My dream job would be working for a newspaper that would allow me to travel the world looking for the “BEST” recipe and write about it. Christopher Kimball of Milk Street magazine does that, traveling around the world to find that perfect recipe and whenever the title says “The world’s best!” it certainly makes me take notice.
London is known to have some of the best Indian food. Christopher went to Hyderabadi Spice in East Ham, “just one stop short of the end of the Hammersmith Tube line.” There, he learned about the history of Indian curry houses. “When Bengali sailors jumped ship in England to escape the horrible conditions on board, they often settled in East London. After WWII, they began to buy up fish and chip shops, many serving curry as a sauce. Over time, the curry proved to be so popular that it became a separate menu item. Hence the London curry house.” Their chicken ka salan “may be the world’s best curry.”
“To develop the complex layers of flavor for this dish, we use classic curry technique. We first dry-toast the peanuts, coconut and sesame seeds, then cook the onion, ginger and garlic in oil, followed by ground spices. After that, we puree it all in a blender. Then cumin seeds and mustard seeds are sizzled together; the puree is added, then the tamarind and finally the chicken.”
Hyderabadi Chicken Curry
Start to finish: 1 hour
Serves 4 to 6
Note: Don’t fret if you cannot find Kashmiri chili powder. A mixture of sweet paprika and cayenne is a good substitute.
Curry leaves “have a unique inimitable savoriness.” But without it, it does not suffer from its absence.
Salan curries are usually eaten with biryani, a spiced meat and rice dish, but steamed basmati rice or naan bread all work well with the curry.
In a small bowl, combine and stir with a fork to break up:
1-1/2 tablespoons tamarind pulp
1/2 cup boiling water
Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.
Strain through a fine-mesh strainer set over another small bowl, press on the solids and scrape the underside of the strainer to collect the pulp that cings to the strainer. Set aside, discard the solids in the strainer.
Meanwhile, in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, toast until golden and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes:
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1/3 cup roasted peanuts
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Transfer to a blender and set aside.
In the same Dutch oven, heat ober medium-high heat until shimmering:
2 tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil
Add and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes:
1 medium yellow onions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
Stir in, cook, stirring, until no longer raw, about 1 minute:
1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
4 medium garlic cloves, finely grated
Add:
2 teaspoons garan masala
1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder or 1-1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika and 1-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
Cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add:
1 cup water
Scrape up any browned bits, then transfer to the peanut mixture in the blender; reserve the pot. Blend on high until thick and smooth, scraping the blender jar as needed, 1 to 2 minutes; set aside.
Set the Dutch oven over medium and add:
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 curry leaves, optional
Cook, stirring, until fragrant and sizzling, 1-1/2 minutes. Add the puree and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, cook, stirring, until very thick, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir in the tamarind liquid and 1 cup water, then add:
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, trimmed and cut into 3/4 to 1 inch chunks
Simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally, until the chicken is no longer pink when cut into, about 8 minutes for breast or 13 minutes for thighs. Turn off heat, taste and season with salt and pepper. Serve sprinkled with cilantro.
• • •
Leaving London, our next destination is Berlin, Germany for the “the perfect crispiest, juiciest, German pork Schnitzel.”
In Berlin, the dry bread crumbs are made from kaiser rolls, and although they may be the best choice, plain bread crumbs also work.
German Pork Schnitzel
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon plus 2 cups grapeseed or other neutral oil
2 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1-1/4 pound pork tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
2 tablespoons ghee (optional)
Lingonberry preserves, to serve (optional)
Lemon wedges, to serve
Set a wire rack in a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to 200 degrees. Put the flour in a wide, shallow bowl. In a second wide, shallow bowl, beat the eggs with the 1 tablespoon oil. Put the bread crumbs in a third wide, shallow bowl.
Cut the pork tenderloin in 2 pieces crosswise, making the thinner end slightly larger, then cut each piece in half again. Place 2 pieces between 2 large sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat pounder, gently pound each piece to an even 1/8 inch thickness. Repeat with the 2 remaining pieces. Season each cutlet on both sides with salt and pepper.
One at a time, coat the cutlets on both sides with flour, shaking off the excess, then dip into the eggs, turning to coat and allowing excess to drip off, then coat both sides with bread crumbs, pressing to adhere, Place the cutlets on a large plate, stacking them if needed.
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Heat the 2 cups of oil and the ghee to 360 degrees. Carefully place 1 or 2 cutlets in the oil,cook, gently jostling the pot so the oil flows over the cutlets, until light golden brown on both sides, 2 to 3 minutes total; use tongs to flip the cutlets once about half-way through. Transfer to the prepared rack in the oven to keep warm.
Return oil to 350 degrees and cook the remaining cutlets in the same way. Serve with lingonberry preserves and lemon wedges.
Well, that was a fun assignment, even if we never left Hilo!
Foodie notes
Hawaii Community College’s Cafeteria and Bamboo Hale are open this week after a week off for Spring Break. Open from Tuesday through Thursday, check the Cafeteria’s menu at https://hawaii.hawaii.edu/cafeteria or call 808-934-2591 to make reservations at Bamboo Hale.
