Vegetable Khichdi

They say that one always dreams in the language that one is most comfortable with -- their native language, so to say.  I've also heard it said that the language that one is most conversant is the one a person uses to do math and sums in their head.  I think a similar analogy applies to food.  A long while ago, I wrote a blog post for the American Society for Nutrition, entitled 'The Immigrant's Fridge."  Part of what I was saying in this article is that one of the last things to change in the assimilation process of an immigrant to a new culture is their diet.  For someone like me, who's had the privilege of having traveled widely and lived amidst various cultures, questions about self-identity can be hard to answer.  For instance, I cannot truly answer the question of which language is my native language, though I suspect that it is in fact English.  Certain other aspects -- such as what I consider to be an appropriate amount of personal space when speaking with someone -- are decidedly American.  But when it comes to food, perhaps my Indian identity has proved a bit more indelible.  Ultimately, on a rainy, cold, and grey day, when I start craving comfort food, the recipes that I most often resort to still tend to be Indian ones.  Familiar ingredients, cooked simply and quickly, with just a smattering of spice to satisfy my tastebuds.  As I sit here on such a cold, grey, and rainy day in Portland, I share with you one of my favorite comfort food recipes for you to try out.  I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Vegetable Khichdi 
(loosely translated as a vegetable porridge)

1 C cut vegetables, such as beans, carrots, peas, and corn
1 C short to medium grain rice, such as jasmine, washed
1/2 C moong daal*
Half a red onion, finely sliced
2 tsp ghee (clarified butter)*
1 tsp turmeric powder*
2 tsp cumin seeds *
1.5 T spice mixture
2 tsp salt

To make the spice mixture:

Grind equal amounts of cumin seeds and whole black pepper in a spice mill to a coarse consistency.  This spice mix is great on a variety of foods, including sliced cucumbers, tomato soup, and roasted potatoes.

To make Khichdi:

Pressure-cook vegetables, rice, and daal with 1.5 C water till rice and daal are very well cooked, usually about 6 whistles**
Allow cooker to cool completely
In the meantime, heat ghee, add cumin seeds and turmeric and sautee till seeds crackle
Add onions and sautee until they are translucent
Add rice/daal mixture and spice mixture
Mix well, sprinkling some water on top if needed to help spices mix into rice
Taste and adjust for salt

The final consistency of this dish should be like very thick oatmeal.  It is often served with either yogurt or an Indian style pickle*.  But it's most importantly always served piping hot!

Cook's Notes

* These are all available most easily at Indian grocery stores and sometimes at well-curated specialty markets.

**If you don't have a pressure cooker, a lot of Indian recipes are quite a bit more time-consuming.  In this case, I would suggest soaking the daal in hot water for about an hour, and then mixing it with the rice and veggies and cooking in a rice cooker or an open vessel until the daal is softened completely.  I also recommend investing in a good pressure cooker, as this is a great way to steam and cook foods quickly with minimal loss of nutrients.


To reheat, lightly sprinkle water and heat in microwave.  Alternatively, heat in a skillet, adding enough water to loosen up the rice and lentils.

Spicy tofu with golden beets and beet greens

Alas, my vacation has come to an end. Truth be told, it ended a while ago, but with a million things to catch up on at home and at work, I just haven’t had the time to devote to this space. Besides which, those of you who know me personally also know that I’ve been spending some time preparing and launching my Etsy store, Five Farthings, which is another one of my creative outlets, albeit unrelated to edible goodies.

Before we go any further, the results of the spice set giveaway are in, and the winners have been sent an email with instructions to receive their gift. Thank you all so much for the comments, and please keep them coming. Without your feedback, there simply is no reason for me to continue with this effort.

Although I haven’t been blogging a lot since I went on vacation, I have been cooking. In fact, spring is such a great time for foodies in general, because menus everywhere are chock-full of farm fresh ingredients that are predominantly vegetarian. Granted, I often don’t know what many of these items are. Rapini? Ramps? Crucolo? Thankfully, the Portland restaurant scene is laid back enough that my queries as to their identity are generally met with helpful explanations and only rarely with incredulous expressions at my ignorance.

So with this inspiration from local restaurant menus and joyful trips to the local farmers’ markets, I have also been keeping myself busy in the kitchen incorporating new ingredients into my platter. Here’s one such recipe, Spicy tofu with golden beets and beet greens, that made for quite a delicious new twist to our weekly tofu intake. The sweetness of the beets is nicely offset by the mild bitterness of the greens, and you’re left with the satisfaction of having used up an entire big bunch of beets -- greens and all. This was the first time I had cooked beet greens, and I will definitely be buying more of these as soon as possible. Are there any greens that you have lately tried and enjoyed? Do let me know, since I love experimenting with substitutes for good ole spinach.

The recipe

Spicy tofu with golden beets and beet greens

6 golden beets peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces
Leaves of 6 beets, chopped roughly
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2T sesame oil
1 package of extra firm tofu, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 small bunch of scallions, minced
¼ C low sodium soy sauce
¼ C chili garlic sauce
1 T all-purpose flour dissolved in ¼ C cold water (optional)

Heat oil in a pan, and add garlic and beets. Sautee lightly.
Add tofu and allow to brown lightly on all sides
Add beet greens, in batches if necessary, and allow them to wilt
Add soy sauce and chili garlic sauce and cook on medium heat until beets are softened
Taste for salt and spice and add more soy or chili-garlic sauce, as needed

If using, add flour dissolved in water and cook for about 3-5 minutes.
Take off heat and garnish with scallions. Serve over hot steamed rice.

Cook's Notes: Given the sweetness of the beets, I thought this recipe could easily handle the amount of spice listed below, but feel free to scale it back to suit your tastes. I served this over a ½ and ½ mix of brown basmati rice with white jasmine rice cooked with 1.5 measures of water in a rice cooker. The fragrance and toothiness of this combination was just what I was after.

Eating vegetarian in Hong Kong

On our way home to India, the hubby and I took a slight detour to the charming islands of Hong Kong for a mini vacation before the real one. I really had no idea what to expect of Hong Kong. Since I'm on vacation, I'm in no frame of mind to regale you with stories of our enjoyable adventures in Hong Kong. Instead, I will just give you a pictorial tour of our forays into vegetarian eating on this cluster of islands in the South China Sea. The most memorable among these experiences were our visits to the many "wet markets" of Hong Kong to gawk at pickled eggs packed in dirt and the tiniest bok chois known to man...


...and of course the sumptuous all-vegetarian feast at Po Lin monastery on Lantau Island.




Hong Kong also boasts many bakeries and coffee shops that display beautifully decorated cakes in their windows. Unfortunately, the sight of a camera promptly results in a gruff "No photos" admonition in most of these bakeries, so please pardon the weird angles on some of the surreptitiously snapped pictures.



...and yes, the macarons craze has not spared Hong Kong either. The displays at this "Madeleine de Proust" shop in one of Kowloon's subway stations was so pretty. And for once, the sales person was more than happy for us to take pictures.



With that, I sign off with promises of more food pictures and stories from my extended vacation. Do keep the comments coming, as the giveaway is still on!

A vacation and a giveaway

You know the feeling you get right before a vacation begins. The hectic bustle of last-minute things to wrap up at work, the constant rearranging of items into suitcases, as if rearranging the same mass can somehow magically reduce its weight, the double and triple-checking of documents and itineraries. Somewhere in the middle of all this, it suddenly sinks in --- you’re heading on vacation! This is what just happened to me this morning, as I woke up in a panic at not being fully packed for my upcoming sojourn. And in my case, the glee, when it hit me, was amplified because it’s not just a vacation that I’m headed on, but the best kind of vacation – I'm going home! Home -- to balmy evenings and sultry days (we'll see if I'm still romaticizing this aspect once the tropical heat hits me); home-cooked food and a respite from the daily routine; family time and pampering (I hope) in abundance; and the kind of sights, sounds, and smells that never fail to send me into sensory overload.

So why am I ranting and raving about a vacation ? What’s in it for me, you ask? Well, two things, really. Firstly, home, for me, happens to be one of the richest and most diverse places in the world, in terms of culinary delights. And not having been back home in over two years, I have every intention of indulging in these said delicacies and sharing with you a few teasers of mouthwatering recipes that I shall attempt to botch in my own kitchen once I’m back. Secondly, since I’m in such a good mood, I’ve decided to share some of my bounty with you, readers. When I return from my holiday in a few weeks, I’ll be giving away three sets of Indian cooking spices, fresh from the Motherland. One of them will contain spices commonly used in the making of traditional Indian chai or spiced tea. Another one will be a set of spices used in the making of North Indian curries, such as this Paneer Jalfrezi. And the last one will be a set of spices used traditionally in South Indian foods, such as this Bread Upma. So what do you have to do in order to win one of these packets? It’s simple -- just leave me a comment on any one of my posts, including your impressions on the post and an email address so that I can contact you, should you win. You will be entered into the drawing once for every comment you leave me between now and my return at the end of March, so your ways to spice Nirvana are really limitless.

With that dear Reader, I leave you with a glimpse into the kinds of goodies that I hope await me on my vacation to India. I hope you enjoy these pictures of Bhatura, a type Indian fried puffed bread, served alongside spiced mashed potatoes, cooked with tomatoes and lots of Indian spices. Since my vacation laziness has already set in (and as I mentioned, I'm not done packing yet), I will have to defer writing up the recipe until after I return. In the meantime, be good, and happy eating!

Baked Apples

When it comes to food, occasions like Valentine’s day can present a real dilemma. You have two options – either brave the crowds and head out for dinner, in which case the long waits and overpriced menus are sure to kill the romance. Alternatively, you can slave over the stove to churn out a memorable meal, at the end of which endeavor, you are left with barely enough energy to be civil through the meal, much less contemplate the subsequent....clean-up ;)

So, as an alternative, I like to save my eating out on such occasions for the following weekend, and focus my dinner efforts on creating a memorable dessert -- preferably one that doesn’t require a whole lot of hands-on time. That way, even if you’re eating leftovers for dinner, you can still end your meal on a sweet note. This recipe for Baked Apples fits all the criteria for a quick and memorable weeknight dessert. It’s a breeze to make, cutting your time in the kitchen and freeing it up for lots more romance.

Happy Valentine’s Day, my dear readers!

Baked Apples

4 large baking apples, such as Jonagold or Golden Delicious

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup chopped pecans

1/4 cup raisins

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 Tbsp butter

Core apples and peel (optional)

Mix other ingredients together in a bowl and stuff into apple core

Place in a shallow baking dish

Pour enough water into dish to just cover the bottom

Bake at 350 deg F, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until tender when poked with a fork

Baste occasionally with juices in the baking dish

Serve warm with vanilla ice-cream

Date nut truffles

With Valentine’s day just around the corner, no doubt many of you have started thinking about making some sweets for your sweets. If you don’t want to sabotage your New Year’s resolutions of healthy eating but would still like to make a special treat, here’s a recipe for a guilt-free truffle made with dates and almonds that is quite pretty and absolutely delectable. I don’t generally add any honey to the recipe, but you may prefer it sweeter. Also, while the cloves and pepper are optional, I highly recommend adding them, as they elevate these date truffles into truly sophisticated morsels.

1 C pitted dates

2 T very hot water

1/4 C blanched almonds

A tiny pinch of clove powder

1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper

2 T honey, optional

1/4 C dessicated unsweetened coconut flakes

Soften dates by placing them in a bowl and adding 2T boiling hot water over them

While waiting, grind almonds to a fine powder

Now, grind dates to a paste in a food processor, coffee grinder, or by hand in a mortar and pestle

Combine dates, almonds, cloves, pepper, and honey, and mix well

Form 1 inch balls and roll smooth. Roll in coconut to coat. Gift and enjoy, guilt-free.

Bread upma -- an Indian version of bread stuffing

There are so many things that I miss about living in Japan. High on the list is crustless sandwich bread. I know…how hard is it to cut crusts off bread, right? Not to sound spoilt, but really, there was something joyous about opening up a perfectly vacuum sealed package of delicate crustless bread, just begging for translucent discs of cucumber to be sandwiched between the slices. But since I no longer have the luxury of such laziness, I have be content with cutting the crusts off my bread for those occasions that just demand a crustless sandwich – like when the Queen is over for tea, for instance. To come to my point…what do you do with all the left over crusts from such an endeavor? If you don’t want to throw away perfectly good food and are up to trying a new recipe, here’s one that never disappoints in my house.

Upma is a savory dish made in Southern India, usually involving cream of wheat or cream of rice. This bread upma, which is best described as an Indian version of American stuffing, is usually made when we end up with several end pieces of bread accumulating in the fridge. It’s very easy to make and is generally eaten for breakfast in India. If a spicy or savory breakfast is just not your thing, you can certainly eat this for lunch or dinner or anytime in between. And of course, you don’t have to wait till you have a bunch of crusts before you make this – you can also cheat and just chop up perfectly whole slices of bread.

Bread upma*

Ingredients

1T canola oil

½ t turmeric powder

½ t mustard seeds

1 red onion, diced

2 yellow potatoes, diced

5 green chilis, julienned

1T red chili powder

Salt to taste

Juice of half a lemon

8 slices of bread, cut into 1” cubes

1T fresh or frozen coconut**

4 T finely minced cilantro

Heat oil in a pan and add turmeric and mustard.

When mustard seeds start popping, add onion and sautee till browned

Add potatoes, green and red chilies, and salt

Cook covered until potatoes are fork tender

Toss in bread and lemon juice and cook for about 5 minutes until bread is tender and has absorbed some of the spices from the potato mixture

Add coconut and cook a minute longer.

Take off heat, and garnish with cilantro and additional lemon juice, if desired.

*The consistency of this dish should be a little dryer than American stuffing. If bread starts to look too dry while cooking, sprinkle some water and allow bread to tenderize.

**If all you have is dessicated coconut, soak 1 T of this in some warm water for 5 minutes before adding to the upma. If all you have is sweetened coconut flakes, just throw it away, and don't ever buy it again!