[nicneufeld]

Well done cap!  I would be tired after all that work.  Nice presentation too!

I conceded trying to have nice presentation for this meal, after having dirtied nearly every pan and dish in the kitchen making it:



The keema samosas are awesome, the keema meat was very finely minced and dry and the flavor was perfect.  The sol kadhi (in cups) was interesting but not something I'll be making again, probably...the green chili and coconut milk sort of obscured any sour taste from the kokum.  Also served, a strongly spiced spinach dal, some leftover Carribean rice and beans (made with basmati, close enough for government work), and a basic naan.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

Hey patriot, you ever make sopas? I want to start making those.

Sopas, as in soups?  Or sopes, like these  :


I love making sopes.  They're so easy and so delicious!  The ones above were topped with a little goat cheese, some cilantro and a squeeze of lime juice.  There's a restaurant I get sopes at in the Twin Cities that serves theirs with goat cheese and greenery consisting of chopped cilantro, chives, and julienned romaine and mint.  They might dress the greens with a little vinegar or lime juice (there's definitely an acid in there).  Anyway, they are phenomenal.  You should definitely make some sopes.

[capozzoli]

  yeah, I meant sopes. I have enuff trouble spelling English let alone Spanish.

[Pawtucket Patriot]

yeah, I meant sopes. I have enuff trouble spelling English let alone Spanish.

Just giving you a hard time, man.    

[euge]

^^^As is in Tex-Mex those would be called "puffy-tacos" but with different meats or beans. Split them like pita-bread and load up with pollo, or picadillo, lettuce, tomato, cheese and salsa. Then they are called Gorditas. My absolute favorite drunk food with the exception of Tortas- a sandwich concoction.

Love the goat-cheese and herbs. That has to marry very well with the masa.

My Mexican neighbor had me over for a BBQ Saturday. His wife is diabetic so there wasn't any cheese or flour tortillas. Corn tortillas, BBQ chicken legs and paper thin bone-in ribeyes and Nopalitos

I'd never had Nopalitos before. Thin sliced cactus simmered with garlic. Wonderful! Very much like string-beans.

[bluesman]

Nice work gentlemen. There never seems to be a dull moment on this thread.

My mouth is watering at all of the great recipes and pics. Keep up the great work fellas!

[nicneufeld]

A very simple and tasty dinner:

Leftover sookha keema meat folded into leftover basmati, with cilantro, lemon juice, and garam masala.  Makes a very tasty pullao!  We had that with mango lassi last night.

[capozzoli]

In regards to the time it takes me to make those big multi coarse meals. I do it fast. I have restaurant experience that helps, but mostly it is because I expedite the prep work and cooking really well. Plus I use a pressure cooker.

The Goan meal took about an hour and a half including cooking time and bread. The dough for the bread was made earlier in the Kitchen Aid mixer.

Pressure cooker and Kitchen Aid. Two tools that are indispensable in my kitchen.

Of coarse the first time you cook these type dishes it takes a little longer but with a little practice you can do them rapidly.

[nicneufeld]

That makes sense...my restaurant experience is in dishwashing, so not as applicable!

I'm also just a slow cook...I put an audiobook on my MP3 player, pour a glass of something, and take my time.  A pressure cooker would help with lentils, but usually I start the lentils, then work on all the other dishes over the next couple hours and it ends on time anyway.

I'm going to have to try dal wafers again.  Did some a few weeks back but I overcooked them...they cook in seconds, and they were all kind of burnt tasting.

[bluesman]

For me it's usually "low and slow". I generally like to take as much time as I need to make things the best I can. Time is a factor but I try to make sure I have plenty of it when I'm making a big meal. If I spent less time typing .....I would have more time to cook. 

[euge]

I like to cook fast. Some stuff takes longer or has a different prep requirement, but ultimately I don't want to spend hours in the kitchen as my free time is limited.

So +++1 on the pressure cooker. A severely underrated item. Bad-ass short-ribs in less than 20 minutes? Beans in ten? That's why I like it... And having one is almost essential in Indian cuisine AFAIK.

I tend to shy away from putting lentils in the PC. They cooks so fast anyway.

[capozzoli]

Yeah, lentils cook in the pressure cooker in about 30 seconds. A little longer and they turn into sort of re-fried beans ( which BTW are made in a PC). 

I actually want to get an Indian pressure cooker. They have lift out sections that stack in so that several coarses can be made in the same pot at the same time, It is brilliant.

[nicneufeld]

Toor dal seems to require a bit longer cooking for me than chana.  Dal encompasses a variety of split peas, lentils, and beans, actually, so they do have different characteristics.  I approach cooking in the kitchen like I approach smoking outside...yes, I could shorten the process by parboiling ribs (  ) or otherwise speeding the process (maybe microwave that 12lb brisket first! ), but quite honestly cooking is a bit of a respite for me, so I LIKE to be able to retreat to the kitchen, or to the smoker, and relax.  Nice thing after a days work.  Cheers!

[capozzoli]

ya gotta point there.

must be a hundred different kinds of dal at my Indian grocer.

I cant remember all of the names.

Isn't channa chick peas?

[Pawtucket Patriot]

Isn't channa chick peas?

Yeah, I think so.  I had some channa masala yesterday for lunch at this new(ish) Indian place in the Twin Cities.  It definitely had chick peas in it.  I also had some chicken josh.  Mmmmm!