a commonsense approach to eating well, living well and travelling
You can buy long beans or Asian beans from markets. They are very juicy and succulent about 20 – 24 centimetres long. Salad works well with regular beans too.
INGREDIENTS
250 grams of long beans
1 baby Cos, washed and leaves separated
½ cup almonds, toasted
¾ cup pitted green olives, chopped finely
1 tablespoon harissa
Kala chana or black chick peas are smaller than the white ones and readily available in any Indian store. The chick peas are actually dark brown and remain firm even after cooking that is to say they have a bite. Being rich in protein, they are a wonderful addition to any meal. Both recipes are great for snacking.
When soaking the chick peas, add a teaspoon of turmeric, that way they retain a rich golden brown colour. After soaking them in water for 8 hours or more, you need to cook them either on stove top (probably upwards of an hour) or pressure cook for 4 or 5 whistles. Make sure you add salt to the chana prior to cooking. A cup of dry black chana, would yield sufficient quantity for four adults.
SUNDAL
This is a very popular snack particularly in South India. Black chana are considered auspicious and sometimes it is made in temples as prasadam too. (Prasadam is vegetarian food that is a religious offering in both Hinduism and Sikhism.)
I just love the vibrant shades of green of this salad. It is not only appetizing but a very filling salad as well.
INGREDIENTS
1 head broccoli
10-12 snow peas, cut on a diagonal in half
200 grams edamame beans (I used frozen and cooked them as per instructions on the packet)
For the last few summers, I have been making this relish and it has been a super hit with the family. The sauce is sweet, spicy and so moreish. It can be used on cream cheese as a bagel topping or as a topping with crackers and cheese. Either way, I am sure it will be just as popular in your household as it is in mine.
It is best made with juicy, ripe summer tomatoes that are bursting with goodness. You can adjust the number of chillies based on your personal taste.
INGREDIENTS
1.5kgs of ripe, juicy tomatoes
If ever I had to represent summer on a plate, this would be the dish I would create. This is a recipe that is a classic but evolved over time. Having said that it tastes different every time I make it, owing to seasonal changes.
I love the flavours and also what this dish stands for. For me, it is about summer vegetables, long evenings and barbecues. You can serve this with crusty bread for light dinner or serve it as a side dish with barbecued meats. Either way, it is super easy, delicious and vegan plus it adds to your vegetable intake for the day.
INGREDIENTS
400g butternut pumpkin, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 large red onion
3 zucchinis, chopped
2 peppers, 1 red and I yellow, cored, seeded and chopped
1 eggplant, diced
Kichadi is essentially a dish made with rice and lentils. There are so many versions of this dish and it is comfort food in a way – because it is simple, easy to prepare and so creamy. Incidentally kichadi is one of the first solid foods babies eat. My version, of course is a spicy one and makes for a very convenient, one pot dish.
INGREDIENTS
300 grams Basmati rice, rinsed well
100 grams mung dhal, rinsed well
150 grams onions, peeled and finely sliced
300 grams medium potatoes, quartered or into eighths
This is a dish that keeps on giving. I say that because I tend to make a large batch and use it for toasted sandwiches or Indianish quesadillas a few days down the week! To make the dish more balanced and sumptuous, I add a tin of chickpeas. You can use seasonal vegetables of your choice.
INGREDIENTS
½ cauliflower about 400 grams, washed
1 potato (150 grams), peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 carrot (100 grams), peeled and cut into 5cms batons
1 cup of cut frozen beans
½ cup frozen peas
1 x 400 grams tin of chick peas, drained and rinsed well
When I think of Mexico, I think of hot chillies, corn, tortillas, beans, tomatoes, avocados, cactus, Mayan empire… When the Spanish conquered Mexico in the 16th century, they added to the culinary evolution and what we have is a cuisine that is as rich and varied as the county itself. Here is my very basic elements to create a vegan burrito bowl. You can add a fajita to this or mix and match in any way you wish.
POT of BEANS
This is so simple but so delicious. Be sure to get good quality dry black beans and when you soak them, they are a deep claret coloured. It is worth the effort to make from scratch and recommend resisting the urge to use tinned ones as the end result with dried black beans is just so much nicer tasting.
INGREDIENTS
400 grams dry black beans
300 grams onions, sliced thinly
5-6 garlic cloves, peeled
In northern India, these onion dumplings are called pakoras and in the southern regions they are called pakodis. In my opinion, pakoras have softer centres whereas pakodis are really crispy. It is a popular street snack in the South, where there is a stall around every street corner and the tired workers are drowning their tiffin of pakodis with hot masala chai. The smell of these dumplings being fried is equally tempting!
INGREDIENTS
1 cup besan or chick pea flour
¼ cup rice flour
300 grams onions, peeled and sliced finely
Chow means stir-fried and mein (shortened from meing) meaning noodles. It is served all over the world with variations in Westernized Chinese restaurants. Just as with any other dish, it has been noted that chow mein tends to be very different from what is served in China and is heavily modified to fit the taste preference of the local dominant population.
What most people don’t know about India, is that there are a number of Chinese that settled down in India in the late 18th century and so there is a distinct Indo Chinese cuisine.
I have tasted many a time in India and my version is based on that memory.
INGREDIENTS
400 grams dried egg noodles
300 grams firm tofu
200 grams mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, cored and sliced