Kitchen Table Kibitzing is a community series for those who wish to share part of the evening around a virtual kitchen table with kossacks who are caring and supportive of one another. So bring your stories, jokes, photos, funny pics, music, and interesting videos, as well as links—including quotations—to diaries, news stories, and books that you think this community would appreciate.
Readers may notice that most who post diaries and comments in this series already know one another to some degree, but newcomers should not feel excluded. We welcome guests at our kitchen table, and hope to make some new friends as well.
One of the things I found really difficult when I first arrived in the US was the blandness of the food. Yes, I know this isn't a new complaint, but I think the issue is exacerbated for new immigrants precisely because they don't know how to navigate the food system. I like most of the food these days, in part because my palate has adapted, but mainly because I have learnt what types of foods and cuisines I like and what I don't. In those early days though, I used to walk around with a Tabasco bottle in my hip pocket, ready to squirt a few dollops on tuna sandwiches or hamburgers. (Gotta admit, though, that these days I walk around with a 5-6 bird's eye chillies in a baggie in my back pack. I know, I am weird like that;-))
Initially, navigating the US was quite difficult. One thing I remember was when I decided to try the coffee vending machine. I went to one that was totally unattended at a particular time, precisely because I didn't want anyone seeing me struggling with what were, obviously, fairly routine activities. I read the instructions carefully, dropped the change in (sorting it slowly), made my selection (black, no sugar), and finally (with trepidation) pushed the proper buttons. An empty paper cup dropped down. I picked up the empty paper cup. The machine squirted coffee on to the grill, which splashed all over the floor! I was totally embarrassed and s-o-o-o-o glad that there was nobody to see what a fool I had made of myself. Its funny now.
Moving out of dorm rooms in college to an apartment with a kitchen was a HUGE improvement. I learned how to cook, with long letters from my mom explaining the basics and writing the recipes, and I slowly became comfortable in the kitchen. I mostly cook Indian food, but try a lot of other stuff. Love pastas, and lasagna, burgers (without the grill), steaks, and recently made Chrislove's Vietnamese shaken beef, which was totally awesome, by the way.
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So in my last diary I talked about how to make dal and Aloo Gobi, or potatoes and vegetables.
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They were both fairly simple recipes, and did not require any special Indian ingredients, other than turmeric.
Today, I am going to offer a slightly complicated recipe, but this one also only requires turmeric as the sole Indian spice.
Saag Paneer Or Greens and (a type of Ricotta) Cheese
Wash (over and over again) two bunches of spinach and ideally one bunch of rapini (aka, mustard greens, or broccoli rabe.) These greens have a slightly peppery and tangy flavor, which is perfect for this dish. But you can substitute whatever greens you like--Swiss Chard, Kale, or even another bunch of spinach.
Chop the greens roughly, discarding the 2-3 inches of woody rapini stalks, saute a ton of diced ginger, at least 4-5 inches, when the ginger has browned slightly, (2-3 minutes) add the turmeric and then the greens, some salt and cayenne and set the heat on low to let them cook for a long time. I have an old fashioned pressure cooker and I normally use it for this part--if you use a pressure cooker, cook the greens for 10-12 minutes after the first whistle. But without the pressure cooker, you will need to let the greens cook for at least 2 hours--make sure that heat is low, so the greens cook in their own water.
While the greens are cooking, heat 1/2 gallon of whole milk in a different pot. When it is near boiling, slowly add juice of 2 lemons, which will curdle the milk and separate the milk into curds and whey. It is done properly when the whey has a slight greenish tinge to it. You may need slightly more or less lemon juice to achieve this result. Using a very fine mesh sieve, or a cheesecloth, separate the curds from whey and discard the whey.
These curds are called paneer.
That's it--mix the two, breaking up the large lumps of curds into smaller pieces, mashing the greens and making sure that all the water from the greens has evaporated.
This is not the type of saag paneer that you get in restaurants--they typically buy blocks of paneer from Indian stores and cube the block and add that to the greens. Sometimes, they may even fry the cubes so they become golden in color. You could try doing that, or you could go totally vegan and use tofu instead.
