Sometimes it’s not just a new recipe that inspires cooks, but a new culture.
When I stopped by Emerald Coast Olive Oil in Pier Park on Jan. 2, Wendy Lechner was still ensuring good luck with a recipe for Indian Black-Eyed Peas. She was so excited about the flavors, she offered me a bite of the salad — and then I was excited, too.
“I got everything I needed for the recipe at Indo-Pak,” said Wendy, a food historian who co-owns Emerald Coast Olive Oil with her sister, Lorraine Lechner.
Wendy admitted she had to cut down the spice after the first time she made the recipe, but experimenting with different flavors is nothing new for her. For seven years, she and her sister ran a cooking school on the island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, a mix of Arawakian ingredients, African cooking and European recipes that had been blended through generations.
But Wendy, who later wrote “Caribbean Cooks! Simply Delicious Recipes of the West Indies,” was more recently inspired by the mix of cultures at Indo-Pak International Food Store, 1504 W. 15th St., in Panama City.
“The owner was simmering something in a pot, and people from all different cultures were swapping recipes,” she recalled. “Where else are you going to find that here?”
Indo-Pak carries a variety of Turkish, Iranian, Indian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern, Jamaican, Arabic and Mexican foods, from fresh vegetables to dried lentils and rice, including Basmati for diabetics, spices, oils, sauces, frozen foods and halal meat, blood-drained. Owner Malik Awan picks up fresh produce every two weeks from Miami, with the next shipment arriving Jan. 21. Wendy makes sure to stop by for jackfruit.
“Jackfruit doesn’t have much flavor, but you can make vegetarian BBQ ‘pork’ with it. It's sort of stringy and absorbs flavors. I’m not a vegetarian, but I have lots of friends who are,” she said.
Other days, she is lucky enough to find Malik’s daughter, Tayyaba, preparing a dish, such as Chicken Biryani in Indo-Pak’s kitchen.
“We have a kitchen for us here. When people see and smell it, they have to eat,” said Malik, who is happy to share. “We want people to eat healthy.”
A recent shopping trip led Wendy to pick up ingredients for Indian Black-Eyed Peas and Spinach and Paneer Curry, recipes she found in an old Indian cookbook, “What’s Cooking Indian” by Shehzad Husain, she had purchased at Goodwill.
“I changed the quantities of some ingredients because they called for lots of oil and way too many chilies. I made them healthier and more in line with my American palate instead of smokin’ hot,” Wendy admitted. “That paneer is amazing. It’s like a block of unflavored cheese so you can ‘flavor’ it any way you want, and it fries and browns beautifully.”
Indo-Pak also sells cheese from France, Bulgaria, Turkey and Egypt, as well as whole milk yogurt and yogurt drinks.
“We eat mostly Indian-Pakistani dishes,” Malik said. “My kids eat everything.”
Originally from Pakistan, the family opened Indo-Pak about four years ago, not long after coming to the U.S.
Malik’s son, Faisal, showed me three freezers with lamb, organic chicken, turkey, tilapia, goat feet, cow feet and oxtail.
“Jamaicans like oxtail and goat meat. A lot of Americans come and buy lamb and goat from us, veal — young, 6 months to 8 months. That makes a good steak, very delicious, and they get spices and make kebabs,” said Malik, who added, “Meat and vegetables cook in own liquid have better taste.”
He held up a bag of Moong whole beans: “These lentils have a lot of fiber. Bring to a boil, and when sizzling, add a little pepper and eat. Masoor dal, a red split lentil — you can make soup with this.”
Malik travels to Atlanta, Tallahassee and Orlando to pick up food deliveries and shop. After 16-hour days, he turns to a little natural relief for aching muscles.
“Boil real good milk, add half teaspoon of turmeric and honey,” he said. “Drink it and sleep like a baby.”
Indian Black-Eyed Peas
- 1 cup dry or 2 cups fresh or canned black-eyed peas
- 1 ½ tablespoon vegetable or olive oil
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced vertically
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger root
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 2/3 cup water
- Very finely sliced green chili (optional)
- Fresh cilantro (optional)
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Rinse and soak the dried peas overnight. The next day, place the peas (either soaked or fresh) in a pot of water and simmer 20-30 minutes. If using canned peas, just drain and rinse.
Heat the oil in a skillet and add the onions. Sauté until golden brown, 5 minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, cayenne, salt, coriander and cumin. Sauté 4 minutes. Add the water to the pan and cover. Cook until the water has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Remove the onion mixture from the heat and add the peas. Place in a serving bowl and top with the green chilies, cilantro and lemon juice. This dish can be served hot or at room temperature.
Source: Wendy Lechner, Emerald Coast Olive Oil; adapted from "What's Cooking Indian" by Shehzad Husain, 1998
Spinach and Paneer Curry
- Paneer is like solid cottage cheese and is a great protein source.
- 1 ¼ cup vegetable oil (for frying) + 2 tablespoons (for stir frying)
- 7 oz. paneer, cut in ½ inch cubes
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ - ½ teaspoon chili powder (cayenne)
- ½ - 1 teaspoon salt
- 14 oz. fresh spinach
- 1 thinly sliced green chili (optional)
Heat the oil in a medium pot. Add the paneer and fry, stirring occasionally until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
In a large skillet, add 2 tablespoons oil and the tomatoes, stir-frying for about 5 minutes. Add the cumin, chili powder and salt; mix well.
Add the spinach and stir-fry over low heat for 4-6 minutes until softened but not mushy. Transfer to a serving dish and top with the green chilies. This is great with plain rice.
Source: Wendy Lechner, Emerald Coast Olive Oil; adapted from "What's Cooking Indian" by Shehzad Husain, 1998
Thai Chicken Salad
Cassandra Johnston brought a little Thai flavor to her Southern menu after opening Four Winds Grille & Spirits, 1000 Bay View Ave., in December.
The Thai Chicken Salad was inspired by her time cooking at Hawk’s Nest Grille & Spirits on Beach Drive more than a decade ago.
“I worked there so long. We finally figured it out,” Johnston said. “I’ve sold more Thai Chicken Salad than anything.”
A Romaine mix with spinach becomes the bed for grilled chicken breast strips with chow mein noodles, roasted peanuts, mandarin oranges and green onions sprinkled in. Then drizzle it all with the Peanut Butter Citrus Dressing served on the side alongside buttered toast.
“It’s very good — I like the dressing a lot,” said Mary Duckwall, who had ordered the same salad in the booth behind me on Monday. “It’s not too hot. Sometimes Thai seasoning can get a little hot for me. There is a lot of spinach and it is a good mixture of textures and flavors. I like the noodles.”
She and her husband are visiting this week from the Dayton, Ohio, area.
“We are staying in Panama City Beach, but we had heard St. Andrews was an interesting historic town,” she said.
Johnston admitted the Peanut Butter Citrus Dressing took a few times to get it right.
“Because we were trying to reproduce the salad dressing from Hawk’s Nest, it took four people and eight tries,” said Johnston, who prefers to leave her Jif extra crunchy peanut butter chunky when making the dressing. “For a retirement party, I am going to do flank steak on a skewer and dip it in. As it chargrills, I will brush it with it and serve it on the side.”
Peanut Butter Citrus Dressing
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup chunky peanut butter
- 1/3 cup soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- Squeeze of ½ orange
Heat water 2 min, add remaining ingredients, whisk to slow boil, simmer on low 10 min, whisk frequently, will thicken as it cools
Source: Cassandra Johnston, Four Winds Grille & Spirits; inspired by Hawk’s Nest Grille & Spirits