Full of Beans! Slow and Easy, Rancho Gordo Royal Coronas Go Masala.

   
   I love fresh beans. They're versatile, inexpensive, and they feed a whole passel of people easily. What I don't like about beans is whenever I want beans it requires planning... and by planning I mean a long soaking. Therefore, by the time I'm ready to eat beans, I'm too lazy to do all the prep work necessary.  Well, all that's out the window now that I've cooked Royal Corona Beans from Rancho Gordo in my slow cooker. I'd  bought a bag of Royal Coronas at the Rancho Gordo store a couple of months ago purely because of the way they looked. Royal Coronas are huge white beans, and as I discovered, they get even bigger after cooking. Three times bigger to be exact. Two cups of dried Royal Coronas can easily feed 6 people at one meal, or two people for two days.
    
   In planning how to prepare them, I decided to cook them the same way I do chole (garbanzo beans) as I thought the spices would be a great compliment to the creamy texture of these big beauties, but I was worried about timing.  I didn't want to spend an entire bean-centric day. Steve Sando owner and founder of Rancho Gordo told me that if dried beans are truly fresh (and his are), long pre-soaking is not a must. One can go right to the cooking phase which is what I did. Skeptically, I must  admit but as I discovered, Steve was right!

   Four hours in a slow cooker in some water, softened these babies up perfectly so that they were ready for the final phase. In this case the final phase took about 20 minutes which is pretty dang good and fast for a dried bean recipe. In fact I put the beans and their cooking water into the fridge overnight and finished the dish quickly for lunch  the next day using the spices from my trusty The Chaunk Box .So fire up your slow cooker for big juicy, creamy, Royal Coronas without a whole lot of preparation.

Royal Corona Masala

Here's What You Need:
2 Tbs vegetable oil (I use coconut oil )
2 cups of dried Rancho Gordo Royal Corona Beans
1 onion finely chopped
1 tsp cumin seed
4 tsps finely chopped fresh ginger
4 shallots chopped
2 serrano chilies minced
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup pomegranate molasses

Here's What To Do:
Place  2 cups of dried Royal Corona beans in a slow cooker with 6 cups of water.
Turn the slow cooker up to high and let them simmer for about 4 hours. They'll swell up  and get tender.
Drain the beans but save the water they've been cooked in as it contains a lot of the nutrients and you'll also be using it later in the recipe.
In a skillet or kadhai heat the vegetable oil.

When the oil is hot, add in the cumin seeds.

Once they start to sizzle (this is almost instantly) toss in the onion, shallot, ginger, salt, and green chilies.

Saute everything until the onion and shallot are cooked through and translucent.
Once the onions and shallot are soft, add in the garam masala, coriander, and turmeric.

Stir this mixture around for about 1 minute then add in the tomatoes

and the juice from the can.

add the cooked Royal Coronas also.

These are big suckers! Stir them around well and make sure everything is well mixed and add in 1/2 cup of the saved bean water.

Bring the mixture to a simmer, and let it cook like that for about 20 minutes. The sauce will have thickened and the flavors blended.

Check the salt for seasoning and you can serve this over plain Basmati rice or on its own.
Top with a dab of yogurt to cut the heat, and drizzle with a bit of pomegranate molasses to highlight the sweet meatiness of the beans.

 Top with a bit of chopped cilantro and that's it! 

   Letting the slow cooker do the work makes pulling this bean dish together quick and simple. Add a chapatti or dosa and that's all she wrote. I'm going to be cooking a lot more of these Royal Coronas as I think prepared in this manner they're a natural for Summer Cook outs.

  
   Now that I've converted to this easy way of cooking the beans I want, when I want them, I'm going to be doing a lot more Indian translations of New World beans. Coming up next Seasonal Indian cooking and something new for Summer from The Chaunk follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Fast and Easy, Kerala Style Eggplant, Vegan and Gluten Free.

   It's been very busy around here which is why I've had a bit of time between posts. It's not that I haven't been cooking, I have been. It's more like what I've been cooking.  What's been coming out of the kitchen lately is a lot of vegan and gluten free  food. I've been working with my friends at CocoaPlanet who are opening their chocolate factory and Cafe here in Sonoma. I've been hired to help design the menu at the cafe which will be ALL Gluten Free! There are also going to be vegan and vegetarian offerings along with meat dishes. Besides their delicious chocolates, they'll be serving pizzas, quiches, salads, sandwiches, and of course delightful desserts. If you follow me on Instagram, you've likely seen some of the things they'll be featuring.
  
   We've also been prepping a second run of The Chaunk, our Indian Spice Kits, which have sold out in the Rancho Gordo Store in the San Francisco Ferry Building, and also at J.James here in Sonoma. We've been getting our Chaunk online store ready also, so we can make them available to everyone. There are a few other projects in the pipeline too, so this has been a pretty busy time for us. On top of that, I finished my chemo today. It's been a long year and a half, a lot of ice hats and spices under the bridge. So, back to Indian Food and writing! What better way to kick off a cold and luckily rainy January here in Sonoma than a hot and spicy, easy to prepare Kerala eggplant dish.

  

Kerala Style Coconut Eggplant

 

Here's What You Need:

1 eggplant
1/2 cup of coconut milk
1 Tbs dried, unsweetened ,shredded coconut
1 dried ,red chili ( I used Chiles de arbol from Rancho Gordo)
2 serrano chilies chopped
4 thin sliced rounds of ginger
1 shallot peeled and chopped
1 onion peeld and finelu chopped
2 tsp coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
3 Tbs  vegetable oil, (I use coconut oil)
salt to taste
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs chopped fresh mint.

Here's What To Do:
Chop your eggplant into 1 inch pieces.

(Eggplant is a notorious oil sop. To cut down on the amount of oil in the dish, I place the cut up eggplant in the microwave for about 3 or 4 minutes, which softens it and partially cooks it, then I finish it in the pan with the spices. This reduces the amount of time the dish takes to prepare.)

Place the eggplant pieces in a covered microwave dish, and cook them for about 3 or 4 minutes. They will be tender when done. Set them aside.
Pour the coconut milk into a food processor or blender.

Add in the ginger...

...dried chiles...

...Serrano chilies...

...shallot and onion...

...and dried coconut.

Blend everything to a thick paste.

Finally add in the garam masala, coriander,and turmeric.

Blend it again, and set it aside.
Heat the coconut or vegetable oil in a skillet or kadhai.

When the oil is hot pour in the coconut spice paste.

 Cook it on medium high heat for about 4 minutes, until it starts to get fragrant and color a bit.
Drain the eggplants of whatever water they've given off while coking in the microwave and add them to the pan.

Add salt to taste. I used about 1 teaspoon.

Cook everything stirring over a high heat for about 4 minutes.

Then turn the heat down, put a lid on the pan and let things simmer for about 10 minutes.

Give it a stir every now and then to make sure nothing is sticking or burning.
When the eggplants are nice and soft and the spice mix cooked through, add in the lemon juice...

...cilantro and mint.

Stir everything together and cook for another minute or two. Check for seasoning, you can add a pinch of garam masala at this point if you wish, and serve it up.

   Hot, spicy, and delicious, this makes a great vegetarian/vegan offering for any weekday, or Meatless Monday meal. Pair it with a simple Basmati rice dish or any western entree and you are golden! Coming up next, speaking of Basmati Rice, I got the opportunity to taste some straight out of the Himalayas and have a great way to make plain rice something special. Follow along on Twitter@kathygori http://www.thecolorsofindiancooking.com

Come See The Chaunk On Friday At Rancho Gordo In The SF Ferry Building And Have Some Dal On Us!

   We've been working on a project the last several months that finally is sitting on the table in all its glory. The Chaunk, An Indian Spice Kit. After Paula Wolfert, Alice Medrich, and Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo New World Specialty Foods came to our house for an Indian lunch this Summer, Steve suggested that we develop an Indian Spice Kit to make cooking delicious Indian food easier for people. We immediately got excited about the project since one of the things I always hear about Indian food is "I'd love to cook it but where do I get all those spices?" The Chaunk makes that easy. It's all in one box.
  
   For years living in Los Angeles near a great Indian market, I was able to get everything I needed for my cooking quickly and easily. However, if one does not have a place like that on tap, cooking Indian food can be a fairly frustrating experience. Where to find, Methi leaves, Amuchur powder, Kalonji (aka Nigella)? Certainly not at one's neighborhood supermarket as I found out after we moved to Sonoma. 50 mile round trip drives to get the Indian pantry essentials I needed was a lot of work, especially if Indian cuisine at home is a new thing to someone. Which is why we came up with  The Chaunk.

   The Chaunk is a cooking technique used in the cuisines of India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh where whole spices are fried briefly in oil to heighten their flavors then poured over the dish at the beginning or the very end of cooking. Where did the word "chaunk" come from? Some people say it originated with the muffled sound of the just fried spices being poured over the dish. Either way, it's the delicious "finish" that makes the flavors "pop". The Chaunk Box comes in two sizes. The smaller pack contains 8 spices and ingredients, the larger pack contains 12. Both packs include some of our favorite vegetarian recipes. The idea is,  one can open the box and start cooking great Indian food easily at home.
 
I will be at Steve Sando's Rancho Gordo Store at the San Francisco Ferry Building this coming Friday, the day after Thanksgiving from 11:00 AM on, where The Chaunk will be on sale. I'll be serving up delicious Dal Makhani made with some of Steve's great Ayocote Morado beans so c'mon down and say hello. We hope to make The Chaunk available online soon.
    

 

Gluten Free, Chocolate Shortbread Cookies With CocoaPlanet Chocolate Ganache Icing. PS: They Can Be Vegan Too!

   This is cookie season, aka, The Holidays. No matter what you're celebrating there's always room for a cookie or two, and this is a cookie recipe that can be enjoyed by anyone no matter what their dietary requirements.

   I've been working with the folks at CocoaPlanet for a couple of years now and I'm thoroughly in love with their chocolate. Because the owners of the business cannot eat gluten, their chocolate is entirely gluten free, lactose free, non GMO, and fair trade. Anne McKibben, the creator of CocoaPlanet is of French ancestry, and learned chocolate making from her mom. This stuff is GOOD! Seriously old school. They're opening their CocoaPlanet factory here in Sonoma next January and it's also going to house a cafe and also garden dining where one can do chocolate tastings and grab a meal at the same time. I'm working with them developing gluten free and vegan dishes for the menu. This is the most fun food assignment I've had in quite a while.
 
   One of the things I've come up with for CocoaPlanet are these chocolate shortbread cookies. They're easy to make at home. The dough keeps well in the fridge or freezer when properly wrapped which makes them perfect for last minute holiday guests. They can also be made vegan, with one simple shortening change. This recipe uses butter, but one can easily switch that out for any vegan shortening. I've been making quite a few batches of these while we've been "testing" (technical word for pigging out) them. This is a delicious and easily made cookie, so in case you can't get out to CocoaPlanet in person, you can buy their chocolate and make these at home. In fact all of the ingredients are easily found at any Whole Foods or natural foods market.

Gluten Free Chocolate Shortbread Cookies

Here's What You Need:
 
For the Cookies
2 cups plus 4 Tbsp of teff flour
12 Tbsp white rice flour
1/2 cup of good quality dark unsweetened cocoa powder
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature or an equal amount (1 cup) of vegan shortening
1/2 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 tsp kosher salt

For the Ganache 
1/2 cup of whipping cream, or full fat coconut milk
10 oz of CocoaPlanet Mandarin Orange Chocolate.

Here's What to Do: 

Mix together the rice flour and teff flour. I always keep a container of this rice flour/ teff flour mix in the house ever since Alice Medrich came to lunch at our place and turned me on to it. As Alice has pointed out in her book Flavor Flours, Teff flour is a killer mix with chocolate. This stuff is a good thing to have around if you are a gluten free chocolate lover.

Scoop out 1 and 1/2 cups of the teff / rice flour mix you made.
Sift this flour mix together with the cocoa powder, and kosher salt and set it aside.

In an electric mixer or with a hand mixer beat the butter or shortening for about 4 minutes or until it's nice and fluffy.

Add in the sugar.

Beat it for about another 2 minutes.
Adjust your speed to low and add in the flour cocoa mixture.

Mix it together on a low speed until everything in combined and the dough sticks together.
Lay down some waxed paper.
Place the cookie dough on it and shape it into a disc.

Lay more waxed paper on top and flatten the dough until it's about 1/4 inch thick. I do this because the dough is going to be cut with a cookie cutter when it's firm.

Place the cookie dough into the fridge to firm up. This takes about 1 hour.

You can also roll the dough into a log shape and wrap it in waxed paper. Doing it that way allows you to just cut pieces off the log and bake them whenever you'd like. 

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
After the dough has firmed up, take it from the fridge and smooth it out a bit with a rolling pin to get it to the thickness you'd like. Always keep waxed paper between the dough and the rolling pin so nothing sticks.
Place a piece of parchment paper or a silicone baking mat on a cookie sheet.
Using a small round cookie or biscuit cutter, punch out round cookies and place them about an inch apart on the sheet. They will spread while baking.

You want them to be about this thick.

When they're all on the cookie sheet place them in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes.

Take them out and let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 5 minutes or so and then transfer them to a cooling rack.

Meanwhile mix the Ganache according to this recipe.
When the cookies have cooled ice them on one half of one side.

Place them on a cooling rack so the ganache can set.

Don't refrigerate these cookies, just keep them in an airtight container to store them. You likely won't be keeping them too long, as these don't last especially around kids! Here's a delicate serving suggestion..but who am I kidding?

Just reach in a grab a fistful. Your gluten free/ vegan friends will thank you, and those that aren't will never know the difference unless you tell them. Right now there's only one place to get these and that's my house..but as soon as CocoaPlanet opens here in Sonoma...they'll be on the menu.

   We're pretty excited here about another project we're doing that's going to be coming up on the day after Thanksgiving aka Black Friday when The Colors of Indian Cooking comes to the Ferry Building in San Francisco courtesy of Steve Sando and Rancho Gordo Beans.... details very soon.
 Coming up next. Winter vegetables and Indian comfort food. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori