Simple Stir-Fried Cauliflower - Bhaja Phool Kopi

 

Bhaja Phool Kopi

Cauliflower ranks at the top of my list of favourite vegetables. I like this recipe because the true taste of the cauliflower comes through since its made with minimal spices and cooked until al dente. Be free to chop and fry onions and garlic until golden brown, but my shortcut is to use ready made deep-fried onions and garlic. The cauliflower is seasoned very simply with turmeric, salt and roasted cumin seed powder. I get a bottle of McCormick cumin seeds, roast them in a dry skillet, cool and grind in a coffee grinder (that I reserve for grinding spices) to a fine powder. The ground cumin seeds are stored in the bottle and used as needed.

Serve with chapatis, pilau or biryani and raita.

Begun Basanti - Eggplant in Mustard and Yogurt Sauce

Begun Basanti

My sister, Rene, introduced me to this eggplant dish. Use any kind of eggplant. Just make sure they are cut in uniform pieces. Even the smallest eggplant, left whole or cut in half, work really well here. I love Japanese eggplant because they taste so good. I used Greek yogurt and whipped it with besan to keep it from separating in the hot oil.

Ingredients

4 Japanese or long eggplant
4 + 2 Tbsp. oil
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1/2 tsp. paprika/Kashmiri mirch
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. kalonji/nigella seeds
1 green chili, minced
1 cup thick yogurt
1 tsp. besan or gram flour

Onion-Garlic-Tomato Paste

1 tsp. oil
1 medium onion, quartered
6 cloves garlic
1 medium tomato
1/2 tsp. sugar

Mustard Paste
1 Tbsp. black mustard seeds
1/2 cup water
1/2 tsp. salt
1 green chili, diced

Garnish
1/4 tsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. garam masala powder (cinnamon, cloves & cardamom)
1 tsp. mustard oil
3 green chilies, sliced into circles or slit
cilantro, minced

Directions

1. Cut eggplant in 2" lengths and cut each segment in half lengthwise.
2. Toss eggplant pieces 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder and marinate for 30 minutes.
3. Soak mustard seeds in water for 1/2 hour, drain and blend with salt and green chili to a smooth paste.
4. Bring a cup of water to a boil and blanch quartered onion, garlic cloves and tomato until skin on tomato splits.
5. Remove skin from tomato and blend it along with oil, sugar, blanched onion and garlic to a smooth paste, reserving water.
6. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil and fry marinated eggplant until golden brown and soft.
7. Remove eggplant from oil and set aside.
8. Add remaining oil to skillet and temper with nigella seeds and minced green chilies.
9. Add remaining turmeric powder and paprika to hot oil along with onion-garlic-tomato paste and stir-fry until oil resurfaces.
10. Add reserved water from blanching onion to skillet.
11. Beat yogurt with besan and mustard paste, and add to skillet.
12. Return eggplant to skillet, stir well and bring gravy to a boil.
13. Garnish with sugar, garam masala powder and chilies.
14. Stir, sprinkle with cilantro and transfer to a serving dish.

Serve as a side dish with hot, steamed rice.

Asparagus with Onions and Tomatoes

 

Asparagus with
Onions and Tomatoes

Green beans prepared this way was a favorite when we were growing up. Fresh asparagus, I was sure, would work just as well and it was! A generous sprinkling of cracked black pepper finishes this dish, giving it lots of zing. Serve this as a side dish to any Indian meal and can be served with steamed rice or any Indian bread.

Bhindi Alu Bhaja - Stir-Fried Okra and Potatoes

 

Bhindi Alu Bhaja

Bhindi or okra is a summer vegetable and tastes wonderful when stir-fried on its own or with diced potatoes. I like to coat the cut pieces of bhindi with amchur (dried mango) powder before frying in hot oil. This reduces the viscosity of the vegetable. Sliced onions and diced tomatoes along with salt are added at the very end of the cooking process.

This stir-fried dish is served as a side to complement a Bengali/Indian meal and goes well with steamed rice or chapatis.

Begun Bashonti - Eggplant in Mustard Sauce

 

Begun Bashonti

This eggplant preparation was first suggested by my eldest sister. Mum would make it for special occasions for which it is suited because it's pure vegetarian and does not use onions or garlic. I like using Japanese eggplants because they have very few seeds and cook down to a tenderness that melts in the mouth. This dish uses both black and yellow mustard seeds, white poppy seeds and grated coconut that produces a smooth and mellow paste for the base of the gravy. Best had with hot, steamed rice, it can be accompanied by a meat or fish item and lentils.

Panch Mishali Chorchori - Stir-Fried Vegetable Medley

 

Panch Mishali Chorchori

This dish is a mixture of 5 vegetables (panch mishali) that are stir-fried (chorchori) with or without lentil dumplings, also known as 'bori'. I used 3 root vegetables, radish, carrots and sweet potato, along with eggplant and pui shaak or malabar spinach. It's very easy to prepare and a great use of vegetables that may have been overlooked or forgotten. It doesn't need onions or garlic which was a blessing for me because I dislike 'shedding tears' over onions.

Asian Stir-Fried Cauliflower

 

Asian Stir-Fried Cauliflower

Treat yourself to this delicious stir-fried vegetable dish which complements any Asian meal. I used an American cauliflower, but I've heard that Asian cauliflower which is not so compact and has long stems is the most flavourful. Once the vegetables are sliced and diced, it takes just a few minutes to put this dish together. Add a punch of flavour with a jalapeno pepper or red pepper flakes.

Golden Fried Rice

 

Golden Fried Rice

Left over white/steamed rice, unless cooked at home, usually turns hard and inedible the next day.  I freeze the left over rice in Ziploc bags until I'm ready to turn it into fried rice.

Faux Bubble and Squeak

Faux Bubble and Squeak

The traditional Bubble and Squeak is a British dish that is composed of cabbage and potatoes. The name is derived from the sounds that emanate while cooking this dish. The components are placed over medium-high heat until it bubbles vigorously, and then when the liquid evaporates, the vegetables squeak as if to say, 'I'm done! Take me off the heat!'

I came across this recipe with green beans on a Tik Tok video and because it's so easy, requiring minimal intervention, use it on occasions when a side dish is required to complement a meal. The first time I made it, the squeaky sound at the end caught my attention, so I call it Faux Bubble and Squeak because even though it's nothing like the original, the cooking sounds are the same. It takes only 3 ingredients, canned green beans, and a tablespoon each of oil and sugar.

Spicy Garlic Green Beans

 

Spicy Garlic Green Beans

Spicy green beans, served in Chinese restaurants, is difficult to reproduce at home, so I came up with my own recipe. To retain crispness in the green beans, they are tossed with besan or chickpea flour and fried before stir-frying. If you prefer to use green beans without the besan, make sure the oil is very hot before frying them so that they remain crisp.

Bhola's Alu Dom

 

Bhola's Alu Dum

A new item I haven't seen before at our Indian supermarket are packages of baby potatoes that are cooked, peeled and frozen. I've been dreaming of Bhola's alu dum we would gorge on in Darjeeling. Bhola had a food stall off the mall and his alu dum made a great after-school snack. They were delicious, bright red, piping hot, soft and spicy potatoes that made our eyes (and noses) water. 

I gathered all the red spices I could find in the spice cabinet but it needed a little something more so I added a teaspoon of sugar and 2 teaspoons of vinegar. With the help of a serrano chili, this alu dum came out tasting sweet, spicy and slightly sour. It will go well with hot steamed basmati rice or flat bread.

Tips

• Make sure to prick each baby potato all over so flavours can penetrate to the center of each potato.
• Onion paste will give more body to the gravy instead of minced onions. Cut an onion into four, blanch for 2 minutes and grind to a paste.

Khayan Thee Sipyan - Burmese Eggplant Curry

 

Khayan Thee Sipyan

Long cuts of eggplant combined with crab sauce, are simmered to a delectable softness nestled in a piquant gravy of sweet, sour and umami aromas and taste. If crab paste is not available, shrimp powder can be substituted.

Serve with hot, steamed rice, as a side dish. 

Masur Masala Bhindi - Red Lentils with Fried Okra

 

Masur Masala Bhindi

Masur dal or red lentils are the easiest lentils to make. They cook quickly and go well with any and all vegetables. Cooking the lentils with a bit of salt and turmeric separately then adding the stir-fried vegetables, gets this side dish on the table in less than half an hour.

There are a couple of ingredients in this recipe that are only available in an Indian market. Amchur is dried green mango that is ground to a fine powder. It's purpose is to reduce the mucus that is released while the okra cooks. If amchur is not available, leave it out, but make sure not to add anything to the okra until it's cooked. It will initially be slimy so fry it over medium heat and don't stir it too much. Wait until the okra browns before stirring. Add salt only when all signs of mucus disappear. Don't cover the okra while it's frying because the resulting condensation will make it more slimy. Notice that onions, tomatoes and green chilies are added after the okra cooks and all mucus disappears.

Panch phoron is the other ingredient that is available only in an Indian market. If it's not available, use whole fennel seeds and fennel seed powder which is made by dry-roasting a tablespoon of whole fennel seeds and grinding them to a fine powder.

Serve these lentils as a side dish for lunch or dinner. They go well with hot, steamed rice or any Indian bread.

Achari Begun - Pickled Eggplant

 

Achari Begun

Here's another tasty way to prepare eggplant. The internet is a prolific source for recipes, and this was featured in a video by Banglar Rannaghor. One modification I made was to use imli chutney in place of tamarind paste. A technique that impressed me was to toss and marinate the eggplant pieces with spices and 2-3 tablespoons of water before frying. This made a big difference in the time it took for the eggplant pieces to brown without absorbing a vast quantity of oil.

I used a big globe eggplant that was cut in half and sliced. Any variety of eggplant would work for this recipe, so use whatever is at hand. Serve as a side dish, accompanied by any Indian bread or hot, steamed rice.

Pui Shaak'er Ghonto - Malabar Spinach and Vegetable Stew

Pui Shaak'er Ghonto

I love the bright colours of the vegetables and spinach in this dish. It looks and is healthy and delicious! 

Dinner generally consists of a vegetable dish, followed by lentils and a main course of fish, meat or eggs. This vegetable stew would, therefore, be served as the first course or a side dish with rice or chapatis.

Indian Egg and Potato Salad

Indian Egg and Potato Salad

Leftover Egg Salad

There were 2 hard boiled eggs left of the Egg and Onion Salad that we had yesterday. The eggs were chopped and the rest of the remains combined with mayonnaise to create a unique dressing for potato salad. This has to be taste-tested to appreciate the umami of mustard oil. So when you make Egg and Onion Salad, be sure to make extra for some Indian Potato Salad for lunch the next day.

Egg and Onion Salad Dressed in Mustard Oil

Egg and Onion Salad

Dressed In Mustard Oil

A suitable side dish to accompany biryani or khichuri, this simple egg salad is dressed in mustard oil. The original recipe was posted in a food group on Facebook. This was made with a couple of changes to that recipe. 

Bachu's Begun Panch Phoron - Eggplant Flavoured with 5 Spices

Begun Panch Phoron

My brother sent me this photograph of his Begun Panch Phoron. The five spices are cumin, fennel, nigella, mustard and fenugreek seeds. These seeds are sputtered in oil for tempering and more are later roasted and ground to add flavour to the stir-fried eggplants. Cut the eggplants in bite-sized pieces. Bachu cut them in long pieces. I diced mine.

Here is my dish.

Komola Kopi or Stir-Fried Cauliflower and Mandarin Orange Segments

Komola Kopi

I came across this unusual recipe on Facebook and since oranges and cauliflower are staples in our home, gave it a try with excellent results. Since most of the orange segments melted down in the cooking, I added more before removing it from the stove top. Its appearance, aroma and taste were in a class of its own. I love the occasional burst of sweet citrus flavour! 

Serve this as a side dish with rice or chapatis.

Five Vegetables Stir-Fry

Panch Mishali Sheddho

Panch = 5, Mishali = Mixed, Sheddho = Boil

Potatoes, carrots, green beans, green peas and radish are each boiled separately, just until tender. They are then combined and stir-fried together for a wholesome vegetable side dish. Different from gota sheddho or whole boiled vegetables, these are cut into bite-sized pieces. Any combination of five or seven vegetables can be used to make this side dish.