A touch of class with the tasty lamb curry

There are so many Thai places in SF so where do you choose. When you are close by you have to go with what is near. Strolling the streets after presenting at a conference a few years ago, I came upon this place. I am glad it is still here. It had daily specials, appetizers, salads. I was zoning in on the curries, rice entrees and noodle entrees though. I love thai and try lamb dishes when they are available. I spied the Lamb Mussaman Curry with steam rice. The curry flavor was excellent and the lamb was nice and tender. The place does have a touch of class and so does the food. I am glad I came here.

Jerusalem Cafe is one place I like for Middle Eastern eats

This place in Westport has a special spot in my heart as it the first place I took my wife for our first date 15 years ago. So there was something about the place when I "scoped it " for our date. The menu offerings are not all that extensive but what is have is very good. I especially like the flaky pastry encased ground lamb in phyllo dough dish. Its a little different and I love lamb anyway but this is a differnt take then regular Middle Eastern (I have never seen it elsewhere). In fact I like it so much I have had it several time. The ambiance is very good since this first time I took her here. Its pretty quiet most of the time even though it can get crowded. The service is good. I wish they would change the menu little more and offer new things once in awhile but I guess they keep going with what works and that is fine. It is nice to come down and just stroll around after the meal.

Casabel pepper- where do I find the pepper?

Bobby Flay has a recipe using Figand Casabel pepper. I usually don't use figs but I was interested in the pepper. I found he also had a Pineapple and Casabel pepper sauce. My first thought was to look for what was this pepper, how hot was it and where I could find a substitute for it or the substitute? I preferred to find a substitute in my recipe pantry.

I found it is roundish shaped and has a scoville rating of 4 so it is more fruity then hot. I found more information on websites particularly
http://www.recipetips.com/glossary-term/t--37661/cascabel-chile-pepper.asp
If no Cascabels are available, substitute 2 jalapeños are good but I think an even better one is the purplish black gaujillo which has a much more smokey and fruity flavor. I love gaujillo so check them out as well.

The recipe I found is here and I am posting it now because I don't know when I will get to it. Mahi and Mahi is a real ugly fish but it is a tasty one. This sauce is a real good one with pineapple. I could also see it being used for chicken or turkey or lamb etc .

If you try this recipe, the gaujillo or the sauce let me know.

PAN ROASTED MAHI MAHI WITH ROASTED PINEAPPLE-CASCABEL CHILE SAUCE AND CARAMELIZED PINEAPPLE-GREEN ONION SALSA
Serves 4

Ingredients for Roasted Pineapple-Cascabel Chile Sauce
1 medium whole pineapple,
1/2 cup fresh pineapple juice
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
8 cascabel chiles, stems removed and soaked in hot water for 30 minutes until soft
2 teaspoons honey
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method for Roasted Pineapple-Cascabel Chile Sauce

1. Preheat broiler. Cut off the leaves and about a 1/2 inch of the top and bottom of the fruit. Do not peel the pineapple.
2. Place the pineapple on its side on a baking sheet and place under the broiler. Broil the pineapple until it is blackened on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes per side. Remove to a cutting board and let cool slightly.
3. When cool enough to handle, cut off the pineapple skin by slicing down from top to bottom along each row of eyes (as revealed by your first cut). Your knife should be behind the eyes at approximately a 45-degree angle. Don't try to cut off too much of the peel at once or you will take a lot of good fruit with it. Coarsely chop the pineapple and set aside.
4. Combine the pineapple juice, cider vinegar, cloves, allspice, ancho powder and cascabel chiles in a large non-reactive saucepan over high heat and bring to a boil. Add the fresh pineapple and cook until the pineapple is very soft and starts to break down.
5. Transfer mixture to a food processor and process until smooth. Strain through a strainer into a saucepan and return to the stove over medium heat. Whisk in the honey and season with salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes.

Ingredients for Pineapple-Green Onion Relish
1/2 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into small dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 green onion, thinly sliced (white and green part)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Juice of 1 lime

Method for Pineapple-Green Onion Relish

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Place pineapple in a medium ovenproof sauté pan, add pineapple, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Roast in the oven until golden brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Transfer pineapple to a bowl, add the green onion, cilantro and lime juice. Serve at room temperature.

PAN ROASTED MAHI MAHI

Ingredients
Four 8-ounce Mahi Mahi fillets
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over high heat. Season fillets on both side with salt and pepper and place in the pan. Cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip over, transfer pan to the oven and continue cooking until the fish is just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes longer.
3. Ladle some of the pineapple-cascabel chile sauce onto a large dinner plate. Top with a Mahi fillet and spoon some of the pineapple-green onion salsa on top.

Like rubs and marinades? Run and buy this book as soon as you can as you are really missing out

Marinades: Dry Rubs, Pastes and Marinades for Poultry, Meat, Seafood, Cheese and Vegetables (Paperback)
Run and buy this book as soon as you can as you are really missing out. I bought it in the 1990's and always still making fanatastic recipes from this book.. There are all kinds of US and worldy marinades, rubs and more. The contents divide the book into 10 categories including about marinades , rubs and pastes, stocking the pantry, vinegars, all tyes of marindes, even for shellfish, vegetables, lamb, and even rabbit, game birds, venison. Several marinades and rubs can be used for different meat etc. Also has section on salsas, chutneys, The directions are clear and easy to read. The index is well done. The chart "Marinades at a glance, is another way to find what you are looking for. There is short set of pages where to find and purchase Indian spices, Asian staples and more (but you really should be able to find most of the ingredients locally).
I have tried so many all excellent. These included spicy tomato marinade for fish (9.8/10); Thai marinade (9.8/10); Thai cocont (9.8/10); pineapple jalapeno salsa (9.8/10). Many more I have tried are a great just a tad less in my rating but fantastic none the less.

http://www.amazon.com/Marinades-Pastes-Poultry-Seafood-Vegetables/dp/0895945312

Korma Sutra: Great Indian food- How is basmati rice different then regular rice? Lamb kofta and lamb saag at Korma Sutra

We have been here many times since it first opened. Always excellent. This time, the Caribbean place El Caribe seems to have gone out of business so we headed to one of favorite Indian places Korma Sutra (Overland Park, KS). We usually go during Sunday buffet but we thought to spend some time after Valentina day since we could not go that night.
The head owner waiter (I should get his name) is so funny and is always making the place "hop". He is always gracious and a "real Hoot!". There were few people in the place when we arrived. But the place quickly filled up and he and the other waiters and waitresses were always buzzing around.

We had a coupon for $$ off but I immediately used that up. When he asked if I wanted some Indian beer (Taj Mahal) I thought why not? It was a big bottle and it was good and even my wife sipped a little. But at $7 I won't do it again but hey it was a valentines date.

My wife ordered the Lamb Saag as she loves the spinach and wanted to try this version. I had seen a special that they make here for our friends. It is a variation of Vegetarian Kofta (meat patty) with seasoned onions, tomatoes and more. My wife ordered the chi tea which loves while I worked on the beer. Meanwhile they asked if we wanted garlic naan bread and we said yes (comes with buffet so this was extra) as well as the cracker wafer Roti (unleavened wheat bread). Poured on some of the condiment tray sides of spicy mint relish, tamarind liquid (lemony- lime dark), mango chutney (which I always love and use at home -except don't buy the hot variety) and another one or two.

She loved the lamb saag. I tested it and it was great and very creamy.

My lamb kofti came extra spicy that I wanted (looked like more cayenne, turmeric or red spice). The way they make it here is in the shape of little cigar shaped patties called kofti. She tried one piece and she thought it was real spicy. Maybe when I make it I won't make it that spicy and order the regular. Still both were great and as we normally do, we eat part and take part of it home to eat the next night or day. That way we get to share the meal, see whether the spices die out over night or taste differently. Also the portions are quite generous so it's a way to cut the calories for that meal and try to keep my waist trim (yeah right?) and take some home to savor again later (like getting 2 meals for 1 price).

Since I possibly wanted to make a Kofti dish like this I search for one and found at this website.
http://www.indiasnacks.com/recipe/454/Kofta-(Meatball)-Masala.php
try this site for more snacks and entrees ( quite a few vegetarian dishes at this site too)
http://www.indiasnacks.com/
I also found a recipe that was like the lamb saag that she got but was called a kofti
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2007/06/baked-spinach-kofta-with-cucumber.html

Dessert came in the way of creamy rice pudding (which I love) with orange stuff on top. I thought it was like a candies carrot tiny pieces and I was right.

Last but not least and an interesting touch is that the waitress poured warm water over our hands. We massages the lime on our hands to clean ourselves of the meal. Nice touch literally!

Of course the Basmati rice came with the dishes. I new this rice is an Indian specialty and wondered whether we should try it at home and how special or what other information I could found about it. What I found most interested was the scent for the rice. I thought it came from the spices themselves made in the kitchen but is actually part of the process. More information said
" Like jasmine rice, it has its own unique smell. In the case of basmati, this smell is due to the presence of a chemical called 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which is found in basmati rice at about 90 parts per billion. That's about 12 times more than other rice giving basmati its special aroma. Brown basmati rice is comparable to other types of brown rice in nutrient content, and white basmati rice is comparable to other types of white rice."
More information and practice tips below I found at.
http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=george&dbid=190

It turned out to be an expensive night with the extra beer, sides etc. Sweet time, sweet place , sweet date. But we get to taste it all again the next night:) We'll be back again but next time for the buffets you can bet , soon.