The Spicy Alcohol Burn

It's always entertaining to learn some brand new linguistic content.

Historically, the Japanese adjective for spicy -- karai (辛い) -- didn't mean spicy as we understand it now.

It referred to the burn of raw alcohol as it went down your throat. By extension to pain in general and hence to the relatively modern concept of spicy.

Both mustard and horseradish are 辛い because they have that "burn".

A smooth alcohol without that raw burn wouldn't be characterized as such.

Such linguistic terms are interesting. The CC referred to the conceptual category of "smooth" which only makes sense in English but in Japanese it would be "sweet".

Pepper Jelly

We love audience participation on this blog so the CC presents (a lightly edited) version of reader Marcus' post about preserving an excess of peppers in the South.

Recently, I sent a photo of some peppers to the CC. Upon seeing the cornucopia, he asked me to write a guest post. About what I wasn't sure but since my original email included mention of peppers and jelly, I thought I would write about the Southern tradition that is pepper jelly! 

Here in Arkansas, pepper plants grow from March until the end of October (our first freeze was last night). I start my peppers in January indoors and transplant them in late March or early April depending on the weather. Peppers produce fruit relatively quickly, so you can get a LOT of peppers from a single plant through the year, which makes food preservation a necessity (waste not, want not). The first photo is about 1/3rd of the peppers in my garden on the day these where picked, about a week ago. I measured 6.4 kg total. This is an assortment of cayenne, serrano, jalapeno, anaheim, poblano, bell, and a variety of other sweet peppers. 

Pepper jelly is one of those rare items I have never seen for sale (or maybe just never looked for) in a grocery store but with which I've been acquainted all my life as with eating certain wild game. We were given some wonderful pepper jelly last year — that's where it always comes from, you see, someone gives it to you — and were thus inspired to try our hand at making some. Neither the wife nor I had ever made the sweet concoction, so it was a first for us both. The second photo is a shot of the final product. This photo is actually all the jars from two batches. 

Last night while filling jars from the second batch, I had the forethought to pull some off for later. It can take two weeks for jelly to set but I wanted to try a bite sooner. I put the small portion on my eggs this morning. It's quite a bit hotter than most people would make, but I like the heat. Very delicious! My 1-year old insisted on having some on her eggs as well (she refuses to be left out of anything). She would take a bite, cough, drink some milk, then take another bite! 

(Edit from the wife) Because this recipe is high on the heat factor, the recipe card is now labeled "Hot Pepper Jelly", instead of Pepper Jelly. In future batches, I may deseed the peppers or select fewer of the hot varieties so we have options on the shelf, similar to mild, medium and hot salsa.
 

For the record, the CC has only one thing to add, "Go, go, go, little baby!" (for the heat-loving factor.)

A Korean Meal in K-Town

Watermelon juice and soju, grilled octopus, and why yes! that's spam in the last picture! Memories of the Americans, and indigenizing rations to make them more appetizing. (The Philippines has a similar concept too.)

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.

Spicy Japanese Crack (in red and green)

There is a spicy Japanese condiment called yuzukoshō (柚子こしょう) which consists of yuzu peel and chilli peppers which are then fermented.

It is very spicy (a little bit goes a long way), and has a strong citrusy scent from the yuzu peel. It takes on the color of the chilli peppers used — red chilli peppers yield an orange paste, and green chilli peppers yield a dull green paste.

Traditionally, it's used for nabemono dishes but its popularity means it's showing up everywhere.

This stuff is addictive. Once you use it you can't go back.

Palak Paneer (Redux)

The CC was asked for the recipe here.

Follow these steps, and you will nail this delicious dish every single time.

The CC will assume that you can buy paneer at a local store. If not, you can make your own but that's a lot more work (and grist for a future post.)

Be aware, that this version sticks fast and close to the peasant roots of the dish. You will find innumerous fancified versions of this, mostly on the spicing front, but there's a time and place for fancification and there's a time and place for eating a "down home" cooked meal.

This is the home-cooked version that screams "comfort food".


Ingredients

paneer
4 large bunches of spinach (read below)
1" ginger
4 garlic cloves
4 green chillies
1 large red onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tbsp garam masala
salt

peanut oil (read below.)

Recipe

Cube the paneer into uniform cubes. Heat about 1/4 cup of peanut oil and fry the cubes. This takes a while because you need to keep flipping the cubes to make them uniform. Also, a tad problematic because the paneer contains moisture so there's a tendency for the oil to splatter. Be VERY careful!

(And yes, this step is crucial.)

Drain the paneer on paper towels. Set aside.

Wash the spinach carefully, and dry. (The local spinach that the CC buys is covered in dirt. His basin is filled with a full layer of dirt when he finishes washing the spinach. Your's may differ but you have been warned.)

Be aware that spinach shrinks a lot when cooked. A lot.

You are better off buying more than you think you need than ending up with a huge amount of paneer with some green things hanging on. The CC has made this mistake so many times that he routinely tells people -- buy more spinach -- more, more, more.

In a food processor, process the onion, green chillies, ginger and garlic to a loose paste. This should not be totally smooth just till they are all shredded into fine pieces. (This is a standard step in many many North Indian recipes so you should memorize this.)

Fry the paste in some oil. Toss in the cumin till it is fragrant. Add the spinach. Toss it around. Marvel at the forces of nature that an entire pot of spinach turns into so very little. Where did it all go?

(Also marvel at the fact that raw spinach is poisonous but cooked spinach is absolutely delightful. Take that, you "raw food" fetish fuckers! Bet you didn't know that one.)

If you have an "immersion blender" (the CC highly recommends it!), blend the mixture to a smooth paste. Otherwise use an ordinary blender.

Add the garam masala, salt, and the paneer cubes. (The quantities for the masala are approximate. You may need more.)

Heat and serve.

Ragda Pattice

Most people know Mumbai (or Bombay) in connection to either Finance or Bollywood. What is less known is the sheer plethora of completely scrumplicious street food on display. You could spend months there just eating those alone.

This recipe here is one of those delights that make you want to slap your mom^† in sheer glee!

Ragda Pattice (as traditionally spelt) clearly derived from Ragda Patties are fried mashed potato-disks (patties) topped with a lentil sauce (ragda) which you can then tailor to your taste by adding a variety of sauces - traditionally, at least three - a sweet-sour date-tamarind chutney, a cilantro chutney, and a fiery mint sauce. Also, the Indian love of raw onions mixed with lime and cilantro means these are added on top.

There is nothing subtle about this recipe. Both the date-tamarind chutney and the mint one have one of those over-the-top "hit-me-again" tastes.

The long list of ingredients and sauces may put you off but this is better suited to a party where the guests can mix-n-match whatever toppings they like for themselves.

You might see minor variations of this recipe on the web but if you see a recipe that calls for yogurt, it is bogus!

Clearly those people have never been to Mumbai. Yogurt in this dish is akin to mayonnaise in traditional Chinese food - an act of heresy which should be followed up by actually slapping that person's mom!

† just an expression, folks!

Ragda

Ingredients

2 cups vatana (dried peas)
1 onion
1 piece ginger
3 green chillies
1/2 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1/2 tbsp ground cumin seeds
1 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp amchur (ground mango powder)
1 tsp ground red chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
salt (to taste)

Recipe

Soak the dried peas overnight. Cook in a pressure cooker or in 6-8 cups water until tender but not mushy.

Chop the onions, ginger, garlic in a food processor. Heat some oil, and fry the lot. Add the cooked dried peas along with the ground cumin-coriander mixture, and the chilli powder and the turmeric. Add some water if necessary. The mixture should just be slightly sloppy. Towards the end add the garam masala and the amchur.

You can cook this ahead of time. It actually improves overnight.

Patties

Ingredients

4 potatoes
salt

Recipe

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Peel and mash. Mix with your hands to get a smooth-ish mixture. Do NOT add extra water. The mixture should be shapeable by hand.

Make into disks and pan-fry. The CC has also had great success with brushing them with oil on both sides and baking them in a 450°F oven for 45 minutes, flipping them half-way. (The latter method is clearly the scalable one!)

A modest advice to the baking-kind. Poke a few fork-pricks in the patties to release moisture. That's what frying does. Nobody will notice the pricks but the lot will cook faster. (Shocking how basic science manifests itself in food!)

Date-Tamarind Chutney

Ingredients

6 tamarind pods (de-seeded)
12-14 dates (coarsely chopped)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground red chilli powder
1 tsp black salt (kala namak)

Recipe

The black salt is absolutely indispensable. Without it, you will simply not get the tang that is this chutney!

Blend all the stuff with water in a blender into a sauce which is easily pourable. Use less water initially; you can always dilute it later.

This is also the only one of the three chutneys that can be successfully frozen to no detriment.

Cilantro Chutney

Ingredients

2 bunches cilantro
4 green chillies
1/4 cup peanuts
salt

Recipe

Blend in a blender.

Mint Chutney

Ingredients

2 cups mint
8 green chillies
1/8 cup peanuts
salt

Recipe

Blend in a blender. This chutney is noticeably thinner than the previous one. Also, packs a lot more fiery punch!

Onion Mixture

Ingredients

1 red onion (finely diced)
2 limes juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
salt

Recipe

Mix. What else?