Cookbook Review: 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Cookbook Review: 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

by Victoria Challancin

In 660 Curries: The Gateway to Indian Cooking, award-winning author and cooking teacher Raghavan Iyer creates an almost perfect, comprehensive cookbook that celebrates the vast world of Indian cuisine. For beginners, he provides simple and thorough explanations. For more experienced cooks, he offers regional interpretations that will inspire and challenge. And for those who want a culinary tour of India through the eyes, nose, and ears alone, he offers a sensory journey through every part of the country just by reading his vibrant words.

Normally when I see large numbers of recipes touted in titles, I cringe from an image too similar to that of a 40-page Chinese menu, thinking, “How could anyone possibly provide anything of value with such an enormous range?” My good friend Marge Poore accomplished it beautifully with her 1,000 Mexican Recipes. And Raghavan Iyer does it as well in 660 Curries. Accessible and interesting, the recipes and explanation demystify the world of curries including many regional variations, making them approachable even by the most inexperienced cook.

I like to read cookbooks, relishing in well-written prose, almost as if they were novels. This cookbook provides plenty to read in its 816 pages. Though I miss color photos, I have no problem accepting this book just as it is, a near-perfect compilation written with love. Iyer’s voice is so joyously contagious, that I defy the casual browser not to get deeply involved in his culinary journey. His refreshing prose begs us to participate with him in the production of authentic, varied dishes of his homeland. There is a wide range of styles that are bound to suit any palate.

The contents include:
Spice Blends and Pastes (all are enticing)
Appetizer Curries
Poultry, Game & Egg Curries
Beef, Lamb, and Pork Curries
Fish and Seafood Curries
Paneer Curries
Legume Curries
Vegetable Curries
Contemporary Curries
Biryani Curries
Curry Cohorts (Sides and accompaniments)
Metric Conversion Charts
A Glossary of Ingredients
The Elements of a Curry
And more…

Some of the recipes that particularly appeal to me are:
Coconut-Sesame Sauce
Herb-Stuffed Shrimp
Griddle-Cooked Eggplant with a Garlic Yogurt Sauce
Yogurt-Marinated Chicken in a Black Peppercorn Sauce
Almond Chicken in a Yogurt-Mint Sauce
Mangalorean Chicken Curry with Tamarind and Coconut Milk
Fennel-Kissed Chicken Simmered in a Ginger-Poppy Seed Sauce
Lamb with Pickled Mangoes and Yogurt
Cashew Lamb with a Coconut Milk Sauce
Pork and Cashews with a Black Peppercorn Sauce
Salmon with Garlic and Turmeric
Fish Fillets with a Cilantro-Cream Sauce
Almond Shrimp with Tomatoes
And more…so many more


For vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike, this enticing book offers enough recipes to satisfy even the most finicky cook. The regional diversity is enormous and the contemporary interpretations are satisfying and exciting.

A Garden Club Talk and Grapefruit Gremolata

A Garden Club Talk and Grapefruit Gremolata
by Victoria Challancin

A blender + a few handfuls of herbs + some toasted spices + a glug or two of olive oil or yogurt = a formula for some great simple sauces. When I was invited to give a talk on culinary herbs and a cooking class to the San Miguel Garden Club yesterday, I decided to make several quick herb-based sauces to showcase the readily availabe herbs parsley, cilantro, mint, and basil. With the help of my sister-in-law, Donna Challancin, as sous chef, chief chopper, and all round helpmate, we put together five incredibly tasty flavor enhancing sauces: Yemini Zhoug (cilantro), Moroccan Chermoula (parsley and cilantro), Indian Mint Chutney (mint and cilantro), a not-quite-Argentinian Three-Herb Chimichurri Sauce (basil, mint, and cilantro), and a refreshing Grapefruit Gremolata (parsley).

Although gremolata, a blend of raw garlic, chopped parsley, and grated lemon rind, is the traditional garnish for Italian braised veal-shank and tomato-based stew Osso Bucco, it has appeared in recent years in various citrus reincarnations. Sometimes I change the herb to mint or cilantro, sometimes I change the lemon to orange or grapefruit. This incredibly pungent condiment goes beautifully with grilled meats, chicken, shrimp, and roasted vegetables.

Grapefruit Gremolata
Italian Garnish
(Original recipe from Bon Appétit, February 2004: Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables with Grapefruit Gremolata)

1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon grated grapefruit peel
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine parsley, grapefruit peel, and garlic in medium bowl. Season gremolata to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with roasted vegetables.

Variation: Yesterday I added a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and a squeeze of grapefruit juice for a non-traditional variation.

Many thanks to good friend Jennifer Hamilton for sharing her photos.

El Bistro Los Senderos: Perfection in Simplicity

El Bistro Gourmet Los Senderos: Perfection in Simplicity
by Victoria Challancin

Dessert: Baked Sweet Potato with Vanilla Ice Cream in Piloncillo Sauce

When friends invited me to dine at San Miguel de Allende's new country bistro, El Bistro Los Senderos, I knew I would be in for a treat. Francesca Fisher's impeccable taste was evident everwhere: the terraced farm land, the organic garden, the baci ball court, the stables, the simple elegance of the entire setting. After a six-course tasting meal which included grilled cubicucho, flown in fresh from Baja (the best fish I've ever eaten in this mountain town!), the amazingly talented Chef Juan José Gomez dazzled us once again for dessert with his sophisticated, perfectly executed dish : Baked Sweet Potato with Vanilla Ice Cream in Piloncillo Sauce--an ode to perfection.

Upon leaving, the gracious and helpful manager/maitre d'hôtel, Yannick Gil, gifted us with equally perfect passion flower blossoms. Nature even co-operated by sending a dancing silver rainstorm that raced across the expanse of the valley toward us as we watched in awe. Simplicity. Perfection.

Many thanks to Ana Meza (http://chefanameza.blogspot.com), Yannick's talented and lovely wife, a pastry chef in her own right, for sending me these photos.

Making Tortillas and Quesadillas

Making Tortillas and Quesadillas

Roasted Tomatillo and Avocado Salsa Served in a Molcajete

When we made tortillas in my Alta Cocina Mexican cooking class yesterday, I immediately turned over my heavy mesquite tortilla press to one of my students. Her deft, experienced hands made quick work of preparing and filling the quesadillas filled with nopal cactus. Inspired by a recipe from Once TV, from Mexico City, we adapted a recipe for Achiote Quesadillas with Tinga of Nopal and Roasted Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa. To make the corn masa, or dough, we added achiote paste thinned in orange juice and chopped, fresh marjoram. The tinga, which is ususally a mild shredded chicken dish, was made this time of strips of nopal, or prickly pear, cactus paddles cooked with onions, tomatoes, and pickled chipotle chiles.

Rosa Maria Rocha, making tortillas with the achiote-flavored dough

Lorena Mendéz making salsa in a traditional Mexican molcajete

Guadalupe Beltrán decorating the final dish with cilantro, crumbled ranch cheese, and tiny fried strips of plantain

Roasted Tomato, Chipotle Chile and Mango Salsa with Grilled Cheese

Leaves for serving, l. to r., avocado, fig, and hoja santa

Leaves of Mexico and Roasted Tomato, Chipotle Chile, and Mango Salsa with Grilled Cheese
by Victoria Challancin

I like to show the Mexican cooks in my classes new ways to serve common dishes. This recipe is one we prepared yesterday. I chose leaves from my garden and street as a novel way for them to serve this easy hors d'oeuvre, or botana. We used panela cheese, an essentially bland, low-fat, non-melting Mexican cheese that works as a wonderful blank palate on which other flavors can be beautifully painted. If you don't want the extra fat from frying, simply grill the cheese in a grill pan or skillet or even serve it straight from the package. If you have access to one of my favorite cheeses, Halloumi (a non-melting Cypriot cheese), by all means use it.

Roasted Tomato, Chipotle Chile and Mango Salsa with Grilled Cheese

(Recipe by Victoria Challancin)

4 plum tomatoes, roasted and peeled
1 to 2 canned chipotle chiles in adobo, or to taste
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon honey, or to taste
2 ripe mangoes, peeled, and chopped
Salt to taste
Cilantro, chopped, for garnish

In a blender or food processor puree tomatoes, chipotle chiles, lime juice, and honey until smooth.

Peel mango and finely chop. In a bowl stir together tomato mixture and mango and season with salt. Salsa may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered.

For the cheese:
400g panela cheese, in cubes or slices
1/2 cup of flour (or as needed)
Salt and pepper
2 eggs, beaten (or as needed)
1 cup breadcrumbs, fresh or dry (or as needed)
Oil
Leaves for serving (avocado, hoja santa, fig, or carrizo)

Coat the cubes with flour, then dip them in beaten egg. Finish by coating the cubes with bread crumbs.

After breading the cheese cubes, refrigerate them for ten to fifteen minutes before frying. This will help them to retain their shape in the hot oil, although the panela cheese will not actually melt.

Heat 1/4-inch oil in a frying pan. Cook cheese until lightly browned on both sides. Drain on paper towels.

To serve: Place cheese on edible leaves such as those mentioned above, or on long elegant leaves of carrizo tied in a knot at one end.

Note: To roast the tomatoes, line a heavy skillet with aluminum foil or on a comal. Place the tomatoes in the skillet. Over medium-high heat cook the tomatoes until they are lightly charred all over. Peel away most of the blackened skin before using.

Carrizo is a cane-like plant used in Mexico for making baskets. Any long, thin, non-poisonous leave would work.

The cheese served on carrizo leaves, the only two I picked.

July Cooking Class Photos

July Cooking Class Photos

With two eight-week cooking coming to a close, I wanted to post a few photos from the both the Alta Cocina (Mexican Gourmet) and Healthy International classes:

Chocolate Tres Leches Cake with Rum-Caramelized Bananas
Shrimp a la Naranja (in Orange-Chipotle Chile Sauce)
Parmesan Palmiers (Orejas de Queso Parmesano)
Margarita Cheesecake with Strawberry-Tequila Glaze
Cactus (Nopal) Lasagna with Creamed Spinach
Pumpkin Seed-Cheddar Corn Muffins
Tomatillo-Panela-Tomato Towers with Cilantro Oil and Chipotle Vinaigrette
Boxes of Hearts of Palm with Watercress and Orange Vinaigrette
Wonton Baskets with Queso Fundido (Melted Cheese) and Roasted Tomatillo Guacamole
Chile Relleno Soup
Shrimp and Poblano Chile Chowder
Wild Rice Chicken Salad and Mango-Curry Shrimp (served with Coconut Rice)
Chilled Corn Vichyssoise with Vermouth

Cuts of Pork/Cortes de Puerco

Cuts of Pork/Cortes de Puerco
by Victoria Challancin

Many readers of this blog, especially Americans living in Mexico, have asked me to post a list of cuts of pork in English and Spanish. These terms are based on use in Mexico. In Spain, it may be more common to use carne de cerdo instead of carne de puerco when referring to pork.

Cuts of Pork

Pork Shoulder
Hombro de Puerco (para Carnitas)

Foreleg
Paleta

Pork Shoulder Picnic Roast
Media Paleta de Puerco

Pork Shoulder Butt Roast
Hombro de Puerco con Hueso

Boneless Pork Shoulder
Hombro de Puerco sin Hueso

Pork Shoulder Steak
Chuleta de Hombro de Puerco

Pork Loin
Lomo de Puerco

Pork Tenderloin
Filete de Puerco (Cerdo)
or
Lomito de Puerco

Boneless Pork Loin
Lomo de Puerco Deshuesado


Pork Loin Sirloin End Roast
Lomo de Puerco

Pork Loin Blade End Roast
Lomo de Puerco

Pork Chops
Chuletas (both Pork Loin Sirloin End Chops
And Pork Loin Blade End Chops)

Pork Loin Back Ribs
Cositllas de Puerco

Pork Loin Country-Style Ribs
Cositllas de Lomo de Puerco

Backbone, Spine
Espinazo

Boneless Pork Chops
Chuletas de Puerco Deshuesadas

Boneless Pork Loin Chops
Chuletas de Puerco Deshuesadas

Center-Cut Pork Chops
Chuletas del Centro de Puerco

Thin-Cut Pork Chops
Chuletas Delgaditas

Smoked Pork Loin Chops
Chuletas Ahumadas de Puerco

Smoked Pork Chops
Chuletas Ahumadas de Puerco


Pork Leg
Pierna de Puerco

Boneless Pork Leg
Pierna de Puerco Deshuesada

Pork Leg Steak
Carne de Puerco para Carnitas
or
Pork Leg Steak
Bistec de Pierna de Puerco
or
Pork Steak
Bistec de Puerco

Shanks
Perniles

Pork Butt (Fried in cubes)
Carnitas de Puerco


Boneless Pork Butt
Media Paleta de Puerco Deshuesada


Fresh Side Pork (Unsmoked bacon)
Panceta de Puerco

Neck
Aguja (aguja = literally "needle" but often refers to a cut of chuck steak that is one of the favorite al carbón (char-broiled) specialties of northern Mexico

Pork Neck Bones
Pescuezo de Puerco
or
Hueso de Cuello

Pork Hocks
Chamorros de Puerco


Smoked Pork Hocks
Chamorros Ahumados de Puerco

Pork Stew Meat
Trocitos de Puerco (para Estofado o Guisado)

Pork Chitterlings (Tripe)
Tripas de Puerco

Hog Maws
Buches de Puerco

Pork Chunks
Trozos de Puerco


Bacon:

Bacon
Tocino (Ahumado = Smoked)

Sliced Slab Bacon
Pedazo de Tocino Rebanado

Sliced Smoked Bacon
Tocino Ahomado Rebanado

Canadian Bacon
Tocino Canadiense


Ham:

Ham
Jamón

Smoked Ham
Jamón Ahumado

Honey-Cured Ham
Jamón Curado con Miel

Sliced Ham
Rebanadas de Jamón

Dry-Cured Ham
Jamón Serrano (from Spain)
or
Prosciutto (from Italy)


Sausages:

Chorizo
Chorizo

Tiny Spiced Pork Links (usually sold in a coil)
Chistorras

Pork Sausage
Longaniza de Puerco

Hot Dogs
Salchichas

Smoked Links
Salchichas Ahumados

Italian Sausage
Salchicha Italiana

Polish Sausage
Salchicha Polaca


Miscellaneous:

Lard
Manteca de Puerco (Vegetable lard is manteca vegetál)

In chile sauce
…en adobo o adobada

Breaded
Empanizado
or
Milanesa de Puerco

Smoked
Ahumada/o

Stuffed Pork Chops
Chuletas Rellenas (de Puerco)

Marinated Pork Chops (in red chile sauce)
Chuletas de Puerco Adobada

Ground Pork
Molida de Puerco
or
Carne de Puerco/Cerdo Molida

Pork Cheeks
Cachets de Puerco

Pork Liver
Hígado de Puerco

Pork Ears
Orejas de Puerco

Pork Fat Back
Lonja de Puerco


Pork Head
Cabeza de Puerco

Pork Skin
Cueritos de Puerco

Fried Pork Skin/Rind
Chicharrón

Pig Tail
Rabo o Cola de Puerco

Pig Feet
Patas (Patitas) de Puerco

Pig Snouts
Trompas de Puerco

Brains
Sesos

Corazón
Heart

Kidneys
Riñones

Tongue
Lengua

Hoja Santa: The Root Beer Plant

Hoja Santa: The Root Beer Plant
by Victoria Challancin

I’ve heard it said that hoja santa (Piper auritum) tastes like anise with hints of tarragon, black pepper, nutmeg, and sassafras thrown in. Perhaps. But to me, the name given to the plant in the Southern United States says it all: Root Beer Plant. Crush one of the velvety, heart-shaped leaves in your hand, and you’ll know what I mean. Root Beer. Pure and simple. And it’s hard to imagine that one plant could capture so complex a flavor, but Hoja Santa does just that.

Indigenous to Mesoamerica, where it grows wild, the plant is common in the cooking of Central America and the Caribbean. On one trip to the Mexican state of Oaxaca, I was amazed to find that almost every house had its own cultivated hoja santa plant growing nearby. So enchanted was I when I attended a class on tamales, taught by the knowledgeable Zapotec cooking teacher, Reyna Mendoza, a native of the village of Teotitlan del Valle, that I was given a plant to take with me. A four-foot plant with a large ball of roots and clinging dirt. It was placed it in a plastic market bag for me, and the smiling gardener was sure that I would have no problem returning with it by bus to San Miguel de Allende, where I live in the more northern state of Guanajuato. I have often wondered what the women who cleaned my beautiful room at La Noria in Oaxaca thought when they found trimmed hoja santa limbs and extra soil tidily piled in my bathroom as I attempted to pare my prize to a portable size. Guiltily, I left a nice tip.

Well, lug it home I did. Through four bus stations and in two taxis, I schlumped along with my precious cargo. Determined to have a constant source of this surprising plant, I finally made it home. And although I must protect it in the winter and baby it in the summer, it is a thriving source of culinary wonder.

A Little History
Mexico is a land of legends and the story of how Hoja Santa, or Holy Leaf, got its name is among the most charming. When the Virgin Mary needed a place to dry the diapers of baby Jesus, what better spot than atop an hoja santa plant, which would not only serve as a clothesline, but also impart a very pleasant aroma? Charming and practical. The Mexican way.

As with many much-used plants, the name varies in Mexico. I may know it as hoja santa, but others call it acuyo, yerba santa, hierba santa, hoja de anís, and anisillo. In English it is often referred to as “Mexican pepperleaf” or “root beer plant.” The Aztecs called it tlanapaquelite. Botanically, it is sometimes confused with kava kava (Piper methysticum) and for that reason is also sometimes called “false kava.”

One internet source whose material I can’t vouch for, gives its medicinal properties, according to Aztec use as: stimulant, analgesic, and stomachic. It was said to be used by the Aztecs for asthma, bronchitis, laryngitis, and apnia. Other sources in Spanish reveal that these properties are still considered valid today and that it is used topically for skin irritations as well as for placing the alcohol-soaked leaves on the breasts of lactating women to increase milk-production. As an infusion, it is drunk to stimulate digestion and to calm colic. It is said to have diuretic and anesthetic properties as well. And a homeopathic tincture of hoja santa is often employed for bronchial infections and asthma.

In the United States, the FDA has been less kind. Because, like sassafras, it contains the essential oil safrole, which is known to be carcinogenic in animals, some sources consider it to be toxic. As an ingredient, safrole was banned in the 1960s and the making of root beer extract now uses artificial flavorings. However, Wikipedia refers to an article that states “toxicological studies show that humans do not process safrole into its carcinogenic metabolite.” Dangerous or not, hoja santa is used extensively in the cooking of Mexico, particularly in salsas, stews, and tamales.


Although the leaves can be chopped and added to dishes, a more common method involves using the leaves as a wrapper, much like corn husks. I have added it to mole verde, Oaxacan-style, to serve over fish, ground it into hot chocolate, and served it as a base or “plate” for both fish and eggs. The beautiful and tranquil Posada Corazon in San Miguel, serves its signature egg dish, Huevos Enojados ("angry eggs"), in a wrapping of hoja santa.

When I first introduced the leaves to Mexican students in my Mexican cooking classes here in San Miguel, they had never cooked with, but only knew of its existence. Now I have a fairly consistent stream of people asking to borrow a few leaves or a cutting of the plant.

Below is a picture of an appetizer we made in class from the beautiful cookbook Antojería Mexicana by Patricia Quintana. The hoja santa leaves, which are softened first in boiling water, are used as a wrapper for goat cheese and then macerated in a vinaigrette made from allspice berries.

Hoja Santa-Wrapped Goat Cheese in a Vinaigrette of Allspice Berries and Balsamic Reduction

Queso de Cabra a la Hoja Santa con Vinagreta de Pimienta Gorda

Striped Bass in Corn Husks with Hoja Santa and Green Mole Sauce (from a recipe by Robert Del Grande from Café Annie, Houston, Texas

Mojarro en Hojas de Maiz con Hoja Santa y Mole Verde

If you are lucky enough to have an hoja santa plant growing in your garden, try introducing it into your cooking as a guaranteed surprise for your guests. Elusive, indescribable, and delicate, the aroma is sure to haunt.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, the helpful and fascinating event begun in 2005 by Kalyn Denny of Kalyn's Kitchen and hosted this week by Kelly of Sounding My Barbaric Gulp. Check out both of these sites for tons of recipes and interesting articles including Kalyn's and Kelly's own recipes as well as those from bloggers all over the world.