Fearless Kitchen

Recipe: Scallops and Vegetables in a Thick Sauce

Recipe Source: Husain, Shehzad and Rafi Fernandez. Indian. Anness Publishing, London, 2003 p. 142

This make-ahead dish is relatively healthy, despite the little bit of cream. It certainly qualifies as a one-dish meal. The original recommended serving it with a fruity pullao, but I felt that the potatoes were quite starch enough. It reheats well and tasted great. It was very easy to make, made even more so by my poor planning. I needed tomato paste and discovered at the last minute that the empty case of tomato paste had been left in the pantry. I could find no normal substitute, but I did find a bottle of store-bought hot curry paste. The paste contained everything I needed from the tomato paste on down as well as some other ingredients. I will be quite honest. As a general rule I would prefer to make my own curry pastes. It gives me more control over the flavor and over what I'm putting into my body. On the other hand, there are worse fates than to open up a jar once in a while.

I made a few small changes in addition to the curry paste change. I used olive oil in place of corn oil, because that's what I keep on hand, and I used less of it. I omitted the onion seeds. I substituted more cauliflower in place of the carrots because I dislike carrots. If memory serves me correctly, I omitted the chili at the end and used scallops instead of shrimp.

Shrimp and Vegetables in a Thick Sauce (serves 4; approx. $4.55/serving)

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

2 curry leaves

1 cauliflower, cut into florets

6 new potatoes, thickly sliced

½ cup frozen peas

2 onions, sliced

2 tablespoons jarred Hot Indian Curry Paste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 pound scallops

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

3 tablespoons heavy cream

Equipment:

• Large wok or sauté pan

1. Heat the oil in the wok.
2. Add the fenugreek, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Cook until the seeds are spluttering.
3. Add the cauliflower, potatoes and peas. Cook quickly until browned, then evacuate and drain on paper towels.
4. Add the onions to the remaining oil and cook gently until golden.
5. Add the curry paste and lemon juice. Stir until the paste dissolves.
6. Add the scallops. Cook until cooked through.
7. Return the vegetables to the pan and reheat thoroughly.
8. Deglaze the pan with the cream and mix well. Garnish with the cilantro and serve.

Recipe: Lime and Cilantro Potatoes with Zucchini

Recipe Source: Vijayakar, Sunil.  Fresh Indian.  Octopus Publishing Group, London, 2005 p. 74

Sometimes coming up with side dishes can be challenging.  You want to serve something that won't clash with the main dish, but has a fresh and interesting and clean flavor.  It shouldn't be too high in calories, but it shouldn't taste like "health food" either.  Personally, I'm happiest when the side dish involves a vegetable of some sort.  It doesn't have to be just vegetables though.  This dish combines a starch and a vegetable into a delicious side dish that worked quite well for my guests and for me. 

I did make a few changes, as usual.  I used olive oil for the sunflower oil because that's what I had.  I increased the garlic and I used Kuwaiti Spice Mix for the garam masala (because it was convenient.)  I omitted the salt and the mint to accommodate the dietary needs of my diners. 

Lime and Cilantro Potatoes with Zucchini (serves 4; approx. $1.82/serving)

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

1 onion, diced

2 teaspoons cumin

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

6 waxy potatoes, cut into matchsticks and boiled

1/2 cup water, hot

1 zucchini, cut into matchsticks and boiled

7 ounces diced fire roasted tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon Kuwaiti Spice Mix

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Juice and zest of one lime

Equipment:

• Large wok or saute pan

1. Heat the oil in the wok. 
2. Add the onion and cook over medium-high heat until softened.
3. Add the cumin, garlic, ginger and turmeric.  Cook another 2 - 3 minutes.
4. Add the potatoes and water.  Cook another 4 minutes.
5. Add the zucchini, tomatoes and spice mix.  Cook over high heat 4 minutes.
6. Remove from heat, add the cilantro, lime zest and lime juice.
7. Serve. 

Recipe: Mustard Seed Rice

Recipe Source: Padmanabhan, Chandra.  Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from Southern India.  Periplus Press, North Clarendon, 1994 p. 72

I've been trying to reduce the amount of refined white carbohydrate products that we use around here, but it's not easy to eliminate them entirely.  First of all, my husband really likes white rice.  Well, we both do, to be quite honest.  You can tout the virtues of brown rice at me from sunup to sunset and never change the basic fact that we just don't like it.  We've tried to switch several times, and we just do not like it.  I'd rather substitute in different grains, such as barley, than use brown rice.  Secondly, we have a lot of white rice on hand.  We will not be wasting it.  It's certainly not going to go bad for a long, long time, so if I only use it occasionally it should be okay, right?

And just to set your mind at ease, I am not becoming a health nut, nor am I going to run around evangelizing weird diets that eliminate this or eliminate that.  I just said that I like white rice.  I'm trying (kind of desperately, I'll admit) to lose weight, and getting more fiber in my diet is an important part of that attempt. 

Anyway, I made a few changes to the original recipe.  I omitted the peanuts because of a food allergy.  My red chiles were habaneros, as they usually are, because that's what I can get.  I used olive oil for the ghee because that's what I keep on hand.  I also used tamarind concentrate for the tamarind pulp for convenience and because, again, that's what I have on hand.  The result was a tasty dish that pleased both of us.  If the habaneros are a bit much for you, use a different kind of chile. 

Mustard Seed Rice (serves 4; approx. $0.62/serving)

1 cup basmati rice, cooked

1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds

1/2 cup grated coconut

4 habanero chiles

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon asafoetida

1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 1/2 teaspoons black gram dal

1 1/2 teaspoons yellow split peas

1 habanero, halved

8 curry leaves

Equipment:

• Large wok or saute pan
• Mini-prep food processor

1. Combine 1 tablespoon mustard seeds, coconut, 4 habaneros, turmeric, asafoetida powder and tamarind in the mini-prep.  Add a little bit of the water to facilitate grinding.  Eventually you want it to resemble a paste.
2. Heat the olive oil in the wok. 
3. Add the remaining mustard seeds, black dal, split peas, halved habanero and curry leaves.
4. When the mustard seeds begin to splutter, add the paste from the food processor.  Saute until it smells pleasant.  The book said, "until the raw smell disappears," if that's more helpful to you, but to me it just became a very pleasant smell. 
5. Add the cooked rice and salt to taste.  Mix thoroughly.  If you have cooked the rice well in advance, make sure that the rice is heated through. 
6. Serve. 

Recipe: Saag Paneer

Recipe Source: Lawson, Jane.  The Spice Bible.  Stewart, Taboori & Chang, New York, 2008 p. 98

As a general rule, I try to offer at least one vegetarian entree when we're hosting a Sunday dinner.  It doesn't always work out that way, but since I never know who we're going to get I'd like to be able to offer my guests something besides a bowl of quinoa.  It's not like I lose anything by serving an extra vegetable, you know?  Anyway, I picked this dish for a recent Sunday dinner because of the paneer.  I love paneer. 

I made a few small changes to the recipe.  I changed the proportions of the spices a little, and I changed the order in which I added them to the dish.  I increased the amounts of both garlic and tomatoes - the garlic out of general principles and the tomatoes because I didn't want extras cluttering up my fridge.  Instead of garam masala, because I don't have the storage space to make a bunch of pre-mixed spice mixes, I used a combination of other spices instead. 

The result was decent.  I felt that the flavor was a little mild for my tastes, but that was kind of the effect I was going for so I guess it was okay.  Two of our guests enjoyed it particularly well, to include one woman who doesn't care for overly strong flavors. 

Saag Paneer (serves 4; approx. $3.23/serving) 

1 pound frozen spinach, thawed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 red onion, thinly sliced

10 garlic cloves, crushed

14 ounces diced fire-roasted tomatoes

3 tablespoons minced ginger

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cumin

8 ounces paneer, cut into cubes

Kosher salt to taste

Equipment:

• Large wok or saute pan

1. Heat the oil in the saute pan. 
2. Add the fenugreek seeds and cook until they begin to splutter, about 2 - 3 minutes.
3. Add the onion, garlic, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and coriander.  Cook until the onion is golden. 
4. Add the tomatoes, ginger and remaining spices.  Bring to a boil.
5. Add the spinach.  Cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated. 
6. Fold in the paneer.  Cook gently, stirring, until heated through.  Season with kosher salt to taste.
7. Serve.

Recipe: Spiced Split Peas with Spinach

Recipe Source: Baljekar, Mridula.  Best-Ever Curry Cookbook.  Anness Publishing, London, 2005 p. 113

I know I've ranted about this a few times, but vegetarian cuisine doesn't have to be a punishment.  When I first came to Boston I was a vegetarian.  You would have been too if you'd seen the questionable meat on offer at the dorms.  Of course, this was before I knew much about decent vegetarian food.  I thought my protein had to come from things like tofu hot dogs.  Don't worry, I'm not switching back to a meat-free lifestyle, but reducing the amount of meat in my diet has been a goal of mine for a while.  Legumes and pulses are a great way to do this.  Not only are they low in fat, but they're filling.  They're very filling, in fact.  They're also something that I can feel good about making in advance and re-heating. 

This recipe was made in advance and reheated... twice.  I'd intended to serve it with a turkey kebab dish that really, really didn't work out well.  I scooped it back into a container and refrigerated it again, and do you know what?  It worked well.  It worked really well.  Even the Spouse liked it.  I made a few changes, as usual.  Garlic and ginger were increased, I used a habanero instead of a red chile, and I used a few favorite spices instead of pre-mixed garam masala. 

Spiced Split Peas with Spinach (serves 4; approx. $1.02/serving)

3/4 cup yellow split peas

3/4 cup water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 onion, thinly sliced

6 garlic cloves, crushed

2 tablespoons minced ginger

1 habanero chile, chopped

1 16-oz bag frozen chopped spinach

1/2 teaspoon chile powder

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Equipment:

• Medium saucepan
• Large bowl
• Large wok or saute pan

1. Put the split peas in the bowl and soak 30 minutes in cold water to cover.
2. Transfer the peas to the saucepan and add the 3/4 cup water.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.
3. Heat the oil in the wok.
4. Add the mustard seeds.  Cook until they begin to splatter. 
5. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chile. 
6. Add the spinach.  Cook until the spinach is relatively dry. 
7. Add the spices and salt.  Cook another couple of minutes.
8. Add the split peas and cook 5 minutes. 
9. Serve, or refrigerate and re-heat when needed. 

Recipe: Goan Fish Curry

Recipe Source: Panjabi, Camellia.  50 Great curries of India.  Kyle Books, 2005 p. 140

I've been trying to make more recipes that can be made ahead and reheated or finished quickly.  This is because I'm finding that I'd rather spend my evenings playing with my daughter than just about anything else, and she shares that preference.  She gets quite loud about it sometimes.  For a while we were just putting dishes off and dining out (or getting takeout), but that's not really the healthiest thing to do.  So I'm making an effort to get things done when I have time, like on a rainy afternoon while Fearless Baby is sleeping.  This dish was part of that effort.  Indeed, the author even says specifically that "you can keep this curry for a day in the refrigerator." 

I made changes, as I almost always do.  I used hake, because it was the cheapest fillet that they had at Whole Foods.  I increased the amount of turmeric powder because I've been waking up dreaming about turmeric lately.  (I'm not kidding.  I've literally been dreaming about turmeric and waking up with the taste in my mouth.  My turmeric inventory hasn't decreased so I'm not eating it in my sleep.)  I increased the amount of garlic, reduced the amount of tamarind, and omitted the okra.  I served this with plain white rice for my husband, who is quite fond of plain white rice. 

Goan Fish Curry (serves 4; approx. $3.03/serving)

3/4 lb hake cut into pieces

3 tablespoons lime juice

1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric

Pinch kosher salt

12 dried red chiles 

1 cup water

4 ounces grated (unsweetened) coconut

3 teaspoons ground coriander

2 onions, one chopped and one finely sliced

1 teaspoon cumin

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup ground canned tomato

3 serrano chiles, halved lengthwise

4 cups water

Equipment:

• Blender
• Large deep saute pan or wok

1. Combine the fish with the lime juice, 1/2 the turmeric, and the salt.  Let stand 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, soak the dried chiles in 1 cup of water 15 minutes.  Drain, reserving the soaking water. 
3. Combine the soaked chiles, coconut, coriander, chopped onion, cumin, remaining turmeric, garlic and tamarind concentrate in the blender.  Blend to a very smooth paste, which should take 7 - 10 minutes.  Use some of the soaking water to facilitate the process and make a smoother paste. 
4. Heat the oil in your saute pan.  Add the sliced onion and cook until it is just starting to color up.
5. Add the paste from your blender and cook until very fragrant. 
6. Add 4 cups water, the tomato, green chiles and some salt to taste.  Cook 6 minutes. 
7. Add the fish and cook until fully cooked.
8. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve. 

Recipe: Green Peas in a Creamy Sauce (Matar Makhani)

Recipe Source: Jaffrey, Madhur.  Madhur Jaffrey's Quick & Easy Indian Cooking.  Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 1996 p. 87

I actually like peas.  I know that's weird, but I really enjoy their taste.  I'm not a big fan of pureed vegetables in general, so I don't care for things like pea soup or strained peas or anything like that, but if you give me just a plain old dish of peas I will be quite content.  Of course, if you add some spices, I'll be downright happy. 

I made a few changes to this recipe, mainly because of ingredient inventory and personal preference, but the biggest change I made was to substitute fat-free Greek yogurt for the heavy whipping cream called for in the recipe.  I had originally intended to use heavy cream, but when I saw the fat content of my projected product I just couldn't make myself do it.  I couldn't make the vegetarian side dish have a higher fat content than the meaty main dish!  Long ingredient list aside, this is a very easy dish to make and it cooks up very quickly. 

Matar Makhani (serves 6; approx. $1.34/serving)

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, divided

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

1 serrano chile, finely chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds

2 packages frozen peas, thawed

Equipment:

• Bowl
• Whisk
• Large wok or saute pan

1. Combine the first teaspoon of cumin with the next 9 ingredients in the bowl and whisk to combine thoroughly.
2. Heat the oil in the wok over medium-high heat. 
3. Add the remaining cumin and the mustard seeds. 
4. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the peas. 
5. Cook the peas until thoroughly heated. 
6. Add the sauce and cook another couple of minutes, stirring constantly.
7. Serve.   

Recipe: Cauliflower with Crunchy Nuts

Recipe Source: Westrip, Joyce.  Moghul Cooking.  Serif, London, 2005 p. 142

We decided that we were going to have a bunch of friends over for a Green Egg night recently, and I needed to come up with some side dishes.  I wanted vegetables.  I've really become obsessive about vegetables, it's kind of sad really.  Anyway, I found this recipe and decided that it looked pretty good.  It looked easy to prepare and the combination of nuts and seeds was exciting.  I did have to make a couple of changes.  I doubled the recipe since we were entertaining.  I substituted olive oil for all of the cooking fat.  I made up my own spice mixture in place of garam masala.  I used ground cumin because I hadn't any cumin seeds, and I omitted the sesame seeds. 

Cauliflower with Crunchy Nuts (serves 8; approx. $1.21/serving)

2 cauliflowers, quartered

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

2 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

4 teaspoons sunflower seeds

1 ounce cashews

1 teaspoon black pepper

Equipment:

• Steamer
• Small frying pan
• Roasting pan

1. Trim the cauliflower stems.
2. Steam until kind of firm.  Set aside.
3. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in the frying pan.  Add the nuts, seeds and spices.  Toast until the cashews start to brown.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Preheat your broiler.
6. Transfer the cauliflower to the roasting pan. 
7. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over the top, then season with black pepper.
8. Broil until light brown, then top with the nut mixture and serve. 

Recipe: Cod in a Spicy Mushroom Sauce

Recipe Source: Husain, Shehzad with Rafi Fernandez, Mridula Baljekar and Manisha Kanani.  India's 500 Best Recipes.  Anness Publishing, London, 2006 p. 41

This was a fun recipe for me, because it really moved me outside my comfort zone.  I haven't seen a whole lot of fish dishes that include mushrooms - they're out there, but they aren't exactly common.  Since dishes that pair fish and dairy products are pretty rare in my native culinary tradition, this was doubly unusual for me.  That doesn't mean it wasn't good.  On the contrary, it was downright delicious.  It was also pretty easy to cook up, which made it ideal for a lazy Friday night.

Cod in a Spicy Mushroom Sauce (serves 4; approx. $6.19/serving)

1 giant cod fillet (or 4 smaller ones)

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 bay leaf

1 tablespoon black pepper

10 ounces Baby Bella mushrooms

3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

1 ounce minced ginger

6 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

a few fresh cilantro leaves

Equipment:

• Broiler pan
• Large wok or saute pan
• Bowl

1. Preheat your broiler.
2. Sprinkle the cod with lemon juice and broil 5 minutes per side. 
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Heat the oil in the wok. 
5. Add the onion, bay leaf and peppercorns.  Cook 2 - 3 minutes.
6. Add the mushrooms, lower the heat and cook another 5 minutes or so.
7. Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, spices and salt in the bowl.
8. Add the yogurt mixture to the wok and cook very gently 5 - 6 minutes. 
9. Add the fish to the wok and cook until heated and cooked through. 
10. Garnish with the cilantro and serve. 

Recipe: Spinach Kofta in Yogurt Sauce

Recipe Source: Wickramsinghe, Priya and Carol Selva Rajah.  The Food of India.  Murdoch Books, Millers Point 2008 p. 174

I'm not a vegetarian.  Not even close.  I have had vegetarian phases of my life, though.  Unfortunately most of those phases came before I discovered that vegetarian food can be tasty.  Vegetarianism doesn't have to be a penance, and it doesn't have to be unhealthy.  From what I'm told, eating just a few vegetarian meals a week can really improve your health.  I know it can improve your budget. 

Now, on to this recipe.  I had originally flagged it to make over the summer when we were doing our Sunday open houses as a vegetarian entree.  However, I kept putting it off.  The vegetarians I was trying to anticipate didn't show up, and the recipe looked complicated.  I was trying to come up with a vegetarian meal for the week recently when I remembered that I'd flagged this.  Once I made it, I immediately regretted not making it during the summer.  It was not complicated.  It was quite easy.  I made a few changes, such as increasing the garlic, using canned tomatoes, and not deep-frying the kofta.  I did use plenty of oil when frying them up, but out of sensitivity to my husband's stomach I avoided deep-frying. 

I made this with another vegetarian dish (to be posted at a later date).  Both dishes resembled dishes that usually have meat, a fact that my husband remarked upon.  What he said was that he didn't miss the meat at all.  The dishes left him feeling satisfied and satiated, they had plenty of flavor, and they weren't a pain to make.  I do think that using the frozen spinach gave the kofta a kind of watery taste that I wasn't overly enthusiastic about, but for the most part we both really liked this and I will cheerfully make it again and again. 

Spinach Kofta in Yogurt Sauce (serves 4; approx. $1.75/serving)

1 1/2 cups Greek yogurt

4 tablespoons chickpea flour

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

6 curry leaves

1 onion, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 1/2 cups chickpea flour

1 red onion, finely chopped

7 ounces diced canned tomatoes, drained

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Oil for frying - this will depend on the kind of pan you use and the kind of frying you're choosing to do.  I used some canola oil that mysteriously appeared in our house after a vacation; what you use is up to you, but olive oil has a low smoking point so be warned.

Equipment:

• Large saucepan
• Whisk
• Large wok or saute pan
• 2 large bowls
• Slotted spoon

1. Combine the yogurt and the first 4 tablespoons chickpea flour in one of the bowls.  Add 3 cups of water and whisk to form a very smooth paste. 
2. Heat the tablespoon of olive oil in the saucepan.
3. Add the mustard and fenugreek seeds and the curry leaves.  Cook until the seeds start to pop.  This will be quick, so don't turn your back on it.
4. Add the onion and cook until the onion softens and starts to brown. 
5. Add the turmeric and chili powder.  Cook 30 seconds. 
6. Add the yogurt mixture.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.  Season with kosher salt to taste.
7. Meanwhile, in the second bowl, combine the spinach and remaining ingredients (up through the oil, obviously) with a pinch of kosher salt.  Mix with your hands. 
8. Form into balls about the size of a walnut. 
9. Heat the oil in the wok.  When it is hot, add the spinach balls.  Cook them until they are browned on all sides.  When they are done, remove them with a slotted spoon.  Let the oil drain from them for a second or two, then add to the yogurt sauce.  Work in batches. 
10. When all of the non-meatballs have been added to the sauce, you're done.  Transfer to the serving vessel and serve.