Week 7: Bangladesh

In Bangladesh you can't swing a Bengal tiger without hitting a Bangladeshi (save the tiger penis, it's worth a fortune as an aphrodisiac, but only if you want to make love to a tiger). Bangladesh is one of the most densely populated countries with a landmass about the same as Iowa and 2700 people per square mile. If you spread Bangladeshis evenly over their country everyone could play catch with several other people. Bangladesh was once part of Pakistan, achieving independence in 1971. In recent years corruption and bloody political battles have ravaged the country and a military 'care-taker' government is calling the shots. Climate and over-population are the root of many problems in this desperately poor country. In 1998 a flood covered 2/3 of the country leaving 30 million people homeless. Many live in areas where homes, subsistence farms, and lives are destroyed regularly by floods forcing the poorest of the poor into a landless, nomadic lifestyle.

What appetizing thoughts. But enough about devastation and poverty. On to food, and lots of it!

We found several variations of a carrot soup recipe. Here's the one I made, which turned out very well. It is a light and delicious first course, and definitely something I want to make again. I'm already looking forward to leftovers for tomorrow's lunch.

Carrot Coriander Soup

2 Tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, chopped
5 cups chopped carrot
1 teaspoon of coriander
1 potato, peeled and cubed
4 cups chicken or veggie broth
heavy cream (optional)
chopped cilantro (optional)

In large soup pot, melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook for a few minutes. Add carrots, coriander, potato, and broth. Bring to a boil and simmer 20-30 minutes, until carrots are tender. Puree the soup in a blender, in batches. Return to the soup pot. Top with a drizzle of heavy cream and some chopped cilantro. Enjoy!


When researching cuisine for Bangladesh, we came across this saying a lot: "Mach-e-Bhat-e-Bangali" (Fish and rice make a Bengali.) We wanted to do a fish dish for a main recipe. We are a little burnt out on curries, so we avoided all the fish curry recipes. The one we chose does have some curry spices in it, but is very mild and fresh and not too saucy, probably because I cut out most of the oil in the original recipe. Here is our delish fish dish:


Fish Dopeeaja

2 Tablespoons canola oil
3/4 pount tilapia filet, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon each: chili powder, turmeric, ginger, black pepper
1 medium tomato, chopped
chopped cilantro (optional)

Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat and add spices. Cook for a couple of minutes, being careful not to let the spices burn. Reduce heat to medium. Add the fish and the onions, cover and cook for 4-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in tomato. Enjoy with rice.

Week 6: Pakistan

Islamabad is the capital city of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Islamabad? I don't know, but those Pakistanis are an inquisitive bunch. And speaking of inquisitions, remember when former President Musharraf was on the Daily Show? Jon Stewart poured him a cup of tea, offered Twinkies, and nonchalantly inquired, "Where is Osama bin Laden?" Hilarious!

English & Urdu are the official languages of Pakistan, but Punjabi is the most commonly spoken language. Pakistan is 95% Muslim, and its endangered species include Hotson's Mouse-like Hamster (aren't all hamsters mouse-like?) the Indus River Dolphin, the Snow Leopard (whose genus/species name is uncia uncia, which sounds like a fabulous musical about endangered snow leopards.) and the Woolly Flying Squirrel (aren't all squirrels woolly?) Visitors to Pakistan will want to be current on their vaccinations for Yellow Fever, Cholera, hepatitis, typhoid and polio! Enjoy!

For our recipe this week we prepared aloo gosht, a lamb and potato curry. The recipe was fairly straightforward and resulted in a tender and delicious stew. The stew was thick and hearty, and the lamb tender and not at all overcooked. We have been overpowered by curries in the past (read: we are light weights) so for this recipe we cut back a bit on the quantity of spices and were pleased with the milder flavor. The cardamon, coriander and cloves were a delicious combo. We added some naan and garnished with lemon and parsley to complete this tasty meal. This naan was a different recipe than the batch we made for India and even better. We think the yogurt in the recipe gives it a pleasant tanginess.

Week 5: Brazil

Brazil is named after a tree, can you guess which one? Wrong! It's the Brazil Tree. Brazil also is the leading exporter of which nut that is not a nut? The answer is: the Brazil Nut. Despite being only slightly smaller than the US, Brazil only has 26 states which is barely over half what the United States has. Quitters. Suck it Brazil! USA USA USA!

Feijoada, which is considered the national dish of Brazil, was brought to South America by the Portuguese. It is a stew of beans with beef and pork meats. W found many recipes for this and thought it might be fun to just wing it. And maybe use only the tastiest meats. The result was not at all soupy, because I’m not feeling particularly soupy today.

Jeanoada’s Feijoada

• 2 T olive oil
• 2 linguiça sausages, casings removed
• 2 pork spare ribs, chopped
  
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and pork and cook until browned, breaking up the sausage. Add the onions and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Add the bay leaves and black beans and cook until the meat is fully cooked. Add a little water to the pan if necessary. It made about 4 portions of deliciousness. Definitely a repeat. Next time I’ll remember to add bacon.

Week 4: Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia is an archipelago of 17,508 islands (6,000 inhabited). Indonesia is the most populous Muslim-majority nation (over 86% Muslim); however, no reference is made to Islam in the Indonesian constitution. They speak Bahasa Indonesia (official, modified form of Malay), English, Dutch, and local dialects, the most widely spoken of which is Javanese. Sounds like coffee. Indonesians love chasing that shuttlecock all day long and badminton is one of the most popular sports in Indonesia. The endangered Sumatran Orangutan is indigenous to Indonesia. It sounds as delicious as it is indigenous, but we decided to use beef in the traditional Beef Rendang that we prepared for this week's main dish.

The Beef Rendang doesn't take long to prepare, but required long simmering. We simmered the beef in the sauce for 3.5 hours as per the recipe. The delicious aroma filled our house and we were eager to eat. When we finally tried the beef and sauce over rice we decided the aroma was better than the flavor. All that simmering reduces it to a uniform flavor and there are so many spices going on we felt it was a little bland, even with the heat of the chilis.