Tomato Curried Lentils (Daal)

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Long time no blog! It's a classic case of life getting in the way of hobbies. I've been busy and also somewhat uninspired to cook. So. I'm going to try my best to get back in the kitchen and get inspired again.

Here, we have a simple, flavorful meal full of protein and fiber. I made some classic Indian curried lentils with rice pilaf made of brown Basmati rice and wild rice. This recipe is adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day. I added more spice to make this even more flavorful.

You'll need:

• 1 medium onion, medium diced
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 dried chilies
• 1 fresh Thai chile
• 1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Begin boiling water along with dried chilies and lentils in a medium pot. After water reaches boil, reduce to simmer and gently cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are slightly undercooked. Remove chilies, drain and set aside. Add onion, ginger and Thai chilies to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.

In a medium pot, heat up vegetable oil. Add cumin seeds. Once seeds begin to pop, add onion ginger mixture. Turn heat to low and gently cook until onion becomes translucent. Stir occasionally. Add turmeric and stir. Stir in lentils, diced tomatoes and garam masala and bring mixture to boil. Season with salt. Reduce to simmer and cover. If mixture becomes too dry, add 1/2 cup of water each time and stir. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomato breaks down and mixture thickens. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or roti.

Mystery Produce of the Week: Fresh Fenugreek

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Last week, we went back to our local farmer's market. As we strolled through produce stands, I was immediately drawn to this leafy herb. It was very pungent smelling, like I just walked into an Indian restaurant. The vendor told me that this is fenugreek and that we can simply sautee the tender leaf tops, but he also warned that it's "a little bitter."

I'm not easily deterred, so we bought it anyway. Turns out, it wasn't that bitter. I made an aloo methi with the tender leaves and served some homemade roti with it. The stems of fenugreek are really tough and definitely not edible. Despite the pungent smell, it really mellowed out after cooking.

Would I buy this again? Maybe. But only if I figure out what else to do with it besides this aloo methi (although that was pretty good).

Mock Lamb Curry

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Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I'm back from a short trip and ready to get cooking again! Today, we have mock lamb curry from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. This sort of became my go-to cookbook for vegetarian dishes with some spice. I made minor changes to the recipe by substituting Tofutti Sour Cream with a squeeze of lemon for yogurt and turned this into a vegan dish. It turned out really flavorful with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. I paired it simply with couscous with chopped green onion and mint. As for the "lamb," it's actually cubed seitan.

Aloo Tikki Burgers

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VB loves these Indian vegetarian burgers that we'd see from time to time at some local Indian restaurants. They are simple veggie patties topped with slivers of raw onion and ketchup. Not knowing what exactly they are called, I googled a bit and found this aloo tikki recipe and figured that this had to be it.

Well, long story short, that wasn't it. But it was still delicious. Aloo tikki is a potato patty that's served as street food in northern India. I stuffed it inside a pav bread (white Indian dinner roll) and added some ketchup. It was delicious! Not exactly what VB was looking forward to, but delicious nevertheless in an expected way.

Mystery Produce of the Week: Kohlrabi

Pin It VB went to the farmers' market by himself this weekend. I had to sit out due to a bad headache from a stuffy nose. He came back excited about "sunchokes" which looked like this...

Not that I doubt our local farmers' ability to identify produce that they grow themselves, but these were clearly not sunchokes. So I spent a few minutes on google with search terms like "round green vegetable" and getting nowhere fast until I found a picture of kohlrabi, which is what we have here. Kohlrabi tastes like sweet, crunchy broccoli stem. It's mild and refreshing and probably awesome in a slaw with some apples. But instead, I made this delicious Indian dish called navalkola sukke, which includes some shredded coconuts and coriander, among other things.

I learned that kohlrabi needs to be peeled and cored. I did remove a part of the core, but it's not entirely clear which part is the core. VB ended up with some really fibrous inedible bits on his plate. Sorry.... Otherwise this was delicious. I'll be looking for these next time at the farmers' market.

Kabocha Squash in Indian-Style Curry

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I've been contemplating what to do with this confection kabocha squash that we found in our local farmer's market. In most instances, I would roast it and have it as a side. But that's so BORING! A squash this beautiful with such unique sage/slate gray skin deserves special treatment. So I decided to make an Indian-style curry with this squash and it turned out great. The delicate sweet flavors of the squash mellowed out the spicy curry, making it a balanced and flavorful dinner.

You'll need:

• 1/2 kabocha squash, seeded, peeled and diced (note: squash can be tough and hard to peel. I find that if you chop it to large wedges and microwave for 2 minutes, the squash will soften, making it easier to peel. Also, this will allow the squash to cook faster in the curry.)
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 Thai chilies, roughly chopped
• 1 15-ounce can whole or diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 teaspoon dried mango powder (optional)

Begin by adding onion, garlic and ginger into a food processor. Pulse until the vegetables are well mixed and chopped. In a medium, heavy lidded pot, heat up canola oil until it shimmers. Add cumin seeds and brown mustard seeds. The seeds should start popping immediately. Stir in onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Gently stir and allow mixture to cook. In the meantime, pulse whole/diced tomatoes with juice in food processor until tomatoes are chopped. When the onion is softened and translucent, stir in ground cumin, ground coriander, ginger powder, garlic powder, tumeric, ground cardamon and garama masala. Stir until fragrant, about a minute or 2. Stir in tomatoes. Gently cook until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture turns into a paste consistency. Season with salt. Stir in garbanzo beans and diced squash. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock. Bring stock to dimmer. Cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until squash is completely cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Stir in dried mango powder (optional). Serve over rice or with naan.

Curried Lentils and Rice

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Lentils and rice -- possibly the most perfect combination of legume and grain -- can be the base for many creative dishes. Together, they provide the carbohydrate and fiber that are essential to a balanced meal. I've also come to appreciate the two together because they provide contrasting textures that make the dish more interesting. The biggest problem with cooking lentils and rice together is the timing -- rice gets cooked more quickly than lentils. So if you try to cook them together, you'll either get mushy rice or tough lentils. After testing the recipe a few times, I think I've got the solution to this problem.

To make this curried lentils and rice, you'll need --

• 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 3/4 cup brown Basmati rice, rinsed
• 1/2 yellow onion, finely diced
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add lentil and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in rice and simmer for another 10 minutes. Drain and set aside. At this point, lentils and rice are not completely cooked. In a large nonstick pot, sweat onion in canola oil until softened and translucent, about 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric and ground cardamom. Stir in lentils and rice mixture. Bury cinnamon stick and Bay leaf in the rice and lentils. Add about 1/4 to 1/3 cup water. Cover and turn the heat way down. Leave undisturbed for 20 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and Bay leaves and serve.

How to dress up this curried lentils and rice is totally up to you. I topped my curried lentils and rice with chopped pineapple, jalapeno peppers, mint, parsley, peanuts and baked tofu. Then I drizzled everything with a mixture of soy sauce, sugar, lime juice, minced garlic, jalapeno, and shallots. I like the combination of sweet, spicy, salty, and sour -- all the taste buds are fired up and having a good time.

Roasted Chickpea and Cauliflower Indian Pizza

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In a diverse region like the Bay Area, culinary hybrids like Indian pizza are bound to happen. You might think it's a kitschy oddity, but there are quite a few nearby restaurants that put an Indian twist on the classic pizza pie.  Here is my take on an Indian pizza.

You'll need:

• 1 head cauliflower, chopped into bite sizes
• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons curry powder
• 8 ounces low-moisture mozzarella, sliced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• cilantro for garnish
• salt to taste
• 1 portion Indian tomato sauce, recipe below
• 1 portion your favorite pizza dough recipe (I used Peter Reinhart's Napolenata pizza dough)

For Indian tomato sauce, you'll need:

• 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 medium yellow onion, medium diced
• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 26-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 green chili (optional)
• salt to taste

Begin by pureeing garlic, onion and ginger into a paste in a food processor. In a heavy medium pan, heat up canola oil until fat shimmers. Add mustard seeds, cumin and coriander. Stir for 2 minutes or until spices become fragrant. Stir in garlic, onion and ginger mixture and chili if desired. Cook for 2 minutes. Add canned tomatoes. Bring to simmer. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, garam masala. Season with salt. Let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Use a blender or an immersion blender, puree into smooth sauce.

While the sauce is cooking, pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Separately toss cauliflower and chickpeas with 1 tablespoon of canola oil and 1 tablespoon of curry powder each. Season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes. Stir half way through the process.

Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Roll out pizza dough. Add a thin and even layer of tomato sauce. Top with a layer of sliced mozzarella, roasted cauliflower and chickpeas. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown and crispy. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Since there isn't a "classic" Indian pizza recipe, I took liberties with what I chose to add to the pizza (which included the entire spice rack). I really liked this pizza. The tomato sauce is subtly sweet and fragrant. The roasted chickpeas are slightly crunchy on the outside and creamy on the inside. The curry powder and cauliflower are always wonderful together. Indian food goes beautifully on pizza... apparently!

Paratha Stuffed With Spicy Cauliflower

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I tried making paratha, stuffed Indian pancakes, a while ago. They turned out pretty good, but they took a ton of time. Being lazy as I am, I haven't attempted making paratha again... until now. I got this recipe from World Vegetarian, one of the cookbooks that I got as a Christmas present. It is chuck full of delicious and exotic vegetarian recipes from all over the world, but there's definitely an emphasis on Indian cuisine.

The one big different between these paratha and the ones that I made was that this paratha is made of half whole-wheat flour and half all-purpose flour, which makes the dough more elastic and easy to work with. The previous recipe used half chickpea flour and half all-purpose flour.  The chickpea flour makes the dough tougher and harder to work with. I had a bunch of tears in my dough last time. This time, I was able to roll these paratha much thinner without tearing the dough.

Although I'm not a big cauliflower fan, I don't mind it here. The stuffing is spicy and flavorful, which means it didn't taste like cauliflower at all. Thank goodness for that.

Garlic and Pepper Vegetable Balls

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Chef Sanjay has nice balls. And they are delicious!! You can find the recipe here.

Wow.

Chickpea (Chole) Masala

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We're moving out and moving on! Soon, we will be in our new digs all the way on the other side of the Bay. We'll miss the Peninsula and everything it has to offer. But for now, the rubberneck week is hard to get through. To reduce the number of items that we must move, I've challenged myself to cook from the pantry and the freezer. You too can make this spicy and fragrant Indian dish if you have some pantry staples and a well-stocked spice rack. No trip to the grocery store required.

• 2 15-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped into large chunks
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 cup of dried chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seed
• 3 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
• 3 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or 1 green chili, seeded and minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried mango powder (optional)
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro (optional garnish)

Soak dry chickpeas in water for 4 hours (or overnight). Cook chickpeas in a large pot of boiling water seasoned with salt for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked but not mushy. Drain. Set aside.

Place ginger, garlic and onion in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture has a paste-like consistency. In a large skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Add cumin seeds and fry until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Cook over medium heat until oil separates from the mixture. Add ground coriander, cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder (or minced green chili) and ground cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add diced tomatoes. Season with salt. Cook until oil separates again. Add garam masala, dried mango powder and cooked chickpeas. Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Cook for another 15 minutes over low heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve over some Basmati rice.

Sambar

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Since our place smells like Indian food already and no amount of Febreze can change that, why not make the matter worse and cook up some more fragrant and delicious Indian food?

Sambar is a dish generally consists of split pigeon peas (toor daal), eggplant, green peas, winter melon, potato, onion, tomato, tindora, tamarind, and a laundry list of spices. I can't claim to be proficient in making Indian food nor do I want to spent 20 dollars on spices, so I got a box of sambar spices with an indecipherable recipe printed on the back. I don't know if the recipe was properly followed, but I do know that the result is an aromatic and hearty soup full of vegetables.


To top that off, we had homemade masala dosa with some store-bought chutneys and idli. Overall, a pretty delicious meal, even if we had help from a box of spice mix.

Indian and Middle Eastern Dinner Night

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We go out for Indian food with some frequency. I've really acquired a taste for it. I don't even miss the meat when I have Indian food. When there are enough spices, vegetables can taste darn delicious. To prove the point, I've cooked the most vile vegetable on earth -- the cauliflower. It's disgusting and I've hated it with intense passion for years. It's bland and bitter. When it's overcooked, it gets all gross and mushy. In my opinion, there's just no good way to eat it -- except the Indian way.

From the left going clockwise, I made aloo gobi masala (spiced cauliflower and potatoes), palak paneer minus paneer (spinach without paneer cheese), and soybeans with garlic and dill. To supplement our delicious dishes, we had Basmati rice and Naan on the side. The dishes were so flavorful that I forgot I was having cauliflower. That's a good thing.

If soybeans for an Indian meal sounds odd, it's because soybeans with garlic and dill is not an Indian dish. It's actually an Iranian dish. I wasn't quite sure how it would taste after reading the recipe (Really? Soybeans with dill and turmeric?), but it turned out to be surprisingly delicious with a mild sweetness from the onion and turmeric.

Indian Dinner Night

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I'm a total novice when it comes to cooking Indian food. So when VB said he wanted Indian food, I had to get some help fast. Enter the ladies at showmethecurry.com.

With their help, I made baingan bhurta (roasted eggplant), bhindi masala (spicy okra) and chapatti bread with a side of brown basmati rice. The most technically difficult to make was definitely the chapatti bread. It's important to keep the heat at medium or medium low so the bread doesn't burn. Practice certainly helps. The last few pieces came out much better than the rest.

Now I have to Febreze down my apartment so it doesn't smell like someone blew up my spice rack.