Veggie Box: Early April 2015

My early April CSA vegetable box came a week ago and showered us with a mountain of fresh greens, just as I expected. And again, I had great fun using up this bounty in all sorts of different ways.

The thing about green leafy vegetables is that they can look formidable in their raw form. But they cook down so dramatically- put them in a saute pan and a big ol' pile of big green leaves is reduced to a few tablespoons in minutes. It is easy to add greens to just about any dish that I'm cooking.

1. Spinach. I had some brussels sprouts on hand and wanted to make something warm, cheesy and comforting for a rainy evening's supper. I ended up making a gratin loosely based on this recipe. As the cheese sauce was almost done, I stirred chopped spinach into it, and it wilted instantly. Then I poured the spinach bechamel sauce onto blanched brussels sprouts in a casserole dish and baked it. The result was wonderful. I did the menu mash-up that I often do and served the brussels sprouts spinach gratin with a vegetable-heavy egg and mushroom pulao.

2. Arugula. This is the delicate leafy vegetable with a very distinctive peppery flavor and is known as rocket in some places. I used the arugula in a version of this egg and potato dish, a favorite recipe that I posted 10 years ago!

Here's the brief recipe for the potato arugula frittata:

• Saute 1 minced onion and season it with salt, ginger and garlic. 
• Stir in 2 medium shredded potatoes (squeezed to remove excess water) and 1 big bag (yes, that's a technical unit of measure right there) fresh arugula. 
• Saute until potatoes are tender, then pat down the mixture. 
• Beat 5 eggs with salt, pepper and 1/4 cup shredded parmesan or cheddar cheese, pour the eggs on the vegetable mixture. 
• Cover and cook until the eggs are set. Cut into wedges and serve. 

3. Salad mix. This was a mixture of different salad greens and the taste was unbelievable. Tasting farm fresh greens- some sweet, some peppery, some mildly bitter- is a game changer and can convert you into a salad lover very quickly. We enjoyed the greens dressed simply with Caesar salad dressing.

4. Beet greens. (Or at least I think they were beet greens). My quilter friends dropped in for a sewing session and stayed for lunch, and I made some vegetable curry- basically matar paneer minus paneer and plus other veggies that I had on hand, and served it with greens jeera fried rice. You guessed it, this is just beet greens sauteed with cumin, then tossed with cooked rice. It works, folks. Greens make everything taste better.

5. Turnips. Roasting is my tried and true method for dispatching just about any vegetable so I gave it a try by making turnip fries. They were fine, nothing special. If I get turnips in the next box, I'll give it the Indian treatment to see if I like that better.

6. Snap peas. In my previous veggie box post, a reader left a kind suggestion that I try a dry subzi with sugar snap peas. I did just that with wonderful results- this might have been the best thing I made all week. Here's the recipe for a quick garlickly sugar snap peas subzi. It goes well with a homestyle Indian meal.

Make this subzi in a hot cast iron pan or kadhai for best results- the quick stir frying on high heat keeps the veggies tender and very flavorful.

• Wash sugar snap peas and cut the pods into 2-3 pieces each on the diagonal. 
• Saute 1 sliced onion until translucent. 
• Add 4-5 cloves garlic (sliced thin), turmeric, red chili powder, cumin coriander powder, salt. Optionally, add a diced fresh tomato. 
• Add sliced pods and stir-fry until just tender.

7. Mint. I was so excited to get mint in the box, and ended up using it in mint and cucumber instant dosas. These are based on a cucumber dosa recipe that I grew up eating. (I had to laugh when I read my post from a decade ago and said I am an early bird because I wake up at 6:30 AM on weekends. Well, these days I'm up at 5 AM every single day thanks to my baby girl who is an even earlier bird.)

Here's a brief recipe for the instant dosas. If you're drowning in zucchinis come summer, bookmark this recipe because it works beautifully with zucchini too. 

• Peel and shred 3 cucumbers (no need to remove the seeds) into a bowl. If the cucumbers are very watery, pour out some of the excess water from the shredded cukes. 
• Cut mint leaves into thin ribbons and add them to the bowl.
• Add 1/2 cup ragi flour, 1/3 cup besan and 2 tbsp. rice flour (approximate quantities).
• Season with cumin seeds and salt, and optionally minced chili. 
• Mix into a thick batter. You'll need no water; the salt will draw more than enough water from the cucumbers. 
• Heat an oiled griddle and pour on a ladleful of batter. Use the ladle (or better yet, your fingertips) to spread it around carefully. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. 
• Let one side cook until golden brown, then flip carefully and let the other side cook until golden brown. If cooked patiently on a fairly low flame, the dosa is crisp on the outside and wonderfully soft on the inside. 

8. Kale. There were a couple of handfuls of kale that I made into a quick kadhi.

Finally, the box had some other little herb bundles (sage, thyme etc.) that I still haven't used. And there was a bottle of the farm's homemade hot sauce. Can you tell I'm loving the veggie boxes?

* * * 

I was chatting with one of my exercise class buddies as we waited for the class to begin, and she mentioned her flock of backyard chickens. She fondly described how they cluck around in her big backyard all day and nest in a coop at night. It turned out that the chickens lay more eggs than she needs, and she sells the extras to a few of her friends and neighbors (3 bucks a dozen). I promptly put in a request and since then, I've been getting a dozen fresh eggs every week- gym delivery! Going to the gym has so many benefits ;)

But seriously, I am thoroughly enjoying being more active. My weekly routine, more or less, is one swim session, one zumba class, and two fitness classes that have 30 minutes of stretching followed by 30 minutes of strength training. This covers 4 weekdays. I look forward to all of this, but the zumba class is my favorite. The instructor is absolutely adorable, the music is energizing, I laugh heartily at how ridiculous I look, and that one hour class elevates my mood for days. Why did I miss out on this fun all this time?

At work, when my boss saw that I was serious about standing at my desk (I propped up my two monitors and keyboard with boxes and thick books for 2-3 months), he authorized a real proper adjustable standing desk for me. It came last week and I love my swanky new set up.

On weekends, we look for opportunities to get out and go for long walks and to parks and playgrounds, especially now that the weather is nicer. But I definitely laze around and some rest too, or what passes for rest when you have a 3 year old kid and 2 year old puppy at home.

Have a great week, friends. Tell me what you've been eating!

Feeding a Crowd: Wraps, Indian Style

To someone like me who usually cooks small portions for my family of two, cooking for a crowd needs a little bit of planning and some simple math to scale up the recipes. Today, I made a tray of wraps for a potluck, and I wanted to jot down the proportions for future reference.

These wraps have some Indian flair, stuffed with a crunchy salad and either a paneer pepper filling or a vegan chickpea spinach filling. My goal was to make each filling juicy enough that it would be tasty but dry enough that it would not make the wraps soggy. Both fillings can be made a day ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator. As with most Indian curries, they actually taste better if made ahead of time. With the curries ready to go, making the salad and assembling the wraps is quick and easy.

The proportions given below were enough for 10 wraps with each filling.

1. Chickpea filling: This was a rehash of the palak chana recipe from last summer.

1. Soak ¹⁄₂  cups dried chickpeas overnight. Rinse them and cook them in a pressure cooker.
   
2. Heat 2 tbsp. oil. Add 1 tsp. cumin seeds and saute 2 medium minced onions until they are browned. 
3. Add 2 tsp. ginger-garlic paste, chana masala, turmeric and red chilli powder to taste. 
4. Add ¹⁄₂  bag frozen chopped spinach (or a bunch of chopped fresh spinach), 3 chopped tomatoes and salt to taste, then simmer uncovered until everything is cooked through and the mixture is quite dry. 
5. Taste the mixture and if it is not tasty enough, spike it with some chaat masala or paprika or both.

2. Paneer filling: This was a rehash of the kati roll recipe from a couple of years ago.

1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil. Saute 2 medium red onions, cut in large dice, and 2 large red/yellow peppers, cut in large dice, until the vegetables are seared and tender.
2. Stir in 2 tsp. ginger-garlic paste, 1 tbsp. kasuri methi, turmeric and red chilli powder to taste. 
3. Add 1 block/14 oz/400 g paneer, cut in cubes. 
4. Add 3-4 diced tomatoes and salt to taste. 
5. Stir fry the mixture until it is almost dry. 
6. Season generously with paprika, chaat masala and garam masala.

3. Salad

Toss together:
1 small red onion, thinly sliced using a mandoline
Wedge of cabbage, thinly sliced using a mandoline (2-3 cups)
2 medium carrots, shredded
¹⁄₂  bunch cilantro, minced
Juice of ¹⁄₂  lemon
Salt to taste

 4. The wraps: I used whole wheat tortillas from Trader Joe's. Any home made or store bought flatbreads would work well.

5. Assembling the wraps: Place some filling and salad in the center of the tortilla, fold in the side edges and roll it up. Warming the tortillas makes them more pliable. Use a bread knife to gently cut the wrap in half to make it easier to grab smaller portions.

The Bookshelf

I read a couple of books last week: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer and The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.

I picked them up without really knowing what the books were about, so I was startled to find that these two books have several features in common: they are both mysteries of sorts, have interesting and fast-paced story-lines and the protagonists in both the books are young children who are extremely smart, articulate, precocious, who have lost a parent and who have a major sass mouth on them. Unfortunately, I have very little patience in general and even less patience with impudent children. So while there were portions of these books when I thought the children were clever and entertaining, there were other times when I dearly wanted to be there to send these kids to their rooms. All in all, these are good reads.

I'm making an appetizer tomorrow and a dessert on Saturday to share with friends. If either recipes turns out to be blog-worthy, I'll come tell you about it. See you then!

Going green

This morning, I realized that it is exactly 40 days until the dawn of 2010. Doesn't the year 2010 sound so futuristic somehow? All gleaming spaceships instead of this dusty old planet? To conjure up some excitement for myself, I'm getting started on a mini challenge: I hope to try 40 new recipes by the time the shiny happy new year rolls around. Am I crazy? Can I do it? Watch this space and we'll both discover if I can pull this off.

The countdown begins with a bang: Recipe #40 is Sandeepa's sarson da saag, something I bookmarked just yesterday both for the recipe and for her discussion of the now formalized practice of "unfriending" (read her post to find out more).

I was intrigued to find that instead of the usual mustard greens, she used its cousin broccoli rabe (pic below) to make sarson da saag. This is a flavorful Punjabi dish that makes it to Indian restaurant menus across the globe and as usual, sparks off restaurant envy in me.



My history with broccoli rabe gave me pause. I remember buying it years ago, sauteeing it and making a quick pasta with it, and having to throw the whole thing into the trash because it was too bitter for words. Well, today I gave it a second chance. Using Sandeepa's recipe (given to her by a kind acquaintance), I made sarson da saag that knocked my socks off.

See the original recipe here. Here's how I made the Sarson da Saag:

1. Take ½ large bunch of broccoli rabe. Wash and coarsely chop it to get about 6-8 cups in all (only remove the toughest part of the stems, the rest can be used).

2. Pressure cook the broccoli rabe with 1.5 cups water. 1 whistle worked fine for me.

3. When the cooker is cool enough to open, stir in 1 package frozen spinach and 1 heaped tbsp. besan (chickpea flour) into the cooked broccoli rabe. Use an immersion blender to puree the mixture.

4. In another large pan, heat 1 tbsp. oil and fry 2 large chopped onions until brown. Add 1 tbsp. ginger-garlic paste and stir for a minute or two.

5. Add salt, turmeric, red chilli powder, all to taste and stir for a few seconds.

6. Add 1 cup tomato puree and fry well for a few minutes.

7. Add the pureed greens, bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

8. Add a pinch of garam masala right after you turn off the heat.

I did not have tofu or paneer on hand, so I stirred in a package of mock chicken strips (gluten strips) at the end. Because this was a Saturday night dinner where splurges are allowed, I added a dab of butter and a splash of cream at the very end. This recipe was an unqualified success- we loved the pleasant bitterness of the greens and the warmth of the spices. This made about 6 large servings.

In conclusion, I'm friending you, Broccoli Rabe. As long as you don't get too bitter, I won't dream of unfriending you. txt me, k?

By the way, speaking of buzzwords, going green, the title of this post, is on the list of overused words/phrases that some people want to banish this year.

*** Puppy Update ***

Dale got a very very special gift this Diwali, a red scarf with the prettiest paisley design. He wore it proudly on his walks...


and I think he wants to say something:



Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

S is for Spinach Amti

The myriad cuisines of India all love their vegetables! Veggies are diced and sliced, grated and mashed, stir-fried and curried into hundreds of vegetable dishes. In this series, the A to Z of Indian Vegetables, we take an alphabetical journey through the various avatars of vegetables relished in Indian cuisine. For each letter, we will make a tasty vegetable dish that illustrates one manner in which vegetables are savored in India.
The "S" of Indian Vegetables
The letter S inspired a smorgarbord of thirty-two Indian flavors!

First, a sundry bunch of S vegetables...

Let's start with the svelte and stylish Spring Onion, also known as Scallions or green onions. The spring onion is almost two vegetables in one: the "white parts" are little onions that are great in starting off a stir-fry on an aromatic note, and the "green parts" make for a colorful and flavorful garnish. Jai and Bee of Jugalbandi share a great recipe for using up any spring onions that you may have left over from another recipe- rather than letting them wilt in your crisper, cook them into this comforting Spring Onion Dal.

The next vegetable is also a member of the onion family, one whose flavor is often described as something in between garlic and onion: it is the savory and snappy Shallot. G V Barve of Add Flavor uses the shallot in the traditional Southern Indian way- adding whole shallots to lentils, to make a delicious Shallot Sambar.

The next vegetable is an iconic member of the family of green leafy vegetables: the sprightly and salubrious Spinach. Readily available, inexpensive and a vegetable that cooks up in no time- the spinach is wonderful to keep on hand for everyday meals. Here are three easy ideas with spinach...

To start off, spinach soup, warm and satisfying. Raaga of The Singing Chef makes a quick and hassle-free Spinach Soup with aromatic notes from onion and garlic.

Next, some rice to go with the soup...

Suma of Veggie Platter teams spinach with carrots, and makes a batch of spicy and tasty Spinach Rice.

Raaga of The Singing Chef teams spinach with corn, and makes a pressure cooker version of Spinach Rice.

Then comes another green beauty, the Snap Pea, also called the Sugar Snap Pea, with a sweet bite hidden in its tender shell. Check this post from Food Blogga to see the different varieties of peas. Snap peas are eaten whole, pod and all. A Cook of Live To Cook makes an unusual Snap Pea Masala by cooking snap peas with moong dal and adding a spicy sauce of onion, tomato and coconut.

The next vegetable is a sturdy root vegetable with a saccharine personality and a healthful nature: none other than the Sweet Potato! Here are two ways with the sweet potato:

Ramya of Mane Adige shares her mom's recipe for a traditional Sweet Potato Sabzi, with sweet potato chunks tossed in an aromatic tempering, and garnished with coconut and cilantro.

A Cook of Live To Cook satisfies snack cravings on a rainy day with some golden brown Sweet Potato Rolls, logs of mashed sweet potato rolled in breadcrumbs and fried to perfection.

The next vegetable is commonly found in India, but might be strange and striking to non-Indians: it is the shapely spiral Snake Gourd. Why is it named that way? Because it really does look like a long sinuous serpent...you can see some pictures here. Here are four easy, home-style ways to cook snake gourd in combination with four different types of lentils.

Sheela of Delectable Victuals uses the tender frozen snake gourd available in the US plus some easily available brown lentils to put together a wholesome and satisfying dish of Snake Gourd and Brown Lentils.

Nandita of Saffron Trail shows us a beautiful view of the inside of the snake gourd, then cooks it in typical Tamilian style, with moong dal, coconut and spices to make a tempting Snake Gourd Kootu.

Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine makes a Snake Gourd Curry that looks bright and colorful, with a medley of snake gourd, chana dal, spring onions and spices.

A Cook of Live To Cook thinks back to her childhood days and shares the recipe for her grandmother's Snake Gourd Stew, a spicy combination of snake gourd with toor dal.

Coming up next, we have another beloved vegetable, the Simla Mirch, the Hindi term for the stout bell pepper. Mirch is the Hindi term for pepper, so that makes sense, but Simla (or Shimla as it is now called) is a beautiful town in the hilly Northern state of Himachal Pradesh. Why does the pepper get its name from this place? I don't know! Here, Rinku of Cooking in Westchester uses the Simla Mirch to boost the color and nutrition of a simple dish of Simla Mirch Alu.

The next vegetable is that singular vegetable, the drumstick, called Shevgyachi Sheng in Marathi and Sektani Sing in Gujarati. Here are two saucy creations with this veggie...

TC of The Cookeruses drumsticks to make a dal that will spice up any meal- her Shevgyacha Shenganchi Amti has sweet and tangy notes from jaggery and tamarind.

Linda of Out Of The Garden flips open her old Parsi cookbook to come up with this unique Sektani Sing Na Saas: a sauce of drumstick pulp cooked with eggs, with a splash of vinegar to perk it up.

The final S vegetable is Saag, a general term for cooked greens (am I right, or am I completely off here?). Asha of Aroma/ Foodie's Hope takes bunches of radishes and radish greens and cooks them with a simple tempering and a dash of chickpea flour, resulting in this tasty Saag Bhaji.

The next S word is a way of cooking all those wonderful vegetables: Stuffing them! When hollowed out vegetables are packed with a savory mixture, the result is a substantial meal that will leave you feeling just as stuffed as the vegetable itself! Here are three popular Indian ways to make stuffed veggies...

Sharmi of Neivedyam turns the bitter gourd into sweet success, providing a detailed step-by-step recipe for Stuffed Bitter Gourd packed with a spicy tomato-onion mixture.

Richa of As Dear As Salt makes Stuffed Peppers that would make a wonderfully spicy side-dish; plus the dish uses all pantry ingredients, and is steamed rather than fried.

Aarti of Aarti's Corner makes a scrumptious stuffing of coconut and peanuts to make her delicious dish of Stuffed Okra.

After looking at vegetables that are stuffed, here is an example of vegetables that are used as stuffing! Aarti of Aarti's Corner makes a spicy potato and peas mixture and uses it to stuff a triangular dough pouch, resulting in that prized, wildly popular, internationally known Indian snack, the Samosa!

The next S food is the Sabudana, also known as Sago pearls. These little balls are made by processing the sago palm. Although starchy and quite tasteless in and of itself, sabudana lends itself to the preparation of a variety of spicy snacks, such as these four dishes, and is often paired with boiled potato in the making of these snacks...

Tee of Bhaatukli makes a quick mixture of soaked sabudana and boiled potato, along with some peanut powder for added flavor, and fries a batch of Sabudana Wada, golden-brown and perfectly tempting.

Manasi of A Cook At Heart writes a hilarious account of the tradition of "fasting" and makes a "fast food" that is the secret reason why so many Maharashtrians remain enthusiastic about undertaking fasts: Sabudana Khichadi.

Mahek of Mahek's Kitchen uses a combination of sabudana and boiled potato, spiced to perfection, and makes little pancakes called Sabudana Thalipeth that would make the perfect tea-time treat.

Sreelu of Sreelu's Tasty Travels surprises us with an unusual recipe for Saboodana Chutney, a soothing duo of sabudana and yogurt.

We now come to some delightful S dishes from all over India. Going from North to South, we have...

...the Sindh region, now part of Pakistan. Sindhi cuisine is rich and sumptuous. Madhuli of My Foodcourt shared a well-known Sindhi specialty, Sindhi Sai Bhaji, a nutritious medley of greens, vegetables and lentils in a spicy sauce.

...the Western Indian state of Gujarat, the cuisine here is vegetarian heaven! Trupti of The Spice Who Loved Me specializes in Gujarati cuisine and gives us an authentic recipe for Sambharo, a crunchy dish that she aptly describes as a "warm salad" with an Indian-style dressing.

...the populous metropolis of Bombay, with its addiction to spicy snack food. It is also the birthplace of the most bizarre and creative "fusion cuisine". Swapna of Swad recreates one of these delights: Schezwan Dosa, where spicy Chinese-style vegetable noodles are packed into a dosa with incredible results.

...the Konkan coast, with swaying coconut palms and long stretches of beaches. Priyanka of Lajawaab showcases the coconut in this pretty pink Solkadhi, a medley of coconut milk and a special fruit called the sol or amsul.

...the Southern states, home to some of the most ancient cuisines in India. Manasi of A Cook At Heart makes a quintessential Southern Indian dish, a delicious combination of vegetables and lentils: Sambar.

Let's wrap up the round-up with three sweet and soothing delights. Not much by way of vegetables here, but we deserve a bite of dessert at this point!

Aarti of Aarti's Corner makes a silky smooth Sabudana Kheer by cooking sago pearls in milk.

Saju of Chachi's Kitchen cleverly combines Sooji (semolina), Saffron and Sultanas into a delightful bite of Seera.

Mahek of Love For Cooking teaches a clever dish to make with the sheera, or the semolina pudding shown in the preceding entry. She uses the sheera as a filling for whole wheat rotis, turning out a unique sweet bread hot off the griddle: Sanjoree, also known as Sheera Roti.

************************************************************
S is for Spinach Amti: Green Leafy Vegetables

Last week, we looked at the humble root vegetables that are often taken for granted. This week, we do a 180 degree turn towards the super-stars of the vegetable world: the Green Leafy Vegetables. Popeye with his bulging biceps is just one example of the near-mythic properties that are attributed to green leafy vegetables! I prefer to be more pragmatic about the nutritional value of the leafy veggies. Yes, they are low in fat and high in calcium, iron and fiber. But so are a lot of other vegetables. I eat green leafy vegetables simply because they taste fabulous and are ever so versatile.

Some leafy vegetables like spinach seem to be popular all over the world and are usually available throughout the year. Others are specific to certain regions. In Farmers' markets, I always come across strange leafy vegetables that I have never heard of and have no idea how to cook. Leafy greens are often just plants growing wildly somewhere until someone discovers that they are edible and decided to either harvest them from the wild or to cultivate them. Some of them have the most irresistible names: lamb's quarters or fiddlehead ferns, anyone?

When one is able to buy a bunch of lush, verdant greens from the market, the trick is to use them up right away, before they wilt and languish into an unappetizing mess. This is the reason why I am always on the look-out for quick and simple everyday ways to cook greens. This time, I found a simple recipe for a greens-and-beans combination that makes for a nourishing everyday dish. It uses good ol' spinach, which I usually have on hand, and black-eyed peas, a pantry staple. It is cooked in the style of a Marathi amti, which is characterized by contrasting sweet and sour flavors from the addition of jaggery and tamarind, respectively. The addition of some coconut gives it a rich and creamy flavor.

Spinach Black-eyed Peas Amti

(Adapted from Lajawaab Curries by Sudha Maydev, makes about 4 servings)
Ingredients:
1 C dry black-eyed peas (lobia, chowli), soaked overnight
1 bunch fresh spinach (about 2 C, packed)
1 T tamarind paste
1/2 T jaggery (Indian unrefined brown sugar)
salt to taste
Tempering:
1 t oil
1 t mustard seeds
pinch of asafoetida
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
Coconut Paste:
1/3 C coconut (fresh/frozen)
2-3 green/ red chilies (fresh/frozen)
Method:
1. Cook the black-eyed peas in the pressure cooker until tender. Try not to overcook them.
2. Make the coconut paste: Combine the ingredients and grind together to a fine paste.
3. In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add the rest of the tempering ingredients and saute until the garlic is aromatic and starting to brown.
4. Add the spinach and stir-fry until wilted.
5. Add the coconut paste and fry until fragrant.
6. Stir in the cooked black-eyed peas, tamarind and jaggery. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 5 minutes.

Variations
Try using different greens, or different beans for this dish.

Serving Suggestions
The first day, I served this with some Southern Indian Tomato Rice and really enjoyed this odd combination! This amti would be delicious with plain steamed rice, and is "sturdy" enough to be a good accompaniment to steamed brown rice. I ate the leftover amti with some warmed whole-wheat tortillas and pickle, and that was delicious too, so the amti would go well with rotis.

After all this talk of everyday food, I'm in the mood for some spicy snacks! Fellow bloggers have come up a array of tempting treats featuring green leafy vegetables:
Spicy Spirals from Indian Food Rocks,
Methi Malai Buns from Jugalbandi,
Gingery Spinach Kebabs from Sailu's Food,
Methi Muthia from Food For Thought,
Mint Coriander Chutney from Hooked on Heat,
Palak Puri from A Cook At Heart,
And for a stunning array of leafy recipes, check this out...
JFI:WBB Round-up of Green Leafy Vegetables from Mahanandi.

Previously on the A to Z of Indian Vegetables...
A is for Aloo Gobi: North-Indian Stir-Fry
B is for Bharli Mirchi: Stuffed Vegetables
C is for Carrot-Cashew Payasam: Desserts
D is for Dum ki Arbi: Dum Style of Cooking
E is for Egg-Fried Rice: Rice and Vegetables
F is for Foogath: South-Indian Stir-Fry
G is for Gobi Paratha: Vegetables in Breads
H is for Hariyali Tikki: Vegetables in Appetizers
I is for Idli with Vegetables: Vegetables for Breakfast
J is for Jalfrezi Vegetables: Restaurant Style
K is for Kati Roll: Vegetables and Paneer
L is for Lasuni Dal Palak: Vegetables and Lentils
M is for Malai Kofta: Dumplings
N is for Nargisi Kebab: Vegetables and Eggs
O is for Onion Chutney: Vegetables in Chutneys
P is for Pattagobi Pachadi: Vegetables in Salads
Q is for Quick Carrot Pickles: Vegetables in Pickles
R is for Radish Paratha: Root Vegetables

Hearty Heart-Lovin' Pasta

The Heart of the Matter is a food blog event with a difference- like many other events, you make a dish every month based on a theme, BUT with one important criterion: the food has to be heart-friendly and healthful! It is a wonderful challenge to think of the food we eat and come up with something that is both delicious and good for the body. The round-ups are collected in the HotM blog so that we can all have a handy collection of recipes to try out. The theme this month is something we all crave: Pasta!

The pasta I am making today comes from the lovely PBS food show Everyday Food. I always feel a keen sense of relief when I watch this calm and professional show, with efficient chefs demonstrating eminently do-able recipes for the home cook. It helps me recover from the trauma that I undergo when I come across some of those shows on Food Network that are so out-of-tune with where we should be headed, like Paula Deen's shows, with the sickeningly fatty recipes that are doing nothing to help America's obesity epidemic, or Sandra Lee's shows, with the wasteful shopping and unintelligent "cooking" that are hurting the eco-friendly changes the world needs to make.

What makes this dish heart-friendly...
...the extra-virgin olive oil, which is the sensible choice when one is cooking with fats,
...the lentils, which provide fiber and protein, making this a filling and satisfying meal,
...the vegetables, which provide taste, vitamins, minerals and a ton of other nutrients while adding minimal calories

What is even more special is what this dish does NOT contain...
...animal fats; there are no saturated fats in the form of meat, butter, cream or cheese
...excessive salt; I used the trick of adding some lemon juice, which brings out the flavor and lets you get away with minimal salt.

This pasta could be made even more healthful by using whole-wheat pasta instead of the regular one made with refined flour. I use both kinds of pasta in my kitchen. Regular pasta can be part of a healthy diet if it is served in small quantities, and in combination with protein and healthy fats. The orecchiette ("little ears") pasta is wonderful in this dish because the tiny shells capture the lentil sauce perfectly.

i heart pasta

(Adapted from this recipe from the TV show Everyday Food, makes about 4 servings)
1. Start boiling a large pot of water for pasta.
2. Place 1 cup lentils in a saucepan, rinse them, then cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes or so, until lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain and set aside.
3. As lentils are cooking, do the prep. cut up 1 large onion into slices. Mince 2 cloves of garlic. Chop 1 cup canned tomatoes and set side. Chop 1 fresh tomato into slices. Clean 1 bunch arugula and chop roughly. Take a fresh lemon and collect 2 tbsp juice.
4. Heat 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a non-stick skillet, then saute onions and garlic until golden brown and aromatic.
5. To the onions, add 1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped, and some salt and pepper.
6. Stir in the lentils.
7. When pasta water comes to a boil, add salt and 2 cups orecchiette and cook until just tender. Save 1 cup pasta water. Drain the pasta and return to pot.
8. To the cooked pasta, add onion-lentil mixture, chopped tomatoes, chopped arugula, lemon juice and pasta water. Toss well and serve!

Verdict: I will surely be making this again and again! It is perfect for summer, light and juicy. It tastes good hot, at room temperature and cold, like a pasta salad. It would be the perfect addition to a lunch box.

Thanks to Joanna and Ilva for hosting this event...I'm going to try and participate every single month! Here is the HotM Pasta Round-up with wonderful recipe ideas for making heart-healthy pasta dishes.

Rainbow Chard-Mushroom Sandwiches

Jihva for Ingredients (JFI) is an online blogging event started by Indira of Mahanandi. Weekend Breakfast Blogging is another event, started by Nandita of Saffron Trail. This month, to celebrate JFI's first anniversary, Indira is hosting a joint JFI-WBB party, and the theme of the event is colorful and nutritious: Green Leafy Vegetables! Read all about the event here.

Recently, nutrition experts have been telling us to Eat The Rainbow. No, no, I don't mean taste the rainbow, but to actually eat it, by tucking into lots of brightly hued vegetables. The vivid colors of the veggies are a sure sign that they are brimming with phytochemicals that reverse a lot of age-related damage in our cells, among other benefits. The latest issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine has a great little article that talks about how to eat right and eat bright by including vegetables and fruits from all five color groups: Red, Yellow-Orange, Green, Blue-Purple and White.

With all this talk of rainbows on my mind, imagine my delight when I walked into Whole Foods Market and found this dazzling Rainbow Chard.

Rainbow chard is basically Swiss chard, a beautiful green leafy vegetable which happens to be a nutritional powerhouse. Chard stems can come in different colors- and when chard with red stems, white stems and yellow-gold stems are bunched and sold together, the result is this gorgeous rainbow chard, with stems and veins of red, white and gold contrasting brilliantly with the deep green color of the leaves.

As the days are getting hotter, I am more inclined to making and eating lighter fare. Inspired by a recipe from Vegetarian Times, I paired the rainbow chard with some flavorful cremini mushrooms and made some quick sandwiches. You could certainly use portabella mushrooms, and use regular Swiss chard instead of rainbow chard, as was used in the original recipe.

Rainbow Chard-Mushroom Sandwiches

(Adapted from this recipe, Vegetarian Times July/Aug 2006)

1. Roast the mushrooms: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove stems off cremini mushrooms and place them, stem side up, on the baking sheet. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake in a 400 degrees F oven for 20 minutes or so, turning once half-way during baking, until mushrooms are tender. Set aside. Green kitchen tip: If you are baking small quantities, use the toaster oven instead of a conventional oven to save energy. Toaster ovens often come with mini baking sheets that are very handy for baking small amounts such as these.
2. Cook the chard: Wash the chard, then chop it into thin strands. Remove and discard any tough stems, but you can use the tender stems. In a large skillet, heat 1 tbsp olive oil. Add 2 cloves of garlic, sliced, and cook until lightly browned and aromatic. Stir in the chard, and a couple of tablespoons of water, and stir around until the leaves are wilted. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the chard is tender. Remove off heat, sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar and 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
4. Other prep: Cut the roasted mushrooms into halves or quarters (depending on their size). Take your favorite sandwich rolls (I used demi-baguettes) and split them length-wise. Thinly slice a small onion (using a sharp knife or a mandoline). Tear 6-8 leaves of fresh basil into shreds.
5. Assemble the sandwiches: Layer the botton half of bread with chard and mushrooms. Top with onion slices and shreds of fresh basil. Drizzle generously with the dressing. Top with other half of bread, and take a big bite!

The verdict: This simple sandwich made for a memorable lunch on a hot and sunny day. The mushrooms and greens are a terrific combination. The whole sandwich comes together very well, and tastes like something you would eat at a nice bistro. Seriously! V added some cheese (gouda) to his sandwich, and reported that it tastes excellent.

Thanks, Indira, for hosting. I'm looking forward to the round-up for lots of inspiration to cook more greens! I'll be back on Sunday, with the N of Indian Vegetables.

Mmm...Mustard Greens!

Alanna is challenging us to try some new vegetables all this month with her Vegetable Contest, so here are my attempts to try some vegetables that are new to my kitchen.

A whole category of vegetables that I have hardly gotten to know are the green leafy vegetables. Apart from spinach (which I love and buy every week) and arugula (which I have just started using in pasta dishes in recent months), I barely use any greens.

It is a real shame, because there is an amazing delicious world out there: from collard greens to kale to Swiss chard. What keeps me from buying more greens? Well, greens are much more fragile than other vegetables like, say, carrots and cauliflower. While our everyday staples can sit in the vegetable crisper for a few days while we get around to cooking them, greens bruise and wilt easily and need to be cooked within a day or two of buying them. Tender greens are sometimes too delicate for the produce sellers too, and in many supermarkets, the greens will look too torn and ragged and I'm just not tempted to buy them. To make a long story short: when you see a bunch of bright, crisp, tender, perfect-looking greens being sold in your supermarket/store/Farmer's market, grab it with both hands and RUN! Well, this weekend, I managed to find just such a perfect bunch of mustard greens, the very first time I got a chance to cook them.

How should I cook them? I had a few options. One highly popular way to cook mustard greens in India is to blend them with spinach and make a delicious Punjabi dish called saag. I also had a recipe jotted down from Vegetarian Times for some yummy-looking garlicky green dumplings, dim-sum style.

But I decided to go with a recipe that was simple and would let me taste the goodness of the greens themselves, and I turned to my favorite resource for such recipes:
Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.

Jaffrey has a beautifully simple recipe for Sri Lankan Greens. It calls for very simple ingredients: greens, curry leaves, onion, hot chilies, turmeric, salt and some grated coconut. No other spices, no tempering, nothing. The best part is, this recipe works well for any greens at all, so it is a good one to have in the repertoire for emergency moments when you find a great bunch of greens but don't have too much else in the pantry, or are short on time.

Sri Lankan Mustard Greens

(adapted from World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey)

1. Take 1 bunch mustard greens.

2. Wash the leaves. Chop them into very thin, long strands (discard any tough stems). You can do this by cutting out stems from a few leaves, then stacking them into a pile and cutting the pile into thin shreds. Jaffrey stresses that no matter what greens you choose to use in this recipe, they should be shredded thinly.

3. Cut 1 medium onion into half, then into strips. In a large skillet, heat a couple of teaspoons of oil on medium heat. Add onion, 8-10 curry leaves and 2-3 fresh chilies (cut into thirds). Use more or less chilies depending on how your preferred level of hotness. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until the edges of the onion start to brown.

4. Now add the shredded greens, 1/2 tsp turmeric and salt to taste. Stir around and mix well until the greens start to wilt.

5. Now lower the heat, cover the pan and cook for 10-15 minutes, or until the greens are cooked and tender. In my case, the leaves were tender and the water clinging to the washed greens was enough to cook the leaves in their own steam. If one uses greens that are a bit tougher, a couple of tablespoons of water may be added to the pan. At the end of cooking, stir 2 tbsp of grated fresh or dried unsweetened coconut into the greens.

The resulting greens were absolutely flavorful without being bitter or harsh in the least. I served the Sri Lankan mustard greens with an egg curry: Eggs cooked in a Sri Lankan Coconut Milk Sauce (recipe from the same book) and some steamed rice, for a wonderful Sri-Lankan themed Sunday night dinner. I love World Vegetarian more and more every day!

This is one side dish that is going to be very versatile: it would go well with any Indian meal (it would be amazing with some simple dal and rice) and could be used creatively in wraps and sandwiches too. I'm so glad I tried mustard greens, and can't wait to eat some again.