Nopales, Chayote, Green Papaya Warm Salad

Nopales -- prickly pear cacti paddles -- was available in the Mexican market nearby, so I decided to cook it up in a quick and simple way.

Nopales is better when boiled in water for 5 to 7 minutes and then drained and rinsed before incorporating in recipes. It can get quite gummy and slimy otherwise.

Chop up the chayote and green papaya and some onions, plus some favorite seasoning and cook in a pan till mostly done. I went with Blazin' Blends New Orleans Seafood Seasoning Mix this time.

Meanwhile, boil the chopped nopales with a dash of salt for 5 minutes or so, drain and rinse to remove stickiness.

Add the drained cooked nopales to the pan and continue cooking till all the veggies are cooked tender but not mushy. Adjust seasoning to taste and serve warm garnished with chopped colorful peppers and spring onions.

Green Papaya, Chayote Squash, Jicama, Ginger Thai-Style Salad

Chayote Squash, or "chow-chow" as it was called when I was young, belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family, like melons, squash and cucumbers. It has a distinct texture -- a bit crisp but fleshy like pears, and has a mildly sweet watery flavor, high in fiber and folate. Quite a few savory Indian recipes use this pear-like vegetable.

Jicama, aka "Mexican turnip" is another favorite that has a crisp apple-like crunch and a mild sweet flavor, high in dietary fiber.

Green Papaya, rich in fiber and antioxidants, is treated as a vegetable in Indian cuisine, cooked in curry sauce or with coconut cream and lentils; or in salads raw and fresh.

The three of them together make a perfect combination for crisp fresh salad, dressed lightly with Asian-fusion-inspired flavors. Optionally, I had pickled ginger handy, plus thinly sliced purple onions, colorful mini peppers, and crisp sweet snap peas.

Ingredients
Green papaya
Chayote squash
Jicama
Snap peas
Pickled ginger slivers
Purple onions
colorful mini bell peppers
Scallions

Dressing:
2 tsp Lime juice
1 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp Bragg liquid aminos
1 tsp Mirin
2 tsp Apple cider vinegar

Topping: roasted unsalted peanuts, crushed

Kohlrabi and Green Papaya Thoran

Thoran is typically just a dry dish made using coconut and green chilies that are ground up and stir-fried with steamed veggies, topped with tempering of mustard seeds and curry leaves. Many of the vegetarian South Indian recipes here are based on this basic thoran.

Green Papaya and Kohlrabi don't have the same texture but they go well together when cooked, especially in this simple form.

Ingredients
4 cups finely diced green papaya and kohlrabi, peeled first
¼ cup dry grated coconut
3 green chilies, coarsely chopped
½ tsp black mustard seeds
¼ tsp cumin seeds
4 to 6 curry leaves (Murraya Koenigii) torn to small bits
1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

Preparation

1. Cook the kohlrabi + green papaya with enough water and salt till it is cooked through but not mushy, and no excess water remains (drain if needed)
2. Meanwhile, combine the green chilies and coconut in a blender and grind to a fine powdery paste
3. Tempering: Heat the tablespoon of oil in a small pan, when shimmering add the mustard seeds, when they pop add the cumin seeds and torn curry leaves, turn off heat and keep handy
4. When the veggies are cooked through and dry, stir in the coconut+chilies, then top with the tempering
5. Stir well and serve as a side with brown rice or even flax-and-whole-wheat roti

Japanese Yam, Green Papaya, Cauliflower Spicy Coconut Flour Kofta Balls

Unlike the supersweet sweet potatoes with orangish insides sold as "yams" in some grocery stores, the Japanese yam is mildly sweet with whitish insides, and has a flaky texture that somehow embodies both delicate and wholesome.

Kofta balls floating in spicy korma curries are quite a treat, especially with rice or naan. But, this time, I served these balls as an appetizer/snack with tomato chutney and cilantro-mint chutney.

Also, typically koftas are fried, but, these delicious goodies are baked.

One of my favorites to incorporate these days is the coconut flour, so, sure enough these kofta balls have coconut flour as well.

Ingredients
1½ cups combined, of grated Japanese yam, green papaya, cauliflower
2 chipote in adobo sauce chopped finely
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ cup chickpea flour
salt to taste
1 tablespoon sesame oil
vegetable oil for spraying

Preparation

1. Pre-heat the oven to 430 ° F
2. Combine the grated Japanese yams, green papaya, and cauliflower, and all the other ingredients and knead to a moist dough that can be shaped into balls. (Since grated veggies have enough water, I don't usually add water unless the dough gets too stiff)
3. Spray a roasting pan with oil, arrange the balls, spray oil on top as well and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes till outsides are crispy and insides are moist and well done, not too raw and doughy
4. Serve with dips and chutneys. Or, throw it in simmering pot of curry and serve immediately.

Pea Tips with Papaya

It was too hard to resist a pack of pea tips at the Asian store. In the thick of winter here, with gloomy skies and pouring rain, it seemed like pea tips hold the promise of Spring.

Simply saute the pea tips in olive oil, with salt to taste. Stir in julienned green papaya, carrots, and celery. Optionally, add crushed garlic while sauteing. Maybe a few turns of the peppermill, if preferred.

Enjoy as-is or serve with warm brown rice or wild rice or just good ol' jasmine rice.

Christmas season has been very low key and relaxed, as always. Some banana breads and cookies got made. Staples like soups and stews and casseroles keep us well fed around this time of the year.

No new recipes came about in the last few weeks, hence not many posts, but plenty of innovative cooking happened thanks to minimal essentials in the pantry as juggling grocery shopping with good weather conditions proved a bit challenging.

Green Papaya, Green Mango, Green Kohlrabi Spicy Chutney

There's something utterly delectable about the combination of tangy sour and peppery piquant with a touch of delicate sweetness that has made it universal. Cuisines around the world have come up with local versions of this combination leveraging the indigenous ingredients.

Raw green mango chutney and thokku are fairly common in Indian cuisine; and so is green papaya and kohlrabi. After the Purple Carrots, Purple Cabbage and Beet Relish, I was craving for more such combination chutneys and relishes.

There was enough green papaya left after the Green Papaya and Purple Carrot Thai Salad.

There was enough kohlrabi left from the big bunch I picked up at the Farm market.

There were two green mangoes I had picked up because I like mangoes and liked the price.

The stars practically scrambled to align themselves for this particular Green Papaya, Green Mango, Green Kohlrabi Spicy Chutney to come into existence.


Ingredients
2 cups grated green papaya
2 cups grated kohlrabi
2 cup grated raw green mango
2 Tablespoon finely grated ginger
4 green chilies, finely diced or minced (seeded first, if preferred)
1 whole lemon, zest plus the lemon sections finely diced

1/2 Tablespoon brown sugar (1 Tablespoon if the green mango is too sour)
½ cup cider vinegar
¼ cup white vinegar
¼ cup Pomegranate red wine vinegar

¼ cup coconut oil 

salt to taste

Tempering:

1 Tablespoon mustard seeds plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil

Preparation

1. Heat the ¼ cup coconut oil in a pan and add the grated ginger and all the rest of the ingredients, stir well, adjust salt to taste and allow to simmer in medium heat
2. Tempering: heat the oil in a small pan, when shimmering add the mustard seeds and allow to pop, turn off heat
3. Once the liquid has cooked up and the chutney has thickened to a spreadable consistency add the tempering, stir well and preserve in jar using the boiling water canning method
4. If not canning, allow to cool and refrigerate and use within ten days

Green Papaya and Purple Carrot Thai Salad

Trips to Farmer's Market make me giddy. So many colors, so many fresh and earthy goods  make it hard for me to pick just a handful to bring home.

Today, I couldn't resist the bunch of purple carrots and a lovely green papaya. So, they came together for a Thai-style salad with some other items thrown in.

[image source: Amazon.com]

Ever since last Winter when I got this Spiralizer as a present, it has been a temptation to put all possible vegetables through it and see how they turn out. Everything from zucchini, carrots, potatoes to beets, green papaya and raw green mangoes have been Spiralized over the months.

Rather than Mandolin slicer that I am mortally afraid of, I went with Spiralizing the veggies for this salad.

Ingredients

1 to 2 cups Spiralized or Julienned raw green papaya

1 purple carrot Spiralized

1 orange carrot Spiralized

A handful of spring onions sliced thin

About a handful of thinly sliced red onions

2 green chilies thinly sliced

Chopped cilantro

Crushed roasted salted peanuts
lemon wedges for garnish

Dressing

1 Tbsp Bragg Liquid Aminos

2 garlic cloves crushed

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

1/2 tsp brown sugar

1 tsp rice vinegar

Preparation

1. Combine the dressing ingredients and stir well 

2. Layer the papayas, carrots, chilies, red onions, spring onions, and dress as preferred

3. Garnish with cilantro and crushed peanuts

green papaya koottu

Koottu, usually served as a side in south indian meals, is a comfort food for me. Koottu is quite flexible: a couple of vegetables, some moong dal, and tempering is all it takes to make this dish. It is usually mild-tasting, and can be eaten as a snack by itself :)

Ingredients
1 small green papaya
1 carrot
½ cup moong dal
salt to taste
4-5 curry leaves (optional)
1 Tbsp grated ginger
½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
Tempering: 1 Tbsp canola oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp urad dal

Preparation

cook the moong dal in a pan adding enough water, and a bit of salt; cook till dal is just done, not mushy, still holds shape, sort of al dente

meanwhile, skin the green papaya, scoop out the innards and dice them; slice the carrot as well

tempering: heat oil in a pan, add the urad dal, when it turns golden brown, add the mustard seeds, and when they pop, add the curry leaves and ginger

add the green papaya and carrots, some salt, turmeric powder, some water and cook the veggies till well done but not mushy

add the cooked moong dal, stir well, adjust salt to taste

Serve warm as a side with rice, and pepper rasam, or kozhambu