Stuffed Giant Home-garden Zucchini

 

 

Summer garden was a fun activity with moderate yield and immense satisfaction. One large zucchini about a foot long and 4 inches in diameter seemed like a prime candidate for stuffing and baking. I just used the bottom half for stuffing and saved the top half for enjoying another day.

Any filling - like rice or ground turkey or grilled fajita veggies, or a combination of all of these - will work. I went with grilled veggies and Mexican-flavors-inspired brown rice that was leftover. Top with melty cheese like Cheddar or Colby Jack or Provolone, or a combination of these, and finish off under the broiler for that mild charring that adds to the flavor.

Home-garden New Potatoes Curry (Instant Pot)

 

Potatoes and onions have become quite the staple in today's cuisine that the market is flooded with them throughout the year. And yet, there is something satisfying about growing a few in the backyard as they are easy, no-fuss plants that manage to survive despite my neglect.

Potato plant's flowers are rather unassuming yet sprightly when in bloom. 

 

Baby potatoes are fun to dig up and use, as long as they are not green.

A growing potato with its multiple arms and tentacles seems quite alien and spooky, if I let my imagination run a bit wild. When the plant has withered and died back, it is with a mix of sadness and anticipation that I dig up the adult potatoes.

Anyway, back to the Instant Pot Potato Curry. Simply peel the potatoes. I like to scoop out or drill a hole and stuff the potato with the masala paste for added flavor. Dump the stuffed potatoes, tomato sauce, favorite curry spices, plus about a cup of water into the instant pot. Pressure cook for about 12 minutes till potatoes are fork tender. Natural release after about 10 minutes. Then set it to saut/simmer mode and allow the gravy to thicken per taste. Adjust flavors. I use Garam masala paste or powder usually, with a touch of  Madras curry powder and brown sugar.

Home Garden Veggies

This is not a recipe post per se, but, it seemed like a good time to bid adieu to the spring and summer garden which is a mini-indulgence for me.

I am not a die-hard gardener, nor am I gifted with a superb green thumb, but, I love plants of all sorts. I've managed to get by for the last decade or so working on a small patch in the backyard early spring through end of autumn, learning a little each year and getting a little better at it.

Some plants in the garden are perennial, of course, and they've been returning every year for a few years now without much coaxing from me.

And some are what I choose to plant each year - staples being eggplant, tomatoes, chilies, greens, peas, beans, and squashes - both summer and winter ones. Plus, a handful that catch my fancy -- like, kohlrabi, collard greens, cauliflower, cucumber that I planted this year.

Planting certain herbs and veggies in close proximity to each other tends to help - like basil with tomatoes and peppers, catnip near squashes, chilies with eggplant, sunflower near just about every patch, plus onions and garlic shoots wherever I can squeeze in a few, to keep aphids in check.

Composting is a way of life, and I've been experimenting with Lasagna gardening. We don't use pesticides, so the yield is unpredictable. When possible I try using natural repellents like chili powder garlic spray as needed to keep the cabbage moths away.

The picture collages shared below are not as stunning to behold as the plants were in the garden at peak season, but, they capture the essence of summer for me so I can stash away the memories of walking into the backyard and picking what's ready and making a meal out of it most days.


There was the usual herbs and garnishes like mint, oregano, fennel, basil, Thai basil, and spring onions...

Peas, peas, peas when it was colder in spring time... and, am hoping that fall peas survive and yield fine as well...

Greens both tender and fairly mature -- like, fenugreek, mustard greens, rainbow chard, kale, collard greens, beet greens, Romaine lettuce...

Green beans and wax yellow beans....

Some potatoes...

Tomatoes of a few favorite kinds...

Eggplant -- Ichiban being my favorite...

Zucchini and winter squash....

Chilies - Kung pao, Lemon drop, Thai red, and Ghost peppers!

Red currants, black currants, grapes, pears...

Some of the fall crop is surviving, and maybe I will get to post an update in a month or so about the kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts, garlic, spinach, chard, kale, collard greens, peas, and lettuce growing in the garden.

For now, it seems like all I can do is save the seeds to plant next year and hope that I have the energy and interest to do some gardening again next growing season.

Tricolor Gigli Salad with Roasted Squash, Bell Peppers and Purple beans

The colorful gigli (campanella or riccioli) pasta with a burst of fresh vegetables and a light dressing makes this a delicious pasta salad, especially when prepared ahead and served cold on a warm summer evening.

We had some vegetables from the home garden  - purple bush beans, green beans, onions, tomatoes. Use any favorite vegetable combination for the pasta salad.

Pan roast the squash and onions; mildly saute the carrots, bell peppers, green and purple bush beans; or leave them raw, no need to saute... I prefer almost 2:1 ratio of vegetables:pasta in my pasta salad.

The dressing is rather quick and easy if pesto is handy. I had some home-made Mint and Fennel Pesto as mint and fennel are overgrown in the garden. Or, any favorite store-bought pesto can be used.

Ingredients
2 cups cooked tricolor gigli pasta
1 medium summer squash, cut into chunks
1 medium Walla Walla sweet onions, sliced
1 red and 1 yellow bell pepper, sliced or chopped
1 or 2 carrot, cut into discs
as many purple and green beans as preferred
½ cup cooked Mayo Coba beans (optional)
2 Tbsp capers
2 Tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
1 to 2 Tbsp oil for pan roasting

Dressing:
3 to 4 Tbsp Mint-and-Fennel pesto
2 Tbsp beaten non-fat yogurt (or sour cream)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
½ tsp ground smoked paprika
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Pomegranate red wine vinegar
1 tsp Samabl Oelek (or any hot sauce or chili paste)
salt to taste

garnish: fresh herbs - I used rosemary, oregano and fennel from my garden

Preparation

1. Cook the gigli pasta per package instructions to al dente. Drain, rinse and keep handy.
2. Pan roast the vegetables (or use them raw if preferred), allow to cool
3. Combine the dressing ingredients, all but pesto, and beat to a smooth thick consistency; taste and adjust flavors
4. Toss the vegetables and pasta together at room temperature, add pesto and just enough of the dressing to lightly coat the salad, reserve some dressing in the fridge if preferred to serve on the side
5. Chill the pasta salad in the fridge for an hour or up to a day 
6. Garnish and serve cold

Sweet & Crunchy Walla Walla Pearl Onions

Being a casual dabbler in the home-gardening front, I periodically ask myself why do I want to grow what I am planting in my garden right now? Why this plant vs. that (for the annuals)? And there is usually no logical answer.

Some are my favorite (eggplant, chilies, green beans) and usually work out cheaper if successfully grown at home, some just don't grow in the native soil and weather, and some others (like tomatoes) I can them for the winter months knowing it is organic, pesticide-free.

Although potatoes and onions are dirt cheap almost year round, I still love the onions in my garden. And this is why:

1. it is the Walla Walla variety, which is less pungent, mildly sweet, crisply fresh and a bit more expensive than the regular yellow onions;
2.  I get to pick them young as Pearl Onions (not the true pearl onion variety, of course) and savor them in many recipes (Pearl onions can get quite expensive in my local markets); 
3. plus there's always plenty of scallions for garnish.

We've been harvesting the onions from the garden since last Spring, replanting some, saving the seeds from some and so on. The 7-year-old at home usually likes this job - to dig up onions from the garden - as long as I set the limit, say, "Fill up this basket" or "Get about 20 onions" or something specific.

When the onions refuse to grow, I guess it will be time to give up this addiction to the Sweet & Crunchy Walla Walla Pearl Onions and move on.

One of the recent batches became a delicious jar of pickled onions - vinegar, salt, a hint of sugar, some black pepper and dried red chilies: boil for about 5 minutes, cool and store in the fridge.

Hwyl Gardd: Bye For Now Garden

It has been a while since I cooked anything new that I haven't shared here before already... So Delectable Victuals has been enjoying a quiet vacation.

We did finally get the garden to rest till next spring - got the last of the green tomatoes that won't get a chance to ripen on the vine, chilies are potted and brought back indoors, Rainbow chards are clipped down, radishes are pulled out, grapes are harvested (well, only about 6 reasonable bunches in all)...

As I looked back over the years, I seem to be taking fewer photographs of the garden - much like there are fewer photographs of my kids now that they are not infants anymore. But, here are the few that I managed to click this year.

Hyacinth Beans with Home-garden Butternut Squash

Short, dark, broad, green Hyacinth beans, (Avarakkai in Tamil), used to be a favorite bean variety in my mom's kitchen. Avarakkai poduthuval simply saut ed and tossed in with dry grated coconut + green chilies paste is still one of my favorite sides, not to mention Avarakkai Paruppusili.

The dried seeds of Hyacinth green beans goes by the name of Mocha Kottai in our family. It is versatile - can be used in sambars, curries - but the most I remember it for from childhood is Mocha Kottai Chundal ('Ch' as in chair) / Sundal. It was a staple during Navarathri festival - the nine-nights ten-days long festival which incidentally is going on now, today being the 10th day, Vijayadasami.

The first of the half-dozen or so home-garden butternut squash we harvested, together with Hyacinth beans makes this wonderful side which can be served with roti, naan, paratha, rice and sambar.

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash, peeled, cleaned, diced
1 cup dry Hyacinth beans, soaked overnight, cooked till done but not mushy
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
½ tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 green chili (optional)
tempering (optional): mustard seeds, urad dal
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan; add the tempering if using and allow mustard seeds to pop and urad dal to turn golden brown
2. Add the squash, chilies, spices, toss well, add a few Tbsp of water, cover and cook till squash is done but not mushy
3. Add in the cooked Hyacinth beans, adjust salt to taste, sauté together and allow to brown a bit

Zucchini Paratha

I was hanging on to the very last half of the home-garden zucchini after the Zucchini Three Ways, wondering how best to use it, and it struck me to just grate it and fold it into the paratha dough I was making the other day.

Serve with any of the favorite curries or dals/koottus, an array of chutneys, or even just pickles and thokku.

Since I don't measure exactly for roti/paratha dough, this is a rough estimate - adjust water/flour as needed to get a dough that can be rolled flat and cooked on the griddle without getting sticky or brittle.

About 4 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups grated zucchini
water as needed (zucchini has quite a bit of water)
salt to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1 tsp turmeric powder (optional)
2 Tbsp Smart Balance™ Omega Butter Light with Flax Oil (or any other favorite butter substitute)

Very much like in the Flaky Paratha recipe, combine the ingredients using a little water at a time, and knead to a smooth elastic dough, pinch off balls and roll flat adding layers by folding. Pan/griddle cook.

Home-garden Zucchini Three Ways

After the round of Zucchini breads and soups and curries and grated fritters/hash and what-not, we had one last home-garden Zucchini left from this season's harvest.

Not quite the fan of fried foods (and not because I don't like the taste or anything), I was trying to resist the urge to make a snack feast much like the pakora/bajji my mom used to make on rainy days... it seemed like a perfect overcast day with a hint of Autumn in the air.

Rather than deep frying, I went with shallow frying. And that's how these hot delicacies came into being in my kitchen and disappeared in a short time. I used just one half the large foot-long 4½ inches diameter home-garden zucchini for this and it was plenty.

Technically, they are not cooked up in three different ways, but, three different batters make for an interesting spread. Kids liked the Shredded Wheat one the best as it was the crunchiest for them.

Simply cut into preferred shape about 2 or 3 millimeters thick, dust with flour, keep handy. Prepare the batters and keep handy as well. Shallow fry in batches. Serve with favorite dip/sauce or chutneys. I went with a quick and easy favorite: Combine equal parts of ketchup and Sambal Oelek for a Hot+Sweet Chili Sauce. Kids preferred just the ketchup, of course.

The quick picture I took doesn't justify the taste and the satisfaction it gave us that day.

Zucchini 65: Very much like the Hong Kong Bitter Melon 65 recipe, the rich red light batter seemed like a good first way. So, I shallow fried a batch using much the same batter as before.

Zucchini Tempura: Much like my usual vegetable tempura batter, this is light and crispy and best enjoyed right away. Any standard recipe for tempura batter is fine - prepare the batter just before frying and use it up quickly.

Shredded Wheat Breaded Zucchini: Shredded wheat cereal has lent itself to a few other dishes as a breading ingredient, much like in breaded chicken recipe shared here. I use the unfrosted, plain old shredded wheat, of course. Combine it with some stale old cheese crackers to form a crunchy coating for any breaded-and-fried dish.

What should I do with the last half of the home-garden zucchini? I've been asking myself as I eye the half dozen on more butternut squashes that are ready to be picked in the garden which is getting ready to close down for this year.

Home-garden Yellow Squash, Chard, Green beans, Tomatoes

Another delicious meal straight from the garden: the yellow Mexican squash was ready to be picked. Some chard, green chilies, green beans and tomatoes were ready as well. They all came together for this simple vegetable medley, with some corn kernels and onions.


Simply sauté together till vegetables are cooked but not mushy. Add favorite spices. I used one of my favorite store-bought paste: Maggi™ "Kitchen Secrets"™ Bhuna Masala Paste for Vegetables and Dal.

Home-Garden Summer Squash, Chards, and Pearl Onions Curry

It would be nice if I had the help of a gardener, somebody who knows what they are doing when it comes to growing plants. As it happens, I am an urban farmer at heart with nothing other than passion to support this fantasy. I lack the stamina or the knowledge to sustain vegetable gardening, even if the weather permits. Which it doesn't where I live. So, I make the most of the few months from April to September, knowing that a greenhouse is out of my limits for now.

Thanks to wonderful nurseries around town (one just around the corner from my house), I do get to plant some favorite vegetables and watch them grow. If harvesting the weed-like oregano and mint and fennel and rosemary and lavender from the garden gives me pleasure, it makes me ecstatic to get the squashes and green beans and eggplants and chards and lettuce and onions from the home garden.

Over the years, many simple and surprising recipes have come out of the home-garden harvest. I cannot imagine life without composting. Kids, thanks to support from their school, are well aware of organic waste and remember to dispose of it in the compost bin in the kitchen, which dutifully gets emptied into the Earth Machine in the backyard.

A big question I was asked when I was a newbie home gardener was whether it was worth it? It is hard to answer that question. Obviously depends on what we mean by "worth it". The effort vs. the cost is probably the topmost factor people like to weigh. And, home gardening is a lot of work, especially if doing it yourself.

Over the years, considering what it has offered in terms of intangible lessons and returns, I'd emphatically say it is well worth it. Knowing how plants grow, where our food comes from, how to care for the earth - composting, recycling - plant diseases, interdependence of nature's creatures, soil nutrition, harvesting, bugs and their role in the garden are at some level hands-on for the kids, allowing me to learn a lot in the process.

We still have to buy vegetables from the markets as we are not entirely sustained by our garden and we do visit the local farms for fresh produce on and off, so it is not like we are self-sufficient with a teeny patch of backyard garden.

I am rambling... back to the recipe. It came about as I went into the garden one evening and noticed the few vegetables that were more than ready to be harvested - summer squash, about 3 dozen little pearl onions and several large leaves of chards.

Mint, fennel and rosemary fresh from the garden gave the herbal base for this recipe. Some store-bought Rogan Josh Curry paste and Kashmiri Masala Paste gave the rich, spicy sauce base for the curry. Serve with brown rice, roti or naan.

Simply simmer together till vegetables are just cooked, adjust flavors to taste. Serve warm.

Easy Breaded Pan-fried Chicken Breasts

So, what's special about chicken breasts, right? Marinate, then pan-cook or oven-bake or deep-fry, breaded or plain, serve with a salad and a possibly some sort of bread/starch and there you have it - a simple well-rounded delicious meal.

This recipe was inspired by a recent grocery shopping trip when I casually (and quickly) browse the packaging for meal ideas. Some old non-crispy crackers and unfrosted shredded wheat cereal came together for the breading.

The sauce is optional. Kids don't care for it. Just some rosemary and oregano leaves from the garden ground up with tomatoes, basil and garlic, cooked down to reduce a bit so the flavors meld.

And, the garden lettuce was ready to be harvested, with hopefully plenty more to come for the rest of the summer. We had gone berry-picking, our usual summer favorite. Marion berries are my favorite, next only to raspberries and blackberries. So I had picked some, while kids and D were picking blueberries and raspberries. The thorns are nasty so nobody else wanted to pick the Marion berries with me...

That's how this simple salad came about - just home garden lettuce with some ripe juicy Marion berries and almonds with a simple lemon juice and olive oil vinaigrette.

Ingredients
2 or 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, sliced up if too thick
1 cup unfrosted shredded wheat cereal
1 cup cheddar-flavored crackers
1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp salt
2 to 3 Tbsp Olive oil

marinade: red wine vinegar, soy sauce, Patak's™ Kashmiri masala paste(optional)

Preparation

1. Marinate the ½ inch thick chicken breasts in enough marinade for about 2 or 3 hrs. If making on a weekend, I marinate right after brunch/lunch to cook it for dinner (refrigerate on warm days)
2. Grind the shredded wheat cereal and crackers to breadcrumbs texture, keep handy
3. Heat the oil in a pan, coat each chicken breast piece with the breading mixture, arrange on the pan, allow to cook over medium-high heat for 3 minutes or so till the crust is formed
4. Flip and cook the other side, adding more oil if needed
5. Check to see that the chicken is cooked through (I am happy if internal temperature is 170°F off the pan)

Home Garden Chards, Zucchini, Pearl Onions Soup

After a month of practically zero cooking thanks to visiting my family, it feels nice to just throw something together (as is my wont) for a quick meal back at my nest.

There is something romantic about cooking (and eating) at an odd hour late-night, especially after returning home from a long trip, and having only a few things in the cupboards/pantry - even if it is just heating up a can of beans or having fresh rice with Indian pickles.

Of course, the kitchen cupboards are usually well-stocked with spices, and the pantry has some canned essentials like beans, coconut milk etc., so, it isn't really a big deal to scrounge something up for a quick bite.

Anyway, the onion seeds we had saved from last year were thrown in a small patch in the garden and they sprouted up nicely, which I had been using before I went on the summer vacation.

Now that I am back, I see that there are a bunch of little onions all crowding together, looking like gorgeous little pearls. A bit of cleaning, no tedious skin-removing, and I have a ton of pearl onions to incorporate in my cooking. Of course, red pearl onion arachu vitta sambar is my all-time favorite South Indian dish, but these white/yellow pearl onions are great even in salads as they are not too pungent.

A large zucchini, some chards, some green chilies, mint, and pearl onions - all from our garden - came together quickly for this coconut-milk-based soup for our first brunch after we got back.

The flavoring is simple as I went with Italian spices I had handy - just dry/ground spices like garlic powder, celery seeds, basil, oregano, marjoram. I crushed some mint leaves and green chilies to keep things green for the flavoring. It is best enjoyed chilled or at room-temperature on a warm summer day.

Spinach, Quinoa, Onion Sprouts, Beet and Carrot Salad

It seems like I've been making the usual staples and some of the simplest foods lately. The home-garden is just beginning to establish again. It has been a very wet Spring, too chilly and overcast, but, hopefully the plants will do all right this Summer and gift us with their bounty.

We just threw some onion seeds on the ground saved from last year and a beautiful bunch of onion sprouts have come up, which we've been topping salads with and layering in sandwiches.

I cooked the quinoa with some fresh mint leaves from the garden. The dressing is my favorite Agave Nectar + Sambal Oelek:

1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (more if preferred sweeter)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (less if preferred)
3 Tbsp Pomegranate red wine vinegar
8 Tbsp Olive oil (more or less)
salt to taste

Layer the spinach leaves, grated carrots and beets, quinoa, onion sprouts, cranberries, almonds or walnuts, drizzle some dressing and enjoy.

Brown Rice Vegetable Soup

The weather being chilly and wet, I've been making soups, casseroles, breads for dinners. Soups are a good way for me to use up leftover barley or quinoa or rice , along with a favorite combination of vegetables and spices.

Thai soup spices is my default flavoring, but, this recipe has a tomato base with a small amount of evaporated milk for creaminess. We had harvested the last of cherry tomatoes from the home garden a while back.

And now that cold has set in, we harvested the green tomatoes as well, which probably wouldn't turn ripe red anymore...

Ingredients
Vegetables: baby corn, snap peas, bell peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes, carrots, lima beans
1½ to 2 cups cooked brown rice
6-8 cups water or vegetable stock
2 Tbsp lemon juice
¼ to ½ cup evaporated milk (optional)

½ medium onion finely diced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 Tbsp sambal oelek
2 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp brown sugar (more if preferred)
2 Tbsp canola oil
salt to taste

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, garlic and tomato paste, stir and cook till onions are translucent and tomato paste turns darker and aromatic, then add sambal oelek and brown sugar
   
2. Add the vegetables, stock, brown rice, some salt, stir well, cover and allow to simmer till it all comes together
3. Stir in the lemon juice, taste and adjust flavors if preferred; off-heat stir in the evaporated milk for a creamier texture
   

Opo Squash, Zucchini, and Pumpkin in a light sauce

There is something about the combination of delicate almost watery Opo Squash with meaty semi-sweet pumpkin that I find irresistible. This probably stems from consuming a lot of Olan, a South Indian delicacy that is my mom's specialty.

We had harvested some zucchini and pumpkin from our home-garden and the combination of these reminded me of my mom's Olan very much, especially along with Opo Squash.

The kids don't enjoy it much - they'll take a bite to satisfy me and because we made it a rule to try the dish, grimaces and nose-wrinkling notwithstanding, every time I put something in front of them.

It is the simplicity of this dish that I find reflects the inherent qualities of the vegetables - no rich curry, no strong spices, just simple flavors. Of course, feel free to experiment and adjust/add flavors to taste, as always. Instead of pumpkin, can use any mildly sweet winter squash like butternut or acorn squash.

While similar to my Olan recipes, this recipe can me made into a thin soup with vegetables chopped up tinier, and using chicken stock instead of vegetable, if preferred. [Incidentally, looking back at my very old recipes, gosh! what terrible pictures! I must update them with better ones soon :)]

Ingredients
½ Opo Squash, peeled, cored, and diced
1 medium zucchini,  cored and diced
As much pumpkin  or winter squash as preferred, diced or cut into chunks
Additional vegetables: cauliflower, broccoli, Chinese long green beans (optional)
vegetable stock, enough to cook the veggies
¼ to ½ cup plain low-fat milk (for a richer, slightly different flavor, can use light coconut-milk)
spices: freshly ground black pepper, turmeric
1 Tbsp coconut oil (or any other preferred oil)

Preparation

1. Heat the coconut oil in a pan, add the turmeric, then vegetables and stock, cover and simmer till vegetables are cooked but not mushy; I like the smell and flavor of coconut oil in this dish as I use milk instead of coconut-milk to finish
2. When water is all but absorbed and veggies are cooked, turn off heat,  stir in ground black pepper and milk, adjust flavors. The amount of milk depends on how runny we want the finished dish to be. For a soupy consistency, add more, naturally.
3. Garnish with cilantro and spring onions if preferred and serve warm with brown basmati rice, or plain cooked quinoa, or roti; or enjoy it as-is.

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