Cuban Black Beans

1 pound dried black beans, picked over and rinsed

2 green bell peppers, 1 quartered lengthwise and 1 minced

8 cups water

2 bay leaves

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 red bell pepper, minced

1 yellow bell pepper, minced

1 large white onion, minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon oregano

1/4 cup tomato paste

3 tablespoons minced garlic

Kosher salt

Put black beans, quartered green pepper, and bay leaves in a large saucepan; add 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Reduce heat to low, partially cover saucepan, and cook, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender, about 2 1/2 hours. Remove and discard green pepper pieces and bay leaves.

Meanwhile, heat 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add minced bell peppers and onion; cook over moderate heat until softened, about 20 minutes. Stir in cumin, oregano, and tomato paste.

Cook garlic in remaining 1/2 cup of olive oil in a small saucepan over moderately low heat until golden brown.

When beans are tender, add sautéed pepper mixture and garlic in its oil. Season with salt and simmer gently for 5 minutes to blend flavors.

Cover and refrigerate overnight or for up to 3 days. Reheat gently before serving.

Chop Suey

1 pound elbow macaroni or other tubular pasta, such as cavatappi

Kosher salt

2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)

1 large green pepper, finely diced (about 1 cup)

4 cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup finely minced fresh parsley

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, plus more for serving

1 cup homemade or store-bought low-sodium chicken stock

Freshly ground black pepper

1 pound low moisture whole milk mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 ounces roughly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Place macaroni in a large bowl and cover with hot water. Season generously with salt. Let rest, stirring twice during the first 10 minutes, while you prepare the other ingredients.

Using a hand blender directly in the tomato jar or a regular countertop blender, process tomatoes until mostly smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil and butter in a 5-quart straight-sided sauté pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, swirling, until butter is mostly melted. Add onions and peppers, reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes, and half of parsley, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Clear a space in the center of the pan and add meat. Increase heat to high. Cook, breaking it up first with a wooden spoon, then with a potato masher, until broken into small pieces. Continue cooking until no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Add puréed tomatoes and bring to a simmer.

Drain noodles in a large colander set in the sink. Add to pot with beef. Add Worcestershire sauce and chicken stock and stir, folding noodles through the sauce until noodles and sauce are well-integrated. Cover and cook at a hard simmer until noodles are mostly cooked, about half of cook-time indicated on box.

Remove lid and stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add half of cubed mozzarella and stir to incorporate rapidly (do not overstir or the mixture will stretch and stick to your spoon). Spread remaining mozzarella over surface of dish. Sprinkle half of Parmesan over dish. Cover and cook over the lowest possible heat for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and let rest with cover on for 5 minutes.

Uncover, sprinkle with remaining Parmesan and herbs and serve immediately, passing extra Worcestershire sauce at the table.

Paneer Khurchan

INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 250 grams Paneer (cottage cheese)

• ▢ 90 to 100 grams onions or about 2 medium onions or ½ cup heaped sliced onions

• ▢ 150 grams tomato or 1 large tomato or 2/3 cup chopped tomatoes

• ▢ 1 large green capsicum (bell pepper) or 100 grams capsicum or ½ cup chopped capsicum

• ▢ 1 inch ginger – julienne

• ▢ 1 or 2 green chilies – slit

• ▢ 1 pinch asafoetida (hing)

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon Garam Masala or add as required

• ▢ ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder (ground turmeric)

• ▢ ¼ to ½ teaspoon Red Chili Powder or cayenne pepper, add as required

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Coriander Powder (ground coriander)

• ▢ ½ teaspoon Cumin Powder (ground cumin)

• ▢ ½ teaspoon kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves) – crushed

• ▢ 1 tablespoon low fat cream (optional)

• ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves for garnish

• ▢ 1.5 to 2 tablespoon oil

• ▢ salt as required

INSTRUCTIONS

preparation

• Slice 250 grams of paneer into batons or strips about 1.5 to 2 inches.

• Chop all the veggies. Slice the onions thinly. Chop the tomatoes and cut the capsicum in small cubes. 

• Slit the green chilies & julienne the 1 inch ginger. Reserve a few ginger julienne for garnish.

making paneer khurchan

• Heat oil in medium to large iron tawa. Don't use non stick pan. You can also use thick bottomed iron or steel kadai.

• Add the sliced onions and saute them till they turn translucent on medium-low heat stirring often.

• Then add the capsicum cubes and chopped tomatoes.

• Keep on sauteing and stirring them for about about 7 to 8 minutes on a low heat.

• The tomatoes need to get softened and the capsicum just about cooked.

• Then add the spice powders – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, garam masala powder, a generous pinch of asafoetida and salt as required.

• Stir the spice powders very well with the sauteed onion tomato capsicum mixture.

• Add the slit green chilies and ginger julienne. Stir and mix.

• Then add the paneer strips.

• Stir and mix very well. Increase the heat to high. Note that the paneer will leave moisture once you mix them with the rest of the masala base.

• With a spatula, align and place each paneer strip touching the tawa, so that they are cooked evenly as well as get bit golden from the base.

• Cook for a minute and then scrape the paneer strips from the base. Reduce the heat if everything starts to get brown quickly

• Turn over and let the other side get browned a bit.

• Again scrape and stir. Keep on scraping if you see the paneer or onion-tomato bits getting stuck on the tawa. A note is not to cook too much as then the paneer would harden and become chewy. The scraping as well as flipping has to be done quickly.

• Switch off the heat. Lastly add 1 tablespoon low fat cream or light cream and crushed kasuri methi (dry fenugreek leaves). The cream is optional and if you don't have just skip it.

• Stir and mix very well again.

• Add chopped coriander leaves and mix them. You can also garnish with coriander leaves instead of mixing them.

• Serve paneer khurchan hot or warm sprinkled with some lime juice and the reserved ginger julienne, along with some chapatis, tandoori rotis or naan or plain paratha.

NOTES

• The amount of spices can be altered to suit your taste buds.

• I suggest to make the dish with fresh paneer. I always recommend making your own paneer.

• Use any neutral flavored oil. For a richer dish you can add butter or ghee instead of oil.

• For a spicy paneer khurchan increase the amount of green chilies.

• It is best to serve this dish hot or warm. On reheating the paneer will get cooked further and won’t taste good as they will become chewy and rubbery.

• Use a big-size skillet or tawa to accommodate the ingredients easily while sauteing. Also the paneer strips should be placed in a single layer while cooking the dish.