Cashew'ed!

Q: Finding it tough being a veggie?

Pre-USA:
"Beta, be very careful about food when you go to restaurants in USA, they probably have some sort of meat mixed in everything.. If possible, avoid going out for food.."
"I am telling you, your daughter will probably be a non-vegetarian by the end of a year in USA.."

Post USA (after ~15 months):
"So, I am sure you have tasted every meat on the platter in USA.. How did you like it?" (Totally assuming that I am a pakka non-veggie by now)
"Are you sure you are being truthful? Tell me, you really haven't had any non-veg food in your entire 1.5 years of stay in USA, How is it even possible, from what I have heard..?" (Can you please listen to me for a second?)

Oof..
I dont know how I can even begin to try to convince them that it is not so dificult being a veggie (erm, I mean lacto vegetarian, I sooo love milk!) in USA. People here are respectful of your wish being one, although some of my friends have expressed their amazement at how I could survive without any meat in my diet! And also, these days even some of the remotest towns here have managed to have at least one Indian grocery store, which makes available to you the basic Indian stuff like say dal for instance. They even have all sorts of Indian snacks and mithaai.. mmm.. But my love for food is something I will probably talk about in my future blogs..

Some time ago, one of my friends invited me over for dinner at her place, and her husband had cooked up 'Cashew chicken'. He had taken it straight out of Rachel Ray's under 30 minute cooking recipes. For me, he made a veggie version: obviously, same stuff, no chicken. This recipe I think is totally the way Americans love it: A bit spicy and a tad sweet; an awesome combination. I totally loved it too and I hope to try it out as soon as I can free myself away from my lab. Meanwhile, I am putting up a veggie-version of the Cashew Rice here of what I hope to make some-day. Have a go and let me know! (Wow, I can rhyme it too! ;)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or EVOO =D)
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp butter
2 - 3 tbsp honey
1/4 - 1/3 cup maple syrup
2 - 3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp grill seasoning blend
1 1/2 tbsp ground chipotle powder
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large onion, 1/4 onion finely chopped, 3/4 thinly sliced
1 cup green peas
1 red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
10 to 12 whole water chestnuts
2 - 3 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 cup raw cashews
2 cups rice

In a medium pot over medium heat combine 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tbsp butter. When butter melts into oil, add in the chopped onion, cook until the onion becomes slightly pinkish and tender, then add rice and cook. (PS: I would'nt mind not adding in the onions while cooking the rice, but butter and EVOO sounds good, or may be even a couple of cloves!)

While rice cooks, heat the vegetable oil, add the remaining sliced onions, crushed garlic and red peppers. Cook for ~2 - 3 minutes. Add water chestnuts and green peas. Mix. Add the chipotle powder and ground cumin. Mix. Glaze the mixture with honey and maple syrup and turn off the heat. Add in the chopped cilantro and the cashew nuts.

Top rice with cashew mixture and serve.

Navratna, the way I make it...

Last weekend was fun. T'was Friday evening, and I was feeling very nostalgic, with an inclination to make one of those veggie curries that every so often pop up in my mind bringing back some very tasty memories. Aah, woh maa ke haath ka khaana! So, with bits and pieces of my memory guiding me, I made Navratna Korma, albeit without any fresh fruits :)

Variations allowed, but on a condition, you have to let me know about it so that I can modify it the next time I make it again!

Here goes for the Navratna Korma...

For the white gravy:
1 cup cashewnuts
1 tsp poppy seeds
1 big red onion
1 tomato
2-3 green chillies
2-3 cloves garlic
1/2" ginger
1 stick cinnamon, 2-3 cloves, pepper to taste

Additional ingredients:
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp jeera, 2 cloves, 1/2 stick cinnamon, 5-6 black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf.
2 tbsp yoghurt
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Vegetables:
I usually use mixed frozen vegetables which include: green peas, carrot, corn, green beans.
Additionally you can add paneer/tofu; fresh fruits like apples, grapes and pineapple and dry fruits like raisins (since you already have cashewnuts in the gravy).

Grind all the stuff for the white gravy together.

Heat ~2tbsp oil in a pan.
Add 1 tsp jeera, 2 cloves, 1/2 stick cinnamon, 5-6 black peppercorns, 1 bay leaf.
As soon as the vaghaar is done, add the prepared white gravy to this, along with ~2 tbsp of yoghurt and let it cook on medium heat until the oil seperates out.

Add the vegetables and paneer/fruits/dry fruits to this.
Add salt, a pinch of turmeric, chilli powder to taste.
Let it cook for a while, ~20 min or so.

Add ~2-3 tsps sugar, before taking it off the heat.

Italian for an evening...

So, every time we pass by the pasta aisle, we always have this incredible urge to buy the ingredients and make it. But being eternally pressed for time and also, since it is more of a cheesy cuisine then it being more nutritious (veggie, nah?), we somehow never made it. And then, we finally decided to give it a try. We came across this recipe on the internet, modified it a bit, and then the roommate made it one fine evening. Italian bhi, nutritious bhi :)

Italian food as I have always had it, is accompanied by garlic bread:
Crush a few cloves of garlic finely and mix it with slightly melted butter. Spread this onto the bread loaves, and let bake for ~3-4', till you see the edges turning crisp. You can top it with red chilli flakes or italian herb flakes, if you want to.

Since I don't venture too much into wines, I made up a fruit juice cocktail-of-sorts, to serve into wine glasses (yes, we do own 2 of them ;):
50% Pineapple-Orange juice
50% Guava juice

And to accompany it, I'd gotten a DVD from my lab mate, 'The Departed (2006)'. Coincidentally, one of the main leads in the movie, Billy Costigan, is played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is half Italian.

All in all, a nice evening!

So, here is the recipe for the Lasagna with spinach and bell peppers, hope you have fun baking it someday too!

Ingredients:
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb baby spinach leaves
1 large yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 large orange bell pepper, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, minced
tomato puree
salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
8 large fresh/cooked lasagna noodles
3 cups ricotta cheese
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil and sauté spinach for 2’.Add bell peppers and garlic. Sauté until just tender, ~ 3’. Stir in tomato sauce, salt, pepper, oregano and red pepper flakes. Simmer for 5’.Remove from heat.

Coat a baking dish with an olive oil cooking spray and set aside.

In medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and ¾ cup of the mozzarella cheese together.

Ladle about 1 cup of sauce in bottom of prepared baking dish. Top with one layer of lasagna noodles. Spread one third of the cottage cheese mixture over noodles. Repeat these three layers, finishing up with the sauce. Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup mozzarella cheese over the top.

Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 30’. Uncover and continue to bake until cheese is browned and the lasagna is bubbly.