Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Fast And Snappy, Asparagus With Mustard Seed

   Okay, I love asparagus season. Around here it's started to appear; long slender stalks, from down the line in Watsonville. Organic and local and best of all... cheap, cheap, cheap!
   Usually I pan-roast my asparagus in a bit of olive oil, wham, bam and we're done. But the other day I was fixing lunch and thought, why should I do it the way I always do? What would happen if I took my cheap little asparagus and cooked it up fast, fast, fast in my kadhai with some Indian spices. I mean how could that hurt, right? So I did.


Asparagus With Mustard Seed




Here's what to do:
Take your asparagus and cut them in pieces on the bias then set them aside.
 In a kadhai, heat 1 Tbs of vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
  1 tsp of brown mustard seed
  1 tsp of cumin seed
  2 dried red chili peppers
When the mustard seeds start to pop and the chilies darken toss in:
The asparagus pieces.
Stir them around until the asparagus starts to darken and crisp up a bit. Toss in a pinch of cayenne powder of Kashmiri chili.
Add some salt to taste and you're done. Yes, it's that fast, and delicious.

    I'm trying to keep things simple this week since I start my cooking prep in a couple of days for my Indian-street-food-themed birthday party on Saturday night. I'm off later today in search of all things coconut and tamarind, and soon I will start to chop and chop and chop and chop. See how it all turns out. I'll be trying a few things I haven't done before, but hey, It's my birthday and I'll fry if I want to! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

15 comments :

  1. I have yet to have asparagus where I am a fan, however looking at this one and its vibarance, its just looks so delicious I may have to give it another go!

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  2. Have you ever come across mustard seed oil? Saw some in the Indian market yesterday, and now you have this recipe up. Seems like a sign for us to try it.

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  3. This is how I make it too with olive oil - If it is accompanying Italian food, I use garlic with it and cut out the mustard seeds.
    I can see from the delightful pictures that it was totally yummy!

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  4. Love love love asparagus. This looks really good. Asparagus does make pee smell weird though ( I just had to add that)

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  5. I need to learn how to cook more with mustard seeds. Have yellow and black ones

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  6. @the Duo Dishes,
    you know I've been on the fence about mustard oil since there have been health concerns about using it, but those seem to have been cleared up..I'm planning on buying a bottle, it has to be used carefully though as it has a very wasabi-like pungent taste

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  7. @now serving,
    this recipe is also great with sesame oil

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  8. Sign of spring!! Love how flavorful you made these asparagus.

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  9. What a wonderful dish, Kathy! All the flavors sound delicious!

    Blessings, Catherine

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  10. We eat a lot of asparagus and usually it's just very simple prepared on the grill with salt, pepper and olive oil, but this sounds delightful!

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  11. Growing up on predominantly Indian food, I would've never imagined Asparagus cooked this way... I now have to make a special trip to the grocery store specifically for Asparagus! :)

    I’m hosting a new Food Blogger get-together to promote recipes without refined sugar. I think this unique way of cooking Asparagus should definitely be shared with as many as possible! http://flipcookbook.com/2011/03/sugar-free-sunday-is-here/

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  12. Hi Kathy, so I finally tried out this recipe and loved it! :) I changed it up a bit though. I took out the cumin seeds and added asafoetida and lemon juice to it. Here's my post on it!

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  13. I am always looking for new ways to prepare asparagus and this looks as though it's packed with flavor - and easy! I'd love if you'd consider sharing this in the online Get Grillin' & summer bbq event I'm hosting (it's side dish week). http://bit.ly/k5D1vP

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  14. I usually add'jeera' or cumin seeds, minced garlic in butter...rest of the recepie is same as yours...

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