As exciting as it is to be able to cook with fire here in K-town, I do often enjoy a simple fresh salad. Here’s an Asian-y slaw we made last night, inspired by one of the delicious lunch salads served at Mihingo Lodge, and quite similar to one my mother likes to make using Napa cabbage. The proportions listed below are extremely approximate, as I was just making up the recipe as I went along.
Kenny devoured several platefuls. It was a good reminder that for an alleged negative-calorie food, cabbage can be pretty delicious.
Ingredients
- Half head of cabbage, thinly sliced
- 2 carrots, shaved with a peeler or mandolin
- Handful of sliced almonds
- Sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced (optional)
- Soy sauce (to taste)
Instructions
- Combine cabbage and carrots in a large bowl
- To make the dressing, combine sesame oil, a dash of soy sauce (just a little for color, or more if you like salt), ginger, garlic, and sesame seeds. Whisk it up.
- Sprinkle the almonds on top, dress the salad and eat
When Kenny and I go to Delhi, we like to stay at Saubhag Bed and Breakfast, run by our own adopted Indian auntie, Meera. During our visit last month, I complimented Meera on her delicious tomato chutney, and she promised to send me the recipe. Here it is, with a bonus recipe below for coriander chutney. I haven’t tried either yet (the second will be difficult, as I am mixie-less here in Kampala), but I am hoping to try my hand at the tomato soon.
Meera’s Sweet Tomato Chutney
Ingredients
- 2 kg tomatoes
- 1 kg sugar
- 1 large onion (80 gm)
- 7 flakes garlic
- 1 large piece ginger (30 gm)
- 5 tsp salt
- 4 tsp chili powder (10 gm)
- Garam Masala (2 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp pepper, 4 small pieces cinnamon, 5 cloves)
- 3 tsp acetic acid (concentrated vinegar)
Instructions
- Blanche and peel ripe red tomatoes. Cut into small pieces (I put them into the blender for a few minutes).
- Cut onion and garlic very fine, grind ginger
- Add sugar to tomatoes. Put in onion, garlic and ginger. Cook on fire.
- When chutney turns a little thick, add salt, chili powder, cumin, pepper, cinnamon and cloves.
- Cook for a few minutes more. Turn off fire and add acetic acid.
- Cool chutney and enjoy!
Meera’s Green Coriander Chutney
Ingredients
- 1 medium bunch coriander leaves
- 1 small onion
- 5-6 flakes garlic
- ¾ tsp freshly ground cumin
- 3-4 green chilies
- ½ tsp sugar
- ½ lemon squeezed
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Grind all above
- Add one heaped teaspoon plain yogurt if desired
My NGO co-workers taught me how to make this salad on Thursday. This morning, Lauren and I tried it out ourselves, since chopping and tossing a cold salad is one of the few forms of “cooking” allowed at our guest house. Unfortunately, we don’t know the name of the beans that we used, but we got them from the local market and we think they might be soybeans. We’re not so sure what the leaves are either. Outside of Thailand, you could probably substitute arugula or mustard greens for the leaves; they had a bit of a spicy flavor. You could use nuts instead of the beans, or try an Asian grocery for the real thing.
Ingredients
- Dry roasted local beans
- Chilies
- Shallots
- Some kind of spicy green leaves
- Tomatoes
- Soybean oil
Instructions
Finely chop chilies and shallots. Chop tomatoes and leaves coarsely. Toss all ingredients with soybean oil. Eat!
Breakfast
Soybeans?
After perusing a few Thanksgiving stuffing recipes and feeling completely uninspired, Kenny and I decided to attempt an Indian stuffing. Here’s what we came up with. The end result actually tasted remarkably like a Thanksgiving stuffing, but with some Indian flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of gobi (cauliflower)
- 1/4 kg lady fingers (okra)
- 2 small red onions
- 1 package of MTR Channa Masala (or you can be less lazy than us and make it yourself; we were running out of time with all of our other Thanksgiving prep and decided to take a delicious shortcut)
- 12 small vadas (we got frozen ones; fresh vadas from a local shop would probably be better)
- 2 eggs
- Coconut oil
Instructions
In a large skillet, warm 1 tbsp coconut oil over medium heat. Add onion, cauliflower, and okra, and saute for 5 minutes or until tender. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.
Crumble the vadas into a large bowl. Add sauteed vegetables to the crumbs. Stir in the beaten eggs and mix well. Then add the channa and mix well.
Transfer the mixture to a large pot, and cook covered on medium heat for about an hour (even better, use an oven if you have one). Cut into pieces and garnish with curry leaves to serve.