Easy, Fast, Make Ahead, Take Away, Vegan Potato Salad. Sookhe Aloo.

   When I was a kid growing up in San Francisco there wasn't a party, a cookout, or a picnic that didn't involve a trip to Herman's Delicatessen on Geary Blvd. for some of their self proclaimed "World Famous Potato Salad!"  If you grew up in San Francisco as I did, your family likely turned up at Herman's at one time or another. The place was famous. I am a 5th generation San Franciscan, and so my family had been patronizing Herman's since forever. Herman's was my first introduction to the world of exotic cheeses. My grandparents took me there at the age of five and I was hooked. Now Herman's is long gone; the beautiful tile work in the doorway now leads one into The Gap. There are no exotic cheeses at the Gap, and certainly no World Famous Potato Salad.

   Herman's potato salad recipe can be found online here for those who remember and miss it. I don't think I ever really ate potato salad again once Herman's was gone. For one thing nothing compared, and for another I spent many years eating a vegan diet and all the dairy involved was out the window. However, once I started cooking Indian food 25 years ago, my love for potato salad was satisfied. It turns out Herman's wasn't the only place with a killer potato salad recipe. Indian cuisine features a whole array of them, a great many of them vegan. I was back in business.

   A couple of weeks ago I made my return to cooking and entertaining and one of the dishes I served was one of my favorite Indian potato salads, Sookhe Aloo. This is a spicy potato salad that is easily made ahead. One of a number of Indian potato salad recipes that I make, this one can be served warm or at room temperature which makes it a great dish to take to potlucks, or any sort of cookout. I particularly love make ahead dishes as it makes the preparation of a multi-dish Indian feast a whole lot easier, less to do on the day of the event!  Since 4th of July is coming up fast I'm passing this traditional recipe along, I'll be serving it, you might want to also.

Indian Potato Salad (serves 6)

Here's What You Need:
3 Tbs coconut or other vegetable oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/3 tsp cumin seed
1/3 tsp ground turmeric
1 Tbs serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
2 cups of finely chopped onion
5 cups of boiled and peeled potatoes (use only new red  or white potatoes. No Yukon Gold or Russets as the texture will be wrong)
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili or cayenne (optional)
1/2 Tbs fresh lemon juice.

Here's What To Do:
Put a large pot of salted water on the stove, and bring it to a boil.
When the water boils add the unpeeled whole potatoes to it and cook them until they are fork tender.
Drain the potatoes and run cold water over them to stop the cooking process.
When the potatoes are thoroughly cooled peel them.

Slice them...

...and cube them.

When you have 5 cups of cubed cooked potatoes, set them aside.

Chop and mince the onions.

Chop the chili and set it aside.

 In a skillet or kadhai heat the vegetable oil. When the oil is hot add in the mustard seeds.

Once they start to sizzle and pop stir in the turmeric...

...Serrano chili and onion.

Stir fry the onions until they are translucent, then add in your potatoes.

Fry the potatoes for about 2 minutes, until they start to brown a bit.

Then add the garam masala, sugar salt and Kashmiri chili or cayenne (if you're using it).

Turn down the heat a bit, and put a lid on things. Simmer for about 5 minutes.
Take off the lid and add in the lemon juice.

Take the pan off the heat and stir everything together until it's well mixed.
Just before serving, get some cilantro. I got to use some of the stuff from my own garden.

Chop up a handful, and sprinkle it over the potato salad.

Serve it up!

   There it is, very tasty and fresh with a slight kick from the chili. This can easily be doubled if you're feeding a crowd. It's vegan and gluten free.  I've served this for years whenever I'm looking for an easy crowd pleaser, especially for people who are new to Indian food since it can served with anything from burgers and dogs, to a traditional Indian meal. It ain't Herman's, but it's damn good! Coming up next. Fire roasting an eggplant for a tasty side dish. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Raw Spinach, Coconut, and Peanut Salad, A South Indian Side Dish.

   I wasn't doing a whole lot of cooking from January through mid April. Having chemo, and a lot of doctors visits didn't exactly put me in the mood for cooking and entertaining. I just didn't have the energy or the appetite. Now that I've been done with that for a month and a half, I have gotten my energy and my appetite back. Last weekend we decided to have a couple of very close friends over so that I could break out  my cooking skills again. Normally at our house we do a LOT of entertaining. There's always someone here to sample the latest thing I'm experimenting with, so it felt really weird getting back behind the stove again and cooking for a group. But you know what? Cooking is a lot like riding a bicycle or roller skating (a lot safer than roller skating) and once I was rattling my pots, pans, and clay again I found myself back in business.

   I decided to make the menu simple, and light for the holiday weekend. I made a selection of vegan dishes and then took Kheemah and shaped it into individual sausages for grilling. Sort of like hot dogs, but not. That way, I figured Alan could grill the final product while I concentrated on the vegetables. So, what I'm going to be featuring here are the various things I fixed for that meal. Fast, easy, and healthy, they fit into any sort of entertaining plans and are regularly served at our house, company or not.
 
   The easiest of these is an Indian raw spinach salad that's easily put together with any bag of pre-washed spinach in just a few minutes.

Raw Spinach, Coconut, and Peanut Salad,  aka Palak Koshimbar

Here's What you Need:
2 bags of  chopped prewashed spinach or 6 cups
2 Tbs coconut or vegetable oil
6 Tbs of fresh grated coconut, or dry unsweetened grated coconut moistened with a bit of water
4 Tbs of ground peanuts
1 tsp of cumin seed
a pinch of hing (asafoetida) (optional)
3 tsps lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt1/2 tsp sugar

Here's What to Do:
Wash and dry your spinach, then chop it.

Mix the spinach, coconut and peanut powder together in a large bowl.

In a small pan heat the coconut or other vegetable oil.

When the oil is hot, add in the cumin seeds.
Cook them until the cumin seeds darken a bit (just a few seconds actually).

Then add in your pinch of Hing if you are using it.
Pour the oil and spices over the spinach mixture in the bowl.

Stir everything together then add in the lemon juice...

Sugar and salt.

Mix again, and that's it you are done.

Pop it into the fridge to chill a bit and serve when you're ready.

   That's it! It couldn't be easier or more delicious. You see why I included this dish in my first big back in the kitchen day? It's an easy make ahead (a few hours ahead ) dish which always helps. Coming up next, a picnic ready Indian Potato Salad Sookhe Aloo. It's another make ahead dish, easy, vegan, and gluten free. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Green Beans, Blue Skies. The Perfect Do Ahead Cook-Out Salad.

 I keep waiting for the sunshine here in Sonoma. Right now the fog is blowing around in wisps and the wind is shaking the blossoms out of the trees and it's chilly out. There is more rain predicted for the next week and my friend Diana the checker at Sonoma Market told me that it's snowing in the Sierras. So why oh why am I so obsessed with summer salads?? Search me. In another month I'll most likely be complaining that it's too hot out and guzzling ice cold lassi like it's going out of style. I've already started making pitchers of mugicha which would be perfect if only I could drink them outside in my dining tent. Instead, I'm indoors making summer salads and baking endless loaves of artisan bread.
Paula and I had coffee this morning and I was telling her how much I loved the Clay Coyote skillet she gave me. She pointed out that it's practically a non-stick skillet due to the way the Flameware  acts . Now this I'm going to have to try. I don't use non-stick cookware and I know I need something like that for a couple of dishes. Now, my non stick problem may be solved. I can't wait to test some paneer cheese in it and see what happens.
  I wondered what I could cook this afternoon for lunch that would be a salad and still use my new skillet. Then I saw the green bean sale and knew. A simple traditional cold bean salad.
 Ideally I'd be using Chinese Long Beans if any could be found here in Sonoma. Any long bean shopping I do has to be done in Santa Rosa about 25 miles away..each way. So I figured  simple old Blue Lake green beans would do. This is a make ahead salad. It's served at room temperature and it's another dish that Alan is going to be seeing a lot of  this summer. This recipe feeds 4.
  Here's what you do.
  Wash and chop 3/4 lbs of green beans into 1/2 inch pieces.
 Set them aside.

 In a skillet or kadhai heat 2 Tbs of coconut oil. I use cold pressed virgin coconut oil (which is more info on the coconut than I ever wanted to know).
   When the oil is hot toss in:
 1/2 tsp of black mustard seed.

  When the seeds start to sputter and pop add in the green beans. Stir them around for a bit then put a lid on the pan, turn the heat to medium low, cover the pan and let them cook for about 7 to 8 minutes. The beans should still be fresh and green looking and  as they say, toothsome.

  Let the beans come to room temperature than add in:
 1/2 tsp of salt
 1/2 tsp. of sugar
 1/4 cup of peanut powder

 1 tsp of finely minced  fresh green chili
 1/2 cup of grated unsweetened coconut, raw or dried.
  Mix it all together and it's done.

 As simple as that.

 This is a dish that I love. Alan is still talking about it, and any dish that gets a grown man to eat green beans  and ask for more, is definitely a keeper.