Drew had made a stew that was less than successful (which is why it is NOT included here) and had found a jar of half-used Country Masala Tandoori Paste that he was planning to experiment with. Raul decides to put it to a safe use. There are also some multi-coloured baby potatoes left that did not fit into the stew. And a head of cauliflower that Drew bought after reading an article claiming that, "Cauliflower is the new pork belly," so he wanted to be ahead of the curve. He was thinking of roasting the florets - it was a great solution for curing his aversion to parsnips - but the brain-shaped vegetable sparks Raul's memories of his days in a yoga-based semi-cult of vegetarians. "Aloo Gobi," he announces.
Raul caramelizes two onions while steaming chopped potatoes for 20 minutes and chopped cauliflower for 10 minutes. Following the advice of his new hero, Lidia Bastianich, he juliennes the cauliflower stems into strips and steams them along with the cauliflower florets. He adds a teaspoon of Country Masala Tandoori Paste to the onions, combines everything together, tosses it and keeps it warm for serving.
Raul rubs the chicken with shredded ginger, a chopped chili pepper, garlic powder, paprika and a teaspoon of tandoori paste. He heats a cast-iron frying pan, puts the chicken breasts in and covers with another cast-iron frying pan to mimic the effect of a tandoori oven. "It makes it super hot," he notes. It only takes minutes before the spicy and succulent chicken breasts are ready.
The meal is delicious with a heat that sneaks up after swallowing. "Is this celery in the Aloo Gobi?" asks Drew.
"No," laughs Raul, "that is the cauliflower stems. They're really tasty. Thanks Lidia!"
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