Cauliflower-Potato Curry

Nothing livens up boring cauliflower and potatoes like a flavorful curry sauce. This dish is best made in a pressure cooker, which quickly breaks the potato and cauliflower down. But it can be cooked in a large pot or dutch oven; just increase the cooking time.

Cauliflower-Potato Curry

Ingredients

1 large head of cauliflower

2 t oil

2 t whole cumin seeds

1½ c coconut milk

2 T ketchup

1 t ground coriander

2 T curry

¼ t ground cinnamon

¾ t salt

pinch of cayenne

1½ lbs thin-skin potatoes, like Yukon Gold

1 small red bell pepper, diced

Steps

1. Cut the cauliflower into florets no larger than 2 inches wide.

2. Heat oil in a pressure cooker. Sizzle the cumin seeds until they begin to pop, about 5-10 seconds. Carefully add the coconut milk and ketchup. While stirring, sprinkle in the curry powder, coriander, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne.

3. Bring to a boil. Set the potatoes and red bell pepper down into the liquid, then place the cauliflower on top.

4. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Maintain pressure for 3-6 minutes. Do a quick release of pressure.

5. Carefully open and stir the contents so that the cauliflower breaks up and incorporates into the sauce. Garnish with parsley or cilantro.

Cabbage and Curried Tofu

This is vegetarian comfort food: cabbage and tofu. Neither of which has much flavor on its own, but the Indian-influenced spices liven this up to make a tasty, simple, and healthy dish.

Cabbage and Curried Tofu

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

½ green or red cabbage head, shredded

½ c frozen peas
2 medium onions chopped
1 block of firm tofu, crumbled
½ t turmeric
1 t chilli powder
½ t garam masala
½ t salt
black pepper
1 poblano, chopped (optional)
parsley

Steps

1. Heat oil and fry onions until soft. Add tofu, tumeric & chilli powder, garam masala, green chillies, salt, parsley and fry for 6-8 minutes.

2. Add cabbage and peas, cover slightly, and cook until cabbage is wilted, about 10 minutes.

Exotic Ingredient: Mango Powder

Because I love Indian so much, I often find myself wandering over to Lisa's Kitchen to try some of her delicious recipes. There you will find lots of Indian-inspired vegetarian dishes, many of them spicy, and most of them wonderful. I found the following recipe there and it immediately caught my eye because (a) it has chickpeas in it (yummy), and (b) it calls for mango powder, AKA amchur powder.

Long ago, while walking down the Indian aisle of the Oriental market we often shop, I found a bottle of this mysterious blonde-colored powder. Intrigued by the thought of powdered mango, I bought some. It is made from unripe mangoes, dried and powdered. It has a unique flavor. I have used it once or twice sparingly, but this dish really piles it on. This dish is especially refreshing to me because many Indian dishes start to taste the same after awhile, and I've been in a "curry and chili with some kind of bean" rut lately. Yes, this is still technically a curry with some kind of bean, but hey, no chili!

If you are having trouble finding amchur (sometimes amchoor) powder, you can always get it from that great global marketplace called Amazon.com: Amchur (Dry Mango) Powder 3.5oz

I only recreate Lisa's dish, not to steal her thunder, but because it was so delicious. I also made a few teensy changes. The original recipe is found here.

The part I changed was the addition of cardamom pods and a whole cinnamon stick. I'm not one to snub my nose at tradition, but I don't like putting things like this into dishes. You have to take them out, otherwise a mouthful of cinnamon bark or cardamom pod is not very pleasant. But it is also quite difficult to fish these things out of a sauce such as in this recipe. So I prefer to simply add a small amount of powdered cardamom and cinnamon instead. I also removed the onion garnish, as I can't eat raw onions and feel the flavor is perfect without it.

So here is Lisa's Chickpeas with Mango Powder, with tiny edits by yours truly.

Chickpeas with Mango Powder

Ingredients

1¼ c dried chickpeas
2 T olive oil
1 t cumin seeds

pinch of ground cardamom
pinch of ground cinnamon
1 t ground cumin
2 T mango powder (amchur)
1 T ground coriander
½ t of cayenne pepper
½ t turmeric
1 t salt
1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes, drained or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
generous handful of fresh parsley

Steps

1. Soak the chickpeas in enough water to cover overnight. Drain, and cook in a pressure cooker according to directions (about 15 minutes), or simmer in a pot of water for 1-2 hours until soft. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid, drain and set the beans aside.

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet. When hot, add the cumin seeds. Stir and fry for roughly 1 minute. Now add the ground spices, stir and pour in the tomatoes, and add the salt. Cook, uncovered, stirring often, until the tomatoes begin to thicken up (roughly 5 - 10 minutes.

3. Now add the chickpeas, the reserved cooking liquid and half of the chopped parsley. Cover the skillet partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened (roughly 20 minutes).

4. Serve, garnished with some of the remaining parsley.

Curried Chickpea Dumplings

I almost hesitate to post this recipe. I found the original on the www.surfindia.com site while looking for kala chana recipes. This one popped up with the title "Kala Chana Ghoomni", despite having no kala chana in it. (Kala chana is a black chickpea.) I fear the title of the recipe was a copy-n-paste error. Unfortunately, this wrong-titled recipe has been replicated across the web at other sites. Not only the title is wrong, but the recipe is in a bit of a mess. The amounts of some ingredients are very vague, some ingredients just plain missing, and the order was completely random. So I fixed all that up.

Although I don't know what the real title of this dish is, it is quite yummy and different. The highlight are the little "dumplings" made out of chickpea flour. According to the original recipe, these are called "gatte".

You mix the dough and roll it into a large cigar and it will look something like this: (Try not to giggle as you roll this out!)

Then you boil the whole thing in water. When it is done, you cut it up into bite-size pieces. I don't know what you're supposed to do, I cut them into thick coins . The original recipe is not too clear. I ended up with dumplings like this:

I think next time I will also stir fry them a little after boiling, just to give them better texture. Otherwise, they are quite soft and almost gummy.

The sauce is pretty basic but full of flavor. This dish then can be served with rice or flat bread.

Curried Chickpea Dumplings

Ingredients

Dumplings:

7/8 c besan (chickpea flour)
2 green chilis, finely chopped
1 T oil

2 T water

½ T carom (ajwain) seed

1/2 t red chili powder

Sauce:

1 T oil
A pinch asafoetida
1 T cumin seed
2 green chilis, finely chopped

1 T ginger, grated

1 T garlic, minced

½ T prepared mustard
1 large onion, finely chopped

3 medium size tomatoes, finely chopped

½ T turmeric powder

½ t red chili powder
1 t coriander powder
½ t salt
1 t garam masala

1 c water

Steps

For the dumplings:

1. In a medium bowl, mix the besan, 2 green chillies, carom, red chili powder and 1 T oil. Add just enough water to make a dough, about 2 tablespoons.

2. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch thick cylinder, about 5-6 inches long.

3. Put the cylinder into boiling water and boil for 10 minutes. Take out the water and cut the cylinder into 1/4-inch thick coins and keep aside.

For the sauce:

1. Heat oil, add asafoetida, cumin seeds, 2 green chilies, and stir-fry till well browned.

2. Add the ginger and garlic and mustard. Heat for 1 minute. Add onion and heat for 3 minutes. Add chopped tomatoes and heat for 2 minutes. Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, salt, garam masala and water and boil for 7 minutes.

3. Put dumplings into the sauce and boil for 3 minutes (Heat until gravy is thick).

4. Serve hot with steamed rice or flat bread.

Indian Spiced Corn

Corn, like most vegetables, does quite well on its own. But this recipe jazzes it up a bit with some Indian spices. You can use frozen corn, but I think you'll find fresh corn will taste better.

Indian Spiced Corn

Ingredients

4 c corn, fresh or frozen
3 T olive oil
½ t brown mustard seeds
1 jalapeño, diced
¼ t turmeric

Steps

1. Heat oil in a large pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and saute until they begin popping.

2. Lower the heat to medium and add the jalapeño. Cook for 30 seconds, then add the turmeric.

3. Stir in the corn, blend well, turn heat to low, and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes (or less for frozen corn).

4. Add salt to taste and garnish with parsley.

Aloo Kurma - Potato Curry

I don't believe potatoes are indigenous to India, but they certainly have integrated them nicely into their cuisine. Potatoes take on spicy flavors quite well and provide an alternative form of starch for those tired of rice.

This recipe for a potato curry comes from a fellow blogger; however the instructions were a bit confusing and I made several ingredient changes. For example, the original called for couscous, but since my wife cannot eat these little pellets of gluten, I left them out entirely. Since this is a potato dish, I did not see the need to put in more starch ingredients. Here is a cleaned up version.

This dish calls for garam masala, a popular and delicious spice blend. If you don't have any, you can make it yourself. Instructions can be found here.

Aloo Kurma

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

1 small size onion, thinly sliced

4 medium yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
½ c frozen peas

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, juice retained

½ t ginger root, grated

1 clove garlic, minced
½ t turmeric powder
1½ t red chilli powder
1 t dried coconut flakes
1 tsp coriander powder

¼ t garam masala
2 T dried parsley

Steps

1. Heat oil in a large skillet, add onions, and saute for 5 minutes or until lightly browned.

2. Add potatoes and 1 T water. Cover the skillet and simmer for 5 minutes or until the potatoes are almost tender.

3. Add the peas, garlic, ginger, and turmeric and saute for a couple minutes.

4. Add tomatoes and juice. Cook, uncovered, for 4 minutes until the potatoes are soft.

5. Add the chili powder, coriander, and garam masala. Stir well and cook a few more minutes until the flavors are infused.

6. Add the grated coconut and parsley. Stir well. Serve hot by itself or with Bread.

Spice Blends

"Variety is the spice of life" is a common expression. Yet in American cuisine, spices are not really the spice of food. If you poke around the spice cabinet of a typical American kitchen, you'll find salt, pepper, and a few dried herbs. Mrs. Dash® might be the only spice blend you come across.

It is odd that spices are not a big part of the American food culture, but we pretty much stop at salt and pepper. Other cuisines have a very rich spice blend culture.

At the Evolution Kitchen, we keep a couple of our favorites on hand to put into dishes and to sprinkle on otherwise boring eggs. Here I present just a couple of them.

Garam Masala

This spice blend is very common in Indian cooking. Sure, you could buy it, but making our own is both economical and fun. All you need are the raw ingredients and a spice grinder. For the latter, we simply use a spare coffee grinder for such tasks.

If you can't find cardamom pods, you can get them here: Cardamom-Green Fancy Pods 2.0z By Zamouri Spices

The secret is to roast your seeds, which brings out their full flavor. Here is what garam masala looks like when in the dry roast phase:

This recipe makes about 8 tablespoons.

Ingredients

5 green cardamom pods

3 T coriander seeds

2 T cumin seeds

5 cloves

½ T black pepper corns

2 bay leaves

½ t ground cinnamon

½ t ground mace

Steps

1. Gently warm a dry, heavy pan.

2. Crush the cardamom pods slightly. Place all the ingredients except the cinnamon and mace in the skillet. Roast slowly, stirring often, until seeds begin to smoke slightly.

3. Remove the seeds from the heat and cool a little. Remove the little black seeds from the cardamom pods. Discard the green hulls. Put all the seeds and bay leaves into a grinder and grind to a fine powder. Add the cinnamon and mace and grind a little more to mix it up.

4. Cool completely before storing.

Zatar

Zatar is a Middle Eastern spice blend typically used on meat, vegetables, and bread. It is commonly present on the mezze table: Tear off a hunk of bread, dip it in olive oil, then dab in a bowl of zatar. It has an earthy, tangy taste that is hard to describe, and completely foreign to the SAD.

We use this spice for other things as well. It is fabulous on hard-boiled eggs. We also use it sometimes in our broth when we cook soy wadi.

The secret ingredient is ground sumac, a beautiful red spice made from sumac berries. You can usually find it in Middle Eastern groceries. Amazon also sells it: SUMAC, GROUND, 1.125 lb. jars.

This recipe makes about 4 tablespoons.

Ingredients

2 T sesame seeds

2 T dried thyme

½ t salt

1 t ground sumac

Steps

1. Gently warm a dry, heavy pan.

2. Add the sesame seeds and stir constantly until they start to change color. Remove from heat immediately and pour into a bowl.

3. In a spice grinder, grind the thyme leaves into a coarse powder. Add the sesame seeds and salt, and grind to a powder. Add the sumac and briefly mix.

Ras el hanout

Ras el hanout is a popular spice and herb blend from North Africa and the Middle East. It has a dizzying array of stuff in it, which makes for a very deep flavor used to season meat and egg dishes, as well as desserts.

Ingredients

1 t ground cumin
1 t ground ginger
1 t turmeric
1 t salt
3/4 t ground cinnamon
3/4 t freshly ground black pepper
1/2 t ground white pepper
1/2 t ground coriander seeds
1/2 t cayenne
1/2 t ground allspice
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves

Steps

1. In a bowl, blend all the ingredients together. Store in an airtight container.

Equipped For Indian Cooking

The standard American diet (SAD) is dominated by meat, potatoes, and cheese. For vegetarians who are also allergic to dairy and wheat, American cuisine has little to offer. So the Evolution Kitchen has long ago ventured beyond the American shores, and we have discovered a veritable garden of delights out there.

Asian Indian cuisine is my personal favorite. Their diet is largely meat and dairy free, and most parts of India do not eat much wheat either. The depth of flavors is leaps and bounds ahead of traditional American flavors, which seem to huddle around sweet, salty, and cheesy. Indian cuisine uses a full assortment of spices to create wonderful and exciting dishes.

Here at the Evolution Kitchen, we are by no means experts in Indian cooking. But we have been dabbling in it for about a year, and we can pass on a few suggestions for those who are just starting to or are thinking about it. One thing you'll soon notice when glancing through Indian recipes is that most of the ingredients are not in your pantry, and some aren't even your vocabulary.

This article will give you a brief introduction to the basic staples most cooks should have on hand if you want to experiment with Indian cuisine.

Equipment

Generally speaking, cooking Indian does not require any fancy tools. Although it would be nice to have my own tandoori oven, there are suitable substitutions.

The most helpful tool you might consider getting is a pressure cooker. A pressure cooker is extremely handy for cooking beans, rice, and potatoes, especially if you live at high altitude. They cook the food at much higher temperatures and in about half the time as regular cooking. Even if you can't put a price on saved time, a pressure cooker can pay for itself simply by requiring less energy.

Another handy tool to have is some sort of mortar/pestle or spice grinder. Indian cooking uses a lot of spice blends, many which you concoct yourself from whole seeds. We have a pre-made curry powder that we hardly ever use; you blend your curry when making your recipe.

If you want to make your own naan and chapattis, you can do these on a charcoal or gas grill quite nicely. Hopefully, most people already have one of these.

Ingredients

Many of the foreign ingredients in Indian recipes are not not foreign at all; they just need to be translated. Here is a brief table of ingredient translations.

besan	chickpea flour
capsicum	bell pepper
dhaniya	ground coriander
jeera	cumin seeds
methi seeds	fenugreek seeds

The following are some of the ingredients that we use in many of our Indian dishes.

asafoetida. Also known as "hing". This is strange stuff that smells pretty bad. When used, it is usually just a pinch, because it is that potent. But it does provide a garlicky and buttery flavor to dishes. Rumor has it that beans cooked with a pinch of asafoetida will cause less gas. Your mileage may vary.

basmati rice. Certainly any rice will do, but if you want authentic flavor, basmati is the way to go. We usually opt for the brown basmati rice for extra fiber and nutrients, but we go with the white rice when we want a lighter dish.

beans and legumes. Indian cuisine prpvides most of its protein with beans. There must be dozens of different kinds. Seems like every time I go to an Indian market, I find a new one. Heavy hitters are chickpeas, lentils (green and red and whole red lentils called masoor), urad dal, channa dal, mung beans, and so on. You can't go wrong with any of them.

black mustard seeds. These are often used in spice blends or left whole in dishes. I don't know if they really have any flavor, but they have an aesthetic appeal.

chickpeas. Also known as garbonzo beans. You could use canned versions, but cooking dried ones provide better texture and flavor.

chili powder/dried chilis. The "heat" in Indian food comes from chilis. I really don't know what authentic Indian cooking uses for their chilis. I use a store-bought chili powder blend, and some cayenne pepper. When green chilis are called for, I use jalapeños.

cilantro. This is used for garnish and sometimes as an ingredient in dishes. I personally don't like the taste of cilantro, so I substitute parsley.

coriander seeds. These are the seeds of the cilantro plant. I have no idea why the seeds have a different name than the leaves. These are often roasted and then ground into the many spice blends. Despite my distaste for cilantro, I love coriander.

curry leaves. I got away without these for a long time. Many recipes suggest using bay leaves instead, but the flavor is very different. I finally bought some at an Indian market and they do provide an enhanced "Indian" taste to your dishes.

garam masala. I don't keep many spice blends on hand, but this one definitely has a permanent home in our spice cabinet. You can buy it pre-made, or you can roast the spices and grind them yourself.

ginger root. You'd expect ginger in Oriental cooking, but Indian cuisine uses it and garlic quite extensively. Buy the whole root, not the powder. I don't bother peeling it; I grate it skin and all, then throw out most of the fibers and skin that get stuck on the outside of the grater.

tamarind. This is a tree indigenous to tropical Africa but made its way to Indian centuries ago. It produces a sour fruit that is used in cooking throughout Asia. I buy a little jar of it in paste form and use it sparingly.

turmeric. Most Americans don't know what this is, but it is what gives mustard its yellow color. The flavor of turmeric is subtle, but it has been called a "poor man's saffron". It is widely used in Indian cooking. There is a belief it helps prevent memory loss and Alzheimers. It also will stain all your wooden utensils yellow.

Moth Usal (Turkish Bean Curry)

No, we're not serving moths at the Evolution Kitchen. That just happens to be one of the spellings of a popular Asian Indian bean. It's also spelled "muth" and "mat", so it makes sense that it is pronounced like none of its spellings; it is pronounced "moat". These beans are also called Turkish gram. As you can see here, they are quite small and look like little candies:

My wife recently returned from the Indian market with a bag of these. I quickly looked them up and found numerous recipes. The first one I tried was not so good. The second recipe was very vague and had many details left out. So I basically filled in the gaps it and it turned out wonderful! It is a very simple recipe with very few ingredients. Here is my rendition of Moth Usal.

Moth Usal (Turkish Bean Curry)

Ingredients

1 t black mustard seeds

1 c moth beans, soaked overnight

2 T canola oil

pinch of asafoetida

pinch of turmeric

1 t chili powder

1½ c water

1 T shredded coconut

½ t salt

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker over medium-high heat. When hot, add the mustard seeds and asafoetida. Let them splutter a few seconds, then dump in the drained beans. Stir to mix well. Add the turmeric and chili powder. Pour in the water and mix well.

2. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Lower temperature and maintain high pressure for 10-12 minutes.

3. Release the pressure naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure. Add the coconut and salt, stir to mix well. Garnish with parsley or cilantro and tomato wedges. Serve hot.

Oothapams

Not only are oothapams fun to say, but they are a wonderful treat from Southern India. They are sometimes referred to as Indian pizza or pancakes. In my research, I found there are many varieties. Some have a wheat-based batter, and the vegetable toppings can be as varied as they are in American pizza toppings.

For this version, though, I have stuck with the traditional gluten-free batter made with rice and urad dal. Urad dal is also called black gram or black matpe beans. Ironically, these beans are white, as the black skin is typically removed. These things have an awful smell when soaking. The smell does not transfer over to its taste so much, so don't let it fool you.

You can get urad dal in any Indian grocery, or you can get it through Amazon: Spicy World Urad Dal (Split Matpe or Beluga Beans)Washed 2 Pounds

This recipe requires some planning, as the rice and urad dal needs to be soaked over night, then the batter should ferment all day long. I wonder whether this fermentation period is really necessary, but I will present the traditional method here.

Flipping these pancakes requires some delicate skill. The dough is rather fragile and tends to stick to the pan. You need to use enough oil and flip with some dexterity. I botched numerous oothapams before I got one that was photo-worthy. They all taste the same anyway.

Oothapams

Ingredients

1½ c white basmati rice, rinsed and drained
½ c urad dal, rinsed and drained
1 t salt
¼ c plain yogurt
¼ t baking soda
1 c fresh or frozen peas
1 small red onion, minced
2 jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and minced
½ c cilantro or parsley

Steps

1. Mix rice and urad dal in a large glass or metal bowl. Cover with water and add 3 additional inches. Let this soak overnight.

2. The next morning, drain and transfer to a food processor. Add the salt and 1 cup of water. Blend until a thin, smooth batter is formed. Transfer this back to the bowl and place a towel over it. Let it sit at room temperature for 8-12 hours.

3. Stir in yogurt, baking soda, and ½ cup water.

4. Combine the peas, onion, jalapeños , and cilantro in a separate bowl.

5. Grease a small non-stick frying pan with oil. Heat pan to medium-high heat. Pour ½ cup of batter onto the pan. Drizzle some more oil along the edges to keep it from sticking.

6. Sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of the topping onto the pancake. Cook 3 minutes or until the bottom is golden brown. Carefully flip it over and cook an additional 1 minute.

7. Carefully remove pancake to a baking sheet and keep in a warm oven until all are done. Repeat process for remaining batter. Serve warm.

Makes 8 pancakes.