Cucumber Mint Salad

Ingredients:

3 Persian or English cucumbers, sliced thinly into rounds. (Use a slicer or a mandolin)
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 tbsp red onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp sugar
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves. Chiffonade.

Mix all the ingredients together. Let it sit for about 15 minutes, covered in the fridge before serving.

Turmeric Potatoes with Cumin seeds

Turmeric has antiseptic properties. For this reason, it was used in India a long time ago to 'disinfect' vegetables in a way that simply washing them with water could not do. Decades later we still use turmeric more out of habit than anything else. However, if used alone this yellow spice has quite the kick. And a very unique flavor!

Every weekend my Dad would cook us a meal. I have fun memories of time spent in the kitchen with him. His flair for cooking was different from my Mom's. His was more of a- add-taste-repeat kindof method which I think I've inherited. (So in a way, this blog helps me keep track of my tested recipes- both in method and measurement!) One day he was making a curry that called for turmeric (most curries do by the way!). In his usual fashion, he opened the jar and tilted it over the pot, tapping it in a little at a time. And yep- a huge lump fell in! (If you've ever used turmeric you know how excessive this is!) Long story short, we had upset stomachs the next day ...

Word to the wise- Measure out your spices carefully. ;)

Serves 3 as a side
2 medium potatoes (yukon gold or red will work), diced with the skins on
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp jalapeno, minced
2 tsp ginger, minced
1 tbsp canola oil

Heat the oil over medium high heat
Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter for a few seconds
Add the potatoes and stir well
Cover and cook, sitring occasionally until potatoes are cooked through and nicely browned (about 10 minutes)
Season with salt, ginger and jalapeno. Stir well and cook uncovered for a couple more minutes.

Sesame Garlic Beans

My Mom grew up in Singapore and whenever she talks about her childhood; food was always the highlight of her stories. (Yes, the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree) 30 years later and here I am talking through my days about what I eat, cook and dream about cooking! :-)

Now that I think about it, a lot of what my Mom cooked reflected her love of the South East Asian cooking flavors and techniques. She loved to stir fry instead of saute, sear instead of brown and julienne instead of dice! Her favorite spice was red chill and garlic, and her cant_do_without_condiment was soy sauce. She also introduced me to the magnificent flavor of toasted Sesame oil early. A drizzle of this stuff will get you to the orient quicker than any pan asian flight!

Here is the simplest of all her dishes- a stir fry of green beans and garlic. The dish is flavored with garlic and sesame oil- that's it!

Serves 3 or 4 as a side dish
Preparation time 30 minutes

8 oz french green beans
4-6 large cloves of garlic, slivered (the more the better!)
3 tsp ginger, minced
1 medium red onion, sliced
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)
4 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
3 tbsp water
1 tsp red chili flakes or 2 tsp fresh cracked pepper
Salt to taste

In a large hot saute pan or wok, heat the oil.
Add the onions and garlic, saute for about 2 minutes
Add the green beans, water and the soy sauce. Turn down the heat and cover. Cook for about 3 minutes or until the beans are almost done (they should have some bite to them)
Turn the heat back up, season with salt, pepper/chili flakes and the sesame seeds. Stir well.

Serve as a side or along with hot rice.

Curried Quinoa

Being vegetarian, H has been trying to find new sources of protein. There's only so much tofu and lentils he can eat in a week! Since we love trying new foods; we ventured into the outer corners of the internet and dug up quinoa! It is rich in protein while also providing carbs of the good kind. Quinoa is more of a seed than a cereal but when cooked, it has a nutty flavor and a texture similar to couscous or brown rice.

Enough of the encyclopedic dribble. Onto the good stuff! H doesnt mind me stealing his thunder by posting his recipe here! :)

Serves 2
Preparation time ~ 30 minutes
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 tomato, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch stick ginger, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup red pepper, diced
Garnish:
Cilantro/Basil
Lime

Bring the water to a boil, add the quinoa and cook uncovered for a few minutes on medium heat until the water is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
In a saute pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Add the onion and saute until transluscent.
Add the ginger, garlic, spices and stir for about 2 minutes.
Add the vegetables and quinoa, mix well.
Season with salt.
Garnish with cilantro or basil and a squeeze of lime.

Mashed Cauliflowers (with Potato)

I love potatoes. (Who doesnt?) It's the ultimate comfort food and you cant go wrong with it- boiled, baked, fried, roasted, sauteed- anything works!

Last evening we had a head of cauliflower at home that was almost past it's shelf life. But my stomach called for potatoes. Hmm, what to do? So I came up with this concoction- telling myself it's more nutritous than just potatoes. The ricotta cheese (also almost past its shelf life in my fridge) adds some much needed protein to this dish.

Serves 4

2 medium potatoes, peeled and washed
2 cups of cauliflower florets, cut and washed
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp tumeric powder
Salt to taste
Fresh cracked black pepper
2 spring onions, finely chopped

Boil the potatoes and cauliflower in salted water for about 20 minutes or until very soft
Mash and whip the potatoes with the cheese, garlic powder, tumeric, salt and black pepper until creamy(Use a hand blender or mixer to do this)
If you like a more creamy texture, add some milk and whip at this point.
Before serving mix in the spring onions.

Yam and Sweet Potato oven fries

One my favorites after a dear friend (thanks O!) introduced me to this healthy way of eating sweet potato and yam! So simple and the flavor variations are awesome!

1 large yam
1 large sweet potato
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp canola oil

Mix the spices with the oil and set aside
Cut the yam and potato into 1/2 inch sticks in width and toss with the oil mixture.
Lay them on lined cookie sheets and a single row and cook in a preheated over (450F) for 10 minutes on either side or until lightly browned/cooked
Garnish with finely chopped oregano or rosemary (Alternatively, you can also mix in dried herbs with the oil mixture)

Serve with the yogurt dip mentioned or garlic aioli

Gobi Manchurian (Cauliflower munchies)

H really likes this; so I had to come up with a recipe that's a healthy alternative. This one calls for shallow frying. I've also tried a bake and broil version with good results.

1 medium cauliflower, cut into big florettes
1 bunch of spring onion, chopped
2 inch stick of ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green chilli, finely minced
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
Salt to taste

Batter-
1/4 c plain flour
3 tbsp corn starch
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 inch ginger stick, minced
1 clove garlic, minced

Zap the cauliflower in the microwave with a little water for about 3 minutes or until almost cooked (it should still have some bite to it)
Drain and dry on a kitchen towel, set aside.

Make thin batter out of the flour and 2 tbsps of the corn starch with some water.
Mix in the chili powder, garlic, ginger and salt to taste.
Dip the florettes in the batter one by one and shallow fry in hot oil until golden
Drain on paper towels

Before serving:
In a tbsp of oil, add the chili, onion, ginger and garlic and fry for about 2 minutes
Add and spring onions and salt to taste. Stir fry for a minute.
Add 1 cup of h2o and bring to a boil.
Beat 1 tbsp corn starch into 1/2 c h2o
Gradually add to the gravy and stir continuously until transparent and thick
Add the cauliflower to the gravy; heat through.
Add the soy sauce

Variations:
Dry manchurian can be made by omitting the water+cornstarch mixture.
Instead of using only cauliflower, use finely chopped minced vegetables and bind
with some corn starch/bread crumbs.

Healthy alternative:
Bake and Broil-
Skip the batter. Marinate the cauliflower in a mixture of lemon juice and all the spices and about 3 tbsp of oil. Bake in a 375F over for about 20 minutes or until tender. Then broil on low for about 5 minutes or until brown bits start showing through.

Sour Spinach

Bunch of Spinach (or frozen spinach)
Mustard seeds, 1 tbsp
Sesame oil, 1 tbsp
1 tsp crushed chili flakes
1 small green chili, slit
Tamarind pulp (1/4 cup) or paste (1 tbsp)
Rice flour or corn starch, 1 tbsp

Heat oil
Crackle mustard seeds in the hot oil, add onions and garlic, saute
Add crushed red chilli flakes, and one slit green chilli, saute for a minute
Add frozen/fresh spinach and tamarind pulp
Mix some rice flour (I used corn starch) in a cup of water and pour into above mix
Simmer for 2 minutes, garnish with curry leaves