Where I've Been

Okay, it's rather mad around here right now as I'm in the middle of planning a large vegetarian Oscar banquet. There will be vadai, and chutneys, rice and vegetable poriyal and dal of course. So forgive my absence, there is a great deal of slicing and dicing going on around here. I promise it'll be worth it.

Another Way With Cauliflower.

   For some reason I can't quite fathom, I always think of cauliflower as broccoli's ugly stepsister. Plain, pale, kind of stinky, cauliflower is definitely not going to the ball. However, it is cheap. And as my mom always says, "What's not to like about cheap?" When a fresh, locally grown vegetable has a 99 cent sticker on it, it is not only calling my name, it's practically jumping outta the bin and into my cart, as Billy Ocean would say. Okay, so Billy Ocean wouldn't exactly say that, but I did have that song stuck in my head the minute I saw the price tag. I had to buy one.
   Now if I was a cauliflower and I wanted a make-over, I'd definitely head for the Indian kitchen. Almost no cuisine I've heard of has done as much to put cauliflower in the spotlight. Spiced up, dolled up and with bell peppers as their wingman, you can't beat it.

Cauliflower With Peppers and Peas

   Here's what to do:
   In a large skillet or kadhai, heat up 2 Tbs of vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:

 1 fresh serrano chili finely chopped
 1/8 tsp of turmeric
 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds
 Stir them around for one minute

Then add in one head of cauliflower broken into small florets
 1/2 cup of red bell peppers thinly sliced
 1/2 cup of yellow bell pepper thinly sliced.
Stir it all around and saute it until the cauliflower has browned all around the edge.

Turn down the heat a bit and add in:
 1 cup of defrosted frozen peas
 1/2 tsp of salt
 1 Tbs of lemon juice

1/2 tsp of sambar powder.

Stir everything together, so it's well mixed, sprinkle with a bit of fresh chopped cilantro and serve it up.

   Serve it with some rice, another vegetable side and some hot chapattis. Or it's equally at home snuggling next to a chicken breast or any other Western-style main dish. This is the dish that confirms..."Nobody puts Cauliflower in the corner!"

Fast and Delicious. Cook Your Rice In Coconut Milk.

   I have always had a bad coconut Jones. Maybe it was because my mother dislikes coconut (and all nuts) so much, she would never let me get my pie hooks on a Mounds Bar when I was a kid.  Maybe it was seeing all those forbidden coconut cakes in bakery windows, snowy, glittery, topped with a cherry. Maybe it was watching too many Three Stooges Coconut Cream Pie fights. Who can fathom the lure of forbidden love? One thing is clear, I love, love, love coconut.Yes I do. So of course the idea of cooking my rice in coconut milk was a no-brainer. It also added a kicky, sweet little side dish to my spicy, Chettinad chicken curry, and it was ready in20 minutes. Gotta love that.

Coconut Milk Rice

Here's what to do:

In a large pot heat 1 and 1/2 Tbs of coconut oil. I use Tropical Traditions Gold Label Virgin Coconut Oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
2 tsp of brown mustard seeds
When they start to pop, add in 2 cups of Basmati rice.
Stir the rice around in the oil, stir frying it for about 3 minutes.

 Then toss in:
  3 cups of water
  1 tsp of turmeric
  1 cup of coconut milk

  1 and 1/2 tsp of salt
  8 or 10 curry leaves
  1 green chili pepper seeded and finely chopped.
   Bring it all to a boil then slap a lid on the pot, turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 25 minutes or so. When all the water/coconut milk has been absorbed, it's done.
Sprinkle the top of the rice with 1/2 cup of chopped cashews, ('cause sometimes you feel like a nut, and I always do) and  fluff it up with a fork.
  Serve it with a curry leaf perched on top for a fancy touch.

   I love making the rice this way. It adds just the perfume and hint of coconut that makes any meal special and is a great side dish on any Meatless Monday.
   I paired it with a sambar and spinach masala which is my go-to veg on busy days. Coming up next I've got a great cauliflower, pepper and pea side dish which takes advantage of all the bargain priced cauliflower(99 cents a head, no lie)  I've been seeing at the market and of course The Academy Awards, practically a national holiday at our house. I'll be cooking an Indian vegetarian banquet for that event and breaking out my tiara for the festivities. You can follow me on my Twitter page @Kathygori

Peppery Chettinad Chicken Curry, A Restaurant Entree In An Hour

    It's a cold, cold and wet, wet week here in Sonoma. After a crazy hot week just a few days before, nature put us on notice that Winter wasn't quite done with us yet. We're also re-arranging the office, making room for a couple of gi-normus monitors... all the better to Skype you with my dears. While trying to get our regular work done, and trying to move mail and various other things from one 'puter to another, we still have to eat, and of course around here, eat well.
   I've found that when cooking Indian food that involves any sort of meat or fish, less is more. A little goes a long way, a stitch in time saves.... whatever, and all that other good stuff. One nicely sized, boneless chicken breast in a recipe scaled down, feeds two with a couple of sides, and no one leaves hungry. There is also none of that embarrassing surreptitious unbuttoning of the pants under the table. Not exactly the way one wants to end a romantic dinner on like say...Valentines Day. At least not until one's in the privacy of ones own boudoir. In other words, it's not quantity but quality, and this traditional chicken dish makes a perfect lunch or dinner along with a leafy green, and some rice. I also tossed in the left-over sambar from yesterday. Gotta love that.

Chettinad Chicken Curry

So here's what to do:
 Heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil (I always use coconut oil) in a deep skillet or kadhai.
When the oil is nice and hot toss in:
 A 1 inch piece of ginger finely chopped
 8 shallots finely chopped

 Stir it around sauteing it for about 30 seconds or so and then add in:
 3 onions cut in half and then cut into quarters and thinly sliced.

Stir fry the onions for about 15 minutes until they're lightly browned, then turn up the heat and add in:
 2 boneless chicken breasts (each breast should weight about 1/2 pound) cut into 1 inch pieces.

Stir the chicken pieces around and brown them lightly.
Turn down the heat and it's time to spice things up.
 Toss in:
 1 and 1/2 tsp of turmeric
 3 tsps of  ground coriander
 2 and 1/2 Tbs of ground black peppercorns
 1 and 1/2 tsps of salt
 Give it all a good stir and blend the spices with everything else, this should take about 4 minutes.
 Now add in :
 3 chopped tomatoes. Now around here this time of year, that is not possible, so I substitute with canned organic, no salt added tomatoes.
 1 and 1/2 cups of plain yogurt

Mix it all in well, bring it to a boil and then turn it all the way down to simmer. No curdling allowed.

 Pop a lid on the pan and simmer everything slowly for about 15 to 20 minutes. When the chicken is nice and tender add in:

 8 curry leaves
 2 tsps of Garam Masala
 3 Tbs of lemon juice
 Cook for another 5 minutes and serve.

 Together with some spinach with Indian spices, coconut cashew rice and the leftover sambar, the meal was on the table in a bit less than an hour. Wow.
 Coming up next, cooking rice in coconut milk for an extra kick. Meanwhile I'm waiting on my dongle..ooooh....and everytime I look at my new computer I feel like an air traffic controller. 

Spicy, Snappy, Buttermilk Sambar. Lunch In One Hour!

   This has been an insane week around our house. We've been updating all our computer equipment and everything that that entails... don't ask. What with all of the shopping for HDMI cables at online places in Paramus New Jersey and Rancho Cucumonga (if only there were a Frys nearby) I haven't spent much time in the kitchen. In other words I haven't been cooking. We've had several dinner invitations at friends' houses (I love when people cook for me) and it all was topped off by a Valentines Day feast at our favorite date-night restaurant in Sonoma The Girl and The Fig. So finally, after all this bacchanal of cables and Divers scallops, it was time to step behind the range again and flip on all my burners.
   The idea for this Kerala sambar was built around the fact that I brought home a doggy bag from last nights' dinner. So did Alan. Okay, entree in place, all I needed to add was a veg and something to fill out the meal. That's  where the sambar comes in, a warming, nourishing soup, chock full of vegetables, that whips up in an hour or less. The perfect partner for a left overs kind of day.

Buttermilk Sambar

Here's what to do:
  In a heavy skillet put 2 Tbs of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot toss in:
1 and 1/4 tsp of fenugreek seeds
1 tsp of coriander seeds
1 and 1/2 Tbs of Toor dal
1 and 1/4 tsp of Urad dal
6 dried red chilies

Saute it all around for about 2 minutes or so until the dal and chilies and spices darken a bit.
When the spices are cooked, put them into a spice grinder or blender along with:
4 Tbs of dried grated coconut
A chopped 1 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger
And a bit of water to make it all go round. Grind it into a paste.

In a bowl mix:
2 cups of plain yogurt
1/4 tsp of turmeric

Whip it all together and set it aside.
Meanwhile chop some zucchini (I used grey zucchini) into 1/2 inch pieces until you get 3/4 of a cup.

Set them aside.

Now to put it all together:
 In a large skillet or kadhai, heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot toss in:
 1 tsp of brown mustard seeds
 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds
 1 tsp of cumin seeds
 1 dried red chili broken in half
 About 6 curry leaves

 When the mustard seeds start to pop, add in the chopped squash.

 Stir it up and saute it a bit then add enough water to the skillet to cover the squash.

Put a lid on the pan, turn down the heat a bit and simmer it all for about 30 minutes or so until the squash is tender.
Finally, add in the yogurt paste mixture.

Stir it all together and keep stirring it warming it carefully (no curdling allowed) until it's warmed through. When it looks like it's about to boil, take it off the heat and serve it up.

 

 Hot and spicy with chilies and lovely vegetables, it's goes perfectly with any leftover. In fact tomorrow, I'm turning it into the leftover when I serve it with Basmati rice and a totally different entree. Coming next, a non boring, fast meal in about an hour and experiments with high fiber, low carb, gluten free coconut flour courtesy of my friends at Tropical Traditions

Where I've Been....

Updating all the computer equipment in the house is what I've been doing. We've  also gotten some dinner invites from friends and then there was Valentines Day. So, between getting acquainted with all the new toys and glutting, I haven't been at the stove in about 4 days. Wow. Right now I'm workng on a spicy sambar so stay tuned.

Pasta For Dessert? Try This Easy Indian Pudding.

   When planning any sort of dinner party one of the first questions I always ask myself is ... "What's for dessert?!"

   There are a lots of wonderful Indian desserts to go with a variety of meals but when planning dessert for the Indian equivalent of our Thanksgiving, there are traditions and rules. Think pumpkin pie. What would Thanksgiving dinner be without pumpkin pie? Pongal meals very often finish with a sweet rice kheer or pudding, done with special pongal rice. But since I was already serving a big rice and dal main dish, I went looking for other suggestions. That's when vermicelli pudding was suggested to me. 

   Growing up in an Italian American household, vermicelli meant one thing. Tomato sauce, pasta and definitely not dessert. Even in my mom's wild, culinary imagination, she's never been willing to go that far. First I had to explain to Alan that he was going to be having pasta for dessert. Good thing he trusts me. 

  Actually, pasta for dessert is a great idea. Thread-thin vermicelli noodles in a sweet vanilla milk pudding spiced with cardamom and studded with butter-toasted raisins and cashews is perfect after any company meal whether you're serving Indian food or not.

  Another great thing is that this is a dish that can made ahead and served either rewarmed a bit, at room temperature or chilled. Can't beat that. It also cooks in about 1 hour. 

Vermicelli Pudding

Here's what to do:

In a large pan or pot, heat 8 cups of milk.

Stir the milk as it heats and bring it to a boil.

Lower the heat to a simmer and keep stirring. There's a lot of stirring in this recipe, but it's worth it.

Simmer it down until it's reduced about 1/4 of it's volume.

Meanwhile heat 1/2 cup of unsalted butter in a skillet. When it's hot and melted, toss in:

2 Tbs of halved cashews 

1 Tbs of raisins

When they're lightly browned, take them out and set them aside.

In the same butter, saute 1 cup of vermicelli broken into pieces of about 1 and 1/2 inches. Where to find this special dessert pasta? I get my vermicelli from the Indian market, but if you don't have an Indian food source near you, any fine, thin, dry vermicelli will work.

When it turns a dark reddish color, add it all to the milk mixture. Keep the milk boiling when you do this.

Cook it all together until the vermicelli is cooked through.

Toss in:

1/2 cup of sugar

4 crushed whole green cardamom pods

1/2 tsp of saffron

Stir it together well.

Take the raisins and cashews and garnish the pudding before serving it.

Serve it warm or cold.

This is a delicious twist on traditional rice pudding and what can you say about a recipe where the hardest part involves stirring?

Dal And Rice Ven Pongal, The Centerpiece Of A Meatless Feast

 

   When I was planning my Pongal Feast for Foodbuzzs' 24 x 24 last week, I knew I couldn't have a true Pongal feast without... a Pongal. When I had a Pongal dinner last year, the dessert served was a soupy rice pudding made with a particular kind of rice served during Pongal celebrations, but since I was planning a Kerala vermicelli pudding for dessert, I needed my Pongal Rice to be my main dish. I settled on a savory blend of rice and dal studded with cashews, known as Ven Pongal.
   This dish is a fabulous centerpiece and it goes from pantry to table in about an hour and a half. You gotta love that. With all the stuff that I was preparing for my dinner that night, which I would be doing single-handed and sister-in-lawless,  I really needed something that would mind it's own business on the burner and be able to cook on its own. This is that dish.

Dal and Rice Pongal

   In a heavy skillet or saucepan, dry roast 1 cup of rice for about 5 minutes. Set it aside

Dry roast 1/2 cup of moong dal for about 5 minutes. Set it aside.

Mix them together and put them in a pan or pot with:
  4 and 1/2 cups of water
  1/2 tsp of turmeric

Bring the whole thing to a boil. Let it boil for about 15 minutes.
Turn down the heat, put a cover on the pan and let it cook for another 40 minutes or so until the rice is soft. When it's done, don't drain it, just set it aside.
Meanwhile, make a spice powder. In a spice blender or food processor, grind up:
 1 tsp of cumin seeds
 1 tsp black peppercorns
 Set the spice powder aside.
 In a small heavy skillet melt 2 Tbs of unsalted butter. When the butter is hot and foamy toss in:
 2 Tbs of cashews split in half

Saute them until they're lightly browned. Set them aside.
Once the rice and dal are done, heat 2 Tbs of unsalted butter in a small heavy pan and toss in:
 The ground cumin and peppercorns
 A 1 inch piece of grated fresh ginger
 4 or 5 curry leaves
 Saute them for about a minute, then add them to the rice and dal mixture, salt to taste, and finally sprinkle in 2 and 1/2 Tbs of grated or flaked unsweetened, dried coconut.
 Scatter the toasted cashews over the whole thing, sprinkle the dish with chopped fresh cilantro and serve it up.

 Add a couple of vegetable sides and a nice cooling raita and you're golden, just like this delicious rice and dal dish.
   Okay, a serving note. When carrying heavy clay pots filled with tasty food around, watch out for lolling huskies, like this one.

   Patsy has a bad habit of installing herself in the line of foot/food traffic. Here you can see her right behind my seat in the dining room. I always watch out when I'm carrying heavy or hot things around so that we don't have any accidents. I'm usually very careful. Except this evening. while carrying my laptop down the hall I wasn't paying attention. I thought I'd left Patsy back in our office, but she'd sneaked out and had decided to stretch herself across the hallway. I tripped over her and my laptop went up in the air. I caught it in what seemed like slow motion, and went sprawling down. Where did she go? She went running and I found her under our bed grinning up at me. I was relatively undamaged, my laptop in one piece. Another husky plot foiled, and I am here to tell the tale.

Meatless Monday, Straight Outta The Ground, A Fast And Easy Entree

    When I was putting together my Pongal menu for the Foodbuzz 24x24, I knew that among the rice and rassam and sambar and vadai, I needed a centerpiece vegetable dish. there was no question I was making an aviyal, also known as a vegetable stew.
   I love aviyals and I've been making them for years. What do I love about them? Hey, what's not to love about a wonderful vegetable dish utilizing the season's best, letting them simmer and then finishing it all off with a tasty sauce of yogurt, coconut and spices. If you have them, toss in a few dal badi (pieces of dried crunchy dal cakes). Oh, did I mention it takes under an hour? Well it does, making it perfect for a snappy. Meatless Monday meal. Pair it up with rice or maybe a salad and it's done.

South Indian Vegetable Stew

Here's what to do:
    If using dal badi pieces, heat 4 Tbs of coconut or vegetable oil  in a deep kadhai, pot or skillet. When it's hot, toss them in and stir them around until they turn a nice reddish gold color.
   Add in all the vegetables that are going to be used. Here's where it gets interesting. This dish works  with whatever vegetables you happen to have on hand. Can't find long beans, bottle gourd or bitter melon? Use green beans, carrots, squash, zucchini, eggplant or potato. Toss in some peas at the end. Get seasonal. Get local.
  I visited my local farmers market...

And this is what I found.

 

Potatoes, carrots, crooked neck squash, zucchini, green beans, long beans, butternut squash and a couple of tiny purple eggplant. Use your judgement and your imagination. There are no hard and fast rules here. After all the chopping, this is what I had.

  So back to the recipe. Add all of the vegetables to the hot oil and badi in the pot or kadhai (If you include frozen peas, defrost them and add them at the very end of the cooking process).  Add in:
 2/3 cup of water
 1 tsp of turmeric
 About 8 fresh curry leaves

Bring the water to a boil and  turn down the heat. Put a lid on the pot and let it simmer for about 30 minutes. Give it a stir every now and then to make sure it's not sticking. If it looks like it needs a little water, add a bit, but this dish should be cooked with as little water as possible. You'll get plenty of moisture from the vegetables.

    While the vegetables are simmering, make the sauce.
 In a bowl mix together:
 1/2 cup of plain yogurt
 2/3 cups of shredded, fresh or moistened, dried, unsweetened coconut
2 hot green serrano chilies seeded and finely chopped.

When the vegetables are tender and cooked, add the yogurt mixture to the pot along with:
2 tsps of salt
1 cup of defrosted peas.
Stir it all together

 This is enough for 6 to 8 hungry people. It's an easy, inexpensive and fast vegetarian entree that takes advantage of whatever you might find in the market fresh and in season. An aviyal is often served as part of a Pongal feast, but because of it's use of so many fresh and seasonal vegetables, it's great anytime of year whether feasting or barbecuing. What better way to get carnivores in the family to warm up to a meatless main dish, than spiking it with a bit of coconut?