Tag: vegetarian food
Zucchini Pesto with Thyme
This is a great sauce to make in the spring/summer. I love making different kinds of pestos to use with pastas, on top of fish or any meat, or even as a sauce for pizza. In fact I have made one in the past which I used in numerous dishes.
This one has fresh thyme paired with pistachios. It is a delicious sauce to simply mix with pasta. I served it with brown rice pasta with some simple chicken on the side. The great thing about this pesto is that kids will eat it.. they have no idea what is in there..
As my daughter was finishing her last bite, I asked her to guess the main ingredient in the pesto.. she had no idea and she was very surprised when I revealed it was zucchini…
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Moong Dal with Cumin Seeds
This dal would be a great complement to the seekh kebabs from yesterday. It is a dal dish my Mom has made for years and this is the first time I have ever made it myself. I do have another recipe for it on the blog courtesy of my Mom. I always thought it was very complicated and hard to make this particular version.
Typically one adds the lentils and water to a pan and the dish is cooked till the lentils are soft- very simple. This one, you cook like pasta- once the lentils are al dente, you drain and then dress with different spices or herbs.
In my case, I decided to keep it simple and add cumin seeds, onions and ginger. I of course added some garam masala – which I think adds a very distinctive flavor. I finished it with some fresh chopped cilantro. I couldn’t believe how simple it was to make- this will definitely be part of my repertoire. Try this dish, you will really like it…
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Pad Thai with Seasoned Tofu
I made this dish after reviewing a restaurant Nine Thai in Chatham, NJ. It was a really good restaurant with a friendly staff and great food. I gave it a great review and decided to replicate their pad thai at home.
I have been eating pad thai for years now and love ordering it at restaurants. I have always thought this dish as extremely complicated and hard to make.
Since I had to replicate a dish, I decided to take this one on. After a bit of research, I realized the noodle dish is really not hard to make- it just has a lot of ingredients. Once you have them on hand- it doesn’t take that long. You can control the amount of fat and salt when you make popular take out dishes at home.
In this case, I made it super healthy with tofu, bean sprouts and garlic chives. I had most of the ingredients at home- like tamarind, fish sauce, tamari, etc. I decided not to add any meat but it will be delicious with chicken or shrimp.
If you love eating pad thai in a restaurant, definitely make this homemade version- it is delicious.
- 10 oz extra firm tofu, cut into thin strips about an inch long
- 2 teaspoons tamari
Place the tofu strips in a zip lock bag with the tamari and marinate for 2 to 3 hours.
- ½ pound rice noodles- soaked in hot water for 30 minutes. Drain and keep aside.
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon tamarind concentrate
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons palm sugar
- 2 tablespoons tamari
- 1 teaspoon chili paste with garlic
Mix the tamarind, fish sauce, palm sugar and chili paste in a small bowl and keep aside,
- 3 tablespoons extra light olive oil
- 2 medium shallots, sliced thin
- 3 green onions, chopped (white parts only- save the green parts for the garnish)
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup garlic chives, cut into 1 inch long segments (optional)
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- 2 eggs, beaten with 1 teaspoon salt
Garnish
- 1 cup chopped salted roasted peanuts
- ½ cup cilantro, chopped
- 3 green onions, chopped (the green parts only)
- One lime cut into wedges
In a large frying pan or a wok like sauce pan heat the olive oil and add the marinated tofu. Saute on high heat for 2 to 3 minutes or till the tofu is golden brown. Add the shallots, white parts of the green onions and garlic. Saute on medium high heat for a minute. Add the garlic chives and sprouts and mix well. Move all the mixture to the side of the pan and make a well in the middle. Drop the eggs and scramble for 30 seconds and then mix with the rest of the mixture. Add the drained noodles and mix well. Saute for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the tamarind mixture and mix well. Add the peanuts, cilantro and green onions. Mix well and check for seasonings. Squeeze the lime and serve.
Kadhai Paneer- Homemade Cheese Sauteed with Peppers
I make this dish both with homemade or store bought paneer. Paneer is very much like ricotta in texture and is very easy to make. It simply takes milk, yogurt and some lemon juice. Once the milk comes to a boil, you add some yogurt and lemon juice. Once the curd is separated from the whey, it is strained and used for several dishes. It is also available at Whole Foods. Either one works really well.
In this case, I used the homemade version and cooked it with sliced onions and garlic. The main source of flavor is provided by cumin and ajwain seeds. Ajwain has a very distinct pungent taste and a little goes a long way. In case you are not able to find it, eliminate it from the recipe and only use the cumin seeds.
The rest is easy- I cut up a sweet pepper- either red, yellow or orange. With the help of crushed tomatoes, this dish is quick and super flavorful. This is a great entree to make through the week since it takes a short time to cook and it is also ideal for entertaining. Either way, I think you should try it- your family will love it.
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Aloo Mattar Gajjar- Potatos Peas and Carrots- A Delicious Indian Vegetable Dish
I consider this my quick, easy, go to meal when I have no idea what to make. It is also a pantry dish since I always have potatoes outside in my basket, peas in the freezer and carrots in the fridge. It is an instant side vegetable or even a whole meal.
I decided to make this vegetable with some lentils and fresh rotis. As I was making this vegetarian dish, my daughter’s friend who was visiting asked if she could stay for dinner. I told her it was fine with me but would she be okay with Indian food?? She nodded and said ‘no problem’. Just to make sure I showed her what I had- and her answer was still the same.
I was a bit skeptical if the friend is going to like what she eats only because it would be new to her. I decided to make the fresh rotis and stuff them with the vegetable and roll them up. I asked the girls if they wanted a vegetable roll and they got very excited. I was still quite skeptical about the whole thing and wasn’t sure what I would feed her if she decided not to have what I had cooked.
As I served them the meal, they picked up the rolled rotis and began eating them promptly. It wasn’t a problem at all and I am extremely happy that I was able to introduce a new cuisine to my daughter’s friend. Most of all it is very sweet to see how much they love spending time with each other- especially eating together…
Try this quick dish next time you run out of ideas….
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Aloo Mattar Gajar- Potatoes Peas and Carrots
I think of sitting in the sun on a winter day in India when I eat this dish… carrots and peas were in season only in the winter back then. My Mom would make this vegetable dish and I can still invision the sweet carrots married with the soft mushy potatoes and creamy peas. Somehow the carrots in India are colored red unlike the orange ones we get here- and they are extra sweet and have a more ‘carrot’ flavor! I can’t remember what spices my Mom added to the dish- I do remember the taste of the vegetables really well. She would make a fresh roti, dot some ghee on it and serve the vegetables on the fresh bread- it was delicious! I forget to make this very simple concoction- there isn’t much to it especially now since almost all vegetables are available year round. I always have potatoes in the pantry and peas in the freezer. I usually have baby carrots in the fridge to pack for my daughter’s lunch everyday. I decided to add a little bit of cumin seeds and ginger- I didn’t want a lot of very dominant flavors competing with each other, especially because I decided to add a new ingredient to the dish- dill… I love using this herb- in India it is used as a vegetable- so I decided to use it in here with fresh cilantro. The dish was completely different than the one I grew up with but this one was delicious as well. It tasted more suitable for the summer months- I guess the fresh herbs gave it that effect.
This dish would be a great accompaniment with store bought naan and some lentils. It would also go really well as a side dish with fish, chicken, pork or even steak! We had it with some brown lentils and home made rotis- it was simple and delicious!!