Mexican Jobs Tears

Today's exotic ingredient is job's tears. This grain comes from a tropical Asian grass. In looks similar to barley --in fact it is often called Chinese barley-- but it is not very closely related to barley. Because barley contains gluten, my wife can't eat it, but she can eat job's tears.

The grain can be substituted for barley quite readily, but it does have a unique, earthy taste that some may not like. Like quinoa, it is best to cover up the taste with accompanying ingredients.

For this recipe, we pair the job's tears taste with Mexican flavors. This is another pressure cooker recipe that takes about 25 minutes to cook. You can make this in a standard pot, but allow for 60 minutes of cooking time.

Mexican Jobs Tears

Ingredients

1½ c job's tears
1 T olive oil
2½ t cumin seeds
1 onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
¼ t crushed red pepper flakes
2 t dried oregano
1 lb tomatoes, pureed
½ t salt
¼ c parsley

Steps

1. Rinse the job's tears well and drain.

2. Place the grains in the pressure cooker and roast over high heat for 3-5 minutes (the grains won't darken much, but your pot will. It will wash off). Place grains in a bowl.

3. Heat the oil in the cooker and saute the cumin seeds for just a few seconds. Add the onion, garlic, red pepper, celery, red pepper flakes, and oregano. Saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Top off the tomato puree until it is 3½ cups. Add this to the cooker and bring to a boil.

5. Stir in the job's tears and salt.

6, Lock the lid and bring to high pressure. Maintain high pressure for 16 minutes, then let the pressure reduce naturally for 10 minutes.

7. Stir in the parsley.

Curried Quinoa

Since quinoa is a complete protein, I have been looking for more ways to cook it. This simple dish has a wonderful taste if you have a good curry blend. It is a good base to add more things to give it more substance, or it's good just like this. One thing I can think of adding are some cherry tomatoes at the end. Perhaps some pine nuts.

This is a pressure cooker recipe, but quinoa cooks relatively quickly, so it can be prepared in a normal pan just as easily.

Curried Quinoa

Ingredients

2 t canola oil

1 t garlic, minced

2 1/4 c boiling water

1 carrot, thinly sliced

1 T ginger, grated

2 1/2 t curry powder

2 t ground coriander

1 t salt

1 1/2 c quinoa, washed and drained

1 c peas (defrosted if frozen)

Steps

1. Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Cook the garlic over medium-high heat until just turing golden, about 1 minute.

2. Add the carrot, ginger, curry, coriander, salt, and quinoa. Stir well, then add the boiling water.

3. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Cook for 1 minute, then let pressure naturally release for 10 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.

4. Stir in peas and replace lid (but don't lock) for a minute to heat through.

Mung Bean Stew, Take 2

Previously I had posted a Kenyan Mung Bean Stew. This is one of my favorite dishes, and it would be hard to believe that it could be improved. But recently, while looking for a recipe to make use of our bumper crop of arugula, I stumbled upon something very similar. The recipe is basically the same with the addition of arugula. These sharp-tasting leaves really add some life to the dish.

 

Mung Bean and Arugula Stew

Ingredients

1 T olive oil

1 T garlic, minced

2 c onions, chopped

½ c red bell pepper, diced

1 ½ c dried mung beans, rinsed

3 c boiling water

3-4 c arugula, chopped

2 T lime juice

salt

Steps

1. Heat the oil in a pressure cooker. Add the garlic and saute over medium-high heat until lightly browned. Add the onion and bell pepper. Cook for another minute. Add the mung beans and boiling water.

2. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Maintain for 10 minutes, and then allow pressure to reduce naturally.

3. Just before serving, stir in the arugula, lime juice, and salt.

Ethiopian Stew in Spicy Berbere Sauce

Ethiopian cuisine is unusual in that most of it is eaten with a spongy flat bread called injera. If you ever get the opportunity to eat in an Ethiopian restaurant, take it! The best meal to get is a large platter of various meats and vegetables. These are shared among the table. If the restaurant is authentic, there will be no silverware. You tear off a chunk of injera and use it to pick up food off the platter.

Ethiopian food also tends to be spicy. A common spice blend is called berbere, which is used in many local dishes. This recipe recreates this blend. The amount of heat can be controlled by how much cayenne pepper is added.

This dish is typically made with beef, but I have adapted it to use soy wadi and cook it in a pressure cooker. I also serve this over rice, as I am still trying to perfect a gluten-free version of injera. And since this is traditionally eaten with injera, it is supposed to be drier than I make it here. You could boil off some of the liquid once the dish is done, or drain the tomatoes before adding.

Ethiopian Stew in Spicy Berbere Sauce

Ingredients

2 small onions, finely minced
3 T olive oil
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 T ground paprika

1 t cayenne
1 t ground cumin

1 t ground fenugreek seeds
½ t ground turmeric

½ t cinnamon

½ t cardamom
¼ t ground cloves

¼ t allspice
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes
¼ t cup dry red wine

¾ c water or broth

2 c soya wadi

Steps

1. Add the olive oil to the pressure cooker and bring to medium-high heat. Add the onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add the ginger and saute an additional minute.

2. Add all of the spices and stir in. Cook until fragrant. Add tomatoes (including juices), the wine, and the water. Finally, stir in the wadi.

3. Lock the lid and bring to high pressure. Cook for 15 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally.

4. Salt to taste and serve over rice.

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.

Split Pea Soup

You can always tell it's winter when the Evolution Kitchen is constantly churning out soup. Often for dinner all we will have is a bowl of soup and some buttered bread or flat bread with a dip.

I apologize for yet another pressure cooker recipe, but when you have one of those babies, the world is laid out in front of your feet, begging you to cook it. You could cook this in a crock pot or a conventional pot, but it will take a lot longer than what is described here.

This soup is traditionally made with ham; the texture and saltiness of ham is a perfect match for this soup. We first thought about using tofu as a replacement, but felt that it didn't offer anything flavor-wise, it only absorbs flavors. We instead opted for this product we only find at Chinese markets. It has the same texture as ham, tastes like a cross between chicken and ham, and is completely vegetarian. I don't know what's in it; I probably don't want to know what's in it. Good thing I can't read the label. We topped off the soup with some smoked paprika to give it a little smokey hint.

Split Pea Soup

After this dish is done cooking, the peas break down and dissolve into the soup, making a wonderful, wholesome broth.

Ingredients

1 T oil
2 c onion, coarsely chopped
2 ribs celery, diced
7 c water
2 1/2 c dried green split peas, rinsed
2 c diced ham or ham substitute
2 bay leaves
1 t salt
1 t dried thyme
1 t smoked paprika (optional)

Steps

1. Heat the oil in the pressure cooker and stir in the onions, celery, water, split peas, ham, salt, and bay leaves.

2. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Lower heat and maintain high pressure for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally.

3. Remove the bay leaves and add the thyme and paprika (if using). Stir well to make sure the peas are fully dissolved and thyme is incorporated.

Kenyan Mung Bean Stew

Known more by its local name, Dengu is a simple meal from Kenya. The star of the dish is the lowly mung bean. Relatively unknown in the States, mung beans are native to India and Pakistan. They are found commonly in Asian and Indian cuisine, and they are highly versatile that can accompany sweet, tangy, or spicy dishes.

How they got to Kenya is anyone's guess, but dengu is a pleasant blending of mung beans and onions and peppers. It is rather thick and barely passes as a "stew". You can find dried mung beans in Asian markets, health food stores, and in some well-stocked groceries. You want the green mung beans, which are shelled; the whole yellow mung beans take much longer to cook.

Kenyan Mung Bean Stew

Ingredients:

1¼ c dried mung beans, soaked overnight

1 bay leaf

2 T olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red onion, chopped

2 T ketchup

1 green pepper, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

1 green chili, seeded and finely chopped

1¼ c water

Steps:

1. If you are cooking the beans in a pressure cooker, there is no need to soak them. Rinse them well, cover them with water, throw in the bay leaf, and lock the lid in place. Bring to high pressure and maintain high pressure for 15 - 18 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.

2. If you are not using a pressure cooker, put the beans and bay leaf in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, until the beans are very soft, about an hour.

3. Drain off any extra water. Using a fork or potato masher, mash most of the beans.

4. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute for 4-5 minutes. Squirt in the ketchup and cook another minute, constantly stirring.

5. Now add the mashed mung beans and chopped peppers. Pour in the water, stir it all up well, and simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Serve hot.

Potato Paprikash

This week our theme appears to be "Food that is orangish in color". We didn't plan it that way, but sometimes it just happens. Once we accidentally planned a whole week of food where each dish had olives in it. I don't even like olives!

So with just a little more ado.... here we have another "orangish" dish. But this one is wickedly good. The helping in the front of this picture is the topic of this article; the buckwheat salad in the back was a bit of a flop.



Chicken Paprikash is the Hungarian National dish, and for good reason. Paprikash is one of my favorite tastes: onion cooked with a good dose of sweet Hungarian paprikash, and then smoothed out with a dollop of sour cream. However, in our ever-evolving diet, we have replaced the chicken with potatoes. The result is incredibly simple yet bursting with flavor. It is even bordering on "comfort food".

This recipe assumes you are using a pressure cooker. If you don't have one, a large pot will do, but it will take longer. While cooking with pressure, this dish can be cooked under 5 minutes. With a pot, oh, I don't know, a couple days or so? If you make it in a pot, let me know so I can update the instructions!

Potato Paprikash

Ingredients:

1 T canola oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 c water

1 T sweet paprika

1 13-oz can of diced tomatoes, puréed in a blender

2 lbs red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4-inch slices

3/4 t salt

ground pepper

4 T sour cream

Steps:

1. Heat oil in the pressure cooker. Cook the onion over medium-high heat for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the water. Stir in the paprika and tomato puree, then bring to a boil. Add the potatoes, salt, and pepper. Stir it all up well.

2. Lock the lid in place and bring to high pressure. Lower heat and maintain high pressure for 3 minutes (or 5 minutes at 7,000 feet). Reduce pressure with the quick release. If the potatoes are not quite tender, simply put the lid back on (don't lock), and let the pot sit on the burner for a few more minutes.

3. Stir in the sour cream before serving.

The sour cream is really what makes this dish what it is; even though it's a piddly 4 tablespoons, don't try to skip it! We use soy-based sour cream which is an excellent dairy free substitute. You might want to use it even if you're not lactose intolerant because it keeps in the refrigerator for months.

Sweet Potatoes That Aren't

Most people eat sweet potatoes about once a year, usually at Thanksgiving. And it probably has marshmallows melted all over it, or glazed with maple syrup. In other words, the "sweet" in the sweet potato is what is emphasized.

But in other cultures, the sweet potato serves as more than just a dessert. They are a staple of the Maori in New Zealand, and sweet potatoes are enjoyed throughout the Caribbean, Asia, and parts of Africa. It's a shame these root vegetables are not more popular in the U.S. because they are delicious and more nutritious than white potatoes.

For us, the subtle sweetness of the sweet potato couples well with coconut, curry, and hot spices. You'll see lots of sweet potato recipes on this blog, but for now we'll start with a sumptuous soup.

This recipe assumes you're using a pressure cooker, which will cook up this dish under 15 minutes, but you can use a conventional pot; it will just take longer to get the potatoes tender.

Curried Coconut Sweet Potato Soup

Ingredients:

4 c chicken or vegetable broth

1 13-oz can coconut milk

2 T curry powder (adjust for your desired amount of "heat")

1 1/2 lbs sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks

2 scallions, thinly sliced (keeping white and green parts separate)

1/2 c frozen peas

Steps:

1. In a pressure cooker, blend the coconut milk, broth, and curry. Add the sweet potatoes and white parts of the scallions.

2. Lock the lid and bring pressure to high. Lower temperature and maintain high pressure for 8 minutes. Remove the cooker from the heat and let the pressure reduce naturally for 5 minutes. Release the rest of the pressure using quick release.

3. Remove the lid and crush the potatoes slightly and stir into the broth. Add the peas and green parts of the scallions and place back on the heat. Cook for another minute until peas are tender.

4. Salt to taste.