Recipes, Vegetable Forward

Watermelon Poke Bowl

No Comments

A poke bowl is associated with raw marinated fish, like Ahi or Yellowfin tuna, that’s cubed and served over sticky rice and pickles. It is originated in Hawaii. The meaning of poke is to slice or cut in Hawaiian and this vegetarian version with watermelon makes perfect sense. The combination of sweet watermelon, sour pickles and salty miso is delicious and refreshing in summer.

Print
Watermelon Poke Bowl

Prep time: 

Total time: 

Serves: 4

Ingredients
  • ¼ of large watermelon or an individual size watermelon
  • 1 small avocado, ½ inch diced
  • ½ cup diced cucumber
  • ¼ cup small diced red pepper (optional)
  • 2 cups salad greens or chopped romaine lettuce
  • 4 teaspoons furikake or toasted sesame seeds
Dressing:
  • 1 tablespoon red miso
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons neutral oil
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 small shallot, diced finely
  • 1 tablespoon pickled jalapeno, roughly chopped
Directions
  1. Peel and dice watermelon into ¾ inch dice and transfer to a colander with bowl underneath to drain water. Transfer diced cucumber to colander also. Let water drain for 30 to 40 minutes.
  2. Make dressing: Combine ingredients of dressing into a large bowl. Add drained watermelon and cucumber, diced avocado, red pepper to dressing and gently stir.
  3. To serve: Divide greens or lettuce to four salad serving bowls. Top with dressed watermelon with vegetables, dividing among for bowls. Sprinkle each bowl with 1 teaspoon of furikake or sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

 

Continue Reading

Recipes, Sweets

Chikki (Brittle)

No Comments

Print
Chikki (Brittle)

Prep time: 

Cook time: 

Total time: 

The sun starts to move from south to north during December. It is believed that this northerly movement (uttarayana) begins on January 14 (Makar Sakranti). This day is celebrated with kite flying in Gujarat. People fly the kites from their terraces. The sky is filled with colorful kites and there is a international kite flying competition in city of Ahmedabad. Brittle called chikki, made with jaggery, sesame seeds and peanuts is eaten during this festival.
Ingredients
  • 1 cup sesame seeds (til), unhulled to make sesame seeds brittle or
  • 1 cup raw peanuts (shing), without skin to make peanuts brittle
  • ¾ cup jaggery, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ghee or melted unsalted butter
Directions
  1. In a dry frying pan, roast sesame seeds or peanuts on medium heat until light golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. (until sesame seeds starts popping). Remove from pan and set aside.
  2. Brush the same pan with ghee or butter. Also brush spatula and rolling pin. If you do not have silicon mat then brush approximately 10 x 12 inch area with ghee or butter on a stone surface.
  3. Heat jaggery on medium high heat until melted (it will be like caramel), 3-4 minutes. Keep heating jaggery until caramel is darker in color for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly. Lower heat to low.
  4. Add sesame seeds or peanuts and stir quickly to combine with caramel. Transfer to silicon mat or brushed area. Roll out into ¼ inch thick approximatly 10 x 12 inch rectangle.
  5. Make cuts with a knife to make 2 x 2 square pieces. Let brittle cool down and once cooled, break the square pieces. Store in air tight container. Enjoy as a snack or a sweet.

 

Continue Reading

Recipes, Street Food

Chickpea Flour Rolls and Fries

No Comments

Print
Khandavi

Prep time: 

Cook time: 

Total time: 

Serves: 6

The chickpea flour is known as besan and the rolls are known as Khandavi. This dish was my mother's specialty. My mother used to make it on special occasions and whenever guests were coming over. She is not able to cook anymore but she has passed on this recipe to many of us. This is not an easy recipe to master. It took several attempts for me to make it right.
Ingredients
  • ½ cup chickpea flour (besan)
  • ½ cup yogurt (not Greek)
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced green chili (jalapeno or serrano)
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • Pinch of asafetida
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 3 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
  • 3 tablespoons freshly grated coconut, see Note.
  • Oil for brushing on baking sheet
For Tempering (Vaghar):
  • 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon asafetida
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
Directions
  1. Prepare two large or three medium sized baking sheets for spreading cooked besan. Invert baking sheets and brush them with oil and set them aside. You can also use silicon mat or spread on a stone kitchen counter.
  2. Whisk together besan, yogurt, water, green chili, ginger, turmeric, asafetida and salt in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan until smooth.
  3. Start cooking besan on low heat, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook besan until it is fully cooked (like polenta), about 7 to 10 minutes. Immediately spread besan on to baking sheets in thin layer (like thickness of tortilla).
  4. Sprinkle two tablespoons each of cilantro and coconut on baking sheets evenly. Make 2 ½ inch cuts evenly on spread batter vertically along the width of baking sheet.
  5. Gently start rolling khandavi as tight as you can, until all spread batter is gone. This batter will make 12 to 14 khandavi. Arrange khandvi vertically on a casserole dish.
  6. Prepare Vaghar: In a small heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat until simmering. Add mustard seeds and let them sizzle, 30 seconds. Add remaining vaghar ingredients and let it cook 10 seconds. Pour over arranged khandvi. Garnish with remaining cilantro and coconut. Serve within few hours of making at room temperature.
Notes
Fresh grated coconut is easily available in Indian grocery stores in frozen section.

 

 

Print
Chickpea Flour Fries

Prep time: 

Cook time: 

Total time: 

Serves: 3

Ingredients
  • ½ cup chickpea flour (besan)
  • ½ cup yogurt (not Greek)
  • ¾ cup water
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced green chili (jalapeno or serrano)
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • Pinch of asafetida
  • 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated coconut
  • Oil for brushing on baking sheet
  • Neutral oil for frying
For Tempering (Vaghar):
  • 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • ¼ teaspoon asafetida
  • ½ teaspoon chili powder
Directions
  1. Whisk together besan, yogurt, water, green chili, ginger, turmeric, asafetida and salt in a medium heavy bottomed sauce pan until smooth. Brush with oil a small 6 x 10 baking sheet.
  2. Start cooking besan on low heat, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Cook besan until it is fully cooked (like polenta), about 7 to 10 minutes. Immediately spread besan on to baking sheet in even layer.
  3. Transfer the baking sheet to freezer for 2 to 3 hours or overnight in the refrigerator.
  4. Cut the batter into ½ inch thick fries. Heat oil into a frying pan until hot enough to fry. Fry the fries in 3 to 4 batches until golden brown, about 3 to 4 minutes per batch. Transfer fries to paper towel lined dish or on a wire rack to drain excess oil. Once oil is drained, transfer fries to serving dish or bowl.
  5. Prepare Vaghar: In a small heavy bottomed sauce pan, heat oil on medium heat until simmering. Add mustard seeds and let them sizzle, 30 seconds. Add remaining vaghar ingredients and let it cook 10 seconds. Pour over the fries. Garnish with cilantro and coconut. Serve warm.

Continue Reading

Recipes, Vegetable Forward

Baghara Baigan

No Comments

Print
Baghara Baigan

Prep time: 

Cook time: 

Total time: 

Serves: 4

This eggplant curry is from city of Hyderabad, Southern part of India (in a state of Telangana), and it is usually served with Biryani. It is made with small purple egg sized eggplants (known as Indian eggplants).
Ingredients
  • 1 lb. Indian eggplant (8 to 10 baigan)
  • ½ lb. green chilies, spicy or mild or mix of both (8 to 10)
  • ½ cup raw peanuts
  • ¼ cup sesame seeds
  • ¼ cup fresh shredded coconut
  • 15 to 20 Curry leaves
  • 1 shallot, roughly chopped
  • 1 jalapeno or serrano chili, roughly chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
  • 4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 2 teaspoons garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons red chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon tamarind paste, See note.
  • 1 cup canola oil
  • 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro for garnish
Directions
  1. Wash eggplants and pat dry. Make an X cut on ⅓ of eggplant on stemless side, keeping the stem. Repeat the same with rest of eggplants. Wash chilies and pat dry. Keep them whole with steams, cut them in half if long.
  2. Heat a skillet or a cast iron pan. Add peanuts and roast them until very light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add sesame seeds and roast them for 30 seconds or until they start to pop. Immediately add coconut and roast until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Let the mixture cool for 10 minutes. Once it’s cooled, combine roasted peanut mixture, shallot, jalapeno or serrano chili, ginger and garlic in food processor bowl and make a thick paste. Add couple of tablespoons or more water to move the contents in food processor. Set it aside.
  3. Dissolve tamarind paste into ¼ cup of water in a small bowl and set it aside.
  4. In a frying pan, heat oil on a medium high heat until shimmering. Add eggplants and sauté them for 3 to 4 minutes until skin is light brown. Remove from oil and let excess oil drain on a wire racked sheet pan or paper towels lined plate. Lower the heat and remove extra oil from pan, leaving about ¼ cup of oil. Reserve extra oil. Sauté green chilies in oil until they start to blister, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove chilies from oil and let excess oil drain on a wire racked sheet pan or paper towels lined plate.
  5. Add more oil to frying pan to make about ¼ cup from reserved oil. Increase heat to medium high again. Once oil shimmers add cumin and mustard seeds and let them sizzle, 30 seconds. Add curry leaves, let them crisp for 40 to 50 seconds. Be careful as they will splatter oil. Add peanut mixture paste, turmeric, garam masala and chili powder. Sauté the paste with spices for 3 to 4 minutes or until you see oil separating. Add tamarind water and stir. If gravy is too thick add some water. Season the gravy with salt. Add eggplants and submerge them in gravy. Cover the pan and let eggplants cook until soft but not mushy, about 5 to 7 minutes. Uncover and add blistered chilies. Stir the contents and let everything cook in gravy for 3 to 4 minutes.
  6. Before serving garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with Nan and/or Biryani.
Notes
Tamarind paste is readily available in Indian stores.

 

Continue Reading