India Trip Food Round-up – Chennai Part 2

DSCN0921You’re correct in the assumption that of the 12 days I spent in India, more than 8 were at restaurants. I visited 4 cities in 12 days, and each one had its own specialty, Hyderabadi Biryani, Bombay pav bhaji and gujarati food. I probably spent the most time eating at home in Chennai. I had to ask my sister in law Meena, to make this dish for me and of course share it on Roz Ka Khana. Its called Ambat (Sour) Bhaaji (vegetable dish). Its made from sour greens like amaranth or puli keerai as we say in Tamil. Can also be made from spinach leaves. The sourness to the dish comes from adding the tamarind.

Ambat Bhaji is a Tanjore Marathi inspired dish and is sort of a hybrid between a sambar (lentil and vegetables soup) and a koottu (vegetables in gravy).

Ingredients:

Spinach – 1 bunch. You may also use amaranth.

Tamarind – lemon sized ball

Turmeric – 1 tsp

Asafetida – a pinch

Toor dal (yellow pigeon peas) – 1 cup boiled and mashed

Methi seeds (fenugreek) – 1  tsp

Dry red chilies – 4-6

Chopped Cilantro – for garnish

Method:

1. Wash and chop the spinach. You can chop the spinach and steam in a heavy bottomed vessel with a little bit of water. This helps retain the green color better. You can also microwave the fresh spinach. Alternatively, you may use frozen spinach.

Boiled spinach

2. While the spinach cooks, soak the tamarind in a little warm water, and squeeze it to extract tamarind paste. Alteratively, you may use about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp of tamarind paste. Add water to this paste (about 1 cup) and take this tamarind water in the heavy bottom vessel (kadai)

3. Add the spinach, salt and asafetida to the tamarind water. Let this mixture boil till the raw smell of tamarind goes away.

Tamarind water and spinach

4. Now add the boiled and mashed toor dal. Boil for another 5 to 10 minutes till everything is well blended.

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5. Now dry roast the methi seeds and the red chilies, grind to a fine powder. Add this powder to the dal mixture and boil one more time for another 2-3 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve hot with white or brown rice.

In the above picture, we mixed the mashed dal with the ground powder and then added the mixture to the tamarind water. You may do this as well, but I think adding the powder at the end and then boiling provides an added taste.

Published in:  on September 21, 2009 at 7:57 pm Leave a Comment
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India Trip Food Round Up – Chennai

My 2 day trip to Chennai was dotted with some saree shopping, jewelry shopping (the fashion and the junk jewelry kind - not the 24k gold Thangamaligai kind:), of course, some food – the restaurant and home-cooked kinds!

We visited Cream Center in Raja Annamalai Puram on Chamiers Road. This is the same Cream Center that has had its origins in Bombay (I know – I can call Madras, Chennai but I just can’t get myself to call Bombay Mumbai) and this time I had planned to visit newer places in Bombay so I figured I would get my Cream Center fix in Chennai . The menu was exactly the same as I remembered it, but I also knew what I was going there for…..the carrot pickle with the famous Chole Bhatura. This was my favorite restaurant in growing up, during my annual visits to Bombay, and though Cream Center got its name from its famous ice-cream varieties, I loved it only for the carrot pickle!

Only they had now morphed from a Punjabi menu to a Mexican, Italian and rather Continental menu but with a desi flair. I say desi flair as even though the menu had items like Tostadas, Nachos, Sizzlers etc, the “refried beans” were more like mashed rajma unlike the pinto beans that you get here in the US. Nonetheless, I ordered the Chole Bhatura and couldn’t wait to indulge in my favorite pickle. I was quite disappointed, I have to admit. The chole was fine but they had messed up the pickle! Soggy carrots were all I got. They had obviously been sitting in the oil for a while. And the Bhatura looked like it had been sitting in the same oil too..well, you know what I mean. It was as oily as the pickle.

Cream Center pickle

Cream center choleThe Dum Biriyani however was a pleasant surprise as I had, by now, dismissed the food as being mediocre. The Sizzler was a hodge podge of pulao meets veggies meets samosa meets fries! Yes, it had a samosa perched on top of the rice concoction and though the description on the menu intrigued me, it didnt taste as good as it sounded.

Cream center sizzler

I think the best part of the dinner was the dessert..or maybe it’s just my sweet tooth that makes me love anything that has sugar and chocolate. The sizzling brownie was a hit with the kids too. Brownie with vanilla ice cream in a sea of bubbling hot chocolate! Yum! That’s all I could say before I burnt my tongue!!

Cream Center brownie

The Verdict - Cream Center Chennai wasn’t half as good as the parent in Chowpatty, Bombay. There are better restaurants in Chennai to spend your money on.

Published in:  on September 10, 2009 at 9:20 pm Leave a Comment
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India Visit Food Round-up – New Delhi

Once again, I’m back after a long pause. This time, I have a valid (well, sort of!) reason for the silence. I was on my annual trip to India..the usual, 2 week visit, filled with travelling, jet-lag, and an over-stimulation of the senses that leaves me wanting a vacation after the vacation. Only this time it felt a little different. I was visiting India without the rest of my family, for one. Nikhil was in India for over a month with his cousins and my trip was planned solely to bring him back home. This time the 2 weeks was filled with the same crazy travelling, jet-lag and did I mention, eating to my heart’s content, and, shopping? Those were a part of my previous trips too, but this time it felt a little more relaxed. I felt like I was savoring every minute of my trip, taking in all the flavors, the smells, the food, like there was no tomorrow. Maybe it was a new fangled appreciation for food or the fact that I really tried to plan my visits to the various cities so I could make the most of my stay and savor the local fare. I took lots of pictures and tried to capture many foodie moments that I will recount here.

My first halt was New Delhi, more of a transit stop on my way to Hyderabad. I was only there for the night, but was bright eyed at 9.30pm when I reached my hotel and absolutely famished. And no wonder..it was time for my lunch! Girish had suggested I eat at the Bukhara, and am I glad I did.

The restaurant is rated not only the best in New Delhi but one of the top 14 in the world according to UK Magazine, and is supposedly one of Bill and Hillary Clinton’s favorite places when they visit India. The restaurant has apparently added the “Hillary Platter” recently to their menu! The cuisine is one from the north-west frontier, prepared in a clay ‘tandoor’ oven, in a kitchen area that is visible to customers, and which adds to the experience. Another unique fact about the restaurant is the red and white checkered apron they offer you instead of a napkin to tie around your neck before you attack the food with your bare hands. Yes, they do not give you silverware, as that takes away from the taste, they claim. And they are absolutely right! Meals are expensive, but the food is to die for! Bill Clinton, on one of his visits apparently said he wished he had two stomachs! Let’s just say I ate like I did!!

I ordered the Vegetarian platter which had a sampling of their famous tandoor vegetarian options, succulent paneer tikka  (grilled Indian cottage cheese), tandoori phool (gobi or cauliflower), tandoori aaloo (potato), roti (bread) and the world famous Dal Bukhara (black lentils simmered in gravy). This was followed by rasmalai for dessert. I was in heaven with all the food options in front of me and me being me, I absolutely had to sample them all. All I can say is that the UK mag is about 14 ranks off the mark and I have a renewed respect for the Clintons …if only for their taste in food:). I spent the night tossing and turning with my stomach full of tandoori delights, but it was worth it!

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Next stop…Chennai. Yes I did say I was going to Hyderabad, but that was only for a day, and I was soon on my way to Chennai to meet the in-laws and of course, see Nikhil after a whole month! Chennai food round-up coming up next…

Published in:  on August 27, 2009 at 10:13 pm Leave a Comment
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Punjabi Chhole (Garbanzo Beans in Dry Curry Sauce)

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This is probably quite a common recipe that you’ll find in many sites, but that’s exactly the specialty of this dish too. There are so many versatile ways that Indians make this dish and each one has it’s unique distinct taste. And it goes by so many names..Chana Masala, Chole Masala, Punjabi Chole. Punjabi Chhole is the name given to this dish as made in Punjab, a Northern state in India. The uniqueness of this type of Chhole is that it is usually drier than other gravy dishes, and it also has a darker color. It has an added tang to it from the amchur or dried raw mango powder that is the main ingredient in the chana masala.

Girish surprised us one weekend evening after mom and I  returned home after a long road trip. Mom and I were both exhausted, thinking of bringing take-out, only to get home to an apron-clad father and son in the kitchen dicing onions (something that’s despised by all of us) and grinding masala (spices). It was so cute! They served Punjabi Chhole and Potato/Egg curry with steaming hot rice and chapathis.

Here’s the recipe for the Punjabi Chhole that he made:

2 cups garbanzo beans or chick peas (he used 2 cans but you can also soak beans overnight and boil the next day).

2 tomatoes (chopped)

1 can chopped tomatoes

3 medium onions (finely chopped)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 tbsp minced ginger

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 1/2 tspn red chili pd

1 tsp coriander pd

4 tsp vegetable oil

1/4 tsp garam masala pd

3 tsp chana masala pd

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

For garnishing – chopped cilantro, 2 onions sliced into rings, lemon wedge

Method:

1. If using fresh beans, soak them overnight, in warm water with 2 tea bags. This adds the dark color that is so typical of punjabi chole. Boil the beans in a pressure cooker with the 2 tea bags.

If using canned beans, drain the water from the can, and soak the beans in water with 2 tea bags, while you cook the remaining steps. This, again, adds the color.

2. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds when the oil gets hot. When it splutters, add the minced ginger and garlic.  Now add the chopped onions and saute until it becomes light brown.

3. Add turmeric powder, chili powder and salt to taste. Add garam masala, chana masala and fry a little more.

4. Take the chopped tomatoes and the canned diced tomatoes and puree them in a blender. Add this puree to the masalas and onion-garlic-ginger paste in the pan. Fry this mixture well, until you start to see oil leaving the sides of the paste. Add some chopped green chilies.

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5. Now take the soaked/boiled chole, remove the tea bags and add the beans into the pan, add very little (1/4 cup)water and stir well. Cook this for about 8-10 minutes. It helps to mash the beans (chana) a little, so the mixture binds well.  Cook till it gets a little dry.

6. Garnish with onion rings, lemon wedges and chopped cialntro. Enjoy with hot chapathis/naan/puris.

Verdict: This Punjabi chhole was finger-licking good!

Published in:  on June 27, 2009 at 3:29 pm Comments (6)
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Roasted Red Pepper Spread Sandwich

roasted red pepper subThis is a follow up to the recipe from yesterday on the Asparagus Soup. I served this sandwich along with the soup for lunch. Once again, this is inspired from Vegetarian Times, with a few changes. I didn’t use French baguettes but whole wheat subs. Also, I used regular cream cheese (not the vegan kind) and radish instead of radicchio and sweet and hot roasted red peppers, for some kick.

Ingredients:

  • 1 8-oz. container cream cheese, softened
  • 17-oz. jar roasted red peppers, drained well, finely chopped
  • 3 Tbs. finely minced onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (1 tsp.)
  • 2 18-inch whole wheat subs
  • 3/4 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
  • 12 romaine lettuce leaves
  • 2 cups thinly sliced radish

1. Mix the roasted red peppers, cream cheese, onion, and garlic in bowl.

2. Halve each sub lengthwise. Tear out some of center from bread to make space for fillings.

3. Spread cream cheese mixture on bottom halves of bread. Top with cucumber, lettuce, and radicchio, and cover with top half of bread. 

The verdict: The sandwich turned out a little too sweet for Girish and Nikhil’s liking. I think it was because I used the sweet and hot red peppers instead of the regular roasted pepper. Will I try this again for a lunch box recipe? Of course, but with the right kind of red pepper this time!

Published in:  on June 24, 2009 at 6:31 am Leave a Comment
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Asparagus Soup

asparagus soupThe last few weeks have been crazy..a rollercoaster of emotions, ups and downs..(mostly up thankfully!) amidst quite a bit of travelling. Girish and I have been cooking a lot, trying to take our mind off things. Weirdly enough, cooking has been our way to unwind. Many recipes have been tried, some a success, some not worthy to write anything about, but I have, as usual, a stash of recipes, and tons of pictures waiting to be posted. I suppose I’m not a fan of just starting off every post with “ingredients”. There’s almost always a story to every recipe or some other thought that makes this a journal. But the downside..I need to get used to rambling on my laptop as I experiment, and in doing so, be more frequent in posting.

So after over a month’s lapse , I wanted to share this Vegetarian Times recipe from last month’s issue. Asparagus is not a regular vegetable you’d find in my refrigerator, but the magazine did a great job of highlighting its benefits, and of course, our local farmer’s market did the needful in offering a discount of $1/bunch a couple of weeks ago. Perfect timing, I thought, as I put it in my shopping basket, only to forget about it for the next couple of days.  I’d like to know if this happens to everyone, but I often find myself going into a health food store with my head exploding with lunch box recipe ideas, health snacks to stash in my office drawer and the greenest of vegetables to experiment with. The minute I pay for my re-usable grocery bag brimming of healthful bounties, my short term (more like long term!)memory loss sets in. It’s often days and maybe weeks before I discover the rotten likes of romaine, green leaf, or even the fungal culture of what once used to be asparagus in my crisper.

Well, this time I was determined not to let that happen. It was weeks before I tried this asparagus soup recipe but I was “smart” enough to freeze the asparagus stems this time. I decided to try the soup and the Roasted Red Pepper Spread Sandiwch for lunch over the recent long weekend. Notice that I refrained from calling this “Fresh” Asparagus Soup unlike the title in the original source:)

Ingredients (serves 6) : 

  • 2 Tbs. unsalted butter or olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (1 cup)
  • 5 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 lb. fresh asparagus (36 to 40 medium-size spears), tips reserved, stalks cut into 1/2-inch pieces, divided
  • 1 tsp. dried thyme
  • 1/3 cup low-fat milk or heavy cream
  • 1 Tbs. lemon juice
  • 2 tsp. grated lemon zest

1. Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, and sauté 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Add broth, asparagus stalks, and thyme; bring to a boil. Reduce heat , cover pan, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes or until asparagus is tender.

3. Meanwhile, cook asparagus tips in salted water microwave for 1 minute. (The original recipe called for boiling but I think you get the same results in the microwave) Drain and rinse in cold water.

4. Blend the ingredients in the saucepan – asparagus, thyme, broth etc. in blender or food processor until smooth. Return to pan, and stir in milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature, garnished with asparagus tips.

Verdict: Could have done with a little more lemon zest. The soup is quite bland, so the lemon gives it just the right amount of tang. Will definitely make it again!

Published in:  on June 23, 2009 at 11:07 pm Comments (3)
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Lunchbox Series – “Subway” Style Veggie Sandwich

This is another of Nikhil’s lunch favs. This recipe was given to me by another gourmet cook friend of mine. I should probably start a section dedicated to Mona’s recipes here, but will do that with her permission and of course, after I get to binge on more of her food:) I am truly lucky to be surrounded by such gifted cooks!

Mona made this sandwich for one of our many get togethers and as with all her creations, it was an instant hit. The thing about Mona’s recipes is that they are usually whimsical– many of them are her own creative inspirations so I normally get a “throw in this and add that, and you’re done” for recipe directions.  Of course, you can’t go wrong with that for a sandwich so I called her one busy weekday morning as I’m sure she was scrambling to pack her kids’ lunches to ask for the recipe for Nikhil’s lunch. I realize that my timing was horrible and I was half expecting a snide comment, but she humored me anyway- bless her heart!

And so this veggie sandwich made it’s way into Nikhil’s lunch and also my lunchbox, and I have now added it to our weekly lunch box menus (that is, whenever I plan a weekly lunch menu). As you can tell from my frantic morning call to Mona, that doesn’t happen very often:)

Ingredients:

Whole wheat sub rolls or hoagie roll- halved or split open

Bell peppers – a few sliced rings

Red onions – a few sliced rings

Black or green olives – 2-3 sliced

Tomatoes – 2-3 slices

Sliced jalapenos (optional)

Green leaf lettuce – chopped

Vidalia onion dressing – 1 tbsp

Spicy Mustard – 1 tbsp

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Mix the vidalia onion dressing and the spicy mustard together. Spread this mixture on each side of the sliced hoagie roll or sub roll. Add the lettuce, bell pepper, onion, tomato, olives, jalapenos to one of the slices. You can also add some pickles if you like. Now place the other slice on top and press a little. Wrap tightly with a plastic wrap.

Add some orange slices, yoghurt covered pretzels and some (baked) chips for a hearty lunch. sub-sandwich-2

Published in:  on April 15, 2009 at 9:33 pm Comments (5)

“Nana’s” Banana Bread

Got this nice note from Sheela, my dear friend from Hyderabad who also happens to be a regular RKK reader (she doesn’t have a choice sometimes when I also call her to tell her about it ;) , RKK’s proof reader, critic and an eloquent freelance journalist in the very happening metroplex in India, Hyderabad. Here it is…

Read this in the Reader’s Digest.Thought I might share it with you.

Mariel Hemingway:

” I learned that less can be more, that pulling back is good, that slowly is okay. These beliefs are all contrary to our way of life where life is so full, busy and fast. We think that if we’re not doing something, we’re not valuable. Not true! I learned that making time for myself was vital to good health.
My other solace is Nature.
I’ve retained an appreciation for good food, but I’ve learned to serve meals from a place of love. We should cook good food because we care about the people we’re doing it for. It’s not about playing the gourmand.”

She suggested that she wanted to send this for the RKK anniversary but this was probably the best time for it.

Couldn’t have been more apt. For the last month, I’ve been nagged by guilt – the guilt of procrastination. I realize I haven’t been as prompt as I should in writing, as recipes and pictures keep piling up, waiting to get some life of their own. As much as I love poring through other blogs, this guilt has led me to almost be a little fearful to look at the other gourmet creations, fearful that the guilt will haunt me even more.

The words mentioned above make me take a deep breath and realize that this hobby of mine is more than recreating Amma’s recipes or visiting Anusuya’s kitchen or even packing Nikhil’s lunches…it’s about the satisfaction of dishing it out, on the table and in words, with love. It has to come from the heart and sometimes that only happens once or probably two or three times a month. It’s okay to stop and smell the roses, or the food once in a while.

Enough pontificating. This recipe is one that I’ve tried for many months with many variations and I finally think that it deserves to be shared here. I added the quotes to Nana since this recipe is adapted for one. The other reason is that Nana obviously means Grandma and I don’t call my grandmother “Nana”. She is “Paatti” to me. So maybe this should be renamed “Patti’s Banana Bread”. But my Paatti never really made banana bread. And so it will remain in quotes as an adapted recipe.

I’ve used eggs in this recipe after many attempts at making eggless kinds. Though I have to say one recipe from “Understocked Veggie Kitchen” penned by another good friend of mine is probably one of the best eggless variations I’ve tried.

This particular recipe calls for eggs and substituting it with Egg replacer or flax seeds or other variations doesn’t really give you the same results. If you do stick to the measurements and the ingredients, you get a really moist, flavorful bread.

Ingredients:

5 tbsps butter

1/2 cup organic natural sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 large egg

2 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups mashed, very ripe bananas

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (here I used half measure white flour and half measure whole wheat flour)

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup heavy cream (optional, you can also use milk)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray the bottom of a loaf pan with nonstick cooking sprat.

2. Beat butter in a large bowl with an electric mixer set at medium speed until light and fluffy.

3. Add sugar, brown sugar and beat well. Add egg, egg whites and vanilla; beat until well blended.

4. Add mashed banana, and beat on high speed for 30 seconds.

5. Combine flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Add flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with cream, ending with the flour mixture. Add walnuts to the batter and mix well.

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6. Pour the batter evenly into the loaf pan. Bake until browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. This will take approximately 1 hour 15 minutes.

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7. Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. Remove bread from the pan and cool completely. You can also wrap it in plastic wrap after it cools and leave it out overnight. It always tastes better the next day!

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Published in:  on April 10, 2009 at 10:57 pm Comments (3)
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Vatral Kuzhambu (Tamarind Stew/Soup with sundried vegetables)

This one is a toughie to translate into plain English. Once again, an authentic Tamil dish, Kuzhambu, which means a kind of stew or soup, and Vatral which refers to sun-dried vegetables, is a comfort food in my home.

But before I write about this recipe, let me back up. I almost forgot , but today marks the 1 year anniversary of Roz ka Khana! I am actually a little embarrassed to say that I almost forgot that it was our birthday. I mean, yes it was February last when I penned the Paruppu Rasam recipe, but I had to go back into the archives to look up the actual date. And maybe I am a little overwhelmed too thanks to my dear friends and readers who reminded me to go look up that date! Sheela, thank you for being such a sweetie and shaking me out of my doldrums with your cheery note.  Thanks for being such an ardent follower among everything else.

And I should also thank Anu of AnEmily’s Vegan Adventures for requesting this recipe. Anu, this was the perfect recipe for RKK’s one year anniversary. I don’t think I’m really a Tamil purist when it comes to recipes, but Tomato Paruppu Rasam (lentil and tomato soup) and Vatral Kuzhambu are the staple, comfort foods in my home, so what better way to pay my tribute to RKK than to post another favorite comfort food? While the Rasam is my staple recipe, this one is Girish’s. As I wrote earlier in the 2 month anniversary of this blog with Girish’s Curry leaves Soup (Karuvepillai Kuzhambu) recipe , he is the inspiration behind this blog. So here’s to Girish again for your love and support, and to all of you family and friends who have been contributing and following this food chatter so far….thank you.

Vatral Kuzhambu recipe (Tamarind Soup)

This is also called Pulusu in Andhra/Telugu lingo. As I mentioned in the Curry Leaves soup recipe, this tastes best in a kachitti or a stone vessel, especially when it’s a day old. If you don’t have this vessel, it can also be made in a regular pot or pan, but make sure to save some for the next day so it has had all the time to let the flavors of the sesame oil, the fenugreek and the vegetables sink in. Also, this recipe is not really true to its name as we did not add the sun-dried vegetables or vatral. The sun-dried vegetables are available as is in Indian stores. We did not add it here since the onions have such a strong flavor that you can make this soup without the vatral. The real reason also was that we didn’t have enough vatral handy:). You can also call this recipe Vengaya Vatral Kuzhambu (Tamarind Soup with baby Onions)

Ingredients:

(I don’t have too many pictures to post for this one. I inadvertently erased some of the colorful ingredient pictures that I took  as I was transferring the pictures to my computer. As soon as I’m done poring through the 2500 photos on my hard drive in a desperate attempt to find them, I will try to update this post with better pictures.)

A large lemon sized ball of tamarind (enough to make about 2 cups of tamarind juice)

1/2 cup pink baby onions or shallots

2 tbsp fenugreek seeds

2 tbsp sesame oil

2 tsp vatral kuzhambu podi (I get this from India, but you can also use Sambar powder that is available in Indian grocery stores – MTR Madras Sambar powder). Alternatively you can find the recipe here.

2 sprigs of curry leaves

6-7 green chilies (the Thai variety)

a pinch asafetida ( we use a brand called SSP that we have only found in India but you can use any brand. SSP is in the granule form instead of powder and we use about 3-4 granules for a good strong aroma )

1. Heat the sesame oil in the kachitti or the stone vessel.

2. When it starts to smoke a little, add the fenugreek seeds, lower the flame and let the seeds get dark brown and oil starts to smoke again.

3. Add the asafetida. Add the kozhambu powder (podi).

4. Add the shallots, curry leaves, green chilies and the sun-dried vegetables (vatral) if available here. Fry till medium brown.

5. Add the tamarind juice and salt.

6. Let the mixture boil on a low flame for 10-15 minutes until the soup starts to thicken a little. You can also add a small amount (half a tsp)of jaggery (crystallized brown sugar) here for an added taste. If the soup is too watery, you can add a little rice flour and water made into a paste to thicken it. But if you let it boil enough, you may not need this step at all.

7. Serve with hot white or brown rice and ghee (clarified butter) with a side of paruppu (boiled and mashed lentils).

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Published in:  on March 1, 2009 at 11:39 pm Comments (7)

Lunchbox Series – Veggie Burger

I’ve tried almost all the frozen vegetable burgers available in grocery stores here..Morningstar Farms, Boca, Amy’s, but none come close to the “veggie patty” burger that I was used to growing up.  I’ve also realized that one reason why most hamburger eaters think that veggie burgers are “gross” is probably cos they are. They are often dry, hard as a rock, with processed fake meats holding them together. Most of the brands I mentioned above were staple when I was in school here, only because I didn’t have the time to look for anything different or make one from scratch and were my only go-by for a meatless option, hard to find in most college town fast food joints.

Veggie burgers are a pretty common feature in the Indian fast food restaurant menus and one of my favorite food growing up, so it was no wonder that I was looking for a similar texture and taste in the frozen section. Amy’s California burger came close to the taste …at least it didnt have the heavy soy taste that the others did. But it didn’t pass the lunchbox test. The dryness came back once the burger cooled. I tried making my own, and that worked, but again, making a whole batch of them to use in lunches was a lot of work, so the quest for that perfect frozen burger was still on. And then I found one in Costco. It was recommended to me by a friend when we had a veggie barbecue party at home, and was such a hit, that it’s been staple in my refrigerator ever since. Carrots, bell peppers, potatoes and other veggies make up this burger, and it’s best served grilled. Manufactured by Don Lee Farms, they have a range of meat and meat free products. The best part is, that it doesn’t dry out, probably because it’s thinner, uses vegetables as the biding agent, and doesn’t have the fake meat.

Nikhil, my 7 year old food critic loved it too, so it made it’s way into his laptop lunch, of course! Grilled veggie patty, served on a wheat kaiser roll, with organic hummus,  lettuce, swiss cheese , onion and tomato make this a very wholesome lunchbox staple. Add a banana, some salad greens and yoghurt and you have a nutritous and wholesome lunch.

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Published in:  on February 9, 2009 at 10:39 am Comments (4)
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