robing's Reviews
6 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 6Sort by: Title 
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Vij's: Elegant and Inspired Indian Cuisine
By Vikram Vij, Meeru Dhalwala
Douglas & McIntyre - 2006
Beet and Daikon Salsa : page 157
I thought I'd give this a try to go with the other recipes that I was making from the book (see my review for Vij's Family Chicken Curry for the full menu), and was very pleased with my discovery.
Re. quantity, since were only three eating a LOT of food, there was a lot leftover. Consider halving the quantities for a simpler/smaller dinner.
i used regular salt, and also, would advise letting the flavours marinate together for at LEAST 4 hours (the book's recommendation) - the flavours were definitely improved on day#2.
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Green Onion and Coconut Chickpea Curry : page 147
This is apparently one of the easiest recipes in the book, and other than the time that it takes to chop all that fresh ginger, it was indeed quite easy to prepare.
I halved of the recipe, and am fairly sure that I got all the quantities right (including the fresh ginger and fresh jalapenos), but even though I appreciate the break from so many dry spice curry recipes, I still found this to be slightly under-seasoned. Nothing a little salt and pepper won't help for now, and I'll definitely boost the spice next time.
I cooked the chickpeas myself, and used canned tomatoes. The texture was probably slightly different than Vij intended as I accidentally bought crushed tomatoes instead of chopped ones.
The book recommends pairing this with a yummy looking Grilled Coconut Kale, but I just made some brown rice. It'd be great if someone could review the kale!
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See my review of Vij's Family Chicken Curry for the meal's full menu.
After trying to grind the fenugreek seeds by hand in my mortar and pestle, I decided to just work with them as they were (70% ground). I recommend using a proper spice mill - these seeds are HARD.
I was surprised by how soupy this curry turned out to be, more saucy in fact, and was concerned that the whole thing would be a flop, but in the end, it was wonderful.
The thin tomato curry has a surprising kick of heat which balances nicely with the corn and asparagus' roasty sweetness. Note that even though I got the vegetable quantities right, I ended up with a lot of extra "sauce" leftover.
Would definitely make this again!
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Grilled Coconut Kale : page 162
See my comments for Vij's Family Chicken Curry for the entire menu.
This recipe was definitely the weak link in the meal. I think I followed the recipe correctly, but nonetheless found that the coconut flavour was never properly absorbed by the kale, and 1 tbsp of salt seemed like too much. I found it just limp and a bit bland (aside from the salt). Still, as a side dish, I was able to mix it in with the otherwise amazing meal, and greatly enjoy the overall mix of flavours.
The only grill that I have is my oven's broiler, so I would welcome feedback from someone else who was able to cook this on a proper stove top grill or BBQ.
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Vij's Chai : page 192
I made Vij's chai not too long ago. I was skeptical at first when I saw how few spices it called for. But it was surprisingly delicious and easy to make.
I think that I used Assam tea (English Breakfast style), and only half the sugar, which seemed fine to me. But then we're all different when it comes to sweetness in foods. Great for a rainy afternoon gab with friends!
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Vij's Family Chicken Curry : page 92
I was determined to make a chicken recipe from here for a visiting guest, and settled on this one for the simple reason that, unlike most of his other chicken recipes, this one doesn't use a grill or BBQ.
Vij describes this curry as the one that is mother used to make in his apartment when it first opened and he didn't yet have his full kitchen license. It's based on a family recipe which is always a good sign.
As he insists, I took the trouble to make his Garam Masala (see p. 26) spice mix the day before...yes, a whole hour, but worth very minute!!
I served it with a range of other recipes from the same book:
- Grilled Asparagus and Corn in Fenugreek Curry (p. 129)
- Grilled Coconut Kale (p. 162)
- Beet and Daikon Salsa (p. 157)
Thesse were served with a cucumber raita that I cobbled together from a few different recipes and some brown rice. And no, since we were only three, we had tons of leftovers. No complaints - the chicken only got better with time.
I followed the recipe to the letter, except that I used yoghurt instead of sour cream, used a combination of fresh tomatoes and tomato passata (strained) from a bottle.
The result was a tangy and not at all hot curry; the flavour was instead deliciously aromatic and complex, and improved with every serving.Definitely the best chicken curry that I've ever eaten!!
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