Kobichi Bhaji (Cabbage stir-fry)

'Kobichi Bhaji' is a very quick and simple stir-fry preparation that is made almost in every Indian home.
The recipe that I have shared is a typical Maharashtrian preparation and has minimal spices that helps the taste of cabbage shine through.

Cabbage is very low in saturated fat and cholesterol and a good source of fiber. That makes it a great choice if you are watching your weight.

The addition of cumin, green chilies and gram dal (chana dal) makes this mild vegetable very flavorful and interesting. This preparation tastes great with some hot rotis smeared with ghee.

Moving on to the recipe...

Source: Aai
Level: Easy
Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:
1 medium cabbage, roughly chopped
4 tblsp chana dal, soaked in water for min. 4 hours
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp asafoetida
3/4 tsp turmeric powder
3 - 4 green chilies
6 - 8 curry leaves
2 tblsp oil
Salt to taste
Coriander to decorate

Method:
Step 1 - In a flat bottomed pan, heat oil on medium heat. Add in the cumin seeds and let them sizzle. Add the asafoetida, green chilies and curry leaves. Saute for a few seconds.

Step 2 - Add the turmeric powder. Saute for a few more seconds. Quickly add the chopped cabbage and the soaked chana dal. Toss everything well till the spices coat all of the cabbage. Cook covered for 5 - 10 mins stirring occasionally.

Step 3 - When the cabbage cooks down, add salt and increase the heat. Saute the cabbage for 2 - 3 more mins. Turn off the heat and decorate with some coriander.

And we are done!
Serve hot with some hot rotis.

Tips:
The cabbage starts leaving water as soon as you add salt. More so with the variety you find in the US than in India. So I would recommend adding the salt after the cabbage is almost done and then increase the heat for further cooking. We will cook the cabbage for no more than 2 - 3 mins once the salt is added.

You can replace the green chilies with red chilly powder to get a different flavor. Add the powder when you add turmeric. Make sure you do not burn the spices.

You can skip the soaked chana dal (especially if you have forgotten to soak them before hand).
But traditionally this dish is made with soaked chana dal at our home and I do like some added protein in my 'kobichi bhaji'.
That being said, I have come across recipes that add chana dal (not soaked) directly in the oil with the green chilies and curry leaves. Personally not a fan of the crunchy lentil contrast in this soft vegetable. But you can try it!

Couscous Salad

Couscous is a coarsely ground pasta made from semolina. It is a staple in the North African Maghreb region.
Like pasta, couscous is made from semolina flour, but rather than mixing the semolina with a prescribed amount of water and/or egg into a dough, couscous is made by rubbing the semolina between moistened hands until the flour combines with just enough water to form hundreds of tiny grains. Needless to say, it is the simplest forms of making pasta and one that is practiced in villages all around the Mediterranean basin.

Couscous comes in instant and non-instant variety. The instant variety is pre-steamed and then dried before it is packaged. This makes the cooking process really quick.

Today I will share a really interesting couscous salad recipe. By just glancing through the ingredients you will realize how refreshing and hearty it is going to be. This is the first couscous recipe I tried at my home and needless to say we are hooked. I am sure you would be too. So let us get started.

Level: Easy
Serves: 4 people
Adapted from: Laura in the kitchen

Ingredients:
2/3 cup instant couscous
2/3 cup water
1 tomato, scoop out the seeds and liquid and cut into small cubes
1 medium cucumber, scoop out the seeds and cut into small cubes
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas (I use canned chickpeas - washed)
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped
1 green chilly, finely chopped
Zest of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 tblsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Pepper as needed

Method:
Step 1 - Heat 2/3 cup of water covered and let it come to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add the instant couscous. Mix quickly with a spoon and cover the pot with a lid for 5 minutes.

Step 2 - Let us get to our dressing now. In a large salad bowl, zest 1/2 a lemon with a zester or the smallest grater you have. Make sure you use only the yellow portion of the lemon. Do not zest the white rind. This will make your dressing bitter. Once done, cut the lemon open and squeeze the life out of it. We need all the lemony goodness. Add the olive oil. Beat all the ingredients well with a whisk or a fork.

Step 3 - Add the chopped veggies, chickpeas, chilly and coriander leaves into the salad dressing. Add salt and pepper. Lightly toss everything together. Do not over mix. This might break the veggies. We do not want that to happen.

Step 4 - By now the 5 mins of couscous standing time would be up. Using a fork, start pulling out the layers of the couscous till they separate well. They should be lump free. Drop this couscous, while it is still warm in the bowl of veggies. Toss lightly with a fork. Adjust the salt and pepper.

The couscous should taste refreshingly lemony and be perfectly salted.
Serve warm or cold. This dish makes a meal in itself.

Happy Cooking Everyone!

Tips:
This dish can be enjoyed warm or cold out of the fridge.

The more this dish sits in the refrigerator, the more the flavors intensify. I generally make this dish the night before we plan to enjoy it for brunch.

Make sure all the veggie preparations are done before you cook the couscous. We need to use the couscous while it is still warm.

Do not forget to scoop out and discard the seeds and liquid from the tomato and cucumber. If used, they will completely water down the salad.

Give this salad your own touch, by adding or omitting the ingredients of your choice. As couscous does not have any flavor of it's own, it tastes great with any vegetables.

For this recipe, do not follow the cooking instructions on your couscous box, to cook  it. The instructions are to make a really mushy and soft couscous. We do not want that texture for our salad.

Other Sources: Here

Beetacha Raita (Beetroot Salad)

SHOCKING PINK! The insane reason I end up serving this salad at parties. Like all yogurt based salads, this one tastes great with meat curries or spicy pulavs and biryanis.
There are multiple benefits of consuming this root vegetable. Even though beetroot has one of the highest sugar contents of any vegetable (upto 10%), this sugar is released slowly into the body without causing any sudden rush. The benefits of consuming beets, from helping boost stamina and making muscles work more efficiently to reducing blood pressure, have made the news recently.

I have prepared this salad in a typical maharashtrian way. This recipe could be used as a base recipe. Just keep changing the vegetables. Cucumbers or raddish make great replacements in this preparation.

Hope this recipe gets you another step closer to including this super food in your diet.

Serves: 5 - 6 people
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
2 medium beetroots
2 cups yogurt
3 - 4 green chillies, finely chopped
Salt to taste
1 tsp sugar
2 tblsp ground roasted peanut powder (optional)
1 tblsp clarified butter/oil
3/4 tsp cumin seeds
3 pinch asafoetida
3 - 4 tblsp coriander leaves finely chopped

Method:
Step 1 - Boil the beetroots in a pressure pan for 2 whistles. Peel with a vegetable peeler and grate it into a small bowl.

Step 2 - Add the yogurt in another large bowl. Beat it a little till it is lump free. Add salt and sugar. This yogurt should be just a little sweet. Add the green chillies, roasted peanut powder and the grated beetroot. Mix well. Add a little more yogurt if you need a runny salad.

Step 3 - In a small pan, heat the clarified butter. Add cumin seeds. When they get nicely roasted add the asafoetida and immediately pour this into your mixed salad. Stir well. Add the coriander leaves.

Serve immediately.

Tips:
Even though I have mentioned that the roasted peanut powder is optional, I would recommend adding it whenever possible as it gives this salad a great nutty flavor.

Kakadi Pudina Raita (Cucumber-Mint Raita)

'Raita' refers to a salad with a yogurt base.
Cucumber raita is a summer special at our home. The cooling properties of this raita beautifully balances the spices in Indian cooking.
Cucumbers are a combination of dietary fibers and water. A must have for those nasty summer days!
There are infinite variations of preparing this quick dish. I will share a few of my favorite methods with you. 

Today's recipe is a particularly cooling one. Mint being one of the key ingredients, gives this dish a wonderful fresh flavor. I generally accompany this preparation with spicy biryanis or meat curries. You can also use this as a dip to be served with some sliced veggies or with some flatbreads.
This quick recipe demands to be bookmarked!

Serves: 3 - 4 people
Level: Easy

Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers, peeled and finely chopped
1.5 cups yogurt, whisked till smooth
3 tblsp chopped coriander leaves
6 - 8 mint leaves
3 green chillies, finely chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
1 tsp cumin seeds

Method:
Step 1 - In a mortar and pestel, punch together the coriander leaves, mint leaves, green chilies, sugar, salt and cumin seeds. If you don't own a mortar pestel, coarsely grind the ingredients together in a grinder with no or as little water as possible. Your chutney is ready.

Step 2 - In a large bowl  add the yogurt and the coarsely ground chutney from Step-1. Mix well. Add the finely chopped cucumber. Mix everything together.

Refrigerate till you are ready to serve.

Tips:
This salad can be made ahead for a party. You can keep the yogurt-chutney mixture ready. Just before serving add the cucumber, mix well and serve.
We cannot add the cucumber and keep the salad for a long duration as the salt reacts with the cucumber and the salad starts getting watery!

Hope you enjoy this one!

Warm Potato Salad

A delightful change from the usual veggie salad.

I generally make this salad, when we are on our not so strict diets..

Even though this salad has some mayo in it...one can always avoid it (or like me cheat with 97% fat free mayo)...and make it healthier..but this is our favorite version...so here it is for all of you..

Have it with some soup and its a meal in itself..:)

Level: Easy
Serves: 4 to 5 people
Adapted from: Book: Salad by Swapnali Sheteye

Ingredients:
8 medium potatoes, boiled, peeled, diced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 green chilly, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon, or as per taste
1 tblsp olive oil/salad oil
Sprigs of coriander, chopped
1 tsp sugar
3 tblsp mayonaise
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Tobasco to taste

Method:
Step 1 - Take a wok like vessel. Heat olive oil in it and saute the green chilly, bell pepper and onion till they are half done..you need them to be slightly crunchy.

Step 2 - Turn off heat.

Step 3 - Add in diced potatoes, salt, pepper, tobasco, sugar. Toss around well.

Step 4 - Add in mayonaise and coriander. Toss around again.

Serve warm...obviously...as the name suggests..

You can also serve this with some crispy garlic bread..

Chop the potatoes finer...or mash them..you have a sandwich spread/filling ready.

Truly filling !

Hope you enjoy  making this one. Do let me know how it turns out.


Rack your brains:
Potatoes are an excellent source of potassium and vitamin C and a source of fibre and iron.
Potatoes are not fattenning by themselves. Its what you put on it that adds calories.