Delish Green Beans with Coconut

On March 24, 2021March 24, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Food, India, RecipesLeave a comment

Today we are featuring a post from our friends at A Global Affair who provide wonderful content on travel and delicious recipes.

Many moons ago, when my mom had to leave for India for an extended period of time to care for my grandfather, she wrote down a bunch of recipes of the staple, time honored dishes that my family from Kerala had served for generations in their kitchen. Before I had any money to buy any sort of cookbook, these recipes became my guidepost; a primer that ensured that I would carry on creating the tastes of my mother, grandmothers, aunts and more in my kitchen. Of course, in the rush to give me these recipes, mom sometimes missed writing exact quantities or an ingredient, but they were enough of a foundation to enable me to cook.

Beans Poduthol, also called as Thoran, is a simple dish of whatever veggies are on hand, some oil and spices and lots of freshly grated coconut. It is the kind of dish that is not only super yummy and healthy, but also makes me feel with every spoonful that all will be okay in this world.

Ingredients:

A pound of beans, washed, destringed and cut into small pieces
A tbsp of oil (traditionally coconut oil is used)
A tsp of mustard seeds
A tsp of urad dal (skip if you don’t have this, it adds crunch)
One or two dried red chili pods broken
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
1 tsp cumin powder
Four tbsps freshly grated coconut

When I copied mom’s recipe into my first attempt at organizing recipes.

How to:

1. Heat oil in a pan. Fry the mustard seeds, urad dal (if using) and dried chilly pods. When the mustard seeds start popping, add the beans, turmeric powder, salt and cumin powder and toss well.

2. Cover and cook till the beans are cooked, yet crunchy (about 10-15 minutes).

3. Add the fresh coconut and toss a few times.

Enjoy!

PS. You can prepare cabbage, spinach, carrots, and raw bananas in a similar fashion.

Latin-Style Steak Sandwich

On February 17, 2021February 20, 2021 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn Recipes, South AmericaLeave a comment

Mention a steak sandwich to someone from the United States and they will most likely envision a Philly steak and cheese. Although we definitely enjoy that style of sandwich, it certainly isn’t the only style out there. In fact, we have had many different versions throughout our travels. The one that stands out the most to us was the one that we ate at the beach in Lima, Peru. It was a steak sandwich with avocado and a creamy sauce that was wonderful. We decided to do a variation on that sandwich with guacamole and Mexican crema. We stayed true to the Latin seasonings and served it on some really fresh rolls that we got from our favorite local sandwich shop. If you wanted to make it a little spicier, you could certainly add some jalapeño peppers to it as well. One of the keys to a good steak sandwich is cutting the meat really thin using a meat slicer if you have one or with a sharp knife. It is also important not to overcook the steak or it will become tough and chewy.

INGREDIENTS

12 oz Ribeye Steak – sliced very thin
1/2 cup Yellow Onion – sliced thin
1/2 cup Black Beans – rinsed and drained
1/2 cup Guacamole
1 cup Shredded Lettuce
1/4 cup Mexican Crema
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Granulated Garlic
3 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 tbsp Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper to taste
4 Fresh Rolls

INSTRUCTIONS

Spread the meat out on a large plate or platter. Combine the cumin, chili powder, garlic, salt and pepper (quantities are approximate and can be adjusted based on your taste) and sprinkle the spice mixture over the meat to be sure to season all of the steak slices. Let sit in the dry marinade for about 20 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Put the black beans in the skillet and cook for about 5 minutes and then smash them to create a creamy texture. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the onions and cook until soft and translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the steak to the pan and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes or until the slices have only some pink left to keep them medium-rare. Do not overcook the steak. To prepare the sandwich, spread the black beans on the bottom of the rolls and cover the top bun with mayonnaise. Place the steak and onion mixture on top of the beans, spread guacamole over the steak, spoon some of the Mexican crema over the guacamole, then add shredded lettuce.

Some of Our Favorite Shrimp Recipes

On September 30, 2020September 30, 2020 By Isobar ExpeditionsIn RecipesLeave a comment

Shrimp is one those versatile items that can be cooked in a variety of ways. It is also something that is found in cooking throughout the world, especially those places that are near the coast. We have certainly made many different shrimp recipes throughout the years, but here are just a handful of them to give an idea of how many different styles of meals work well with shrimp.

Easy and Delicious Shrimp Frittata – One of the things that you can find throughout your travels is some variety of a frittata. They are light, easy, and can be adapted for the cuisine of almost any country. We really enjoy fresh seafood when we travel, so we decided to do a shrimp frittata that was not only easy, but extremely delicious. The use of lemon and fresh parsley also helps to brighten up the dish and make it even more luscious. Frittatas, like a good quiche, can be a meal on its own, but we decided to pair it with some green beans and red peppers.

Sautéed Shrimp with a Pumpkin-Sage Butter – During the autumn season, we are always looking for creative ways to use seasonal products such as pumpkin. Mixing butter with pumpkin and sage is a savory way to give flavor to seafood, especially shrimp or scallops. We decided to sauté shrimp with the infused butter and it made for a delicious meal. Not only was it tasty, but it turned the shrimp a nice orange color was perfect for this time of year.

Shrimp and Grits with a Fried Soft Boiled Egg

Our Take on Shrimp and Grits – Creating a Hollandaise sauce with a Louisiana pepper sauce to serve with the shrimp and grits turned out nice because it gave a little bit of a lemon taste to the shrimp, but it still had some heat. We also used some Old Bay Seasoning on the shrimp, a little reminder to our east coast roots. Adding cheese to the grits also made them a little more hearty and added to the creaminess. The centerpiece was the soft-boiled egg that had been breaded and fried and added to the entire meal.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Angel Hair Pasta – Shrimp Fra Diavolo (Brother Devil) is an Italian inspired dish that is spicy and delicious. We served it over a bed of angel hair pasta, but when we had leftovers a couple of days later, we simply served it with a side of garlic toast. If you don’t want it too spicy, you can reduce the amount of red pepper flakes, but this meal is meant to pack some heat. It is one of those easy and yet elegant dinners that can be done on a weeknight or served for a weekend dinner party. It could probably be done with another type of shell fish, but shrimp really holds up well to the flavors and is easy to cook.