Sweet potato kheer

A few years ago I had my very own vegetable garden in the backyard. The first year I started small and then when the vegetables kept coming I felt brave to try and expand the range of herbs, vegetables and fruits. I started reading about backyard gardening and planted strawberries, figs, mint, patty squash, okra, corn, cauliflower, melons, pumpkin, beans, tomatoes, cucumber, karela to name some. I did not have a fenced backyard and we did have deer in the neighborhood, but somehow my vegetable garden was never touched and it thrived. It was a great feeling to pick my own vegetables and cook dinner with it. I had to distribute the extras to friends. Now when I think back I feel that I was able to do all that because I had the space and also the time that is needed to take care of the plants.
We have moved since then and although I have a fenced backyard with space for a vegetable garden I have not been successful here. I only plant that has survived is a fig tree. The rest have been eaten mercilessly by deer who apparently are very good at high jumps and other nocturnal creatures I don’t know about. But they have grazed to the ground whatever I have planted with my all my heart. That includes my roses, hostas, hydrangeas, and my vegetable saplings. I planted some hot peppers and onion to ward them off but they chewed that up too.

Betel leaf (pan) plant

  So this year I have nothing, except a tomato plant in my sun-room, struggling to get the sun and survive and a small betel-leaf (pan) plant that was given to me as a gift and I love it. Looking back I wish I had tried my hand at some other vegetables too like sweet potatoes in my previous garden where I seemed to have a green thumb and some luck:)


Here is a recipe for sweet potato kheer.  I often make this kheer to make some picky eaters eat the vegetable.

Saffron, pistachios, slivered almonds

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes boiled, peeled and mashed
1 can condensed milk
2 cups milk
Slivered pistachios and almonds
1 tsp. cardamom
A pinch of saffron soaked in 2 tbsp. milk

 Method

Boil the 2 cups of milk till it begins to reduce then add the mashed sweet potatoes. Boil for another 10 minutes. Now pour the condensed milk and keep stirring. Let it simmer for  another 10-15 minutes. That’s it! Once it cools add the saffron and the chopped pistachios and almonds.

Coleslaw and baked beans

With summer setting in I have been trying make salad based meals more often. Last week I made a quick and easy salad with a healthy dressing. I used the store bought pack of coleslaw (shredded cabbage and carrots) made a yogurt dressing to go with it. I paired it with some baked beans and grilled pita bread.

Ingredients

1 bag store bought coleslaw (or 1 medium shredded cabbage)
1 apple (thinly sliced)
1 cup thick yogurt (Greek yogurt or regular yogurt drained)
1/4 cup silken tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp honey or agave nectar
1 clove garlic (optional)
handful of chopped cilantro
 black pepper and salt to taste

  Method

Empty the coleslaw in a mixing bowl. Add the sliced apples.  Mix the yogurt, honey, salt, silken tofu in a bowl and whisk well. Now grate the garlic and add it in the prepared mixture along with the cilantro. Adjust the seasonings according to taste. Sometimes I like to add a dash of red pepper flakes to make it spicier. 

Now pour this dressing over the coleslaw and mix well. Refrigerate it for an hour to let the flavors blend it.

For the baked beans I caramelized one onion with green chilies and added a can of vegetarian baked beans in it along with a tablespoon of ketchup. Serve the coleslaw and baked beans with some grilled pita bread for a complete meal.

Tofu makhani

I have been trying to perfect my makhani gravy which is used so often in Indian dishes offered in restuarants. Paneer makhani is one of the most popular vegetarian dishes. I recently went to a restaurant that had great reviews online Their website looked decent and boasted about their first restaurant which became very popular in Europe. I should have listened to my instincts about staying away from the likes of Maharajas and Heritage restaurants (but I did not). So we ended up going to this place. On the recommendation of our server we ordered a wide array of dishes, which included paneer makhani, dal makhani, navratan korma and hyderabadi baingan ka salan. Even though the decor and the look of the place felt decent it was eerily empty during lunch hour. I was expecting to see a buffet as it was a weekend lunch hour, but the server announced that they do not have buffets on a weekend! So then we ordered a la carte.  After waiting for more than twenty minutes the food arrived and it was awful! The baingan ka salan had a thin runny and tastless gravy which tasted of raw turmeric. The eggplant itself was not well cooked and tasted raw. The rest of the food just had a gravy of cream and tomatoes with no other flavor. I left feeling ripped off with a bad taste in my mouth. A few days later I decided to try making restaurant style makhani gravy at home, but without using copious amount of cream in it. Here is the recipe.

 Ingredients

1 pack tofu cubed

2 cups chopped tomatoes (preferably roasted)

1/4 cup cashews soaked in water and ground to a paste

2 bay leaves

2 tsp ginger garlic paste

1 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp green cardamom powder

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp pepper

2-3 black cardamom

1 tsp tandoori masala or garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

2 tbsp kasoori methi

1 tsp red chilli powder

1 tbsp butter

Salt to taste

Oil for cooking

Method

Heat some oil in a saucepan and add all the ingredients in it except honey and kasoori methi. Cover the saucepan and cook for at least 10 minites. Keep stirring till the gravy becomes thick (anohter 5-10 minutes).

Cool a little and transfer the mixture to a blender and puree it. Transfer the puree back to the saucepan and add the honey,  kasoori methi and butter. Saute the pieces of tofu in a non stick pan and add it to the prepared gravy. Serve with rice or roti

Black lentil soup

A bowl of home cooked dal or lentils topped with generous amount of ghee or butter and juice of lemon can be so comforting and nourishing after a hard day's work. I love to  to cook all kinds of lentils as soups or dal. It can be eaten just plain boiled with rice or you can make it as elaborate as you like it, by adding whole spices and vegetables or tempering it with onions, garlic etc.. Left overs can be used to make a dough for rotis or paratha. One of my favorite lentils are the whole black lentils or kali masoor.

Ingredient

1 cup whole masoor dal

1 small onion

1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

1 bay leaf
2-3 black cardamom

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp red chilli powder

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1 tomato chopped

1 tsp garam masala (optional)

1 Lemon (juiced)

1 tsp cumin seeds

Ghee or butter to cook

Method

Boil the dal with carrots, turmeric powder, half the ginger garlic paste and bay leaf. I pressure cook the dal giving it about three whistles. It should be cooked but not too mushy. In a separate pan heat some ghee and add the cumin seeds and black cardamon. Add the onions and cook for about 3-5 minutes till  the onions turn golden brown. Now mix in the rest of the ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, garam masala, red chilli powder and salt. Mix well and cook for another 5 minutes. Now pour the dal over it and bring it to a boil once again. Taste for seasoning and add the lemon juice. Serve as soup topped with a little butter or it can be eaten the traditional way with rice or roti.

Creamy pasta salad with silken tofu dressing

The past few days have been really hot and humid here, with temperatures reaching  almost 100 degrees. I wanted to make something that would be light and refreshing for this weather. I had been planning to make a pasta salad for a long time and I had lots of vegetables at hand. So I decided to make this salad with lots of crunchy vegetables and a creamy soy dressing.

 

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups boiled pasta 

1 cup chopped vegetables 

red onions, orange, red, green bell peppers

1/2 cup boiled chickpeas

a few black olives

1/4 cup frozen peas

1/2 cup green and red apples (chopped)

1/2 cup sliced grapes

toasted walnuts and cranberries for garnish

For the dressing

3/4 cup plain unsweetened soy milk

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup silken tofu

1 lime, juiced

2 tbsp honey

1/2 tsp garlic, onion powder

1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Method

Boil the pasta according to directions in salted water, drain and keep aside. Cut all the vegetables and mix them with the pasta in a bowl. Mix in the apples and grapes. Top with some toasted and candied walnuts and dry cranberries.

 Combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a blender. Puree until it is smooth and creamy. Pour the dressing over the pasta and serve. Sometimes I like to crumble a little feta cheese on top to make it extra special.

Pumpkin curry

I love to use pumpkin in soups raitas or even parathas. This curry is mildly sweet, spicy and savory. Topping it with creamy yogurt or coconut milk makes it even more delicious.

Ingredients

Chopped pumpkin (about 3 cups)

2 tsp panch phoran

cloves 3-4

curry leaves

slit green chillies

dry red chillies

1 tbsp jaggery or sugar

turmeric powder

black salt 

Chopped cilantro for garnishing

coconut milk or whipped yogurt (1/2 cup)

Method

Heat some oil in a pan and add the panch phoran, cloves, slit green chillies, dry red chillies and curry leaves. Once it starts spluttering add the pumpkin salt and turmeric powder. Stir well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the powdered jaggery, a little black salt and cook till the pumpkin is done but not mushy. Garnish with cilantro. Before serving pour a little coconut milk or whipped yogurt on top. Serve hot with parathas.

Grilled tofu with spicy barbecue sauce

I made this spicy barbecue sauce with Indian flavors to go with grilled slabs of tofu.

Ingredients

1 pack firm tofu (drained)

1 large sweet onion

2-3 cloves of garlic

2 tomatoes

half cup chopped cilantro

a few sprigs of fresh mint

3-4 jalapenos

2 tbsp ketchup

2 tbsp store bought barbecue sauce

2 tsp curry powder or tandoori masala

turmeric powder

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Method

Drain the tofu well and pat dry with a towel. Spray some oil on the slabs of tofu and grill till it gets nice grill marks on both sides. Season with salt and pepper.

For the sauce

Chop the onions, tomatoes, garlic, jalapenos and put them in a blender. Add the mint leaves and make a paste. Take some oil in a pan and add this paste along with the ketchup, barbecue sauce, salt, turmeric and curry powder. Cover and let it simmer for about 10 minutes till the oil separates. Pour the sauce over the grilled tofu and serve.