Cabbage Kofta in Creamy Chard Sauce

Koftas are fried balls, usually made with minced meat, but can be made with just about any vegetable as well. They are typically served in a rich creamy sauce.

I prefer vegetable or paneer koftas. And the sauce can be tomato-based, cream-based or even made with favorite greens or other vegetables. I like the cilantro-jalapeño sauce as much as this silverbeet/chards sauce.

Koftas usually don't involve bread slices - just flour like chickpea, rice, all-purpose, corn. I had some heels of bread slices to use up so they came in handy here. As I often mention, à la Owl in Tearwater Tea, the heels - the end-slices of sliced bread loaves - ignored and discarded usually, have my sympathies. Which is precisely why I like to use them for binding, even for making breadcrumbs and croutons.



Spinach would be a good alternative, but, I had harvested the rainbow chards from my home garden and wanted to use it up. This Cabbage Kofta in Creamy Chard Sauce can be served with plain hot basmati rice, or with roti or naan or bathura or even pooris.



Ingredients
For the Kofta:
1 cup packed finely chopped cabbage
2 or 3 bread slices
seasoning salt/spices/salt to taste
water as needed
oil for frying

For the Sauce:
As much chards as in picture, chopped finely (more if preferred)
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 small onion, diced finely
1 Tbsp finely grated ginger
4-6 pickled jalapeno rings (or green chilies, to taste)
spices: cumin powder, coriander powder (optional, to taste)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp canola oil
optional: Half-and-half -OR- Evaporated milk for a creamier texture

Preparation

1. Cabbage Kofta: Combine the kofta ingredients with just enough water to make a dough that can be shaped into balls; deep fry till cooked through on the inside, drain and keep warm
2. Sauce: Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onions, ginger and garlic; toss in the chopped chards, some salt, spices, and a few tablespoons of water, cover and allow to simmer and wilt till mushy
3. Combine the cooked chards with the chilies or jalapeno rings in a blender and grind to a smooth sauce, return to pan and simmer some more, adjusting flavors with lemon juice and brown sugar; stir in evaporated milk or half-and-half for creamier texture at the end
4. Toss in the koftas with the sauce before serving

Eggplant and Green Tomato Pottu Kadalai Kozhambu

Sometimes, the hardest part about sharing a recipe here for me is to come up with a name that describes it well. Now, the traditional dishes are easy - they have recognizable names that I can readily use/alter. But since fusion cuisine is my signature, and I tend to throw things together, rather than exotic-sounding names, I try to label the dish based on the ingredients used for easy reference :)

Anyway, the title Eggplant and Green Tomato Pottu Kadalai Kuzhambu covers the primary ingredients in this recipe. Kozhambu is a spicy sauce-dish from South India which can be made with practically any of the lentils, grams and vegetables common to the region, and is typically served with plain hot rice.

Pottu Kadalai is a staple in my mom's kitchen - used for chutney, podi (powder), urundai (caramelized balls - dessert). It roughly translates to roasted Bengal gram, although am not sure this is the common English name for it. When toasted lightly and powdered, Pottu Kadalai is quite versatile as a thickener for soups and even making sandwich spread (with other ingredients).

In this recipe, I make a simple base for the sauce, cook it with water for desired consistency, and top it with pan-fried green tomatoes, onions and eggplant. Of course, any favorite vegetable combination can be used, but, I just happened to have harvested these from my home-garden and was excited to use them.

The light tang from lemon juice and sun-dried tomatoes, combined with heat from black pepper and red chilies, balanced by the hint of brown sugar makes this quite a favorite at home. But, for a hot dish, simply leave out lemon juice and brown sugar and increase the chilies :)




Ingredients
2 green tomatoes
3 small Ichiban eggplant
1 medium yellow onion
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp canola oil
1-2 Tbsp lemon juice (adjust to taste)
1 tsp brown sugar
salt to taste


for the sauce base:
4-6 Tbsp Pottu Kadalai (roasted split bengal gram)
3-4 sun-dried tomatoes, not packed in oil
2 Tbsp whole black pepper
2 Tbsp dry grated coconut
3-4 dry red chilies

Preparation

1. Combine the sauce-base ingredients in a blender or food processor and grind to a smooth paste, adding water as needed
2. Heat the oil in a pan and pan-fry the vegetables, remove from pan and keep handy
3. Add some turmeric powder, sauce paste, some water, some salt to the same pan and allow to simmer over medium-low heat gently till it starts to thicken, stirring constantly; if sauce is too watery, can add any favorite thickener - viz., arrowroot powder, cornstarch, rice powder or even pottu kadalai powder
4. Stir in lemon juice and brown sugar to taste and slide in the pan-fried vegetables
5. Serve warm with rice or naan or roti
6. Garnish with cilantro, spring onion, or even curry leaves if handy

Thai Zucchini, Bell Pepper Soup

When I think of "Thai Soup", I usually think of the distinctive combination of spicy, salty, tangy, sweet flavors that come from certain ingredients extensively used in Thai cuisine, like galangal & lemongrass, sambal or nam prik pow for spiciness, tamarind for sourness, and a bit of brown sugar for sweetness. Many Thai soups use coconut milk to get the rich creamy texture. Depending on my "diet", I leave out the coconut milk.

This soup is much like my vegetarian Tom Yum Goong in that it is not quite traditional as I substitute some ingredients I have handy, rather than hunt for specific ingredients which provide the authentic taste. While I try to stock up on dried galangal, Kaffir Lime Leaves seem harder to come by - sure, it is available, but the frequency of use doesn't justify the expense in my budget, so, I tend to leave it out.

Tom Kha Gai, a wonderful Thai Chicken Soup, is a favorite at home. This soup recipe can be adjusted to make Tom Kha Gai as well - simply add chicken pieces, and coconut milk if preferred.

Ingredients
½ large home-garden zucchini, diced
carrots, cauliflower, celery, onions, bell peppers - diced (use as much as needed for the quantity of soup)
6 to 8 cups water or vegetable stock
1 Tbsp sesame or peanut oil

soup base:
1 (or 2) 1-inch piece of dry galangal, reconstituted in water
1 Tbsp lime peel, coarsely chopped (optional)
1 medium lemongrass stalk, crushed/pounded a bit -OR- 1 tbsp lemongrass powder
2 Tbsp sambal oelek, if handy, else chopped Thai bird chilies or serrano or other chilies of your choice
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
1 tsp tamarind paste
½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)

Preparation

1. Combine the soup base ingredients and coarsely grind in a blender or crush it well in a mortal and pestle, keep handy
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the soup base ingredients and onions, sauté till aromatic, add the veggies, stock/water, cover and allow to simmer till veggies are cooked through but not mushy
3. Taste and adjust flavors; if using coconut milk, stir it in at the end and simmer on medium-low gently for a few minutes
4. Garnish with spring onions and cilantro

Curried Quinoa with Vegetables

Quinoa salads, quinoa as rice substitute, quinoa stew are just a few of the simple ways to incorporate this nutritional powerhouse into daily diet. If buying in bulk, and it is not pre-rinsed, then, soaking and rinsing a couple of times removes the bitter-tasting saponins. Sometimes, I don't mind the bitter flavor, so, I don't rinse as much and just cook it as usual.

Quinoa makes a great substitute for rice for me, as I love to eat rice. Plain hot basmati rice. A lot of it. Between wild rice, barley, quinoa, bulgur, brown rice and cous-cous, I have learnt not to miss plain white rice as much anymore.

Much like rice, quinoa can be cooked on stove top with 2 parts water/stock for one part quinoa. When water is all absorbed and gone, simply fluff and serve.

This recipe of Curried Quinoa with Vegetables is just one possibility: add favorite vegetables and cook them together with quinoa. Or simply cook the plain quinoa, allow to cool a bit, toss with raw salad ingredients; or add to stir-fried or sautéed vegetables.

In this recipe, I cook the veggies and quinoa together, adding a bit more water to account for cooking the veggies.

The Adzuki beans & asparagus salad recipe can be modified to replace bulgur with quinoa. Or, for that matter, the Barley Salad recipe can be adapted to use quinoa instead of barley, leaving all other ingredients the same.

Ingredients
1 cup quinoa, soaked and rinsed
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
2-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 medium onion diced finely
favorite vegetables: red cabbage, bell peppers, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, turnip greens, chards (or greens of any kind)
other additions: cooked adzuki beans or lima beans or chick peas or any other favorite kind of beans
3 cups water or vegetable stock (more or less, adjust to added ingredients)
1 Tbsp Madras curry powder
salt to taste
1 tsp olive oil
4 Tbsp lemon juice (more or less)

Garnish: chives, spring onions, toasted nuts

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, ginger and garlic, sauté a bit
2. Add in the veggies, quinoa, water, stir well, cover and cook over medium heat till quinoa is done
3. Stir in the lemon juice and garnish with favorite herbs and toasted nuts if preferred