Potato Parsley and Birista Frittata
I ate a slice of frittata with some hummus
My sister recently got back from India and with her, my mother sent me a big stash of yummy, crispy, fragrant Birista. What the heck is Birista you ask? It is crunchy deep-fried onions that are used widely in Bohra cooking. Bohra is the name of the Muslim sub-sect that I was raised in and it is an Indian sub-culture that has its own unique cuisine and food traditions, influenced by Arab and Indian styles of cooking. Read all about the Bohra culture here and how to make the perfect Birista over at my friend Kulsum’s blog.
I’ve been finding excuses to eat Birista with every meal. The beauty of fried onions is that they go with any meal – a garnish on any dish, an attractive addition on plain rice or khichdi, on top of eggs, a crunchy addition to sandwiches and it even glams up the simple daal-chawal (rice and lentils). Even in cooking, the Birista is really versatile and can be used in place of fresh onions in the curry base to prepare meat dishes.
So, yesterday, when I found myself searching the pantry and fridge for something to eat for lunch, all I found was half a boiled potato, a few eggs and some fresh parsley. Inspired by Julia Child’s method of browning potatoes in a skillet, and an imaginative concoction of eggs and Birista, I made this Potato, Parsley and Birista Fritatta. I ate it for lunch and when eaten with some store-bought hummus, it made a fancy and delicious meal in itself. I suppose serving it for dinner or brunch would also be a great idea, considering how easy it is to make.
Here’s how you make it:
You will need (serves 1 very hungry person or 2 moderately hungry people ;)):
- 1 medium sized heavy-bottom oven proof non-stick skillet
- 1 large potato, boiled and sliced thin
- 1 large clove of garlic, minced (alternatively, you could use garlic powder)
- Any cooking oil
- 2 large eggs
- Fresh chopped parsley
- a splash of milk
- Your favorite shredded cheese
- Some Birista
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cayenne pepper powder
Method:
- Heat about 3 tbsp of oil in the skillet. Once heated, swirl the oil around in the pan to make sure it properly coats the sides and bottom of the skillet.
- Place the sliced potatoes in a circle first around the edges of the skillet and then the center, to form a sort of circle of sliced potato on the bottom of the frying pan. (Here, you could use raw sliced potatoes, but cooking time would accordingly increase. Boiling them beforehand makes the meal faster to make). Sprinkle the minced garlic over the potatoes and season with salt , pepper and cayenne pepper. Allow the potatoes to brown from one side on medium to high heat, pressing down with a non-stick turner.
- Flip the potatoes over once browned from one side, and season again, while pressing down with the turner.
- While the potatoes brown, whisk the eggs, milk, parsley, salt and pepper in a bowl.
- When the potatoes are well browned and crisp from both sides, pour the egg mixture over the potatoes. Immediately, shake the skillet gently to make sure the egg settles between the potatoes and to the bottom of the skillet. Lower the heat, cover the skillet and allow the eggs to cook slowly. Occasionally, keep shaking the skillet to make sure the eggs don’t stick to the bottom of the skillet.
- The eggs will be almost cooked when you see that the sides are cooked but the middle of the skillet still has some raw egg. Sprinkle some cheese and birista over the eggs at this point, cover with a lid again and let it cook till you see very little raw egg on the top.
- Finally, place the skillet 4-5 inches under a hot broiler on high in your oven to allow the top of the frittata to cook and brown. Allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the eggs are cooked completely.
- Serve immediately and garnish with some crispy birista. You can serve it with a dollop of hummus or sour cream.
I just watched 3 episodes of Mad Men and finally snapped out of almost 15 minutes of active day-dreaming and hypothetical scenario-building about a life with the miracle of God’s creation that is Jon Hamm. I can’t say my brain is stable currently. Worry not! I’ll be fine as soon as I step away from my computer and face the prospect of plowing through the menacing to-do list for the day 😉
A few weeks ago, I was inspired by good blogger friend Kulsum’s recipe for Tandoori Chicken.
I was faced with the prospect of cooking dinner with an almost empty fridge except for a few breasts of chicken in the freezer and some fresh pita bread. In an earlier post, I had written about grilling chicken outdoors, the tandoori style. As it is still a freezing winter here in MN, I decided to follow Kulsum’s cooking technique for making Tandoori chicken in the oven.
While I used a Tandoori spice mix I got with me from India, Kulsum’s home-made spice mixture is one that I can personally vouch for as my mother makes a similar mix at home. Whether you use a ready spicy mix (available in any Indian grocery store), or one you make in advance at home, this meal is easy, no-mess and quick to prepare. I served it with a mint and cucumber yogurt dip that had a wonderful cooling effect on the spicy and tangy flavors of the chicken. Here’s how you make it:
Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients:
- 3 breasts of chicken – makes about 4 pita pockets
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil or any oil that doesn’t smoke on high temperatures
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 tbsp tandoori spice mix (add more if you like it spicier)
- 1 tsp salt (some tandoori spice mixes are made with salt, so check before adding extra salt)
- 1/2 tablespoon ginger & garlic paste
- Juice of 1/4 lemon
- A few Pita pockets, warmed – I buy the ones that have slits in them made by the manufacturer. You can also get plain Pita bread.
- Fresh lettuce and fresh sliced veggies for the pita pocket
Method:
- Prepare the chicken breasts to ensure maximum absorption of flavor. Wash and pat dry. You can make diagonal slits into the meatiest portions, or you can also butterfly the chicken for quicker cooking time and penetration of flavors.
- In a large glass bowl, mix together the yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, spice mix, salt, lemon juice and oil. At this stage, you can taste the mixture and see if you’d like to add more of the spice mix. Place the chicken in the mixture, mix well and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator. You can also marinate it overnight for even better flavor.
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a large cookie sheet or baking sheet and place the chicken breasts on the sheet. Bake for about 30 minutes, turning the breasts over after 20 minutes, or until the chicken is almost cooked.
- Turn on the broiler on high and broil the chicken for about 5 minutes or until it begins to brown and char a little
- Once cooked, allow to cool for a bit and then slice the chicken breasts
Mint-cucumber yogurt dip
Blend together:
- 1 cup thick plain yogurt
- 1/2 large cucumber, peeled, de-seeded, grated, and the juice squeezed out
- A handful of mint leaves, washed
- Salt and pepper to taste
Assembling the pita pockets
Warm the pita bread a little. Place sliced veggies or lettuce in the middle, top with as much chicken as you want, drizzle with the yogurt dip, fold over in half, and… ENJOY!
Easy Butternut Squash ‘sabzi’ (Indian veg. preparation) and how to plan your weekly menu when life is crazy
First off – let me apologize for being away for over 2 weeks. Life has been particularly insane since my last post. First, I fell ill with viral cough, cold & fever. Two big packets of Earl Grey tea, a large jar of honey, multiple pots of chicken soup and a bottle of vitamin C supplements later, I finally nursed myself back to health in a week, only to be violently bombarded with the miracle that is Economics Analysis. I’m now moving to the topic of Graduate school. Don’t worry, I’m not going to bore you with the details but oh my #$%@*&^%!!! lord! Like… how am I supposed to study all those complicated graphs and formulae in order for me to get a decent grade and not shame my family, my community and not to mention myself?! In this regard, only God can help (and copious amounts of studying).
What I’ve also been struggling with, is trying to make home-cooked meals every day and minimize eating out. I have classes in the evenings, which means I get home way past dinner time. I have to have something ready and prepared for my husband and myself for dinner on nights I have class, so we don’t eat out. Fortunately for me, the skills I learned while managing a household the last 2 years really really help.
Some guidelines that help me get healthy meals on the table and save tons of money are:
1. Plan a menu and micro-manage your grocery list
This is really easy to do when you take a little bit of time to get organized. I have a Google doc. that is a laundry list of all the possible dishes me and my husband like. Every week, I simply refer to that file and randomly choose 6-7 items to prepare that week. Then, I make my grocery list based on the week’s menu. At the grocery store, I only buy what I need. Packs of loaf cake, deals on chips and interesting breads all look tempting but sticking to the grocery list makes sure we eat healthy and minimizes snacking and leftovers.
Personally for me, planning a grocery list beforehand helps me to look for coupons as well.
2. Prepare 2 dishes or more at a time
If you know your schedule for the next few days is going to be crazy and you’ll get home starving and ready to eat almost anything, make 2-3 dishes at a go when you have the time to avoid eating out. Again, having a menu and the necessary groceries help you to prepare a few dishes in under 2 hours.
3.Partially prepare some foods beforehand and stock up on ’emergency’ food items
– Stock up on ’emergency’ food items like canned low-sodium soups, shaved turkey breast and whole grain bread to make a quick soup and sandwich meal just in case you don’t have anything prepared.
– Store foods like ready cut Tilapia fish that cooks in only 10-15 minutes. Serve with a salad.
– Partially prepare a lentil like yellow or black lentil in the pressure cooker. It helps you whip up a quick dal in under 20 minutes. Boil any lentil in the pressure cooker until fully cooked and store in airtight containers. Then, when you’re pressed for time, simply follow the recipe like in this earlier post. While the dal is being prepared, cook some rice in a rice cooker, or serve the dal with store-bought frozen parathas.
And now to the recipe for Butternut Squash ‘sabzi’.
As I’ve mentioned in earlier posts, a sabzi is a generic Hindi word for any vegetable preparation that is eaten with Rotis or Parathas (Indian flatbread). The Buttternut Squash is not available in India, but my sister, who is much more of an experimental cook than I am, prepared the vegetable in an Indian style. I have used her recipe to make this dish. The result is a really yummy, sweet-n-spicy dish that goes really well with Indian flatbread and as a side with the humble dal-chawal alike.
I had also mentioned this recipe on the Minneapolis Farmer’s Market Radio show, where I was invited to talk about Indian cooking last Fall. Here’s how you make it:
Serves 2
Ingredients
- 1 small Butternut squash, peeled, cleaned and cut in 1.5 inch cubes
- 1 large shallot or 1 medium red onion, medium sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- 2 sliced green chilies
- 1/4 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
- 2-3 curry leaves (optional)
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp Cumin & Coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
- Light sprinkling of salt
Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a large cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Place the Butternut squash cubes with the sliced onions in it. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and toss with your hands. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the squash is cooked through and lightly crunchy on the outside and the onions are caramelized.
- Prepare the spice mix in the mean time: mix the chili, turmeric, cumin, coriander and amchur powders in a bowl.
- Once the squash is cooked, heat the remaining olive oil in a medium cooking pot. When the oil is hot add the mustard seeds. Stand back the seeds will splutter. Then turn the heat down and add the curry leaves and sliced green chillies. Add the roasted butternut squash and onions and then add the spice mix. Mix well and adjust salt or any spices if necessary. Garnish with finely chopped cilantro and serve hot with naan or roti
One Life to Eat 