Healthy Paneer Butter Masala (Indian Cottage Cheese in Tomato-Cashew Gravy)
Panneer Butter Masala conjures up this image of a rich butter based gravy with equally rich chunks of paneer or Indian cottage cheese and heavy whipping cream as garnish. Healthy paneer butter masala does sound like an oxymoron.
I use the word healthy to describe this recipe from Girish as it doen’t call for an ounce of butter or ghee (clarified butter). It uses cashew paste as the base for the gravy and, yes, more importantly, does not use any whipping cream. The best part is that you don’t compromise on the taste at all. You still get a creamy, yummy paneer “butter” masala, without the butter. Girish made this over the last long weekend and it was the perfect accompaniment to hot chapathis and stuffed bitter melon (bharwan karela). This recipe is inspired from the Sanjeev Kapoor version though it has been tweaked enough to call it an original Girish version:)
Ingredients:
Cottage cheese (paneer), cut into cup – 2 cups
Oil – 3 tbsp
Cloves – 3
Cinnamon – 1 stick
Dried red chillies – 5 (if you want it to be less spicy, use fewer)
Coriander seeds, crushed – 4 tablespoons
Green cardamom seeds – 1/2 tsp
Onion , sliced – 1 medium
Fresh Ginger sliced into 1″ strips – 3-5
Garlic – 4 pods
Tomatoes, chopped – 5-6 medium
Cashews – 1 cup
Salt to taste
Kasoori methi , crushed (dried fenugreek)- 2 teaspoon
METHOD:
1. Grind the cardamom seeds, red chilies and coriander seeds to a fine dry powder.
2. Take 2 tbsp oil in a heavy bottom vessel (kadai), add cloves, cinnamon stick. When this gets heated and gives out an aroma, add garlic and ginger strips.
3. When this cooks, add sliced onions, and saute till the raw smell goes away, and it becomes light pink in color.
4. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook well till the oil separates.
5. In the meanwhile, take the cashews in a blender and blend it to fine paste with some water. If you have a powerful blender (like a Vitamix), you may not need to add water.
6. Cool the onion tomato mixture a little and transfer this mixture to the blender containing the cashew paste. Make a fine puree of the tomatoes, onions and cashews.
7. Take the remaining oil in a kadai again, add some of the kasuri methi and add the paneer pieces. Fry till the paneer is slightly golden brown, not too fried.
8. Take out the paneer and keep it separately.
9. Add the tomato taste and cook while stirring, till the paste begins to boil, and the raw taste of cashews goes away. Add the red chili, coriander, cardamom powder here, and mix well.
10. Heat for a few minutes more, add the paneer and continue to cook for 3-5 minutes.
Grilled Corn with Cilantro-Chili-Lemon
Happy 4th of July to all! It’s been an annual tradition (at least for the last 3 of the 5 years that we have been in Dallas:) to celebrate this day and the middle of summer with a picnic with our near and dear friends. We venture out to the greens with coolers, chairs, blankets, hats, sunscreen, bug spray and of course, the yummy treats doled out of all our kitchens and theirs. It’s more of a potluck, and there’s almost always something new to try and taste. I usually pick up something from the local store as it’s always a last minute trip after running a gazillion errands on Sunday afternoon. But since the 4th fell on a Monday this year, it somehow felt a little more relaxed. I thought I would make something at home for a change:) I wanted to try this dish I had seen in the July issue of the Real Simple magazine as it seemed easy enough, and I added some of my own seasoning to this recipe, which was quite the hit with the group. This dish is a tangy take on the simple grilled corn and served in bite-sized portions which makes it even easier on the palate.
Ingredients
Corn, husked and cleaned – 10
Olive oil – 2 tbsp (you can also use olive oil flavored with chili flakes for added spice)
Black pepper – 2 tsp
Salt to taste
Chopped fresh cilantro – 1 1/2 cups
Lime or Lemon juice – 1/2 cup
Garlic flakes, crushed – 2 tsp
Thai green chili, crushed (optional) – 2 tsp
Chaat masala, optional – 2 tsp (available in Indian stores)
Method:
1. Heat grill to about 350F
2. Mix the olive oil (I used flavored chili olive oil) with the salt, and garlic flakes.
3. Brush this mixture over the corn and place on the grill for about 10-15 minutes till done.
4. In a separate mixing bowl, mix the lemon or lime juice, cilantro, thai green chili, a little more salt to taste, chaat masala and combine.
5. Cut the grilled corn into about 5-6 pieces each. Toss in the mixing bowl and mix with the lemon-chili-cilantro mixture.
6. Serve with lime wedges and more cilantro for added garnish.
This post is spicy hot….
And no, this is not some cheap trick to make you look and read this post:). I’m talking about the spiciest pepper in the world, Bhut Jolakia or the ghost pepper. We happened to taste Amma’s and Anusuya’s Pacchai Milagai Thokku or green serrano and thai pepper (chili) chutney last week. The lunch conversation turned into a discussion around the spiciest pepper in the world. Did you know, for instance, that the Bhut Jolakia has over 800k to a million scovil units, the units used to measure the hotness in pepper? And that it’s three times more spicy than habanero pepper, which I always thought was the spiciest pepper I had had.
And you know by now, that we are a family that loves spicy food, from my 9 year old to my 75 year old mother-in-law:). So this conversation was enough to get the taste buds and curiosity stirred to look for this pepper in the local stores.
It may have been sheer coincidence but we were out shopping at Central Market that same day and Nikhil spotted this exact pepper in the produce aisle. I wasn’t expecting to find this so soon, and was amused that our conversation had fascinated Nikhil enough to look for it as well. This wasn’t the fresh but the dried ghost pepper, and the warning on the package was enough to tell us this was the right one indeed:)
We got right down to making Milagai Thokku with some serrano peppers and the ghost pepper. We used serrano only to balance the spice since one ghost pepper was said to be enough to get steam out of your ears:), but if you’re more courageous, try this chutney with thai chili peppers instead. I also think I would try to use fresh ghost pepper instead of the dry one. My only complaint with the dried pepper was that it had a slight smoky, almost chipotle pepper like taste that in my opnion, skewed the taste to a Tex-mex Milagai chutney instead:)
Ingredients:
1/2 pound serrano chilies, finely chopped
2 dried ghost peppers, soaked in hot water for about 15 minutes
Tamarind paste – 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Sesame or til oil – 2 tbsp (you need the oil to preserve this chutney for a few days)
Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
Asafetida, crushed or powdered – 1/2 tsp
Method:
1. Grind the chopped serrano peppers, ghost pepper, tamarind and salt in a grinder to a fine paste. Make sure you don’t ad any water to this paste. The salt will help liquefy it.
2. Heat oil in a heavy bottom vessel (kadai) and when hot, add the mustard seeds and asafetida.
3. Add the ground paste and fry in the hot oil.
4. You will need to fry for about 10 minutes or so while stirring occasionally, till the oil appears around the sides of the chutney. The color of the chutney will also change from bright green to about greenish-brown.
5. Cool and transfer to an air tight vessel.
6. You can enjoy this with dosa, idli, rice or just about any Indian dish!
Chayote Squash Chutney (Chow Chow Chutney)
Chayote Squash or Chow Chow as it is called in south India is quite a versatile vegetable, at least by the different dishes that South Indians make with it. Chow Chow Koottu, or stew, Sambar, and of course Thuvaiyal or Chutney. I’m sure there are various other dishes for this native Mexican vegetable so if there are others you know of, do send them my way.
Amma has been experimenting with recipes lately as she collects them from watching Indian TV shows or as she browses through her favorite Tamil magazines online, Mangaiyar Malar, Thendral etc so this was one of her very successful experiments. I’ve made this chutney before but this was a much tangier, spicier version that i will try again.
The interesting note about this recipe is that you may substitute the Chayote with any other vegetable, eggplant, tindora (dondakkaya) or ivy gourd, ridged gourd etc.
Ingredients:
Chayote squash, peeled and cubed – 1
Red onion – 1/2
Garlic pods – 2-3
Thai green chilies – 5, sliced
Shredded coconut – 2 tbsp
Dry red chilies – 3
Tamarind paste – 1 tsp
Chopped cilantro – 1/2 cup
Olive oil – 2 tbsp
Methord:
1. Heat the oil in a fry pan. Add the dry red chilies and saute lightly for about 1 minute.
2. Now add the chhopped onion, green chilies, garlic and saute for another 2 minutes.
3. Now add the chopped chayote squash pieces, salt and mix well.
4. Add the coconut, and chopped cilantro and cook till the chayote gets soft but not mushy.
5. Cool the mixture a little. Then grind all the above in a blender without adding any water to a coarse mixture. Make sure to check that it’s not ground too much, and so that pieces of the onion and chayote are still visible. The chunks add to the taste.
6. Enjoy with some hot rice and ghee (clarified butter):)
Notes from a dreamy and yes, a gastronomical vacation…
We just returned from a 7 day cruise in the Western Mediterranean…7 days of blue and sunny skies, sun-kissed sands, gourmet food, pampering, lounging on the magnificient Meditteranean Sea with stops in Florence, Naples, Rome, Palma Mallorca. The best part, no phones, no laptops and no access to the world. I dont remember the last time we had ever done that in our grown up lives. I did have some Facebook and Twitter withdrawals as I would have loved to tweet and check in to the amazing places we visited, but in the larger scheme of things, I was so more relaxed and calmer that this was an eye opener in many senses. To top it all, this was all in Spain and Italy, a feast not just for the eyes but for all the senses and for the foodies out there. As you can imagine, this was as much a vacation as it was a culinary fest. Tapas in Spain, Limoncello in Sorrento, Pizza and Gnocchi in Naples with Tiramisu and “Baba”…I was in food heaven.
Our first stop in Madrid was at this vegetarian restaurant called Artemisa. Great reviews from Frommer and Chow hound placed this at the top of my list. Let’s just say it wasn’t a great start to our holiday. They had sime interesting dishes like quinoa burgers and eggplant lasagna like contraptions which were edible. The quinoa burger caught my attention as I thought it was a unique and creative way to use quinoa as an appetizer and in a sandwich. But overall the food was bland and quite overpriced. Almost €100 for the five of us which by far was the most expensive meal during the course of our trip.
Quinoa Burger at Artemisa, an all vegetarian restaurant in Madrid
After a day’s stay in Madrid we reached Barcelona, the city of Picasso, Gaudi, the Segrada Familia, Montesserat, and the Tibidabo. We didn’t get to see all the sights in two days of course, but we did walk around the city to take in the local smells, and tastes. The Market at La Rambla, La Bouqueria was one such. To describe this market on thier own words, “La Boqueria is a gastronomic temple, a place that congregates all the phases in the food chain, from the producers, harvesters, butchers and fishmongers who provide the food, to the individual and professional clients who wander through this magnificent, characteristic maze of traders in charge of the market stalls.”
The pictures don’t do much justice to the lively ambience that exuded from the local markets.
Entrance to La Bouqueria, Barcelona
We boarded the cruise from Barcelona and the first stop after being at sea was in the “architectural” city of Pisa and Florence or Firenze as the locals call it. I don’t mean to be satirical when I use the word architecture and Pisa in one sentence, but we heard an interesting anecdote about the city of Pisa as we were being driven by our driver/guide. Pisa is a University town as the University of Pisa is widely known for its academic excellence. However there is one course that is not offered in this University and that is architecture. Apparently after the Leaning Tower of Pisa became the way it stands today (which is due to the shifting nature of the soil in this part of Tuscany), they decided that architecture was not the city’s panache and excluded the course from the University’s list:). I don’t know if the guide was just being glib but it was an amusing tidbit for a city so well known for its landmark.
I don’t have much to say about Firenze’s culinary offerings and not because there isn’t any, we just didn’t pick the right place to go to eat..the margherita pizza we had in Florence was worse than one I’d had in Texas:) Gelato, however, was amazing. So we knew it wasn’t Florence…it was just our choice of restaurant. The next stop was Rome, and all I can say is that, we didn’t do justice to Rome in one day. There is so much to this city that I will leave any description of Rome and of course it’s culinary delights to a separate post, when we visit Rome again:)
Naples, Sorrento and Positano, our next stops were one of the most beautiful and breathtaking sights as we drove alongside the Amalfi coastline. We stopped at Sorrento and walked through its bustling little street markets that boasted of everything from culinary treasures, olives, olilve oil, pesto, the famous limoncello, and everything else lemon, to clothing and jewelry.
A Lemon Specialty store in Sorrento
Pizza in Naples was actually an itinerary on our list, which we made quite clear to our driver/guide. I’ve got to say he was not only very resourceful but very observant… he obviously knew where to take us. We were driven to this apparently famous restuarant in Naples that sits by the Naples port, Antonio & Antonio, famous for its woodfire grilled pizza, gnocchi and dessert.
I’ve got to admit, this was THE highlight of our trip. I’ve never tasted as fresh a buffalo mozzarella and margharita pizza as this one before. We noticed the Mayor of Napoli (as the locals call the city) exiting this restaurant as we were arriving so we knew we had “arrived” as well:) This wasn’t a very fancy restaurant but had some elegance, nevertheless. Our driver/guide did very well with this recommendation and this was enough for us to tip him well. Can you tell we are all a bunch of foodies in this family?:) Bruschetta, Buffalo Mozzarella Caprese-like dish, and of course Pizza Margherita. We topped this off with their famous melt-in-your-mouth Tiramisu and the famous “baba”.
Napoli Baba
I had not tasted ”baba” before until now and am hooked. These are sponge cake like brioches in syrup ( reminded me slightlyof tres leches but even better) of either rum or limoncello. The one we had at Antonio & Antonio was more like a limoncello syrup and was heavenly. This was by far our best pizza in Italy and probably my best Margherita ever so far.
And that brings me to the end of this long post on this scrumptious note to savor the flavors that we had experienced. This was definitely a sampler of Europe’s finest gastronomic trips, only to leave us yearning for more. I’m already thinking about a longer vacation to Rome and Naples to take in everything else it has to offer, the sights, the smells and the exquisite tastes.
Mother’s Day Brunch @ Sutra in Dallas
A very Happy Mom’s day (slightly belated) to all those wonderful loving mothers out there! How did you celebrate this Mother’s Day?
Sutra is the newest Indian restaurant in town owned by the now famous Indian born Dallas chef Vijay Sadhu. I write this with no bias and despite the fact that Chef Sadhu happens to be a good friend of ours and we have been following his restaurant stints ever since he moved to Dallas a few years ago. All I can say is that Vijay Sadhu continues to excel. We have visited Sutra about 3 times now as a family since it opened in February and I’ve been a couple of times from work for lunch, and that says a lot:) There is a dearth of good Indian restaurants in Dallas and Plano, specifically, where Sutra is located and I believe this one is here to stay.
So for Mother’s day, we decided to head to Sutra for their first Mother’s Day lunch/brunch. This was an occasion where Nikhil had two generations to celebrate with, so he and dad decided to take me and my mom out to lunch.
Sutra’s decor is minimalist yet modern, an open kitchen where you can see tandoor bread and kababs being made. You don’t hear the usual sitar or Bollywood music but a more techno vibe. So not your usual Indian ambience, quite fitting for the area it is located in within the Shops at Legacy. An impressive bar greets you as you enter and the cocktails feature a full array of interesting names – Bollywood Martini, Sutra, Jaipur, Tamarind Margarita.
Mother’s Day Lunch included a 3 course menu with champagne for $15.95. A very reasonable price point for all the items included, probably the best price in the area. Appetizer, Salad, Entree and dessert.
We started off with the Cauliflower Kathmandu, the appetizer which has become a staple already. This is the third time I’m trying this Cauliflower Manchurian inspired dish – cauliflower sauted with Asian inspired spices. The spice level was just right for us, and of course, Vijay does know that we love our food spicy:)
The salad came next – mixed greens with mango kachumber and cardamamom vinegerette. Interesting taste though I couldn’t quite taste the dressing. The combination of raw mango pieces with ripe ones added an interesting flavor though.
So far so good. We were already nodding in approval and the entree hadn’t arrived yet. There were a choice of 3 vegetarian entrees to choose from the lunch menu that day – Lauki Lazeez, Baby eggplant with gravy and Malai Kofta. Since we were five of us we ordered all three. Nikhil, being the “brat” he is, asked for Dal Makhni. Yeah, right, was my response…stick to the menu. To my and of course, his pleasant surprise, Chef Sadhu suggested he could get him a sampler of his dal, menu or not. I was impressed though I did mutter that he was spoiling my son. And I do want to add that I’m not mentioning this here to imply that you can go in to Sutra and expect to be catered to your whim every day, I’m sure there is a reason why they have a menu, but it exemplified the great service we got from the Chef.
We had tasted the Hyderebadi eggplant and the Malai Kofta before, and they were great, but the Lauki Lazeez and the Dal were the highlights. I mentioned to Chef Sadhu that I was going back to try the Dal again when it was a regular on his menu:). Flavorful and authentic would be the two words to describe the food thus far.
The best was yet to come. We had a choice of two desserts – kulfi with mango sauce and falooda noodles and a “bread pudding”.
I decided to be adventurous and try the bread pudding and I can safely say that this was the best adventurous decision I have made. In my humble opinion, this “double ka meetha” inspired dessert with saffron cream sauce and caramelized sugar topping was one of the best tasting Indian desserts I have had in a while. I had to take a picture of this as soon as it was garnished by the Chef himself.
Overall, a truly satisfying Mother’s Day lunch and a fitting way to celebrate. We would definitely go back to Sutra again.
Achaari Karela (Tangy Spicy Bitter melon)
As I typed the translation in english for Achaari Karela, I realized that this dish packed in almost all the flavors you can find in food – spicy, tangy and bitter. Flavors of life? Probably our thoughts too?
Before I begin to sound philosophical, the last few weeks have been a rollercoaster of emotions. A high as India lifted that world cup after 28 long years – the euphoria, the amazement and the exhaustion from staying up 9 long but nail biting hours to watch match after match. I think I had what I may call “cricket jet lag” for lack of a better word. But it was all so worth it. I am a little late in celebrating that victory here at RKK, but the excitement still lingers. Jai Ho!
Then it’s been some low, a lull from travels and long hours that added to that jet lag, which sort of explains my silence and possibly that philosophical streak:)
But it has been good to see Girish back in the kitchen after months. It probably stemmed from that euphoria of watching India live in Wankhede (that kept his spirits at a high and in getting back to cooking after ages. Either ways, it was a welcome break for all of us. Girish made this dish after trying it at Kiran’s in Houston. I’ve got to say that for a recipe that was derived half from hearsay (from Kiran herself:) and half observation, this was pretty darn good.
Ingredients:
Fennel seeds – 3 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1 tsp
Ginger – 2 inch cut into thin strips
Aamchur (Dried mango powder) – 2 tsp
Red chili powder – 1-2 tsp; as needed depending on spice level
Salt to taste
Bitter melon – cut into 1/2 inch pieces; seeds removed if needed
Milk – 1 cup diluted in 1/2 cup water
Aam ka achaar or Mango pickle, Punjabi style (aachar panchrangi, found in Induan stores) – 2 tbsp
Method:
1. Cut the bittermelon into 1/2 inch pieces. You may remove the seeds if you don’t like the bitter taste of the melon. I retained some of it as it adds to the overall flavor, in my opinion.
2. Soak the pieces in a bowl of milk for upto 2 hours at least. This helps add some softness to the melons and also removes the overwhelming bitter taste.
3. Drain the milk after 2 hours, and keep the pieces aside.
4. Take some oil (about 1 tbsp) in a heavy bottomed vessel or kadhai, and after the oil is hot, add the fennel seeds. Saute for about a minute and then add the cumin seeds.
5. When you begin to get an aroma, in about another minute, add the ginger strips and saute again for a minute.
6. Now add the bittermelon pieces and mix well. Cook, covered on a medium low flame for about 10 minutes until the bittermelon is half cooked. This step takes time, as the melons may take some time to cook so you may need to keep watch amd cook a little longer if needed.
7. Now add some of the oil from the achaar, the aamchur powder and red chili powder and salt. Mix again and cook, covered for another 3-5 minutes.
8. Add the tbsp of achaar (mango pieces), mix and cook again for another 3 minutes. The bittermelon should be completely cooked by now and mixed well with the achaar.
9. Serve hot with hot rotis and/or rice and dal.
Bombay Halwa
I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of making Indian sweets. I LOVE to bake and have this bias in my head that baking something is not only healthier but also faster. And this isn’t news but I’m all about the word “faster” first and yes, healthier, next, in that order:)
Amma, on the other hand, is all about patience and taking that extra effort to conjure up the delish Indian desserts, . Notice I said I was not a huge fan of MAKING Indian sweets, not of eating them:) I have a notorious sweet tooth so its just perfect that Amma loves to experiment with desserts and I love to eat them.
Bombay Halwa always conjures up nostalgic images of the famous Bombay Halwa sweet-ery at Secunderabad/Hyderabad. The bright orange colored gooey sweets that are so famous for being conversation stoppers – the sticky desserts that they are. And so, Amma got this recipe from a show on Jaya TV..I don’t recall the name but was quite impressed with the recipe and the outcome. This one is something I would try…it’s simple and quick!
Ingredients
Sago – 1 cup soaked for 4 hours
Sugar – 1 cup
Ghee or clarified butter or brown butter – 1/2 cup
Cashews – 1 tbsp; roasted or lightly fried until golden brown
Crushed cardamom – 1/4 to 1/2 tsp
Ground nutmeg – 1/4 tsp
Saffron – a few strands soaked in warm milk
Food coloring – a few drops, optional (if using saffron, you may not need this)
Method:
1. Grind the soaked sago to a fine paste. The paste will resemble a gummy white mush.
2. Take a skillet or a heavy bottom pan, add the sugar, add about 1/2 cup water to this, and stir on a low heat.
3. The sugar will dissolve and begin to boil and get frothy.
4. Keep stirring the mixture until the water starts to evaporate a little; put a drop of the liquid between your thumb and forefinger and when you press your fingers and release, you should see a single “thread” of the sugary syrup. This is the test to indicate that the syrup is ready for mixing the paste.
5. Now add the white sago paste to the sugar syrup and continue to mix well, until it homogenizes. Add saffron strands soaked in milk here or the food coloring.
6. Add 1 tbsp of ghee and stir well. Keep stirring, adding the remaining ghee until you begin to see the mixture leave the sides of the pan and form a glistening gelatinous mixture or a “halwa like” consistency.
7. Add the cardamom and nutmeg powder and mix again.
8. Pour the mixture on to a greased plate or thaali and allow to cool. You may also garnish the halwa now with the roasted or fried cashews.
9. Once cool, cut into pieces and serve.
Indian Cooking Challenge – Gujarati Dal
I have been slacking again, and to be honest, nothing very inspiring has come along. I’ve tried a few dishes here and there over the last few weeks but didn’t have much to write home about, literally speaking. You know I’ve had that Indian Cooking Challenge badge for months now, and I’ve been following Srivalli of the Indian Cooking Challenge but never really got down to trying any of the challenges, for whatever reasons. I’m not making much sense, I know and am frankly running out of excuses too.
But I did glance at some of her past challenges and something I caught was probably inspiring enough to get me started again. I do have a weakness for Gujarati food, so the title is what got me going this time. This is about one month too late, though so I’m not submitting this post for the challenge but I did try:)
This recipe was apparently adapted from Sukham Ayu by Jigyasa Giri and Pratibha Jain.
Ingredients:
Split red gram (Toor dal) ½ cup
Turmeric powder ½ tsp
Dry soft kokam 4-5 pieces
Hard dry dates (optional) 4, halved
Drumstick 4-5 pieces, 2 inch length
Groundnuts 1 tbsp
Green chillies 2, slit
Ginger 1 inch piece, chopped fine
Coriander powder 2 tsp
Cumin powder 1 tsp
Garam masala (refer tip, p. 49) ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves to garnish
Powdered rock salt to taste
The tempering
Butter or ghee 2 tsp
Mustard seeds ½ tsp
Fenugreek seeds ¼ tsp
Cumin seeds ½ tsp
Dry red chillies 2
Asafoetida powder ¼ tsp
Curry leaves 5-6
1. Wash and soak red gram for half an hour. Pressure-cook in 2 cups water along with turmeric to a soft consistency. Churn well.
2. Pour the churned gram into a thick bottomed pan and add all the ingredients (except garam masala, coriander leaves and tempering). Add 1 cup water and allow to simmer over low flame for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. In a wok, heat ghee for tempering. Pop the mustard and then add the fenugreek. Reduce flame and with the browning of the fenugreek, add cumin, red chillies, asafoetida powder and curry leaves.
4. Pour this tempering into the simmering dal. Allow to boil for another 5 minutes. Switch off flame and garnish with garam masala and fresh coriander leaves.
Serve with hot rice or chapathis.
I skipped the jaggery in this recipe and just used the dates. This dal is sweet so if you don’t care for the tangy sweetness you can skip the dates too.
Purple Cabbage and Green Apple Salad
Do you ever have one of those days when you’re out grocery shopping at a health food store like a Whole Foods or Sprouts Farmer’s Market and you load your cart with all sorts of greens and colorful fruits and veggies beacuse, well…you really want to stick to the 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day, like um..you are supposed to. You plan all these menus in your head for the week and you leave the store almost an inch taller and a pound lighter, imagining all the inches lost with the healthy menu you have planned for the family:) Until you realize that it was all in your head…the week has gone by, the fruits are getting mealy and the veggies are shriveled, and your menu well, is still in your head.
Unless, of course, you have foodie friends, like mine who go the extra mile of sharing their favorite recipes which inspire you to actually bring those menus to life. Thanks, Aparna L, for sharing this very colorful and scrumptious recipe of yours, which truly inspired me not to just visit Whole Foods but draft an entire week’s menu of leafy greens and colorful fruits. This was a part of Monday’s (today’s) dinner but I hope to stick to this planning for the rest of the week too.
Ingredients
1/4 purple cabbage shredded
1/4 green cabbage shredded
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 small de- seeded red capsicum, chopped into fine long shreds
1/2 small de-seeded green capsicum, fine long shreds
1 green apple, chopped into long 1 inch long pieces, with skin intact
2 medium sized Persimmons (optional)
1/4 cup dry roasted peanuts (crushed after roasting), add extra if you like the crunch
Dressing
1/4 cup Orange juice
salt, to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 – 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Method
Mix all the shredded vegetables in a salad bowl. Mix the ingredients for the dressing with the salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add this to the vegetables just before serving. Enjoy the crunchy, tangy, slightly spicy, slightly sweet salad!
