Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, Chick Pea Curry

As with many of my recipes, they come to fruition out of chance, hence the moniker ‘something from nothing.’ In this case, it just so happened that chance came in the way of an enormous cauliflower.  As much as I love my Faux Creamy Cauliflower Soup (and I highly recommend you try it), I was dreaming of another dish from the past.  When I used to travel into the NYC for work my commute took me through Grand Central Station.  For those NYers, you know that pre-pandemic there used to be a plethora of food choices on the bottom floor, convenient for those of us running for a train.  I would sometimes frequent the Indian take out joint for their vegetarian options.  One of those was a cauliflower curry, which sometimes had chick peas.  (Side note: I would try to eat my Indian food before boarding the train or wait until I got home.  Because quite frankly the deep curry aromas, although alluring to me, would be overwhelming to others as they perfumed and permeated the entire train.)

My luck, I always stock my pantry with various beans. Chick peas: checked.  I also had some sweet potatoes on hand, and they seemed like a likely player in this mix.  Plus they would add some much needed color to this dish.  (Cauliflower: white, Chick peas: beige, Coconut milk: white. Sweet potatoes - happy orange!)

Now, you know that I do not proclaim to be an expert in Indian cooking or spices. Far from it.  I stick to what I know and use my instincts on quantities and combos.  That said I feel like I’ve been batting 1000 on my Indian dish experiments thus far. So, I was feeling pretty confident I could make this dish tasty.

Since I only had the germ of an idea on how to bring this dish to life, I was working through the prep and cooking method as I went along.  Typically, I try to make most of my recipes fairly simple without too many steps or without a laundry list of ingredients.  Nothing turns me off from trying a new recipe from another chef as 20 ingredients, or a choreographed dance of steps.  This one does require a few more than my usual but still all quite manageable.  And I’m sure it will go faster for you since while I was riffing on how to do make this I also had to measure, write it down, photograph and then make sure I didn’t get any curry on my camera lens.

Admittedly, the amounts I made were for a small dinner party or a large very hungry family.  It’s been just JuanCarlos and I round these parts, so we might be eating this for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  It made a ton.  When I wanted to use up the cauliflower I didn’t realize how enormous it was when I added the sweet potato and chick peas.  But you can either cut it down by a quarter or make a large vat of this and freeze it, as I did. It held up pretty well.

Also, you will note that I cut the onions and ginger in two ways. Sometimes the different sizes not only add a texture but it also delivers another flavor depth.

Ingredients 

1 lg (1000g/35oz) Cauliflower 
5 c (523g/19oz) Sweet Potato, cubed
2-3 med (431g) onions (half diced 1.5c/half large cubes 1.5c)
2 29 oz cans of Chick Peas
1 Qt Vegetable Stock or water (I used the water I cooked the cauliflower/potatoes in)
2 13.5 oz cans Coconut Milk
1/2 c oil
100g ginger 5-6 t grated, rest sliced
2t turmeric
2.5 t cumin
3 t cumin seeds
3 t rounded curry
1/2 t red pepper flakes (add more or less depending on your heat level)
4-5 t salt
1 c Aquafaba (chick pea liquid)
2 heaping T tomato paste

Instructions

1. Measure out all your spices.

Top row: Salt, Curry Middle Row: Turmeric, Cumin, Tomato Paste Bottom Row: Cumin Seeds, Red Pepper Flakes

2. Prepare all the vegetables: Break cauliflower into large florets. Peel and cut sweet potatoes into cubes. Dice and slice onions, grate and slice ginger so you have everything ready.

Now you can more clearly visualize the Happy Orange that the sweet potato brought to the party.

3. In salted boiling water, cook both cauliflower & potatoes until semi soft.  Not mushy, you want them to still have a firmness to them.  Strain and place on a baking tray to let cool. Keep the water to use as stock.

Remember to not overcook these. They should be tender but still slightly firm. You can also add an onion and celery to the water to create a veggie stock to use later.

4. Meanwhile, sauté diced onions in oil with salt until soft, approx. 10-12 minutes.

5. Add all the spices and ginger and let toast together 3-4 minutes.

Once the onions are softened, add all the spices and ginger.

6. Add tomato paste, let lightly brown then add cubed onions and 1 c of aquafaba.  Let this cook until softened for 5-7 minutes.

You can really start to see all the deep flavors developing. Building up flavors at each level creates a much more flavor packed dish.

7. Add chick peas, stock, coconut milk to the pot and stir together and bring to a soft boil.

I love coconut milk. And in Indian spiced dishes it adds a cooling agent to all the spice.

8. Cut the larger cauliflower florets into smaller bite sized pieces. Then add the cauliflower and sweet potatoes to the pot and simmer to let all the flavors merge.

Taste for additional seasoning.

Serve with rice, add pepitas to top for crunch.  The first time I made this dish I opted for paella rice instead of Basmati because I wanted more of a chew the to starch. Short grain rice definitely offered that chubby quality I was looking for.  Plus I needed to experiment with it for a dish I’m offering up to my customers. So win win on that front. The second time I made this was for a small dinner party with my sister and brother in law. I serve basmati rice and it was equally delicious. How can any type of rice be bad when it’s goal is to soak up goodness?

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Green & Black: A Graphic Table Setting

To say I was nervous about hosting a small dinner party during the pandemic would be an understatement. I know most people have ventured into this territory many moons ago, but JuanCarlos and I have been super cautious. And rightfully so, since we know plenty of people who have had COVID, some of whom we were attempting to meet with until luckily we found out their positive status prior to gathering. We’ve had a few of those close calls so you can understand our hesitation. Thankfully, everyone we know has recovered and is fine.

With our caution has come both a sense of safety and a deep sense of isolation. Therefore, it was time to step out of our shell, out of fear and into joy again. And so we did. And indeed joy we felt. I spent the day preparing food and thinking about a table setting. (Well, it only took me that long because I had to stop to photograph everything, not because I made a feast.) Even though our dinner party total would only amount to 4, I wanted to make it feel a bit elegant and momentous given it would be the first time I’ve set our dining room table in over 2 years!! It’s the dead of winter here in NY, and the temps have been frightful. I have plenty of tablecloths that evoke Spring and Summer, even Fall vibes. But oddly enough not as many for Winter. I wanted the setting to be appropriate for the temperature but not feel cold.

I settled on a very graphic green and black table cloth that set a strong tone. Next was figuring out all the other elements that would complement without becoming overwhelming. Believe it or not, I had a hard time deciding on what napkin to choose. And that is saying a lot since I have a fairly large collection of napkins.

Please, no judgement. I’ve collected these over the years. And pre-pandemic, we entertained ALOT.

The black napkins seemed like an obvious choice but quite frankly there was plenty of black in the main cloth. Plus they wouldn’t have added anything to the party in the way of color dimension. White was clearly too stark and didn’t blend at all. Orange, as you can see, was way too shocking and garish, and would have been too many strong colors competing. Sometimes choosing a napkin is instantaneous, but this time around it took some thinking.

The orange and white ones felt too harsh of a contrast to me. The black might have worked but just felt Blah.

I landed on a multicolored stripe cotton napkin that softened the tablecloth’s intensity and added a whimsy of muted colors. Even though these napkins tend towards a springtime feel, their tonality was the ideal softening agent. To bridge that creamy base color in the napkins I decided to include a soft beige placemat.

Like Goldilocks and the Bears. This choice felt “just right”.

Since this was not going to be a formal dinner party, but an easy Saturday night with my sister, Alyssa and brother in law, Peter, no charger plates were needed. But a little bling was essential. Choosing white plates with a gold rim would help with that. Now that gold was introduced, adding the votive candle holders that I hand painted would finish off that golden touch.

Yes, those are OUI yogurt jars that I saved and hand painted with gold. I have a ton in silver too. I like how the design works with the movement of the tablecloth. Happy coincidence.

Votives provide a lovely low light glow, but I also like height. Which brings me to the candle sticks. Simple cut glass would add the height I wanted and also some sparkle without pulling attention away from everything else going on. Ugh, but now what color candle stick??? I must be out of entertaining practice because these decisions usual come to me in a flash. However, I do think showing this process helps to serve as a great demonstration of how a simple choice can change a look. And that there are no wrong decisions here. Just preferences. I had several choices; greyish silver, maroony purple, yellowy gold, or green. I chose the yellow gold, but any one of them would have worked just as well.

I might have immediately chosen the green since it was a perfect match, but for some reason I only had one.

Ok,
Tablecloth, check
Napkins, check
Napkin rings, check
Plates, check
Glassware, check
Candles, check
Let’s set a table…

When using placemats, sometimes I like turning them in other direction so they don’t cover as much of the tablecloth.

Gather all your elements. Once you see them all together the picture becomes clearer.

First layer down. I started with all the place settings in the center of the table, but right before our guests arrived I rearranged the seating.

To add some additional height, I went vertical with the napkin. Using a simple napkin ring and pulling the center of the fabric through to create an octopus-like vibe. It’s super simple but makes a visual impact.

This is a simple napkin style. For more options, check out my post entitled: Napkin Folding - 5 Basic Folds - Countless Options

I wasn’t serving any fish or seafood, but I did think the napkin resembled an octopus. It created the height I wanted and was playful.

I love how the whole table came together. It’s elegant but not fussy.

Finish with silver and glass ware, some florals and my first in-house pandemic table setting was in the books.

Some random thoughts:

I absolutely love the movement of this tablecloth. The big, graphic swirls are so eye catching. When you take in the whole print from above, with the flowers perfectly centered, the roots of the tree really come alive.

I also adore the details of this print. Every time I see the figures on this cloth I can’t help but to think of the famous Robin William’s line in The Bird Cage: “Who sets a table and doesn’t look at the bowls?” For those who know and love this movie, no explanation is needed. For those who don’t, I implore you to watch this very funny movie.

I hope this has inspired you to take a chance on setting a table with a super bold, very graphic, intensely strong tablecloth print. With the right complementary elements It can be fun and is sure to make a statement that will impress. The first thing my sister said was, “Wow!” Unlike me, who is clearly very wordy, she is a woman of few words, but in this case, only one was needed.

And in case you were wondering what we served… Here are a few images, and the menu.

Cheese Board

(Hot Peppers, Olives, Mini Bread Sticks, Majorero Pimentón Cheese, Mary’s Gone Crackers, Murcia al Vino Cheese, Dana’s Nuts: Spiced & Candied, Goat Cheese with dried herbs, Jammin’ Onion Jam, Manchego Añejo, Apple Paste)

Tomato Tartlet

Tomato/Avocado/Hearts of Palm Salad

Cauliflower, Sweet Potato & Chick Pea Curry with Basmati Rice

Roasted Spiced Carrots & Onions

Oven Roasted Chicken

Apologizes, I didn’t take photos of the last two items to share.

Cheese Board

featuring my Jammin’ Onion Jam and Dana’s Nuts: Spiced & Candied

Manchego & Murcia al Vino Cheeses &Onion Jam

Heirloom Tomato & Avocado Salad

Salad with Hearts of Palm & Broccoli Sprouts

Tomato Tartlets

Indian Spiced Potato Pancakes

Since I can’t eat bread... Pause for the appropriate sigh of sympathy, I’m always searching for something that will act like bread. Either as a layer to be used for toppings or to help scoop things up. So, when I aspired to make an Indian style meal for my husband and sister, I of course purchased some yummy naan like bread for them. Leaving me without a vehicle to push and scoop up my food. And as I lifted these soft yeasty breads of out my shopping bag, I was even more convinced I needed to treat myself to something equally yummy. I remembered that we had potatoes and figured I could craft myself an Indian style pancake that would do the trick.

So besides the no yeast limitation, another issue (or should I say issues) for me, is no eggs and no wheat. Shall we pause again, for a bigger sigh of sympathy. I dare say, yes. Without eggs and wheat flour, how the heck does one hold things together? And, I’m not just talking about ingredients. My emotions need to be stabilized, too! (Remember when I made salmon burgers? There are some clues. Check out that recipe here.)

Some people make potato latkes with grated potatoes. Others make them with mashed potatoes, but most use flour and eggs to bind them. I thought about using ground flax seeds mixed with water to bind, as that is a usual egg substitute but instead harkened back to the concept of combining textures to hold them together just like I did with the salmon burgers.

These were my ingredients: Idaho potatoes, potato flour, hot peppers, scallions, cilantro & spices

So I boiled and mashed some of potatoes and grated the rest. Then combined them together with the spices and a tad bit of potato flour.

ingredients

3 c potatoes, boiled
1.5 c potato, raw, shredded
1 t fresh cilantro, minced
1/3 c scallions, sliced
1 T red/green long hot pepper, small dice
1/4 t curry powder
3/4 t salt
1/4 t cumin powder
2 T potato flour

Salt, cumin & curry: The spices that make it special.

Instructions

1. Cut and boil some of the potatoes. When done, drain well and mash them up.

2. Meanwhile, chop, mince, dice the other ingredients. Don’t grate the remaining potato until you are ready to
combine, or soak in water to avoid browning. But then make sure you squeeze out all the excess liquid.

3. Combine all ingredients and then add potato flour.

Mise en place: everything in place and ready to assembly.

That’s a nice looking mixture about to take form.

Simply add the potato flour to combine throughout.

4. Form into patties. You can go freeform with your hands or use some form to help shape them.
I used approximately 2 T of mixture, and formed them into 2.5” rounds and 1/2” thick. I also
made a few very thin. I liked both thickness for different purposes.

First I used the small ramekin because it was on my board holding the spices.

Then I remember that I had an actual mold that was the same size, so I used that instead.

5. Fry in a cast iron pan with olive oil until you get a good crust on both sides.

Over medium high heat is how you get these crispy, giving you crunchy texture on the outside and soft potatoe-y goodness on the inside.

These lasted but a moment in my house. After this shot was taken, but one or two were left!

Holy crap, these things were delicious, and with a delayed kick. These potato pancakes were part of an entire Indian inspired meal. If you read the post featuring Dal, which incorporated the long hot peppers, then you will know that I didn’t think those peppers had a lot of heat, so I added jalapeños to the Dal. When making these pancakes, knowing that the rest of the meal had spice in each dish, I didn’t want to add more heat. So I only used the long peppers, and didn’t add jalapeño. Thank goodness I didn’t. I never expected these to have a kick, but for some reason in these potato pancakes, the heat from the peppers came shining through in a very pleasing ‘I want more’ way.

One more note. I will admit that just like anything you fry to get that crisp outer coating, they are best when freshly made and served immediately. They taste great warmed up the next day and day after, but they just don’t have that fresh crispy edge.

Here are the ones that I made thinner. As you can see, they are even crispier. Either way; thick or thin, they are quite tasty and satisfying.

Indian Style Rice recipe

You can serve this a thousand ways, beside as a side to an Indian inspired meal. Here are a few other ideas.

• Top with sour cream and add smoked salmon or trout

• With fried eggs, maybe add hollandaise sauce, or raita

• Dollop of hummus, Baba Ghanoush or Tabouli

You see where I’m going. I trust you will come up with your own long list. Or do as I did... Eat them all on their own!

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Dal - Lentil Stew

No, not dull. Dal. And it’s anything but. If you like lentils, you will love Dal. Why?, because Dal is lentils- a lentil stew.

I’ve made lentils before. Both as a soup and as a side dish. Both using mirepoix for the base. But, I have never made Dal before. I looked up what spices are traditionally used in making Dal and decided I would use my own version. Ballsy, I know, but what the hell.

If you read last week’s blog post, and I hope you did, you know I had an inspiration spurt propelling me to create a complete Indian meal for JC, my sis Jill and myself. It started with the rice. Then moved onto what will go with the rice.

That’s where the Dal came in.

I used a couple of items that might not be traditional Indian ones but they blended beautifully in the dish.

I had roasted tomatoes. Boy, did I have roasted tomatoes since I just finished making 100lbs. of tomatoes. No, that wasn’t a typo; 100 glorious pounds. JC thought I was nuts. (I must admit that after the first 25lbs, I thought I was nuts too!) So, with plenty of roasted tomatoes on hand, I figured why not use them in my Dal. I also had celery and long hot peppers and wanted to use those up. I always taste as I go, so when I cut into the peppers, which I thought were supposed to hot, they didn’t seem to have the heat I expected. So, I added a jalapeño, too. Believe it or not, the spice level ended up being perfect for my palate. Not so spicy that I couldn’t taste anything else or not be able to detect that my tongue was still attached to my mouth. Yet spicy enough to wake up the senses.

Ingredients

3 c yellow lentils
1/2 c onion, small dice
2 T celery, small dice
1/3 c red & green long peppers hot, sliced
1/4 c jalapeño, minced
1.5 T crushed garlic
3 T oil
1 T turmeric
1 t cumin seeds
2.5 t curry powder
1 t salt
1 c roasted tomatoes + their juices
2.5 c water

The spice of life. Turmeric, salt, curry powder, cumin seeds.

Instructions

I chopped everything up into a small dice, slice and a fine mince. I wanted to create a sofrito, if you will. Then sautéd those in a pan with oil.

Fresh aromatics lightly sauteéd.

Once the fresh aromatics were softened, I added the dried spices and let them get all cozy together until they created a lusciously blended ‘sofrito’ base.

Dry spices in to truly spice things up.

Cook down until it all becomes soften and luscious together.

When you have homemade roasted tomatoes, then that is what you use. They were made with love, so…

(If you don’t have roasted, you can also use whole tomatoes in a can. And then add them in with love.) In went the tomatoes and lentils. Then I added water, covered the pan and let simmer until done.

Tomatoes and lentils finish off the main ingredients, as they wait for their water bath to gently cook them.

And that is just how easy it was to make Dal. Again, boasting is not my style, yet two weeks in a row, it’s seems to becoming a trend. Here I am tooting my own horn again, because this Dal dish came out super tasty. I was worried about the spice level having added the jalapeño plus the long peppers, but it was quite on point. Again, I got the thumbs up for Jill and JC, both lovers of Indian food.

I served it with the Indian Spiced Rice, Spiced Cauliflower, Potato Pancakes and raita.

Now, I’m not saying that I’m some sort of expert, nor is this a traditional Indian Dal. But I am seriously happy at my first real foray into using Indian spices to create delicious dishes. I’m all for learning the traditional methods, staying true to a cultures cuisine. But I also believe that you have to just dive in and not be intimidated by its complexity. And that’s what I did here. Plus my style has always been, get a glimpse then make it my own.

Don’t forget to make the Indian Spiced Rice to go along with this. In the coming weeks, I will post the potato pancakes and cauliflower. Here’s to spicing up your life!

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