All things TJ

I resolved to try to write every day this year and talked about it in this post hoping if it is for the world to read I may actually stay with it. The next day after I blogged about my resolve, I promptly broke it. It had been a long day with a Sunday morning Bikram class followed by a trip to the children’s museum. The evening ended with our first visit to Trader Joe’s, the supposed mecca of foodies. I wasn’t as impressed as I had hoped to be. Maybe it was all the hype and my own expectations or maybe I was just tired after trailing the kid and his friend in the museum all day (the kid’s best friends was spending the day with us, giving his parents some time to themselves). The kids behaved well enough for a grocery store that did not have any toys for them to gawk at but it still got quite tiring by the time we were done exploring aisle 2. Think the two of them wanting to use the bathroom at the same time or wanting to play tag in the parking lot.

 

TJ’s did try to entice me by all the chocolate covered almonds, fruits and toffees but I am proud to say I successfully refrained from buying any of the temptations. I did buy two bags of candied ginger but I consider that more medicinal and less sweet-tooth-recreational. The husband on the other hand was like a kid in a candy store. While I supervised the kiddos, he explored the alternate food world of tofu sausages, tempeh, edamame and soy protein. We came home loaded with bags of goodies including one of my new favorites, lentil-potato curls, which taste suspiciously like ganthiya, those deep fried, fat twizzler like sticks, made with besan (chickpea flour).

Chocolate orange sticks = crack!

 

It was dinner time by the time we were home and while I fed the kid his favorite, dosa and dal, he made good on some of TJ’s purchases. He made a delicious gyro with pita bread, TJ’s tzatziki sauce, some zucchini cakes (from Costco) and the tofu sausage. It was delicious and I was too hungry to take a photo. By the time I cleaned up, I was ready to hit the bed and not worry about breaking my resolution to write. I had succeeded in not eating any sweets, even though a delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie was handed in my palms by a TJ associate. I took a bite and handed the rest to my kid who claimed they were better than the ones we had at home. Take that Chips Ahoy!

The important thing with resolutions though is to not give up on them. So here I am, a few days later, writing my third blog post of the month and catching up on my resolution. Today, I have a simple aloo mattar rassa for you. Aloo is Hindi for potatoes, mattar (not a typo for ‘matter’) is Hindi and Marathi for green peas and rassa is gravy, usually thin and made by roasting a paste of ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes. In our house, usually beans or legumes and sometimes vegetables are cooked in this simple gravy with little variations of the spices used.

He never finds the taste of peas to his liking (as in comparable to the “ones we get in India”). This time, we decided to try TJ’s frozen peas. He isn’t home yet and hasn’t tasted the rassa, so the jury is still out on the taste of the peas. I will let you know if these passed the muster. For me, peas are good any which way; in pohe, in sabzi, in usal or simply sautéed with some cumin and ghee. I love my peas.

I used my itty-bitty 3 liter Prestige pressure cooker to roast the ginger-garlic-onion-tomato paste, added the chopped potatoes and the frozen peas and cooked it for one whistle. Alternatively, you could roast the masala in a heavy bottom pan, add the potatoes and peas, enough water and boil till the potatoes are cooked through and peas are tender. It will taste a little different from the cooker version but it will still be delicious.

Aloo mattar, amaranth, pumpkin sabzi and a whole wheat tortilla

Coarsely grind:

3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup tomatoes
3-4 garlic cloves
1 inch piece of ginger
4-5 sprigs of cilantro (optional)

Heat 1Tbs of oil in a 3ltr pressure cooker and add the following in the order listed:

1/2 tsp of fenugreek seeds (methidana)
1 tsp of turmeric

Add the coarsely ground onion-tomato paste. Sauté for a few minutes and add:

1 tsp of red chili powder
1 tsp of garam masala powder
1/2 tsp of cumin-coriander powder

Roast the masala with all the spices till the oil separates and the raw smell of onions and ginger-garlic turns into a fragrant aroma.

While the paste is cooking, chop 1 large potato into even pieces. Soak in a bowl of water for five minutes to get some of the starch out. Drain and keep aside.

At this point, check the frying onion-tomato paste. If you find the oil separating from the frying masala, add 1/2 cup of water and some salt.

Now, add the chopped potatoes and 1 cup of frozen peas. If you are lucky enough to get fresh ones, add those but don’t tell me about it. Add enough water or stock to cover the potatoes and peas and put the pressure cooker lid on. Set on medium heat and turn the gas off after one whistle.

Wait for the cooker to cool down before opening the lid. Serve with rotis or rice.

This is my entry for the theme 'Garnet' for the 52-week project

Oh, and by the way, I cooked the aloo mattar rassa in my Indian pressure cooker and it didn’t blow up in my face. If you are wondering what I am talking about, check out this post.   

A TJs Update: We went back to TJs last weekend, this time without the kid(s). It was a much better experience shopping at leisure, exploring all the wonderful goodies on display. I asked for suggestions on what to get at TJs on fb and was rewarded with some gems I would have missed otherwise. Manisha suggested the dried chili mango which is really good and my next favorite after the candied ginger.

Candied ginger and chili mango

She and some other friends also suggested the triple ginger cookies which the kid took a liking to. He has been eating 5-6 of them at a time but since they are really thin, I let him eat them in lieu of his two cookies allowance of Pepperidge Farm double chocolate cookies. I think it is a fair trade. I couldn’t find the rasmalai a cousin highly recommended. But the lentil potato curls were bought again and so was a ton of soy based food (not that we are turning vegan or anything. I tasted some roasted pork at Central Market yesterday and it was delicious). I was tempted to buy the chocolate biscotti but refrained from grabbing it. Overall, we realized that though small, TJs still had a lot of options to choose from and the ingredients and the quality of goods was overall superior to most of the name brand goods. We go back again in two weeks.

Carrot greens with moong dal

My mother was incredulous. Her grown up daughter of thirty six was experimenting with winter greens, she who had, growing up, caused her much heartburn by refusing to eat even the cilantro floating in the dal!
Yes, she was finally grown up and it had taken not a mother’s love but her husband’s love for all things vegetables to turn her around. There she was, listening over the phone at her excited daughter’s recipe for, of all things, carrot greens adapted from her (mother’s) fenugreek lentil sabzi!
And yes, I have also posted a similar version without the ginger and garlic for green beans and lentils and which Supriya adapted recently to suit her family’s taste.
If, like me, you have never cooked with carrot greens before, they taste a little carroty after being cooked and the taste is enhanced by the addition of some cilantro to it. I have on occasions also added some chopped up baby spinach but it does not make or break the recipe. I have added it purely for volume and not taste.

Ingredients
1/4 cup of yellow, split moong dal (lentils)
1 bunch of carrot greens
1/2 bunch of cilantro sprigs
2 carrots, chopped fine
1 tbsp ginger and garlic chopped fine (2 big cloves of garlic and 1 inch piece of ginger should do it)
1/2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp of asafetida (hing)
1/2 tsp of red chili powder
1 tsp of garam masala
Salt to taste

Method:
Wash the moong dal two to three times in water and soak with1/2 cup of water. Keep it aside while you wash the carrot greens in plenty of water. They are gritty and it is important to soak them in a big pot of water for a few minutes to let the grit settle down.
Pick and clean the cilantro sprigs as well. Don’t be tempted to use the tough stems.
In a heavy bottom kadahi, add about two swirls of olive oil and let it heat gently. Add the mustard seeds. As they start to sputter turn the heat to low, add asafetida, red chili and the finely chopped ginger garlic. The ginger garlic should start giving off their aromas within a minute as they start to cook. At this point add the soaked moong dal and the chopped carrots. Turn the heat to medium low. The moong dal should start to puff up. Add the garam masal and some salt and cover for about five minutes. Keep checking in between to make sure it doesn’t burn.
Remove the lid, turn the heat to low and with a pair of kitchen scissors start snipping the carrot greens and cilantro directly over the cooking dal and carrot mix.
If you are the more organized or perfectionist kind of cook, feel free to chop it on a chopping board and then add it. More power to you.
Add some salt, give a final mix to the greens lentils combo and cover on medium low for about ten minutes or till the greens are wilted. Serve as a side with chappati or phulkas or dosas (hey, I have eaten stranger combos and this one tasted pretty good).

A review of Skinny Bitch in the Kitchen will be coming soon. But first, this is off to Rachael of Crispy Cook, who is hosting this month's MLLA #20 for Susan.

Gingered tomato carrot soup

Due to a shopping list error my fridge received an additional bag of vine ripe tomatoes. To take advantage of the bounty of tomatoes I had no choice but to go the soup way. Also, I thought it was a nice way to honor Maurice Sendak’s (upper left corner) ode to Dec in his Chicken Soup with Rice poem – “with soup bowls draped all over me”.
A chicken soup would have been a more fitting tribute but I am sure he will forgive me opting for a tomato soup instead.

Caution: This soup does not taste like your regular restaurant soups, where the flavor and taste of tomatoes is masked by heavy cream. It is tangy with a hint of sweetness from carrots and a subtle zing of ginger and green chilies.
One hot cup of this soup is being sent off to Harini of Tounge Ticklers who is hosting Meeta's Monthly Mingle this month.

Ingredients:
8-10 vine ripe tomatoes
2-4 large carrots
2 green chilies (vary according to heat preference)
1 big chunk of ginger
1 tbsp cream cheese (substitute with cream)
3-4 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:
Wash the tomatoes, carrots, green chilies and ginger. Chop the carrots, chilies and ginger in big chunks.
Put everything in a pressure cooker with some water and cook for one whistle. Turn off the heat and let cool.
Alternatively, bring to boil everything in a big pot till the carrots are fork tender and the skins of tomatoes start to peel.

Remove the skins off the tomatoes. Blend the tomatoes, carrots, chilies and ginger in a blender till smooth.
Transfer to a big pot and add the water left over from cooking the tomatoes etc. Whip the cream cheese and add to the soup with sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Boil till desired thickness is achieved.
Transfer to soup bowls and serve hot with some crusty bread or sandwiches.

Notice the white flecks of cream cheese? Can be avoided by whipping it before adding to the soup.

Note: I added a tbsp of cream cheese, which sounds decadent but is guilt free at 45 cal divided between 6-8 bowls of soup.
4 tsp of sugar seems like a lot but it helps to cut the sharp acidity of the tomatoes.

Moong dosa/ adai inspired by Holy Cow

I have to admit that till I started reading Vaishali’s blog, Holy Cow, my conception of vegan was vague. Not so any more. Eating a vegetarian Indian diet gets you as close to being a vegan as possible with the exception of daiy, fat and meat. Nevertheless, I try to check up Vaishali’s recipes as fast as she posts them. Trying them out at the same speed is another matter. In the past I have made her baghare baingan and loved them. This is saying a lot from someone not fond of baingan (eggplant).

Her moong dal dosa were another hit in my home. Soaking time two hours, no fermentation and a little grinding later the batter is ready. All you have to do is roll a ladleful on the skillet and your breakfast, lunch or snack is ready. These are not only easy to make and full of nutrition and protein but addictive as well. Ever since I read the recipe three weeks ago, I have been tweaking it and trying it out every few days. What I have not done is stop eating them.

So here’s my version of Vaishali’s moong dosa:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup moong dal (I used whole but split can be substituted)

1/2 cup ponni rice (Vaishali recommends any medium grain rice)
1/4 cup chana dal (optional)
2-4 green chilies
2-4 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger
1/2 bunch of coriander

Method:
Wash and soak both the dals and the rice together. Soak in about a cup and a half of water for two to three hours.

In a blender, grind the soaked ingredients with the chilies, garlic, ginger, coriander and cumin to a smooth consistency. Add salt to taste and keep aside in the refrigerator till ready to use. If the batter is too thick, add a little water to the batter.

When ready to use, heat a non-stick or a cast iron skillet on medium heat. With a smooth concentric motion of the hand, spread a ladleful of batter in a thin circle on the skillet. For a demo on how to spread dosa batter, check out this link.
Add a few drops of oil on the dosa. Unlike regular dosa, this one does need only a few drops. If you add too much, the dosa will get oily. A few drops of oil is another plus of this dosa.

When the dosa starts lifting from the edges, in a minute or two, flip it with a spatula and cook the other side. Fold it in half and serve with chutney of your choice.

Sra of When My Soup Came Alive is hosting this month's MLLA -- 17, originally started by Susan of The Well Seasoned Cook. The moong dal dosa is getting shipped to the two lovely ladies on account of it being loaded with legumes.

Kanda Poha and Kadak Chai

Sunday morning breakfast in my home is always Kanda Poha with adrak wali chai. My dear husband, Tushar, has perfected the recipe over the years and like all things that he does he has got it down to a science. His favourite chef is Jacque Pappaine and just like the chef Tushar prefers to chop and cut his ingredients before starting the cooking process.
Tushar likes to chop the onions a little coarse and cut the green chilli first lengthwise and then in little pieces. Here in the USA my freezer is always stocked with frozen peas and so we use those year around. But fresh peas work too. You just have to cook them a little longer. Here’s Tushar’s foolproof recipe for kanda poha:


Ingredients:
2 cups thick poha
1 onion, chopped
1 small potato, chopped thin
¼ cup peas, frozen or fresh (optional)

For Tadka:
Rai/ black mustard seeds
½ tsp Haldi/ turmeric
1 green chilli
4-5 curry leaves/ kari patta
½ tsp fennel seeds/ saunf


Method:
Wash the poha twice in water and keep it aside. It should be wet like a sponge but not soaking in water.
Heat oil and add mustard seeds. When they start spluttering, add curry leaves and chopped green chilli, fennel seeds and onion. Let the onions sweat on medium heat till they turn pink.
Add haldi and cook till the smell of raw haldi goes away.
Add the chopped potatoes and the peas and salt them. Cover and cook till the potatoes are fully cooked.
Add the poha and mix the onion-potato-peas together. Add salt and a pinch of sugar. Cover the poha with a lid and let it steam on low for 5 mints.
Turn the heat off and garnish with chopped coriander.
We also like to garnish the poha with sev and where I come from (Indore) we add Pomegranate seeds for added color and crunch. Of course a cup of kadak Ginger tea makes the Poha taste that much better.


The secret to our adrak wali chai is a 50-50 blend of Brook Bond Red Label and Vagh Bakri Chai. We do not like too much milk in it so for every two cups of water we add ¼ cup of 1% milk.

Ingredients:
4 tsps of sugar
2 ¼ tsps of chai patti/ tea leaves
1/2“of ginger root

Method:
We mix the water, milk, sugar and tea leaves and let it come to a boil on medium heat. We have found that this brings out the most flavor of the tea leaves. Once the chai starts boiling we grate ginger in it and let it boil for a couple of more mints. Turn the gas off and let the tea leaves and the ginger give off their flavors. By the time you strain your tea it should be almost a terracotta color. That’s when you know you have kadak chai.