No Dairy? No Gluten? No Problem!

We had invited our very special friend Raha and her boyfriend Nico to lunch at our apartment in the Bronx.  My husband and I were very excited to meet this young man for the first time.  However, I forgot to ask about food allergies or intolerance.   I found out about two hours before they were to arrive that Nico cannot have dairy or gluten.  What to do?  I quickly ran through my menu.  No dairy?  No gluten? Actually, it is no problem!

I had already prepared most of the items on my menu:

1. Andhra style chicken made in a cashew nut sauce.  Andhra refers to the Telugu speaking region of South India.  This chicken dish did not pass the dairy-free gluten-free test because the chicken was marinated in yogurt.
2. Pesarattu, another Andhra dish, which are basically pancakes made from green moong dal. This passes the dairy-free, gluten free test.  
3. Eggplant Kozhambu, a sauce that goes with the pancakes.  Eggplants float in a spicy, tamarind sauce that includes some coconut and peanuts.  No problem here either.  
4. Nilgiri vegetable korma, an elaborate stew made up of seasonal veggies cooked in a spicy cashew nut - mint -cilantro - curry leaf sauce.  Nilgiri in Hindi means "Blue Mountains".  This stew is made with many spices such as cardamom, cloves, turmeric, etc. that grow in these hills of South India.  The Nilgiri vegetable korma is dairy-free and gluten-free.
5. Cooked basmati rice, which is also dairy-free and gluten-free.

 This is when I realized how much of South Indian cuisine is naturally dairy and gluten free.  Still, I wanted to cook something that our special guest would enjoy.  I rummaged in my kitchen cupboards and found a dosa mix.  Dosas are savory crepes made with rice and lentils.  I added water to the mix and poured the batter into the seven slots of a greased aebelskiver pan. The batter nicely puffed up into seven round appetizer sized lentil pancakes.  This little treat was a huge hit with our guests.

I did not have to rack my brain to come up with dairy-free gluten-free recipes.  In this blog, I will share with you delicious, no-brainer Indian recipe ideas that are no dairy and no gluten and the benefits of a balanced diet.  I will share with you my go-to websites as we go along.  I hope you will join me in this culinary journey! 



Links to dairy-free, gluten-free recipes mentioned in this blog:

• Pesarattu (this is fun to make): http://www.cookingwithshobha.com/recipe-pesaratt/
• Ennai Kathirikai Kolambu (this is a simpler version that should be easy to make): http://www.cookingwithshobha.com/eggplant-kozhambu-tamarind-gravy/

• Nilgiri vegetable korma (I substitute the chicken with seasonal vegetables. This is a very elaborate recipe that requires an extensive ingredient list.  I wouldn't recommend attempting this recipe if you are a beginner):  https://youtu.be/perNEB1caLU 
•  I used the Gits Dosa Mix to make the puffed lentil pancakes.