Radish Salad with Dried Mint

I make variations of this simple salad all summer. You can tweak the recipe with whatever fresh produce is available. Even the dried mint can be substituted with fresh cilantro or parsley. It is a staple recipe that is a terrific complement to any grilled meat or fish dish.

Ingredients 

10–12 Radishes, trimmed, cut in half, and thinly sliced*
2 medium Yellow Peppers, diced
1 large Cucumber, peeled and diced
1½ tbsp Dried Mint, crushed
1 tsp Ground Coriander
1/8 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
2–3 fresh Green Chillies, minced
Juice of ½ lemon
Sea Salt (to taste)

1. In a large bowl, mix radish, peppers, and cucumber with dried mint, coriander, black pepper, green chillies, and lemon juice, and mix well. Store in a fridge for 30 mins to chill. 
2. Remove from fridge, add salt, toss well and serve immediately. 

 *TIP: Do not throw away the lovely green tops of the radishes! Reserve them for a bonus side dish—served raw as a salad (dressed simply with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper), or as a warm side dish.

Chilli–Lime Swordfish Steaks

I got the germ of this dish from Madhur Jaffrey’s Masala Fish Steak recipe, where she uses sweet red peppers as the base of the sauce. But I found her sauce too bland and better suited as a topping for grilled fish. So I amped-up the spice quotient with turmeric, coriander and black mustard, added fresh green chillies for heat, and cilantro and lime for freshness. I used swordfish here, but you can substitute with any firm-fleshed fish like salmon, trout, or cod.

Ingredients 

2 lbs [1 kg] Swordfish steaks
3 tbsp Turmeric
Salt, to taste
1 large Red Pepper, seeded, de-veined, and roughly chopped
2 Shallots, roughly chopped
6–8 cloves Garlic, peeled
2-inch piece Ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4–6 fresh Green Chillies
¼ cup Cilantro
Grated zest of ½ Lime
4 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1½ tsp Black Mustard Seeds
1 tbsp ground Coriander
¼ tsp Black Pepper
Juice of ½ Lime

1. Rub fish steaks with turmeric and salt and set aside for at least 30 mins, and up to 4 hours. 
2. Put red peppers and shallots in a food processor and pulse 4–5 times. Add garlic, ginger, green chillies, cilantro and lime zest, and grind until the mixture is a smooth paste. Pour mixture into a bowl and set aside. 
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add fish and brown well on both sides. Remove fish and set aside on a platter. Discard oil in pan and wipe clean. 
4. Heat remaining oil in same pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add black mustard seeds and let sputter for a few seconds until they start to pop. Add red pepper mixture, stir and fry for about 3 mins. Turn heat to low, add coriander, black pepper and salt and continue frying for 2 mins, until the sauce starts to dry out. 
5. Transfer browned fish to the pan, add limejuice, and spoon sauce over the fish. If the pan is too dry, add 2–3 tbsp water. Put a lid on the pan and let simmer for about 2–3 mins, until the fish is cooked-through. Serve garnished with cilantro and lime wedges.

Potatoes and Caramelised Leeks with Paanch Phoron and Hing

Paanch Phoron and Hing are a classical combination of spices that show-up in numerous vegetable dishes from eastern India. I’ve recently started pairing them with more western vegetables to startlingly good results. This recipe transgresses further from orthodox Bengali vegetarian dishes, which are cooked without onions or garlic (the traditional base for most meat and poultry curries), by introducing leeks—a mild and delicate member of the onion family— to the mix. The caramelised strands of leek wrap around the potatoes and impart a sweet counterpoint to the pungent note of paanch phoron and hing.

Ingredients 

3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
6 oz [170 gms] Leeks, peeled, trimmed and cut into ¼-inch-thick round slices
1 tbsp Paanch Phoron
½ tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
1½ lbs [700 gms] Potatoes, peeled and cut lengthwise into eight pieces each
Salt (to taste)
¼ cup boiling Water

1. Heat 1½ tbsp oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add chillis and sauté briskly for 1 min until they are blackened. Remove chillis to a platter with a slotted spoon. 
2. In the same pan, add the leeks and cook for 7–8 mins over high heat, until golden brown and well caramelized. Remove leeks from pan and set aside on the platter with the chillis. 
3. Add remaining 1½ tbsp oil to pan and heat till smoking. Add paanch phoron and hing and let sputter for 30 secs. Add potatoes and stir briskly for 2–3 minutes, until the edges take on colour. Add caramelised leeks, blackened chillis, and salt, sprinkle water 2 tbsps at a time, and stir well. Turn heat to low, put a lid on the pan, and cook for 5–7 mins, until the potatoes are fork tender.

Hot and Sour Okra

This recipe is dedicated to all my siblings who salivate at the thought of “sour goodies.” In fact, if any of you were around this afternoon, there wouldn’t have been any leftovers to photograph—it’s that irresistible! I used two different astringent ingredients—aamchoor (dried mango powder) and lemon juice—to give depth and sharpness to the sour note. My recommended measurements for both are keeping in mind more conservative palates. Just how much of each you use really depends on your taste buds and the potency of the ingredients. It’s better to start with less and to amplify the tartness based on your tolerance.

Ingredients

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 tsp whole Black Mustard seeds
1 tsp whole Cumin
¼ tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
2 Shallots, thinly sliced
8–10 Green Chillies, minced
2 tsp freshly ground Ginger
1½ lbs [700 gms] Okra, with the stalks and ends trimmed, and cut into 1-inch–long pieces
1 tbsp ground Coriander
½ tsp Turmeric powder
Salt (to taste)
1½ tsp Aamchoor (dried mango powder)
Juice of ½ Lemon

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add black mustard seeds, cumin, and hing, and let sputter for a few seconds until the mustard starts to pop. Add shallots, green chillies, and ginger, and stir briskly for 2–3 minutes, until the shallots start take on colour at the edges. 
2. Add okra and cook for about 3 mins until lightly golden. Add coriander, turmeric, and salt and stir well. If the pan gets too dry, sprinkle 2–3 tbsp water. Turn heat to low, put a lid on the pan, and let steam for about 5 mins.
3. Turn off heat, add aamchoor and lemon juice, and stir well. Let sit for 10 mins before serving.

Potato and Bratwurst Salad with Shallot-Mustard Dressing

One of my favourite butchers in New York is Esposito’s in Hell’s Kitchen. You’ll find all manner of meat, poultry and game here, but their specialty is hand-tied links of sausage, which they make in the premises daily— Italian sausages, Spanish-style fresh chorizo, Irish bangers, and Bavarian bratwursts. In this recipe, I paired their bratwurst with baby new potatoes and sweet caramelised shallots, rounded off with tangy vinegar and mustard.

Ingredients
2 lbs [1 kg] Baby New Potatoes
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 lbs [1 kg] Bratwurst sausage, cut into ½-inch-thick pieces
4 Shallots, thinly sliced
3 sprigs Thyme
3 tbsp Vinegar
3 tbsp Spicy Mustard
Salt (to taste)
½ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
2 tbsp Olive Oil
3 tbsp Chives, chopped into 2-inch long pieces

1. Boil whole, skin-on potatoes in salted water for 10–12 mins, until fork tender. Drain off water and set aside potatoes in a large mixing bowl. 
2. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add sausage and brown well on both sides. Remove sausage from pan and set aside in mixing bowl with potatoes. 
3. Heat remaining vegetable oil in pan and add shallots and thyme. Cook for 5–7 mins until golden brown and well caramelised. Lower heat, add vinegar, and let simmer for about a min, scraping any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat, and stir-in mustard. 
4. Discard thyme and transfer shallot mixture to mixing bowl. Add salt, pepper, olive oil, and chives, and toss well. Let the salad sit for at least 40 mins to allow the flavours to steep. Serve at room temperature.

Aromatic Turkey Meatloaf with Caramelised Fennel and Red Onions

Tastey Boy doesn’t really like fennel—he says that it’s a weird vegetable and is averse to it in most forms! I on the other hand, think fennel is remarkably versatile—shaved thin and served raw in a salad or cooked in rustic chunks as a side dish—and lends it’s anise-y scent to fish and poultry beautifully. So to temper TB’s distaste, I hid two whole bulbs in a golden and aromatic turkey meatloaf one night, and he was none the worse for wear. In fact, the caramelized strands added oodles of moisture and texture to the finished dish and he had no compunction wrapping leftovers for lunch the next day and sneaking cold nibblies from the fridge the rest of the week.

Ingredients
1 cup Breadcrumbs
1 cup Milk
3 tbsp Olive Oil
4 cloves Garlic, finely minced
¼ cup Celery, finely chopped
2 large Red Onions, sliced
2 large Fennel bulbs, sliced
2 large Eggs
2 lbs [1 kg] ground Turkey
1 tbsp fresh Thyme
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp Black Pepper

1. Stir together breadcrumbs and milk in a small bowl and let stand for 5 mins. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. 
2. In a large skillet or frying pan, heat 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté garlic and celery over high heat for 3-4 mins until softened. Transfer celery and garlic to the mixing bowl with breadcrumbs mixture. 
3. In the same skillet, heat remaining 2 tbsp olive oil and cook onions and fennel for 7–10 mins, until golden brown and well caramelised. Add onions and fennel to the mixing bowl. 
4. Whisk eggs and add to mixing bowl along with ground turkey, thyme, salt and black pepper, and mix well with your hands to combine all ingredients thoroughly. (Mixture will be fairly moist.) 
5. Place mixture in a baking pan and shape into a roughly 9- by 5-inch rectangular loaf. Cover with foil and bake in a 400ºF [200ºC] pre-heated oven for 1 hour. Remove foil from the baking dish and continue baking uncovered for another 15 mins until the top of the meatloaf is golden. Remove from oven and serve cut into 1-inch thick slices.

Seared Bok Choy with Nigella and Blackened Chillis

Bok Choy, a Chinese cousin of the Western cabbage, is one of those wondrously mild and supremely versatile green leafy vegetables that takes easily to strong seasoning. It is also simple to prepare—just separate the individual segments and rinse well. If using baby bok choy, then the stems are tender enough to be cooked whole with the leaves. If using a more mature bok choy, then separate the harder stems from the leaves by chopping into smaller pieces. This recipe maximises the mildness of the vegetable, which is a perfect foil for the amazing smokiness of blackened chillis and musky nigella seeds.

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
1 tbsp Nigella seeds
3–4 cloves of Garlic, cut into thin slivers
1½ lbs [700 gms] Bok Choy, washed and with the ends of the stalks trimmed off
Salt (to taste)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add dried red chillis and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillis just start to blacken. Remove chillis and set aside. 
2. Lower heat to medium, add nigella seeds and sputter for about a minute. Add garlic and stir for about 2 mins until they are lightly golden.
3. Increase heat to high, add bok choy and stir fry for 5 mins until the ends start to char. Add salt and blackened chillis, and continue to stir for another 2–3 mins. Turn off heat, put a lid on the skillet and let sit for 5 mins before serving.