Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

It’s nice to have a few rice dishes in your weekday repertoire. This is on top of my list.

I realize a lot of people don’t like sweet things in their meal. Most people I know including my daughter don’t like the idea of having raisins in their rice. I love it- especially accompanied with a spicy dish. I love the bursts of sweetness in my mouth paired with the creamy rice grains, smoky cumin seeds and savory onions. I could eat this just by itself as a meal- with some raita- it would be a complete meal.

We made it with the fish curry and the cucumber and tomato salad. The curry was spiced with ajwain and onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. The sweet golden raisins were paired beautifully with the savory fish dish. This versatile pulao can be served with any kind of protein. 

I like using golden raisins instead of the dark ones. The lighter ones have more of a tang to them compared to the dark ones which tend to be mostly over sweet. I also like using currants in rice and couscous dishes- same concept of pairing savory flavor with sweet. Obviously any kind of raisins will work in this dish but I would recommend the lighter ones.

It’s an easy delicious side dish to make for any kind of meal- enjoy!

Click here for the recipe… »

This popular salad is served with most Indian meals. The idea is to have texture, taste and color. The cucumbers and onions provide a nice crunch to the whole meal while the tomatoes add a nice tanginess. The rich and vibrant colors are very appealing to the eye while eating a curry or a rice dish.

I don’t end up making this salad very often- mostly because of laziness- except when I am making a rice dish. A nice crunchy salad goes really well with the rich and creamy rice grains. In this case, we were making a fish curry for company with a raisin pulao (recipe will be posted tomorrow). I decided to make a big portion of this very simple yet flavorful salad. It is always a crowd pleaser.

Everyone loved it, especially with the fish curry and rice. They were all quite surprised to hear how simple it was to make. English cucumber, tomatoes and any kind of onion chopped up and mixed with fresh cilantro and lime juice. Salt and cayenne pepper give it a nice savory, peppery taste. Simple, good ingredients always taste good- you can’t go wrong with them.

• 1 English cucumber, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 4 green onions, chopped
• Salt
• Juice of one lemon
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

Mix the cucumber, tomatoes, green onions, salt, lemon juice and cilantro in a small bowl. Mix well and serve.

This is another dish that is native to North India. I guess you can call this the Indian version of a babaghanoush. I grew up with it- the eggplants are roasted either under the broiler or right on the stove over the open flame. I didn’t like it too much as a kid but now absolutely love it. Somehow this dish in restaurants does not taste the same- the smokiness from roasting the eggplants does not come through as well as it does at home.

Every household has their own version of this dish. In ours as usual, the dish is not cooked to death- the vegetables are soft but still retain their goodness. 

I seldom make this dish at home- not sure why- it’s not on my ‘regular things to make’ list. My husband is not a huge eggplant fan and it is a little messy to prepare the eggplant.

Since my Mom is here, I asked her to make it for a get together. I roasted the eggplants under a high broiler- an outside grill is also great to use for this purpose. Once the skin is nicely charred and soft, it is easy to take the pulp out. The dish is simply cooked with white and green onions and my garden tomatoes. It is finished with lots of cilantro and a bit of dill- the herbs give the dish a very vibrant and fresh flavor. The smokiness of the eggplant tasted wonderful with the sweet onions and the sweet herbs.

It was really nice to eat bhurta after so long. It is a great side dish with any meat or fish or even a dip with some pita. I would pair it with a light red wine- enjoy!
Click here for the recipe… »

My Mom is visiting us from India and she is a fabulous cook. I have been asking her to cook a lot of things I never do so I can take pictures and write the recipes down. It has been a nice break for me this summer- not having to cook all the time in order to secure recipes and ideas for this blog. One of the things on my list was fish curry. I make one with coconut milk and mustard seeds. This one is a North Indian version of it- what I mean is – the spices used in this dish are very different than what you would get in the South, East or West of India. This is what we would call a ‘Punjabi’ recipe. Punjab is a state in North India- that is where my parents are from.

This dish starts with a very mild flavored fish- tilapia. We marinated it simply with salt, lemon juice and ajwain. Ajwain seeds smell and taste very much like thyme but are a lot more pungeont. It gives the fish a very distinctive flavor. Mostly all fish dishes in North India are flavored with ajwain.

The marinated fish is then sauteed in a bit of olive oil and browned on both sides. The sauce or the gravy for this dish takes the most time to make. Onion, garlic and ginger and processed and then cooked with tomatoes and other spices till all the moisture in the vegetables has cooked out. This takes a lot of patience and about half an hour of standing in front of the stove and stirring consistently- but the end result is worth it. The process yields a rich and deliciously cooked sauce. The browned fish pieces are added to the sauce and served with rice.

The dish was very nicely spiced with the ajwain seeds- which is a very strong flavor- a little goes a long way. The dish was not cooked with a lot of pepper or chilies but that can be changed according to taste. Overall it’s a great dish to make for a large crowd, especially since it is quite affordable.

We enjoyed the fish curry with a raisin pulao (recipe coming up soon) and a cucumber salad (recipe coming as well). Of course there was wine- white wine was enjoyed by all.
Click here for the recipe… »

This was the first thing I did with the fresh tuna steaks I got from my friend. I was at the mall when I got the call telling me she was on her way to drop the fish off. I immediately left all the shopping and headed home. Ideas began to swim in my head – it’s very hard to drive when that happens- all I could think of was to get in my house and get my hands on those tuna steaks. 

It happened to be lunch time and what is more refreshing on a hot day than a freshly made tuna salad? Well, that is what I made. I briefly seared both sides and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I kept them aside to cool off while I went to my back yard to decide what herb to use in the salad. A few years ago I remember eating a lemon thyme chicken salad at a local wrap place in South Orange. It was delicious and I made it at home many times after eating it. While I was outside in my backyard, I thought of that salad and brought some fresh thyme for the tuna salad. I wanted to add a sweet element to the salad- an apple came to mind. I had one left in my fridge and it was my favorite variety- Braeburn. I love the sweet and sour taste paired with the crisp texture of this particular apple. It all came together really well, a little mayo, fresh thyme, lemon juice and an apple.
It was a simple salad but absolutely delicious. I have never had fresher fish before- I couldn’t believe someone caught it just a few days before I put the salad together. Makes me want be more of a locavore.
Click here for the recipe… »