Category: Dinner

Posted on

Sri Lankan Swordfish Curry

(30 minutes, serves 2)

I’m trying to start eating fish a little more regularly again — when I lived alone, it was one of my standard proteins in rotation, but Kevin doesn’t like seafood (alas), and so I’ve gotten out of the habit.

But fish is so good for you, and I do love it, so I think I’m just going to start making it more often; thankfully, Kevin’s perfectly capable of feeding himself (and the kids) as needed. The kids also aren’t so used to fish as a result of all this, aside from fish fingers, which they do like, so I feel like I need to start just including fish on the family rotation. Tuna noodle casserole, perhaps, to ease them in.

But for me, it’s hard to beat a Sri Lankan fish curry. I did a quick weeknight version of this on Tuesday, and less than 30 minutes later, was sitting down to eat fish curry and uppuma. Yum.

I just made enough for a few meals for me, so this is a pared down amount, compared to my usual recipes which are typically intended to feed 4-6 people. Dinner, plus lunch at work today, plus dinner again tonight, probably with a vegetable added. I’m thinking broccoli varai.

1 lb. swordfish (or other firm whitefish, like tuna), cubed
2-3 T oil
1 onion, chopped
1 t. black mustard seed
1 t. cumin seed
1 T garlic/ginger paste (you could chop fresh, of course, which is even tastier, but we keep a jar of the paste in the fridge for ease on busy nights — find it in the Indian store, or locals, they have it at Pete’s)
1/2 t. cayenne
1 t. Sri Lankan curry powder
1 T lime juice
1 c. water

1 t. salt

1. Marinate swordfish with cayenne, curry powder, and lime juice — this will flavor the fish and also firm it up a bit. If you have time, marinating it for 20-30 minutes will add even more flavor, but it’ll be just fine if it just sits while you’re prepping the onions.

2. Sauté onions in oil on medium, stirring occasionally, with mustard seed, cumin seed, and garlic/ginger paste. (If you’re being fancy, you could also add in a 2-inch cinnamon stick, 2-3 cloves, 2-3 cardamom pods. And 6-12 fresh curry leaves are always welcome.)

3. When onions are golden-translucent (5-10 minutes), add marinated fish, water, and salt. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until fish is cooked through and liquid has reduced to a nice curry sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired — if it’s too spicy for you, a little coconut milk is always a nice addition.

4. Serve hot with rice, roti, pittu, uppuma, idli, or whatever grain your heart desires. If you’re making uppuma, you can do it in 5 minutes while the curry sauce is cooking down. Efficient! If you’re looking for an accompaniment, a bright mango pickle will go nicely.

Posted on

Cooking Experiment Went VERY Well

Cooking experiment that went VERY well — my recipes for shrimp curry and cuttlefish curry are basically the same, though they end up tasting different due to the flavor of the base seafood. I happened to have a bag of shrimp and a bag of cuttlefish (aka squid, aka calamari) on hand, and I thought I’d try combining them. Reader, the end result was DELICIOUS.

Main concern is not cooking the seafood so long that it gets tough. So you essentially want to build the base sauce and get it to a good stage, add the shrimp and cook for 4-5 minutes, add the squid and cook maybe a minute more, and that’s it, you’re done! TASTY.

Buying all the seafood raw but already cleaned makes it easy. Be sure to thaw and drain if frozen — if you throw them in frozen, you’ll mess up the cooking times.

Posted on

Dishes to Share

I was, of course, fretting about not having enough food at George’s Sri Lankan feast, so Roshani came to the rescue — she donated a beef curry for me to freeze and take down to Santa Fe, and then *she* was worried that there wasn’t enough of it, so we decided we’d reheat it with a little extra liquid and cook down some chopped potatoes in it when I got there. Worked great!

And really, it’d just be weird to have one person contributing all the dishes for a Sri Lankan feast. When my mom cooked for a big party, generally lots of the aunties and family friends brought a dish to share.

Posted on

Little Videos for TikTok

Emmanuel‘s been asking me to make more little videos that my Serendib peeps can use for TikTok, etc. This is lentil curry, aka dal, aka paruppu.

If you’re going to learn how to make one vegetarian Sri Lankan dish, this is the one I’d recommend — nutritious, delicious, and a staple across the island. You could live on paruppu and rice — and a lot of people do!

There are a lot of different preparations — mine is thick and luscious with plenty of coconut milk, like a porridge in consistency. Sometimes I eat it straight up with a spoon. 🙂

 

Posted on

Boxing Day Dinner

I volunteered to cook Boxing Day dinner for the family, and it went reasonably well, but I made two frustrating mistakes — cooking in someone else’s kitchen is a little stressful, trying to figure out where everything is and how to use unfamiliar appliances, and I guess I don’t always think so clearly in those circumstances.

Appetizers — tried to go easy and kid-friendly here:
• two kinds of cheddar (basic and more interesting) with mango-ginger chutney and crackers (Ritz crackers continue to be wildly popular with the kids and go incredibly fast), put out with some cut-up watermelon and pineapple

• carrot sticks and sliced bell pepper, with ranch dip

Entree:
• chicken marbella (for some of the grown-ups)
• sautéed chicken thighs in béchamel (for everyone else)
• buttered egg noodles
• roasted asparagus

• sautéed broccolini

Dessert:
• lots of leftover Christmas cookies

• mango fluff

The two mistakes I made? Well, one was a simple error with the mango fluff — I forgot that fresh pineapple will keep the gelatin from setting; usually I remember and use canned, but they had fresh on hand and I just didn’t think about it. Sigh. So it was more mango dessert soup? Still tasty, but a little frustrating.

The bigger mistake was with the chicken marbella. I haven’t actually made it before, and while it’s a simple enough recipe (marinate together: garlic, green olives, prunes, capers, red wine vinegar, oregano, bay leaves, salt, pepper, brown sugar, and white wine with chicken pieces; bake; sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve), the timing was off.

I’m honestly not sure why, but we brought it to the table and served it, and some of the chicken on the bone was still pink near the bone. Argh. We put it back in the oven to finish cooking, and it was totally fine the next day, but frustrating.

Lessons:

• try not to cook in a hurry, especially in an unfamiliar kitchen
• remember relevant chemical interactions
• always check that meat is cooked through before serving, esp. meat on the bone, which takes longer

• don’t try an unfamiliar recipe for the first time for a big party!

Oh well. Everyone ate well anyway, because I made too much food per usual, and we had enough for leftovers the next day, and it’s all fine. Just a little irritating!

Here’s a recipe for chicken marbella, which I really do like a lot. Just watch those cooking times!
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_marbella/
Posted on

Chipotle & Pepper Corn Bread-Sausage Stuffing

Crumble cornbread into the seasoned sausage, onion, & peppers, add some chicken broth, and you’re done. Bake it a bit if you’d like a crispy top. 🙂

*****

Chipotle & Pepper Corn Bread-Sausage Stuffing

(30 minutes (plus 30 minutes for making the cornbread), serves 😎

4 c. cornbread, crumbled (best if made with chopped green chilies and whole corn (frozen works fine, thaw and drain); I just use two boxes of Jiffy for the cornbread)
1 large onion, chopped
a little oil for frying
2 lbs. mild Italian sausage (turkey sausage also works, less rich)
1 c. white wine
3 large bell peppers (red, orange, yellow), chopped
1 can chipotles, chopped (buy canned chipotles and use the sauce they’re in — if you want it less spicy, reduce how much sauce you put in)
1 t. salt
a few grinds black pepper

1 c. chicken broth

1. Make cornbread according to box directions.

2. Sauté (on medium-high) the onions in the oil until golden.

3. Add the sausage and sauté until cooked through and browned. De-glaze pan with wine.

4. Add the bell pepper and sauté until soft.

5. Add the chipotles in sauce, salt and pepper and stir well.

6. Break up and stir in cornbread.

7. Stir in broth.