I am so excited to share this green beans recipe with you all. A couple of months ago our power had gone out for almost three days as a safety precaution shutoff from PG&E, and it happened during our Indian festival of Diwali. This is when my friend Roli dropped off the most amazing array of home-cooked dishes for a special Diwali lunch. I tell you folks, for someone like myself who cooks often, having a home-cooked meal made by someone else and that too made by an outstanding cook like my friend Roli – the food just tasted like ambrosia. Continue reading Green Beans Sauté
Tag Archives: turmeric
Stuffed Peppers with Herbed Tofu
I was making stuffed peppers with paneer for the family one night when one of my twins requested that I make a couple without cheese. She is staying away from dairy for a while as she’s noticed she feels better eating dairy-free. So for her peppers I substituted the paneer with tofu, and since I was making these tofu peppers just for her I asked her how she wanted them flavored – she requested with herbs. Continue reading Stuffed Peppers with Herbed Tofu
Bharazi. Kenyan Black Eyed Peas in Coconut Milk and Spices
Happy New Year 2020!
Wishing you all a healthy and happy year ahead!
Looking for a totally different black-eyed pea recipe to make for good luck in the New Year? A recipe from East Africa? Try this black-eyed pea stew called bharazi created by Indians living in Kenya. Bharazi is an Indianized Kenyan dish made with black-eyed peas, coconut milk, and spices. Continue reading Bharazi. Kenyan Black Eyed Peas in Coconut Milk and Spices
Moroccan Tajine
I’ve always loved exotic hand-painted pottery from all parts of the world. There is something organic and artistic about pottery serving pieces that gets me excited every time I see them. They make all my food look beautiful and appetizing. My fetish for handmade pottery is how I came across this beautiful Moroccan pottery called tajine. Years ago when North African cuisine was first featured in the Williams-Sonoma California catalog I bought a Moroccan tajine pot from them. It is no surprise that I bought it because it is a gorgeous piece of hand painted pottery! What makes these North African pottery so unique and beautiful are their intricate hand-painted designs in vibrant colors and ethnic motifs. Tajines look like art pieces, each one different from the other, and each one a potter’s masterpiece. Very often among North African families tajines are collected as family heirlooms and passed down generation after generation. Continue reading Moroccan Tajine
Eggplant Gotsu
Gotsu is a saucy, tangy, spicy cooked salsa made in most South Indian homes to accompany any type of rice dish. I shared a recipe earlier for an easy tomato onion gotsu that my Mom used to make to accompany a lentil and rice pilaf called pongal. Here I would like to share my Aunty Shashi’s recipe for an eggplant gotsu made with eggplant, juicy tomatoes, onions, bell peppers and lots of spices. Continue reading Eggplant Gotsu
Indian Spiced Rice, Paneer and Zucchini Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed peppers are such an easy dish to make that I wonder why I don’t make it more often. For me hearing the word “stuffed” has connotations of a “hard recipe” but this recipe is easy as it can get. Have leftover rice, quinoa or couscous? Stuff them inside bell peppers seasoned with Indian spices and extra veggies like zucchini and you get a super healthy and delicious vegetarian meal in no time at all. Keep it vegan and stuff it with veggies and grains or add in some cheese like paneer to give the peppers heft. Generously spiced with ginger, garlic and onions and a fragrant amount of Indian spices; these stuffed peppers are a deliciously satisfying meal for lunch or dinner. Continue reading Indian Spiced Rice, Paneer and Zucchini Stuffed Peppers
Dhoklas. Steamed Cream of Wheat Savory Bites
Light and spongy, salty, sweet and spicy – dhokla is a very popular appetizer prepared in the state of Gujarat in the Western region of India. The basic recipe for dhokla uses chickpea flour, rice flour, or semolina (cream of wheat) that are combined with yogurt and spices to form a thick batter. This batter is then steamed until a spongy cake of sorts is formed which is then cut into bite-size pieces and lightly pan-fried with mustard seeds. Served as an appetizer with mint chutney these are delicious cake-like savory bites. Continue reading Dhoklas. Steamed Cream of Wheat Savory Bites
Bell Pepper Potato Curry
Late summer brings with it a harvest of peppers in all shapes and sizes. Sweet peppers, spicy peppers, mild peppers, green, yellow, red, and orange peppers – you name it, it’s available at the farmer’s market right now. All these peppers are the inspiration for this curry that uses peppers in an Indian spiced potato curry. Continue reading Bell Pepper Potato Curry
Zucchini Eggplant Stir Fry Curry
Zucchini Eggplant Stir Fry Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 large Japanese eggplant or 2 medium sized Japanese eggplants cut into small chunks
- 2-3 medium sized zucchini cut into small chunks
- 4 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 medium onion finely cut
- 1 tbsp finely minced ginger
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp chili powder (optional)
- 1 tsp garlic powder (optional)
- Salt
- Oil
- Juice of 1 lemon
- Cilantro for garnish
Indian Summer Ratatouille
If you are looking for a great way to use up a large quantity of summertime tomatoes and veggies then this dish is the one! That’s the dilemma I faced that inspired this veggie-laden dish. I had loads of peppers, zucchini, carrots and tomatoes, and I knew it would take a few days to use all these up, but these veggies were ready to be had ASAP. I decided to make a giant pot of Indian stew/curry type of dish with all the veggies I could collect from the refrigerator. I also wanted this to be a saucy dish as I had soooo many tomatoes too. Indian Ratatouille, is the name the kids gave this stew. The name sounded pretty cool to me as this stew made with summer vegetables and Indian spices would have otherwise been called Carrot, Zucchini, Pepper Curry; but somehow the name Indian Ratatouille just sounds better. Continue reading Indian Summer Ratatouille
