Oh, hello! Over the last month, there’ve been a lot of new faces joining this tasty little corner of the interwebs, so I thought I’d take a moment to introduce myself. I’m Asha—recipe editor for Diaspora Co. and freelance recipe developer. I was born in Calcutta, adopted at 10 weeks old (my 37th adoption anniversary is coming up!), and raised in Sacramento, California. Now, living in Oakland, one of my favorite ways to cook is combining South Asian flavors with my French heritage—my great grandparents immigrated to San Francisco from the Basque region of France—and my California upbringing.
This quick, yet elegant dish pulls flavors from the Malabar Coast and vibrant tastes I had in Kochi—coconut, cilantro, fiery green chilies, just to name a few—all packed into the iconic brasserie darling, Moules-Frites (AKA mussels and fries). Besides being lick-your-plate-clean-kind-of-delicious, these mussels come together in the time it takes for the fries—yes, we’re using the frozen ones!—to cook in the air fryer or oven.
The hariyali masala—hariyali meaning “greenery” or “garden” in Hindi, masala, in this case, referring to the sauce—starts with full-fat coconut milk, blended with cilantro, mint, and as many green chilies as your palate can handle. It’s combined into a fragrant gravy along with garlic, ginger, shallots, crushed coriander seeds, turmeric, and a sprinkle of garam masala. Then, mussels are stirred in, imbuing the sauce with their sweet, briny, salinity. And, lemme tell ya, dragging the fries through that spicy, herbaceous, coconut-laced dream, TRULY SWOONWORTHY.
Speaking of frites, you could make your own fries, but why not take a helping hand from the freezer aisle? (They’re just as good and don’t require a vat of oil.) My go-to frozen potato brand is Grown in Idaho—I don’t know what they do to their Hand-Cut Fries, but they cook up golden and crisp on the outside with a perfectly fluffy interior—but you can use whatever brand tickles your fancy. This recipe is for paid subscribers.
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