Tag: mustard seeds
Sauteed Green Beans with Mustard Seeds
This is a delicious side dish that I made within minutes. The great thing is that it can served with any protein or a rice dish. One of my favorite cuisines is South Indian food- I love the different spices used in these dishes including mustard seeds and curry leaves. I especially love the combination of the two. It creates an amazing, earthy flavor. read more …
Curd (Yogurt) Rice
I have never made curd rice before- but have eaten it in South Indian restaurants. I realized it was not very hard to make when I put it together the other night in 15 minutes- the key is to have all the ingredients on hand. I even happen to have frozen rice, which was ready in three minutes in the freezer. It is a great side dish or a quick snack…
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 8 to 9 curry leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon channa dal
- 1 tablespoon urad dal
- ¼ cup grated coconut
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 cup yogurt
Heat a medium frying pan with coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, channa and urad dal. Saute on medium heat till the seeds begin to sizzle. Add the coconut and cilantro. Saute for a minute. Add the rice and salt and mix well. Take off the heat and add the yogurt. Mix well and check for seasonings before serving at room temperature.
Green Beans with Potatoes and Coconut
Delicious Indian dish number three- this one is even better than yesterdays… the coconut comes through loud and clear..
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
- 6 to 7 curry leaves, chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1/3 cup grated coconut (frozen)
- Salt
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoons ground coriander
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 2 cups long green beans, cleaned and chopped into ½ inch pieces
- 4 to 5 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into ½ inch squares
Heat a large saucepan with coconut oil. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves and sauté on medium heat for a minute. Add the onion and coconut and sauté on medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the salt, turmeric, coriander and cilantro. Saute for another 2 to 3 minutes. Add the beans and potatoes. Mix well and lower heat to simmer and cover with lid. Cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Take lid off and check if the potatoes are tender. Check for seasonings and serve warm.
Shredded Cabbage with Peppers
I thought I would finish the week off with a vegetable dish. As I may have mentioned many time before, my husband loves cabbage. I am not a huge cabbage fan, so I don’t find myself picking it up very often at the grocery store. I have to admit, once I cook it, I do love it. I am not sure why I don’t cook it very often.
Anyway, this one is made with sweet peppers and spiced with cumin and mustard seeds. Curry leaves provide a great flavor to the dish as well. Best of all, it is very quick to make… enjoy!
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Lentils with Baby Spinach
Here is another vegetarian dish. This could be almost a one pot meal. All you need is some brown rice or quinoa.. well, those are the healthy options. One could also serve this with a rice pulao with lots of cumin and sautéed onions. Either way, this is a delicious dish that is very simple to make and very nutritious.
I love combining the orange and the yellow variety- the names of the lentils are below (actually I am not very good at remembering lentil names .. so I recognize them by color and shape). Anyway, I love combining the two and cooking them with a bit of garlic. I usually cook the lentils in water, but they can be made with chicken or vegetable broth.
Once the lentils are tender and cooked, I added baby spinach to the mix. I finished the dish with a tempering of cumin and mustard seeds.
It is one of my staples, especially when I don’t have a lot of time to cook…
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Indian Style Spinach Polenta
I have to give full credit to my husband for coming up with this idea. While we were discussing what to make for dinner and came up with the fish curry- we were wondering what to serve it with.
My husband loves polenta and he suggested I make it with the fish- but I wasn’t sure since when I think of polenta- Italian cuisine comes to mind… but then I thought, I could make the polenta Indian style. Hmm- as I sat on the train, I began envisioning the polenta. I thought I would start with curry leaves and mustard seeds. Lemon rice came to mind and so I decided to add some nuts for texture. Instead of cooking the polenta with milk and broth, I decided to cook it with just broth and eliminate the cheese. I also wanted to add a vegetable to balance the dish- frozen spinach- perfect!!!
The result was amazing- why didn’t I think of this before??? Sky is the limit when it comes to what all I can add to the polenta. It was delicious with the fish curry- great combination. The spinach was delicious and so were the pistachios- and it was so quick to make.
Next time you are looking for a side dish- think polenta and let your imagination run wild….
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- ½ cup pistachio nuts, chopped
- 5 to 6 curry leaves
- 1 tablespoon extra light olive oil
- 2½ cups chicken broth
- 1 cup frozen chopped spinach
- 1 cup fine one minute polenta
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Juice of half a lemon
Heat a medium pan with the olive oil. Add the mustard seeds, nuts and curry leaves. Saute for a minute on medium heat. Add the chicken broth and spinach. Bring to a boil and add salt and polenta. Whisk till thick and smooth. Taste for seasonings and add lemon juice. Serve with fish curry.
South Indian Fish Curry
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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