Sweet Corn and Edamame Bean Salad

Here is one of my favourite salads this year.

Edamame beans taste great and the texture is so velvety. Here is a video by Mark Bittman that teaches you how to cook edamame beans and another article.   I haven’t listed any quantity for the salad – use as much or as little of any ingredient and toss together to serve. 

Sweet Corn and Edamame Beans Salad

Edamame beans, steamed

Sweet corn kernels

Tomatoes, chopped

Onions, chopped

For the dressing

Olive oil

Soya sauce

Grated ginger

Chopped garlic

Chilli pepper flakes

Sugar

Salt

Coriander leaves to garnish

Toss well together and serve. 

The BFG's Cold Cucumber Soup

If you ever read Roald Dahl as a child, you would understand how fascinating the worlds he created were. The first book of his that I read was The BFG and I was utterly enthralled by the giant who ate the huge repulsive snozzcumbers. Snozzcumbers seemed to be from the cucumber family but were revolting in taste – to the BFG that is. I remember I used to grimace everytime the BFG had to eat one and dream of drinking the delicious frobscottle someday.

I made this cold cucumber soup thinking of the BFG and how if he had had this, snozzcumbers (or cucumbers) wouldn’t have seemed so vile after all.

Ingredients:

2 cups cucumber, chopped finely

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

3 cloves garlic

½ tsp lime/lemon zest

2 tsp lime juice

1 cup hung curd / cream

1 ½ tsp salt

1/4^th tsp black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1.       Blend all the ingredients apart from the curd in a food processor with 1 ½ cups of water. Chill it in the fridge for a few hours.

2.       Before serving, add the curd and mix thoroughly. 

Orange Black Olive Salad

Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity of meeting and cooking with, the Indian master of Italian cooking and the “Travelling Diva,” Ritu Dalmia, herself.  Having a mother who is a complete ‘Italianophile’ (if there is such a word, but you know what I mean) means that I watch David Rocco’s Dolce Vita and Rick Stein’s Mediterranean adventures on TV very often. When you put together the essence of what all of these chefs say, it can be understood that Italian cooking is less about method, cooking, and technique and more about the choicest and freshest ingredients you can find. In fact Ritu Dalmia has been often quoted as saying that she is a fake chef – that she really does nothing, the credit should all go to the ingredients she uses.

In India, Italian cooking has been associated with cream and cheese for the longest time. It has also been said that Italian meals are very heavy for the same reason, and so much of olive oil cannot possibly be healthy! In reality, however, Italian food is one of the healthiest you can find when we do not go by the cheese/ double cheese/ cheese burst pizzas that are passed off as “Italian” by Dominoes and Pizza Hut all over the country. In Italy, cheese may be rarely used on pasta and pasta may not be the main course at all but a small helping before the main course, usually grilled sea food. Now, a time has come where olive oil is considered to be the best oil to use and no matter what you make with it, the food will be healthy. Undoubtedly, olive oil is very healthy but what we Indians do not consider is that there are other much healthier eating habits Italians have that make them so fit and strong. Their lifestyle and climate contribute to this. For instance, Italians consider food to be worshipworthy. So a meal will be always be a family affair and they will not do anything else while eating. Munching a burger for lunch while driving to work is equivalent to blasphemy! All these rules that may seem quirky to foreigners actually aid their digestion and make them the healthy people that they are today.

I have always found Italian food to be very romantic just for the reason that it is very simple to throw together and yet looks so pretty with all the vibrant colors. A salad, especially is so easy toss and the dressings are usually very low calorie. This Orange Black Olive salad is one such, by David Rocco. All you need to do is cut up some chunks of oranges and toss them with some pitted whole black olives. You add some olive oil, dry oregano and salt and pepper and have a simple but extremely flavorful peasant salad. One important step is to use fresh juicy oranges and to cut them up in chunks. If whole orange segments are used, you will not get all the flavors and textures of the salad in one bite. I have not given any quantity as this salad is can be experimented upon and made to order just as you like.

David Rocco’s Orange Black Olive Salad

Ingredients

Oranges, peeled and cut into chunks

Whole black olives, pitted

Olive oil (I used orange infused olive oil)

Dry oregano

Salt and pepper

Method

Toss together all the ingredients. Keep it in the refrigerator for ½ an hour. Serve cold.

3 Grain Olive Oil and Herb Crackers with Roasted Red Bell Pepper Dip

I feel like a teenager wanting to write a ‘Dear Diary’ entry – ‘Dear Blog, I’m sorry I have been away for so long. I have missed you.’ This has been the season of festivals and birthdays. This should mean that I cook up a variety of new things. But folks, all that people seem to want to eat are mini cocoa fudge cupcakes with a chocolate ganache frosting. So these are what I have been making over and over again all this last month.

Now back to the 3 grain olive oil and herb crackers with a roasted red bell pepper dip. Sounds fancy, doesn’t it? Serve this up when you want something gourmet – ish but easy to make. This dish should not take more than ½ hour – 45 mins really, to put together from scratch

I cannot pin point what my favorite part of the dish is. Are they the wonderfully aromatic and crisp crackers? Or the roasted pepper blended together with cream cheese and balsamic vinegar? Or simply the underlying flavor of garlic in both? What do you think?

I used regular flour, wholewheat flour as well as semolina to make the crackers (much like the crackers I used for the tzatziki). I realized that merely adding some semolina to the dough makes it so much more malleable than just plain whole-wheat or flour dough. I am quite shoddy at rolling out dough but the semolina made the job so much easier. Also, please use olive oil instead of butter. It’s definitely healthier. Add in any herb you fancy.

Olive Oil Crackers with a Roasted Red Bell Pepper Dip

Minimally adapted from Passionate about Baking

Ingredients:

For the crackers:

1/3 cup flour

1/3 cup wholewheat flour

1/3 cup semolina

3 – 4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tbsp mixed herbs

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp water

For the dip:

3 roasted bell peppers

3 tbsp cream cheese

1 tbsp hung yogurt

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

A dash of white wine vinegar

2 – 3 cloves of garlic

A pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Crackers:

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.

2.Mix the 3 flours together along with the garlic, herbs and salt.

3. Add the olive oil and rub it in to form a bread crumb like texture.

4. Add the water and form a dough. Use more water if required. Knead for 2 minutes.

5. Roll out the dough ¼ th inch thick.

6. Cut into strips with a pastry cutter, pizza wheel or knife. Transfer to a baking tray with the help of a spatula.

7. Bake for 10 – 12 minutes until crisp and lightly brown.

Dip:

Blend all the ingredients together in a food processor. Serve cold. It tastes even better the next day. 

Tzatziki with Olive Oil and Sea Salt Crackers

I have had a fun weekend reading Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential and munching on Tzatziki with Olive Oil and Sea Salt Crackers. I was too lazy to make tzatziki from scratch so I just used some of the mix I had bought in Greece. As for the olive oil and sea salt crackers, go here for the recipe. (I hand rolled it as thin as I could and pricked it with a fork before baking so that no air bubbles could form). Go wild with the crackers - you can use all kinds of herbs and toppings for it. Just sprinkle it on top before baking. 

Tomato and Red Lentil Soup

This is Lebanese style tomato soup! When my mom first told me about this recipe she had learnt at cooking class, I knew I had to try it. I normally don’t like lentils so much and the ‘dal’ my mom tries to force feed me everyday. So having given up on that, she has started making this soup often so that I have the required amount of proteins in my system. It is delicious and very nutritious. So I thought, why not try it and combine both healthy and yummy. And if it gives off a lovely fragrance in the bargain, I’m not complaining.

Anything that consists of lentils poses a challenge for me but this time the pressure cooker did all the work and they didn’t have to be soaked either! All I had to do was chop up some tomatoes and throw it together with the lentils in a pressure cooker. Blend it, but do not strain. Cook the onions and spices and add the tomato – lentil mix along with a little water. Let it simmer and take it off. Garnish, and that’s it!

 Did you know that Lebanese food requires quite a bit of cumin powder just like our regular Indian home food? It’s pretty thick, so add a bit of water if you want thin soup. Also, the secret ingredient in this recipe is the sambal oelek that gives it the perfect tang. If you would like it to be spicier go ahead and add a few more green chillies!

 Tomato and Red Lentil Soup, Lebanese Style

Adapted from ‘Isha’s Cuisines’

Serves 4 – 5 people

1 tbsp – olive oil (I add a bit more, just because olive oil is always good)

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, roughly crushed

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp sambal oelek

5-6 large tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

1 bowl (about 100 gms) red lentils (masoor dal) – this does not need to be soaked

1 tsp sugar

Salt to taste

Hung yogurt and coriander leaves for the garnish

For the sambal oelek:

Grind 2 – 3 green chillies, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp sugar.

1. Boil together the lentils and tomatoes in a pressure cooker for 2 whistles. ( I add a cup of water to this)
2. Heat oil in a pan and add onions, garlic, spices and sambal oelek. Cook till onions are soft.
3. Then add the lentil and tomato mixture along with a little water. Add the sugar and salt.
4. Cook uncovered for 20 minutes.
5. Garnish with hung yogurt and coriander leaves.