Hungry in Berlin

Here’s Hungry’s discovery of the week. While browsing through Mittelmeer and Aqui Espana last weekend (both on Kant Str., though Mittelmeer also has a store behind the Hamburger Bahnhof Museum), we came across bags full of little green peppers that looked and smelled (a bit) like jalapenos. Because we will happily sell our bodies and/or organs for good Mexican food, we got excited, and asked about them, and were told they weren’t jalapenos at all, but Padróns.

We took them home, and researched. Turns out they are the eponymous specialty of the Padrón region in Spain. One eats them lightly fried, in olive oil, sprinkled with a bit of sea salt. There’s a bit of a game of chance with them too, as most are rich and mild, but every 1 in 10 or so is spicy hot. So, fun…

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A heads-up for more berry picking in the Brandenburg area — blueberries and raspberries are apparently ready to be self-picked, as per the Berliner Beerengarten team. The HIB team really has to get out and do this one of these days…if you have, let us know in the comments below.

And on a random thought, one of the Berliner Beerengarten fields is out in Hoppegarten, which is also a cool old horse racing stadium.  A gaggle of us (led by the very knowledgeable Ms. Bowleserised) had a visit a month or so ago, bet on a couple of ponies, and actually came away richer! Wouldn’t be a terrible double-feature, ponies and berry-pflucking…

Cultural lessons from the menu at Entweder Oder, a lovely cafe on Oderbergerstr. 15. Everything you need to know, without crossing a border.

French breakfast: Croissant, jam, butter and some fruit, a glass of water and a coffee.

Italian breakfast: Espresso with a glass of water, and a cigarette.

A kind reminder from Mr. Perry of the BenPerry.Net (via Facebook) tells us that it’s “Amerikanischer Genuss” week at some selected Lidl stores.

Now, every country has its own culinary traditions, but I can’t help but wince (and yes, I’m Am-EER-ik-an) to think that the U.S. “taste” is all bar snacks and barbeque marshmallows. And I’m not sure I even know what to do with a boneless rib burger in a bag.

There’s also a bit of mischef happening with frozen chicken nuggets. What happened to those delicious, across-the-aisle-reaching Obama-Fingers?

On W 110th in New York, in Harlem, there’s a restaurant called Miss Mamie’s Spoonbread Too. Peasant Glasses and I have been a few times. More than a few times. It’s a kind of pilgrimage for us whenever we go, with soul food that makes you want to stand up and sing, except your stomach is so full you can barely move. Gravy-drenched chicken, corn bread bread stuffing, sweet potato pie, home-made lemonade.

But my favorite, the thing I keep going back for, is the jerked chicken. Dripping off the bone, encrusted with a fiery mudlike sauce that hurts a little, but is so complex and rich-flavored that the chili heat unfolds into something else entirely. Some kind of bliss. Naturally I’ve always wanted to make it for myself.
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Apropos of nothing but a bit of morning procrastination: after skimming through a series on Lifehacker about what serious geeks (or wannabe geeks, my category) keep in their laptop bags, I thought I’d turn the tables and ask you all what you’ve got in your kitchen cabinets/shelves/secret spice drawers…ingredients or other cooking tools (food or otherwise) that you can’t do without.

I’m guessing that what you hoard here in Berlin (if the Hauptstadt isn’t your Heimstadt) will probably be different than the goodies you’d squirrel away back home, so I’m curious. Let’s start a list. Perhaps we can get some ideas or new inspiration from each other, oder?

My initial list: hot Asian red peppers (bought fresh from the Asiamarkt, then slowdried over a couple of hours in the oven; we use them in curries and pasta sauce and pretty much everything); tomato concentrate in a tube (why I never used this back home baffles me. No more cans!); our Moroccan tajine (a proper, no-glaze tajine that can slow cook anything into a delicious stew; flip the bottom over and in a pinch you’ve got a pizza stone; an excellent bread baker, too).

OK, your turn!

Here’s another guest Dönerspende post (keep it up, peoples!) that addresses one of HIB’s favorite comfort foods, dhal. A staple of much of India and the surrounding region, it’s a great dish because with rice, it makes a complete protein and couldn’t be cheaper to make. Lentils (of any shape or color), spices, rice. Our contributor Kean, originally from Malaysia, has sadly left the Hauptstadt with his gorgeous family after a three-year stay; yet he continues to taunt us with delicious (and even cheaper) meals enjoyed in his home country (as seen in the picture to the right.) Enjoy.

Here’s that dhal recipe I promised you, though without the authentic Malaysian spices, of course…Madras curry powder makes a suitable substitute (and it’s widely available, at about 80 cents per pack.) This is a lentil/veg curry, sorta Malaysian style, and it feeds at least four people.

Malaysian-styled Dhal

3 cups of lentils, soaked overnight in filtered water, then drained…if you mix both red and yellow together, it’s quite a nice texture later) (Ed note: Lentils are nice in that you don’t necessarily have to soak them ahead; doing so will cut down on the cooking time slightly, however.)
2 peeled, medium-sized potatoes (or sweet potato), chopped
2 peeled medium-sized carrots, sliced up
1 (red) onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 chunk of fresh ginger, about 1-2 cm thick, cut into strips
vegetable oil
water

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Just got a friendly reminder from those in the fields that berry picking season is set to officially open. We did a bit of berry reporting last year, with a couple suggestions for locations to boot.

Berliner Beerengarten is a good place to start.  Here’s their schedule; looks like most of their fields (we’re talking mostly strawberries, it’s still early) will be open as of tomorrow.   And I just saw a bunch of rhubarb at the market the other day…who’s ready for some pie?

Inspired by a handy article from the Morgenpost, here’s a shameless summary (and lazy commentary) of where to go in the Hauptstadt to drink beer and be outside, at the same time.

It’s a revolutionary concept that the Germans have perfected, and perhaps one day other parts of the world that actually have far more SUN than Germany (I’m talking to you, California) will do something about its Prohibition-inspired alcohol laws and let people drink beer where it was meant to be guzzled, in the SUN. But I digress.

We certainly haven’t been to all of these, but will try our best this summer to do so. So get out your sunglasses and Steins. Did we miss your favorite? Comments all and sundry (and sudsy) welcome, as always.

Café am Neuen See: Beer with boats! In Tiergarten.

Café Schönbrunn: Beer for the people in Volkspark Friedrichshein, with a view of fountain.

CapRivi: Beers with a Schlossblick, in Charlottenburg.

Eierschale Zenner: Schlager style in Treptower Park; beer in plastic cups (?!?) and a Burger King (?!?)

Eschenbräu: Real microbrews in Wedding! Go here, these guys rock.

Freischwimmer: Old boat dock gussied up with techno beats and cocktails (and beer).

Golgatha: Music and beer in Viktoriapark.

Hoppetosse: Beer on another boat! In Kreuzberg.

Platzhirsch: Beers in Schöneberg (near a Flohmarkt, too)

Prater: Beers at Berlin’s oldest Biergarten, plus cool sandbox and swings for kids.

Schleusenkrug: Beer at the Zoo!

Van Loon: More beer on boats!

Zollpackhof: Beers with politicians! (Near the Hauptbahnhof, and priced accordingly.)

Here’s a guest post from Bowleserised, a very talented lady who knows both her food, ponies and the writerly life in Berlin, and who often is called upon by bizarre British TV talent to explain the Hauptstadt to them.  This is an ideal Dönerspende dish, as it’s got few ingredients but is also flexible — i.e., what you’ve got in your ‘fridge or pantry will probably get you by. Enjoy.

This is an adaptation of a Claudia Roden recipe for Brinjal Albaras from The Book of Jewish Food. It’s a dish from the Bene Israel community in India. It should have fresh coriander in the coconut milk mix, which might still be possible depending on the pricing, and the courgette substitution is one I’ve improvised.

I usually use a can of coconut milk so my version is more liquid than the purist’s, which involves creamed coconut milk and water. I like the more liquid version though as then you can eke the meal out with rice. Obviously you can use fewer potatoes and more aubergine or any different combination, according to preference and available ingredients.

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