Tag Archives: Easy Cooking

FOOD

Aloo Methi – spinning potatoes with fenugreek leaves

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I’ll be honest – the humble potato has taken a bit of a backseat in our meals of late. With all the hoopla around the nutritional content of a potato, we have not been making it a staple at meals. But potatoes are the ultimate comfort food. And it takes so little to elevate the potato into a lip smacking dish. Like this one, where the potatoes are sautéed in some oil, with cumin seeds, chilis and a whole bunch of fresh fenugreek leaves. Fenugreek leaves also known as “methi” are available aplenty at Indian grocery stores, and this is one of those put a meal together in a jiffy kind of dishes that takes a few ingredients. Sadly, the toughest part of making this dish is the painstaking cleaning required to rid the leaves of mud and grit.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tbsp cooking oil (I used vegetable oil)
  • 2 tsps cumin seeds
  • 2 dried red chili pods
  • 4 medium sized potatoes, peeled, cut into cubes, and washed
  • 1 bunch fenugreek leaves, washed repeatedly till the mud and grit is gone and finely chopped (discard the tough stems)
  • 1 tsp salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

How to:

1. Heat two tbsps of oil in a pan. Add the cumin seeds and red chili pods.

2. When the cumin seeds sizzle, add the cubed potatoes, salt, and turmeric powder. Cover and cook on a medium flame, stirring occasionally till the potatoes are nearly done (a fork inserted should glide through the potato). This took about 13 minutes for me. (If your potatoes are sticking to the bottom, sprinkle a bit of water)

3. Add the chopped fenugreek leaves, toss the potatoes so the leaves are evenly mixed in. Cook covered for five minutes, and then without a lid for a couple of minutes till the leaves have wilted and have coated the potatoes.

4. Serve hot with roti or pita.

5. A tip. You could also make cumin potatoes by skipping the fenugreek leaves altogether and calling the dish done when the potatoes are cooked. This tastes yum by itself or with rotis or as an accompaniment to rice.

FOOD

A creamy, delish, cabbage and spinach soup

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I was cleaning out a few things in the fridge today and pulled out a few remaining veggies, some stock, a bit of leftover focaccia bread and pondered how I could use all of this up in one go.

Given the current environment, every morsel of food is even more precious. And what emerged from this mishmash of ingredients was a delicious, creamy, good for you soup. Here’s how I went about the transformation.

Ingredients for soup:

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped into small pieces
  • 2 cups cabbage, finely chopped, and washed
  • 1 packed cup baby spinach, washed and finely chopped
  • 2 green chilis, finely chopped
  • A sprig of oregano
  • 1.5 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp salt

    For croutons (you can use store bought ones)
  • Some leftover bread, cubed
  • A tbsp of olive oil
  • A bit of red pepper flakes

    For garnishing
  • A tbsp or two of grated parmesan cheese
  • Some olive oil
  • A sprig of oregano

How to:

1. Heat one tbsp olive oil in a pan. Add the onion and sauté for five minutes on medium heat.

2. Add the cabbage, spinach, green chilis, oregano, vegetable stock, and salt, mix well and cook till the cabbage and spinach appear wilted. This took about ten minutes on medium heat for me.

3. Transfer the veggies to a blender or use a hand blender to puree the veggies till smooth.

4. If making croutons, heat a tbsp of oil in a pan. Add a bit of red pepper flakes and toss the bread cubes, frying till crisp (about ten minutes).

5. Transfer the soup into two bowls. Top with the croutons, some parmesan cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.

6. Enjoy!

 

FOOD

Delish green beans with coconut

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Many moons ago, when my mom had to leave for India for an extended period of time to care for my grandfather, she wrote down a bunch of recipes of the staple, time honored dishes that my family from Kerala had served for generations in their kitchen. Before I had any money to buy any sort of cookbook, these recipes became my guidepost; a primer that ensured that I would carry on creating the tastes of my mother, grandmothers, aunts and more in my kitchen. Of course, in the rush to give me these recipes, mom sometimes missed writing exact quantities or an ingredient, but they were enough of a foundation to enable me to cook.

Beans Poduthol, also called as Thoran, is a simple dish of whatever veggies are on hand, some oil and spices and lots of freshly grated coconut. It is the kind of dish that is not only super yummy and healthy, but also makes me feel with every spoonful that all will be okay in this world.

Ingredients:

  • A pound of beans, washed, destringed and cut into small pieces
  • A tbsp of oil (traditionally coconut oil is used)
  • A tsp of mustard seeds
  • A tsp of urad dal (skip if you don’t have this, it adds crunch)
  • One or two dried red chili pods broken
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • Four tbsps freshly grated coconut
When I copied mom’s recipe into my first attempt at organizing recipes.

How to:

1. Heat oil in a pan.  Fry the mustard seeds, urad dal (if using) and dried chilly pods.  When the mustard seeds start popping, add the beans, turmeric powder, salt and cumin powder and toss well.

2. Cover and cook till the beans are cooked, yet crunchy (about 10-15 minutes).

3. Add the fresh coconut and toss a few times.

Enjoy!

PS. You can prepare cabbage, spinach, carrots, and raw bananas in a similar fashion.