Tag: Hindu Food

Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , , 6 Comments

Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew, is the fifth in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road. Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

In India this dish is usually made with spinach and/or mustard greens.  The gorgeous collard greens, in my farm fresh vegetable basket, inspired me to put in a Southern American twist.  I had never seen collard greens in India, but they are widely available here in Texas.  People in Texas love collard greens.

INGREDIENTS:Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew Ingredients

  • 15 large collard leaves
  • 1 1/2 cup of dry chickpeas
  • 3 inches of ginger root
  • 2 inches of fresh turmeric (if you can’t find this use 1 tsp of turmeric powder)
  • 1 medium sized red onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 3 peppers (use whatever variety you have on hand.  Here I used, 1 fiery Scotch Bonnet and 2 mild orange baby bells.) Mixing up the type of peppers lets you control the heat level and results in a more complex flavor.
  • 2 red hot Indian chilies for garnish (optional.) My husband eats the garnish.
  •  1 Tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 3 Tbsp grape seed oil
  • 1 bay leaf
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREPPING THE CHICK PEAS:

  • Soak the chick peas overnight.  They will double in size.
  • Drain the soaking water
  • Place in a crock pot along with a bay leaf and cover with water
  • Turn crock pot to high and cook until tender
  • Add salt to taste towards the end of the cooking process

PREPPING THE OTHER INGREDIENTS:Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew Prep

  • Remove the collard green leaves from their stems (Don’t throw the stems away.  Chop them up and use them in recipes in place of celery.)
  • Dice the red onion
  • Mince the ginger, garlic and peppers

COOK:

  • Coat a heavy duty stainless steel skillet with grape seed oil, place it on medium heat.
  • Add the onion, ginger, garlic and peppers.  Saute until translucent, about 4 minutes.
  • Add the cumin and black mustard seeds.  Cook until the seeds start crackling.
  • Grate in the fresh turmeric.  If you are using turmeric powder, add it later in the recipe with the other powdered spices.
  • Saute until golden brown
  • Make a hot spot in the center of the pan by pushing aside the veggies
  • Add tomato paste to the hot spot and let it cook for about a minute
  • Stir the cooked tomato paste into the veggies
  • Add the collard greens
  • Saute them for about 5 minutes
  • Add the smoked paprika, garam masala, and the turmeric if you are using the powdered form.
  • Saute for another 5 minutes to let the powdered spices cook and blendCollard Greens Cook 10 add chickpeas

Drain the cooked chick peas and add them to the pan.  If you don’t want to cook the chick peas from scratch, use two 12 ounce cans of cooked chickpeas.  Please drain and rinse the canned chick peas well.

Stir the chick peas in and cover with the lid.  Turn off the heat and let the flavors marry for about 15 minutes.  In Hindi, we call this process of letting the flavors marry, “DHUM”.

Transfer to a beautiful platter and garnish with the red hot Indian chilies.Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

This is a great vegan dish to make for a party.  It can be made in advance because it actually tastes better the next day.

Serve this stew as a side dish with your choice of protein, or it can be served as a vegan main dish with some pilaf.  I like serving this to my vegan guests with Buckwheat Pilaf.

I hope you are enjoying this series of recipes.  I am having a lot of fun creating them.  Next Saturday, I will post the last in this series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

Please leave your feedback in the comment section.  I always love to hear from you. 😊

 

 

Curried Baby Turnips (tops & all)

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , , , 11 Comments

Curried Baby Turnips, is the first in a series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.  Curried Baby Turnips (tops & all)The baby turnips from our neighboring farm were so fresh that I decided to use them tops and all.  This is a classic Indian dish which is usually made with cilantro.  Here I substituted the tender, fresh turnip tops for the cilantro.

INGREDIENTS:

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  • 2 bunches of baby turnips (each bunch had 5 turnips)
  • 3 peppers (use whatever variety you have on hand–here I used a Fresno, a sweet orange pepper and a fiery hot green scotch bonnet pepper.)  Mixing up the type of peppers results in a more complex flavor.
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 2 inches of turmeric root (if you cannot find fresh turmeric, use 1/2 tsp. of powder instead)
  • 8 ounces of frozen peas
  • 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
  • 1 tsp. cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. nigella seeds
  • 1 tsp. chili flakes (optional if you want to make the dish more spicy)
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp. garam masala (I make my own, but you can purchase it at an Indian grocery store or a spice market)
  • 2 Tbsp. grape seed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Curried Baby Turnips Prep

  • Trim off the turnip bottoms and tops.  Leave the skins on.  Cut the turnips in half and then slice them into thin moon shapes.
  • Roughly chop the turnip tops.
  • Finely dice the chilies and ginger.

COOK:

  • Coat a large stainless steel skillet with grape seed oil and place on medium heat.
  • Add the turnips, chilies and ginger.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Sprinkle on the cumin, black mustard and nigella seeds.  Add the optional chili flakes.
  • Using a micro plane or mini grater, grate the fresh turmeric at this point.  If you are using powdered turmeric, it will be added later in the recipe.  If you add it now, it will burn.
  • Saute the turnips until they are translucent and the added seeds begin to pop.  You will be able to hear them popping.
  • Turn the heat to medium-low.
  • Add the tomato paste and smoked paprika.  If you are using powdered turmeric, add it at this point.  Continue to saute for another 2 minutes.
  • Add the chopped turnip tops and saute until they wilt.  This should take 2 or 3 minutes.
  • Add the peas and sprinkle on the garam masala.
  • Add additional salt and pepper as needed.
  • Toss everything together.
  • Turn off the heat and cover with the lid.

Leave the turnips on the stove without removing the lid for about 10-20 minutes or until you are ready to serve.  This process is called “DUM” in Hindi.  It allows all the flavors to marry and become one harmonious flavor. This is a very important step in traditional Indian cooking.

As a side note.  At the end of February 2019, I found out that I have high blood sugar.  For the past 4 months, I have been following a ketogenic lifestyle along with intermittent fasting.  I have been successful in controlling my blood sugar and I also lost 30 pounds.  I will write more about this in a separate post.  This recipe just happens to fit a keto lifestyle.  Turnips are a great substitute for potatoes on a keto program.  Try this recipe because it is delicious.  Let me know how it turns out in the comment section.

Aubergine Kachri (spicy slices of sautéed eggplant served with a yogurt mint sauce)

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , , , , , 8 Comments

INGREDIENTS FOR THE EGGPLANT SLICES:

  • In this recipe, I used 5 medium sized eggplants because that is what my neighbor brought to me from his garden.  If you buy eggplants from the store, you will need 2 large ones.
  • 1/2 a cup of my Indian Spice Mix
  • enough kosher salt to lightly sprinkle over the eggplant slices
  • grapeseed oil to sauté the eggplant

INGREDIENTS FOR THE YOGURT SAUCE:

Kachri Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 cup of plain yogurt.  You can buy it from the store or make some of My Mom’s Yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon of Labneh.  Labneh is a yogurt cheese made by removing the water content of yogurt.  It is basically extra thick Greek yogurt.  It lends a tangy flavor.  If you can’t find it, use sour cream instead.
  • 1 teaspoon of dried mint
  • 1 small fresh mint leaf to garnish each eggplant slice.
  • 1 teaspoon of freshly toasted and ground cumin seeds.  I will show you how to prepare the toasted cumin powder  later in the recipe.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black salt.  Black salt is an Indian salt with a high mineral content.  If you don’t have this substitute your favorite salt.
  • 1/2 teaspoon of dried mango powder.  In India, this is called Aamchoor.  It is the dried skins of small green mangoes.  It lends a complex tart flavor.  You can buy it in an Indian grocery store.  If you can’t find it, substitute lemon juice or Sumac.

PREPARING THE TOASTED CUMIN POWDER:

  • Place a teaspoon of cumin seeds in a small sauce pan.  Turn flame to low and toast until you can smell the cumin.  Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn.
  • Transfer the toasted cumin seeds to a glass bowl and let them cool to room temperature.
  • Place then in a coffee or spice grinder and whiz until you have a fine powder.

I keep two spice grinders in my kitchen.  One for sweet spices, like the ones I use to make my chai masala, and another for hot and savory spices.  This way I don’t have to clean my spice grinders.  I have had the same grinders for over 25 years and they are still working!!!

PREPARING THE EGGPLANT:

  • Using a serrated knife, cut the eggplant into 1/2 inch discs
  • Lightly sprinkle them with kosher salt on both sides
  • Place in a glass container and cover with plastic wrap.  Refrigerate overnight.  This allows excess water to be extracted from the eggplant.  This process also makes the eggplant less able to absorb oil.
  • Remove the eggplant slices from the glass container and place onto paper towel sheets to dry off excess liquid.  Discard the liquid at the bottom of the glass container.
  • At this point place the salted and dried eggplant slices, in a single layer, into a clean glass container

 

Kachri Sliced

  • drizzle on some grapeseed oil and sprinkle with my Indian Spice Mix
  • turn over the slices and repeat on the other side

Kachri Spiced

  • Add another layer of eggplant slices and coat with oil and spice mix.  Repeat until all the eggplant slices are used up.

Kachri Marinating

  • Cover with plastic wrap and let marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour or overnight.

COOKING THE EGGPLANT:

  • Coat a large non-stick skillet with grapeseed oil
  • Turn the flame to medium and get the oil hot
  • Once the oil is hot add a layer of spiced eggplant slices.  Do not crowd the pan.  Cook the slices till they are golden brown on the first side.  Flip and repeat until the slices are brown and crispy on both sides.
  • The cooking time is longer than you think.  It is 10 minutes per side.  Once the eggplant is brown on both sides.  Test it with a fork.  Once it is fork tender remove it to a glass baking dish.
  • Continue this process until all the eggplant is cooked.  Keep placing each slice in the glass baking dish once it is cooked.

When I am cooking a lot of eggplant, I use two pans on the stove.  This saves time.

PREPARING THE YOGURT SAUCE:

  • Place all the ingredients, except the fresh mint leaves, into a glass bowl and stir.
  • Taste the salt and adjust the salt to your liking.

ASSEMBLY:  Here I have served the dish family style by arranging the sautéed eggplant slices on a platter.  Garnish each slice with a dollop of yogurt sauce and a fresh mint leaf.

Kachri Feauture

This is one of my favorite ways to eat eggplant.  The spices make the dish very flavorful.  The slow sauté makes the outside of the eggplant crispy while the inside stays creamy.  Don’t rush the sauté time because the slow cooking is essential to getting the right texture.  The yogurt sauce adds tang and creaminess.  The mint tops it off with a pop of freshness.

When I am having a sit down dinner party, I put 4 eggplant slices on a salad plate and serve it as the appetizer course.  It can also be served as a main dish for a vegetarian.

I appreciate your feedback, so please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.  ENJOY !!!

Braised Cauliflower with Sweet Potato

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This is another classic, cruciferous veggie recipe from the Punjab region in the north of India,  but I have put a twist on it by using purple sweet potato instead of the small red potatoes that my grandmother used to use.  I had these beautiful purple sweet potatoes so I couldn’t resist using them.  My recipes often evolve depending on what ingredients I happen to have on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

Braised Cauliflower and Swee Potato Ingredients

  • 1 large head or 2 small heads of cauliflower.  I have two small heads here that were grown by my neighbor, Billy
  • 2 purple sweet potatoes (you can use whatever potato you have on hand)
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 2 green chilies
  • 10 curry leaves (optional, if you don’t have these leave them out)
  • 2 inches of ginger
  • juice of 1 small lemon (in the photo the yellow cube in the center is a cube of frozen lemon juice.  When I get a lot of lemons from my neighbor’s tree, I juice them and freeze them into cubes for use later.)
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of nigella seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of garam masala
  • 3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Braised Cauliflower and Sweet Potato Prep

  • Using a paring knife, break up the cauliflower into medium sized florets
  • Slice the purple sweet potatoes into disks
  • Peel the ginger and mince it
  • Finely mince the green chilies
  • Remove the curry leaves from their stems.  The curry leaves are used whole and they are edible.
  • Remove the cilantro leaves from their stems.  Set aside a handful of leaves for garnish.  Chop up the remaining leaves and stems to use them in the cooking process.

COOK:

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  • Coat a heavy stainless steel skillet with grapeseed oil.  Turn the flame to medium and heat the oil.
  • Once the oil is hot, add the cauliflower and purple sweet potato first.  Then add the, ginger, chilies, curry leaves, cilantro and all three seeds.
  • Toss everything together and sauté until the seeds are toasted and the vegetables are slightly brown.  This should take about 5 minutes.
  • At this point, sprinkle on the powdered spices and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Sauté for another 5 minutes so that the spices have a chance to toast.
  • Now add the lemon juice.  Turn the flame to low and cover with a lid.  Cook covered until the veggies are tender.
  • Once the veggie are cooked, turn off the flame.  Taste the dish and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.  Keep the lid on till you are ready to serve.
  • When you are ready to serve, remove the lid and toss in the reserved cilantro leaves for garnish.

Transfer the veggies to a serving platter.  We usually serve it family style.  If I am throwing a formal dinner party, I will serve it as part of a plated dish.  It can be served with any protein you like.  Below it is served with my Amritsari Masala Fish.

Amritsari Masala Fish Feature 1

Most Indian people are vegetarian, so they serve it with dal and plain yogurt.  I have posted my Autumn Dal recipe if you would like to refer to it.  You can buy yogurt from the store, or if you would like to make your own yogurt see my  Mom’s Yogurt recipe.

I would appreciate your feedback.  Please leave a comment to let me know your thoughts.

 

 

Curried Cabbage-Punjabi Style

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This is a classic recipe from the Punjab region in the north of India.  I am Punjabi, so we eat this dish often.  Curried cabbage is delicious and takes very little time to prepare.  It can be served as a side dish with any protein you like.  Traditionally, it is served with dal (see my Autumn Dal recipe), yogurt (My Mom’s Yogurt) and roti.

INGREDIENTS:

Punjabi Curried Cabbage Ingredients

  • 1 medium sized head of green cabbage
  • 1 bunch of cilantro
  • 2 green chilies
  • 10 curry leaves (optional,  if you don’t have these leave them out)
  • 2 inches of ginger
  • juice of 1 small lemon (in the photo the yellow cube in the center is a cube of frozen lemon juice.  When I get a lot of lemons from my neighbor’s tree, I juice them and freeze them into cubes.)
  • 1/2 tablespoon of tomato paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of nigella seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon of garam masala
  • 3 tablespoons of grapeseed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Punjabi Curried Cabbage Prep

  • Cut the cabbage in half, remove the core and then chop it coarsely.
  • Peel the ginger and mince it.
  • Finely mince the green chilies (I use them seeds and all.  If you want the dish less spicy you can discard the seeds.)
  • Remove the curry leaves from their stems (the curry leaves are used whole and they are edible.  Unlike bay leaves, they do not need to be removed.)
  • Remove the cilantro leaves from their stems.  Set aside a handful of leaves for garnish.  The remaining leaves and chopped up stems will be used in the cooking process.

COOK:

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  • Coat a heavy stainless steel skillet with grapeseed oil.  Turn the flame to medium and heat up the oil.
  • Once the oil is hot, add the cabbage first.  Then add the chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cilantro and all three seeds.
  • Toss everything together and sauté until the seeds are toasted and the cabbage is slightly brown.  This should take about 5 minutes.
  • At this point, add the tomato paste, powdered spices and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Sauté for another 5 minutes so that the tomato paste and spices have a chance to toast.
  • Now add the lemon juice.  Turn the flame to low and cover with a lid.  Cook covered until the cabbage is tender.  My husband likes his cabbage a little crunchy.  Most Indian people like the cabbage to be soft.
  • Once the cabbage is cooked to your liking, turn off the flame.  Taste the dish and adjust the salt and pepper to your taste.  Keep the lid on till you are ready to serve.
  • When you are ready to serve, remove the lid and toss in the reserved cilantro leaves for garnish.

Transfer the cabbage to a serving platter.  We usually serve it family style.

Punjabi Curried Cabbage IG

I hope you enjoy this recipe.  My neighbor brought me a whole bunch of cruciferous vegetables.  These green leafy veggies are full of vitamins, minerals and fiber.  When prepared correctly, they are delicious.  My husband loves all of them.  Below is a photo.

Winter Garden Vegetables

I will be posting additional cruciferous veggie recipes in the future.

 

Eggplant Bharta (curried mashed eggplant)

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , , 2 Comments

Bharta served with Rotis and My Mom’s Yogurt

Ingredients:  Serves 6-8

20160704_201500
2 large eggplants stuffed with garlic cloves

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  • 2 large eggplants (these were grown by my neighbor, Billy)
  • 1 cup frozen peas
  • 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
  • 1 large onion, diced
  • 1 head of garlic
  • 1 chili pepper, minced
  • 3 inches of ginger root, minced
  • 1 teaspoon whole black mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 1 tablespoon garam masala
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
  • 1 teaspoon red chilli flakes
  • grape seed oil (or any other neutral flavored oil)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Prep:

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The onion and tomato are diced.  The ginger and chili are minced.

Prepping the mashed eggplant:

20160704_201500
2 large eggplants stuffed with garlic cloves
  • Separate the garlic head into cloves.  Peel the skin from each clove and cut it in half lengthwise.
  • Cut slits into the eggplants and insert a piece of garlic into each slit.
  • Rub each eggplant with grape see oil.  Place in a baking dish and roast at 450 F until the skin becomes charred and the flesh is soft.  NOTE: you will have to turn the eggplants over during the roasting process so that the skin is charred on all sides.

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  • Cut of the ends, score them with a fork and set aside for later.20160726_184528
  • Discard as many of the seeds as you can and scoop out the flesh.20160726_200158
  • Use a chef’s knife to finely mince the flesh.  DO NOT USE A FOOD PROCESSOR because it will make the eggplant gummy.20160726_200248

Cook:

  1.  Coat a large skillet with grape seed oil.  Add the onion, ginger, chili, black mustard seed , cumin and chili flakes.20160726_201150
  2. Turn the stove to medium and saute until brown (about 8 minutes)20160726_203620
  3. Add the garam masala and tumeric.  Let the spices toast for about a minute.
  4. Add the diced tomatoes.  Saute until the tomatoes are soft.20160726_204008
  5. Add the mashed eggplant and the 2 eggplant ends (when we were little my sisters and I would fight over the eggplant ends.  So mom made sure there was one for each of us.)  Saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  6. Add the peas.  Let them saute for 2 minutes.

I have served the Eggplant Bharta with Rotis and My Mom’s Yogurt.  This is how my mom served it.  You can use this as a side dish with anything you like.