Friday, June 28, 2019

Indian Menu Days 12 + 13



Sous Chefs-

Pay attention - Indian people, traditionally, do not eat with western utensils OR with chop sticks - they eat with their right hand, scooping food up with the first three fingers and pushing it into their mouths with the thumb. DO NOT place chopsticks on the demo table for service. 

We make our own yogurt on Day 11 to use on Days 12 + 13 + 14.  On Day 12,  Recipes calling for "drained yogurt" should start to drain 3 containers in a china cap lined with cheese cloth, start this right away so that it has plenty of time to drain - don't squeeze it, let gravity do all of the work.

All entrees will be served on a 12" round plate LINED WITH A BANANA LEAF CIRCLE Traditionally, Indian diners will not eat from plates, they use banana leaves to hold the food, these circles will fit into the 12" plates as liners. Ask me early and I'll show you how, we'll use a 10" plate as a template to cut circles to fit inside of the 12" plates for service.

Menu is divided into "North" and "South" - everything will be in 1/2 hotel pans on the steam table except for the accompaniments. There won't be enough space on the steam table for the rice - put rice in chaffing dish at end of steam table near plates.

Set up according to this description:

Items representing the North on the left side, will be set in the steam table and plated in this order:

- Paneer Saag
- Dal Tadka
- Tandoori Chicken
- Lamb Khorma
- Samoosas
- Naan

The steam table should look like this:

                                                                North



Rice
Paneer 
Saag
Dal Tadka
Tandoori Chicken
Lamb Khorma
Samoosas
Naan

Plate wipes/
garnish
Mushroom
Cauliflower Curry
Dal Sambar
Keralan Fish Curry
Pork Vindaloo
Bondas
Puris


                                                                   South

Items representing the South on the right side, will be set in the steam table and plated in this order:

- Mushroom + Cauliflower Curry
- Dal Sambar
- Fish Curry
- Pork Vindaloo
- Potato Bondas
- Puris Bread



Soup for Days 12+ 13/14- will be Tomato Dal Rassam. Make 1/2 recipe on Day 12 and 1 full recipe on Day 13/14

Salad - 1/2x recipe for Day 12 and a full recipe for Days 13/14. This salad is served with the other accompaniments on a small, round "condiment" plate, you only need about 1/4 cup of salad per plate surrounded by the other condiments - 2 chutney, 2 raitha, 1 pachadi. It will be similar in set-up to the street food plates - on service days, these can all be plated ahead. On  station 5, set up each condiment in a separate, evenly sized container with a small spoon for portioning. Place salad in the center and arrange the chutneys, raithas , and pachadi around.

Rice - Saffron rice Pilaf for Day 12 - make SURE you know everything there is to know about rice Pilaf METHOD -this is where people fall down, I will ask you about it, so be prepared. Use 6 cups raw Basmati rice on Day 12, and use  plain water as the liquid.   On day 13 we will make Lemon-Mint pilaf, speak to chef in advance for recipe and plan to make 10 cups. For Day 14 we can discuss other options in advance. Use Basmati rice and speak with Chef about the amount of seasoning to use.  As stated above, we serve rice from a chaffing dish at the far end of the steam table, near the plates. Please read this! - Basmati rice is very tender. once it's cooked, it must be gently fluffed - not stirred or worked very much. Use chop sticks or a long tined fork - like a roasting fork. If you are rough with it, the cooked rice breaks easily and will fall apart.

Mango lhassi - the yogurt is being made overnight - should be ready in the morning. You will receive frozen Mango Puree from the store room. Don't plan to make mango lhassi both days - look for some other flavors or talk to me. Serve in 10 oz milk glasses - check that the glasses are in the kitchen early, if not - let me know. There are both "Sweet" and "Salted" lhassis, do a bit of research and find alternatives for days 13 + 14

Accompaniments: Sous chefs are responsible for setting up an accompaniment station on Station #5. Kachumber, Mango Chutni, Chili Chutni, Coconut Pachadi, Cucumber Raitha and Pineapples Raitha should be on station in 1/9th or 1/6th pans with small spoons for serving/plating. Sous Chefs will make the kachumber fresh each day; station #6 will produce cucumber raitha, #5 - pineapple raitha, and station 4- the coconut pachadi. The red chili chutni and mango chutni have been made in advance and sous chef's should get those from the cooler and put out an appropriate amount for each day, there should be enough of each made to last until the end of the course - do not discard them without speaking first with the chef.

For Service - include these in your time line as needed, according to the menu for the day: 
- Personnel are assigned positions during service in advance
- Line is set up for service - steam table turned on, chaffing dishes in place if needed 
- Each food item is listed/shown in diagram
- Utensils for serving each food item
- Cups for portioning/serving rice
- Plates/Bowls as needed
- Plate wipes + garnishes
- Laminated menu is posted
- Expediting sheet is on clip board, menu items are listed, expediter understands procedure 
- Demo table is set with table cloth, no chop sticks for  Indian menu. 
- Soup station is set up - tray stand, sheet tray, soup warmer, ladle, hot soup cups, garnish
- Salad station is set up with plates, salad is dressed, gloves or service utensils on hand
- Cafeteria trays are in position
- Pick up station with for street food, small plates - chaffing dish(es), if needed, plates, and utensils are in pace on station 5
- Sous Chef/ expediter  should read entire menu and be familiar with each dish - double check staions ready for service, and be able to explain dishes to customers. 

Station 2:
Lamb Khorma - start early, lamb should be cooking by 8:30, braise in small rondo on top of stove - keep covered, stir often, don't scorch. You will receive 2# lamb cubes for this on Day 12 and 4# for Day 13 /14. Cashew paste is made by soaking cashews in hot water and then pureeing in food processor. Serve from the "North" side of the steam table in 1/2 hotel pan (see details in Sous Chef Section.  Ask Sous Chefs where to put everything on line for service.  DON'T forget the garnishes for this dish - have them in place before service starts.

Dal Tadka : Soak the toor dal the night before, if possible, and start the cooking of the dal (lentils) as early as possible in the morning. These should be lightly thick and creamy - the dal should be falling apart and feel smooth in your mouth. If they become very think before they are cooked through, add more water to thin out and prevent scorching. Make 1 full batch for each day

Samoosas- Make 1x the dough recipe and 1x the filling for Day 12 and 2x dough/ 2x filling for Days 13+14. The Dough needs to be made early on Day 12 and extra can be made to be ahead for Day 13 - remember, this is a PASTRY dough, be careful not to over work the Gluten - be sure to ask chef for advice on making pastry dough. Filling should be prepped, then they need to be assembled and finished. Let me help you toast the spices, they burn easily.Hold formed samoosas on parchment paper - they stick to paper towels! The samoosas should be fried in small batches as needed for service and served from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan on the "North" side.

Station #3:

Fish curry - Talk to Chef about how many portions to make for each day - it depends on the type of fish we receive. ; if we have squid and/or shrimp left from Thai menu, we may add those into fish curry as well - be sure to check coolers and check with chef before beginning. It's important to have a wooden spoon to stir the bottom and edges of the pot while cooking the sauce, and a fish spatula to remove the fish when it's finished cooking.  Read recipe, know all ingredients, watch video and ask chef to help get started, This is an unusual and unique dish and requires the assistance of the chef the first time you make it.. Those who fail to follow this instruction generally have to start the entire dish again. Make sauce ahead, hold hot, poach fish in sauce a few orders at a time, just before serving. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan. You will receive enough fish on Day 12 for the rest of the block, so ask how much to use for day 12 and ice the rest for the next day. 

Pooris(puris) bread 1x dough for each day- Make dough early - before anything
g else. Check with chef for proper consistency, let it rest, ask chef for advice on rolling and cutting. Watch demo on frying and pre-heat cast iron pans about 20 minutes before you plan to fry. These should be fried before service and held warm on paper towels to absorb extra fat. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan lined with paper towels, sous chefs will have a diagram telling you where to put them.

Check to see if there is pork already Brined for Day 1 - if not, plan to fabricate and brine pork according to the Cantonese Roasted Pork recipe in the Chinese Section; in any event, once it's brined, you need to put it in the marinade from the same recipe. HINT: When making brine, WEIGH 1/2 of  the water and use this to dissolve salt, sugar, and spices. Weigh the remaining water as ICE. When spices are infused into hot water, add the ice - you will now have the original quantity of water in thr brine, but it will be chilled and ready to use much faster. 

Station #4;
Pork Vindaloo  is already marinating for all days. Use 1/4 of the pork for Day 12 and use the remainder for Day 13/14. You can make it in a wok, but you have to be very careful about heat control and evaporation - keep the flame low and keep the wok covered (use a small wok on day 12 for a small amount, discuss which size wok to use for days 13 + 14 with chef) . Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan - see sous chef's diagram for where to place it.This must be started early and you should ask for Chef's help at the beginning so that it does not scorch.

Dal Sambar - make 1 full recipe for each day, also start very early. Toasting the spices for this can be tricky - ask chef to help you start so you don't burn them. Lentils should cook until mushy. Keep heat low, stir often, keep pot covered. If lentils start to stick, change pots and add a bit more water. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to sous chef's diagram. TIP: Indian cooks soak their lentils in water over night with a small amount of baking soda (about 1 tsp. per kilogram of lentils). This helps soften them and shortens the cooking time

Bondas - 1/2 recipe for Day 12 and 1x recipe for Days 13/14. Filling for this can be made a day ahead - so you may make extra on Day 12 for Day 13. Cook potatoes early, let chef help with spices toasting; combine potatoes and spices and let chef demo how to size and shape. Dip in batter and fry only as needed for service. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to sous chef's diagram.

Pachadi - Make 1/2 recipe for Day 12 and 1 for Days 13/14. Crack open fresh coconut and remove flesh - chef can help. Toast in oven, stir occasionally to keep coconut from scorching. Toasting chick peas is a long process, so start early- they should have been soaked over night in water with a small amount of baking soda - on the day you use them, drain off the soaking water and place in a pot with enough fresh water to cover. Simmer until tender but not falling apart, drain and cool. Then they may be toasted on a sheet tray in a low oven toasted until they are cooked through and crunchy - if they're soft in the center, they're not done. Check with chef for help on this technique, it's very different from western cooking.


Station #5:
On each day - including Day 12 - Make 1 full recipe of dough for naan first thing; it needs to rise, be divided, and rise again. Naan should go into the tandoori oven between 10:15-10:45. Watch the video so that you are familiar with the set up and make sure you know which tools to use - have them on your station for a demo by 10:15.

Tandoori chicken - Make 20 pieces on Day 12 and 40 pieces on Day 13/14. The Chicken should already be marinating on Day 12  but needs to be prepared on Day 12 for 13 and Day 13 for 14. Check with Chef that chicken has been properly cut and marinated before you begin. If fabricating the chicken for the first time for this preparation, ask chef for demo. Remove chicken from marinade and put on skewers early in the day. The meat will cook more easily if it's not cold right out of the cooler. Skewered meat can be held on plastic lined sheet trays at room temp. Be ready to put skewered chicken in oven by 10:00 AM. Serve from steam table in 1/2 hotel pan according to the sous chef's diagram.

Raitha is made with drained yogurt - if the yogurt did not get drained the night before, drain it in a chinoise lined with cheese cloth for a couple of hours before making, put in small container for sous chefs to arrange on the accompaniment table.

Station #6:

Paneer Saag - 1/2 recipe for each day. Make cheese as early as possible, it can be made a day ahead, but if it's not- 7:15 or so on Day 12. Let drain and firm until cool, then cut into small dice. Spinach is braised - meaning a longer, slower, moist heat method. Have all MEP near a wok and be ready to start cooking slowly by 9:45. Let simmer on low heat, covered, until spinach is very soft. Then finish with cheese and yogurt. The paneer saag is a braised veg dish, it needs to be started in a large wok no later than 9:45 in order to cook slowly and gently and should be finished no later than 10:45

Vegetable Curry - Also a braised veg dish. Long, slow, moist heat, covered. All MEP ready by 9:45, cook slowly until cauliflower is very tender.

Cucumber Raitha - Make 1 cup for each day. On Day 12 you'll need to drain yogurt for Days 13-14 as well. Talk to the chef on how to do this.

Remember that you are responsible for setting up the class tasting for the Indian section. Check with Chef early in the day if you have any questions or trouble finding the proper ingredients.



Prep for Day 1 - on the last day of the course - Day 13 or 14 - please rinse, cook, cool, and store 8 cups of long grain white rice for Fried Rice on Day 1. Discuss with chef to be sure you're setting up the incoming team for a smooth day

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