Dinner: Homemade Indian Meal
On Valentines day, My girlfriend Corie and I prepared an Indian
meal with three parts and paired them with 3 wines. This meal was delicious! All
three recipes came from an Indian cookbook by Anupy Singla shown below.
Corie will also be blogging about this meal and the link to her blog is here: http://corinne2-wine.blogspot.com/.
The first part of this dish was a homemade Navratan vegetable korma. This dish had 8 cups of vegetables which included cauliflower, carrots, green beans, zucchini, potato, red bell pepper peas, corn and edamame. Some of the key spices were turmeric, coriander, Garam Masala, cayenne pepper, cardamom and clove. When the tofu and half-and-half were added, the dish took on much more of a creamy texture which I really appreciated. We decided to make this dish because of the local Blacksburg restaurant India Garden and their fantastic Vegetable Korma. Although the Korma we made was very different, both India Garden's and our korma were very tasty. The final dish is shown below on the left with me cooking it on the right.
The second part to the meal was homemade naan. This naan was
unusual because it had nigella seeds, which gave it a unique flavor which complimented
the yeast nicely. I have to say, this is the best naan I’ve ever had and when
also eaten with the korma, this was a fantastic combination.
The final part to the meal was Baingan Aloo which is
basically eggplant and potatoes. This was a spicy dish due to the cayenne
pepper, 2 Serrano peppers, and some ginger root. This recipe also called for
eggplant, potato, cumin seed and hing.The spices really came through in this dish to make it the spiciest of the three but the saltiness was also noticeable. The final dish and Corie preparing the dish are shown below.
Name: Schloss Vollrads Estate Kabinett Riesling
Variety: Riesling
Region: Rheingau
Country: Germany
Price: $33, Sale: $13.95
Year: 2011
Wine without Food: This Riesling wine was a light yellow
color. It smelled and tasted like apple. Although the wine was not bubbling, it
almost tasted sparking to me based on the mouth feel. This wine had hints of
vanilla and sweet floral undertones.
Wine with Korma: This wine kept its similar characteristics
but just became spicier. The apple dominated but was complimented by the
cayenne pepper. The mouthfeel returned to a standard wine and lost the sparkling
characteristics that were present earlier.
Wine with Eggplant Dish: When this wine was tasted with the
eggplant dish, it immediately took on sour flavors. It reminded me slightly of sour
apple candies, such as a sour apple Laffy Taffy. The sweetness was gone due to
the Serrano pepper and the sourness was the lasting after taste. I didn’t think
this was as good of a pairing.
Wine with Naan: The naan produced an unusual mouthfeel. I
could feel the naan soaking up the wine and leaving a previously crusty piece
of bread with a bit of wetness. In terms of flavor, the alcohol was tasted much
more in this pairing. This is due to the naan being made with yeast which compounded
the alcohol already in the wine to give it a bit more power in the mouth.
Name: Indwe Pinotage
Variety: Pinotage
Region: W.O. Coastal Region
Country: South Africa
Price: $7
Year: 2013
Wine without Food: This was the only red wine of the group
and the aroma and flavors were very different. The aroma of this wine was
intense with blackberry bursting through. The purple colored wine held some oak
from the barrels and it came through in the mid palate to after taste. The
finish was a little dry with the blackberry and cherry staying with the wine
through the after taste.
Wine with Korma: In
this pairing, the creaminess of the korma was highlighted more so that the
other pairings. The spiciness was also noticed and worked well with fruitiness
of the wine. This was a good pairing and the two distinct flavors blended well
and created a great mouth experience.
Wine with Eggplant Dish: This was a unique pairing. The wine
and the dish cancelled eachother’s flavors out, leaving a very mellow
aftertaste. Initially the cherry and blackberry was noticed more but in the mid
palate to the after taste, the flavors completed blended leaving very mellow
flavors of fruit and eggplant.
Name: Willm Alsace Gewurztraminer Reserve
Variety: Gewurztraminer
Region: Eguisheim
Country: France
Price: $14.99
Year: 2014
Wine without Food: Based on looking up recommended wine
pairings online, I was extremely excited to pair this wine with the korma and
the other Indian dishes. In this wine like the Riesling, I tasted the apple.
Although in this wine, the flavor reminded me more of a caramel apple due to the
sweetness of this wine. This wine was a light pale yellow and was very smooth with subtle earthy tones.
Wine with Korma: When this wine was paired with the korma, I
felt like the korma dominated the flavor. I didn’t mind this because the korma
had a wonderful flavor to it. The wine did add some hints of sweet fresh apple,
but it was definitely powered by the intense korma flavors.
Wine with Eggplant Dish: With this pairing, the alcohol came
through much more than with the korma. The peppery flavor also was prominent
with a slight sweetness from the wine. The sweetness wasn’t from the apple
though, as I couldn’t detect the apple over the pepper from the dish.
Wine with Naan: Similar to the other wines, the absorbing qualities
of the naan were noticeable. I tasted some smokiness which I believe was from
the nigella seeds in the bread. With this pairing, I tasted more of an apple
cider due to the alcohol coming through.
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