Here is another nice vegetarian curry. I'm giving the recipe as it appears in The Best-Ever Curry Cookbook, but I actually have never used the fenugreek in it. Someday I'll acquire some from Penzey's, but until then, it's good without. Two Weight Watcher points again and it's Core.
Masala Beans with Fenugreek
Serves 4
1 onion
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp sesame seeds
1 tsp chili powder
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tomato cut in chunks, or use canned diced tomato
2 or 3 cups green beans, blanched
1 bunch fresh fenugreek leaves, stems discarded, or 1 TBSP dried fenugreek, also known as kasuri methi
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice
1) Roughly chop the onion. Mix together the cumin, coriander, sesame seeds, chili powder, garlic, turmeric, salt.
2) Put the chopped onion and spice mixture into a food processor or blender, and process for 30 to 45 seconds until you have a rough paste.
3) In a wok or large pan, heat the oil over medium heat and fry the spice paste for about 5 minutes, stirring to make sure it doesn't burn.
4) Add the tomato chunks, the blanched green beans, fenugreek and chopped cilantro.
5) Stir Fry the contents of the pan for 5 to 10 minutes until the green beans are the way you like them - a little crispy, but not too. Then, sprinkle in the lemon juice and serve.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Bride Makes Cherry Wine, Step two
The Cherry Wine I made last month is ready for step 2, so I strained and bottled it. Then, in a bit of a Martha moment, I made labels for it. It's a beautiful color and tastes lovely, although it's supposed to sit for a while yet before drinking. I saved the cherries and I'm going to macerate them for a while in a little kirsch and simple syrup, then make ice cream with them. I'm thinking the wine will make a nice Sangria.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
The Bride Makes A Vegetarian Curry: Spinach and Potato Curry
Here is another favorite vegetarian curry. You can use frozen spinach or a package of baby spinach to save time. This one has 2 Weight Watcher points, and is Core. And, best of all, it can be made with ingredients you have on had - if you keep spinach in your freezer.
Spinach With Golden Potatoes
1 lb spinach, or any other greens, chard, tatsoi, kale, whatever
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 TBSP fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped - optional
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne, optional
1/2 cup water
1) Clean and blanch the spinach in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, then drain in a strainer and leave to cool. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze out any remaining liquid. If using baby spinach or frozen spinach this step can be omitted.
2) Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry the mustard seeds until they begin to splutter.
3) Add the sliced onion, crushed garlic, and chopped ginger and the red pepper, if you are using it. Fry for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft, stirring occasionally.
4) Stir in the potatoes, chilli powder, salt and water and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if the water cooks down. You should have just a little bit on the bottom of the pan creating steam, but not drenching the potatoes.
5) Add the spinach to the pan. If you omitted step 1, the volume of the spinach may overflow the pan. Let it cook down for a minute or two and add the rest. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add more water if necessary.
6) Serve with rice and plain yogurt.
Spinach With Golden Potatoes
1 lb spinach, or any other greens, chard, tatsoi, kale, whatever
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 TBSP fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped - optional
1 1/2 pounds potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne, optional
1/2 cup water
1) Clean and blanch the spinach in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, then drain in a strainer and leave to cool. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze out any remaining liquid. If using baby spinach or frozen spinach this step can be omitted.
2) Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat and fry the mustard seeds until they begin to splutter.
3) Add the sliced onion, crushed garlic, and chopped ginger and the red pepper, if you are using it. Fry for about 5 minutes, until the onions are soft, stirring occasionally.
4) Stir in the potatoes, chilli powder, salt and water and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if the water cooks down. You should have just a little bit on the bottom of the pan creating steam, but not drenching the potatoes.
5) Add the spinach to the pan. If you omitted step 1, the volume of the spinach may overflow the pan. Let it cook down for a minute or two and add the rest. Cover and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add more water if necessary.
6) Serve with rice and plain yogurt.
The Bride Makes Vegetarian Curry: 1 Aubergine Curry
I've been cooking vegetarian curries frequently this summer. They are low in calories and high in wonderfulness. I'm posting my two favorite recipes. No pictures, unfortunately. One serving is 2 WW points with or without mushroooms and without peas. Add the peas and it's 4 WW points. Any which way, it's Core. And it's really really really good whichever way you do it.
Roasted Aubergine Curry
4 servings.
2 large aubergine (eggplants)
2 TBSP oil (more or less)
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 TBSP fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 fresh red chili, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
14 ounce can diced tomatoes, or 2 cups fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup frozen peas, optional
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms, quartered, optional
1) Apply about 1 TBSP of oil to the skins of the whole eggplants by rubbing it in with your hands. Prick the sides with a fork. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. When the aubergine is soft, it's done. Take it out and let it cool somewhat.
2) While the aubergine is cooling, heat the remaining TBSP of oil and add the black mustard seeds. Leave them for a minute or two until they start to sputter. Then add the chopped onion, garlic and chili pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft. Add the ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt and stir through, allowing it to cook with the onions for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
3) While the tomatoes are simmering, return to the eggplant which is now cooled enough that you can handle it. Cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Discard the skin (and therefore 1 TBSP of the oil. Neat, eh?). Mash the flesh as best you can.
4) When the tomatoes have simmered for a while, add the aubergine mash and, if you are using the mushrooms and/or peas, add them now, too. Mix well. Reduce heat and cook for about 20 mnutes. Then add most of the coriander and stir through. At this point you can leave it to simmer at a very low temp until you are ready to eat it.
5) Serve garnished with the rest of the coriander and rice.
Roasted Aubergine Curry
4 servings.
2 large aubergine (eggplants)
2 TBSP oil (more or less)
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 TBSP fresh ginger, finely chopped
1 fresh red chili, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
14 ounce can diced tomatoes, or 2 cups fresh tomatoes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup frozen peas, optional
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms, quartered, optional
1) Apply about 1 TBSP of oil to the skins of the whole eggplants by rubbing it in with your hands. Prick the sides with a fork. Place in the oven at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes. When the aubergine is soft, it's done. Take it out and let it cool somewhat.
2) While the aubergine is cooling, heat the remaining TBSP of oil and add the black mustard seeds. Leave them for a minute or two until they start to sputter. Then add the chopped onion, garlic and chili pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the onion is soft. Add the ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne and salt and stir through, allowing it to cook with the onions for another 2 or 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 to 10 minutes.
3) While the tomatoes are simmering, return to the eggplant which is now cooled enough that you can handle it. Cut them in half lengthwise and scoop out the flesh into a bowl. Discard the skin (and therefore 1 TBSP of the oil. Neat, eh?). Mash the flesh as best you can.
4) When the tomatoes have simmered for a while, add the aubergine mash and, if you are using the mushrooms and/or peas, add them now, too. Mix well. Reduce heat and cook for about 20 mnutes. Then add most of the coriander and stir through. At this point you can leave it to simmer at a very low temp until you are ready to eat it.
5) Serve garnished with the rest of the coriander and rice.
Friday, August 8, 2008
The Bride makes Walnut and Cherry Liqueurs
The Bride, following in Vivi's footsteps, has made two kinds of walnut liqueur. (Thanks for sending me the walnuts, Vivi and Girl child). The middle jar and the righthand jar are Vin de Noix and Nocino, respectively. I actually used the other recipe for the Vin de Noix, the one Vivi didn't use. It calls for 'bitter orange peel'. I'm working on getting it, but I just went ahead and made it without. And the Nocino on the far right - look how dark it has gotten. It started out clear with lovely green walnut quarters floating in it. I only made 1/2 recipe of each, because that's how many walnuts I had. If it's good, I'll have to get Vivi to send me more next summer.
The 2 gallon jar on the far left is Vin de Cerise, made from a recipe in the same French cookbook as the Vin de Noix recipe I used. This one we've made before and I love it. I highly recommend trying this while the cherries are available. I made the full 3 liters, but you could make less.
Vin de Cerise
3 liters of red or rose wine
1 kilo of black cherries
1/2 litre of vodka or eau de vie
500 grams of sugar
Crush the cherries (I put them in a strong plastic zip lock bag and smashed them with a flat meat tenderizer.) Leave the pits in place - much of the flavor comes from the pits. Put everything in a large jar. Mine is 2 gallons. Swirl the contents around every day for 15 days of maceration. After that, filter and put in bottles and let sit a little longer. The cherries that you filter out are really good with ice cream, once you pick the pits out.
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