Mangalorean Sprouted Moong

Recently i dug out an old cook book "Rotis & Naans of India" by Purobi Babbar. Not sure if you've seen this but its a gem of a book! i wanted to do something different with my sprouted moong this time so i decided to experiment & try something from the konkan coast of india

Ingredients:
200 gms sprouted moong beans
2 green chillies
2 1/2 cups water
pinch of hing
3 tbsp oil
10 curry leaves
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin seeds

Ground to a paste
1/2 fresh coconut (or use approx 1/4 packet frozen shredded coconut)
1 tsp roasted coriander seeds
4 dried red chillies, roasted
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
5 tbsp tamarind pulp

Wash sprouted moong. pour enough water to cover the sprouts and add chillies. cook gently over low heat until tender but crisp. add the ground paste & salt. mix well & simmer over low heat until done (ensure moong stays crisp & crunchy & doesn't get overcooked & mushy).

heat oil. add cumin seeds & add hing & curry leaves. pour over the boilded sprouts & mix well. serve hot.

Note: this dish tastes great even a day or two after its made.

Tip: to learn how to make your own sprouts, here are a few useful sites: http://www.yourpage.org/sproutfarm.html
http://www.sprouting.com/homesprouting.htm
http://www.homeopathyone.com/how_to_sprout.htm

to buy sprouting equipment, check these out:
http://www.chetday.com/sprouts.html
http://www.erleentilton.com/HealthStoreProd.shtml
http://www.sproutpeople.com/devices/jar/jar.html
http://www.handypantry.com/pk4/store.pl?section=7

Brussel Sprouts, the Indian way

Here are a few ways to make this healthy but abominable vegetable actually taste delectable:

Recipe 1 (Maharashtrian style):

Clean the Brussel Sprouts (always pick young, tender ones) by removing the thick stem at the bottom & outer layer of dry, brown leaves. halve the brussel sprout to make 2 pieces & rinse with water. do a tadka of mustard seeds and hing. add the brussel sprouts, turmeric & salt to taste. i like to cook on high heat to brown the sides while still keeping the sprouts crunchy from the inside without letting them get overcooked. add some goda masala or kala masala just before done & sprinkle some shredded fresh coconut.

Note: Kala masala tends to be spicy so i don't add chilli powder in this recipe. To buy maharashtrian kala masala in the US, visit: World Spice Merchants.

Recipe 2 (Gujarati style):

i gave a twist to Mahanandi's Brussel Sprouts curry. i followed all the steps in hers except with couple changes: i added ground fresh ginger along with the onions & replaced the green chillies & coconut with dhanajira powder & chilli powder. also, i pre-boiled the kala chana in a pressure pan so it would be quicker. it was simpler to make & healthier, minus the coconut.

Recipe 3 (stuffed Gujarati style):
here i follow my mom's recipe for stuffing any vegetable - okra, baby eggplant, onions - just replaced with brussel sprouts and they taste delicious too. be warned, its a little more work than the above 2 recipes but a great variation to it.

Recipe 4 (South Indian style):
i haven't tried this one but just thought of it is i was making it the gujju way...do a tadka of olive oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, urad dal & chana dal. Add diced brussel sprouts, salt, turmeric, chilli powder & a little sambhar powder. cook for 3-4 min until spices blend but don't let brussel sprouts over cook, keep crunchy.

Cyrus Todiwala's Dhaniawala Gosht

Cyrus Todiwala is a UK-based chef-owner of couple top restaurants & making raves in the active Indian cuisine scene in UK. i recently tried this lamb recipe of his at a friend's behest & really loved it (so much so that i can't wait to make it again)

Ingredients:
2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
4-5 dried chillies, torn into pieces
2 x 3/4-in pieces cinnamon sticks
4-5 tbsp oil
1 lb lamb cubes (i bought pre-cut from the butcher's section)
3 onions chopped
1 heaping tbsp finely chopped ginger
2 tbsp garlic, finely chopped
4 tomatoes, chopped (i substituted with 6 tbsp tomato sauce since i didn't have fresh tomatoes handy)
3-4 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
salt to taste

Roast the dried chillies and cinnamon in a flat pan until they're aromatic & lightly colored. Cool & grind to the consistency of crushed peppercorns. put aside. roast the coriander & cumin seeds. cool & crush lightly. put separately from chillies/cinnamon.

Heat oil in a saucepan until almost at smoking point & add the lamb. cook over high heat until browned on all sides, then add the ground red chilles & cinnamon. saute for a min or two. reduce the heat to medium & add the onions & stir constantly. Cook until translucent (not browned). add ginger, garlic & the ground cumin/coriander powder & saute for another couple min. pour in enough water to cover the lamb & season with salt. reduce the heat to simmer, cover & cook for 15-20 min. at this stage if there's too much water, remove the lid & cook until its thickened. stir in the tomatoes (or sauce as i'd used) & cook on medium heat until lamb is tender & the gravy is nice & thick (it took about 45 min for this to happen & i actually reduced heat to slow & covered the pan after about 20 min). mix in cilantro & check the seasoning. serve with rice, or bread.

Note: this tastes as good, if not better the next day :) thanks Cyrus for this delicious lamb that's so quick & easy to make!!

Mom's recipes

i started this blog with 2 objectives in mind - one was to give myself a forum to express my foodieness and the other being to create an online log of my mother's recipes online, to share with the rest of the world and with future generations.

as this blog gradually began to take shape, its evolved into more of a current food diary where i can banter about food as well as share some of the more modern Indian recipes i've been using or have created myself. so i felt it was more appropriate to create a separate space for my mother's recipes to give it the respect it deserves and also to keep things better organized. to view my mom's recipes, visit: http://spaces.msn.com/members/seattlefoodie/

Exotic Spices from around the World

where else in the world outside of Maharashtra can you find the special 'kala masala' or 'goda masala' as the locals call it? seattle, the foodie capital of this end of the planet, ofcourse! i found this place, World Spice Merchants, while traversing some local foodie mag or blog. my curiousity was immediately piqued when i read about it as they did claim to have some really exotic spices from around the world. i took myself there this weekend (its very close to Seattle's famous Pike Place Market) on an exploratory trip. as you're walking past the street its on (Alaskan Way), you can smell the whiff of strong spices but as you enter within, it can clear the worst sinuses. lo and behold, i did find some of the most amazing both whole and blended spices from both India, other parts of Asia (for e.g., the Chinese Five Spice Blend) as well as spices from Africa and Middle East (Turkish, Moroccan & Ethiopian spices). i couldn't resist picking up a few samples myself, as well as the book the spice lover's guide to herbs & spices by Tony Hill, the owner of the store. check out their website if you're interested in experimenting with a few yourself.

Inspiring talk by Chef Michel Nischan

On Nov 2nd, Chef Michel Nischan spoke to Microsofties on campus as part of the Visiting Chef series organized by a couple of foodie employees. This was one of the most inspiring chef talks i've heard. Michel Nischan is a James Beard award winning chef from New York and used to do what many chefs of his calibre do - creatively apply French techniques and method to locally available meats and produce. in the process, ofcourse, a lot of cream, butter, duck fat & goose fat can get used. if you live for good food, you relish it so much, you keep wanting to go back. then one of his children got diagnosed on juvenile diabetes. that's when he started a journey to reinvent food and use his genius to create healthy but flavorful food that is culturally relevant and social responsible (his words, not mine :) he's had several restaurants of his own in the past - that served both healthy food and not so healthy food but these days he mainly evangelizes eating healthy, eating local and fresh and works towards creating local movement to get organic produce and meats easily accessible to the common man.

his talk really got me thinking...Indian food really lends itself to healthy eating habits using local fresh produce. while still keeping it immensely flavorful. just put a nice Indian garam masala with ginger and garlic as a rub on your favorite meat, poultry & seafood & see how its transformed while being the healthiest meal possible. that's how most of us grew up in India (ofcourse there is an unhealthy side to Indian food too but you can ignore those since there are ample healthy options) and many of us continue to still make the right food choices no matter where we live. what if we could educate western society about this? hmmm...that could be a concept worth exploring...

to learn more about Chef Michel Nischan, visit his website.

Shrimp Rasawala

this one was just an experiment since i wanted something really quick but really tasty...

get frozen rock shrimp (sometimes called shrimp meat for salads) & thaw according to instructions. in a flat pan, heat olive oil, add mustard seeds, garlic, curry leaves & whole red chilli. when mustard seeds start popping, add the shrimp. add salt, turmeric & red chilli powder to taste. stir fry until shrimp is heated through and all the spices have blended. don't overcook or shrimp will get chewy. serve immediately.

it took less than 10 min to cook & i couldn't believe how good it tasted.

Palak Fish (or Paneer or Chicken or Eggs or Squid)

this one came from Madhur Jaffrey's cook book too but only after eating it did i realize how versatile it is & also how close it is to the Palak Paneer you get at a good Punjabi dhaba

heat olive oil & add 1 chopped onion, 1 tbsp crushed ginger & 1 tbsp crushed garlic. cook until onion is lightly browned. add turmeric, cumin & coriander powder, freshly grounded black pepper and stir for a few seconds. add 2-3 chopped green chillies (i substituted with red chilli powder in the absence of green chillies), 2-3 chopped tomatoes and 250g of chopped or baby spinach. cook until tomatoes are melded and spinach is wilted (20 min). add water to ensure it doesn't burn/stick. let cool slightly & blend roughly with hand blender. just before serving, heat the spinach mixture. Add fish (or paneer or chicken or boiled eggs or squid) and cook till done (3-5 min for all else, 15-20 for chicken). serve immediately.

Bengali cuisine

i'm a huge fan of Bengali cuisine, one of the lesser known and undiscovered gems of all the various Indian cuisines. It reminds me a lot of French cuisines due to its perfection and method.

Here's an email my Bengali friend Amrita sent me sometime ago. Her mother has fed me several great meals at their home in Baroda (Gujarat, India), our hometown. i was fortunate enough, thanks to her great cooking, to be able experience what has become one of my favorite Indian cuisines! Read Amrita's perspective on Bengali cuisine & also some of the family recipes she shares:

...comparing bengali food to french cuisine is a tongue tickling way of looking at things. but you could have a point. other than the fact that bongs like the french are quite pompous, the food is subtle in taste and appearance. no loud red gravy screaming for attention. i would also go as far and say that you would have to develop a taste for bengali cuisine as it does not pander to the regular taste buds.

a typical bengali meal starts with something bitter and ends with dessert thus going through the complete range of the taste palette. As most meals are predominantly rice oriented i am giving you a typical menu which includes a starter (which is bitter), dal, fries, a veggie, fish, chutney and sweets. As far as the sweets go it can be sandesh, rosogolla, chamcham, rajbhog, kheer kadam, mishti doi or the rice kheer which is made on special occasions like birthdays, annivs, weddings, baby showers etc. the other stuff is all got from outside since it is so good fresh and tasty. not to forget cheap.

mustard oil holds a special position in bengali cooking. its pungent flavour adds a piquant taste that is usually not palatable to the less adventurous. its most commonly used in cooking fish and in tempering certain dishes. the other speciality is the paanch phoren - a mix of 5 condiments that include jeera, kaala jeera, methi, saunf, mustard. but a lot of times all of them are not used together depending on the recipe and part of bengal you are from.

the meal starts with neem begun
ingredients fresh and young neem leaves and brinjal cut in cubes. heat oil fry the leaves to get rid of excess bitterness then add the brinjal. add salt and haldi and cook till soft. the neem can be substituted with karela.

you can also have only karela fries. cut karela in roundlets and deep fry in oil. add salt. at the time of eating ghee is added to the rice and mixed with the above dish. for more elaborate start there is shukto which is very much like avial but without the coconut.

dal is a must 'coz you mix the major portion of your rice with dal and eat with some veggies or fries.

this is the recipe for masoor dal. boil dal with salt and haldi powder. heat mustard oil and temper with red chillies, methi, saunf and kaala jeera. add onions and fry till soft. add dal. bring to a boil.the onions can also be optional.

aloo posto (diced potatoes with poppy seed paste) is a perennial bengali favourite. here again onions are optional. fry diced potatoes on slow fire till soft. add salt, haldi powder, chilli powder. add paste of poppy seeds. cook till done. this can be made dry or with gravy. cooked in mustard oil makes it extra tasty.

Tadka Dal

Just tried this today from Madhur Jaffrey's 'Simple Indian Cooking'. I tweaked it slightly to my taste. its very simple to make (took all of 5 min) & it came out tasting heavenly:

Boil moong and masoor dal (you can do just moong dal also). Add turmeric & salt. Add water to get consistency to your personal taste - this dal will taste good thicker or thinner. Do tadka of olive oil, whole red chillies, jeera seeds, methi seeds and whole garlic (crushed lightly into big chunks with mortar & pestle). once the outside of the garlic is caramelized, add to the dal. Add lemon juice & cilantro (coriander) leaves, mix lightly & serve immediately.