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This is the absolute basic version of  aloo-matar, you can riff off of this in, oh, an infinity of ways (chill powder, fennel seeds, garlic, ginger, whatnot), but hey, you have to start somewhere , right? Peel and cut up 6 medium russet potatoes  into 2cm chunks. Add them to a pan with plenty of water, bring to a boil, and cook till they're basically done - you don't want them to be disintegrating though, stop before that stage. Meanwhile, toss  500gm frozen peas  in the microwave in a bowl, and cook with 2 tbsp water  for around 6 minutes till they are, well, cooked. Put  4 tbsp oil  to a pan on medium high heat, and add 2 tsp cumin seeds . Once they are sputtering, add in the potatoes, salt to taste , stir to coat the potatoes with the oil, and - and this is key! - don't stir for a bit, so that the bottom gets golden-brown. Stir a bit to flip the potatoes, and leave alone again - the intention is to get the potatoes to kinda get golden-brown-crunchy-...

This is an unctuous version of a baseline version of a chicken curry - the cashews and coconut milk add a level of creaminess and sweetness to the curry that harmonizes well with the rest of the spices. I've gotten to a place where I can pretty much whip this one up without really thinking too much about it, which is particularly helpful when I have to make a bunch of other things, and don't want to have to worry about (at least) this one.  Heat 2 tbsp oil  in a pan, and brown 4 chicken thighs  (bone-in, or otherwise). Once they are browned, move the thighs and liquid to a separate plate, and wipe off the pan. Now, heat 2 tbsp oil  in a pan on medium high heat, and add 1 tsp fennel seeds  and 1 tsp cumin seeds .  Wait till they start sputtering, and add in  1 medium onion diced , and 1 thai chili split down the middle .  Stir somewhat frequently till the onions are translucent/browned. Grind up   1 tsp coriander seeds and ...

If you've been in Austin, you know what this is - the ubiquitous "green sauce" (also called  Do ñ a sauce, and whatnot) that you get at pretty much every taco establishment.  Turns out this is remarkably easy to make! Seriously. Get a good blender (ideally, an Indian "mixie", but hey, your  Vitamin , or at a  pinch, an immersion blender). Blend together 6 green jalapeños (no stems) 1/4th clove garlic Juice of 2 limes 4 tbsp olive oil And that's it. The result will be an almost electric green, and insanely delicious. Enjoy on, well, everything! Modifications 1. Boil the jalapeños for around 5 minutes before blending. Mellows out the flavor a bit 2. Remove the seeds and the white pith from the  jalapeños to reduce the heat (🤷‍♂️ maybe you like it like this  🤷‍♂️ ) 3. Add a peeled zucchini to add a little bit of a vegetal flavor, and a touch of complexity 4. Moar garlic 5. Less garlic. 6. Vegetable oil instead of olive oil to make the flavor a touch "cl...

This isn't really Chicken Chettinad. Then again, if you ask 6 people from Chettinad, you'll probably get 14 recipes, usually to the tune of  " This is how  I  make it, but it's not really the way my mom does, and let's not get started on my aunt, who says you should  less  fennel but what does I know... "  If you want a - somewhat - more authentic version, there's this from WhiskAffair, but what follows is the way  I  make it... Marinate the chicken 1.5 lbs chicken thighs - boneless/skinless, chopped into 1" chunks 1 clove ginger chopped into wee tiny bits 1" ginger grated 1 tsp red chilli powder 1/2 tsp turmeric Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup coconut milk Put all this in a bowl, mix thoroughly, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and preferably overnight, in the fridge. Masala 3 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 2 tsp fennel seeds 2 tsp black peppercorns 8 dried red chillies (remove the stem, and crumble the chillies) 1" cinnamon 3 cardamom...

Why "Red Chicken Curry"?  Well, first of all, because this isn't really some kind of official recipe - not that there are really all that many "official" recipes for most Indian dishes, but, well there you are. And secondly because when I made this, I decided to actually get the dish to come out red (like in the restaurants, y'know?) and added red food coloring. And, well, turns out that the food coloring was pretty potent, and turned the dish not just red, but RED . So, there you go... Anyhow, it's good, really really good - recipe below. Marinate the chicken 1.5 lbs chicken thighs (leave the bone in, and the skin on) 1 clove ginger chopped into wee tiny bits 1" ginger grated 1 tsp kashmiri red chilli powder Juice of 1 lemon 1 cup yoghurt Put all this in a bowl, mix thoroughly, and let it sit for at least 30 minutes, and preferably overnight, in the fridge. Masala Powder 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 tsp black pepper...

Pizza di patate is a classic Pugliese dish (ok, technically from Bari. Whatever) and goes by other names in other places - potato gateau, potato crumble, etc. Basically, think of it as "baked mashed potatoes", which is exactly like calling wine "fermented grape juice". True, but entirely missing the point. The recipe below comes from a friend of mine from  Puglia . OK, technically, it's her mom's, which only makes it even better, right? (Incidentally, if you want to learn - or improve - your Italian, you can do far, far worse than working with her. The site is called  LearnAmo , she's incredibly good at it, and the  videos are endlessly entertaining .) Anyhow, enough of the plug - recipe below. Ingredients 4 medium potatoes (russet, but pretty much anything will do) 2 eggs 8 oz mozzarella di bufala, diced. Not too small though. Perhaps 1/4" - 1/2" chunks 8 oz shredded cheese (use whatever you like. Mozzarella, cheddar, "fiesta cheese"...

Polpettone is kinda, sorta, but not really, "Italian Meatloaf".  It's actually a pretty ancient northern-Italian dish, dating back to the 1500s and possibly earlier. Regardless, it's pretty awesome comfort food, and once you figure out the base you can have a blast changing the filling, ingredients, spicing, and whatnot. The recipe below comes from a friend of mine from  Puglia . OK, technically, it's her mom's, which only makes it even better, right? (Incidentally, if you want to learn - or improve - your Italian, you can do far, far worse than working with her. The site is called LearnAmo , she's incredibly good at it, and the  videos are endlessly entertaining .) Anyhow, enough of the plug - recipe below. Ingredients 1.5 lbs ground beef (I prefer the good stuff, not the lean kind. But, whatev) 2 eggs 1 medium boiled potato, mushed w/ a fork 1 small handful of chopped parsley 1 large slice of bread, left to soak in water for 5 minutes 1 clove of garlic,...

The key here is fat. Pork fat. Guanciale  fat, but in a pinch, bacon fat will work just as well. Ok, the second  key is preparation. Read the recipe, and get everything set up before  you get started. This is one of those recipes where, when all the pieces come together it's magic, but ... "when all the pieces come together" is carrying a lot  of water here 😔.  It's really like riding a bike, once you figure it out, it's obvious , but till then, oh so many falls... Anyhow, here we go - this recipe serves 2-4 people depending on how much you eat 😜 Get your pasta-water started. About half the amount of water that you'd normally use, along with a hefty dose of salt.  You're reducing the water, because you'll be using some of the - starchy starchy! - water later! Dice up 6 strips of bacon (or an equivalent amount of guanciale ), and place in a pan. Cook on medium till all the fat has rendered, and the bacon is crisp and brown. Do not eat the ...