Simple Scallops and Shrimp For An Easy Weekday Meal

     
   Well,  long time no blog and it's really good to be back. As many people who read or watch the news know, things have been chaotic around here in Sonoma County. We've been dealing with fires, crazy mad winds, unbreathable air, and PG&E's "public safety " blackouts. In the last few weeks I've learned more about generators and solar power than I ever thought I'd need to know, and I've had to toss newly  purchased groceries. I was prepped for the power down with solar chargers, bags of ice in the freezer, batteries etc, but then the air was so bad we felt the best thing was to get out of dodge... and so we did. We decamped to San Francisco for about 6 days. The air there was a bit better.

 
   So now, back home in Sonoma it's once again time to catch up with cooking. Getting back to work again demands some nice and easy workday lunches (or dinners) and this is one of the new stars of my rotation here at home.

JAPANESE EGGPLANT WITH SCALLOPS, SHRIMP, AND COCONUT RICE.

Here's What You Need:

 

1/2 pound of large shrimp
1/2 pound of large sea scallops
3 and 1/2 Tbs of  sesame oil
1/2 lb of Japanese eggplants halve them lengthwise and cut them diagonally into 1/2 inch slices
1/2 cup water
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 tsps of sugar
1 Tbs fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp chili oil
1 Tbs cilantro chopped
1 Tbs thinly sliced basil leaves
1 cup of frozen peas defrosted

Coconut Rice

 

1 Can of full fat coconut milk (14 oz)
1 and 1/4 cups water
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch of salt
1 and 1/2 cups Basmati rice

Here's What To Do:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Halve the eggplants and cut them into slices.

Place them in a bowl and drizzle them with vegetable oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Place them on a rimmed baking sheet skin side up...

...and roast them in a 375 degree oven for about 20-25 minutes  or until they are soft
Set them aside.

In a large pot combine the coconut milk, water,  sugar, and salt.
Stir until the sugar is dissolved.
Add in the rice.

Bring the rice to a boil on medium heat, then cover the pot, turn the heat down to the lowest it will go and cook for about 20 minutes, until the rice is tender.

Meanwhile, back at the shrimp and scallops....
Pat them dry with a paper towel and season them lightly with salt and pepper.

Put 2 Tbs of sesame oil in a skillet or kadhai.

When the oil is hot  add in the scallops and shrimp and sear them.

You may need to do this in batches so there is no crowding. The scallops and shrimp should be just cooked through. This takes about 4 minutes.
When they're cooked, set them aside cover and keep them warm.
Add the water and the soy sauce to the kadhai.

Add in the sugar and chili oil.
Simmer the mixture, and reduce it by half.
Stir in the lime juice.
And the peas.

When they are cooked, put the shrimp, and scallops back in the kadhai.

Add in the roasted eggplant pieces and warm everything up.

When the rice is ready scoop it into bowls and top with the eggplant, scallop, and shrimp mixture.

Top each serving with chopped cilantro and some slivered basil.

Serve it up!

 This is one of those no recipe recipes, in other words you can add to this, mushrooms, some more vegetables, other fish...whatever you've got  that feels like it belongs there. It doesn't get simpler then this, and that's how I like it. Coming up next, a salad that's a meal, and something sweet! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori
 

Go Coconutty For Goan Coconut Rice

Long time no post, and it's good to be back here. We'll be kicking off something special in the next couple of days so there's that. It's also been crazy around here since I haven't been able to post a lot of what I've been cooking. There are two reasons for that.  One, we've been working the the CocoaPlanet people helping to develop the entirely #glutenfree menu for their new CocoaPlanet Factory and Cafe which will be opening here in Sonoma very soon.

Also, there has been this:

Which has definitely slowed down my cooking... however, I am now back and it's with a recipe that calls for minimal wrist usage, Goan Coconut Rice.

I'm always looking for the best quality stuff to put into what I cook. I grow a lot of it myself but hey, I can't grow everything, especially rice. Awhile back I received  a sample of Himalayan Basmati Rice from Authentic Royal Basmati.

There are few scents I like more than the lovely perfume that comes from a newly opened bag of Basmati Rice, and the Authentic Royal Basmatii did not let me down in that department. From the moment I opened the package I knew I had a winning rice in hand. So, now what to do with it that involves minimal wrist stress, I decided  that Goan Rice would do the trick.

Goa, is a state in Southwestern India known for it's lovely beaches and tropical beauty. One thing they grow a lot of in Goa is rice. Another major Goan crop is coconut so why not put the two of them together? Instead of cooking my rice in a mixture of coconut milk and water I figured I'd go old school and make the dish traditionally using nothing but coconut milk. The combination was fragrant, delicious, and was on the table in less than 30 minutes, which makes it a great dish for a weekday meal. 

Goan Coconut Rice

Here's What You Need:
1 and 1/4 cups of Authentic Royal Basmati Rice
6 green cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
1 onion finely chopped
2 Tbs coconut or other vegetable oil
1 Tbs grated dried unsweetened coconut
3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp of salt
1 cup of coconut milk
1 and 3/4 cups of water...(or you can make this rice as I did using all coconut milk)
1 cinnamon stick

Here's What To Do:
Chop the onion finely and set it aside.
In a small skillet dry roast the dried coconut until it's fragrant and toasty.

This only takes a couple of minutes.

Mix the garam masala into the toasted coconut  and set it aside.

Crack the cardamom pods slightly and set them aside.

Heat 2 Tbs of coconut or other vegetable oil in a pot.

When the oil is hot add in the cinnamon stick, cloves and cracked cardamom pods.

Let them sizzle for a couple of minutes. When they swell a bit and get aromatic add in the chopped onion.

Stir the onion around and saute it until it turns translucent, this takes about 5 minutes or so.
Now add in the rice...

...salt...

...and coconut milk, or coconut milk and water.

 Bring everything to a boil, then slap a tight lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and let look for about 15 minutes. Do NOT take the lid off while cooking.
After about 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the unopened pot stand for another 5 minutes.
now take the lid off.
Place the rice into a serving bowl.

Sprinkle the coconut garam masala powder over the whole thing.

Top with chopped fresh cilantro.

And you are done!
Give it a good stir to mix everything together before putting it on the plate.

There it is, rice that is sweet coconutty and delicious with the amazing aroma one can only get from Indian grown Authentic Royal Basmati Rice

My thanks to Authentic Royal Basmati for letting me try their rice and now I have another item to add to my shopping list! Coming up soon, more Indian vegetarian delights! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

It's Easy Being Green. Green Mango Rice.

   It's officially Spring, the time of the year when things begin to bloom. "Begin" is the operative word here as a lot of things are not yet ripe and are still green. Of course some things will still be green no matter what time of year it is Thankyouverymuch!


 
   As everyone knows from childhood, there are a million warnings about eating green apples (stomach ache) green bananas (no flavor) or stuff that started out as a whole other color but has turned green. I don't think we really need to go there though. One of the fruits that most people never, ever think of eating green are mangoes. Delicious, sweet, ripe mangoes. A very popular fruit. In Tamil Nadu, the mango is known as one of the three royal fruits along with bananas and jackfruit. The mango is the national fruit of India and the national tree of Bangladesh. Mango has been seen in the company of Lord Ganesha, as a symbol of perfection.

Yes, mango gets around. After all, who doesn't like sweet? Quite a few people as it turns out.
   
   Which brings me to the subject of green mangoes. When most people go shopping for mangoes, they look for golden yellow, with a touch of red, not too hard yet not too squishy. The desired mangoes are just pliable with enough give to be fun, and have a sweetly fragrant scent. Mangoes that are green and hard as softballs are strictly Pass-a-dena as they say in Hollywood. But not so fast. There is a whole other world of mangoes out there, the mysterious and secret world of green mangoes.

   Now, in the real world, green mangoes are no secret. They're used in a a lot of Indian recipes, mainly chutneys, pickles, and other relishes. And their crisp, tart, astringent taste kicks up the flavor of a lot of mild dishes, particularly Basmati rice dishes. Which brings me to the subject of  a tasty rice dish studded with spices and nuts, green mango rice.

Green Mango Rice

Here's What You Need:

2 Cups of Basmati rice
1 and 1/4 tsps of salt
1 Tbs of unsalted butter or non dairy margarine (soy)
2 and 1/4 cups of water
2 and 1/2 tsp of brown mustard seeds
7 dried red chilies
1/2 tsp of ground turmeric
4 Tbs of grated fresh coconut or 5 and 1/2 Tbs of dried grated coconut
1 and 1/2 cups of grated fresh mango
3 Tbs of vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
1 Tbs of yellow split peas (channa dal)
5 or 6 curry leaves

Here's What To Do: 

Soak the rice in 5 cups of water for 30 minutes.
Drain the rice.
In a large pot melt 1 Tbs of butter.
When the butter is melted, add in the drained rice.
Stir it around.
Add in 2 and 1/4 cups of water and 3/4 tsp of salt.
Bring the rice to a boil and when it boils, put a lid on things and turn the heat waaaay down to low.  Let it cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, lift the lid, fluff the rice, cover it again and let it cook for another 10 minutes.
Set it aside.

Peel the mangoes.

Slice them.

Put the mango slices in a food processor set to grate.

Grate them and set the grated mango aside.

Clean the food processor.
In a food processor or blender, grind together 1 and 1/2 tsp of mustard seeds, 6 red chilies, the grated coconut, and 1/2 the grated fresh green mango.

Grind it all together into a paste and set it aside.
In a heavy skillet, heat 3 Tbs of vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot, add in the 1 tsp of brown mustard seeds, yellow split peas, 1 dried red chili broken in half, and the curry leaves.
When the mustard seeds start to pop, add in the grated mango paste...

...and the peanuts.

Let things cook for a few minutes then add this mixture to the cooked rice.

Stir in the rest of the grated fresh mango.
Mix everything together and serve it up.

    This rice dish goes well with any Indian or western meat dish or as the centerpiece of a vegetarian meal. If you want to make the recipe completely vegan, replace the butter with a non dairy margarine made of soy. So now, when you see all the piles of unripe mangoes at the market, just remember, green mango. There's a recipe for that!

   Green Mango, it's not just the most popular karaoke club in Berlin!



   Coming up next, an amazing vegetarian ragu from Indian Master Chef Suvir Saran and his James Beard nominated cookbook Masala Farm, plus a digital scale giveaway from OXO. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori   

Magic Rice, Where A Simple Dish Gets Whacked With A Wand!

    Rice. Who out there liked rice as a kid???? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Unless you grew up in a household where rice was part of an ethnic tradition and people really knew how to cook the shit out of it, the rice most of us regularly found on our table was made by this guy. Uncle Ben, and his converted rice.

   Now don't ask me what converted rice is. I can only tell you that when a small convent school girl was told that the rice she was eating was converted rice, the one question that always came to mind was..."what was it before??Presbyterian?" Yes, I was a literal kid. Of course there was another rice that reared it's bizarro head around the house. Seeing as how I grew up in San Francisco there was always the chupacabra of crypto-gourmatology, Rice-A-Roni the San Francisco "Treat".
   Naturally growing up in an Italian family, my nonnas did cook amazing risotto but that was Christmas, Easter, and sometimes Thanksgiving. The rest of the year it was that boil in the bag, clumpy, gooey American stuff loosely referred to as rice.
   Once I was old enough to get on the bus and start exploring my native city, I learned that there was great rice beyond risotto. A variety of cultures presented a wealth of rice, all for the price of a Muni pass and a couple of transfers. Once I learned to eat rice the way many, many cultures meant it to be eaten, the next step was learning to prepare it properly. Which brings me to the simple rice dish that I like to call Magic Rice. Actually it's technically called Black Gram Dal Rice. I call it magic rice because first the rice is made, simply and plainly and then the magic happens.  Here's what to do.

South Indian Spiced Rice

 Making Rice
    This is a very simple way to prepare plain basmati rice.
Rinse 2 cups of rice in cold water and soak it in a bowl with 5 cups of water and 1/2 tsp of salt for 30 minutes.
  While the rice is soaking prep:

 The Spell
   In a pan or skillet dry roast the following spices
 2 Tbs of urid dal
 1 and 1/2 tsps of black peppercorns
 2 Tbs of white sesame seeds
 2 Tbs of dried grated coconut
    Toast the spices and dal and coconut until the mixture turns aromatic. It will only take a few minutes.
  Place the spice mix into a spice grinder or blender and grind it to a powder. Set it aside.
Now it's time to prep:

The Glamour
 In a small skillet heat:
  1 Tbs of unsalted butter
 When the butter is hot and foamy toss in:
  2 Tbs of halved cashew nuts
Toast them until they turn golden
Drain them on a paper towel and set them aside.
Now it's time to:

 Cook The Rice
 Melt 1 Tbs of unsalted butter in a heavy pot
When the butter is melted and foamy, pour in the drained rice and stir it around.
 Add in:
  2 and 1/4 cups of water
  3/4 tsps of salt
 When it comes to a boil cover the pot turn the heat waaaaaay down and let it cook for about 20 minutes.
 After 20 minutes, take the lid off, mix it gently with a fork, put the lid back on and give the rice another ten minutes or until the rice is tender. Set it aside
  Now for the finishing touch:

The Magic
 In a skillet heat :
  2 Tbs of unsalted butter.
 When the butter foams toss in:
  1 tsp black mustard seeds
  1 tsp urid dal
  1 tsp channa dal (yellow split peas)
  1 dried red chili broken in half
  a few curry leaves
 When the mustard seeds start to pop, toss in:
  2 seeded, finely chopped green chilies

 Cook for another 2 minutes
 Pour the contents of the skillet into the cooked rice and give it a thorough mix.

 Add salt to taste.
 Finally mix in the ground spice powder well and garnish the whole thing with the toasted cashew nuts. Bippity Boppity Boo! Magic happens.
 You are good to go.

   This dish is a great company meal because the spice powder can be made ahead, the cashews can be roasted ahead of time, and then as soon as the rice is cooked, the final addition of hot spices in oil is added.
 I've fixed this rice with an Indian meal.

   It also goes great with any Western style menu. Can't beat that.
   On another track, I've been cooking a lot for a couple of friends who are dealing with medical situations. One is recovering from a riding accident has found out that she's gluten intolerant. Another who's a vegetarian, has to eat a low iodine diet for the next several weeks while he preps for thyroid cancer treatment. Oh, and they live in the same house.
   Fortunately Indian food meets a lot of their varied dietary needs, and even though I cook a lot of vegan and gluten free dishes, I'm not a dessert person and what's dessert for if not for times like this??? So thanks to everyone out there who's shared great gluten free, vegan dessert recipes with me. They're lovin' em.
  One of the things I've discovered in this very precise cooking, is a recipe for what I like to call Indian Fries. Low oil, lots of flavor. That's all I'm gonna say. It's coming up next. Follow along on Twitter@kathygori