Literary Recipes -- Sara's Dishes

The night was once again fairly successful, and we had dishes from across various countries and times as well, with the 15th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries all being represented. Below are my dishes, chef's notes and the books the recipes link to.

Amber Masud's Aloo Tikki (potato cutlets)
with Green Chutney
From Aruhndati Roy's The God of Small Things

4-5 medium red potatoes
1 tsp salt
1 small yellow onion
1 Tbs whole coriander seeds
4-5 scallions
2-3 serrano chiles, seeds and white membranes removed
1/4 bunch cilantro, stems removed
2 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil for frying

Recipe Notes: red chili powder is different than american chili powder, and is most likely found in Indian or South Asian stockists. These cutlets, unfried, can also be made ahead of time and frozen for quite some time.

1. Wash the potatoes and boil with skins on, when you can easily stick a fork through each potato, remove from water, slip off the skins and place in a baking dish or bowl. Mash with fork or masher while they are still hot. When they have cooled enough to handle add the red chili powder and salt. set aside.

2. Finely chop the onion, either by hand or with a food processor, squeeze out all excess juice and add to the potato mixture.

3. Add the coriander, scallions, serranos and cilantro to the food processor and process to a fine consistency. Add to the potato mixture and combine all ingredients with your hands until well-blended. Taste the mixture and feel free to add more salt and chili powder to taste. Set mixture aside and let stand for 30 minutes.

4. Form the mixture into round patties about 2 1/2 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. Beat eggs. Heat 1/2 cup of the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, dip a cutlet into the egg mixture until coated on both sides and place in the pan. Repeat with more cutlets, but don't fry more than three at a time. Fry both sides of the cutlets until golden-brown. Remove from pan and place on kitchen towels to drain. After you have fried about half the patties, drain pan and use the second half of the oil to finish.
Yeild: 15 to 20 cutlets.

Green Chutney

1/4 bunch cilantro
A few sprigs of mint
1-2 tsps lemon juice
2 cups plain yoghurt (the thicker the better)
salt to taste

add all the ingredients but salt to food processor or blender and process until it's a fine paste. Add the salt to taste. Makes about 2 cups.

my notes: the finer you can process the herbs, pepper, and onions for the cutlets, the better, but not to a paste as you want there to be some good texture. Also, fry until crispy.

Scallion-Ginger Fried Rice
From Pearl S. Buck's The Good Earth

*5 cups white rice, cooked and cooled
*3 Tbs chicken or vegetable broth
*1 Tbs soy sauce
*1 1/2 tsp dark sesame oil
* 1 1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
* 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
* 2 Tbs corn or safflower oil
* 3 bunches scallions, finely chopped
* 3 Tbs minced fresh ginger
* 2 1/2 cups fresh mung bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
*1/3 cup rice wine or sake

* - I found all these measurements to be COMPLETELY WRONG!!!! If you make 2 - 3 cups of rice, halve the scallion and ginger ande bean sprout amounts but keep the above amounts for the sauce. If you go ahead and make 5 cups, double all the liquid amounts.

1. Spread the rice in a shallow baking pan and separate the grains with a fork. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the broth, soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and set aside.

3. In a large heavy skillet - non-stick is preferred - heat the corn or safflower oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and stir-fry scallions and ginger until fragrant. Not much longer than 20 seconds. Add the bean sprouts and rice wine and stir fry until sprouts begin to soften, about a minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until heated through. Stir in the broth mixture, tossing gently to coat evenly. Serve while hot.
Yield: 6 servings (yeah, no, if you make 5 cups there are like 8 servings)

my notes: every market I went to was out of mung sprouts so I skipped them and I don't think they were missed. However, I regret that I didn't have the presence of mind to substitute in something else, like water chestnuts. I bet you could even add the sprouts and the chestnuts, perhaps even more subtley flavored veggies like bamboo or lotus. Or even mushrooms. That might help cut down the v. glutenous starchyness of the rice.

Mint Juleps
From F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby

6 Fresh Mint Leaves
3 Ounces (6 Tbs) bourbon
2 Tbs Simple Syrup (recipe below)
3 Whole Ice Cubes
Crushed Ice
Soda Water
Mint sprig for garnish

1. Bruise mint leaves gently between your fingers and mix with bourbon and syrup in a large glass or shaker. Add whole ice cubes and stir. Let stand for a minute or two.

2. Strain mixture into a julep cup or tumbler filled with the crushed ice. Top with soda water and a mint sprig.
Yield: 1 Drink

my notes: I made a whole ton in a pitcher, playing around with the amounts of syrup and mint and soda. This is a fantastic drink for a hot day, and great for an introduction to the flavor of bourbon without too strong a taste.

Simple Syrup
1 cup sugar
1 cup water

1. place water and sugar in a pan and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and gently simmer until syrupy, about 5-6 minutes, stirring frequently. Cool. Rerigerate. Can last a long time, great for iced teas and sweetening other cold beverages.
Yield: 1 1/4 cups.