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A Wine to Go with Everything

Matching wine with ethnic foods can be a real challenge, especially if you're planning to eat something as spicy as the blazing hot Indian food on the fork in the photo here.

However, the wine behind the fork was better than perfect, a match that worked two ways. If your main interest was wine, you could taste every nuance of this one. The spicy food did not kill it. 

If you were more interested in food than wine, you could still appreciate the way it offered cool contrast to the spiciness.

The food on the fork is gobi Manchurian, a spicy cauliflower preparation from the restaurant Banana Leaf LA in Culver City, which specializes in hotly seasoned South Indian food. Gobi Manchurian is an Indo-Chinese dish widely popular in India. 

On the same menu were chicken Chettinad from the South Indian state Tamil Nadu and Hyderabadi fish fry, both laden with spices and chiles.

The wine that could handle all of them was the 2020 Willamette Valley Pinot Gris from Iris Vineyards. What made it a winner was its vibrant acidity, fruitiness and a touch of sweetness. 

Winemaker Aaron Lieberman (above) said, "The density and concentration of this vintage are the best in a generation."  The Pinot Gris' stellar attributes earned it a Double Gold as well as Best in Show and Best White Varietal awards at the 2022 McMinnville Wine & Food Classic in January.

Iris Vineyards (above) is located in a cool climate zone in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Mountain Range. The 36-area vineyard is part of an 870-acre stretch of land. The owners, Oregon natives Pamela Frye and Richard Boyles, are committed to enlarging the forest on their estate, making the property even more lush and beautiful. 

Pinot Noir is major in the Willamette Valley, accounting for 70% of the grapes grown, Lieberman said. Unfortunately, the Iris 2020 Willamette Valley Pinot Noir (above, with the Pinot Gris) met a major challenge. Wildfires in September of that year affected grapes with smoke compounds, and this wine had to be given special pre- and post fermentation treatments.

All turned out well though. "It's a little softer, more approachable and easier to drink" than other recent vintages, Lieberman observed. It was also given extended barrel age. 

Light rather than a powerhouse, the 2020 Iris Pinot Noir would be nice with chicken in a delicate sauce or fish, but definitely not with highly spiced food. I paired it with Filipino dishes from the chain Jollibee (above). It did well with crunchy fried chicken, a chicken sandwich and adobo rice, but Jollibee's famous sweet spaghetti was not its best friend.  

As if the smoke damage that affected the Pinot wasn't enough, the vineyard (above) experienced two frost events that will reduce its output this year by 50%, Lieberman said. That's a big cut from normal annual production of 14,000 cases. 

But there's good news too. Iris Vineyards is opening a wine bar in Springfield, Oregon.  In addition to wine, there will be wine-based cocktails, which Lieberman has been working on, cheeses and charcuterie. The opening was set for June 2. The address is 322 Main Street.

About 20 minutes from Eugene, Oregon, Springfield offers plenty to do--restaurants, boutiques, antique shops and even a Simpsons tour, because the Springfield where the famous family lives is based on this one. Click here to learn more. 

For Hot Weather--a Mango Smoothie

It's smoothie season, meaning the weather is getting hot, and it's time for a tall, icy-cold, blender drink.

For me, this means a mango smoothie, which is pretty much the same as Indian mango lassi.

It's so easy to make, just fresh, sweet mango, yogurt, sugar if wanted, a little milk or water and ice cubes.

I made the one you see from a super-sweet, tree-ripened Kent mango, meaning the mango was ready to use as soon as I got it rather than having to sit on the kitchen sink until soft.   

Tree-ripened mangoes come from Mexico and California, and will be in season through August. Those I got, from Melissa's Produce, were huge, weighing 1 1/4-pounds each, meaning you can get at least three smoothies from just one of them.  But you can use any mango that is in season. 

This is an instant drink. You put the mango pulp in a blender along with everything else, let it run and then enjoy a sweet and healthy antidote to soaring temperatures.

MANGO SMOOTHIE
Alias Indian Lassi

1/2 cup fresh mango pulp
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup milk or water
1 tablespoon sugar, optional
5 ice cubes

Combine the mango pulp, yogurt, milk or water, sugar if wanted and ice in a blender and blend until smooth. I use a high-powered blender that pulverizes the ice, but if you have a few lumps left, that's OK.

Pour into a tall glass and drink at once.

Makes 1 serving.  

At Last, World Class Indian Wines

Pairing Indian wines with Indian food seems like a great idea.

But where will you get the wines? Probably nowhere, because they're so rare. Three years ago, I tasted very good wines from an Indian company that promised distribution in California. Only it never happened.

Now a new team has taken up the cause--Jean-Charles Boisset of the Boisset Collection of family-owned wineries and Kapil Sekhri of Fratelli Vineyards in the Indian state of Maharashtra.


Together, they've produced three top-quality Indian wines. These are in such limited production that only 40 cases out of 200 have been sent to the United States.

Fortunately, some of this wine went to the Bombay Palace in Beverly Hills, which staged a dinner to wind up Sekhri's recent American tour. 

Dinner started with papads, chutneys and JCB No. 47, a sparkling Chardonnay Brut named for the year India became independent (above). This lovely, not too dry wine is very food friendly, no matter how spicy the dish. It was made according to the traditional Champagne method, fermented first in French oak and then in the bottle.

During the tasting, Sekhri  (above) explained that Fratelli is the only winery in a place called Akluj, six hours by car from Mumbai. There, only table grapes had been planted until Sekhri and six other investors started Fratelli in 2007. The first vintage was 2016.

The estate vineyard is 250 acres. Local farmers under contract grow grapes on another 250 acres, and an additional 50 acres will be planted each year. Production will remain small. The goal, Sekhri said, is to produce wine "of international quality, not an Indian wine for India."

The next dinner wine was the J'NOON white (above), a blend of 60% Chardonnay and 40% Sauvignon Blanc from the 2017 vintage.

The name J'NOON was adapted from an Urdu word that means passion. Boisset and Sekhri chose it to reflect the intensity of their feelings about their joint venture. The J'NOON wines are "both subtle and intense--just like India," they say.

The first course for dinner was a tandoori prawn, chicken tikka and a kebab made from spinach, cheese and chickpeas (above). 

Next came a puffy deep-fried poori filled with butter chicken or, for vegetarians, chickpeas (above).

The wine was the J'NOON red blend--66% Cabernet Sauvignon co-fermented with Petit Verdot and Marcelan, plus 4% Sangiovese.  This big wine goes well with strongly flavored Indian dishes.

Another wine joined it, the Boisset Collection's JCB Passion (above), a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from the Napa Valley. Both held up when paired with the lamb curry rogan josh (at the top) and the sumptuous spicy black lentil dish called dal makhani.

To cool things down, there was icy pistachio kulfi for dessert along with the milk dumpling gulab jamun, soaked in rosewater and honey.  

This was the first wine dinner held at the Bombay Palace since it opened in 1985, said owner Deep Sethi. No doubt he was inspired by the caliber of the J'NOON collection.  "Someone has done it and done it really right," he said. 

For more information on Fratelli Vineyards and the collaboration with Boisset, read this article by wine writer Mira Advani Honeycutt in the Napa Valley Register. Honeycutt visited Fratelli during a trip to India in 2018.

Bombay Palace,  8690 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90211. (424) 351-9485.

How to Cook Okra So You'll Love It

Hate that slimy stuff called okra?

You'll change your mind when you taste okra cooked the right way. There's no gushy slime, just wonderful flavor and perfect texture, making it a joy to eat. 

Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya (above) gets this effect by roasting okra with cherry tomatoes and red onion, then adding a dash of Indian seasonings, lime juice and cilantro.

She explained how to do this at a class in the patio adjacent to Adya. The topic: "Indian Spices in Everyday Cooking." The theme was how to enhance food with a few spices such as Indian chaat masala and cumin rather seasoning with a raft of spices as in curries and other complex Indian dishes.   

Born in Jaipur, where her parents had gone to attend a wedding, Mehra grew up on the East Coast, planned to become a doctor and then realized she was meant for something else--cooking. Today, she's an excellent chef and teacher.  

Adya in the Anaheim Packing House (above) is where she teaches. Another Adya is in Irvine. 

Throughout the year, Mehra gives classes on a wide range of topics. Get the schedule here. They're well worth attending and include lunch (part of mine is above), recipes and wine, beer or chai. Tip: the chai is amazing.

And so is this okra recipe:

ROASTED OKRA WITH CHERRY TOMATOES AND RED ONION
From Chef Shachi Mehra of Adya

1 pound okra, sliced lengthwise
2 serrano chiles, sliced lengthwise
1 basket cherry tomatoes, halved
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons chaat masala, available in Indian markets
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine the okra, chiles, tomatoes, onion, salt and oil. Mix gently, just to combine. Spread evenly on a large baking sheet.

Bake for about 20 minutes, or until some charred spots are visible. Remove from the oven and toss the warm mixture with chaat masala, lime juice and cilantro. Serve warm. 

You'll Love These Crunchy Indian Fries

These are the crunchiest fries you could ever crunch on.

They're not potatoes, they're idlis, South Indian steamed cakes made from a rice and lentil batter (above). Sliced and deep-fried, they turn into an incredible snack that kids go crazy for, especially because they come sprinkled with tomatoes, onions and cilantro, almost like salsa.  

But they don't lose their Indian identity entirely. The traditional idli accompaniments come with them too. These are sambar, which is a thin lentil and vegetable soup for dipping or pouring over, and fresh coconut chutney, made extra creamy with ground cashews. 

The only place you can get the fries is Udupi Palace, a South Indian vegetarian restaurant in Artesia's Little India.  And you have to know the password, because they're not on the menu. Just say  "fried idlis," and you'll be rewarded with a sensational snack.

Udupi Palace has another innovation that you won't want to miss. It's a sort of South Indian quesadilla (above), with a golden brown dosa subbing for tortillas as the wrapper.

Inside are Jack and Cheddar cheeses, tomatoes, onions and jalapeños (above). Like idlis, dosas always come with sambar and coconut chutney so these are provided too. 

The name is Spicy Chilly Cheese Dosa, and it's in a long list of dosas on the menu (above). These large crisp crepes are as typical of South India as tacos and quesadillas are of Mexico. Maybe that's where the idea came from.

After this spicy food, you'll want something cooling, like rose lassi (above). Flavored with rose syrup, it's topped with ice cream sprinkled with pistachios. Sweet basil seeds (sabja) are mixed in, and the one in the photo includes translucent falooda noodles too.  

Also, be sure to ask for a milky Mysore coffee. One taste and you'll know why South India is as famous for its rich, deeply-flavored coffee as for its unique cuisine.  

Udupi Palace, 18635 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA 90701. Tel: (562) 860-1950.

Vegan, Gluten-Free--and Indian Too

You're vegan. You're gluten-free. Or both. And you're hungry for Indian food.

Where to go? Masala Grill, an Indian fusion restaurant that has plenty of contemporary diet options.

The restaurant's jackfruit tacos (at the top) cover both fronts. Meat- and dairy-free, they're wrapped in gluten-free flour tortillas. And they're delicious, with the hearty texture that makes jackfruit popular with non-meat-eaters.

There's jackfruit biryani too. And the daily buffet has more vegan options than anything else, followed by vegetarian dishes.

One of the vegan dishes is deep-fried crispy gobi (cauliflower) Manchurian.

Meat eaters can have chicken or goat curry. Or butter chicken, which is what chicken tikka masala is called in India.

At Masala Grill, butter chicken is a handsome dish, made with white meat--in India dark meat is preferred. 

As chicken tikka, It comes in samosas too (above). 

And in a chicken tikka quesadilla with pepper jack cheese, onions, cilantro and tomatoes (above). The quesadilla is one of Masala Grill's fusion dishes along with a chicken tikka burrito, a veggie burrito, chicken keema tacos and a masala chicken burger.

What meat eaters should really have is nargisi kabob (above), which is not common in Indian restaurants here. It's an Indianized Scotch egg, with a hardcooked egg in the center, surrounded by minced chicken and an outer layer of bread crumbs that become golden brown when the kabob is fried.

Tandoori meats include malai chicken tikka (above), marinated with spices, cream and yogurt.

Chicken keema (minced chicken) comes in a dosa (above).

As well as in tacos (above).

The restaurant offers Indian street foods such as bhel puri (above) and mom's special Maggie noodles, an instant noodle dish that is a staple in Indian homes.

Naans and stuffed parathas include a Parathewale Gali special, named for a Delhi street that is lined with paratha shops.

On the tray above is an unusual version of mango lassi, flavored with saffron and cardamom.

Try also a masala soda based on the popular Indian soft drink Limca, with Indian spices added.

Masala Grill is family owned and operated so that warm personal attention goes into the food and service.

The restaurant opened a year ago at the corner of San Vicente and Hauser Boulevards, a location that makes it convenient to many parts of Los Angeles.

The buffet changes daily. The restaurant menu also changes, incorporating new dishes and deleting others every six months. Click here to see the menu and learn more about the restaurant.

Masala Grill, 5607 San Vicente Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90019. (323) 954-7570. Open daily.

Fioretto--Cook It Indian Style

There's something different about this Indian cauliflower dish.

The difference is, I've made it with tender sweet flowering cauliflower, called fioretto, instead of the usual clumpy florets.

See how light and delicate the fioretto sprigs are? 


Here's how you'll find fioretto in the market. You can saute, steam, roast, put it in salads, really anything you would do with ordinary cauliflower. 

Because I love Indian food, and Indian cooks are masters at fixing cauliflower, I turned to an Indian cookbook for a recipe.

The book was "Crack the Code" by Nandita Godbole, in which she breaks down the steps to make Indian cooking easy for anybody.

Godbole's cauliflower with peas was a winner. I adapted it slightly, using cut-up green beans instead of peas because I had those on hand and not peas. And I simplified by leaving out the potatoes she suggests but would include them next time.

The steps are to saute spices in a large wok, then add the cauliflower and peas and finally tomatoes, then decorate the finished dish with cilantro.  This is how it looks in the wok.

Godbole (above) suggests serving the cauliflower as a vegetarian main dish accompanied by bread or, for a gluten-free meal, with daal (lentils) and steamed rice.

ESSENTIAL PEAS AND CAULIFLOWER
From "Crack the Code" by Nandita Godbole

2 tablespoons oil
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
3/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 cup diced yellow or white onions
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (I used less)
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup diced red-skinned potatoes, optional
3 cups trimmed cauliflowerets
1/4 cup peas, parboiled
Salt
1 tomato, cut into wedges
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Add the onions and saute until lightly golden. Add the ginger and garlic pastes and and saute until fragrant. Add the turmeric, cayenne, ground cumin and coriander Give a quick stir. If using potatoes, add them now and saute until their edges start to sear.

After this has cooked on medium-low for about 2 minutes, add the cauliflower and peas and mix until the vegetables are evenly coated with the spices. Lightly cover, allowing the steam to escape, and cook for about 10 to 12 minutes. Stir every few minutes.

When the cauliflower is tender, season it with salt and add the tomatoes. Stir and cook, uncovered, for about 3 to 5 minutes, until the tomatoes soften a little. Garnish with cilantro.

When I made this with fioretto, which is very light, it made about 4 servings. 

"Not For You," an Indian Food Novel

Pick up the novel "Not For You" and you may not be able to put it down. That is, if you want to learn what Indian village life is really like.

The stories interwoven in the book tell of huts plastered with dung, days spent in hot fields, lives that are poor but rich and women who flout old customs, making this a timely read.

The subtitle is "Family Narratives of Denial & Comfort Foods," appropriate because author Nandita Godbole (above) is a cookbook author, and one of her books is "Treasured Indian Comfort Foods."

Appearing at Melissa's Produce, Godbole called "Not For You" a "novel with recipes."  A meal in the book might be only a banana or two, or sugar cane stolen from a field, or nothing at all. But it could also be a richly flavored bean stew, a spicy shrimp dish or sweet cracked wheat pilaf. These are three of the 16 recipes that appear at the end of the book, all drawn from the story.

The characters in this short first novel are so compelling that you want to learn how their lives turn out. Godbole has taken care of that with a sequel (above) and more recipes.

The introduction to Book Two is by Neela Paniz, an early promoter of Indian cooking in Los Angeles with her restaurant, The Bombay Cafe. Paniz was in the audience for Godbole's presentation.

At Melissa's, Godbole showed how to make the spicy shrimp (above) along with other dishes from her books (click here to see what she has written). From an episode set in Goa, the shrimp are in a tomato sauce spiced with cayenne, cumin, coriander and turmeric. "Think of it as a marinara with an Indian edge to it," Godbole said.

Vegetarians can add potatoes instead of shrimp, she suggested, or mushrooms or even bananas, as was done in her family. The sauce could also be tossed with pasta. It's a mother sauce, she said, and can be prepared in advance and kept handy for a last-minute dinner.  

KOLMBI
Spicy Shrimp in Tomatoes
From "Not For You" by Nandita Godbole

2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup diced yellow or white onions
1 teaspoon ginger paste
1 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric 
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 cup diced tomatoes
1/4 cup water
1 to 1 1/2 pounds shelled and deveined raw shrimp
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 cup cilantro leaves for garnish, optional

Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and saute until lightly golden. Then add the ginger and garlic pastes and saute until fragrant. Add the turmeric, cayenne, cumin and coriander. Add the tomatoes and water. Let this mixture cook on medium low heat for a few minutes until it becomes a thick sauce.

Add the shrimp, mix well, cover lightly and cook 5 to 7 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Season with salt to taste and cilantro. Serve hot with warm bread.

Makes 8 servings.

Abhiruchi Grill--New in Culver City

Even plain tomato soup stands out at Abhiruchi Grill. That's how good this new South Indian restaurant is.

Although just opened, there's plenty of experience behind it, because Abhiruchi is part of the Annapurna group of restaurants.

The original, Annapurna Cuisine, is a few blocks east on Venice Boulevard in Culver City. The menu there is vegetarian. Abhiruchi is non-veg, like the Annapurna Grill in Pasadena, meaning you can get chicken, fish and lamb as well as vegetarian food.

The difference between the two grills is, Abhiruchi serves big, bowl-shaped appam (above), made from a fermented batter of raw rice, fresh coconut and urad dal, to eat with curries. The grill in Pasadena has dosas instead.

What's really good with appam is eggs in a spicy masala sauce (above), with shreds of  ginger adding fresh bite.  

Or the restaurant's special goat curry (above). Yes, they look about the same.

For a starter, have a chicken lollypop (above) and eat it lollypop style, chewing the meat off the bone rather than daintily cutting it off. 

Bright Apollo fish is another starter.

This plate is loaded with chicken kebabs seasoned four ways. One is green with mint. The others are tandoori chicken, chicken tikka and malai kebab. 

Vegetarian choices include gobi (cauliflower) in Manchurian sauce. 

Abhiruchi is owned by Suneel Ralangi and Suresh Paladugu. They're both from Hyderabad in South India, so of course they serve Hyderabad's famous biryani (above), either vegetarian or with meat. The one above contains boneless chicken.


Vegetable choices include gobi (cauliflower) in Manchurian sauce. 

Flaky parathas (above) are a must with this food, and so is a drink called buttermilk or chaas on the menu. It's diluted yogurt, seasoned with cilantro, curry leaves, cumin seeds, ginger, green chile and asafetida, but sparingly so the flavor is barely spicy.  

Until recently, the restaurant offered weekday lunch specials. Now it has switched to a daily lunch buffet.

The chef, Solomon Gregori (above), is from Chennai (formerly Madras). He's new to the Annapurna group.  

Abhiruchi means great taste. The restaurant is large and open, a place to eat in comfort, without crowding. And where you can taste home style cooking, adapted to restaurant scale. Curry powders and sauces are made from scratch, and Madras coffee is as rich as it would be if you were drinking it in India.

Abhiruchi Grill, 10823 Venice Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90034. Tel: (310) 204-2569. Closed Tuesdays. 

Indian Food To Make You Healthy

When you want to have an Indian feast, serve food that is triply good: good-tasting, good for you and that benefits a good cause. 

You can do this with the cookbook "Deepa's Secrets: Slow Carb/New Indian Cuisine" (Skyhorse Publishing), a memoir of an engaging Indian woman combined with healthy recipes. 

Author Deepa Thomas (above) revamped her style of cooking to help her diabetic husband, Thampy. Did it work? In five days, his blood sugar returned to normal without insulin, she said, and he's been off insulin for almost six years.

The recipes eliminate foods that produce a rapid spike in sugar, such as rice, potatoes and breads, in favor of carbs that the body processes more slowly. This doesn't mean eliminating flavor. On the contrary, Thomas has produced delicious, light food spiced Indian style--the only way her husband could follow such a diet.

Look at this gorgeous salad of roasted beets and shaved fennel, one of several dishes from the book prepared for her appearance at Melissa's Produce.

And this ginger cabbage slaw--"an easy slaw with a little Indian twist," she said. 

Brussels sprouts turn Indian with a full load of spices--cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, cayenne, allspice and chaat masala--plus dried cranberries and macadamia nuts. 

The book is not meat-free. There are seafood recipes, Indian style chili with ground beef, ground pork and bacon. And chicken skewers (above), marinated with ginger and garlic, garam masala and other spices. 

This beautiful berry and yogurt salad could pass as a dessert, but it's intended for breakfast. The actual dessert chapter includes just two things, mango lassi and a mix of dried fruit, pistachios and dark chocolate nibs that she calls "Toot Sweet."

Born in New Delhi, Thomas lives with her husband in San Francisco. She's a natural entrepreneur, creating a $10 million company called Deepa's Textiles that she has since sold.

Now she may market her Secret Spice Mix (above), which you would clamor to buy at one sniff. You don't have to do that, though. The recipe is in the book.

"Deepa's Secrets" has a publisher, but Thomas and her husband paid for the cover and photographs, which were taken in their home, the food cooked by Thomas herself. 

The result is a handsome book, now in its third printing in less than four months. Even if it becomes a best seller, Thomas won't make any money. She and her husband are donating all the royalties to FoodCorps, a nonprofit devoted to helping schoolchildren make wise food choices and encouraging everyone to eat intelligently. 

"When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use," Thomas observed.

This Brussels sprouts dish was named for a friend. "With Thanksgiving coming around, it might be something you would put on the table," she said. And your dinner will be all the healthier if you do. 

DRYFOOSSELS SPROUTS
From "Deepa's Secrets" by Deepa Thomas

2 tablespoons unrefined coconut oil, melted over low heat
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne powder
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
3 tablespoons dried cranberries (unsweetened)
1/4 cup apple juice or water
1/4 cup unsalted macadamia nuts, toasted and rough chopped
1 teaspoon chaat masala (available in Indian markets)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.

To make the dressing, combine the coconut oil, cinnamon, nutmeg, turmeric, cayenne, allspice, maple syrup, salt, pepper and vinegar in a large glass bowl.

Mix Brussels sprouts with the dressing. Place on the baking tray in a single layer and roast for 15 minutes, stirring and rotating the tray once.

In the meantime, combine the cranberries and apple juice in a small saucepan. Cover and heat gently until the liquid is absorbed and the cranberries are plumped (about 6 minutes).

Mix cranberries with roasting Brussels sprouts and return to oven until Brussels sprouts are tender but not mushy and a few leaves begin to brown (about 5 minutes). You could give it a quick broil to singe some of the sprout leaves lightly (about 1 minute).

Top with macadamia nuts and chaat masala.

Makes 4 servings

Home and Away--a Travelers Cookbook

This may be the best Indian cauliflower I've ever made. And I've cooked many versions of that dish over the years.   

Green beans join cauliflower in the rich-tasting, subtly spiced and creamy sauce. This is real Indian comfort food, from Bengal.

The recipe appears in the cookbook "Home and Away" (Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver) by Darcy and Randy Shore. The Shores are husband and wife global travelers who recreate what they have eaten away when they return home to Canada, thus the title of the book. Randy Shore is a food and sustainability writer for the Vancouver Sun. 

Paging through, I want to make dish after dish. I loved this delicious salad centered around grilled haloumi cheese.

And a simple bean dish from Turkey, which worked even though I used the wrong bean, dried limas instead of the Great Northerns called for in the recipe--these had vanished from my cupboard.  

And soy and honey-braised chicken, blackened by the soy sauce-laden braising liquid. 

The book is divided into sections covering East Asia and Australasia; Africa, India and West Asia; Europe and the Americas. In each place, the Shores have ferreted out great dishes and recreated them in authentic detail rather than dumbing them down. 

Their rule for travelers is to "ask what the locals eat." As Randy Shore writes in the introduction, "...nearly every day on the road presented an opportunity to discover a local secret, learn how to consider food in a new way, and indulge in the visceral pleasure of eating."

Bengali Cauliflower, which is accompanied by recipes for fragrant rice and puris, "has been among our go-to Indian recipes for 30 years," the Shores write. This photo shows the ingredients before cooking. 

Click here to order their book through Amazon. 

BENGALI CAULIFLOWER
From "Home and Away" by Darcy and Randy Shore

2 tablespoons salted butter
2 tablespoons canola oil 
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup diced onions
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
2 cups diced, seeded tomatoes
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup cream
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 pound cauliflower florets
1/2 pound green beans, trimmed and halved

In a large pot on medium heat, brown butter in oil. The milk solids will turn golden after about 1 minute. Take care they don't burn.

Add mustard seeds and stir for 15 seconds. Add ginger, garlic and onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and the oil has separated, about 5 minutes.

Stir in cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne and saute for 1 minute. Add tomatoes and salt and cook until the tomatoes break down into a paste when mashed with a spoon, about 5 minutes.

Add water, cream and tomato paste and stir to combine. (If you like a smooth sauce, puree with an immersion blender.)

Add cauliflower and green beans and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender and the sauce is reduced, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.