Spiced Basmati Rice

I don't usually like to eat rice plain, so I'll find some ways to sneak in some homemade stock, or some of the leftover oil from frying garlic or shallots, or even just by adding a bit of butter (you can never go wrong with butter hehe). This is a recipe that will spice up your plain ol' rice, but one that's not too overpowering so it's a great side to most Indian curries.

Spiced Basmati Rice

1 cup brown basmati rice, soaked overnight , drained

1/2 tsp cumin (or whole cumin seeds, otherwise known as jeera. so I guess this is like the popular jeera rice + 3 more spices heh.)

1/2 cinnamon stick

3 cardamom pods, crushed

3 cloves

1 1/4 cup to 1 1/2 cups cold water (depends on your brand/age of rice. experiment! 2 flops should do it.)

1/2 tsp salt

1-2 tsp of ghee/butter/oil (it helps prevent the rice from sticking too, I find)

Method

1. Over medium high heat, add the ghee/butter/oil and saute the whole spices for 2 min first.

2. Add the ground spices and the rice, saute 1 more min.

3. Add the water and salt, bring to a boil. Cover tightly and let it simmer for about 20-25 min. DO NOT STIR DO NOT PEEK. Curiosity kills the cat.

4. Remove lid, give it a fork through, close again and let it steam for 5-10 min more.

My Shortcut Rice Cooker Method

1. Switch rice cooker to "cook" and let the pot heat up.

2. Add the ghee/butter/oil and saute the whole spices for 2 min first, before adding the ground spices and the rice for another 1 min.

3. Add the water and salt, close the rice cooker and let it do its job UNDISTURBED.

4. When it's done and switches to "warm", do not open yet for another 15 min.

You can then open, give a fork through to loosen the grains then close, and let it steam for another 5 min.

While cooking, the fragrance of the spices and the basmati rice will perfume your kitchen temptingly. But if you want beautiful loose grains, do not be a busybody and check on your rice. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving with curry of your choice. And the inedible cardamom pods and cloves if you want, but I think they look pretty.

Forget History, He's On The Wrong Side Of Math

So President Obama has decided to mobilize Mobilize America* and support the Teachers' Union protest in Wisconsin. Maybe he's forced into this because the unions are a big part of his coalition, but it looks like a sure loser to me. If the unions win the day, they'll end up with layoffs instead of benefit cuts. The math is against them.

Further, in many cases, the teachers called in a sick day to protest, closing down some schools. Moms and dads had to scramble to find a sitter for Junior so the teachers, whose pay is probably higher than theirs and whose benefits almost certainly are, could run off and chant in unison. Again, probably not a good move, particularly in a state where Obama's side just took a historic beating.

Writing that last sentence and considering the budget he just released, it looks over and over again like the guy is completely disconnected from reality. Wisconsin has to balance its budget by law. There aren't too many places to cut. The electorate in Wisconsin just let everyone know they've had it with the Democrats. Obama is doubling down on a losing hand by sending out his own political action group to man the front lines.

Crazy, man. Crazy.

Civil discourse!
* - Or is that organize Organize America? Whatever.

Chicken in Tomato Yogurt Curry (Dahi Murg)

This is kind of like butter chicken, but the addition of yogurt (dahi) instead of cream makes it a little lighter and tangier, plus having the chicken marinate in yogurt really tenderises the meat. I'm not sure if it follows a real Dahi Murg recipe (if there even is one), because I tweaked a butter chicken recipe to make this, but I believe with Indian food, and all that wonderful combination of fragrant spices, you can't really go wrong and you can't really say there's a "right" recipe out there.

Chicken in Tomato Yogurt Curry (Dahi Murg)

serves 4

Ingredients

500g chicken pieces (I use chicken leg meat, because it has more flavour and texture and most importantly, is cheaper.)

For the marinade

2 cloves of garic, minced

2 cm ginger, minced

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

75 ml yoguty

For the gravy

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, minced

1 tsp coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp chilli powder

half 500ml can of chopped tomatoes (or tomato passata for a smoother, less chunky sauce)

1 1/2 tbsp ghee (or butter)

To finish

1 tbsp butter

150 ml pot yogurt

cilantro leaves

Method

1. Combine marinade ingredients and mix with the chicken. Leave for at least 3h, or overnight.

2. Over medium-high heat, par-fry the chicken pieces till the outside is nicely seared. Set aside.

3. Now the gravy. Melt the ghee or butter and add the onions and garlic till onion turns translucent and garlic is lightly browned.

4. Add the rest of the spices, stir for 1 min or so just to let their fragrance come through but not burn. Then add the canned tomatoes and bring to a boil.

4. Return the chicken pieces to the pot along with the chicken juices and remaining marinade and let simmer for 15-20 min.

6. Remove from heat, and stir through the butter to give the curry gravy that extra silkiness and sheen, and then the yogurt. Garnish with the cilantro leaves, and serve with roti/naan/basmati rice (it's good enough to go with plain rice, but try it with my Spiced Basmati Rice if you can!)

Oh I just love creamy curries, and while not as rich as the dish it's inspired from, this curry has extra tender chicken and that extra tang from the yogurt to balance the heat and spice. Indian head-wiggle (:

This is part of Tuesday Night Supper Club, Pennywise Platter Thursday and Real Food Wednesday.

Film? bubar jalan!

Alangkah lucunya negeri ini!
Ini adalah sebuah judul film lokal yang (sepertinya) bagus, sayangnya saya belum sempat menonton sampai diturunkan dari bioskop. Jadi teringat salah satu lirik lagu Zeke Khaseli, inti liriknya adalah sekalinya ada film lokal bagus cuma bertahan 5 hari.

Hari ini semua orang heboh akan berita pemberhentian distribusi film dari luar Indonesia atau film impor di Indonesia. Permasalahannya cuma satu, pajak bea cukai yang kelewat mencekik.

Kilahnya sih memajukan perfilman lokal, sayangnya justru menunjukkan betapa terpuruknya akal pikir beliau. Kalau sampai film-film berkualitas tidak tayang di bioskop, lalu bioskop bangkrut, dimanakah tokoh perfilman lokal bisa menayangkan filmnya?

Sebenarnya saya sih setuju kalau sampai tidak ada penayangan film lokal, karena hampir semuanya film asusila. Film pembodohan. Film yang enggak menghibur, enggak bermoral, enggak juga berkualitas. Bermodal pornografi dan pornoaksi. Yang menonton dan bilang itu bagus, pasti bagus bukan ceritanya, paling bagus pamer badannya. Saya jujur, dan yang berpikiran waras mestinya mengakui hal tersebut. Buat apa coba, ada uu pornografi pornoaksi, sedangkan itu cuma jadi wacana. Nyatanya, prakteknya (selalu) nihil. Tapi...

Ya, ada tapinya! Tapi, saya juga sedih, masih ada tokoh perfilman nasional berkualitas, intelek, yang akan terancam terhambat kreativitasnya akan hal ini. Sungguh menyedihkan. Saya jadi membayangkan, bagaimana rasanya jadi saya tidak bisa menikmati film kesayangan saya di bioskop. Seperti Harry Potter ke-7 part 2. Sedih dan miris.

Seharusnya tokoh perfilman nasional itu berkaca, kenapa perfilman Indonesia enggak berkembang.

@Keketketty: Film Hollywood lebih laku drpd film lokal, knp? Harusnya filmmaker lokal mikir, film tuh yg penting KUALITAS bkn kuantitas!!

Semoga pembuat kebijakan yang gue enggak tau siapa, pemerintah yang mana, pejabat yang mana, bisa cepet-cepet jadi orang pinter dan enggak semena-mena mengambil keputusan.

Kebijakan yang memiliki "kuasa" atas sesuatu, melambangkan keadaan negara yang memberinya kuasa.

Harapan saya pastinya, generasi kita, generasi selanjutnya, bisa memutus mata rantai kebodohan dan juga ketidakadilan. Korupsi dan kekerasan dieliminasi. Amin. Seburuk-buruknya Indonesia saya tetap cinta, meski amarah dan kesal membuncah.

Depend on us!

Groetjes,
Ketty Tressianah

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Chocolate Banana Muffins

chocolate banana muffins for tea

If you’re looking for something nice to make this weekend or if you just feel like making a little extra something for tea for the family on Sunday, I think these are a good bet: easy ingredients, easy instructions and yummy result.

Cupcakes by any other name, these two flavours are wonderful together: the one complements the other in one delightfully moist muffin.

Arriving back from my lovely weekend in Selçuk on Sunday evening, I rushed into the kitchen to take these and the two cakes I had made on Thursday out of the freezer.  All of them including these little beauties freeze beautifully.  Our monthly book club meeting  was the very next day here at my place so it was all systems go.

These muffins are actually a Nigella recipe. Now, I can’t say I am a great fan of hers normally – I find it hard to believe that she is really doing all that cooking -  but I was given her lovely book ‘Kitchen’ for Christmas and finally had the opportunity to look through it. The recipes are not difficult at all: it’s the photos that make it. And on p139 a very appetizing picture of these muffins caught my eye. Instead of regular muffin  cases, they were each in a swirl of shiny brown paper that made them look sophisticated and most delicious:  she calls them ‘tulip-skirted party frocks’ which is a wonderful description. Well, I didn’t have these, just my lovely muffin cases that I bought in LA last summer – BTW you can buy them at IKEA but the shape is different: seems Swedish cupcakes are tall and narrow: very fetching but then you have to buy the matching muffin tin .... I’ll probably end up doing that. But anyway, here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

Makes 12

3 very ripe or overripe bananas

125ml vegetable oil

2 eggs

100g soft light brown sugar

225g plain flour

3 x 15ml tbsp best-quality cocoa powder, sifted

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

Method

·         Preheat oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a muffin tin with papers.

·         Mash the bananas by hand or with a freestanding mixer and then add the oil followed by the eggs and sugar.

·         Mix the flour, cocoa powder and bicarb together and add this mixture, beating gently, to the banana mixture, then spoon it into the prepared papers.

adding, mixing, beating

·         Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes, by which time the muffins should be dark, rounded and  ‘peeking proudly’ out of their cases. Allow to cool slightly in their tin before removing to a wire rack.

Tips

1.       Make the muffins up to one day ahead. Will keep for 2-3 days in an airtight container in a cool place.

2.       Can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 2 months.

3.       I think this is a really easy recipe and I  truly wasn’t expecting such wonderful muffins as these!

Our book this month was ‘Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand’ by Helen Simonson. Overall we gave it a grade of 3.5 out of 5. Personally, I gave it a 2 so you can tell it wasn’t my favourite read.

a bouquet of oya

I can't resist showing you these fantastic oya which I used instead of flowers in the middle of the table. Oya refers to the lace that village women make with a very very fine hook/tığ and use to edge headscarfs, like the one I am wearing in my profile picture at the top. I bought these last weekend  from a market in  the Selçuk area. They're amazing, aren't they?