Capsaicin Craziness

Sometimes my own culinary stupidity astounds even me.

I know about the potent power of peppers and chiles. Recently, my sister-in-law blogged about her painful encounter with chiles. Hell, on Friday I edited monographs for capsaicin, capsicum and a capsicum formulation.

Did I draw on these experiences during my own capsaicin craziness Saturday?

Rhetorical question, Gentle Reader. Shut yer yap.

If Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting, Saturday Morning's All Right for Burning
I'd plotted a little more than a week ago to make a curry with potatoes, cauliflower, peas and chickpeas that appeared in the "Indian Favorites, Simplified" episode of America's Test Kitchen--the same one in which dear Christopher Kimball and good 'ol dependable Bridget Lancaster made the chicken tikka masala recipe we've used a few times (okay, just once--but that one batch has lasted us and lasted us...and actually was finally polished off Saturday night) here at Chez Boeckman-Walker. I had all the ingredients; all I needed was the time, and I by the FSM was going to make the time this Saturday.

Bright and relatively early (for a Saturday) Saturday morning, I got my butt to the kitchen and started the prep work for the curry. My butchering of two onions was further proof that I really do need to get myself to a knife skills class, but what else is new?

What was new this fine Saturday morning was ribbing and seeding two whole serrano chiles. (At least I think they were serranos. They may not have been since serranos had been yanked recently thanks to that fun salmonella outbreak.) Usually the husband's on pepper and chile patrol, but he was still sound asleep when I was doing all this pre-gym prep work. And I was fine with that. I've seen him and the folks on ATK do the ribbing and seeding enough and read enough tips on doing it to accomplish the task well enough. Right?

Yeah, Gentle Reader, that's another rhetorical question.

Long story short: I wound up with capsaicin on my fingertips, which then worked its way into the nail quick and, when I brush a hair off the my nose, on the tender flesh at the bottom of my left nostril. While I didn't wind up with burning hands as my sister-in-law did, I did have some firey fingertips and tingly-burny nostrils. And no matter how much I washed my hands, the capsaicin didn't seem to want to go away because at one point I brushed a stray hair from my right eye while running later at the gym and wound up with tingly-burny flesh at the corner of my eye. Joyous.

After Major Appliance Purchases, Celebrate
As I posted Saturday evening, my kitchen will soon (in less than 24 hours!) be home to Lumpy, our new GE Profile oven. After that purchase, we decided not to spend much more time out and about being consumers, so I had plenty of time to whip up my curry.

In addition to ribbing, seeding and mincing two serrano chiles and having some capsaicin craziness, I also prepared the chickpeas using the long method of letting 'em simmer for an hour and a half. (Yes, I was up early enough that I could do that before scooting off to the gym.) I'd only worked with chickpeas once before and with not-so-great success because the quick soak method was mildly foiled by our antiquated Lady Kenmore. But this time the chickpeas came out at just the right tenderness. And since I was aiming to get some finicky eaters to try them, that just-right tenderness was a true blessing right from the FSM.

The actual cooking 'o the curry started off quite well. The spices toasted quite nicely, and their wonderful aroma filled the kitchen (and lingered on into Sunday). While I had toasted spices for an Indian dish before, I evidently must not have done something right or used old spices because they didn't end up so aromatic and so, well, purdy:

Them's some purdy spices, doncha think?

After browning the copious amounts of onions and potatoes (I used a pound of the latter), I thought I was following the recipe when I spooned them from Chive the Dutchie into a large bowl and moved on to brown the garlic, ginger, minced chiles and tomato paste. Heh, I didn't discover until much later--after adding the diced-then-blended tomatoes, chickpeas and water--that I screwed up by removing the onions and potatoes: I read "Clear the center of the pan and add the remaining tablespoon oil...." as "Clear the pan and add the remaining...." Stupid, non? But don't the chiles, garlic and ginger look scrumptious cooking in Chive?

The mistake didn't set me back, thank the FSM. In fact, the curry came together really quickly, just as the chicken tikka masala did back when we first made it. I've said it once and I'll say it again: When ATK called these recipes simplified, they weren't kidding. The ATK folks should also have called this a gorgeous curry, but, well, it is. The colors are mouth-watering, and the aroma--doubly so. See for yourself, Gentle Reader:

Once again, I wish I could do scratch-and-sniff photos so you could smell the beauty of this dish as well as see its beauty.

So if you find yourself salivating, suffer no more! Here's the recipe:

Indian-Style Curry with Potatoes, Cauliflower, Peas and Chickpeas2 T curry powder
1 1/2 t garam masala
1/4 C vegetable oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped (about 2 C)
12 oz. Red Bliss potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/2" pieces (about 2 C)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 1 T)
1 T finely grated fresh ginger
1 or 1 1/2 serrano chiles, ribbed, seeded and flesh minced
1 T tomato paste
1/2 medium head cauliflower, trimmed, cored and cut into 1" florets (about 4 C)
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced tomatoes, pulsed in food processor until nearly smooth with 1/4" pieces visible
1 1/4 C water
1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 t NaCL
8 oz. frozen peas (about 1 1/2 C)
1/4 C heavy cream or coconut milk

1. Toast the curry powder and garam masala in a small skillet over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until the spices darken slightly and become fragrant (about 1 minute). Remove the spices from the skillet and set aside.
   
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.
   
3. Add the onions and potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are caramelized and the potatoes are golden brown on edges (about 10 minutes). (Reduce the heat to medium if the onions darken too quickly.)
   
4. Reduce the heat to medium. Clear the center of the pan [not the entire pan of its contents --Ed.] and add the remaining tablespoon oil, garlic, ginger, chiles and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
   
5. Add the toasted spices and cook, stirring constantly, about 1 minute longer.
   
6. Add the cauliflower and cook, stirring constantly, until the spices coat florets (about 2 minutes longer).
   
7. Add the tomatoes, water, chickpeas, and 1 teaspoon of NaCl.
   
8. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the mixture to boil, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits.
   
9. Cover and reduce the heat to medium.
   
10. Simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender (10 to 15 minutes).
    
11. Stir in the peas and cream or coconut milk, then continue to cook until heated through (about 2 minutes longer).
    
12. Adjust the seasoning with NaCl and serve immediately.

Yield: The recipe states that it serves 4 to 6 as a main course. But those servings must be huge because I packed away in the freezer a good 64 oz. of it, and I still have a salad bowl-sized serving in the 'fridge for later.

Unfortunately, ATK doesn't provide nutritional info, just as it doesn't provide serving size information. That's ATK's only major flaw. Perhaps I'll have to write dear Christopher a letter....

The Faudie's Futzings

• I used canola oil instead of veggie oil. I don't know if that makes a difference or not, and I doubt it does.
  
• I used 16 oz. of red potatoes, as I mentioned a few paragraphs back. I have no idea if they're Red Bliss or not. Like it matters! (I shouldn't say that. It probably does or else ATK wouldn't have specified Red Bliss potatoes.)
  
• I mistakenly removed the onions and potatoes after browning them. Did that affect the overall flavor of the dish? Not in any way I could discern. Will I do it again? Hell no.
  
• I used two full chiles that might have been serranos and might not have been, but I did not include seeds since that's where the capsaicin lurks but did include some of the ribbing. And did I pay for it? You betcha! But, hey, if you can't take the heat, don't eat Indian food.
  
• I used frozen cauli. So sue me.
  
• I used light coconut milk, which I still have left over from a previous dish and used when I made a really easy chicken curry not too long ago.

I highly recommend this recipe. It's easy to make and incredibly flavorful. Also, it's very easy to modify: per ATK, you can change it up by using peeled sweet potatoes in lieu of the Red Bliss potatoes, replace the cauli with green beans and eggplant and omit the peas. You could probably swap up some other veggies and even throw in some chicken. Hey, have fun with it and lemme know how it goes!