Rouz Jerbi (Riz Djerbian, Tunisian Spinach Rice)

This is one of the strangest yet most awesome recipes that the CC has seen.

When the CC first encountered it he was mystified. Wouldn't 50+ minutes of steaming turn the vegetables into mush? Was he getting something wrong?

No, he was just forgetting something.

Rice is deeply hygroscopic.

It will absorb moisture like nobody's business so you need to store rice in a humidity-free environment. In fact, it is so hygroscopic that if you ever drop your cellphone inside water and it doesnt' work, first dry it out and then put it inside a sealed bag filled with dry uncooked rice. Chances are it will work in a few days.

The CC has given this advice to quite a few people and they were just baffled. The CC argued, "What do you have to lose? A few cups of cheap rice, right?" Right down to the last man and woman, the smartphones have come back to life. One friend whose young daughter had mastered the art of grabbing his smartphone and throwing it in the toilet particularly appreciated the CC.

Science. It works, bitches!

The recipe is from the island of Djerba in Tunisia. The CC has provided the French spelling as well since Tunisia was a French Protectorate and you are more likely to encounter the dish under that name.

In this recipe, a mélange of dry rice, spinach, parsley, vegetables, chickpeas, optional meat, and a ton of spices are steamed for about 50 minutes. The rice does most of the absorption (including the liquid given off by the spinach and vegetables) and what you get is a perfectly steamed mixture that is intensely flavored and smells magical.

The dish can be extremely spicy but you can control the heat with the amount of harissa that you add to it. It has a slow burn.

It's not a hard dish in the least. You could do the prep in 30 minutes but you will need to endure two phases of steaming with by a precise interlude where you turn everything over and recommence.

Just think two de-stressing cocktails because minus the prep and the tiny amount of the interlude, you're not exactly working very hard. Even the prep is easy.

A steamer works perfectly here but the CC improvised since he has none in his apartment. The recipe is quite forgiving.

You absolutely need a long-grained rice. Short varieties are not going to work in this dish.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups long-grained rice (e.g. basmati)

2 large onions (chopped fine)
4 cloves garlic (chopped fine)
1 large potato (cubed into large pieces)
1 large carrot (cubed into medium pieces)
1 large tomato (chopped into fine pieces)
1 cup cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup peas

2 large bunches of spinach (chopped into fine slivers)
1 large bunch parsley (chopped fine)

chicken/lamb/beef ‐ (optional) ‐ cubed into small pieces

1/2 cup tomato paste
1/3 cup olive oil

1-2 tbsp. harissa

4 tbsp. coriander seeds (roasted and ground fine)
1 tbsp. caraway seeds (roasted and ground fine)
1 tbsp. turmeric
2 tsp. red chilli powder (or to taste)

Recipe

First, toss the rice with the tomato paste and olive oil and mix thoroughly. The goal is to coat the rice with the oil to make sure that each grain remains separate. This is the aesthetic hallmark of Arab cuisine which you will see everywhere from Northern Africa to Iran to India.

Then you just add all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix them thoroughly.




The mixture must then be steamed in a tightly-sealed steamer for about 25 minutes. At that mark, you must pull it out into a bowl, very gently mix everything together and steam it again for about 20-25 minutes. (Add more water to the bottom if necessary.)

The length of the second steaming depends on the age of your rice. The older it is, the less you will need to cook it.

Rouz Jerbi

Black Chickpea Sundal

This is a street food snack from South India that's easy to prepare and quite healthy.

You can prepare it with a variety of lentils and legumes. The version swapping out the black chickpeas for fresh peanuts is particularly tasty.

The black chickpeas are the small chickpeas that you find in India. They are much smaller than the regular chickpeas and dark black in color. They also have a higher protein content.

Experienced readers will note that the recipe is not substantially different from that of sukke except for the addition of the urad dal which when fried adds a nutty taste and crispy textural note.

Also, since the CC belongs to the "anal-retentive" category of humans, you really want shredded coconut not grated coconut here for the textural interest. Yes, it makes a massive difference. It's available frozen. Just make sure you thaw it before you make it.

Ingredients

1 cup black chickpeas

8-10 curry leaves
1 tbsp. mustard seeds
1 tbsp. urad dal
3-4 dried red chillies
1/2 cup shredded coconut
pinch of asafetida

coconut oil
salt

Recipe

First cook the chickpeas. Soak them overnight and cook for about 20 minutes until they are tender enough to eat. Drain and set aside.

Heat the coconut oil in a wok. When it heats up add the mustard seeds and wait for them to pop. Add the urad dal, red chillies and asafetida till the dal turns golden in color. Add the curry leaves. Be careful. They will tend to splatter.

Add the chickpeas, coconut and salt to taste and combine thoroughly. Sautée for 4-5 minutes and serve.

This snack is great either luke-warm or at room temperature.

Smashed Chickpea Sandwich

The CC is not normally into celebrity chef-style recipes but this one is absolutely smashing.

It's from Tom Colicchio's 'wichcraft, and it's an absolute masterpiece in its simplicity, excellence and the fact that it can be made ahead of time.

The original is literally soaking in olive oil but you can go easy on that. However, this is the place to use your finest not the generic stuff. Incidentally, the filling works fine just by itself. It's something you can just eat from the container all day long.

Bookmark this one. The CC personally guarantees that it will rock your world!


Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas
1/2 cup black olives (thinly sliced)
1 red onion (finely diced)
1/2 cup parsley (finely minced)

lemon zest (from 1 lemon)
juice from the same lemon

1/3 cup olive oil (your finest!)
salt
black pepper

Recipe

Smash the cooked chickpeas with a potato masher. You want a broken mixture not a puree.

Make a vinaigrette out of the olive oil and lemon. Mix everything together. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Beans, Good Ol' Beans

Everyone here knows that the CC is crazy about them (both fresh and dried) and that he adores them with a passion only rivalling his love for anchovies.

However, how many know that the famous Roman surnames are actually derived from beans? (Possibly, their families made their fortunes in the bean agricultural trade.)

Cicero is derived from chickpeas (modern-day Italian: cece/ceci.) Fabius refers to fava beans (modern-day Italian: fava/fave.)

Lentulus should be self-evident, and Piso refers to peas (pisello/piselli.)

Chickpeas & Cod & Clams - Oh My!

Spicy Curried Clams with Chickpeas

This is clearly a French thought on how to Indianize a recipe.

The CC expounded long ago and on length on the role of curry powder in the global 19th century economy so there's no point in repeating that.

The recipe is awesome. And quick. And nutritious. And weekday compatible.

So just grab a baguette, pour a glass of steely dry white wine, agree to not quibble about the origins and just enjoy it, alright?


Ingredients

18 clams
1 small red onion (chopped fine)
1/2" ginger (julliened)
1 green chilly (crushed)
1 clove garlic (crushed)
2 tbsp curry powder
1 cup white wine

1 cup chickpeas (cooked)

sea salt
black pepper

1/2 cup cilantro leaves
1 lime (juiced)

Recipe

The recipe is fairly obvious.

Cook the chickpeas. The CC promises not to scoff if you use canned. However, it's best to cook them ahead of time.

Fry some olive oil at medium heat, and toss in the onions, ginger, garlic and green chilly paste. Fry languidly for 6-8 minutes Toss in the clams. When coated, toss in the white wine, black pepper, and the curry powder. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer.

As the clams open, remove them and place them in the serving bowls.

Add the chickpeas, and reduce until it's a wet mixture but not too dry. Add some water if its too dry. Serve over the clams. Add lime juice, and sprinkle with cilantro. Serve with crusty bread.

The Power of Chickpeas

Abu el-Heidja has deflowered in one night
Once eighty virgins, and he did not eat or drink between,
Because he surfeited himself with chickpeas,
And had drunk camel's milk with honey mixed.

(Source: The Perfumed Garden of Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Nafzawi.)

Velvety Chickpea Soup

Most chickpea soups are earthy and rustic but this one is refined and silky. It's wonderful either hot or cold and perfect for a light summer meal.


Ingredients

1 cup chickpeas (soaked overnight)
4 cups broth
4 garlic scapes
1 head spring garlic (finely diced)

1 tsp cumin (roasted)
1 tsp coriander seeds (roasted)
1 tsp sumac (finely powdered)
1 lemon (zested + store the rest for garnish)

olive oil
salt
pepper

8-10 leaves mint (for topping)

Recipe

Precook the chickpeas in salted water. The CC used a pressure cooker. If you don't have one, will probably take you about 60 minutes.

Heat up some olive oil in a stock pot. When shimmering, toss in the cumin and the coriander seeds. Fry for about 30 seconds. Toss in the diced green garlic and garlic scapes at fry at low heat until softened (roughly 6 minutes.)

Add in the chickpeas and the broth and bring to a boil. Cook together for about 6 minutes at a low simmer.

Add the zest and purée the soup in batches, and pass through a fine sieve. (This is the step that gives the soup it's soft silky texture.)

Reheat gently. Garnish with the lemon, sumac and mint just before serving.

India : Day 6 : Post 1

We drove to Agra on day 6. Started very early, and stopped at a local dhaba (trucker's restaurant) for a late breakfast.

Vegetables fried in chickpea batter. Nothing like a good nutritious meal to start the day right!

We liked it so much, we ordered a second round (pictorial proof provided below.) It's topped with kala namak, of course.

Piggy, piggy, piggy. Oink, oink, oink!

India Trip : Day 3

Food at a roadside dhaba.

Quite ordinary stuff - cauliflowers, chickpeas. Note the color of the carrots - they are red, and not quite as sweet as what are found in the US.

Ending the meal is a glass of masala chai, of course.

India Trip : Day 1 : Post 5

This is khandvi, a Gujarati staple and specialty.

Silky smooth in texture, and spicy in taste, it was demolished within minutes of arrival (yes, you bastards! you know exactly who you are!!!)

But why not? It's a masterpiece of conception, execution and delivery.

First up, in involves chickpea flour, spices and water and blended over heat into a thick batter. Then, the batter is spread out real thin onto flat oiled surfaces while it is still hot, and left to cool.

The batter which dries up is then rolled into thin rolls which are sliced.

Following that, oil is heated to a high temperature, and mustard tossed into it. This hot mixture is then poured all over the (sliced) rolls.

Khandvi
Incidentally, this technique of frying spices in hot oil and pouring on or into dishes -- baghar or tadka -- which perfumes the entire dish with the spices is the only unique innovation that Indian cuisine has ever made.

This is not as pejorative as it sounds - all the other techniques - roasting, steaming, frying - arise all over the globe. In fact, the Indians were taught the concept of steaming by the Chinese traders in the 10th century.

An innovation at this basic level is extraordinarily high praise indeed!

India Trip : Day 1 : Post 3

We've encountered this one before.

Ponkh (or hurda in Marathi) are the young kernels of sorghum (jowar.) They are roasted and are absolutely delicious. A seasonal speciality and one not to be missed.

The sev is black-pepper laden chickpea flour that has been fried.

Ponkh
Sev
Ponkh and Sev

India Trip : Day 1 : Post 2

First up, the Gujarati combination of sweet and savory. Jalebi-Gaanthia.

Jalebi refers to a disgustingly sweet (and highly addictive) combination of fried spiced wheat dough dunked in the saturated sugar solution. Note the use of the word "saturated". It's not enough to have a sugar syrup. You must heat it to a high temperature so that more sugar can dissolve. You might as well label the product "Death to Diabetics!" but it's delicious!

Gaanthia refer to the highly-spiced chickpea-flour batter that is spiced. They are extremely crumbly and totally addictive. Particularly with the jalebi's above.

Jalebi
Gaanthia

Salad with Chickpeas, Mushrooms, Green Beans & Radishes in a Mustard-Parmesan Vinaigrette