Versatile Roti

 Roti is the type of flatbread that can be used in traditional and non traditional dishes. It cna be sweet or savory, served with lamb or jaggery sugar. The one thing it is is tasty and can be made in any home chef's kitchen.

Regular contributor and cookbook author Priya Krishna wrote about this basic yet versatile bread in today New York Times Wednesday Food section. Roti is a staple at many Indian restaurants but thnaks to both forced and voluntary migrations is alsoa staple in such diverse cuisines as Caribbean, Malaysian and Guyanese. The name itse;f derives from Northern Indian according to Professor Krish Ray who teaches food stiduies at NYU. However the basic recipe was common. Early people made rounds of unleavend bread cooked over open fires and either eaten plain or with somekind of meat and /or veggies. You can make it at home or even buy it at any grovery store. Caribbean chef Peter Prime gets the rounds at his local Caribbean mart in Mary;and. He does create his own too  - theTrinidadian buss up shut which has butter giving the bread a smoother texture. Keep in mind that it can also be made much easier wirh the help of the Rotimatic which sells for $1299 .

However Ms Krishna also includes a recipe for it. it calls for ghee, the clarified melted butter but you can use melted unslated butter too. There is flour, usually refined white will do along with baking powder for rise. A tablespoon of light brown sugar imparts a sweet taste making it perfect for dessert recipes too.The ingredients are added to the flour and baking powder by the well method. The dough at first will be shaggy looking but as tablespoons of water are added , it should evolve into a smooth ball. when this happens cover it with either plastic wrap or a kitchen towel  and let it rest  for anywhere between one to four hours. In the meantime combine the ghee or melted butter with coconut oil. When the dough has rested them roll it out on a floured surface. Formronds, and cut a slit in the middle Add the butter coconut oil mixture, then roll the dough onto itself, It should form cone. Sealt the ends , return to a buttered pan and allow it to rest for thirty more minutes. The dough is cooked in al large skillet with the butter mix to fry it. Keep brushing it with butter and shredding it with two spatulas. Repeat until allk the pieces are cooked . Serve with curry or a sweet filling.

Roti is a delcious bread that can be served with a variety of fillings. Have it sweet or savory.It''s a delicious treat either way.

The Kwanzaa Feast

 Kwanzaa is a relatively new holiday yet it's packed with centuries of tradition. It centers around seven principles  such as faith and  purpose that should be practiced year round. with this holiday comes the rich tradition of food. Families are celebrating and cooking at home. Their tables will be filled with good food and good deeds.

Nicole Taylor , chef and author of The Up South Cookbook interviewed five families around the country for today's New York Times Food section. The holiday starts Saturday , December 26th with families eating and free thinking. The holiday itself began in Los Angeles in 1966 by Maulana Karenga, an African American professor who taught African-American studies. Dishes are plentiful and some include slow cooked meatless collard greens Trinidadian grilled fish and bread puddings. The special meal, karamu is held on the day ,kuumba dedicated to creativity. For the Orr-Frasier family of Portland ,Oregon, the meal will be a nod to parents, Rashad and Keita  North Carolingian roots. There will be jelly cakes along with pineapple upside down and red velvet ones. His recipe for coffee rubbed branzino is also featured, highlighted with a rub of medium ground coffee,onion and garlic powders and cumin. There's also brown sugar to even out the spiciness and then it's grilled for five to six minutes on each side.

Folami Prescott-Adams, of Atlanta Georgia gave her BBQ tofu recipe which are slabs of tofu slathered in a mix of melted butter, tamari and barbecue sauces. They're broiled for a couple of minutes in the broiler for a crisp on the outside , tender on the inside main course. Ms. Prescott-Adams cooks ten(!) pounds of it along with nut based meatballs and a vegan Southern stringbean recipe. For Maati Keprimeni Angaza  it will be vegan foods in her Brooklyn apartment. The young dancer will have curry potatoes and black eyed peas along with her step-mother's bread pudding rife with sweet potatoes and raisins. In Richmond Virginia, Janice Bell will have her grandparents recipes of sweet potatoes and corn pudding. she is a pescatarian so there will be fish on her table. Sisters Kerry Coddett and Krystal Stark Kwanzza will be vegan pancakes, shrimp and a mushroom lasagna(made with homemade vegan ricotta) shared with their younger brother. They'll also take out from Sugarcane with such dishes as callaloo, roti and plantain. They will also drink champagne too.

Kwanzaa is a time of thought and creativity. It's also a time of food. The holiday will be different this year but the food will be homemade .

The Many Dishes Of India

Indian cuisine is having a moment right now thanks to Holi, the Spring festival along with the Trumps' trip to the subcontinent. Then there's the question of India's true identity with powerful waves of Hindu nationalism . Even though Islam is also a part of the history, it and its' culture are being suppressed almost to the point of eradication. Yet nothing can hurt its' multifaceted cuisine. Indian regional cooking is as strong as ever.

Tejal  Rao, a regular contributor wrote about this and offered a variety of recipes in today's New York Times Food section. Ms. Rao herself has Gujarati and Konkani roots,  her family coming from India's west coast. She has created a good array of recipes representing all of the country and recipes garnered from home chefs outside her family. What is great about her selection is that they are welcoming to the home chef new to Indian cuisine. They're great for anyone who loves all aspects of the cooking as well as looking for something unique to cook. You may have to find some of the ingredients at Indian groceries but the trip is worth it because it will help broaden culinary knowledge. Ms. Rao does include some family recipes such as keema or spiced ground meat. This is an interesting easy dish made with ground beef, red onions and ground Roma tomatoes (I plan on making this tomorrow so it will be the subject of tomorrow's entry).It has a fiery mix of serrano chilies, cayenne pepper and garam masala. It's served with Indian bread roti but you can also use naan to sop up the gravy

The other dishes Ms. Rao provides are representative of all the different states of India. There is toor dal Gujarati style made with split yellow pigeon peas with Roma tomatoes and peanuts. The tempering or sauce is made from ghee, an Indian staple of clarified butter, fresh curry leaves, and cinnamon, Chilies  and mustard seed also give it flavor along with a pinch of asafoetida a resinous gum.Lamb biryani is included and this is a dish most restaurants make.It is part of India's Muslim heritage, a richly spiced dish of lamb, bombarded with spices served with onions over basmati rice. Lamb chops or a shoulder of lamb is used , cut into pieces and marinaded with finger chiles, garlic and ginger.Onions and tomatoes are added to this. Yogurt spiked with mint, cilantro, coriander, cumin and chili powder is then added to the mix and the lamb is marinaded overnight in the fridge. There is also saffron milk, an easy blend of whole milk, saffron threads and cilantro layered onto the meat and rice.The southwestern area of Karnataka gives us carrot salad or gojjara kosambari. It's sweetened with coconut and sugar and fired up with serrano chile along with cumin, white sesame and black mustard seeds.Moong dal or cooked lentils can be added too.Ms. Rao also adds a roti recipe too, perfect of any of these recipes.

India is having a moment right now with Hindu nationalism and warring with its' Muslim heritage as well. These recipes help to unite in a way as well as introduce people to the cuisine. It represents every aspect of the pluralism of Indian life and its' heritage.

A Culinary Star's Rise And Fall

There are so many celebrities in today's culinary landscape.They stand out because of a signature dish or a larger than life personality. One, Kwame Onwuachi , is different. He has gone from the lowest depths to the acmes of success and back down again. Now his star is on the rise again and he is turning heads - along with palates with some new dishes and creativity.

Regular contributor,Priya Krishna, interviewed Chef Onwuachi for today's New York Times Food section. His background is interesting. This former problem child had to be sent back to Nigeria because he could not be disciplined. He returned to his Bronx home two years later, unchanged, joining a gang and selling drugs. He even dropped out of college. Then a kind of miracle happened. He turned things around. He sold candy on the subway,using the money to finance a catering business. After graduating from the CIA - Culinary Institute  of America and worked famed restaurants, Per Se and Eleven Madison Park. Next TV called and he was competing on Top Chef. At 25 he was handed the carte blanche for the Washington DC restaurant the Shaw Bijou. Sadly it flopped. What could he do? Write a memoir  "Notes From A Young Black Chef (Knopf 2019). It was then his life turned around.

Chef Onwuachi is now the chef at Kith and Kin. He is cooking homey Afro-Caribbean food, exploring the legacy of the African Diaspora.It also reflects his Nigerian,Jamaican, Trinidadian and Lousianian heritage.It offers even breakfast with curried crab Benedict and a jerk bacon. His family recipes are also there in the goat roti he ate at his Jamaican grandparents Long Island home.it's served with jollof rice, a staple of Nigeria, enlivened with homemade curry powder and Maggi seasoning cubes.There is also his Philly Wing Fry , with two locations in DC and national expansion to follow. This idea came when he was smoking a joint during his time at Eleven Madison Park. These only serve Philly cheese steaks, chicken wings and waffle fries  along with a mushroom sandwich. They may sound like simple fast food but they're not. The cheese steak has dry aged beef and roasted garlic mayonnaise while the mushroom sandwich is graced with herbed labneh,a creamy yogurt sauced, spiked with olive oil and za'atar. The chicken wings are glazed with a tamarind glaze and garlic and the fries come with berbere ,a fiery Ethiopian and Eritrean spice mix. Chef Onwuachi is definitely upping the fast food game.

Young chefs should buy his memoir. It is a template on how to succeed after failing. He is not only a star but a maverick on the American culinary scene.His star is rising again and fast.

Yellow Chili Hits The States

Indian food is one of the tastiest and most fun out there.It is an experience, enhanced by beautiful surroundings and exotic aromas. Now it's going to be pushed one step further thanks to a man who can be called the Mario Batali or Bobby Flay of India - Chef Sanjeev Kapoor creator of the Yellow Chili restaurants in India.

Priya Krishna, food writer and author of the cookbook,Ultimate Dining Hall Hacks. wrote a fascinating article about Chef Kapoor in yesterday's New York Times Food section. He has created a chain of restaurants, Yellow Chili in India,  - think of it as their Applebee's.or Olive Garden along with having his own twenty-four hour food channel Food Food. He is the country's most famous chef who has not only restaurant franchises but also a whole line of cookbooks. People adore him as is the case with  the  married couple Kamal Laur and her husband, Satvinder Ghotra. They  have opened one of his Yellow Chili in Buena Park, California. It will draw in fans,mostly from the heavily Indian populated towns of nearby  Irvine and Artesia.It is also close to the famed Knotts Berry Farm so curious tourists as well as n locals  and Indian food lovers will also probably visit. The Ghotras plan on hosting Diwali and Holi festivities there too to draw in more business.They've already threw a New Year's Eve bash in the adjoining banquet room with seats going between $100 and $125 a person.

The success of Yellow Chili depends on its' menu. The restauarnt, which is already established in Canada and Oman, features Northern Indian cuisine.These signature dishes of Chef Kapoor are hearty ones, rich with sauces and spices. One is Lalla Mussa Dal, a fiery lentil dish , spiked with Kashmiri red chili powder  a kind of cayenne and ginger. Another dish is Shaam Savera, spinach coated dumplings submerged in a thick tomato gravy. The restaurant also offers soups such as the popular Mulligatawny and tomato basil shorba or soup.American audiences would love their chaat dishes, fried street dishes reinterpreted for diners. There's chicken lollipops and fried fish patties to crunch on and share with friends. Yellow Chili would definitely appeal to vegetarians thanks to a large  list of vegetarian dishes that feature potatoes, cottage cheese. and mustard leaves.There are also sorts of curries from ones starring veggies to ones loaded with shrimp and chicken along with lamb. There's a variety of Indian breads from gluten free roti to naan along with basmati rice.. Desserts include  Phirni, their version of rice pudding.

The Ghotras want to turn Yellow Chili into a well known chain like the OLive Garden. They just may, be that successful especially with the hordes of Chef  Kapoor fans. Yellow Chili may be the next place to go for good eating.