and rain on Saturday. This should be the perfect meal. I'll brew up some mint tea, ****, maybe even bring home some licorice mint tea bags from my work.

[chadci]

It turned out really well. In attempt to make it stretch a little further I doubled up on the sauce, but..

I used an entire can of paste
I added 1 can of tomato sauce
I added 1 can of diced tomatos
I added 1 bag of cauliflower florettes
In addition to the zuke I added 1 yellow squash

And I used chicken breast tenderloins instead of shrimp. The only "mistake" I made was a cilantro overdose. I had to buy a bunch. Well, it does not keep THAT long so I put the whole bunch in. It was not bad or even overwhelming however the taste may have overpowered the flavors of the masala.

Either way, it was delicious!

[mizski]

OMG, I made this for tonight and the whole house smells wonderful!! Had a small taste and it is delicious...can't wait for dinner tonight. Many thanks to you and your office friend for this recipe.

I followed the recipe pretty much as is (using chicken tenders) but used ghee instead of oil and used coconut milk instead of cream. I also used a bag of froz. cauliflower and a small zucchini and yellow summer squash.

Keeping with the Indian theme for dinner, I also played around with a low carb version of Kheer (Indian rice pudding). Well, can't have rice or vermicelli or golden raisins BUT it tastes pretty good. The flavoring is there!

Worth a try when you get to OWL 3 (nuts):

Low Carb Kheer

1 c. coconut milk
1 c. heavy cream (if you want it less rich, use 1/2 water and 1/2 cream)
1/4 c. almond meal (gives it a nice thickness)
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
Splenda to taste (I used 2 TBS but I don't like things too sweet)
1.5 oz. chopped unsalted pistachios (approx. 1/3 cup)

Heat milk and cream almost to boiling. Stir in almond meal, cardamom and Splenda. Simmer for about 5-10 minutes (stir frequently...I used a whisk) or until desired thickness. Remove from heat and stir in chopped pistachios. Transfer the mixture to individual serving dishes or a glass bowl and place plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

[mission to lose]

Hey!

Stop making us hungry!!!

Sounds Yummy.

[chinadoll]

Hey guys, do you mind if I copy these over to the Asian recipe thread?

[mizski]

Sure, it's fine by me. Might be easier for more people to find it too. Thanks Jill.

ETA: I posted the Kheer recipe over on the Asian Recipe thread.

[chadci]

Glad you liked the Bhagari and I thought about using coconut milk but I was fresh out.

Hmmm, instead of almond mean ( which is pretty stout in price) I wonder if you could use half a package or so of unflavored gelatin. More than that would make it stiffen up too much, but, it seems like a reduced amount might just get it thick.


I made a faux turkish delight with it and it turned out pretty danged good