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| Prêt à manger |
A delicious street food, this makes a great prepare-and-store item that you can keep in your fridge as a snack to reheat and eat, or carry in as a work lunch, or prepare as part of a picnic meal. As per Wikipedia, the roll originated in a restaurant. On my visits to Calcutta, I found the ubiquitous "egg-roll" street carts to prepare absolutely brilliant versions of their own.
Materials:
- 1lb beef (you could mix stew cubed meat with some bone-in cuts to get a better stock, but is not essential)
- 8 peppercorns
- 4 cloves
- 3 medium onions
- 1 small piece star anise
- 1 tabespoon fennel
- 1.5" stick cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 black cardamom1
- 2" piece ginger (optional)
For the rolls: 6-8 plain (or wholewheat, or spinach) tortillas, 3-6 eggs
Preparation:
Place spices in a bouquet garni bag and put, along with beef and 2 cups water, in a heavy stock pan (or Dutch oven). Add one onion (peeled, but whole) and ginger and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and simmer until meat is tender (could take up to 1 hour, sometimes more depending on the meat).
For the next step - you could wait until the meat is cooked, you can even keep the cooked meat (plus stock) in the fridge (or freezer) and go to the next step on another day, or you can do this while the beef is simmering.
The next step is to fry the two remaining onions (sliced fine) in oil (and perhaps a tablespoonful of ghee for a richer flavour), until they are golden brown. One advantage of waiting until the meat is cooked is that you can use the stock to brown the onions, which increases the depth of flavor in the final dish. Once the onions are ready, add the chunks of meat (you can discard the bouquet garni) and stir fry gently, adding spoonfuls of stock, until you see the oil separate out the sides.
In a large'ish bowl, beat the eggs. Heat a frying pan (non-stick or other) and pour a small amount of oil into it. Dip one torilla in the egg batter and place in pan and cook both sides on low-medium heat until the egg is cooked; keep it soft - don't let it turn brown and crisp. Then - spoon a portion of the beef and onion mixture into the middle of the tortilla and roll - using a spatula to press down as you do, so that the roll stays - er - rolled (they tend to spring open... in which case you would have an unsprung-roll).
Serving:
Eat hot, or allow to cool and store in containers in the fridge. These can be eaten cold but are not as tasty; heat for about 30 seconds in a microwave or in a pan until heated through. Before serving, you can garnish each roll with a fresh relish of diced onions, chopped cilantro, squeeze of lemon, chopped green chili peppers or red chili pepper powder.
You could marinate this overnight - but it also does well if prepared all at once.
Materials:
2 lamb chops (use whichever type you like)
2 inch piece ginger
8 cloves garlic
1 large onion (sliced fine)
black peppercorns (crushed, or powder will also work)
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
Preparation:
Chop, crush or grind the ginger and garlic. Spread evenly on chops. Sprinkle black pepper on top. You can leave this overnight in the fridge (cover with plastic wrap or place in a dish with a lid - otherwise your fridge is going to smell heavily of garlic the next day) or proceed directly to the next step.
Heat oil in a heavy pan. Fry onions until golden brown (may require periodic sprinkling of water to get there). Then add the chops (along with the marinating ingredients that were on them). Sear chops gently - turning them over when they begin to stick to the pan. Then add one and a half cups of water, bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer till meat is tender (about 40 minutes). Check periodically to ensure that liquid has not dried up. If there is excess liquid remaining once the meat is done, increase heat and stir fry rapidly till it evaporates - you should be left with a thickish sauce.
Options: (1) Add a potato (diced or chopped in large chunks) at the stage when you are browning the meat. (2) Add one large chopped/diced tomato at the simmering stage - this tweaks the flavor nicely.
Serving:
Goes well with: rice, couscous, bread. Is complemented by: veges (spinach, cabbage, potatoes) and lentils (arhar dal, chana dal).
Materials:
- 1 large floret of broccoli - chopped in 2-3" chunks
- 1 large onion - chopped fine
- 2 medium potatoes - diced (about 1" chunks)
- garlic (3 cloves)
- black peppercorns (crushed - or coarsely ground; powdered will do as well)
- 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt
Preparation:
Heat oil in a heavy pan (or dutch oven). Chop garlic fine (or crush) and add to pan. Add onions and saute until translucent; you may need to sprinkle some water to prevent sticking, but do not brown the onions. Once onions are translucent, add potatoes. Stir well. Add pepper and stir fry on medium heat until potatoes are light golden-brown.
Add broccoli and salt. Add about 1/2 cup water and stir. Don't bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low heat until potatoes are soft (about 45 minutes). Check periodically to ensure that liquid has not evaporated - add more water if needed. Enjoy! [Note: If you are in a hurry - you could cook on higher heat - but it is much more flavorful to slow cook this dish].
Serving:
Goes well with brown rice, yam soba or bread. Also complements meat dishes - bratwurst, roast lamb, or steak.
