Chef's Corner: Hot and exotic dishes for the extreme cold
It is still winter and it still sucks. Some fortunate students spent Slack Week in balmy destinations. However, the majority were, like me, stuck in snowy, slushy, shivery South-Western Ontario. For those who now miss the tropical life, and those who just plain missed it, I offer you exciting exotic adventure by way of recipes from far warmer, far-away places made from ingredients found in your not-so-far-away grocery store. While trying these dishes will not make for a kinder climate, they will add some “spice” to an otherwise monotonous season and help persevere these last few wintry weeks.
Chickpeas Curry
Curry is a wonderful thing. The origins of the spice blend that generally constitute a curry can be traced specifically to India, though it is now considered a “Pan-Asian” style of cooking with varied traditional curried dishes stemming from such countries as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and others. There are at least 12 classified curry sauces that are used to flavour everything from meats to fruits. The chickpeas curry below has been perfected to as closely mimic that which is available at the New Delhi Deli in the downtown market as possible. It is as delicious served piping hot, as it is a few days later cold, right out of the fridge.
- 2 440g cans of chickpeas, drained not rinsed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 440g can diced tomato
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-low setting then add onions and garlic, cook until onions are soft or for about 5 minutes. Next, reduce heat to low, add chickpeas, tomatoes and spices and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve alone or wrapped a portion in flatbread.
Enchiladas
Never eat Taco Bell again! The following recipe was first derived to use up left over ground beef from taco nights but most any ground meat or poultry can be used in the filling. The recipe makes eight enchiladas, though the filling and sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks if stored properly so it can be made in smaller portions. Also, the heat-level produced by the following specifications is by no means five-alarm but is not for the amateur hothead either. Remember, you can always douse your food in hot sauce after the fact while it's impossible to take heat away so start small.
Filling:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp sour cream
In a large skillet, brown and crumble beef then drain fat. Add beef back to skillet add water and spice and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until all the water has reduced away. Next, add chopped mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and garlic then cook until vegetables are soft or about five-to-six minutes. Add lemon juice, remove from heat, then stir in sour cream and set aside.
Sauce and Assembly:
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
-1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 8 10” tortillas
Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a bowl, whisk together tomatoes, spices, vinegar and lemon juice. Next, coat the bottom and sides of a lasagna pan with about _ quarter of the sauce. Divide the pre-made meat filling into eight equal parts. Place 1/8 of the filling into the centre of a tortilla, top with about 1/8 of the grated cheese. To create enchilada, fold two opposing sides of the tortilla over the filling, bring a third side over the filling then roll the enchilada toward the reaming edge. Place enchilada in the pan with tortilla seam facing down, repeat assembly with rest of the filling and tortillas. After all the rolled enchiladas are in the pan, cover the tops with remaining sauce evenly. Bake enchiladas for 40 minutes then serve hot with a healthy dollop of sour cream.
Chickpeas Curry
Curry is a wonderful thing. The origins of the spice blend that generally constitute a curry can be traced specifically to India, though it is now considered a “Pan-Asian” style of cooking with varied traditional curried dishes stemming from such countries as Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and others. There are at least 12 classified curry sauces that are used to flavour everything from meats to fruits. The chickpeas curry below has been perfected to as closely mimic that which is available at the New Delhi Deli in the downtown market as possible. It is as delicious served piping hot, as it is a few days later cold, right out of the fridge.
- 2 440g cans of chickpeas, drained not rinsed
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 440g can diced tomato
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp tumeric
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-low setting then add onions and garlic, cook until onions are soft or for about 5 minutes. Next, reduce heat to low, add chickpeas, tomatoes and spices and simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve alone or wrapped a portion in flatbread.
Enchiladas
Never eat Taco Bell again! The following recipe was first derived to use up left over ground beef from taco nights but most any ground meat or poultry can be used in the filling. The recipe makes eight enchiladas, though the filling and sauce will keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks if stored properly so it can be made in smaller portions. Also, the heat-level produced by the following specifications is by no means five-alarm but is not for the amateur hothead either. Remember, you can always douse your food in hot sauce after the fact while it's impossible to take heat away so start small.
Filling:
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup mushrooms chopped
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 plum tomatoes, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tbsp sour cream
In a large skillet, brown and crumble beef then drain fat. Add beef back to skillet add water and spice and cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes or until all the water has reduced away. Next, add chopped mushrooms, onions, tomatoes and garlic then cook until vegetables are soft or about five-to-six minutes. Add lemon juice, remove from heat, then stir in sour cream and set aside.
Sauce and Assembly:
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
-1/2 tbsp salt
- 1/2 tbsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tbsp hot sauce
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese
- 8 10” tortillas
Preheat oven to 400ºF. In a bowl, whisk together tomatoes, spices, vinegar and lemon juice. Next, coat the bottom and sides of a lasagna pan with about _ quarter of the sauce. Divide the pre-made meat filling into eight equal parts. Place 1/8 of the filling into the centre of a tortilla, top with about 1/8 of the grated cheese. To create enchilada, fold two opposing sides of the tortilla over the filling, bring a third side over the filling then roll the enchilada toward the reaming edge. Place enchilada in the pan with tortilla seam facing down, repeat assembly with rest of the filling and tortillas. After all the rolled enchiladas are in the pan, cover the tops with remaining sauce evenly. Bake enchiladas for 40 minutes then serve hot with a healthy dollop of sour cream.
