Red Chori Curry

I have always wondered why it's assumed that people following a vegetarian/vegan diet must find it difficult to fulfill their protein requirements. One look at the lentil / bean section of any Indian grocery store would have you gaping at the sheer variety of products available. There are several kinds of whole beans, lentils, legumes , nuts to create a variety of dishes that will not only satisfy your palette but also provide excellent nutrition.
Any of the beans can be paired with a myriad of vegetables to create soups, stews, curries, salads and even rice dishes, so that you wouldn't need to repeat any dish for quite some time.
On a recent visit to my local Indian grocery, I picked up a packet of chori beans.
I am always interested in trying out new ingredients and new recipes (much to my husband's woe) and the little red beans seemed very promising.

One search on the internet and a whole slew of recipes showed up. These dark red beans are also known as Adzuki or Aduki beans and are widely used in Japan. They are very rich in soluble fiber and are also a good source of minerals and high quality protein.The beans have a subtle , sweet taste which is why adzuki bean paste is used in desserts in East Asian cuisine. These beans sprouts very easily and can be used like moong sprouts in salads and curries.

In making the red chori curry, I sprouted beans for a couple of days and then cooked them in a pressure cooker before using them in the curry.

As with all beans, it is best to soak the beans in plenty of water. Soaking decreases the cooking time and makes the beans more digestible.

Recipe : Red Chori / Adzuki Bean curry

Ingredients:

3/4 C dried adzuki beans - soaked and sprouted.
1 medium onion - finely chopped
2 tomatoes - chopped
2 green chilis
2 pods garlic - finely chopped
1/2 inch ginger root - finely chopped
2 tsp oil of choice
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp red chili powder / paprika
2 tsp half and half or coconut milk (optional)
salt and black pepper to taste
chopped cilantro leaves for garnishing

Method:
1. Cook the bean sprouts either on the stove with plenty of water or in a pressure cooker. Set aside.Note that if you do not have the time to sprout the beans, you can also use them as is.
2. In a wide bottomed pan of choice, heat the oil and add fennel, cumin and mustard seeds.When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the ginger and garlic and saute until fragrant.
3. Add the slit green chilies and onions and saute until onions are translucent. Add all the spice powders,except the garam masala and let cook for a minute or so.
4. Then add the chopped tomatoes, salt and black pepper and cook until the tomatoes break down and get cooked.
5. Add the beans and a 1/2 cup of water , mix well , cover and let simmer on a low flame until all the flavors come together.
6. Mash a few beans with the back of the ladle to thicken the curry, if required.
7. Taste for salt and adjust if needed.
8. I added a little bit of coconut milk to get a creamy texture for the curry, but only because I had a can open that I needed to finish off. You could use cream / half and half or even a bit of evaporated milk instead. You could also omit it entirely.
9. Take the pan off the flame, stir in the garam masala powder and garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

Serve hot with Indian flat bread or steaming rice for a flavorful, nutritious meal !

Towe - Simple comfort food

Every once in a while, I get tired of cooking dishes that are rich with spices or laden with a whole lot of vegetables. My palate craves for simple meals that soothe the stomach as well as fill it up without burdening it with too many calories..
That is when I dish up a simple lentil soup which is the basic recipe that almost every Indian has savoured. Its known simply as Daal in Hindi , consumed as Varan by Maharashtrains and slurped up as Towe by Kannadigas ! This is one of those recipes that would vastly help a beginner cook or an ambitious bachelor trying to navigate the way in the kitchen.
(Now if only I could motivate my brother to learn how to make this recipe, it would be a great change for him from his almost daily curd rice dinner menu !!! )

Without further ado :

Towe



Ingredients:

1 Cup Tuvar Daal (can be substituted with Masoor Dal or even Moong Dal )
1 tomato - diced
1 - 2 green chillies, slit and chopped into two pieces
1/2 inch fresh ginger, grated or chopped finely.
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt (or to taste)

For Tempering :

1 tsp ghee ( canola/ vegetable oil can also be used )
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp jeera
1 generous pinch of asafoetida

For Garnishing
few springs of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves - washed and chopped finely)
couple of tsp of fresh grated coconut


Method:

1. Boil the dal along with the green chillies,ginger, tomato and turmeric, with at least 2 Cups of water.
I usually use the pressure cooker ( 3 whistles) for this, but the dal can be boiled directly on the stove as well.
2. Once the dal is boiled, add salt, more water to get the correct consistency and boil again.
3. Meanwhile prepare the tempering. Heat the ghee or oil, add the mustard seeds and the jeera seeds and heat through until the mustard seeds start spluttering. Take off the heat, add the asafoetida, mix well and pour slowly over the dal.
4. Garnish with coriander leaves and coconut and serve hot over a bed of steaming white rice !
5. You can also sprinkle some black pepper for a stimulating taste.

This is wonderful with a dollop of ghee on top, but it can easily be skipped for the figure conscious population :-)
Its really really simple recipe, doesn't ask for too many ingredients, of course there are several ways to jazz this recipe up, if you are up to it ! For added variations, a handful of peas or diced potato can also be added to the daal before cooking it.

The dal and the rice provide complete protein. if you add vegetables to the daal, that's an added bonus ! For me, this rustic, simple recipe is almost a comfort food...When the weather cools and temperatures dip, enjoying the daal and rice is as good as wrapping a warm blanket around me ! Try it !!

Lost in Time ?

Time - The one thing that is the epitome of constantly moving forward and never looking backwards. The only dimension that surges ahead no matter what - come summer or winter, rain or frost, peace or war, happiness or dejection - it doesnt stop for anyone or anything. The passing of time brings along with it many changes. Nations advance, societies change, cities replace towns and villages,modernity replaces antiquity. This in itself is nothing to be worried about, I guess.. Its a given fact that things will change, for better and for worse.
We gain a lot of things as time progresses, but how much and what do we lose ?
Some time back, a friend's mother and I were discussing in general how people used to be quite self sufficient in the way they led their lives. They maintained livestock for their dairy needs, grew vegetables and fruits for consumption, cultivated fields to provide food, knitted clothes, fixed up roofs and walls as much as possible..if they didnt have a particular commodity, they would barter with neighbours and friends and be satisfied. Paying loads of money to get the basic necessities of life was quite unheard of. In fact, if a family had to pay to get something it would indicate a lack of skills or a lack of good upbringing (for a woman who wasnt able to make things herself!!)
However, as time evolved,societies progressed and modernity became the fashion of the day, this ability to put one's own effort into making our lives comfortable is not as appreciated as before and is dying a slow death at the hands of convenience. Farms made way for modern buildings, barns were replaced by garages and old houses were torn down in favour of high rises. All necessities are now purchased. There is hardly a required commodity that is not available if you have the means to pay for it. Making things by hand, at home is left to the few who are either practicing frugal living or have an interest in gaining skills at things like making bread, knitting, woodworking, etc.
What is the point in this monologue, you say ? Well, all said and done, I am all for modernity and convenience where required. But it saddens me to think that all the knowledge and practices of our forefathers and families , small things which were and still are part of their everyday lives, will be forgotten and relegated to memories only.
When I was growing up in Pune, my mother used to reminisce about her bittersweet childhood days in a little village in the Uttar Kannada district. She talked about going to school in heavy rains using umbrellas made with leaves of plants like the palmyra palm , of summer days when she and her sisters would finish their household chores and then dive into the pond for a heavenly swim, of picking raw mangoes from trees and eating them with salt and pepper ! She would go into ecstasies about the sugarcane season when fresh jaggery would be made and the first batch would contain fresh coconut pieces, ginger, lotus stems ! Her memories of my uncle going to village fairs sitting on my grandfather's shoulders, of clutching a 10 paise coin and trying to make up her mind about what to spend it on were very nostalgic indeed...How quaint and idyllic it all sounded. For city bred kids like me, it was both wondrous and alarming !
I am sure there are scores of people from my own generation who share my lack of village life knowledge. On the other hand, there must also be scores of my peers who did grow up in small cities and villages and have had an intimate, first hand look at my mother's experiences. But I cant say the same for our children or from children in the next generation. One might very well say that its not a big deal and today's or tomorrow's kids do not need to know at all, but for me...village life and all the toils and joys associated with it is part of our culture, it has a simplicity of its own, an earthiness and humility that we are in danger of forgetting if we don't hold on to it..
I have therefore made a simple list of things and activities that I can do in my life time, along with my family that will help us preserve this life, if only in memories and photographs:

* Visit our native place during the sugarcane season and participate in the small festival that is celebrated at this time.
* Eat sugarcane with my family.
* Watch the process of making jaggery.
* Learn how to milk a cow (!!!!) ( Cows are notoriously finicky about who they will allow to milk them...so I will have to find a really docile cow back home :D)
* Pick fresh jasmine flowers and make a garland out of it.
* Drink fresh tender coconut water.
* Learn how to make pickles and papads. (This continues to be a major summer time activity in many Indian households today with neighbours pitching in to help.)
* Learn how to pollinate a vanilla flower.
* Learn about the various festivals celebrated in our heritage and then acknowledge those festivals every year.(It doesn't have to be a grand celebration).
* Get acquainted with the stories in the Bhagwad Gita and other ancient texts and read them out to my son as he grows up.

Hopefully I will be able to complete the things listed here and add to this list. I am aware that these are very minor activities and thinking that on their completion I will have achieved something worthwhile would be very absurd. That is not my intention here at all. My wish is just to remember that we have a culture that is very rich and ancient. It doesnt deserve to be neglected and forgotten. This effort would just be my attempt to keep up with Time, but not forgetting about what it has left behind in its march towards the future.

What would you have in your list if you compiled one ?