Recipe : Dhal with Yellow Split Peas and Indian Spices

India has a rich, flavorful history of vegetarianism (Jaffrey, 1981). The cuisine is full of flavorful meatless dhals, lentils, and bean dishes. Dhals are usually made out of lentils and split peas (Jaffrey, 1981).

Split peas are nutritional powerhouses. They are high in fiber, high in protein, and low in fat (Wikipedia, 2010). However, split peas have gotten a bad rap from people who prefer not to eat “mush”. This recipe is perfect to introduce split peas to your fussy, non-mush eaters. Instead of cooking the peas to obliteration, they are left firm and whole. The tomato paste helps develop a nice, thick sauce, almost like a very thick soup. Plus, the addition of olive oil infused with spices tops off this dish with the exotic and exciting flavor India cuisine has to offer.

This stores well in the refrigerator and makes many good, nourishing meals. It is particularly filling when served over brown rice. A little goes a long way, so if you need to cook something that is relatively simple, yet tasty and nourishing, this will get you through your busy week without having to do much cooking. If you serve this with the Whole Grain Brown Rice and Millet: Electric Rice Cooker Recipe (O’Connor, 2010) and a salad, you will have a meal that is off the charts in terms of nutritional content, as well as providing complete protein for vegans and vegetarians. This recipe is also good for people with celiac disease, wheat allergies, wheat sensitivities, and diabetes. This recipe can be used with people wishing to maintain their weight or trying to lose weight.

Dhal with Yellow Split Peas and India Spices
Ingredients:

* 3 cups yellow split peas
* 12-16 fresh green chilies, or to taste
* 4 tsp ground tumeric
* 4 small onions, chopped
* 2-10 oz. cans tomato paste
* ? cup olive oil
* 2 tsp mustard seeds
* 2 tsp cumin seeds
* 4 garlic cloves, crushed
* 24 curry leaves or 4 tsp curry powder
* 8 dried red chilies or to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. Chop the onions and green chilies. You can pulse them together in a food processor.
2. In a large, nonstick pan, add the split peas and 8 cups of water with the tumeric, onions, and green chilies. If using curry powder, add curry powder at this step. If using curry leaves, add curry leaves with the olive oil (see below).
3. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the split peas are cooked through but still firm and pleasing to eat.
4. Add the cans of tomato paste to the split peas and stir. The mixture should become thick. Turn off heat.
5. In a separate small frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When oil is very hot, first add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the cumin, garlic, curry leaves, and dried chilies. When the garlic browns, pour over the split peas and cover mixture for several minutes. Stir well and serve over rice.

Cooking Tips:

* This recipe is large. You can half or even quarter this recipe with great success.

References:

Jaffrey, M. (1981). Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.

Recipe : Dhal with Yellow Split Peas and Indian Spices

India has a rich, flavorful history of vegetarianism (Jaffrey, 1981). The cuisine is full of flavorful meatless dhals, lentils, and bean dishes. Dhals are usually made out of lentils and split peas (Jaffrey, 1981).

Split peas are nutritional powerhouses. They are high in fiber, high in protein, and low in fat (Wikipedia, 2010). However, split peas have gotten a bad rap from people who prefer not to eat “mush”. This recipe is perfect to introduce split peas to your fussy, non-mush eaters. Instead of cooking the peas to obliteration, they are left firm and whole. The tomato paste helps develop a nice, thick sauce, almost like a very thick soup. Plus, the addition of olive oil infused with spices tops off this dish with the exotic and exciting flavor India cuisine has to offer.

This stores well in the refrigerator and makes many good, nourishing meals. It is particularly filling when served over brown rice. A little goes a long way, so if you need to cook something that is relatively simple, yet tasty and nourishing, this will get you through your busy week without having to do much cooking. If you serve this with the Whole Grain Brown Rice and Millet: Electric Rice Cooker Recipe (O’Connor, 2010) and a salad, you will have a meal that is off the charts in terms of nutritional content, as well as providing complete protein for vegans and vegetarians. This recipe is also good for people with celiac disease, wheat allergies, wheat sensitivities, and diabetes. This recipe can be used with people wishing to maintain their weight or trying to lose weight.

Dhal with Yellow Split Peas and India Spices
Ingredients:

* 3 cups yellow split peas
* 12-16 fresh green chilies, or to taste
* 4 tsp ground tumeric
* 4 small onions, chopped
* 2-10 oz. cans tomato paste
* ? cup olive oil
* 2 tsp mustard seeds
* 2 tsp cumin seeds
* 4 garlic cloves, crushed
* 24 curry leaves or 4 tsp curry powder
* 8 dried red chilies or to taste

Cooking Directions:

1. Chop the onions and green chilies. You can pulse them together in a food processor.
2. In a large, nonstick pan, add the split peas and 8 cups of water with the tumeric, onions, and green chilies. If using curry powder, add curry powder at this step. If using curry leaves, add curry leaves with the olive oil (see below).
3. Bring the mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until the split peas are cooked through but still firm and pleasing to eat.
4. Add the cans of tomato paste to the split peas and stir. The mixture should become thick. Turn off heat.
5. In a separate small frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When oil is very hot, first add the mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, add the cumin, garlic, curry leaves, and dried chilies. When the garlic browns, pour over the split peas and cover mixture for several minutes. Stir well and serve over rice.

Cooking Tips:

* This recipe is large. You can half or even quarter this recipe with great success.

References:

Jaffrey, M. (1981). Madhur Jaffrey's World-of-the-East Vegetarian Cooking. New York, NY: Random House, Inc.

Recipe : Yotam Ottolenghi

Image by Meg Zimbeck via Flickr

3 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
400g shallots, peeled
200g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
150g each shiitake, oyster and buna shimeji mushrooms, cleaned, halved, quartered and divided respectively
300ml vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
200g crème fraîche
2 tbsp ouzo (or Pernod)
1½ tbsp chopped tarragon
1½ tbsp chopped parsley
900g all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Heat a large, heavy-based pan with a third of the oil and butter, add the shallots and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft and brown. Transfer to a bowl. Add another third of the oil and butter to the pan, and cook the chestnut and shiitake mushrooms on medium-high heat for a minute without stirring. Stir, cook for a minute, then add to the bowl. Repeat with the oyster and buna shimeji mushrooms.

Tip everything back in the pan, add the stock and lots of salt and pepper, and simmer vigorously for eight minutes, until reduced by two-thirds. Add the crème fraîche and cook on low heat for eight minutes. Once a relatively small amount of thick sauce is left, add the ouzo and herbs, adjust the seasoning to taste and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cut the pastry in two and roll both blocks into 4mm-thick squares. Rest in the fridge for 20 minutes, then cut into circles, one 27cm in diameter, the other 29cm. Leave to rest in the fridge again for at least 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Place the smaller circle on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, spread the cold mushroom filling on top, leaving a 2cm border all around. Brush the edge with egg, lay the other circle on top and seal the edges. Use a fork to make decorative parallel lines around the edge. Brush with egg and use the blunt edge of a small knife to create circular lines running from the centre to the edge, just scoring the pastry but not cutting through it.

Bake for 35 minutes, until golden on top and cooked underneath. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe : Yotam Ottolenghi

Image by Meg Zimbeck via Flickr

3 tbsp olive oil
50g butter
400g shallots, peeled
200g chestnut mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
150g each shiitake, oyster and buna shimeji mushrooms, cleaned, halved, quartered and divided respectively
300ml vegetable stock
Salt and black pepper
200g crème fraîche
2 tbsp ouzo (or Pernod)
1½ tbsp chopped tarragon
1½ tbsp chopped parsley
900g all-butter puff pastry
1 egg, beaten

Heat a large, heavy-based pan with a third of the oil and butter, add the shallots and cook on high heat for 10 minutes, stirring, until soft and brown. Transfer to a bowl. Add another third of the oil and butter to the pan, and cook the chestnut and shiitake mushrooms on medium-high heat for a minute without stirring. Stir, cook for a minute, then add to the bowl. Repeat with the oyster and buna shimeji mushrooms.

Tip everything back in the pan, add the stock and lots of salt and pepper, and simmer vigorously for eight minutes, until reduced by two-thirds. Add the crème fraîche and cook on low heat for eight minutes. Once a relatively small amount of thick sauce is left, add the ouzo and herbs, adjust the seasoning to taste and set aside to cool.

Meanwhile, cut the pastry in two and roll both blocks into 4mm-thick squares. Rest in the fridge for 20 minutes, then cut into circles, one 27cm in diameter, the other 29cm. Leave to rest in the fridge again for at least 10 minutes.

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Place the smaller circle on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper, spread the cold mushroom filling on top, leaving a 2cm border all around. Brush the edge with egg, lay the other circle on top and seal the edges. Use a fork to make decorative parallel lines around the edge. Brush with egg and use the blunt edge of a small knife to create circular lines running from the centre to the edge, just scoring the pastry but not cutting through it.

Bake for 35 minutes, until golden on top and cooked underneath. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Kale Pesto

Image by christ-o-phile via Flickr

Image by Leeks 'N' Bounds via Flickr

Image by Chris Adams via Flickr

Image by elana's pantry via Flickr

One bunch fresh kale (local and organic if you can)

1/2 C. nuts - (note: I'm not a big fan of pine nuts, so I use a mix of roasted salted almonds and cashews. You should feel free to use pine nuts **shudder** or walnuts or hazelnuts or whatever nuts you've got in the cupboard.)
1/4-1/2 C. Extra virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves fresh garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
1/2 C. ground Parmesan cheese (you can leave the cheese out if you're making vegan pesto or if you're freezing for future use. Add cheese after thawing.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A food processor with chopping blade attachment

1. Start with a pile of fresh, washed kale that has been stripped from the stems. Save the stems for soup or stir fry.

2. Peel and trim 4-6 cloves of garlic.

3. Chop: 3/4 C. of nuts in a food processor until it resembles, um... this:

4. Add 1/4 C. of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and cheese and lemon juice (if using) and process again until it all reaches a similar consistency - but not long enough to make a funky nut butter consistency.

5. Blanch: Toss kale into 2 quarts of salted water that has reached a rolling boil. Continue cooking until water returns to boiling and kale has softened a bit.

6. Refresh: Move the kale from the pot to a colander and rinse with cold water until greens are cool to the touch. Using your hands, squeeze the water from the kale and place into the food processor.

7. Process once more until it looks like pesto, adding more olive oil for consistency, and salt and pepper to taste.

8. Serve as a pasta accessory (natch) or as a sandwich condiment, zingy dip for vegetables, or any way you add an earthy, garlicy, nutty flavor to something.

Kale Pesto

Image by christ-o-phile via Flickr

Image by Leeks 'N' Bounds via Flickr

Image by Chris Adams via Flickr

Image by elana's pantry via Flickr

One bunch fresh kale (local and organic if you can)

1/2 C. nuts - (note: I'm not a big fan of pine nuts, so I use a mix of roasted salted almonds and cashews. You should feel free to use pine nuts **shudder** or walnuts or hazelnuts or whatever nuts you've got in the cupboard.)
1/4-1/2 C. Extra virgin olive oil
4-6 cloves fresh garlic
Juice of 1/2 lemon (optional)
1/2 C. ground Parmesan cheese (you can leave the cheese out if you're making vegan pesto or if you're freezing for future use. Add cheese after thawing.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

A food processor with chopping blade attachment

1. Start with a pile of fresh, washed kale that has been stripped from the stems. Save the stems for soup or stir fry.

2. Peel and trim 4-6 cloves of garlic.

3. Chop: 3/4 C. of nuts in a food processor until it resembles, um... this:

4. Add 1/4 C. of extra-virgin olive oil, garlic and cheese and lemon juice (if using) and process again until it all reaches a similar consistency - but not long enough to make a funky nut butter consistency.

5. Blanch: Toss kale into 2 quarts of salted water that has reached a rolling boil. Continue cooking until water returns to boiling and kale has softened a bit.

6. Refresh: Move the kale from the pot to a colander and rinse with cold water until greens are cool to the touch. Using your hands, squeeze the water from the kale and place into the food processor.

7. Process once more until it looks like pesto, adding more olive oil for consistency, and salt and pepper to taste.

8. Serve as a pasta accessory (natch) or as a sandwich condiment, zingy dip for vegetables, or any way you add an earthy, garlicy, nutty flavor to something.