Bharta (Northern Indian Eggplant)

A simple, yet delicious family recipe.

Ingredients:
2 medium sized eggplants
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
2 chillies, chopped finely (optional)
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro, with an additional half tablespoon of leaves for garnish
1/2 cup peas (preferably fresh and blanched; in a pinch, frozen and thawed will do)
1/2 cup of diced tomatoes
Salt and pepper to taste


* Partial mis en place shown above

Method
1. Preheat broiler
2. Pierce the eggplants several times with the tine of a fork
3. Lightly brush the eggplants with oil
4. Place eggplants on a baking pan
5. Broil, turning occasionally, until soft and slightly shriveled (approximately 20-25 minutes)



5. Remove from the broiler. Let stand until cool enough to handle
6. Halve the the eggplants lengthwise.
7. Using a spoon, scrape the soft flesh into a medium bowl.
* Be sure to discard all the skin
8. Heat the oil. Then add the onion, chillies and fresh ginger
9. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent (about 5 minutes)
10. Add the eggplant, cilantro, turmeric, peas and cook for another three minutes


*Turmeric is the bright yellow spice in the middle. Be careful when adding turmeric as it has a bitter taste and adding too much can ruin your dish

11. Then add the tomatoes and cook for another 10 minutes
12. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cilantro leaves
13. Serve with warm flatbread, such as nan or roti

94th Annual Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest is Tomorrow (Sat, July 4th)

So as a disclaimer, this next post is totally not veg./vegan friendly, but it's so bizarre that I couldn't resist:

In case you are still looking for something to do tomorrow, you might consider checking out the 94th annual Nathan's International Hot Dog Eating Contest down in Coney Island, Brooklyn. It's going to be a very close match between defending world champion, Joey Chestnut, and former world champion, Takeru Kobayash. I predict that Kobayash will not only regain his title in tomorrow's showdown, but and will also break the all time high of 59 dogs in 10 minutes.

Click here for the official website, which features more general information, directions and contest results.

Chickpea and Potato Curry

This Chickpea and Potato Curry recipe is one of my cooking staples. It’s relatively straight forward and nutritionally balanced. For added iron, I often substitute fresh spinach for the potatoes.

Ingredients:
* 2 large Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
* Coarse salt
* 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 medium onions, finely chopped
* 4 teaspoons garlic, finely chopped
* 4 teaspoons ginger, peeled and finely chopped
* 2 dry chipolte peppers, finely chopped
* 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro, plus 2 teaspoons for garnish
* 1 1/2 teaspoons ground tumeric
* 1 teaspoon garam masala
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1 can of chickpeas, drained
* 1 cup of water
* 1/2 cup diced tomatoes
* Juice of 1 lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
* Freshly ground pepper

Method:
1.) Place the potatoes in a medium stock pot. Add enough water to cover the potatoes. Add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a vigorous simmer when the potatoes are tender and can easily be pierced with a tip of a knife (about 12 minutes). Drain well, and set aside.

2.) Heat oil in a wok over a medium heat. Add onions, garlic, ginger and peppers. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent (about 5 minutes). Add chopped cilantro, tumeric, garam masala, and cinnamon and cook to combine.
Add chickpeas, reserved potatoes, and water and cook for about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally for about 5 minutes.

3.) Season with salt and pepper.

4.) Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

5.) Serve immediately with your choice of flat-bread or rice.

Lazy woman’s lasagna

Care of Ritika:

Sometimes you want a real meal, but don’t want to do real work…

This recipe is also a crowdpleaser for potlucks and parties.

Ingredients:
Pasta sauce – marinara style – your favourite brand
Frozen pepper strips – so you don’t have cut your own bell peppers
Ricotta
Frozen chopped spinach
Allspice (or sub. nutmeg and cinnamon)
Lasagna noodles – oven-ready (cause you might as well be all the way lazy).

Method:
1. In two separate bowls, defrost peppers and spinach.
2. In one bowl, mix pasta sauce with peppers. In the other bowl, mix ricotta with spinach and allspice.
3. Start assembling: liberally coat bottom of baking dish with 1/2 of your marinara sauce and then add a layer of noodles. Then put in spinach and ricotta filling and put in another layer of noodles. Top with remainder of marinara sauce.
4. Bake in oven at 375 degrees for 25 minutes covered with foil. Remove foil and bake til done (about another 15 minutes).
5. Enjoy!

Hummus

This recipe comes care of my friend Bianca.

Making hummus saved me in so many pot-luck situations- you have no idea…

The recipe is an approximation perfected by each person’s taste

2 cans of chickpeas (aka garbanzos). Of course home cooked would be better than canned but when you’re on the run…
2 tbsp tahini
2-3 tbsp of EVOO
1 clove of garlic
(optional- add a bit of chopped onion – I like to soak it in vinegar beforehand to take out some of the bite)
juice of 1 lemon
water to reach consistency desired.
dont forget the SALT
add chili flakes, pepper and spices if desired
cumin and paprika, to garnish

Banana Loaf (Vegan)

This banana loaf is something I have developed over the years. It’s really easy to bake and makes a great breakfast alternative or mid-afternoon snack.
-Shiks

Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients:
3 coarsely mashed bananas (2 will do, but I like my loaf extra moist)
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup soy milk (you can also use the same amount of regular milk)

Dry Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 finely shredded coconut
1.25 teaspoons cinanmon
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons ground almond meal or a good handful of chopped nuts (either almond or walnuts will do)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease loaf pan.
2. In a large bowl combine dry ingredients.
3. In a separate bowl mix thewet ingredients.
3. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ones. Mix throughly.
4. Pour the mixture into the pan and cook until it is cooked through (approx 45 minutes).
5. Cool.
6. Eat.