Pasta Primavera House Style and a Mixed Day

May 10, 2013 1 Comment

Today was guaranteed to be a mixed bag kind of day, and as I get ready to sleep, ok scribble some lines and sleep, I try and resign myself to its inevitable mixed quality. Pasta, especially a spring time Pasta Primavera is what works for such mixed days.

SP1medIt is on days like this I appreciate the words of wisdom from Scarlett O’Hara that promise that tomorrow is another day! It always is, especially in spring when the mornings are bright or rainy. I cherish both, I love the soft spring rain, walking through patches and puddles sometimes arriving with wet hair to work much to the chagrin of some of the people at work, mostly my lovely assistant. As I say, you can take the girl out of Kolkata, but not Kolkata out of the girl.

Pasta Primavera (House Style)

To this end, today’s offering is a simple pasta dish, that I wish to call Pasta Primavera (housestyle). Yes, it is my take on a very springy pasta dish, that I have cobbled together with the new tender asparagus, corn and new fresh green peas. Chopped in lots of chives and muddled all of these together with some parmasan, garlic and olive oil. If your mom is a pasta lover like me, this simple dish full of complex flavors might be what calls her name.

Either way wishing you and yours a wonderful weekend with fresh flavors, good food and lots of love.

 

 

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Pasta Primavera (House Style)

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

A simple pasta toss with garlic and olive oil as a lot of yard to table vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup of dried pasta (any shape, I am partial to bow-ties)
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 11/2 tablespoons butter
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 cup chopped tender asparagus
  • 1/2 cup fresh green peas
  • 1/2 cup corn fresh or frozen
  • 1/2 cup chopped chives or garlic chives
  • 11/2 tablespoons minced thyme
  • 1 lime or lemon

Instructions

  1. Cook the pasta in plenty of water and salt for about 7 to 8 minutes or al dente per package instructions.
  2. Heat the oil and the butter and add in the garlic and gently cook stirring frequently until the garlic is a pale toffee color and very fragrant.
  3. Add in the red pepper flakes, stir in the asparagus, green peas, corn and cook for about 3 minutes.
  4. Stir in the pasta, working quickly to let the pasta and the ingredients coat well. Add salt to taste.
  5. Add in the chives, thyme and squeeze in the lime or lemon juice.
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Filed Under Garlic, Local and Backyard Cooking, Thyme, Uncategorized Tagged With Asparagus, Chives, Corn, Garlic, One Dish Meals, Pasta, Spring, Vegetarian, Weeknight Cooking

Pork Vindaloo – Goan Pork Curry with a Chili Garlic Base

March 11, 2013 Leave a Comment

Pork VindalooWhen I first tasted this recipe, it was too spicy for my then untrained palate, however the magical flavors of the pork vindaloo made me reach out for more. I down it with enough chilled Chenin Blanc, to make the experience memorable. 

Despite, my first jolt of heat, I loved the dish enough to ask the cook for the recipe. I later was told that this was Goa’s signature dish, however, like a lot of signature dishes it did have many different flourishes. I guess the key ingredients in the recipe are garlic, vinegar and chilies.

It is derivered from Portuguese roots, and the name loosely translates to meat in a vinegar wine sauce.

There are variations of this recipe that are more anglo-Indian in heritage, this particular variation is what I tend to stick with when I am cooking pork, which in itself is a novelty in our house. In fact, I think that this just might be the first pork recipe that I am sharing on this blog.

Square2mdHowever, in winter about a couple of times a year when the opportunity is right this recipe surfaces in our house.

The opportunity last weekend came by when the husband had a couple of friends over, possibly like in the form of a lose boys nights in. Since one of the friends who I had never met before appeared to be without a woman, and the second one was travelling on business without his family. They decided to have a mini-reunion at our place and were happy taster/samplers to this recipe that has happily survived quite a few such tastings.

Since, I have simplified the spice base mostly down to a marinade it is essential to actually plan and marinate the meat overnight this does make a huge difference in the flavor.

Also, resist the temptation to increase the amount of coconut milk in the recipe it offers the sauce too much of a creamy texture which is not really what this dish is all about.

 

 

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Pork Vindaloo – Goan Pork Curry with a Chili Garlic Base

Prep Time: 12 hours

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 12 hours, 40 minutes

A simple and flavorful rendition of pork vindaloo, a classic recipe for the western Indian region of Goa.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 6 pods of garlic
  • 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
  • 3 green chilies
  • 2 to 3 dried red chilies
  • 11/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 pounds pork, cut into 11/2 inch cubes
  • 4 tablespoon oil
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 medium stick cinnamon (about 2-3 pieces)
  • 2 medium red onions, diced
  • 1/3 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 cup water
  • Chopped cilantro to garnish

Instructions

  1. Place the vinegar in a mixing bowl and add in the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chilies, red chilies, cloves, cinnamon and set aside for 15 to 20 minutes.
  2. Place the mixture in a blender or wet-dry grinder and blend until smooth.
  3. Mix with the salt and the pork and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.
  4. When ready to cook, heat the oil on medium heat and add in the cloves and cinnamon and cook for a few seconds.
  5. Add in the onion and cook for 3 to 4 minutes until the onion softens and wilts and turns translucent.
  6. Add in the pork and the spices and cook the mixture stirring frequently until the spices and the onions mix together into a soft fragrant sauce and the onion separates lightly creating a glossy sheen around the pork.
  7. Add in the coconut milk and use it to scrape any spices clinging to the edges of the pot.
  8. Add in the water and bring to a simmer, cover and cook the pork until tender (about 25 minutes).
  9. Remove the cover and cook down the sauce if needed until thick and sauce.
  10. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed rice.
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Filed Under Regional Indian, Slow Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Chilies, Curries, Garlic, Goa, Pork Vindaloo, Vindaloo, Vinegar

Green Beans with Toasted Mustard Seeds and Garlic

September 3, 2012 2 Comments

 I should probably re-label this the determined Green Beans with Toasted Garlic and Mustard seeds, because for some reason this site has been a little resistant in allowing me to post this recipe. It pretty much wiped it out the first time around.

Maybe it is upset at being the second fiddle to this whole foods contest, where this recipe ended up winning and paying for itself. Ha! But seriously speaking, I like to think that my seasonal take on Indian cooking could use all the endorsement it gets and a contest like this helps! The feedback and emails from my weekly small bites column also helps!

Down to other thoughts and speaking of small bites, my fellow columist JL, wrote a post about how she accidently ate food that was well, non-vegan. This generated a lot of controversy and while the traffic for the blog was good news it got me thinking. about opinions and food preferences. I realize that as someone who in my small way am espousing a choice and preference (seasonal eating is a choice), and writing about it in an open forum I too am voicing an opinion, but do I really have the right to impose this choice or speak about someone who eats and feels differently.

Growing up in a country where more than half the people still lead a vegetarian lifestyle, I cannot help wondering why we have disected food into so many categories – vegan, paleo, you get the drift. Worse yet, why do we feel when we have decided to eat a certain way for phillosophical, ethical or even health reasons that our way is the right way? And by the way what about taste? I bring this boring concept into the equation, mostly because I have realized that over 50% of the recipes on this blog, interestingly enough happen to be vegan. This just happens to be the preffered way of cooking them. Of course, you can ask why the hell do I even tag them in these categories? This is for a lot of my students and the few followers who express an interest in this kind of cooking. I guess, what I am trying to say in my own special way is why can’t we live and let live? Well, now that you have my unwanted and strange ramblings on a rainy summer night, here is the very simple and fresh tasting recipe, which yes, is vegan, vegetarian and guaranteed to offend my MIL. I shall tell you after the recipe why.

 

 

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Green Beans with Toasted Mustard and garlic

Prep Time: 12 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

Yield: 4 to 6

A light and lively rendition of green beans, garlicky with a nice dose of mellow tempered heat!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound fresh green beans
  • 11/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 3/4 teaspoons black mustard seeds
  • 1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic (about 4 pods)
  • 3/4 teaspoons red pepper flakes or to taste
  • salt to taste

Instructions

  1. Trim the beans and finely chop the beans (I like to cut them into small breadth wise slivers).
  2. Heat the oil and the butter on medium heat for a minute and add in the mustard seeds and wait for them to crackle and pop, this takes about 30 seconds.
  3. Turn off the heat for a minute or so and then turn back the heat on low and add in the garlic and gently cook until the garlic is pale golden and fragrant. This takes less than a minute and it is important to make sure that the garlic does not get burnt or it will taste bitter and ruin the dish.
  4. Add in the green beans and stir well with the red chili powder and the salt and stir well.
  5. Cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the beans are cooked through.The beans are soft with a slight hint of crunch in this recipe.
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Ok, just in case you are interested, back to the MIL…

She does do milk and dairy, why because you are not killing anything but simply using milk, to her this is as natural as nursing your child. However, anything in the allium family, onion and and garlic to be specific is live, potent and if you are to subscribe to a certain variety of hindu thinking, bad for life. So, there you have it, I have honestly concluded, it is really not possible to eat and please everyone.

However, eat, cook and do what makes you happy!

Filed Under Local and Backyard Cooking, Mustard, Uncategorized, Weeknight Cooking Tagged With easy, Garlic, Gluten Free, Green Beans, Indian, Mustard Seeds, red pepper, simple, Summer, vegan. vegetarian

Chickpeas with Kale, Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic

June 13, 2012 1 Comment

If Sunday was about griping, yesterday was different and today I am back to feeling positive and cheery. Something very interesting happened to me, I recently swapped phones. Yes, I am finally on an I-phone. I had resisted using it for a while, now why you might ask?

It is one of those principles that I have, I like to support the independent and the underdog. They are not always the same, but I have a dislike for monopolies, do not like chains so usually settle for the independent book store over Barnes and Nobles and Borders (if I can), avoid Starbucks (this one is not difficult) and I had placed I-phone in the same bucket.

 Well, there is one case where I make exceptions. It is about convenience. As a busy mama, time savings trump all. One of the reasons, I cannot avoid shopping on Amazon, in fact, I just placed an order for my first cast iron skillet. I am told by fans it is going to change the way I cook. The I-phone I have to confess is indeed a very convenient tool and has made my life significantly simpler. But the interesting side benefit of swapping phones has been that I have found messages and contacts that I had stored in drafts and forgotten about. One of these was an email to a very close friend, who I had almost lost touch with, almost… Yesterday we picked up like we had never separated. That is what makes a good friend different.

 Speaking of convenience, these chickpeas are all about simplicity and ease. They need about 15 minutes of hands on cooking time. Do not get me wrong, they cook much longer, but that is what the slow cooker is for. The flavors are seemingly complex but really not so, but roasting the tomatoes and garlic offer this recipe a surprising depth. Something magical happens to garlic when it is roasted, it mellow into a rich silky soft smoothness.

 Next week, I head of to Spain for a week on a much needed vacation. Cannot wait, so stay tuned for Tapas –Westchester style.

Chickpea Stew with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and Kale

 Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Serves 6

 Ingredients

 1/3 cup for 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 tomatoes, quartered

8 pods of garlic

2 cups chickpeas, cooked until very soft (I did this in the slow cooker overnight on an 8-hour cycle)

1 teaspoon coarsely ground cumin

11/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 small bunch of kale (finely chopped, about 8 leaves)

Salt to taste

1 tablespoon fresh cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Lime or lemon juice (optional)

 Method of Preparation

 Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the tomatoes and the garlic in separate ovenproof containers.

Drizzle most of the 1/3 cup oil over the tomatoes and some over the garlic.

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat for a minute.

Add in the cumin and cook until it sizzles.

Add in the pepper flakes and the kale and cook for 5 minutes.

Lightly mash some of the chickpeas to give some texture to the sauce, add in the whole and partially mashed chickpeas to the kale mixture with some water (about 1/3 cup).

Add in the salt and continue simmering.

Mash or mince the garlic and stir it in.

Add in the tomatoes and cook for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cilantro leaves and sprinkle with lime or lemon juice.

 

Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Local and Backyard Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Chickpeas, cilantro, Garlic, Kale, Roasted Tomatoes, Summer

Roasted Vegetable, Walnut and Green Lentil Hummus

March 20, 2012 1 Comment


 For a Monday, I did not really start the day right in terms of food choices. I woke up rather late, completely ignored the thought of eating a sen sible breakfast. Well, it was too late to scramble any eggs and somehow I was not into oatmeal this morning. I do not like cereal, which on practical notice does not really leave me with that many options.

I went off to work and then stopped at the corner deli, to have a breakfast platter, which I chose to complete with home fries. Later, I completed the process by eating some chicken curry and pilaf from the corner bodega.

The afternoon was a long one, crazy meetings drive me, well, crazy… It was one of those days I wanted to come back pour myself a couple of glasses of wine and sit and watch a movie. This is where I took matters in control!

I steeled myself to get on the treadmill and opted for my kindle instead of the movie. I have been reading Mansfield Park, one of the Jane Austen books that I have actually not read. I love the pretty writing and the calm pace. So, with the body and mind feeling better 35 minutes later, I decided to do something for dinner that kept up the spirits of the day but was relatively healthy. This recipe is not really a hummus but, I want to call it such due to the 2 tablespoons of tahini. We ate this with pita chips, I ate maybe more chips that needed but still was a good compromise.

Roasted Vegetable, Walnut and Green Lentil Hummus

Prep Time: 6-8 hours

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Makes 1 cup

Ingredients

1 red pepper cut into a dice

2 green chilies, minced

1 tomato, coarsely chopped

4 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

2/3 cup green lentils, soaked for 6 hours and drained

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup walnuts

2 tablespoons tahini (optional)

1/3 cup chopped cilantro

¼ cup chopped dill

1 lime or lemon

Method of Preparation

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the red bell peppers, green chilies and tomatoes and garlic on a baking sheet.

3. Drizzle with the olive oil and bake for 20 minutes.

4. In the meantime, cook the soaked lentils with salt and 1 cup water for 20 minutes, until they are fairly soft.

5. Drain the lentils in a colander.

6. Place the lentils, roasted vegetables, walnuts, cilantro and dill in a blender.

7. Cut the lime or lemon and squeeze in the juice.

8. Blend until smooth.

Easy recipe

PS. The husband actually had this over wholegrain toast and some more olive oil.

 

Filed Under Grains and Lentils, Uncategorized, Weeknight Cooking Tagged With cilantro, Condiments, Garlic, Green Lentils, Hummus, Vegan, Walnuts

A homey winter lentil stew

December 16, 2011 Leave a Comment

It has been a challenging weekend! Much as I complain about the activities I sometimes thing that they keep the household grounded. Go figure! The kids have been sick, once too often this year, a plethora of stomach viruses that have taken the spunk out the kitchen. The kids have needed a lot of running around and doctor’s visits. Deepta has needed to be dropped to school over the past month, resulting in Anshul getting in late to work. In general, it is a household that has not been functioning in its usual even keel manner. So, I am glad it Monday..

The week forces us back to a rountine.The routine hopefully will offer a modicum of normalcy to life as I know it. When I am stressed out, I tend to clean and organize. Bereft of anything else, I have started picking on this poor blog. Of course, all things considered this could be cleaned up. I do not have an uncontrollable number of posts and the earlier posts were extremely unwieldy and frankly it is mostly about the pictures. I continue to learn and grow in this area. One of my goals for the upcoming year is to re-work some of the old posts, the tested and tried staples.

This weekend the honor belonged to my homey lentil stew. This is a soft comforting medley of lentils and vegetables, seasoned with fenugreek and cumin. It is great over rice but also wonderful with some toasted crusty bread. One of the best things about this homey stew is that is works well for the children as well.

 

Homey Winter Lentil Stew

 

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes (mostly unattended)

Serves 6-8

 

Ingredients

 

¾ cup of moong (yellow split) lentils

3 cups of water

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon ginger paste

2 tomatoes, chopped

½ cup chopped cauliflower

½ cup chopped carrots

½ cup chopped rutabaga or turnips

1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)

3 tablespoons oil

2 pods pressed garlic

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 lime

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

 

Method of Preparation

 

  1. Place the lentils, water, salt and turmeric and red chili powder in a large cooking pot.
  2. Add in the ginger paste, tomatoes and bring the lentils to a simmer and cook for 1 hour (note, this can be done in a slow cooker for 2 hours)
  3. At this point the lentils should be very soft. Stir the mixture well.
  4. Add in the cauliflower, carrots, rutabaga and the dried fenugreek leaves and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
  5. Mix well.
  6. Heat the oil for about 1 minute on medium heat, add in the pressed garlic and cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds until the cumin sizzles and the garlic turns a pale golden shade.
  7. Pour this seasoned oil over the lentils and mix well.
  8. Turn off the heat.
  9. Cut the lime and squeeze in the juice.
  10. Mix in the cilantro and enjoy this as a light satisfying meal.

 

 

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A homey winter lentil stew
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: 6-8
 

A lively one dish stew with earthy lentils, herbs, spices and vegetables.
Ingredients
  • cup of moong (yellow split) lentils
  • 3 cups of water
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon ginger paste
  • 2 tomatoes, chopped
  • cup chopped cauliflower
  • cup chopped carrots
  • cup chopped rutabaga or turnips
  • 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • 2 pods pressed garlic
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 lime
  • 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Instructions
  1. Method of Preparation
  2. Place the lentils, water, salt and turmeric and red chili powder in a large cooking pot.
  3. Add in the ginger paste, tomatoes and bring the lentils to a simmer and cook for 1 hour (note, this can be done in a slow cooker for 2 hours)
  4. At this point the lentils should be very soft. Stir the mixture well.
  5. Add in the cauliflower, carrots, rutabaga and the dried fenugreek leaves and simmer the mixture for 30 minutes.
  6. Mix well.
  7. Heat the oil for about 1 minute on medium heat, add in the pressed garlic and cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds until the cumin sizzles and the garlic turns a pale golden shade.
  8. Pour this seasoned oil over the lentils and mix well.
  9. Turn off the heat.
  10. Cut the lime and squeeze in the juice.
  11. Mix in the cilantro and enjoy this as a light satisfying meal.

Filed Under Fenugreek, Grains and Lentils, Slow Cooking Tagged With carrots, Cauliflower, cilantro, Fenugreek, Garlic, Lentils, One Dish Meals, Slow Cooking, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter

Cilantro, Roasted Garlic and Cracked Pepper Aioli

December 5, 2011 Leave a Comment

In November and December, as the Little Valhalla Farm (yes, we have decided to name our backyard!) winds down, I am able to spend more time in the local farmer’s market. This is usually a great part of my Saturday morning ritual. The relaxed morning trip has many benefits for me. I find the bright colors of the fresh produce cheering and the general routine of foraging, peaceful and grounding. The winter market is a wonderful place to be, it is still vibrant, compact and manageable. My weekly trip to the market is however mostly predicated on my addiction to cilantro. The market is the only place in Westchester that I have found the herb the way it should be. Good cilantro is soft with a touch of crispness with an intoxicating and redolent smell. I consume cilantro in copious quantities making it impractical for me to grow the herb. Non-cilantro lovers should stop reading at this point, because this post is one of my many odes to cilantro, more specifically to this accidental condiment that is the current flavor of the month in our house. The condiment also bounced around for a suitable name, but it really is aptly named Cilantro, Roasted Garlic and Cracked Pepper Aioli.

They say, a loss transitions in phases, with a series of up and downs. The past couple of weeks have taught that me that this is true. I have been blue for no reason at all on occasion, teary and emotional. This are the phases of sorrow and healing that help a person grow and move beyond the immediacy of loss to acceptance. This weekend, I actually indulged my sorrows in lots of comfort food. I baked cookies, drank lots of tea and made some seriously good crab cakes and also spicy potato skins, all of these were accompanied by this

There are mixed feelings about the use of eggs in Aioli, some purists say the sauce should really be garlic and olive oil and I had made a pristine version of this here when experiment from Chef Andres’s book. The base has been adapted in several recipes to incorpo This recipe here is a compromise between made from the scratch and an out of the bottle version. I use a pre-made base but make sure the rest of the ingredients are hand compiled. It is essential to use a good mayonnaise base I have found the Trader Joes Organic mayonnaise to be just the right base for me.

 Cilantro, Roasted Garlic and Cracked Pepper Aioli

 Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5-7 minutes

Makes ¾ cup

 Ingredients

 ½ cup chopped cilantro leaves (make sure these leaves are very fresh)

2 green cayenne chilies

1 inch piece of ginger

¼ teaspoon black salt

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 pods garlic

1/3 cup good quality mayonnaise

Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Method of Preparation

1. Place the cilantro, cayenne, ginger and black salt in a small blender and blender until smooth.

2. Drizzle the oil over the garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute. (This almost has the same impact as roasting in the oven).

3. Add this into the cilantro mixture and process until smooth.

4.Place the mixture in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with the mayonnaise.

5. Add in lots of freshly ground black pepper and mix in.

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Cilantro, Roasted Garlic and Cracked Pepper Aioli
Author: 
Recipe type: Condiment
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 

Serves: ¾ cup
 

A fragrant and spicy aioli that makes a great condiment and dipping sauce
Ingredients
  • cup chopped cilantro leaves (make sure these leaves are very fresh)
  • 2 green cayenne chilies
  • 1 inch piece of ginger
  • teaspoon black salt
  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 pods garlic
  • ⅓ cup good quality mayonnaise
  • Lots of freshly ground black pepper

Instructions
  1. Place the cilantro, cayenne, ginger and black salt in a small blender and blender until smooth.
  2. Drizzle the oil over the garlic cloves and cook for about 1 minute. (This almost has the same impact as roasting in the oven).
  3. Add this into the cilantro mixture and process until smooth.
  4. Place the mixture in a mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with the mayonnaise.
  5. Add in lots of freshly ground black pepper and mix in

Filed Under Cilantro, Local and Backyard Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Aioli, Chutney, cilantro, Condiment, Cracked Pepper, Garlic, Ginger, Mayonaise

Zucchini with Carom Seeds

November 13, 2011 Leave a Comment

 Almost everything about this dish is a surprise. Let us begin with the ingredients, the zucchinis we a result of the end of season garden clean up as we put the leaves away and get the soil into a state of rest for the next season. Despite not being on the gardening side of the production, sadness overcomes me as I realize that the endless source of fresh ingredients will take a pause as the soil rejuvinates itsself for the year to come.

Zucchini tastes like a cross between the green bottle gourd and the ridge gourd. It is low in calories and is rich in Vitamin A and lutien. The surprise element here is that these squashes are the harbinger of summer and usually fade by fall. Well, these babies were waiting right till the end to grace our table for the last zucchini dish of the year at least with garden produce.

To cook these, I used butter, red onion and just a hint of carom or actually later on loads of thyme. These thyme like seeds are common in the cuisine from the region of punjab and are cooked with squashes.

A note on the carom seeds, like a lot of core spices does have a strong taste which some people tend to find a bit much. It is considered to be good for the stomach and this recipe takes less than 15 minutes to put together and tastes quite amazing.

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Zucchini with Carom Seeds or Thyme

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon carom seeds or 1 tablespoon minced thyme leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 red onion, cut into a fine dice
  • 1 to 2 small to medium zucchini, cut into small pieces
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
  • Salt to taste
  • Lime juice and chopped cilantro to finish

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil and butter on medium heat for about 1 minute.
  2. Add in the carom seeds or thyme and the cumin seeds and after 30 seconds add in the red onion.
  3. Saute lightly for about 4 minutes, until the onion is soft and transluscent and add in the zucchini and cook until nice and soft.
  4. Add in the turmeric, red chili powder and the salt and stir well.
  5. Cover and cook for 5 to 6 minutes until fairly soft.
  6. Remove the cover, stir in the lime juice and the chopped cilantro and mix well.
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I am sending this out to Weekend Herb Blogging, an event started by Kalyn, now co-ordinated by Haalo and is at Ann’s blog, The Food Lovers Journey.

Filed Under Local and Backyard Cooking Tagged With Carom Seeds, Fall, Garlic, Local Indian, Punjabi, tomatoes, Vegetarian, Zucchini

Purslane Tzatziki

September 28, 2011 1 Comment

 After the crazy weekend I had it is not surprising that I am posting summer recipes almost two in succession, well, summer was not really un crazy for me but the good thing about summer is that almost every else pauses and takes a little hiatus at least the weather tries to. Well, the rain lover that I am with all the rain we have been having the past several days. Although, this might be because I am spending more time battling the elements since the past year due to being back to commuting and walking around for now over a year, I am not so sure I really understand the weather. This past week has just been strangely humid.

The new thing in my life has been fitting in soccer into the already crazy thing we call a weekend. It really is the weekend when I actually offer some thought to the term soccer mom, although leading my husband to point out all the shuttling he does during the week and yet no one really acknowledges the effort. Actually this is not quite true, just that people have not added a term to the hands on dad yet, maybe that is what this election season should zone in on.

Well, one of the novelties of this summer was us discovering and begining to use purslane for the first time. Well, I realized that it was growing in our backyard last year, when my husband informed me that he was weeding out this pretty weed. Yes, indeed this is a free spirited and pretty week that does grow in your backyard out of its own volition.

So one of the things I do like doing in a salad is adding yogurt, yes, if you are thinking of raita, you are pretty close but I was actually thinking of also a little garlic and essentially thinking of the garlicky greek meze called tzatziki. The more commonly seen form of the meze usually consists of cucumber that nicely mellows and balances out the sharpness of the garlic. In this version, when I mixed all together and tried the recipe I was at first disappointed and then between kitchen to table and other stuff about 20 minutes elapsed and then at second taste it was all there like an evolving concerto, getting progressively bolder. What I learnt was that the key to the recipe was to wait.

Purslane Tzatziki

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

2 pods garlic, minced

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon salt

Several grinds of fresh black pepper

1 cup of low fat (2%) green yogurt

3/4 cup chopped purslane

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method of Preparation

1.  Mix together the garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper.

2. Whip the yogurt and mix in the garlic mixture.

3. Fold in the purslane and the cilantro and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.

I shall warn you that this is quite adictive, Anshul and I ate the whole thing with some chips for dinner.

Filed Under Local and Backyard Cooking, Uncategorized Tagged With Chutneys, cilantro, Condiments, Garlic, Greek, Greek Yogurt, Meze, Purslane, Purslane Tzatziki, Summer, Tzattziki, Yogurt

Beet Greens with Garlic and Toasted Almonds

June 25, 2010 3 Comments

The beets are out in the garden, and I am begining to see little peppers and tomatoes poking their way out of the plants.

This year, I have actually planted an entire host of herbs. I got the seeds and plants from, Rosedale Nurseries. I am too nervous to post pictures until the plants stabilize further. Unlike my other half, I kill plants just by looking at them. I do enjoy their beauty and try to capture them with my camera the best I can. It brings me great delight to capture an unexpected moment in nature.

The beets are usually best roasted. I did make an interesting salad with tofu and cashew nuts that I shall post when I get a second. I did however, love this simple creation we enjoyed mid week for our dinner. The pepper adds a very nice kicked up heat to this recipe, you can leave it out if you wish.

Beet Greens with Garlic and Toasted Almonds

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1/3 cup whole almonds
1/2 cup hot water
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 pods of garlic, slices
1.5 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped garlic scapes (optional)
1/2 jalapeno chilie, minced
4 cups finely chopped beet greens
salt to taste

Method of Preparation

1. Place the almonds in hot water and let them soak for about 10 minutes.
2. Rinse in cold water and remove the skin.
3. Chop coarsely.
4. Lightly toast the almonds, until very lightly golden and set them aside.
5. Heat the oil on medium heat for about 30 seconds and add in the garlic slices, cumin and cook for about half a minute.
6. Add in the garlic scapes and the chilie and continue cooking for about another minute until the mixture is a beautiful, fragrant bubbling mass, this takes about 3 minutes. You need to keep stirring constantly.
7. Add in the beet greens and the salt and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the greens are wilted.
8. Stir in the almonds and enjoy!

PS. If you wish you can make this with pre-sliced almonds and skip the browing of the nuts.

Filed Under Cumin, Local and Backyard Cooking, Weeknight Cooking Tagged With Almonds, Beet Greens, Garlic, Seasonal Cooking, Side Dishes, Summer, Vegan
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