Chayote Squash and Wild Rice with Lentils and Quinoa Soup

Chewy wild rice along with quinoa add texture to this thick stew-like soup, with the lentils adding body, and chayote squash giving it the slightly unorthodox edge.

I grew up eating chayote squash on a regular basis, usually in lentils-based koottu, or as coconut-based molagoottal. I like its pear-like crispness and mild bland flavor that lends itself well to be incorporated into any dish.

Add in favorite herbs from the garden as a bouquet-garni, some garlic, and some cayenne pepper and the stew comes together quite easily.

For a quicker weeknight meal, I pressure cook the wild rice and lentils in vegetable stock. Then, add in the veggies and seasoning, allow to simmer gently, and serve warm.

Kids were unimpressed by the color of the soup, they would have preferred it not so tan and brown, but, they scooped spoonfuls and enjoyed ti anyway.

Kohlrabi Eggplant and Lentils with Kale Basil Rice

The last of the Italian basil from the garden needed to be used up. So, the basil, plus a few Lacinato kale leaves from the garden came together for the delicious Basil Kale Rice.

The heady aroma of Italian basil, plus some coconut oil, along with kale makes this rich green rice a meal of its own, especially when topped with some toasted walnuts and black currants.

Here, I serve the Basil Kale Rice on the side, with the Kohlabi, Eggplants, and Lentils stew, slow-cooked with layers of flavors.

Ingredients for the Basil Kale Rice:
½ cup finely chopped basil leaves
1 cup finely chopped Lacinato kale leaves
1 Tablespoon coconut oil (or any preferred oil)
2 cups cooked brown rice
salt/seasoning to taste

Preparation
Heat the oil in a pan, add the finely chopped basil and kale, sauté till aromatic, add some salt and seasoning; then stir in the cooked rice. That's it.

Ingredients for the Kohlrabi, Eggplant, Lentils Tagine/Stew:
½ cup green lentils, soaked
1 medium kohlrabi bulb, sliced
1 medium globe eggplant, sliced
1 green bell pepper, chopped chunky
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
3 green chilies, sliced
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 Tablespoon grated ginger
2 cups vegetable broth or water
a few threads of saffron, soaked in a few Tablespoons of warm water (optional)
¼ cup freshly chopped parsley or 2 Tablespoon dried parsley
1 teaspoon each of marjoram, thyme, oregano
Juice of 1 lemon, plus lemon wedges to serve on the side
a few tablespoons of oil

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a pan, add the garlic, ginger, chilies, and onions, a pinch of salt and sauté
2. Add the green lentils, broth or water, cover and allow the lentils to par-cook to medium doneness
3. Then, add the kohlrabi slices, green bell peppers, the saffron water, if using, all the herbs and spices, a sprinkling of salt, cover and cook on medium-low heat till kohlrabi and lentils are done.
4. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a pan and brown the eggplant slices, just till the outsides are golden brown
5. Arrange the browned eggplant slices on top of the lentils and kohlrabi, cover and cook till eggplant is soft but not mushy
6. Off heat, splash some lemon juice before serving

Crock-pot Chicken Stew

I am a big fan of Electrical Slow Cooker and Crock Pots. It makes winter night meals a breeze if planned ahead and started early. Warm, hearty stews and soups, vegetables, casseroles, and even fall-apart chicken breasts come out just fine, given a little time, requiring minimal effort.

Marinated chicken breasts were started on the crock pot one Friday night, and allowed to slow cook for about 12 hours; then, in the morning, when the chicken breasts were fully cooked, I added some chopped onions, bell peppers, kale, carrots, tomato sauce, spices/seasoning and continued to cook through the day Saturday, possibly another 4 or 5 hours.

By dinner time Saturday night, aromatic chicken and vegetable stew with flaky, juicy, fall-apart chicken was ready. Served with some home-made biscuits, it was a wholesome winter night meal.

Of course, I don't care much for chicken, so this batch was consumed by the rest of the family. For myself, I like to omit the chicken and double the vegetables, adding cauliflower, chick peas, mushrooms, bell peppers, onions, winter squash, edamame and marinated tofu to make a There-Can't-Be-Too-Many-Veggies stew.

Slow-cooked Chicken with Turnips

Slow cookers are handy for winter time. It is nice to start a pot of hearty soup or stew, leave it on for as long as the recipe calls for and allow it to fill the house with the aroma. Anything from a pot of chili to one-pot rice dishes to chicken breasts with vegetables come about in slow cooker around this time of the year.

In one slow cooker I dropped in some chicken breasts marinated overnight in a generic rub of spices and herbs. In another, I added a couple of whole turnips (peeled), a whole yellow onion (peeled), a whole potato (peeled), a couple of whole carrots (peeled), a cup of stock, a cup of canned diced tomato, some flavoring spices and herbs.

I started this on a Friday night, and by Saturday night dinner time, the chicken breasts were cooked till tender and falling apart, the veggies were cooked through and flavorful but not mushy.

Scoop up a little of the veggies and chicken and enjoy as-is. Or, serve it with quinoa or brown rice. 

Barley, Lentil, Chickpea, Spinach Stew

Four simple powerhouse ingredients - chickpea, lentils, barley and spinach, plus some onions, garlic and tomatoes come together for this flavorful, hearty winter stew.

I cook barley in a rice cooker: 1 part barley to about 3 parts water or stock. I like to stock up on dry beans, soak and pressure cook them in batches and freeze them for later use. so, there is usually about 3 or 4 varieties of cooked beans in the freezer, ready to be used.

Brown or green lentils have a full-bodied flavor and don't get too mushy when pressure cooked, which adds to the texture of the stew.

I like the nutty crunch that the cooked barley adds as well.

Sometimes, I use Kale in addition to (or instead of) spinach in this recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup cooked barley
2 cups cooked brown or green lentils
1 cup cooked chick peas
10 oz frozen chopped spinach
3 cups fresh kale, chopped finely
2 cups vegetable stock or water

3 to 4 dry red chilies
1 medium onion diced
1 cup canned diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato sauce
1 Tbsp chopped garlic

2-inch piece of Indian Cinnamon bark
1 black cardamom
2 medium bay leaves

1 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tbsp paprika powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder (optional)
salt to taste

Preparation

Combine the ingredients in a pressure cooker and cook till first whistle, turn off and allow to cool and release pressure a bit.

Open the lid when safe and simmer the stew in the pressure cooker for a few minutes till desired consistency.

Adjust flavors, garnish and serve with home-made herb dampers or Indian flatbreads.

Bean Bash: Broad Beans (Vicia faba)

Thanks to comparison to rabbit droppings, Chinese Broad Beans is not a staple in my kitchen (also, possibly due to certain health concerns). I buy them in dried form occasionally and use them in some interesting recipe and then am done... until the next time a bag of these large dry beans come home from a charged-up shopping trip when all I want to buy is things that are not on my list.

Typically, I soak them for about 24 hours (maybe more) - they swell up a bit - and then pressure cook them till done but not too mushy.

The three recipes here are inspired by flavors from different cuisines, and as always, I've adapted them to my taste.

Fresh Fava Beans (Vicia faba), being seasonal, are quite a treat when available. All three recipes here can be made with fresh Fava Beans instead of dried broad beans.


Spicy Moroccan-inspired Warm Broad Bean/Fava Bean Salad

Chinese Broad Beans cooked in a sauce with Moroccan-inspired flavors makes a delicious warm salad.

Ingredients
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup chopped tomatoes
1 tsp ground paprika
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp Harissa or other hot chili paste
salt to taste
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup cooked Broad beans

1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions, garlic, tomatoes, paprika, chili paste and some salt, sauté till onions turn translucent
2. Stir in the cooked broad beans or fava beans and continue to sauté till flavors meld
3. Garnish as preferred and serve warm

Foul Mudammes-inspired Broad Bean Spread/Dip

Much like the more popular hummus, this dip is not quite the authentic Egyptian staple.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp Tahini
1 Tbsp Almond and Flax Butter (optional - I have it handy as Trader Joe™'s Almond Butter)
1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek (or other hot sauce)
4 Tbsp lemon juice (adjust to taste)
1/3 cup cooked Fava beans or Broad beans
1/2 tsp cumin powder
4 Tbsp olive oil
water as needed
salt to taste

Combine the ingredients and blend to a fine paste; add water to adjust dip consistency.

I like it fairly thick, like hummus, and enjoy scooping it up with corn and vegetable flax seed chips.


Scafata-inspired Stew

A combination of chunky vegetables, spinach, and Broad beans are simmered together in spicy sauce to make this wholesome stew.

Ingredients
Chunky vegetables - fresh or frozen - baby potatoes, pearl onions, carrots, celery
1 cup cooked spinach
1 cup cooked Fava or Broad beans
1 tomato diced
1 Tbsp garlic
chopped fresh (or dried) herbs - parsley, oregano, thyme, rosemary, marjoram
1 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp Madras curry powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper powder
4 cups vegetable stock
1 Tbsp olive oil
salt to taste

Heat the olive oil, add the onions, tomatoes, garlic, saute a bit; then add the rest of the ingredients, cover and simmer over medium low heat

Brown Rice and Okra Stew

I love tangy sourdough bread bowls, and they are perfect for serving rich thick stews and soups. The bread bowl soaked with the goodness from the soup/stew is a filling treat.

Rather than baking my own bread bowls I left it to the master artisan bakers who supply it to my local grocery store. Simply warm per directions, slice the top, scoop out the innards and fill with stew.

Ingredients
2 cups frozen cut okra, thawed (fresh okra is hard to come by here)
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 stalk celery, chopped
½ cup cut baby corn
1 small red onion or a few shallots, diced
½ can stewed diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes if in season)
4 - 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
optional: cooked lima beans, peas, butter beans, double beans
6 cups water or stock
1 tsp canola or vegetable oil

Spices:
cayenne pepper, cumin powder, coriander powder (1 Tbsp each, or adjust to taste)
2 or 3 bay leaves
salt to taste
1 Tbsp brown sugar

garnish: spring onions, cilantro

Preparation

1. Heat the oil in a pot, sauté the onions and garlic; add the celery, tomatoes, okra and any other vegetables, brown rice, some salt, spices and bay leaves, stock/water, cover and allow to simmer over medium heat till thickened
2. Stir in the brown sugar, adjust flavors to taste
3. Warm up the bread bowl per package directions and serve it filled with the stew, garnish with chopped spring onions and cilantro leaves

Doro We't: Ethiopian Chicken Stew

Doro We't (or Wat) is an Ethiopian chicken stew that makes a spicy and delicious accompaniment to soft fluffy home-made injeras.

This recipe for Doro Wat is an approximation as I make it with spices that are handy and get close to the taste I relish from the local Ethiopian restaurants. Also, usually chicken is cut into chunks, bone and all, and cooked in this gravy/sauce till done. Since D prefers only chicken breasts, I have used boneless skinless chicken breasts for this recipe.

Here, I serve it with yeshimbra injera, cabbage and potato alicha and some simple selatta.




Ingredients
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into quarters
1 medium red onion, cut into slices
1 green or red bell pepper, cut into thin slices
salt to taste
1 Tbsp oil

for the spices to simulate berbere flavor:
4 tsp paprika powder
1 tsp red hot chili powder (more if preferred)
½ tsp five spice (or allspice) powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg (less if you don't like the strong flavor)
1/4 tsp fenugreek powder (sold as 'methi powder' in Indian stores- can be omitted if hard to find)
4 black cardamom in pod
1 Tbsp brown sugar

Preparation

1. In a large cast iron skillet, heat some oil, place the chicken breast chunks without crowding, add the onions, bell pepper, sprinkle some salt
2. Add the spices, enough water, cover and allow to simmer undisturbed till chicken is done

Gumbo

Several years ago, a fellow grad student from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, introduced me to Gumbo. She loved chicken and ham in it, sometimes she liked seafood gumbo. And, not being even half as adventurous back then, I only managed to taste a spoonful every time she made it.

Since then, I have gradually adapted her recipe to make my version of gumbo. Lately, we've been eating gumbo every other week for some reason, so, here's my easy vegetarian version.

Ingredients
Veggies: Okra, corn, tomatoes, red bell peppers, crushed garlic
Optional: Andouille chicken sausage (I leave this out usually)
Herbs & Spices: Cayenne pepper, Black pepper, Paprika, Thyme, Parsley, Bay leaves, Worcestershire sauce‡ (adjust quantity to taste)
Mirepoix: celery, onion, carrots all chopped finely
Garnish: Spring onions, fresh parsley
For the roux: 1 Tbsp all purpose flour, 1 Tbsp Canola oil
4 cups water or broth
1 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste

‡: I use a vegetarian version of Worcestershire sauce that leaves out anchovies; also, for this recipe, can omit Worcestershire sauce altogether, if preferred.


Preparation

1. Make a dark roux: heat the flour in a pan and allow it to toast, then add the oil while stirring constantly to form a paste/roux
2. Add the mirepoix and sauté, then add the crushed garlic and tomato paste and sauté some more, adding a bit more oil if needed
3. Than, stir in the herbs and spices, veggies, sausage if using, and stock/water
4. Cover and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes till veggies are cooked; adjust cooking time if using frozen or canned veggies
5. Garnish with spring onions and parsley and serve hot

Mushroom Stroganoff

This Russian-inspired mushroom stew is adapted from Paul Gayler's recipe in Ultimate Vegetarian cookbook. Since I am partial to fusion cuisine I used sake in this recipe as I had it handy and was in the mood for experimenting, but, any dry white wine can be used instead.

Also, since I don't eat beef, this is just a vegetarian version featuring mushrooms as the primary ingredient.

Serve it with rice or noodles or even rotis, or enjoy it by itself. I like it with quinoa.

Ingredients
4-6 cups sliced mixed wild mushrooms
¼ cup sake or dry white wine
1 medium red onion diced finely
1 small gherkin, finely chopped or sliced (optional)
1 cup canned evaporated milk -or- heavy cream
½ cup vegetable stock
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard (optional)
1 Tbsp Hungarian paprika
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
chopped spring onions for garnish

Preparation

1. Dredge the mushrooms in half the paprika, sprinkle some salt and toss it around till well coated
2. Heat the oil in a pan, add the mushrooms, sauté for a few minutes, remove from pan; then add the onions and sauté for a couple of minutes over medium high heat, add the stock and wine and bring to a boil
3. Stir in the evaporated milk or heavy cream, turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer till sauce reduces by half and thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon
4. Add the mushrooms back, the gherkins and mustard if using, the remaining paprika and lemon juice, stir well, season to taste; garnish with spring onions

Ratatouille Niçoise

As most wonderful cook books often note: In the early days, this traditional Provençal dish was an unassuming meal for the farmers, made with fresh summer vegetables, mainly courgettes (zucchini), onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic and some herbs de Provençe.

Though not quite the conventional Niçoise recipe of stewed vegetables, originating (as the name implies) in Nice, this version of ratatouille was inspired by Paul Gayler's Ultimate Vegetarian Cookbook. As always, I took some epicurean-license with Paul Gayler's recipe here to adjust to my taste.

I try to make a version of this during summers with vegetables from our garden, but, what with it still snowing and rather gloomy, I decided to make it anyway as a hearty winter night stew.

Ingredients
2 medium zucchini, sliced
2 medium Japanese/Chinese eggplant, diced fairly large
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1-2 red and/or green peppers, chopped to bite-size
6-8 cloves of garlic, crushed
3-4 medium tomatoes -or- 1 14oz can of stewed tomatoes
1 Tbsp herbs de provençe
¼ cup fresh basil leaves
¼ cup chopped spring onions
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp paprika
¼ cup dry white wine** (optional)
2-4 Tbsp olive oil
** I use local Pinot Gris (made in Oregon), but low-end Sauvignon Blanc is good too

Preparation

1. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a pan, add the zucchini a pinch of salt and paprika and toss around till browned on the outside and cooked a bit; remove from pan, keep aside
2. Heat a little more olive oil in the same pan, add the eggplant and bell peppers, a pinch of salt and paprika and cook till mostly done; remove from pan, keep aside
3. Heat 1 Tbsp of the remaining oil in the same pan, sauté the onions, garlic and tomato paste till aromatic and the tomato paste turns deep red and cooks through
4. Add the stewed tomatoes, toss in the zucchini, eggplant and peppers, salt to taste, cover and simmer to desired consistency (I prefer it fairly dry, not soggy) adding water or vegetable stock as needed
5. Add the white wine, if using, stir in herbs de provençe and simmer a few minutes more
6. Garnish with chopped or torn basil leaves and/or spring onions
7. Optionally, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil and add the basil leaves, toss around till aromatic and drizzle over the ratatouille before serving

rustic cabbage and potato stew

Irish Cuisine invokes images of hearty potatoes, cabbage, beer, stews, soda breads and more beer. Now, I have not truly tasted authentic Irish foods yet, and am hoping to do so when we plan a vacation next year.

But, meanwhile, I had bought this fragrant, fresh and earthy rosemary artisan bread hoping to have it with some hearty soup or stew for a weeknight dinner, and started looking around for some Irish stew recipes. Then decided to just go my own way and make something healthy, yet quick and easy to dip the rosemary bread in.

Since, we have a bunch of small/new/baby potatoes we had dug out of our garden recently and since I discovered a chunk of shy cabbage from a few weeks ago hiding in the lower back corner of the fridge, this cabbage and potato stew came about sort of unthinkingly. But, as it turned out quite hearty and tasty, I might as well jot down here for days when I can't think of anything exotic to serve for dinner :)

Anything as simple, yet tasty and wholesome as this, I pass off as "rustic" - just a little marketing ploy - not that a square meal at home needs marketing...

Ingredients:
16-20 baby potatoes
1-2 generous wedges of large green cabbage
1 cup granulated TVP:Textured Vegetable Protein^† (Optional)

for the broth:
6-8 cups vegetable stock (or water)
4 Tbsp coriander powder
2-3 Tbsp chopped fresh rosemary (or dried rosemary)
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp garlic powder
salt to taste
(any other favorite flavoring can be used for the broth)

Preparation

1. Start the broth simmering in a large pot
2. Thoroughly clean the potatoes if leaving the skin on
3. Drop the potatoes in the simmering broth, cover and simmer till potatoes are partially done, then throw in the cabbage
4. Simmer till fork tender, adjust taste
5. To thicken the broth, I simply mushed a few of the potatoes that were cooking in there till desired thickness
6. If preferred, add some TVP:Textured Vegetable Protein for some body and, of course protein (i left it this time)

Chunks of unpretentious rosemary bread dipped in this simple yet wholesome stew was a perfect meal for the cold, wet, windy evening we had a few days ago.

^† For a nutritious and filling meat substitute, sometimes I make Wheat Meat, and run it in a blender to granulate it. This makes a non-soy protein substitute when needed, like in mock ground beef burrito.

wild rice stew

Until about a decade ago, I was blissfuly unaware of Wild Rice. I was introduced to it when I lived in Eugene, OR: I found it at The Kiva store which was one of my favorite haunts :)

Wild rice is expensive as it is not abundant and not easy to harvest. I like the chewy texture, color and size of the grains. It works great for making stuffing, usually.

One of my garage sale finds is a 5-qt crock pot we bought for $5! I love to use it as best as I can...

This wild rice stew is a hearty and comforting meal - just a bowl of it fills me up. I like to throw the ingredients in a slow cooker or crock pot late tonight, leave it on low to be ready for dinner tomorrow night.

But, this recipe can be made faster if some preparation can be done ahead of time. Wild rice takes longer to cook: i like to soak wild rice for about an hour or longer before cooking it just like any other long grain rice on stove top, and use about 2 to 3 measures of water per measure of dry rice to get a smooth soft texture. (Sometimes, if i remember, i try to soak the wild rice in the morning, on my way out to work, and then come home in the evening and cook the rice.)

A good wild rice stew takes a bit of time though, that's why i like the slow cooker method when possible:)

Ingredients
1 cup wild rice, soaked for an hour or longer
1 medium potato sliced or diced
6-8 baby carrots chopped (or regular carrots
1 medium onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp grated ginger
2-3 thai chilies or jalapenos, diced
1 can stewed tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans or chickpeas, rinsed, drained
1 Tbsp canola oil

spice mix:
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp cumin powder
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp all-spice powder
1 tsp oregano powder

water as needed
salt to taste

garnish:
chopped spring onions, chives, cilantro

Preparation

heat oil in a pan, add the onions, garlic, ginger and a pinch of salt, sauté till onions turn a little brown

add the spice mix, sauté till the spices bloom

add the wild rice, with 3 to 4 cups of water, add the vegetables and beans, cover and cook till rice is done

simmer the stew till desired thickness, adjust spices to taste, garnish with chopped spring onions and herbs, serve warm,

Cranberry Pearl Onion Sambar

Sambar, along with rice, is a dish I grew up eating pretty much at every meal about 90% of the time. I like the variety involved: add veggies in season, vary the spices a bit, omit the toor dal to make 'vatral kuzhambu' (aka vetha kozhambu), add coconut-coriander-seeds-dry-red-chilies paste to make 'araichu vitta sambar' and so on.

Sambar, in general, uses cooked toor dal, sambar powder and tamarind. As I ran out of toor dal at home, I used brown lentils and was quite happy with the results: it had the body and flavor of sambar, the heartiness of dal, tartness from the cranberries and a nice rich brown color from the brown lentils.

This recipe here is quite unconventional, so, probably my mom would not appreciate it as much :-)


Ingredients
1 cup fresh cranberries
6-8 pearl onions, peeled whole
1 cup chopped carrots (optional)
2 cups cooked brown lentils, coarsely mashed
2 Tbsp tamarind concentrate*
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
3-4 Tbsp sambar powder** (either make at home, or use store-bought)
salt to taste
5 cups of water
coriander and curry leaves for garnish
2 Tbsp canola oil (or any oil)
tempering: 1 tsp each urad dal and mustard seeds
---------------
* tamarind concentrate that i use in my recipes is found in asian stores - sometimes sold as sour soup mix - here is a picture of what i use
-----------------------
** sambar powder spices (this is a slightly non-traditional mix)
1 cup coriander seeds
1 cup dry red chilies
1/2 cup chana dal
1/2 cup toor dal
1/8 cup fenugreek seeds
2 Tbsp whole black pepper
2 2" piece of chinese/indian cinnamon bark
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 cup curry leaves (optional)

Preparation

1. if making sambar powder at home, dry roast all the sambar powder ingredients, one at a time;combine them and grind them to a fine powder and set aside; can double the quantities and store the sambar powder in airtight containers, or even vary the proportion a bit to get a slightly different flavor - primary ingredients are coriander seeds and dry red chilies and the two dals, the rest is more to suit individual tastes; and from what my mom taught me: try to use (a) equal quantities of coriander seeds and dry red chilies; (b) equal quantities of the dals; BUT, ratio of (a):(b) is 2:1
   
2. heat the oil in a cooking pot, add the tempering: urad dal first and when it starts turning light brown add the mustard; when mustard seeds splutter and die down add the pearl onions, carrots and asafoetida powder and sautee for a bit
3. add the tamarind concentrate and water, a little salt, sambar powder, cover and let it cook over medium-low till onions are cooked, and it reduces a bit; sambar can be thick or thin - i prefer it thick and hearty; if making it thin, add more water and adjust spices so it doesn't feel dilute and bland
   
4. add brown sugar, cranberries and cooked lentils; simmer on medium-low heat till flavors meld and cranberries are cooked but not mushy; adjust salt to taste
   
5. off heat, garnish with coriander and curry leaves; alternately, the curry leaves can be added at the tempering stage itself to render it slightly crispy, and infused with sambar flavors
6. serve warm with rice and sides such as snake gourd, snake beans and zuccini or even a simple potato dish.
   

Cabbage and Potato Alicha

Cabbage and Potato cooked together as a stew or done separately, makes a delicious side to scoop Injera with and enjoy. I like to present cabbage and potatoes as separate dishes to accompany injera because it adds to the number of sides, each with distinct flavor (usually, at least half-a-dozen sides is what i like to aim for :-))

This here is a cabbage+potato alicha, and not too runny - I try to keep it a little on the dry side as Injera soaks it up and falls apart easily - which is not necessarily a bad thing, but, gets harder to scoop up if it is runny...

Ingredients
1/2 medium cabbage, coarsely chopped
4 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp five spice powder (OR, 1/4 tsp nutmeg)
salt to taste
2 Tbsp canola oil
water as needed

Preparation

1. heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan, add the cabbage, sautee, adjust salt to taste; set aside
2. heat 1 Tbsp oil in a pan, add the onions, spices and potatoes, stir well; add enough water, cover and cook the potatoes till done; adjust salt to taste
3. if making a cabbage+potato stew, stir in the cabbage from step 1, adjust the water to get a thick stew-like consistency
4. serve warm with Injera, and other sides for injera like y'abesha gomen, mesir wat, cabbage and potato alicha.