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Recipe for Oven-Baked Cauliflower Curry

9/24/2014

2 Comments

 
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My friend Amee Meghani runs a great vegetarian food & recipe site called RabbitFoodRocks. At times funny, at times poignant, and always full of wonderful recipes, I recommend you check it out if you want to try something new. Even if you're not a hard-core vegetarian. After all, even meat-lovers must eat their plants.

Here's one wonderful recipe from her site I like because it highlights some things we talk about here on Healthy Indian Diet: eating a variety of vegetables is good, adding spices like turmeric to what we eat makes it better, and cooking in butter or ghee is absolutely okay. And it must taste good!

Ingredients and directions for Amee's oven-baked cauliflower recipe are reprinted below just as written on the original place she first posted her recipe. Enjoy!

Oven-Baked Indian Cauliflower Curry

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower
2 Tablespoons ghee or butter
2 Tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 serrano pepper, seeded, minced
1 onion, finely diced*
1 inch fresh ginger root, grated
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1 can of petite diced tomatoes, pureed
2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro (optional for garnish)

Naan, flatbread, tortillas, or cooked rice for serving (optional)

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Trim the cauliflower into 1-inch chunks.  Stalks are great – use them too! The important thing is that the cauliflower pieces are close to the same size as each other. You want them to bake at the same rate. Rinse and set aside. 

2.  Combine cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and garam masala in a small bowl.

3.  Make the sauce (masala): Heat oil and butter/ghee in a wide deep saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add minced serrano and diced onion and sautee until onions are almost translucent. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently, making sure the onions and garlic don’t burn. Then add your spices. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring continuously.  Now add the salt and pureed tomatoes. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes and remove from heat.

4.  In a large bowl combine cauliflower and the sauce.  Mix well, making sure all nooks and crannies are covered with the sauce.

5.  In a lightly greased casserole dish or pyrex dish, spread the cauliflower in one shallow layer.  Loosely cover with foil.  Bake on the middle rack for 35 minutes**.  Then uncover and Broil on HI for 10 minutes, but be sure to watch it closely, because broil results can vary significantly.  The purpose of broiling is simply to crisp up the florets a little. They’ll turn brown–that’ll be the crispy part!–but we don’t want them to burn.

6.  Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve with naan (or flatbread or tortillas), rice, or on its own (gluten-free!)

2 Comments

Healthy Indian Recipes: Kala Chana (Black Chickpea Curry)

8/28/2012

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Here’s a delicious recipe from my friend Amee Shah Meghani, who runs her own food blog at Rabbit Food Rocks focusing on how to make relatively simple dishes inspired by Indian and other traditions. What I like about her recipes is that they’re made of mostly plants. Here’s a recipe of hers courtesy of Herbivoracious. 


The recipe is also posted here courtesy of Amee! (Just click on "Read More" below.)


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Healthy Indian Recipes: Whole Green Mung Dal

7/31/2012

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Yet another recipe from "The Healthy Indian Diet!" (If you have the book, it's on page 142. Find the other posted recipes here.) 


Mung (or moong) beans, with their green outer husk intact, are a rich source of fiber and calcium and more easily digested than other beans. This wholesome, hearty Mung Dal recipe is packed with protein, and eating it with brown rice or just by itself as a soup is wonderfully comforting!

Prep Time: 4 hours for soaking Mung Beans
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4    

(click read more below for the whole recipe)



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Healthy Indian Recipes: Doi Maach (Bengali Fish Curry)

5/28/2012

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Another recipe by Anuja and Hetal (of ShowMeTheCurry.com) from our book "The Healthy Indian Diet"!

Doi Maach is a popular Bengali fish curry made with unmistakable and aromatic mustard oil. Rohu fish is used to get the authentic flavor but can be substituted with red snapper, halibut, cod, haddock or swordfish.

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
Rohu fish – ½ lb (substitutes: red snapper, halibut, cod, haddock, swordfish)
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp
Salt – ¼ tsp + ¼ tsp or to taste
Onion – ½ medium, blended
Mustard oil – 3 tbsp
Cardamom – 4



Click Read More (below) to get the rest of this delicious recipe.


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Healthy Indian Recipes: Kitcheri

4/23/2012

1 Comment

 
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A tasty recipe from my part of India. Whether you believe the Ayurvedic school of thought or not, you can't go wrong with  kitcheri.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/ayurvedic-diet-kitcheri-vatas 

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati rice   
2 cups Mung Dahl (split yellow lentils)   
7 cups (approx) water   
Pinch of salt   
1 tsp freshly cut ginger root   
2 tbsp ghee  

Click "read more" to see the rest of the recipe.


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Healthy Indian Recipes: Asparagus Subzi (Asparagus Side Dish)

3/27/2012

2 Comments

 
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We're trying this for the first time. Here's a recipe from our book "The Healthy Indian Diet," page 156 in the paperback. If you like it or put your own personal twist to the recipe, let us know.

Asparagus is not usually associated with Indian cooking. The long bright-green spears have tender tips while the tough ends are discarded. Asparagus is a nutrient-rich food that is high in folic acid and a good source of potassium, fiber, vitamin B6, vitamins A and C and thiamin. Many people tend to overlook this delicious vegetable due to lack of know-how in the preparation stage. Now, you can try fresh and tender Asparagus – the Indian way!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 4

Ingredients:
Asparagus – 1 lb, chopped into bite-sized pieces
Canola oil – 1 tbsp
Cumin seeds – ½ tsp
Fennel seeds (powdered) – ½ tsp
Ginger – 1 tsp, grated or crushed
Garlic – 5 large cloves, roughly chopped
Tomatoes – 2 medium, chopped
Salt – to taste
Red chili powder – to taste

Method:
1. Wash asparagus and snap the white/hard ends and discard.
2. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
3. In a skillet, heat oil on medium heat.
4. Add cumin seeds and allow them to splutter.
5. Add powdered fennel seeds, ginger and garlic and cook for a minute.
6. Add tomatoes and cook until soft.
7. Add asparagus, salt and red chili powder. Mix well.
8. Cook uncovered for 5-6 minutes until moisture has evaporated.
9. Serve hot with paratha.

2 Comments

Healthy Indian Recipes: Brown rice recipes from Mark Bittman of the NY Times

11/13/2011

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Ever tried making brown rice for breakfast? Me either, but this is what Mark Bittman admits to doing in his piece in the NY Times. And the next open morning I get, I'm going to give it a try. 

Mr. Bittman explains how brown rice has become mainstream (which it true as you can find it at Wal-Mart and even ethnic grocers and restaurants) and gives us a few easy recipes. 

The recipes look delicious. I'm a believer that if we all switched from white rice to brown rice, we'd all be healthier. (See the evidence here and here.) But I know it's hard to make the switch because white rice tastes so good. But brown rice tastes good too, and in addition to our excellent masala brown rice recipe in "The Healthy Indian Diet" (a dish I make at least once a week, often with curry sauce and always with turmeric, black pepper, cinnamon and sautéd vegetables) I feel Mr. Bittman's recipes are worth adding to the repertoire!
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By the way, you can learn much by reading comments. For example, here's a great rice cooker named the Zojirushi for making brown rice, which is less convenient than white rice (which is pure starch and quick to cook). 

A couple people also explain exactly why brown rice is healthier than white rice: there's nutrition in the brown parts of the rice grain that are removed to make white rice. Overall, Mr. Bittman's concise piece on brown rice is worth a read if not for an understanding of what constitutes brown rice and all of its varieties, then for the recipe ideas.

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Healthy Indian Recipes: Lassi, perfect yogurt drink for the summer

7/17/2011

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Here's a recipe from our recently released book "The Healthy Indian Diet" that's dahi (yogurt) mixed with Indian spices and herbs (e.g., mint). If you'd like to watch a video of Anuja & Hetal (my co-writers) making this summer drink, click here to go to the ShowMeTheCurry.com website.

Ingredients:
Yogurt – 1 cup
Ice – 1½ cups
Cumin powder – ½ tsp (roasted)
Chat Masala – 1 tsp
Salt – to taste
Mint – a handful (fresh)
Cilantro – 10 sprigs
Green Chili – 1 (optional)

To read the instructions, click "Read More" to the bottom right. 


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Healthy Indian Recipes: Lentil Pâté With Cumin and Turmeric

7/5/2011

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Here's a fusion recipe incorporating dal (lentils) and spices commonly used in Indian cooking. While you won't find it in our book -- it's created by Martha Rose Shulman, who's been featured in the NY Times and wrote the cookbook "The Very Best Recipes for Health" -- this recipe fits within the Healthy Indian Diet profile.

For the recipe, click here. Take it from me: it's easy to make and really tasty!

0 Comments

Healthy Indian Recipes: Quinoa pulao

5/28/2011

3 Comments

 
Here's a recipe in our book The Healthy Indian Diet (available in mid-June) that features quinoa, a seed that substitutes quite well for rice. Unlike rice, you get plenty of protein (and a complete set of amino acids) from quinoa. Plus it has "good carbs," plenty of fiber, and minerals just like whole grains do, and it's gluten-free, a big reason why quinoa's become more popular.

The chefs at ShowMeTheCurry.com transform the traditional Indian dish pulao (or pilau or pilaf) from one that's made from white rice (an unhealthy refined grain) into a dish rich in nutrition. In my opinion, it tastes better too (it's got a certain "nuttiness" you may like). The dish takes 45 minutes to cook after soaking the quinoa for 30 minutes. Enjoy!
RECIPE
Quinoa is a grain-like crop often referred to as a complete protein. (Grains, on the other hand, do not contain complete proteins and thus must be combined with lentils or dals.) Quinoa has cooking properties similar to white rice and can easily be used as a healthy substitute, as seen in this recipe for Quinoa Pulao.

Prep Time: 10 minutes (plus 30 minutes for soaking)
Cook Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

Ingredients:
Quinoa – 2 cups
Canola oil – 2 tbsp
Bay leaf – 1
Cinnamon – 1-inch piece
Black cardamom -1
Green cardamom – 2
Black pepper – 4 or to taste, roughly crushed
Cloves – 4, roughly crushed
Turmeric powder – ¼ tsp
Onion – ½ medium, finely chopped
Ginger – 1 tbsp, minced
Garlic – 1 tbsp, minced
Green chilies – to taste, finely chopped
Corn – 1 cup
Green peas – 1 cup
Carrots – 1 cup, chopped
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Cumin powder – ½ tsp
Salt – to taste
Water – 3 cups
Lemon/lime juice – to taste
Cilantro – chopped for garnishing

Method:
1. Wash quinoa and soak in ample water for 30 minutes.
2. Drain water and set quinoa aside.
3. Heat oil in a medium pan on medium heat.
4. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, black cardamom and green cardamom. Cook for 30 seconds.
5. Add black pepper, cloves and cumin seeds. Allow them to sizzle.
6. Add turmeric powder and onions. Cook for 1 minute.
7. Add ginger, garlic and green chilies. Mix well and cook until onions are translucent.
8. Add quinoa and roast for 5 minutes.
9. Add corn, green peas, carrots, garam masala, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt. Mix.
10. Add water and lemon juice.
11. Mix and bring water to a boil.
12. Reduce heat to low, cover with a tight lid and cook for 30 minutes.
13. Uncover, fluff quinoa gently with a fork, cover and let it rest for 5 minutes.
14. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

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