Cabbage Chemistry

After running across a website on bento box dishes and the use of natural food colorings to add

vibrance to otherwise colorless foods, I decided to try the following experiment on my children. The resulting colors are totally natural, believe it or not, and the flavor is so innocuous that you could even use the liquid in desserts.

Simply chop about a cup of red cabbage for every two cups of water and boil for about 10 minutes. Strain, reserving the water of course, and use it to cook rice, pasta, potatoes, the ideas are endless!

The chemistry part comes in with playing with acids and bases. Try adding lemon, lime, or vinegar to the water after you strain it and you'll get a brilliant pink result. I added small pinches of baking soda until I found the right shade of blue. Be careful when using the soda as it can impart a bitter taste if you use too much. Pinch by pinch...

Using the blue cabbage water to cook the rice, I then put it on a plate, shaped it with my hands and squeezed lime juice in spots over the rice mound, turning small sections to pink!

I made beef keema with peas, filled the cabbage leaves with the mixture and put it in the oven for about twenty minutes to soften the leaves.

Hara Masala Pomfret (Fish in Green Curry) Recipe

I first had the chicken hara masala, a cilantro based masala at Himalaya Restaurant (see post here) and subsequently when we went back and my husband ordered it with shrimp. Both were 'like whoa' delicious and I decided to try to pull off a fish version from my own kitchen.


Here are most of the ingredients you'll need, slightly modified to what I had available. (Imagine a few peeled, diced potatoes and a few green chilies.) The plate holds garlic, turmeric powder and coriander seeds. The fish is tilapia- I bought about 20 individually vacuum sealed fillets for $15. This is a great dish for this versatile white fish. The full recipe is at the bottom of the post. You will also need a side of rice. Either basmati or jasmine works well. See "How to Make Perfect Rice Every Time" here.


I didn't have any fresh green chilies but I did have this habanero.


First, blend the coriander seeds and the turmeric in a blender (a food processor works even better). Blend until the seeds are reasonably pulverized.


You need about 2" of ginger. It's easy to peel by scraping with a spoon. Throw it in the blender along with the chilies and a TBSP of salt.


I used about 8 cloves of garlic. You can peel garlic quickly by holding the clove at each end and twisting in opposite directions. The papery jacket slides right off, if you're lucky. Next, coarsely chop a whole onion and throw it and the now nude garlic into the blender and blend away.


Now you are going to cram two bunches of fresh coriander/cilantro, stems and leaves, into the blender. Do a handful at a time. You might/will need to add a bit of water. Try a TBSP or so at a time until things get going. Once everything looks fairly smooth, turn off the blender.


In a pot, add a bit of cooking oil (2 TBSPs tops) turn heat up to medium. Pour your masala paste into the pot and bring to a low boil for about a minute. If you want to add any veggies, I suggest par-cooking them first. I used potatoes. Throw them in the pot until they are almost done.


Begin to add your fish. I used tilapia cut into 2" pieces. Just drop them in and make sure they are covered well with the sauce. Put the lid on and let cook for about 5 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through. Serve over a bowl of rice and watch in amazement the amazement of others that you actually made this and not only is it edible, it's really quite delicious.


Ingredients:

30 oz. tilapia (or other white fish) boneless/skinless fillets, thawed
2 bunches of fresh coriander/cilantro
5-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium onion
2-5 green chilies
2" fresh peeled ginger
2 TBSP coriander seeds
1.5 TBSP turmeric powder
Salt 1 TBSP to taste

Gear:
Blender/Food processor
Big pot and lid
Cooked rice (no fail rice recipe here)

How to make perfect rice every time.

Rice. Some people can never get it right. Take me for an example, before I was taught this tried and true method from the best MIL on earth. (Mother in Law...) Without fail, each time I prepared rice, the result was an odd combination of mushy on the outside with a hard crunchy center. Countless curries and multitudes of moussakas were served over a mysterious white mash of starch. It was shameful. So without further ado...


No matter how much rice or the size of the pot, you can cook perfect rice every time. Simply pour your rice into a pot and shake it so it's evenly distributed. Touch the top of the rice with your index finger and leave it there until the water comes up to the first line on your finger.

This much. Be sure to fill slowly and to keep your finger in the same spot. You can add or take away water as needed. Then cover the pot with a tight fitting lid. This is essential. If you don't have a lid, use a glass plate. Just make sure the steam doesn't escape. Bring it to a boil then turn down to low heat for 15 minutes. Turn off and leave the lid on for another 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork et voilà! Perfect rice. Easy enough, right? (If you are making brown rice, bring to a boil then simmer on low for 20 minutes, turn off and let sit covered for 10 minutes.)