Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 1/2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
- 1-2 tbsp. berbere spice blend, to taste (https://www.amazon.com/Frontier-Berbere-Seasoning-ORGANIC-Bottle/dp/B005WDVQHG)
- 1/2-1 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste, optional
- Poblano pepper chopped into medium size pieces, optional
- 1 1/2 cups dried split red lentils
- 4-5 medium size tomatoes diced or 1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes
- 3 medium red potatoes, about 3/4 lb. total, diced
- 3-4 celery ribs, chopped into medium size pieces
- 2 carrots, chopped into medium size pieces
- 3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves, sliced and lightly packed
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
Method:
- To the pot, add the oil and put it on saute mode
- Add onion, carrots, celery, poblano chili and saute for 2 minutes
- Add potatoes and salt and saute for 2 minutes
- Add garlic, ginger, berbere spice and cayenne and sauté 1 minute more
- Add lentils, tomatoes and stir a few times
- Add 4 cups water, cover the pot and switch it to a mode with cooking time of 15 minutes
- When cooking is done and cooled, open pot and put it to saute mode
- Stir in spinach, add lemon juice and continue to cook just until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes
- Turn off the pot and serve the stew with rice or any bread
Servers: 5-6
Inspiration source:
https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/spicy-ethiopian-lentil-stew/
Remarks:
You can add a bit more berbere and cayenne, if desired.
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe mangoes, diced
- 1 cup diced pineapple
- 1/2 medium red bell pepper, chopped
- 1/2 cup chopped red onion
- 1 Serrano chili, finely chopped
- 1 lime, juiced (about 1/4 cup lime juice)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
Method:
- In a large bowl, combine the mango, bell pepper, onion and chili
- Drizzle with lime juice, add salt and mix well
- Serve chilled with your choice of chips
Servers: 6
Inspiration source:
https://cookieandkate.com/2015/fresh-mango-salsa-recipe/
Remarks:
For best flavor, let the salsa rest for 30 minutes to an hour before serving.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup brown lentil (whole), washed, soaked overnight and drained
- 1 onions, sliced
- 3-4 celery ribs, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 2 teaspoon cumin seed powder (preferably, freshly roasted and then ground)
- 1 cup baby spinach, chopped
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt (or to taste)
Method:
- Put InstantPot on saute mode
- Add oil to the pan
- Once oil is hot, add onion and saute for a couple of minutes
- Add carrots and celery and saute for a couple of minutes
- Add garlic, salt and ground cumin and saute for a couple of minutes
- Add lentil and tomatoes and saute for a couple of minutes
- Add 3 cups of water, cover the cooker and switch InstantPot to rice mode (10 minutes cooking time)
- Once the soup is ready, add chopped spinach and serve hot with pita bread or any hearty bread
Servers: 4
Inspiration source:
This is an attempt to reproduce awesome lentil soup we had at Zaytouna Mediterranean Grill in Freehold Township, New Jersey
Remarks:
Ingredients:
- 2 cups boiled and peeled potato cubes
- 4 cups chopped spinach (palak)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 2 tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
- 5-7 cloves
- 10-12 peppercorns
- 3-4 large cardamom
- 1/2 tsp asafoetida (hing)
- 2 tsp chopped garlic (lehsun)
- 3 tsp chopped ginger (adrak)
- 1 tsp finely chopped green chillies
- 2 whole dry kashmiri red chillies, broken into pieces
- 2 tsp coriander (dhania) powder
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
- 3 tsp kasoori methi
- 1 1/2 tsp salt or to taste
- 1 cup water
Method:
- Heat the oil in a broad non-stick pan. Add cloves, peppercorns, large cardamom and cumin seeds and saute on medium flame for a minute or two. When the seeds turn light brown, add asafoetida and saute for 5-10 seconds.
- Add the garlic, ginger, green chilies, red chilies and saute on a medium flame for 1 minute.
- Add the potatoes, toss gently and cook on a medium flame for 3-4 minutes, while stirring occasionally.
- Add the spinach, coriander powder, turmeric powder, kasoori methi and salt, mix well and cook on a medium flame covered, while stirring occasionally. Add water in stages as necessary to prevent spinach from sticking to the pan. Cook for about 8-10 minutes. Serve hot with any Indian bread.
Servers: 6
Inspiration source:
https://www.tarladalal.com/Aloo-Palak-30887r
Remarks:
Ingredients:
Pulses
- 1/2 cup yellow moong dal (split yellow gram) , washed and drained
- 1/2 cup toovar (arhar) dal , washed and drained
- 1/2 cup masoor dal (split red lentil) , washed and drained
Vegetables
- 2 cups chopped mixed vegetables (carrots, cauliflower and french beans)
Other
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 10 curry leaves
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida (hing)
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 2 tsp ginger-green chilli paste
- 2 tsp garlic paste
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
Garnishing
- 2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Method:
- Combine the pulses and pressure cook them (3-4 whistles). Once the cooker has cooled down, keep the cooked pulses on a side
- Heat oil in a large pan
- Add mustard seeds and cumin seeds
- When the seeds pop, add asafoetida, curry leaves and onions. Saute on medium heat till onions become light brown
- Add ginger-green chilli paste and garlic paste and saute for 2 minutes
- Add turmeric powder, chilli powder, tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes
- Add all the vegetables, salt, a cup water and cook the vegetables till soft
- Add the cooked pulses, gently mix well and simmer for 5 minutes, making sure it does not stick to the bottom of the pan
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaved and serve hot with any Indian bread
Servers: 4
Inspiration source:
Roz Ka Khana by Tarla Dalal, page 13
Remarks:
Ingredients:
For paste
- 1 green chili
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 cm ginger
- 1 tsp fennel seeds
- 10 almonds
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp garam masala (cinnamon, clove and cardamom powder)
- 1 cup water
For tempering
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 2 sprigs curry leaves
- 1 tsp fennel, coarsely pounded
Vegetables
- 1 cup cauliflower florets
- 1 cup cut french beans
- 1 cup cut carrots
- 1 cup green peas
other
- 1 1/2 salt (or to taste)
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
Method:
- Blend the paste ingredients till smooth
- Heat oil on medium flame, add onion and curry leaves and saute till onion is golden brown
- Add fennel and fry for 1 minute
- Add the paste and saute for a minute
- Add all the vegetables, salt, a cup water and cook covered till vegetables are well cooked and soft
- Add coconut milk, bring to boil for 1 minute
- Remove from heat and serve with rice, chapati or set dosa
Servers: 4
Inspiration source:
South Indian Cookbook by Devagi Sanmugam
Remarks:
Ingredients:
- 340 gm (12 oz) grated fresh coconut
- 2 tbsp oil
- ½ cup gram daal (lentil)
- 2 green chilies
- 15-18 curry leaves
- ½”. piece ginger, chopped
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
For Tempering:
- 2 tsp oil
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp black gram dal (lentil)
- 1 dry red chili, halved
- ½ tsp asafetida powder
- a few curry leaves
Method:
- Heat the oil and roast gram daal till light brown in color, stirring regularly. Make sure that daal does not get too deep in color
- In a vessel, take 1 cup water and to it add coconut, roasted gram daal, cut chilies, chopped ginger, curry leaves and salt. Soak all the ingredients for about an hour so that they soften (especially roasted gram daal)
- Grind the combined ingredients to a fine paste and take out in a serving bowl
- Heat oil and add black gram daal. In about a minute add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds start to splutter, add the rest of tempering ingredients and stir on medium flame for 20-30 seconds, making sure they don’t burn (must not start becoming black in color). Add the tempering to the ground chutney and mix well.
- Serve with dosai, idli and vadai (all South Indian savory dishes)
Inspiration source:
Vegetarian Cuisines from South India by Chandra Padmanabhan, page 113
Ingredients:
- 2 ripe, peeled, pitted and mashed avocados
- 1 cup yogurt
- 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tbsp chopped spring onions
- 1 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 tsp salt or to taste
Method:
- Stir together all the ingredients in a bowl
- Serve with warm pita bread or pita chips
Servers: 4
Inspiration source:
Something Extra, Summer 2014, page 10
Remarks:
Rajma Masala
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rajma / kidney beans (Indian variety)
- 1 cup finely chopped onions
- 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes
- 3 medium garlic + 1 inch ginger + 1 to 2 green chilies – crushed to paste
- 1 tsp coriander powder or dhania powder
- 1/2 tsp red chili powder
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- a pinch of asafoetida or hing
- 1/4 tsp fresh garam masala powder
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds or jeera
- 1 tsp kasuri methi or dry fenugreek leaves, crushed
- 2 tbsp butter + 1 tbsp oil or 3 tbsp butter
- 2 to 3 tbsp cream
- 1 tsp salt or to taste)
- 1 tsp sugar
Method:
- Rinse and soak the rajma or kidney beans in enough water overnight or for 8-9 hours
- Discard the water and rinse the beans again in fresh water, add 3 cups water and pressure cook (4-5 whistles) making sure that the cooked rajma is soft
- Heat oil + butter in another pot or pan. add cumin first and let them crackle till light brown
- Add onions and saute them till they become light brown, stirring them while sauting for uniform cooking and also so that they don’t get burnt
- Add the ginger-garlic-chili paste and stir and saute for 5-10 seconds on a low flame
- Add the tomatoes and saute for 2-3 minutes till the tomatoes become soft
- Add all the spice powders one by one – turmeric powder, red chili powder, coriander powder, asafoetida/hing and garam masala powder and stir and saute the whole masala mixture till the fat starts leaving the masala
- Add the beans along with its water to the masala
- Add salt and sugar and stir the whole curry mixture
- Simmer without a lid for 10-12 minutes or more till the curry thickens slightly (it should not be watery)
- Mash a few rajma beans with the spoon. This helps to thicken the curry
- When the rajma masala has thickened and comes to the right consistency which is neither too thick nor thin, then add the kasuri methi and cream and stir & simmer rajma masala for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The take it off heat
- Serve rajma masala with steamed basmati rice, jeera rice or any Indian bread.
Servers: 3
Inspiration source:
http://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/rajma-masala-recipe-restaurant-style/
Remarks:
Turns out restaurant style!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup sprouted matki (moath beans)
- 3 cups chopped spinach (palak)
- 1 tomato, finely chopped
- salt to taste
To be ground into a smooth paste
- 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 clove garlic
- 3 whole dry red chilies, broken
- 1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp grated coconut
- 1 cup water
For tampering
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 4 cloves garlic, crushed
- 10 to 12 curry leaves, torn into pieces
Method:
- Pressure cook the sprouted matki (4-5 whistles)
- After taking out cooked matki, go through it and remove any hard and uncooked matki
- Place a pan on medium heat and add cooked matki, chopped spinach, tomato and salt with 1 1/2 cups of water
- Add the ground paste, bring to boil and simmer for 10 more minutes. Keep aside
- Make a tempering by heating the oil in a small pan and adding mustard seeds to it
- When the seeds crackle, add the garlic and saute for 2 minutes
- Add the curry leaves and pour this tempering over the curry, bring it to a boil and serve hot with rice or any Indian bread
Servers: 4
Inspiration source:
http://www.tarladalal.com/Matki-Aur-Palak-ki-Curry-4371r
Remarks:
This Wonderfully seasoned but not too spicy curry from South Indian is an excellent accompaniment for rice or parathas.
