Peanut Chutney

Peanut Chutney

This is my ‘favoritest’ chutneys. It can double as a dip as well. Very versatile…I sometimes use this in stir fries for that peanutty tinge.

-1 cup peanuts
-1/4 onion
-1/2 tbsp canola oil
-5-6 dried red chillies
-2-3 whole garlic cloves
-1 tsp tamarind paste
-3-4 tbs water, depending on the chutney consistency
-salt as needed

1. Roast peanuts and dried red chillies in oil until slightly brown. Set aside. Do not over-roast; the whole dish will have a burnt flavor.
2. Blend together peanuts, chillies, garlic, salt, tamarind along with water. Blend as little or more for a chunky or smooth chutney.
3. Now cook this chutney in a skillet on medium for 5-8 min until you can smell the wonderful aroma of peanuts.

‘Fake’ Peanut chutney

How would you make peanut chutney in the absence of peanuts? Fear not! You can substitute peanut butter in place of whole peanuts! Yes. Use the same ingredients as above except to replace 1 cup peanuts with 2-3 tbsp peanut butter.

Also for hotness, I tried Tabasco hot sauce instead of dried red chillies.

You can completely eliminate the blender if you use peanut butter, Tabasco, finely chopped onion and garlic.

Roasted Vegetables in Italian herbs

Roasted Vegetables in Italian herbs

I’ve always eaten roasted veggies at restaurants, mostly with dead veggies. I guess I got sick of them and inspired to make this. But I love the way roasted veggies taste as compared to frying.

-Cous cous- 1 cup
-1 Sweet potato abt 4” in length, cut into 1” cubes
-1 Pepper, cut into ½” thick strips
-4-5 Asparagus, cut into 1” pieces
-Cauliflower, even sized 7-8 florets
-5-6 baby carrots or 1 whole carrot cut into bite sized chunks
-2 fresh rosemary sprigs. Can also use sage leaves. Basil will wilt under the high heat
-11/2 tbs olive oil OR use PAM entirely
-Sea salt, pepper as needed

1. Cool cous cous according to package directions-which is usually boil one cup of water in a saucepan, remove from stove, soak cous cous in the water for about 5 min with the pan closed. The cous cous will absorb all the water adn will be dry.
   
2. Preheat oven to 400F. In a mixing bowl, toss the a, rosemary leaves, salt, pepper with olive oil.
3. Transfer to a baking dish and bake for 30-45 min. Poke the sweet potato with a fork; if soft, the veggies are done.
4. Serve over a bed of cous cous.This makes a light lunch or an entree on its own, or a delightful accompaniment !

Chinese stir fry

Chinese stir fry

After numerous trial and errors, I have finally ‘mastered’ the stir fry. It may sound easy to most of you, but I have had to experiment with this for quite sometime. Getting the right texture of vegetables (not over cooked or under cooked) has been the most challenging one.

I invested in a good wok. A wok has a lot of flat area (so most veggies can touch the wok and not overlap) and good height (so I can toss the veggies like a real Chinese chef!).

Stir fry sauce

- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
- 2 tsp chilli sauce OR a splash or two of Tabasco
- 2 tbsp yellow/brown/spicy mustard
- 3-4 cloves minced garlic - 1 tbsp peanut butter (this really enhances the flavor!)

Vegetables

-1/2 onion, cut into large chunks
- 5-8 broccoli florets (can also use cauliflower)
-5-7 whole baby corn, cut into 2 (canned or fresh)
- 10 sliced water chestnuts, canned
- 5 whole mushrooms, cut into 2
- ½ red pepper, cut into ½” strips
-Tofu
-2 tsp canola oil

1. Mix the sauce ingredients well and set aside.
   
2. Heat the wok on high. When it is screaming hot, put the oil and let it heat for about a minute.
   
3. Toss broccoli and peppers for about 2 min in oil. Add corn, water chestnuts and onion and toss/cook for 1 min. Add mushrooms and the sauce and toss gently till the veggies are coated with the sauce. Let it cook about 2 min or so.
   
4. Remove from stove and serve right away with rice.

I have even had stir fry with plain cous cous and quinoa!

Pulusu

Pulusu- a delectable tangy tamarind based soup from Andhra Pradesh that can be eaten along with rice or simply as a soup. This just like ‘sambar’ (a south Indian lentil soup), but ‘pulusu’ has no lentils and more tamarind to it. I usually use frozen veggies, easy to put together and less chopping.

-Veggies (Use frozen or fresh)- peas, corn kernels, 1 medium onion chopped, 1 green/red pepper diced, 1 carrot diced, whole corn on the cob (use frozen) cut into 1” pieces
-2 tbs Tamarind paste
-1 tbs oil
-Tur dal, mustard seeds, cumin seeds-1 tsp for tempering
-4-5 dried red chilies
-2 tsp turmeric powder
-4 cups water
-salt as needed

1. Heat oil in a saucepan. Once hot, add the tempering spices and dried red chilies.
2. Now add the onion and sauté until translucent. Add salt.
3. Add the other vegetables; let them cook for about 5min.
4. Add the tamarind paste along with the water and mix well. Add turmeric powder now.
5. Let it cook on medium for about 20-30min until aromatic and you are done! Serve with rice.

Thai Green Curry

I favor Thai food over most simply because it is closer to Indian than any other cuisine. There is nothing to beat Green curry’s lemony hotness. Eggplant is a popular veggie in most curries, although I don’t have a great liking to it. Feel free to add or omit your choice of veggies.

THAI GREEN CURRY

Veggies:

-1 carrot (about 8” long), cut into bite sized pieces
- ½ eggplant, cut into 1” pieces
- 1 green pepper, cut into bite sized pieces
- 5-6 baby bella mushrooms, use whole of cut in half
-1½ onion, cut into 1” wedges
-10 bamboo shoots
- 5-6 basil leaves
-11/2 cups light Coconut milk
- 1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1” cubes
- ½ cup soy sauce
- 2 tbs oil
- Salt as needed
- 1 tbs Green curry paste (Recipe below)
- ½ cup Water or vegetable broth

1. Marinade tofu in the soy sauce for about 15min. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbs oil in a skillet on medium. Once hot, fry the green curry paste until fragrant, for about 2 min.
3. Slowly add the coconut milk, whisking until the paste blends into the milk. Let it cook for about 5 min.
4. Now add the veggies, salt let them cook in the milk for about 5-8 min.
5. Now add the basil leaves, cook for about a minute and remove from stove.
6. You can serve the green curry with rice (sticky or regular).

Green Curry Paste:

- 5-8 green chilies (use the Indian variety for hotness) or simply use Serrano pepper
- 2 small shallots, finely chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic, smashed
- 2 stalks lemon grass, white part, roughly chopped
- 1 bunch cilantro
- 1” galangal, dried of frozen (available at oriental grocery), roughly chopped
- 1” ginger, roughly chopped
- 3 kaffir lime (or use regular lime leaf) OR use 2 -3 tsp lime zest
- 2 tbs coriander seeds
- 1 tbs cumin seeds
- 1 tbs whole black peppercorns OR use 1tbs black pepper
- ½ Water to blend

1. Roast the coriander, cumin and peppercorns until golden. Powder them finely in a blender.
2. Now add rest of the green curry paste ingredients along with water and blend to a smooth paste.
   
   

Thai Red Curry

Same as green curry, except- replace green chilies in the paste with 8-10 dried red chilies (or more if you like it hot!)

Pastelon

-Olive oil-1 or 2 tbs
-Ripe Plantains (almost black skinned)-4, sliced length-wise
-Veggies- 2 Peppers (red/green/yellow/orange), 1 large onion, 1 large tomato—all diced
-2 14oz cans of black beans
- I bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
-Garlic- 4 large cloves, minced
-1 cup shredded cheese- ant salty dry cheese or jack or cheddar-Salt to taste

Ripe plantains

-Bechamel Sauce (recipe in the end)

1. Heat a skillet, add oil. Once hot, add the onions, , green pepper, tomato and garlic. Let this mixture cook for about 5 minutes. Add cilantro. This mixture is the traditional Cuban or Latin/Caribbean sofrito- gravy which is the base for most Cuban dishes. I like it chunky and don’t blend the sofrito.
2. Once the sofrito is cooked, add the other pepper and the black beans. Cook for about 3 min. Add salt, mix and switch the stove off. Now this is the veggie mixture
3. Heat the oven at 400F. Spray the 11”×13” baking dish with PAM or brush with oil. Now arrange the sliced plantains in the dish breath wise. Next layer the veggie mixture to cover the plantain base. Now pour sauce over the veggie mixture. Repeat this layering again-plantains, veggie mixture, and sauce. Sprinkle the cheese on top.

4. Bake in the oven for about 45min until the cheese turns golden and bubbly.
5. Let it cool completely before hogging!

Thats what it looks like!

Bechamel sauce

-3 tbs butter (or olive oil for figure friendliness!)
-3 tbs all purpose flour
-3 cups milk (2% or whole)
-1/2 cup jack cheese, shredded
-I medium onion, finely chopped
-1 cup mushroom, thinly sliced
-salt to taste

1. Heat the butter/olive oil in a skillet. Once hot, add the onions, sauté until translucent.

Add the salt now. Add the mushrooms and let it cook till it starts to release water, for

about a minute.

2. Now add the flour, let it cook for about 2 minutes. Add the milk now, slowly whisking. Add the cheese now. Simmer the stove and let the sauce cook until done, about 8 min. Taste for salt and sauce like consistency.

This a traditional French sauce with a twist. Mushrooms and onions add great flavor to this otherwise bland sauce.

I try to make everything flavorful and that means thinking outside the skillet!