Recipe: Spicy Indian Kidney Beans aka Rajmah

One of my favorite things about food is that different regions have variations on cuisine. The same is true for Indian food. One of my favorite Indian meals is Rajmah and rice: aka spicy kidney beans served over basmati rice. Unfortunately, I hadn't had a lot of luck finding a good recipe, until I came across Anupy Singla's book, The Indian Slow Cooker.

The following is my recipe for Rajmah, adapted from hers- this recipe makes 10 cups
Ingredients:
3 cups dried red kidney beans. DO NOT used the canned stuff- it will change up the flavor and texture.
1 medium yellow onion, diced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 teaspoon ginger paste
2 teaspoons garlic paste
3 finger-hot/serrano chiles (I used 2, and it was really quite spicy. You can omit these if you prefer)
3 whole cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon red chile powder
1 tablespoon salt (you can always add more to taste)
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
9 cups water
1/2- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Put everything except the cilantro in a slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 11 hours. Remove the cinnamon stick and cloves (if you can find them). Use an immersion blender for 2-3 quick blasts to break up some of the beans. Serve over basmati rice, garnished with cilantro (be generous with the cilantro- it really adds to the flavor.)

ENJOY!

CLE Cooks: A taste of Mumbai

Yesterday, I finally pulled the trigger on something I've been thinking about for a few years.

I've always wanted to have a retail store, and yesterday, I finally founded my business, Bombay Taxi. Bombay Taxi will offer a selection of apparel and accessories, curated by me. And everything will have a little sparkle, because everyone should Sparkle Every Day.

Over the next few months you will notice a few changes to this page -- this site is in the process of being re-designed, and of course, Bombay Taxi will be launched too, so many exiting things in the pipeline here.

In the mean time, I wanted to take a step back and get a little nostalgic. It is the monsoon season in Mumbai, and given how wet and stormy its been here in Cleveland, its felt a lot like a monsoon here too! Anyway, one of my favorite things about the monsoon is eating grilled corn (bhutta) from the sidewalk stands in Mumbai---- Mumbai street food! Mumbai grilled corn is actually really easy to make, and while they usually use white corn in Mumbai, our more traditional yellow corn will do just fine.

Here's what you do: Mix equal parts salt and paprika (or red chili powder if you're feeling adventurous) on a plate. Slice a lemon into 4 quarters. Turn your grill on high, and de-husk your corn, but leave the stalk on as a little handle. You want naked corn on your grill. Now, grill your corn, making sure to give  it a little char on all sides. You may hear it pop- this is totally fine and normal. Once you have the char you like, take it off the grill. Use the lemon to grab some salt and lemon and rub it on the corn while you give the lemon a little squeeze. Enjoy and get messy corn-face! Its spicy and lemony and absolutely delicious!!!

So there you have it! A little taste from Mumbai for the next time you bust out your grill! Enjoy!