Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

We were in the city on a Monday for lunch and as usual even after a delicious meal- I was thinking about what to cook for dinner. I asked my husband for ideas and he suggested some thing South Indian. I reminded him Mondays are my busy day since our daughter has some activities after school and we don’t get home until about 6 PM. I don’t get a lot of time to cook and my daughter is super hungry when we get home. So, I need to prepare something in the afternoon and put it together quickly once we get home.

I ended up making a South Indian style fish curry- I happened to have cod in the freezer which I took out as soon as I got home. I processed shallots and ginger together. I roasted cumin, fenugreek and mustard seeds and ground them up. The spice mixture holds the key to this curry- it gives it great flavor.

I marinated the fish with some shredded coconut, tamarind concentrate, coriander powder, cayenne pepper, turmeric and salt. Remember to keep the fish in the fridge and only marinate for an hour. The rest was easy- I started with sauteing the shallots and curry leaves and then added the spice mix. I then added the coconut milk and fish stock.

The curry was delicious, especially with the Indian style polenta- yes, you read it correctly.. recipe to follow tomorrow…
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This is a delicious chicken dish. I was tired of making the same old chicken either in a curry, roasting, etc. I felt like eating an Indian preparation but couldn’t think of what to make. I searched the internet extensively and was still not convinced. As I was walking the aisles of a super market, chicken korma came to mind. Best of all, once I came home, I realized I had all the ingredients at home.

This dish may look a little complicate, but really isn’t. The first step is the super flavorful marinade. The next is the spices that give a wonderful aroma and taste to the chicken dish. It doesn’t take too long to make and best of all, the taste is amazing.

I served it with a big salad and fresh rotis- everyone loved it.
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I guess I will continue the cabbage and cauliflower theme this week. Cauliflower is everywhere right now- big, snowy white, beautiful!

We were in town and a local restaurant was selling farm fresh vegetables. The cauliflower was calling my husband from a mile away. We bought the biggest one we could find and brought it home.

We were having some people over and I was making vegetarian food- what does one make for an appetizer??? Well, grilled or tandoori cauliflower, of course!!

I mixed up a tandoori paste which included ginger, garlic, cilantro and Greek yogurt. I blanched the cauliflower and marinated the florets in the delicious paste. I had time and marinated them overnight. If you don’t have the luxury, marinate them for at least 2 to 3 hours..

Try this next time you are stumped on what to make for a vegetarian appetizer…
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So, after I made the cabbage dish, I had quite a bit of it leftover in the fridge. I thought of serving it again a few days later but somehow wanted to transform the vegetable into something else. Cooked cabbage tends to be mushy- which is fine but that is what I don’t like about it. I decided to do something about it and change it up into something crunchy and even more delicious.

What do you do with delicious leftovers?? You make fritters, of course! I decided to add an egg, peanuts, raisins and the secret ingredient- panko breadcrumbs. I love using these Japanese breadcrumbs. They provide a delicious crunch in everything.  I incorporated everything and cooked them in a non-stick pan with a bit of oil.

The crunchy fritters were delicious- the chopped raisins provided a surprise burst of sweetness and the peanuts were crunchy. It was amazing to transform the cabbage into delicious fritters. Now I can’t wait to make the cabbage again so I can eat the fritters again!
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This is one my husbands favorite vegetable. Basically if I make cauliflower and cabbage everyday- he would be happy. I love cauliflower as well but cabbage.. not so much. It is not that I don’t like cabbage, I just don’t seek it out. If someone cooks it for me, I will eat it but I don’t think of making it.

So, while we were food shopping together, he reminded me of how I have not made cabbage in a long time. We bought some cabbage and I decided to come up with this recipe. It is not an original- you will find such a preparation in South Indian restaurants.

It starts with a mixture of some delicious spices- cumin, coriander, mustard and fennel seeds. I roasted and ground them up. This mixture gives the dish a fantastic flavor along with the curry leaves and shredded coconut. Any vegetable with all that flavor will come out delicious…

Try this preparation next time you have cabbage in your fridge…
Click here for the recipe… »