Go "Fusion" To Spice Up A Day, On A Budget

"Chef On A Shoestring" Akhtar Nawab Has Indian Roots, Grew Up In Kentucky, And Has Manhattan Eatery!

(CBS)  "Fusion" is probably the word that best describes Akhtar Nawab.

He was raised in Kentucky, enjoying his mom's native Indian meals.

He draws on the two distinct culinary backgrounds in his New York City restaurant, Elettaria, where he creates spice combinations using seasonal American ingredients and the Indian spices he grew up with.

Naway accepted our challenge of adding some spicy zest to a three-course meal for four, on our tiny $40 budget.

MENU

Beet Salad & Toasted Pistachios with a Cumin Vinaigrette

Roasted Chicken and Brussels Sprouts with Curry Spice Rub

Banana Bread Pudding with Cardamom and Ice Cream

FOOD FACTS

CUMIN: An aromatic spice with a distinctive bitter flavor and strong, warm aroma due to its abundant oil content. Cumin "seeds" are actually the small, dried fruit of an annual plant in the parsley family. Native to the Mediterranean, cumin is hotter to the taste, lighter in color, and larger than caraway, another spice it's sometimes confused with. Cumin is a popular ingredient in Middle Eastern, Asian, Mediterranean and Mexican cuisines, and is one of the main ingredients in curry powder.

CURRY: Curry powder is a blend of up to 20 different herbs and spices, including the commonly used cardamom, chiles, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mace, nutmeg, pepper, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, saffron, tamarind and tumeric (which gives curry its characteristic golden color). In Indian cooking, curry is freshly ground each day (making it far more flavorful and pungent than the mixes sold in the store), and comes in "standard" and "Madras" (hot) versions.

CARDAMOM: Cardamom is the ground seed of a tropical fruit in the ginger family known as Elettaria cardamomum. The seeds are found in oval-shaped fruit pods that are between a-quarter and an inch long. Cardamom has an intense, pungent, sweet flavor. In India, Cardamom is traditionally used in curry blends, and in Scandinavian countries, it is commonly added to breads; however, most of the world's Cardamom crop is used in Arabic countries as a flavoring for coffee.

TAKE HOME TIPS:

Beets contain nutrients that help prevent heart disease and colon cancer.

Curry powders have up to 20 spices and come in standard and hot versions.

Cardamom is an intense spice; a little goes a long way.

RECIPES

Beet Salad with Toasted Pistachios and Cumin Vinaigrette

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds of mixed, colored beets
1 cup red vinegar
½ cup sugar
4 cups water
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
2 sprigs thyme
2 garlic cloves

METHOD:

Combine the vinegar, sugar, water, peppercorns, thyme, and garlic.

Add the beets and simmer until fork tender, about 45 minutes.

Cool them in the liquid. Peel the beets. Slice beets into wedges.

Cumin Vinaigrette:

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons cumin seeds toasted and ground
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoon Dijon
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
1/2 cup toasted pistachios

METHOD:

Add the ground cumin, Dijon, honey, and both vinegars to a bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil.

Toss vinaigrette with the beets in a bowl. Sprinkle toasted pistachios on top.

FOR MORE RECIPES, GO TO PAGE 2.

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Add a Comment

by credibility2 November 8, 2008 9:54 PM EST

One doesn''t have to use all of these exact ingredients, nor spend this much. Whether a person is low-income or newly unemployed doesn''t mean you can''t cook creatively and without using processed food. Enjoy getting ideas from these types of presentations. And, the $40 budget was for four people. I wonder how much the average American wastes going to fast food restaurants, thinking they''re buying good food for their family. The same thing is true of going grocery shopping for families. A lot of junk is purchased like pop, sport''s drinks, snacks, unhealthy cereals, overly processed white bread, etc. I''m sure more money is spent on this type of junk.

Reply to this comment

by luciamia1 November 8, 2008 8:42 PM EST

I agree. This is arrogant and stupid. Brioche? Gelato? Heavy cream? Pistachios? Etc., etc. Maybe in the unreal world you guys inhabit. I''m newly unemployed. Think Spanish Rice and a return to the cheap casserole. Get your head out...and get someone on there who knows how to cook for poor (and the newly poor) folks. You don''t do gourmet on $405 worth of unemployment benefits a week.

Reply to this comment

by jerrem November 8, 2008 2:09 PM EST

I was doing my usual channel surfing this morning and ran across your shoestring gourmet meal done with a "skimpy $40 budget". Come on guys are kidding me. Most of Americans can''t afford $40 family meals!!!
Want to do a real service show how to do family meals on a budget of $10. Be really creative and show us how a real family on a real budget can do it!!

Reply to this comment

by jerrem November 8, 2008 2:07 PM EST

I was doing my usual channel surfing this moring and ran across your shoestring gourmet meal done with a "skimpy $40 budget". Come on guys are kidding me. Most of Americans can''t afford $40 family meals!!!
Want to do a real service show how to do family meals on a budget of $10. Be really creative and show us how a real family on a real budget can do it!!

Reply to this comment

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[credibility2]

One doesn''t have to use all of these exact ingredients, nor spend this much. Whether a person is low-income or newly unemployed doesn''t mean you can''t cook creatively and without using processed food. Enjoy getting ideas from these types of presentations. And, the $40 budget was for four people. I wonder how much the average American wastes going to fast food restaurants, thinking they''re buying good food for their family. The same thing is true of going grocery shopping for families. A lot of junk is purchased like pop, sport''s drinks, snacks, unhealthy cereals, overly processed white bread, etc. I''m sure more money is spent on this type of junk.

[luciamia1]

I agree. This is arrogant and stupid. Brioche? Gelato? Heavy cream? Pistachios? Etc., etc. Maybe in the unreal world you guys inhabit. I''m newly unemployed. Think Spanish Rice and a return to the cheap casserole. Get your head out...and get someone on there who knows how to cook for poor (and the newly poor) folks. You don''t do gourmet on $405 worth of unemployment benefits a week.

[jerrem]

I was doing my usual channel surfing this morning and ran across your shoestring gourmet meal done with a "skimpy $40 budget". Come on guys are kidding me. Most of Americans can''t afford $40 family meals!!!
Want to do a real service show how to do family meals on a budget of $10. Be really creative and show us how a real family on a real budget can do it!!

[jerrem]

I was doing my usual channel surfing this moring and ran across your shoestring gourmet meal done with a "skimpy $40 budget". Come on guys are kidding me. Most of Americans can''t afford $40 family meals!!!
Want to do a real service show how to do family meals on a budget of $10. Be really creative and show us how a real family on a real budget can do it!!