turmeric

Vegan Rajmah with Green Tea-Germinated Brown Rice

/ Ren

Dark red kidney beans in a curry of fresh ginger, onions, garlic, tomatoes and chilies with toasted cumin and coriander, turmeric and cilantro, served over a bed of green tea-germinated brown rice..

Germinated brown rice is approximately 10-20 times higher in protein and amino acids (including GABA) than white rice.  Soaking the rice in freshly-brewed green tea adds a pleasing flavor and increases the medicinal value.  It also helps to prevent the rice from spoiling during its 18-24 hour germination period.

For more information about germinated brown rice, please see this excellent article at Kitchen Stewardship

Pindi Chana

/ Ren

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Dried chickpeas are soaked overnight before being cooked in lightly salted water and combined with a savory sauce of tomatoes, black tea, fresh ginger, chilies,garlic, onions and toasted spices.  Served with hot tandoori naan brushed with melted ghee..

Pindi Chana

Here’s another pindi chana recipe that includes fruits and nuts.. http://ediblearia.com/2009/10/10/pindi-chana-2/

Mary had a little lamb. I ate it with curry and rice.

/ Ren

Freshly-ground local, pastured lamb is seasoned with sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper before being seared in blazing-hot grass-fed ghee with hulled cardamom, sweet cinnamon shards, mustard seeds, fresh ginger and green chilies, tomatoes and garlic.  The pan juices are combined with turmeric, sweet paprika and coconut milk and reduced until thick.

Short grain rice is simmered with 4x its own weight in homemade bone broth with golden fried onions, toasted cumin and coriander, fresh English peas and a pinch of saffron..

Lamb Curry with Rice and English Peas

Curry in a hurry!

Sprouted Brown Rice Curry

/ Ren

A thick, rich soup of sprouted brown rice, corn, curry, red chiles and coconut cream, topped with toasted cashews..

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Sprouted Brown Rice Curry

Makes about 4 servings

2 cups germinated brown rice (GBR)
1 1/2 cups dent corn, soaked
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups filtered water
1 small white onion, diced
2-3 fresh red chiles, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon safflower threads, soaked
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ghee
1/3 cup coconut cream
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1/2 black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
2 teaspoons curry leaves
raw cashews
raw coconut flakes

To germinate rice, place in a bowl and cover with 100 degree water.  Cover loosely and allow to stand on the counter, changing water 2-3 times a day until germinated, 18-48 hours.

Toast coriander and cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant.  Transfer to a spice grinder and process along with mustard seeds, peppercorns, turmeric and fenugreek.

Sauté chiles, onions and garlic in ghee until softened.

Combine vegetable stock and water and bring to a boil.  Stir in corn and simmer 20 minutes.  Stir in rice, cover and simmer 20 minutes.  Add spices, curry leaves, onions, garlic, chiles, safflower threads and coconut cream and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.  Adjust flavor with salt if necessary.

Ladle into bowls and garnish with cilantro, toasted cashews and coconut flakes.

This post is in support of Meatless Monday, whose goal it is to goal is to help reduce
meat consumption by 15% in order to improve personal health and the health of our planet.

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Penang Goat Curry

/ Ren

Pastured goat seared, then slowly simmered in coconut red curry with fried tomatoes, onions and Thai dragon peppers, with fresh ginger, garlic and Kaffir lime leaves..

Goat Curry

Penang Goat Curry

Serves 2

1 pound goat stew meat
2 plum tomatoes, diced
1 small white onion, diced
1 teaspoon freshly-grated ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 red or green chiles
1 tablespoon traditionally-fermented soy sauce
1 tablespoon poivron rouge
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon true cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly-grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves, ground
2 kaffir lime leaves, slivered
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 cup thick, raw coconut milk
1 cup filtered water
coconut oil or ghee for frying

In Austin, pastured goat and kaffir lime are available from Farmhouse Delivery.

Trim goat meat of fat and silver-skin and cut into 1-inch cubes.  Thoroughly rinse then pat dry.  Heat raw coconut oil or ghee in a heavy skillet over medium heat until the first wisp of smoke appears.  Add the goat and sear until dark brown with a slight surface crustiness.  Transfer meat to a plate.

Stirring frequently, fry tomatoes, onions and chiles until until the onions are translucent and the tomatoes lose some of their moisture.  Add ginger, garlic and dry spices and cook until a thick paste is formed.

Add coconut milk, goat meat and lime leaves and simmer until goat is tender, about 75 minutes.  Stir the pot now and then, adding water as needed to keep it from thickening too much.

Taste for salt, then add chopped cilantro just before serving.

This post is part of The Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday!

Thai-Spiced Roast Chicken, Ginger Jasmine Rice

/ Ren

Local, pastured chicken roasted with raw coconut oil, lemongrass, onion, garlic, coriander and fermented soy..

Thai-Spiced Roast Chicken, Ginger Jasmine Rice

Thai-Spiced Roast Chicken, Ginger Jasmine Rice

Rinse and pat dry a 3-pound pastured chicken.  Place in a large glass bowl.

Melt raw coconut oil over low heat.  Transfer to the bowl of a food processor with cumin, coriander, garlic, onion, lemongrass, fermented soy, turmeric, paprika and fresh lime juice.

Pour mixture over chicken, taking care to coat all sides.  Allow to sit 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Place chicken in a heavy skillet and roast in a 400 degree oven until the skin is crisp and brown and the juices run clear, about 50-60 minutes.

Pour the fat, oil and juices from the pan into a glass measuring cup and use that and some filtered water as the cooking liquid for the rice.

Add fresh ginger, minced lime leaves, cilantro and thinly sliced peppers to the rice during the last 5 minutes of cooking.



Hard-Boiled Eggs Masala

/ Ren

A delicious late-Sunday breakfast, this is one of my favorite ways to eat eggs.  The dish can be put together in about 20 minutes..

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Masaledar Ublay Unday (Hard-Boiled Eggs Masala)

To prepare hardboiled eggs, place eggs in a pan and cover with cold, filtered water.  Eggs should be 2 inches below the surface.  Bring the water to a fast boil, then immediately remove from heat, cover and let stand exactly 10 minutes.  Drain the water, roll the eggs around to crack the shells, then fill the pan with ice water and allow to stand another 5-10 minutes.

Masaledar Ublay Unday (Hard-Boiled Eggs Masala)

(adapted from a recipe by Madhur Jaffrey)

1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
4 green or 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
6 hard boiled eggs

Combine the cayenne, turmeric, ground coriander, salt, pepper, lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water in a bowl.  Mix and set aside.

Fry cumin seeds in ghee in a heavy skillet set over medium heat until brown and fragrant, about 20 seconds.

Add onions and ginger and fry until the onions are lightly browned, about 1-2 minutes.

Add the spice paste and stir until combined.

Add the tomatoes, cover the pan and simmer 5 minutes.

Add halved eggs and chopped cilantro.  Cover the pan for 2 minutes to warm the eggs, then spoon into a serving dish.



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Punjabi Gobi with Onion and Garlic Naan

/ Ren

Gobi is a dry curry of cauliflower, tomatoes, ginger, onions and toasted spices.  Naan is an  oven-baked flatbread commonly served in South Asia..

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Punjabi Gobi with Onion and Garlic Naan

For the naan (adapted from Anjum Anand)

3 oz organic all-purpose flour
1 oz organic whole wheat flour
1 tsp non-refined sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp aluminum-free baking powder
2 oz organic plain yoghurt
2 oz filtered water
3 cloves garlic
2 green onions

Sift the dry ingredients together in a glass bowl.  Combine with yoghurt and water and let stand in a cool place for 2 hours to break down some of the phytic acid.

Roll dough into a ball, set in an oiled bowl, cover and let stand in a warm place until doubled, about 1-2 hours.

Knead the dough by hand for 10 minutes, adding very small quantities of flour or water as may be needed to achieve a soft, flexible dough.

Roll the dough out into 1/4 inch thick ovals and cook on a pizza stone in a 450 degree oven until brown, about 2-3 minutes per side.

For the Gobi

Core, trim and wash cauliflower (1/2 head per 2 servings) and split into individual florets.  Steam until partially cooked, then plunge into ice water to stop the cooking process.

Chop 1 plum tomato, 1 small yellow tomato, 1/2 yellow onion, 1 tablespoon ginger, 1 or 2 green chilies and a handful of fresh cilantro.

Gather 1 tablespoon each turmeric and chopped curry leaves, 1 teaspoon each of cumin seed, methi and paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon each of black pepper, nigella, ajwain and sea salt.  These spices are commonly available in Indian food markets or by mail order.  Don’t worry about it if you don’t have this exact combination.

Toast the whole spices in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, onions and peppers and cook until just softened, about 2 minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients (except cilantro) and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often until cauliflower is tender, about 15 minutes.

Add cilantro and 1 tablespoon ghee.  Toss to combine and serve with hot naan.


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Healing Tomato Curry

/ Ren

Tomato curry is one of the most delicious and nutritionally powerful healing dishes around.  Start with homegrown tomatoes, just-dug onions, coriander leaves, garlic and red chili pepper..

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Peel, seed and chop just-picked tomatoes and set aside.

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Turmeric (Curcuma longa)

Cook jasmine, aged basmati, or long-grain brown rice in bone broth, vegetable stock or filtered water with a spoonful of turmeric and another of black pepper.  The piperine in the pepper increases the bioavailability of the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and anti-cancer properties of the turmeric.

Toast whole cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, fenugreek, mustard and coriander seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant, about 5-10 minutes.

Add 1 tablespoon of raw, organic coconut oil to the pan and sauté the chopped garlic, slivered raw almonds, raisins, chopped curry leaves and chili pepper until soft, about 5 minutes.

Add reserved tomatoes, ginger, slivered onions and chopped coriander leaves and heat through, about 5 minutes.

Spoon tomato mixture over rice and garnish with yoghurt sprinkled with curry powder.

Coconut Curry Chicken

/ Ren

Yoghurt-marinated coconut curry chicken with jasmine rice, toasted cashews, raisins and creamed spinach..

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Remove the skin and bone from fresh, pastured chicken (I prefer thigh pieces for this) and cut into large pieces.  Marinate 4 hours or overnight in a combination of plain, whole milk yoghurt, coconut milk, turmeric, curry powder and black pepper.

To prepare, heat ghee in a Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add chopped onions, garlic, ginger, and cracked green cardamom pods, coriander, cloves, black pepper, shards of Ceylon cinnamon and a whole red or green chili that has been slit open with the tip of a knife. Sauté, stirring continuously until brown.

Add chicken pieces and all of the yoghurt marinade to the pot, and stir to comine with the onions.  Thin with a little filtered water or chicken stock, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until tender, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, wash and rinse a bunch of fresh spinach, cilantro and parsley.  Blanch in boiling water for several seconds, then purée with an immersion blender or food processor.  Season with salt and pepper and keep warm.

Meanwhile, prepare jasmine rice according to package directions.  Remove from heat, add raisins and cover until raisins are plump and all the water has been absorbed.

To serve, ladle spinach onto the center of the plate, top with rice and spoon curried chicken over the top.  Dress with toasted cashews and chopped parsley or cilantro.

Red Rice Riot (favorite)

/ Ren

Every now and then I go a little crazy in the kitchen, having some notion of my direction of travel but without a particular destination. Sometimes this works well, sometimes not.

Tonight, I was thinking Thai-ish & vegetarian. I’m not sure where I wound up, but man, was it good!

Starting clockwise from the bottom left- split peanuts, cilantro, purple basil, red Thai rice, coconut milk, peanut satay sauce with lemongrass, fennel, corriander and kafir lime, Madagascar vanilla and roasted chili powder.  On the plate, clockwise from the bottom- scallions, galangal root, Fresno pepper, ginger root, orange, medjool dates and turmeric rhizome, and a large clove of garlic in the center.

Start by bruising the roots and adding them to the pot with the coconut milk, chili powder, vanilla and cilantro. Simmer this over low heat for about 30 minutes until the flavors develop and it takes on its beautiful yellow color. Scoop out the pulp, then add the rice and a little water so that the liquid volume is sufficient for the amount of rice. Still on low heat, cover the pot and walk away for another half hour.

Uncover the rice and stir in the chopped dates, orange pieces and basil. Sautee the peanuts, onions and peppers and add to the pot.

Serve topped with additional chili paste and satay sauce.