Tandoor Aloo Potatoes With Spices Done With Fire!!!

It's been crazy up here in wine country. actually it's crazy everywhere but since this is where I am presently this is my crazy. We've been laying low since I recovered from covid. We were laying low before too. What that means is we haven't socialized, eaten out, (even contactless pickup) or gone anywhere (we are walking the dog) except to a hospital or doctor's office since this whole thing started. Meanwhile, my cooking muscle since I've been up and about again, is really getting a pandemic workout.

If that isn't enough, we've had lightning strike wildfires, rolling blackouts, and temperatures in the 100+ category. We're trying to get a script turned in and it's hard to work under those conditions. We've had our bags packed to run, and fortunately we didn't have to. We were also told to limit water / power use, and NO fires no way no how. So no outdoor cooking, not that anyone would want to stand in 103 degree temps over a fire pit. So far so good.

Last weekend we got a break, when more lightning was predicted, meaning the possibility of more fires, but the weather gods/goddesses decided to cut us a break, sent a a bit of rain and held the lightning. The fires are still burning but are much more contained, and people who had to flee their homes in the evacuation zones are being allowed to go back home. We're not out of the woods here yet, but hopefully the woods will not still be on fire.

I took advantage of pleasant temperatures and the ability to use my Homdoor Tandoor oven to do a little Indian cooking, and one of the dishes worked beautifully with the tandoor oven. It involves potatoes and is one of the simplest dishes  there is. Potatoes aka Aloo, simple boiling potatoes, basted with spices and then roasted on skewers in the tandoor till they are charred on the outside, spicy and soft on the inside. There are a lot of ways of doing this dish, this is how I do it.

Tandoor Aloo

Here's What You Need:

Several medium sized yukon gold or boiling potatoes

2 Tbs vegetable oil

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 serrano chili finely chopped, either seeded or unseeded (depends on how hot you want it)

2 tsp mashed coriander seeds

1 tsp red chili flakes

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp amchur  (dried mango) powder

1/2 tsp cumin ppowder

2 tsp lemon juice

salt to taste

a handful of chopped fresh cilantro

 

Here's What To Do:

You can par boil/ partially cook the potatoes to soften them a bit before skewering them, just don't cook them all the way through.

After they are cooked, you can leave the peel on or not, as you wish. Set them aside.

What we do here is prepare a basting sauce that will be used on the potatoes as they cook and then the remains of it drizzled over the finished dish.

First, get your spices ready.

Dice the chili pepper.

Crush the coriander seed with a mortar and pestle.

In a skillet or kadhai heat 2 Tbs vegetable oil. When the oil is hot toss in the cumin seeds.

Let them toast. As soon as they get fragrant (less than a minute) toss in the  serrano chili, and crushed coriander seed.

Now add chili flakes, turmeric, dried mango powder (amchur), roasted cumin powder, and salt. Stir these around and cook them for a few seconds. This is your basting liquid. Set it aside

Rub the potatoes with oil and thread the potatoes on oiled skewers.

Fire up your Tandoor Oven. The potatoes cook at 400 degrees for about  5 minutes, if you are doing these on a grill the same applies.

Brush the potatoes with the spice marinade

Place the skewered potatoes in the tandoor or on your grill.

Let them roast for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes take them out and brush them with the spice mixture again . Put them back in the tandoor for another 5 minutes.

When they are done, take them out and off the skewers.

Place them back in the kadhai with the marinade, coat them. 

 Drizzle them with lemon juice.

Sprinkle them with the chopped cilantro.

Ignore curious fans....

and serve them up!

Serve these spicy potatoes alongside any dish, meat or veg. Scoop the insides out of the charred skins and enjoy. 

I'm really enjoying the tandoor and especially enjoying cooking stuff fresh out of our garden in it. 

We're supposed to have more record breaking temperatures up here this Labor Day weekend.  Reports are of 102-104 degrees so I've got something cool planned. Watermelon Chaat. so stay tuned! Follow along on Twitter at @kathygori  

It's Not All About The Spiced Latte! Tuscan Pumpkin Mushroom Pasta And It's Pumpkin Spice Free.

   I do love pumpkin, always have, always will. However, I draw the line at all the pumpkin spiced junk that seems to find its' way to the store shelves and our tables during this season. I do confess that a month ago I bought a bag of Pumpkin Spiced Popcorn, which was the culinary equivalent of sticking a fork into an electrical socket just to see what happens. I might as well have taken a toaster into the tub with me. The store didn't even comment when I brought it back. My guess is they have a lot of practice.
   
   Savory pumpkin  though, which is often found in Indian and Italian cuisine, is another matter all together. That stuff is delicious! Which is why I served it at a dinner party last night for some gluten free vegetarian friends. This dish is extremely easy to make and cooks up in no time. Seriously. Take it from someone who spends days prepping an Indian feast, this is fast... and cheap. If you've got a box of pasta and a can of pumpkin  you can do this.

Pumpkin Pasta With Mushrooms

Here's What You Need

1 1/2 pounds of pasta
2  shallots finely minced
8 Tbs of pumpkin puree
1/2 pound King Oyster Mushrooms...or actually any mushroom.

10 Tbs of butter
10 sage leaves, chopped
1 cup of soft ricotta  (I make my own get the recipe here)

 One pomegranate ( learn how to prep one here )

Here's What To Do:

 

 Thinly slice the mushrooms and set them aside, and thinly slice the sage leaves.

 In a skillet melt 10 tbs of butter add in the thinly sliced shallots.

Saute until they are translucent.
Now add in the thinly sliced sage leaves and oyster mushrooms.

Saute until the mushrooms are soft.
Add in 10 Tbs of plain pumpkin puree.

Mix it with the melted butter until you have a smooth pumpkin butter.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water.
When the pasta is done drain it, saving part of the pasta cooking water.
Add the drained pasta to the skillet of sauce.
Stir in 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Reheat the sauce until it coats the pasta and is nice and creamy.

To serve, place the pasta in individual bowls.
Top with a dollop of soft ricotta, a scattering of pomegranate arils  and some chopped pistachios.

This is a simple yet elegant way to use canned pumpkin, no weird pumpkin spices involved. It's one of my favorite ways to serve pasta, especially as a company entree.

Okay, so that's the recipe that google ate. More to come as I am back in the kitchen cooking and writing again now that we have a new adopted family member.

Coming up next, more winter delights. Follow along on Twitter  @kathygori

It's Fig Season In Sonoma. Time for Fig and Lobster Risottto!

       
   If there is one fruit that stands out among my favorites, cherry, pomegranate, and persimmon, it's figs. I love them. Any variety, any time. One of the first things we did when we put the vegetable garden in at our new house was plant a fig tree. I thought I was buying a Mission fig. Instead our tree is a panache fig.

Tiger striped, and incredibly sweet, they are the last figs to ripen in fig season so we're still waiting. However, we have a friend who has a magnificent fig tree but hates figs. Isn't that always the way it is? He's perfectly happy to let me pillage his tree every year around this time. I take away pounds of figs. When I see them at the market for 6.99 for a little basket I laugh because up here in Sonoma figs are like weeds. They grow all along the roadsides and anyone can just help themselves. A few years back a friend and I did the whole gleaning thing and we gathered pounds and pounds and pounds of unwanted figs. I made preserves from mine. If you'd like the recipe it's here...Fig Jam. Or, if you'd like a roasted fig and goat cheese ice cream...I've made that too.

The recipe is here.But now I'm interested in something beyond just the figs...I'm into the fig leaves. Yes, fig leaves. Straight up Adam and Eve wardrobe, now I discover it's edible. Who knew?

   As it turns out fig leaves can be used for a variety of purposes very similar to grape leaves. They can be used as a food wrapping, they can be ground of tea, they can be smoked and used as an ingredient such as these Smoked Fig Leaf Shortbread Cookies.

They can also be a simple ingredient in a risotto which is what I'm talking about today. This all came together around a bunch of free figs and a huge lobster tail sale. If lobster is ever on sale anywhere, I'm there!

So, if you can get your pie hooks on some cheap lobster, fresh figs, and a few fresh non sprayed fig leaves I've got a recipe for you.

Fig And Lobster Risotto

Here's What You Need:

1 dozen fresh figs
1 fresh unsprayed large fig leaf
2 lobster tails
1/2 cup of white wine
1 shallot thinly sliced
1 cup of arborio rice
2 cups of water
2 tsp of salt
3 sage leaves
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs unsalted butter

Here's What To Do:

 Wash, dry, and cut the fresh figs into halves, then quarters . Set aside.

Take the meat from the lobster tails and cut it into bite sized pieces. Set aside.
Save the shells if you like, they can be used for lobster stock.
Slice the sage leaves thinly and set aside.

In a large pot for risotto heat the olive oil.
When the oil is hot pour the rice into the pot and stir it around to warm it.

Now add in the 2 cups of water and 2 tsp of salt. When the water comes to a boil lay the fig leaf on top of the water and rice.

When the water starts to boil, put a lid on the pan and turn the heat down to the lowest it will go. Let it cook for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile back at the figs...

Heat a couple of Tbs of olive oil in a skillet.
When the oil is hot add in the thinly sliced shallot.
Saute it until the shallot starts to lightly brown.
Add in the thinly sliced sage leaves.

Saute them for a minute or two.
Add in the 1/2 cup of white wine, along with the figs.

Saute them for a little bit to soften them letting the wine evaporate.
When the figs have cooked add in the pieces of lobster.

Stir them around and simmer them gently. The lobster cooks fast so keep an eye on it, you don't want it to toughen.
Stir everything together well on a low flame.

Right about now the rice should be done. Add 1Tbs of unsalted butter to the fig and lobster mixture.

This gives it a nice creamy texture.
Take the lid off the pot of risotto.

Remove the fig leaf.

Add the fig, lobster, and sage mixture to the risotto.

Stir it all together.  Add a few shreds of fresh sage over the top. Voila! You are done!

Serve it up!

There it is a lovely fall lunch, light and elegant and it only takes 15 minutes to cook!

Coming up next, an Indian special from the garden featuring  eggplant, potato, and bitter melon . Follow along on Twitter @kathygori
  

Where I've Been, What's Been Happening, + Have Some White Peach and Lavender Tart Gluten Free.

   
So, it's been a while. I was looking back on my blog the other day and I see I've posted a lot fewer recipes in the last two years then I normally would. I haven't stopped cooking and as a matter of fact I've been doing a lot more cooking, only I haven't been able to write about it - until now. I'm a screenwriter by trade. I work with my husband /writing partner Alan Berger 5 days a week. It's how we earn our living, that's what pays the bills. I cook most every day but my weekends were the time I devoted to The Colors of Indian Cooking. The weekends were when I'd turn my kitchen into a cooking lab/photo studio. I cook, Alan takes the pictures. Obviously, all that activity is NOT what happens on work days, but it's what I've been doing for the 9 years I've been writing this blog.
    We've been very busy the last two years, partially because we just finished a TV pilot and series bible, but also because I've been under contract for the last two years working on developing the menu for the CocoaPlanet restaurant here in Sonoma. So, that's where I've been.
   
For two years my weekends were devoted to starters, mains, and a LOT of desserts. Everything had to be gluten free, (I've developed my own flour blends) many things vegan, and they also wanted a menu friendly to the lactose intolerant. So after a week of writing, rewriting, and notes for our writing work, every Saturday I'd cook and then we'd meet for recipe testing on whatever I was doing. If it worked it would go into the chefs book at the restaurant.  Weekends were still consumed with cooking,  only I wasn't publishing any of it. People were eating it.

Now, CocoaPlanet is moving to Arizona, so my time as a consultant for them here in Sonoma, is done. A lot of the pictures of what I've been cooking I've posted here, on twitter and instagram. I also have 2 big books of my recipes. 

Now I'm trying to decide what exactly to do with all this stuff. Basically, I've got the makings of a cookbook...several cookbooks to be exact. I'm thinking  gluten free desserts to start. For years my friends Paula Wolfert and Steve Sando have told me I should do a cookbook, but I thought I'd never have he time. Now I've accumulated a whole bunch of recipes and I am also  more than a bit overwhelmed as to what to do. I think I really need to do something with all of this.

A few weeks back I made a white peach and lavender frangiapne tart. People asked for the recipe and now I'm finally getting around to publishing it.

White Peach and  Lavender Frangiapane Tart

The Pastry

Here's What You Need:

1 and 1/4 cup of all purpose gluten free  or regular flour , plus extra for dusting.
1 stick of unsalted butter  at room temperture
zest of 1 lemon
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3 Tbs sugar 
1 egg yolk
3 Tbs of ice water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp lemon juice


Here's What to Do:

1. Mix your tart dough. In the bowl of a food processor pulse together 1 and 1/4 cups of gluten free tart flour mix, 3 Tbs sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, the lemon zest, and 7 tbs unsalted butter. Pulse these together until you have a fine meal-like blend.

2. In a small bowl beat together: 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice, 3 Tbs ice water.

3. Drizzle this mixture over the flour butter mixture in the food processor and pulse until it forms a dough. This happens pretty quickly.

4. Take the dough out and put it on a surface dusted with tapioca flour. Knead a couple of times, roll it into a ball and then flatten it into a disc.

5. When the dough is blended and formed into a disc, wrap it in saran wrap or waxed paper and let it firm up in the freezer for about 10 minutes before working with it.
You can also just keep it in the freezer to use later or roll it out and place it in well greased individual tart pans for later baking and filling.


If you are doing this:

1. Butter 5 small tart pans with removable bottoms - or just one large pan.

2. Cut your disc of chilled dough into five pieces. Or make one large tart.

3. Roll one out and shape it into a disc. Fit the dough into the tart pan. Trim away the excess dough. Do this with each tart pan.

4. Fit Saran Wrap into the pie crust. Poke holes into the crust through the Saran Wrap. Place the tart pans in the freezer to be filled and baked later.


Here's What To Do: (blind baking)

1. Take a big piece of tin foil. Take the pie crust out of the freezer. Remove the
Saran Wrap. Place the foil into the pie crust and up the sides. 

2. Fill the pie shell with rice, beans or pie weights.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Pop the tart pan onto a baking sheet and bake it in the oven for about 6 minutes.

4. Remove it. Take the foil and pie weights out the crust. Put the crust back in the over for another 6 minutes. Done. Now lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees  and let your blind baked crust cool a bit while you make the filling

The Filling:

Here’s What You Need :

Frangipane Cream
1/3 cup  caster sugar 
6 Tbs unsalted butter at room temperture
 1/2 cup gluten free or regular flour
 3/4 cup almond flour
 2 eggs
1 tsp almond extract

Peaches:
4 ripe but firm white peaches
1 tsp  crumbled lavender flowers
1 tsp lemon juice

Glaze:
1 Tbs water 
3 Tbs peach jam


Here’s What to Do:

1. To make the filling, put all the frangipane cream ingredients into a food processor and mix them together. You will get a thick yet still spreadable paste.

2. To prepare the peaches slice them and drizzle them with a bit of lemon juice so they don't turn color.

Lower the oven heat to 350 degrees

3. Fill the tart with the frangipane cream. Spread it evenly. Arrange the peach slices in a row on the surface of the tart until it's filled.

4. Bake for another 40 to 45 minutes until the frangipane is set and the crust is nice and golden.

 5. Take the tart from the oven. Heat the glaze in a microwave for about 20 seconds or so, then brush the hot tart surface (peaches and all) with the glaze. Set the tart on a cooling rack and let it cool before unmolding 

There it is, and there's a lot more where that came from. The big question is  how do I do this? Scripts I know, cookbooks are a new world for me. Stay tuned! 

Coming up next back to the world of Indian food as my garden delivers a Summer menu follow along on Twitter @kathygori

A Simple South Indian Fish Curry. Make it in 60 Minutes For The Perfect Lunch or Dinner.

 
   With all the crap going on out in the world right now, frankly I haven't been much in the mood to write about food.  However, everyone's got to eat and I get a lot of relaxation out of cooking. It's almost a form of zen for me. So even though we may be consumed with the outside world, it's good and healthy to drop back a bit and feed yourself and your family  something delicious like this fish curry. Alan is now mainly eating a vegetarian diet, with the exception of fish, so I guess he's actually a pescetarian . Every couple of days I interrupt the vegetarian/vegan leanings and toss him a fish.  The guy has given up burgers after all. 

There are a lot of amazing fish dishes in the cuisine of South India, and many of them involve coconut, using either coconut milk, or ground coconut. This recipe uses plain ground coconut. One can use either fresh or frozen coconut meat. I used plain grated, unsweetened dried coconut for this dish. I have the fresh at my disposal but I wanted to make sure the recipe could work for people who might have access only to the dried coconut found in most markets. Everything else in the dish is readily available with the exception of the fresh curry leaves and if you don't have those, just leave them out as there is no substitute.

So grab yourself some fresh firm meaty fish (I used cod but snapper, hake, pollack etc will do just fine) and get your curry on. The other great thing about this recipe? It's ready in under an hour which makes it a perfect lunch dish for our writing week.

South Indian Dry Fish Curry

Here's What You Need:

The Paste:
1 and 1/4 lbs of firm fleshed white fish (I used cod in this dish)
1 small onion finely chopped
1 fresh tomato chopped
1 Tbs whole balck p[eppercorns
6 dried red chilies
1 and 1/2 tsp of salt
3/4 cup plus 1/8 cup of grated dried unsweetened coconut

The Fish:
3 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1 tsp urad dal (if you don't have it leave it out)
2 tsp turmeric
2/3 cup of water
A handful of fresh curry leaves
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro

Here's What To Do:

Put all the paste ingredients in the bowl of a food processor...

...and grind them up.

Cut the fish into cubes.

Get your urad dal (if you have it) mustard seeds and turmeric together.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet or kadhai.
When the oil is hot add in the urad dal and mustard seeds.
When they strt to sizzle and pop, add in the Paste...

...and turmeric.

Cook everything for about 3 minutes until it turns fragrant then add the water.

Bring the water to a boil, and when it's boiling add in the fish.

Cook everything for 5 minutes or until the fish is fully cooked.
Shake the pan every now and then to cook things evenly. Be certain nothing is sticking and burning.
Then add the curry leaves if using them...

...and the cilantro...

...and you are done! I prepared some basmati rice cooked with cashews, sultanas, cinnamon, and saffron. I served the fish curry on top of that.

You can also serve this with chapattis, or any green vegetable dish.

This cooks up really quickly which makes it a perfect weekday meal, but it also looks pretty cool which makes it company-worthy if you add a bunch of other Indian dishes to go along. I love an entree that takes less than and hour especially during these super-hot summer months!!!

So there you have it. A simple, easy fish curry.
Coming up next by request a White Peach Lavender Frangpane Tart that happens to be #glutenfree.

Follow along on Twitter @kathygori