Hey All,
Can you believe its been since May that I wrote? My love affair with food has been ongoing, as has my love affair with canning and preserving all the wonders that our little parcel of land produces. You all may remember the carbor. A couple of the grape vines have started producing. Unfortunately they aren't table worthy grapes....they are small and riddled with seeds. Both the black and white varieties were tasty, but full of seeds. Before anyone gets up in arms, one of the best grapes I ever had was a young catawba brought to me by a friend, the bunches were heavy with small berries, while full of seeds, they were delicious! My grape were similar.....although I don't know if I'll find a grape that quite captures that grape jelly flavor like her's did.
I'm flush with jam for the winter months, so I need to get creative with my fruit. Plum sauce is a personal favorite, but grape just doesn't seem like the proper fruit for that. A quick search of the almighty google and I found a recipe for Grape Sauce. In my mind, this should be sweet, fruity, and mildly creamy, with a hint of wood. So off to the internet to find biryani masala recipes.... I came across this recipe, which sounded right for a masala since it contained everything but the kitchen sink. I broke a lot of it down into useable portions and also used what I had...
3/4 bay leaf
3/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp anise seed
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp coriander seed
1/2 tsp caraway seed
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp pandan extract
muddle that all together in mortar and pestle....you don't have to grind.
I substituted 1/4 tsp pandan extract for the stone flowers.....it added a lovely creamy flavor that was out of this world. Hint: Pandan is what gives jasmine and basmati rice its unique flavor.
To make the sauce:
1/2 lb grapes
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp biryani masala
Juice of 1/2 lemon
boil for 10 min.
Slurry through fine wire strainer.
To the juice, add slurry of 1tsp cornstarch, return to boil and can.
When all was said and done, 6 jars: 4 for my pantry, 1 without a sealable lid in the fridge, and 1 to go to a friend in Seattle, the leftovers went to the recipe below.
I roasted some chicken breasts with a quarter cup of the sauce, pulled it out ten minutes before finish and sliced it, poured remaining sauce over, sprinkled with blue cheese and put under a low broiler for 10 more minutes....served with rice and green beans....it was pretty fabu!
I'm ashamed to admit I don't know what a muscadine tastes like (I've smelled it, but only tasted the wine), but in my mind this captures it, a sweet, woody, slightly spicy flavor, with a hint of cinnamon....
