Eastbound Food Caravan 2: Ashirwad (Upland, CA)

As Eating LA said when we were eating at Ashirwad, the best Indian restaurant in Los Angeles is actually not in LA - it's in Upland! On our latest food crawl, after Taza and Falafel Me, Food GPS led us to this place, following a tip he got from someone he met on an airplane.

Ashirwad, which means "the blessings" in Sanskrit, is strictly vegetarian and features many Gujarati specialties. I'm no expert in Indian food, but I have visited my share of Indian restaurants. Still, I was entirely unfamiliar with some of the dishes here! There are some street food like the Khasta kachori ($4.99)

The khasta kachori is a puri (crispy pastry) stuffed with potatoes, roasted spices, topped with onion, cilantro, yogurt, and a sweet and sour (and spicy) sauce made of tamarind, jaggery, and cumin.

There's also Bhel Puri ($3.99) consisting of puffed rice, papadi (small, deep fried puris), sev, onion, potatoes and sweet and sour chutney.

Both of the dishes above were crunchy, sweet, sour, and spicy at once. They pack a lot of strong and unusual flavors.

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Chicken in a Coriander Sauce

What is more comforting when the wind turns cold than a curry? The term curry was given by the Brits to describe any Indian stew-type dish and there is a reason they loved them so. There are about as many kinds of curry as people, and they are infinitely adaptable. This one has a lovely bite of mustard in it and the tang of fresh yogurt. I love mustard and yogurt so much that I put in extra, you can season to your own tastes as well. A few julienned carrots makes for a colourful garnish to this comforting dish.

I love that curry has become so ubiquitous in the west. We have a large South Asian population in the Greater Toronto Area and it makes getting traditional ingredients a dream. You can even get curry in Vegas. No longer is Las Vegas the city of steak and all-you-can-eat-buffets (although they still have them too). Every top chef has some sort of presence there, and I have heard the Home Style Chicken Curry Scented at Origin India is divine. Apparently eating is only one of the things to do in Vegas, but I'm guessing it's one of the best things!
 
Let's eat some curry, shall we?

Chicken in a Coriander Sauce
Madhur Jaffrey, online recipe source - uktv

Ingredients

    4 tbsp vegetable oil
    3 bay leaves
    6 cardamom pods
    5 cm/2 inch cinnamon sticks
    5 cloves
    2 dried red chillies
    1 kg chicken, skinned, cut into chunks
    4 tbsp sultanas
    90 ml natural yogurt
    1 tsp salt
    1/8 - 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, to taste
    5 cm / 2 inch peice fresh root ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
    3 tbsp water
    1-2 green chilli, sliced into coarse rings (do not remove the seeds)
    285 g packet frozen chopped spinach, blanched, drained
    1 large handful fresh coriander
    3 tbsp Pommery grain mustard
    cooked basmati rice, to serve

Method
1. Put the oil in a large, wide, non-stick pan and set over medium heat. When hot, add the bay leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, cloves and dried red chillies. Stir for a few seconds, or until the bay leaves begin to turn brown. Add the chicken and fry on all sides for 2-3 minutes, or until golden-brown all over.

2. Add the sultanas and fry for a few seconds. Add the yoghurt and season with the salt, freshly ground black pepper and the cayenne pepper. Cover the pan with a lid, turn the heat to low and gently cook for 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, place the ginger into a food processor along with the water and blend until you have a smooth paste. Add the green chillies and coriander and continue to blend, scraping down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula if necessary.

4. Add the lightly drained spinach and blend very briefly. The spinach should have a coarse texture and should not be a fine puree. Empty the mixture into a bowl and mix in the mustard and a pinch of salt.

5. Add the sauce to the chicken and stir to mix. Bring to a simmer, cover again with telid and cook for ten more minutes, or until the chicken is tender. Turn the chicken pieces a few times during this period.

6. To serve, remove the bay leaves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, and dried chillies from the chicken before serving with basmati rice.

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Gulai Ayam with Roti Jala

Where are you right now?

I am in my office, trying not to notice the thick blanket of snow out the window, and dreaming of Malaysian food.

Of spicy chicken curry and spongy, lacy crepes for eating it with.

Forks are over-rated, everything should be eaten in a loving pinch of crepes.

Everything.

Gulai Ayam
Coconut Milk Chicken Curry
adapted from Flatbreads and Flavors, Duguid and Alford

Spice Blends

Dry Spices
One 2-3 inch cinnamon stick
4 cloves
3 Tbsp coriander seed
1 Tbsp cumin seed

½ turmeric
2 tsp kosher salt

Wet Spices
4 dried red chillies, soaked in warm water for 15 minutes and drained
8 oz (½ lb) shallots, peeled and chopped
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
¼ cup unsalted cashews

Toast the dry spices, except the turmeric and salt, and grind fine in a spice grinder. Add the turmeric and salt and set aside.
Whiz up the wet spice mix in a food processor, set aside.

Curry

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs and/or breasts, cut into 1-2 inch pieces
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 stalks lemongrass, bashed with the blunt edge of a knife, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 cup coconut milk, plus more if necessary
1 cup water
4 cups baby spinach leaves

Heat up the vegetable oil in a large saucepan. Add in the wet spice mix and cook on medium/high for 4-5 minutes, stirring. Add in the dry spice mix and cook another minute. Add in chicken and stir to coat. Add in lemongrass, coconut milk and water. Let come to a boil, turn down heat and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, remove cover and cook another 15 minutes, letting sauce reduce and thicken. (Stir once in a while) Add in spinach and adjust seasonings and liquids to taste.
Serve with roti jala.

Roti Jala
Lacy Coconut Milk Crepes
adapted from Flatbreads and Flavors, Alford and Duguid

You can puncture the bottom of a can to create the holes for the batter to run through, or use a perforated spoon, as I did. 

1 cup AP flour
½ tsp table salt
10 oz canned coconut milk, shaken
1 tsp vegetable oil
1 large egg

Combine the flour and salt well, make a well in the centre. Add in the liquids and stir well until smooth. Cover and let rest 30 minutes.

Heat up a non-stick crepe pan or lightly oiled cast iron pan to medium.
Lightly stir the batter and scoop up enough batter to make one crepe. Transfer to your perforated can or spoon over the hot pan and make swirling motions to make a lacy crepe. Cook 30 seconds on one side, a little less on the other, and stack on a plate lined with a tea-towel - with wax paper between each crepe to keep them from sticking together. Cover the finished stack with a tea-towel to keep them warm for serving.

Baking through Flatbreads and Flavors, February Breads part two.

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Chicken Curry with Pineapple, Coconut, and Cashews

Is there anything more comforting than chicken curry? This one is filled with warming spices which I have complemented with sweet/tart pineapple and lime juice.

Although my little patch of Canada seems to be having a rather warm winter so far (I just know we'll pay for this in March), it is still lovely to come home to the glorious scent of Indian spices - the ultimate in comfort food.

Chicken Curry with Pineapple, Coconut, and Cashews
adapted from Falling Cloudberries, Tessa Kiros
for I♥CC, February Potluck

1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground cardamom
6 cloves
1 bay leaf
1 heaped Tbsp garam masala
1 tsp black pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp chile flakes

3 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, roughly chopped
8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 pineapple, peeled, cored and quartered lengthways - sliced thick
1 14 oz can coconut milk
½ cup dried, unsweetened coconut flakes
½ cup roasted, unsalted cashews
Juice of ½ lime, plus wedges for serving

Toast all the spices together in a large non-stick pan for a minute or two until fragrant.
Empty out onto a small plate.
In the hot pan: add oil. When oil is heated up, add onions and cook for a couple of minutes, until starting to soften. Add chicken in one layer and allow both sides to sear for a couple of minutes.
Add in garlic and spices, stirring to coat.
Add in pineapple, coconut milk and coconut flakes. Stir and reduce heat to a bare simmer.
Cook, covered, for half an hour.
Uncover and cook for another half an hour. Stir occasionally.
In the last 10 minutes, add in roasted cashews.
Finish with lime juice, adjust seasonings to taste, and serve on basmati rice with lime wedges.

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