Easy, Fast, Vegan. Can't Beat These Beets.

   
   We grow a lot of our own produce at our place here in Sonoma. Every year when it's time to plant I think about what I like to cook, what vegetables I'm always shopping for, and those are the ones I choose. We xeriscaped our property when we bought it, took out the fountain out back, and the lawns in the front and back, kept the roses, planted fruit trees and herbs and in the back put 7 large raised growing beds. What we get out of these supplies a LOT of vegetables. Everything in the garden is on a drip system which is connected to NOAA by wifi which controls water consumption, and we renovated to CalGreen standards which brings out the DoomsDay Prepper in me. Next up, a cistern and grey water system, but for now we got a whole lot of veggies with the minimum of water and lot of chicken manure.
    
   One vegetable we always grow, because we like it and it's used in so many Indian recipes are beets. After the big storms we had last week and the ones coming/we are in the middle of this week, I harvested several pounds of beets and several pounds of potatoes. The potatoes are laid away in cold storage in the garage. Some have been separated out as seed potatoes for this springs garden, others stored for eating. The beets are going to be roasted, vacuum sealed, and frozen. But before they go into the deep freeze, we're enjoying some of them for lunch.

      
   Beets are great vegetables and I never really appreciated them until I started cooking and eating fresh ones rather then those things my mom would always reheat out of a jar. I'm a great believer that most vegetables people hate translate to "you've just been eating them wrong" meaning cooked the wrong way. That seems to work with a lot of things... except maybe okra... in my husbands' case. I did plant some two years ago but it mysteriously never came up. I don't know whether he had something to do with that or not, it remains a mystery. Beets however don't need any persuading around our house and I've got a simple traditional Indian recipe that makes cooking them a snap.

Beets With Indian Spices

Here's What You Need: 

2 or 3 large beets
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
10 curry leaves (optional)
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Kashmiri chili powder  (or 1/4 tsp paprika mixed with 1/4 tsp cayenne which can in a pinch be a substitute)
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)


Here's What To Do:
 
The first thing to do is prep your beets , The easiest way to do that is to roast them. This is how to do it with the least muss and fuss. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees

1: Wash the beets off and dry them.
2 : Trim the beet tops to about an inch.
3: Rub the beets with some vegetable oil and wrap them individually in  foil this prevents beet leakage which can make ones oven resemble a murder scene.
4: Place the wrapped beets on a cookie sheet and bake them for about 45 minutes to an hour. Unwrap them a bit to check. When a fork goes into them easily they're done.
5: Either unwrap them and let them cool, to use them immediately.  Or keep them wrapped and cool them on the counter then place them in the fridge overnight for use the next day.

Now that the beets are roasted here's what's next.

WARNING: These beets are going to leak either way the minute you cut into them, so I usually use surgical gloves that one can get at any drugstore when working with them. I have a box of them for culinary use for beets and chilies.

Cut the tops off the beets.
Cut the bottom off the beets.
You can at this point slip the skin off of them with a paring knife or just trim it away easily.
Naked beets!
Cut the beets into small cubes, about 1/2 inch.

Get  your spices ready, because this dish cooks up pretty fast once the beets are roasted.

In a skillet or kadhai heat the vegetable oil.
When the oil is hot  toss in the mustard seeds and the curry leaves if you are using them.

When the mustard seeds start to pop and the curry leaves sizzle toss in the beets.

Turn the heat down to medium and add in the turmeric.

Stir it around well, then cover the pan and let things cook for about 5 minutes.

Take the lid off, give things a good stir and add in the salt and chili.

Keep the lid off the pan and cook for another 5  minutes or so. You want to make sure everything is well blended and nothing is sticking or burning, so give it a good stir every now and then.
When the beets are nice and tender, they're good to go.
Take out the curry leaves and dish them up.

I have several of these tiffin boxes which fit perfectly into my bike basket for an Indian picnic... HOWEVER, since it was pouring rain outside we just ate in the kitchen. They're mighty cute little boxes though.

 So there it is, a simple easy to fix Indian side dish, which goes really well with any other sort of food you're cooking, Indian or not. It may just change your mind about beets. Coming up next, working my way through the root cellar (wish I had one) Follow along on
Twitter @kathygori

Quick and Easy: Spicy Summer Eggplant Poriyal A Simple Vegan Lunch.

  
   Our garden here in Sonoma is bursting at the seams with all the stuff we planted earlier in the year. I am starting to get overwhelmed with eggplants. I suppose that's what happens when one plants 4 different varieties of the same vegetable. Fortunately Indian cuisine is filled with dishes that star eggplants, so there's no need to repeat anything. The eggplants keep on a coming, so do the Indian recipes.
    
   The eggplants aren't the only prolific thing around here. We've been finishing director's notes for our TV pilot, and I've been working on recipes for the new CocoaPlanet Tasting Room opening soon here in Sonoma. So, there's not a lot of time for fancy-pants cooking. Simple easy and fast are the keys to a weekday lunch at our house, and if it involves eggplant, that's all the better.
   
   We've also been watching an extraordinary Indian cooking show that's currently streaming on Netflix Raja Rasoi Aur Anya Kahaniyaan.

To call it a cooking show is an understatement as it's so much more than that. It's definitely binge worthy with the only warning I'd give... don't watch on an empty stomach. The other day we saw an episode on the cuisine and food history of Tamil Nadu which caused me to dig out some poriyal recipes... specifically ones using eggplant.

I prepared this simple lunch dish of eggplant, tamarind, and coconut served with a spiced Basmati rice. Another great thing... almost everything was straight out of the garden

Kathirikkai Poriyal 

Here's What You Need :
3 cups of cubed eggplant
2 onions halved then sliced thin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 dried red chili
a few curry leaves

You'll also be adding a spice powder

Spice Powder 

Here's What You Need:
4 tsp vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
1 Tbs coriander seed
3 small dried red chilies
2 tsp urad dal
2 Tbs grated dried unsweetened coconut
I Tbs tamarind
1/4 tsp salt

Here's What To Do:
Heat 2 tsp of vegetable oil in a small skillet.

When the oil is hot add in the coriander seeds, 3 red chilies, and urad dal.

Stir everything around and cook until the spices get fragrant and the dal starts to turn color and darken.
Take everything out of the pan to cool.
Add another 2 tsp of oil to the pan and toast the coconut until it turns golden. (this doesn't take very long so look sharp.)
Add the toasted coconut to the other spices you just roasted  .

Place everything in a spice grinder and grind it up. Stir in the tamarind paste.
Set the Spice Powder aside.
Add 1 Tbs of oil to the same pan you've been using
when the oil is hot add in the mustard seeds, chili, and curry leaves.

When the mustard seeds start to pop, toss in the thinly sliced onions...

...and 1/2 tsp turmeric.
Saute everything for about 3 minutes then add the eggplant cubes...

...1 tsp of salt, and 1/4 cup of water.

Stir everything around well, lower the heat, cover the pan and let things simmer for about 10 minutes. Check on it every once in a while to make sure nothing is sticking or burning.
When the eggplant cubes are tender and the water has been cooked off, sprinkle the dish with the Spice Powder you have made.

Blend it in well.

And serve it up!

Combined with some spiced Basmati rice you've got a great and simple vegan lunch, perfect for Meatless Monday.
  

   The dish is delicious, sweet and spicy and very filling. Working my way through our bumper crop of eggplants never was so easy. This dish can be made using our Indian Spice Kit  from The Chaunk.

Sign up for the free The Chaunk newsletter as we're going to be offering a special deal (among other things)  for our readers later this month.
  
Coming up next, dessert Indian Style and more vegetable adventures. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Two Squash, One Way. Fast Vegetables For An Easy Meatless Monday.

    The great thing about Meatless Monday, is that it always comes just in time. Mainly when we need it the most... like after a non-Meatlesss Weekend. Make that a very non Meatless Weekend. So after the damage has been done, it great to start off the new week with something fresh and green. Or in this case, something fresh and green and yellow.
   The thing I like about this squash dish is that it can be made quickly, it tastes great, and paired with another vegetable dish and some rice or chapatti, it's a meal.  Plus, you feel so guilt free. This squash dish is made with chayote, that pear shaped vegetable which looks like a slightly aging avocado and is frequently associated with Mexican cuisine. It also one of those vegetables that's migrated from one hemisphere to another, mainly from Mesoamerica to...everywhere. In this case South India where the recipe originated.
    Now, not everybody at every time can get hold of chayote, which locovore that I am, was the situation. So I went looking for other squash, less exotic, closer to home. I  decided to dress up the lowly zucchini and the yellow crook necks and take 'em uptown.

Squash With Coconut

   Here's how to do it in less than 30 minutes:

  Take 1/2 lb of zucchini and 1/2 lb of crook neck squash and cut them into 1/2 inch pieces.
 In a large skillet or kadhai, heat about 2 Tbs of coconut or other vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot toss in:
 1 tsp of brown mustard seeds
 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds
   When the seeds start to sizzle and pop toss in:
 About 12 curry leaves
 1 cup of finely chopped onion
 1 tsp of chopped shallot
 2  fresh serrano chiles stemmed and split up the middle.

Give them a stir, keeping it moving for around 4 or 5 minutes.
Now toss in the chopped squash and 1/2 tsp of garam masala.

Cook the squash for 2 minutes and then add in:
3/4 cup of water
2 Tbs of grated coconut
1 tsp of salt and bring the whole thing to a boil.

  Cover the pan and lower the heat to simmer. Cook the squash for about 15 minutes until it's cooked through. Put the squash in a serving dish and before serving, sprinkle the whole dish with 2 Tbs of roasted ground peanut powder.

And there it is. About 30 minutes from fridge to table, and if you happen to find good cheap local squash in your local farmers market as I did, it's an inexpensive tasty treat, and the peanut powder adds some extra protein punch.
   Coming up next, another Meatless Monday alternative, a rich and creamy cabbage dish without a shred of dairy.

You Can Take The Cream Out Of The Cow..You Can Also Take It Out Of The Soup.

I love soups. They're easy, they're do-ahead, they're economical and they're also very, very filling. Soup is my friend. In preparing my meatless Monday menu, I was trying to think of things that Alan would like and would also make him feel like he was really being fed and I wouldn't hear him rummaging around my larder late at night like some crazed possum looking for "snacks".
 For years Alan ate my Indian vegetarian food happily sated, but things change once you hop on the old meat wagon and I wanted to make sure, since we eat our main meal midday "Euro" style, he would be satisfied with what he got.
 Thus, the soup. Rich creamy soups are great. Rich creamy soups are even better when they taste like rich creamy soups but don't contain all that cream. The secret? Buttermilk.
Buttermilk soup is a staple in the Indian kitchen. From North to South. Spicy, with little islands of fresh chopped vegetables floating around, it's a low fat delight. Who needs all that cream? It's not even missed. Trust me, or go ask Alan.
I made this basic traditional soup sambar style. Most sambars have dal  as a base, this one is a bit different as it uses a paste of ground almonds and coconut along with the spices.
 You may see stuff in the market sold as sambar powder. This is similar to curry powder, a combo of ground spices used for flavoring. However, it is just as easy (and better and cheaper)  to make your own sambar powder in a blender, or food processor. It uses spices most people have in the kitchen and takes about 5 minutes.

 Here's how to do it:
  In a small heavy skillet heat :
 `1 and 1/2  tsp of vegetable oil.
 When the oil is hot add in:
1/2 cup of chopped almonds

  Stir them around for a bit and then toss in:
 1 Tbs of coriander seed
 1/2 tsp of fenugreek seed
 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes....you can add more depending on how how you'd like your soup to be
 1/4 cup of shredded dry unsweetened coconut
 1 thin slice of peeled fresh ginger

   When things have started to turn color and toast lightly, pour everything into a spice grinder or food processor. Add in 1 cup of water and blend it till it's smooth.

 Meanwhile back at the soup....Mix together:
 3 cups of buttermilk
1/4 tsp of turmeric
 1 tsp of chickpea flour otherwise known as gram flour. Cornstarch can also be used in a pinch.
Set this mixture aside.

 In a deep pan or kadhai heat about 1 and 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil. When the oil is hot drop in:
 2 tsp of brown mustard seeds
 1/2 tsp of cumin seed
 When the mustard seeds start to pop, toss in 10 fresh or frozen curry leaves and
 1 lb of diced zucchini.

 Stir fry all of this for about 4 minutes  then pour in your liquid spice mixture.
When the mixture starts to boil add in 3 cups of water and bring it to a boil again.
 Once it's boiling, pour in the buttermilk blend. Bring it to a boil one more time. Third time's the charm.

 When the soup reaches boiling point this time, turn down the heat and simmer until it thickens a bit.
 Just a few minutes will do the trick.
 Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in;
 1 and 1/2 Tbs of fresh chopped cilantro.
 You can put some more chopped cilantro on the table and when you've served the soup, let people sprinkle as much as they want over the top of their soup.

This is a great soup and if there is no zucchini available (ha! who am I kidding? ) substitute it for any vegetable you'd like.
 This soup is nourishing, makes up quickly, and with a couple of other dishes on the table is a complete  meal.  Serve the soup alone with a chapatti or other Indian bread and it's a late supper or light lunch.
 With this soup, buttermilk's not just for biscuits anymore.