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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Thai Green Curry


Thai curries usually turn out delicious even if I leave out fish paste and shrimp paste and such from my recipes. I have managed to find dried galangal and kaffir lime leaves on and off, but, even if i don't have them handy, this green curry recipe turns out quite to my liking.

Ingredients
Vegetables of choice, cut into chunks
½ pkt extra firm tofu, cubed
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 14oz can coconut milk
salt to taste
2 Tbsp lime juice

for garnish:
spring onions chopped
cilantro chopped


green curry paste:
1 cup chopped cilantro
3-4 serranos or jalapenos, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped galangal or fresh ginger
5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 medium shallots, chopped
¼ cup finely chopped lemongrass
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1-2 kaffir lime leaves (optional)
1 tsp lime zest (optional)
½ tsp turmeric powder

Preparation:
  1. combine the curry paste ingredients in a blender or food processor and grind to a fine paste
  2. heat oil in a pan, add the green curry paste and sauté over medium heat till oil separates and the paste is aromatic and darker green
  3. add the tofu, vegetables, some salt and sauté a bit; add a little water, cover and let the vegetables cook till done, not mushy
  4. add the coconut milk, brown sugar, adjust salt to taste and simmer till flavors meld and the curry feels rich; add water to make the curry thin, if desired
  5. off heat, stir in lime juice, garnish with cilantro and spring onions; serve warm with jasmine rice, or basmati rice

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Sunday, January 28, 2007

Japanese-style cucumber, broccoli miso pickle

I use a lot of broccoli florets for my vegetable dishes and end up collecting a lot of unused stalk. I never throw them away. I just remove the outer woody skin, trim the stalks to remove any branches and throw them in a zipper lock bag and keep it handy to use in sambar, or sometimes just sauté them with the veggies, or sometimes, make this Japanese-style miso pickle.

cucumber broccoli miso pickle
This recipe is from Emi Kazuko's book, with slight modification.
Ingredients:
1 cup miso
1 Tbsp sake (or, plain white vinegar for its tang)
3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-4 Serrano chilies, sliced or diced fine
3-4 broccoli stalk/stem (use florets in another recipe)
1 large cucumber
¼ tsp sesame oil (optional)
¼ tsp dry red chili flakes
1 tsp sushi vinegar (or, just plain rice vinegar and some sugar to desired sweetness) - optional

Preparation:
  1. peel the cucumber every few centimeters or so to get a striped exterior; cut in half lengthwise and remove the inner pulp and seeds, cut into about 3-4" pieces; set aside
  2. remove the outer skin of broccoli stem, trim the branches if any, and cut them into longish strips about 3"4" long; set aside
  3. mix the miso, garlic, sake and chilies, keep handy
  4. in a container, spread some of the miso mixture, lay the cucumber and broccoli stems in a single layer, add another layer of miso, and layer some more cucumber and broccoli stems; keep layering in this manner, top with miso mixture, cover and refrigerate for 5-7 days
  5. remove from fridge, wash off the miso from the cucumber and broccoli stems thoroughly, pat dry
  6. cut the cucumber into half-moon slices; arrange the pickled broccoli sticks and cucumber in a serving plate
  7. whisk the dry red chili flakes, sesame oil and sushi vinegar, pour over the veggies and toss lightly; serve cold
Alternately, I sometimes skip step 7 above, sprinkle some dry red chili flakes and enjoy with some Indian style plain yogurt rice. The saltiness and tang and the bite from the chilies complement the plain yogurt rice really well.

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Saturday, January 27, 2007

Mesclun Greens with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Mesclun Greens with Grapefruit Vinaigrette

Usually, the fun part about serving salads for me is to make vinaigrettes and dressings at home. This grapefruit vinaigrette recipe was inspired by a citrus vinaigrette recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: Fields of Greens.

A typical vinaigrette has 1:4 or 1:3 ratio of vinegar:oil, and citrus juices are a good substitute for vinegars.

In this recipe, the grapefruit juice can be substituted with cider vinegar or raspberry vinegar to get a different flavor - adjust the acid:oil ratio as desired. I like the tang from the grapefruit juice, so, the acid:oil ratio is not quite the typical one in this recipe.

Ingredients
1 pkt mesclun greens or any favorite spring greens mix
1 large shallot, or ½ medium red onion, sliced thin
¼ red bell pepper, sliced thin
some chopped toasted walnuts or almonds
some dried cranberries
1-2 pepperoncini (optional)
1 grapefruit

Grapefruit Vinaigrette:
¼ cup grapefruit juice
2 Tbsp hazelnut oil
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 clove of garlic, finely minced
1 small shallot, finely minced
salt to taste

Preparation:
  1. sauté the onions with a pinch of salt and brown sugar till it carmelizes, set aside to cool
  2. cut the grapefruit in half, use one half to get the juice for the vinaigrette and the other to extract sections of the fruit for the salad
  3. whisk together the juice and all the vinaigrette ingredients,taste and adjust flavors, if needed; vinaigrettes tend to be unstable emulsions and separate, so, whisk well before serving
  4. assemble the salad, top with walnuts, cranberries and grapefruit sections, drizzle the vinaigrette, toss lightly before serving

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Friday, January 26, 2007

avial: vegetable medley

easy recipe indian vegetarian avial vegetable medley healthy

Avial is a wonderful south indian dish I like to have just on its own as a meal, or, with rice or roti. A bowlful of avial makes a sumptuous meal for me usually.

This avial recipe is quick and simple to throw together and quite hearty.




Ingredients:
Veggies:
1-2 plantain
1 large opo squash or ash gourd
1 medium butternut squash or acorn squash or pumpkin
2-3 medium carrots
1 head of broccoli
½ head cauliflower
1 large potato
1 cup frozen (cooked) lima beans
½ cup cooked black-eyed-peas (optional)
a handful snake beans or green beans or both
1 rutabaga and 1 turnip, diced (optional)
cilantro for garnish
½ cup sour yogurt (optional)
salt to taste
½ cup coconut milk
2 Tbsp coconut oil

flavoring for the avial:
1 cup fresh or dry grated coconut
2-3 jalapenos or serranos (seeded, if desired)
½ tsp cumin seeds (optional)


Preparation
  1. peel and chop the veggies to bite size chunks; cook them, individually if preferred as each has a different cooking time, with some salt
  2. alternately, i just throw them all in the pressure cooker so that some of the broccoli and cauliflower get mushy and add to the body
  3. grind the avial flavoring ingredients into a fine paste
  4. in a pan, throw the paste and the cooked veggies, coconut milk and some water if needed, and let them simmer together; adjust salt to taste
  5. off heat, stir in the coconut oil (and yogurt if using), garnish with cilantro, serve hot
Yogurt adds a bit of tanginess and body, but can be omitted if diet forbids dairy :-)

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Wednesday, January 24, 2007

kabocha squash soup

Next to Butternut squash, Kabocha is my favorite. It is sweet and has a wonderful buttery texture when cooked.

For soups, the easiest way for me is to cook the squash whole in a pressure cooker. Then, peel it, cut it into chunks and cook it in a broth with flavors. Finally, puree it before serving.



Ingredients
1 medium kabocha squash
1 medium onion, diced fine
1 medium celery stalk, chopped fine
1 carrot diced
3 green chilies (jalapenos or serranos work well to balance the sweetness)
4-5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tbsp freshly grated ginger
4 cups vegetable stock (low-salt)
salt to taste
1 Tbsp brown sugar (optional)
½ cup applesauce (optional)
½ cup sour cream (optional)
1 Tbsp canola oil
for garnish:
2 Tbsp chives, rosemary, young cilantro, chopped fine
flavoring/spices:
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
2 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
2 Tbsp curry powder
2 tsp black pepper powder (adjust to taste)
1 tsp turmeric powder

Preparation:

  1. pressure cook the kabocha squash whole; peel skin, remove the inside pulp, cut into small chunks
  2. alternately, cut it into chunks, skin it, clean the insides, and cook it in a pot with some water till it is soft
  3. heat oil in a pan, sauté the onions with a pinch of salt and some brown sugar till it carmelizes; add ginger, garlic, chilies, celery, carrots and sauté a bit
  4. add the squash chunks to the pan, all the flavoring/spices, applesauce (if using) and the vegetable stock; bring it to a boil, cover partially and simmer till all the vegetables get very soft and mushy; add water as needed to keep the veggies simmering in liquid
  5. off heat, allow it to cool a bit and then puree it in a blender or food processor or one of those hand-held immersion blenders till it is smooth (i like to leave some chunks just for texture); adjust salt to taste
  6. before serving, reheat if needed, stir in sour cream if using, garnish with chopped fresh herbs and serve warm

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Tuesday, January 23, 2007

whole baby okra curry


Young baby okra is quite a vegetable. It doesn't seem to have a great strong flavor of its own, so, it works well with curries, I think.

This whole baby okra curry recipe is quick and easy if all the ingredients are handy - simply throw them together, simmer for a bit and it is ready.


Ingredients:
1 pkt frozen whole baby okra
1 can stewed tomatoes with chipotle (or 2 medium fresh tomatoes, sliced)
1 medium onion sliced
salt to taste
1 tsp canola oil
2 Tbsp Patak's Tikka masala paste (or, Patak's balti curry paste)

Preparation:
  1. heat oil in a pan, add the onions and a pinch of salt, the masala paste, saute till onions turn translucent
  2. add the tomatoes and okra, cover and simmer on low heat till flavors meld and okra is soft but not mushy; adjust salt to taste
  3. serve warm with rotis, or, peas and cumin rice.

Instead of store-bought tikka masala or balti masala paste, i sometimes use a blend of my own: cumin seeds, coriander seeds, indian cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamom, star anise, dry red chilies - dry roast them and grind them with onions and ginger and some oil, into a fine paste.

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zen meal two


A soup, a grain and vegetables. Served in individual bowls. A monk's meal. A Zen meal. The beauty is not in the complexity of the recipes. It is in the realization that food can enhance spiritual growth.

I recently came across The Zen Monastery Cookbook at the bookstore, and was browsing through it, wondering at the synchronicity in my world: certain things come together only at certain times, even if I had been exposed to it long before.

The other evening, I was too tired to make a fancy meal, so I tried to make a simple meal fancy: Veggies, with mild indian flavoring, along with dosai and chutney presented in a rather unusual way, seemed to do it for us that night.

Ingredients:
for dosai:
3 ladlefuls dosai or adai dosai batter, if handy (else, rava onion dosai batter is good)
1 tsp canola oil (optional)
for chutney:
2 medium tomatoes,diced fine
3 dry red chilies, crushed fine
1 clove of garlic, minced fine
salt to taste
flavoring for veggies:
1 Tbsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp red pepper flakes (to sprinkle on top before serving)
salt to taste
Veggies of your choice- cauliflower and broccoli florets, lima beans, baby carrots, squash etc.


Preparation:
  1. heat a non-stick pan and throw in the veggies with a little water, add the flavoring spices and salt, cover and steam till veggies are done; stir well, adjust sat to taste, set aside
  2. heat a non-stick pan and spread the dosai batter; add oil, if needed, to make sure dosai comes off the pan without much struggle
  3. in a saucepan, throw the chutney ingredients together, some water, cover and let it cook till flavors meld and the chutney is fairly thick
A splash of lemon juice and a sprinkling of dry red pepper flakes adds a nice touch to the vegetables.

Served in an inspired yet simple way, it felt like a grand and sumptuous meal that night...

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Saturday, January 20, 2007

teriyaki chicken and vegetables



Japanese Cooking traditions, techniques, ingredients, recipes by Emi Kazuko (with recipes by Yasuko Fukuoka) is my first and so far my favorite cookbook for Japanese foods.

I don't follow the recipes closely as I haven't developed the taste for some of the ingredients, but, the general techniques and introduction to ingredients in this book is pretty good. This chicken teriyaki recipe was inspired by salmon teriyaki recipe in Kazuko's book.

Ingredients
2 medium frozen skinless boneless chicken breasts, thawed
veggies of your choice: green beans, carrots, baby corn, broccoli florets etc.
1 Tbsp sesame oil, or canola oil

for the Teriyaki sauce and glaze:
¼ cup shoyu, or dark soy sauce
¼ cup mirin (or, sherry, if mirin is not handy)
¼ cup sake
1 Tbsp brown sugar (or, superfine caster sugar, if handy)

Preparation:
  1. heat the teriyaki sauce ingredients gradually till sugar dissolves; off heat, let it cool
  2. cut the chicken breast into bite size pieces and marinate in some of the cooled teriyaki sauce, for about 15-20 minutes
  3. blanch the veggies with some salted water, drain and keep warm
  4. heat the oil in the pan to high heat, drain the marinated chicken pieces, toss them into the hot pan and stir them around; alternately, pre-heat grill or broiler and grill or broil the chicken; i prefer to pan-fry
  5. toss around, turning all sides, over medium high heat, adding teriyaki sauce a little at a time to glaze the chicken pieces; cook till chicken is done, still juicy and tender; usually, i check the temperature of the thickest piece by taking it off-heat and sticking a meat thermometer in the center - if it is close to 170°F I am happy, it is done
  6. in a serving platter, arrange some of the veggies, some rice and some chicken pieces
The amount here roughly serves two adults and one toddler for one wonderful supper:-)

Save any remaining teriyaki sauce in the fridge. It usually lasts months.

Alternately, serve with cooked Japanese white rice (uruchimai), or brown rice (genmai): dish up some rice in a serving bowl, top with veggies and chicken, serve warm.

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Thursday, January 18, 2007

vegetable korma I

Kormas are like curries, with slightly different and perhaps complex flavor - and can be made with either coconut milk, or yogurt or heavy cream. This recipe here uses coconut milk because I was thinking of a dear friend of mine (you know who you are, old girl) who cannot have dairy products for a while...
quick and easy recipe vegetable korma
Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower, just the florets
1 medium broccoli, florets, and the stalk chopped
1 medium potato, peeled and diced
1 medium carrot, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced thin
1 cup medium-thick coconut milk
salt to taste
1 Tbsp canola oil
cilantro for garnish
for korma paste:
1/4 cup dry or fresh grated coconut
1-2 jalapenos or serrano
1" piece ginger, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp white poppy seeds
1 star anise
2 cardomom pods
2 cloves
2 Tbsp fennel seeds
1-2 indian bay leaves
2 2" piece of chinese/indian cinnamon bark

Preparation:
  1. combine the korma paste ingredients in a blender/food processor and grind to a fine paste; set aside
  2. heat oil in a pan, add the onions and a pinch of salt, the paste from step 1 above and sauté till onions turns translucent
  3. add the potatoes and some water, cover, cook till potatoes are partially done
  4. add the other veggies and a little more water, cover and cook till veggies are partially cooked and not mushy
  5. add the coconut milk, adjust salt to taste and simmer on medium-low till flavors meld, veggies cook through and the sauce thickens a little
  6. off heat, garnish with cilantro; serve warm with rotis/bathuras, or peas and cumin rice, or naan

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Wednesday, January 17, 2007

soba with eggplant and tofu

soba-eggplant-tofu-1


Buckwheat soba, served warm or cold, is a meal we relish at home. Sometimes, it is Japanese style, served cold, with dipping sauce on the side; sometimes, it is warm/hot with thai-inspired flavoring sauce and veggies stirred in. This soba recipe is sort of in-between - served at about room temperature:-)

I love eggplant, and try to incorporate it many dishes I make.

As I am a bit sensitive to fish paste, shrimp paste, bonito flakes, kezuri-bushi and such, my asian recipes are not quite authentic. My miso soup barely has a touch of dashi-no-moto. But, I do enjoy a lot of the other non-sea-food-based asian flavors.

Ingredients
½ pkt extra firm tofu, diced (or pan-fried tofu, if handy)
1 medium eggplant, diced
1 bunch spring onions, chopped, for garnish (optional)
1-2 bundles soba noodles
1 Tbsp canola oil (or sesame oil)
flavoring:
1 tsp shichimi togarashi, if handy, or, sambal oelek, or just red pepper flakes
¼ cup mirin
½ cup shoyu, or light soy sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp sushi vinegar (or rice vinegar, if you like the pungency)

Preparation:
  1. combine the flavoring ingredients, stir well, set aside
  2. cook soba per package directions to al-dente, drain, run under cold water, drain well
  3. in a shallow bowl, add the cooked soba and pour just enough of the flavoring sauce to coat it well; set aside
  4. heat oil in a pan, add the diced tofu and some flavoring sauce and pan-fry the tofu turning often to brown all sides; remove from pan, set aside
  5. in the same pan, add the eggplant and more flavoring sauce and cook the eggplant till done
  6. with chopsticks or fork, gather some soba that has been soaking in the flavor sauce and make a bed of it on a serving plate
  7. top with tofu and eggplant; garnish with spring onions; serve any remaining sauce on the side

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Tuesday, January 16, 2007

zen meal one

Asian cabbage salad: people I've asked so far either love it or hate it. No gray area. It seems like an acquired taste. Maybe they have not tried a really good version of it...

I was pretty tired from work the other evening and wanted a quick yet good meal. Flavored, steamed veggies served piping hot seemed like the thing. The asian cabbage salad was left-over from the weekend and served to round out the meagre meal.

My wee one couldn't get enough of the corn and green beans. No amount of cajoling succeeded in getting her to even try the cabbage salad, though!

zen meal oneThe cabbage salad is best when made ahead of time, say about 1-2 hours before serving, and chilled a bit in the fridge.

Ingredients
3-4 handful frozen petit green beans
2 cups frozen corn
4 cups of shredded red cabbage (or napa cabbage, or a combination of the two)
½ cup carrot matchsticks
½ cup ramen noodles, crumbled
1 tsp canola oil
water
flavoring:
2 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
1 Tbsp mirin
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 shallot, finely diced

Preparation:
  1. combine the flavoring ingredients, stir well, set aside 2 Tbsp for the green beans
  2. combine the shredded cabbage and carrots in a bowl, top with crumbled ramen noodles, toss with the flavoring sauce as dressing - adding a little at a time so the salad is not soggy; chill for an hour or so in the fridge; it lasts about 4 days in the fridge
  3. in a non-stick pan, add the oil and green beans, cover and cook till beans are cooked tender but firm, not mushy; remove lid, add the reserved flavoring sauce and sauté till it is all absorbed
  4. in a separate pan, add the corn and a couple of Tbsp of water, cover and let it cook/steam on low heat till corn is done; set aside; sweet white corn seems to have a great flavor of its own, so I don't add any flavors to it in this presentation
  5. serve green beans and corn steaming hot from the stove; round out the meal with the cool cabbage salad

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Monday, January 15, 2007

peas and cumin rice



Rice seems like such a perfect food and I love it. I grew up eating rice everyday, and, if I don't eat it at least once a week, I really miss it.

Fragrant, long, not-so-glutinous brown basmati rice is my favorite, followed by white basmati rice, then brown rice, followed by jasmine rice and then, last bust not the least, sweet-and-sticky rice.

Certain recipes work best with certain varieties of rice; although any other variety will work just as well, this recipe feels perfect with basmati rice.

Ingredients
4 cups cooked white or brown basmati rice
2 cups fresh peas, or frozen peas
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
1 medium yellow onion diced finely
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced finely
1 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
½ cup cilantro leaves, for garnish
1 Tbsp home-made flavored ghee, or butter, or canola oil
salt to taste

Preparation
  1. heat ghee in a pan, add the cumin seeds till they plump up, get aromatic and are fried but not burnt
  2. add the onion, garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt, sauté till onions turn translucent
  3. add the peas, stir, cover and cook till peas are just done but not mushy
  4. add the rice, stir well, adjust salt to taste; off-heat garnish with cilantro
  5. serve warm with raita and curries like ridge gourd curry, or egg curry, or soya chunks curry, or, baby eggplant curry

Sometimes, I throw in some cooked chick peas as my wee tot loves this dish - for that matter, anything with peas, chick peas, corn, green beans and rice, flavored with garlic and ginger, with some sautéed onions seems to appeal to her these days...

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Saturday, January 13, 2007

black-eyed peas chundal

Black-eyed peas, chick peas, lima beans, pinto beans, kidney beans, black beans seem like such an easy way to add nutrition to everyday foods.

This recipe here for "chundal" (sometimes, called "thoran") is a general method for preparing these beans as a snack or side - can substitute black-eyed peas with any of the other beans, while keeping the rest of the ingredients and method the same.

Also, sprouting the beans before using in this recipe seemed like a good idea, so, I started doing that for my wee tot lately, even though cooking the sprouts sort of diminishes the nutritional value a bit... every little bit counts when they are picky-eaters.

easy recipe black-eyed peas chundal
Ingredients
1½ cups dry black-eyed peas
1 small yellow onion, sliced
½ cup fresh or dry grated coconut
1-2 dry red chilies (or fresh green chilies)
1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp lemon juice
salt to taste
water as needed

tempering:
1 tsp urad dal
1 tsp chana dal
½ tsp mustard seeds
½ cumin seeds
1 Tbsp canola oil

chiffonade 4-5 curry leaves for garnish(optional)

Preparation:
  1. soak the black-eyed peas overnight, or for about 4-6 hours; drain, rinse and cook in pressure cooker, or stove-top, till cooked but still firm and not mushy; set aside
  2. grind the coconut, garlic and chilies into a coarse paste and set aside
  3. heat oil in a pan, add the tempering: dals first and when they turn golden brown, mustard seeds and when they pop and die down, add the cumin seeds, turn the heat to medium-low
  4. add the onions and sauté till it turns translucent
  5. add the cooked black-eyed peas, coconut paste, turmeric, cumin, coriander and salt to taste; stir well
  6. off heat, stir in lemon juice, garnish with curry leaves and serve warm as a snack or side, along with rice, rasam, sambar, or even roti

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Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Rice Noodles



Other than pasta, casseroles, soups, and rice, Asian-style noodles seem the easiest to throw together on weekdays when I don't have fermented adai or dosai or injera batter handy.

Not much to this recipe really. Feels like sharing a recipe for cooking rice :) Anyway, I like both the wide flat rice noodles a well as the thin string-like ones. The noodles can be stir-fried or just tossed in with the sautéed vegetables here.

Ingredients
1 pkt rice noodles (flat and broad, sort of like fettucini)

½ pkt extra firm tofu (or, pan-fried marinated tofu, if handy)
1 cup sugar snaps, sliced thin
2 cups bok choy leaves, cleaned, chiffonade (or roughly chopped)
1 medium onion, sliced fine
1 bell pepper, sliced
-OR- any other vegetable combination
water as needed
1 Tbsp canola oil (2-3 Tbsp, if pan frying the tofu)


For the flavoring:

2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp thai chili-basil paste
1 Tbsp sambal oelek (or, 1 Tbsp red pepper flakes)
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh lemon grass (or, 1 tsp lemongrass powder)
1 tsp grated ginger (or, ½ tsp ginger powder)
1 tsp brown sugar

½ cup chopped spring onions for garnish (optional)

Preparation:
  1. Combine the flavoring ingredients, stir well and set aside
  2. If using tofu, pan-fry it with some of the above flavoring sauce, remove from pan set aside
  3. cook rice noodles per package directions, drain, rinse in cold water, drain well and set aside
  4. Heat oil in a pan, sauté the onions, sugar snaps and bok choy till onions turn translucent
  5. Add the cooked noodles, pan-fried tofu, and the remaining flavoring sauce a little at a time so as not to make the dish soggy, stir till well incorporated
  6. Garnish with spring onions, serve warm

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Tuesday, January 09, 2007

eggplant parmesan

I like eggplant a lot. Eggplant Parmesan is a rich meal for me, especially since I don't try to hold back anything in this recipe to make it low-fat and such. Part-skim, low fat cheeses can be substituted in this recipe, of course. Also, instead of frying in step 5 below, one can bake the eggplant slices in the oven - takes longer, and needs to be flipped around to cook both sides of the breaded eggplant, but, might cut out on some fat. Since I don't make it that often, I go for the fried version.

Italian foods get their turn at my table, but not as frequently as Asian foods. I decidedly am partial to SE Asian/Indian/Mediterranean/Ethiopian foods compared to French/Italian/American foods.

eggplant parmesan recipe Ingredients
1 globe eggplant
2 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 cups grated mozarella cheese
1 cup ricotta cheese (optional)
4-6 cups tomato sauce, home-made or store-bought
salt to taste
oil for frying
1-2 cups all-purpose flour
1-2 eggs (optional)

Preparation:
  1. slice the eggplant lengthwise into ¼" or thinner slices; sprinkle some salt on both sides and let it sit for about 10 minutes so it releases moisture and possibly the bitter juices
  2. start heating oil in a frying pan to about 350ºF ; while oil is heating, beat the eggs and leave it handy on a plate; dish up about a cup of flour and have that handy in another plate as well
  3. pat the eggplant slices dry from step 1, then dip the sides of each slice on egg, followed by flour; basically, this is to "bread" the eggplant for frying; egg is optional, it helps to hold the flour; alternately, one could bread the eggplant slices in seasoned breadcrumbs
  4. pre-heat the oven to 350ºF
  5. fry the eggplant slices in oil and drain on a paper towel and set aside till the whole batch is done
  6. assembly: in a casserole or baking dish, layer the eggplant, sauce, cheese in as many layers as possible, top with cheese; reserve some sauce to serve on the side
  7. bake in the 350ºF oven for about 15-20 minutes, checking on and off
  8. remove from oven and let it rest for a bit before dishing up
  9. serve warm, with warm sauce on the side: i hold back on the sauce while assembling and baking so it doesn't get too runny, but, that sort of leaves it a bit dry and so i like the extra sauce on the side :-)

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Monday, January 08, 2007

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

eggplant garlic sauce chinese


Eggplant in Garlic Sauce is delicious when done right: the thick gooey sauce full of flavor, the just-tender eggplant and garlic, the heat from the dry red chilies... enjoyed as-is or with steaming white rice.

Adjust soy sauce to your taste, it can get very salty if the broth has added salt in it; or simply use water instead of broth/stock.

Ingredients
1 medium globe eggplant, diced (or, black beauty, or even a couple of kamo, or calliopes)
4 Tbsp canola oil (or sesame oil, or mustard oil, or peanut oil)
12-15 cloves of garlic, peeled, some crushed, some whole
3-4 medium dry red chilies, (crush a few to release seeds for extra heat)

for the sauce:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable broth or chicken broth
2 Tbsp plain white vinegar
2 Tbsp black bean chili paste
1 tsp brown sugar
-----
2 tsp cornstarch
some water
-----
for garnish (optional):
2 Tbsp chopped spring onions
1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Preparation:
  1. heat oil in a pan, add the garlic, eggplant, dry red chilies and sauté a bit
  2. add the sauce ingredients, lower the heat and let it all simmer till flavors meld, liquid reduces, and eggplant gets cooked, say about 10-12 minutes
  3. in a separate bowl, mix the corn starch and a few Tbsp of water, add a little at a time to thicken the sauce, if needed; taste and adjust flavor as needed
  4. garnish with spring onions and sesame seeds
  5. serve warm with steamed jasmine or sweet rice, or sushi tower, or sushi logs, or even nasi lemak

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Simple Roti

Simple Roti Indian flat bread whole wheat

Roti or Chappathi, along with vegetable sides, usually served as a light and satisfying supper when we were growing up. And, a couple of rotis served as starter/appetizer for lunch/dinner made the meal sumptuous and wholesome somehow.

There are several tried and tested alterations to the basic roti recipe; what I share here is just one of them. Start cooking some side-dish like curry or koottu or dal for serving with these rotis in the back-burner first, and by the time rotis are done so is the the side-dish.

These simple rotis are best when cooked right before sitting down for the meal. Sometimes referred to as Sukha/Sookha Roti meaning Dry Roti, these use little or no butter or oil. But, if preferred, can spread some butter or home-made flavored ghee.

easy recipe Mint, Fennel and Garlic Naan indian

Ingredients
2 cups whole wheat flour (or, chappathi flour)
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp canola oil (or ghee)
extra flour for dusting
hot water (amount varies a bit)
salt to taste
some oil for cooking

Preparation:
  1. combine the flours, salt and ghee in a bowl; add a little hot water at a time and start kneading the dough; keep adding a little water at a time till a soft, pliable, slightly sticky dough is formed; cover with a damp cloth and let it rest for 5 minutes or so
  2. divide the dough to form 2" or 3" diameter balls - number varies - but usually i make about a dozen or so with 3 cups of flour - not all of them the same exact size...
  3. dust the work surface generously with some flour (either all purpose or whole wheat is fine); roll the balls into thin rounds about 5"-6" in diameter; try not to stack them on top of each other - just lay them out handy on the counter top*
  4. heat a pan or griddle to pretty high temperature; cook both sides of the rolled out rotis on the hot pan - adding oil if needed
  5. alternately, i like to cook them over open flame on my gas stove, by placing the raw roti on a contraption my mom gave me - a round wire-work with handle - and cook both sides till it puffs up a bit and forms tiny char spots on the surface :-)
  6. at this point the rotis are ready to be eaten, straight off the griddle; but, sometimes, i brush it with some ghee or butter and wrap them with a kitchen towel till the whole batch is done; this helps keep them moist and warm till we all sit down for the meal


Serve with any of the curries, or chutneys, or koottus, or even indian pickles (achars):ridge gourd curry
egg curry
soya chunks curry
baby eggplant curry
ridge gourd peel chutney
mint chutney
green tomato dal
chayote squash koottu


quick and easy recipe rotis*Alternately, after rolling out the balls in step 3 above, fold it in half to form a semi-circle, and fold again to form a sort of triangular shape, and then roll it out again to about 4"-5" diameter to form a slightly thicker but layered and fluffy rotis.

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Friday, January 05, 2007

spicy okra side

Okra and Eggplant(aubergine/brinjal) were ubiquitous when I was growing up. My mom made several dishes with them at least twice a week or so.


quick and easy recipe spicy okra side dish

This okra recipe here is very simple as I use store-bought spices and frozen okra. I prefer frozen okra (cut, or whole) as the fresh ones are not readily available year round; and even when I do find them, they are tough and stringy, not quite tender as I would like them.

Ingredients:
1 pkt frozen cut okra, thawed
2 Tbsp madras curry masala powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
1/2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
salt to taste
tempering:
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp urad dal, split, dehusked
2-3 curry leaves chopped (optional)
1 Tbsp canola oil

Preparation:

  1. heat oil in a non-stick pan, add the tempering: urad dal first, when it turns golden brown, mustard seeds, and when they pop and die down, cumin seeds, finally curry leaves, lower the heat
  2. add the okra (usually i prefer to thaw and pat the okra dry, else it gets a bit too slimy), curry powder, brown sugar and some salt; stir well; cover and let the okra sweat a bit in its own moisture till tender and cooked
  3. remove the cover, and pan fry in medium high till desired brownness/crispness; adjust salt to taste
  4. serve warm with roti or rice and rasam

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Tuesday, January 02, 2007

fenugreek sprouts

sprouted-fenugreek-1


Fenugreek (methi, vendhayam) is used quite a bit in my mom's kitchen - it is toasted and powdered with sambar powders and some other masala spice mix my mom keeps handy at home.

It has never been a favorite of mine until my post-partum days when it became my close friend. A tablespoon of fenugreek sprouts a day was an essential part of the post-partum diet that my mom put me on, as it is supposedly a galactagogue and a digestive aid. When I stopped nursing, it sort of fell out of my diet, but, I have started including it again now in small quantities.

Sprout it just like whole green moong beans sprouts: soak for an hour or so, drain in a cheesecloth-lined colander, cover, leave in cool dark place; rinse and drain once a day for 3-4 days and the sprouts are ready.

It has a bitter taste and is not easy to incorporate in recipes. So, I throw a handful of fenugreek sprouts in foods that I prepare anyway:
  • in dosai batter: a handful of fenugreek sprouts mixed in with the batter makes it barely noticeable, while adding some health benefit
  • knead some into roti or bathura dough and cook them as usual; alternately fenugreek leaves can be used (dry or fresh) in place of sprouts to make rotis - usually sold in stores as methi roti
  • in sambar, kozhambu, parippusili and other curries - just thrown in a few tablespoonful of the sprouts while cooking the usual recipe
  • toss a tablespoon in salads
  • another favorite way to eat this from my post-partum diet is: crush 2-3 garlic cloves, sauté it in 1 Tbsp ghee, throw in a tablespoon of sprouted fenugreek to the pan and sauté that as well; adjust salt to taste; mix this concoction with some hot steamed basmati rice and enjoy!

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green beans paruppusili



Paruppusili is a side-dish that has lentils added in a certain specific form to veggies of choice. Green beans paruppusili is the most popular at home, but, I also make capsicum paruppusili, snake beans paruppusili sometimes.

If making paruppurundai kozhambu, save some of the steamed lentil balls for this recipe. I usually make a largish batch of lentil balls, steam them, and freeze some for later use. Thaw in microwave when needed.

Ingredients:
4 2"-diameter steamed lentil balls, if handy
OR
(1 cup toor dal
2 dry red chilies
some water)
------------
salt to taste
1 package french cut frozen green beans (or fresh green beans cut into desired size/shape, or capsicum...)
2 Tbsp oil
tempering: 1 tsp mustard seeds

Preparation:


  1. to make lentil balls: soak the toor dal and dry red chilies in water for about an hour; drain, grind it to a thick paste; shape into 2" diameter balls; steam them and set aside

  2. steam the green beans till almost done; set aside

  3. heat oil in a non-stick pan; add the tempering: when mustard seeds pop and die down, crumble the lentil balls and add them to the pan; stir fry till it gets slightly crispy and golden

  4. add the steamed green beans to the pan, stir till well incorporated; adjust salt to taste

  5. serve warm with roti, or, rice and rasam


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Monday, January 01, 2007

Adai Dosai



Adai is a thick pan cake made of fermented dal (lentils) batter usually, and some times made just out of rice ("verum arisi adai"). Dosai is usually thinner crepe type dish made with rice and urad dal. Adai-Dosai is sort of a combination of the two - uses dals like for adai, but is a thinner batter and hence ends up more like a dosai.

easy recipe adai dosaiMy wee one started liking dosai a lot since she turned one. So, I try to make dosai or adai-dosai batter once a week; this way she gets enough protein and fiber. The fermented batter from this recipe is usually about 1.5-2 gallons in volume and lasts a whole week for me. I save the unused batter in the fridge and use it on and off over the course of the week.

I try to make different shapes of adai-dosai rather than the traditional round form just to entertain my little one - picture above shows my attempt at a bear :-) It was quite rewarding to hear Ms.Little Tiny saying, "Doh-say- bay" (dosai bear) when I set the above plate in front of her this morning.

This recipe here is sort of made up - I wanted to incorporate as many ingredients as I have handy and I feel is healthy. Each time I make the batter, I vary the proportions a bit just to get a slightly different mix.

Also, in winter, I prefer to use yeast to make the batter rise and ferment well overnight; alternately, the batter can be left for a few days to gather the natural yeast from its environment and take its own sweet time to ferment...

Ingredients:
1 cup urad dal
1 cup whole green moong dal
1 cup chana dal
1 cup par-boiled rice(puzhungal arisi, or idlee arisi)
2 cups toor dal
3 Tbsp fenugreek seeds
3 Tbsp flax seeds
3 Tbsp poppy seeds - optional
6-8 dry red chilies
1 tsp rapid rise yeast
--------------------
some water
some oil
salt to taste
1 medium onion diced finely (optional)

Preparation:

  1. soak all the above adai batter ingredients, except yeast, in enough water for 4-6 hours; grind into a fine batter; add the yeast and leave it in a warm place to rise overnight or up to 16 hrs.
  2. the batter usually gets fluffy and rises well as in picture above
  3. scoop 4-6 ladleful of the fermented batter into a bowl, add the onions, some salt, and a little water at a time to make a pourble batter of sorts - like the consistency of a medium-thin pancake batter
  4. heat a non-stick pan or griddle; use a touch of oil to ensure that the adai-dosai lifts off the pan without struggle
  5. scoop a ladleful of the prepared batter and spread/draw it into desired shape on the hot pan; or just spread them into simple circular form
  6. leave pan in uniform medium-high heat; when underside seems done, flip carefully and cook the other side
  7. serve warm with mint chutney or ridge gourd peel chutney or sambar or paruppurundai kozhambu
  8. traditionally, my mom used to serve this with sugar & ghee, or jaggery or both:)

Fermented Adai batter is quite a sight - and smell - a pleasant sour smell when perfect, can turn to putrid if left too long :)

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