Rising from my nice warm bed full of Norwegian Forest cats at four a.m. is not always my idea of a good time but sometimes work calls before dawn. Especially if you are Big Bear Lake, California’s premier hiking guide. You better believe if I spent all damn autumn day on the trail I will be inhaling some delicious Indian food by the evening. In our household, our peach trees are simply bursting with fresh fruit so I’m doing everything I can to cook with peaches. This sweet and tart Peach Raita is so unbelievable with a spicy Indian meal like Muslim Goat Biryani.
Sometimes Big Bear’s favorite hiking guide has to rise at dawn to make a living because simply how else can one afford to live in southern California? I paid eleven dollars for a protein burger at Carl’s Jr this morning! Do you remember when the Six Dollar Burger at a fast food chain was expensive? Now try practically doubling that. California is just a ridiculous place to be here in 2023.
In between frolicking in the fall colors with my pup, I mean going to work, I found some time to groc
ery shop at one of my favorite little ethnic grocers off the mountain this week. I was simply shocked to find a bonanza of goat chops for under four dollars a pound! Goat chops for $3.99 a pound? Is this the 90’s? Is Nirvana playing on the grocery store radio? Is everyone wearing flannel? Is there a Bush still in the White House? These inexpensive goat prices have me thinking our family should just eat nothing but goat from now on (Or until we have a conservative president again and inflation lowers)
Goat Chops and Peaches. It’s what’s for dinner
Millions of peaches, peaches for me, as Green Day sang back in 2008, damn do we have a lot of peaches this year in our organic garden. Having hundreds of ripe peaches all at once leads to some creative stone fruit-filled baking and creating.
Raita is a popular Indian side dish basically made with yogurt. Plain full-fat yogurt is the best option for this tart compliment to a spicy Indian meal. I prefer making my Peaches Raita with the Organic Greek yogurt from Costco. In my opinion, it’s the closest you can get to the curd you find in southern Indian markets
Peach Raita with Mint
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh chopped mint
1 small shallot, chopped very thin
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 small apples, deseeded and chopped up
Mix the yogurt with the garam masala, salt, shallots, cumin seeds and the chopped mint. Mix in the Peach pieces and serve a dollop over your favorite Goat Biryani.