A Labor Day of Rest: Indian Home Cooking

I decided to stay home for Labor Day, and since home is New York City, my plan involves taking in each of the five boroughs. I’ve hit the easy ones (Bronx, Queens, Brooklyn and Manhattan), and intend to take the much-fussed over Staten Island Ferry one afternoon. “It’s the one thing I tell all my Italian friends to do,” claims a pal from New Jersey, who now lives in Tuscany. “It’s the most NY thing I can think of.”

(After said friend made me an incredible dinner of Cacio e Pepe, followed by Chilean Seabass over Tuscan Beans and Spinach, I take his suggestions as if they were papal orders).

My journey has taken me to Arthur Avenue in the Bronx, which offers three (count 'em) streets with that sought-after Little Italy vibe, the kind you’ll no longer find on Mulberry Street. There are fresh pasta stores, laticcerias (cheese and dairy shops), and butcher shops with dried sausage hanging from the ceiling, like stalactites in some sort of vegetarian hell.

This is not to be confused with anything from the home country; this is solidly, distinctively, Italian American. I was treated to conversations by the kind of matrons you find in Scorcese movies; the ones who talk about their grandfather’s butcher shops, sisters who never left the zip code. The kind that crosses themselves as punctuation to most stories.

Queens offered a variety of ethnic experiences – I started out in Flushing, by Shea stadium, and walked down Roosevelt Avenue into Jackson Heights. I visited The Lemon Ice King of Corona, who is deserving of his citric crown; and Spicy and Tasty Szechuan that made me yearning for more heat (I was most certainly given the white man modification), and Patel Brothers grocery stores (I and II).

I’ve never seen women dress like this to go grocery shopping – these women were in bright jeweled saris, wearing more makeup and gold than I own. I recognized about half of the vegetables, and took a variety of well-priced spices and pickles like chundo (sweet), mango (sour), lime (spicy), some of which were sour enough to make a full sour kosher dill seem as mild as baby pablum.

Prior to my excursion, I’d been cooking up an Indian storm, guided by my heroes Madhur Jaffrey and Suvir Saran. When I saw the asafetida, fresh curry leaves, and dessicated unsweetened coconut, I knew just what had been missing from my pantry.
Indian food made at home, with a reliable guide, a generous spicing hand and plenty of vegetables from the farmer’s market, can be quite gratifying and delicious. Sure, I can detect cumin and cardamom in a dish, but when I start adding garam masala, fenugreek, and nigella seeds, the flavors are so unfamiliar all I can do is sit back and enjoy; the culinary analyst in me is forced to rest.

I’ve been playing with Saag Paneer, Parathas, and Smoky Spiced Eggplant, but this Ground Beef with Green Herb Sauce is the one I know I’ll be making again – try it with Cucumber Raita (recipe below), pita or basmati rice. Steam or roast some crisp vegetables like carrots, okra or string beans to go alongside and enjoy.

Ground Beef with Green Herb Sauce
Adapted from Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran
Serves 4 to 6.

1 (10-ounce bag) fresh spinach, stems removed and leaves rinsed
1 ½ cups cilantro sprigs
½ cup fresh mint leaves
3 tablespoons canola oil
2-inch cinammon stick
8 green cardamom pods
6 whole cloves
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons grated ginger
1 large onion, cut into ¼-inch half moons
1 serrano or jalapeno pepper, cut into ¼-inch thick rounds
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound lean ground beef or bison
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup plain yogurt
½ teaspoon garam masala

1. Steam the spinach until wilted; add still-damp spinach to a hot pan and cover; spinach will wilt in 3 to 5 minutes. Place spinach in food processor; add cilantro and mint. Process until it makes a smooth paste; add water if needed.
2. Heat oil with cinnamon stick, cardamom, and cloves in a large skillet over medium high heat until spices are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, 1 minutes. Add onion, pepper, and salt and cook until onion begins to brown, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Add beef and black pepper and cook, stirring, until rawness is gone, about 5 minutes. Add yogurt slowly, stirring as you go, so as not to curdle the yogurt. Simmer 2 minutes. Add green paste, bring to a simmer and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala, cook for 1 minute, taste and adjust seasonings.

Cucumber Raita
By Allison Fishman
Makes 1 generous cup

1 cup whole milk yogurt
½ large cucumber, scrubbed
juice from ½ lime
salt and pepper

1. Place the yogurt in a fine strainer, lined with a just-damp paper towel. Let sit for 30 minutes, until excess liquid has drained (Or use ½ cup of a pre-drained greek-style yogurt).
2. Grate cucumber using the coarsest grater. Use your hands to squeeze out excess moisture, and place shredded cucumber in a strainer. Add ½ teaspoon salt to the cucumber; toss, and continue to squeeze/strain until most of the moisture is gone.
3. Combine yogurt and cucumber, add lime juice and season well with pepper. Serve as a condiment.