Thursday, March 30, 2006

Tex-Mex Vegetarian Chili, p64

Tex-Mex Vegetarian Chili
United States
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 15 + 10 min active; 50 min simmering
WW Pts (6 svgs, entire can of kidney beans and entire can of diced tomatoes): 4
WW Pts (4 huge svgs, as directed): 7 (but these are large servings and oil can definitely be cut down)
Bonus: one pot, can use canned kidney beans
Bummer: chopping skills required
Previous Attempts: We made a double batch of this about 3 years ago for our frito pie party. It was good then.

Although there are alot of ingredients, they're mostly pantry staples and many get added to the chili at once. I tried to speed up my prep time by making a mise en place, which means "getting all your shit together" before cooking. I have such a small kitchen, I don't know how much it helped, but it did make a snazzy picture.

Most of the cooking time is just simmer time, so it's a pretty easy recipe. This chili has a great contrast between the sizes of the lentils and kidney beans.

I made a few adaptations to this recipe. Since I used canned kidney beans, I used the entire can, not just 1 cup. I also used an entire can of diced tomatoes, lightly drained. This of course, added to the volume (I have about 9 cups of chili) of chili in the final dish, but I still think the original recipe can make 5-6 servings. I also didn't have cilantro, so I tossed in a few frozen cubes of chopped parsley for a little green flavor.

The chili went straight in the fridge after cooking and cooling down, so other than a quick taste (it was good) I didn't get to eat it. Hopefully, there'll be a full report tomorrow.
the finished chili, which was made in the cast iron dutch oven

When I actually went to eat it, I found that it was a little thin, but it was generally fine.
I brought it to the potluck after Saturday services (tex-mex cholent) and someone ladled it out for her friend and didn't scoop it up from the bottom, getting only the thinnest, wateriest part of the chili. The woman who received the cup of chili looked at me and remarked on its thinness.
It may have been a bit thin because I didn't cook it properly after the addition of corn meal, or I could just have used a bit too much water. Regardless, I thought it was tasty and someone else even took home some of the leftovers.
I enjoyed it, but my husband thought it was underspiced, so maybe next time I'll add a little extra.

Leftovers
Dude, it's chili, it's ideal for leftovers.

Monday, March 27, 2006

Stir-Fried Green Cabbage with Spicy Red Paste, p 150

Mrs. Sanuar's Stir-Fried Green Cabbage with Spicy Red Paste
Sambal Kol
Indonesia
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 15 min
WW Pts (cutting oil to 1.5 Tbsp): 1
WW Pts (as directed): 5
Bonus: blending of sauce eliminates need for accurate chopping
Bummer: the mini-cuisinart isn't going to clean itself (oh, yeah, it will... Thanks Dave!) never mind, no bummers here

I made this with about 1.5 T of canola oil instead of the 5 (five!) suggested. Alot of her dishes seem to call for an exorbitant amount of oils. I usually cut the oil, except when I'm making a tarka (e.g. red lentils with cumin and scallions and lemon rice). If you're cooking for a dinner party or have clear skin and the metabolism of a hummingbird on crack, by all means, pour the oil with a free hand. If you're like me and need to be mindful of what you eat, many of the recipes are still good with less oil.

I chose cabbage option 3 (young collards) with one modification (not so young) and made this dish with collards. It has a strong flavor and may not be for everyone, but I enjoyed it. I served this with leftover Indonesian Peanut Sauce over soba noodles. The mild creaminess of the noodles and sauce balanced the texture and flavors of the cabbage.

Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Indonesian Peanut Sauce, p 667

Indonesian Peanut Sauce, p 667
Indonesia
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
WW Pts (cutting oil to 1 T): 8
WW Pts (as directed): 8
Bonus: versatile flavorful sauce, adds protein, fats & texture to steamed veggies and/or noodles, can probably take shortcut by using peanut butter instead of grinding
Bummer: chopping and grinding

In the 19 or so years I've been a vegetarian, I've eaten many versions of sesame and/or peanut noodles - some from restaurants and some homemade. I decided a while ago that it mostly wasn't worth buying sesame/peanut noodles because I could just make them better. I haven't done that until now. This peanut sauce went extremely well with the soba noodles and I will definitely make this again.
Full Disclosure: Upon draining, soba noodles were treated with a few drops (maybe 1/2 tsp) of toasted sesame oil to prevent stickiness and add subtle flavor.

Other than the shallot chopping, and peanut grinding, this was a pretty quick & easy recipe. The recipe calls sfor the peanuts to be finely chopped, but I stopped short of that because I was afraid to turn it into peanut butteer, although it probably would have been fine had I used good quality pre-made peanut butter.

I served this sauce over soba noodles with steamed broccoli, pan-fried tempeh, and raw bell pepper.

Leftovers
I stored the leftover sauce in a covered container in the refrigerator for about five days and then heated it up and served it over noodles. It was still delicious.

Friday, March 17, 2006

Split Urad Beans Cooked in the Lucknow Style, p 114


Split Urad Beans Cooked in the Lucknow Style
Lucknavi Urad Dal
India
Prep Time: 5-10 min
Soaking Time: 4 hrs
Cook Time: 35 min + 5 minutes active time for tarka
WW Pts (4 svgs): 5
Bonus: served with those snazzy onions on top, no mustard seeds to pop out and cause injury

This is a nice dish, where the beans get flavored twice - the get cooked with chile & cumin and they get topped with an oniony tarka. The onion and cumin taste reminded me alot of the Red Lentils with Cumin and Scallions, which is also delicious. The urad dal presents nicer than the red lentils do.

I cooked the beans in the braising pan, so I didn't switch dishes before serving. The recipe implieas that after cooking, the urad dal can sit for a bit while it waits for the tarka. It seemed that way to me, which would make it a good dish to serve for company.


Just before the beans are cooked and after the dish is finished.



Stir-Fried Carrots and Ginger with Mustard Seeds, p 157

Stir-Fried Carrots and Ginger with Mustard Seeds
Gajar No Sambharo
Indian
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
WW Pts (only 1 T oil): 1
WW Pts (as directed): 3
Bonus: one pan, super-fast, went excellently with lemon rice

I grated the carrots and the ginger in my mini-cuisinart, which makes prep quicker, and safer on the knuckles. I thought the dish had alot of bite - either too spicy or too gingery. It may have been that the ginger had alot of bite. Eating it with the lemon rice smoothed it out alot and together they were excellent.


The carrots were served with Lemon Rice, Urad Dal and a samosa, which I bought from a restaurant two blocks away.

Lemon Rice, p 380

Lemon Rice
Elamcha Saatham
India
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes for rice + 5 minutes active time for tarka
WW Pts: 6
Bonus: tasty, easy, more festive than white rice, made with curry leaves, goes well with Stir-Fried Carrots & Ginger with Mustard Seeds
Bummer: 2 (or 3) pans

This was a pretty simple, but tasty dish. The rice cooks and is topped off with a simple tarka and some lemon juice & zest. I mixed it all together in a separate, serving dish, but you could probably mix the tarka into the pot that the rice was cooked in.

The tarka - a tarka, as I understand it, is the topping for other dishes, a topping that is made when spices &/or herbs &/or aromatics are added to hot oil and cooked quickly - contains mustard seeds, which sometimes pop out of the pan. It's a risk, but one that I will continue to take. Even after today's unfortunate incident with a mustard seed landing on my neck.


If you look closely at the photo on the right, you will notice not only a plethora of curry leaves (I have a tendency to add extra) and mustard seeds, but little yellow specks of lemon zest.

Leftovers
This recipe makes alot of rice, so leftovers are likely. I kept this in a covered casserole dish for about a week and reheated each serving with a few drops of water. 'twas fine.

Monday, March 13, 2006

Risotto with Tomato & Eggplant, p 408

Prep Time: 20-25 minutes
Cook Time: unknown, I used a pressure cooker
WW Pts (no cheese, only 2T of olive oil, using 1.5 cups of rice, 4 svgs): 8
WW Pts (no cheese, otherwise as directed, using 1 cup of rice, 4 svgs): 8
Bonus: with a pressure cooker, simple, yet impressive

I must have made this before, because in my book were two notes, "very good" and, next to the basil, "use more." I guess it's still a little too early in the year, because the co-op did not have basil. I used instead, frozen chopped basil equivalent to 4 tsps.

I have a pressure cooker, which is excellent for making soups, beans, long-cooking grains and risottos. Because I was using a pressure cooker, and my basic risotto directions call for 1.5 cups of arborrio, that's what I used. I followed directions up to adding the rice to the pan, but then I added all the liquid and cooked on high pressure for five minutes. This makes alot of risotto and can probably be 5 or 6 servings, or 4 big ones.

I chose to seed & grate the tomato instead of peeling, seeding and chopping it. I thought it would be easier and figured that since it was getting cooked in the PC, it would be totally pulverized no matter how it was cut.

This is a good solid risotto. It's well flavored and has enough vegetables & flavoring in it to be interesting, but not so much that it's crazy and overpowering. I ate mine with a generous scooping of nutritional yeast and a pinch of salt. My husband skipped the cheese/nutr yeast, but still went back for seconds. I served this with sauteed kale and it was a full, satisfying meal.




Leftovers

Leftover risotto is never as good ad the first time around, but heated up in the microwave, it's still perfectly delicious. Alternately, leftover risotto can be made into balls or patties and fried - crispy on the outside, warm and mushy in the middle.

Thursday, March 09, 2006

Springtime Meal

I wanted to make the Persian Rice Pilaf for a while and decided that now is the time. But what should I make to go with it? I flipped to the index and looked at the recipes from Iran and decided on the zucchini puree and a veganized version of the egg pie with fresh herbs.

details on each recipe are posted, but this is the tasty result of all three

Wednesday, March 08, 2006

Persian Egg Pie with Herbs, p 537

Shamsi Davis' Persian Egg Pie with Herbs
Kookoo SabziIran
Prep Time: 30 min
Cook Time: 10 min
WW pts (3 svgs, cutting oil by 1/2 and using 12 oz of tofu): 5
Bonus: can be made vegan and ovo simultaneously
Bummer: lots of herb chopping

I made this without fenugreek leaves, because I didn't go out to buy them. Oddly, when was at Patel Market on Monday, I saw fenugreek leaves and almost bought them, but I didn't, so they were not in this dish. Fortunately, they were optional.

Even without the fenugreek leaves, his dish has alot of fresh green herbs, which are a bitch to chop but give a nice spring flavor. I could have spent the afternoon outside, playing in the nearly spring weather, but I decided to make this meal and eat the springtime instead. At least the window was open.

I followed the recipe, but cut the herb mixture into three equal portions - one portion, for my husband, was made with eggs. One portion went into the fridge for tomorrow. One portion was mixed with 4 ounces of extra firm tofu that was blended with a spoonful of nutritional yeast, a sprinkle of turmeric and arrowroot powder mixed with water. I cooked my vegan egg pie over medium-low heat and kept it warm in the oven while the rice finished cooking.
The action shot on the left is the mixing of the vegan egg pie

Persian Pilaf with a Potato Crust, p 386

Shamsi Davis' Persian Pilaf with a Potato Crust
Polo Ba Tahdig Seeb Zameeni
Iran
Total Time: 3h 35 min (includes soaking time)
Active Time: 25 minutes (scattered)
WW pts (5 svgs): 8
Bonus: pretty darn tasty; looks super cool when turned out perfectly; looks kind of cool even when turn out doesn't work; very little knife work
Bummer: alot of waiting time; uses many dishes

Ever since I first bought WV, I've been in awe of a few things. One of them is the photo for Persian Pilaf with Lime and Green Beans. This dish is a simplier version of that. It gave me the satisfaction of flipping out a pilaf cake without needing to crack open the dried limes. Yes, I'd like to do that one day, but today is about the saffron-loaded pilaf.


This recipe was actually pretty easy, but there were a lot of steps, so many that I now forgot how excited I was hours ago to use the mortar & pestle. Alot of steps, alot of dishes and the recipe seemed to call for precision. Now that I've made it once, I think the next time will run smoother.

I didn't change the amount of fat called for in the recipe, I just used earth balance instead of butter. Also, I used about 1.5 tsps of sugar because I didn't have a sugar cube. The other alteration to the recipe was an accident. I assumed we had the 2 cups of basmati we needed, but there was only 1.25 cups in the pantry. After weighing our options, we decided to proceed with only the rice we had. As a result, our pilaf was extra saffrony.

This was delicious and pretty cool. I might make it again, but probably not until I make several other rice dishes first.
Note the rice spilled in the background. This was a result of flipping the cake onto a too-small platter, although my husband did do a very good job flipping the heavy cast iron skillet and the cake remaining mostly intact. We did have to take the potato crust off separately, so next time I might follow the alternate pan removal directions.

Puree of Zucchini, p 297

Niloofar Haeri's Puree of Zucchini
Qalye Kadu
Iran
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
WW pts (as directed, 4 svgs): 3
WW pts (cutting oil by 1/2, 4 svgs): 1
Bonus: one pan; can be served "hot, warm, at room temperature, or chilled"


Start to end, this dish took about 50 minutes, mostly active cook time. It might have taken less time if I didn't stop to cry halfway through chopping the onions. I didn't peel the zucchini, I didn't strive for perfect 1/4 inch dice, and I cut the oil in half.

I made this entire dish while the saffron was soaking and let it sit on the counter for a couple of hours. Shortly before serving, I put the zucchini to warm in the oven. It was the easiest dish of the evening and probably the best loved. I will be making this again, and it would do well as a potluck dish.

I was initially worried about the texture of this dish and how my husband would respond to eating pureed vegetables, but it turned out to be a non-issue. I mashed the zucchini, but it didn't mush, still retaining some shape.

Tuesday, March 07, 2006

The Home Version of World Vegetarian is Now Available

Wow! In the past few days, Michelle made a kazillion dishes from WV and posted beautiful photos on her blog. She even made a veganized version of the Carrot Raita to go with the Red Lentils with Zucchini. Yum!

If this was a call-in show, Michelle would be caller number one. Or she'd be the guest brought in for special shows when I need reinforcements. I'm not yet sure what kind of call in show this would be.

Sunday, March 05, 2006

Ethiopian Lentil Salad with Crushed Mustard Seeds, p 629

From Meskerem: Ethiopian Lentil Salad with Crushed Mustard Seeds
Azefa
Ethiopia
Prep Time: 10 minutes (can be done while lentils cook)
Cook Time: 30-35 minutes
WW Pts (as written, 6 svgs): 3
Bonus: Easy to make and very portable
Bummer: Looks like lentils so noone tries them

I made this dish to bring to a friend's party to celebrate their new place. I'm convinced that people only have housewarming parties to give themselves a deadline for all the unpacking. Regardless, we were asked to bring stuff, so I brought a vegan dessert (a bastardized version of Oma's Apple Cake, the recipe in its original Dutch is loaded with butter) and this lentil salad. I brought the lentil salad in a pretty crystal bowl to up the chances that people would eat it and I could leave the bowl with my hosts. Unfortunately, lentils look like lentils and they're not brightly colored and festive, so people aren't oohing and ahhing over them. I considered subbing red pepper for the green pepper, which would have made them more visually appealing. If I bring them again, I will do that, but I wanted to taste the recipe as directed.

In her description of the dish, Jaffrey writes, "The flavors are haunting." Haunting. Reappearing frequently after death. Haunting. They could be. It was quite good and unlike anything I've ever made before, and I don't think I've eaten anything quite so mustardy either. I think it would taste good in a sandwich, jammed into a pita with some lettuce & tomato. It might also benefit from some injera. All in all, it's a good, solid dish, but not a wow!er. If your host loves mustard, it could be a wow!er.

This salad was though, incredibly easy to make. For me, the most time consuming tasks were buying a good green pepper and cleaning up the lentils that spilled on the floor. Because this dish was going out, I decided to cut the pepper nicely and evenly and I'm actually quite pleased with my knife work.

Friday, March 03, 2006

Red Lentils with Cumin and Scallions, p 68

Red Lentils with Cumin and Scallions, p 68
Tarka Masoor Dal
North India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2-3 minutes at high pressure in pc (plus time to get up to pressure) or about one hour in pot
WW Pts (assuming 5 svgs): 3
2 pans, but super easy

Yum! I forgot how good this simple recipe is until I mentioned it in the recommendeations post. Okay, actually I didn't forget, I wanted to make it yesterday to go w/the potatoes, carrots & peas, but I didn't feel like sorting through the lentils.
If anyone knows how to do that without having little red lentils all over the floor, please let me know.
Other than the cleanup, this is an easy recipe and one day, I hope I can make it intuitively, without referencing the book, but until then, I adhere to the "if you got it, use it" philosophy of cookbook cooking.

I pretty much make this according to spec, but I replace the ghee with canola oil and a bit of XVOO. Those are the only oils in my pantry, but there may be a better vegan substitute for ghee.

cumin seeds and scallions still sizzling, just before the tarka is addded to the lentils

A Few Recommendations

We interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to bring you a few recommendations from World Vegetarian.

Red Lentils Hyerabadi, p 69
Red Lentils with Zucchini, p 70
Spinach with Rice, p 227
Spicy Punjabi Red Kidney Bean Stew, p 47
South Indian Cabbage, p 152
Flaky Flatbreads Stuffed with Cauliflower, p 439

These are all dishes I've made multiple times before and I can think of all of them without the book. The flatbreads are the most time consuming, but they truly are so worth it. The spinach is excellent (I cut the oil & skip the first cooking of the spinach) and makes a great accompaniment to falafels (take out or fantastic). Both of those lentil dishes are absolutely delicious, as is Red Lentils with Cumin & Scallions on p 68, which I am now having an odd craving for.

If you have WV, please post your favorite dishes list in the comments, so Michelle, who just got the book out of the library, knows what to cook in the next three weeks.