Episode 25: Home Cooking (Korean, Moroccan, Indian)

The home kitchen has been busy these last few days, as well. Dishes prepared include

• Dalk galbi (Korean-style grilled chicken), served with a ginger-soy-sesame carrots and brussels sprout stir-fry
• Moroccan slow-roasted lamb shoulder, served with a ras-el-hanout stew of chickpeas and butternut squash
• Hyderabadi tomato karhi with pakoras (Hot Librarian's concoction)

The karhi (a thick soup made of buttermilk, chickpea flour, tomatoes and spices) was delicious, but I don't know the recipe that she used. Of the things I cooked, the most successful was the chickpea and butternut stew, so that's what I'll post. (On the dalk galbi, I need to work on the marinade--I had based it on the marinade I use for short ribs, but the chicken came out just a bit too salty from the soy sauce. The carrot and brussels sprout stir fry was tasty, but not a stand alone meal. The lamb shoulder came out perfect, but the cooking time and method was based on our quirky oven.)

Ras-el-Hanout Chickpeas and Butternut Squash

Note: The spice quantities in the following recipe are after-the-fact approximations. The way I was actually cooking was fully improvised, with measurements in the form of sprinkles, pinches, scatters and, "until it smells right." The less rigorously you follow this recipe, and the more you follow your nose, the more likely you are to end up with something tasty. Or, you can make things easy on yourself, and use about 2 teaspoons of a commercially blended ras-el-hanout.

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds and pulp scooped out, and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon of sweet Spanish paprika (pimentón dulce)
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon of ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• enough water to cover (about 4 cups)
• nutmeg, freshly grated (a few passes over the grater should be sufficient)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 can of chickpeas (I had actually planned on starting by boiling dried chickpeas, but I had forgotten to put them in to soak the night before.)

1. Heat large pot with olive oil on medium-high heat.
2. Add onion. Cook until translucent.
3. Lower heat to medium. Add garlic. Cook stirring for a minute, until fragrant.
4. Add squash. Stir to coat with oil.
5. Add paprika, cumin, coriander, cloves and cinnamon. Stir until thoroughly mixed and incorporated and spices just begin to fragrantly toast.
6. Add water, nutmeg and some salt and pepper. Bring to boil, then lower to a simmer and leave uncovered.
7. Cook for 15 minutes. Add chickpeas. Cook for 15 minutes more. Check for seasoning, and add more salt and black pepper if needed. Remove from heat. (Depending on your palate, you may wish to add the juice of half a lemon or a whole lemon at this point. I can see that it would be very nice, but it wouldn't have matched well with the lamb I was serving.)

Super easy, vegetarian or vegan friendly, can be thrown together as a last-minute after-work meal. Serve as a side dish with meat, or as an entree with rice and/or bread.