Category: Entree

by Veggie Sutra

A Vegetarian Entree for Thanksgiving: Mushroom-Walnut-Cheese Loaf

Thanksgiving is just around the corner and it is a time to celebrate family, friends and everything we are grateful for.   We are truly thankful for our friends, as most of our family is in far away places. Oh, and Thanksgiving is also about food and sharing that abundance.

These days V prefers to go out to a restaurant for Thanksgiving as he does not want me slaving in the kitchen, nor does he want to.   But until a few years back, I loved to have friends over for all-vegetarian Thanksgiving dinners, and one of the entrees I loved to feature was a scrumptious vegetarian nut loaf.

I had almost forgotten about the recipe, but life is full of coincidences!  A dear friend of mine who had enjoyed the dish a long, long time back, was doing her fall cleaning and found the recipe with a hand-written note from me!

 

 

Of course I had to make it again this year!  I modified it quite a bit to cut down the amount of cheese and nuts, and increase the amount of mushrooms.  I also cooked the rice in a herbal broth instead of plain water to give it a lovely aroma.  It ended up tasting just as delicious as I remembered it!

 

 

Recipe for Mushroom-Walnut-Cheese Loaf: A Vegetarian Thanksgiving Entree
Adapted from Cheese and Nut Loaf recipe on MarthaStewart.com
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 generous bunch rosemary and 1 bunch thyme
  • 1 cup brown rice, washed and soaked overnight
  • 2 Tbsp butter or ghee + more for greasing a casserole dish
  • 1 medium onion, minced fine
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced fine
  • 12 oz shiitake mushrooms, chopped small
  • 4 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup cottage cheese
  • 6 oz gruyere cheese, grated
  • 1 cup parsley, chopped and packed tightly
  • 1 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Cook the rice the day before or at least a few hours before:

  • Bring 2 cups of water to a boil and add the rosemary and thyme bunches.  Let it simmer for more than an hour until it reduces to about 1.5 cups.  Strain out the rosemary and thyme and discard.
  • Cook the soaked rice with 1.5 cups of the broth instead of plain water
Prepare to make the loaf:
  • Preheat the oven to 350F.
  • Spread butter on a 9″ x 4.5″ casserole dish and set aside
  • In a saute pan, melt the butter or ghee and add the onions and garlic.  When soft, add the mushrooms and cook for 10 mins until the mushrooms are fully cooked
  • Lightly beat 4 eggs and set aside

Assemble the ingredients:

  • Mix the cooked rice, saute’d veggies, eggs, cottage cheese, gruyere cheese, parsley, and walnuts.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Pack in to the casserole dish
Bake the loaf:
  • Bake the loaf for 1 hour until it is firm to touch.  Let it sit for 20 mins to cool.
  • Slice and serve with your favorite sides!
Here’s wishing you and your family a happy Thanksgiving, and do share what your favorite dishes are, and what you are thankful for!My favorite sides for Thanksgiving are caramelized brussels sprouts with stone-ground mustard (yum! I have to find that recipe!), roasted butternut squash with sage, and Waldorf salad with spinach, apples and walnuts.   Dessert has to be pie, my favorite being pecan and pumpkin!
by Veggie Sutra

Chinese-style Spicy Eggplant Basil Stir Fry

Earlier this year, V and I became proud owners of a cast-iron wok that we purchased at The Wok Shop in San Francisco.  We have treated it pretty well and hopefully it is developing a nice patina with all the quick stir fries we have made, as vegetarian Chinese food is one of V’s favorites.

Eggplant Basil Stir Fry

Our main guidebook for using and caring for the wok is The Breath of a Wok by Grace Young and Alan Richardson.  The title of the book is a metaphorical translation of wok hay, which is the indescribable essence and energy a well-cared-for wok imbues in to the food cooked in it as I had mentioned in an earlier post.  The book also has a lot of interesting ‘wok-lore’ and beautiful pictures of artists making woks and cooks using woks.

V is not a big fan of eggplant, mainly because he thinks it is always cooked with too much oil.  This is why I have been mostly giving away the Asian eggplant growing super-productively in our garden. This weekend however, when I harvested a bunch of eggplant and basil, I asked V to please make a stir fry. Predictably he declared he would not touch the eggplant but will make a stir fry with just the carrots and celery I had cubed to go with the eggplant!   So, I banished him from the kitchen and took over.

Basil & Chinese Eggplant in our garden

In the end, V thoroughly enjoyed the stir fry and declared that it was the best eggplant he had ever had! This is how I won him over – the trick to make sure the eggplant is not too oily is to steam it for about 5 minutes before stir frying it.  The idea came from a recipe for “Spicy Garlic Eggplant” in The Breath of a Wok.

Eggplant Basil Stir Fry

Recipe for Spicy Eggplant Basil Stir Fry
Adapted from a recipe for Spicy Garlic Eggplant in The Breath of a Wok by Grace Young and Alan Richardson
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 5-6 medium Asian eggplants, cut into 2 inch long pieces
  • Sauce:
    • 1/4 cup soy sauce (check if it is gluten-free if you are allergic)
    • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
    • 2 Tbsp ‘Shao Hsing’ rice wine (you can find this in an ethnic Asian grocery store)
    • 1 tsp brown sugar
    • 1 tsp salt 
    • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • 3-4 Tbsp vegetable oil or sesame oil
  • 5-6 large cloves garlic, minced fine 
  • 2 inch piece ginger, grated
  • 5-6 whole dried red chilies soaked in warm water for around 10 mins and drained
  • 2 medium carrots, cubed
  • 3-4 stems of celery, cubed 
  • 1 tub (12 oz) of extra firm tofu, drained thoroughly by pressing, and cubed
  • 1 huge bunch of basil, chopped
  • 1 tsp toasted sesame oil for drizzling (you can find this in an ethnic Asian grocery store)
Method:
  • Use a steamer and steam the cut eggplant for around 5 minutes
  • Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce and set aside
  • Heat the oil in a wok and add the garlic, ginger and soaked red chilies and fry for half a minute
  • Add the cubed carrots and celery and fry for a couple of minutes
  • Add the cubed tofu and steamed eggplant and fry for half a minute
  • Now stir the sauce in to the wok and cook for about a minute until the eggplant has soaked up the sauce
  • Switch off the heat and stir in the basil
  • When the basil has wilted, remove from wok in to serving platter and drizzle with sesame oil
  • Serve with steamed white rice
Eggplant Basil Stir Fry

The fact that V ended up enjoying the stir fry so much made me think of how different we are in the kitchen.   Even though he makes awesome stir fries (he is good at not cooking the vegetables too long), V would never have ‘adapted’ such a recipe.  V is so “by the book” that he drives me crazy by refusing to budge even if a single ingredient in the published recipe is missing.  I, on the other hand, go in with an outline of a recipe and use whatever I have at hand.    What sort of cook are you?

by Veggie Sutra

Edamame Spaghetti with Asparagus: A low-carb dinner entree

Even though it is right in our backyard, it seems it has been a a long time since we hung out in Berkeley, CA.   The first time we went there, V was running a half-marathon the day after and was in a mood to carb-load; so we went to Cha-Ya.  This is a Japanese restaurant, serving “shojin ryori“, vegetarian cuisine that originated in the Zen Buddhist temples in Kyoto.  I remember that he got a big pot of udon noodles with a very flavorful broth loaded with vegetables  Yesterday we ordered soba noodles with seaweed and mountain vegetables and mushrooms and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Speaking of carb-load, V has been trying to cut down on carbs and he eats salads for lunch and dinner a few times a week.  He is deeply engrossed in a book called The South Asian Health Solution by Dr. Ronesh Sinha.  Dr. Sinha’s contention is that the South Asian diet is very carb-heavy and he offers several practical alternatives which fit in a typical menu.  V met Dr. Sinha at a seminar the doctor gave and got a copy of the book.  Unlike V, I am not as open-minded and quick-to-jump on new diet regimens, but even I found Dr. Sinha’s suggestions common sense-based and easy to adopt.

Edamame Spaghetti with Asparagus and Green Peppers

As for me, I am not a big fan of eating salads for dinner although I will happily do salads for lunch.  It is my belief that cooked foods are more easily digested before bed time.  So, when V and I were browsing in Costco the other day and saw something called Organic Edamame Spaghetti, we were intrigued.  On inspection, we found that it has a high dose of protein with low carbs indeed!  Mission accomplished!

Recipe for Edamame Spaghetti with Asparagus and Green Peppers
Inspired by the low carb diet recommended in The South Asian Health Solution by Dr. Ronesh Sinha
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients

  • 3 fistfuls of Organic Edamame Spaghetti (you can get this in Costco in bulk or from amazon.com as well)
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • About 4 Tbsp of chopped walnuts for garnish
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 Tbsp crushed dried red pepper (optional)
  • 2 green bell peppers or Anaheim peppers, cut in to 1 inch pieces
  • 1 bunch asparagus, cut in to 1 inch pieces
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • About 2 Tbsp of chopped basil (or parsley) for garnish
Organic Edamame Spaghetti from Costco
Method:
  • Bring a large pot of water to boil, add a little salt and throw the spaghetti in.  The edamame spaghetti takes only 4-5 minutes.  Drain, run cold water on it and set aside.  (Follow the directions on the package for any other kind of spaghetti.)
  • In a medium pan, heat the olive oil
  • Roast the walnuts in the oil, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside for garnish
  • Add the minced garlic and saute for about 2 mins until the oil is fragrant
  • Add the crushed dried red chilies if using and saute for a minute
  • Add the green peppers and saute for 4-5 minutes and then add the asparagus to the same oil and saute for around 5 minutes until the asparagus is bright green and crisp
  • Now add the drained spaghetti and toss and switch the heat off
  • Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper 
  • Garnish with chopped basil (or parsley) and walnuts and serve warm

Edamame Spaghetti with Asparagus and Green Peppers

Definitely a tasty low-carb dinner that V totally got behind!   Our mission is to find more low-carb dinner options to bring to the table!  Suggestions?

by Veggie Sutra

Vegan Enchiladas with Spicy Fermented Tomato Salsa

Things that are fermenting in our kitchen now:  A jar of kefir, a bottle of ginger-mint shrub (watch for recipe in 2 weeks), a second bottle of spicy tomato salsa and a jar of kombucha.  So the bacteria, yeast and SCOBY are quite busy in the kitchen hopefully creating delicious stuff.

Brunch with vegan enchiladas, sliced avocado and strawberry banana smoothie

The salsa that I started fermenting last week turned out quite nicely and I ended up using it for a special weekend brunch, menu as follows:

  • Vegan enchiladas with spicy fermented tomato salsa and cashew sauce
  • Sliced avocado
  • Strawberry Banana Smoothie with Homemade Almond Milk and Date Sugar

Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato, topped with Fermented Salsa

Fermented salsa is more pungent and deeply flavorful compared to fresh salsa and also contains a ton of additional nutrients, a byproduct of the lacto-fermentation process.   (Just to clarify, lacto-fermentation has nothing to do with milk or lactose, it simply refers to the process by which a certain class of bacteria, that are naturally present on the surface of most plants, convert sugars into lactic acid).  In his wonderful book, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods, Sandor Katz, the fermentation guru, talks about fermenting all kinds of vegetables with this method (a basic example is sauerkraut).

Fermented Salsa – Day 7

While some recipe sources call for whey to kick off the fermentation of vegetables, it is not really necessary as vegetables will ferment naturally.  However, it is important to add salt to prevent the growth of undesired bacteria.

So here’s the recipe for Fermented Tomato Salsa, loosely adapted from Mastering Fermentation: Recipes for Making and Cooking with Fermented Foods by Mary Karlin.
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 4 medium tomatoes, diced (do not use canned)
  • 1 medium red onion, diced
  • 5-6 Thai green chilies or Serrano chilies, chopped fine (adjust based on how spicy you like it, or alternately use 1/2 medium bell pepper diced)
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small bunch cilantro, chopped fine
  • 1 tsp salt
  • Pinch brown sugar
  • 2 Tbsp raw organic apple cider vinegar (use one with live mother cultures like Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar)
  • 4 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

Method:

  • In a tall bottle, combine the tomato, red onion, garlic, cilantro, green chilies (or bell pepper), salt, and brown sugar
  • Add the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar, close with a lid and shake
  • Let sit at room temperature for 3 days.  Even day give the bottle a good shake or stir well with a spoon
  • After 3 days, add the cumin powder, coriander powder and black pepper.   Stir well and taste the salsa.  If it has fermented to your liking, then refrigerate immediately and use when needed.  If not, leave it at room temperature for up to 3 more days and continue shaking and tasting every day
  • Refrigerate and enjoy

Notes on the salsa:

  • Make sure the cutting board and knife are clean and dry before starting.  Also wash all the vegetables you are using and dry with a clean kitchen towel before chopping.  
  • Check the salsa every day.  If you see mold forming on top, discard and start again, maybe using a bit more salt.  This did not happen to me but is a possibility.
  • As I noted in an earlier post, I am not a big fan of having specialized gadgets but a Serrated Tomato Knife makes life a lot easier when dicing tomatoes.
  • Since V and I like it spicy, I used spicy Thai green chilies but feel free to omit altogether and just use bell pepper or jalapeno pepper for a milder taste.
  • The fermentation produces a lot of delicious pungent liquid which can be strained and used in other recipes, for eg. in the enchiladas below.

Vegan enchiladas with sweet potato filling, topped with fermented salsa

V and I were gobbling the salsa by the spoonfuls, it was that addictive!  But I had enough left over on Sunday for making vegan enchiladas topped with the spicy fermented salsa.  Here’s the recipe.

Ingredients:
For filling: 
  • 1/2 cup black, red or pinto beans, rinsed and soaked overnight (optionally, add a tbsp of raw apple cider vinegar when soaking)
  • 2 small or 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 bell pepper diced
  • 1 cup shredded greens of any kind (I used collard greens from the garden)
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 Tbsp of fermented salsa juice
  • Salt to taste
For enchiladas
  • Store bought corn tortillas, around 6 to 10
  • 2-3 Tbsp vegetable oil for shallow frying
For serving:
  • About 1 cup fermented salsa
  • About 4 Tbsp cashew-cilantro sauce (process 1/4 cup soaked cashews, few sprigs chopped cilantro, salt to taste, a tablespoon of lemon juice, a pinch chili pepper with enough olive oil or water to consistency and taste)
Method:
Make the filling:
  • Drain the soaking liquid.  Boil enough water in a pot, add the beans and bring it back to a boil.  Lower the heat and simmer until the beans are soft and set aside
  • Cook the sweet potato until soft and set aside
  • Heat the vegetable oil in a pan and add the onion
  • When onion becomes a bit translucent, add the bell pepper and garlic and cook for around 5-7 mins until fragrant.
  • Add the greens, cover and let it wilt, around 3 mins  
  • Add the cooked beans and sweet potato and the spices, salsa juice and salt
  • Cover and cook for around 5 mins on low heat and switch off
Assemble the enchiladas:
  • Preheat the oven to 350F
  • Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry all the corn tortillas until slightly crisp on the edges and well cooked and set aside
  • In a large casserole dish, start assembling the enchiladas: Spoon about 2-3 Tbsp of the filling in to each tortilla, roll and place in the casserole dish and repeat until the dish is full
  • Spoon some salsa juice over the tortillas especially on the crisp edges
  • Bake for 15 mins
Assembling the vegan enchiladas
Serve the enchiladas:
  • Spoon fermented salsa on to the enchiladas and top with cashew sauce before serving
Vegan Enchiladas with Sweet Potato topped with Fermented Salsa
V and I really enjoyed the Sunday brunch, the highlight being the tasty fermented salsa.  In fact we just about finished the whole bottle in a day.  I am not sure if it is traditional to ferment salsa (do comment if you know), but it certainly makes it very addictive!
by Veggie Sutra

Jazzed-Up Idlis (Steamed Rice Cakes) with Sambar and Chutney

The weather in Northern California has truly lost its mind, blowing hot and cold, and overall warmer than usual.  The brilliant golden poppies (our state flower) on the roadsides, daisies and tulips are not as abundant as previous years, what with the severe drought and all.  Still, we are trying to make the best of my favorite time of year.  Drought or not, Northern California is still one of the best places to live.

California Golden Poppies (State flower) on the side walk
Spring in Northern California – Nectarine tree blooming

The fermentation series today goes to our roots in southern India with idli, sambar and coconut chutney.  This is a quintessential breakfast in the state of Tamil Nadu, made in every household and available anywhere you go.  You can get it from a street cart.  Or from a vendor on the train selling it out of a basket (she will serve it to you on a banana leaf – be careful not to spill the sambar)!  You can get it in a simple, no-frills restaurant or a high-end, gourmet restaurant.    And do not for minute assume that the more expensive idli will taste any better.

Idlis with sambar and chutney

The city of Madurai in Tamil Nadu known for the architecturally astounding Meenakshi temple, and its association with one of the oldest classical languages in the world, Tamil, is also famous for its idlis.

Details on one of the several towers of the Meenakshi temple in Madurai

The idlis in Madurai are reputed to be as pristine white and soft as jasmine flowers, which is another beautiful thing the city is famous for.   In fact, two years back when V and I visited family in Madurai, they picked us up from our early morning flight and took us straight to Murugan Idli Kadai so that we could have our fill of idlis with a variety of chutneys!

It was heartening to see that McDonalds and KFC have not yet taken a hold of Madurai unlike other Indian cities where these unhealthy American joints are spreading like a virus.  Wrap your mind around this, you get 2 idlis with sambar and chutney for the equivalent of around 20 cents at a clean, no-frills restaurant.  How is that for fast food that is cheap as well as nutritious?!

Murugan Idli Kadai in Madurai

Idlis are made by steaming a fermented batter of rice and lentils.  The same batter is used to make idli’s more flashy sibling, the dosa.   However, idli has the reputation of being healthier and more gentle on the stomach than dosa.

As it was a Sunday, Amma decided to make a  jazzed-up version of idli called “Kanjivaram/ Kanchipuram Idli”.  Named after another temple town in Tamil Nadu, this spicy variation though not as white and pristine as the Madurai idli is fragrant and filling.

A few notes before we get to amma’s recipe.  Making idlis requires planning, special equipment and some fine-tuning, but once you have it down, it is super easy:

  • Plan ahead to allow time for soaking and fermenting the rice and lentils.  As with my notes on tempeh, the process of rinsing, soaking and fermenting reduces the phytic acid present in rice and lentils and allows nutrients to be more readily available.
  • You need an idli cooker, a steamer with idli plates, which is available online or in an Indian grocery store.
  • Recipe proportions are not set in stone.  You have to play with the proportion of rice to lentils (anywhere from 3:1 to 4:1) as everything from the weather to the quality of the ingredients has an effect.  Below recipe is just a guide.
  • You can buy all the ingredients (such as black gram daal /urad daal and fenugreek seeds) in Indian grocery stores or online.
Idli plates filled with batter

Recipe for Jazzed-up Idlis with Sambar and Coconut Chutney
[Printable Recipe]

1) Recipe for Jazzed-up Idlis:
Ingredients:

  • 3 cups white rice + 1 cup brown rice
  • 1 cup whole skinned black matpe beans /black gram daal/ black lentils (urad daal in Hindi, ulundu in Tamil)
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi in Hindi, vendhayam in Tamil)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 Tbsp crushed black pepper
  • 1 1/2 Tbsp powdered dried ginger
  • A pinch asafoetida (optional)
  • 1/4 cup roasted cashews broken in to small pieces
  • 2 Tbsp raw sesame oil
  • 2 Tbsp ghee
  • About 1 Tbsp vegetable oil for coating the idli plates
Method:
Make the batter:
  • Wash thoroughly by kneading with your hands the rice and lentils separately and soak for 5-6 hours.  Wash fenugreek seeds and soak
  • Grind or blend the lentils first until it is as smooth as butter adding only as much water as you need and not a drop more
  • Then add the soaked rice, fenugreek seeds and salt and grind in to a smooth batter
  • Scoop with your hands (it will ferment better if you use your hands) in to a large container with a lot of headroom for the batter to rise
  • Place in a warm spot (I place it inside the oven with the light on) overnight to rise
  • After the batter has fermented, add the crushed black pepper, dried ginger powder, asafoetida (if using), cashews, sesame oil and ghee and mix
Fermented Idli Batter
Make the idlis:
  • Coat the depressions on the idli plate with a smidge of oil
  • Scoop the batter into them
  • Steam for around 15 minutes
  • Allow to cool a bit, and remove with a sharp spoon on to a plate
  • Serve with sambar and chutney
2) A Simple Coconut Chutney Recipe
Ingredients:
  • 1/4 cup yellow lentils/split chickpeas (chana daal in Hindi, kadalai paruppu in Tamil)
  • 1/2 cup grated coconut (found in the frozen section in Indian grocery stores)
  • 4 green Thai or Indian chilies (or more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
  • 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp split black lentils/split matpe beans (urad dal in Hindi, uluththam paruppu in Tamil)
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • Salt to taste
  • Chopped cilantro for garnish
Method:
  • Roast the chana daal on low heat until golden brown and grind to a powder in a food processor
  • Add the grated coconut, green chilies and about 1/4 cup water and blend in to a thick consistency
  • Heat oil in a small pan.  Add the mustard seeds.  When the mustard seeds start to pop, add the urad dal.  When golden brown, add the curry leaves and switch off the heat
  • Dump the oil seasoning in to the chutney, add salt to taste and mix
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro if desired before serving with idli
3) A Simple Sambar Recipe
Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup split pigeon peas/red gram lentils/ red gram daal (toor daal in Hindi, thuvaram paruppu in Tamil)
  • 1 small ping pong ball size of tamarind (or 1 Tbsp tamarind paste)
  • 2 cups chopped vegetables like potatoes, beans, egg plant, bell pepper, carrots
  • A pinch turmeric
  • 2 Tbsp sambar powder (available in Indian stores)
  • 2 Tbsp grated coconut (found in the frozen section in Indian grocery stores)
  • 2 green Thai or Indian chilies
  • 1 Tbsp raw sesame oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (jeera in Hindi, jeeragam in Tamil)
  • 1 red chili, halved
  • A sprig of curry leaves
  • 1 Tbsp chopped cilantro for garnish
  • Salt to taste
Method:
  • Wash and soak the lentils overnight.  Drain and cook the lentils with 2 cups of water until soft and mushy.  (Add more water if necessary)
  • Rinse and soak the tamarind in warm water to cover for an hour.  Squeeze out the pulp and discard the skin, seeds and fibers.  Set aside (Skip this step if you are using the paste)
  • Grind together the coconut and chilies with about 1/4th cup of water and set aside
  • In a large pot, bring the tamarind pulp (or the paste) and 2 cups of water to a boil and add the chopped vegetables, turmeric and sambar powder.  Bring to a boil again and then lower heat and close with a lid and cook until the vegetables are soft.  Add the ground coconut and chilies and cook for a few more minutes and switch off heat
  • Heat the oil in a small pan and add the mustard seeds.  When they pop, add the cumin seeds and red chili.  When golden brown, add the curry leaves and switch off the heat
  • Dump the oil seasoning in to the pot, add salt to taste and mix
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving the sambar with idli and chutney
Idlis with sambar and chutney

Go ahead, give dosa’s humble sibling a shot and do let me know if you have any questions!   I have an expert at hand (hi amma)!

by Veggie Sutra

Bibimbap made with Kimchi – Korea’s fermented staple

V and I have a fascination with Korea – he makes me watch the movies and I make him eat the food. During my visits to Seoul, I was determined to try the local cuisine instead of resorting to the generic international restaurants.  My favorite experiences were in Insadong, a oasis for vegetarians, where I could sample anything I wanted in the Buddhist all-vegetarian restaurants.

At other restaurants, most often I ordered bibimbap.  Probably one of the best known Korean dishes, it has a variety of sauteed vegetables and rice mixed together with gochujang (a spicy condiment) and topped with a fried egg.

Kimchi Bibimbap

This week for the fermentation series on this blog, I made kimchi bibimbap, inspired by a recipe in The Healthy Probiotic Power Diet by R.J. Ruppenthal.  Kimchi is a staple in Korea and is prepared by the lacto-fermentation of vegetables, primarily Napa cabbage.  It is similar to sauerkraut, but different in the addition of hot pepper, ginger, and garlic.  Vegetarians beware, kimchi sometimes has shrimp sauce, so check the ingredient list before buying.  The wonderful thing about this dish is that both kimchi and gochujang are fermented.  
Kimchi Bibimbap
For today’s dish, I used a store-bought kimchi and store-bought gochujang.  The number of ethnic grocery stores and restaurants makes the Bay Area one of the most attractive places to live and it was not difficult for me to get hold of these ingredients.   

Gochujang from a Korean grocery store

Recipe for Kimchi Bibimbap adapted from The Healthy Probiotic Power Diet by R.J. Ruppenthal

Serves two
Ingredients:

  • About 4 Tbsp of sesame oil or vegetable oil for cooking
  • For the marinated tofu (my own recipe): 
    • 1 14oz tub tofu, cut into cubes after squeezing out the water
    • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
    • 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
    • 1 Tbsp mirin or sweet rice wine
    • 1/2 tsp brown sugar
    • 2 cloves garlic chopped fine
    • 1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
    • 1/2 tsp chili sauce (alternately soak 2 long red chilies in warm water for 10 mins and chop)
    • 2 Tbsp sesame oil
  • Vegetables:
    • 1 medium onion, sliced long
    • 8 oz mushrooms (shiitake or button), sliced
    • 2 cups greens (spinach or kale or any other), chopped
    • 2 medium carrots, cut in to thin strips
  • 1 cup cooked rice
  • 1/2 cup kimchi (any kind)
  • 2 eggs (plus water and 1 Tbsp of white vinegar if you plan to poach)
  • 1 Tbsp white sesame seeds, for garnish
  • 2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, for drizzling
Method:
  • Marinated tofu: Whisk all the ingredients for the marinade.  Add the tofu and shake to coat evenly and refrigerate overnight or atleast for a few hours
Marinade for tofu
  • Add 1 Tbsp of oil and pan fry the marinated tofu and set aside
  • Add more oil as needed and one at a time, saute the onion, mushrooms, carrots and greens and set aside separately
  • Next heat up the cooked rice a bit and add the kimchi and mix.  Set aside
  • Poach the 2 eggs or fry them in a little bit of oil.  I prefer to poach.  To poach the egg:  Bring a cup of water to boil in a pan and add a tablespoon of white vinegar optionally.  Break one egg in to a small cup and slowly slide it in to the boiling water without breaking the yolk.  Do the same with the other egg.   Lower the heat and close the pan with a lid for 5 mins.  Check if the yolk has set unless you like it runny and if not, cook for an extra minute or two.  Remove the eggs from the water with a slotted spoon.
  • Assemble the kimchi bibimbap:
    • Divide the rice-kimchi mixture into 2 bowls
    • Divide all the vegetables in to two and place on top of the rice and drizzle with about a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil
    • Top with the poached (or fried) egg
    • Sprinkle with sesame seeds
    • Top with gochujang as per individual preference, mix it all up with a spoon and eat

Kimchi Bibimbap

Bibimbap can be served with fresh julienned vegetables like cucumber during summer.  Alternately during winters, it can be served in a very hot stone bowl (dolsot) that makes kind of a rice crust at the bottom of the pot which is delicious.
Any way you like it, enjoy your bibimbap with a side of kimchi for the probiotic power!
by Veggie Sutra

Tempeh in Coconut Chili Sauce plus Six Weeks of Cultured Foods

The kefir grains are here.   I am excited as well as scared!  One reviewer on amazon.com said they are like pets and need to be fed every day and washed and stuff.   Hope the little critters, I mean, cultures, like our home.

Speaking of cultures, we have decided to do a series on cultured foods for the next few weeks.  We will explore fermented and cultured foods, how to make them, how to enjoy them and what benefits they provide.

This weekend, V picked a dish from Leda Scheintaub’s Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen.  It uses tempeh as the featured ferment as well as other supporting ferments like apple cider vinegar, tamari sauce and fermented chili bean sauce.

Tempeh in Coconut Chili Sauce

Tempeh is a soybean ferment native to Indonesia.  It is usually not eaten raw, so, you might ask, what is healthy about tempeh if we have killed off the live cultures.  Fermentation has been used by our ancestors not only for the good bacteria, but also to make food more digestible and nutrients more bio-available to us.  In the case of tempeh, the process of fermentation reduces the phytic acid in soy beans, making it healthier.

(As an aside, in general, with any type of grains or beans, it is a good idea to soak in water overnight or at least for a few hours before cooking.  For example, if I am making a batch of brown rice, I always soak it the night before and change the water out before cooking.  If I am making hummus, I soak the chickpeas for up to day and change the water out a couple of times.)

The tempeh dish I made turned out to be wildly fragrant and flavorful, thanks to all the herbs from our garden, my addition to the original recipe.  It’s spring time and I got a bunch of spring garlic from the garden.  (I never have the patience to let it mature).  I also added lemongrass because I had so much of it.  (It is like a weed,  I got like 50 stalks from just 2 stalks that a friend had given me a year back!)     I also changed the recipe to use seasonally-available vegetables.

Lemon grass, and spring garlic from the garden

It seems like a complex recipe, but once you have all the ingredients lined up, it’s quite simple actually.

Recipe for Tempeh in Coconut Chili Sauce
Adapted from Leda Scheintaub’s Cultured Foods for Your Kitchen

[Printable Recipe]

Makes enough for 2 servings as main dish over rice
Ingredients:

  • 3 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 8 oz package of organic tempeh, sliced in to medium-sized pieces (I used Lightlife brand from Whole Foods Market. Use organic to avoid GMO soy.)
  • 1 tsp chili powder
  • 4 inch piece lemongrass cut into 1 inch pieces and smashed a bit to release flavor
  • 1 red onion, sliced
  • 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and grated
  • 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 Tbsp raw apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp tamari sauce
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 3/4 cup organic coconut milk 
  • 2 Tbsp fermented chili bean sauce (available in Asian grocery stores, optionally use 1 Tbsp of any chili sauce or chili-garlic sauce)
  • 10 stalks of tender asparagus, cut in to 1 inch pieces after discarding the bottom woody part
  • 1 medium carrot, cut in to thin 1 inch sticks
  • 1 bunch swiss chard, leaves and stalks separately chopped
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 bunch of tender spring garlic, chopped (optionally use 1 stalk of spring onion, chopped)
  • 2 sprigs of cilantro, chopped
  • Salt to taste

Method:

  • Heat 2 Tbsp of the coconut oil in  medium saute pan
  • Add the tempeh and cook over medium heat for about 5 mins until browned on one side.  Then flip the pieces over and cook on the other side for 5 more minutes 
  • Sprinkle the chili powder and a pinch of salt on the tempeh, then remove and set aside
  • Heat the remaining coconut oil in the same pan
  • Lightly pound the lemon grass with the back side of the knife to release the flavor.  (You will be removing this before eating).  Add to the heated oil
  • Add the red onion and saute for about 5 minutes 
  • Add the ginger and garlic and saute for 2 minutes
  • Now, add the apple cider vinegar, tamari sauce, brown sugar, chili bean sauce, water and 1/2 cup of coconut milk
  • When it is warm, add the asparagus, carrots and chard stalks and close and cook for 3-4 minutes
  • Add the chard leaves and close and cook for 3-4 minutes more until the leaves have wilted
  • Stir in the remaining coconut milk and cook to heat through
  • Add the lemon juice and garnish with green garlic (or onion) and cilantro
  • Serve hot over steamed brown rice

Tempeh in Coconut Chili Sauce

A aromatic dish that you probably won’t have left overs of!  Let me know if you have tried to use tempeh and what your favorite recipes are.

by Veggie Sutra

Comfort Food: Recipe for Khichdi (A one pot dish made from rice and lentils with ghee)

Rice is comfort food for me.  I can eat rice on its own, piping hot, with a dollop of ghee or a drop of tamari.   Mmmmmm… I don’t need anything else.  Also, after four days of eating conference food, I think I never want to eat out ever again!

Had I been on my own, I would have done just that, that is, eat plain rice!  Maybe some plain yogurt with that.  However, V and amma also need to be fed, so I decided to make a one-pot rice and lentil dish called “Khichdi”.  It is the quintessential Indian comfort food, typically made when one’s stomach is too delicate to digest regular food.

Khichdi with rice and lentils topped with ghee

I adapted this recipe from The Higher Taste, an affordable book with awesome vegetarian recipes that pulls no punches on using ghee and other ingredients that taste divine! Speaking of divine, I picked up my first copy of the book a while back when my best friend took me to “Kalachandji’s“, a vegetarian restaurant in Dallas run by ISKCON.  I can still vividly remember the amazing food and the beautiful setting.

Khichdi with rice and lentils

So here’s the recipe.

Recipe for Khichdi: A one-pot rice and lentil dish with ghee
Adapted from The Higher Taste
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients (see pic below):

Khichdi ingredients

  • 1 cup rice (I used brown, feel free to use white rice)
  • 1/4th cup full moong (green gram)
  • 1/4th cup yellow split moong dal (moong dal, that has been skinned and split)
  • 2 small tomatoes, diced
  • Vegetables* (yields about 3 cups or a bit more):
    • A small bunch of broccoli, chopped
    • 10 small baby brussel sprouts, halved
    • 1 small carrot, chopped
    • 1 small beet, chopped
    • 1/4th cup green peas
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 4 Tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 4-5 green chilies, slit down the middle
  • 2 sprigs of curry leaves
  • 2 tsp coriander powder
  • A pinch asafoetida (optional)
  • Salt to taste

* You can also add green beans, or potatoes if they are available

Method:

  • Wash and soak the rice and lentils together in warm water overnight, changing the water out if possible once or twice
  • Drain the water from the rice and lentils. 
  • Bring 3 cups of water to a boil in a large pot.  Then add the rice and lentils and bring it to a boil again and lower the heat
  • Add the tomatoes and the vegetables and turmeric.  Close with a lid and cook until the rice and lentils are completely cooked and super-mushy.  (You may need to open up the lid and give it a stir once or twice so that the water does not boil over.)
  • Alternately you can just combine the rice and lentils with the tomatoes, vegetables and turmeric and pressure cook the whole thing
  • In a small pan, heat the ghee 
  • When ghee is hot, add the cumin seeds and after a minute add the green chilies and curry leaves
  • Switch off the heat and add the coriander powder and asafoetida
  • Dump the ghee in to the pot with the cooked rice, lentil and vegetable mixture 
  • Add salt to taste and mix
  • Serve hot
Khichdi with rice and lentils with ghee
Normally I hate overcooking vegetables, but it is de rigueur for khichdi as it has to be super-mushy so that it slides down your throat like butter.  In fact, if you are feeling particularly divine, add another drop of ghee on top before serving it piping hot in a bowl.
by Veggie Sutra

A Super Bowl Recipe – Root Vegetable Chili

V is always slightly miffed that I am not that in to Super Bowl as he is (other than the ads and the half time show, of course!)   So this year, I decided to show my passion by cooking up a Super Bowl, a nutrient-rich, hearty, yummy chili with seasonal root vegetables.  Perfect for a late game day lunch!

Super Bowl- A root vegetable chili

I have been eyeing the amazing variety of root vegetables available at our farmer’s market this season and have been wondering how to make use of all the goodness.

Root Vegetables at the Sunnyvale Farmer’s Market

So I filled up my basket with golden beets, regular beets, rutabaga, turnips, watermelon radishes, black spanish radishes and good old carrots.

My basket from the farmer’s market filled with beets, turnips, carrots, radishes and rutabaga

The chili seemed like a great idea, a little bit of spiciness to balance the sweetness of the roots.  I used “harissa” to add the kick to the recipe.  It adds a unique flavor to the chili.  I bought a jar at Whole Foods.  You can also buy it online.  Or better still you can make your own with this wonderful recipe from one of my favorite food blogs: Smitten Kitchen.

Root Vegetable Chili for lunch on Super Bowl day

Here’s the recipe, without further ado.

Recipe for Root Vegetable Chili
[Printable Recipe]

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried beans, like chick peas and kidney beans
  • 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 4 cloves
  • 1 piece cinnamon about 1 inch long 
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 medium bell pepper, chopped
  • A medley of 6 or 7 seasonal root vegetables (one each of beet, turnip, carrot, radish, rutabaga, potato, etc.), chopped in to bite-sized pieces to yield about 3 cups
  • 2 Tbsp harissa or chili paste
  • 2-3 sprigs of cilantro, chopped 
  • 2-3 sprigs of spring onion, chopped
  • Full-fat Yogurt for garnish (leave out for vegan option)
Chopped Root Vegetables
Method:
  • Soak the beans for a full day.  Change the water out a couple of times if needed
  • Cook the beans in a pressure cooker or simmer on the stove until the beans are soft and set aside
  • Heat the oil in a pot.  When the oil is hot, add the aromatics: cumin seeds, fennel seeds, dried oregano, cloves, cinnamon stick and bay leaves
  • After a couple of minutes when you can smell the spices, add the garlic, chopped onion and bell pepper and saute for 5-7 minutes
  • Add the root vegetables.   Add 1/4th cup of water.  Switch to low heat, close with a lid and cook for around 15 minutes until the vegetables are cooked
  • Add the cooked beans and harissa and heat through
  • Garnish with chopped cilantro and spring onion
  • Serve with a dollop of yogurt on top

Root Vegetable Chili

Hearty, healthy and absolutely yummy, this stew was our late lunch on Super Bowl day!  What did you have?