Filed under: Indian, snack, vegan | Tags: Indian, potatoes, vegan, vegetarian
Here is a cooking tip: equip yourself with the proper spices and you will have a quick, healthy, very tasty Indian meal with whatever you may have lying around. And it’s cheap.
Here are some things you may not know: unlike French cooking, you never taste a dish until it is done in Indian cooking. Also, pure Hindu vegetarians do not eat garlic and onions as they are believed to create lust and vegetarianism is a commitment to a simple lifestyle.
Tonight I:
washed, chopped and boiled some potatoes for about 15 minutes
heat 1 tbl of oil in a skillet over medium and added 1 tsp each of cumin, asafoetida, tumeric, cayenne, and salt and 1 tbl coriander and cooked for a minute before adding the potatoes. Cook, covered, for about 15 minutes.
Sprinkle with garam masala and amchoor powder and eat with yogurt and chutney.
If you add some cauliflower it’s aloo gobi!
Filed under: Indian, Legumes, vegan | Tags: chickpeas, Indian, tomato, vegan, vegetarian, yogurt
This is another recipe that I’ve committed to memory. It’s one of my favorite comfort foods. I’ve seen many different spice combinations used to flavor it but I just use the cheapo spices I have available. I’m going to splurge and buy some cardamom pods and amchoor powder to toss in when I go home.
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 can diced tomatoes (with liquid) or 1 lb fresh tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp (or more) each: garam masala, ground cumin, ground coriander, tumeric, paprika, salt, fresh ginger
pinch of cayenne
lemon juice, to taste
plain yogurt (I use non-fat Greek yogurt), optional
cilantro, chopped
olive oil
Saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and spices and cook for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes. Add the chickpeas and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Before serving, mix in lemon juice. Serve hot with yogurt and cilantro. Serves 2.
Filed under: Indian, Legumes, ferment, rice, snack, vegan | Tags: dosa, ferment, Indian, lentils, rice, vegan, vegetarian
I’ve been flipping through Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz and making lists of different ferments I want to try. I like the idea of ingesting live bacteria cultures and of practicing traditional forms of food preservation. There’s a lot of literature on the subject so you don’t need me to give a laundry list of health (and, for some, spiritual) benefits.
Some ferments can take over a year; dosas took 24 hours. Dosas are like the Indian equivalent to a crepe or blini but probably a lot healthier. I ate mine folded in half with yogurt and slices of mango but they are good plain or with a hearty curry.
Here’s what you’ll need:
2 cups rice (I used brown, Katz says white Basmati rice is more authentic if that’s what you’re going for)
1 cup lentils (again, I’ve read that both white and black lentils are more authentic. I used red, Katz has also tried lima beans)
1 cup yogurt or kefir (optional)
1 tsp salt
1 small bunch parsley and/or cilantro, chopped
1 inch gingerroot, grated
vegetable oil
Soak the rice and lentils in water for at least 8 hours or overnight. If you leave them to soak a bit longer and they beging to sour, that’s fine. Strain the rice and lentils. Grind them into a batter with yogurt, kefir, or water in a food processor or other grinding implement. Put the batter in a bowl or jar with plenty of room for it to expland. The batter should be fine, not chunky, and thick, just barely pourable. If necessary, add a little water. Ferment (this means leave it out, not in the fridge) 24 to 48 hours or longer. Once it has risen substantially you can make dosas! If you leave it for a number of days, the sour flavor intensifies. Yum.
Add 1 cup of lukewarm water to the thin the batter. The batter should be liquid to produce thin pancakes. Stir in the parsley and/or cilantro, ginger, and salt. Heat a well-seasoned frying pan with oil. Use a laddle to pout the batter into the center of the pan and then use the bottom of the ladle to spiral the batter from the center out toward the edges of the pan. Cook as a pancake, flipping after bubbles appear. I cooked it on medium-low heat. Don’t expect to get the hang of this right away. My first few dosas were thick and deformed but the last couple that I made were thin and crispy! The dosa should be thin. If necessary, thin the batter by adding more water, yogurt, or kefir. Lightly oil the pan between dosas.
Katz, Sandor Ellix. Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods. White River Junction, VT: Chelsea Green Publishing Company. 2003. 70-71.
