Doctor Domestic

We are being hit with a pretty random relatively serious Winter storm today.  Its the end of March and there is ice and snow on the ground.  But I’m not complaining, because to me, this is the absolute best kind of day to stay inside and cook warm and comforting food.  I had all the ingredients at the ready to make Indian Beef with Spinach from my new book “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking“.  I love Indian food and I usually make up recipes on my own.  This leads to very mixed results.  So sometimes I like to follow (gasp) and actual recipe.  I picked this Madhur Jaffrey book up in Denver last weekend and have been just itching to try out some of the delicious looking recipes.  My one complaint with the book upon first inspection is that the way she makes the recipes “quick” is by using a pressure cooker for many of them.  Well, that’s fine and dandy if you have a pressure cooker, which I do not…yet.  So since its a cold and dreary day, I decided to go the “Slow and Easy” route and use my slow-cooker instead.

As usual, I assembled all of my spices first.  Here we have (in powdered form on the right) cayenne, garam masala, coriander and cumin.  The whole spices on the left are cinnamon, cloves and cardamom pods.  Some bay leaves and salt round out the seasonings.

The next step was to assemble and very finely chop (in the food processor) the aromatics – garlic, ginger and onion.

Next, heat up the oil in a frying pan, add the whole spices and warm through in the oil.  Then add the finely chopped (almost a paste) aromatics.  Cook in the oil over high heat for about 5 minutes.

Now here’s the point I start to diverge from the recipe in cooking methods.  I placed a pound and a quarter of stew beef in the slow cooker along with a box of thawed and drained spinach.  I added water (2 cups) and the spices and stirred together.  Then I added the cooked aromatic mixture on top.  Stir through to combine, place the lid on the slow cooker and allow to cook over low for about 6 hours.

Then it was onto the bread.  Fresh Naan.  Why not try this out on a cold-snuggle-inside-kind of day?  Also in Denver, I had picked up the book “Bread” which looked to me to be the perfect beginner’s book for baking bread from scratch.  The book has several types and categories of bread, including flat-breads which is where I found the Naan.  I assembled and mixed the ingredients using my Kitchen-Aide mixer with the dough-hook attachment.  It appears to have worked perfectly and saved me 10 minutes of kneading by hand.  When most of the ingredients have mixed together, stop the machine and work the dough with your hands in the mixing bowl to incorporate all of the ingredients/crumbs that have accumulted at the bottom.  Once the dough has come together completely, turn the machine on low and allow it to “knead” with the dough hook for 9-10 minutes.  Now you can’t walk away from it during these 10 minutes because it occasionally needs assistance if the dough starts “riding up” the dough hook or if the dough seems to be stuck in the same position for a while.

I used the full cup of milk that the recipe called for and ended up with a beautifully tight and elastic dough.  Let this rise for 3-4 hours in a bowl covered with a towel, until about doubled in size.

After allowing the dough to rise for 4 hours, it was divided into 4 segments and rolled into 1/4″ X 6″ X 10″ flat breads.  I did take pictures of this process, but due to some very frustrating technical difficulties, many of my photos were erased.  Boo.  The naan was then baked under the broiler for about 2 min per side on a baking sheet.  Do NOT turn your back on the broiler…EVER.  Or else, you will end up throwing away your first bread like I did.  But the attention is worth the effort.  Nothing beats fresh bread, hot out of the oven!

This bread is slightly crusty on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.  It also soaked up the brothy portion of the Beef and Spinach beautifully.

This dish was tasty but not perfect.  The naan was a perfect accompaniment because of the soupiness of it.  Also, it was a bit oily for my taste.  If I make this recipe in the future, I will omit about 1/3rd of the oil and reduce the volume of water.

Problems aside, it was a wonderfully warm and filling meal on this icy and snowy Kansas day.  Our home smells of Indian spices and fresh bread, and that alone is priceless!

Prep Ranking #5: Got all Day??
Tastiness Ranking: 6 out of 10

Recipes (along with my suggested alterations) after the jump.

Beef or Lamb with Spinach
from “Quick and Easy Indian Cooking” by Madhur Jaffrey

1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
6-8 cloves of garlic, peeled
6 Tbsp oil (I would only use 4)
3 Bay leaves
10 cardamom pods
8 whole cloves
2 2-inch segments of cinnamon sticks
1 1/3 pounds stewing beef or boned shoulder of lamb, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 to 1 tsp cayenne pepper (I used 1/2 tsp and it was spicy but not overpowering)
1/2 tsp garam masala

Instructions: (altered by me to use a slower cooker instead of a pressure cooker)

Using a microwave, defrost the frozen spinach until just warmed through.  Transfer to a clean, dry, lint-free kitchen towel and squeeze all excess moisture away from the spinach.  Set aside.

Combine the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor fitted with the metal chopping blade.  Pulse until the aromatics are very finely chopped, nearly to a liquidy paste.  Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods and bay leaves to the hot oil.  Stir for a minute to warm the spices.  Add the chopped onion mixture to the hot oil and cook over high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.

In a 3-4 quart slow-cooker, combine the beef or lamb, the drained spinach, the ground spices and 2 cups water (I would alter this to 1.5 cups water).  Stir to incorporate the spices.  Once the onion mixtures is cooked, transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow cooker.  Stir again to combine thoroughly.  Cook on low heat for about 6 hours.

Nan (or Naan)
from “Bread” by Eric Treuille and Ursula Ferrigno

2 tsp dry yeast
1 cup milk
4 cups AP flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
3 Tbsp plain yogurt
2 Tbsp melted ghee or unsalted butter

Instructions: (using a large mixer fitted with the dough hook)

Sprinkle the yeast into 1/2 cup milk in a small bowl.  Whisk together and let stand for 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, combine the flour and salt in the mixer bowl.  Run on low for 5 seconds to combine.  Lower the mixing bowl and make a well in the flour.  Pour into the well the dissolved yeast, sugar, yogurt and melted butter.  Start mixing on low to combine the flour with the other ingredients.  Add the rest of the milk slowly until the dough comes together.  At least once or twice, remove the mixer bowl and ensure that all the flour and crumbs from the bottom of the mixing bowl are incorporated into the dough ball.

Once the dough has come together, begin “kneading” the dough by running the mixer on low for 10 minutes.  Watch to make sure the dough doesn’t get stuck and “ride up” the dough hook.  After 10 minutes, the dough should be firm, smooth and elastic.

Turn out into a clean, large bowl.  Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for 3-4 hours or until doubled in size.  After the rising time, punch down the dough to remove large air bubbles.  Let rest for 10 more minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions.  Roll out each portion on a lightly floured surface until it is a 6 inch round, 1/4 inches thick.  Pick the dough up and stretch into an oval with your hands until the dough is 6″ wide and 10″ long.  Repeat for all 4 portions of dough.

Meanwhile, heat up the broiler on high and allow the baking sheet to heat for at least 2 minutes in the oven before cooking the bread.  Making 1 or 2 breads at a time, bake under the broiler for ~2 minutes per side (the time totally depends on your oven and the distance from the broiler to the bread – Keep and eye on it!!!).  Once both sides are lightly browned and the dough is puffed, remove from oven transfer to a wire cooking rack.  Stack breads to retain warmth once they are cooked.

Tags: Bread, Cooking, Indian Food, Naan