Cabbage, Cabbage and More Cabbage

I was excited to buy this huge cabbage head for $2 at the farmers market. The farmer said that she picked it just previous night. I couldn't even hold this huge cabbage in my hand. Out of sheer curiosity, I weighed it after coming home and it was a whopping 7 lb cabbage. I shredded the cabbage and placed them separately into ziplock bags in the crisper section. I realized that I had a daunting task of using all the cabbage pretty soon. In my excitement, I had overlooked it. I wanted to distribute my shredded cabbage among friends, but somehow, I was too busy to go to everybody's house that weekend. So I took a deep breath and decided to feed my family cabbage pretty much on daily basis. I froze some items and used up all the cabbage!  While going through this cabbage quest, I realized that I still haven't cooked and blogged my maushi's kobichya karanjya! [Well hopefully sometime in distant future - since I am done with this cabbage business for a while!!;-)

Here's what I made -

Kobichya Vadya
Pav bhaji (Added generous cabbage along with other veggies and mashed them together)
Kachcha Kobi
Kobi Thepla
Cabbage Idli -Masala Sanna Khotto(Recipe Coming Soon)
Kobi Bhaat
Kobi Bhutti
Kobij na pooda
Kobichi Bhuji
Kobi Appe

Note to self - Do not get too carried away when visiting Farmers markets and ahem, no more cabbage for at least next 3 months!!;-)

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Beet Greens Lentil Curry

 

 

Leafy greens with Masoor/brown lentils sprouts is a wonderful Malvani preparation. Now that Spring has finally sprung here, farmers' markets are boasting fresh, tender vegetables. I found a bunch of beets with lush green leaves.

 

Swiss chard, spinach or any other leafy greens of your choice may be substituted.

 

Beet Greens with Lentils Curry

Ingredients

1 bunch of beet leaves, shredded roughly,

1 cup Masoor sprouts

salt to taste

1 tsp tamarind paste

 

Roast one after the other

3 cloves

1" cinnamon

1 tbsp. coriander seeds

1 green cardamom

10 black peppercorn

1 onion, peeled & sliced

2-3 cloves garlic

1/3 cup scraped coconut

5 red chilies

 

Tempering

1/2 tbsp. oil

5-6 garlic cloves

 

Method

1. Clean beet greens so there is no sand/soil. Shred roughly. Chop the stems.

2. Pressure cook greens and brown masoor sprouts using adequate water.

3. Roast spices, onion and coconut one after the other using few drops of oil as needed. Make sure that coconut, onion, garlic are fried till brown, not burnt.

4. Grind roasted spices to a smooth paste, adding tamarind paste, 1 tbsp. cooked masoor and water as needed.

5. Place cooked masoor and greens in a saucepan. Add ground masala and water to adjust the consistency.

6. Bring to boil. Switch gas to low. Let it simmer.

7. In a separate small saucepan, heat oil. Add garlic cloves. Fry till they are golden brown. Drizzle tempered oil and garlic over the curry.

8. Cover immediately and switch off the gas.

9. Serve with plain rice or flatbread of your choice.

 

Note -

1. Use only tender greens and stems. They should be cut without any pressure.

 

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Patty Pan Saute

Patty Pan squash has now become a regular in my daily cooking. Of course, they are available only during summer - fall. Last time, I just sautéed them along with oven roasted tomatoes. Gudiya asked for seconds and thirds!

Patty Pan Saute
Ingredients
12 baby patty pan, quartered
2 tbsp. oven roasted tomatoes in oil
Salt
black pepper powder

Method
1. Heat cast iron skillet
2. Add oven roasted tomatoes with oil.
3. Add patty pan and sauté on a medium flame.
4. Keep stirring from time to time, till cooked and crispy.
5. Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Note -
If you like it spicy, add a pinch of crushed red pepper

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Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce

Though Gudiya hasn't told me so, I have a feeling that she thinks that the best cook in the entire world is - not her food-obsessed, food-blogging mother but - her school head cook/cafeteria manager. After all Mrs. C whips up the most delicious spudsters, mashed potatoes and gravy, pulled pork sandwiches, meatballs and so on. Gudiya's almost vegan mom doesn't even come close!!;-)

But I have no issues there. Mrs. C is a fine lady and I love her dearly. She is not only a good cook but she is an inspiration. She has taken Mrs. Obama's school lunches to another level. She has encouraged school kids to plant and grow vegetables in the school backyard. So kindergartners plant seeds in small cups. When the seedlings grow, kids take turns to plant, tend, water, harvest vegetables. They even go to school during summer vacation to tend to their garden. All the kids get delighted to see where the food is coming from. They are not afraid to pop that juicy cherry tomato and make a mess. They laugh and enjoy their harvest when they see it appear on the salad bar of the school cafeteria. Every once in a while, Mrs. C hosts "Taste" event to introduce a "new or not tried before" vegetable. Two weeks ago, she hosted "Spaghetti Squash Taste Event". So even if students are not buying their lunch from the cafeteria, they get a chance to taste the unknown vegetables. Gudiya was really gung ho about spaghetti squash. Now, I always knew the theory - Roast'm, Scrape'm and eat'm! But I wasn't sure about how to proceed. I met Mrs. C during her Master Gardeners event with kids and she shared her recipe with me and also encouraged me to make it.

I found 2 good-looking and smallish spaghetti squash on sale at Sprouts. So I decided to try her recipe. I microwaved each squash for a minute so it was easier for me to cut into halves. This trick I had learned from Anupama's Food and More.

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce
Ingredients
2 Medium Spaghetti Squash, rinsed, patted dry
Oil Spray
Salt and black pepper as needed

A jar of Marinara Sauce - homemade or store bought

Garnish
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese
A sprinkle of crushed red pepper (Optional)

Method
1. Preheat Oven to 375 F

2. Microwave each squash for about a minute. Cut each into halves.

3.Remove all the seeds and flesh.

4. Spray oil over the squash. Apply generously.

5. Sprinkle Salt and black pepper
6. Place cut-side down on a greased baking sheet.

6. Bake for 45 - 60 minutes.
7. Take out and leave aside for 10 minutes or so till it's easier to handle.

8. Flip the halves.

9. Using a fork, scrape the squash so "threads" or "Spaghetti noodles" are seen.

10. Add Marinara sauce

11. Sprinkle Mozzarella cheese if using.

12. Put back in the oven for 5 minutes till cheese is melted.
13. Serve immediately. Sprinkle crushed red pepper if desired.

Note -
1. I remove the seeds from the squash, wash and pat dry. I then place them onto a baking sheet and let them roast along with the squash to get the roasted seeds.




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Aloo Baingan

I bought some small, long baby eggplants from our local farmers market. I decided to toss them with potatoes and bell peppers, sprinkling some Punjabi spices to make my version of Aloo Baingan.

Aloo Baingan
Baby Eggplants with Potatoes
Ingredients
9-10 baby eggplants (long, violet variety), Sliced, stems removed
2 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled & sliced
1 firm tomato, sliced
1 green bell pepper, cored and sliced

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala

Tempering
1 tbsp. oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
2 cloves
1/4 tsp. asafetida
1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. Kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp. coriander-cumin seed powder
1 tbsp. Ginger-garlic paste

Garnish
2 tbsp. minced cilantro

Method
1. Sliced eggplants and potatoes and soak them in water till ready to use.
2. Heat oil in a nonstick kadhai.
3. Add spices. As they sizzle, add ginger-garlic paste and spice powders. Sauté for 1 minute.
4. Add potatoes. Sauté for 5 minutes.
5. Add bell peppers, tomatoes and eggplants.
6. Keep on stirring without closing it with the lid.
7. When cooked, add salt and Garam masala to taste.
8. Garnish with cilantro.

Note -
1. Drain eggplants and potatoes before adding to the kadhai.
2. I add spice powders in tempering, as they get nicely absorbed by the eggplants. But make sure not to burn them in the tempering.


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MayaLuchi Bhuji - Malabar Spinach Fritters

I still remember the day when I got introduced to these "loving" fritters. I was at Kaku's place after school. She  had made these unusual bhujies, which totally intrigued me. I knew that these are not spinach leaves. Kaku said that these are "Mayalu leaves"! I had never heard about these leaves and the only meaning of the word "Mayalu", I knew that time was - loving - in Marathi. Kaku had a hearty laugh of my interpretation of those loving fritters. She took me to her terrace garden and showed me the vine that was creeping by the stakes. She even gave me the black beadlike seeds and told me to plant them to get my own "mayaLu". I loved those leaves and their quaint name. I brought those seeds home. Dad helped me plant them into our flower-bed. Mom said that these are "MayaLu" which also go by the name "VaaLi" in Konkani. Very soon, we got the vine and mom made these delicious homegrown MayaLu fritters.

I planted my own plant this summer. Read about that experiment here -

MayaLuchi Bhuji/Poi ni bhujiya
मायाळूची  भजी 
Malabar Spinach Fritters
Ingredients
12 Malabar Spinach Leaves, washed & dried

Whisk till there are no lumps
3/4 cup besan/chickpea flour
1 tbsp rice flour
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp asafeotida
salt to taste
1 tsp hot oil

Oil for deep frying

Optional Garnish
A generous pinch of salt or chaat masala

Method
1. Rinse the leaves so there are no impurities. Pat them dry completely.
2. Heat oil - preferably peanut oil in a wok or kadhai.
3. Whisk chickpea flour with remaining ingredients to make a thick batter. Add water carefully. The batter should be able to coat the leaves. Add a spoonful of hot oil from the kadhai.
4. Coat each leaf with the besan batter and place carefully in the hot oil.
5. Deep fry on both the sides.
6. Take off on a kitchen absorbent paper.
7. Sprinkle some salt or chaat masala if using. This is completely optional. Our traditional recipe does not need this step.
8. Serve hot bhujiyas with tomato ketchup or as an accompaniment with the daily meal.

Note -
1. American cooks often sprinkle some salt on the deep fried fritters right after they come out from the fryer. That's why I too suggested to sprinkle some salt or chaat masala. But as mentioned, this is not traditional.
2.  If any chickpea batter is left, you can slice any other vegetables like potatoes and make quick bhujiyas to use any leftover batter.

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