Chef Cardoz, what is the dish that:

  1. inspired your love of food:

    That’s a hard one because I love food so much. There isn’t one dish but there is one cuisine, and that is Goan food. Goan was a constant at home twice a week. So the oxtail curry, the potroast my mom would make, the Goan shrimp and fish curry, the eating of crab curry, xacutti (made with older male chicken or goat with toasted spices). Xacutti is one of my favorite Goan dishes.

  2. is your signature:

    I have so many dishes that have become “us”, but sweet, sour, spicy and bitter with various textures is my signature. So my food is very textural.

  3. you cook on your night off:

    My night off normally is dictated by what the kids want to eat. Saturdays is wine night at home, so depending on what bottle we want to open, that is what we cook. But it tends to be steak.

Can we have an extra helping?

  • What would be your last supper?

    My last supper would be mutton xacutti with steamed basmati rice.

  • What is the best meal you have ever had?

    At Pierre Gagnaire in Paris.

  • What is your idea of comfort food?

    Braised oxtails that we do at Tabla.

  • Fill in the blanks: If I go to [blank], I must have the [blank].

    Singapore, hainanese chicken rice.

  • What is your favorite restaurant that people should know about?

    Chengdu 23. It is owned by a family and they make the best Szechuanese food. It is in Cedar Grove, New Jersey on Route 23. It is really really good.

  • What one new ingredient should I add to my pantry and how should I use it?

    Coriander seeds. You can make a great curry, marinade out of it, toast it and use it on salads.

  • What are you making tomorrow night for dinner?

    Tomorrow night I will be working so it depends on what my wife wants to make.

Chef, can you share a recipe for one of these dishes?

Sweet Spiced Oxtails From One Spice, Two Spice

Serves 6

Sweet Spiced Oxtails

Our family used to buy oxtails from a street vendor called “Liver Andrew”. They were absolutely fresh-and absolutely delicious. We loved this inexpensive cut with rich flavor and meltingly tender texture when braised for a couple of hours. Like any braised meat dish, the sauce is as important as the meat itself. Here I like to strain the sauce, reduce it, then recombine it with the braised oxtails and finish them off in the oven, basting them frequently with the reduced sauce. The sweet beefiness deepens, and the sauce given the oxtails a beautiful sheen. Like most braises, this one is best if made ahead of time.

For The Spice Blend
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoons brown mustard seeds
1 small dried red chile
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne

For The Oxtails
4 pounds oxtails
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup canola oil
4 cups coarsely chopped white onion
10 unpeeled garlic cloves, cut in half crosswise
2 cups chopped celery
2 cups chopped carrot
¼ cup sliced peeled ginger
1 cup dry red wine
¼ cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Six 4-inch thyme sprigs
Two 5-inch rosemary sprigs
2 bay leaves

Finely grind the cloves, cinnamon, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and chile together in an electric coffee/spice grinder. Combine the ground spices with the turmeric and cayenne in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Season the oxtails generously with salt and pepper and then let them sit for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a heavy ovenproof 6-to-8 quart pot over moderately high heat until it shimmers and sear the oxtails on all sides until browned, about 18 minutes. (Don’t rush through this step even though it’s a bit fussy, as oxtails are oddly shaped. The carmelization is the secret to a deeply flavored braise.) If the bottom of the pot looks like it’s getting too dark, reduce the heat to moderate. Transfer the oxtails to a platter.

Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrot, and ginger to the (uncleaned) pot and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are softened and the onions are lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir the ¼ cup of the wine into the spice blend and stir that into the vegetables. Stir in the tomato paste, and then cook the vegetables for 2 minutes longer. Stir in the rest of the wine and the brown sugar.

Return the oxtails and their juices from the platter to the pot and add 6 cups water. Add 1 tablespoon salt along with the vinegar, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves.

Bring the braised liquid to a boil, then tightly cover the pot with a lid or foil. Put the oxtails in the middle of the oven and braise them for 2 to 2 ½ hours, or until fork-tender.

Transfer the oxtails to a large bowl. Strain the braising liquid through a sieve into the bowl, pressing hard on the solids with the back of a ladle, and discard the solids. Skim the fat from the strained liquid. You should have 1 ½ to 2 cups sauce left; if you have more, bring it to a boil in a 2-quart pan and reduce until you have 1 ½ to 2 cups left. Pour the sauce over the oxtails and then let them cool, uncovered. Refrigerate the cooled oxtails, covered, for 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 375F.

Remove and discard any congealed fat from the braising liquid. Return the oxtails and sauce to the same (cleaned) 6-to-8 quart pot and bring to a boil. Transfer the pot to the middle of the oven. Cook the oxtails, basting them with the sauce every 5 minutes, for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the oxtails are hot and the sauce is the consistency of syrup.