Leeks Cumber Salad

This salad, which turned out quite nice, is for Sharni, who told me recently that she was waiting for more vegan recipes on my blog!
I enjoyed this for lunch, recently and it was really simple to make. Then I realized it may be vegan. :)
Slice a cumber (i like finger cumbers, because they look super cute, but any cumber would do) into small length wise strips, after washing, peeling and cleaning it. Dress it with a tiny bit of good sesame oil, an inch of wasabi paste, a teaspoon of sugar, a capful of vinegar (i used cider vinegar, this time), and two pinches of salt. Taste it and adjusts the balance of the flavors. The sugar brings out the heat of the wasabi beautifully, I think.

Wash and slice the leeks finely (i didn't have the end of the root in vegetable drawer, just the top part), and blanch for 2 mins. (let it sit in fresh boiled water for 2 mins). drain well, even patting drying with kitchen paper, and plate in a doughnut shape, adding drops of sesame oil and sprinkling salt over it. Spoon the cumber in the center. Sprinkle every thing with fresh black pepper.

The flavorings are subtle here, the highlights are the crunch of the leeks and smooth moisture of cumber, which have there own, lovely taste. As you bite in though, there are hints of heat (wasabi) and sweetness/tartness, blended with the nuttiness of the sesame.

I feel very virtuousness having had a vegan lunch, and I hope Sharni likes this!

Steamed Spare-Ribs, with Sweet Turmeric Cream + Cumber, with Wasabi/Vermouth Dressing.

i love spare ribs! usually, i grill them, but this time, i tried steaming after awhile. the preparation is the same; marinated in vinegar, salt, crushed garlic, and black bean sauce (or soy, if there isn't any BBS), and sugar. then i steamed it for 10 mins. the karavila salad, has been described in another post, but i thought up a sweet turmeric sauce (1/4 cup cream, heated with two pinches of tumeric, one of salt and a tiny bit of sugar), which was very warm and comferting, a good counter point to the bitterness of the gourd.
On the side is sliced cumber, dressed with cap full of dry vermouth, into which one squeeze of wasabi paste as been mixed.
all spur of the moment ideas, which seemed to work well.

A New Salad

it was sharmini pereira who suggested the basics of this to me, many months ago. she'd had a bitter gourd salad a sri lankan restaurant in japan, if i remember that right. this is my variation: debitterized karavila (bitter gourd), with onions and tomatoes.
healthful, and unusually tasty.

to make this, cut the gourd into thin slices, wash it well, letting most of the seeds wash out. Let the silces rest in lots of table salt for 2 hours or more-- that's heaps of salt, by the way. then wash it out, in a colander, several times until the salt is gone, and blanch it in a boiling water for 30 - 60 secs to debitterize it more. This is the +/- on the debitterizing; you'll have to work on it, to get it just right for your tongue.
The dressing is just fresh lime, you could add chili pieces if you like, with the sliced tomatoes and onions.

Smoked Eel & Cherry Tomatoes

This is a favorite of mine when in Holland, which it must be said, is not known for its great culinary traditions. But all around Amsterdam, where I am now, various kinds of raw and cured fish can be had, at little stalls. Usually smoked eel is eaten plain -- it is like cold, lightly cooked bacon on the tonge, until you bite in for completely different fishy, eeliness of the thing. its quite terrific plain. (the japanese have it sushi, but i think its cooked or well soaked in soya sauce).
but still there is a film of oil that coats the tonge, and I thought the tart, sweetness of cherry tomatoes might well cut into the oiliness of the eel.

so this time, i went to a super market, and got eel and tomatoes -- and yes, i was right. the juxterposition of tastes and flavors worked as i had thought they might, but also crisp, yet juicy texture of tomatoes contrasted well, with the meatiness of the eel.


i had seconds; and then i slept.

Spinach, with Ginger Confit

I been meaning to try this for some time, and today, finally, my craving for new taste over took my laziness. I got the recipe for ginger confit, from Kunz & Kaminsky whose book I can not praise enough –
but before we get there, its worth noting that there are two kinds of confit, meat ones, like duck confit, where the preservative is basically fat, and fruit ones, where its sugar. A ginger confit, uses the fruit techniques – you add honey, lime juice, lime rind, spices, chillie and vermouth to the julienned ginger and you thicken this, on a low simmer, until its really thick and treacle like. It was a tiny bit tricky, but I added a little more honey than they said one should and then a little arrack at the end, and it went on a while -- You’ve got be careful not to burn this, of course.:) -- and then it was fine.

The spinach I kept simple, just blanched in boiling water and few pieces of rock salt for less than a minute, and yes, it was marvelous with the confit.

The ginger confit has a unique taste, it doesn’t come out sweet, it’s a hot, bitter thing, with hints of sweetness, and what K&K call florals – its basically the lemon rind, the explosive taste of ginger, and of course, the dried chillie, which I added more of than they did, bound with thickened honey.
Wrapped in soft green spinach leaves, it left a taste so complex and original in my mouth, that it changed my whole day.

A Soursop & Bananas

Katu Anoda & Kehel
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

The prickly green fruit is Soursop, sweet and sour, sticky and wet on the inside, with smooth dark seeds. I've just learnt the word is 'acid bag' in Dutch -- but the lingering power of the acidity, makes it a terrific base for salad dressings -- say with a little olive oil and crushed garlic.
The yellow banana's are everyday ambuls, and haven't any thing to do with Soursop -- I was in compositional mood :)

Fish, bean thread and salad

Fish, bean thread and salad
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

A simple lunch.

Chicken Salad

Chicken Salad
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

I had lunch at the Star Dust, Arugam bay on the 14th of December It was quite amazing. The chicken salad is dressed in yogurt, which is really well complemented by soft, succulent stalks of asparagus, and sautéed mushrooms. It is attractively plated, as you can see, with a topping of julienned Tomatoes. I only had one dish here on this visit, but I look forward to more.

Salad(e)

Salad(e)
Originally uploaded by pradeep jeganathan.

My Pipingnga Thakali Salade.