Eating root to shoot isn’t a new
idea. Long before it became a thing, my mother and grandmother were doing it. Growing
up, it was always drummed into me that we need to respect not only food but
also the farmers who produce and as a mark of respect, if it is edible, it is
not be wasted. So very often we would have the leaves served up one day and the
next day it was the stalks. This is a very traditional Andhra dish (the Telugu
name is in small) and you can use the same technique to cook amaranth stalks,
cabbage, radish or even plantains.
400 grams silverbeet stalks
(washed, peeled and cut into a 3 centimetre dice)
I normally do the tofu version
first for the vegetarians in the household and then follow with the chicken
stir fry. When I say tofu, many people say oh tofu, it’s so tasteless. Yes
agreed it is bland and does not have a taste as such but that is the point, as
it takes on the umami flavours of the other ingredients so well. I have learnt
to incorporate tofu into several vegetarian versions of dishes I cook on an
everyday basis, you can say I like it.
400 grams firm tofu, drained
2 medium sized carrots cut into
batons
400 grams mushrooms (prepared)
and quartered
1 large red pepper cut into 4-5
centimetre strips
1 bunch Shanghai green bok choy,
washed well, stalks and leaves separated
I love mushrooms and I am always
experimenting ways in which to use them. This is a vegetarian version of noodle
dishes made at the open food stalls in Hong Kong.
10 grams dried sliced shitake
mushrooms
250 grams white mushrooms
100 grams of garlic shoots or
Chinese chives
375 grams of rice sticks (medium
sized rice noodles)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves sliced
4 teaspoons light soy sauce
½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
½ teaspoon ground white pepper
200 grams bean sprouts
Salt to taste
Soak the dried mushrooms in hot
water from the kettle for at least 30 minutes. Slice the white mushrooms as
thin as you can. Cut the garlic shoots into 5 centimetre pieces and if they are
too thick split them lengthways. Cover the rice sticks in warm water from the
tap, leave for a few minutes, and then use your fingers to separate them. Shake
dry in a colander.
Heat half the oil in a large wok
over a high flame Add the shitake mushrooms and garlic. Fry until the smell of
garlic is evident. Then add the other mushrooms and garlic shoots and fry over
a medium heat for a further 2 minutes. Add a dash of the dark soy sauce so
mushrooms get a rich colour. Remove and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil on high
heat and add the rice sticks. Fry until the rice sticks are hot. Add the light
and remaining dark soy sauce. Sprinkle the white pepper and salt, then fry to
combine. Return the mushrooms and garlic shoots along with the bean sprouts to
the wok, stir fry until everything is piping hot. Serve immediately. Serves 4
as a main at lunch.
Chia seeds are rich in Omega 3
Fatty acids and antioxidants. A serving provides enough protein and because of
their high fibre content keeps you full for longer. They also are a good source
of iron and calcium. This is a quick and easy way to incorporate chia seeds
into your eating. I normally serve for breakfast.
1 ½ cups coconut milk or soy milk
½ cup chia seeds
1 -2 tablespoons maple syrup or
honey or jaggery (if using jaggery, grate and add a couple of tablespoons of
hot water to melt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Toasted almond flakes and berries
or seasonal fruit to serve
I used tamarillo (tree tomato).
Incidentally tamarillos regulate blood sugar levels and are rich in
antioxidants. No resemblance to the tomato, but belongs to the same family. I blanched
the tamarillo for about 45 seconds in hot water and peeled the skin.
METHOD
Chia Seeds Pudding
Mix the coconut milk or soy milk
with chia seeds, maple syrup and vanilla extract in a large bowl. Once mixed
thoroughly, pour into three or four bowls or old fashioned glasses. Place
glasses in refrigerator to set overnight. This keeps in the refrigerator for
three or four days. Put your fruit on top and sprinkle the toasted almonds and
serve cold.
Vepudus are fried (but not deep
fried) or stir fried dishes from the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Crisp, fried foods are a basic part of the meal and add a textural element when
served alongside a plain tadka dhal. In Andhra or Telangana, vepudu is made
using vegetables such as okra or small tender brinjals and I have used the same
technique for zucchini.
4 plump zucchini
3 tablespoons chick pea flour
(besan)
1 tablespoon ground cashew nut
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon chilli powder (mild or
moderate hot)
Salt to taste
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
METHOD
Wash, top and tail the zucchini.
Depending on how big your zucchini is, cut in half or thirds. Put the zucchini
piece upright on your cutting board and make a slit of about 3 centimetres down
towards the centre. Do the same on the other side but in the opposite direction
to the top end slit. So if you do one left to right, then make the other one
north to south so if the slits were to meet they would make quarters of the
piece of zucchini. However you do not want them in quarters and do not want the
slits to meet.
In a bowl mix the chick pea
flour, ground cashew nut, cumin seeds, garlic, chilli powder and salt. Add a
couple of teaspoons of oil and mix with your fingers. It should look like bread
crumbs. Use your fingers to stuff the zucchini pieces with the chick pea flour
mix in the slits being careful not to break the piece in half. If there is any
leftover mix, reserve this to sprinkle on top of the fried zucchini in the end.
Stuffed Zucchini
Heat a heavy based fry pan and
add the remaining oil. When hot enough add all the zucchini pieces and set your
pan on high heat. Cover with a lid for 3 to 4 minutes. Using two spoons or
tongs gently turn them over and reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for a
further 3 -4 minutes. Remove lid, reduce heat to low sprinkle a tablespoon of
water and let cook until everything is evenly roasted. About 12-15 minutes.
Serve hot as a side dish to your Indian meal.
This is a highly nutritious,
tasty and popular breakfast item made in Andhra households. It is nice on its
own or you can serve with ginger chutney (allam pachadi). This along with allam
pachadi is comfort food and as such tend to eyeball the ingredients rather than
measure them out precisely. For purposes of sharing this recipe, I have given
measurements. I use a tawa which is a special fry pan that is flat with a lip
of one centimetre tall. You can however use a regular fry pan.
250 grams whole mung beans
1 -3 fresh hot green chillies,
chopped
5 cms piece of fresh ginger
peeled and chopped
Handful of fresh coriander stems
and leaves
2 tablespoons rice flour
8 teaspoons vegetable oil like canola
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 medium onions finely chopped
Put the beans into a bowl and
wash them in several changes of water. Drain, then cover generously in fresh
water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and put into a blender. Add
chillies, ginger, coriander stems and leaves, salt and about 200 ml water.
Blend for several minutes until you have a pancake like batter. Empty into
another bowl and mix in the rice flour.
Mix the chopped onions with the
cumin seeds and set aside.
Set a largish non-stick fry pan
over a medium heat. When hot, stir the batter from the bottom and pour a
ladleful into the centre of pan. Lightly use the back of the ladle and a wrist
action to spread the batter outwards in an even spiral form to reach the wall
of the fry pan about 20 centimetres in diameter. Sprinkle the onion and cumin
mix and pat them down gently with the back of a spoon. Add a few drops of oil
in the centre and about the edges of the pancake. Cook on a low medium heat
until the pancake turns crisp and golden. Flip the pancake and allow to cook
the other side for about 30 seconds. Serve right away (I tend to use two fry
pans). Make all the pancakes in the same way, stirring the batter each time you
make.
Pesarettu
ALLAM PACHADI (Ginger chutney)
30 grams tamarind (the variety that comes in a packet in an Indian store) (small lime sized ball)
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 tablespoons channa dhal (split chick peas)
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon powdered asafoetida
8-12 dried red hot chillies
3 tablespoons vegetable oil like
canola
40 grams jaggery (if you can’t
find jaggery, you can use palm sugar or muscavado sugar)
Salt to taste
100 grams ginger (peeled and evenly chopped)
Wash the tamarind and then soak in 60 ml of hot water from the kettle for an hour. Using your hand (wear gloves), squeeze the tamarind and extract thick pulp. Discard the fibrous bits that don’t get pulped. Put the pulp into a microwave safe container and microwave on high for a minute and set aside.
Heat a kadai (Indian style wok) or a saucepan and add the oil to make the popu (seasoning). Add the fenugreek seeds along with channa dhal and fry them until they are slightly brown (if the oil is too hot they tend to burn and get bitter). Add the chillies (you can cut them in half if they are too long), stir and then add the mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to splutter, remove from heat and add asafoetida to the hot mixture. Allow to cool.
Once the popu is cool enough, blend to a fine paste in a food processor or mortar and pestle. Add the tamarind pulp, salt, jaggery and ginger. Pulse until everything is ground. Transfer to a jar and serve with pesarettu or adai dosa. Store in refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.
This is a very colourful and scrumptious salad that can be served on its own, or as a side dish to quesadillas or tacos. Poached chicken is optional.
For the Salad:
¼ small red cabbage
¼ small green cabbage
1 large carrot
3 or 4 pink table radishes
2 sticks celery, peeled and
sliced
3 or 4 spring onions sliced
Handful of parsley roughly
chopped
Handful of mint leaves sliced
½ cup sunflower seeds toasted
(optional)
For the dressing:
4 tablespoons tahini
4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons liquid honey
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper
For poached chicken (you will
need an instant read thermometer)
400 grams chicken breasts
2 -3 pods of garlic
1 teaspoon pepper corns
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 sprig of coriander or parsley
stalk
If using poached chicken, prepare
this first so chicken has time to cool. Place chicken in a deep sauce pan. Add
enough cold water so the chicken is at least submerged 5 centimetres deep. Add
the remaining ingredients. Put the sauce pan on gentle heat and check
temperature has reached to 65 degrees Celsius at the thickest part of the
breast. This normally should take about 10 -12 minutes depending on the size of
pan and amount of water. Once the desired temperature has reached, remove
chicken breasts and let cool completely on a plate before slicing on a diagonal.
Prepare the salad by finely
slicing the cabbages and julienning the carrot and radish. I normally use a
mandolin for this. Mix all the prepared salad vegetables and set aside in a
large bowl as it yields about 12 cups or so. You can add the parsley and mint
after dressing the salad.
For the dressing, mix all the
dressing ingredients until well combined. Taste and adjust seasoning to your
preference. Set aside.
Mix the dressing a little at a
time with the salad vegetables and chicken if using (I normally take out enough
for one time use and store the remaining vegetables in the refrigerator). Once
the dressing is mixed in, I stir in the herbs and garnish with the toasted
sunflower seeds on top.
1 x 400 grams tin of chick peas
drained and rinsed
1 red onion sliced
½ head cauliflower washed and cut
into florets
Juice of one lime
Curry Paste
4 tablespoons peanut butter
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 red chilli finely chopped
To Serve:
3 tablespoons coriander leaves
35 grams toasted peanuts and
sesame seeds
1 lemon cut into wedges
Silverbeet Rice:
4 silverbeet leaves washed and finely
chopped removing the rib
4-5 spring onions finely chopped
2 cups Basmati rice rinsed
30 grams butter or ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 x 5 centimetre cinnamon pieces
Salt to taste
For the curry:
Mix all ingredients for curry
paste and set aside. You can thin by adding a couple of tablespoons of warm
water.
Heat oil in a sauce pan. Fry
pumpkin cubes, then add the lentils. Add a cup of water and after ten minutes,
add sliced onion, chick peas and cauliflower florets. Increase heat, add the curry
paste and coconut milk. Stir to combine and check amount of liquid – add more
if necessary. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and cook for 15 -20 minutes making
sure all vegetables are cooked to your liking. Finish off by adjusting seasoning.
Serve immediately with the toppings or the silverbeet rice.
Silverbeet rice:
Heat half the butter (15 grams)
in a large fry pan with a lid. When the butter is starting to froth, add the
chopped silverbeet. Increase heat, add a half teaspoon salt and fry until the
silverbeet is nicely wilted and partially cooked. Remove and set aside. Heat
the remaining butter in the same pan. When frothing, add the cinnamon stick and
cumin seeds. After frying about 20 seconds, add the rice and continue to fry so
the rice is toasted (maybe about a minute or so). Add half a teaspoon salt and
about three and three quarters cups of cold water. Stir, increase heat and cover
with lid. Let it come up to the boil, reduce heat and cook without stirring for
15 minutes. Mix in the silverbeet, cover and let cook for a further minute.
Once rice has blossomed and is cooked, stir in the spring onion and serve with
the pumpkin and peanut curry.
1 large broccoli washed and
trimmed into florets (the stems are sweet and tasty, just peel lightly)
For the Miso dressing
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon white miso paste
1 small garlic grated
2 teaspoons grated ginger
1 teaspoon sesame oil
¼ cup vegetable oil like canola
Salt and pepper to taste
Put the broccoli florets into a
microwave safe bowl and microwave for 6 minutes or less if you prefer the
pieces crunchy, taking out after three minutes and giving the broccoli pieces a
shuffle. Drain any liquid and set aside to cool.
Prepare the dressing in a large
bowl by mixing the ingredients together. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
When the broccoli is warm to touch, pour in the dressing and mix well. Serve at
room temperature. Serves four.
