Brussels sprouts with mung dal and carrots

This is a great recipe for showcasing Brussels sprouts – a very underrated vegetable in my opinion. When they are unavailable, they can be replaced with courgettes. Having both dal and vegetables in the one pot, means that cooking a proper meal is a simpler process and serving it with rice or roti will complete the protein for best nutrition. Carrots, are also underrated and in combination with the sprouts will provide a good selection of minerals and vitamins and cooked with the bright yellow mung dal, you end up with a very attractive dish. Mung dal are one of my favourite legumes; they cook quickly and have their own distinct flavour. They don’t break down quite as much as split lentils (masoor), but are softer than chana dal. I use them a lot.

The original recipe ends up with completely softened sprouts and carrots. I like well-cooked carrots, but prefer my Brussels a bit firmer. Please see the * Note for alternative cooking. 

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 tsp oil

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 Indian bay leaf

a generous pinch of asafoetida

1 green chilli chopped

2 large garlic cloves, chopped OR 1 tsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1 medium tomato chopped

dried fenugreeek leaves or chilli flakes

1/2 cup yellow mung dal

1 3/4 cups water

1/2 tsp salt or more to taste

1/4 cup chopped carrots

10 to 12 large Brussels sprouts, or equivalent smaller ones

Method

• Trim the sprouts removing the discoloured leaves and excess stem. Depending on their size, half, quarter them or leave them whole.
• Put a saucepan over a medium heat, add oil and heat it.
• Add mustard seeds and wait for them to sputter.
• Then mix in the asafoetida, fennel seeds and bay leaf. Cook for about half a minute
• Add the chilli and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic browns evenly. (If you’re using garlic paste, add at the next stage, otherwise it will spit all over the place.
• Throw in the carrots and Brussels sprouts*, if you like them soft cooked. (See Note) You can add some other veggies depending on availability and preference. Cook them for a minute.
• Now add the tomato, turmeric and cook for 2-3 minutes until the tomato gets mushy.
• Add the dal to the pan with salt, and water and mix well.
• Cook covered on a low heat for 20-30 minutes, until the mung dal is tender.
• Serve hot, with dried fenugreek leaves or red chilli flakes and roti/naan or rice.  I like cumin rice with it.  (Cook the rice.  Fry 1/2 tsp cumin seeds in a small pan until brown and savoury and pour over the rice.)

Note:

•  To make this gluten free, leave out the asafoetida.

• * If you like your Brussels sprouts firm, I suggest cooking the recipe as written, but adding the Brussels sprouts when the dal starts to soften, depending on whether you want them almost crunchy or merely al dente. This unfortunately is a bit hit and miss, depending on how big the sprouts are. Better to put them in too late and then add some more water if the dal is drying out, than put them in too early and overcook them.
• To refresh the dal the next day, make a new tempering: add a teaspoon of oil, to a small frying pan, heat on medium, add 1/4 tsp mustard seeds, a bay leaf and chilli flakes. Wait for the mustard seeds to sputter.  Pour this over the heated dal and serve.
   

Variations:

• Substitute 1/4 cup (31 g) chopped or grated courgette for the sprouts.
  Use mustard oil for a change of flavour. 

 

You will find many more recipes like this here.

 

Courgette curry

I find it hard to get excited about courgettes. Baby ones, fried in good olive oil and garlic are delicious, but that’s largely because of the olive oil and the garlic. They sop up the flavours well.    They are also good in ratatouille, especially with cannellini beans, for the same reason and indeed, can be used in all sorts of soups and stews; however when there’s a glut of them, it isn’t usually the time of year that you want to eat soup and stew.  Now I realise, that to many people, curry is not only similar to a stew, but because of the chilli and warming spices, might seem even less appealing in hot weather, but I adore curry and can eat it any time and in any weather. so to me it is a perfect way of using a bounty of courgettes.  I already have a recipe for courgette with chana dal, however this recipe is is quite different and more of a side dish than a main one, althoughI have some suggestions for using it as a main course.  However, you can add as many courgettes as you want (maybe up the spices a litle) to make it into a full main course, without any extra additions, if you want to use them up. This is a pretty straightforward recipe and I think most people would be happy to tackle it, but because it uses non-standard ingredients, I'll call it a Curry for Cooks.

This recipe is based on one of Swasthi's recipes and I think it’s a great way to cook courgettes.    The coconut milk makes it rich and substantial and all it needs is some rice to go with it, but of course a pan of dal would turn it into a generous meal. Alternatively, you can serve it with quinoa, whose protein will turn this into a fully-nutritious meal. I confess to finding quinoa worthy, but dull, particularly compared to brown basmati rice. However, if you're concerned about your protein intake, it's a good choice.

Even though this is made with Kashmiri chilli powder, rather than chilli flakes or cayenne, it packs quite a zing. If you don’t like too much heat in your curry, reduce the amount of chilli powder.

Serves 2 for a main course, 4 as a side dish

Ingredients 

1 tbsp coconut oil 

1/8 tsp mustard seeds 

1/2 tsp cumin seeds 

1 green chilli pepper, minced 

1 tsp ginger paste 

1 tsp salted lime or lemon, finely diced

1 medium onion, finely diced 

3/4 tsp garam masala 

3/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/4 tsp turmeric 

1 large courgette or equivalent, chopped into chunky pieces 

2 tomatoes, finely diced 

1/4 cup freeze-dried peas*

1/2 cup coconut milk 

1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves 

 

Method:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan and when it’s hot, add the mustard and cumin seeds
• When the mustard starts to sputter, add the green chilli and cook for 30 seconds.
• Add the chopped onions and ginger and cook for several minutes until the onions start to turn gold.    If you are using salted lime, (or lemon) add this now.
• Lower the heat and add the garam masala, chilli powder, salt and turmeric.
• Now add the tomato and courgette and fry for a few minutes, stirring from time to time.
• Add the peas and the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Mix well and turn the heat low.
•  Cook the courgette until its soft enough to suit your taste. 
• Just before the curry is ready, add the fenugreek leaves and mix them in.
• Taste and add more salt or garam masala if required.

Serve with rice, quinoa or flatbread.

Notes: 

•  Ideally, don't substitute coriander for the dried fenugreek leaves.
• *Freeze-dried ‟Surprise” peas are very useful to have on a boat.    Substitute with fresh or frozen if you have such a thing.  Or perhaps 1/2 cup cooked dried, green peas, which would make this recipe much more substantial.  Or maybe some diced carrot.
• If you don’t have a green chilli leave it out (try to buy pickled ones, if you think you'll be making a lot of curry). 
• Substitute 1/4 tsp cayenne or chilli flakes for the Kashmiri chilli powder.
• Substitute 1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds if you don’t have the leaves; add them with the other spices.
• Use less coconut milk, or leave it out for a drier curry.
• Add cooked chick peas or other beans to turn this into a main course meal, if you feel it doesn't look very filling.
  

Chana dal with courgettes

 

Edit   I made this the other night and found it rather bland, so decided to alter the recipe.  However, I then thought that this is actually a very good introductory curry for people who don't like their food too 'hot' or are a bit cautious about the whole concept of curry.  Therefore, I've decided to insert the additional ingredients in italics, so that you can decide whether or not to add them yourself.  The only really 'hot' addition would be chilli powder.

 

Chana dal are split brown chickpeas and look very similar to yellow split peas. I've seen various ways of cooking this curry, some of which appear to have the chana dal served very firm. This one cooks them to a tender state; because it uses a pressure cooker, it also requires less time and fuel. This is a good curry for someone who wants to start out with ‛authentic’ curries, because there aren’t many spices and the only one that you're unlikely already to have in your lockers is asafoetida; on the other hand, you're not likely to find the recipe in most Western food blogs.

 

Courgettes/zucchini can sometimes present a problem for voyagers. In places where they’re grown, you are likely to be offered them frequently. When they're very fresh, they'll keep for days or even a fortnight without refrigeration, which is just as well, because a generous gift of courgettes will take up a lot of room in any fridge. I have on occasion, been swamped with them and I like this recipe, because you can use up your surplus of courgettes without requiring other vegetables for the recipe. If you are really swamped with them, you can make a courgette curry, without the dal and just use as many courgettes as you think will suffice for a full, main course!  Chana dal goes very well with the courgette: the different textures complement one another. If you're trying to use up your courgettes, you can add more than is recommended in the recipe, but remember that they produce a lot of moisture, so use the minimum with your dal when you cook it (ie 2:1 water to dal by volume). The end result is an attractively colourful dal, with the green courgette and the red tomatoes a pretty contrast to the yellow dal.  However, if you don’t want to use fresh tomatoes, or part of a tin, you can add purée to get the flavour.

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup chana dal

1 cup water

1/8 tsp ground turmeric

1 medium courgette, cut into half moons

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder or 1/8 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp oil/ghee/coconut oil

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

pinch asafoetida (omit if GF)

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1 green chilli, minced

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped (or I whole canned)

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves

Method:

• Put the chana dal in the pressure cooker, together with the water and turmeric, bring up to pressure and cook for 7 minutes. Reduce pressure naturally.
• Once you can take the lid off, add the courgette and salt. If the dal is very dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water.
  
• Cover the cooker and put it over a low flame and gently simmer the dal and courgette until the latter starts to soften, at which stage you can remove the lid, because by then the courgettes will have exuded their juices. Now add the chilli powder. Keep an eye on it so that it doesn’t overcook – you still want a bit of texture in it. Add more water, if you think it needs it, but usually the courgettes let out a lot of moisture.  (If you want the courgette to be a bit softer, just replace the lid and bring the cooker back up to pressure.  Immediately remove it from the heat and let it lose pressure naturally.)
  
• Make the tempering. Put a small frying pan over a medium heat and add a glug of oil or a scoop of ghee or coconut oil.
  
• When the oil is hot, add the cumin and mustard seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds. (If you’re not sure the oil is sufficiently hot, just put a few in the pan first.)
• Now add the asafoetida and the onion - don’t let the asafoetida burn.
• Cook for about a minute and then add the ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook until the onion becomes translucent.
• Now add the chopped tomato and coriander and cook for a further couple of minutes.
• By now the courgette should have softened. Check the texture, taste to see there is sufficient salt and then pour in the tempering. Add the dried fenugreek leaves.
  
• Carefully, mix everything, ensuring you neither mash the chana nor break up the courgette,  and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

Traditionally, this curry is served with roti or naan, but you can serve it with rice if you’d rather.

Notes:

• If you don't have chana dal, then yellow split peas will work fine. They may cook a little more quickly, so it’s probably worth letting the pressure off after 5 minutes and checking them.
• Use 1 clove garlic, finely chopped instead of the paste
• Use 1/2 tsp ginger, grated instead of paste.
• Use a few cherry tomatoes, halved, instead of the chopped tomato, or, as suggested in the intro, 1 tbsp tomato purée.
  

Quick Curry Sauce

I’m sure no Indian cook would own this one; however it is useful for extending some leftovers or mixing in with a can of beans. If you cook some rice in the pressure cooker while you’re making this, you get an almost instant meal.

 

Serves 2

 

2 tbsp olive or coconut oil

1 onion

1 garlic clove or 1/2 tsp garlic paste

fresh ginger or 1/2 tsp ginger paste

2 tbsp gram flour

1½ cups water

1 tbsp curry paste OR 1 tbsp curry powder and 1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt 

 

Method:

• Heat the oil in a saucepan. Chop the onion, dice the garlic and ginger and fry in the oil until softened. If you’re using curry powder, add this now and cook for another minute or two.
• Add the gram flour and a little of the water. Stir until any lumps of flour have disappeared and then add the rest of the water. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly.
• When the sauce has boiled, lower the heat (and add the curry paste). If you’re using curry powder, add the tomato purée. Stir and add the lemon juice. Add salt to taste.
• Leave on a low heat to simmer for 5 minutes so that the gram flour is completely cooked. If it’s too thick, add a little more water, or liquid from the can of beans, if you’re using them.

Variations:

• For Baked bean curry, which tastes surprisingly good, add a tin of baked beans to the above sauce.

• Add cooked vegetables for an instant meal.
• Try frying plantain with the onions.