Cardamom Chocolate Shortbread (Nan Khatai)

Growing up, nan khatai were one of my favorite treats. I couldn’t resist their rich, buttery sweetness, especially hot from the oven. I remember sneaking tastes of dough from the bowl behind my mother’s back (in the days before I was concerned about raw eggs and salmonella). My mom mostly made plain nan khatai, decorating each with a fingerprint of green food coloring. An aunt later introduced us to the chocolate swirl nan khatais which are a delicious alternative.

Given the similarity to European shortbread, I decided to do some web research which revealed that since the 17th century shortbread-like cookies were made in Western India and were popular among European sailors. Later cookies were also imported from England. However, during the swadeshi movement for Indian self-reliance, such cookies were produced locally in tandoor ovens. Nan khatais are believed to have originated in Surat, a large port city and district in Gujarat. These confections are particularly popular in Bombay, which has a large Gujarati population. They are also common in Pakistan.

Online I found a reference to nuncatie, a variation of nan khatai, which was given two possible etymologies: from a Persian word meaning the “bread of Cathay or China” or from the Persian words nan (meaning bread) and khat (meaning six, referring to the six component ingredients – flour, eggs, sugar, ghee (butter), leavening and almonds).

This version of the peripatetic nan khatai comes to you from Chicago by way of Canada and Kenya.

Makes 48 cookies

Ingredients
2 cups unsalted butter (4 sticks), at room temperature
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg (optional, see note below)
5 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2/3 cup semolina
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cardamom
2 tablespoons cocoa (optional)
whole almonds (optional)

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 300 F. Grease or line baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, mix flour, semolina, baking powder and cardamom. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add egg and mix well. You can omit the egg or replace it with 2-4 tablespoons of whole milk. If you do, the baked cookies will have a crackled (instead of smooth) surface.
4. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture. It may take a few minutes to incorporate all the flour. Don't feel obligated to use all the flour if your dough is becoming dry. Add milk to soften the dough again.

5. To form cookies, roll 2 tablespoons of dough between the palms of your hands to form a circular disk (thicker in the middle than at the edges). Place on a baking sheet and flatten slightly.
6. To decorate, gently press an almond into the center of each cookie.
7. If you would rather make chocolate nan khatais, place 1/4 of the dough in a small bowl and add cocoa. Incorporate cocoa by kneading. Take dough in the proportion of 1:3 (chocolate to unflavored) and roll both pieces into tubes of the same length (the chocolate tube will be much thinner). Roughly braid the tubes and roll the nan khatai in your hands until the doughs swirl. Place on baking sheet and flatten slightly.
8. Bake for 20-22 minutes at 300 F, until you see a hint of color. Do not bake until golden brown. Remove immediately to a wire rack to prevent further baking. Once cool, cookies should break easily but not be crumbly. If the cookies are crisp, then they were over-baked.

Tamarind Chickpea Curry (Channa Bateta) Recipe

Growing up, we often served channa bateta (which literally translates as chickpeas and potatoes) with chevdo, a spicy snack mix, that added a lovely crunch and saltiness to balance out the soft and sour curry (a chevdo recipe will appear on this blog soon). Channa bateta is not a traditional curry that you eat for dinner with roti and rice, but in my mind, is associated with sunny weekend afternoons and family gatherings.

The distinctive flavor comes from tamarind (the name tamar-i-hind is Arabic for “date of India”), which is used extensively in Indian, Thai and Mexican food and is widely available throughout Asia and Latin America. The tree is native to East Africa and was known to the ancient Egyptians and Greeks.

Tamarind fruit are irregular shaped brown pods, and they contain dark brown pulp which is often both sweet and sour (high in sugar, acid, vitamin B and calcium). It is used in both Worcestershire sauce (a key ingredient is Caesar salad and Bloody Marys) and HP sauce, presumably having come to British cuisine via the colonization of India. Tamarind is also traditionally used in the now wildly-popular pad thai noodle dish.

Unless you have regular access to an ethnic grocery store, you can easily order tamarind online. The various pastes have different concentrations, so proceed with caution. Too much tamarind can be a mouth puckering experience.

Serves 12 as a main dish and 24 as a side dish

Ingredients
4 lbs of red potatoes (about 6-8 large potatoes)
4 tablespoons canola or corn oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
12-15 curry leaves (optional)
3 tablespoons chickpea flour (also known as gram or besan flour)
4-5 tablespoons of crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato puree (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 cup water (or more as required)
2 16-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 bunch of cilantro, de-stemmed and chopped
1-2 tablespoons concentrated tamarind paste or 1 cup tamarind and date chutney
1 lemon (optional)

Directions
1. Wash and peel potatoes. Cut into 1/2 inch cubes and boil until just soft. Cool to room temperature.
2. In a large pot, heat oil on medium. Add mustard seeds and curry leaves. When mustard seeds pop, add chickpea flour and cook until light pink (about 3 -5 minutes).
3. Add crushed and pureed tomatoes, salt, red pepper flakes, turmeric and cumin, and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add 1/2 cup water to thin the tomato mixture. Add potatoes and chickpeas and mix well. Cook for 4 minutes and add up to another 1/2 cup water, or as much as needed.
5. Add half the cilantro and tamarind sauce and cook for a further four minutes. Tamarind sauces vary in potency and thickness. Use 1 or 2 tablespoons of pure tamarind sauce (which is thick and the color of molasses) or 1 cup of the tamarind and date sauce (which is sweeter, lighter and thinner). If you don’t know what you have, begin cautiously, and add to taste. If you add too much tamarind, you can use molasses or honey to balance out the sourness.
6. Add juice of one lemon for tartness.
7. Garnish with the remaining cilantro.

Mexican Doughnuts (Churros) Recipe

I have fond memories of Cinco de Mayo, going back to my freshman year of college. On a busy homework night, my friends Christina, Tricia and I decided to leave our books and go to the movies to see Muriel’s Wedding. It was an incredibly fun and liberating evening – and we decided to memorialize it by cramming into a photo booth for some Polaroid mementos. I still proudly display that fading image to remember my college days.

Since that time I have celebrated Cinco de Mayo occasionally. The last major observance was a party I co-hosted in Boston. The night concluded with blindfolded guests beating a piñata with a ski pole. Because of that low point, it has been a while since I’ve marked the occasion and this year I decided to do it with food.

Most people wrongly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican Independence. In reality it commemorates the Mexican defeat of the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Few people realize that the French, led by Napolean III, invaded Mexico because Mexican President Benito Juárez refused to pay interest on loans his country took from France, Spain and Britain.

In honor of this victory of the New World over the Old, my friend Ruth and I decided to make Mexican doughnuts, commonly known as churros. These snacks originated in Spain (and are sometimes called Spanish doughnuts), and are now also popular in Latin America, the Caribbean and North America. Churros are traditionally served with a thick melted chocolate for dipping.

To make churros you need a churrera, which is easily obtainable online. It is a syringe-like plastic device through which dough is extruded. The device can be used to make other foods requiring extrusion including pasta and some Indian snacks. These treats are especially irresistible when still warm and freshly dusted with cinnamon sugar.


Ingredients
3 eggs
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
corn or canola oil for frying
4 teaspoons cinnamon
confectioner’s sugar (optional)

Serves 8 to 10 for a snack

Directions
1. In a small bowl, lightly beat three eggs and set aside. In a separate bowl measure out flour. In a separate large bowl mix 1 cup of sugar with cinnamon.
2. In a medium-sized saucepan bring water, butter, 1/4 cup sugar and vanilla to a boil.
3. Remove from the heat and immediately add flour. Stir rapidly until the mixture forms a ball. This will take one to two minutes.
4. Add eggs and mix until absorbed by the dough. This will take some time. Do not worry if you still have lumps.
5. Let the dough cool for 15 to 30 minutes. At the same time heat oil in a frying pan over medium high heat. The oil only needs to be one or two inches deep since the churros will float.
6. Fill the churrera with dough according to the instructions. Twist the knob to extrude dough. Slice churros with a knife at two inches in length (see image below). If you have a larger frying pan you can make them 4 to 6 inches in length. You can either cut the dough directly into hot oil, or cut it onto wax paper and gently transfer it into the oil with a slotted metal spoon.


7. Fry for 2 to 4 minutes or until light golden brown. Drain churros on paper towel for 3 to 5 minutes. Toss hot churros in the cinnamon sugar mixture until well coated. Alternately you can dust with confectioner’s sugar.
8. Serve with Spanish hot chocolate (Ruth brought me the chocolate bar pictured below from Barcelona). This chocolate contains cornstarch which makes it thick and ideal for dipping. To make the dipping chocolate, add chocolate to boiling milk and sweeten with sugar. The proportions are up to your taste.


Be careful when frying. Oil heats slowly, and if overheated, takes a long time to cool. If the oil is smoking it is too hot. I suggest frying on a back burner to prevent getting splattered.

Un-fried churros can be frozen for up to 3 months. To prepare frozen churros, just fry in hot oil (no need to defrost).

Lime-Infused Shrimp Kedgeree Recipe

I discovered kedgeree at a brunch hosted by my British friend Claire. She served it with the traditional smoked haddock and lots of butter. It was a dish I had never heard of, but one which had been popular among British colonials in India. Claire said it was an adaptation of a traditional Indian recipe; but looking at it, I could not decipher the connection.

Through web research I discovered that kedgeree is a bastardization of the term khichdi, a common North Indian dish of rice and lentils. The term khichdi is often broadly used to describe a combination of rice and lentils – which is simple, comfort or peasant food. The term is also used colloquially to mean 'a mess' or a 'troubling situation'.

Kedgeree is a signature dish of the Anglo-Indian community, a small minority group consisting of people of mixed racial heritage – usually British fathers and Indian mothers. Like the coloured community in South Africa, Anglo-Indians formed and were identified as a unique ethnic group in India’s constitution. They have distinct cuisine, dress, speech and religion. The Anglo-Indian community is still active in India and also in the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand.

Cursory web research leads me to believe that kedgeree is experiencing a renaissance as a brunch item. This version uses shrimp instead of haddock.


Ingredients

For shrimp:
juice of 1 lime
1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound cooked deveined and detailed shrimp

For rice:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 small onions
3 teaspoons chopped garlic
2 teaspoons hot Madras curry powder
1 1/2 cups enriched long grain white rice
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
3 cups chicken or vegetarian broth, or water
(or more as needed, cook according to rice instructions)
juice of 1 to 2 lemons
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
4 to 6 eggs, hard-boiled and halved or quartered lengthwise (optional)
1 to 2 lemons, halved or quartered lengthwise


Serves 8 to 10 people

Directions

1. For shrimp, mix lime and all seasonings in a small bowl. Put shrimp into a large Ziploc bag and pour in the marinade. Shake well and leave in the refrigerator overnight. Shake periodically.
2. For rice, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Sauté garlic until fragrant, and then add onions and sauté until softened (about 5 minutes). Add curry powder and continue to sauté.
3. Add rice and coat grains well. Add salt and broth/water and bring to a boil.
4. Lower the heat to simmer and cover well. Allow rice to cook according to instructions on package, approximately 20 minutes. Do not uncover pot during cooking process.
5. Once cooked, fluff rice with a fork. Add lemon juice, parsley and salt and pepper to taste.
6. Gently fold shrimp and sliced eggs into rice. Serve with lemon wedges.