Sara’s Weeknight Meals: Season 01

Episode 105: Indian Style with Guest Madhur Jaffrey

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Recipes

Tips and Tools

Tips. To keep coconut milk from separating when you add it to a hot pan, add some water first and then whisk in the coconut milk

I have always cooked hard boiled eggs the Julia Child way which essentially means not boiling them. (Start them in cold water, bring it up to a full boil, turn it off and let them sit for 17 minutes. Throw them into ice water until they are cold.) Madhur has her own quick foolproof method – she also starts the eggs in cold water and when they come up to a boil she starts timing them. She simmers them for 8 minutes and then cools them in ice water. Either method will eliminate that nasty green line which happens when you overcook the egg and don’t chill it right away.

If you want to boil yogurt until it thickens, do not add any other liquid.

Tools. One of the most frequent questions I get in my e-mail is, “Where can I find the beautiful aprons you wear on Sara’s Secrets.” All of my fitted aprons and chefs jackets are made by Crooked Brook. Over a decade ago, designer Pam Geren recognized that women in professional kitchens just didn’t look their best in jackets and aprons designed to fit men. She combined her pattern-making skills and her passion for quality materials to produce professional kitchen wear for women that really fits and looks attractive. Don’t worry guys, there is a full line for you too. All garments are made to order (in the U.S.) from 100% American pima cotton. Call 315-733-1992 for more information.

Although we did not cook the pork vindaloo or royal chicken in a pressure cooker on the show, Madhur says that a pressure cooker would really speed up the process. And they don’t explode anymore so no need to worry. I asked her if she had a favorite brand and she mentioned Kuhn Rikon which I know you can find in all shapes and sizes at many kitchenware stores.

We used an Oxo Garlic Press on the show which is very sturdy and has a little gizmo attached to help with cleaning. For more information go to Oxo.com.

Flexible cutting boards are available at many kitchenware stores. They are light weight and thin which is a good thing if you don’t have much storage space. They also come in different colors so you can designate different colors for different categories – red for meat, yellow for dessert, etc.

Spice kits – you can order empty kits and spices to fill them from www.Kalustyans.com. Go to the website, click on “cookwares and accessories” and then “masala dabba.” The spice kits consist of 7 empty metal canisters in a round tin with a common top. You will probably need to order two in order to fill them with all the spices you need. Kalustyan’s is a wonderful store based here in New York that is a great resource for all kinds of international ingredients, not just Indian.