Sauteed Eggplant and Bell Peppers
This dish can be made with green, red or yellow bell peppers, all yielding wonderful flavor and color variations. The eggplant is steamed prior to its browning in seasoned ghee, a step that cuts calories to the minimum. Fresh garam masala puts of distinction on the dish. Preparation time (after assembling ingredients): 10 minutes Cooking time: 15-20 minutes Ingredients • Caraway seeds – ½...
Lima beans with Golden Raisins
Fresh lima beans are usually available as small “butter limas” or larger, as “potato limas”. Shop for local produce dark green pods, tightly closed and bulging with large beans. To free the beans from the pods, cut a strip along the inner edge of the pod, then with your thumbnail remove the beans. June, July and august yield the most profuse crops, yet at some specialty greengrocers the availability...
Sauteed Cauliflower and Green Peas
In all cauliflower dishes, the quality of the vegetable is paramount. Look for crisp, tightly packed white flowerets and bright green leaves. It is important to cut the flowerets into uniform pieces, but the success of the dish really lies in slow, gentle braising; the cauliflower cooks in its own juice and seasonings until the flowerets are butter-soft and the stems tender-crisp. Garden-fresh peas are in a class of their own,...
Green beans with Water Chestnuts
The water chestnut is a floating water plant growing in lakes and ponds on several continents. The fruits are angular, with brown skins and a white, floury nut inside –refreshingly crisp and delicious. There are several kinds. Singhara nuts, grown in the lakes of Kashmir, are eaten as snacks or blanched, sliced, dried and ground into flour. Chinese water chestnuts, or pi-tsi, are not really nuts, but tubers, deriving...
Mung Dal Soup with Tomatoes
Dals are perhaps the most popular and the most economical foods in Vedic cuisine. They are relished by everyone, rich and poor, and are part of almost every Vedic lunch. A bouquet of delicate flavors in this creamy dal soup comes from the species, seasonings, tomatoes and sweetener added in the final stages of cooking. The recipe comes from the skilled hands of a great devotee of Krishna from West Bengal, Srila...