Serendib Kitchen

July 3, 2021July 6, 2021

Poritha Ulli Kari / Fried Garlic Curry

This one is for all the folks who say there can never be too much garlic in a dish. I’m no expert on Ayurvedic cooking, but from what I’ve read, garlic is used widely in Ayurvedic medicine, with claims that it’s good for the heart, hair, and digestive systems.

On the other hand, some practitioners recommend being sparing when you eat garlic and onions, as they can have a ‘heating’ effect, and some of us may run rather ‘hot’ already… I leave such weighty health decisions up to the cook! I will only vouch for this dish being delicious.

2 T vegetable oil

2 c. peeled garlic cloves

1 c. chopped onion

1-3 green chilies, seeded and sliced thinly

1 t. salt

1/2 t. ground pepper

1/2 t. fennel seeds

1/4 t. mustard seeds

1/4 t. fenugreek / methi seeds

1 stalk curry leaves (about a dozen)

2 c. coconut milk

1 T Sri Lankan roasted curry powder

1 T tamarind paste

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onions, chilies, salt, pepper, fennel, mustard, fenugreek, and curry leaves; sauté, stirring occasionally, until golden-translucent.

2. Add coconut milk, curry powder, and tamarind paste. Bring to a boil, stirring to combine, then reduce the heat and simmer until the gravy has reduced by half. Serve hot with rice or bread.

Coconut milk makes it better. Pretty much always. 🙂

July 2, 2021July 6, 2021

I Had to Make Marshmallows

I had half a cup of pineapple juice, and an open can of mango pulp, so I pretty much had to make pineapple-mango marshmallows…

July 2, 2021July 6, 2021

Whipping the (Pineapple) Marshmallows…(12 Seconds)

July 2, 2021July 2, 2021

Yummy Goop

Made brownies yesterday. Fussy recipe, but they honestly came out as delicious as I’ve ever imagined a brownie, so I can’t complain.

Couldn’t find our 8″ square pan, so made one batch in the scone pan (use plenty of Baker’s Joy, because brownies tend to stick), and one batch (with cherries) in a pie plate. Both delicious, though I think we could’ve added some foil to protect the edge of the cherry one and baked it just a little longer; the cherries put off enough moisture that the center is a little goopy.

Yummy goop, though.

Recipe: https://www.epicurious.com/…/best-cocoa-brownies-108346

June 26, 2021June 29, 2021

Making Mango Fluff

Mango fluff recipe is over at the Serendib Kitchen blog: https://serendibkitchen.com/…/mango-lime-pineapple-fluff/

Along with a video of me and Kavi making it together:

https://serendibkitchen.com/2020/04/13/mango-fluff-2/

Kavi made this for me for…Mother’s Day? Something not so long ago. Very kid-friendly recipe.

I’ll note that you can totally use vegetarian gelatin for this. I haven’t been able to get vegetarian gelatin to set well enough for actual marshmallows yet, but it works fine for fluff.

I’m not sure how to make it vegan — I’d need a substitute for the Cool Whip, which has skimmed milk in it. I’m guessing you can whip coconut milk? I should try that sometime soon; if I can, then I can include it in the Vegan Serendib cookbook.

Jed’s kitchen is pretty well set up for everyday cooking, but he did not own a candy thermometer, so we picked one up — and I really like this one! It has added labels for a lot of different things you’d be likely to use it for, like melting chocolate or optimal deep frying temperature, and bracketed color bars to help you keep track. Nice.

One of the nerve-wracking things about cooking in someone else’s kitchen is what if they don’t actually have the tools you need — even something as simple as a bowl and a hand mixer. Jed did not own a hand mixer, which was sort of funny to me, because I’ve had one since college; it was one of the first kitchen tools I bought, I think to make cakes? $20 and it lasted me a good 20 years, so a pretty decent investment. 🙂 I also wasn’t sure he had a bowl big enough to whip marshmallows, but thankfully, yes, this is plenty large enough. Whew.

Pouring in the mango puree and the lime juice. Roshani has a preferred brand of mango puree, and I was standing in the grocery store, trying to remember which it was, and I just couldn’t remember. The one I got was marked Alphonso mango puree — is that the right one? I think she said not Kesar….

So listen, I’m sure you can make mango fluff with whipped heavy cream instead of Cool Whip, and someday I’ll try it just to confirm, but for those of you who are being a smidge elitist and kitchen snooty about my Cool Whip choice here, I’ll just say that this is how my Amma made her mango fluff, and there’s really nothing more to be said there, right? RIGHT? 🙂

June 26, 2021June 29, 2021

More of a Family Party

Mango fluff all done, although if I get a chance to cut up some fresh mango and use it to decorate the top I will — there’s crushed pineapple in there already, but fresh mango will make it a) tastier and b) prettier.

It’s also a little disconcerting not having all my pretty serveware, but I’m cooking at Jed’s and then transiting up to Alex and Christa’s, so I decided that foil trays really were the better part of valor here. I’m sure they have some pretty serveware I can use, but since I have to transport anyway, foil trays are just practical as heck. This is more of a family party than a formal party.