Egg and Spinach Curry (Andaa Saag)

I've fallen off the Tuesday Night Vego Challenge bandwagon, not that we haven't been eating vegetarian, just nothing worthy of posting (the culinary equivalent of watching star trek reruns). But today the inspiration has arrived thanks to a tub bursting with baby silverbeet leaves, and a dozen freshly laid eggs.

The thought of freshly poached eggs swimming in a vibrant green sauce sounds fantastic today - Saag with Eggs!

I started with a recipe from Lil'Chef's World, using red lentils and a slurry of milk and starch instead of cream (because I don't have any).

I actually made this for lunch, and it was easily done in half an hour. It's also a great way to get some extra green stuff into your day.

Egg and Spinach Curry (serves 1-2)

2 eggs
2 cups leafy greens (or use 3 frozen spinach cubes)
2 tbsp dried red lentils
half a tomato, diced
half an onion, diced
salt and pepper
a pinch of cumin seeds
a pinch of turmeric powder (or some grated fresh)
a pinch of garam masala
2 tbsp milk mixed with 1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp crushed garlic
olive oil
boiling water

Firstly, boil the kettle. If I've learnt anything from Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals, it's that waiting for water to boil is a waste of time.

In a frying pan, heat some olive oil over a medium heat, and add the onion and garlic, cumin and turmeric and tomato. Cook for 5 minutes until the spices are fragrant and the onion and tomato are soft. Add the lentils and a cup of boiling water. Cover and allow to simmer for 10 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking, place the spinach in a small food processor/blender or mortar and pestle with a couple of tablespoons of boiling water. You can add fresh herbs. I'm adding some thai basil and mint because I have plenty of both at the moment. Pulse to form a rough puree. Add the puree to the saucepan and reduce the heat so that the sauce gently bubbles.

Add the milk, garam masala and season generously with salt and pepper. Finally, crack the eggs into the sauce and allow to poach until done to your liking. Do not stir after you have added the eggs. If you have older eggs, then hard boil them and add them to the sauce before serving.

Serve with rice or flatbreads.

Cauliflower and Potato Subzi

There was a beautiful head of cauliflower in my vegie box this week, and after a couple of weeks of struggling for dinner inspiration, I'm all ready for a Tuesday Night Vego Challenge!

Some time ago, my husband bought me a wonderful cookbook simply called Curry, and it's a wonderful collection of curry (and curry-like) recipes from India (north and south), Pakistan, South East Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Britain and Japan. It's written by a range of authors, so each section is authentic, but the recipes have been written with a western home cook in mind - the ingredients are generally ones you can find with little effort. The book also includes a range of side dishes, breads and condiments. If you like curries, it's a great book to have in your collection.

A subzi generally refers to a vegetable curry from India or Pakistan. They're quick, fresh and use seasonal vegetables. This is a "dry" style curry - more like a plate of spiced vegetables, rather than the saucy versions you make with coconut milk. Very light and perfect for a Tuesday night.

Cauliflower and Potato Subzi

500g cauliflower, cut into florets

500g kipfler potatoes, sliced (I left the skin on)

1 onion

1 punnet grape tomatoes, halved

1 tsp crushed garlic (2-3 cloves)

1 tbsp chopped ginger root

½ tsp ground tumeric

1 pinch chilli flakes

1 tsp cumin seeds

salt  and pepper

1/2 cup water

1 handful fresh coriander

2 tablespoons coconut oil*

Heat the oil and gently fry the spices, onion until the onion has softened. Add the tomato, garlic, ginger, and season with salt and pepper. Fry until the tomatoes have started to soften. Add the cauliflower and potato, pour over the water and cover with a lid. Cook for 20 minutes or until the potato is tender. Stir through some chopped coriander before serving immediately.

We ate this with some steamed brown rice and a mint raita.

*I havet a jar of virgin coconut oil and it works brilliantly in curries as a substitute for ghee. It does have a high quantity of saturated fat, but supposedly has high amounts of lauric acid, which has antioxidant properties. Not sure if it's a miracle food like some people claim, but it does taste amazing (and can be used as a dairy-free substitute for butter in baking).

January Challenge: Day 7

So a week into the Pantry Challenge and so far I haven't done too much damage to the pantry or the freezer, but I have found some new inspiration in ingredients and cooking techniques.

I was pointed towards The Witches Kitchen, and it turns out that Linda has run challenges of her own for some time - but hers run all year! Challenges such as the breakfast challenge (grow things that you can make breakfast with that aren't cereal), and the muesli bar challenge (home made muesli bars that kids judge to be better than commercial snacks).

For 2012 it's the Tuesday Night Vego Challenge. I'm in! I cook vegetarian at least once a week anyway. There are rules:

• The have to be based on ingredients that are all locally in season together. I think it is fine for spices to travel half way round the world, and grains, legumes and seeds to travel interstate.  But  asparagus air freighted from California will just be a very expensive, very jet lagged, mummified version of the real thing.
• They have to be healthy, as in, low fat, low sugar, whole grain. Cream based carbonara sauces are fine for a special occasion, but if you eat them as a regular mid-week dinner, you better be very active!
• They have to use, or at least be able to substitute, equipment that you can probably find in an op shop.
• They have to take less than half an hour to make, mostly from scratch.

Indian cuisine is a great place to start looking for vegetarian recipes that look and taste sensational. I made two delicious vegetarian curries and a salad for dinner, served with steamed brown rice. Easily made in about half an hour if you put your rice and lentils on at the same time.

This much colour has to be healthy!

Dahl

"Dahl" simply refers to the split peas or lentils. There are numerous versions of this dish, depending on the legume used. Red lentils cook very fast and don't require any soaking. If you are using split peas or brown lentils, then you need to soak and rinse them beforehand, or use a pressure cooker. You can add other vegies too, like some greens or diced potato.

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

1 tbsp oil (I used virgin coconut oil)

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp tumeric

pinch of chilli

1 tomato, diced

1 onion, diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp grated ginger

salt and pepper

Place the lentils and water into a large saucepan and bring to the boil, then rapidly simmer for 15-20 minutes until the lentils are tender. In a separate saucepan or frying pan, heat the oil and add the tomato, onion, garlic and ginger and gently sweat over a medium heat until soft. Add the spices and cook for another 2-3 minutes until fragrant. Add the onion mixture to the lentils and season well. Cook until thickened and serve with rice.

Dry Vegetable Curry

Aloo Subzi is a dry (no sauce) potato curry where cubes of potato are cooked in spiced oil or ghee. It's absolutely delicious, very very quick and easy to make and it's much lighter than "regular" curries that can be heavy with cream or coconut milk. Best of all, you can add whatever seasonal vegetables you have - spinach (aloo palak), cauliflower (aloo gobi)... I used golden nugget pumpkin and zucchini (no potato). The pumpkin was creamy and delicious!

500g diced pumpkin, zucchini, steamed until tender-crisp (4-5 min microwave)

1 pinch cumin seeds

1 pinch fennel seeds

1 pinch yellow mustard seeds

1 pinch black mustard seeds

1 small pinch chilli flakes

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

1 small onion, sliced

2 tbsp oil (I used virgin coconut oil)

salt and pepper

Heat the oil and gently fry the spices and onion until fragrant.  Add the vegetables and a little cooking water and cook until tender. Season well and serve.

Tomato and Cucumber Salad

1 cup peeled and seeded cucumber, chopped

8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved

1 green spring onion, finely sliced

1/2 tsp minced ginger

pinch of sea salt

1 tbsp mint sauce**

Mix everything together and serve as a cooling side dish to spicy food.

** Yes, you read that right - mint sauce! That terribly english concoction of malt vinegar, sugar and mint makes a fantastic dressing for cucumber! This is what the Pantry Challenge is all about!

Jamie Oliver's Indian-Style Steak Dinner

So this weekend I've been cooking Jamie Oliver recipes from his 30 Minute Meals book. Last night was the Jerk Chicken, of which the winner was the black beans and rice - I'd happily eat a bowl of that on its own. Tonight it's the Indian Style Steak - grilled steak, curry sauce, salad, yoghurt, flat breads and grilled paneer. 


I used a papaya and turned it into a lassi to drink (because lassi is awesome). My favourite lassi is at Ahbi's in North Strathfield - a mango lassi that's almost a thickshake, and they add some cardamom to it - very very delicious. Thinking about it makes me want to go to Ahbi's!


PS - No photo today - in between having a cold and a baby who has a cold, something had to give :)


Papaya and Coconut Lassi (serves 2)


1 red papaya, seeds and skin removed
½ cup yoghurt
½ cup water
½ cup coconut milk
1 tsp rosewater
¼ tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp honey


Pop everything into a blender and blend until smooth and silky. Add water to adjust the consistency to your liking. Papaya has an enzyme (papain) that helps to break down proteins, which makes it a great accompaniment to a meat dinner because it helps with digestion.