Indian Style Bowl

I am going crazy for bowls right now.  Throw it all in, mix it all up and enjoy.  Its kinda what I did on my plate anyway.  Much easier in a bowl.  I figured I would gather up a few of my faves for ideas in the future when I forget what I did.  Ha!

KERALA STYLE BOWL

1 cup prepared Thoran

1 cup mango, chopped

1 cup tomato, chopped

1 cup rice

1 to 2 cups mixed greens

1 tablespoon evoo

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup cilantro

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 cup water

Toss all ingredients together.  You can add some garam masala if you like for a little flavor boost.

Cabbage Thoran

2 tablespoons coconut oil 

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves if you have them
3 small green chilies, halved lengthwise or whatever hot pepper you  like
1 onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 cups green cabbage, sliced thinly
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut

Saute cumin seeds, curry leaves and mustard seeds in oil.  Lightly toast and add 1/2 cup water right away so they dont burn and become bitter.  Add cabbage and onion, cover and let cook.  Stirring occassionally.

Cabbage Rice

I have decided that I need to stop buying ingredients.  I love to try new recipes and this often means that I have to buy ingredients to make these recipes, obviously.  But I am talking about ethnic things.  The things that I wasn't educated on how to use or have a wealth of recipes in which to pull from to use it up or make use of it.  Like coconut flour.  I just recently finished it off.  I did not like the recipes necessarily that I used that for and coconut flour isn't exactly on my radar.  I also did not know that coconut flour can be drying.  You cant necessarily just replace it for flour in a recipe.  Tricky tricky.  

This recipe has everything I have in my pantry.  Unless you have Indian spices, this may not be things you have in your spice rack. But you can replicate some of them.  Like the asafetida, a little onion and garlic will nearly create that flavor. The curry leaves although I love them and can snort their intoxicating aroma for hours is not crazy important to this recipe. If you take much else away, it will be a different recipe I am afraid but you fo course can tailor it how you like and make it yours!

Cabbage Rice

2 cups Basmati rice, cooked
2 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon asafetida optional for gluten free
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
15-20 curry leaves
2 tablespoon ginger grated
4 green chilies minced
8 cups shredded cabbage packed
2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup cilantro chopped
3 tablespoon fresh coconut grated


Heat oil, add asafetida and mustard seeds and allow them to pop. This may take 3 to 4 minutes.  Add peanuts and sauté for a minute. Add turmeric, curry leaves, ginger and green chili. Mix everything together and cook until peanuts are golden brown.  Add grated cabbage and salt. Mix again. Add cooked rice and mix everything together.

Sprinkle cilantro and coconut over top before serving.

Chicken Korma

I read a lot of blogs out there. Some people have a knack for writing personal thoughts on things. I have wanted to write personal or deep thoughts so many times but have failed each time.  Sometimes I write it al out and then immediately delete it all out.  Does it go with my blog?  Will people not care for what I write?  How do I even start to write something personal or deep? Does it have anything to do with food?

I prepared this dish when my brother was in town.  He was here for my Dad who was just recently diagnosed with cancer in the beginning of September.  He died last week, on Thursday and we buried him Monday.  My Dad was 87, had a good long life with lots of wonderful memories. He was a very social guy, he never met a stranger.  People naturally liked my Dad.  He was a talker, sometimes a little too much talk, ahem.  He liked to goof around, mainly with the younger set.  Anything to get them to laugh.  He would put silly hats on and roll his eyes in some goofy way.  I can see it right now in my minds eye.

My Dad was quite the looker in his younger day.  He dressed well, he just loved clothes. He was meticulous with how he dressed.  He was meticulous with a lot of things, such as woodworking.  My Dad took a long time to make something but when he did, it was perfection.  He was an all around handyman, could always think up ways to make things work if they broke down.

He was a hard working, entrepreneur who started his own business and supported our family for quite a while on that income.  He was able to save for his retirement to live a nice, simple life.

Farewell Dad, until we meet again.  I will remember you with love in my heart.

Chicken Korma
This is a delicious meal that comes together pretty easily.  The hardest part is sweating the onions.

1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinned chicken breasts
1 ounce yogurt
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
2 large onions
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon freshly ground ginger
12 cardamom pods, seeds crushed
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tab;espoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 bay leaf
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
small pinch saffron
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
3 tablespoons heavy cream
fresh cilantro for garnish

1.  Cut chicken into bite sized pieces, season with salt and pepper and then stir in yogurt.  Set aside.

2.  Saute onions in oil until translucent.  Add in garlic and finger, cook one minute more.  Cover, cook for 15 minutes.  Stir frequently.

3. When onions are softened add in cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric chili powder and bay leaf.
4.  Pinch of ends of cloves and add to the mix.  Discard stalks.  Cook for five minutes more stirring constantly.

5.  Stir in flour, saffron, sugar and salt.  Add 1 cup water.

6.  Bring to a simmer cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Remove bay leaf.  Blend mixture.

7.  Add chicken to the pot.  Heat until chicken is cooked through.

8.  Serve with a sprinkling of cilantro (I didnt have any, bummer), on a bed of rice.

Eggplant Chickpea Curry

School is winding down, soon the kids will be off and we will be running around.  I keep the kids as busy as possible.  It keeps them from fighting and it keeps their minds fresh and hopefully learning new things and experiencing new things.  We do save some days for the week for cleaning and other chores.  I do can and freeze with the various harvests and then of course the big one when they are back in school in the Fall.  Next one coming up is strawberries and that is when I do my strawberry freezer jam.  Everyone loves it.

Eggplant is one vegetable I like but am at a loss a lot of times on what to do with it.  Usually I just roast it and salt it and eat it.  Or I roast it and make baba ganoush.  Those are pretty much my go to dishes for eggplant.  In the summer when it is all over the market, I make this, my canned eggplant. An old Italian recipe, not for the faint of heart with canning because the Food and Drug Administration would probably say that the way I can it is unsafe...  Besides that I never know what to do with it so I started a list of recipes for eggplant.  This recipe here will be one of them.  It is so good.  With fresh eggplant it will be even better.

Eggplant Chickpea Curry
If cilantro isn't your thing add parsley but add it in the beginning with the tomatoes.

1 large eggplant, skinned and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper seeded and diced
1 tablespoon butter

1 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon asafetida (or 1 clove garlic, pressed)
1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes (fire-roasted preferred)
2 teaspoons minced ginger root
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 15-ounce can (or 2 cups) cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 cup minced parsley or cilantro

Saute onion and pepper in butter, once translucent add in cumin seeds.  Cook one minute more.  Now add the remainder of ingredients except for the cilantro.   Cook for 20 minutes.   Add in cilantro after you remove the curry from the heat.

Yellow Lentil Squash Soup

Have you ever heard of alternate day fasting?  Well, you know I was doing the 5:2 Program.  Which worked really well for me, I lost 24 pounds.  It was totally doable for me.  But then I hit a plateau.  A three month plateau.  Then the Holidays were here.  I had to cook meals for company, entertaining, stuff like that made the 5:2 very challenging for me.  I decided to give it up in December.  I gained 15 pounds back.  Ugh!  Not surprising.

Considering the oh, so many diets I have tried before, this si the thing that worked best for me so I am doing it again.  This time I am not doing the 5:2, I am doing Alternate Day Fasting.  If you know about the 5:2, Dr. Mosley did some research on the whole fasting thing.  Not real hard core research but rather asking around kind of research.  He came up with the idea of five days of eating and two days of fasting as a way that he could lose weight,.  Dr. Varady, who he interviewed, has been scientifically researching the Alternate Day Fasting idea.  You can read more about it in this interesting article by Healthista.

Dr. Varady has written a book about Alternate Day Fasting called The Every Other Day Diet.  She hosts a Facebook website as well.  Dr. Varady has been doing some serious research with alternate day fasting in Chicago.  She has studied many obese adults and followed the alternate day fasting routine.

Anyway, long story short I am switching to the Alternate Day Fasting routine.  My husband has been doing it since the summer.  He has lost about 35 pounds.  It works.  The nice thing about it is that you can pretty much east what you want to every other day.

On his fasting days my husband prefers to eat beans.  Which is great because I love beans.  Here is a fabulous lentil soup recipe.

Yellow Lentil Squash Soup

1 tablespoon oil or ghee (clarified butter)
2 cups yellow lentils or red lentils
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ginger
6 curry leaves
2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 onion
1 can lite coconut milk
6 cups water
4 cups chopped squash, I used kabocha here but you could use butternut, acorn, etc
1/2 jalapeno chopped tiny, seeds and rib removed
1 tablespoon kosher salt
5 cloves garlic
1 red bell pepper, chopped

Saute onions and bell pepper in oil. Add ginger, turmeric, mustard seeds and curry leaves.  Cook one minute.  Add in the remainder of ingredients.  Cook with gentle simmer until lentils are tender and falling apart. With the back of my wooden smooth I smashed most of the pieces of squash.  I like it because the squash melting into the soup gives it a more creamier texture.

Speaking of creamier texture.  A dollop of yogurt would be great in this soup.

garam masala and pumpkin spice

There was a couple things on my docket today.  Go through my spices and make some more of the mixes that I use a lot- especially in the fall.

Here are some of the things I use my garam masala for.

 
Butternut Squash Soup
 
Chickpea Tikka Masala


 
 Dum Aloo
 

 Lucknow Red Bean Chili (Rajma)

Carrot and Potato Indian Stir Fry
 

garam masala

1/4 cup cumin seeds
⅓ cup coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns (reduce to 1 tbsp for heat)
2 tablespoons whole cloves
2 tablespoons green cardamom
6 whole mace
6 cinnamon sticks
6 whole bay leaves
4 black cardamom, seeded
1 small whole nutmeg, crushed

Toast all the ingredients except for the nutmeg and black cardamom in a hot dry skillet for one minute.  Cool and grind add in the other ingredients. Make sure you take the black cardamom pods apart and discard the husks.

pumpkin spice 

⅓ cup ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground nutmeg or mace
1-½ teaspoons ground cloves
1-½ teaspoons ground allspice

Add a gift tag with these instructions: “For pumpkin pie, add 1 to 1-½ teaspoons of spice mix to your other ingredients.”


 
Here are some of the recipes I use pumpkin spice for.

 
pumpkin donuts

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Pumpkin Cheesecake
 
Pumpkin Tart

Pumpkin and Coconut Curry

Love this time of year with all the butternut squash, pumpkin, and all the other varieties of squash that are out there.  One of my favorites is the buttercup.

Today is the first day that we kinda had snow.  I say kinda because it was mixed with rain.  Not totally frozen.  Out at the store and running errands everyone was pooh-poohing the slush falling from the sky.  I know I am not the only one but I like snow.  I like winter.  I don't mind gray skies.  I know crazy me but honestly I have met a few kindred souls that don't mind it.  Years ago I wouldn't have said this.  I moved to Arizona.  Lived there for three years and that totally killed the need to have heat in my life all the time. 

Hutchinson Farm

It is a very nutty squash.

Pumpkin Coconut Curry
From Sunset October 2011

3 pounds of buttercup, butternut or pumpkin, skinned and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 -2 green serrano chili
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon vegetable or other unflavored oil
1 onion, chopped
1 cinnamon stick
20 curry leaves
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 can coconut milk
1 cup salted and raosted cashews

On parchment paper, place chopped squash.  Roast in the oven at 400F until golden.  This will take about 25 minutes. 

In a large, dry, frying pan toast the cumin seeds and curry leaves. Remove from pan and set aside.  Sauté onion in a tablespoon of oil.  Add the spices back and add coconut milk, cinnamon stick, chile and roasted squash.  Cook for about ten minutes.  Add cashews and lemon juice.  Serve over rice.
 

Dum Aloo

Strange (strange because they can be kinda picky)... but after having Indian food in the house for so long now, my children are starting to dig it.  I am doing a happy dance.  I made this dish the other day and they actually ate quite a bit of it.  It was POW!-kinda-flavorful.  Delicious, creamy and kid approved- at least in my house. 

Dum Aloo
Don't know about you but I really like saying the name of the potatoes, why? because I am just goofy like that.  The idea for this dish came from here but really, I changed A LOT.  Since my kids liked it and we liked it of course, I would definitely make it again-  Hopefully, the next time with cilantro.

5 potatoes cut in chunks
1 large onion, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste (if I had some fresh I would have used them)
3 cups cottage cheese (because I had no yogurt)
1  teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 or 2 green cardamom pods
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon Garam Masala powder
1 teaspoon salt
Cilantro – for garnish
 
In a pot, boil potatoes or place in water and heat in microwave. 

While the potatoes are cooking prepare the gravy/curry.  In a deep frying pan heat oil or ghee and add to it: cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick and split-open cardamom pods. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Now, add chopped onions. Sauté for at least 6 to 8 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add the remaining spices – turmeric, red chili powder, garam masala powder and salt. Sauté for a couple of minutes.

Add in cottage cheese, mix throughly.  Add mostly done potatoes to the gravy.  Cover and simmer on low for a couple minutes, stirring occasionally.

Weight Watcher Wednesday: South Indian Vegetable Curry

I think I need to call these posts, Weight Watcher Wednesdayish.  Seems I have missed the mark a few times.  Oops.  I will blame it on the holiday Monday- threw me off a day.  But the important thing is that I am back and loving the opportunity to tell you about this beauty of a dish.  Yes, its Indian.  I know that does not appeal to a lot of you but I know it will appeal to some.  This was rich and creamy.  Full of nutrition and easy to make.  It was really easy to make since I didn't make it.  My husband did.  Yup- you heard it!  My husband actually likes to cook but I never let him.  The reason is because he acts like hes been cooking forever when he hasn't.  He throws this and that in.  And I am here to tell you that is sometimes very unappealing.  I told him he has to start with recipes and then when he gets to know which things work well together he could start major improvisation.

He took my advice and followed this recipe pretty exactly.  Except for the tomatoes- he just put extra paste in. We did not have light coconut milk on hand we used regular with water.  He omitted the cilantro and replace the chick peas with black eyed peas (which frankly were wonderful in this dish). Other than that- perfectly.  Ellie Krieger's got it going on with her fabulous, tasty and healthy recipes.

South Indian Style Vegetable Curry
Adapted from this recipe by Ellie Krieger for Fine Cooking.

2 Tbs. canola oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
4 medium cloves garlic, minced
One 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (1 Tbs.)
1 Tbs. ground coriander
1-1/2 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 tsp. ground turmeric
1/2 tsp. cayenne
3 Tbs. tomato paste
2 cups lower-salt chicken broth or vegetable broth
1 cup light coconut milk
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 small cauliflower, broken into 1-1/2-inch florets (about 4 cups)
1 lb. sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
3  large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds (about 1 1/2 cups)
One 15-1/2-oz. can black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
4 oz. baby spinach (about 4 lightly packed cups)
2 Tbs. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. finely grated lime zest


 In a 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven or other heavy-duty pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium (or medium low if necessary) and cook until the onion is richly browned, 5 to 7 minutes more. Add the garlic and ginger; cook, stirring, for 1 minute to blend the flavors. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne; stir for 30 seconds to toast the spices. Add the tomato paste and stir until well blended with the aromatics, about 1 minute.

Add the broth, coconut milk, cinnamon stick, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low or low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. Raise the heat to medium high and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low, cover, and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard the cinnamon stick.

Stir in the chickpeas, spinach, lime juice, and zest; cook until the spinach has wilted, about 3 minutes more. Season to taste with salt. Serve garnished with the cilantro.

The following is based on the original recipe.  My recipe is pretty close to these counts.
Calories (kcal): 300; Fat (g): 10; Fat Calories (kcal): 90; Saturated Fat (g): 2; Protein (g): 12; Monounsaturated Fat (g): 3.5; Carbohydrates (g): 45; Polyunsaturated Fat (g): 2.5; Sodium (mg): 680; Cholesterol (mg): 0; Fiber (g): 12

Vada Pav

Today, I am making chana saag.  I need to do a post on all the recipes that make repeated appearances in our kitchen.  You see that is why I think I have slowed on my posting.  I have a repertoire that I love- not that I dont like to try anything new now, its just that its not as often as it used to be.  Sometimes too, I am making meals that are boring, just because they are so fast.  Having my attention focused on my sewing has really taken a bite out of my passion for cooking and yes the blogging part too.

Quilting is like a soul mate for me.  I am artistic in nature but have never found a medium that totally enveloped me.  I did do water color for quite a while.  I loved it.  It was very relaxing but it just didn't totally fit the bill. Thats not to say that I havent been thinking about doing anoth painting.  Colored pencil and drawing same story.  I am not that good at either.  I am proficient.  Now with quilting- its like a long lost friend descending upon me. Filling my life with joy.  I am not as proficient as I want to be but I am getting there little by little.  It's a journey.

I still love to explore the world of Indian cuisine.  So wide and vast.  Many distinct areas with different spices and dishes.  I have always loved cumin and cilantro so it is a natural fit.  These dishes, along with occassional sweets, seem to be the bulk of what I want to post.

This Vada pav dish is amazing.  I had some leftover Thanksgiving mashed potatoes that I out through a ricer to lighten them up a little so I could add the spices and aromatics to them.  I also added an egg, mainly for its binding qualities.  We loved these.  I didn't have time to make the chutneys.  You know, it was spectacular even without the sauces.  So I can only imagine what it would be like with them.  You can visit Aayi's Recipes for the original recipe.

Vada Pav

3 cups mashed potatoes
1 onion, minced
1 clove garlic minced
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 tablespoon ghee (I used my niter kibbeh)
salt and pepper to taste
10 curry leaves, cut in small piece
oil for frying (I used peanut oil)

coating mixture:

2 tablespoons rice flour
1/2 cup besan/chick pea flour

In a fry pan melt the ghee and add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds.  Wait until they begin to be fragrant.  Then add the curry leaves for one minute more.  Inhale that fabulous aroma.  Swoon.  Remove from pan and pour into the mashed potatoes.  Add the onion to the fry pan.  Cook until transluscent.  Add the garlic and ginger. Cook one minute more and add to the mashed potatoes.  Stir.  Add egg and stir until combined.

Form patties and dip into flour coating mixture.  Fry in not oil until golden. 

Lucknow Red Bean Chili aka Rajma

You may remember me talking about my favorite farmer at our local Farmers Market.  He always has interesting stuff.  When I went to the market a couple weeks ago, he had these red beans.  Man, were they delicious.  I was so excited to find some locally grown, dried beans.  I had to use them right away. 

I am so looking forward to the market and all the fresh produce.  For me it is one of the best aprts of summer.  I am gearing up for my garden right now as well.  I am going to fertilize this year.  We plant the end of May so I want to get the fertilizer on this month so it has time to settle in.  Even though we compost, our composter only makes so much as it is a contained unit.  I need to get my little tomato seedlings going.  I saved some of my Purple Cherokee Heirloom seeds.  I hope they produce.  I am a little nervous about it.  I am only going to do a few.


Lucknow Red Bean Chili (Rajma)
Adapted from India The Vegetarian Table by Yamuna Devik; CHronicle Books San Francisco

2 tablespoons ghee
1/2 teaspoon ajwain seeds
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon chili powder
pinch of asafetida
1 inch nub ginger, grated
1 quart tomatoes
1.5 to 2 cups bean cooking liquid
6  cups red beans, drained1 1/2 cups onions, chopped
salt to taste

Heat ghee (you can use oil if you do not have ghee) in a large pot such as a Dutch Oven.  Add the following spices: ajwain seeds, garam masala, chile powder, asafetida and ginger.  Cook until mixture becomes aromatic.  Do not let it burn or it will turn bitter.  Add the onions and cook until they become soft.  Add tomatoes, beans, bean cooking liquid.  Cook with lid off for about 40 minutes.

If you soak your own beans, remember to soak them in water the night before.  Cook the beans in a pot with water and a bay leaf until they are tender and then you should proceed with the recipe.

Dal and a GIVEAWAY!

The good people at Red Pack contacted me and asked if I would like to do a giveaway and a review.  Now, if you follow my blog, you know that I can my own tomatoes.  That is not to say that I have never had the occassion to buy my tomatoes.  Matter of fact I have bought jarred sauce too.  Shocking I know but hey I like a quick meal once in a while too.   Quite honestly I have bought Red Pack before and have previously been very happy with the product, affordable and good tasting.  I was quite pleased to do a review and of course happy to pass the good fortune on to you. 

I tasted the tomatoes before dumping them into the pot.  They had a tomato-ey taste.  They were far better than "fresh" supermarket tomatoes that you get in the produce section in the winter.  I received a can of whole tomatoes and crushed tomatoes.  The whole tomatoes were much firmer than my canned tomatoes.  You could actually chop them up and make some salsa.  I think Red Pack has a very fine product.  Certainly it is something I have purchased before and will continue to purchase.

Dal

Adapted from this recipe at Food Network

1/4 cup ghee or clarified butter
1 1/2 cups diced onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 jalapeno peppers, cored, seeded and minced
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted and crushed
2 cups orange lentils
2 tablespoons finely minced ginger
2 tablespoons Garam Masala
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 tablespoon rice vinegar
8 cups water

In a large pot, heat the ghee and stir-fry the onions just until transluscent. Add the garlic, jalapeno, cumin, lentils, ginger, curry powder, salt, pepper, sugar and bay leaf. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes, until the herbs and spices become very aromatic. Add the tomatoes and vinegar. Add the water, bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer and cook until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning with cumin, salt, pepper and sugar.

Rules for Giveaway:

1. You can only enter once.
2.  You can enter twice if you blog about my giveaway on your blog or if you mention the giveaway on Facebook or Twitter.
3.  Giveaway drawing will take place on Saturday 2/26/11 after 12 in the afternoon.  My daughters will draw the name.  The winner will be announced Saturday evening.

Full Disclosure:  Red Pack provided me with a tomato kit for review and will provide one of my readers with a kit as well.  I have paid nothing for these products.

Curried Kabocha

This is one of those quick whip ups that was a most delicious lunch.  I just want you to know that when I say curry I mean that, not in the curry powder you find in the stores (which frankly I do not dig at all) but rather a mix of ingredients that is Indian in nature. A curry is more a kin to a sauce than an actual specific mixture.  But anyway, since I am not Indian I am not even sure I am correct here.in my name of my dish.  I do know that kabocha is right.  I love kabocha squash.  It's nutty, rather like a chestnut than a squash in flavor but it also has that squash flavor as well.

Curried Kabocha

1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 inch nub ginger, grated
1 garlic clove grated
10 curry leaves
4 cups kabocha chopped
1/4 cup cilantro
s and p to taste


In a frying pan heat the ghee.  Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds.  Saute until they begin to pop.  Add turmeric, curry leaves, ginger and garlic.  Cook one minute.  Add in the squash and saute until a bit brownish.  Add about a cup of water, cover and simmer until squash is tender.  Remove from heat and sprinkle with cilantro.

Kickin' Kraut Rolls and Super Samosas

Armed with some egg roll wrappers, I went to town over the past month.  I bought the egg roll wrappers to make my Mother's idea for a Polish quick and easy appetizer.  Sauer kraut rolled up in an egg roll and fried.  I served it with duck sauce.  I have to tell you that when that sour taste hits the sweet taste of the sauce there is quite and explosion in your mouth.  So delicious.  I could have these over and over again.

However, after having fried 3 cans of sauer kraut down and filling egg roll wrappers I still had some leftover wrappers.  I certainly did not feel like frying up more kraut.  So a few days later I had an idea to use them for samosa wrappers.  This is the first time I have made samosas. I know the texture of the wrapper is a bit different but I tell you it was no less delicious than the restaurants version of samosa. In fact the flavoring in this particular recipe of filling was a total winner.

Kickin' Kraut Rolls
Recipe/idea courtesy of Mom

3 cans of sauer kraut
1 package of egg roll wrappers
duck sauce for dipping (next time I think I will concoct some sweet beet dipping sauce to make them even more Polish like)

Fry sauer kraut down until most of the moisture has been released and kraut is golden.  Roll cooled kraut in egg rolls and fry or bake (I have done both).  Serve warm with dip.  Enjoy.

Super Samosas

egg roll wrappers

Samosa filling:
To learn how to roll samosas into handy triangles watch this video.

2 1/2 cups potatoes (boiled until just tender)
2/3 cup peas
2 tablespoons oil or ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon armchur/ mango powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder

In a large frying pan heat ghee, add cumin seeds and wait until they crack and pop a little.  Add the remainder of the spices and heat one minute.  Add potatoes, cover and cook five minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peas.

Cut egg roll wrappers in half and roll according to the instructions in the video linked above.

Garlic Studded Chana Saag

This is one of my favorite dishes at the Indian buffet. I found some spinach for 50 cents for a 12 ounce bag. Mind you, probably all the nutrition had left the leaves at that point but hey it was fiber anyhow. I bought it- a perfect opportunity to make chana saag.

This dish is a must do in the spring when I see spinach at the market.  Oh boy.  I have to mark it on the calendar.  I have all the recipes in my head waiting for summer.  Summer comes and I think when I see the fruit and vegetables- "what was I going to make with these?"  So I am trying something new, I mark it on the calendar with a reference of where the recipe is.

CHANA SAAG

24 ounces fresh spinach
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped or more, ahh go on now, get garlic crazy- its good for you
2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
4 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1.5 teaspoons garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
2 (15oz) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 tablespoon sunflower or canola oil
1 cup nonfat greek yogurt

Preheat a large pot over medium-high heat. Pour in the oil, add the onions and saute for 2-3 minutes. Add garlic cook one minute more. Add the ginger, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, cayenne, red pepper flakes and salt and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes. Add the spinach and cook the spinach until it has cooked down.

Let the mixture cool slightly and transfer to a food processor or blender and process until mostly pureed, but not entirely. If you have an immersion blender you can do it right in the pot. Transfer back to the pot, add the yogurt and chickpeas. Stir and heat until well incorporated. Serve over rice.

Gobi and Naan

You probably thought I totally forgot. Well, I did totally forget. Do you remember the Indian dinner I made and said I would post all the recipes. Now, I am posting the final ones. A little late but posted none the less.

First the naan:

3 1/2 C all-purpose flour
1/2 t salt
1 t instant yeast
1 1/2 C warm milk - about 100F (you want to be able to hold your finger in it comfortably for 15 seconds)
1 teaspoon sugar
Butter for brushing to taste

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the milk. Let rest approximately 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, mix the flour with the yeast/milk mixture. Mix in the salt. Knead until soft, smooth and elastic.
Cover with a damp towel and leave in a dark place to rise until doubled, about two hours.

Remove the dough from the bowl, fold dough over itself and press down. Divide into ten even balls.
Roll out into rounds (if you can- mine were a bit odd shaped), dusting lightly with flour as needed. The
thinner you roll it out the better.

Heat up a large skillet or frying pan. On a dry pan lay the naan down.  When it begins to bubble and get dry- flip.  If you brush with butter they will be more tender but it is still delicious without the butter. 

Finally the gobi:

This is a recipe in development.  I kinda went by taste and generalized many recipes I researched.  Your ultimate goal is to have a batter thick enough to coat the cauliflower but so thick that it is pasty. I went a little thin this time but next time I will try it a bit thicker.  Aim for pancake batter thickness.  I had the thickness of heavy cream this time.

1 head or cauliflower, cut into florets

1 cup of besan or chick pea flour

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cayenne (less or none if you do not like heat)

1- 1 1/2 cups water 

hot oil for deep frying

Stir together besan, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and cayenne.  Whisk in a 1/2 cup of the water to make a paste, whisking rapidly to dissolve any lumps.  Add in another 1/2 cup of the water, thoroughly mixing to incorporate.  Finally add the water in small increments to get to the right consistency.  Dip the florets in the batter and place in hot oil (350F).  Fry until golden.

Chutneys: Tamarind and Coriander

Its a mess- don't judge me.

I have a confession...  I am a cook book hoarder.  I have SO many... like close to 200.  And actually that would not be a bad thing if I used them.  But rarely I do.  I have about five that I refer to often but my main source is the internet.  And actually, other than Epicurious and Allrecipes and Cooking Light, I mainly look at blogs.  I do also make up recipes, which that is perfectly acceptable.  It's all about the visuals for me.  Eye candy. Some of my cookbooks have no visuals.. pishaw!  I have seen people make commitments to use their cookbooks and think, "I need to do that too."  And then.  I don't.  But now I am openly admitting my cookbook addiction and I vow to use them at least once a month.  Maybe even once a week.

That said, these recipes are adapted from various sources on the internet.  Shameful.

These are the sauces I made for the Indian meal we had last Sunday. And if you are Indian you will say these are probably common to you.  For us, they were like a revelation.  A taste revelation- an explosion of wonderful flavor in our mouths.  I can see many applications for these sauces and have already used the cilantro one in my black bean soup.

Tamarind Chutney


1/4 cup tamarind paste
2/3 cup dates, pitted
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups water
1/2 teaspon cayenne
1/ teaspoon crushed cumin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup palm sugar, grated


In a sauce pot combine tamarind paste, sugar, pal sugar, dates and water.  Place over heat and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to simmer the mixture for about 10 minutes with the cover on.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool, cover off.


Once it is cool puree the mixture in a blender.  In a small frying pan roast the cumin seeds. Place them in a spice grinder.  Add the salt cayenne and ground cumin to the tamarind mixture.  Stir to combine.

Coriander Chutney


1/4 cup lemon juice 
1/4 cup water
1/4 pound cilantro leaves and stems
1/2 cup onion, chopped coarsely
1 jalapeno, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt


Puree the whole mixture in a blender.  Adjust sugar, salt and heat according to your taste.

Dal Makhani

I first saw this dal on Steamy Kitchen blog.  It was photographed so perfectly, pulling me in with its beautiful lentils.  The version I made had a bit more spice than Jadens' but I want to say thank you to her for bringing this amazing dish to my attention.  We loved it.  I served it on Sunday.  Almost every Sunday I have my parents over for Sunday dinner. This past Sunday I thought I would make a complete Indian dinner.  It was a lot of work but well worth the effort.  My parents first encounter with Indian food was a pleasant one.  This is a feat because she equates Indian food (as I once did) tot he curry powder found in jars in the spice aisle of our love markets.  The certainly is not Indian food summed up in that little spice jar.


"The following is posting from the Chile-Heads mailing list which, I think, neatly sums up what a curry is (or rather isn't). The author is Brent Thompson who is highly knowledgeable on the subject and has lived in India. He wrote : "the term curry itself isn't really used in India, except as a term appropriated by the British to generically categorize a large set of different soup/stew preparations ubiquitous in India and nearly always containing ginger, garlic, onion, turmeric, chile, and oil (except in communities which eat neither onion or garlic, of course) and which must have seemed all the same to the British, being all yellow/red, oily, spicy/aromatic, and too pungent to taste anyway"" from The Curry House UK

So there you have it or maybe don't, a definition of curry.

I will post all the features of the feast in the next couple posts.  Chutneys, naan and gobi...  Here's a quick peak of the tables.  Ignore the coleslaw and raw cauliflower florets which the kids were eating.

Dal Makhani

1 cup de puy lentils (French green lentils)
1 large onion minced
1 1/2 cups tomato puree canned or fresh (I used canned)
2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

salt to taste

Cook lentils in 3 cups water until tender.  Add the remainder of ingredients, except cilantro and let simmer for about an hour.  Stir in cilantro just before serving.
* Note:  I added a bit more than 1 1/2 cups of tomato puree- next time I will only add 1 1/2 cups.

Curried Red Lentil, Kohlrabi and Cous Cous Salad

You know the summer veggies are drawing to a close when you see zucchini going up in price.  Pretty soon it will be butternut squash, pumpkins, potatoes, beets, celeriac...  I am not complaining one bit.  But I am always sad to see the zucchini go.

When I tell you I have been knee deep in the hoopla that is canning season, sincerely I have been knee deep.  Tomatoes, peaches, jalapenos, jams... If I am home I am canning.  I have not been home much though.  Too many things to do and keeps the kids occupied. Whew!  A busy summer indeed.


Curried Red Lentil, Kohlrabi and Cous Cous Salad
Recipe adapted from this recipe at Epicurious


1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup red lentils
1 large kohlrabi bulb peeled, cut into 1/3-inch dice
1 cup spinach couscous
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1 5-to 6-ounce package baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Whisk white wine vinegar,  garam masala and pressed garlic in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in olive oil. Season dressing to taste with salt and freshly ground pepper. 

Cook lentils in heavy saucepan of boiling salted water ( about 2 cups) until lentils are barely tender but not too soft, about 4 minutes. Drain; rinse under cold water to cool. Drain again. 

Bring 1 1/4 cups water to boil in same saucepan; remove from heat. Add 3 tablespoons dressing, sprinkle with salt, then stir in couscous. Cover pot and let stand 5 minutes. Transfer couscous to medium bowl. Fluff couscous with fork to separate grains and cool slightly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, transfer lentils to large bowl. Add 1/2 cup dressing, diced kohlrabi bulb, and chopped green onions; toss to coat. Season mixture to taste with salt and pepper. 

Arrange baby spinach leaves over large rimmed platter. Drizzle spinach with 2 to 3 tablespoons remaining dressing. Sprinkle spinach leaves with salt and pepper. Mound lentil mixture in center of platter over spinach leaves. Stir mint into couscous. Spoon couscous around lentils and serve with remaining dressing

Carrot and Potato Indian Stir Fry

While this dish may seem like an ordinary wallflower of a dish, rest assured she is not.  She is full of life and packs quite a flavor punch!  I have made it three times.  No, I have not been holding out on you.  I have had a hard time getting a decent picture- either is disappears before I can photograph or it disappears before I can photograph it.  Yes- I know I said the same thing twice.  I just want to reiterate that it is that good.  


Carrot and Potato Indian Stir Fry

1 tablespoon
10 carrots
5 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves of garlic
7 curry leaves (I can barely say curry leaves without swooning)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds (preferably the black kind)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup milk
salt to taste

I encourage you to have everything mise en place.  This recipe moves quickly.

Chop garlic, onion (garlic and onion together), carrots.  Set aside.

In a large saute pan heat oil and add cumin and mustard seeds to the oil.  Cook until fragrant- add turmeric, saute a couple of seconds.  Add curry leaves (it will sputter so stand back).  Add onions and garlic and salt.  Cook until the onions are golden.  Add carrots and cayenne. Stir and cover, turning heat to low.  Cook for about a half of an hour.  Add garam masala and milk, mix well.  Cook for about five minutes more.