Bean Salad

So, Nigella says, one should not strive to be original in the kitchen, rather one should simply make good tasting food adopted from anywhere. This a classic case of a recipe adopted...well...from everywhere! I have made several versions of this recipe over the years. It is easy to make, flexible and very satisfying as a meal in itself or as a part of a meal. I have tweaked my usual recipe a little here. This is the first recipe of this week, where I am using only ingredients I can acquire from my neighbourhood. So without further ado, here goes:

Ingredients: 
For the salad:
Garbanzo Beans                                                                 :1/2 cup ( that's chole for the uninitiated he he he)
Kidney Beans(Rajma mix of dark and light coloured)            :1 cups (1 cup each)
For Dressing:
Lime                                                                               : 1 (juice and zest - of 1 lime only)
Vinegar                                                                           : ½ Tbs (optional)
Olive Oil (extra virgin please!)                                           : 2Tbs
Oregano                                                                          : a pinch
Fresh Coriander                                                               : A hand full
Dill Leaves                                                                       : A hand full
Salt                                                                                   : 1 Tsp (more after tasting)
Chili Flakes                                                                       : as much as you like
Sugar                                                                                :1 tsp
Garlic                                                                               : 1 pod (not the whole thing!), crushed.
Cumin Powder                                                                 : 1 tsp
Save some (3 tbs) of the cooking water from the cooked beans as well for the dressing.Method


Soak overnight and pressure cook the beans (with a tea spoon of salt) till very soft. I cook the dark rajma separately as it takes a while longer. (Trust me, nothing is worse than crunchy rajma in this salad). Strain and keep it aside. Save some of the cooking liquid for the dressing
For the dressing, pour the olive oil (extra virgin) into a mixing bowl or a medium sized jar (the jar is what I used, it's much easier to make salad dressings in a jar). Add lime zest (scrape the skin of the lime on a grater, avoid grating the white part of the rind). Add the lime juice or vinegar if using, cooking liquid from the beans, crushed garlic, salt, pepper and chili flakes. Close the Jar with its lid, or use a whisk (if in a mixing bowl) and shake vigorously (jar)/whisk the dressing well. The lime juice, cooking liquid and the olive oil should mix well together to result in a denser, translucent dressing. Taste the dressing for salt and spice, add more if needed.
Finely chop the coriander and dill and mix well with the cooked beans. Now slowly drizzle the dressing over the salad. Mix everything together nicely.
Keep if for 2 hours before serving (preferably) and remove the garlic before you serve!

In search of Nimbus

About Nimbus- "Recall the moments when drink, music and good company lit you full of fraternal love, forgiveness and joy, then think: according to every doctrine those are the highest states we can reach as human beings"(yeah, I am thinking LOR J).

Well…that was my beloved weekend goal. To raise a Nimbus. The plan was simple. Grab a book, go to Herbs and Spices. Order some food, wine. Open the book and spend the next 2 hours letting the Nimbus rise.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Karnataka government rudely interrupted my search with a strike. I was warned by husband to not step out. A trip to my favorite fresh grocer in Indira Nagar could save the Nimbus. I could cook exotic vegetables and fresh herbs! Not so bad huh? And as long as I can do that in half an hour, no one needs to know, right? Alas, that was not to be either. My timid venture to the neighborhood told me nothing, absolutely nothing, was open.

In order to save the day,  fill the tummy, and suit my picky needs, I decided to cook. With whatever I find in my fridge and in whatever manner that I took fancy to. So, cut cauliflowers, shelled peas were the obvious choice (minimal effort, maximum output). The obvious cooking means was baking (in my new microwave/grill/convection oven! Of course!). To make it a "pot roast" (with the crust) was a last minute inspiration to add some carbohydrates without having to make something additionally.

For a completely experimental, spontaneous, almost impulsive recipe, the output was out of this world (even if I do say so myself).Cooking replaced the wine…reading was discarded  to the unexpectedly yummy food. And Nimbus was achieved!

But…but, but but. This whole thing inspired me to try something. For one full week, I'll use only vegetables I can find in my neighborhood (sorry MK Retail!), and cook something different in flavour, texture or cooking technique. And post it here of course! If necessity makes me invent something yummy, it is worth giving this a try, no?

Vegetable "Pot Roast"

 

Ingredients:

Cauliflower- cut into flowerets          2 Cups

Green Peas                                      1/3 ^rd Cup

Onion, sliced                                    1, small

Garlic, minced                                 3 pods

Milk                                                 1 Cup

Cinnamon                                       1 inch piece

Bay Leaf                                         1 Leaf

Salt                                                 2 teaspoon (more according to your taste)

All purpose Flour (maida)             1 Tbs

Whole wheat flour                         3/4^th cup

Butter Milk                                    1 cup (to use as needed)

Thyme                                           1 Tsp (this can be replaced with oregano or parsely as well)

Olive Oil                                       1 Tbs

Pepper                                         1 tsp, more to taste.

Cooking Soda                              ½ teaspoon

The filling:

In a pan, pour the oil, and over low heat add bay leaf, cinnamon, sliced onion & minced garlic and 1/2 teaspoon of thyme. Let the mixture slowly heat up. As it begins to sizzle, add ½ teaspoon of salt to make the onion sweat.

Clean the cauliflower florets. When the onion is translucent and the raw smell from the garlic is gone, add the flowerets and the peas. Add 1 ½ tsp of salt and 1 tsp of pepper.

Toss everything together and keep on low heat for 2 to 3 mins. The idea is to seal the flavours and not to cook the vegetables.

Sprinkle the table spoon of maida over the vegetables and toss together for a minute. Be careful not to let the flour stick to the base of the pan. Empty the contents of the pan into an oven proof casserole dish.

Keep the pan back on to stove over a low flame. Add 1 cup of milk, bring it to a simmer. Scrape any flour that maybe sticking to the bottom of the pan and stir it in with the milk. Add a pinch of thyme, a pinch of salt and pepper. Let it all simmer together for a minute.

Pour the milk mixture into the casserole, over the vegetable mixture.

Pre heat your oven to 220 degrees.

To make the crust:

Sift together wheat flour, ½ teaspoon of salt and cooking soda into a mixing bowl. Add a pinch of thyme.

Make a well in the center and pour a ladle full of the buttermilk.

Gently, bring the buttermilk and flour mixture together by holding your hands like a claw and moving it in circular motion around the mixing bowl.

As the butter milk is absorbed, add more so that all the flour is clumped together. Do not knead under any circumstances. Once all the flour is clumped together in a lump, but still sticky, the dough is ready.

Shape the flour, using your hand, (dust your hands with flour make it easy to maneuver) into a circular shape, to roughly cover the vegetable filling in your casserole dish. It should be around 1 cms thick. This is quite roughly done, no need to aspire for an even or nice-looking crust J.

Place the curst over the vegetable mixture. Place the casserole, preferably, half way up your oven, and bake for 25 mins or till the crust is done.

Serve with a side of salad, herbed pasta or rice.

This is how Nimbus was achieved:

Sesame Peanut Noodles

I love peanuts. I do. I have cravings for peanuts that need immediate attention several times in a week. Thankfully, I am never far away from some source of peanut or the other.


Anyways…so Peanut Sesame Noodle combines my love for peanuts and sesame oil and all things good. I’ve tried several recipes, nigella’s, pioneerwoman’s but nothing made me happy. Most recipes use peanut butter…and somehow the peanut lover in me would remain not quite satisfied.

So today, when all was quiet, the TV was switched off, the music was playing and I had no one to satisfy but me, inspiration slowly snuck up. And I made my version of the peanut sesame noodle.

In hindsight, it is inspired by everything I read and my mom’s sabudana Kichdi. But it worked.

Sesame  Peanut Noodles
Ingredients:

Sesame Oil                    2 Tbs
Soy Sauce                     1 Tbs
Peanuts                          50 gms (roasted without salt)
Garlic                             3 pods
Red Chili                        1 ½ pieces (this makes for very spicy, suited me today, but reduce to 1 if needed)
Sweet Chili Sauce           ½ Tbs (optional, can replace it with ½ teaspoon of sugar)
Salt                                2 teaspoons (tempted to say to taste…but, I restrain)
Linguine/Egg Noodles     150 gms, refer note (or wheat spaghetti like I had)

Sesame seeds                 1 Tbs

Juice of 1 lime
Handful of Coriander leaves chopped
Handful of parsley chopped
Handful of spring onion chopped

Method:

Boil the spaghetti/linguine/Egg Noodles as per instructions, with 2 teaspoon of salt. Test to see if it suits your taste, boil some more if needed (That’s Al Dante explained!). Strain the noodles and preserve some of the cooking water.

Grind the chili and garlic in a mixer, without water, till the chili is flaky. Now add the roasted peanuts and grind for a few seconds. Use the Pulse option in the mixer. The mixture should be grainy with some whole pieces and some fine powder. And should smell totally, totally awesome.

In a large mixing bowl, add the sesame oil, soy sauce, Sweet Chili Sauce and the chopped herbs (spring onion, coriander and parsley). Add the cooked noodle and toss well. Finally add the peanut mixture and mix everything together.

Add some of the reserved cooking liquid if the noodle seems a little dry.

Top with sesame seeds and let it set for 10 mins before serving


This serves two…or dinner and next day’s lunch for one.

Note:-

Here’s how I measured the spaghetti, I made a circle with my thumb and forefinger till it was the size of a lime and that’s how much spaghetti I used. It is 150 gms, basis the proportion of the total that got used up.