Wham Bam Potatoes

Watching the chef at Dishoom's make their signature gunpowder potatoes, makes me want to walk in to the restaurant that very moment! The plated potatoes look mouthwateringly appealing. Grilled over a fire pit, lightly squooshed, they are then bathed in a herbal butter bath before dusted with spices. The resulting plate looks makes me want to reach into the television. 

Virtual reality aside, the actual world dictates making them in my kitchen. I do not have the requisite small potatoes. I do not have some of the prescribed spices. Improv it is! Boiled Yukon golds are sliced thickly and broiled under a high flame. The herbal butter bath is a mix of melted butter, green chiles, toasted and powdered fennel, coriander seeds and cumin seeds, spring onions and cilantro. The entire dish is dusted with chile powder, chaat masala and lime juice.  

Pros were the tanginess and fresh flavors. One con...the potatoes  were not crusty enough after broiling. I mention this to my sis, who berates me for not using the air-fryer. The resulting head-slap offers me more options. I will correct it the next time around, because there will definitely be a next time.  

WHAM BAM POTATOES

Adapted from Dishoom Restaurant

Serves 2

3-4 medium sized Yukon Gold Potatoes Or 1 pound small Yukon Gold Minis

1 tablespoon Canola Oil

4 tablespoons Butter, melted

3 Green chiles, minced fine

1/2 teaspoon Fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon Coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds

4 Spring Onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/2 cup chopped Cilantro leaves

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon Chaat masala

1 teaspoon Aleppo Chile powder

Lime Juice

Boil potatoes on salted water till just cooked. You want them to be firm, not mushy. Drain water and allow potatoes to dry and cool. 

If you have large potatoes, cut them into large slices or chunks. 

Place them on an oiled sheetpan, season with salt and broil till golden on both sides.

I broiled them under a high flame with not so acceptable results.

Listed below are four better ways to make crusty potatoes. All are perfectly acceptable choices.

One way is to shallow fry boiled potatoes in very little oil till golden brown. Season after they are cooked.

Start another way by heating the oven to 400F/200C. Coat a sheet pan with canola oil. Drop potatoes chunks in the pan. Stir them so they are well coated with oil. Season with Kosher salt. Roast then for 30-40 minutes, stirring often till golden and crusty. 

A third way is to roast them in an air-fryer. Mist potatoes with oil, season with salt and cook at 400F for 10 minutes, stirring them halfway. 

For me the fourth way will be in spring or summer. Boiled potatoes on a skewer, misted with oil, them grilled over a gas or charcoal grill. Season them after grilling.

Dry roast fennel, coriander and cumin seeds for a few minutes till aromatic. Pound them roughly and add to melted butter. 

Add green chiles to butter. 

Once the potatoes are crusty and golden brown, toss them well in butter mix, spring onions and cilantro. 

Dust potatoes with chaat masala, chile powder and a generous squirt of lime juice. 

Enjoy them piping hot.

 Going to London? Eat them at Dishoom. Not making that transatlantic trip? Try this secondhand version...it will please you.

Cheesy Rustic Boule

I am a huge fan of King Arthur's Baking recipe collection.  This rustic bread is a winner in the easy category. Easy, but long, depending on when you start. 

The starter takes six to eight hours to ferment. Having made this twice, my choice is to mix the starter at night and leave it overnight. You are greeted with the yeasty aroma in the morning. Flour, grated Monterey jack cheese and everything bagel seasoning is mixed in. Everything bagel seasoning is a heady mix of sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic and onion powder and salt. Mine comes from Trader Joe's, but it easy to make. If you cannot find it then a quarter teaspoon of each of the above, mixed in a bowl and you can toss it in.  The loaf proofs for an hour and then is covered and baked till golden brown. 

There is nothing in the world that compares to the allure of just baked bread. And I am not immune to that enticement. Sliced and buttered, this loaf is carb heaven!

CHEESY RUSTIC BOULE

Adapted from King Arthur's Baking

Makes 1 boule

Starter

2 cups all purpose Flour

1 teaspoon Yeast

1 1/2 cups cold Water

Dough

2 teaspoons Table Salt

2 3/4 cups all purpose Flour

1/2 cup grated Monterey Jack Cheese

1 tablespoon Everything Bagel Seasoning

Olive Oil

Mix all the sponge ingredients in a mixer bowl. Cover and leave overnight. The starter should ferment well after 6 hours. It should look like the picture below.

When you are ready to start the dough, place the bowl on your mixer stand. Use a dough hook. 

Add flour, salt, cheese and seasoning to the starter. Mix for 2 minutes.  It will be a shaggy dough. You can also do this by hand.

Scrape the dough away from the edges of the bowl. 

Drizzle a little olive oil around the edges of the bowl. 

Turn the dough so it is coated with oil.

Cover and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. It should double in size.

Heat oven to 425F/220C.

Cut a large square of parchment paper.

Use a bench scraper to gently scrape the dough onto the paper.

Transfer the dough to a deep cast iron Dutch oven. 

Sprinkle a little water on the dough. 

Cover the Dutch oven and place in the oven. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes till the top is crusty and golden brown. 

Take it out of the oven.

Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes before slicing. 

Slather butter on a slice and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Two attempts and both of them well appreciated. What more do I want!

Cauliflower and Corn Rice

The cauliflower rice bug has finally bitten me. I watch in amazement as the food processor makes mincemeat of florets. How easy is that! Why did I not make this earlier! 

The riced cauliflower is sauteed in garlic oil, along with corn kernals. I pan roast sweet potato and shishito peppers. A green sauce made of cilantro, garlic, honey, cumin and chile flakes swirls with a little olive oil. 

A pile of cauliflower and corn. Topped with sweet potatoes and shishitos. Green sauce spooned over the works. A quick toss brings it all to your plate!

CAULIFLOWER AND CORN RICE

Serves 2

2 cups Cauliflower Florets

1 cup Corn kernals ( fresh or frozen)

2-3 teaspoon Canola Oil

2 Garlic cloves, minced fine

1 Sweet Potato, boiled, peeled and sliced in half moons

5-7 Shishito Peppers, cut into 1" pieces

Kosher Salt

Green Sauce

1/2 cup Cilantro

1 Garlic clove

1/4 teaspoon Cumin Powder

1/2 teaspoon Chile Flakes

1 tablespoon Honey

1 tablespoon Lime Juice

A pinch of Kosher Salt

Use a food processor to pulse the cauliflower florets into rice. It was 8-10 pulses for me. 

Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a nonstick saucepan. 

Add sweet potato half moons. Fry till golden brown on one side , then flip and cook the other side. 

When you flip the sweet potato, add shishito peppers and saute on high heat till tinged brown. Season with Kosher salt.

Scrape veggies into a bowl. 

Return pan to a medium flame and add 1 teaspoon of oil.

Drop minced garlic into the oil and let it turn golden brown. 

Spoon cauliflower rice into the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes. 

Add corn to the pan, season with kosher salt stir well and cover pan. Cook veggies for 3-5 minutes. 

Blend cilantro, garlic, cumin, chile flakes, honey, lime juice and olive oil till smooth and creamy. 

Spoon cauliflower and corn into a serving bowl.

Top with sweet potato and shishitos.

Season generously with green sauce.

Toss rice and enjoy!

This side lives up to its expectations. So much flavor, very few carbs .... so it makes my top twenty list.