Steak and Potatoes

A part of me almost feels like there is no need for me to write anything for this blog post. I should just direct you to the photographs above and below. In this instance, a picture for sure speaks volumes. Juicy, garlicky, lemony, peppery, spicy and so good! But what I do want to write about is my struggle in learning how to cook steak. You see, being “trained” as a legitimate Hyderabadi cook, mainly by my mom and then of course training myself to somewhat master traditional Indian, Hyderabadi cooking, I find myself in a dilemma when attempting to cook steak the American way.

As traditional Indian, specifically Hyderabadi technique of cooking is usually low and slow, more often than not this requires hours of simmering to allow flavors to intensify, meats to become tender and this manner of flavor development is ingrained in my cooking. So needless to say, rare and medium rare do not exist in our cooking terminology. As in, it is just not a part of our culinary dictionary. And this does cause me some minor stress. We tend to cook our meats and even vegetables until the flavor is so concentrated, melt in your mouth, oil separating, the “bhooning” process so to speak and American steak is obviously not prepared as such. It is seared and then temperature checked while cooking to achieve the proper inner “doneness,” namely rare, medium rare and well done. It is challenging for me to grasp that I can achieve well done in about 15-20 minutes in the oven after searing a thick steak because in my style of cooking, meat is slow-cooked for hours. The burden is on me to figure out how to achieve a “well-done” steak that is not tough, fork-tender, juicy and to my liking-and this is still a work in progress for me!