Varar – Sri Lankan cabbage and leek with coconut

This gorgeous Sri Lankan vegetable side dish is the dish that made me love both leek and cabbage! It magically transforms the everyday common leek and cabbage a real star of a dish. The vegetables are gently stir-fried with onion, chilies and curry leaves, tossed with fresh or desiccated grated coconut, and livened up with a squeeze of lime. Quick to make and utterly delicious! I love it!

Any green veg can be used in this dish (e.g. spring onion, baby leek, other types of cabbage, kale, broccoli, cauliflower), except for spinach and pak choi and other vegetables with high water content. This dish goes really well with fish, or with coconut dal (recipe coming soon) for a vegetarian version.

Even if you can’t find curry leaves, it’s worth giving this dish a go as the flavour combinations are so good. Enjoy!

This my entry for the Eating with the Seasons: January. 

 

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Varar – Sri Lankan cabbage and

leek with coconut

 

SOURCE:  Jasmine’s recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 10 – 15 min

COOKING TIME: 5 – 10 min

CUISINE: Sri Lankan

SERVES: 3 – 4 as a side dish

 

INGREDIENTS:

a little vegetable oil

1/2 medium to large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 – 3 green chilies (Jasmine uses finger chilies)

a handful of (preferably fresh) curry leaves

a little salt

1 tsp tempering spices (a mixture of brown/black mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds – see Sri Lankan spices for recipe)

a pinch of turmeric

2 medium leeks, shredded finely

a handful of desiccated  coconut

fresh lime juice to taste

1/2 medium cabbage, shredded finely

 

METHOD:

• Heat the oil in a wok (or frying pan) and add onion, chilies curry leaves and a little salt. Stir and cook until the onion is soft.
• Now add the tempering spices and turmeric. Stir.
• Add cabbage and leek and stir for a few minutes, until the cabbage is slightly soft but still crunchy. Do not overcook the vegetables! That’s the secret behind this dish.
• When the veg is done, add desiccated coconut and stir for a minute or so.
• Just before serving, add lime juice and some salt if needed. Enjoy!

 

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My other posts on Sri Lankan cooking:

The aroma of curry leaves. Sri Lankan cooking (Introduction)

Sri Lankan spices (including recipes for Sri Lankan garam masala, curry powder and more!)

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RCI Hyderabad: Hyderabadi Mint & Coriander Chutney

It’s been a while since I had time to take part in what is probably my favourite event – Regional Cuisines of India (RCI), the blogging event started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine, to celebrate the rich and diverse cuisines of India. This month I’m back, and exploring the cuisine of the princely state of Hyderabad. Our host this month is Mona, from Zaiqa.

Mona has a whole host of mouthwatering Hyderabadi recipes on her blog, and many of them caught my eye. One of them inspired me to create this lovely chutney, based on a treasured family recipe that Mona’s grandma used to make. I kept the ingredients the same as Mona’s, apart from substituting Thai red chilies for green chilies only. I also adjusted the quantities of tamarind to suit our taste, and the fact that I was using concentrate: I reduced it, otherwise it would have killed off all the other flavours. Also, my curry leaves were tiny, so I added a few more to give them a more prominent role in the chutney. All of this really shows how it’s necessary to work with the ingredients at hand, taste them to get to know them, and adjust the quantities accordingly.

 

Coriander and Mint Chutney 

(Hara Dhaniya aur Pudine Ki Chutney)

 

SOURCE: adapted from Mona’s recipe at Zaiqa

PREPARATION TIME:10 – 15 min

COOKING TIME: 2 – 3 min

CUISINE: Indian – Hyderabadi

SERVES: 2

 

Ingredients:

1/4 – 1/2 cup desiccated coconut

1 tbsp sesame seeds

a little groundnut oil

1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, washed and dried, roughly chopped along with the tender stems

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves – 1 cup, washed and dried on paper towels, roughly chopped, only leaves

4 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped

6 green finger chilies, washed and roughly chopped (or fewer, according to taste)

8 – 10 fresh curry leaves

1/2 tsp tamarind concentrate

Salt to taste

 

Method:

• Heat the oil on medium high heat, and as it warms up, add the shredded coconut and the sesame seeds, and roast them both together till light brown and aromatic. Let it cool. Keep aside.
• Put the coriander leaves, mint leaves, garlic pods, red and green chillies, curry leaves, tamarind pulp, sesame seeds, shredded coconut and salt in a blender, and blend it till nice and smooth. You can add about half cup of water to aid in the blending if needed.

 

Notes

Tamarind is very strong-tasting and it can overpower other flavours. It’s best to add it cautiously.

The chutney keeps well in the fridge for up to a week. However, with time, all flavours fade, except for (you’ll guess) tamarind. You’ve been warned!

I served this with a fragrant and simple Hyderabadi tomato-based chicken curry (Hyderabadi Murgh Tamatar), which worked really well and perked up the dish considerably.

 

Verdict

Fragrant and tasty chutney, with vibrant, clean spicy notes of the green chilies. Enjoyed it, & will make again!

Lemon chilies

Lemon chilies. I love them. Small, elegant and perfumed with lemon, but with a heat of their own.

RECIPE IDEA

We had them baked in foil with salmon, garlic and fresh coriander. Gorgeous.

Three Asparagus Recipes

Time to post my 3 asparagus recipes for the One Perfect Ingredient event! If you still haven’t done it, there’s still time to take part, and enter the competition to win Marcus Wareing’s new book! Here’s HOW!

For some more info asparagus, check out my previous post: One perfect ingredient: ASPARAGUS.

 RECIPE 1

This is how my mum and my grandmas prepare asparagus: boiled with whole eggs, and seasoned with red wine vinegar and olive oil. Eaten with bread. Simple and delicious.

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Asparagus with Eggs   OR   Sparoge s jajima

 

SOURCE: Family recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

CUISINE: Croatian

SERVES: 1

 

INGREDIENTS:

A small handful of wild asparagus

2 eggs

water

red wine vinegar

olive oil

salt

METHOD:

1. Prepare asparagus, as advised in this post. Cut the shoots into about 7 cm pieces.

2. Put the eggs into enough water to cover them. Add the asparagus, and cook until the asparagus become soft. I like them slightly al dente.

3. When the asparagus are done, take the eggs out of the water, peel them, and cut into pieces, which you then add back to the asparagus. Reserve as much of the cooking liquid as you want, and add it to the asparagus and eggs (My mum eats it as a broth actually!). It’s nice to have some sauce to dip the bread in! Then, season with salt, red wine vinegar and olive oil. Eat with some good crusty bread! Enjoy!

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RECIPE 2 

The next dish is a bit of a treat. My mum saw this recipe on TV, and it became an instant hit in the family! Not a big surprise, given that it contains prosciutto! You can also use bacon or pancetta.

 

Istarska fritaja  OR  Istrian Frittata

 

SOURCE: As seen on TV

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

CUISINE: Croatian

SERVES: 2

INGREDIENTS:

A small handful of wild or regular asparagus

a little water 

4 eggs

oil

2 thick slices prosciutto, cut into pieces

METHOD:

1. Prepare asparagus, as advised in this post. Cut the shoots into about 3 – 5 cm pieces.

2. Warm the oil in a wide pan, and then add asparagus pieces to it. Cook on a low heat, until softened. Add a little water. This will evaporate quickly, and steam the asparagus slightly.

3. When the asparagus is al dente, add the prosciutto pieces to it, and cook until the prosciutto is cooked, and it changes colour. Then add the eggs, and cook, stirring, until the eggs have set.

We serve this with some nice bread and a salad of lettuce seasoned with olive oil and red wine vinegar.

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RECIPE 3

The final dish was inspired by the previous recipe. Actually, you could say it’s a vegetarian version of the previous recipe, because all I did was to replace the prosciutto with feta! In retrospect, the only thing I would do differently, is to add feta after the eggs have set. This would make it look prettier, and it would separate the tastes of individual ingredients a little.

 

Asparagus and Feta Frittata

 

SOURCE: My creation, inspired by the previous recipe

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

SERVES: 2

INGREDIENTS:

A small handful of asparagus

a little water 

4 eggs

oil

100 g of feta cheese, cut into pieces

salt and pepper

 

METHOD:

1. Prepare asparagus, as advised in this post. Cut the shoots into about 3 – 5 cm pieces.

2. Warm the oil in a wide pan, and then add asparagus pieces to it. Cook on a low heat, until softened. Add a little water. This will evaporate quickly, and steam the asparagus slightly.

3. Beat the eggs lightly, season, and stir the cubes of feta in. When the asparagus is al dente, add the eggs, and cook, stirring, until the eggs have set.

I serve this on a piece of buttered toast and with a leafy salad.

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Think Spice… think Ginger: Guajarati aloo

Yes, I am Croatian, moreover Dalmatian (we don’t really eat spicy food), and I haven’t eaten anything memorably spicy until I was 16, but Indian food has got under my skin and into my heart! I simply adore it: the heat, the complexity of flavour, the variety! Now, I am totally mesmerized by spices, and especially their aromas. Ginger, either raw or powdered, has a special place in my Spice House of Fame! The smell of ginger is one of my favourite aromas in cooking!

Think Spice… is a monthly event organised by Sunita from Sunita’s World. This month, the spice in focus is Ginger, so this time, I simply had to take part!

I made this lovely Gujarati aloo a few days ago -  and loved it! Ever since I saw it over at Mallika’s, I wanted to make it! It smelled fantastic! It is incredibly light, and I felt wonderfully invigorated and energised after eating it! Of course, ginger is an important component of the dish, at least for me!

The dish is extremely easy to make, and apart from the final cooking of the potatoes, things happen fairly quickly. For this reason, I would definitely recommend preparing everything before you start, and this especially means measuring out the spices, and putting them together in a little bowl, so you can add them quickly to the dish!  

In addition, I learnt one important lesson when making this dish. This was the first time I cooked with hing, and it was a bit bitter. I either put too much, or I really shouldn’t have added some extra afterwards. I’ve read that hing needs to be cooked in hot oil/ghee before adding other ingredients.

 

                                         Wikipedia Commons: Zingiber officinale

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Simply spicy Guajarati aloo

 

SOURCE: Mallika from Quick Indian Cooking

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 20  – 30 min

CUISINE: Indian, Guajarati

SERVES: 2 (as a main course)

 

INGREDIENTS:

2 tsp ghee (Mallika’s version: 2 tbsp vegetable oil)

1/4 tsp sugar

pinch of asafoetida (hing)

1/2  inch ginger, pureed with 1 tbsp warm water (I simply grated it)  

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp chili powder

350 gm small new potatoes, washed and halved

2 tbsp natural Greek yogurt

1/2 cup hot water

Salt to taste

 

METHOD:

1. Heat the oil in a pot over a high flame. When the oil is hot, add the hing and the sugar.

2. As the sugar caramelises, add the pureed ginger and fry it stirring until its colour changes to a warm golden.

3. Then add the tomato puree and all the powders. Mix them well, frying the masala for five minutes or until you can see the oil reappearing on the sides of the pot.

4. Now add the potatoes and stir vigorously incorporating the masala into them. As the potatoes start going translucent around the edges, spoon in the yogurt. Make sure you use a very thick yogurt or it will split.

5. Fry for about two minutes, mixing the masalas together. Then add the hot water, reduce the flame to a medium heat and cook covered, stirring regularly, until you can easily insert a fork into the potatoes. This will take a good 20-30 minutes but the potatoes will taste much better than if you pre-cook them.

6. Serve them hot, with a vegetable pulao or rotis.

 

Verdict

Delicious and very easy to make. It smells absolutely amazing when cooking.

 

Notes

Be careful with hing! Make sure to add it to hot oil/ghee at the beginning of cooking.

Do prepare everything in advance, including the spices because things happen pretty quickly when making this dish!

Also, I found that the dish didn’t work served with coriander on top.

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RCI: Cuisine of Bihar

This month’s RCI is the Cuisine of Bihar, hosted by Sangeeta of Ghar ka Khana.

“The Bihari cuisine is an amalgamation of simplicity of style and variations in colour. The style being handed down to the new generation by the older one, and the colours being provided by the seasonal vegetables and fruits. Bihar sees all different seasons. Fruits and vegetables are abundantly grown, consumed and also exported from Bihar, Litchi being noteworthy.

As the seasons change so does the Bihari thaali, in every 3-4 months. The constants are rice, thin round chapaatis made over tava and flame (called phulka or simply roti in Bihar), daals ( with seasonings changing with the seasons !) and milk products.”

Characteristic of this cuisine is the use of pungent mustard oil, and   the use of panchforan (Mohita’s spelling) in cooking vegetables.  Please note that this is not the panch phoron that I blogged about. This spice mixture has ajwain or carom seeds instead of cumin seed. Bihari panchforan is made by mixing together the same qunatities of fennel seeds, mustard seeds, ajwain/carom seeds and nigella/onion seeds. Furthermore, there is a lot of light frying in Bihari food, and the food is generally spicy.

(SOURCE: Mohita Prasad)

 

The dish I have chosen has the above characteristics: it uses panchforon, and the potatoes are lightly fried in the masalas. It is very simple to make, and still delicious. If you can, don’t omit the ajwain seeds because they give a distinct note to the dish. I made a mistake in beginning used my panch phoron, and corrected it by adding 1/6 tsp ajwain seeds popped in some hot oil. This made a real difference to the dish.

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Aalu Tomato Rasedaar In Panchforan

SOURCE: Bihari Cuisine by Mohita Prasad

PREPARATION TIME: 2 min

COOKING TIME: 20 – 30 min

CUISINE: Indian – Bihari

SERVES: 2 (as a main course)

Ingredients

4 medium potatoes, cubed
2 medium tomatoes*
oil – 6 tbsp
coriander leaves
panchforan ( or cumin seeds) – 1/2 tsp
Salt to taste
Water as needed

Powdered masala:

Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
Cumin powder- 1/2 tsp
Coriander powder- 1 tsp
Red Chili powder- 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a pan,  and add panchforan seeds to it.

2. As soon as panchforan starts to splutter, add the potato to it.

3. Saute the potato for 2 minutes over medium heat, then add the powdered masalas to it. Saute for 3 minutes.

4. Cover the pan and cook on low heat for 5 minutes.

5. Add the chopped tomatoes, water (depending on how much sauce you want)and cover the pan again. Keep it covered till the potato gets tender and the curry starts looking red. The tomatoes will have dissolved completely, and the oil will start to float on the surface. This usually takes 10 minutes.

6. Garnish with chopped coriander leaf, and serve with chapaatis or rice.

Notes

* I am serving this with naan, and I wanted more sauce, so I added 1 can of tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes.

Don’t use more panch phoron than indicated, because the fenugreek seeds will make it rather bitter. If you like it bitter, by all means, go ahead and add more!

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Blogging event Regional Cuisines of India (RCI) was started by Lakshmi of Veggie Cuisine, to celebrate the rich and diverse cuisines of India, and is hosted by a different blogger each month. I think this event is a fantastic idea, because not only does it encourage us to explore the many varieties of regional Indian food, but the round-ups also provide excellent resources of information and recipes! For this reason, I’ve decided to dedicate a page to it, so I can find it and refer to it easily!

I also took part in RCI Punjab with my post on Chana Masala.

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Nigerian Red Kidney Bean Stew with a Peanut Sauce

I wasn’t going to post tonight, but I simply had to! I think I’m addicted to this:

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Nigerian Red Kidney Bean Stew with a Peanut Sauce – Itiakiet Stew

SOURCE: adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian

PREPARATION TIME: 5 min

COOKING TIME: 30 min

CUISINE: Nigerian

SERVES: 2 – 3 (as a main course)

 

INGREDIENTS

1 can of red kidney beans (undrained)

Groundnut oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 – 5 Thai green chilies, chopped

2 1/2 tsp of ground cumin

1 can of chopped tomatoes

3/4 teaspoon of cayenne

1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons of peanut butter

2 teaspoons of sea salt

METHOD:

1. Heat the oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and chilies. Stir and fry until the onions become translucent

2. . Add the cumin, stir, then add the tomato sauce, cayenne, lemon juice and a little water. Stir and then bring to boil. Then, turn the heat to the lowest setting and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

3. While the tomato mixture is simmering, put the peanut butter in a small bowl. Slowly add a little liquid from the beans, mixing as you add the water.

4. When the tomato mixture is finished cooking, pour into it the beans and and the peanut butter and stir. Bring to simmer, cover, and gently cook for 10 – 15 minutes.

It’s absolutely delicious served with some brown basmati rice, or with some bread.

Verdict

Amazing! It’s a real winner! It takes very little time to make, it’s easy, inexpensive – and it tastes amazing! I am so happy I discovered this deliciousness! I loved it! The silkiness of the peanut butter was totally seductive and ultimately simply addictive! It was perfect with brown basmati rice. – Can you tell I really like this? Go on, make it now!  

Notes

I think I may try using a bit less peanut butter next time, to try and get a better balance between the peanut butter and the rest of the sauce.

Madhur says pinto beans can be used instead of red kidney beans. She likes to serve greens or green beans on the side.

This was my first attempt and even taste of African cooking other than Moroccan, so that was very exciting! I first saw this recipe over at Lisa’s blog, and then somewhere else, and then I got Madhur’s book from the library. The book is going straight to my wish list! The recipes are delicious, and the writing is very soulful and warm, so much that it’s hard to stop reading it.