Foodbuzz 24x24:The Bride of India

I have a friend. Her name is Alli. She's one of those effortlessly stylish people who can wear turquoise tights and big pink plastic earrings and pants that I used to think would only look good on Aladdin. She buys pretty aprons and books about the black plague, and she calls me with questions like, "Should we make dinner tonight?" I like Alli, like bunches.
Alli is getting married, to a dude my dude has known since those two dudes were wee. Really wee. I have a picture of Matt and AJ standing together when they were just figuring out how to ask girls out and which side of Mr. Stevenson's math classroom smells the worst (okay, so they weren't babies when the met, but still purty damn young, in the embarrassing rosy-cheeked years of middle school). Matt is awesome...the kind of guy who compliments fashionable Alli like sea salt and chocolate. The kind of dude who sings and dresses up like Lupin from Harry Potter and attends murder mystery dinners and listens to books on tape and quotes Radiolab. They're a perfect match.

And since TODAY IS THE UPRISING'S FIRST BIRTHDAY, I figured what the hell, I'm throwing a party for Alli and The Uprising. A big Indian-themed party, since Indian cuisine calls to Alli in her dreams and she knows all about things like like tamarind and asafetida. And so, with the help of FoodBuzz (my advertising folks who so graciously decided to support this meal and to include it with their 24X24 feature) some elbow grease, and some very flexible ladies who, with almost zero notice, decided to make time for a party, I'd like to present my longest post ever! It's a wedding shower! It's a birthday party! It's Indian! It includes 9 recipes and a ber-jillion photos that I took with super schmancy camera! It's unbelievable!
I had this strange notion that somehow, for once, I would be super civilized and do the whole first course amuse bouche soup with samosas followed by the real meal, the main attraction. This, of course (HA!), did not happen, and I, naturally didn't care. It was delicious served as one big meal, straight out of the pots and with mismatched tableware, which we all knew would be the case.

I personally ate my amuse bouche out of a coffee cup. What a world.
ANYWAY! I won't present this meal with the feigned grace and impossible civility of the first course second course thing, but if you wanted to do that (all evidence of its necessity to the contrary), you could serve the Roasted Yellow Pepper and Corn Bisque alongside the delicious simplicity of Samosas, then follow it with a giant plate of Basmati Rice, Tamarind Lentils, Curry Tofu, Sauteed Spinach and Tomatoes, and Mango Chutney with Roti. Finally, you "let's do courses" people could follow up with wee plates of Chikki and a heaping platter of Jalebis.

Or you can throw everything on one table, sit on the floor, and drink your wine out of a plastic juice glass. It'll still taste amazing, no matter what you do, and everyone will still think you're astoundingly cool for feeding them...with food. Good, vegan food.

The following recipes are adapted from and inspired by Veganomicon and The New Moosewood Cookbook, and from mine own noggin. Go figure.

Scroll alllll they way down to look at every fantastic dish, or click on the links below individually:

ROASTED YELLOW PEPPER AND CORN BISQUE
SAMOSAS
TAMARIND LENTILS
CURRY TOFU
SAUTEED SPINACH AND TOMATOES
MANGO CHUTNEY
CORNMEAL POPPYSEED ROTI
MACADAMIA AND CASHEW CHIKKI
JALEBIS

Samosas

Unfreakinbelievable. That's what these are. AJ's called them "india hot pockets," to which I responded by saying, "How dare you use that word...hot pockets....in reference to anything I've made. Ever. Even hot pockets. Especially hot pockets."

Nope. These are not hot pockets, but they do kinda look like it. Typically, samosas are filled with spicy potatoes and peas and then tossed in the deep fryer, but these ones are baked. So there's that.

THEY TASTE AMAZING.
So, you need to make the filling first. This recipe will make enough filling for about 12 samosas which, since they're side-dish-y, is a lot. I doubled this recipe for Alli's party and ended up with spicy mashed potatoes running out my ears.

First, grab:
2 large potatoes
1 medium sweet potato

Peel 'em (yeah, this is one of those times where they gotta be peeled...and since you know I almost never do that, I hope you trust me on it), then chop them into pieces and toss them in a pot. Cover with water and boil until very soft. Yup. Just like mashed taters. When they're ready, dump them in a big bowl. smash 'em with a fork until smooth, and set aside. Then heat a dash of olive oil over medium heat in your skillet and add:

1 onion, diced (finely)
2-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbs freshly grated ginger
1 tsp mustard seeds (or dried mustard)
1 tsp coriander
liberal dash o' salt
liberal dash o' cayenne

Saute the spiced onions and garlic for about 5 minutes or until they start to soften. Add this to the potater mixture, along with:
1 bag frozen peas (they'll thaw amongst the potatoes)

Stir. Filling is done. Leave it on the counter to cool a bit while you make the dough...

...which is cake. Well, not literally cake but still ridiculously easy. It's yogurt dough with very little moisture, so be prepared for some toughness. It won't be smooth and beautiful like bread dough, but rather more like pie crust dough. In a big mixing bowl, throw in:
5 cups all-purpose flour (you can also do half and half white/wheat)
1 tsp salt
2 cups soy yogurt
3 tbs water

Stir it all up with a spoon, switching to your hands when the goin' gets tough. Add more water or flour as needed in order to keep the dough in check...not too dry, not too sticky. Knead it together on your floured countertop, then cover it and let it sit in the fridge until you're ready to assemble your not-hot-pockets. This is an awesome place to stop if you're preparing these in advance.

To assemble! It's a cinch. Roll out a wad of dough into a circle-y type shape and don't freak if it's not perfect. Slap a spoonful of filling on one side, fold the other side over, then crimp it down with your fingers. You can use a fork to make pretty lines if you want. Me, I kinda like the finger dimples instead. When they're all assembled, it's time to bake. Alternatively, for advanced prep people, you can dust the unbaked samosas with flour and freeze them indefinitely to be baked later.
Are ya still with me? I know, these are a bit labor intensive. Alas, they're not the hardest part of this meal, but they're probably number 2 in terms of annoyance. BUT, I'm tellin' ya, they're so majorly worth it!

Okay, to bake. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 375 and let them go 15 minutes more until they're nice and brown. You can also flip them in the middle to assure maximum crispiness, but it's not imperative.

Serve hot samosas with soup (how about bisque?) or chutney. Yummers. Everyone will worship you.

Roasted Yellow Pepper and Corn Bisque

Kinda sweet, kinda spicy, this soup kicks some serious ass. People will say things like, "Wow! The complex combination of these flavors is so smashing, it makes me want to give you my yacht for 2 weeks so you can go skinny dipping in Acapulco!"

First thing, you gotta roast those peppers, baby. But since you already know how to do that, you won't freak out or do anything insane like buy them prepacked. You're so much brainier than that. You can even do this the day before! Whatevs! Preheat your oven to 400, line a sheet tray or 9x17 cake pan with foil (something with an edge to keep in the juices), and decorate it with:
4 yellow and/or orange peppers

Toss them on the pan whole and unsullied. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the skin is visibly loosened and somewhat blackened. Let them cool (do it), then pull out the stem and as many of the seeds as you can, peel off the skin, and deposit the soft fleshy pepper into a bowl for use later on. Don't they smell amazing?

Now, we move on to the actual soup. Find your stock pot and heat a good dash of olive oil over a medium high flame. Add:
2 big onions, diced
2 chili peppers, diced (I used a jalapeno and a big anaheim pepper)
2-10 cloves garlic, minced
1 bag frozen corn
2 yellow summer squash, cut in half lengthwise and thinly sliced

Cook this big pot o' veggies down until the squash starts to sweat out some of its water, about 4 minutes. Finally, add:
6 cups water
2 veggie bouillon cubes
your roasted yellow peppers

Bring everything to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes (it really won't take long for the veggies to break down). Remove the pot from the heat and let it cool for about 10 minutes. The puree process is about to begin, and boiling hot soups can potentially lead to cracked blenders. No. Bad. Real bad. First, off the heat, stir in:
1 can coconut milk (the regular kind, not light...you want thick "bisque" not "broth")
1 tbs maple syrup
juice AND zest of one whole lime
dash of nutmeg

Stir everything together, then puree the soup in its entirety, transferring blenderfuls of the smooth soup into a bowl until the whole thing has been processed. Then dump the bowl's contents back into the pot and season-taste-season-taste with salt...don't skimp either. Salt will bring all the flavors of this bright yellow soup together under one rainbow of tasty revelry.

Serve with a blob of rice in the middle or a swirl of chili oil, if you like-a some spicy spicy.

Curry Tofu

Boy oh boy! As if you didn't already know how to make killer baked tofu, a recipe like this comes along and makes it even better!

The process is exactly the same as with our tried-and-true Baked Tofu and Hoky Smoky Tofu, except the spice mixture is different. A versatile brick of beans, that tofu is.

First thing, press it out. No water allowed. Really. Wrap the drained tofu brick in 3 or 4 layers of paper towels, put it on a plate, stack another plate on top, then put a heavy can on top of that. Like this:

See? Not hard. And certainly not fancy. Let it hang out on the counter for at least 30 minutes while you whip up your easy curry marinade. In a small bowl, whisk together:
1/4 cup curry paste (which is, as you know, way better than powder)
1 tsp cumin
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs soy sauce
3 tbs rice vinegar or mirin
1/2 water

Slice your drained tofu brick into 12 mini slabs (cut once down the center lengthwise than 6 times across the other way), lay them in a cake pan, then pour the marinade over the top and let it sit in the fridge, covered, till morning. The longer you soak, the more flavor you'll get. Duh.

When it's near time to eat, lay the squares on a lined baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the edges are starting to brown. You want FIRM, not BURNED so keep an eye out will ya? Sheesh. Burned tofu is awful.
While it's still hot, slice each slab in quarters, or not. See if I care.