No Yogurt Pulissery

Pink Pineapple Pulissery

Pulissery is a quintessential Kerala dish, made for Onam. When we visited Kerala a few years ago, we rented a houseboat and the chef onboard made us a feast of Pineapple Pulissery, aviyal, cabbage and peas thoran, beans upperi and red rice. Finger licking good!!!

Unfortunately, I am intolerant to dairy and yogurt is a key ingredient for pulissery (for the ‘puli’ or tangy sourness that is required to counterbalance the sweetness of the pineapple). So when I wanted to make it with some extra pink pineapple (yes, PINK), I had to think of alternatives that would get us the same tangy sourness. My mom makes aviyal with raw mangoes for the same reason so I thought I would give that a try, and also use tomatoes.

What You Need

2 Cups of cubed pineapple

2 Tomatoes, diced

1 cup of frozen green Chana

2 tsp vegetable or coconut oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp fenugreek seeds

5-6 curry leaves

1 dried red chilly

Salt to taste

For the paste:

1 cup of grated coconut

4 green Chillies

1 tsp of cumin seeds

3-4 pieces of frozen green mangoes

Water, as needed

How It’s Done

1. Heat the oil in a thick bottomed pan. Once hot, add mustard seeds.

2. When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the fenugreek seeds, dried red chilly broken into bits and curry leaves. Let cook in the oil till the fenugreek seeds are fragrant, add turmeric powder, and cook for another 1/2 a minute

3. Now add the pineapple and the tomatoes, and mix. Cook for 5 minutes, and then add water, enough to just cover the pineapple chunks.

4. Grind the ingredients for the pasted into a smooth chutney like consistency.

5. After about 10 minutes of simmering, the pineapple should be fork tender, and the tomatoes should be cooked down. Add the paste, salt to taste and stir.

6. Add the frozen green Chana and simmer for another 5 – 7 minutes till the flavors all meld and combine. The raw taste of coconut should go away, and the pineapple should be soft enough to cut with a spoon. At that stage, the dish is ready.

Serve hot with rice or quinoa. The tomatoes add more body to this as compared to the original – the tangy sourness is spot on despite not having any yogurt…a very solid vegan pulissery!

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Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

The inspiration here was to make a vegetarian version of the classic, with Indian flavors, for the quarantine cravings of home 🙂

What you need

For the Base Lentil layer

1. 2 cups Moth dal (or other whole lentils such as green lentils, French lentils etc.) cooked
2. 2 Celery stalks, diced
3. 1/2 cup of diced carrots
4. 2 small tomatoes, diced with juices
5. 1 tbsp minced fresh ginger
6. 6 cloves of garlic
7. 1/2 tsp turmeric
8. 2 tsp coriander powder
9. 1 tbsp of Parsi Sambhar Masala (or regular Sambar masala)
10. 1 dried lemon (or 2 tsp of dried mango powder)
11. 2 tbsp vegetable oil
12. 1 inch Indian cinnamon
13. 2 black cardamom
14. 2 cups of water
15. 1 tbsp coconut flour

For the Greens and Beets layer

1. 1 bunch of mustard greens, chopped
2. 1 yellow beet chopped
3. 1/2 an onion, diced
4. 1 tbsp coconut oil
5. 1 tsp onion seeds

For the Potato layer

1. 2 baking potatoes, steamed w salt
2. 1/2 cup coconut cream
3. 1-2 cups of hot water as needed
4. Salt and pepper
5. 1 leek, finely chopped
6. 1 Thai chile finely chopped
7. 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
8. 1 tsp of cumin
9. 1/2 tsp of turmeric

How it’s done

Lentils

Heat a Dutch oven and hear the vegetable oil. Add the cinnamon and lightly smashed black cardamom.

Once the spices are infused in the oil, add the diced celery and ginger and sauté for a couple of minutes.

Mince the garlic with a garlic press and add to cook for a few minutes till the raw smell is gone.

Now add the carrot and sauté for a couple of minutes to soften

Add the tomatoes and let cook down to a mush. Now add the spice powders and let them meld into the sauce.

Add the lentils, dried lemon (pierced) and water and mix and let come to a boil. Add salt to taste and let simmer 10-15 minutes.

Add the coconut flour and mix when you turn off the heat.

Greens and Beets

While the lentils are simmering, heat a pan or wok and add the coconut oil.

Once the oil is hot, add the onion seeds which will begin to crackle pretty quickly. Add diced onions and sauté a couple of minutes.

I typically use the stems of the greens as well and they take longer to cook so usually go in along with the onions. Sauté till the stems are partly cooked.

Now add the diced beets (I typically microwave them so they are par cooked) and mix and let cook for 4 minutes.

Add the chopped mustard greens and mix. Once wilted, add salt and pepper to taste.

Cover and let this cook – will take about 10 minutes for the greens and the beets to all be cooked

Potato

1. When you get started on the greens, set the potatoes (cut into cubes) in the microwave with a little bit of water and salt to cook for 5-6 minutes.
2. Take the cooked potatoes (check that they are fork tender) and start mashing them, adding hot water and coconut cream.
3. Mash and mix, tasting for salt, till it’s creamy and fluffy
4. Heat coconut oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and turmeric.
5. Once the cumin seeds crackle, add the leeks and the green Chile, add salt to taste and let cook till the leeks are done
6. Mix in with the potatoes

Layering and baking

• Preheat the oven to 375 at the conversation oven setting
• Oil a lasagna pan. You need a somewhat deep baking dish for this.
• Remove the cinnamon stick, black cardamom and dried lemon from the lentils. Add the lentils to the baking dish as the base layer
• Then later the green and beet
• Top with the potato mash, spreading evenly.
• Bake for 20 minutes or so until you see the tops browning and sides bubbling
• Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Enjoy!!

Roasted Eggplant and Bell pepper with Kale

Indian restaurants serving North Indian cuisine typically have a dish called Baingan Bharta. This dish is made with roasted eggplant stewed with onions and tomatoes spiced with garam masala, the quintessential spice mix for North Indian dishes.   A parallel can be drawn to babaghanoush, its middle eastern cousin, which is also made of roasted eggplant – but the similarities end there.  While I don’t know the genesis of baingan bharta, my hypothesis is that the dish came to India with the Mughals and took its own spicy form in India.  My version is simple in its flavors and does not use many spices, relying on the flavors of the vegetables and aromatics to shine through. 

What You Need

1. 1 large eggplant
2. 1 red bell pepper
3. 3 medium sized tomatillos
4. 1 bunch kale 
5. 3 cloves of garlic
6. 1 inch piece of fresh ginger
7. 2 thai green Chillies
8. 4 green onions
9. 2 Tblsp of oil 
10. 1/2 Tblsp olive oil
11. 1/2 tsp turmeric
12. Salt and pepper to taste

How It’s Done

1. Finish the mis en place.  Mince the chillies, ginger and garlic.  Chop the green onions, de-stem the kale and chop fine.
2. Massage the kale with olive oil and salt and set aside while you work on roasting the vegetables. This reduces the bitterness and also helps kale cook faster.
3. Roast the eggplant, bell pepper and tomatillos on the gas flame, periodically turning them so they are evenly charred and roasted.  You can also roast them in the oven, although I find the gas stove top method more efficient.  Roasting concentrates and enhances the flavors of the vegetables.  Below are images of the roasting eggplant and bell pepper.
4. Wrap the roasted vegetables in separate aluminum foils and let sit for a few minutes.  The steam will help remove the charred skins.
5. While the roasted vegetables are resting, heat oil in a pan and when hot, add the green onions and sauté for a minute, then add the ginger, garlic and chillies and let cook for another minute. Add turmeric and sauté.
6. Now, decking the tomatillos and chop, and add to the pan. Let the tomatillos sweat and release their juices. 
7. Skin the eggplant – it looks like the image at the bottom. This roasted eggplant can now be easily cut- just run a knife through vertically and horizontally. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and chop similarly, into small pieces.
8. Add both to the stewing tomatillos, also adding the kale to the pan. Mix well.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until the kale is cooked, about 7-10 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature with naan or chapati or rice.     

Sweet Potato and White Bean Cutlets

What do you make when you have cooked sweet potato, white beans and left over rice you want to finish?  Cutlets! I haven’t made cutlets or tikis as they are called in Hindi for more than a decade, as I feel guilty about the roil it takes, but this time, I couldn’t resist it. 
What you need

• 2 cups of cooked sweet potato
• 1 cup of white beans cooked (or canned)
• 1/2 cup of cooked rice
• 3 Tblsp of chopped cilantro
• 1 green chilli minced
• 1 inch piece of ginger minced
• 2 Tblsps of chia seeds
• 1 tblsp of sesame seeds
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 1 tsp of amchur (dried mango powder) or sumac
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 1.5 cups Breadcrumbs or oat flour 
• Oil for shallow frying

How it’s done

1. Mash and mix all the ingredients and let sit for 15-20 minutes. The chia seeds should absorb some of the moisture, enabling you to form small balls or cutlets.  The mixture will still be sticky – the potatoes were boiled and retain a lot of moisture.  
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, or use a non-stick pan to reduce the amount of oil used, and cook the cutlets until done. Doneness is determined by the firmness of the cutlet and the browning it achieves.  I used less oil and spent more time cooking these on a medium flame to get the crispy outside and the smooth inside.

Serve with a mint chutney and heirloom tomato avocado stack.  The heirloom tomatoes and avocados are simply dressed with salt and pepper, and a light drizzle of avocado oil. They help to balance the spice from the cutlets for a wholesome meal. Enjoy!!

Spicy Carrot Ginger Soup

The Bay Area is seeing an unusual amount of rain this year.  We’ve had rain for most of January and today is the first day in February when the sun decided to grace us.  Cold, rainy weather is perfect for soups and nothing like spicy soups to really warm up your body and soul! All the ginger carrot soups I have tasted so far have been sweet, and while sweet soups have a place in this world, I am not a fan.  I wanted a soup that highlights the ginger and brings out the heat from it, and wasn’t sweet beyond the natural l sweetness of the carrots.  So I went ahead and created my version.

What you need

• 4 large carrots
• 1.5 inch piece of ginger
• 1 onion
• 4-5 medium tomatillos
• 3-4 Thai chilies ( per your spice tolerance)
• 3 Tblsp of cooking oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Water or stock as needed
• Cilantro or scallion greens for garnish

How it’s done

1. Dice the onions, carrots and the tomatillos. Mince the ginger and chilies
2. Heat the oil in a Dutch oven and sauté the onions. As the onions become translucent, add the chilies and ginger and cook for a few seconds. Now add the tomatillos and let soften, covered.
3. Once the tomatillo is all mushy, add the carrots and sauté, and then add 3 cups of water and let boil. Add salt and pepper
4. After the carrots are cooked, take the overn off heat and purée until smooth. Now taste for salt and consistency. Return to heat and add water or stock, if necessary.  If you like your soup creamy, feel free to add some milk or nut milk, instead of water or stock at this stage. 
5. Garnish with scallions (or cilantro) and serve not.

The soup is exactly what I wanted – gingery, spicy, warming. A steaming cup of soup with grilled cheese is a perfect meal to eat while watching the rain (or snow) fall.