Floyd Cardoz

Chef Floyd Cardoz of Tabla in New York City is known for blending Indian spices with local ingredients. Here, plums are cooked with star anise, clove, cinnamon, and ginger for a chutney that's perfect with bread and cheese.

>Editor's note: The recipe and introductory text below are adapted from Floyd Cardoz's book, One Spice, Two Spice. The dish is also part of a special menu Chef Cardoz created for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program. I first visited Kashmir, up in the mountains of northern India, when I was in my late teens, and the food made a huge impression. Although the cuisine is most famous for its meat dishes and Persian-inspired rice pilafs, the treatment of greens is exceptional as well. In Kashmir, this dish is made with kohlrabi greens in season, but it is equally delicious when made with any hearty braising greens such as collards, chard (the colored varieties are very pretty), mustard greens, and/or turnip greens. Bok choy and pea shoots are good additions to the mix.

Cracked wheat, or bulgur, has a nutty, sweet taste that I love. In India, it's eaten with milk and sugar for dessert, but I like to serve it as a savory pilaf. I use chicken stock for added richness and flavor, but you can substitute vegetable stock if you want to. And, depending on what else you are serving with the pilaf, feel free to embellish with chopped fresh chiles, cilantro, and/or mint.

Chef Floyd Cardoz created this recipe as part of a special menu for Epicurious's Wine.Dine.Donate program.

A caldin is a coconut curry, typical of Goa. Though caldins are made with fresh coconut milk in India, chef Cardoz uses Chaokoh brand canned unsweetened coconut milk. It's thicker and richer than other brands, and imparts a great deal of flavor. It's important not to let the caldin boil during cooking, or the coconut sauce will break.

This soup can be pureed by pressing it through a strainer or a food mill. It can also be pureed in a blender and then strained.