Vegetarian Paella

There is something so heartwarming about a large paella in the center of a table. Everyone digs in, shares stories about the various other paellas they have had in their travels, with a glass of Sangria, and life is good. 

I remember the night I sat at the bar of a restaurant in Gran Canaria (Canary Islands), Spain and ate one of the best Paellas ever. We grumbled to the chef, whom we had gotten to know well through the years of visiting, that we lacked good Paellas in New York. Chef Juan very generously invited me into his kitchen and taught me his prized Paella Valenciana recipe. What a treat! 

The original Paella is from Valencia, Spain, and had a combination of meat, vegetables, and snails. Today, everyone makes their own version. My favorite one is a Seafood Paella, next to the Vegetarian one. It's a great way to pack in all the vegetables.

Paella is cooked and served in a traditional Paella pan. Fairly easily available, you can buy it in most gourmet grocery stores. In New York, Despaña sells it, along with Kalyustans. I use the carbon steel pans, which require a good scrub after, with a metal sponge, wipe dry, and season with a little olive oil. However, today, non-stick ones are also available. 

Writing a Paella recipe is always a bit tricky, as it depends on the size of your Paella pan. It is sold as 'para dos', 'para cuatro' (for two, for four, etc). The number of people the Paella pan is for is always an even number, but the actual diameter of the pan varies, which is what making writing the recipe tricky. Read the note below on the amount of rice required before adding it all in, keeping in mind, that rice doubles in size as it cooks. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup olive oil

One bulb garlic, peeled, and thinly sliced 

1 Spanish onion, chopped in 1-inch pieces 

1 green pepper, chopped in 1-inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1 teaspoon orange food coloring

Vegetables: 

3 cups of vegetables of your choice, such as carrots, beans, mushrooms, green peas, asparagus 

1 15oz can tomato sauce

1 vegetable bouillon cube

1 generous pinch of saffron 

1 teaspoon Spanish paprika

1 sprig thyme 

Salt, to taste

2–3 handfuls of Spanish paella rice 

Lemon wedges, to garnish

Method

1. In a Paella pan for 4, heat 1/2 cup olive oil in a pan.
2. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, careful not to burn. 
3. Add onion, green pepper, bay leaf and orange food coloring. Sauté for a minute. 
4. Add 3 cups of chopped vegetables (carrots, green beans, peas, mushrooms, asparagus etc). Mix with the onions. 
5. Add the tomato sauce and water to fill the pan to the brim. 
6. Then, add the saffron, salt to taste, a dried red chili, Spanish paprika, one stock bouillon cube and one sprig of thyme.
7. Let it come to a boil, and reduce to half. Taste the sauce for salt or any other seasonings
8. Sprinkle the paella rice evenly over the paella pan. Eyeball the quantity of uncooked rice required based on the paella pan size, and the amount of vegetables added in. Do not mix after you add the rice. 
9. Let it cook for 10–15 minutes.
10. Garnish with lemon wedges right before serving

Saffron Chicken, Indian Style

I went into the kitchen today, ready to cook my favorite Simple Chicken Curry, but changed it around instead. We are spending the summer in Spain, and I paid homage to one of its much acclaimed ingredients— Saffron. Most importantly, the kids ate and enjoyed the Saffron chicken, served over rice. 

This dish would work great to serve to a large crowd (double or triple the recipe), or for a family meal too. 

If you want to add a vegetable to the meal, add some finely chopped spinach right at the end, into the curry. 

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon saffron

2 tablespoons hot water

1 onion, minced

2–3 cloves garlic, minced

1-inch piece ginger, minced

2 large green chilis, minced

5 organic chicken drumsticks, bone-in, skin-off

Salt, to taste

1 teaspoon cardamon powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup chicken stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water

Method

1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add saffron threads and fry for a minute or two, remove with a slotted spoon and mix in a small bowl with the hot water.
2. Add the onions to the pot with the saffron-infused oil, ginger, garlic, and chilis and fry until very soft, about 8–10 minutes.
3. While the onions fry, wash and pat dry the chicken. Season the chicken with salt. Set aside.
4. Add the dry spices to the onion mixture and cook for another 2 minutes at least. 
5. Follow by adding the chicken and coat it well in the onion mixture. Let it cook for 5 minutes, keep mixing it. 
6. Add the saffron–water mixture along with the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, cover and let it simmer for at least half an hour. 
7. Using tongs, remove the chicken onto the serving plate. In a small bowl mix together the cornstarch and water. Add the cornstarch slurry to the gravy in the pot and let it come to a boil. Pour the gravy over the chicken in the serving dish and serve hot. 

Serve over rice or with warm naan.