Cabbage, Mushroom and Tomato Curry over Yellow Rice

Why use cabbage in Indian food? I don’t know; why shouldn’t I include cabbage in Indian food? Cabbage is a member of the cruciferous vegetable family and is thought to fight cancer so I like to cook with it. Since I had made the Indian flat bread I thought I should make an Indian inspired entrée. The cabbage had been in the refrigerator for a few days so it became dinner.

When we go to the farmers’ market on the weekend I tend to buy enough produce for three families, and there are two of us. Needless to say sometimes things aren’t used as fast as I would like. The cabbage and mushrooms were the oldest items in so they needed to be cooked. For you fellow accounting geeks I try to follow the FIFO rule of refrigerator inventory management.

The jalapenos I got at the farmers’ market yesterday were blow your head off hot. I never expect jalapenos to be that hot. I had the same thing happen last year with a jalapeno so now I always test them by rubbing my finger on the cut side and then putting it in my mouth. You know immediately when the peppers are hotter than normal. I think it is the dry weather we have been having the last few weeks that made the peppers so hot. If the jalapenos had their usual level of heat I would have used two or three in this sauce.

I make a few standard curry sauces and mix the vegetables up depending on what I have in the house. This tomato based curry is one of those sauces. The sauce also goes well with beans, potatoes and squash.

Cabbage, Mushroom and Tomato Curry
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon of black mustard seed, toasted
1 teaspoon of cumin seed, toasted
1 teaspoon of coriander seed, toasted
14 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 jalapeno, stem removed
1 red onion, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon of canola oil
1 teaspoon of turmeric
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper
1 head of red cabbage, shredded
1 cup of almond milk, unsweetened
4 cloves of garlic
½ pound of fresh shitake mushrooms, stems removed
½ cup of cilantro, minced
1 fresh lemon, quartered

Directions:

Grind the mustard, cumin and coriander seed in a spice mill until fine.

Place the tomatoes, jalapeno, and red onion in a blender and process until smooth.

Place the canola oil in a large heave bottomed skilled and over low heat cook the turmeric, and ground spices.

Add the tomato puree and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. Add the sliced cabbage, shitake mushrooms and almond milk and cover the pot and cook over low heat for at least 20 minutes or until the cabbage is tender.

Taste for salt and pepper and correct seasoning before serving. Sprinkle each serving with cilantro and serve with a lemon wedge. The lemon juice makes a big difference in the overall flavor of the dish.

I served this on top of yellow rice with a paratha on the side.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 85.57
Calories From Fat (16%) - 13.92

Total Fat - 1.61g
Saturated Fat - 0.16g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 32.69mg
Potassium - 642.27mg
Total Carbohydrates - 16.42g
Fiber - 6.05g
Sugar - 2.68g
Protein - 3.78g

Pressure Cooked Yellow Rice
Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 cups of brown basmati rice
4 cups of water
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1 teaspoon of canola oil
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Place rice in a wire sieve and rinse well. Place all the ingredients in a pressure cooker. Lock the lid and turn the heat on high. When steam begins to escape lower the heat and cook for 18 minutes. Use the quick release valve to bring the pressure down. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.

Nutritional information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 236.54
Calories From Fat (9%) - 22.06

Total Fat - 2.59g
Saturated Fat - 0.43g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 165.94mg
Potassium - 150.56mg
Total Carbohydrates - 47.98g
Fiber - 2.28g
Sugar - 0.54g
Protein - 4.94g

Comments:

This is a reasonably simple Indian inspired dish. It can easily be made after work with a minimum of preparation and intervention. If you prepare this dish in a heavy pan over low heat it only needs to be stirred every ten minutes or so.

This dish makes great leftovers for lunch the next day. Like all cabbage based dishes it reheats well in the microwave. The flavors will improve the next day as seems to happen with most Indian dishes.

If you like more heat you can add cayenne to this dish. Fresh ginger would also be a nice addition. You could include a little mint if you like. I would also make this with potatoes if I weren’t serving paratha and yellow rice tonight.

Braised Vegetables and Garbanzo Beans with Indian Spices over Green Rice

My best friend in college was from India and I have loved Indian food ever since. It is a little scary to think that was almost 30 years ago. Making Indian food to now second nature to me like Italian food.

I go through phases when I cook a lot of Indian food. I was a little concerned that removing the coconut milk from this dish would result in an unsatisfactory end result, but I should not have been worried. The almond milk thickened with cornstarch slurry was a fine substitute for the low fat coconut milk I normally used. This dish came in lower in fat than I expected, but the flavor was still very good.

One of the things I love the most about Indian food is the use of turmeric. The more you learn about the health benefits of turmeric the more you will find yourself looking for ways to incorporate it into your life. Turmeric is very high in antioxidants and is thought to fight cancer in many ways. According to “Anticancer” you need to consume the turmeric with oil and black pepper to get the maximum benefit.

If you are looking for a recipe to introduce your family to Indian flavors this is a nice mild dish to try.

Braised Vegetables and Garbanzo Beans with Indian Spices over Green Rice
Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 cup of garbanzo, cooked until tender (if using canned, use one 14 ounce can)
1 teaspoon of canola oil
1 red onion minced
3 garlic cloves, minced (allow to stand to 10 minutes so allicin develops)
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
1 teaspoon of turmeric, or to taste
1 teaspoon of cumin seed, or to taste
1 teaspoon of coriander seed, or to taste
1 teaspoon of mustard seed, or to taste
½ teaspoon of fenugreek, optional
½ teaspoon of red pepper flakes, optional but recommended
2 large zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced
2 Japanese eggplants, halved lengthwise and sliced
15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 cup of almond milk, unsweetened
1 tablespoon of hot crushed peppers (wet hots)
½ jalapeno, finely minced
1 tablespoon of cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons of water to form a slurry
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 cups of brown basmati rice
4 cups of water, filtered
1 teaspoon of canola oil, to keep pressure cooker from foaming
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
½ - 1 cup of fresh cilantro, minced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
½ jalapeno, finely minced

Directions:

Cook the garbanzo beans until tender, and then set aside until needed. If you don’t want to use dried bean substitute one 14-ounce can of garbanzos that you rinsed and drained.

Sauté onion, garlic and ginger in olive oil until tender. Add turmeric, cumin, coriander, mustard seed, fenugreek and red crushed peppers and cook until mustard seed begin to pop. Add the zucchini, eggplant, diced tomatoes, almond milk, hot crushed peppers and tender garbanzo beans and cook over low heat until the vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes).

Meanwhile rinse the brown rice in a fine sieve under running water and then drain. Put drained brown rice and water in a pressure cooker with the oil and lock the lid. Bring the pressure cooker to pressure, then turn down to low (but not so long the steam stops) and cook for 18 minutes. Use the quick release method to bring the temperature down. Fluff the rice with a fork and add in the cilantro, green onion and jalapeno. Note: If you are not using a pressure cooker, begin cooking the rice 45 minutes before dinner (or 25 minutes prior to starting the vegetable braise).

Add the cornstarch slurry to the braised vegetables to thicken the sauce. Taste for seasonings and serve with the green rice and tofu Raita.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 456.37
Calories From Fat (13%) - 57.85

Total Fat - 6.79g
Saturated Fat - 0.82g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 308.48mg
Potassium - 1201.68mg
Total Carbohydrates - 87.45g
Fiber - 15.92g
Sugar - 10.76g
Protein - 15.34g

Comments:

I intentionally reduced the heat level in this dish so that my 80-year-old parents could eat it. If I were making this dish for only my family I would double the jalapeno, pepper flakes and the hot crushed peppers.

Everyone enjoyed this meal tonight including the omnivores that aren’t very familiar with Indian food. I think this is a good Indian inspired dish for someone you are trying to introduce to Indian flavors. The flavors are not very aggressive, but you do get the essence of Indian food.
If you aren’t as concerned with fat as we are you can add a little low fat coconut milk to the sauce, or a few toasted cashews. Both are traditional and would be excellent used here.

Indian Inspired Pan Roasted Potatoes

Today I was focused on eating for health and wanted to incorporate turmeric into our dinner. When I think of turmeric I tend to cook Indian food. Today I decided to do something that was more “Indian inspired” than authentic.

In order for your body to efficiently process turmeric it needs to be mixed with black pepper and dissolved in oil. This combination is said to stimulate cancer cell death (Anticancer p. 120). Since black pepper and oil are present in almost everything I cook, this was easy to incorporate.

These spices are very flavorful, but are not hot. This same spice combination would be good with other starches like brown rice, or bulgur. I will be using this spice mix to make an Indian “fried” brown rice sometime soon.

Indian Inspired Pan Roasted Potatoes
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:

2 pounds of red potatoes
1 tablespoon of canola oil
½ teaspoon cumin seed, toasted
½ teaspoon coriander, toasted
½ teaspoon turmeric, toasted
½ teaspoon mustard seed, toasted
½ teaspoon fennel seed, toasted
½ teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Scrub the potatoes and pierce with a paring knife to allow steam to escape. Place on a single layer in a microwave safe container and microwave until cooked through. Five minutes was sufficient for me.

Toast seeds and cool. When cool, grind in your spice grinder and set aside.

Cut the potatoes into bite size pieces. Toss the potatoes with the canola oil. Mix the spices with the kosher salt and sprinkle it on the potatoes.

Cook the seasoned potatoes in a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high for about 10 minutes, until they are lightly browned. Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 247.96
Calories From Fat (14%) - 35.83

Total Fat - 4.08g
Saturated Fat - 0.36g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 258.66mg
Potassium - 1238.22mg
Total Carbohydrates - 48.83g
Fiber - 5.4g
Sugar - 2.72g
Protein - 5.94g

Comments:

Nice robust flavor but not hot. I think you could safely serve these potatoes to someone that didn’t like spicy food. I think these potatoes would also be nice in a frittata or as the base for a wine vinegar potato salad.