CREAMY SPINACH CURRY

CREAMY SPINACH CURRY

This is one of my favorite recipes, which is regularly made in my kitchen. I use different types of spinach to make this recipe and enjoy it every time. In my long stay in Africa, I used white silver beet spinach, which was the only type that was locally available there. I even enjoyed cooking with this type of spinach straight from my kitchen garden in Africa. This type has long and hard leaves like kale, takes more time is chopping, cooking and the taste is also a little bit different. There I had no choice but to use that type only because tender baby spinach or English spinach was not available, I even tried to grow the soft and tender baby spinach in my kitchen garden but failed, I think the harsh African sun, the dry and hot climate there was not suitable for it.

Here in Calgary, baby spinach is available in plenty throughout the year and if I buy a big packet, it is triple washed, which I am also using in my salads. Because of its availability in abundance, I am using it a lot in my old recipes which were already made in my kitchen and trying some new recipes as well.

I tasted this recipe, the very first time, in a four-star hotel, around 20 years ago, where I stayed with my family for 2 and half months. It was a long time ago, isn’t it? I was staying in the hotel after getting transferred from a town to a city, I couldn't get accommodation in teacher's houses available in my school. The head chef of that hotel was very nice, I met him personally and informed him that all four members of my family are vegetarian. He really made our stay enjoyable with his lovely and tasty vegetarian dishes, which were made by him personally every day. Some of the days he really surprised us by serving some tasty Indian vegetarian dishes as well.

This recipe is not only my favourite recipe but the whole family likes it, even my grandchildren. Spinach is one of the vegetables which they really enjoy, so I try to use spinach in different curries, salads and lentils as well so that they get the health benefit of this green vegetable. This is a simple recipe, which can be enjoyed with rice, naan, Indian flat bread or even with dinner bun.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 kg fresh baby spinach (frozen can be used in this recipe)
• 500 ml fresh/whipping cream
• 1 big onion (200 grams)
• 3-4 cloves of garlic
• A small piece of ginger
• 2 green chili (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbs coriander powder
• salt and chili flakes to taste
• 2 tbs oil
• 2 tbs tomato puree

METHOD

• Chop and wash the spinach thoroughly.
• Grate or finely chop the onion, ginger, garlic and green chili.
• Heat oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, once changing the colour add the ginger, garlic, onion and green chili and saute till onions are brown.
• Add spinach and salt, chili and coriander powder and cook for 8-10 minutes till spinach is cooked and the extra water evaporates.
• Add cream and let it boil for 2-3 more minutes, then add the tomato puree, mix well and switch off the stove/gas.
• Serve hot with rice, naan, roti or dinner bun.

I am sharing this recipe with Sweet Inspiration link party and Cook once and eat Twice and with Fiesta Friday, and with Full plate Thursday and with Meatless Monday and Hearth and Soul link party and with Whats for dinner and Cook blog share and with eat your greens

GREEN CHILI PICKLE AND A POST ON A SPICE/HERB CHILI/HOT PEPPER

GREEN CHILI PICKLE AND A POST ON A SPICE/HERB CHILI/HOT PEPPER

Chili is the most valuable spice of the world and is gaining its popularity throughout the world, and now it is used in more and more cuisines of the world. India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of chilies, which is 40% of the total world production. Chili production requires sunny, tropical, humid conditions with a good amount of rainfall. We have grown a lot of chilies in our kitchen garden when I was in Kenya. We had around 25 plants of 3-4 feet high and were producing a lot of green chilies, being small as a family we were not able to consume a lot, so were leaving the chilies on the plants itself to ripen. When their colour turned red, I used to collect and dry them in the hot sunny area of my garden, and later was grinding in my dry grinder to make red chili powder, which I used in my kitchen.

There are many different types, colors, shapes and mild to a very hot pungent taste of the chilies are available in the world. This spice - chili and chili powder are used in many cuisines of the world. Raw chilies are normally green in colour, but ripened chilies are yellow, orange and red in colour. Since it is impossible to tell how spicy a chili is just by looking at it, you will have to taste it to get an idea. Once you know how spicy it is then you can use it according to your taste.

In Indian cuisine, chili powder is used from ages, some chili powders are giving only a red colour to the recipe and are not very spicy like Kashmiri chili powder, it is more or less like paprika. But some chili powders are very hot, and people use it depending on their taste and the requirement of the recipe. In Southern states of India, whole red dried chili is used a lot in tempering many recipes. Red chili flakes/crushed chili is also used a lot in the Indian cuisine throughout India. Some people have the misconception that Indian food is very spicy, but that is not the case, yes, we do use different types of chilies in its different forms but how spicy the food absolutely depends on individuals choice. Green chilies are a good source of vitamin C; so many people eat raw green chilies with their food.

Some people think that chili pepper is consumed only to put fire on your tongue or to get tears in your eyes but the surprising fact is that chilies do have a lot of health benefits like natural pain relief, boosting immunity, clearing congestion, preventing stomach ulcers, and reducing weight. Check this website for detailed study of all this and a lot of useful information about chilies.

According to Ayurveda, there are six tastes by which all food can be categorized: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent. Pungent taste is hot and spicy as found in chili pepper and astringent is dry and light as found in popcorn. Ayurveda suggests that all these tastes should be included in every meal for optimum health and to get initial spark to the digestive system. These six tastes satisfy each of the major dietary building blocks and these six tastes also guide our body to accomplish its nutritional needs. Each taste feeds our body, mind, senses and spirit in its own unique way. Ayurveda is a traditional healing system of India, which gave us yoga and breathing exercises and still successfully practiced in India. Check this website-

Chili powder is eaten by one-quarter of world population every day, in all countries all over the globe. But chili powder was completely unknown to the most of the world until Christopher Columbus discovered America. Check this website which explains very nicely that of course, Columbus was not looking for chilies, but was looking for a trade route. This website further explained that, until well after the middle ages, almost all through the world, pepper travelled from the Malabar coast, India to Europe and then to America.

Coming to the recipe, this is my mom's recipe as it is in which she used mustard oil. I get mustard oil from the local Indian grocery store, so I have also used mustard oil, but you can use any other oil instead if you prefer. Mustard oil is used for cooking in Punjab and many other Northern States of India. This is a simple and quick recipe which can be enjoyed using mild to hot chilies basing on your taste.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 200 grams long green chilies (around 25-30)
• 20 grams of black mustard seeds (rai)
• 20 grams of fennel seeds (saunf)
• 10 grams of fenugreek seeds (methi )
• Salt to taste
• 2 tablespoons oil (I used mustard oil)
• 10 grams chili powder (optional) *

* Normally these green chilies are not spicy/hot at all, so if you need some spice in this pickle you can add some additional chilli powder

METHOD

• Mix the fennel, mustard and fenugreek seeds and grind it coarsely in a dry spice grinder.
• Wash and dry the chilies or wipe with a kitchen towel.
• Slit the chilies in the middle lengthwise.
• In the already ground spices, mix salt and chili powder and fill ( stuff) through the slit in all the chilies and leave aside.
• Heat oil in a pan, when hot add all the chilies, mix slowly and cover it after 5 minutes add the remaining spice mixture on top of the chilies.
• Cook for 8-10 minutes till the chilies are cooked and changed in colour.
• Cool it and serve with meals as a condiments/pickle/chutney

I am sharing my recipe as my blog post entry for Cook once and eat Twice and with Hearth and soul blog party and with Fiesta Friday and the  Sweet Inspiration link party and with Cook blog share  and with Meatless Monday and with Full plate Thursday

BLACK-EYED BEANS CURRY

BLACK-EYED BEANS CURRY

LOBHIYA CURRY

In the 80's when I was in Kenya, I stayed in a remote area for a year, where there was only one boarding school together with 50 teachers’ houses and very few shops and a post office outside the school, where we could buy some basic essentials and nothing else around for many kilometers. One day my neighbour, who was a very sweet African lady, informed me, that every Wednesday there is a market (farmer's market) outside the school campus, where farmers (mostly ladies) come from nearby villages and sell their products. She asked me if I am interested in shopping for a few things from them.

I enquired about what they were selling, then agreed and told her that I will accompany her because I didn't know the local language of that area. Next Wednesday when I went with her to the market, I was surprised to see that those women were not using the weighing scale and measuring their small sized fruits and vegetables with cups, like one full cup of berries is one shilling and big fruits and vegetables they were counting and selling like a pile of 4 tomatoes is one shilling. Initially, I thought why so, but later I realised that they are subsistence farmers who cannot afford the weighing scales.

The other thing which really surprised me was, to see them selling red kidney beans and black-eyed beans in those cups. Until that time I had no idea that Africans also grow and eat those beans. Let me remind my readers that, at that time there was no internet and Google and that was my first overseas trip to Africa. I asked my neighbour lady, whether they also grow and eat these beans and informed her that we Indians also like them. I was really glad to see those beans, which they were selling at a very reasonable price, and bought them along with other vegetables and fruits from that small village market.

Black-eyed beans stew or curry is a famous dish of the state of Punjab in India and it is regularly made in our house. This is one of my favourite dishes and my elder grandson always enjoys and appreciates his grandma whenever I make this dish. Last week when I made this curry, he really enjoyed with rice and told me, “You are the best grandma in the whole world”. I love hearing such compliments from my grandchildren, they make my day! This recipe is very simple, healthy and tasty; this stew can be enjoyed with rice, naan, and roti or dinner bun with some fresh green vegetable salad.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup black-eyed beans
• 1 medium onion
• 2 tbs tomato puree or one big tomato, finely chopped
• 1tsp ginger and garlic paste
• 2tbs butter or oil
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 1tsp coriander powder
• 1tsp garam masala (optional)
• salt and chilli powder to taste
• ½ tsp turmeric powder

METHOD

• Rinse black-eyed beans two/three times in water and soak them overnight in three cups of water.
• Add salt and turmeric powder and boil in the pressure cooker for 10 minutes after the whistle or boil in a pot for 30 minutes till they are done.
• For garnishing (tadka) heat the butter in a frying pan, add cumin seeds, then garlic/ginger paste, saute for 2 minutes, add onion and fry them until golden brown. Add tomato puree and mix well.
• Add garnishing (tadka) and garam masala in boiled black eyed beans.
• Serve hot with naan, roti or white rice.

A slow cooker can be used instead of a pressure cooker to cook this curry, in that case, you will have to cook for 7-8 hours on high. This can be served to three/four people.


I am sharing this recipe for the following blog parties Cook once and eat Twice and Meatless Monday
and  Hearth and Soul blog party and with Fiesta Friday, and Cook blog share and My Legume Love affairs with Lisa and Susan, and with Full plate Thursday

CHEESY JALAPENO POPPERS

CHEESY JALAPENO POPPERS

Normally, we bloggers say that blogging is not a joke because it requires a lot of work. Starting from planning, this includes the recipe selection, then making the item with the properly measured ingredients, then taking nice and presentable photographs of the process and the final product. Not only that but the real work starts after that, which is writing a post about it and then about the recipe with the detailed ingredients and list of steps to follow, which should include all the details so that readers can easily understand and reproduce the recipe and so on and so forth.

But, on the other side of the coin, blogging is a lot of fun. I get the feeling of contentment whenever I share my recipes or even when I do something for my blog. There are enormous reasons behind it, first is that cooking is my passion and when there is an intense desire to do something, a person will definitely enjoy it, the same thing is happening with me. The other reason is that blogging has opened many ventures/doors for me to learn not only new recipes but also to try new cuisines and a lot of new things about food and the food industry. The other thing which I like most about blogging is the integration with people, not only with my readers and people who come and comment on my posts but also with other bloggers. In the last three years, I have made many many new blogger friends, who are from different continents, countries, and cultures and we share the same interest in blogging.

Blogging has not only opened doors for me to learn about the culinary art but also has opened doors for me to learn so many other aspects of life and particularly to learn a lot about DIY projects because many of my blogger friends have blogs in which they share their awesome DIY projects. This recipe is my blogger friend Nikki's recipe; surprisingly her blog is not only about food but about lifestyle too, where occasionally she shares some food recipes. This is the link to the recipe.

I met Nikkki Frank-Hamilton, around 3 years ago, soon after I had started my blog. She is a beautiful lady with a beautiful heart, even apart from her busy life; she is always willing to help others. Her blog is View from in here, which is an awesome blog. She is a great writer and a very good friend of mine. Her friendship is a treasure for me which I want to save for the rest of my life. Her posts are so informative, interesting and knowledgeable that anybody would love to read them. Recently she wrote about “Life lessons learning over 50 years”, which is a must-read for everyone turning 50, every single paragraph of this post is awesome and worth reading. Here is the link-

She also has a Facebook Community group of bloggers, Way-Wow community group where we 20 bloggers help and promote each other. If you would like to join this group, please do contact her.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

• 8 jalapeno chili peppers
• 100 grams grated mozzarella cheese
• 100 grams cream cheese.
• 1-2 tbs of milk if required
• 2 tbs oil for greasing the chilies and the oven tray
• 100 grams chopped cilantro
• salt and black pepper to taste

METHOD

• Wash the chilies thoroughly, slice in the middle and cut them half lengthwise and de-seed them.
• Mix cream cheese and mozzarella cheese together with salt and pepper and cilantro, if the mixture is too dry, add the milk to make it smooth.
• Grease the skin of the chilies and the oven tray with oil, Stuff the mixture into the chilies.
• Heat the oven for 400 degrees F /204 degrees C.
• Place the chilies in the greased tray close together so that they do not fall over.
• Bake for 15-20 minutes, when chilies are brown on the top serve hot as a side dish and enjoy.

I am sharing this post with Sweet Inspiration Link party and Meatless Monday and Fiesta Friday

and Cook once and eat Twice and we are pinnable and Hearth and Soul Link party and with Cook blog share