vacation

I'll be on vacation for a few weeks, back towards late/mid May.

Spicy Hash Brown Potatoes, p 278

Spicy Hash Brown Potatoes
Prep Time: 30-35 min (includes boiling potatoes)
Cook Time: 10-15 min
WW Pts: not sure, ww website & recipe builder are all sorts of screwed up with the new tracker & all
Bonus: easy, adaptable recipe, potato cake flipping
Bummer: 2 pans, potato cake flipping

Between my trip to Chicago, the recent deluge of job interviews, and endless hours with the sewing machine, there has been little time available for me to cook anything at all, nevermind an actual recipe that required writing, too. On Friday night, in between my tarp making project, I attempted this fairly straightforward recipe. We worked on it together, but Dave finished it off while I went to pick up the vegetable jalfreezi and non-vegan accompanying dishes.

The method for this involves boiling the potatoes and crumbling them, a step which calls for the use of hands without utensils. Oil is heated with spices and onions and the potatoes are stirred in and then, flattened out, allowed to brown, flipped and browned on the other side. If you have magical flipping skills like Dave does (swoon, swoon, he's so dreamy), you'll wind up with a snazzy cake like this

This is a mildly spiced, versatile dish and it is possible to get this on the table in less than an hour. We'll probably make it again - only next time, we'd use the entire onion and let it brown before adding the potatoes.

Carrot "Raita", p 547

Carrot "Raita"
Gajar Ka Raita
India
Prep Time: 15-20 min
Cook Time: 15-20 min for the cooked carrots to cool
WW Pts (1/2 oil, using Wildwood soyogurt, 6 svgs): 1
WW Pts (as directed, using Wildwood soyogurt, 6 svgs): 2
Bonus: colorful, cooling, a little sweet
Bummer: it can be hard to find good vegan soyogurt

This was a fairly easy dish to make, it can be made in advance and it would be a nice accompaniment to many other dishes in this book. I use Wildwood brand plain soyogurt. It's the only one tangy enough for savory dishes. I thought the dish was good, but mom decided it was too tangy and needed more salt. I will probably make it again, but not for mom.

Before I made this, I wondered why Michelle used quotation marks when she posted her photos of this dish. Well, the book has quotation marks, also. I'm not exactly sure why they're there, but it does remind me of this commentary on Weight Watchers recipe cards from 1974.

Leftovers
Of course, it's raita.

Easter Dinner: Crumbled Potatoes with Peas, Urad Dal in Delhi Style and Carrot Raita served with matzoh instead of paratha

Split Urad Beans in the Delhi Style, p113

Split Urad Beans in the Delhi Style
Dilli Ki Urad Dal
India
Prep Time: 5-10 minutes
Cook Time: 70 minutes to cook beans + 10 minutes for tarka
WW Pts (using 1/2 oil): 4
WW Pts (as directed): 5
Bonus: tarka-tarka-tarka (sung to the tune of conga-conga-conga), beans can be made ahead and tarka added later, very little chopping required
Bummer: spices jumping all over the stovetop

I really enjoy making tarkas. It's pretty simple and straightforward, but because of the quick addition of ingredients, I need to be very organized and have things chopped, measured and set out in order. I usually cook in a haphazard manner, so there's something quite nice about the forced discipline of making these tarkas. Plus, it's a chance to use the cute little cast iron frying pan, and who doesn't love that?

I used half the oil (subbing canola oil for ghee, but I'll buy peanut oil soon) and used canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh. The dish was good and very easy to make. I might make it again, but if I have all the ingredients and the time, I would be more likely to make the Lucknow Urad Dal.

Leftovers
The reheated beans were just as good, if not better, than the first time (the leftunders?).

Crumbled Potatoes with Peas, p 280

Mitthan Bhabi's Crumbled Potatoes with Peas

Aloo Matar
India
Prep Time: 30-35 min (includes cooking and crumbling potatoes)
Cook Time: 30-35 min
WW Pts (1/2 oil): 3
WW Pts (as directed): 4
Bonus: can be done with no chopping; dish can hang out inlow oven while finishing dal; few fresh ingredients
Bummer: 2 pots, but the first one can be cleaned before cooking in the second one is finished

This was the first time I made this dish (maybe - I don't remember making it before and I have no notes about it, but I could have made it in the past). I wanted to make aloo gobi, but since we were unable to acquire organic cauliflower on Easter, the aloo matar would have to do. Unfortunately, I had less than 1 cup of peas in the freezer. I used less oil and canned diced tomatoes instead of chopped fresh. This tomato substitution is a common one I've been making over the course of this project.

The potatoes were cooked first, allowed to cool slightly and then peeled and crumbled. Usually, I skip peeling potatoes, but to avoid the matrimonaial discourse that comes with potato skins, I used my fingers to peel the cooked potaoes. I did this carefully, trying not to remove the super thin layer just under the skin, which holds many of the nutrients.*

In the introduction, Jaffrey says it is similar to Potato Cooked With Fennel Seed, but I thought it was more like Potatoes, Carrots & Peas. Looking at the recipes, it uses the same techniques as the former and contains some of the same spices as the latter. I was surprised the cumin-flavor wasn't more pronounced. It was a good dish, but not outstanding. It was a pretty easy dish to make, and for those of you who don't like to cut onions, the recipe doesn't call for any. I'll probably make this again, but I don't need to make this again.

Leftovers
Yes, they're tasty. Tasty and a little spicier.

*I don't know where I learned this, but there is a definite truthiness that all the potato nutrients are kept right under the skin.

Parsi Rice with Cloves and Cinnamon, p 379

Parsi Rice with Cloves and Cinnamon
Parsi Pullao
India
Soak Time: 30 min
Prep Time: 10-15 min (can be done during soak time, includes carmelizing sugar)
Cook Time: 30-35 min (5-10 min active)
Start to finish time: about 60 min
WW Pts (1/2 oil, 6 svgs): 6
WW Pts (as directed, 6 svgs): 7
Bonus: delicious, few ingredients, very little chopping
Bummer: lots of dishes to wash

This was the first time we made this and it is really yummy. It's a slightly sweet rice dish, fragranced with cloves. The amount of effort needed to go from plain rice to fancy rice dish is minimal when compared to the changes in flavor and texture.

The directions in the book don't say to add water until after it carmelizes, but that wasn't working, so we added a wee little bit of water to get the sugar to melt. I included this in step in prep time, because it seems like the sugar water can be made a few hours before completing the dish.

the spices and onion browning and the completed yumminess

I needed three pots/pans to make this - one for soaking the rice, one for sauteeing the onions & spices and one for carmelizing the sugar. It was worth it - this dish took leftover South Indian Cabbageto a whole new level.

Leftovers
Leftover rice is usually fine (just add some water when reheating) and this rice is no exception. The recipe makes alot, so you'll probably have leftovers - enjoy them.

Red Lentils with Zucchini, p 70

Red Lentils with Zucchini
Vegetarian Dalcha
India
Prep Time (for zucchini topping): 20-30 min (some can be done while onions are browning)
Cook Time (for zucchini topping): 20 min (can be done while lentils are cooking, not all active time)
WW Pts (cutting oil in 1/2): 5
WW Pts (as directed): 6
Bonus: super yummy; looks more elaborate than it is; leftovers are just as tasty
Bummer: chopping

I've made this before and it is one of my favorite dishes of all the recipes I've made from World Vegetarian. I make the lentils in my pressure cooker and can usually get this, rice and greens on the table in about an hour start to finish, which for me, is pretty good.

One problem I have with some of the recipes in the book is the cook times. I'm often finding the need to add 5, 10 minutes or more to the recipes. Maybe the zucchini isn't supposed to be cooked through, or maybe it's supposed to be sliced into super-thin slices. I just add extra cooking time (like ten extra minutes) to it.

I made this recipe on Saturday because I was going to a party and I was going to bring "something wrapped in filo." Yes, I wrapped this in filo and it was good - real good. I chopped the zucchini and garlic smaller than the recipe called for, used the full amount of oil, and cooked the lentils a little drier than they are usually made. After mixing the zucchini with the lentils, I let it cool in the fridge. When I was ready to make the filo triangles, I stirred in a few squeezes of lime. They were wrapped and baked the same as any traditional filo triangle appetizer. Oh yeah, they were good. I would do it again with this recipe, or with the Red Lentils with Cumin and Scallions. Also, many thanks to Michelle, who helped talk me through the filo idea.

onions and spices (can you hear the sizzling?) and the completed lentil dish (pre-filo-ing)

South Indian Cabbage, p 152

Dakshini Band Gobi
India
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 10-15 min
WW Pts (using half as much oil): 2
WW Pts (as directed): 4
Bonus: 1 pot, few items to prep, stars cabbage and curry leaves

I've made this dish many times before and was very surprised to see that I hadn't made yet since starting this project. I like that it's so quick and easy to make. It's not a very strong flavor, and it's definitely not a star of a dish, but it's a good solid cabbage dish that'll play nicely with others.

I really like that there are few fresh ingredients in this recipe, but it's still a healthy, tasty cabbage dish. My local co-op is sadly understocked, but I can usually find a decent head of cabbage, and I usually have curry leaves on hand (they last for a surprisingly long time).

I made this with only 1/2 the amount of oil. I also find that the 6-8 minutes recommended to cook the cabbage is not quite enough. Because of the quick addition of ingredients, it is important to get all the ingredients lined up and ready to go. I also suggest drying off the curry leaves after you rinse them to prevent too much oil from spattering up and causing great harm.

Fennel and Orange Salad, p 623

Fennel and Orange Salad
Morocco
Prep Time: 20-30 minutes
Rest Time: 30-60 minutes up to 24 hours
WW Pts (as directed): 1
Bonus: no-cook, 1 bowl, transportable, common ingredients
Bummer: slicing fennel thinly

I first came across this recipe when my friend asked for a recipe to use her fennel bulb and I sent her this. I don't know if she actually made it or not, even though she is the proud owner of a lovely mandoline, which used to take up space on my counter. When I found myself in posession of a beautiful fennel bulb, I made the salad, thinking it would be a wonderful cooling treat to eat as I bask in the warm springtime sunshine at Shea. It would have been - if there was sunshine.

I didn't cut my orange slices out of their sections, but I did slash them, to give them a chance to run and juice and meld. Instead of orange & lemon juices, I used fresh grapefruit juice, because it's what I had. And, I didn't grind my own spices fresh for the salad. It shouldn't need to be said, but I probably sliced my fennel too thickly, this is only in part due to no longer owning the mandoline.
Regardless, the salad was a nice, refreshing treat and I would make it again. If I can acquire more fennel, I may try to make it for Passover. Because of the simplicity of this recipe, though, I think it really does depend on the quality of the fennel.