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Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Garam Marsala : The special Indian spice blend

I was recently looking for Marsala recipes since I had a good meal at J. Gilbert’s in Overland Park , KS . I had ordered a marsala-sage sauce recipe with the chicken entree. It was incredible.
I found this website which has many nice features and will put on my blog as a link for others to see.

Understanding Marsala Sauce and the Recipe for Veal Marsala
http://www.ochef.com/696.htm
(see below)

there was also a nice site with different flavors of curries and more
http://gourmet-ingredients.suite101.com/article.cfm/ethnic_spice_blends

There is also a nice recipe for the famous butter chicken. I have eaten butter chicken at several restaurants in the Kansas City area. I have never found the recipe. But there is a great recipe for one at
http://www.foodnetwork.com/saras-secrets/shortcut-suppersrotisserie-chicken/index.html
It is posted below too and it is made by some chefs and placed on the Food Channel network during one of Sarah Moulton's show. It rated very high so many people like it and I must try and sample it and take a photo of it for you all some time.

But then I saw the spice mixture and turned toward the garam marsala spice blend.
I had that but have not used it yet. Could I find some recipes using it with the eggplant I got that my wife wanted me to make while it was still ripe?

But the one I found that I wanted to make had garam marsala, tomato sauce and eggplant.
Here is that recipe that I made along with the other recipes I mentioned that you might like to try/ know about .

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M o r o c c a n E g g p l a n t w i t h G a r b a n z o B e a n s

T h i s i s a g r e a t c o l d w e a t h e r d i s h t h a t i s a n e x a m p l e o f t a s t y a n d n u t r i t i o u s a v e g e t a r i a n d i s h c a n b e . O n e s e r v i n g p r o v i d e s 1 6 6 % o f t h e D a i l y V a l u e ( D V ) f o r m o l y b d e n u m , 1 1 9 % D V f o r v i t a m i n C , 6 4 % D V f o r m a n g a n e s e a n d 6 2 % D V f o r f i b e r .
M o r o c c a n E g g p l a n t w i t h G a r b a n z o B e a n s P r e p a n d C o o k T i m e : 3 5 m i n u t e s

I n g r e d i e n t s :

* 1 l a r g e o n i o n c u t i n h a l f a n d s l i c e d t h i n
* 5 m e d i u m c l o v e s g a r l i c , p r e s s e d
* 1 m e d i u m r e d b e l l p e p p e r c u t i n 1 i n c h s q u a r e s
* 1 m e d i u m e g g p l a n t , c u t i n t o 1 i n c h p i e c e s
* p i n c h o f r e d p e p p e r f l a k e s
* 2 t s p t u r m e r i c
* Ω t s p g a r a m m a s a l a
* 1 1 5 o z c a n g a r b a n z o b e a n s
* 1 1 5 o z c a n l e n t i l s , d r a i n e d
* Ω c u p t o m a t o s a u c e
* 1 º c u p s + 1 T B S v e g e t a b l e b r o t h
* Ω c u p r a i s i n s
* 1 T B S c h o p p e d f r e s h c i l a n t r o
* s a l t & b l a c k p e p p e r t o t a s t e

D i r e c t i o n s :

1 . S l i c e o n i o n a n d p r e s s g a r l i c a n d l e t s i t f o r a t l e a s t 5 m i n u t e s t o b r i n g o u t t h e i r h e a l t h - p r o m o t i n g p r o p e r t i e s .
2 . H e a t 1 T B S b r o t h i n a 1 0 - 1 2 i n c h s k i l l e t . H e a l t h y S a u t È o n i o n i n b r o t h o v e r m e d i u m h e a t f o r 5 m i n u t e s s t i r r i n g f r e q u e n t l y . A d d g a r l i c , r e d b e l l p e p p e r , e g g p l a n t , g a r a m m a s a l a , a n d t u r m e r i c . S t i r t o m i x w e l l f o r a m i n u t e , a n d a d d b r o t h a n d t o m a t o s a u c e . S t i r a g a i n t o m i x , c o v e r , a n d c o o k o v e r m e d i u m l o w h e a t f o r 1 5 m i n u t e s , s t i r r i n g o c c a s i o n a l l y , o r u n t i l p e p p e r s a n d e g g p l a n t a r e t e n d e r . T h i s i s o u r S t o v e T o p B r a i s i n g c o o k i n g m e t h o d .
3 . A d d g a r b a n z o b e a n s , l e n t i l s , r e d c h i l i f l a k e s , a n d r a i s i n s . S i m m e r f o r a n o t h e r 5 m i n u t e s . S e a s o n w i t h s a l t a n d p e p p e r . S e r v e s p r i n k l e d w i t h c h o p p e d c i l a n t r o .

S e r v e s 4

S e r v i n g S u g g e s t i o n s S e r v e w i t h
* M e d i t e r r a n e a n K a l e

H e a l t h y C o o k i n g T i p s :

C u t t i n g t h e e g g p l a n t a n d p e p p e r s i n t o 1 i n c h p i e c e s g i v e s t h e s p i c e s a c h a n c e t o c o m e t h r o u g h i n c o o k i n g w i t h o u t t h e v e g e t a b l e s o v e r c o o k i n g . T h i s r e c i p e i s o r g a n i z e d s o i t c a n b e m a d e q u i c k l y . H o w e v e r , w h e n a d d i n g t h e g a r a m m a s a l a a n d t u r m e r i c , s t i r w e l l a n d g i v e i t t i m e t o h e a t u p , a t l e a s t 1 m i n u t e , b e f o r e a d d i n g l i q u i d . Y o u w i l l g e t m u c h m o r e f l a v o r b y d o i n g s o .


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“ What is a good recipe for Marsala Sauce? I've had it in a restaurant lately with veal and sliced mushrooms and it was out of this world — unfortunately the chef considered it a secret recipe. So I need your help. The sauce was hazelnut in color, creamy and with the Marsala aroma and flavor.

The sauce traditionally served with Veal Marsala (Scaloppine di Vitello al Marsala) is very easy to make — basically a combination of Marsala wine and the butter, meat juices, and browned residue left in the pan from cooking the veal, reduced to the consistency of a sauce.

What are the variables here? The first is the wine itself. Marsala wine is made in Sicily, and like port and sherry, is a fortified wine. That is, brandy or another spirit has been added to boost the alcohol content to 17% to 18%. Marsala wines can be sweet, semisweet, or dry, and have been aged anywhere from one year to more than ten years. The rich, smoky flavor that characterizes Marsala wines becomes more pronounced as the wine ages, so the taste difference between a young wine and one that has aged for years will be significant.

Unless you have access to a remarkable wine merchant, however, you're not likely to have much more of a choice in Marsala wines than just dry or sweet. We have seen a number of Veal Marsala recipes, and there are some that call for sweet wine, but most of the real Italians specify dry wine, so we'd start there.

Now, what did your chef do to his sauce to make it secret and special? One thing is that he added mushrooms, which contributed to the dish itself, and their juices contributed to the sauce. They are not found in traditional recipes, however. Another variation involves adding a bit of cream to the sauce, which softens the assertiveness of the wine, but does not steal its flavor. Owing to the color you describe, we're guessing the sauce contained cream.

We've seen recipes that add lemon juice. Other recipes take the not-too-radical step of adding chopped parsley. But on the whole, there is very little in Marsala sauce to compete with the wine.

Here is Marcella Hazan's recipe for a traditional Veal Marsala. Do what you will with it. If you'd like to add mushrooms, slice them thinly and cook them in butter and oil in the same pan before cooking the veal. Remove them from the pan, proceed with the recipe as written, and add them in again when you add the veal to the sauce. “

http://www.ochef.com/r234.htm

Veal Scaloppine with Marsala

Veal Scaloppine with Marsala
From Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking (Canada, UK), by Marcella Hazan.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 pound veal scaloppine, cut from the top round
Flour, spread on a plate
Salt
Black pepper, ground fresh from the mill
1/2 cup dry Marsala wine
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream (optional*)

Instructions:

Carefully thin the scaloppini with a meat pounder, bringing it down flat and sliding it, in one continuous motion, from the center outwards. Repeat the operation, stretching the slice in all directions until it is evenly thin throughout.

Put the oil and 1 Tbsp butter in a skillet and turn on the heat to medium high.

When the fat is hot, dredge both sides of the scaloppine in flour, shake off excess flour, and slip the meat into the pan. Brown them quickly on both sides, about half a minute per side if the oil and butter are hot enough. Transfer them to a warm plate, using a slotted spoon or spatula, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. (If the scaloppine don't all fit into the pan at one time without overlapping, do them in batches, but dredge each batch in flour just before slipping the meat into the pan; otherwise the flour will become soggy and make it impossible to achieve a crisp surface.)

Turn the heat on to high, add the Marsala, and while it boils down, scrape loose with a wooden spoon all the browning residues on the bottom and sides. Add the second tablespoon of butter and any juices the scallopine may have shed on the plate. When the juices in the pan are no longer runny and have the density of sauce, turn the head down to low, return the scaloppine to the pan, and turn them once or twice to baste them with the pan juices. Turn out the entire contents of the pan onto a warm platter and serve at once.

*If using cream, add it before the meat goes into the pan and while the heat is still high. Stir constantly until the cream is reduced and bound with the juices in the pan into a dense sauce.

Yield: Serves 4


also has specialty food links on the sidebar and downbelow


**
Butter chicken
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/saras-secrets/butter-chickenindian-chicken-in-tomato-cream-sauce-recipe/index.html
Font Size:AAAPrint PageE-Mail
Butter Chicken (Indian Chicken in Tomato Cream Sauce)
Recipe courtesy Carla Fitzgerald Williams, Rotisserie Chickens to the Rescue!, Hyperion Books, 2003
Show: Sara's SecretsEpisode: Shortcut Suppers:Rotisserie Chicken
RECIPE COMMENTS & REVIEWS(106)
Cook Time
30 min
Level
Easy
Yield
4 servings
Recipe Tools:
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Ingredients
Spice Blend:
1 tablespoon garam masala seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 skinless rotisserie chicken, boned out and pulled into 1 1/2 by 1/2-inch chunks
1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas, placed in a colander and run under hot water to thaw
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
Hot basmati rice, for serving
Pita bread, warmed according to package directions, for serving
Directions
To make the spice blend: Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the pieces just begin to turn gold, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and spice blend, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. The spices will be fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir will. Add the chicken pieces, spoon the sauce over the top and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover to keep warm.

Shake any excess water from the peas. Add the peas and cream to the sauce in the pan, stir well and heat through. Do not boil. Spoon the sauce over the chicken. Serve with rice and warmed pita bread.

Variation: If you prefer shreds of chicken to whole pieces, remove the skin from the chicken and pull the meat into large chunks by hand. Add to the pan along with the garlic, tomato paste and spice blend. Cook for 3 minutes and then add the tomato sauce and continue with the recipe. Serve over basmati rice.

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