New York Times (April 12, 2012)
April 12, 2012, 6:50 AM From New York’s Benares, Fresh Food with ‘Punch’ By SHIVANI VORA Paul Wagtouciz Peter Beck, the head chef at Benares restaurant, New York City. Indian restaurants in New York City tend to be either high-end and high-priced, with the chefs using premium, fresh ingredients, or nondescript mid-range spots where frozen vegetables, meats and seafood are a mainstay. The new Benares in Midtown, which emphasizes seafood from South India and vegetarian dishes from the Indian city of Benares (also known as Varanasi), aims for the sweet spot between the two extremes: the culinary standards are high and fresh ingredients delivered daily, but the cost is reasonable- a meal for two runs $50 to $60 as compared with upwards of $100 for the pricier joints. The chef Peter Beck spent more than six years as the executive cook at the Michelin-starred Tamarind and Tamarind Tribeca before coming to Benares. The 55-year-old Mr. Beck says combining health and taste are top priorities in his new kitchen. “We add very little oil to the food and instead focus on creating flavorful masalas, which gives it a punch,” he said. Most dishes have only a tablespoon of oil, and butter and cream are used sparingly. An example is the Sevai Tomato Kurma, which is a seafood entrée from the Malabar Coast where an assortment of curried crustaceans are served over rice noodles. I spent a recent afternoon watching Beck make the dish in the restaurant’s kitchen and tasted how a limited amount of oil and light coconut milk, in place of heavy cream, created a pungent and satisfying meal. Paul Wagtouciz Sevai Tomato Kurma served at Benares. Here is Chef Peter Beck’s recipe for: Sevai Tomato Kurma Ingredients: ½ pound of rice noodles (iddi appam), available at Indian markets 10 curry leaves 2 scallions, julienned or minced 2 tablespoons of oil 5 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped 1 ounce of fresh ginger, thinly sliced 1 small red onion, chopped 1 large tomato, chopped 2 whole red chilies ¼ teaspoon of ground turmeric ½ teaspoon of madras curry powder ¼ teaspoon of garam masala ½ cup light coconut milk ¼ pound of each, calamari, scallops, mussels, rock shrimp 2 branzini filets 2 crab claws or ¼ pound of jumbo lump crab meat Salt to taste Method: For Noodles: Cook noodles according to package. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in large skillet over high heat. Add 5-6 curry leaves, scallions, madras curry powder and noodles. Toss to thoroughly coat noodles. Take off heat and keep warm in serving bowl For Curry: Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in skillet and add mustard seeds, red chilies and remaining curry leaves. Add onion and sauté till translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook for approximately 1 minute. Add turmeric and garam masala and cook for 30 seconds. Add chopped tomato and cook down until thickened, approximately 5 minutes. Add coconut milk and reduce for 2 minutes till semi-liquid and not overly watery. Add calamari, mussels, scallops and fish and cook for approximately 3-4 minutes followed by crab and rock shrimp. Cook for additional 2 minutes until seafood is heated through. Season to taste. Pour curry over noodles and serve. Yield: Serves 4-6 people www.benaresnyc.com, 2 _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
