Tomato Rice, with Potatoes

A friend of mine that secretly follows my blog :) commented on one of my rice recipes. She suggested I add tomatoes to my Turmeric Spice Rice, to obtain some added benefits from lycopene. So here's what I came up with this evening ....!! Unlike its authentic namesake from Southern India ... this is a rather bastardized version ;-)

Prep Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup Basmati rice, and 1.5 cups cold tap water
2. 1 large Red Onion, diced
3. 1 large tomato, diced
4. 1 large potato, diced
5. 1/2 cup Vegetable broth
6. 4 Bay leaves
7. 4-6 Cloves, whole
8. 1/2 tsp Turmeric powder
9. 2 tsp Cumin
10. 2 tsp Garam Masala
11. Salt, and Pepper, to taste
12. A Sprig of Coriander leaves

Directions:

In a deep stock pot, add vegetable broth, and diced onions. Sprinkle a tsp of salt and saute onions on medium heat until translucent and cooked down, without burning. Reduce heat and add all the dry spices and mix well. Once the aromas are released, add diced tomato and cook for another few minutes. Then, add diced potatoes and do the same. Add rice, add 1.5X cold tap water and mix everything well and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and cover the pot so as to leave a sliver of space between the the pot and the lid, to allow some evaporation but not a lot. Cook for 15 minutes of so. When the rice look about done, turn off heat and cover completely. If possible, place a heavy weight over the lid to prevent any steam from escaping. This helps cook any remaining rice perfectly. After about 5-7 minutes, uncover, sprinkle a tsp of Garam masala over the top, garnish with Coriander leaves and enjoy!!

Nik's Reaction: A picture says a 1000 words ... gobble gobble was all he could come up with as he licked even his utensils clean. This pic was taken at the beginning of his meal. I ate the rice, Indian style, with my hands and when he saw that, he wanted to follow suit. Of course, by the time I thought of taking a pic, he was done :(

My Assessment: The tomato did add a certain something to this dish. It was spicy and salty and tangy all at the same time. I'll definitely make this again. Maybe even without the potatoes. 

Roasted Potato (& Asparagus) Salad

I must be back in my Quick & Easy meal mood, cause tonight's dinner literally required 5 minutes of prep time, 15 minutes in the oven and on the table in 2 minutes. I got a bottle of Salsa Verde at the store this past weekend and was itching to eat it. But I knew I didn't just want to have tortilla chips with it. Also, earlier today, Happy Herbivore polled folks on Facebook about which kind of baked potato they liked, Sweet or White? .... that got me thinking of baked potatoes. I, of course, like both kinds :) but must have been in the mood for white as I requested T to pick up a sack of roasting white potatoes from the store on his way home. Unfortunately, I get home well after 6 pm, and couldn't possible afford a whole hour of potato roasting time in the oven (I personally don't like Microwave roasted potatoes). So my only option was to cut 'em open and roast little pieces. & here's what I concocted.... Roasted Potato Salad, with and without Roasted Asparagus.

Prep Time: 5 min of preparation, 15-20 min in the oven, and 2 min to bring it all together.  

Ingredients: 

1. 3 Russet potatoes, cut into 2-3" wedges, skin on.
2. 1 small Red Onion, diced finely
3. 1 large tomato, diced finely
4. 2-3 springs of Cilantro leaves
5. 15-20 stalks of Asparagus (New Veggie #21)
6. 4-6 tbsp Salsa Verde
7. Salt, and freshly cracked Black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Soak potatoes in a large bowl of cold water and scrub skins well with a vegetable scrubbing brush. Make sure that there are no blemishes or dirt spots on the potatoes. Remove if any are visible on the outside. Pat dry and cut into wedges, with the skin on. Check again for any deep dirt filled crevices, or blemishes and remove. Spread wedges skin side down on a cookie sheet on a SILPAT mat.    If you don't have a Silpat, you can use parchment paper instead, or spray the cookie sheet with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and roast potato wedges at 350F for about 15-20 minutes until a pin inserted into the thickest part of a wedge slides in smoothly. 

Version 1: In a large salad bowl, toss all the remaining ingredients together (with the exception of Asparagus). As soon as the potatoes are done, drop them into the salad bowl and toss everything together. 

Version 1: Roasted Potato Salad

Version 2: On a second ungreased baking sheet, with or without parchment paper, spread out asparagus in a single layer, and roast at 350F as well. Once the asparagus starts to wilt, remove, sprinkle with a dusting of sea salt, and transfer to a cutting board. Cut the stalks into 2-3" pieces and as soon as the potatoes are done, toss everything together. 

My Assessment: While this salad tasted great while the potatoes were still warm from the oven, I think it will taste as good even when cold. This would be a great, make-ahead, addition to a back yard party in the summer. The Salsa verde, the tomatoes and fresh onions gave it a lovely fresh taste and potatoes gave it the starchy bulk. I really liked this salad and will most definitely make it again! 

Curried Kale & Mushrooms

So maybe its just me and I'm stingy with my kale ... but each time I've bought a bunch of kale, I've ended up using it for 2 or 3 different recipes. This time was no different. I made the Zucchini & Kale Casserole earlier in the week and had about half the bunch leftover, that I needed to use soon. Also, I had some fresh white button mushrooms in the fridge which I wanted to use before they became covered in dark blemishes. 

Curried Kale & Mushrooms

Most importantly, given my recent inspiration and my return to a maker of Indian flat bread i.e. Rotis/Chapatis ;-) ... I spent $39.99 and bought me a marble pastry board on Saturday. Of course, I was dying to give it a try as I had a tough time rolling out rotis on my old (slightly warped) wooden cutting board.  

Chakla (Hindi: चकला)

Since I had to make rotis, and I had to use my Kale and I had to use my fresh mushrooms, the choice was easy. I had to make a curry, which I called rather inventively, Curried Kale & Mushrooms :) !! What is  Curry? ... Now, a lot of folks think that all curries are the same and all curries have curry powder in them. Unfortunately, this couldn't be farther from the truth. Curry is a rather generic term applied by Western cultures to a wide variety of cuisines including Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan and even Thai. While most of these cuisines employ a lot of similar spices and herbs, not all curries are made equal and not all curries have the same, or all, the available herbs and spices.  Curries may be wet or dry, spicy or bland, and may use whole or powdered spices, and even raw or roasted spices. Interestingly, even the same vegetables are not always cooked with the same blend of spices, even in the same country. In Southern India, Green Beans are made simply with mustard seeds and coconut milk, while in the North, the same green beans are cooked with cumin, coriander and turmeric.  The version I made today, leans more towards Southern India, but is definitely not authentic cuisine, and I used only 2 spices for this curry.

Prep Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

1. 6-8 leaves of Kale, stalks removed and leaves torn into bite sized pieces (New Veggie # 23)
2. 6 oz fresh mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
3. 1/4 cup vegetable broth
4. 1-2 tsp Mustard seeds
5. 1 tsp Black Sesame seeds
6. 1-2 tsp Split Urad dal (green lentils)
7. 1 tsp minced Garlic
8. 1 small red onion, diced
9. 1 small/medium tomato, diced
10. Salt, and freshly cracked Black pepper, to taste. 

Directions: 

In a dry non-stick skillet, roast the lentil seeds until golden brown and then quench the heat with vegetable broth to prevent the lentils from burning. Add mustard, sesame and garlic and allow the aromas to be released before adding onions and tomatoes. saute for a few minutes ad add Kale. 

Allow the leaves to wilt, toss everything together, and then add the mushrooms.

Toss everything together and add salt to taste. Remember to go easy on the salt as both the mushrooms and the kale will cook down considerably. Cover the skillet, and let the flavors blend for a few minutes until all the water is evaporated. Serve with freshly made chapatis. Yum!!

My Assessment: This dish is fresh despite the veggies being cooked down thanks to the minimal spices. It's a great summer dish to enjoy even with just bread, if Chapatis are not your thing ... ! Feel free to substitute any kind of leafy green instead of Kale and any kind of mushroom that you have on hand. In fact, you don't even need to add mushrooms. That's the wonder of Indian cooking, you can improvise everyday and come up with a new dish with the same ingredients. Enjoy!!