Spicy Chicken and Rice Mulligatawny Soup

I've been absent from the food blog world for the past couple of weeks (Did you miss me? Please say yes!) and the reason is twofold: I took a much-needed hiatus from technology when I went to New Orleans, and then, shortly after I got back, I got full-on walloped by an evil, nasty head cold.

Enter this soup. I needed something warm, healing, and spicy, and so I used a mulligatawny recipe from my favorite new cookbook, Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking, as a base, and tweaked it just enough so that it reminded me of a South Asian version of chicken and rice soup.

Sri Lankan Beetroot Curry and an Awesome Cookbook Giveaway

Remember a few weeks ago I promised you a giveaway of my favorite new cookbook, Skiz Fernando's Rice & Curry: Sri Lankan Home Cooking? Well, here it is! I knew this book was something special the second I cracked it open, and as it turns I'm not the only one: In the time since I set up this little giveaway, the book has been named by the New York Times as a notable cookbook of 2011.  

The author has kindly given me permission to share a recipe with you to give you a little taste of what you'll find in the book. If you've never had Sri Lankan food, you'll notice that while it does share certain ingredients and flavor profiles with Indian and South Asian cuisines, it's definitely its own thing. Plus, many of the dishes in the book are unique to Fernando's family and you won't find them done exactly the same way anywhere else.

South Asian Style Braised Lamb Curry for a Trixie-fied French Fridays with Dorie

At first I was excited when I saw that this week's French Fridays with Dorie dish was a lamb curry. And then ... I read over the ingredients list. Figs. Apples. Honey. Golden Raisins. That's a lot of sweet components in a dish, even for one with supposedly Moroccan overtones.  And to balance all this sweet fruitiness? Trace amounts of cardamom and a couple of tablespoons of Madras curry powder ... a mild curry seasoning if ever there was one. Plus - I'm sorry, Madras curry powder is fine, but I simply don't believe you can get a rich, deep flavor from a curry powder that comes in a tin.

Needless to say, I had other ideas.

Indo-Chinese Sichuan Fusion: Spicy Mapo Paneer for the International Incident Sichuan Party, Plus a Dragon's Hollow Wine Giveaway!

I am a bit late to this month's Incident Party, as I honestly thought it wasn't happening. You see, our fearless foundress and hostess Penny aka Jeroxie recently lost her dad. My mom died in 2006, and I unfortunately know a thing or two about the grieving process: It's long, exhausting, unpredictable, and  utterly nauseating.

But then I found out the Incident gang was going ahead and posting in support of Penny, and I'm all for that. Watching someone grieve is a helpless feeling, because there is nothing at all you can do. That said, it's important to show your support, so if you have a moment please go stop by Penny's blog, check out her tribute to her father,  and give her some love. I know she will appreciate it. Penny - this post is for you.

Before I get to my dish, I've got a really cool giveaway at the end of this post. It's a bottle of Dragon's Hollow Chinese wine. As far as I know, it's the only fine wine produced in China - but it makes sense, as it's on the same parallel as Napa and Bordeaux. I met David Henderson, the company's founder,  at the Fancy Food Show, and after tasting his delicious wine (at 10 am!) I set this giveaway up. More 2 year blogoversary festivities! As always - you have to get to the end of this post to see the goods.

Spinach Kofta with Eggplant Puree: It's a Tropical Asian Valentine's Party!

Rather than throw my blogging hat into  the ring with all the lovely pink and red heart-shaped puffs, poofs, cookies, pastries, and confections out there, I have instead joined forces with the lovely and talented Maya of Foodiva's Kitchen and Penny aka Jeroxie of Addictive and Consuming to bring you a Tropical Asian Valentine's Extravaganza. 

What, you've never heard of celebrating Valentine's day with some cute little kofta?

Maharagwe, a Spicy Kenyan Red Bean Dish with Cashew Curry Rice

Everything about maharagwe makes me happy. The spicy peppers make me euphoric, the red beans remind me of New Orleans, and the coconut tomato broth is pure comfort. And there's that color -  the vibrant yellow ochre the turmeric imparts to the liquid feeds the eyes before the tastebuds even get involved.

Although Kenyan, maharagwe is an example of the influence that Indian culture has had on some of the cuisine of East Africa. The turmeric, tomatoes, coconut milk, cardamom, and green peppers are all things you might find in any number of Indian dishes, but it all comes together with a distinctly East African feel. Typically maharagwe would be served with ugali, a starchy cornmeal mush. But I thought I'd play off of the Indian influence and serve it with a cashew curry jasmine rice.

Who Wants Banh Mi? Me! Me! Me!

Calling a banh mi a Vietnamese sandwich and leaving it at that is a bit like saying a po'boy is just a New Orleans sub. It's not wrong, but it doesn't exactly convey the full splendour  of the thing.  

Like a po'boy, a banh mi is made with a light, airy baguette that's soft on the inside and crunchy on the outside.  Fillings and proteins can vary, but some of the flavor combinations that make a banh mi so distinctive and addictive include preserved daikon radish and carrot, mayonnaise, jalapeno, cucumber, and fresh cilantro.

Eggplant Rogan Josh, By Gosh

Indian food is one of those cuisines that I really like - and sometimes even crave - but rarely make at home. That's probably due to the fact that I have always lived in places with a ton of convenient, cheap and tasty Indian restaurants. Me + all-you-can-eat Indian buffet = full, happy, and sleepy.  But a recent spate of disappointing lunches reminded me that if you want something dependably yummy, you really need to learn how to make it yourself.