The Web Does Indian Food

Been on a real big into the Indian cooking kick lately. In search of new recipes I came across Manjula and her recipes on YouTube. The usefulness of the tube increases everyday. Also found a few good Indian cooking blogs:

http://indianthali.blogspot.com/
http://chaipani.blogspot.com/

Also recently read Curry: A tale of Cooks and Conquerors , which was a fascinating history of Indian food as it was impacted by the various invading groups, from the Moguls to the British. A few good little tidbits: Tea was brought to India by the British, not vice-versa. "Essential" Indian ingredients like chilis, potatoes, and tomatoes were actually late arriving imports from the new world. The book also takes a look at the transformation of Indian cooking outside of India. How local tastes and ingredients altered recipes into new standards such as Chicken Tikka Masala (didn't exist in India).

Indian Tacos

Made up a great dish today. It started out because I had a piece of beef sitting in the fridge a few days ago about to go past it's prime. I don't have a whole lot of time these days, what with the new baby, and now a new job, so I decided to pull out my slow cooker.

The beef was a London broil style cut, which I sliced into one inch cubes. I combined them with a cup of yogurt and generous amounts of garam masala. Then into the slow cooker for the day while at work.

Back at home that night, I tasted it and while it was nice and tender it was a little lacking in flavor. So I stuck it in the fridge to decide later what to do with it. Today I had a day off from work and a visiting sister and wife at home with me, so I decided to make us some lunch. I pulled the beef out of the fridge and fried it in some peanut oil until crispy on the outside (would that be called twice-cooked beef?). Then, combined it with some olive oil, lemon juice, chopped parsley, and salt and pepper.

Next we pulled out a package of frozen parathas from the grocery store (the wife's suggestion - excellent), heated them up, piled some of the beef into them, and added some tamarind chutney, yogurt, and chili sauce.

Wow! Totally delicious! The frozen parathas are such a great item, crispy and chewy. The beef was crispy and tender, with just a little of the masala taste. The tamarind chutney added some tang, the yogurt some smoothness, and the chilis the heat. All in all, a great meal, one that will be done again and again, and is a good option for a serve-yourself dinner party.