Subj : Re: Greek was: Yoghurt
To : Ruth Haffly
From : Dave Drum
Date : Fri Jul 19 2024 07:21:12
-=> Ruth Haffly wrote to Dave Drum <=-
DD> My town needs a Greek-oriented restaurant. We've a selection of Gyros
DD> places and some places offer Greek specialties like Spanokopita, or
DD> (rarelt) Moussaka. Or Avgolemono soup. We have lots of Oriental (Thai,
DD> Chinese, Japanese, and Little Saigon (Vietnamese). Now we're getting
DD> a rash of Indian places. Be interesting to see which ones survive.
DD> Plus all the real-Mex, Cal-Mem and Tex-Mex joints.
RH> We still have a good variety in WF but Raleigh has an abundance of each
RH> type. Morrisville, a bit west of Raleigh, has a big Asian (especially
RH> Indian) population so it has a lot of Indian restaurants.
We have a selection of Indian-ish places. Th best of these is a place
called "Flavour of India" located in a little out-of-the-way strip mall.
When my friends and I visited there the first time we were the only
non-Asians in the place. The buffet was great (and AFAIK authentic) and
I sampled some dishes I had only read about. Plus there was mango ice
cream offered for dessert. I quite liked that.
8<----- YOU KNOW ----->8
RH> At least the next day, after the first round is well settled.
DD> My favourite thing at the Gyros places (they're all 'Quick Serve') is
DD> this ......
DD> Title: Souvlakia (Greek Shish-Kabobs)
DD> Categories: Lamb/mutton, Bbq, Citrus
DD> Yield: 8 Servings
RH> We usually do a lamb gyro, sometimes a kebab and about half the time, a
RH> baklava for dessert.
Depends on my mood which I'll go for - sandwich or souvlaki. And I don't
often do dessert. Unless there is rhubarb pie on offer. Not strawberry/
rhubarb which I consider an abomination.
I had a version of this at Flavour of India - there was also chicken
biryani on offer - but I'd never had goat before. It turns out it's a
lot like lamb - but a bit more "chewy".
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
Title: Biryani w/Goat Meat
Categories: Lamb/mutton, Vegetables, Herbs, Chilies, Rice
Yield: 7 Servings
2 1/4 lb (1 kg) goat meat; preferably
- leg, in bite-size pieces
2 tb Garlic paste
2 tb Ginger paste
6 tb Oil; divided
2 lg Red onions; fine chopped
30 lg (to 40) curry leaves
2 Green chilies
2 tb Coriander powder
1 tb Ground cumin
1/2 ts Ground turmeric
1 tb Garam masala
Salt
2 c Hot water; divided
50 g (1 3/4 oz) tamarind root
700 g (3 c) basmati rice
2 lg Onions; thin sliced, garnish
2 Drops orange food coloring;
- opt
2 Drops green food coloring;
- opt
Put the goat meat with the garlic and ginger pastes in a large bowl
and mix well to coat the meat with the pastes. Set aside for 20
minutes.
While the meat is marinating, heat 3 tablespoons cooking oil in a
large, deep pot or pan over medium heat. Add the finely chopped
onions and fry until translucent.
Add the curry leaves and green chilies, and fry for 1 minute.
Add the powdered spices (coriander, cumin, turmeric, and garam masala)
and salt to taste and mix well and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir often
to prevent burning.
Add the marinated meat. Stir well and often and cook until the meat is
browned.
Add 1 1/2 cups of hot water, stir, cover, and simmer until meat is
tender. Keep checking at this stage as you do not want the meat
overcooked and soft.
While the meat is cooking, make the tamarind puree. Put the tamarind
in a plastic or glass bowl and pour 1/2 cup of hot water over it.
Allow the mixture to stand for 5 to 10 minutes.
Strain the tamarind and water mixture through a sieve (do not use a
very fine sieve) into a bowl to get tamarind puree.
Add tamarind puree to the curry when you feel the meat is almost done.
Stir well. Once the meat is cooked, set it aside and prepare the rice.
Put the rice in a colander and wash under running water until water
runs clear. Place in a large, deep cooking pot (preferably one
w/handles).
Add enough water to fully cover the rice, usually at least 4" over the
surface of the rice. Add salt to taste. Bring the rice to a boil.
Cook rice until almost done. (To determine when it has reached that
stage, remove a few grains from the pot and press between your thumb
and forefinger. The rice should mostly mash but will have a firm,
whitish core.) Turn off the heat and strain through a colander and
set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a pan and fry the thinly sliced onions
until caramelized and golden brown. Drain and set aside on paper
towels for later use.
If you are using the food coloring, divide the rice into 3 equal
portions and put into separate dishes. Add the orange food coloring to
one portion of the rice and the green food coloring to another portion
of the rice. Leave the third portion white. With each portion, mix the
rice until all the grains are well colored. Set aside for 10 minutes.
Mix all 3 portions of rice together in a large bowl.
Set the oven or grill @ 350ºF/175ºC and grease a deep dish or pot
(which has a well-fitting cover). Evenly layer the cooked rice and
the meat (with its gravy) in the dish to form at least two sets of
layers (rice-meat-rice-meat-rice). Garnish with the caramelized
onions.
Cover the dish tightly. If your dish does not have a cover use two
layers of aluminum foil (shiny side of both layers facing down toward
the rice) and secure onto a dish with baking string. If you are using
a handi (a deep pot with a nicely fitting lid) which has a flat rim,
you can seal it by making a firm dough with flour and water and
pressing this over the joint of the handi's rim and cover. Place the
dish in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
Turn off the oven or barbecue and let the dish sit in the oven or
barbecue until you are ready to eat. It's important that you only open
when you are ready to serve. The way to serve biryani is to gently dig
in with a spoon so you get through the layers.
By: Petrina Verma Sarkar
Yield: 6 to 8 servings
RECIPE FROM:
https://www.thespruceeats.com
Uncle Dirty Dave's Archives
MMMMM
... The most useless single purpose kitchen gadget is an okra cooker.
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