Category Archives: Vegetables | Sides | Curry

Haagalkai Gojju ~ Amma’s recipe

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Bitter Gourd in a palate clearing sweet and spicy tamarind gravy – mom’s recipe

Haagalkai Gojju and oil

It was end of the 90′s and the beginning of my hostel days. The very first time that I was on my own, in a place far enough from home and certainly with no access to home food. Home sick I was, like hell. Except, once a month when Amma would come to see me. Religiously, I would look forward to the first week of the month, because I could get to see Amma, spend the special day catching up and end the day co-sleeping, sharing the same hostel bed, chatting away into the wee hours until we fell asleep before she left early the next morning.  Continue reading →

Green Beans and Carrot Puzhi Kootu

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Green Beans and Carrot in a freshly ground South Indian coconut masala gravy

Puzhi kootu rice papad

As a young girl, I was always curious about the goings-on in the kitchen. Hovering around my dear aunt, the then head chef in my grand dad’s kitchen was one of my favorite pastimes. Over the years, whether it was for my keen interest or my unsolicited opinions, somewhat naturally, I had earned a say in vital decisions such as the daily menu. Vegetables would be brought fresh for the next day, the evening before, in a green tarpaulin bag. Plastic had no place then. And in the morning, before leaving for school, I would dash to the kitchen to see what’s cooking for lunch. Whenever it was green beans, there were only two ways I would love them, either in a simple stir fry with freshly grated coconut or an elaborately prepared gravy in the form of this lip smacking traditional South Indian dish. This was the recipe I wanted to learn to make first, whenever I would start cooking on my own.

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Watercress Gobi Paanch Phoron

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Watercress and Caulifower in Bengali five spices

It was twenty years back. She must’ve been sixty something at that time. Yet, her body as slender as string beans and skin, shiny as a new leaf. Even at that age, her barely salt and pepper hair, still lustrous and thick as a jungle, came flowing down to her thighs.

Every time I think of what greens can do, weirdest of all, an automatic mental flashback picture of her, greedily devouring a bowl of steamed greens daily, hits me. For whatever reasons I might not have liked my paternal grandmother much growing up, I’ve always liked my greens.

Ever since I’ve lived away from home, with my love for greens, I’ve lived on an overdose of spinach, fenugreek, dill and the occasional Amaranth (when I get lucky). No offence to any of those, I still love them enough to enjoy them in a host of dishes like Palak Pappu, Swiss Dal Paanch Phoron, Nalgari Aloo Palak or Methi Pudina Pachadi. Every once in a while whenever I felt the urge to break free from the “greens rut”, I gladly embraced one new-to-me green after another, swiss chard, red chard, mustard greens, beet greens or even kale, but yet to warm up to a lot many. Like for instance, the watercress.

Though I’ve known for sometime that this unpretentious and most often unnoticeable in the grocery stores “Watercress” is a potent cancer fighting and asthma curing medicinal super food, even my ever-so-presumed-to-be broad palette found its “grassy-ness” overpowering enough to quit after the first couple of buys.

This time, I wasn’t ready to quit. Albeit, I could somehow hold my nose and gulp it down (exaggerating of course), I had to get it through to him and my little obnoxious food critic. Cauliflower and any broccoli look-a-like is my little girl’s favorite and paanch phoron happens to be mine lately. So, there was little to risk, after all.

Her verdict after the first bite, “I love this spinach, Amma“

You think I corrected her?

I said to myself, batting my eyelids, “yes my dear, ‘this spinach’ is called watercress“

{ Having used up the bunch, so this is all I had to shoot }

I’m told that most typical watercress bunches available in stores are likely to be harvested from around streams, their natural habitat. But, on a lucky day or at a whole foods market, one might find a delicate living version of this green with roots intact in a tiny blob of soil, sitting pretty in a bloated plastic package, carrying a nifty name “hydroponic watercress”.

I was indeed super thrilled when I bought this dainty thing one time, but honestly, I’d prefer the hollow stems, thick dark green leaves of the conventionally grown, any day, even if it is bruised by handling.

Watercress apparently is called Jal Kumbhi in Hindi. I’d like to think I have seen quite a few greens other than the routine spinach and methi, but don’t know for what reason, I have no memory of encountering this green ever in India.

If you know what it is called in Kannada, I’m curious to know..

Also, how do you cook Watercress?

Watercress Gobi Paanch Phoron Recipe

Printable Recipe

Things you’ll need:

small head of cauliflower, washed and broken into florets
2 large carrots, peeled (optional) and diced
3-4 fingerling potatoes or one medium potato, unpeeled, diced
1 bunch of watercress
2 green chillies, broken in half, seeds removed
1 tbsp paanch phoron
1/4 tsp ground cumin / jeera powder
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
red chilli powder or cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 tsp amchur / dry mango powder ~ optional
1 tbsp pure peanut oil or any cooking oil
sea salt

How it’s done:

Wash watercress bunch well in a large bowl of water with a tsp of baking soda. Rinse well in few more changes of water. Drain well and pinch off the leaf sprigs (as seen in the picture above) leaving out the thicker stalk. Delicate stem can be used chopped.

Make sure that cauliflower florets are well drained.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. when the oil is hot enough or shimmering, add paanch phoron. When the seeds start crackling, add green chilli halves, cumin powder, quickly followed by turmeric and and sauté until green chillies show white spots. Add diced potatoes, carrots and cauliflower florets and sauté for a bit. Cook covered until carrots and potatoes are semi soft.

Add watercress leaves, salt, red chilli powder, amchur and give it a good stir. Cook covered for a few more minutes until the watercress leaves are wilted and check if veggies are cooked.

Serve hot with chapathi, roti, rice of your choice.

Notes

To make paanch phoron yourself, just mix equal portions of white mustard, fenugreek, fennel, nigella and cumin seeds.

If you have plants, just spread the shredded watercress stalks and carrot peels into the pot instead of discarding. I re-purposed them for my curry leaf plant.

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Soya Beans Shimla Mirch Masala

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Soya Beans in Red Bell Pepper-Cilantro-Cashew gravy

From the viewpoint of any responsible home maker, sustenance almost always also means maximum usage and least wastage of grocery, be it perishable or other staple food with a longer shelf life. It is not beyond common sense that perishable foods be consumed when fresh.

Wait a minute. Hope you aren’t squirming in your seat wondering if I am up to some gibberish all of sudden?! No I ain’t.

What I was coming to say is, more often than not, in a small family like ours, such precisely optimal utilization is far from reality. The vegetable crisper ends up stocking half an onion, a quarter bell pepper, a wedge of lemon, few curry leaf sprigs, a piece of ginger and many other leftover vegetables. There, I’m back on track. While I wish I’d have lesser of such scenarios, sometimes they come as a blessing in disguise.

When I soaked Soya beans that morning, perhaps I had the least of the clues that I’d get to cook it this way later that evening! But since I wasn’t ready to cook it the same old way, I looked into my crisper and found inspiration in a medley of vegetable leftovers.

Sweet aroma of Red bell pepper, heat of green chillies and the freshness of cilantro clearly distinguish this dish from the routine masala gravies. Cashew lends a mild richness and the neutral taste of soya beans takes everything well. And, the nuttiness of the soy beans is a mouthful of fun!

In the end, a good recipe and a clean sweep of leftover veggies. To me, this is a keeper.After watching Food Inc recently, I was alarmed to learn that 90% of the Soya Beans in the US are GMO. Though nothing can be done about what has already been eaten, I’ve resolved to steer clear of GMO going forward.

If you are curious to know more about what GMO means, how to choose Non-GMO products and where to buy them, check the Non GMO Project link on the sidebar.

Ignorance is not bliss. Awareness is the key to make better choices.

On a lighter note, what is your usual way of consuming Soya Beans?

Soya Beans Shimla Mirch Masala Recipe

Printable Recipe
Things you’ll need:

1 cup dried non-gmo soya beans
1/2 medium red onion, minced
1 ripe tomato, finely chopped
3 tsp peanut oil
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp jeera / cumin seeds
sea salt
juice of half a lemon
cilantro to garnish

For the gravy

1/2 tsp peanut oil
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 medium red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced
3 green chillies
generous handful of cilantro
10 cashew nuts

other

pressure cooker

How it’s done:

Wash soya beans well several times and soak in at least 3 cups (3 times) of potable water for 6-8 hours or overnight. Once soaked, wash a few times again and drain. Pressure cook soya beans with salt and water, a little more than enough to cover the beans, for 3-4 whistles or until cooked soft.

Keep the vegetables chopped and paste for the gravy ready while the pressure cooker is on.

paste for the gravy:

Heat 1/2 tsp oil in a pan. When the oil shimmers, add onions and sauté until translucent. Add diced red bell pepper and sauté until the hissing sound dies out or the rawness disappears.

Transfer sauteéd onions and red bell pepper to a blender and blend along with raw cilantro, green chillies, cashew nuts and some water to a smooth paste.

For soya beans masala

When the cooker has cooled, heat 3 tsp oil in the same pan used earlier. When the oil is hot enough or begins to shimmer, add cumin seeds. When they start sizzling, add minced onions and sauté until translucent. Add turmeric, grated or crushed ginger and tomato, give it a good stir and cook covered on medium until oil separates. Now, add the ground paste, cooked soya beans and salt. Adjust water to the required consistency. Cook covered until well cooked or about 10-12 mins. Stir intermittently. Simmer covered for an additional 5 mins and switch off.

Finish off by squeezing lemon juice and garnish with cilantro. Serve hot with roti, phulka, chapati or any indian bread of choice or even steamed brown rice.

Notes:

Once soaked soya beans expand up to triple in quantity.
In the absence of a pressure cooker, cook the beans in an open pot on stove top until well cooked.

This dish can be cooked ahead of time for an even better taste.

Alternatively, fresh or frozen edamame beans would make a good substitute. Skip the soaking part and cook it on stove top until soft. Pressure cooker will make them too mushy.

Use green bell pepper if not for red bell pepper.

Peanuts can be used in place of cashews. Just double the amount and roast before grinding for the paste.

Substitutes will alter the taste, but they will be differently tasty on their own.

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