Nice command logo on that apron. Click on photo for gallery.
Readers of this blog — so many but few say hello (yes you) — have lived vicariously through my writing of roughing it in Singapore.
And by roughing it I mean routinely checking to see if plane tickets to Thailand are reasonably priced or trying to decide if I should visit my wife at her office before or after picking up my daughter from preschool.
I often forget what day of the week it is. Go on, hate me.
I’ll have you know I feel no shame with my lot in life, which this week was learning how to make dhal makni (spicy black lentils), chicken tikka, Indian-style mixed vegetables, saffron rice, gajar halwa (sweet carrot pudding), and gulap jamun (donut balls in sweet syrup).
Eight students, mostly military spouses from the United States, Australia and New Zealand, led by a Singaporean cooking instructor. We cooked, we ate, we went home and promptly forgot small, key details of the recipe. At least I did.
Cinnamon, star anise, curry leaves and cumin. Click on the photo to see more.
Today I tried to make four of the six dishes and succeeded with three, failing with the easiest.
Who knew it was so hard to find black lentils in our neighborhood?
As usual, I was stymied by difficult English-to-English translating, a frustration I encounter at least once a day in Singapore. Two days ago I asked someone for orange juice several times and he thought I was saying ‘cheeseburger,’ so after giving up my search for lentils I resorted to using black beans. Completely wrong.
Thankfully I had some help in the kitchen. Citrus spent the afternoon dutifully peeling garlic, pulverizing coriander, and measuring yogurt. I let her play her favorite music of the week, cover songs replaced with lyrics about dinosaurs. It got to be a little much after the fifth time.
Still, dinosaurs are very much preferable to some of the other options for kiddie entertainment. I even kind of like Dinosaur King, an anime TV series. Mindless dialogue inevitably followed by a lot of dinosaur on dinosaur action, often without even any background scenery or real plot to get in the way. I imagine many toddler boys fast-forwarding through their video recorders to get to the fight.
But I digress.
Dinner tonight was a success with plenty of leftovers. In less than two weeks I will be hosting the next class, featuring a Thai menu that sounds great and will taste even better.
[Click HERE to see photos from the class and my kitchen.]
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
How was the chicken tikka?? We miss Ghar-e-kebab…haven’t been able to find anything even close here. Same with thai.
I love cauliflower too! We (Citrus & I) should start a club.
You’d better get the gulap jamun down, because you may be forced to make me some the next time you’re in Berkeley. I love those things.
The chicken tikka was yummy. Never quite seen it made that way in Indian restaurants in the States (that’s shredded cheddar sprinkled on top), but it’s good just the same.
I’d love to see some recipes if you have any you’d like to share!
The chicken tikka is simple. You can substitute chicken with fish, shrimp, or anything else you can think of.
Mix together in a bowl:
3 tbsp each of minced ginger and garlic
3 green chilis (or fewer), minced
1 tsp white pepper
1.5 ounces of grated cheddar (not much)
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup coriander (aka cilantro) leaves and stalks, chopped fine
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup cream
Cut about a pound of chicken (breast) into long strips and marinate in the above mixture for at least 30 minutes.
Soak satay sticks/wood skewers in 2 cups of water with 2 tbsp vinegar for 10-20 minutes. Then dry them with a kitchen towel. Put some cooking oil in your hand and coat the sticks.
Thread the chicken/shrimp/fish/other onto the skewers and bake, grill or BBQ. You can baste with butter.
[In Singapore the cheddar cheese is white, usually imported from Australia, but I used cheddar from the States. The Australians here wonder why our cheese glows orange.]
Awesome, thank you!!! We can try it this weekend now that the weather is nice.
You win. I’m jealous. Congratulations.
love it!!