So you wanna masala?

Sometimes a whole meal can be based around one special ingredient. That was my intent last weekend when I bought a bag of fragrant yellow garam masala at Christina's Spice & Specialty Foods Shop (right next to Christina's Ice Cream) in Inman Square.

Garam masala (which translates to "hot mixture") is a mixture of ground spices--often chili peppers, garlic, ginger, fennel and mustard seeds, star anise, turmeric, coriander, cardamom, etc--that forms the basis for many Indian dishes. It's best, of course, to buy whole spices and grind them yourself with a mortar and pestle or a coffee bean grinder. But I trusted Christina's to provide the next best thing. I'd learned from Chef Ranveer Brar that one of the secrets of Indian cooking is marinating meat in yogurt, and so I looked for a recipe that would allow me to do so with the garam masala I'd just bought. I'm not confident enough in cooking Indian cuisine to improvise on my own just yet.

This recipe from Epicurious turned out delightfully--full of the flavors of the garam masala. The chicken marinates for two hours in seasoned yogurt, then bakes for an hour on a bed of onions, both of which make it incredibly tender and piquant. It made enough for a week's worth of lunches or dinners for one, and I served it with naan, white rice or the bulgur salad pictured (which I livened up with some chopped dried dates).


Easy Chicken Masala (from Epicurious)

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garam masala*
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1 large garlic clove, pressed
• 1 4- to 4 1/2-pound roasting chicken, cut into 8 pieces, backbone removed
• 2 small onions, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices

Mix yogurt, chopped cilantro, olive oil, garam masala, salt, and garlic in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Add chicken to marinade, 1 piece at a time, coating all sides. Cover with plastic wrap; refrigerate at least 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.

Position racks in top third and bottom third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Arrange onions in thin layer on large rimmed baking sheet to form bed for chicken. Top with chicken pieces in single layer, spacing apart for even roasting (chicken will still be coated with marinade). Discard remaining marinade.

Roast chicken on top rack until cooked through and juices run clear when thickest portion of thigh is pierced with knife, about 1 hour. Serve chicken atop onion slices. Spoon pan juices around.

* An Indian spice mixture; available in the spice section of many supermarkets and at Indian markets.

The Secret to Perfect Lasagna

A couple weeks ago, some high schools friends and I got together for a weekend-long baby shower in Baltimore. I offered to cook a big dinner for everyone Saturday night, and since I was traveling, our Baltimore hosts graciously procured the ingredients for a wild mushroom lasagna recipe I'd selected. It seemed like an easy, one-pot meal for a large group, but as I began the preparations Saturday afternoon, it quickly became apparent that this recipe was a little involved for a kitchen full of people plus one toddler. It was a good thing I made the mushroom sauce first (with dried porcinis and tomatoes)--before our late afternoon walk around the Inner Harbor.

When we returned, I put together the bechamel sauce and then turned to the lasagna noodles, which came from a great Italian specialty shop called Trinacria in downtown Baltimore (I'll admit to shoving a freshly filled cannoli in my mouth when we stopped there for bread Saturday morning).

The recipe warned against no-boil noodles--the kind that, in my experience, end up undercooked and crisp around the edges. But I'd used pre-cooked noodles before and had them turn out the opposite: too soft. This time, as my recipe advised, I pre-boiled the noodles for just eight minutes, then grabbed them from the boiling water with tongs, laid them on dish towels (not in a bowl of cold water as the recipe instructs--somehow in the chaos I missed that part), and with the help of a couple assistants, assembled the lasagna, starting and finishing with a generous layer of bechamel, which kept the top and bottom layer of noodles from drying out.

The finished product was quite tasty (though it didn't get served til after 8pm), but I marveled most at the perfect consistency of the noodles--something I'd never before achieved with lasagna. When I got home, I tried again with the same noodles, again pre-boiling them, for an eggplant and ricotta lasagna. They turned out marvelously.

So I am now convinced that this is the secret to well made lasagna: don't take short cuts with no-boil noodles. Buy regular noodles (the best you can find), boil them until they are about 70% cooked, and start and finish with a layer of sauce (be it tomato or bechamel or whatever you like). This may work best of all when you're alone in the kitchen and can fully focus on the task at hand. But it won't be nearly as much fun as cooking in a house full of people you've known since you were a kid.

Thanks to teenytinyturkey for the photo.

A Healthy Lunch That Smacks of Spring

I've hit that point in winter when I'm tired of making big pots of soup, and all I want is something fresh and bright and lively. This bulgur salad fits the bill--with flavors of lemon, cilantro and mint to make it vivid, and the crunch of almonds to keep it interesting. Bulgur wheat is a whole grain with a slightly nutty flavor that is healthier than rice or couscous because of its fiber, protein and vitamins. I baked a chicken cutlet in olive oil, garlic and lemon juice to serve alongside.

Bulgur Salad with Cilantro & Mint (adapted from Epicurious)
1 cup bulgur
2 cups boiling-hot water
2 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup chopped mint
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Put bulgur in a bowl, then pour hot water (2 cups) over it and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let stand until tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a small heavy skillet over medium heat until hot, then cook almonds, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute.
Drain bulgur in a medium-mesh sieve, then return to bowl and stir in herbs, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and almonds (with oil). Season with salt and more lemon juice if desired. Serve at room temperature.

New Orleans-style brunch at Tupelo in Inman Square

There's nothing like grits and fried oysters for Sunday brunch. And if you like drinking out of Mason jars so big you practically need two hands to lift them, Tupelo is the place for you.

One of the best parts of brunch is the sunny, homey atmosphere--along with the friendly service, and the Elvis memorabilia on the walls.

A friend who'd recently returned from Mardi Gras ordered the Oyster Po'Boy with jalapeno aioli.

While I had pulled beef barbecue with cheddar grits and watercress. Both were hearty and delicious. Next time, I'll try the chicken and waffles with bourbon maple syrup and spiced cream. I noticed a lady who was having that, and she looked pretty happy.

Though we didn't order any, we did admire the champagne cocktails from afar. And the stunning red walls.

Moroccan chicken bistilla for my ladies

Making Moroccan chicken bastilla
Originally uploaded by Bellyglad

Moroccan bistilla (I've also seen it spelled "bastilla") is not a dish to be undertaken lightly--it requires a lot of separate components, an array of ingredients, and a bit of patience for working with the phyllo dough. Which is why I saved it for a weekend dinner with some of my favorite lady friends.

The bistilla is a traditional meat pie sweetened with cinnamon and sugar. In Morocco, it's often made with squab (ie. pigeon). In my kitchen, we stick to chicken.

Preparing bistilla begins with stewing and seasoning the meat, and then shredding it into tiny pieces. Some of the flavorful juices from the chicken are reserved for making an egg mixture not unlike scrambled eggs, but softer. The third component is crushed almonds that have been toasted in oil and mixed with sugar and cinnamon. These form the three layers of pie between sheets of phyllo dough brushed with butter.

The result is a sweet-savory pie encased in crispy leaves of phyllo and dusted with powdered sugar and cinnamon. It contains more sticks of butter and cups of sugar than I care to mention, but it is a delectable special-occasion dish, and my friends seemed to enjoy it. The recipe I chose made enough for two pans of pie, so I sent everyone home with leftovers.

Valentine's Day polenta

On Romance & Frozen Pizza

I recently received a Valentine's-themed press release that was simply too quirky not to share. I think my favorite part about it is that it combines the seemingly incongruous concepts of "frozen pizza," "romance," and "Italy" (not that romance and Italy are incongruous, but you get the idea--one of these things is not like the others). All you have to do is share your love story, and a photograph of yourself consuming a frozen pizza, and you could win a free trip to Italy, sponsored by the very non-Italian-sounding Dr. Oetker.*

Good Morning,

Wanted to send you a quick note to let you and your readers know that Dr. Oetker Ristorante, Italy’s top-selling frozen pizza, is currently hosting a “Tales of the Heart” contest in the U.S. to reward romantic couples with an all-expenses paid trip to Italy.

The task is simple – couples are invited to upload a photo enjoying a Ristorante Pizza, along with their personal love story  – for the chance to win a trip to one of the most romantic cities in the world. We’d love for one of your readers to be the winner! The contest ends February 28, 2010 and you can find out all the details at  www.ristorante.us

In the meantime, please let me know if you have any questions or are  interested in trying Dr. Oetker’s top-selling frozen pizza.

Cheers!

Alison

*In fact, Dr. Oetker is a German company that started out selling baking powder. Today, Dr. Oetker frozen pizzas are available at local grocery stores like Shaw's, Stop & Shop, Hannaford's, and Roche Bros. I cannot vouch for the romance you will experience while eating one.