Dessert? In a Tandoor Oven? You Betcha, In My Pandemic Diwali Feast. Part: 3

Usually, we have a lot of folks over during Diwali for a big feed. This year however, plans are changed due to Covid. This isn't the first time a planned Diwali feast has been scuttled. Once there were heavy rains and a power outage, twice there were wildfire evacuations, and once my stove died. This year of course, we're all staying close to home because of Covid so my big dinner, which usually looks something like this....

...is now more like something in the Soup For One Lonely Guy universe. It's just us chickens, or rather just us, and a Siberian Husky.

Luckily, I now have a Tandoor oven and that makes all the difference. So I whipped up a multi course dinner for just family in my backyard tandoor and it made a simple meal special. I was even able to cook my dessert in it. Dessert? In a tandoor? Yes indeedy. One can't just plunge anything into hot coals and fire and expect it to come out dessert, but there are certain things that just work and one of them is pineapple.

As someone who grew up in an Italian household, my experience with pineapple was definitely NOT on pizzas. Pineapple, or rather badly burnt pineapple was what we usually lifted off my moms Easter ham with tongs. No one wanted to eat it. It resembled some sort of burnt rubber gasket, and sort of tasted like that too. It was enough to put me off pineapple for a good many years. Then I discovered it didn't have to be like that. Pineapple could be delicious cold, in ice creams or sorbets, as cake fillings, or in a chutney. So, when I had the idea of putting pineapple near fire and coals again, that old childhood trauma came back. I wasn't going to deliberately incinerate a delicious piece of fruit. I was NOT my mother.

That's around the time I noticed an intriguing dish called Tandoori Ananas, or Pineapple, glazed and roasted in a tandoori oven. Nothing wrong with that! But I was still scared about cooking a dessert in a flaming hot pit. So of course I did what I always do when I'm scared of something, I try to do it. I'm glad I did. This can be made on a grill, or under a broiler, but dang, that tandoor oven really does the job. And it's easy too. As easy as Pineapple.

Tandoori Ananas

 

Here's what you need:

1 Pineapple

1 star anise, broken into pieces

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 Tbs of honey

1 pinch of chili powder. (I used Kashmiri chili)

 

Here's What To Do:

First cut open your pineapple. 

Twist off the top.

Split it in half lengthwise.Trim the core off, and cut around the pineapple meat.

Then cut horizontally and make chunks. It's pretty easy.

Break out the star anise. And break one into pieces and set it aside.

Poke a piece of star anise into each chunk of pineapple.

Toast the fennel seeds in a dry pan on the stove.

When they're toasted, crush them  in a mortar and pestle, and put them in a bowl together with the honey...

...and the chili

Thread the pieces of pineapple on a skewer...

...and brush them with the spice honey mixture.

Next, start your engines...that is fire up your tandoor oven, grill or broiler. Your tandoor should be at about 450 degrees.

Place the pineapple in the tandoor oven... slid the cover closed...

...and cook. Keep an eye on it and rotate your skewers, this cooks fast! Actually everything in a tandoor cooks fast which is why it's so much fun to use.

When it starts to char a bit, it's done.

Take it out of the oven, brush it with the glaze once again and slide it off the skewers onto your plate.I'd say right into your pie hole but these suckers are hot., so be careful.

I served this with some homemade Rose Pistachio ice cream. I make this ice cream frequently but I'd never done this with it before.The pineapple and the rose and pistachio really worked well together. Totally festive even if it was just us!

So there it is. My pandemic Diwali Feast  made entirely in my Homdoor Tandoori Oven. 

I'll be making this again and I'm not waiting for Diwali to roll around to do it! Coming up next, a vegan chocolate pudding made from oat milk, and some other quarantine treats for all the holidays coming soon.

Meanwhile, follow along on Twitter @kathygori

When Eggplant Is More Than An Just An Emoji! Diwali Feasting in The Time of A Pandemic. Part 2...

We grow a LOT of what we eat around here. One of my favorite vegetables is eggplant. In my Italian-American family we ate a LOT of eggplant. It was cheap and extremely versatile. We put it in sauces, on pizzas, we Parmed it, and it was always a great meaty substitute for the real deal when  things were tight and payday seemed a million miles away. 

Each year I plant about 3 or 4 different varieties of eggplant. I plant round Thai eggplant, little finger eggplants, classic Italian eggplant, Chinese eggplant and of course, Indian eggplant. I love all of them and while most can be switched up to cover almost any recipe, one of my favorites is the Japanese eggplant. I thought I'd had it a million different ways and then 30 years ago I started cooking Indian food and discovered another million ways I'd missed. Then a Year ago I was given a Homdoor Tandoori Oven and for the first time I cooked eggplant tandoori style. Wow!

This is a very simple dish, using a few basic spices, no marinating, just a salt soak for the eggplant, and you're done. It can also be roasted on the grill... but hey... once you try this out of a tandoor oven you'll not want to go back. I used Japanese eggplants for this dish but you can use any sort, just cut it to shape.

 

Tandoori Eggplant

Here's What You Need:

3 Japanese eggplants,  cut into 1 and 1/2 inch wedges.

1 Tbs of vinegar... but NOT Red Wine Vinegar. This recipe calls for something different. I'd recommend, Malt Vinegar, Coconut Vinegar, Banana Vinegar, or what I used.... Pineapple Vinegar from Steve Sando at Rancho Gordo

1 cup of thick Greek yogurt 

2 Tbs tomato paste

1 Tbs grated fresh ginger

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp garam masala

1 and 1/2 Tbs vegetable oil

1 red onion cut into thin slices

1 tsp sugar

1/3 cup white wine vinegar

fresh mint leaves

lime wedges 

 

Here's What To Do:

Cut the  eggplants into 1 and 1/2 inch chunks. Place them in a bowl, sprinkle with 2 Tbs of salt and let the eggplant sit int the salt for 1 and 12 hours. this removes any bitterness from the eggplant. 

After it's salt nap, take the eggplant chunks and rinse the salt off thoroughly.

Pat the eggplant pieces dry and let them set a bit while you mix up the marinade.

Mix up your vinegar...

...tomato paste...

...ginger...

...turmeric...

... paprika and oil...

...and blend all of  it into the yogurt...

...brush your skewers with oil...

...and thread the eggplant pieces on to the skewers.

This is when I lit my tandoor, you want the heat hot hot hot for cooking these. They cook very quickly. The Homdoor Tandoor gets super hot quite fast. If you're using a regular BBQ you want to light it up about now.

While your fire is getting to the right temperature, time to pickle the onions.

Take your red onion rings and place them in a bowl with the white wine vinegar,  sugar, and 1 tsp of salt.

Stir everything around and let the onion slices cure while you are cooking.

When your Tandoor, or grill is at about 400 degrees F, time to get cooking.

Baste the eggplant chunks with the yogurt marinade...

...and angle the skewers into your tandoor oven, or place them on the grill

Keep an eye on them so they don't burn. Rotate the skewers so they cook evenly on all sides.

After about 5 minutes or so check them if you're using a tandoor oven.. these things cook FAST. On a regular BBQ grill it might take between 10 and 20 minutes. There's no set time, it depends on the heat of your fire.

When they're cooked through and nicely charred, take the eggplant out of the tandoor.

Get ready to serve it up.

Slide the eggplant chunks off the skewer

Serve them with the pickled red onion slices, and a scattering of fresh mint.

Squeeze a lime wedge over the eggplant and you are good to go!!!

this is so easy and quick that I know it's going to be a tandoor staple around here since I have so many eggplants. You can serve this with any meal, American or Indian cuisine. It's a great addition to any sort of BBQ, and if you want to make a total tandoori meal, add more veg dishes, rice, and chapattis for a vegetarian meal. This is also the perfect veg side dish that compliments any entree meat or fish.

  I served this with  tandoori chicken

a cucumber and dal salad 

... chapattis...

...and of course....dessert, also cooked in the Tandoor, that is coming up next! Tandoor Pineapple with rose pistachio ice cream. A nearly all Tandoor meal, so stick around, Diwali starts on  Nov 14th, there's going to be alot of good eating around here, even if it's just us this year. Follow along on Twitter at @kathygori