Product Review: Geeta's Pudina Tikka Spice & Stir

At long last - I have found the most amazing jarred Indian sauce. Geeta's Pudina Tikka Spice & Stir was a mild creamy tomato sauce with mint (pudina) and coriander, seasoned with paprika, cumin and cardamom.I was interested when I first saw this sauce as it had a separate container on the top with spices. First you lightly saute your meet, chicken, seafood, or vegetables - then add the dry spices. We used chicken and it was amazing. After adding the spices and cooking a few minutes longer, I added the sauce and cooked over low heat for a half hour. It has such a nice, fresh flavor due to the fact that there aren't a bunch of scientific terms in the ingredients list. You could actually identify what went in to the jar - and the spices were perfectly balanced to create an authentic Indian dish. Authentic to English standards, I should add. The best Indian food I've ever had has been in England, where it is hugely popular and Geeta's products are imported from the UK.This made an amazingly easy mid-week meal served with curried lentils, Indian Spiced Kale and Tomatoes, and a nice refreshing Hendrick's Cucumber Gin and Tonic to cool our taste buds.

As we've only seen Geeta's products at World Market, we'll have to wait until our next trip to Jacksonville to stock up.

Why Eat Bugs When You Can Drink Flowers?

While living in England, elderflower cordial and presse were my most favorite non-alcoholic beverage discovery. It is the most refreshing drink on a hot day. Elderflower Cordial is a soft drink made largely from a sugar and water solution and uses the flowers of the elderflower. Presse is the pre-mixed, bottled version made with sparkling water. The most popular companies that I'm aware of that make elderflower cordial and presse are Bottle Green Company, Belvoir Fruit Farms, and Duchy Originals (set up by Charles, Prince of Wales).

My heart was filled with gladness when I spotted Belvoir Elderflower Presse in World Market for $3.99!!! This was super exciting as we had just found it at a newer local market for $6.99 (shame on them!). It got even better as when we went to pay it came up as $3 - on sale. I heart World Market!!!
I love floral flavored foods and drinks, but Elderflower has a much more subtle flavor than rose, violet, and lavender products. It's like sunshine in a bottle.
If it says it in the bottle, it must be true...

... then you look at the ingredients, and it is indeed 100% good!

You can actually make Elderflower Cordial. Here is a link to a recipe, along with a few serving suggestions: http://uktv.co.uk/food/recipe/aid/516164

Product Review: World Market's Dal Mughlai Curry (Lentils)

Whenever I'm in Jacksonville, after seeing my dad and step-mom, my next "Must See" is World Market in Orange Park. If you're not familiar with World Market, it's sort of like an old school Pier 1 with loads in international foods and a nice wine selection. Apart from getting to my dad's house, World Market is the only place in Jacksonville I really know how to get to. My dad is always sweet enough to take me there, and patient enough to spend as long as I need to take in all the good stuff. As I am a huge fan of Indian food, I was elated to discover their own brand Curried Mixed Lentils. They are under $3 a can, and are really quite tasty. Actually imported from India, I like to think I'm getting a truly authentic product.

As they are mildly spiced, I like to add a little chili flakes when heating. I also like to add some tomato, and found this the perfect use for the rest of the can that I didn't use when making the Indian Spiced Kale and Tomatoes.

They make the perfect accompaniment to any Indian meal, are vegetarian - if you are so inclined, and are really good value. Now if only they would open a Wold Market in my area! I've been e-mailing their corporate office regularly suggesting they consider our area and figure one of two things will happen: they will promptly open once the economy picks up, or are considering a restraining order for harassment. I hope its the first option, as this could seriously become a very enjoyable habit.

Culinary Creations: Indian Spiced Kale and Tomatoes

The inspiration for this dish came from Anjum Anand's Light & Healthy Indian menu in the February 2008 edition of Sainbury's Magazine. In it, Anjum makes a spinach and tomato dish. While I am a fan of spinach, I'm an even bigger fan of kale. I hadn't planned in advance to make this, so didn't have any fresh tomatoes either. A cupboard standby of chopped tomatoes came to the rescue. In a large pan, I sauteed 1/2 can of chopped tomatoes (very well drained), with 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, 1/2 teaspoon turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon chili powder, 1/2 teaspoon of tandoori BBQ seasoning in 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until bubbling (about 7 minutes).

I then added the kale, stirred to coat, and cooked partially covered to allow the excess water to evaporate, on medium heat, for 5 minutes. It was super easy to make and made the perfect vegetable side dish to serve with Chicken Pudina Tikka, and Dal Mughlai Curry.My attempts at making Indian food have not always been a success, but any of Anjum Anand's recipes that I've tried have been very easy to follow, and have turned out well. James and I were both stunned at the results and thought it could have been served in any good quality Indian restaurant. It is our new favorite way to have kale.

Easy Weeknight Indian Feast

One of my favorite things to do is indulge in a decadent mid-week meal. While I do like to make most things from scratch, a busy work week makes it worthwhile having good quality staples on hand. When it comes to Indian food, jarred sauces can be hit or miss. We've recently lucked out by finding some superb jarred sauces, along with canned dal (lentils) - all available at World Market (which will hopefully make its way to our area). This lovely meal was made up of Geeta's Pudina Tikka, Dal Mughlai Curry, and Indian spiced kale & tomatoes, all washed down with a sublime Hendrick's Cucumber G&T. The subtle flavors of the Hendrick's G&T balanced with cucumber made it the perfect drink to balance out the spicy flavors of this meal.