Simple Indian Food

One of my stepdaughters Rose came down for the inauguration with a half dozen friends in tow. We were happy to host and I was happy to cook a big indian meal for them.

I made sweet and sour eggplant, dry spiced potatoes and cauliflower, chicken tikka, fish curry, 3 kinds of chutney, chipati and raita. We fed 12 people and it took about 90 minutes to make. That's crazy isn't it? Rose wanted to take the spoils back to school so I went to our indian market and picked up all the basics ... mustard power (she doesn't have a grinder), cumin, coridander, red pepper, garam marsala, ghee, and ginger-garlic paste.

Off they went after the inauguration and I thought .. she could do a lot of damage with that stuff if she doesn't have a sense of the proportions. Imagine equal parts mustard, chilli and cumin ... yikes! Sure enough she had a go at it last night ... and called in distress.

She needs some simple recipes:

Sweet and Sour Eggplant:
dice eggplant
dice shallots
sauté
pinch of kosher or sea salt
toss with dolop of tamarind concentrate to taste
pinch or two of red chili

Dry Spiced Potatoes and Cauliflower
dice potatoes - boil for 10 minutes until slightly soft
dice cauliflower
put potatoe and cauliflower in a deep sauce pan with vegetable oil or ghee
toss with garam marsala, cumin, corriander, mustard (3 parts garam marsala, 1 part cumin and corriander and 1/2 part mustard - unless they are seeds) ... jut to give a sense of the proportions.
dump in a bunch of peas a few minutes before serving and cover.
salt to taste.

Chicken Tikka
yogurt (soy or regular), 3 tablespoons of the spice mixture from the potatoes and 2 tablespoons tumeric - mixture should be very bright.
cube chicken and marinate in yogurt with half a lime's juice for 30-90 minutes.
pour in one layer in a backing pan and roast until internal temp reads 170 degrees.
sqeeze with the other half of the lime

Raita
Drain one whole plain yogurt in a dish towel or cheese cloth for 3- 6 hours.
Add lime juice, salt and mint to taste
(also good very dry - drain all day - with chopped garlic, salt and olive oil).

Chipati
sometimes I use the yogurt drainings for this ... otherwise water and flour to make a stiff dough. Add salt to taste.
Roll into small balls and flatten into 6 inch rounds with a rolling pin (or run through a pasta maker).
Fry both sides in a vegetable oil.

That's all for now ... chutneys and the fish curry another day ...

Co-Cooking

Photo by: http://virginiaparrott.com/

I had the unparalleled pleasure to co-cook for the first time last week with my friend Michael Stein. Michael is a techy, a fiddle player and a great cook. Usually people have the good sense to stand behind the bar with a glass of wine when I'm in the kitchen but of course one must expect something else when it comes to cooks present.

Michael and Doria brought over ingredients for Tadke Ladkes - an indian twist on potatoe ladkes. We also had braised chicken thighs with root vegetables. I always keep lots of indian spices on hand to grind fresh and overdue the tastes. I usually have fresh herbs - even in winter so we had plenty on hand.

The ladkes are made by grating the potatoes with onions, squeezing the moisture out (which we didn't do and wished we had) and mixing in spices to taste: garma marsala, freshly ground cumin, coriander and red pepper. Kosher salt and white pepper to taste. I'm embarassed to say Michael introduced me to spiced oil - olive oil with whole spices : peppercorns, mustard seeds, cumin ... fry up the formed ladkes.

The chicken was browned first with shallots and garlic and then put in a deeper pot with root vegetables, broth, and plenty of white wine. Simmer slowly and add spices toward the end. We used a lot of fresh herbs here - oregano, thyme, and sage. We sort of groped around at the end to push it over the edge and put some healthy dolops of that indian essential ginger-garlic paste.

I thought the results wwere smashing ... and all in a kind of dance with Michael and I at the stove. He said it was every bit as fun as playing music with someone (made me wish I played a musical instrument).

Cooking for Community

This is my first post but not my first bit of content. Cindy and I have been cooking big meals (4-6 courses) for 6-8 guests for the last 2 years ... we've missed a month here or there so it's going on something like 20 meals. It's become a big part of our lives and one of the only consistently social things we've found time to formalize.

We've got rules for the dinners - no repeat guests, no repeat food (though I will admit that the goat cheese, bacon and date struddle has made more than one much-appreciated appearance). The dinners have become a very significant part of our community - but we're aware that without repeat guests - we're benefiting the most! And most of all, I benefit. The dinners are 4-6 courses, include 4-6 bottles of wine and last about as long. But for me I also get to plan, shop and prepare the meal - so my experience is more like one of 8-10 hours.

This blog is about those dinners - and other choice cooking experiences - and the people that enjoy them.