Sabudana Vada (potato, peanut, and tapioca fritters) with coconut-sesame dipping sauce

Sabudana vada with coconut-sesame dipping sauce

Lately, I have been so busy cooking that I haven't had time to post!  This ridiculous flurry of activity started several weeks ago when I decided I wanted Ethiopian food.  I spent a weekend making a batch of niter kibbeh and another of berbere.  That same weekend I also made a huge jar of ginger/garlic paste, a jar of coconut chutney, and a wet spice blend for making green curry.

The next week, I found myself up to my eyebrows in Indian adventures.  I made a batch of paneer and a batch of milk solids.  I roasted and mixed up a variety of spice blends, including Madras curry powder, sambhar masala and a Punjabi garam masala.

Some things turned out quite undesirable, like the injera I made to go with my Ethiopian wats.  Ugh!  Not sure where I went wrong with such a simple recipe, but something was very not right!  But other things turned out amazingly good, like the tapioca, potato, and peanut fritters with coconut-sesame dipping sauce.

I more or less followed Ragahavan Iyer's recipe in his wonderful book, 660 Curries.  Here's what he says to do, with just a few changes:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pearl tapioca (rinsed, soaked for 20 minutes, drained)
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro
10 (or more!) hot chilies (such as Thai or cayenne)
6 large cloves garlic
2 thick slices fresh ginger (1/2 inch)
1 pound russet potatoes, boiled and coarsely mashed (I mashed mine by squishing them through my fingers!)
1 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on whether or not your peanuts are already salted)
Canola oil for frying


Method:
1.  Grind peanuts in food processor by pulsing until coarsely chopped.  Dump in large mixing bowl.

2.  Combine cilantro, chilies, garlic, and ginger in processor and mince.  Add to peanuts.

3.  Add drained tapioca and mashed potatoes to mixing bowl and mix well.  This will look and feel doughy.  You can knead it like you would bread until the ingredients are well blended.

4.  Grease or wet your palms and pull off about 2 T dough.  Roll into a ball and then flatten into a disc.  Continue until all the dough is used up.

5.  Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil over medium-high heat and fry fritters until golden and crispy on both sides.

6.  Drain on paper towels.


Ingredients for the sauce:
1 T Canola oil
1/4 c shredded, unsweetened flaked coconut
1 T white sesame seeds
1/2 c dry-roasted peanuts
2 T chopped cilantro
1 t kosher salt
1 medium tomato, cored and coarsely chopped
4 hot green chilies (more or less to taste)

Method:
1.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add coconut and sesame seeds and fry, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden.

2.  Transfer to a blender and add 1 c water plus all the remaining ingredients.  Puree until smooth and blended, scraping down sides of blender when necessary.

3.  Transfer sauce to a small pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer gently for a minute or so.

To serve, you can place a couple of fritters on a plate and spoon some sauce over.  Or you can place the sauce in a small bowl and dip the fritters.  The sauce is got warm or at room temperature.

Chilies, cilantro, garlic, and ginger

Minced herb and spices

Tapioca, peanut and herb mince, mashed potatoes

The dough

The patties before frying

Fritters with dipping sauce

Indian Spiced Green Beans

Green Beans with Stewed split peas and potatoes and collard paratha

My sister planted a ginormous garden this year and I'm reaping the wonderful benefits.  Last week she gave me several bags of produce from her garden and today I turned them into an Indian vegetarian meal.

Flaky Collard Paratha

  The collards I blanched and processed
   into a dough I used to make paratha.

Raiti with fresh cucumber and tomato

The sweet, juicy tomato and crisp cucumber got chopped up and added to a tangy raita.












The green beans I fried in ghee with cumin and mustard seeds and then stewed them in a bit of water.  This recipe is so simple and quick that it qualifies as an Emmi.

This recipe comes from Yamuna Devi.  She has written one of the most comprehensive cookbooks on Indian Vegetarian Cuisine that I've ever seen!  The book is called Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking and no collection on Indian cooking can be considered complete without it.  If you don't own it, what are you waiting for?

Ingredients:

• 1 lb green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 4 T ghee or light oil
• 2 t black mustard seeds
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 c water
• 1 t corriander
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1 t sugar

Method:

1. Heat the ghee or oil over medium high heat.  Toss in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and red pepper.  The cumin seeds will turn dark reddish brown and the mustard seeds will turn gray and pop.  
2. When the mustard seeds are done popping, add in the green beans and fry for about 3 minutes, stirring to coat with the seasoned ghee
3. Add the water.  Lower heat to medium low.  Cover and cook until crisp tender (about 10 - 12 minutes.)
4. Uncover and stir in corriander, salt, and sugar.  Raise heat and cook until water evaporates.

Indian Spiced Green Beans

To finish out my meal, I made stewed split peas and potatoes.  If you are interested in that recipe, click here.

Chickpeas with fenugreek greens



Methi Chana
(chickpeas with fenugreek leaves)

It's been a while since I've posted a new recipe but I have a good excuse for that;  I've been out of the country and only returned a few days ago.  I made a trip to Haiti to meet with some children I'd been asked to help find adoptive families for.  If you're interested in that project, check out the web site I put together at www.adoptingfromhaiti.weebly.com.

I was only gone for two weeks, but I've got to tell you.....  I couldn't stop dreaming about the things I was going to cook the second I got home!  I was really craving Indian food with all it's variety and spicy deliciousness.  As I wandered through my cookbooks the other night, I kept seeing this ingredient called "methi."  (Methi is the Hindi name for fenugreek leaves.)  I have never tasted it (that I know of) and was curious to give it a try.  So, yesterday I drove out to Taj Mahal Grocery and sure enough, they had fresh methi.  I bought a bunch of fresh and a bag of frozen and scuttled home to start cooking.



Methi (fenugreek) leaves

 I was in the mood for something healthy and tasty with a nice hit of heat to it so I decided to try methi chana, or chickpea gravy with fenugreek greens.  It was just exactly what I was in the mood for!  Turns out, methi has a slightly sour tang to it and the dish was bright, spicy, and delicious.

Ingredients:
1/2 t fenugreek seeds
1 t cumin seeds
2 cloves
1/2 inch cinnamon stick
1 T canola oil
2 bird or Thai chilies, chopped
1 t black mustard seeds
3 or 4 canned tomatoes, chopped
one bunch fresh methi, chopped (about 2 cups)
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 t garam masala
1/4 t asafoetida
1/4 t turmeric
1 t amchur (dry mango powder)
1 T chopped cilantro

Method:

1.  Dry roast the fenugreek seeds, cumin seed, cloves, and cinnamon until fragrant.  Let cool in pan and then grind or pound to a powder.

2.  Heat oil in pan over medium heat.  Add the mustard seeds and green chilies.  Once the mustard seeds have stopped popping (they will turn grey and pop, like popcorn) add in the chopped tomatoes.  Cook until tomatoes break down and soften, no more than a couple of minutes.

3.  Stir in the methi and the powdered spice blend.  Stir in 1/2 cup water and simmer gently until methi is cooked, about two or three minutes.

4.  Add in the chickpeas, amchur, turmeric, asafoetida, and garam masala.  Mix well and stir in 1 1/2 cups water.  Simmer until gravy comes together, about 5 minutes.

5.  Crush some of the chickpeas with a potato masher to thicken the sauce.  Add salt to taste and simmer about 5 more minutes.

6.  Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

I know most of my readers won't try this because the ingredient list seems daunting and unfamiliar.  But if you live in Fort Wayne, a trip to Taj Mahal Grocery will get you everything you need.  If you don't live in Fort Wayne, perhaps your town has its own Indian grocery store?  Check it out because this is a simple, healthy, delicious, and inexpensive dish to make!

fenugreek seeds

stirring the methi into the pan

crushing the chickpeas

A Delicious and Easy Sambhar

I am waiting for the day when the Internet has a smell option.   If it were possible for you to smell the vadaa sambhar pictured above, I could probably get rich offering to sell you the recipe.  The day I made this sambhar,  my whole house had a warm, spicy smell that made my nose tingle and my stomach rumble!

A local bookstore is, unfortunately, going out of business and all their books are currently 50% off.  I picked up a cookbook titled 660 Curries  by Raghavan Iyer.  The same day I purchased the book, I came home, randomly opened it up and made the first two recipes that caught my eye.  This sambhar was one of them.  (Yes, my sister will ridicule me, but I had all the needed ingredients in my superbly stocked kitchen and didn't have to run out for anything!)

I will admit that Indian cooking can be a bit intimidating for the uninitiated.  They do such creative things with their food!  Especially the vegetarian cuisines.   But if you take the time to read the recipe through and understand the steps, you will see that it really isn't as hard as it would seem at first glance.  Some procedures are time consuming; such as making your own cheese or yogurt or making dumplings out of lentils.  But again, these procedures are lengthy, but EASY since most of the time required is sitting time where the cook is not active; such as soaking or fermenting.

If you want to try a delicious recipe that is almost as simple as boiling water, follow this link to my Examiner article on the Taj Mahal Grocery and Gift store and try the recipe for stewed potatoes with yellow split peas.  It is amazingly simple and amazingly delicious!  If you are feeling just a bit more adventurous, try this recipe for vadaa sambhar (lentil dumplings in a vegetable stew.) 

For the Dumplings

ingredients:

1 cup skinned split black lentils (urad dal)

1 1/2 t sea salt

Canola oil for deep frying

method:

1.  Place the dal in a medium-sized bowl.  Rinse in several changes of water until water is no longer cloudy.  Cover the dal by several inches with clean, fresh water and let soak from 1 to 4 hours.

2.  Drain the dal.  Place 1/2 cup water in a blender.  Add dal and puree, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until a paste is formed.  Dump paste back into medium-sized bowl.  Add 1/4 c water to blender and swirl around.  Add this water to the paste and stir it in.

3.  Pour about three inches of oil into a wok or medium-sized pan.  Heat until a drop of water dances across the surface (350 degrees on a thermometer.)  Drop the batter into the oil by large tablespoons and fry, turning occasionally, until they are golden brown all over.  Remove and drain on paper towels.  Do this in several batches being careful not to crowd the pan. 

4.  When all the batter has been fried, set the dumplings aside and make the stew.

For the Stew

ingredients:

1/4 c. oily toor or toovar dal (skinned split yellow pigeon peas)

1 T tamarind paste or concentrate

1 T sambhar masala

1 1/2 t coarse kosher or sea salt

1/2 t asafetida

1 medium-size red bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 small red onion, cut into 1-inch chunks

20 fresh curry leaves

1 T canola oil

1 t black mustard seeds

2 T finely chopped cilantro

method:

1.  Place the dal in a small saucepan and rinse in several changes of water until the water is no longer cloudy.  Drain.  Add 3 cups fresh water to the pan.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

2.  Meanwhile, whisk the tamarind paste with 2 cups of water in a medium saucepan.  Add the masala, salt, asafetida, bell pepper, onion and curry leaves.  Stir and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and let simmer until vegetables are fork-tender (about 15 minutes.)

3.  When the dal is done cooking, pour it into a blender and blend well.  Pour this thin broth into the stew pan with the vegetables.

4.  Heat a small skillet over high heat.  Add the oil and sprinkle in the mustard seeds.  They will pop, much like popcorn (you might want to cover the pan during this process.)  When the popping stops, scrape the seeds into the stew along with the cilantro.

To Serve

Place a couple of dumplings in a bowl and ladle some of the hot stew over.  Eat and enjoy!

Totally Vegan

When it comes to preparing delicious and creative vegetarian dishes, Indians are the world-class champions, hands down!  O.K.  So that's just my opinion.  But seriously, who else would ever come up with the idea to pulverize dried legumes with spices and warm water, let it ferment and then use the batter to make lacy, thin pancakes stuffed with spicy potatoes?  Who would think to "temper" spices and seeds in hot oil and then stir them into dals and curries just before serving?  Or, who else would think to make kafta ("meatballs") out of grated vegetables and chickpea flour and then simmer them in an aromatic sauce made with fresh tomatoes and ground nuts?  Thank God for the Indians!!!

I would LOVE to become an expert at preparing Indian food, especially vegetarian dishes such as spicy sambars and stuffed breads and fiery hot vegetable curries.  When I lived in India, I spent almost every morning sitting in the kitchen with Krishnabay, watching and helping as she prepared food for the mid-day meal.  She could expertly roll out chapatis, one right after the other, while simultaneously chopping vegetables for curry, pounding ginger/garlic paste, cleaning meat, grinding spices, AND tending to her infant daughter.  All at the same time!  She was amazing!!!

I have a couple of excellent cookbooks on Indian vegetarian dishes.  One by Julie Sahni, and the other by Yamuna Devi.    The other day I pulled them out and chose a couple of dishes to try.  I made squash kaftas in spicy tomato sauce, and spicy bell peppers and eggplant.  I over-salted the eggplant dish (my bad!) but the zucchini balls were amazing!!!!

 

The recipe for the zucchini balls comes from Julie Sahni's cookbook, Classic Indian Vegetarian and Grain Cooking.  The tomato sauce is made with fresh tomatoes, and since I got my first batch of juicy, summer tomatoes from Country Gardens Monday, I decided to use them to make the sauce and give this recipe a try.  If you are feeling the least bit adventurous, you should try it too!  Again, this is sort of a lengthy process, but very simple.  First, make the sauce because it needs to spend some time sitting.  Overnight is best, but I was in too much of a hurry and only let mine sit for a few hours!

In a blender or food processor, blend together
   4 medium-size tomatoes, quartered
   6 hot green chilies
   1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled

Over medium-high heat, heat 5 T peanut oil.  When the oil is hot, stir in
   2 t ground cumin
   1/2 t turmeric
   2 T ground almonds
   2 t paprika
   2 t garam masala

Add in the tomato sauce and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.  Let the sauce cool and then set it aside for several hours or overnight in the refrigerator.

For the Spicy Yellow Squash Kafta, mix together:
   2 pounds yellow summer squash or zucchini, grated
   1 medium-size onion, grated
   3/4 cup chickpea flour 
   1 T ground coriander
   1/4 t red pepper
   2 - 4 hot green chilies, finely chopped
   1/4 cup chopped cilantro
   1/4 t baking powder
   salt to taste

Heat enough oil to give you about 2 - 2 1/2 inches of depth to 375 degrees.  When the oil is hot, scoop up about a tablespoon or so of the vegetable mixture and form it into a ball shape.  Gently drop it into the hot oil.  Repeat with remaining mixture.  Do not overcrowd the pan.  You will need to do this in several batches.  Remove the balls when they begin to turn a golden brown and drain on paper towels.  The batter does not contain eggs and is extremely fragile so you will have to work carefully.  I found this to be the most difficult part of the process.  If you are not using a deep fryer (as I wasn't) be very careful as you loosen the balls from the bottom of the pan.

When you are ready to assemble the dish, rewarm the tomato sauce over medium-low heat.  (Add water, if needed, to bring the volume of the sauce up to 3 1/2 cups.)  Then, gently place the kafta into the sauce and heat until hot.

As I was looking for other cookbooks by Sahni, I discovered that she teaches classes in New York.  She offers a 3 1/2 day intensive cooking course that covers all aspects of Indian cuisine.  She keeps the classes small, never taking more than three students at a time.  The cost?  A mere $2,700.  I'm sure my wealthy, generous readers would like to help me with the cost of attending one of these classes.  You may do so by clicking on the donate button at the top right of this blog!!!

My favorite breakfast

I ate a lot of interesting and wonderful food the year I lived in Hyderabad, India.  One of my favorites was a simple breakfast of chapatis with banana cream.   In the 30 plus years since my India experience, I've tried many times to make chapatis.  They always turn out o.k. but nowhere near as flaky and delicious as the ones I used to eat in India. 

Fortunately, there are many frozen products available that to my taste are every bit as good as the breads I used to eat in India.  These products can be found in Indian and Asian grocery stores (and even George's on Broadway).  My favorite is the roti made by Kawan and can be found in the freezer section at Saigon on Calhoun Street.

These cook up quickly and effortlessly!  They are so thin and inconsequential looking when you first take them out of the bag, you may think they aren't going to be very good.  But they cook up thick and flaky and absolutely delicious! 

To cook, you just throw a frozen disc into a pre-heated pan and cook until golden and puffed.

To make the banana cream, mash a rip banana onto a plate, sprinkle with a little sugar and drizzle a little cream or half and half.  Mash and mix.

That's it!  This is eaten without silverware.  To eat it, you tear off a piece of bread and use it to scoop up some banana cream.  Try it, and unless you have an aversion to bananas, you are going to LOVE it!