Food Mag Recipe of the Week: Cilantro and Yogurt Sauce

This week's food mag recipe comes from the October 2008 issue of Food and Wine, which featured an entire spread of recipes from DC's own Vikram Sunderam (at left), head chef at Rasika. F&W created simplified versions of several of Sunderam's most popular dishes, including mango shrimp, lamb rogan josh, and this fabulous cilantro and yogurt sauce.

Now I just have to decide what to do with it...spooned over baked salmon? Tossed with steamed potatoes? Or just go all out and make Sunderam's chicken tikka, as well? Such a tasty dilemma...

(Photo: Washington Post)

Cilantro and Yogurt Sauce

2 cups cilantro leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1 jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
Kosher salt

In a blender, combine the cilantro, mint, jalapeno, garlic, cumin and lemon juice and puree to a paste. Add the yogurt and puree until smooth. Season with salt.

Sauce can be refrigerated up to 2 days.

Quick Dish: Indian Curry Potatoes and Peas

This is my version of a staple Indian side dish, though it’s so filling and flavorful it can make a meal on its own. You can nuke the potatoes instead if you’re short on time, but I prefer taking the extra few minutes for the texture steaming provides. Just don’t peel them – it’s healthieir (and easier) not to.

Ingredients:

2 lbs potatoes (I prefer fingerling) steamed and chopped large
1 cup frozen peas
½ cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Kosher salt
Optional:
2 tablespoons fresh parsley or coriander
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Combine sour cream/yogurt, chili powder, garam masala, curry powder, turmeric and ground coriander in a small bowl. Set aside.

Add the butter and olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. When hot, add the cumin seeds and fry until golden brown, about a minute or two. Add the potatoes and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and sauté 3-4 minutes. Pour in the yogurt mixture and frozen peas. Gently toss to mix and continue cooking until heated through, about 3-5 minutes. When done add lemon juice and fresh herbs if desired.

Quick Dish - Kitchen Sink Veggie Curry

Ok, so this quick dish might not be ready in five minutes, but it’s totally worth the 20-30 it takes to prepare. It’s a great way to use up any of those expensive farmers market vegetables you don’t know what to do with, and while it requires a few unique ingredients, if you’ve ever attempted any kind of Asian cooking you most likely have all this stuff in your fridge anyway. Plus, you can stretch any leftover curry sauce into a second meal just by adding some cooked rice noodles (and shrimp if you’re carnivorously inclined). Think of it as two quick dishes in one. Enjoy!


For the curry sauce:
2 cups chicken stock
1 can (14 oz) coconut milk
2-3 tablespoons red curry paste – or more depending on your heat preference
¼ cup of julienned ginger
3 tbsp canned chopped lemongrass
1 tsp salt
1 lime
1 tbsp brown sugar
Few dashes of hot sauce

For the veggies:
Really, you can use just about anything you have on hand. Below is a random combo I tried recently and really liked. Sugar snap peas, eggplant, squash (think pattypan or zucchini), mushrooms and bok choy would work nicely, too.

Several handfuls of grape tomatoes
1 can o’ green beans
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled, nuked until cooked through but still firm, and cubed
1-2 handfuls of basil leaves, torn

For the rice:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 ¼ cups water

Place all curry ingredients in a large sauté pan. (For the lime, slice it in half, squeeze the juice into the pan, and then toss in the halves). Stir together, bring to a boil and let simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, rinse the rice and add it to a saucepan with the water. Bring the rice to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes, or until all the water is evaporated. When the 20 minutes is up on the curry, strain the sauce, return it to the pan and add the vegetables. Cook until heated through. Serve over the rice.