Sustainably from New Delhi - Utterly Vegetably Delicious!

Mark Bittman does a wonderful job inviting us back into the kitchen to live a greener and richer life in this article in the New York Times.

Here I share photos of some wonderful dishes that enrich my life and make it pleasurable and fun for Charlie and myself to host endless dinners at our home.

Lentils and beans prepared as Dal (photograph directly above this line), stir-fries like the cabbage with peppers, peas and American peanuts (first photo of this post) and grilled seasonal veggies (photographed below) shine at our table. Served with rice cooked plain mostly.

Best is that you get protein, fiber, starch, and all the essential nutrients you need. Better still - all with dishes that have flavor and also leave you sated.

Here above you see my paternal aunt, Sunita Nigam, a woman of means and one who has traveled the world cooking away for me wearing her fineries and without any inhibitions. How can she do this? She has a desire to entertain and indulge others. Hospitality flows through her veins. Here she is making a pepper pickle and shalgam ka bharta (mashed turnips) for me. Of course there were other vegetarian dishes as well. She entertains like a hostess-with-the-mostess. It is wonderful to watch her at equal ease playing a socialite and a cook. There is joy to be found in the kitchen cooking for others and of course for her own satiety. It is this that can make the world a more welcome place to live and share for the future generations. If we do not learn to get into the kitchen now, our grandchildern may have little to play around with as far as food goes, even if they indeed decide to venture into the kitchen.

How I wish all that inhabit our world can cook more in their kitchens and share meals at home with loved ones. Meals around a home table are therapeutic and cathartic. They can heal an ailing mind and body. Offer a venue for counseling to those needing it. Show familial and friendly care for a soul lost in the world for no deeply hurtful reason, but merely in need of some TLC that is hard to find in a world without the fuss-free welcome of a home.

(photographed above is one of a stir-fry of turnip with turnip greens. My mother makes this effortlessly. Using all of the vegetable. It is a stir-fry in that it is cooked in a wok and with minimal oil and just a little cumin seeds and some turmeric. Garnished in end with some cilantro)

Cook at home. Keep cooking simple and honest. Enjoy making mistakes in your kitchen. Errors made are lessons garnered naturally and without any cost. Be mindful and present. Share without the burden of formidable costs. In the bargain forge deeper relationships that come with rich rewards that inspire and inspirit with lasting magic. 

(Photographed above is Chivda, an Indian Trail Mix if you will. Made with poha - a rice pasta of sorts, peanuts, raisins, curry leaves, dried red chiles, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and turmeric. Healthier than the market Trail Mixes, and so much more tasty. A few tablespoons of this can sate your hunger. Of course the deliciousness can make one weak like me eat bowlfuls with careless and reckless abandon, diminishing the wonders of this snack)

Vegetarian and plant-based diets are chic, sexy, plentiful and satiating like any other diet rich in animal based offerings. They only need a more thought out and present approach to the cooking.

(photographed above is a simple dish called Arbi Chanda. Arbi is the hindi name for the colocasia root. A tuber that takes on any flavor you give it with joy and keeps it bright. Here it is cut into moon shaped slices that are cooked with carom seeds, some mango powder, cayenne, cumin and coriander powders and finished with cilantro. Stir-fried in an Indian wok, karahi but easily replicated in a Chinese Wok. Made without fuss. The tubers keep long. Found easily in Asian supermarkets. Can be grown in zones 6 and above. Craving chicken fingers, make these, you will find similar texture and better taste)

Enrich your life, your bank accounts and your health by adding more vegetables, nuts, grains, legumes and healthy oils to your diet. You will feel blessed in more ways than one. 

(photographed above is a simple carrot stir-fry that uses mustard seeds, grated ginger, fenugreek seeds, green chiles, dried red chiles, cumin seeds, curry leaves, asafetida, nigella seeds and some lime or lemon. Made in minutes literally. The most tedious part if grating the carrots. You can buy a bag of slaw mix from the supermarket and use it instead. Or if you have a cuisinart, the grating takes no effort at all. Keep the stir-fry as crunchy or mushy as you like. It can be served hot if on the mushy side, or as a salad and cold if kept crunchy. Move over coleslaw, we have healthier and tastier options now)

 

STIR-FRIED CARROTS WITH CUMIN AND FENUGREEK

Gaajar Kee Sabzi

Serves 4 to 6

I am not especially fond of carrots but I really do love them in this dish.  Perhaps because they are grated they seem to absorb the flavors of the spices better.  Their sweetness is accentuated by the taste of the cumin and the bitter fenugreek.  Serve this warm, as a vegetable  side dish, or chill it and serve it as a salad.

 

2 1/2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons black mustard seeds (optional)

1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (optional)

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and cut into a fine julienne

1/2 fresh, hot green chili, minced

3 whole, dried red chilies

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

8 fresh or 12 frozen curry leaves, torn into pieces (optional)

1/8 teaspoon asafetida (optional)

1/2 teaspoon nigella seeds (kalaunji), optional

1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a grater

3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

Juice of 1/2 lime or lemon

 

1.  Combine the oil, mustard and fenugreek seeds, if using, in a large wok, kadai, or frying pan over medium-high heat.  Cover (the mustard seeds pop and splatter) and cook until you hear the mustard seeds crackle, 1 to 2 minutes.

2.  Add the ginger, fresh and dried chilies, cumin, curry leaves, asafetida, and nigella, if using, and cook uncovered, stirring, until the ginger crisps a little, about 1 1/2 minutes.  (Stand back if using curry leaves; they spit when they hit the oil.)

3.  Add the carrots and cook, stirring, until warmed through, 3 to 4 minutes.  Stir in the salt and the lime or lemon juice.  Taste for salt and serve hot or cold.

 

 

Crave a  vegetarian dish that is at once beautiful and also tasty? Look no further. This is Gobi-Dum. An indulgent recipe. It does take more time than most other Indian home cooking requires. No more than what one would spend making a animal-based roast of another kind. Yet, it gives you something different that is at once delicious, different and perhaps healthier at least for some. The recipe is below. Hope you can enjoy making it, after you have mastered the simpler recipes.

 

PARTY CAULIFLOWER

Gobhi Masalam

(recipe from Indian Home Cooking by Suvir Saran and Stephanie Lyness, Photo Credit to Ben Fink)

Serves 4 to 6

Panditji (our families Brahmin chef) used to make this dish for my mother’s very fancy, annual dinner parties when I was a child.  I loved those parties: the table would be lavishly set with our best china, silverware and linens and we all feasted on a vast array of exquisite foods complemented by Panditji’s best pickles.  I make this now for special occasions because it never fails to impress.

For this Mogul dish, a whole head of cauliflower is first steamed until almost tender (Panditji taught me to add a little milk to the water to keep the cauliflower white), then deep-fried to enhance its flavor, then finally glazed with a spiced tomato sauce.  Because the dish takes some time to make and it reheats well, I always make it in advance and heat it up in the oven just before serving.

 
1 large head cauliflower, trimmed completely of leaves, stem trimmed flat
2 tablespoons milk
1/8 teaspoon garam masala
 
TOMATO SAUCE
3 medium red onions
2 medium garlic cloves
1 1/2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 inch cinnamon stick
5 whole cloves
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
28-ounce can tomatoes in puree, pureed in a food processor or blender
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
 
Canola oil, for deep-frying
 
1.  Bring about 1 inch of water to a boil in a saucepan large enough to hold the cauliflower.  Add the milk and garam masala.  Put the cauliflower in the pan, stem end down.  Cover and steam until the stem is just beginning to soften when you insert a skewer into the head, about 7 minutes.  Drain well.
2.  For the tomato sauce, combine the onions, garlic, and ginger in a food processor and process to finely chop.  Set aside.
3.  Combine the oil, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves in a large wok, kadai, or frying pan over medium-high heat.  Cook, stirring, until the cinnamon unfurls, 1 to 2 minutes.  Add the pureed onion mixture and the salt and cook, stirring often, until the onion begins to brown around the edges, about 10 minutes.  Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric and cayenne and cook, stirring, 1 minute.  Add 1 tablespoon of water and cook, stirring, until the onion begins to stick to the pan, about 1 more minute.  Add the pureed tomato and stir to combine.  Add the garam masala and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes.  Taste for salt and set the sauce aside.

4.  To fry the cauliflower, heat 1 1/2- to 2- inches of oil in a medium wok, kadai, or large saucepan over medium-high heat to 375˚ F.  Holding the cauliflower by the stem, lower it gently into the pot of oil.  The oil will come about half-way up the head.  Cook until the top of the head is nicely browned, about 1 minute. Turn the head carefully with a slotted spoon and cook until the other side is browned, 2 to 3 more minutes.  Drain on a paper towel-lined plate.  Then carefully set the head, stem side down, into an ovenproof serving dish and ladle the tomato sauce over to completely cover.
9.  When you are ready to eat, preheat the oven to 300˚F. Bake the cauliflower until warmed through, about 15 minutes.  Cut into wedges and serve hot.

 

Masala Slaw

Nutritional Information:

Calories 153 (53% from fat) Fat 10g (sat 2g, mono 5g, poly 3g) Protein 7g Carb 13g Fiber 5g Chol 0mg Calc 68mg

Ingredients: 1 3/4-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated Juice of 1/2 lime 1 1/2 tsp citrus vinegar or white wine vinegar 1 1/2 tbsp sugar 3/4 tsp chaat masala 1/4 tsp toasted cumin Pinch cayenne pepper 2 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp ground peppercorns 9 scallions, thinly sliced 1 jalapeno (seeded and veined for less heat), finely chopped (optional) 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped 1 tbsp fresh mint leaves, finely chopped 1/2 head green cabbage, halved, cored and finely sliced 1 cup chopped roasted peanuts

Preparation: 1. Whisk the ginger, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, chaat masala, toasted cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and ground peppercorns together in a large bowl. 2. Add the scallions, jalapeno, tomatoes, cilantro and mint leaves, and toss to combine. 3. Add the cabbage and toss with your hands, making sure to coat in thoroughly with the other ingredients. 4. Sprinkle with the peanuts and serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours, sprinkling with peanuts just before serving.

Below I share two recipes from American Masala, my second cookbook. One for a simple dal that will please one and all. Make it less spicy by eliminating the pepper. Make it hotter by adding more. You can also play with the spices in the dish by adding those from the Indian repertoire that you crave, or omit those you are not fond of. The rice dish is a very basic rice. I am sharing this recipe so you can make a rice that is somewhat more layered. But note that in an Indian home rice if often void of any spices and fat altogether. Just plain, a vehicle for our enjoyment of all other dishes on the table.

 

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Not So Dull Dal

Serves 6

Dal is my chicken soup. It’s what I eat when I crave something comforting, something to remind me of my kitchen in India. I like my dal with texture, but some people prefer it completely smooth. For a satiny smooth rendition, add a little water once the lentils have finished cooking and whisk vigorously until no texture remains. If you have fresh curry leaves in the house, add about 12 of them, along with 1 teaspoon of mustard seeds, to the oil and spices in the very beginning. The curry leaves and mustard seeds give the dal depth and spice. If you want to make a curry dal, substitute 2 chopped tomatoes for the lemon juice and add them with the last addition of water. This is great with simple basmati rice and pita or parathas.

 

3 tablespoons canola oil

3 dried red chiles

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

Pinch asafetida (optional)

1 medium red onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 jalapeño (seeded and veined if you prefer a milder flavor), finely chopped

1 tablespoon kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 1/2 cups washed masoor dal (or yellow split peas)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

6 cups water

 

Heat canola oil with cumin and chiles in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat for 1 1/2 minutes. Add asafetida (if using) and cook 20 seconds, then add onions and jalapeños. Cook 1 minute, stir in kosher salt and cook until onions and jalapeños have softened, about 3 minutes, stirring often. Add garlic and lentils and cook until garlic becomes fragrant, about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of water, stir in and cook until the pan is dry, then add remaining 5 3/4 cups water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Partially cover and stir every 10 minutes until the lentils are soft and break apart easily, but aren’t completely broken down, about 25 to 35 minutes. Taste for seasoning and serve with rice.

 

Cumin and Cardamom-Scented Basmati Rice

Serves 8

It’s not a typo, there really is no salt in this recipe. With so many high flavor dishes on the dinner table, sometimes it’s nice to have a salt-neutral starch to meld with and not fight against other flavors. The wider the pan, the better the rice, since it has room to breathe and expand. Try to use your widest saucepan.

 

3 tablespoons canola oil

6 cardamom pods

6 whole cloves

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

2 cups basmati rice

4 cups water

 

Heat the oil with spices in a medium and wide saucepan until they’re fragrant and the cumin is browned, about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the rice and stir occasionally, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the saucepan and cook for 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

Comments

[RAJVEER SARAN DAS]

KEEP IT UP SUVIR ! 'ARVI' AND 'SHALJAM 'HAPPEN TO BE MY FAVOURITES TOO. MY MOUTH BEGAN TO WATER AS I WENT THRU YOUR TEMPTING RECIPES. IT WAS A PITY THAT YOU WERE NOT IN NY WHEN WE VISITED IN JULY 2009.BEFORE YOU WONDER WHO THIS IS, IT IS RAJU CHACHA FROM BHILAI ( RAJVEER SARAN DAS )THANKS TO NALINI BHABHI, I GOT YOUR FORWARD. ALL THE BEST. KEEP 'COOKING'!

[Jeanette]

Thanks for sharing all these wonderful tips for eating more healthfully, and slowing down to cook and enjoy meals with family. Your colorful photos and straightforward recipes are so inspiring. I love Indian food, especially for its vegetarian options and use of turmeric and aromatic spices.

[paula]

This is what I have been waiting for: your dal recipe!!!! Hurrah! I found this on Sunday when we were home for the day. I didn't have too many of the right ingredients, so I made lots of subsitutions, because I just couldn't wait...used cumin instead of cumin seeds, a different dal, yellow onion instead of red, and I don't even know what asafetida is. It was great. Inspired, on Monday I went in search of the right ingredients, made more, and it was even better. (Still no asafetida). And then as a bonus I made the rice according to your directions and my family LOVED it. I didn't think I would prefer cumin and coridander seeds over the powder, but it was awesome.
thank you.

[Suvir Saran]

Hi Paula!
Do you not have my books?
Go to www.zoebakes.com and sign up for the giveaway.

Email me if you ever need recipes.

Glad you made the dal. It is so easy and delicious. One of Charlie's favorite recipes ever.

Asafetida is like natures own beano. Keeps you from having issues after eating lentils. Or you can eat lots of lentils and learn to levitate like Indian seers. LOL!

Did you take photos of your dal? You should do that and send some my way. Will add them to the blog.

Suvir