Tag: Vegan

Green Beans & Red Rose Potatoes – Punjabi Style

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Green Beans & Red Rose Potatoes is a classic Punjabi recipe.

Green Beans & Red Rose Potates - Punjabi Style Feature

I decided to make this recipe because my neighbor, Billy brought me fresh green beans and red rose potatoes from his garden.  I am always inspired by the fresh, beautiful ingredients that I have on hand.

My grandmother used to make this dish with a combination of ghee and mustard oil.  The mustard oil adds a fantastic pungent flavor and a fragrant aroma. If you want to make it vegan, you can use grape seed oil instead of the ghee.  

In India most people observe a religious day of the week.  Which day is considered religious depends on the deity that the household follows.   In our household Krishna is our deity and Tuesday is our religious day.  So on Tuesdays we fast until dinner time and don’t eat any garlic or onion.  This recipe was designed for fast day with no garlic or onion.  

INGREDIENTS:

Green Beans & Red Rose Potatoes Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of green beans
  • 1/2 pound of red rose potatoes
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 1 inch of turmeric root (use powdered turmeric if the root is not available)
  • 1 large green chili
  • 1 lemon
  • 1 large tomato
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 Tbsp ghee
  • 3 Tbsp mustard oil (1 Tbsp for coating the potatoes and 2 Tbsp for cooking)
  • 2 Tbsp of my Indian Spice Mix (leave out the garlic and onion powder)
  • 1 tsp of black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp of cumin seeds
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Green Beans & Red Rose Potatoes Prep

  • Cut the potatoes in half.  Then cut each half into slices that are 1/4 inch thick.  Coat the potatoes with 1 Tbsp of mustard seed oil and my Indian Spice Mix.  Set aside at room temperature to marinate while you prep the other ingredients.
  • Remove the stems of the green beans.  Cut each bean into thirds.  This should yield pieces that are an inch and a half each.
  • Dice the tomato
  • Mince the ginger and chili

COOK:

Green Beans & Red Rose Potatoes Cook 1

Place a wok or large stainless steel pan on a medium flame.  Add the ghee and let it melt.

When the ghee is hot add the ginger, chili, black mustard seeds and cumin seeds.

Green Beans & Red Rose Potatoes Cook 2

Cook for 2 to 3 minutes to allow the seeds to toast and pop.

Add the tomato paste and 2 Tbsp of mustard oil.

Saute for about 3 minutes to cook the tomato paste and brown the ginger and chili.

Add the marinated red rose potatoes.

Grate in the turmeric root and saute until the potatoes are brown.

Add the diced tomato and half a tsp of salt and pepper.  

Saute until the tomatoes get soft.  This should take 2 or 3 minutes.

Place the lid.  Reduce the flame to low and cook until the potatoes are almost tender, but not yet soft.

Add the green beans.  Mix them in and add 1/2 tsp of salt.  Cover and let cook until the potatoes are soft and the green beans are tender but still a little crunchy. 

Many people in India like their green beans cooked until they are soft.  If that is your preference, then by all means cook the beans until they are soft.  I decided to keep the beans crunchy because they were just freshly picked from the garden.  They tasted so good all on their own that I wanted to keep the integrity of the ingredient.

Remove the lid.  Squeeze in the juice of 1 lime and toss to mix.  Taste and adjust the salt and pepper as needed.

This dish is usually served with dal (lentil soup) and roti (Indian flat bread.)  That makes a great vegetarian meal.  I usually pair it with Amritsari Masala Fish and pick out most of the potatoes, so that I can keep on my pescatarian and ketogenic lifestyle.  It can also be paired with any other protein to make a complete meal.

I have been posting Indian recipes for the past 5 weeks.  Next week I am going to switch over to one of my signature Italian recipes.

Until then, namaste 🙏

 

 

Vegan Curry

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , 10 Comments

I created this Vegan Curry last year, for my Indian Cooking Class/Pop Up Supper Club in Support of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry .  The main course on the menu, featured a trio of Indian Curries, to suit a wide range of dietary preferences.

Cooking Class 2 Menu

Eventually, I will also publish the recipes for the Monk-fish Curry and the Oxtail Curry.  If you want to see photos of these curries click on Results of My Second Cooking Class/Pop Up Supper Club in Support of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry.

INGREDIENTS:

Vegan Curry Ingredients

  • 4 Chayote Squash
  • 2 large bunches of greens (here I used rainbow chard and beet greens.  Use the freshest greens you can find.)
  • 1 bunch of cilantro (leave it out if you don’t like cilantro)
  • 1 large white onion
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 2 inches of fresh turmeric (use powder if you don’t have fresh)
  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 medium tomatoes
  • 2 green chilies
  • 1 lime
  • 2 cups of cooked chickpeas drained of their liquid (you can also use canned chickpeas if you don’t want to cook them yourself.)
  • 1 Tbsp of tomato paste
  • 1 tsp of black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp of cumin seeds
  • 1 Tbsp of Chunky Chat masala (use an extra lime if you don’t have this.)
  • 1 Tbsp of garam masala
  • 2 tsp of cayenne pepper
  • 3 Tbsp of grape seed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Vegan Curry Prep

  • Wash the greens to get rid of all the dirt.  Separate the leaves form the stems.  Julienne the leaves and mince the stems.  I do not throw the stems away, I use them as part of the aromatic base of the curry.  Fresh stems have a lot of nutrition and flavor.
  • Dice the onion and tomatoes
  • Separate the cilantro leaves from the stems.  In Asian countries the cilantro is so fresh that you can use the stems and the roots.  The roots in particular have a lot of flavor.  I was lucky to be able to get very fresh cilantro from the farm down the road.

Cilantro for Vegan Curry  So I minced the stems and roots to go into my aromatic base.

  • Mince the garlic, ginger and chilies.
  • To prep the Chayote, cut it into quarters, remove the core and then chop into bite sized pieces.

MAKING THE VEGAN CURRY BASE:

Vegan Curry Base 1

  • Coat a deep soup pan or a wok with 3 Tbsp of grape seed oil
  • Add the onion, ginger, garlic, chilies, and the minced stems from the greens and cilantro
  • Add half the cilantro leaves, reserve half to be used at the end of the cooking process
  • Saute on medium low heat until the vegetables are soft

Vegan Curry Base 2

  • Add the cumin and mustard seeds
  • Grate in the fresh turmeric (if you are using powdered turmeric, it will be added later in the recipe with the other powdered spices.)
  • Saute for a few minutes to toast the seeds and cook the turmeric

Vegan Curry Base 3

  • Make a hot spot in the center of the pan by pushing the vegetables to the side
  • Add tomato paste to the hot spot

Vegan Curry Base 4

  • Cook the tomato paste in the center of the pan for a minute and then mix it in
  • Add the chopped tomatoes

  • Stir them in and saute for about 5 minutes to soften the tomatoes
  • Add the Chayote squash and the powdered spices

Vegan Curry Adding the Chayote & Powdered Spices

  • Mix well and saute the squash uncovered for about 10 minutes.  At this point the squash should be translucent but not fully cooked.

Vegan Curry Chayote Squash Mixed In

  • Add the chick peas

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  • Stir them in
  • Cook covered for about 10 minutes
  • Add the greens

  • Stir them in
  • Cook covered for another 10 minutes to wilt the greens
  • Add slat, pepper and lime juice.  Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
  • Add the remaining cilantro leaves at the end of the cooking process.

Serve as a side dish or a main dish for vegans and vegetarians.

When I was preparing this curry for my cooking class, I had tender baby spinach available so I used it in the curry.

Tender baby spinach does not take long to cook, so I just added it at the end and turned off the flame.  For dinner service, I put the curry in a crock pot set to warm.  The residual heat was enough to wilt the spinach.

Indian Cooking Class Feature

The photo above shows my buffet set up for dinner service after the cooking class.  The Vegan Curry is in the center crock pot.

I hope you like this hearty vegan recipe.  I would love to hear your feedback in the comments section. 🙂

Roasted Bottle Gourd Medallions

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Bottle Gourd is a winter squash.  It has many different names such as, Calabash, Long Melon, and Opo Squash.  It is called Dudhi in Central India and Lauki in Northern India, which is where I am from.  It can be harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil.  I grew up eating Lauki.  Most of the time it was peeled and turned into a curry.  It tastes halfway between a squash and a pumpkin.  It is great for a low carb or Ketogenic diet because 100 grams of Lauki has only 2.5 grams of net carbs.

I use all parts of a vegetable because I don’t like waste.  The skin has so much fiber and nutrients, so I decided to come up with a dish that uses the skin.  This recipe is an Indian twist on my Italian Roasted Tromboncino Squash Medallions.

Roasted Bottle Gourd Medallions Feature

INGREDIENTS:

  • 4 small bottle gourds
  • 2 Tbsp of my Indian Spice Mix
  • Grape seed oil, enough to coat the medallions
  • Salt and pepper to taste

PREP:

Bottle Gourds Prep

  • Cut the bottle gourd into 1/4 inch medallions
  • Place the medallions on a lined baking sheet for easy clean up
  • Sprinkle the first side of the medallions with salt, pepper and my Indian Spice Mix
  • Drizzle on grape seed oil to coat.  Gently rub in the spice mix and oil into each medallion.  Flip the medallions and repeat on the second side.

COOK:

  • Preheat the oven to 400 F
  • Place the sheet trays of medallions in the middle of the oven
  • Let roast until you see the moisture in the medallions bubbling.  About 10 minutes.
  • Remove the sheet trays from the oven and flip the medallions over.  Roast until tender.  About 5 minutes.  Then turn off the oven, and leave in the oven for another 5 minutes.  This will allow the side resting on the sheet tray to to get nicely caramelized without burning.
  • Place medallions on a platter caramelized side up

Serve as an appetizer or a side dish.  You can top them with Pan Seared Scallops for a fancy and tasty presentation.  Here is a photo of my Pan Seared Scallops and Squash to give you an idea.

Scallops and Squash Feature

I usually buy Bottle Gourd at the Indian market.  I have occasionally seen it in my local grocery store, or in a Mexican market.  If you can’t find it, use zucchini instead.

This is an easy recipe that can be made quickly when you are short on time.  It also reheats very nicely.  I keep some in the frig and then pair it with a protein to make a meal in a hurry.  Its great for meal prepping.

Hope you enjoy this.  Let me know what you think in the comments section.

Marinara Sauce – An Italian Essential

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Marinara Sauce is a basic Italian ingredient that can be used in many recipes.  My  marinara sauce has no added sugar.  Ground up fennel seeds are used to give the illusion of sweetness.  This is actually an Indian cooking tip that I learned from my great grandmother.  TIP: Use fennel powder to impart the illusion of sweetness without using any sugar or sugar substitute.  

Marinara Sauce Feature

When I was 12, my family moved to America.  We settled in Queens, New York.  We lived in a very Italian neighborhood.  Most of the Italian families were related to each other, and everyone had vegetable and herb gardens in their backyard.  I had never even heard of Italian food, much less tasted it.  The Italians I met were full of joy and very generous.  They loved to feed me whenever I visited.  This was my introduction to Italian food, where I learned how to make marinara sauce from one of the Italian grandmothers (nonnas.) They always seemed to have jars of homemade marinara in their cupboards.

I learned from the nonnas, the great TIP of having marinara sauce on hand because it can be used to make so many dishes.  I have already created and photographed two recipes using my homemade marinara.  They will post on July 11th and July 18th.  For the 4th of July, I have planned a very special red, white and blue Italian dessert that is low carb and keto friendly.  I named the dessert Berries & Fennel Scented Zabaglione.

INGREDIENTS:

Marinara Sauce Ingredients

  • 8 large ripe tomatoes ( these beauties came from my neighbor’s garden.  I have the best neighbors 😃)
  • a large handful of basil ( the basil in the photo was grown by me.  I grow herbs in pots in the sun room just outside my kitchen.  This way I can get fresh herbs when I need them.  I feel truly blessed to be able to have the luxury to do this.)
  • 1 large white onion (this one was grown by my neighbor.  He brings us vegetables and we give him eggs from our chickens and ducks.)
  • 3 Tbsp of the best extra virgin olive oil you are able to find (the can of extra virgin olive oil in the photo, was picked up in Tuscany while I was taking a pasta making class.)
  • 1 bell pepper and 1 Serrano pepper (optional.  I like adding the peppers for an extra kick.)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp of dried oregano
  • 1 tsp of red chili flakes (leave these out if you want to make the dish less spicy)
  • 2 tsp of fennel seeds ( grind these to a powder in a spice grinder)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 Parmesan cheese rind.  TIP: Keep leftover cheese rinds in the freezer and use them to add flavor when making marinara sauce.
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 cup of red wine
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

PREPPING THE TOMATOES:

 

  • Score an “X” mark in the skin at the base of each tomato
  • Boil a large pot of water
  • Get an ice bath ready
  • Blanch each tomato in the boiling water for 30 seconds
  • Immediately place the blanched tomato in the ice bath to stop the cooking process
  • Once the tomatoes are cooled, peel off the skin starting at the scored “X” mark.  It should peel off easily.
  • Dice the peeled tomatoes and place them in a crock pot

TIP: Use a crock pot to make the sauce so you don’t have to spend hours stirring the sauce like the Italian nonnas, who taught me to make the sauce did.  

Its a good time saver.  If you want to make it like the nonnas, feel free to make it the traditional way in a large sauce pot.

PREPPING THE OTHER INGREDIENTS:

Marinara Sauce Prep

  • Add the bay leaf and cheese rind to the tomatoes in the crock pot
  • Turn the crock pot to high, and put the lid on while you prep the other ingredients.
  • Dice the onion and bell pepper
  • Mince the garlic and Serrano pepper
  • Tear the basil into small bits

COOKING THE AROMATIC BASE (SOFRITO):

 

  • Coat a stainless steel pan with the extra virgin olive oil and place on medium heat
  • Add the onion, garlic, peppers, basil, red chili flakes, oregano and fennel powder
  • Saute until lightly brown
  • Add the tomato paste, stir it in and cook for another minute
  • Add the cooked sofrito to the crock pot that already has the tomatoes in it

COOKING THE SAUCE:

 

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  • Add 1 cup of red wine
  • Turn the crock pot to low and cook for about 4 hours.  At this point the sauce should have turned a deep red color.
  • Now add salt and pepper to taste
  • Turn the crock pot to warm and let it sit for 30 minutes to let all the flavors marry

I wait until the end to add salt and pepper because it allows me to balance the flavors once everything has already blended and come together.

You can use the marinara immediately for many recipes, or you can put it in mason jars and keep in the frig for up to 2 weeks.  It will keep in the freezer for 6 months.

On a final note, I want to credit Ceramiche d’Arte Carmela, in Ravello, Italy for making the beautiful bowl and plate that I used to present my Marinara Sauce.

Marinara Sauce Feature

I visited their shop when I was in Ravello and fell in love with their ceramics.  I ended up ordering a whole set.  I use it frequently and remember Italy fondly.  I get no compensation for mentioning Carmela’s lovely art work here, but I like giving credit where credit is due.

Please use the comments section to let me know what you think if this recipe.  I always love hearing from you.

Ciao for now.  🖐😃

 

 

Collard Greens & Chickpea Stew

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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. 😊

 

 

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis (cutlets)

Posted in Indian FoodTagged , , , , , 17 Comments

Hello everyone.😊  Hope you are all doing as well as possible during this global pandemic crisis.  I find myself temporarily unemployed for the very first time in my life.  I am using the time to catch up on all the things that I have left on the back burner.  I am now finally catching up with my blog posts.  I have created and photographed so many recipes that I have not had time to post.

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis, is the second in a series of six recipes inspired by  Vegetables From Down The Road.Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis

Classic tikkis are usually made with regular potatoes and peas.  The bundle of vegetables that I received from Fruitful Hill Farm, included sweet potatoes and kale, so I was inspired to create a new version.  Not only is this version more healthful, but the sweet heat combination makes it taste even better.  Great with a cup of Masala Chai.

INGREDIENTS:Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis Ingredients

  • 2 lbs of sweet potatoes
  • 1 large bunch of kale
  • 4 peppers (use whatever variety you have on hand.  Here I used 2  fiery Serranos, a medium – heat Fresno and a sweet orange baby bell.) Mixing up the type of peppers lets you control the heat level and results in a more complex flavor.
  • 1 medium sized yellow onion
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 2 inches of ginger root
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp chili flakes (optional if you want to make the dish more spicy.)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 2 tsp garam masala (I make my own, but you can purchase it at an Indian grocery store or a spice market.)
  • 3 Tbsp grape seed oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

PREPPING THE SWEET POTATOES:

  • Some of the sweet potatoes were small and some were large.  I cut the large ones in half, so that all the pieces were of a similar size.  This way they will cook evenly.  Coat each sweet potato with a little oil.
  • Roast them in a 400 F oven until they are fork tender.
  • Let them cool so they can be handled without burning your hands.
  • Peel the sweet potatoes.
  • Mash then with a pastry cutter.  Add a dash of salt and pepper.

PREPPING THE OTHER INGREDIENTS:Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis Prep

  • Separate the kale leaves from the stems.
  • Don’t throw the stems away.  Instead chop them up into little pieces to use in the cooking process.
  • Chop the onion.
  • Mince the peppers, ginger and garlic.

COOKING THE KALE:

  • Add the chopped up kale stems, the onion, peppers, ginger and garlic to a heavy duty stainless steel pan on medium heat.
  • Add the cumin and black mustard seeds.
  • Add the grape seed oil and saute till golden brown.
  • Then add the powdered turmeric, smoked paprika and garam masala.  Saute for another minute or two until the powdered spices are incorporated.
  • Add the kale
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Let the kale wilt down.  This should take about 5 to 10 minutes.

Once the kale is ready, fold it into the mashed sweet potatoes.  Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Kale Base Combined into a Hash

Let the mixture cool to room temperature before you start making the tikkis.

MAKING THE TIKKIS:

  • Take a heaping tablespoon of the sweet potato kale mixture and form into flattened discs.
  • Coat a non-stick skillet with grape seed oil.  Place on medium heat.  When the oil is shimmering add the tikkis.  Do not over crowd the pan.  Cook for about 3 minutes on each side to get a brown crispy crust.

Place on a platter and serve with chutney.  They are so yummy.

Sweet Potato & Kale Tikkis, cooked

Traditionally, tikkis are served with a mint and coriander chutney.  Since my vegetable basket had fresh carrots with absolutely lovely carrots tops, I made a carrot tops and coriander chutney to serve with the tikkis.  It turned out so well.  I do my best to use every part of every vegetable so that we don’t have waste.  It leads me to make some very creative recipes.  What we don’t eat, gets fed to the goats or the ducks and chickens.  Nothing goes to waste around here.  Deliciously, doing our part to be in harmony with the planet and Mother Nature.

In the feature photo, you can see the Carrot Tops and Coriander Chutney, served with the tikkis.  The chutney recipe will be posted next Saturday, as the third in the series of six recipes inspired by Vegetables From Down The Road.

These tikkis are very versatile.  Serve them as a snack with tea, as a fancy Hors d’oeuvre at a cocktail party, or an appetizer at a dinner party.  They are always a hit.  You can also make them the day before, and then warm them up in the toaster oven just before serving.  The toaster oven lets the crust stay nice and crispy.  If you have any left over mixture it make a great hash, topped off with eggs, for breakfast.Sweet Potato & Kale Hash topped with Poached EggsI really enjoyed creating this recipe and sharing it with you.  Let me know what you think of it in the comment section.

I always, appreciate your support and feedback.

P.S.: Today my husband decided that I needed an outing because I haven’t left the house in a week.  He drove me in his MG convertible, so I could enjoy the sunny day, down the road to Fruitful Hill Farm.  I picked up another beautiful bundle of vegetables.Vegetables From Down The Road 15 May 2020

More inspiration to come up with some creative dishes !!! 😃

Results of My Second Cooking Class/Pop Up Supper Club in Support of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry

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My second cooking class/pop supper club was a lot of fun.  The students were eager to learn how to make Indian food.  Everyone enjoyed the food, wine pairing and the camaraderie generated by the community getting together to help a good cause.

Buffet Line

I. Enjoying Kachumber
Photo by Gabby Silva

I am very thankful to my guests for their goodwill and donations to the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry.  We were able to raise $775 to help our community.

Here is the Indian Menu that my students and I prepared.  Just like the last event, it was delicious, gluten free and Keto friendly.  Vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian options were available to include a wide variety of dietary preferences.

Cooking Class 2 Menu

THE APPETIZER

F. Plated Kachri
photo by Gabby Silva

AUBERGINE KACHRI is my dad’s favorite appetizer.  My mom used to make it for him frequently.  It consists of spicy slices of sauteed eggplant served with a yogurt mint sauce.  For the full recipe, please click on the link above.

Indian cooking takes some advance preparation.  Some of the students joined me the Friday before the event to help me with the prep and learn some extra tips.

The eggplant has to be sliced and salted overnight to draw out excess moisture.  Drawing out the moisture allows the eggplant to cook evenly and not absorb excess oil.  This is a tip I learned from my mom.  Below is Rose, one of my students, showing the eggplant we sliced and salted.

A'. Prepping Kachri

The cooking class began on Saturday at noon.  The first thing we did is dry the eggplant slices and season them with my Indian Spice Mix.

We let the seasoned eggplant slices sit in the frig for a couple of hours, to let all the spices marry, before pan sauteing them.

C. Sauteing Kachri

The cooked eggplant slices were topped off with a dollop of yogurt mint sauce made with My Mom’s Yogurt.  A fresh mint leaf was added to each slice for a finishing touch.

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THE SALAD

G. Plated Kachumber

KACHUMBER is chopped salad made with cucumber, tomato, onion, mint, cilantro, lime juice and Indian spices.  In the above photo, you see it plated with a small papad.  Papad is a thin, cracker-like crisp made with lentils.  It serves as the Keto friendly crouton element.

The salad was the last thing we made so that we could serve it super fresh.  In the photo below, you will see the components of the main course staying warm in crockpots, while we prep the Kachumber Salad.

A. Prepping Kachumber

I also made a yogurt dressing, with toasted cumin and other spices, to add a creamy element to the Kachumber Salad.  I will post the full recipe as soon as I get a chance.

THE MAIN COURSE was a Trio of  Indian Curries

I want to clarify what a curry is.  Curry just means something cooked in a sauce.  In India, every region has its own variety of curries.  Indian cooks do not use curry powder.  Curry powder is a British invention.  Each curry is made from scratch with its own blend of base aromatics and a layering of spices throughout the cooking process.

I decided to make three unique curries, both to accommodate a variety of dietary needs and to show my students different ways of making curries.

Indian Cooking Class Feature
Photo by Gabby Silva

Starting from left to right, the photo above shows:

  • Riced Cauliflower Pilaf, made with freshly grated turmeric
  • Extra Kachri Slices, in case anyone wanted an additional appetizer
  • Vegan Curry, with chickpeas for protein
  • Monkfish Curry, with a coconut lime base, for the pescatarians
  • Oxtail Curry, my unique signature dish

Diners had a choice of enjoying the curries with a Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf (sitting in the pot on the back burner) or a Keto friendly, Riced Cauliflower Pilaf.  Click on the link for Buckwheat Pilaf to see the basic recipe to make any kind of pilaf.

I am a pescatarian, who leads a Keto Lifestyle, so I served myself a plate of riced cauliflower pilaf and topped it with monkfish curry.

Trio of Indian Curries
photo by Gabby Silva

It was really delicious, if I do say so myself.  Monkfish is considered to be poor man’s lobster. It tasted like a decadent lobster curry with a great depth of flavor, and was the first one to be finished.  I will definitely make it again and post the recipe.

THE DESSERT

Zb. Ras Malai Plated
photo by Gabby Silva

SAFFRON PISTACHIO RASMALAI is a classic Indian dessert, and my husband’s favorite.  Each round ball is a cheesecake bite sitting in a creamy, flavorful sauce.

Indian desserts tend to be very sweet, so my challenge was to figure out a way to make is Keto friendly.  As I was mulling over how to make a low carb version, I recalled a memory from when I was 10 years old.

I was visiting my great grandmother and I watched her make Rasmalai from scratch.  She used just a little bit of honey in place of sugar.  She told me that my great grandfather had sugar problems, so she made desserts with very little sugar, but a lot of flavor.

I did my best to recreate her recipe.  I am going to show you how I did it.  The trick is to use very high quality ingredients and lots of spices that will give the illusion of sweetness.  The spices I used in this case are saffron, fennel powder and cardamom.

MAKING THE RAS GULLAS (cheese balls)

My friend Kathy, came over on prep day to learn how to make Paneer.

  • Once the Paneer is ready, break it up with a fork, add the spices and ground up pistachios.

  • Mix everything together and gently knead it into a ball.

  • Cut the ball into 2 inch pieces, and shape into discs.

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  • Make a pistachio honey syrup scented with saffron and rose water.  I used only one tablespoon of raw local honey in the entire pan of syrup.

  • The syrup is used to cook the cheese balls and infuse them with flavor.  They are simmered for 10 minutes with the lid on.  During the cooking process the cheese balls will double in size.

  • The cooked cheese balls are cooled and firmed up in an ice bath.

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  • While the cheese balls are cooling, make the cream sauce.  The sauce consists of cream, half &half, one tablespoon of honey, pistachio powder, saffron and rose water.

W. making the cream (malai) for the ras gullas

  • Place the firmed up cheese balls in the cream sauce.  We made these on prep day so that the cheese balls could become saturated with the cream sauce overnight.

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Just before serving, I plated the RasMalai by spooning two tablespoons of Malai (cream sauce) into a small bowl.  Then I placed two RasGullas (cheese balls) in each bowl and topped them off with pistachios and goji berries for a little color.

I was proud to make this dessert.  I felt like my great grandmother was there helping me. After my husband ate this RasMalai, he said he would never eat the store bought version again.  My great grandmother’s version turned out so sublime, with a profound but delicate flavor.  I will do a full recipe post when I make it again, but for now I have posted the above photos to give you an idea of how the RasMalai was made.

I want to thank my husband for his help and his expert wine pairing.

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I also want to thank my guests for their support, and Gabby Silva for taking such great photos.

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My next event will be in September for Hunger Action Month.  Tresha Silva, the director of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry, and I are planning to hold the event at the Bastrop Convention & Exhibit Center.

I will keep you posted.  In the meantime, if you have any suggestions or comments please let me know in the comment section below.  I would love to hear from you.

Results of My First Cooking Class/Pop Up Supper Club in Support of the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry

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My first cooking class/pop up supper club was a lot of fun and a big hit.  The students loved the cooking class.  Everyone enjoyed the food, wine pairing and the goodwill generated during the event.  The best compliment I got was that the food, wine and service were like a five star restaurant, but the camaraderie was the best thing of all.

I am thankful to my guests for their goodwill and donations to the Bastrop County Emergency Food Pantry.  We were able to raise $600 to help our community.  Not bad for a first trial run event.

OUR NEXT EVENT WILL BE ON SEPTEMBER 28th.  This time the menu will be Indian Cuisine.  I will post the menu by the first week of September.  The event will be open to 20 people and will be held in my cooking school house on my ranch.

Here is the Italian profile menu that was prepared and served for this event.  It was all delicious, gluten free and Keto friendly.  I was also able to provide vegan and vegetarian options.

BCEFP Event 2

 

THE AMUSE-BOUCHE

Photo by Gabby Silva

AUTUMN DAL–I served a sample of the soup that I made for the 2019 Bastrop County Empty Bowl Project.

 

THE APPETIZER

Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER–topped with shaved Italian cheeses, pine nuts and a drizzle of homemade pesto.  I have not yet posted this recipe on my blog, but I will soon.

The cooking class students enjoyed making and eating this dish.  It was a class favorite.

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The pesto that topped the cauliflower was easy to make, fragrant and oh so yum!!!

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My friend, Melinda thought it smelled divine.

Photo by Gabby Silva

By the way,  Melinda has been very supportive of my cooking endeavors.  She made me promise that when I do my first cooking class, I have to call her so that the event can be scheduled at a time when she will be able to attend.  True to my promise, she was the first one to be invited.

A NO WASTE TIP–when we prepped the cauliflower, we saved all the stalks and leaves.  We used them as part of the base for the stuffing in our main course.  I wanted to show that no part of the vegetable has to go to waste. I always use it all one way or the other.  In this case I used it in the soffritto that makes up the stuffing for the Dover Sole.  The cauliflower stalks taste like a cross between celery and fennel, so they make an aromatic addition to the soffritto.

 

THE SALAD

Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva

MIXED GREENS–with house made balsamic vinaigrette.  I bought some organic greens at grocery store, but the ones you see me washing were grown by my hubby.

The main reason that I wanted to make a salad was to show my students how easy it is to make salad dressing.  It is basically 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar, an emulsifying agent, salt, pepper, herbs and spices.  Here I used Tuscan Extra Virgin olive oil, White Balsamic vinegar from Modena, soy sauce as the emulsifying agent, thyme and my Italian Spice Mix.

Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva

I will write a detailed post on the basics of making salad dressings in the future.  I never buy commercial salad dressings because most of them have ingredients that are not good for you.  Also the home made dressings are easy to make and taste so much better.

 

THE MAIN COURSE

Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva

STUFFED DOVER SOLE–with artichoke hearts and onion, served on a bed of BUCKWHEAT PILAF surrounded by BLISTERED TOMATOES.  On the right you see the vegan option, where roasted cauliflower was substituted for the fish.

I picked this dish for my first cooking class because it was the first dish I posted when I started my blog.  I was so lucky to find wild fresh caught Dover Sole at the store.  For the full recipe please click on the links above.

Here are a few more photos from the cooking class.

Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva

 

THE DESSERT

CC 1 Zabaglione Whip
Photo by Gabby Silva

BERRIES AND FENNEL SCENTED ZABAGLIONE

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Zabaglione is an Italian custard made with egg yolks, sugar and sweet Marsala wine.  The eggs came form our own chickens, making this custard extra special.  I played around with the traditional zabaglione recipe to find a way to cut down the amount of sugar used.  The classic recipe calls for a table spoon of sugar for 2 egg yolks along with a table spoon of sweet Marsala.  I was able to cut the sugar down to 1 tea spoon by adding a pinch of fennel powder. In the future, I will write a post showing the recipe step by step.

THE TIP HERE IS THAT FENNEL POWDER ADDS THE ILLUSION OF SWEETNESS SO IT ALLOWS YOU TO DECREASE THE AMOUNT OF SUGAR.  The fennel powder also adds great flavor.  I use this same trick in my marinara sauce.  An Indian cooking trick carried over to Italian Cuisine.  I really like that.

I was a bit nervous because this was my first cooking class.  However, everything went smoothly.  All the food was timed correctly.  We started the class at 1:30 with 5 students.  The class ended right on time at 5:30.  The dinner guests arrived at 6 pm and my husband served everyone a cocktail.

Photo by Gabby Silva
Photo by Gabby Silva

Above you see him making his Pear Martini.  It is a very popular drink.  The pears come from our tree.  If you want to see the recipe please click on the link.

Each course was perfectly matched with a Texas wine from Messina Hof.

Thanks to everyone who helped to make it a great event!

CC 1 Group Photo
Photo by Gabby Silva