Semiya Paayasam (kheer)

I made this yesterday for Diwali. This makes enough for 2-3 people.

You need: 1/2 cup semiya, 1/2 cup sugar (or 3/4, if you like it really sweet), 2.5 cups milk, 1 pinch saffron, 1 tbsp ghee

How to:

1. Heat the ghee in a saucepan on medium heat. Add the semiya and stir. Roast until golden-brown, stirring constantly.
2. Warm a little milk and mix the saffron in it.
3. Add just enough water to cover the semiya and let it cook. When the semiya is half-done, add the milk, sugar, and saffron. Stir well.
4. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Eat hot or cold.

Diwali!

A very happy Deepavali to all my readers. I wish I were home! Well, on second thoughts, I don’t exactly, because I hate the crackers and patakas and the noise and the smoke in the air. Let me rephrase that. I wish my parents were here!

Best wishes to all of you for the year to come, and don’t eat yourself sick, even if it is Diwali!

Habaneros

We had a bumper crop of habaneros. We were thinking about making some cooking wine, but we decided to dehydrate them. Then we will powder them, and make a wonderful spice for our food. We are also dehydrating cayennes, tomatoes, sundry herbs, and jalapenos. Right now, though, our house smells like warm habaneros, and it is a lovely, lovely smell! It’s getting colder here, and when I come in from outside, the house smells incredible – warm and rich!

Dussehra 2009

Happy Dussehra, everyone!  Have a wonderful festival season. I have some plans for this Diwali, and, should these recipes work out, I will post them here.

Vegetable Momos with Red Chili Paste

Momos. Dimsums. Potstickers. I’ve heard all these terms used, and I don’t know what the difference is. Where I come from, they’re called momos, and the best kind were the ones you could get at the Yashwant Place market near Chanakya cinema in Delhi.

Heads up: I’m still figuring out my dough recipe, so I used store-bought wonton wrappers which were splendid.

For the filling: 1 carrot; 1 medium-sized red onion; 5 small green onions; 2 sticks celery; 1 small bell pepper; 2 small bok choy; 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce; 2 tbsp oil

How to: Julienne all the vegetables (cut them into very small, thin pieces). Heat the oil in a large wok or kadhai. Throw in the red onion and cook for a few minutes. Then add the carrots and peppers and cook some more. After a couple of minutes, add the celery and green onions. Stir and cook 2-3 more minutes. Add the soy sauce and let it simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Follow the instructions on the wonton wrapper package to fill and cook the momos. If you boil the momos, add a little oil to the water. It might help with the sticking. I did not pan-fry mine after dunking them in hot water.

For the red chili paste: 3-4 dried red chilies, 3-4 tbsp cider vinegar, 2 tbsp garlic.

How to: put it all in a food processor and blend it into a coarse paste.

Put a wee bit of the red chili paste on a momo, dip in soy sauce, and enjoy!

Chickpea Salad

A very simple salad, and very healthy.

You need: 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 can, washed and drained; 2 medium-sized tomatoes; 1 small onion; 1/2 cup diced cucumber; salt and red chili powder (cayenne) to taste; 1 tsp lemon juice; 1 tsp olive or canola oil.

How to:

1. Dice the tomatoes and onion.
2. Mix the chickpeas and vegetables in a bowl.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients.
4. Mix well.
5. Eat chilled.

Slow Cooker Vegetable Stock

I love vegetable stock. I especially love to heat it and drink it as is. The store-bought stocks tend to be very high sodium, even the low-sodium ones, so I prefer to make my own. It’s very easy, and if you have a slow cooker (e.g. Crock Pot), you can leave it to cook while you do other things, like work. There are a number of vegetables you can put into your stock, and people often use odd ends and trimmings of vegetables, but I don’t use anything I would ordinarily feed to my worms (yes, we have a worm bin in our kitchen).

You need:

1 leek, 1 bulb fennel, 3-4 sticks celery, 1 large onion, 1-2 chili peppers of  your choice, 2 bay leaves, 5-6 leaves basil

How to:

1. Prepare the vegetables and chop them into large pieces. (Click HERE for how to prepare various vegetables)
2. Add them to your slow cooker.
3. Add enough water to cover the vegetables.
4. Add the herbs and chili peppers.
5. Cover and turn on high for 5-6 hours.
6. Pour broth into a container.
7. Place the vegetables in a food processor and blend well.
8. Pour into the container through a fine mesh strainer. Use a spoon to rub it in to get it all.
9. Refrigerate immediately and use within 3-4 days.

If you want to store the stock, cool it in the fridge for a couple of hours, then pour into ice trays. When it is frozen, put the broth ice cubes into a Ziploc bag and return to the freezer. Use within 3-4 months.

Beet and Potato Cutlets

I got the idea of combining beets and potatoes from one of Tarla Dalal’s recipes. She uses them to make koftas for curry. But I’m not a big fan of the koftas, and the idea of cutlets sounded real good to me. So here’s my version, which was super tasty.

You need: 1 cup grated beets (beetroot); 1 cup boiled and mashed potatoes; 1 cup breadcrumbs; 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste; 1/2 tsp red chili powder (cayenne); 1/2 tsp garam masala; 1 Hungarian hot wax pepper or other mild pepper (optional); salt to taste (about 3/4 of a tsp is what I would do); 1/2 cup yogurt or sour cream; 1 tbsp chopped dill.

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Mix all the ingredients except the breadcrumbs in a bowl.
3. Add enough breadcrumbs to give it enough texture that you can form it into patties (cutlets). You might have to add a little bit at a time, mix it all together, and try to form a cutlet.
4. How to make a cutlet: pull up a little of the mixture in your hands. Say, about the size of a table-tennis ball. Roll it into a ball. Flatten it gently with your hands until it is about 1/2″ to 3/4″ thick.
5. If you cannot do this, follow these instructions: If the mash is too sticky, add a little more breadcrumbs and try again. If the mash is too dry (the cutlets have cracks) add some water, a very little bit at a time, and try again. You could also just use a burger press, if you have one.
6. Once you make your cutlets, place them on a greased oven-proof cookie sheet or in an oven-proof baking dish, and bake for 20 minutes, or until the outside of the cutlets forms a firm crust. Flip them over halfway through (at about 10 minutes).
7. Mix the dill with the yogurt or sour cream and top the cutlets with it.

We froze these in ziploc bags for about a couple of weeks, and they were fine.

Green salsa (Tomatillo salsa)

We have four massive tomatillo plants in our garden, and they are mass producing tomatillos. So we made some green salsa the other day. Now, there are various ways to make green salsa, many of them quite elaborate, but this one is quick and quite tasty.

You need: 3-4 tomatillos; 1-2 green tomatoes (a green variety, like green zebra, not unripe tomatoes. This ingredient is optional); 1 small white onion; 4-5 cloves garlic; 2-3 jalapenos; 1/2 cup chopped cilantro (dhania); salt to taste

How to:

1. Remove the husk on the tomatillos. Wash them well to take off the sticky residue. I sometimes use dish soap to wash them, but if you do, rinse them very well afterward.

2. Dice the onion  and tomatillos (and tomatoes, if you are using them) roughly.

3. Peel the garlic.

4. Deseed the jalapenos.

5. Put all ingredients into a food processor and blend. If you like it chunky, pulse it a couple of times. If you like it smooth, blend well.

Eat with chips.

Aloo Chard (Potatoes with Chard)

We’ve had a huge number of tomatoes from our Early Girl plant, and we’ve been trying to figure out what to do with them. Curry vegetables can always use tomatoes, so that was our first idea. We also had quite a bit of chard from our garden, and wanted to use it before the rabbits got to it. And we also had harvested a couple of cayenne peppers. Traditionally, potatoes are cooked with spinach, but I thought chard would be fun. The stems on chard are so crunchy, and rainbow chard is so pretty! So we cooked the potatoes with chard instead.

You need: 4-5 medium potatoes; 4-5 medium tomatoes; 1 big bunch chard (10-15 leaves); 1 medium red onion; 1-2 hot peppers such as cayenne, or other green chilies to taste; 1/2 tsp garam masala; 1 tsp jeera (cumin seeds); 2 tbsp oil; salt to taste. Oh, and a rather large pot to cook it in.

How to:

1. Cut the potatoes, onions, and tomatoes (separately) into 1/2″ pieces.

2.Slice open the peppers and discard the seeds.

3. Heat the oil. Add the cumin and chili peppers.

4. Add the onions and stir.

5. After about 1-2 minutes, add the potatoes. Stir and cover.

6. Stir occasionally. If it sticks to the bottom, add 1/4 cup water.

7. Wash the chard. Cut the stems into 1/2″ pieces and the leaves into long ribbons. Keep them separate and set aside.

8. Add the tomatoes, salt, garam masala, and chard stems to the potatoes. Stir well and cover.

9. When the potatoes are almost done (softened but not mushy), and the tomatoes are mushy, add the chard leaves. Like so: add a handful, stir in, let them wilt, add another handful, and so on until you’ve used them all up.

10. Cover and cook until the potatoes are done.

Eat hot over rice, bread, or with roti or naan.

Spicy Tomato Salsa

Made with tomatoes from my garden, and onions and peppers from my CSA. I used habanero for a real bite, but you can tone it down by using jalapenos instead.This version is chunky. If you want it smooth, puree it in a food processor when done.

You need: 4-5 medium-sized tomatoes; 1 medium-sized red onion; 1 small green bell pepper (capsicum); 4-5 cloves garlic; 1 habanero; 1 tbsp chopped cilantro (coriander leaves); salt to taste, 1 tbsp lemon juice.

How to:

1. Chop all the vegetables into small (very small) pieces. Mince the garlic.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a saucepan. Add the onions. Stir.

3. Cook through, stirring occasionally. When they soften, add the garlic and peppers. Stir and continue cooking until peppers soften.

4. Add the tomatoes and habanero. Stir and cover. Stir occasionally, but leave covered until tomatoes liquefy. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

5. Add the rest of the ingredients. Mix well, stir, cover and refrigerate.

Serve cold with chips. If you can let this sit a couple of days before eating it, the flavor sets beautifully. I found the habanero toned down in hotness, but went up a few notches in flavor. Very delicate, in a burn-your-tongue-off way.

Herbed Mashed Potatoes

Try this – it’s awesome! We get potatoes in our CSA now, and we got some dill, so I used them for this.

You need: 4-5 medium-sized potatoes ( I prefer red or gold); 2 tbsp butter; 1/4 cup milk; 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill; salt to taste.

How to:

1. Boil the potatoes thoroughly. Stick a knife in them. When it goes through all the way with no resistance, it’s done.

2. Using a potato masher, mash a bit.

3. Add the butter. Finishing mashing.

4. Add just enough milk to give it a smooth texture, without making it liquidy.

5. Add salt and dill. Mix well.

Eat hot.

Fresh Spaghetti Sauce!

Onions, peppers, and oregano from my CSA + fresh tomatoes from my garden = fresh spaghetti sauce!

I chopped up the onions and peppers, added much chopped fresh garlic, cooked it in olive oil, added fresh chopped oregano, chopped tomatoes, salt, and red chili flakes. Then I  gave it some thyme, love, and tenderness

And ate it over whole wheat spaghetti. Mmmm.

The First Harvest

Here are some pictures of the tomatoes in my garden.

That is a picture of the Purple Cherokee plant. Sadly, we lost that tomato and the next one to ripen to birds or squirrels or something. I devised a solution that has worked so far. I took them off the plant and set them down next to it. The little scavengers go for those instead, and leave the ones on the plant alone.

That is the Early Girl. That one is doing quite well now – we have got quite a few tomatoes off it, and they are rich, flavorful paste tomatoes. I don’t think I would use them in a salad, but they work very well in curries.

That is our first harvest. I’d been pulling the tomatoes off a little early, sadly, so the little thieves didn’t get to them. Since I set the decoy tomatoes down, though, I’ve been able to leave them on until they are ripe. At the top are the tomatillos, washed and ready. The red one on the side, and the orange one next to it, are Early Girls. I let the orange one ripen on the countertop and it did okay. the big one is the Purple Cherokee, which has a splendid flavor. The green ones are Green Zebras, which are tangy and lovely raw. The little yellow cherry ones are off a plant my CSA gave to us with our first share. It is a stellar producer of very tasty and sweet tomatoes. As tomatoes go.

Paruppu

This is a very simple dal, even simpler than my Simple Dal. And very saatvik.

You need: 1 cup arhar (tuvaram paruppur) or moong dal (Payatham paruppu), 1 tbsp ghee or butter, 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera), salt to taste, 1/2 tsp turmeric (haldi)

How to:

1. Boil the dal until soft with the salt and turmeric.
2. When the dal is done, turn off the heat.
3. Heat the ghee in a small pan. When it starts to bubble, add the cumin (jeera).
4. When the cumin starts to sputter, add it to the dal. Take a spoonful of the dal and add it to the ghee pan to get the last of the ghee – return to the main dal pot.
5. Mix well and eat over rice or with rotis.

Kohlrabi Greens (Knol-khol saag)

We had quite  abit of kohlrabi (knol-khol), thanks to the CSA. I left some in the fridge from a couple weeks’ worth of veggies, and got two this week, and my friend, who doesn’t like kohlrabi, gave me two that she got in her CSA. We swopped her a Chinese cabbage, because I was getting a bit tired of the greens. Anyway, the kohlrabi we got this week had some lovely leaves on them. A quick call to my athai (aunt, FZ) verified that they were edible. So I made a variation of kohlrabi and collard greens – I used the greens from the kohlrabi instead of the collard.

I find the veins and stalks tough, so I only used the green part of the leaves – I veined them and chopped them up.

Ingredients: Kohlrabi (knol-khol) peeled and diced; 1 medium onion, finely chopped; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 2 tsp Kitchen King or garam masala, 1 tsp each cumin seeds (jeera), cayenne pepper (lal mirch), turmeric (haldi); and salt to taste.

How to:

1. Heat some oil in a pan or wok (kadhai).
2. Add all the spices. Stir well and turn the heat down to medium/simmer.
3. Add the onion and garlic. Stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add the kohlrabi and the greens. Stir and add 1 cup water. Add salt, stir again, and cover.
5. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until kohlrabi can be cut with a spoon. Stir occasionally.

We are eating this tonight with brown rice and dal.

CSA, and our garden

Our share grew larger and a little more diverse. Our CSA newsletter warns us the heavy rains may have done some damage to the crops…we wait and see. As you know, when you buy a CSA share, you buy more than vegetables – you buy some of the farmer’s risk.

This week we got some kohlrabi, Chinese cabbage, a zucchini, peas, collard greens, kale, Russian kale, garlic chives, green onions, and some other greens I forget. We also bought, at the farmer’s market, some very large green onions and some no-spray yellow tomatoes.

In our own garden, our Purple Cherokee tomatoes are growing large. We have planted those, Green Zebra, Early Girl, Orange Oxheart and yellow cherry tomatoes. All of them are fruiting, as are our four massive tomatillo plants. We also have some swiss rainbow chard, which is being eaten by something, basil, cilantro, chives, kadipatta (curry plant), mustard, habaneros, jalapenos, and a blackberry plant. Our neighbors mulberry tree branches into our garden, so lots of mulberries there. We also have, non-edibly, wildflowers, snapdragons, marigolds, a sunflower, clemitis, and sweetpeas, most of which are yet to bloom.

CSA 10 June 2009

What was in the bag: spinach, lettuce, collard greens, baby broccoli, baby zucchini, red radish, white radish, garlic chives, purple kohlrabi, and green onions.

For now, I used some of the greens in my stir-fry, which is still yummy, especially with the addition of coarsely ground peanuts.

The kohlrabi I will probably cook into a vegetable. Yesterday, for example, I cooked it with potatoes and made a curry sort of thing. It can be cooked in various ways – do a search for kohlrabi in the search window below.

I’m thinking, though, that it might be time to figure out something else to do with the other stuff. I’m already very pleased with my discovery that lettuce is good cooked.

Basanti Beans

Still on my Sholay kick (with the Sholay chole), another bean recipe. Who doesn’t love Basanti? Plus, these beans are yellow. I experimented with mixed beans, and this was very tasty. Try it – yunki accha hai!

You need: 1/3 cup each black beans, red beans (rajma), and chickpeas (chana); 1 large yellow tomato; 1 medium red onion; 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste; 1 tbsp Kitchen King masala; salt to taste; 1 tsp jeera.

How to: Soak the beans overnight, or for at least four hours. Rinse and boil until soft (or pressure cook for five whistles). Drain, rinse, and set aside.

Cut the onion and tomato finely.

Heat 2 tbsp oil. Add the jeera. When it splutters, add the Kitchen King and turn the heat down to medium. Stir.

Add the onion. Stir well.

After 3-4 minutes, add the ginger-garlic paste. Stir briskly, and wait for 1-2 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and stir again. Cover and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes are well blended. You will not need to add water if you have a tight-fitting lid and keep the heat on medium.

When the tomatoes are done, add the cooked beans. Stir well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. You may need to add a little water to thin it out a bit.

Garnish with cilantro (dhania) and use in place of a regular dal – over rice or with roti.

Greens for my stir-fry!

The purple stuff is lettuce, the greens in the front are spinach, the blue-green thing to the right is kale, a spring onion in the middle, and the green leaves at the back are lovage.

CSA June 3 2009

What’s in the bag this week?

Baby kale, baby spinach, head lettuce, the little purple lettuce, green onions, and radishes. Extras were savory, which we’re going to bake into bread, and lovage, which I am still figuring out, but will feature in tonight’s stir-fry. It smells wonderful. It has a smell of celery about it, and our CSA farmer suggested to us that we drink Bloody Marys through the hollow stem

I don’t drink much, but that sounds like fun for someone who likes Bloody Marys.

In addition to the CSA bag, we bought some yellow tomatoes and some cilantro.

The Other Half is going to use some of the lettuce and the yellow tomatoes in a BLT, the B also bought at the farmer’s market.

Time for me to go cook dinner!

Edit: Go easy on the lovage…the leaves are slightly bitter, and too many don’t work. Try dropping them in whole and removing them when your food is cooked. Great flavor and smell, not so much on the taste.

Aloo Palak (Potatoes with Spinach)

As you know, I’ve been doing a CSA, and I had some spinach left over from the stir-fry I made with some of the other greens. I had stored it in a plastic bag in the fridge and one week on, it was still fresh and green – no wilting. The only other vegetables I had were onions and potatoes. So, aloo-palak it was. It was quite good, and much better than when I used the frozen spinach. We have some chard coming up in the garden, and I think it will be wonderful with chard as well.

Prep time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

You need: Three large potatoes; 3 small bunches baby spinach (or one large bunch regular spinach); 1 small red onion; 1/2 tsp cumin seeds/jeera; 1/2 tsp mustard seeds/sarson; 1/4 tsp turmeric/haldi; 1/4 tsp daily masala or garam masala

How to:

1. Peel and chop the potatoes into 1/2″ pieces.
2. Wash, drain, and shred or chop the spinach.
3. Finely chop the onion.
4. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok/kadhai.
5. Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, and daily/garam masala. Stir well and turn the heat down to medium.
6. Add the onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
7. Add the potatoes. Stir well. Sprinkle salt to taste, and turmeric over the top. Stir well.
8. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. If it “catches” on the bottom, add 1/4 cup water and stir. Cover again.
9. Add the spinach. Stir well until they cook down a bit. Cover and cook until potatoes are done (until they are cooked through but not squishy).

“Celery in Tamil?”

Edit: I’d just like to say that, as of July 17 2009, I’ve had 178 hits to this post. And not one person told me why they wanted to know. So, if you’re here to find out what celery is called in Tamil, please let me know what recipe it is that calls for it, and why you want to know. I’d really appreciate it. Thanks!

The page with the most hits on this blog is the Hindi-English-Tamil Glossary (link at the top under the banner). Where, if you’re in a hurry, you can go to find out what celery is called in Tamil. As you might know, this page is a collaborative effort. I put a few things up, and other people came on with questions and comments, and others with answers and more comments, and the page has just grown. When I set up the glossary, I didn’t think it would garner so much attention. It still surprises me. I set it up because I wanted people from both sides of my heritage – the Tamil ancestry and the Delhi adoption – to have access to all my recipes. The English names I have tried to put in both Indian English as well as American, although the recipes themselves are often in American English, for wider appeal.

But another top search term has made me curious. “Celery in Tamil” brings a lot of people to my website. Now, when I was in India, I didn’t eat celery at all. I know I saw it now and again in Sarojini Nagar, where we bought veggies, and which I sorely miss. But I never bought and ate it. In fact, I still rarely eat it, and much prefer it cooked than raw.

As I said, though, I’m curious. So If you were drawn here by your quest to find out what celery is called in Tamil (ajmoda, according to the GoI), could you please tell me why you want to know? What recipe are you using it in?

I hope to hear from some of you! Please leave a comment. Thanks!

Sholay Chole

I realized that I didn’t have a recipe for chole on here. Shocking! I made some last night, after three days of craving chana. Chole is chickpeas (chana/garbanzo beans) in a tomato gravy. There are various ways you can cook it, and two different kinds of beans you can use – kala chana, or the dark brown chickpeas, and the regular chana, garbanzo beans. This recipe uses the regular white garbanzo beans that you can also get canned.

Why Sholay? Because it’s an awesome movie, that’s why. And it rhymes.

You need: 1 cup dried garbanzo beans (chana) OR 1 can; 2 large tomatoes; 1 large onion; 1 tsp ginger-garlic paste; 1 bay leaf; 2 tsp chana masala (available at most Indian stores or large groceries) OR 1 tsp garam masala + 1/4 tsp amchur (dried mango powder); salt to taste

How to:

1. If you are using dried beans, soak them overnight or for at least four hours. Cook in a pressure cooker or in a covered pot until soft. If you are using an Indian-style pressure cooker, 4-5 whistles ought to do it. Drain and set aside. If you are using canned beans, drain, rinse, and set aside.

2. Cut the onions into very small pieces, or purée. Do the same with the tomatoes. Keep them separate.

3. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a large pan. You can use a kadhai, a wok, a saucepan, a stockpot, or a handi.

4. Add the bayleaf and the onions. Cook for 5-7 minutes on high, stirring frequently.

5. Add the tomatoes. Stir well and cover, turning the heat down to medium/simmer. Stir occasionally until the tomatoes and onions are mushy. DO NOT add water.

6. Add the masala and the salt. Stir, cover, and let it cook for another couple of minutes.

7. Add the chickpeas/chana to the mix. Stir well. Add water if it is too thick. Let it cook for another 5 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Eat over rice or with puris.

CSA 27 May 2009, canning, etc.

Looks like this week’s CSA will contain much of the same stuff as last week – lettuce, tatsoi, green onions, pak choi, rhubarb, and garlic chives – with the addition of spinach, and with basil instead of oregano. Which, by the way, I sun-dried last week, and packed away in a Ziploc bag. I plan to rehydrate it when I use it. I will probably do the same with the basil.

We made a couple of highly successful stir-fries with the vegetables. Lettuce works wonderfully in a stir-fry. Just wash, chop into rough strips, and throw in at the end. Stir, and let it wilt a bit. It tasted great. Our first stir-fry recipe was vastly improved, actually, with the addition of lettuce, and also some baby corn, water chestnusts, and red pepper. We did use peanut sauce again, though now I am going to try to make my own, instead of using store-bought. It is very expensive.

We might buy some other stuff at the farmer’s market where we go to pick up our CSA share. The thing I like about doing the CSA is what most people dislike about it – all the lovely new vegetables that I wouldn’t otherwise have tried. I do realize how difficult it can be to cook veggies you’ve never encountered before, so I plan to experiment with different recipes and will post them here.

The other thing we are thinking about doing is canning, making preserves, etc. I am completely new to this – I have never done it before. However, I am going to try. There’s a couple of things I need to figure out, though. First, how to make low-sugar or no-sugar preserves. And second, I have read that people don’t like to use store-bought pectin. I want to know why, and what they do instead. So, if you have any ideas, do let me know.

Grilled Vegetables #2: Paneer Tikka

Also try Grilled Vegetables #1

I promised this a long time ago – here we are, finally. This is the one known as paneer tikka, Tiffin box-style. There are two steps – marinade + vegetables. You will need bamboo skewers for this, preferably the thinnest ones. OR, you can bake it in the oven rather than grill it.

Prep time: 2 hours + 20minutes

Cook time: about 15-20 minutes

Marinade

Ingredients: 2 cups yogurt, 1 tsp turmeric, 2 tsp cayenne pepper (lal mirch), 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp amchur (dry mango powder), 1/2 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp minced ginger, 4 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp garam masala, salt to taste.

Method: Mix all the ingredients for the marinade together in a big bowl. Set aside.

Tikka

Ingredients: about 2 cups cubed paneer (1″ cubes), 1 red onion, 1 green bell pepper (capsicum), 1 yellow bell pepper

Method 1:

1. Put the paneer in the marinade. Stir gently to make sure all of it is covered. Set aside for at least two hours.

2. Cut the vegetables into 1″ pieces. Remember to deseed the peppers.

3. Grab a skewer and place vegetables and paneer on it in whatever order you find aesthetically pleasing. I usually do: onion, paneer, green pepper, paneer, yellow pepper. But you can work out your own combination.

4. When all the veggies and paneer are gone, it’s time to cook. This can be done two ways:

a. Oven: Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the skewers on a large rectangular cake pan, or a cookie sheet, or foil. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until done, turning occasionally.

b. Grill: Place the skewers on a hot grill. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, until done, turning occasionally.

How do you know when they are done? The paneer will turn golden-brown to darkish brown. Don’t let it smoke, or turn black.

Method 2:

Coat the paneer and vegetables in the marinade. Place in a greased glass baking dish.

Refrigerate for 2-4 hours.

Preheat an oven to about 200C or 350F.

Place paneer in hot oven. Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the pieces over and bake for another 15 minutes.

Storing greens and herbs

Here’s what I’ve found to be the best way. Do not wash the greens. Wrap them in a damp (not wet) paper towel and store in a nylon mesh bag, or a pillowcase, in the hydrator drawer of the fridge. They last at least a week, and cilantro, which I put in my fridge and forget about, has lasted about three in fairly decent  condition. Fresh herbs can also be stored the same way. Alternatively, you can do what I did with the fresh oregano I got from my CSA this week. I didn’t know when I would use it next, so I washed it, patted it dry, and put it in a mesh bag. Then I hung the mesh bag outside, where the sun and heat and wind will dry it. Or you could dry it in your oven, but that’s a waste of energy. You can also microwave it on a paper towel, I think, though I have never tried that.

Pretty Green Stir-fry

Our CSA this week contained more or less what I had said it would – tatsoi, little purple-green lettuce, garlic chives, spring onions, fresh oregano, and pak choi. Lots of greens. We did do a stir-fry, in the end, just because it was so tempting – all those greens! So we used all the ingredients listed above, except the lettuce. Here’s how:

You need: 1 bunch tatsoi, 2 bunches pak choi, 3-4 green onions, 1 red onion, 5-7 garlic chives, 2 tbsp soy sauce, black pepper, 1/2 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, 1 tbsp sesame oil (or not).

How to:

1. Wash all the greens (everything but the peanuts and red onion) well, and cut it into strips.

2. Cut the red onion into thin slices.

3. Heat 2-3 tbsp oil in a wok.

4. Add the red onions and bulb parts of the green onions, and stir-fry until done to your satisfaction (about 2-3 minutes usually works for me)

5. Using a mortar and pestle, crush the peanuts coarsely.

6. Add the peanuts to the onion and stir. Add the rest of the vegetables immediately.

7. Add the sesame oil, soy sauce, and black pepper.

8. Stir quickly. As soon as the leaves begin to wilt, turn off the heat.

Serve hot over rice. You could also use peanut sauce in lieu of the soy sauce/sesame oil.

New Look

The blog has a new look. I like the minimalistic style, and the three-column page. Things have moved around a bit, though. Latest entries on the top, scroll down for top posts, search by ingredient, recent comments, blogroll, search window, etc.

CSA Begins Today!

We’re going to collect our first CSA share today. For those of you who do not know what I’m talking about, CSA refers to community-supported agriculture. Essentially, you pay a local farmer some money in advance, buying a share (or half, as we are doing), of their produce. Then, when they have stuff ready, they give you a bit of that. It works out cheaper than buying veggies in the grocery (at least for us). You also get fresh, seasonal vegetables every week, and you get to support local agriculture. Yay! Find your CSA here.

That’s the good part. The downside, if you are not an adventurous cook, is that you get a lot of strange vegetables that you never have heard of, let alone seen. You may get a LOT of them, and you don’t always know what to do with them. You will probably end up getting a lot of greens at the beginning and end of the season. So What I’m going to do here is to tell you what I got in my share every week, suggest recipes, and tell you what I did with them. Or that’s the plan.We also plan to invest in a freezer and canning jars.

I hear that this week’s share will contain pak choi, tatsoi, rhubarb, green onions, garlic chives, lettuce, and oregano.

I hear you thinking “Stir Fry!” and, indeed, that thought has occured to me. I will consult with the Other Half. We are neither of us big salad eaters, so I have to decide what to do with a full head of lettuce. Soup? Grilled? Stir fry? Wraps? I have a feeling the rhubarb might end up in home-brewed wine, but I do really want to make a chutney out of it.

Also, look here for recipes and other fun stuff.

Watch this space.

Paneer Cutlets with Mango Chutney

Now, if you follow this blog, you know I like my cheese and chutneys. There’s a baked brie with blueberry chutney on here, and I’ve also experimented with a breaded boursin with fig jam, which I first tasted at a local restaurant, and fell in love. So I got to thinking, why not give this an Indian twist? Alas, I have no Indian mangoes, though my mother tormented me with news of the Alphonso she just ate. However, the red Mexican ones will do just as well for these purposes – let there be no blaspheming of Alphonsos by making them into chutney. So. Here’s how I did it, and do trust me and try this too. My husband and I thought they were delicious. For those of you who don’t eat egg, you can try adding 1 tsp of xanthan gum to the paneer. Sprinkle it over the surface once you’ve mixed everything else, then knead it in. It, well, gums up. Alternatively, mix a little cornflour with water so it forms a thin batter, and dip the cutlets in that before breading.

For the paneer cutlets: 1 cup paneer, 1 cup cooked rice, 1/4 cup finely chopped chives or cilantro, 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, salt to taste, an egg to bind, and breadcrumbs for breading!

Crumble the paneer in a bowl. Addthe rice, chives, salt, and cayenne and mix well. If you are adding the xanthan gum, do it now. If not, proceed to the next step.

Crack the egg into a bowl and whisk well. Pour it into a plate. Pour the breadcrumbs into a different plate.

Heat some oil (1/2 a cup at least) in a pan.

Form the paneer into a patty/cutlet about 1.5″ in diameter.

Dip it in the egg – both sides, and carefully so it doesn’t crumble.

Coat it with the breadcrumbs – both sides.

Put it in the pan. When it is fully browned on both sides, place it on a plate which has a paper towel/napkin on it, to drain the oil off.

Repeat until all the paneer is used up.

For the mango chutney: 1 sweet mango, 1 tbsp brown sugar

If the mango is very sweet, reduce the sugar a bit.

Cut the mango into pieces (we’re not using the peel here!).

Put the mango and the sugar in a saucepan. Add 1/2 cup water.

Cover and cook until soft. You may need to mash the mango up a bit now and again.

Eat the chutney over the cutlets. Of course, you can also try paneer tikki with mango-plum chutney.

Curried Radish

My friend brought over some radish she got from the farmer’s market. I used some in a salad, and decided to try a desi-style vegetable with the rest. It turned out very well, actually.I had another friend visiting, who doesn’t like radish, and she liked it too.

You need: 4-5 small red radishes (leaves and all); 1/4 cup finely chopped onion, 1/4 tsp each cayenne (lal mirch), turmeric, and cumin seeds (jeera); salt to taste

How to: Cut the leaves off the radishes. Remove the stem, wash well, and cut into strips.Remove the root off the radish.

Cut the radish into thin slices.

Heat a little oil. Add the spices when hot, stir well, and add the onions. Stir again. Turn the heat down to medium.

When the onions are cooked, add the radish slices. Stir for one or two minutes, then add the leaves and the salt.

Stir for 3-5 minutes. Eat over rice or with rotis.

Spring Goodies Salad

You need: 1 bag mixed spring greens (baby spinach, lettuce, arugula, et cetera), 1 orange, 1 piece ginger root, a handful of dried or fresh cranberries, 2-3 small red radishes, anything else you fancy in your salad.

How to:

Wash the radishes well. Slice the tops and bottoms off and cut into thin slices. (If you want to keep the greens, I’m going to experiment tomorrow with cooking them).

Cut the orange in half, along the segments, not across them. That means, cut it from top to bottom, not across it’s middle. Juice one half, and peel the other. Remove the white portion from the segments, and any seeds.

Put the greens in a big salad bowl. Add the radish and orange segments. Also the cranberries, and anything else you want to add.

Grate 1 tsp ginger into the orange juice. Mix well.

Pour the orange/ginger dressing over the salad before serving.

Slow Cooker Celery Soup

A lovely and light soup, perfect for a spring evening.

You need:

10 sticks celery, chopped
½ cup onion, finely chopped
3 small potatoes , peeled and diced
2 cups water
1 tbsp. oil
to taste salt
to taste black pepper

How to:

1. Put the oil and onions in the slow cooker. Stir and cover. Set cooker on “high”.
2. After half an hour, add the celery, potatoes, salt, and water. Stir and cover.
3. Let cook on “high” for 5-6 hours or until the potatoes are soft. You can also set it on low and let it cook for 8 hours.
4. Remove the solids and puree in a food processor. Do not discard the broth.
5. Add the puree back to the broth and heat gently. You can turn it back on high and leave for half an hour, or heat on the stove top.

Notes:
You can also add half a cup of milk to the soup after pureeing and before reheating. If you do this, reduce the water by half a cup.

Aviyal

The grandest of all South Indian vegetable dishes! Who doesn’t love aviyal? Perfect for festival occasions, and for just simply! However, this is not an easy recipe, and takes time and effort. Well worth it, though.

Preparation (chopping, etc.): 40 Minutes
Boiling (vegetables, do them simultaneously if possible): 30 Minutes
Simmering once mixed: 5 Minutes
Total Time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

1 cup yam, julienned (this is not sweet potato, but the large, brown, yam – the ugliest one in the store – jimikand)
1 cup plantain, peeled and julienned (vazhakai, or kaccha kela). Be careful to wash your hands after, as the sticky stuff stains.
1 cup white pumpkin, or marrow, or yellow squash, julienned
1 cup green beans, julienned
½ cup peas
½ cup carrots, julienned
1 large baking potato, julienned (don’t use a soft potato like the ones used for mashed potatoes)
2 cups fresh coconut, shredded/grated (or dehydrated + 1 can coconut milk)
2 cups yogurt
1 tbsp. rice flour
1 tsp. tamarind paste
4 green chillies, or to taste
5 leaves curry leaves
1 tbsp. oil , preferably coconut oil
to taste salt

Preparation:

1. The vegetables should be cut in thick strips of 1/2″, not thinner. Keep the vegetables separate.
2. If you do not have fresh coconut, use dried, rehydrate, and add one can of coconut milk.
3. Dissolve the tamarind paste in 4 cups warm water.
4. Boil the plantain in this water until it is cooked, but firm. It will feel like a cooked potato. (Think al dente).
5. Remove the banana and set aside. Boil the yam in the same water, to a similar firmness.
6. Drain and throw away the water.
7. Boil or steam all the other vegetables. These may be cooked together. The vegetables should still be firm; do not overcook them. Do not drain completely, retain about two cups of water.
8. Grind the coconut and green chillies together to a fine paste. Add water as necessary, but do not make liquidy.
9. Place all the vegetables in a large wok or kadhai.
10. Add ground coconut paste and salt. Stir gently, but mix well.
11. Bring to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for 2 minutes.
12. Dissolve the rice flour in 1/2 cup water and add to the vegetables. Mix gently and simmer for 3 minutes more.
13. Whip the yogurt until smooth.
14. Turn off the heat, add the yogurt to the vegetables, and stir well, taking care not to break the vegetables.
15. In a small pan, heat the oil. Add the curry leaves. Make sure they are not wet. Allow to sputter and add to the vegetables. Mix well.
Serve over rice. Makes 6 servings.

Idli

Ingredients:

2 cups white rice
1 cup urad dal (small white dal)
1.5 tsp. salt

Preparation

1. Soak the rice and dal separately overnight or for at least four hours.
2. Drain the dal and grind it in a food processor until it is fluffy and light.
3. Drain the rice and grind it coarsely (it should look like sooji, or cream of wheat)
4. Mix them together with salt and beat well with a wooden spoon.
5. Leave in a warm dark place to rise. Make sure to put the batter in a large dish with high sides, and put a plate under it to catch any overflow.
6. If you are using a pressure cooker, grease the idli steamer bowls with a little oil. Fill them halfway with batter. Place in the cooker, add 1 cup water in the bottom, close without the weight and let them cook for fifteen minutes or until done.
7. To check if they are done, stick a knife in the middle of the idli. If it comes away clean, they are done.
8. If you are using a microwave idli steamer, grease the bowls and half-fill with batter. Follow the directions for your steamer.
9. If you do not have a steamer or pressure cooker, use small microwaveable bowls. Half-fill them with batter. Place them in a plate with a little water and zap them for five minutes, or until done.
10. Use a wet butter knife to scoop the idlis out of the bowls.

Eat with chutney or sambar. This makes about eight servings.

Saag Paneer

Preparation: 20 Minutes
Boiling: 15 Minutes
Cooking: 20 Minutes
Total Time: 55 Minutes

Ingredients:

2 pounds fresh spinach, or 2 packets frozen, chopped
4 oz. paneer, cubed
½ cup milk
1 tsp. cumin
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. ghee
to taste salt
2 tbsp. oil

Preparation:

1. Clean the spinach and shred it roughly.
2. Fill a big stockpot with water and place the spinach in it. Add 1/2 tsp salt if desired and set to boil.
3. When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat and let it simmer for 1 or 2 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and drain the spinach into a colander. Run cold water over it to cool it.
5. In a food processor, blend the spinach into a smooth puree.
6. Heat the oil. Add cumin, cayenne pepper, and ground coriander. Stir quickly and add the spinach. Stir well.
7. Add the milk and stir in. The spinach will turn light green, and then dark again. If it is very thick, add a little more milk.
8. Cover and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.
9. Add the paneer and cover again. Let cook for 10 minutes on low heat.

Serves 4

Egg Curry

Preparation: 10 Minutes
Boiling: 20 Minutes
Cooking: 15 Minutes
Total Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients:

6 eggs, boiled
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
1 red or green chilli, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
2 tbsp. oil
to taste salt

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil.
2. Add all the spices and stir once.
3. Add the onion and stir.
4. When the onions are cooked, add the tomatoes. Stir. Add salt.
5. Cover and let cook on low heat for 4 or 5 minutes.
6. Peel the eggs and cut in half. Keep aside.
7. Add a little water if it is thick. Add the eggs and gently stir.
8. Cook for 5-7 minutes, covered.

Eat over rice or with rotis.