Naughty Curry

The Dinner-Date Redemption: A Lesson in ZEST A-Peel

       Entering the Naughty Curry Kitchen -- Alf and Kim, a couple with, ah, conflicting flavor-preferences.

         Alf likes his tastebuds to be hammered. ("Subtlety is not your forte," Kim tells him.) He likes it strong, heavy, and dominant. Without that pulsing degree of pungency, the result is just not good enough.

          For Kim, the main ingredient must always shine through, never to be overpowered. She seeks that shimmery razzle-dazzle.

          Thus, the two spend much of their early evening bickering about what to eat for dinner. I sit back and enjoy the show. I don’t get involved or take sides -- diversity is good. (Yet I had to laugh when Kim said to Alf: "You always add the same spice mix to everything, and so all your food is good, but it tastes the same!").

          Anyway. They surprised me on a recent evening. They had agreed to make burritos. Wise choice, I thought. The beauty of burritos is that they can be tailored to your liking. Guess there would be no sparks flying tonight (or so I thought at the time). Another agreement: they both wanted to make Lime Cilantro Rice in the style of our friendly local chain restaurant, Chipotle. They turned to Naughty Curry for the know-how. (After all, the Naughty Curry Kitchen is the place for spicing experimentation.)

          What spices, they wanted to know, were in the rice?

           I smiled. "Today, kids, you’re going to learn about zest."

           Blank expressions.

            "No trouble," I told them. "Easy. Three things. Get a lime. Get cilantro. Make rice. Then we'll talk."

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

And what was this mysterious 'zest'? "Lime peel. Grated to itty bitty bits. That's all." .

Moment of silence as the concept of using lime peel is mentally processed.

They were mystified as I demonstrated the crazy procedure of 'zesting'. "Just take a fork and scratch scratch scratch the surface. It’s a great trick for when you want the lime flavor but not the juice," I explained."The taste effect is uneven. You know, like rock salt on a pretzel. Flavor comes out at you in occasional bursts -- like fireworks."

I added that the same could be done with a lemon or an orange

*     *     *

"The best way, I find, to add cilantro is to use a kitchen scissors. Which we have in the drawer over there."

Moment of silence as the concept of using a scissors while cooking was mentally processed.

"Uh...can I just use a knife with that?" said Alf. Alf thinks he is some kind or kitchen ninja with our new knives.

"Use the scissors," said I. Using a knife on cilantro is doable, but can be annoying "Don't be scared. I usually just take a sprig and snip it up over the dish. Snip it as small as you can stand it."

I reminded him to start with two tablespoons and only add more after he tasted it first. Spice newbies, after all, tend to add too much at first. I know I did.

"And unless cilantro is going in the blender, you want to use the leaves only."

I mentioned that last part because I suspected Alf might get lazy and cut the pieces too large.

"And be sure and use only a couple tablespoons. In fact, how about you measure this first time."

"Well I was thinking of adding like a half a cup."

Yikes. (Note: he later agreed that 2 1/2 tablespoons was enough.)

*     *     *

"Oranges really suck to zest," Trobee announced after the photo shoot.

"Why do you say that?"

"I guess they don't suck too bad. They're just not as hard as lemons and limes. They just don't zest as nicely... But it looks cool."

"Ok then."

 

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Lime Cilantro Rice

• 1 cup rice
• 1 tsp lime zest
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• 2-3 Tbsp cilantro, minced
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Cook the rice.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients.

3. Taste it. If you want more of anything, add more. Done.

Unleash Some Spiced-Up Love With Layers of Leftovers

     "Lookie what I’ve got," I said to Trina, brandishing my brand new tube of ready-made polenta.

         Blank look from Trina. "What the hell is that?"

          "You’ve never had polenta?" I said. "OK, guess not. It's an Italian thing, made of cornmeal. Um....it's like a cornmeal-type crust, only it’s soft. Like something between a crust and lasagna noodle. See, the package says 'an alternative to pasta'."

From Trobee: "Why the frick would you want an alternative to pasta?"

Hm.

Anyway, I had cooked up a lasagna-like polenta dish a few years back. The polenta was easy to make from scratch, simply adding cornmeal to boiling water, but involved constant stirring at the stovetop for like 45 minutes. Never got around to making it since. (Would instant dough do it for me?) I was having NC visions with the ingredients at hand. We had leftover Ruby Kulambu Sauce in the fridge....leftover G-Spot Shrooms....

            Ok....I am thinking now that I should come up with a new word for 'leftovers'. One reserved for Indian-spiced food. Any ideas? The word 'leftovers' implies a sad, has-been of a meal. Droopy, faded, dried up, bland. An obligation to 'finish off'.

           Not so with so many Indian spiced creations. (If you haven't discovered it yet, discover it now.) Indeed, when spices are charging up a meal, flavors intensify -- and often taste better the next day. It’s very cool how that works. Sometimes we double a recipe so that we have extras on hand to play with the next day or even later in the week.

          An instant magic-meal – can’t beat that.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

"You know, Court," Trobee said after a recent paste-making session, "you should really add something to our 'Garlic Paste Post'."

"Oh? What's that."

"Be sure and tell Our People that whizzing garlic cloves up in the coffee grinder is way easier when you do a bunch at a time. Otherwise the cloves just don’t get pureed proper if you only have a few in there. See?" She showed me. Indeed. Yes.

"Ok, I’ll make a note of that."

And yes, it’s ok if the garlic paste turns green in the fridge. Promise. Tell all your friends.

*     *     *

One favorite item to make extra for future re-creation  is our Ruby Kulambu Sauce (one of our first posts). It’s just so versatile, pairing up so well with so many other things, as a pasta sauce, pizza sauces, draped over veggies or chicken...

G-Spot Shrooms (so-named because we had wanted to demonstrate the simple wonder that is ginger-garlic paste) are always a welcome addition. So easy, so good.

Because so many folks google on how to make a paste, it is our most often-read post. 

…and the flavor truly has a G-Spot effect. Promise.

Course, you may not be in a mushroom mood. or, like brother Chase, you dare to hate mushrooms altogether. For this dish, any ingredient you would add to a pizza or lasagna will work splendid. Frozen or leftover veggies, browned sausage, tomato slices, pepperoni...

Go wild.

*     *     *

"Trina, can you think of anything about the polenta tube that Our People should know about? I mean, how thick did you slice it? Were there any tricks to it? Things they should notice?"

Trina thought a minute. "1/2 an inch ," she said with resolution. "You can’t cut it too thin or it will fall apart."

Think of each slice as a fat cookie?, I proposed.

"Yeah, that's pretty good."

And one more thing: She didn’t use the creased ends of the polenta log because according to her, they’re kinda' ugly.

See what kind of valuable inside information you get from us at the NC?

*     *     *

As happy, warm aromas swirled from the stove, Trobee cranked up the volume on the stereo and danced about in anticipation.

Then it was time.

From Trobee: "CHECK...THESE....OUT!"

From Trina: "Yeah, Court. This one is definitely a keeper!"

Needless to say, there were no leftovers.

photos by Trina

Shout out to Ana Lopez of Medellin, Colombia for the top-of-the-post pic, 'Ingredientes'. Check out the other cool pics at her online gallery here.

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Baked Polenta-Curry Love Bundles

• 1 tube of ready-made polenta (18 oz.)
• 1 recipe of our Ruby Kulambu Sauce
• 1 recipe of our G-Spot Shrooms
• 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese
• optional: shredded cheese
• dried parsley flakes or other herbs

Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

1) Slice the polenta into 1/2-inch rounds.
2) Arrange them onto a 9x12 baking dish. Top with a glob of cottage cheese, followed by a scoop of G-spot Shrooms.
3) Cover with Ruby Kulambu sauce. If you're using shredded cheese, cover the top with the cheese... As much as you like. If you have dried or fresh herbs, add them now. (We used dried cilantro flakes for the photo.)
4) Bake for 30-40 minutes. Done.

SOUP-er Freaking

     Some days the wind seems to blow against you, no matter which way you turn. Which really sucks when it's 20 below zero outside.

           "Why the frick am I having such a bad day!?!" Trobee shouted after charging into the door carrying (well, nearly tripping over) several grocery bags. She fumed about her harrowing experiences on the road ("This town has the worst drivers!"), her thwarted quest in the aisles of the supermarket, her encounter with the ("bitchy and rude!") cashier. The radio pissed her off still further by playing lousy songs. Her shirt caught on something and tore. She stubbed her toe. Sprouted a new zit. So and so forth.

          For a short while, words of rage and frustration bounced around the NC kitchen like the little balls in a pinball machine. The plan today was to try the Potato Jalapeno Soup recipe from the Milky Way Diner. Hopefully it would turn out -- a good soup, after all, has magical restorative powers. It can make any boo-boo all better...

           But for now it was bubbling seething anger-energy -- the vibe continued at the stove, as vibes tend to do. Trobee seized the pan in a choke-hold. (Yet come spicing-time, she was, as always, respectful. She has learned.) At one point: "Aaahhh!!! I sliced my hand! Look!" (She had been the one that had wanted new knives.)

       Maybe, I thought, I shouldn't have chosen an unpracticed recipe that day. Even though we're used to experimentation here at NC, there are times when success is needed. The only way for her to calm down this day was for her dish to actually turn out.

          Indeed, the pan sizzled and hissed at her threateningly. "It's acting up all funky-like and I even have it on low!"

          Oh boy. This soup had better be goood

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

"C'mon, boil! Dammit, why won't you boil for me today?"

Pause. She turned to me. "See, all you have to do is start bitching and it boils up nicely."

"I'll make a note of that."

*     *      *

Bay leaf -- the Soup Spice. We figured we'd toss one in. What the hell. The leaf, which is always dried, adds a lot of flavor that doesn't clash with other spices."So... when exactly do we add the bay leaf?"
"You know, it varies. In Indian cooking, it is usually roasted along with the other whole spices. But it doesn't have to be. In the West, chefs just slip it into soups as is."
So we decided to find out for ourselves what the flavor difference would be. We made rice 2 ways: one version with roasted bay leaf, and one with the bay leaf slipped in the water.
"Not too much difference for me, to be perfectly honest."
I had to agree. "There probably is a subtle difference there, but it's not big enough to write about."
Hm.

*     *     *

Of course, our soup had to have garlic. As an afterthought, we tweaked it at the end with some ginger powder. And lime. Just to sex it up a bit.

Upon our third time cooking up this soup, all was perfected. The effect of the soup was extraordinary. People couldn't get enough of it. So much for quieting chaos.

".. and what's really awesome here is how it's got light cream cheese instead of heavy cream," Trobee was telling an enthusiastic test-taster.

*       *      *

The presence of jalapenos does not guarantee a burning tongue. In this recipe, our 'mild-child' test tasters approved of the 1/3 cup amount.

"Of course my soup has jalapenos galore!" declared Trobee as she stirred the steaming cauldron. "Trina will be having none of this!"

And she laughed. (Cackled?)

As I had hoped, a warm aroma flowed from the stovetop like an invisible, yet gentle hug. I wanted that swell of flavor to massage my insides. A good soup can do that.

She was getting happier by the moment."Hurry up! I want this to get done really bad so I can eat it!"

*     *      *

Brother Chase sauntered into the kitchen, making a beeline for the fridge. As usual. Chase, if you have not met him yet, is the NC nemesis. That is, he is anti-spice. And he's vocal about it. Which doesn't bother us, usually. Diversity is good.

"Wow, it actually does smell really good. It smells excellent," he admitted grudgingly. I almost dropped my glass of water. Interesting. See, that's why it's good to have a nemesis. You know for sure that they aren't 'just saying' anything.

"This soup is definitely a hit, Courty."

Okay then.

*     *     *

However, the second time Trobee cooked up the soup -- at Chase's special request -- she was discontent with the result."This sucks!"
The soup had turned out smooth and creamy, without the potato chunkage that Trobee preferred. Turns out that she had cut the potatoes into smaller, dice-size pieces. This had caused them to mush together. But you know what? I personaly liked it that way. Maybe I even liked it better.

"So Trina," I said when it was her turn to cook, "Tell me. How big are the chunks?"
I hadn't specified how the potato should be cut. I wanted to see what she did.
She had chopped the potato in large chunks. I explained the creamy effect of Trobee's last version.
"Oh! I should have done that!"
"No, No, No. It all depends on what you want. If you want it creamy, cut it into small pieces. If you want it chunky, cut it into large pieces. There's no correctness here."
She had to think about that for a minute.

Trobee pointed out another option: One could do a half-and-half thing. Once the potato is simmering in the soup, some of the pieces could be mashed, thereby giving the broth some substance whilst retaining the chunky texture. ("Very good, Tro," said I.) This practice is often used in Indian dishes, such as with our Ting-Tangy Chickpeas....

photos by Trina and Trobee

Shout out to Rebecca Lopez for the top-of-the-post pic "Forever and Ever". Check out her other creations at www.diosaperdida.net.

Other Naughty Curry soup recipes:

Scarlet Desire Soup

Trippy Tomato Soup

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Roasty Toasty Potato-Jalapeno Soup

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 bell pepper (we use 1/2 green, 1/2 red), seeded
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/3 - 1 cup jalapeno slices (Trobee uses a heaping cup)
• 1 can chicken/vegetable broth (2 cups)
• 1 cup water (or more broth, if you have it)
• 3 medium potatoes, chopped
• 1/2 cup light cream cheese (soy works great too)
• juice of lime or lemon (to taste)
• Dried cilantro flakes or parsley flakes
  
  Masala:

2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds powder
1/4 tsp ginger powder
1 bay leaf

1) Place the bell pepper on a baking sheet and stick it on the oven's top shelf. Broil it for 10 minutes. Cool and scrape away the burnt skin and chop.
2) In a medium pot, saute the onions in the oil until they are clear. Add the garlic and cook until golden-brown.
3) Add the bell pepper pieces, the jalapeno slices and the masala. Sauté for 1-2 minutes.
4) Add the broth and water. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through.
5) Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the cream cheese, lime or lemon juice, and the cilantro or parsley flakes. Done.

Our Photo Shoot: BEHIND THE SCENES

     We had been waiting for it. Waiting. Waiting. At last it came. A big box was deposited on the doorstep, courtesy of the postman -- and we seized it. Ripped it open. Yes. Yes. Inside were the Naughty Curry aprons. The last ones hadn't met our standards. Would these satisfy?

          "Now THESE are hot!" said Trobee. "I love em bad! "

          "Yeah, they did turn out pretty good. Finally."

           "Damn right they did. I LOVE that they're black- they'll hide spills and stuff. They have the nice big pockets. LOVE the material... it's all nice and sturdy-like. Yes. These bad boys are awesome!" She squealed. She strapped on and spun around.

          People soon arrived. Brianna breezed in, digital camera in hand. Jason bounced in and attacked the apron pile. He strapped one on. "Sweet!"

           To Jason: "OK, look. I know it's called Naughty Curry and all that, but remember: it's a cooking website. Food. So... nothing raunchy. OK... Jason?"

         He was busy digging in the utensils drawer. He brandished a rubber spatula as though he were a samurai warrior. Within seconds, he and Trobee were fighting with them. Naturally. After all, Trobee is territorial of the kitchen, being the 'head chef' and all. ("You are NOT gonna use that rubber spatula! I always use the steel one when I cook!") Now they were sword fighting-- with spatulas.

          When Jason wasn't looking, Trobee selected the tongs and stashed them in her apron pocket -- with a wicked grin. She was up to something....

          Suddenly they were looking at me. All of them."So... how are we gonna do this, Courty?" They wanted a plan. A photo-recipe. They should know better.

           "No plans," said I. "No rules. Play around. Have fun. Find the vibe and go with it. That's usually the best way."

            Didn't have to tell them twice. They went in search of a solid wall, talking up ideas. I was laughing too much to take notes. Sorry.

         Trobee's boyfriend Jeremy lurked quietly in the corner. I promised him his own special batch of Masala Ranch Oyster Crackers. For being such a good, patient boy. He followed the loud laughter and spoke for the first time: "I gotta see this."

Check out our Naughty Curry shop here.

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We want to take this time to give a shout-out to folks who have cooked up our stuff. Here are some random posts we remember.

Did we not include you? Don't be hurt. Send us the link, and we'll add it. Promise.

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Nupur of One Hot Stove on our Magical Peppercorn' Cauliflower Korma

Courtney and her friends from Naughty Curry posted a recipe called 'Magical Peppercorn' Cauliflower Korma that sounded so tempting...and am I glad I tried it! The combination of peppercorns and cashewnuts was delicious and unusual. This recipe is a keeper.

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Susan of Fatfree Kitchen on our Pineapple-Paradise Couscous Curry

I had in mind to make some kind of curried couscous salad, and just for fun I decided to check and see if the always-inventive cooks at Naughty Curry had done anything with couscous. And of course they had! Their Pineapple-Paradise Couscous Curry looked to-drool-for, and I promise you, I would have made it just as it was written except for one big problem: I didn't have any pineapple. But I did have a can of mandarin oranges, so I made a few changes in the recipe but left the spicing pretty much as the Naughty cooks had made it. And it was wonderful--lightly sweet, richly spiced, and delicious hot or cold. Thanks, Trobee and Courtney, for the inspiration. [photo is hers]

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Kit Pollard of Mango and Ginger on our Bang Bang Bacon Bitches

"Given my love of the spice, it's no surprise that I've been a big fan of Naughty Curry for quite some time. Their philosophy is one I can firmly support. Sunday, however, was the first time I'd actually tried to make any of their recipes - for whatever reason, I don't cook a whole lot of Indian at home...

Besides the grinding, the recipe was super easy - and totally worth it, even with my substitutions. These bitches are delicious and were a huge hit at the party. They're salty and spicy hot and savory Indian spicy. It's a good combination.

And a good introduction to the world of the Naughty Curry. Next time, I'll make something harder. And next time, I'll do my best to actually make it to an Indian grocery...."

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From the Imposterpockets blog on our Gajar (Carrot) Korma:

.my korma turned out very very dry (even though i decided to modify the instructions by splashing water into the pan fairly frequently) and by the time it was done cooking the carrots had taken on a really dark color and a consistency that reminded me of cooked hamburger.

i was really sad about the whole thing until i took a bite and realized that even though it was totally screwed up, it still tasted fantastic!  i cooked some rice and piled the korma on top and added a big scoop of plain yogurt.  DELICIOUS!!

i am definitely going to try it again….as far as the cooking goes, i could go on forever about how good the recipes are from the naughty curry kitchen.  you really have to take the plunge and do the cooking with the whole spices that you grind yourself, though.  i don't think the results would be as spectacular with pre-ground ancient spices you would find in a normal grocery.

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Autumn of Perfection on a Curve on our Masala Scrambled Eggs/Tofu

I made this TWICE this week. It was that good! I made it last minute on Wednesday night, and then ended up making it for Matt & Nettie when they were here because we liked it so much. Now, the first time I made it, I made it with not enough eggs... this was because FireFox isn't always the best at seeing everything. (grrr) However, I emailed the girls, and they promptly, as ever, fixed me up with both the info and a readable website. Oh, wait? What girls?? Over at Naughty Curry - this is their recipe. I, of course, made a couple changes....[her photo]

From Sue of Ma Cooks! on our Masala Ranch Oyster Crackers:

I found this recipe on NaughtyCurry.com and since it is an original recipe from one of their contributers, I won’t copy it here but must recommend it. It is an amazing fusion of Indian spices with Ranch dressing mix on oyster crackers.

The other day, when I was at the Indian grocery perusing the spicy snacks, I saw several that I wanted to try out but I just couldn’t justify the expense: especially since I knew I had the very inexpensive ingredients for them at home. And with this recipe, I got more quality and quantity for way less cash, with ten minutes of labor (if you can call it that, you mostly pour and stir). How cool is that? These would be a unique contribution to social events, if I can ever make them last long enough to get there. However, I would feel it my duty to warn my Minnesota friends that these mild mannered looking snacks are NOT for the tender palated. (Which means we don’t have to share with JL! Yippee!)

They can be made without the cayenne, but what I love! love! love! about them is that first you get a rapid succession of flavor bursts from the masala mix: salty, sour, savory then a tiny bit of quiet with the bland cracker underneath, then the sour grabs your tongue again and just when you are going whoaaaa, dude! (I am 47 years old and these things make me say dude) THEN you get the after-burn from the cayenne– which compels you to take a swig of your favorite carbonated beverage, rinse and repeat.

I did make one substitution: Mango powder, made from dried green mangos, is hard to find here. Even our Indian grocer looked at me like I was from another country (he does that alot) when I asked for it. Maybe I wasn’t using the right name. But we do have sour salt in the house, which is dried concentrated citrus; thus contributing mango powder’s souring effect, without simultaneously increasing liquid content. Besides, I can’t really imagine anyone taking a bite and asking "Hey, where’s the mango powder?" They’ll be too busy either calling 911 or sitting back and enjoying the psychodelicious tongue trip.

Dude

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Jocelyn of She Spills The Beans on our Peppy Green Pattycakes

I saw that the women at Naughty Curry had made some chickpea-flour bound Peppy Greens Pattycakes last week, which had been inspired by Rayma’s greens-potato-breadcrumbs Mustard Greens Cutlets.

I had leftover cooked chard in the fridge so I decided to make them into fritters, which helped the leftover greens disappear tout-suite.

These would be great dipped in yogurt, raita, or with a dab of chutney atop each. And you can do this with cooked or raw vegetables – in fact, I'm planning to inflict this method on some cooked carrots later in the week, and make larger cutlets, more like what Naughty Curry got up to. I'm in a vegetable cutlet mood – but it seems like I’m not the only one, huh?

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Chef Andrea Froncillo of Sex and the Kitchen

Today I wanted to share one of my favorite sites with you: it's called Naughty Curry, and it's all about cooking with spices. It's written by four girls (excuse me - ladies? women? hotties?) from New York, who write each entry as if it was a story. They re-create recipes from dishes they enjoyed at a restaurant, or they invent their own, or they adapt recipes from cookbooks, and then they post dialogue and conversation about what happened along the way.

On their About page, the girls say that "the Naughty Curry project is a creative rebellion against blandness." I say: Bravo! It's so nice to see something completely fresh and different out there. Oh, and I like the word "naughty." Anything with "naughty" in the name is worth checking out.

They are very funny, but they are passionate about food, and they often raise questions like: Is it worth the extra time to soak rice? and Is the Great Madhur Jaffrey REALLY all that?. They take the time to note when it is important to toast spices, and they give a lot of information on shopping for ingredients.

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From Sara of I Like to Cook on our Curry-Spiced Avocado Butter:

This is a total must try recipe from the excellent Naughty Curry. This is completely to-die-for; rich and creamy and so flavorful. You can and will slather this on everything.

I under-estimated the power of the butter and only put out a small amount. It was gone in less than 5 minutes. We served some plain steamed cauliflower, but it ended up being tossed with the avocado butter. Damn that stuff was good. [her photo]

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Wesa of Wesaturtle on Trina’s Trippy Tomato Soup:

I had a ton of tomatoes taking up counterspace. Tomatoes from my garden, tomatoes from Terri’s garden, tomatoes from the store, we were almost walking in tomatoes. Then I pulled up Naughty Curry’s website and found this recipe. Tomato soup, made with curry flavors? Indeed! I had most of the spices already, I just needed coconut powder. 5 stores later, I finally had a small package tucked into my pocket, ready to go into this tasty soup.

**Side note: we added 4 strips of bacon (had to use them or throw them out), a bag of tortilini, and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese. [her photo]

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Shilpa of Flog & Rosbif on our Sunset Cabbage Strips

I was in the mood for something spicy and colourful, so took a peek at Naughty Curry. The fact that they had a cabbage listing totally won me over, so here is my adaptation of their Sunset Cabbage Strips!

Confession time - I didn't have urad dal and curry leaves on me, so I did without them. Instead I sprinkled chopped coriander leaves when the dish was done. I liked the dish all the same! [her photo]

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Rosaline the Baker on our Yogurt Rice

There is a lot I could say about yogurt rice, but the girls of Naughty Curry have already said most of it. It is a very simple dish, one that I almost didn't try because it seemed too easy. Yogurt, rice, mustard seeds, curry leaves, chilies--that's it. (my adaptations: I used coconut oil to fry the spices and added a bit of salt rather than sugar). However, I learned long ago from cucumber raita that I LOVE yogurt in savory dishes, and since I needed something for lunch tomorrow and it is late and the recipe is so easy afterall, I gave it a try. Yogurt rice is creamy and comforting, yet nutty and complex thanks to the toasted spices. It will be good for lunches. I wish I could have some more right now.

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Opening SESAME: South Indian Pappu and POTSTICKERS, Too

     "Here. Try this."  Floating inches before me was a dumpling-type thing dipped in a thin, dark sauce. Without knowing the dumpling's contents, I bit.  Curiosity, for me, nearly always wins out over uncertainty of the unknown.

          Or...maybe I'm just guilty to sink my teeth into whatever looks good. (Ahem.) Not wise, granted-- but I've found that acting wisely can sometimes be, well, bland.

          "Not bad.  A bit greasy, maybe. What is it?" 

          Behold the potsticker -- a Chinese dumpling stuffed with minced meat, fried on one side and steamed on the other. Chase admitted that this potsticker in particular, obtained from a local chain restaurant, was not special. But potstickers in general could be wonderful.

           Hm....We at the NC could do something interesting with this. Wait, just wait, for the right Indian-spiced dish to come along.....

         Idea: Let soak. Set aside.       

       Fast forward to an intriguing recipe I swiped from Tanuja of Kodalis Kitchen. I declared it to be cooked up at the NC simply because it seemed...peculiar to us Midwestern Americans. Unimaginable, even. Sesame seeds were the starring role in what wasn't a sauce (like tahini), but a stir-fry. It might not be good. But if it was, and you had no food in the house, how cool that would be to create a meal out of...sesame!

          But it was good. It was. Trobee cooked it spicy-hot, Trina cooked it spicy-mild. "There are a lot of possibilities with this," I said.

          Idea: Return to pan and stir.

         And so it happened that we at the NC decided to try stuffing potstickers with Sesame Pappu. Could these potstickers be made successfully using minimal oil?  We would find out. It might be ... cool.

          And it is cool. It is.

          Do bite into this one, especially if you hanker for the Indian-Chinese flavor.And double-especially if you like the idea of dumplings fried in just a DAB of oil...which is all they need.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

"So... when would you use black sesame seeds and when would you use beige sesame seeds?" 

"With Indian cooking, you can assume they use beige [called til in Hindi].  Actually, sesame is more of a South Indian thing. You'll find the black seeds farther east."

And for the pappu? Beige, of course.

*     *     *

"So I'm wondering...," said I.  "What if a person couldn't get a hold of potsticker wraps, do you think wonton wraps could be used?"

"Absolutely," said Trobee.  "The reason I know is because I asked
the lady at the Asian grocery store.  She said, they're the same except wontons
are square and potstickers are round." 

"Wow, Trobee. You actually asked. Good for you."

*     *     *

Upon Trobee's cooking session of the pappu: "I think I effed this one up, Courty." 

"What do you mean?" 

She confessed to a coarse-grind of the soaked sesame, not cooking the dish long enough....It turned out more like moist breadcrumbs rather than the 'fine paste' the original recipe had called for. We blame our dorky blender.

But you know what? We like it that way.

*     *     *

I noticed from pictures of earlier attempts that our pappu was looking like scrambled eggs.  Can't have that.  Trina and I opted to reduce the turmeric to just an 1/8 of a teaspoon.

*     *     *

Although Trina had cooked the Sesame Pappu with great success, once adding it to a Chinese rice noodle dish, she wasn't enthusiastic about the idea of using it for potstickers. Reason: the girl said she didn't like potstickers.  Shocking, considering her penchant for Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine.  But then, Trina doesn't like some of the uncertain, fatty mixtures of ingredients that are often laced in restaurant potstickers. (Minced pork, for example.)

Once Trobee and I had tried it, we were confident that she would like our Sesame Pappu Potstickers.  ("These are a hit, Court!") Oh yes, we had a feeling that these would rock her world (without the jalapenos of course).

Sure enough... haha. Once Trina had finished cooking them up, she scrambled to mix up her beloved Hoisin sauce with lime juice -- and made happy sounds as she went at em. "You gotta try this!" she said to whomever entered the kitchen.

They didn't last long.

photos by Trina and Trobee

Shout out to Francois of Paris, France for the use of his stunning pic 'Serenity' as a backdrop in our top-of-the-post pic. Check out his amazing online photo gallery here.

---

Sesame Pappu Stir-Fry

1 cup sesame seeds
1 Tb oil
1 medium onion, sliced
10-15 jalapeno rings (Tro tends to double this. Trina doesn't add any.)
1/2 tsp cayenne or paprika
1/8 tsp turmeric
Salt
1 tsp garlic paste or minced garlic


Masala:

• 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp asafetida
• 1/2 tsp raw chickpeas/chana dal
• 5 curry leaves

1. Soak the sesame seeds in 1 cup of water for about 20 minutes. Dump this sesame seed- water mixture into a blender and whizz the stuff into a paste. Set aside.
2. In a medium skillet, heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the masala. As soon as the black mustard seeds have quit popping, add the onions and jalapenos. Cook until onions are golden brown.
3. Now dump in the sesame paste. Cook until the water evaporates, about. 10-15 minutes. It should be like moist breadcrumbs.
4. Add the cayenne or paprika, turmeric, and salt. Mix well. Sauté for about 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and sauté for a few more minutes to heat it through. Done.

Sesame Pappu Potstickers 

18 potsticker or wonton wraps
1 cup Sesame Pappu Stir-fry
1 egg
dab of oil


In a bowl, combine the Sesame Pappu Stir-fry and the egg. Place about 1 tsp of the mixture onto the center of the wrap. As you might suspect, Trobee shoved extra jalapenos into the wraps. The little minx.

Dip your finger in water and moisten the outside of wrap. Fold over the filling, making it look like a half-moon. Push firmly together on the rim of thewrap to secure the inside.

Get out your medium skillet and heat a dab of oil. Place the little guys in the pan and fry until their bottoms are golden-brown.

Now add 1/2 cup of water. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Done.

And for the dipping sauce? Go wild. 

Dipping sauces we have used so far:

• Teriyaki sauce
• Hoisin sauce splashed with lime juice (Trina's contribution)
• our own Pineapple-Tamarind Dipping sauce
• and even ranch dressing mixed with a hot sauce

Of GARAM MASALA and BELL PEPPERS

      We at the NC catch recipes like butterflies in our net --they are random and isolated, fluttering past and capturing our wonderings. In this case, however.....          

          "Go on to the Route 79 blog," I told Trobee one foggy day. "It's cool. By a British dude named Jag. He has lots of good stuff on there I wanna try, and I can't decide what. You choose."

          "Oh-kayyy...." Trobee took her position at the computer and entered the Route 79 site (-- "Reflections on a bus journey home"). She skimmed through the recipe roster, muttering comments and reactions that I really didn't pay much attention to. Why bother? There would eventually be one that she would seize upon, and other ideas would fall away from her memory like fallen autumn leaves. Give it a moment.

          "Oooh! Check this one out, Court. This looks really good: Chicken Rice. I think we have everything, too."

          Chicken Rice. Didn't sound earth-shatttering. But names of Indian dishes are often deceptively simple. Defiantly simple, in a most devious way. Oh yes. Pictures of Indian food, on the other hand...

          I checked it out. Hm. Possibilities there. "All right, go for it."

          I liked how the recipe had the attitude of working with humble ingredients that were on hand. Two 'decaying' bell peppers versus Jag's imagination; no need to toss them just yet. In their last gasp, this Chicken Rice dish could redeem them, meanwhile satisfying the day's supper space. (Says Jag in the post:"Well - it’s not bad given that it was scraped together from stuff in the fridge that would have been thrown out today. The chicken was leftover from a Route79 toasted club sandwich with avocado we had a few days ago...")

          Mastery of the moment into something tasty. Cool.

          Trobee liked the play-by-play of photography that demonstrated the recipe step-by-step. "I like this guy's style," she commented. "Where did you say he was from?"

           "He writes from London. He does his thinking while taking the bus home. You know, those cool red double-decker buses? I rode one at Disney World once. Anyway, he's different in the blogging world. Unique. Maybe because he's been at it since before blogging became the 'in thing'."

          I didn't think she was listening anymore at this point. Her mind was in foodie la-la-land. She was imagining. Taking mental notes. Fine by me.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

Trobee murmurs to the food as it cooks -- a sort of spice-seductress Scherezade. With tattoos.

"Boil, boil up there, my pot of gold."

It works, so I pretend not to notice. Maybe it's like when gardeners talk to their plants....

*      *     *

"What does he mean by 'decaying'?" Trina wanted to know when it was her turn.

"Huh?" I looked at the recipe. Sure enough, it called for 2 'decaying' bell peppers.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. I think he just means that it's what he had, and what he was determined to work with. As in, use whatever you got, y'know?"

Which was the charm of Jag's recipe in the first place. Could Trina happily handle its 'whatever' vibe? Its un-recipe-like instructions? We would see. I was curious.

*     *     *

At any rate, we did not have bell peppers that were 'decaying'. Not today. As it happened, ours at the NC were juicy and ripe. Perky, even. Brother Chase had just selected them earlier that day in anticipation of his own thing. Which wouldn't be nearly as cool as our creation. I decided I would borrow the beautiful 'bells'.

"Chase is going to kill me," I acknowledged,"but whatever."

*     *     *

Garam masala, garam masala. It is in so many traditional and non- traditional Indian recipes. Yet despite our fascinated attraction for Indian spicing styles, you may have noticed that we include the popular spice blend in very few of our recipes. A few people have questioned us about this in e-mails.

Confession: We have created this recipe several times with great affection, but we on posting on it. The reason? It relies on garam masala. We at the NC harbor a scandalous (perhaps) attitude towards garam masala.

The truth is, we're prejudiced when it comes to involving garam masala in an NC recipe (We like Our People to share our eating experiences as closely as posible). It is, after all, a spice mixture that doesn't own up to any set formula -- an 'X-factor'. Sure, there are a few spices that are commonly featured, such as cloves, coriander, bayleaf, and pepper; it retains a mostly North Indian identity. But not even that is certain.

I frequently read that each household makes their own garam masala from scratch, turning up their noses at storebought varieties. However, Trina's buddy from South India claims that she has never heard of someone making their own. Buying a favorite garam masala, for her family anyway, is the way to go.

"Really?" from us at the NC. Okay then. We decided to try out a pre-mixed variety, since we couldn't settle on one homemade version. What better way to test the stuff with Jag's Chicken Rice Recipe?

Well, we also had a few pretty pictures to show off. So here goes.

photos by Trina and Trobee

top graphic by Mo Digital

---

Route 79 Bell Pepper n'  Chicken Pilaf

An evolution that began via Route 79.

1 cup rice
2 chicken breasts or 8 oz. seitan, chopped and cooked
1 1/2 tsp oil
2 dried red chillies
1 tsp garlic paste or minced garlic
1 red onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 cup diced tomatoes
Splash of lemon juice
1 tsp salt


Masala:

• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 tsp ginger powder

1. In a medium skillet, heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the dried chillies ans saute until they are a bit darker.  Add the garlic paste, followed by the masala. Cook 1-2  minutes.
2. Add the carrots and onions. Sauté until the onions are clear in color. Add the bell peppers and the diced tomatoes . Cook until the tomatoes are cooked through.
3. Add the rice and sauté for 1-2 minutes. Add a splash of lemon juice, salt, and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the cooked chicken cubes. Cover the pan and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the rice is done.

Click here to see Jag's original recipe

BARLEY Becomes A Better Kisser

    Serendipity -- it's a wildly-wonderful happening. It fuels us at the NC.

        "Accidental discovery," I told brother Chase not long ago. "That's about the best way I can think to explain it." (I wanted him to know it was more than the title of a John Cusack movie.)

          One is most likely to experience 'accidental discovery' through experimentation. Exploring. Trying new things. That sort of thing.

          Which is the best way to explain today's baby-dish at the NC -- a simple spicing of healthy, humble barley. It was experimental... and has become an NC darling. See, during our photo shoot of Zesty Eggplant Curry-Slurry, I had wanted to demonstrate how the dish could, if so desired, be eaten like a typical curry n' rice. Except we were out of rice. So I had reached for the barley and spiced it up, including it in the photo. ('Twas a marvelous combo with the eggplant, I must say).

          Requests for the 'barley recipe' have since issued forth. We've hung on to it until now -- it makes for an excellent post-holiday post, when people want to become something a little better, beginning with healthy eats. At least, lessen the damage from the holidays...

          Barley. Are you familiar with it? It's a grain. (You'll find it floating around in a lot of soups, which I do NOT like, but...) It's really good for you. If you're sketchy about it, no problem. This spicing-method works equally well with brown rice.

          Soft-yet-firm kisses. That is what cooked barley grains are like. But kisses should not be bland.

         We at the NC, at least, won't have that. Nope. Not ever.

RECIPE B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

First had come the skepticism. About using barley. But whatever. It was what we had. And besides, we had just needed an accompaniment side dish for the photo...and my dinner. I ate it all, relishing the healthy-good-happy things absorbing into my body. And it tasted yummy, too.

Upon the recipe's resurrection for this post, Trobee declared:"This is a damn good recipe."

Uh, what?, I thought. "Uh, what?" I said. I remembered her, ah, hesitation.

"Frick yeah, I love this recipe. It's very Northern Indian..." (referring to it's mildly-spiced non-hotness), "but it's still good to me. (Trobee is shamelessly South-y in her spicing preferences.) When we made this last time, I wanted to frickin' demolish it!"

"Hm. Cool."

"Yeah! It really is. Plus it's so simple to make...."

*     *     *

"Cinnamon and cloves smell SO damn good together! I can't even handle it."

Hm. Ok.

She went on. "You know what I absolutely love?" I couldn't imagine. But I bit. "What?" "Roasted... cinnamon."

I nodded. It is indeed a truly marvelous thing. How many people actually experience it?

*     *     *

"So...do you think this will be as good?" I asked Trobee when we tried this recipe on brown rice. "You're the fan of Texmati."

"Damn right I do."

Texmati is a hybrid of brown rice and Basmati rice, actually available in our local supermarket. The 'Tex' part refers to Texas, just as Calmati rice is from California. Essentially, they are varieties of 'brown' basmati rice.  Trobee loves it. Loves it.

"Does brown rice take the same amount of time to cook as the barley?" she wanted to know.
"Yeah, 45 minutes. We'll see how it all turns out."

Wanna know more about how barley boosts your precious bod? Check out the info on The World's Healthiest Foods (non-profit) website. Trina, anyway, wants to know why it's 'good'. Eat up, Trina.

photos by Trina

---

Besame Barley

'Besame' (pronounced BEH-sah-may) means 'Kiss Me' in Spanish. I think.

• 3/4 cup barley or 1 cup brown rice
• 2 tsp oil
• 1/2 tsp garlic paste or minced garlic
• 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• salt and pepper

Masala:

• 3 whole cloves
• 2 cardamom pods, bonked slightly open
• 1 bay leaf
• 1-inch cinnamon stick

1) In a medium pot, heat the oil until it is sizzle-hot. Add the masala and fry for about 30 seconds. Then add the garlic and cook until it turns light brown.

2) Add the barley and fry for 1-2 minutes, then add the broth. Bring it to a boil, then cover and simmer about 45-55 minutes, or until the grains are soft.

JALAPENO Poppers That Will Have You Holler 'Hell YEAH!'

 

    "Well, I am now officially an old bitch," was the first thing Trobee said when she arrived at the NC kitchen. It was her 26th birthday.
          I smirked. Wicked little wisecracks bubbled in my brain...but I stifled them from escaping my lips. Come summertime, after all, I would be turning the big 3-0. Best to play nicely. So instead, I asked her about the weather. ("Yeah, the sun is shining so ever brightly -- but it's cold as a muther out there!" )
           So it was her birthday on this ordinary winter day. (Just another day...." she said with a sigh.) Birthdays, in my opinion, should not be 'just another day'. At least, it is a friend's duty to stoke things up, don't you think? Flavor-food is a great way to begin. Something, something to break on through...

       "Today we are at last going to finalize... THE Jalapeno Poppers." Yes. Time to clinch the spice-formula-recipe and hurl it out into the world. (Well really I was just craving the mouthfeel. More on that later.) "How does that sound to you, Tro?"
          "Oooh! HELL yeah!"
           Ha. I figured that would do the job. Our 'Masala-peno Poppers', you understand, are like doing shots of crunchy-creamy-cheesy crazy spiced flavor capsules. Yes. Yes. Each popper is a missile blast, a funked-out jolt of experience. Yes. Yes. These perfect peppy jalapeno jolts would do nicely. It would tide the birthday girl over, at any rate, until the night's celebrations. Which were sure to be far from humdrum, knowing her.

          Our Baked Jalapeno Poppers, at any rate, have been a Pet Project of ours for quite some time. Each manifestation has been glorious, but we figure: Why post the formula until it is perfect in every way? Until we can relay to you, Our People, the specfics? The origin of the 'Poppers Project' happened 'some time ago'... when an addiction for the standard deep-fried appetizers had me over-the-rainbow...  It is Trina who baited me in the first place. "Damn you to hell!" I would grumble as I lustily gobbled down the greasy things.

          "You know, we should try making these with our spices," Trina had suggested. "Baked, of course."

          Hm. Spice for thought. "Sure, we could try it," I told her. But I added that if they weren't an improvement on the regular fried version, we'd scrap it.

         Hence, a yellow-brick spice road began to unravel for the NC...  And when we begin any spice route, we never know where it will take us. As if the roads we follow are in the shape of question marks. That is our way.


R-E-C-I-P-E  B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

         "Here's the thing," I told Trobee. "The last time Trina and I made these, they didn't have enough color. They needed to be tricked out with a bit more spice. Also, we want to try putting more of the spice mixture in the bread crumb coating. So we'll try that and see how it plays out. You up for it?"

"Damn right I am. Lets get going on this beeyatch!"

*     *     *

Turmeric.

Historically at the NC, it has been a spice that Trobee has been slow to warm up to. Not going so far as to dislike it, mind you, but not having it high on her spicing-priority list either.

But as we all know, you often don't know what you got til it's... not the 'right' brand.

See, on a previous Poppers cooking session, we had experimented with a faded (Thai) variety of turmeric. Trobee ended up getting disgruntled (i.e. pissy) at not getting the brilliant Indian-orange she had come to know (and love?)

"See how much better these bad boys turned out? I guarantee it's cause we have 'our' turmeric back."

I said nothing. Let the Voice of Realization shout loud and sink deep -- turmeric rocks. "Beautiful little bastards...." she murmured as she lovingly arrranged them on a plate.

*     *     *

The first time Trina and I tried spicing these up, we were confronted with a dilemma. We had to figure out a 'starter set' of spices, but we weren’t sure where exactly to throw them in. The cream cheese filling? The flour mixture? The egg batter? The breadcrumb coating? All of the above? Dizzying to be sure. So many question marks to address.

We began by just stirring the spices into the filling. It seemed like it would be OK – biting into a flavor burst. It turned out pretty good. But we knew it could be better. Plus, we wanted them to be prettier. You know... perk up the pale Poppers with a loving spoonful of "pap".

The Popper-spicing process was an evolution. We finally settled on roasting our masala and dividing it between the flour coating and the cream cheese filling. We then spruced up the breadcrumbs with extra paprika, mango powder (for that tang thang) and salt. Cha-ching.

*     *     *

If you are familiar with asafetida, the one full teaspoon involved in the recipe may raise your eyebrows. You will seldom see this much called for in a recipe. You might even think that it is a typo. It is not. It works in this context. Must be a chemical thing.

*     *     *

Every time we make these, it is like a celebration.

"Do you catch a whiff of this?" Trobee said to Chase as she was grinding up the masala. "MMMMM! I can't WAIT to eat these!"

By now, we had the method down to perfection. "Courty! These are spec-tac! Full of flavor!" And without the grease!, my mind chimed in.

"Yeah yeah. But how do they go with the sauce?" We had grabbed a couple of things from the fridge...in true NC style. Nothing fancy, yet oh-so-satisfying. Ideally.

"The sauce? I could drink it."

"OK then. It's a post."

*     *     *

Exploring the anatomy of a Masala-peno Popper:

1) Insert into open mouth.

2) Slowly and gently sink your teeth into the crispy coating (perhaps allow your tongue to lash snake-like at the salt.)

3) Sink your teeth still deeper into the oozing, luscious, creeeamy filling. Joy Joy Joy.

4) Finally, as your senses are in full swing with the bloom of flavors, bite into the green inner flesh. Tear into it like the primal beast that you truly are.

photos by Trina and Trobee

Shout out to 'Bratan' from Paris, France for letting us use his magnificent 'Closed World' pic as a background for our top-of-the-post graphic. Check out his other amazing pics here.

---

Baked Masala-peno Poppers

• 6 fresh jalapeno peppers
• 4 oz cream cheese (we use whipped because it stirs the best and is half the fat)
• 3/4 cup shredded cheese
• 1 egg
• 1 Tb milk or soy milk or even water
• 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs or Panko crumbs
• 1/4 cup flour (We use chickpea flour, but other flours will work. Cornmeal rocks too, though it doesn't stick AS well.)
• 1 Tb paprika
• 1 tsp mango powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt

Masala 1:

• 2 ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 2 ½ tsp coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp ajwain seeds
• 1 tsp asafetida

Masala 2 for the breadcrumbs:

• 1 Tb paprika
• 1 tsp mango powder
• 1 tsp turmeric
• salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Get out four small bowls.

1. Dry roast the Masala until the cumin seeds have darkened a few shades. Whizz into a powder with your coffee grinder and then empty it in a bowl and mix with the paprika and mango powder. Set aside.
2. In a small bowl, beat the egg and the milk together until mixed well. Set aside.
3. In another small bowl, combine the flour and half of the Masala (about 5 tsp). Mix well and set aside. Add the remaining Masala to a bowl with the cream cheese and shredded cheese. Mix well and set aside.
4. In another bowl combine the breadcrumbs with Masala 2 and set aside.
5. Now put on a pair of gloves and slice each jalapeno pepper in half lengthwise. With a small spoon, de-seed each half and remove the membrane (all the inner junk). Slice off the stem. With the cream cheese mixture, spread about 1 Tb into each jalapeno half, filling it so that it overflows just a little bit.
6. One at a time, place the jalapeno side-down in a small bowl of water, just to get the bottom wet. Follow this by dredging it in the flour bowl, coating it completely. Now dunk it in the egg-milk mixture. Coat it with the breadcrumbs. Place it on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the remaining jalapenos.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until they are golden. Done.

NOTE: The salt, paprika/cayenne, mango powder and turmeric are listed twice because they are added twice -- to the cream cheese filling and the breadcrumb coating.

Spicy Ranch-Salsa Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup ranch dressing (we use 'low fat')
1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate
1 tsp honey
2 tsp paprika or cayenne

Mix n' chill in the fridge until chow time. Done.

JALAPENO Poppers That Will Have You Holler 'Hell YEAH!'

 

    "Well, I am now officially an old bitch," was the first thing Trobee said when she arrived at the NC kitchen. It was her 26th birthday.
          I smirked. Wicked little wisecracks bubbled in my brain...but I stifled them from escaping my lips. Come summertime, after all, I would be turning the big 3-0. Best to play nicely. So instead, I asked her about the weather. ("Yeah, the sun is shining so ever brightly -- but it's cold as a muther out there!" )
           So it was her birthday on this ordinary winter day. (Just another day...." she said with a sigh.) Birthdays, in my opinion, should not be 'just another day'. At least, it is a friend's duty to stoke things up, don't you think? Flavor-food is a great way to begin. Something, something to break on through...

       "Today we are at last going to finalize... THE Jalapeno Poppers." Yes. Time to clinch the spice-formula-recipe and hurl it out into the world. (Well really I was just craving the mouthfeel. More on that later.) "How does that sound to you, Tro?"
          "Oooh! HELL yeah!"
           Ha. I figured that would do the job. Our 'Masala-peno Poppers', you understand, are like doing shots of crunchy-creamy-cheesy crazy spiced flavor capsules. Yes. Yes. Each popper is a missile blast, a funked-out jolt of experience. Yes. Yes. These perfect peppy jalapeno jolts would do nicely. It would tide the birthday girl over, at any rate, until the night's celebrations. Which were sure to be far from humdrum, knowing her.

          Our Baked Jalapeno Poppers, at any rate, have been a Pet Project of ours for quite some time. Each manifestation has been glorious, but we figure: Why post the formula until it is perfect in every way? Until we can relay to you, Our People, the specfics? The origin of the 'Poppers Project' happened 'some time ago'... when an addiction for the standard deep-fried appetizers had me over-the-rainbow...  It is Trina who baited me in the first place. "Damn you to hell!" I would grumble as I lustily gobbled down the greasy things.

          "You know, we should try making these with our spices," Trina had suggested. "Baked, of course."

          Hm. Spice for thought. "Sure, we could try it," I told her. But I added that if they weren't an improvement on the regular fried version, we'd scrap it.

         Hence, a yellow-brick spice road began to unravel for the NC...  And when we begin any spice route, we never know where it will take us. As if the roads we follow are in the shape of question marks. That is our way.


R-E-C-I-P-E  B-R-E-A-K-D-O-W-N

         "Here's the thing," I told Trobee. "The last time Trina and I made these, they didn't have enough color. They needed to be tricked out with a bit more spice. Also, we want to try putting more of the spice mixture in the bread crumb coating. So we'll try that and see how it plays out. You up for it?"

"Damn right I am. Lets get going on this beeyatch!"

*     *     *

Turmeric.

Historically at the NC, it has been a spice that Trobee has been slow to warm up to. Not going so far as to dislike it, mind you, but not having it high on her spicing-priority list either.

But as we all know, you often don't know what you got til it's... not the 'right' brand.

See, on a previous Poppers cooking session, we had experimented with a faded (Thai) variety of turmeric. Trobee ended up getting disgruntled (i.e. pissy) at not getting the brilliant Indian-orange she had come to know (and love?)

"See how much better these bad boys turned out? I guarantee it's cause we have 'our' turmeric back."

I said nothing. Let the Voice of Realization shout loud and sink deep -- turmeric rocks. "Beautiful little bastards...." she murmured as she lovingly arrranged them on a plate.

*     *     *

The first time Trina and I tried spicing these up, we were confronted with a dilemma. We had to figure out a 'starter set' of spices, but we weren’t sure where exactly to throw them in. The cream cheese filling? The flour mixture? The egg batter? The breadcrumb coating? All of the above? Dizzying to be sure. So many question marks to address.

We began by just stirring the spices into the filling. It seemed like it would be OK – biting into a flavor burst. It turned out pretty good. But we knew it could be better. Plus, we wanted them to be prettier. You know... perk up the pale Poppers with a loving spoonful of "pap".

The Popper-spicing process was an evolution. We finally settled on roasting our masala and dividing it between the flour coating and the cream cheese filling. We then spruced up the breadcrumbs with extra paprika, mango powder (for that tang thang) and salt. Cha-ching.

*     *     *

If you are familiar with asafetida, the one full teaspoon involved in the recipe may raise your eyebrows. You will seldom see this much called for in a recipe. You might even think that it is a typo. It is not. It works in this context. Must be a chemical thing.

*     *     *

Every time we make these, it is like a celebration.

"Do you catch a whiff of this?" Trobee said to Chase as she was grinding up the masala. "MMMMM! I can't WAIT to eat these!"

By now, we had the method down to perfection. "Courty! These are spec-tac! Full of flavor!" And without the grease!, my mind chimed in.

"Yeah yeah. But how do they go with the sauce?" We had grabbed a couple of things from the fridge...in true NC style. Nothing fancy, yet oh-so-satisfying. Ideally.

"The sauce? I could drink it."

"OK then. It's a post."

*     *     *

Exploring the anatomy of a Masala-peno Popper:

1) Insert into open mouth.

2) Slowly and gently sink your teeth into the crispy coating (perhaps allow your tongue to lash snake-like at the salt.)

3) Sink your teeth still deeper into the oozing, luscious, creeeamy filling. Joy Joy Joy.

4) Finally, as your senses are in full swing with the bloom of flavors, bite into the green inner flesh. Tear into it like the primal beast that you truly are.