sukha aloo subji (punjabi potato dish)

This is one of my all-time favorite family recipes.  Unfortunately, I don't have the exact recipe my grandmother and mother use, which makes the most delicious version in the world.  However, this one works as a decent substitute when I am really missing home. 

It is best to cook this in a wok or another non-nonstick pan, as you want to be able to get a good crust on the potatoes.  Incidentally, the word "subji" (or "subzi") means vegetable. 

Serves 4-5 people.

Ingredients:

- 3 large russet potatoes
- 1 large red onion
- 2 tsp. cumin seeds
- 2 tsp. black mustard seeds
- 1/2 tsp. red chili powder
- 2 tsp. cumin powder
- 1 tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
- Salt, to taste
- Canola or vegetable oil

Note: All the spice measurements are approximate, and you should adjust to taste. 

Directions:

For the Subji:

1. Put the potatoes in a large pot filled with salted water, and boil for approximately 15-20 minutes, until you can insert a fork into them but before they become completely tender.

2. Drain the pot and wait for potatoes to cool before peeling them.

3. Finely dice the onion and cube the potatoes (cube size is up to you; I like about 3/4 to 1 inch cubes.

4. Heat about 2 Tbsp. of oil on medium heat in your non-nonstick pan.  Test whether the oil is hot enough by dropping 1 cumin or mustard seed into the pan.  If it pops immediately, the oil is hot enough.  If not, wait a couple of minutes and then try again.  Turn the heat to low.

5. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, chili powder, and cumin powder and stir.  As soon as the spices have bloomed (once you can smell them and the seeds have lightly browned), add the diced onion and a pinch of salt to draw out moisture.  You need to act quickly because the spices will burn if left alone in the hot pan for too long.

6. Turn the heat to medium-low, and cook the onions until they are translucent and lightly browned. 

7. Add the potatoes and salt to taste. 

8. Continue to cook for approximately 15-20 minutes on medium-low heat.  Don't stir too often, as you want to make a dark crust on the potatoes and the crust needs time to form.  You can adjust the spices during this stage if you find a certain flavor to be lacking.  If you want to add a powdered spice, you can just add it in; if you want to add the seeds, heat them in a little bit of oil in a separate pot until they have bloomed and then add them in. 

9. If the potatoes start to dry out too much, add another tablespoon or two of oil. 

10. When you are about 3-5 minutes away from the end of cooking, add the chopped coriander.  You don't want to cook the coriander for too long, as you want to retain some of its freshness.  

I usually prepare this with bhindi (okra), another dish I particularly enjoy.  Since the potatoes are dry, it's also great to serve this with daal (lentils), dahi (yogurt), or another curry or subji with more liquid.  It goes well with rice or frozen Indian breads you can find at the grocery store and quickly heat up at home.  

If you want a creative option for serving leftovers, I love to make "double-toasts" (also known as "toasties" or panini). 

For the Double-Toasts:

1. Preheat your sandwich-maker.

2. Retrieve the sliced bread of your choice (white bread is delicious but I prefer multi-grain bread as a healthier and still tasty option).

3. Butter or oil one side of each slice of bread (two slices makes one sandwich, obviously).

4. Place a heaping tablespoon or two of the subji between two slices of bread so that the buttered/oiled sides are on the outside of the sandwich.

5. Heat the sandwich until it is golden-brown. 

6. Serve with ketchup and, if you have them, the extremely delicious Maggi Hot and Sweet sauce and Maggi Tamarina sauce (both can be found in almost any Indian grocery store). 

poppy seed bread

This is my mother's recipe.  I'm sure she modified it based on a recipe she found, but I don't know where that was so I call it hers.  I absolutely love this bread -- it is quite easy to make and always reminds me of home in a way that no store-bought lemon poppy seed muffin ever can.  In Singapore, it was impossible to find poppy seeds, because of their association with opium.  Being able to make this again now that I no longer live there always feels like a special treat!

Makes 5-6 small loaves or 2-3 large ones. 

 

Ingredients:

For the Bread:

- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 1/4 cups granulated sugar (2 works too - depending on how sweet you want it)
- 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 Tbsp. poppy seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 1 1/2 tsp. butter extract (can omit or replace with 1 Tbsp. butter if you want butter flavor)

For the Glaze:

- 1/4 cup orange juice (no pulp).  You could probably replace this with lemon juice - slightly less than 1/4 cup, in that case.  Other options could be chocolate or espresso powder dissolved in 1/4 cup of water, or another juice like raspberry. 
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp. butter extract (can omit or replace with 1 tsp. butter if you want butter flavor)
- 1/2 tsp. almond extract
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar (2/3 cup works as well for the orange juice, depending on desired sweetness)

Directions:

For the Bread:

1. Mix all the wet ingredients together until uniform. 

2. Sift the dry ingredients (or just combine) in a separate bowl.

3. Gently fold dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.

4. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees Fahrenheit in greased, floured pans.  Depending on the depth of the pans, you might want to start checking it after about 30 minutes.  It is done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.  

For the Glaze:

1. Combine and boil all ingredients for a couple of minutes (until sugar is completely dissolved). 

2. Pour over baked loaves while they are still hot.  At this point, you could also add toasted sliced almonds on top of the glaze.  

3. Cool the loaves in pans for 10-15 minutes.  Then remove from pans and cool completely on wire racks.

tomato sauce

This one, I owe entirely to my brother-in-law.  It's a very simple but very delicious recipe for a sauce meant to be eaten cold or at room temperature (i.e., not as a pasta sauce).  The way he makes it is with either the basil or the garlic, but I tried combining both and it's great, so that's what I'll post here.  The instructions are quite vague but this is really the kind of thing for which you need to choose the measurements based on your personal preferences:

Easily serves about 8 people. 

Ingredients:

- Good quality extra virgin olive oil (approximately 2/3 to 3/4 cup).
- Good, ripe tomatoes (about 4 large ones), quartered.  I couldn't find good tomatoes in the supermarket, so I used a can of whole San Marzano tomatoes.  Those cans are huge, so I probably only used about 3/4 of one.
- Large bunch of fresh basil, coarsely chopped.  If you don't have a basil plant or a large bunch available at the supermarket, think of getting at least 2 of those single-serve packs.  In a pinch, you could use about 1 1/2 Tbsp. of dried basil but fresh is much better.
- About 3/4 Tbsp. of dried oregano.
- 3-4 cloves of fresh garlic.
- Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Put the tomatoes, basil, oregano, and garlic cloves into a blender or food processor, and pulse until the garlic is chopped but not so much that it's a completely homogeneous mixture. 

The choice of instrument is yours -- the disadvantage of the blender is that you'll have to keep poking around in it to get everything properly chopped and mixed, whereas the food processor has a higher likelihood of leaking.

2. While mixing (if you're using a blender or a food processor where you have to remove the lid, obviously stop mixing while you do this), slowly add the olive oil until the sauce is a lighter shade of red, so you can see the sheen of the oil and taste it in the sauce.  This is based on how much olive oil you like in the flavor, so add at your discretion.

3. Add salt and pepper and mix one final time.

This sauce can be stored in the refrigerator for about a week, if it lasts that long!  It is delicious as a dip or spread for good crusty bread (rosemary bread is a particular favorite of mine).  It also goes very well with hard cheeses, like Manchego.  I love to have the bread, sauce and cheese with a small salad for lunch or the tortilla espanola for dinner.