10-minute Salvation Cabbage

This recipe gets done in less time than it takes me to write about it, expecially considering it took me two attempts to actually upload the picture. It is really  my salvation on some weeknights when I need a vegetable to balance out the meal. In fact, these days I actually keep chopped cabbage handy in the fridge. It would actually take away the essense of the recipe to write a long post around it.

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Panch Misali Chorchori - Bengali Mixed Vegetable Medley

Our Sunday lunches are usually both simple and complex at the same time. I try to do something closer to homey food. Something either I have grown up with or probably something closer to the MIL's cooking. Winter has been really hard this year and this weekend we wanted something simple and satisfying. I cooked a light Dal, some fish and then this chorchori. A chorchori is the Bengali word for a mishmash or medley of vegetables, both frugal and healthy at the same time.

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Creamy Punjabi Style Turnips Greens

On Thursday, just in time for the long weekend my husband brought in two full bags of turnip greens. I really was not sure what to do with this unexpected bounty. These greens have rougher taste than spinach and therefore need some coaxing to be mellowed. I also read that there greens taste and mimic mustard greens aka sarson ka saag in Hindi. Now it is difficult if not impossible (if you love Indian regional cuisine like me) not to think of the classic punjabi mustard greens recipe, where these lovely greens are slow cooked till they are nice and creamy. So, I wanted to do this with the turnip greens, with just one problem - the mustard green recipe that I speak of is a winter classic in Indian, when you do not mind cooking something till it is nice and soft and cooked to a puree, unlike the hot summer day that we had today.

Well, here is where perusing the blogosphere comes in handy. I came across this recipe, where the pressure cooker comes in handy. It cuts through both the energy needed as well as the cooktime.  I added in a handful of whole cooked dried peas, these are the whole version of split peas, which enhanced the creamy texture of the greens.

Salgam ki Saag - Creamy Turnip Greens

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

4-6 cups of chopped turnip greens (tough stems, discarded)

1 cup of chopped spinach (I actually had some frozen spinach on hand)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cooked whole dried peas

1 cup water

3 tablespoons maize flour (this is Indian style cornflour, not cornstarch)

2-3 tablespoons oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 tablespoon minced or grated fresh ginger

3 cloves grated garlic

1 tomato, finely chopped

1 green chili, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1 -2 teaspoons of butter

Method of Preparation

1. Place the greens, salt and half the water in a pressure cooker and cook for about 12 minutes. Cool and mash with the spoon.

2. Add in the cornflour and the split peas with remaining water and cook on low heat until the mixture is thick and creamy about 5-7 minutes.

3. While this is cooking heat the oil and add in the onion, ginger and garlic and cook till the onions are soft and begining to turn golden.

4. Add in the tomate, green chili and red chili powder and cook until the tomato is nice and soft and the mixture is well cooked, you should see the oil on the edges of the spice mixture.

5. Mix into the greens and cook for another 3-4 minutes.

6. Add in the garam masala and top with the butter.

These greens are typically served with handmade cornbreads much like tortillas, I actually did make a version of these, I shall post recipe later.

Alu Baigan - Golden potatoes and eggpants in a spicy tomato sauce

This melt in your mouth gently spiced concoction that simply melts in your mouth, did not start out with such delicious aspirations. In fact, it started out as a lone eggplant, occupying some space in the refrigerator. I asked my helper to cut it into wedges and keep this in a zip lock bag for me. This is something that she does on occasion, although her knife skills are really, really appalling, there is not too much damage one can do cubing a large eggplant.

Well, when I looked at the eggplant, I was quite disappointed, this time not because of the chopping, it happened to be a very seedy eggplant - letting me know rather gently it is not my season...

Well, I first thought of throwing it out, then I figured that I did need to make something. I then chopped a couple of potatoes and fried both the vegetables. Voila, the seedy not so pretty looking eggplant was transformed into a melting soft and luscious creation - testimony to the fact you cannot quite go wrong with some olive oil, eggplant and garlic.

Alu Baigan or potatoes with eggplants is quite a classic dish, there are several variations of this dish. I have for some reason never really tried it, but then as they say there is always a first time.

Here is how I did it,

Alu Baigan - Eggplant and Potatoes in a spicy tomato sauce

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Serves Makes 6 servings

Ingredients

1 large purple eggplant, cut into wedges

2 idaho or russet potatoes, cut into wedges to match the eggplant

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/8 teaspoon asafetida

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1-2 pods of garlic, minced

3 tomatoes, very finely processed in the food processor

2 teaspoons freshly powdered coriander

1 teaspoon powdered cumin

1 teaspoon or more red chili powder

1-2 tablespoon chopped cilantro to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Rub the potatoes and eggplants with half the salt and turmeric and set aside separate.

2. Heat half the oil and fry the eggplants, this can be done in batches, it takes about 4-5 minutes for the eggplants to brown and become comfortingly soft.

3. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain (note this is very important since the eggplant does indeed absorb a generous amount of oil.

4. Fry the potatoes in the remaining oil (adding more as needed, all except 1-2 tablespoons), till the potatoes are nice and golden.

5. Remove and add the potatoes to the fried eggplants. The entire process for frying takes about 15 minutes.

6. Note, at this point, you should have oil left in the cooking wok, in this oil, add cumin seeds and wait for them to sizzle, about 20 seconds.

7. Add in the asafetida, ginger and garlic and cook for about 1minute.

8. Mix in the tomatoes, cumin, coriander, red chili powder and the remaining salt and cook for 5-9. minutes on low heat until the tomatoes are well cooked and the oil re-appears.

10. Mix in the eggplants and potatoes and cook for another 5 minutes, till the ingredients are well mixed.

11. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Soup, Glorious Soup!

Last evening ended a difficult job, and hopfully this monday will be the begining of a new positive and beautiful journey...

This will be something that time alone can tell. I am generally looking forward to being able to spend a little more time with the kids.

Last evening, I cooked a rich, comforting and rather satisfying soup. The bulk of the efforts were really done in two key steps - the first one consisted of roasting the garlic and squash and the second step was slow cooking the leeks.

If you like garlic the way we do, you will enjoying being in the kitchen during the roasting process since the kitchen warms up to a nice, rich and toasty smell.

Roasted Butternut Squash, Garlic and Leek soup.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Serves 6 people

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

1 head of garlic (6 pods are needed for this recipe)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 cup of thinly chopped leeks

1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns

4 cups water

1 cup light cream

2 teaspoons salt

1 handful parsley

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Cut the base and top of the garlic bulb.

3. Place the garlic in a piece of foil and drizzle lightly with olive oil. Close the foil.

4. Place the garlic and the squash in the oven and cook for about 35-40 minutes.

5. In the meantime, heat the remaining oil and add the cumin seeds and the leeks.

6. Cook the leeks on very low heat until soft and lightly browned. This process takes about 15 minutes and the leeks need to be stirred frequently during this process.

7. Remove the squash from the oven, peel and remove the seeds.

8. Place the flesh into the pot with the leeks.

9. Unwrap the garlic, pop about 6-8 cloves of the roasted garlic and place into the cooking pot.

10. Add all the remaining ingredients except the parsley and simmer for 10 minutes.

11. Cool slightly, add the parsley and puree in a blender and puree until smooth.

12. Serve warm or hot.

An ungodly hour - a simple recipe

I am actually uploading some really nice pictures my brother has taken of his current trip to the east coast. I am up waiting while flick uploads the pictures, in bars of pink! I was around today. I took Aadi for a check to the immunologist. I was a little sad to see, how excited he was at the prospect of being taken to the doctor by me. Usually, dad does this. Well, such is life...

This morning I was really feeling on top of my act, because I woke up in time to make a good breakfast for all of us (we were all at home, but I tend to sleep in on Saturdays!), until I saw what my daughter had scribbled while I was making breakfast. LOL!

It read, " On Saturday, I went trick or treating! Mas is taking so long to get my eggs ready. Aadi is eating his rewards!Ma gave me my egg now, I don't have a spoon with my egg, I have a fork"

Gosh, tough crowd. Well, I made this fairly straighforward paneer recipe a couple of weeks back, try it!

Paneer Manoranjan - Indian cheese with mushrooms

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/8 teaspoon asafetida

1 cup diced tomatoes (I used a mixture of red and green)

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon tandoori masala

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 lbs paneer, cut into cubes

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chaat masala

1 tablespoon ghee or butter

1/2 cup diced portabella mushroom

Cilantro to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and wait for the seeds to sizzle. Stir in the asafetida.

2. Add in the tomatoes, chili powder and tandoori masala and the ginger and saute for 20 seconds.

3. Stir in the paneer and salt and cook for 10 minutes.

4. Stir in the chat masala.

5. In a separate pan, heat the ghee and add the mushroom and saute for 2-3 minutes.

6. Mix into the paneer and garnish with cilantro and serve.

Intensely Tomato Pasta!

Well, it has been a busy few days, I had not really been feeling too good the last couple of days.

Deepta's dance classes and her upcoming performance is begining to take a life of its own - make that, take my life of its own! Between practices, dressing and calming down the younger one's esteem issue's to make it fit, it has been quite a project! I actually had quite a dinner success yesterday!

There had been this recipe that I had been mentally bookmarking. My kids love tomatoes, so I knew this one was a possibility. I did know that it would not work in its undercooked form form for the mini food critiques. I also had dry sun-dried tomatoes, and not ones packed in oil. So here is how I made the tripple tomato base, which I made a double recipe of and added cilantro, since I cannot live without it!

Tripple Tomato Base

Makes 2 cups

Ingredients

4 stem-ripened fresh tomatoes

8 tablespoons tomato paste

1 cup soaked sun-dried tomatoes

10 basil leaves

1/2 cup fresh cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

Pasta

8 oz dried rigatoni

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 cup whole or 2 percent milk

Method of Preparation

1. Coarsely chop the tomatoes and place in a blender with the tomato paste and blend into a puree.

2. Add the sun-dried tomatoes with about 2-3 tablespoons of the soaking liquid and the basil and cilantro and salt and blend into a thick dense puree.

3. Cook the pasta (I used rigatonni) according to directions and set aside.

4. Heat the oil and pasta and add about 3/4 cup of the prepared paste.

5. Add in the sugar and the milk and cook for 5 minutes.

6. Mix in the pasta and cook for 1-2 minutes.

Kids loved it! Thanks Dara!

Now some weekends you get really lucky with the food!
Twitter is something I am still trying

to make sense of, anyhow I chanced on this random tweet @small bites, by none other that Liz herself. I have been making soft boiled eggs most days since she started school (last year) for breakfast, this weekend I tried the 8 minutes of cooking followed by the ice water dunking, I then had to peek inside the edd to see if it worked - sure enough perfect yolk!. I told Deepta that these were crater egg and topped it with some cheese to help her get over the shock of her broken egg.

Here's to a lovely week!

Bengali Risoto - Mushoor Daler Kichuri

I am not trying to make a homestyle dish sexy by calling it risotto, its just last night while making the recipe I was pretty surprised at the how similar the process, instructions and texture are. Everytime I make Khichuri I keep hearing my mother's voice telling me to keep stirring and make sure that is it creamy but not overcooked. Sounds familiar? Yes, much like any risotto, the rice hear is different, technique similar, ingredients somewhat healthier and this could make a vegan dish if you so wish. The other day I came across fresh green peas so I had to make this dish. Fresh green peas can be used for all recipes but in my opinion they make the most impact in a rice dish.

Bengali Risoto - Mushoor Daler Kichuri

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 cup of mushoor dal (red split lentils)

8 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon red chili powder

3/4 cup rice (I use the kalajeera variety)

1 potato, peeled at cut into eights

1 cup cauliflower florettes

1/2 cup green peas (preferably frozen)

For the tempering

2-3 tbsp oil

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tomato, cut into a dice

Method of Preparation

1. Place the lentils in a pot with 3 cups of water, salt, turmeric and chili powder. Bring the water to a boil and then reduce the temperature and cook for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. The lentils should be only partially cooked.

2. Add in the rice, potatoes and cauliflower and the peas (only if fresh) and another cup of water. Continue cooking stirring occasionally adding the remaining water as needed. The objective is to reach a stage where the lentils are a smooth yellow puree and the rice is soft but not mushy. This takes about 25 minutes.

3. Add in any remaining water and the frozen peas if using frozen peas. Cover the pot and turn off the heat, this allows the gentle completion of the cooking process.

4. Heat the oil and add the onions and let these cook onlow-medium heat, stirring ever so occasionally, continue this until the onions begin to turn lightly golden brown (takes a good 10 minutes).

5. Stir in the cumin seeds and the tomatoes and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and then mix this into the lentil rice (khichuri) mixture.

6. Place the entire khichuri on the fire for a couple of minutes and serve immediately.

Cilantro Paneer and Potatoes

I made this awfully simple dish, but was quite blown away with how flavorful it had turned out! It was inspired by a similar dish I had tasted at my friend Vivek's house but the gingery overtones were just a little bolder in this dish. See somehow I think different people handle and percieve spices differently, this is why recipes end up tasting different from person to person. By this I mean the tiny nuances that cannot be camputured irrespective of how specific a recipe is. A small illustration is that my househelper often assists me with chopping veggies, I tell her to chop onion finely, what I end up with is medium fine in my opinion. Now, with ginger it ends up being the other way around she always grated this using the fine blade of the grater I end up using the coarser side.

Anyhow, here is how I made this dish, tastes fresh and light, works well with simple white rice.

Cilantro Paneer and Potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp grated ginger
1 onion finely chopped
1 cup cubed paneer or tofu
1 potato, parboiled, peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin-coriander powder
1 cup cilantro leaves
1 green chilly
1 tomato
1 tsp garam masala

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and let this cook briefly for a few seconds.
2. Add the ginger and onions and saute for 1-2 minutes.
3. Mix in the paneer and potato with the salt and cumin-coriander powder and cook for another couple of minutes.
4. Grind the cilantro, green chilli and tomato in a blender with about 1/4 cup water.
5. Pour this over the paneer and potato mixture and cook for about 5 minutes.
6. Sprinkle with garam masala and enjoy!

Sweet Potatoes are good for you!!!

I love pototatoes in almost any form, recently however I was struck by a remark someone made mentioned that they used sweet potatoes in lieu of white potatoes, I had simply assumed that sweet potatoes being sweeter had some more sugar and a prettier color. Well, shows you what I know! Sweet Potatoes talk to your body very differently than regular potatoes and therefore result in a significantly lesser amount of blood and that pretty color is power packed with nutrition and most importantly my daughter loves sweet potatoes.

So, here is what I did with them, alu gobi fans , give this pretty dish a try!

Ginger Cumin Sweet Poatoes with Peas

Serves 6

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1/2 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp salt or sea salt

Olive oil cooking spray

2 tbsp olive oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp freshly grated ginger

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp curry powder

1 large cup (about 1 head) of brocolli floretts

1/3 cup peas

Lime juice to sprinkle

Cilantro to garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Toss the sweet potatoes with the turmeric, chili powder and half the sea salt.

2. Drizzle with the olive cooking spray.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees, spread the potatoes in a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes on each side.

4. In the meatime, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and ginger and cook for 2-3 minutes.

5. Add the curry powder and the brocolli and peas.

6. Cover the cooking pan and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.

7. Remove the cover and stir in the baked sweet potatoes and mix well.

8. Drizzle with lime juice and garnish with cilantro.

I recently found a website called contest cook, that mentioned a sweet potato contest being held by the NC sweet potatoes comission and I thought that this might a good recipe to send over.

Cooking Mediterranean in an Indian State of mind

Some of my recipes are not really intended to be fusion, but they just end up that way, for example I had eaten this really interesting cumin seasoned sauce at a local restaurant, I was trying to re-create that effect, but as the flavors gelled, I threw in some ginger and cilantro and there you have it a lovely fusion dish was created.

Tomato, Eggplant and Whole Splitpea sauce.

For the sauce


3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp miced garlic
2 tsp freshly ground cumin
1 onion very finely chopped
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 can tomato puree
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp oregano leaves
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup cooked whole chickpeas
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Chicken broth as needed
Lots of freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp grated parmasan cheese
1/3 cup heavy cream

For the eggplant

1 eggplant cut into wedges
2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tbsp ground cumin and blackpepper

Whole wheat pasta cooked per directions

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the garlic and cumin and saute till the mixture is very aromatic.
2. Add the onion and cook till soft and add in the tomatoes, tomato puree and paste and mix well.
3. Stir in the oregano, salt, sugar and about 1/2 cup chicken broth and bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
4. Add in the remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes and set aside.
5. Set the eggplant and salt in a colander for 30 minutes to drain.
6. Heat the oil and add the eggplant and cumin and black pepper. Cook on low heat stirring frequently till the eggplant is soft and cooked through.
7. Add the eggplant to the tomato sauce and heat through.
8. Serve over pasta with additional cheese and pepper as needed.

Quick Cook Bhartha

I often end with having to deal with the "gap" factor when I am interviewing people, while I am sometimes skeptical I do realize that taking a few years off is ok! Actually, in my mind what is the purpose behind the time off, this is hard to discern. I have to tell you, two days back I had taken the morning off to deal with a few kid related issues, and let me tell you the multi-tasking that I needed to accomplish within the three hours in my mind was nothing short of fantastic. Granted some of this does get compounded by the fact that I have a compressed but busy work day waiting for me, but nonetheless this multi-tasking is pretty intense and can certainly be gainfully translated to the workplace if placed in perspective.


Well, my morning was like - I woke up saw the snow realized we would have a school delay, it gave me some more breathing roon with the breakfast routine, I actually used that extra time to place the eggplant on the gas to char roast it. What happens with this is that the eggplant is cooked till the skin is burnt and blackened. I remove from fire and set aside to cool.

It needs pretty minimal attention. I got dressed, left my KG going daughter with hubby, went out cleaned the car, took my son to the doctor in Briarcliff (20 min NW), spent an hour, went 15 minutes north dropped off my son to pre-school/daycare (late). Braved off 40 minutes north, stopped at Costo to pick up a couple of things then, picked up my contact lenses and made it into work. Lord, did not feel like I had any time off.


Well, back in the evening I had the charred eggplant waiting for me. I literally took 15 minutes to cook it though.

Thinking Sprouts! - Palak Lobia Chaat

Well, we really do not have a consistent thing so to speak for the new year, actually the only so called holidays we do something set and planned for is valentine's day where it is Anshul's job to figure out what to do and thankgiving which is my big thing. Actually Christmas is also becoming a tradition too, where we go to Laur's house who is probably the most amazing baker. Anyhow this year, we decided to go to the Indian restaurant Royal Palace that tends to do a news year's eve shing ding.

One of the good things about having generally low expectations is that you are less likely to be disappointed. Actually in this instance I was pleasantly surprized the food was very good and the bartender was very jovial and music appropriately noisy. They had this interesting appetizer that I had to come and try to re-create. Mine looks a little different, overall a somewhat complex preparation with all its multiple layers but in my opinion worth the effort! Actually the highlight of this exercise was sprouting my own lentils, I used small red lentils (lal lobia) and used the method loosely described here. I opted for the jar method.

Palak Lobia Chaat - Sprouted Lentils and Spinach Spiced Salad

Served 4-6 people

Ingredients

For the pakoras

1 cup besan (chick pea flour)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1 tsp red chili powder
2 green chillies minced
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp black salt
1 bunch fresh spinach (not baby)
Oil for frying

Other Ingredients

1/2 cup tamarind chutney
1 cup yogurt
2 tsp chaat masala
1 tsp salt
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped
3/4 cup sprouted lentils
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1. Beat the besan to remove all the lumps and stir in the spices.
2. Add about 1 cup water to make a batter.
3. Heat the oil.
4. Stack the spinach leaves together (about 4-5 per pakora), remove any thick stems if needed and dip lightly into the batter (enough to coat and bind.
5. Fry on medium heat till well crisped and browned on both sides.
6. Set aside to drain on paper towels (we would need about 4 pakoras per person).
7. In a large bowl lightly toss this with the other ingredients and serve while the pakoras are still warm for a good contrast of textures and flavors.

A very interesting creation but I think this would be more of a meal than just a starter for me.

Grilled Masala Vegetables

As I have mentioned earlier, I get insprired to work with some of my best vegetarian recipes when my in-laws visit. Yes, they are mainly vegetarian. Some of these creations are a result of practicality and some like these lovely vegetables are dishes that almost make putting up with other aspects of their visit worthwhile.
I used my indood little grill, which is a lovely little weeknight addition to my household that I use in spurts. Well, I try something wonderful, then another, and yet another, until another kitchen toy gets my attention. This has been such a full week, I have been fight a cold, the post holiday jolt... you get the drift. Anyhow here is what I did.

Grilled Masala Vegetables

1/2 peeled cucumber
1 cup yogurt
1 inch piece ginger, peeled
2 pods garlic
Plently of freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 1 lime
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp salt

For the vegetables

1 pgs extra firm tofu (pressed and drained)*
2 cups brocolli florrets
2 tomatoes quartered
1 onion cut into large pieces
1 bell pepper cut into large pieces
Oil or melted butter for basting
Chaat masala for garnish

Method of Preparation

1. Blend all the ingredients for the marinage into a smooth paste.
2. Marinade the ingredient for several hours.
3. Turn on the grill and cook the tofu and brocolli with the cover on for 6-8 minutes.
4. Take off the grill and arrange on a plate.
5. Cook the tomatoes, onion and pepper till somewhat softened.
6. Mix with the vegetables.
7. Sprinkle very liberally with chaat masala and serve.

* Place the tofu between two place and top with something heavy to drain the liquid out

Tomatoey Rice

Tomato rice, originally uploaded by brinku11.

My son Aadi loves tomatoes, he can eat them in any form - raw, in food, as a main dish, I think you get the picture. The was a time in my house, I would keep pureed tomatoes handy to add to his food as an incentive to push him to eat further. One day, he asked me whether it was possible to make a dish that was all tomatoey, so that he would not have to keep pleading for that spoon of tomato. Since he eats a fair amount of rice, I realized that he had come up with a novel solution to his own problem and actually helped me create a very healthy wonderfully festive dish. The colors of this tomato rice enliven any meal therefore it makes a wonderful addition to any holiday or party table. The simple flavors complement most cuisine. The gentle flavors of the leek add both additional color and taste to the dish.

Tomato Rice - Rice with tomatoes and vegetables

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 onion finely choped
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 cardamoms
2 leeks finely chopped (white and tender green parts)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 cup toasted cashew nuts
3 tomatoes chopped
1.5 cups basmati rice soaked for 3/4 hour and drained
1 cup green peas
1/2 cup corn
3 tbsp chopped mint
1 tbsp tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin and mustard seeds, when they crackle add in the bay leaves, cardamoms and onions and leeks.
2. Cook on very low heat stirring frequently for 10 mintues till the leeks are soft and begin to turn golden.
3. Add in the chili powder, salt, cashew nuts and tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes.
4. Add in the rice and stir throught and mix the remaining ingredients.
5. Add in 2.5 cuts of water, bring to a simmer and cover and cook on low heat for 20 minutes.
6. Check in between for the water and add upto a half cup if needed, the rice should be moist but not too moist.
7. Turn off the heat, leave covered for 10 minutes before serving

Sweet and Spicy Chickpea Salad

This basic chickpea recipe is one of my favorite staples for the party and potluck season that we are heading into. It essentially consists of a spicy base, and is cooked in a crock pot, infused with a lot of fresh scallions, tomatoes, black pepper, fresh lemon and pomegranate seeds. This time I did something a little different, I cooked the chickpeas and marinated them in pomegranate juice, to give them a nice rich dark color and them followed my normal procedure. It produced a lovely tangy dish with a nice touch of sweetness.

Sweet and Spicy Chickpea Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 cups cooked chickpeas (till the are still not very soft)

2 cups pom wonderful juice

1 tsp black or sea salt

3-4 tbsp oil

1 tsp whole cumin seeds

1 tsp whole fennel seeds

1 onion finely chopped

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

2-3 green chillies minced

2 tsp salt

2 tsp garam masala powder

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 cup chopped fresh scallions

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1/2 cup fresh mint

3 limes

To garnish

A generous amount of freshly ground black pepper

Chopped cilantro

Grated radish

1 cup Pom wonderful pomegranate seeds

Method of Preparation

1. Soak the chickpeas in the juice for 5-6 hours.

2. Heat the oil and add the cumin and fennel seeds and when they sizzle.

3. Add the onion, ginger and chillies and cook for 10 minutes until beginning to turn golden brown.

4. Place the chickpeas with the juice in a large crock pot, add in the onion mixture with the salt and garam masala and simmer for 3 hours till the juice is absorbed and the chickpeas are soft.

5. Mix in the scallion and tomatoes and cook for another 30 minutes.

6. Stir in the cilantro, mint and squeeze the lime juice.

7. Serve warm (not hot) with a lot of black pepper, cilantro, grated radish and pomegranate seeds.

Potatoes with Swiss Chard

What a crazy week, we have been so glued to the TV watching in delighted disbelief the great american ritual called the presidential election! Shall talk about that more later, want to commence the weekend with a simple comforting recipe that I had cooked a couple of weeks back in class.

I refined this somewhat and made this for our meal with these very crisp and satisfying rawa tomatoe dosa. Nothing like comfort food for our couch potato instincts.

Potatoes with Swiss Chard

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1/8 tsp asafetida
2 cloves minced garlic
4 potatoes peeled and cut into eights
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 tomatoes chopped
2 cups swiss chard finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala powder

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin, asafetida and garlic.
2. Saute for about 2-3 minutes and add the potatoes and cook on medium low heat stirring frequently, till the potatoes begin to turn golden brown.
3. Add the turmeric, salt and tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Stir in the chard and cover and cook on low for 5 minutes.
5. Remove the cover and stir well, the vegetables should be soft uniformly mixed.
6. Stir in the garam masala.

Rawa-Ragi Tomato Dosas

Makes 15 mid-sized dosas

Ingredients

1/2 cup rawa
1/4 cup rice flour
1/4 cup ragi flour
1 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
8-10 curry leaves
3 tomatoes processed in the food processor
4 tbsp chopped cilantro
2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion finely chopped
Oil for frying the dosas

Method of preparation

1. Mix the flours, salt, buttermilk, curry leaves, tomatoes, cilantro, green chillies, cumin and onion into a thick batter and set aside for at least 2 hours.
2. Stir well and add additional water to thin the dough into a pouring thin pancake consistency.
3. Heat a tawa or griddle and pour about 1.5 ladlefuls of the batter and spread out, the batter should bubble and spread with some small holes (sort of lacy consistency),
4. Pour a little oil around the dosa and cook on low for about 6-7 minutes.
5. Remove carefully and turn. This should be crisp and brown.
6. Cook lightly on the other side and serve hot.

Chutney Mary!

Well! Well! Well! Look what I found last week at the farmers market. I pretty much have now settled for the Pleasantville market. I see this interesting Chutney Stand, made by a lady who hails from, you guessed it -India.

I liked all her products, but this fiery mint concoction seemed really good. I picked this up at $7.50 with these lovely eggplants that were priced at $4.50 a quart. I also got a lovely bunch of green onions at and a fresh head of garlic and came home and paired this with some feta cheese and fresh tomatoes from my neighbours garden to make this lovely dish.

Minted Garlic Eggplant

Served 4

Ingredients

2 tbsp oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 onion thinly chopped

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tomato sliced

4 small eggplants, sliced

1 tsp salt (optional)

2 tbsp mint chutney

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds.

2. When this begins to sizzle, add the onion and garlic and saute briefly.

3. Add the tomato and eggplant and chutney and the salt if using and coat well.

4. Cover and cook on very low heat for 15-17 minutes till the eggplant is soft and fairly mushy.

5. Stir in the feta cheese and serve with some crusty bread.

Palak Ghia Paneer Kuchran - Spinach, Zuchini Puree with Garlic and fresh Cheese

Well, with a fridge-full of farmers market veggies, I have to find ways to cook my bounty. This is the first of my experiments. This a great variation on palak paneer, I wanted to get the impact and taste without killing the vegetables. This variation is very gentle on spice and cooks the vegetables very delicately so as to retain the nutrients.

Spinach, Zuchini Puree with Garlic and fresh Cheese

Serve 6

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp oil

1 tbsp fresh garlic, minced

1 onion cut into a fine dice

3 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp salt

1 tsp cumin-coriander powder

1/2 cup fresh cream

2 heads fresh spinach

1 tsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 zuchini grated with the skin on

1 cup grated paneer

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp red chili powder

Method of preparation

1. Heat the oil and add the garlic and onion and cook for 5 minutes stiring well.

2. Add the tomato puree, salt, and cumin-coriander powder and cook for another 2-3 minutes.

3. Cool and puree with the cream and spinach in a blender.

4. Heat the ghee and sizzle the cumin seeds and add the grated zuchini.

5. Saute for 5 minutes and add the spinach mixture with the paneer and mix well and cook for 3-5 minutes.

6. Stir in the remaining spices and let this sit for 1 hr.

7. Reheat and serve with rice or rotis.

Nutrella Cutlets

I have tried over the years to work with meatless sources of protein. I just feel, once in a while it is good to have options. The latest in my quest is Nutrella or soy nuggets.

I also recently picked up a package of these soy grains that look a lot like cous-cous in the local store. I made these cutlets using a combination of these grains and let me tell you these were good! I used them as veggie burgers and they went down very well with the home crowd.

Nutrella Cutlets - TVP cutlets

Makes about 12 medium sized cutlets

Ingredients

For the cutlets

1 large sweet potato (cooked and peeled)

1 regular potato (cooked and peeled)

1 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 cup prepared TVP ( this is soaked in hot water and then the excess water is squeezed out

1 cup frozen peas

2 green chillies, finely minced

2 tbsp cilantro, finely minced

2 tsp chat masala

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garam masala

For the batter and breading

1 egg

3-4 tbsp all purpose flour

water as needed

1 tsp salt

1 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs (whole wheat panko works well)

Oil for frying.

Method of preparation

1. Mash all the ingredients for the cutlet together into a firm mixture, since a fair amount of frozen vegetables are used, if needed add a little chick pea flour for tightness

2. Shape into hamburger sized patties.

3. Beat the egg with flour, water and salt to form a thick batter.

4. Dip the cutlets into the batter and coat well with the breadcrumbs.

5. Place in the fride for 1 hour.

6. Heat the oil and fry well on both sides.

7. Serve with ketchup or as veggie burgers in buns.