Tag Archives: Coconut

FOOD

Spicy dal with coconut milk

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I can eat dal anytime, anywhere. As a soup by itself, with rice or quinoa, or with rotis. My non-Indian friends are always surprised with the number and variety of dals that we make. In fact, about a week ago, I was orienting a friend through the aisles of a newly opened Indian super market and she was shocked at the colors and shapes of the lentils (dals) that flooded the aisles. This particular dal is one I make regularly in the Instant Pot. The melding of the dal with the spiciness of the chillies and ginger, the sweetness/tartness of the tomatoes, and the creaminess of the coconut milk, just create a dish that is packed with flavors. While the list of ingredients appears to be long, you will still come out with a pretty good dal even if some of the spices are missing.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup tur dal, washed a few times and set aside
  • 2 tsps cooking oil (I used canola)
  • 2 tsps mustard seeds
  • 2 tsps cumin seeds
  • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 1/2 tsp asafetida
  • 2 inch piece ginger, finely chopped
  • 7 green chilies, four finely chopped, three slit lengthwise
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 3 medium sized tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsps salt
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1.5 cups water

How to:

1. Turn on the Instant Pot and set to Sauté function

2. Add the oil to the Instant Pot and when it is hot, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds, asafetida, ginger, green chilies and curry leaves. Sauté for a minute, till the mustard seeds stop crackling.

3. Add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, brown sugar, and salt and sauté for a couple of minutes.

4. Set the Instant Pot to Pressure Cook Mode, add the tur dal, the coconut milk, and 1.5 cups water to the tomato mixture and cook at full pressure for 15 minutes. After that, let the pressure release naturally for ten minutes.

5. Move the pressure valve to the release position and let any remaining pressure release. Once all the pressure has been released, open the lid. You can now either smash the dal with a spatula against the wall of the cooker or run a hand blender once or twice.

6. Serve with rice or quinoa or rotis.

Enjoy!

FOOD

First blush of love with kohlrabi

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Yes, you might say that for someone who cooks often, I’ve been living under a rock.  I had never tasted kohlrabi and while I had spotted it at farmers’ markets, I had never adventured to cook with it.  But all that changed with a recent discovery – that it is a versatile vegetable that is low in carbs.

“What does it taste like?”, I asked my favorite farmer.  She said it had the slight spiciness of a radish married with the crispness of a green apple.  I proceeded to buy a bunch and cautiously tasted a slice.  The taste and the texture translated into my aha moment – this might be a good low carb substitute for potatoes in any number of dishes, enabling my husband to indulge in a version of some of his favorite high carb foods.

The stew that I created is a favorite from my childhood days.  Dad and mom made this concoction of ginger, green chilies, potatoes, onions and coconut milk which was the perfect accompaniment to steamed rice or fresh bread.  Out went the potatoes and in came the kohlrabis to make their debut in this simple, yummy comfort food which turned out to be a big hit.

Ingredients:

  • 3 medium-sized farm fresh kohlrabi, skin removed and chopped into cubes
  • 1 large red onion chopped into pieces the same size as the kohlrabi
  • 6 green chilies, 2 finely chopped and four sliced vertically (less if you can’t tolerate heat)
  • 1.5-inch piece ginger finely chopped
  • 1 tsp salt (or more to taste)
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • A few sprigs of curry leaves (optional)

How To:

1. Place all the ingredients except the coconut milk in a pan, cover the vegetables with water and cook covered till the kohlrabi is firm but done – a fork inserted should slide in easily, but the vegetable should retain its shape (about 15-20 minutes).  At this point, there will be some water in the pan, but it will not be watery.

2. Add the coconut milk, mix gently and simmer the mixture for a few minutes.

3. Turn off the stove and wait 10 minutes before serving the stew with steamed rice or bread.

4. The result is super yum and a gift for those on a low carb diet.

Tip 1:  You could also puree this and serve it as a soup and it tastes amazing, the combination of chilies and coconut milk playing a tropical dance on your tongue!

Tip 2: You could use cauliflower instead of kohlrabi for another lovely low carb version as well.

If you cook kohlrabi frequently, I’d love to hear your suggestions!

FOOD

Discovering Ottolenghi – The Seeds Of Love Towards A Chef Are Sown

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By Lakshmi:

On a recent Sunday morning in the UK, reading through the pages of the Guardian, I discovered a chef named Ottolenghi.

Yotam Ottolenghi as I discovered later is a Israeli born, European trained chef who writes a weekly column entitled The New Vegetarian for The Guardian. He owns several successful restaurants in London and is a bastion of bringing fresh flavors and foods together to create simple, healthy concoctions that please the palate and are good to the body.

On this occasion, he was waxing eloquence on the addition of coconut, “I must point out that the chewy texture of the freshly grated flakes contrasts brilliantly with the more yielding beans.”  The dish being prepared was Sprouted Broccoli and Edamame Salad with Curry Leaves and Lime.  Suffice it is to say that I wanted to eat the salad right there, but had none of the ingredients on hand.

Tonight, back home in the US, I recreated his vision in my kitchen.  The fresh tender spears of broccolini complimented the crunchiness of the Edamame.  The coconut, mustard seeds, red chilly, curry leaves and lime added zip and zang to an incredible fusion of beauty and flavors.  The outcome was a dish that looked absolutely beautiful (see the picture above and tell me if you agree) and tasted like something you would be served in a tropical paradise many miles away.

If you can’t wait to get your hands on the recipe, just scroll towards the middle of the page on this link to bypass the chicken recipe and get to this one.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/mar/22/fresh-coconut-recipes-chicken-broccoli

If you give the recipe a try, do drop us a line and let us know your experience.  Stay tuned for more posts on awesome salads we’ve discovered as we continue to nurture the seeds of love for Ottolenghi.