Tag Archives: vegan

Tomato Coconut Stew. Remembering my grandmother through her favorite recipes.

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My paternal grandmother passed away a year ago this month. My grandmother raised me, and taught me a great deal. In her memory, I will be posting a series of her favorite recipes. The first in the series is this tomato stew with coconut milk. My grandmother relished this dish, often eating it with steaming hot idlis for dinner.

I’ve already written a little about my grandmother and what an accomplished woman she was in this post. In this series, I will share more memories of her through her favorite recipes. My grandmother was far ahead of her times. She pursued higher education, a career and a public life – something very few Indian women did during her time. She was a PhD in philosophy and literature, a public speaker, author of many books and an educationalist. And she spent a life time championing womens’ education in India.

Not only was she a career woman, she also enjoyed hosting and entertaining guests in her home..

Tomato stew with coconut milk - one of my grandmother's favorites.

My grandmother playing with my iPhone on Pongal day 2013. This was the last picture taken of her.

Diwali, 2002

Getting ready for bedtime, 1982

My grandmother’s dinner parties were legendary and her hospitality impeccable. Although she never took an interest in cooking, she had a keen palate and a great love of hosting and feeding people. She would give her cook, Mariappan detailed instructions before the dinner parties. She would have the coconut trees in her lawn decorated with strings of light bulbs. She took care of every detail – the decoration, neatly folded napkins, extra large sized silver plates, polished cutlery, and a lovingly curated menu.

A typical menu made by the talented cook Mariappan would include tomato rasam and rice wafers for dipping, green pea rice scented with cumin, plump vegetable cutlets coated with golden bread crumbs, fried puris, fragrant garlicky cauliflower masala and delicate sweet polis made with lentils, cardamom and drenched in ghee. As a child, I looked forward to those balmy evenings when my grandmother would regale her guests, laughing, quoting poetry, and coaxing them to eat more. Nobody ever went home hungry after visiting my grandmothers house!

Even in her passing she found an opportunity to entertain people. Let me explain. Where I come from in India, it is customary to host a lunch in the honor of the deceased a few days after the funeral. My grandmother must have known intuitively that her death was near. So one week before her passing she wrote out the menu for the post funeral lunch, along with detailed instructions on how it should be served. Thats right, my grandmother made the menu and gave instructions for her own funeral lunch!

As per my grandmother’s wishes, my family organized a multi course lunch, with four desserts (she had quite the sweet tooth!) served on the largest, freshest banana leaves on the very same lawn where she had regally presided over dinner parties for fifty years. It was the best send off we could have given to a woman who was so passionate about food, people and life.

It is an honor to have been raised by a woman who was so intelligent, beautiful and exuberant. Her life was grand and her love was abundant. This post is the first in a series of recipes I will be posting as a tribute to my grandmother. These recipes have all been tried and tested over decades. Every single recipe I will be posting was a favorite of my grandmother’s. Each one brings back a flood of memories.

In creating these posts, I am filled with tremendous pride to have been part of this incredible woman’s life, and at the same time I am filled with great grief that she is no more.

 

Tomato Coconut Stew

serves about 4 as an accompaniment/curry

Ingredients
1 lb ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1/4th teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4th teaspoon urad dal
1 small onion, minced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
6 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method
1. Bring plenty of water to boil in a saucepan. Drop the tomatoes into the water. Let them boil till their skins blister, about 2 minutes. Then drain.
2. When tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skins. Then puree the tomatoes without any water. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add the urad dal, and mustard seeds.
4. When the mustard seeds pop, add the onion, garlic, curry leaves and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Pour in the tomato puree, chili and turmeric powders, salt, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil.
6. Then reduce heat, and cook on medium-low heat, uncovered, till the sauce becomes thick. About 15 minutes.
7. Add the coconut milk, stir, and turn off heat.
8. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with roti, idlis, dosa, or neer dosa.

Quinoa Upma Recipe

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I’ve taken the classic South Indian upma – a breakfast dish made with semolina – and quinoa-fied it! The traditional upma uses semolina, onions, ginger and vegetables. I’ve pretty much kept everything the same, except the addition of quinoa. This is a quick, satisfying, one pot meal. Serve it along with my twice cooked tomato chutney.

I’m always thinking of new and different quinoa recipes and putting an Indian twist to this quinoa dish really works. If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you’ve already seen my hugely popular mango blueberry quinoa salad, a version of which I demoed on TV. I also have a spicy quinoa, black bean and asparagus bowl recipe and a more summery quinoa recipe with balsamic grilled vegetables. If you’ve tried lots of quinoa recipes and looking for something completely different, this quinoa upma is for you!

Quinoa Upma Recipe

 Serves about 6

Ingredients
1 tablespoon butter or oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1-3 green chili, slit
1 small onion, thinly sliced
one inch piece of ginger, peeled and cut into 3 pieces
a few curry leaves, optional
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 cup diced carrots
1/2 cup shelled green peas
2 cups quinoa
Salt
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Method
1. In a large saucepan with a lid, heat the butter or oil and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the green chili, onions, ginger and curry leaf. Stir on medium heat till the onion is soft and transcluscent.

2. Now add the turmeric, carrots, and peas. Cook stirring for about a minute.

3. Add the quinoa to the saucepan and stir gently for a few seconds. Then pour in 4 cups water, and salt and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer covered till all the water is absorbed and the quinoa is cooked, about 15 minutes.

4. Serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro. If desired, fish out and discard the ginger chunks before serving.

Easy Vegetable Pad Thai Recipe

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I love Pad Thai and have been experimenting with a recipe that is easy, vegetarian and something you can make with just your pantry ingredients (no tamarind or palm sugar!). When I eat Pad Thai at restaurants I always have to ask for it vegetarian and without fish sauce, and even then sometimes they give it to me with the fish sauce! Probably because the pad thai sauce is pre-made.

My Pad Thai is totally vegan and vegetarian, and the Pad Thai sauce is very easy to make!

But before we get to this delicious home made Pad Thai recipe, here’s a story of how it happened..

Emilee is a Veggie Belly fan and has been following the blog for a few years. She, her husband and new baby recently moved back home to Portland after living in Beirut, Lebanon.

As a special surprise for Emilee, her family arranged a cooking session for her with me! How sweet is that?! Emilee had no idea what she was in for until she arrived at my door! Imagine her surprise!

We made this Pad Thai together, and had so much fun chatting and cooking! We talked about food in Lebanon, adjusting to life with a new baby, how awesome Portland, OR is (it really is, trust me!)…all while chopping garlic, squeezing lemons and soaking noodles. My kind of evening!

And the noodles turned out delicious! Below, Emilee squeezes a wedge of lime over her noodles because she likes it tangy.

Check out her nails, I love the color!
Thanks Emilee, for cooking with me!
I love hanging out with my readers!

Some tips for making veggie Pad Thai

- The Pad Thai sauce needs to have a balance of sweet, salty and sour. Everyone likes it a different way. Follow my sauce recipe to start with, and then feel free to adjust the sugar (for sweetness), soy sauce (for salt) and lime juice (for sourness)

- Pad Thai noodles are called Banh Pho. Look for the flat wide ones, sometimes labeled as size “XL”. The ingredients must only have rice or rice flour and water.

- Make sure you soak the noodles correctly (see package instructions). If they get too mushy, you’ve either soaked them too long or they’ve spent too much time in the wok. Or both. And if you don’t soak them long enough they will be crunchy.

- When you soak the noodles, they don’t have to soften all the way, but make sure they are soaked enough that they become pliable, and are no longer stiff.

- I like the boil the pad thai sauce. It gives it a deeper flavor, and caramelizes the sugar a bit. If you dont want to do this extra step, thats fine, simply whisk the sauce ingredients together and set aside.

Easy Vegetable Pad Thai Recipe

serves 2-3
Ingredients

for the sauce
3-4 tablespoons light brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 2-3 limes)
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup water

for the noodles
8 oz wide Pad Thai rice noodles, also called Banh Pho
2 tablespoons vegetable or peanut oil
crushed red pepper, as much as you like
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups of broccoli florets
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped into rounds
1 heaping cup of cubed fried tofu, available at Asian stores
a big hand full of bean sprouts
2 green onions, chopped
3 tablespoons roasted, chopped peanuts
3-4 cilantro sprigs, chopped
1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Method
1. Place all the sauce ingredients in a non stick sauce pan. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat and simmer on low for about 2 minutes, or till the sauce has thickened just a little. Turn off heat and set aside.

2. Soak and drain the noodles according to package instructions. If the package does’nt have instructions, soak the noodles in warm water for about 15 minutes or till they become pliable. Then drain.

3. Heat the oil in a large wok. Add the crushed red pepper. As soon as they sizzle, add the garlic, broccoli and carrots. Toss on medium-high heat till the broccoli turns bright green and the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4. Add the soaked noodles, tofu and the sauce. Toss on medium-high heat till everything is well combine and the noodles are cooked, but still a little chewy, and not mushy.

5. Turn off heat, and add the bean sprouts, and green onions and mix well.

6. Garnish with cilantro and peanuts. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Simple Indian Style Tofu and Bean Sprout Braise Recipe

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Even my tofu hating friends love this Indian style tofu with bean sprouts. I like to serve this dish with steamed brown rice and some wilted kale – a meal that makes me really happy! This is a simple dish, with simple flavoring. With a dish like this, I like to add some extra heat by using jalapenos or green chilies. Use them according to your taste and remember that green chilies are usually hotter than jalapeños. If you like it more liquidy, just add extra coconut milk at the end.

Make sure you use a wok or a large sauce pan. For two reasons – you don’t want to crowd the tofu, if you do, it wont brown properly. Also, the bean sprouts will get too watery if you use a small pan and everything is crowded.

Simple Indian Style Tofu and Bean Sprout Braise Recipe

Serves about 2 

Ingredients
8 oz firm tofu
1 tablespoon oil
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds. Substitute with cumin seeds.
6-8 curry leaves
A pinch of asafetida, optional
½ a Jalapeno or one green chili
¼ teaspoon Turmeric powder
4 Cups bean sprouts (about 8oz)
½ cup coconut milk

Method

1.Drain the tofu, and gently pat it dry with an absorbent towel. Cut the tofu into ½ inch cubes and set aside.
2. Heat oil in a wok or large sauce pan. Add the mustard seeds and let them pop over medium heat.
3. Once they pop, throw in the curry leaves, jalapeno or green chili and asafetida. Stir for about 30 seconds or till the jalapeño/chilies start to sizzle.
4. Sprinkle turmeric over the oil. Immediately add cubed tofu. Mix everything gently so the turmeric coats the tofu.
5. Cook the tofu on medium heat, flipping it around occasionally, till it is lightly browned on all sides. About 8 minutes.
6. Then add the bean sprouts, coconut milk and salt. If you want more liquid, add more coconut milk. Cook just till the bean sprouts wilt a little – about 2 minutes.
7. Serve hot with brown rice or quinoa and some wilted greens.

Garlic Rasam Recipe

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Every home cook must have a good rasam recipe under their belt. This light, tangy and spicy south Indian dish is usually served as a main dish with rice and potato curry. But my favorite way of serving it is in cups, like a soup, along with some crisp potato chips. Perfectly warming for a cold day!

There are probably as many rasam recipes as there are cooks. Everyone does it differently. And you can flavor the rasam with a number of things, not just garlic. For variation try Chef In You’s lemon rasam, or Mahanandi’s coriander rasam, or my grandmother’s killer pineapple rasam.

Garlic Rasam Recipe

serves about 4

Ingredients for Rasam Masala
6-8 garlic cloves with skin on
8 curry leaves
1 red chili
3/4 tablespoon black pepper corns
1 tablespoon cumin seeds

 Method
1.Using the back of a wooden spoon, crush each garlic clove and set aside.
2.Coarsley grind everything else, except garlic. Mix the ground masala with garlic (skin an all) and set aside.

Ingredients for Rasam
a small gooseberry sized ball of tamarind (about 1 tablespoon)
2 small tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon oil or ghee
1 red chili, broken
a few curry leaves
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon urad dal
a pinch of asafetida
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

 Method
1. Mix and dissolve the tamarind in 2 cups of water. Then strain and extract the water.
2. Place tomatoes in a bowl, and either using your hands or a potato masher, mash and squish the tomatoes till a coarse pulp forms.
3. Place the tamarind water, add tomatoes in a saucepan, and boil for 5 minutes.
4. While its boiling, heat oil in another saucepan and add the chili, curry leaf, mustard seeds, urad dal and asafetida. Stir till fragrant and the mustard seeds pop.
5. Add in the rasam masala. Stir 15 seconds.
6. Add tamarind tomato water, salt, plus 2 cups water.
7. Cook on medium-high. As soon as the rasam starts to foam and just before it comes to a boil, turn it off.
8. If you want a clear rasam, you can strain it at this point, but straining is optional.
9. Garnish with cilantro and serve with steamed rice or in cups, as soup.

Pumpkin Kootu Recipe

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The very talented Nags of Edible Garden blog brings us this easy pumpkin kootu recipe today. A kootu is a side dish of vegetables cooked with lentils. And I cant think of anyone better than Nags to guest post about this traditional South Indian recipe. Her blog is full of everyday, fuss-free Indian recipes. Take it away Nags!

Hello everyone, I am Nags, the writer, cook, and photographer behind Edible Garden. I’ve been blogging for almost 6 years now but haven’t done very many guest posts (this is my 2nd, actually) so please raise a glass with me to Sala’s courage and trust!

It’s been over 7 years since I moved away from home and started cooking to feed myself, but I have only cooked with pumpkin about 2-3 times in this entire period. I can’t quite figure out why this is because pumpkin is a gorgeous vegetable by all means. It’s a lovely orange-yellow, cooks quickly, lends a mild sweetness to the dish, and is generally well-behaved and easy-going. Well, I can only hope I can make up for my rudeness by cooking with it more, so here’s a simple pumpkin kootu recipe to kickstart what I hope is a great relationship between me and the lovely pumpkin.

But before I go into the recipe, I must say what an honour it is to take up a small part of Veggie Belly. I’ve been in awe of Sala’s recipes and pictures since the day I set my eyes on this website. She has a lovely eye for details, props, colours and food photography. She’s also so very generous. I won a cookbook in a contest in Veggie Belly once but Sala sent me this entire package filled with goodies all the way from the US to Singapore.

Pumpkin Kootu Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients
3 cups pumpkin (or kabocha or butternut squash), cut into small cubes.
1 cup yellow moong dal
¼ tsp turmeric powder
Salt
Curry leaves
Grind Together to a Paste
½ cup grated coconut
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic
2 shallots, optional
For Tempering
2 tsp oil
¼ tsp black mustard seeds
¼ tsp hing, optional

Method

  1. Add the pumpkin, dal, turmeric powder, salt and 4 cups water to a sauce pan and cook on low heat, covered, until the dal is soft and the pumpkin is very soft.
  2. Add the ground paste to the dal and stir well. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit more water but not too much. I usually wash the blender jar and add that water in which should be sufficient. Throw in the curry leaves. Cook the kootu for about 3 mins. Remove from heat.
  3. Heat oil for tempering in a skillet. Add the mustard seeds. When they pop, add the hing, if using. Add this to the prepared kootu. Adjust salt if required
  4. Serve with steamed white rice and any dry vegetable curry
  5. A variation of this kootu is to use channa dal instead of moong dal and green chillies instead of red chilli powder. Check out this Chow Chow Kootu, for instance.

 

Quick Healthy Tomato Soup & An Ayurvedic Retreat in Kerala

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Hello everyone! Sorry I’ve been missing for a while! Offline, non-blog stuff took over. But I’m back now and have  an irresistible line up of vegetarian recipes for you this year!

I’m in Kerala, India right now, on an Ayurvedic retreat. Its something I do once every two years or so, and there is no better place for this all natural detox, than the beautiful state of Kerala! My daily schedule here includes yoga twice a day, meditation, chanting, two Ayurvedic massages, and cooking class.

Above is the main building of Kalari Kovilakom, the Ayurvedic center I’m staying at. A beautiful, serene place with lotus ponds, a temple, and the nicest staff. The food here is fantastic and all vegetarian. Its all personalized and cooked according to each person’s Ayurvedic dosha (constitution). And the chef Nishant is ever so willing to share his simple, healthy recipes. 

The dining room..

Whem I’m not doing yoga, meditation, getting massaged or hanging out in the Ayurvedic kitchen, I sit outside my room and catch up on reading. There is no tea or coffee here. Instead everyone gets herbal tea. This one is kapha tea, made with boiling water and powdered cinnamon, cardamom and long pepper.

I love sitting by the pond in the evenings..

..and feeding the fish!

This is the center’s Ayurvedic kitchen. They use traditional cooking vessels made of brass, wood and stone. And im telling you, it makes a huge difference in the taste!

These are the ingredients for this easy tomato soup. (All the vegetables here come from an organic farm..)

Here is is how chef Nishant makes his simple, healthy, ayurvedic tomato soup. I was blown away by the simplicity of it! And there isn’t a drop of oil in it!

Chop tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, carrots and cilantro root. Yes, the root. Cilantro root has a great flavor, so dont throw it away when you buy a bunch! Its perfect in this soup. And the carrot adds some sweetness to the soup, which is a nice counter point to the tangy tomatoes

Throw all the vegetables and some water into a pot with salt.

Boil till the tomatoes are soft. Then blend the soup.

Strain the soup. Return it to the pot and bring to a boil. Adjust salt if needed. Thats it!

This delicious, super easy, no-oil tomato soup is ready to serve! Needless to say, garnish with cilantro!

Here are some healthy, equally tasty variations to this soup. Keep everything the same, and just switch out the carrots and tomatoes:

Carrot soup – 3 chopped medium carrots, plus half a tomato

Spinach soup – 3 cups fresh spinach

Beet soup – 3 small beets peeled and chopped, plus 1 tomato

Quick, Healthy Tomato Soup Recipe

serves about 2

Ingredients

3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger

4 cilantro roots, chopped. Substitute with leaves and stems.

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan, along with salt and enough water to cover the vegetables, about 3 cups.

2. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil till the tomatoes are soft.

3. Let it cool a little, and blend into a liquid. Pass the soup through a strainer, pushing out all the liquid, using a wooden spoon.

4. Return the soup to the saucepan. If its too thick, add some water. Bring back to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn off heat, adjust salt if needed, and serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro.

Pumpkin and Spinach Curry Recipe

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If you read my previous post on my homemade curry powder recipe, you are already anticipating this post! This is a pumpkin and spinach curry recipe using my home made curry powder. The curry powder takes just 12 minutes to make and there is nothing like freshly roasted and ground spices in your curry!

The curry powder is a really simple recipe using just coriander, cumin, fennel seeds, dried chili and turmeric. But heres a great trick to get two layers of flavor from this simple curry powder – add most the curry powder to the pumpkin and cook it till the pumpkin is done – this will give the spices a mellow, rounded flavor. Then, add a little more curry powder right at the end of cooking; this will add another layer of fresh spice taste.

Any yellow flesh winter squash will work with this recipe. Today I’ve used pie pumpkin. But I often make this recipe with butternut squash, which my husband and I both love.  You can also use potato or sweet potato, or mixed vegetables.

Making this easy vegan curry during the holidays? Sprinkle some dried cranberries over the curry when its done for added sweetness and a festive look.

How to to peel a winter squash like butternut, kabocha or a pumpkin

  1. Using a sharp chef’s knife, cut the squash or pumpkin in half.
  2. Then using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and thready bits from the cavity.
  3. Lay the squash or pumpkin cut side down. Using one hand to hold it down and stabilize it, take a sharp, preferably serrated knife, and carefully slice off the skin.
  4. Then cube the squash.

Pumpkin  and Spinach Curry Recipe

Serves about 4

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds, optional
¼ teaspoon Cumin seeds
6 Curry leaves, optional
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 recipe homemade curry powder (5 tablespoons), see this post for recipe
4 cups peeled and cubed (1 ½ inch cubes) pie pumpkin or butternut squash or kabocha squash. See post above on how to peel squash.
2 cups water
1 cup coconut milk (about half a 14oz can)
3 cups tightly packed baby spinach

Method

  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and add mustard seeds if using. When they start to pop, add the cumin seeds and curry leaves and stir till fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  2. Add onions and cook till they are light brown
  3. Then throw in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or till fragrant.
  4. Sprinkle 4 tablespoons of curry powder, stir, then add the peeled, cubed squash or pumpkin and salt.
  5. Pour in 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to a lively simmer, cover the pot and let the squash or pumpkin cook till it is fork tender, about 20 minutes.  If the water is drying up before the pumpkin is done, add more water, half cup at a time. If there is too much water in the pot, boil it uncovered, till there is only about 3/4 cup water remaining.
  6. When the squash/pumpkin is cooked, add the coconut milk and remaining 1 tablespoon of curry powder. Stir and bring back to a boil.
  7. When the curry boils, add the spinach and cook just till the spinach wilts, about 1 minute.
  8. Optional – for added sweetness, garnish the curry with some dried cranberries, or stir in up to one teaspoon of sugar.
  9. Serve hot with rice, roti, bread or quinoa.

 

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