Guest Chef - Clay Oven
DINING & ENTERTAINMENT GUIDE - JAN 2005
EDITOR'S NOTE: Clay Oven is closed.
Guest Chef - Clay Oven
Indian food at its finest
When Arogya Doss and Tilak Raj begin their work day at the Clay Oven, an authentic Indian restaurant in downtown Nassau, the immaculate kitchen takes on an air of busy intensity.
The two chefs obviously love their work, chatting together as they rub an extra shine on the already-gleaming plates before arranging their colourful creations on them.
Chef Doss, 32, a specialist in curry dishes, learned his skills at Taj Connemara, a large five-star hotel and restaurant in Madras, his home town on the east coast of India. Beginning as an apprentice in 1991, he spent a decade learning how to prepare all the traditional dishes ?step by step by step by step, for many years,? he says through an interpreter. After tasting one of his curries in Madras, a principal of the Clay Oven hired him on the spot in 2003.
Chef Tilak, 32, was born in the province of Himããhal Pradesh in northern India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. He came to The Bahamas from the Taj Residency, another famous five-star hotel and restaurant, located in Hyderãâãä in central India, where he began his apprenticeship in 1994.
?I love cooking,? Tilak says with a big smile. ?I am always too much interested in cooking.? His speciality is the tandoor, an igloo-shaped clay oven, open at the top, which dates back to at least 3000 BC. It?s used to cook meats, poultry, fish and also to quick-bake several delicious breads. Naan, for example, is baked by slapping it expertly on the sides of the tandoor.
From the tandoor
Heat from the bottom of the oven and radiant heat from the thick, clay walls cooks meat quickly, sealing in the juices and producing a distinctive flavour. One of the most popular dishes is bright red tandoori chicken. Even if you don?t happen to have a tandoor in your back yard, you can still make this main course at home, just use a very hot oven or a barbeque with a cover.
Tandoori chicken
2 lbs chicken legs (thighs and drumsticks attached)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp yellow and red food colouring
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp finely chopped coriander
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 tsp garlic paste
1?4 cup ghee or vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Remove skin from chicken pieces and cut them lengthwise. Mix lemon juice, food colouring, salt, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander in a bowl and brush the chicken pieces evenly. Mix yogurt, ginger and garlic in a separate bowl and apply to the chicken pieces. Marinate in refrigerator, turning occasionally, for four to six hours. Let stand at room temperature one hour before cooking. Preheat oven to 500ºÆ and place the chicken in a single layer in a greased shallow baking pan. Brush chicken with 2 tbsp of ghee and bake for 12 mins. Turn pieces over, brush with remaining 2 tbsp of ghee and continue baking until chicken is cooked through and tender, about 15 mins. Serve hot garnished with fresh coriander.
Traditional favourite
Butter chicken, or murgh makhani, is started in the tandoor and then finished as a curry, topped with crushed cashews, cream and spices.
Butter chicken
1 whole chicken, cut in pieces
2 tomatoes, puréåd
2 onions, chopped
1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
15 cashew nuts, ground into a paste
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp thick cream
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oil
Cilantro for garnishing
Marinade
Mix well in a bowl:
1 tbsp tandoori masala
1?2 tbsp garam masala
2 tbsp lime juice
1?2 tsp cumin powder
5 tbsp yogurt
Salt to taste.
(Note: first two items are available in some grocery stores.)
Marinate chicken for one hour. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken for 10 mins. Remove chicken and set aside. In the remaining oil, fry the chopped onions until golden, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry, sprinkling water now and then until oil separates. Add cashew nut paste, chili powder, tomato paste and cook for 10 mins. Add the butter, cream and chicken. Mix well and cook another three to five mins. Garnish with cilantro.
From the curry pot
?Indian food is enjoyed all over the world,? says S N Meiappan, host and manager at the Clay Oven, adding that Doss and Tilak know not only how to prepare all the traditional dishes, but how to creatively adapt them to western tastes. For example, it?s a mistake to think that all curries are super-hot, says Meiappan. This one at is mild but delicious, a favourite with local Bahamians.
Chicken potato curry
2 lbs chicken, cut in pieces
1 lb potatoes, cut into chunks
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small tomato, chopped
2 pinches garam masala (or add a cinnamon stick and cloves)
A few curry leaves
Paste
Grind into a fine paste:
6 tbsp chopped coconut
1 tsp khus-khus (poppy seeds)
5 cashew nuts
2 tsp roasted chana dal
4 green chilies
1 tbsp coriander powder
1-in piece of ginger, peeled and minced
1 tsp sounf (aniseed)
Mix chicken, potato and half of the onion in a sauce pan, add the ground paste and three cups of water. Sprinkle salt and cook, covered, until soft. Remove lid, reduce heat and season with all the other ingredients and allow to boil. When the curry is thicker, remove it from the heat. Serve with rice or chapatties (round flatbreads).
Starters and desserts
Chefs Tilak and Doss make a variety of Indian hors d?ouvres, desserts and freshly made drinks, including lassi, made with yogurt blended with ice, sweet or savoury, and a lovely
mango lassi which you can order virgin or non-virgin. Regulars recommend the ?tidbit platter? of shrimp, chicken tikka and lamb kebabs. One of the most popular starters is the samosa, a flaky pastry with tasty fillings. Vegetarians will love the following recipe.
Vegetarian samosa
1 lb maida (all purpose flour)
1 lb onions, chopped
2 tbsp green chilies, chopped
Salt to taste
Oil for frying
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 lbs potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
1 lime
Pinch of turmeric
Sift flour with salt and make a soft dough using a little water. Let dough stand for 30 to 40 mins. Heat oil in a pan and season with mustard and cumin seeds. Add chopped green chilies and onions. Fry until golden brown. Add turmeric, mashed potatoes and salt. Cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice, mix well and remove from heat. Make small balls from the dough. Roll into a thin circle. Cut the circle into two halves. In each half, place the samosa mixture and roll into a triangle shape. Seal edges with water. Deep fry until golden brown. Serve hot with any chutney.
A favourite Indian desert is gulab jamuns ? cardamom seeds individually wrapped in sweet pastry served in a delicate saffron syrup.
Gulab jamuns
11?2 cups dry milk powder
1?2 cup maida (all purpose flour)
4 cups water
1 tbsp rose water
3 cups sugar
Pinch saffron
1?8 tsp baking soda
11?2 cups heavy cream (enough to make dough)
About 50 cardamom seeds
2 cups ghee (butter)
To make the syrup, bring water, rose water and sugar to a boil, add the saffron, remove from heat and set aside.
Mix together the milk powder, flour, soda and heavy cream. Knead into a soft dough. Separate about a teaspoon of dough, press a cardamom seed into it, and roll into a ball. Repeat with remainder of dough. Fry dough balls in the ghee until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer into the syrup. Serve warm.
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