At Home with Hippocrene

It is now officially fall--the kids are back in school, the days are getting shorter, and, like creatures preparing for hibernation, we start to crave heavier fare. The supermarket displays of watermelon and fresh berries are replaced by apples, pumpkins, and a variety of squash. I decided to pick a hearty, but simple dinner that would be a good transition from summertime barbecues and fish tacos. It didn't take long for me to select Judith Pierce Rosenberg's recipe for Swedish Meatballs from A Swedish Kitchen.

Perhaps this is because my previous experiences with Sweden's national dish have taken place at IKEA, their unofficial ambassador to the world, usually getting items before school starts. The trip for a new bookcase or chair is always made better by a meal of meatballs in thin gravy with red potatoes and lingonberry preserves. And of course, you can stop by the market on the way out and get the gravy mix, frozen meatballs, a jar of preserves, and perhaps a box or two of gingersnaps. But with this recipe that would be a terrible waste! However, hopefully you have a jar of those preserves lingering in the back of the fridge. If not, Rosenberg recommends substituting whole-berry cranberry sauce or red currant preserves. When forced to do without, I  prefer the latter.

Swedish Meatballs (Kottbullar)

(from A Swedish Kitchen page 141)

At Home with Hippocrene

Both previous editions can be seen here.

After work one day I went to the farmer's market in Rockefeller Center (that will unfortunately be ending soon!) and tried to get some ideas for dinner. There were several different farms and businesses there, selling everything from homemade soaps and pies to fresh herbs and produce. After wandering around I eventually came up with spaghetti after spotting fresh basil and fried chicken with corn on the cob, and some tomatoes and cucumber for salads. One seller had okra, and after passing by a few times, I helped myself to a bag and started filling it up. I'd never made okra before but sometimes you just have to go for it!

So I hunted through the indexes of our cookbook library, trying to decide what kind of okra dish would be my guinea pig.  Previously we've enjoyed main entrees from the Philippines and India, so I wanted to try an altogether different cuisine. I discovered that okra is sometimes called "bride's fingers" in Afghan Food and Cookery, and that Greeks call them bamia in Regional Greek Cooking, but so do the Jewish-Iraqi (Mama Nazima's Jewish-Iraqi Cuisine).But I thought this simple preparation from Cooking with Cajun Women would go well with the fried chicken dinner I'd begun to fantasize about. They're in season from July to November, or until the first frost, so enjoy them while you can! 

Sweet Hands Book Signing This Thursday!

Author Ramin Ganeshram will be signing copies of Sweet Hands: Island Cooking from Trinidad & Tobago this Thursday, September 2nd! If you are in the New York City area come to Hue-Man Bookstore and Cafe at 2319 Frederick Douglass Boulevard (between 124th and125th Streets). Ramin will be signing from 6 to 8 PM.

You can get to Hue-Man Bookstore by taking the A-C or B-D to the 125th Street stop on St Nicholas Avenue, or the 2-3 to the 125th Street stop on Malcolm X Boulevard/Lenox Avenue. We hope to see you there!

At Home with Hippocrene

Here's Colette with the next recipe in our series. In case you missed our first edition of At Home with Hippocrene you can find it here.

As members of the office can attest, I usually vote for Indian fare if we go out for lunch. So picking Chettinad Chicken Kurma from Healthy South Indian Cooking as the second featured recipe might not come as a surprise. We have several Indian cookbooks to chose from, so I certainly intend on trying them all! This recipe involved a trip to an Indian grocery store near the office on 28th Street. (Lexington Avenue between 26th Street and 30th Street is known as Curry Hill or Little India, and is packed with Indian restaurants.) I already had cinnamon sticks, curry powder, and bay leaves in my pantry, and was able to get garam masala, turmeric, white poppy seeds, and cardamom at my neighborhood supermarket. But I still needed unsweetened coconut powder, fennel seeds, and curry leaves.

I went up and down the spice aisle, with my marked up list in hand, but I couldn't find dried curry leaves. After going through the little store several times over, I finally asked for help and was directed to the refridgerated case! There were bunches of dark green sprigs hand-packaged in plastic bags. When I got home to look over the cookbook, sure enough it said "dry bay leaves" but not dry curry leaves! It just goes to show you that not only should you reread a new recipe's directions, but you should also pay attention to the ingredients.

Chettinad Chicken Kurma
(from Healthy South Indian Cooking, pages 228-29)

2 lbs skinned chicken pieces (about 6 thighs or breasts)
3/4 cup ground fresh coconut or unsweetened powder
4 small slices ginger root
2 garlic cloves, peeled
2 green chili peppers or 2 to 4 whole dried red chili pepper (more, if desired)
1/4 cup roasted chickpeas
12 raw almonds
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 tablespoons white poppy seeds
1teaspoon fennel seeds
4 to 6 slivers cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 1/2 dry bay leaves
8 to 10 curry leaves
3/4 cup sliced onion (cut lengthwise)
1/2 cup chopped tomato
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/3 minced fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves

Directions:

1. Cut the chicken into small pieces. Wash them, drain, and set aside.

I found getting slivers of cinnamon to be quite difficult.
The best method turned out to be cutting the stick in half lengthwise,
between the curls, and then taking thin strips off the top.

2. In an electric blender, grind together coconut powder, ginger root, garlic, chili peppers, roasted chickpeas, almonds, 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, white poppy seeds, 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, and 2 or 3 slivers of cinnamon stick. Add 3 cups of hot water to facilitate the grinding process. (Water must be hot for the coconut to blend properly.) Process on high for at least 5 minutes until mixture has a creamy, liquid consistency. Set kurma sauce aside.

4. Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add bay leaves, curry leaves, remaining 2 or 3 slivers of cinnamon stick, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds. Stir-fry until seeds are golden.

5. Immediately add onion and tomato and cook for a few minutes. Add turmeric powder and mix well. This is a good point to start making your rice. I always have jasmine rice in the pantry, but I bought a box of basmati for this dish. It simply doesn't taste the same without it.

6. Add the chicken pieces to saucepan. Stir well and cook uncovered over medium-high heat for 3 to 5 minutes, until chicken becomes opaque and slightly brown.

6. Pour kurma sauce over chicken mixture. Add salt, curry powder, and 1 cup warm water. (I omitted the water simply because my pot was full, but the dish wasn't affected at all.) Mix well. Add cardamom powder. Cook, covered, over low heat until chicken becomes tender, about 20 minutes. Stir occasionally. Give the sauce a taste to make sure it it's not too spicy, or too mild. You can add 1/4 cup of tomato sauce to cool it down, or add more chili pepper or cayenne powder to kick up the heat.

7. Add coriander (cilantro) and continue cooking over low heat for a few more minutes. At this point, I drizzled some store-bought naan with olive oil and put it in the toaster oven on the light setting. The rice should be finished by now, and you can serve the chicken kurma over the rice with warm naan and a little garnish of curry leaves. Delicious!

Cleaning up your plate with naan might be the best part!

At Home with Hippocrene

We're introducing a new feature at Hippocrene Cooks called At Home with Hippocrene. Colette Laroya, our editorial assistant, will periodically try a recipe from our cookbook collection at home and share the results. We hope you enjoy this first edition!

A few months ago I married into a large, loving Filipino family. I had never tasted Filipino food before my husband and I started dating, and I quickly learned to love the staples of family parties: crispy lumpia, pancit, chicken adobo, pork menudo, kare-kare, and leche flan. I astounded them with my love of rice, and the fact that I grew up with the same imported jasmine brand they used. So when it came to deciding which cookbook to try first, I knew it would have to be Fine Filipino Food.

I have spent many hours as an observer over the years, but I had never tried to make the dishes myself. My mother-in-law doesn't cook, so my husband wasn't able to offer any advice. I chose Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk because adobo, as Bartell notes, "could very well be called the national dish of the Philippines" and for its simplicity. I knew the dish was a success when I kept catching my husband taking pieces from the pot!

Chicken Adobo with Coconut Milk

(as featured in Fine Filipino Food, page 57)

Serves 4

1 (2-pound) chicken, cut into serving-size pieces

1 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste

2 bay leaves

1/2 Tbsp black peppercorns

1 Tbsp raw or brown sugar

1 tsp patis (fish sauce) or 1 tsp salt, or to taste

1 (12-oz) can coconut milk

Directions:

1. Mince the garlic. First remove the brown end of the clove, then crush it under the flat of your knife (I used about 12 medium-sized cloves to make 1/4 cup).

2. Combine the garlic with the vinegar, soy sauce, ground pepper, bay leaves, peppercorns and brown sugar in a non-aluminum 4-quart pot. Aluminum interacts chemically with vinegar and affects the flavor. I used a stainless steel stock pot, but you can also use ceramic, glass, or wrought iron cookingware.

3. Mix well and add in the chicken. I used a chicken breast of the same weight to avoid cutting up a whole chicken. (However, you might have complaints about the lack of drumsticks.) Marinade for 2 to 3 hours in the refrigerator.

4. Place the pot on high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is tender. (This is a good time to start your rice cooker.) You can remove the chicken and broil them 1 to 2 minutes on each side, but I skipped this step in the interest of simplicity. One-pot meals are easy to clean up!

5. Add the patis (or salt) and coconut milk and boil until it has been reduced by half. You'll see it take on lighter, creamier color. Remove the bay leaves. Serve over a bed of rice with the sauce.

The moist, tender chicken stands on its own, but you can round out your meal with steamed broccoli or Jicama Salad (page 41). The crisp jicama is perfect for a light summer salad.