Roasted Deviled Potatoes

 In Sri Lanka we have a dish called "ala thel dala" which translates into potatoes fried in oil. It's a spicy dish that I have already made here at Curry and Comforted called Spicy "Deviled" Potatoes.  I decided to take this wonderful dish and roast the potatoes to see how it would turn out.  It was fantastic because it gave the potatoes another dimension of flavor and texture.  I also used a kind of potato called fingerling potatoes. These stubby finger shaped potatoes don't have to be peeled and I also wanted to see what the roasted potatoes skins would taste like in the dish. Now if you don't have access to fingerling potatoes, you can take regular baking potatoes and try this method.  We ate this dish two ways in our house. My kids and I smashed the potatoes with a fork (and plenty of spicy onions) then butter two slices of bread very well and put the spicy smashed mixture between the bread and enjoyed it for lunch.  We also served the dish with a rice and curry meal. Perfect either way. 

 Ingredients:
2-3 lbs of fingerling potatoes boiled until fork tender
1 large onion sliced (or 2-3 medium sized onions)
10-20 curry leaves
2-3 green chilies (serrano/jalapeno) sliced
1 cinnamon stick (1 inch long)
1-2 Tbs of red chili flakes (or to taste)
1/2 tsp of turmeric
1-2 tsp of red chili powder (or to taste)
Salt to taste
2-3 Tbs of canola oil

 Directions:

 Wash potatoes well and boil until fork tender. Drain potatoes and set aside to dry.  Then in large pan add 2 Tbs of canola oil. Once heated add cinnamon stick and curry leaves to sizzle in the oil for 30-45 seconds.  Then add the sliced onions and green chilies. *Note the onions are my favorite part of this dish so I like to add a very large onion or at least 2-3 medium onions.   Once the onions start to soften add salt, red chili powder, red chili flakes and turmeric.  Cook the spices with the onions for 1 minute then add the boiled potatoes.  Once the potatoes are mixed with the spices, taste for salt and seasoning.  You can turn off the stove at this time.   Now the dish is done and it is like the traditional deviled potatoes we serve in Sri Lanka.  If you want to take the additional step of roasting them, add another Tbs of canola oil and toss the potatoes if you wish and place them on a baking sheet.  Cut any large potatoes into half so they have more of a chance to get roasted.  Roast in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Serve hot with rice and curry or warm smashed inside buttered bread. Enjoy.

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Chocolate, Banana and Butterscotch Cake

My Brother and Sister-in-law invited my family over for dinner this weekend for a wonderful rice and curry meal. I decided that I would bring a sweet treat for dessert and I simply took some ingredients that I had on hand and put this cake together.  I had no idea if it would work or how it would taste, but I love to experiment. When it came out the oven it smelled wonderful and as the cook I had to do a quick taste test.  I was overwhelmed with how tasty this cake was, but then I wondered if once the cake cooled down to room temperature if it would taste just as good.  After dinner we served the cake and everyone loved it.  So I knew I had to share this crazy, yet simple recipe for everyone to taste this wonderful combination of flavors.

Ingredients:
1 box devil's food cake mix
3 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup of canola oil
3 ripe bananas
1 (11oz) bag of butterscotch chips (found in the baking aisle near the chocolate chips)

Directions:

Use an electric blender to mix together the bananas, milk, oil and eggs.  Then add the box of cake mix and mix until smooth.  Finally toss in 1 cup (or half a bag) of the butterscotch chips and mix into the cake batter.   




Then spray or grease a 9x13 baking pan and pour batter into one even layer.  Take a large handful of butterscotch chips and place on top of batter.

Place into a 350 degree oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until cake is set in the middle.  Serve hot or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream if you desire.  I also melted some butterscotch chips (the remainder from my bag) and made a sauce to pour over some of the pieces.  Enjoy.

 

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Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Curry and Comfort's Weekly Sunday Summary 7/23/12 thru 7/29/12

Hi Everyone!!

I hope you are enjoying your Sunday!  I thought I would start a new weekly feature where I round up my recipes of the week and maybe give some news or tidbits from what I have seen around the foodie community.

If you are member of Foodbuzz, you may have heard that on August 1st Foodbuzz will become DailyBuzz Food.  Although I am excited to see the new changes, I am also very sad that the community feature where we all shared our latest recipes is no longer going to exist.  I have made some wonderful "foodie" friendships and also learned so much from the Foodbuzz community that I wanted us to make sure we could keep in touch.  I have listed below my information so you can see what I have been cooking lately through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or by signing up to my blog for email updates.   You are welcome to sign up to any and all the links and leave your links in comments so I can also keep in touch with you.   So here are my links:
 
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Here is my Week in Review:

Saturday, 7-28-2012

Singapore Noodles with Shrimp  

 Friday, 7-27-2012

Thai Peanut Noodles with Shrimp

Thursday, 7-26-2012

My Mother's Yellow Rice

Wednesday, 7-25-2012

Mango Ice Cream (Eggless)

Tuesday, 7-24-2012 

Summer Vegetable Curry

Monday, 7-23-2012 

Chocolate, Cherry and Cream Trifle

 

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Singapore Noodles with Shrimp

 

I have been on a shrimp and noodle kick the last few days.  It  falls under the 30 minute meal mark for me because noodles and shrimp cook pretty fast.  I decided to revisit one of my favorite noodle dishes from the past, Singapore Noodles.  If I ever go to a Chinese Restaurant Buffet I always try the Singapore noodles.  I love the flavors of curry with the vegetables and rice sticks.  I made this dish  and fell in love it with all over again. I used extra thin egg noodles instead of rice sticks and it came out great.  The best part is I only used 2Tbs of oil for the entire wok.  Can you say the same about the restaurant noodles?   I'm a big believer of making your own take out at home-- not only does it cost a fraction of the price, but you can control the quality and nutrition too.

Ingredients:

1 (12oz) package of extra thin egg noodles
1lb of cleaned raw shrimp (frozen is fine)
2 cloves of garlic grated
2Tbs of ginger grated
1 medium onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
1/2 red bell pepper chopped (or red chilies)
1 serrano or green chili sliced
1 bunch of scallions (white and green parts)
1 cup of frozen green peas
1 tsp of red chili flakes (or to taste)
1-2 Tbs of Vietnamese Curry powder (see note)
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1-2 Tbs of of fish sauce

Notes on noodles:
Traditionally rice sticks are used for this dish.  I decided to go with an extra thin egg noodle.  You can also substitute thin spaghetti. Cook the pasta according to the package instructions.  Be careful not to overcook the pasta (you want it just shy of al dente).  These noodles cooked in boiling water for 4 minutes. I rinsed them with cold water after draining them to stop the cooking process.  I also did not salt the noodles because I wanted them to absorb the soy sauce and fish sauce later that salt the dish.

Notes on the curry powder:  The curry powder is the main flavoring to the dish so it is important to get a right kind.  You cannot use any Indian type curry powder because it will not flavor the dish properly.  I actually used a Vietnamese brand of curry powder because it delivered the right balance of spices. If you cannot buy Vietnamese curry powder, try Chinese. If that is not available try Madras curry powder.  I have provided a link below on how to make Vietnamese curry powder:
How to make Vietnamese Curry Powder Link

Directions:

In a large wok or frying pan, heat 2Tbs of canola oil.  Add your chopped onions, scallion whites and peppers.  Stir Fry for 2-3 minutes.  Next add your ginger and garlic and stir fry for 1-2 minutes.  I actually used 2 Tbs of my pre-made ginger-garlic paste.  For the recipe: ginger-garlic-paste

Next add your curry powder and red chili flakes.  I suggest you start with 1Tbs of curry powder.  Once the flavors bloom, taste and see if you think you need more.  I added 2Tbs total. Next add your shrimp and frozen peas.  Stir fry until the shrimp start to pink up and become almost cooked through.

Next add your soy sauce and fish sauce.  If you do not have fish sauce add more soy sauce.  I personally like the combination of both flavors. Now the fish and soy sauce are the "salt" in your dish.  So I suggest you season with them according to your taste.   Also add some of the scallion greens here.  Leave a few pieces for garnish.
Add your cooked noodles to the pan and toss with all the ingredients.  Toss for a few minutes. Taste for seasoning and if everything is fine, your dish is done.  Garnish with remaining scallions greens. Enjoy.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Thai Peanut Noodles with Shrimp

A while back I made a peanut dipping sauce that I could not stop eating.  Looking for a quick dinner the other night I thought shrimp and noodles would be a great idea and this peanut sauce came to mind. It's a pretty quick meal once you get the sauce ingredients ready and I really enjoyed it.  I was even surprised my son and daughter enjoyed it so much.  My husband is on the fence about savory peanut sauces... but he ate a plate of the noodles as well.  Now this isn't a dish if you don't like savory peanut sauces...but if you are... you will definitely want to dive into this creamy bowl.

Ingredients:
1lb of pasta noodles (I used whole grain linguine)
1lb of cleaned shrimp
2 cloves of garlic grated or finely minced
1 inch of ginger grated
red chili flakes to taste
1 bunch of green onions/scallions chopped
crushed peanuts (optional)

Peanut Sauce:
1/2 can (15oz) coconut milk
1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter (I used Jiff)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1-2 Tbs of brown sugar
2-3 tsp toasted sesame oil
2-3 Tbs of soy sauce
1-2 Tbs of fish sauce
1 Tbs of rice wine vinegar
1-2 Tbs of sriracha sauce (optional)
2 small handfuls of Thai basil leaves torn (you can substitute regular basil)

Directions:  1st cook noodles 2 minutes shy of your desired tenderness in well salted water. Drain and set aside.

 Heat a wok with 1 Tbs of canola oil. Add ginger/garlic and red chili flakes and fry for a few seconds without burning.   Next add cleaned shrimp and the whites of the green onions. Saute for a few minutes.

Add all the ingredients for the peanut sauce and bring to a simmer.  Then add half of the green onion tops and the Thai basil leaves.  Taste for seasoning.  Add more fish sauce or soy sauce for salt flavor.

 Add the drained pasta and cook with the sauce for 2-3 more minutes to finish cooking off the pasta.  Taste again for seasoning. Garnish with more of the green onion tops and crushed peanuts.  Eat hot or warm. Enjoy.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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My Mother's Yellow Rice

 My son recently celebrated his birthday and his grandmother (my mother) came over just to make his favorite rice dish.  My son loves this rice so I had to ask my mother to show me how to make it.  It's really simple with a a few key ingredients.  You can cook it on the stove top or put it into a rice cooker to do the work for you... either way it's delicious!   If you're wondering about the crispy onion "rings" surrounding the dish... that recipe will follow someday soon.


Ingredients:
3 cups of  basmati rice
1 large onion finely chopped
1 stick of margarine (8 Tbs)
6 cloves
6 green cardamom
1 cinnamon stick (1 inch long)
15-20 curry leaves
1 small pinch of saffron (steeped in 1/4 cup water hot water) or 1 tsp of turmeric
3 Tbs of Knorr chicken bouillon
salt to taste
water as needed (about 6 cups)



 Directions:
In a large pan, add the stick of margarine, onion, cinnamon stick, curry leaves, cardamoms and cloves. Fry on medium heat for several minutes until the onions begin to soften.

Then wash the rice well and drain it.  Add it to the frying pan and saute it with all the other ingredients for a few minutes. 

Transfer this to a large rice cooker or pot to cook the rice.  Heat the water (to cook the rice) on the stove (in a saucepan or kettle) so it is hot, but not boiling. Then add the turmeric or steep saffron, chicken bullion powder to the rice and pour the hot water over rice to cook it.  Taste for salt in the water.  If more salt is needed, add some salt.  Cook rice on stove top according to rice directions on package or in a rice pot until it is to your desired tenderness.  If the water cooks out and you want your rice cooked more, add 1/2 a cup of hot water at a time to the rice until you get the desired tenderness.   Fluff rice and serve.  Enjoy.

Note:  Do not eat the cardamoms, cloves and cinnamon stick, they are very strong tasting and used just to flavor the dish.  The curry leaves are fine to eat.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Mango Ice Cream (Eggless)

July is ice cream month and I have yet to get my ice cream maker off the shelf.  I decided to remind myself some of my homemade ice cream and this Mango Ice Cream is one of my family's favorites.   I think I will dust off the ice cream maker and make some today! 

Ingredients:
1 cup of mango pulp (available at Indian Stores)
2 cups of cream (or half and half)
1/2 can of condensed milk
1 cup of diced fresh mango (optional)

Blend all ingredients together.  Pour into a freezable container and stick in the freezer.  I took it out 2-3 times during the freezing process and stirred it to try to make it less crystallized and more creamy.  Freeze until solid.  Take it out 10 minutes before serving to allow it to thaw a little for easy scooping.

  Enjoy.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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Summer Vegetable Curry

The great thing about summer is all the fresh produce that is so bountiful.  Tomatoes, Corn, Peppers and Zucchini are in full swing and I couldn't wait to use them all in one dish.  I put this curry together and simply loved the fresh flavors of the vegetables enhanced by the flavors of curry.  We ate it over rice with a lentil dish and it was a delicious meal.  I know some of you have tomatoes and zucchini in your gardens so if you need a fun and spicy way to use them up, try this curry.

Ingredients:
2 cups of fresh corn
1 large green bell pepper chopped
2-3 zucchini cut into large pieces
2-3 large tomatoes chopped into large pieces
1/2 lb of button mushrooms sliced
15-20 curry leaves-optional (available at Indian Grocer)
1-2 spicy green chilies (seeded) and sliced
2 cloves of garlic finely minced or grated
1 inch of fresh ginger finely minced or grated
1/2 tsp turmeric powder (available at Indian Grocer)
1 tsp cumin seeds (available at Indian Grocer)
1 tsp mustard seeds (available at Indian Grocer)
1 tsp of fennugreek seeds (available at Indian Grocer)
2-3 tsp of Curry Powder (I used McCormick Brand)
1 tsp of cumin powder (available at Indian Grocer)
6oz of coconut milk
1/4 cup water (optional) 
salt (to taste) You will need to salt the dish throughout because much of it will be absorbed by the vegetables.
red chili flakes (to taste)
1-2 inc piece cinnamon stick 

 Directions:

Heat 1 Tbs of canola oil in a large pan and add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, cinnamon stick and curry leaves.  Heat for 20-30 seconds without burning.  Next add garlic, ginger and the button mushrooms.  Saute a few minutes and allow the mushrooms to brown.

 Next add the zucchini to the pan. Saute a few minutes.  Then add the tomatoes to the pan and saute a few minutes.

Then add the turmeric powder, curry powder, red chili flakes, salt, and cumin powder. Saute a few minutes.  Then add the chopped bell pepper and the corn. If you want more gravy add water. Cook for 12-15 minutes stirring occasionally.

Finally add the coconut milk and simmer for another 2-3 minutes.  Taste for salt and seasoning. Serve with rice. Enjoy.

Copyright: All recipes, content, and images (unless otherwise stated) are the sole property of Curry and Comfort. Please do not use without prior written consent. Unauthorized reproduction is strictly prohibited.

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