RECIPE - Vegan, Lactose free, Gluten free - Excited about Brussels Sprout...!!!

Yes, the title of this post sounds like an Oxymoron

I ate this vegetable for the first time just ten years ago and let us say I was not impressed.
It was boiled and had a sulphurous odour and taste.
Since then I have devised a wonderful way of cooking and eating Brussels Sprout
Most people who have eaten this at home - dont even know its this...!

Bottom line, if you are not particularly fond of brussels sprout - this recipe is for you :)

Some information
Does not freeze well, best eaten freshly cooked
This recipe is good with other vegetables as this by itself is not very filling
The vegetable once cooked has many uses
- use a sandwich maker and stuff this inside bread slices to make a very sumptous toasted sandwich
- add some yoghurt and convert this into a cold salad

Ingredients
500 gm Brussels sprouts
Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
A pinch of turmeric
a few green chilles or 1/4 teaspoon chilly powder [optional]
a few teaspoons cooking oil
salt to taste
1 teaspoon of besan[chick pea flour] or Rice flour [optional]

Method
Preparing the brussels sprout is the key to this recipe
Wash and dry well - there should not be any moisture left.
Cut each sprout in half along the thick stem.
Use a small knife and wedge out the stem from each side and discard
Grate finely - it should resemble finely grated cabbage like you would grate for a coleslaw or sauerkraut
[a sharp kitchen knife will do and you dont really need a grater]
The fry pan should be a wide one - the larger the surface area, the faster this gets cooked

Heat oil in a fry pan and add cumin seeds
When they crackle, turn up the heat, add chillies, and throw in the brussels sprouts
Stir in salt and turmeric and keep stirring
DO NOT COVER
It should wilt and cook within 2-3 minutes
The consistency should be flaky and crumbly
If its sticky, sprinkle a teaspoon of chick pea flour and stir again while still on the stove
rice flour will also do the trick.

Thats it...serve hot

Embelishments
If you have curry leaves - chop and add them when you thrown in cumin seeds
If you have any generic curry powder [from a super market shelf] sprinkle a teaspoon of that with the turmeric as you cook
Garnishing with fresh coriander leaves also gives a good flavour

FAQs about Indian Vegetarian food

I am often asked these questions
Let me attempt to demystify and remove certain misconceptions about Indian food.

Remember, India is a subcontinent - just as In Europe; French cuisine is different from Greek Cuisine
So also cuisine of the south is very diferent from the cuisine in the north or western parts of India.

1. Indian food is spicy - MYTH
Often spicy is the term given to food that has a lot of heat by way of chillies/ pepper.
I simply abhor the rampant usage of the word spicy as a synonym for high in chillies.
To be very precise - Indian food need not be spicy to be tasty
Spicy and tasty are again not synonyms in the Indian gourmet's palate
And yes all Indian food is not spicy
And yes all of India does not eat chillies or food high in chillies.

2. Indian food is greasy, creamy and everything is rich and heavy - MYTH
The food that one eats in Indian restaurants outside of India IS NOT COMPLETELY REPRESENTATIVE of all food from India. 
For every greasy, creamy Indian preparation [that you eat in an Indian restaurant]; there are at least half a dozen without the grease/ cream or heaviness

3. The spices drown the flavour of Indian food and so everything tastes the same - MYTH
Spices are used only to supplement/ compliment and bring out the actual taste of the primary ingredient, the vegetable. 
If all you can taste is the spice in the food that you eat - there is something fundamentally wrong with the preparation.

4. One needs a whole shelf of spices to make tasty Indian food - MYTH
Indian food - especially vegetables can be made with minimum or no spices
The key is to bring out the actual taste of the vegetable that is being cooked

5. One curry powder is all I need in the pantry to make Indian food - MYTH again
Simply because - there is nothing called as curry powder and there is no one way of making a curry powder. 
Yes, one curry powder will make all the food you cook taste the same
However; a curry powder is not mandatory to make you an Indian cook :)

6. Indian vegetarian food does not provide a balanced meal - MYTH
Did you know that every possible bean/ lentil/ legume can be used/ cooked as a snack and/or added to a vegetable dish to make it fortified in nutrition? 
Not to mention complete main meals like Rajma and Chana and Dal which contain protein and fibre

7. Cooking vegetables Indian style is too complicated and not as easy as throwing a piece of meat on the barbie and opening a can of peas and boiling some potatoes to go with it - YES AND NO.
Yes, the preparation of vegetables takes time - and yes there are a few more steps than the one step of throwing the meat on the barbie
However; making a simple vegetable, a lentil/ bean dish and some rice or a bread does not take a whole lot of time when one gets used to the routine. 
It is like everything else in life - takes time to get into the groove....!

8. Indian food has complicated recipes and a million ingredients - well, YES AND NO again.
There are complicated preparaions that call for complicated recipes
And yes, the ingredients that go well with a certain vegetable are needed to make the vegetable taste excellent.
However; there are simple, uncomplicated methods of preparing the same vegetable.

9. One sauce is all I need to make a curry - MYTH
There is nothing called as curry in India. 
In any restaurant in India ask for a curry and you will get blank looks. 
Curry is the anglicised inheritance from the British raj in India. 
And no I dont use any sauce in my cooking, I dont even make a sauce unless I am making a dish with chick peas or red kidney beans. 
And yes, a sauce is not mandatory [pre packaged or made from scratch] to cook a vegetarian meal Indian style.

10. There is only one way of making a vegetable - Example, the best way to make spinach is Palak Paneer - MYTH
The same vegetable is treated and prepared differently in different parts of India.
Remember, India is a subcontinent
Just as French cuisine is different from Greek Cuisine[in the continent of Europe]
So also Cuisine of the south is very dfferent to cuisine of the north of India
and even within cuisine from Southern India - the food made in a Tamil home is very different from food made in the kicthen of a person from Andhra Pradesh or Kerala. 
And even within Tamil Nadu, the food in the kitchens of homes in the north of the state is very different from other places in Tamil Nadu. 
So there are at least 100 ways of preparing the same vegetable and more and more methods are being invented every day.

Dont hesitate to contact me if you have some more questions - happy to answer them all.

RECIPE - Vegan, Gluten free, Lactose free - Simple Potatoes and Peas/ Kumara and Peas/ Aloo Mutter subji

Aloo [potatoes], Mutter[peas]
Suits dietary preferences - vegetarian, vegan, lactose free and gluten free

General notes
An all time favourite and extremely simple and easy to make.
And yes, this is not greasy, not creamy, there is no need for a sauce
Freezes well.
To make it low GI and high in fibre - substitute potatoes with Kumara [sweet potatoes]
This preparation is gluten free [powdered asafoetida might contain wheat flour - check the container when you buy asafoetida]
Serves 2-3 people with roti/ rice
A Vegetable cooked this way would be called a Subji

Information about ingredients
A small amount of sugar always helps manage the acidity of tomatoes.
Ginger and asafoetida help with managing flatulence
What is asafoetida ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asafoetida
Cumin and Fennel seeds have carminative properties and add a distinct flavour
What is Fennel ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fennel

Ingredients [ Grouped ]
Vegetables
6-8 medium sized Potatoes chopped into quarters [chop again in half if you need smaller pieces]
OR - Kumara - perhaps 600 - 700 gm
1 cup of frozen peas or fresh peas when they are in season
1 medium sized onion
4-5 medium sized tomatoes [canned tomatoes are fine too]

Spices
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspon of asafoetida[available in most Indian grocery stores]

Other flavouring agents
1 inch size of fresh ginger, finely grated[dry ginger powder will work - 1 teaspoon]
1-2 green chillies [add more if you like it hot]
2 pods of garlic [optional]

Basic cooking needs
3/4 tablespoon of oil [ yes thats all that is required]
1 tsp of sugar
salt to taste

Cooking process

Heat oil in a saucepan [use a saucepan that can hold all the potatoes/ kumara, peas and water]
When the oil is hot, add cumin.
Once cumin crackles, add fennel seeds, onions, green chillies, garlic.  Stir until onion becomes transclucent

Add tomatoes, peas and the potatoes.
Add enough water [water level one inch above the potatoes]
Add salt, turmeric, asafoetida, sugar and salt
Cover and cook - stir occasionally.
Simmer as soon as it starts to boil - and cook until potatoes are done.
If the cooked vegetable is too think, add some water and simmer for a few more minutes.
Serve  hot with rotis/ naan or rice

Improvisations on the basic recipe

Add chopped carrots as well if you have just one or two in the fridge
A few slices of capsicum add a beautiful colour
[just remember to cook capsicum for the least amount of time - ie, add chopped capsicum after the potatoes are three fourths cooked]
Throw in some baby spinach if you have some left over [same as capsicum, dont over cook this]
[actually you can also thrown in the left over salad itself]

In Papua New guinea where I live now - I use sweet potatoes[kumara] instead of potatoe
Makes it very healthy, low GI and high in fibre
If you have access to fresh coriander leaves, add fresh chopped coriander as garnish just before serving.

Shelf shelf on the kitchen wall, which is the greatest spice of them all..?

I am often asked what my most favourite spice is...

I am usually silent when this question is asked.
Or I duck the question and change the subject...
This is akin to asking a mother who her favourite child is..!

However; one day I decided to sit down and think and think and think some more until I had a definite answer to this question.

To arrive at a decision I made two major assumptions.

1. Chillies are fruit/ vegetable
2. Turmeric is more a herb than a spice and I add turmeric to all the food anyway [more for medicinal reasons]

So yes, to answer the question :

The two most favourite of all spices in my pantry are Cumin [Jeera] and Coriander.
But the top one is Cumin - for its carminative properties, special aroma and the flavour it imparts to the vegetable that is being cooked.

Yes I can cook many things which taste absolutely different by just using Cumin and Coriander seeds [in combination and separately].

Simple recipe using Cumin seeds

Finely shredded cabbage [can be English or Chinese cabbage] 2 cups
1 small finely chopped onion
1 or 2 chillies [optional]
2 tsp cooking oil
2 tsp cumin
a pinch or two of turmeric
salt to taste

heat oil in a pan, add cumin and wait for it to crackle
As soon as it crackles add chillies and onion and stir until onion turns transclucent.
add the finely shredded cabbage, salt and turmeric
give it a stir, cover and cook for 2 minutes
stir again cover and cook
and remove when the cabbage is wilted.

Tastes great with rice and or Rotis

This is only one of the many simple stir fries that get the taste and flavour of cumin.
Anyone who eats this - will love cabbage [some how cumin masks the sulphurous taste of cabbage]
What you have made now is a simple vegetable cooked Indian way
[non greasy,no cream, no sauce]

The same recipe works for a stir fry of grated carrots
Or finely shredded brussel sprouts - yes this is a fantastic way of cooking brussel sprouts and no one who has eaten burssel sprouts cooked this way can ever guess what it is.
[trust me I am one of those who are not particularly fond of boiled/steamed brussel sprouts but i can eat it if its cooked this way]
or a stir fry of french beans cut into small pieces
even potatoes can be cooked this way - aloo jeera is a fantastic dish
[potatoes to be cut into small cubes, with or without skin as per your taste preference]

So the recipe sheet should read
Finely shredded cabbage [can be English or Chinese cabbage] 2 cups
OR Finely shredded brussel sprouts - do not cover while cooking
OR finely Grated carrots - do not cover while cooking
OR small cubes of potaoes
OR French beans - cut in small pieces

1 small finely chopped onion
1 or 2 chillies [optional]
2 tsp cooking oil
2 tsp cumin
a pinch or two of turmeric
salt to taste
Procedure is the same as explained above

Do please tell me how the brussel sprouts tasted when cooked this way.  I look forward to your feedback :)

So there you go everyone - my most favourite spice is cumin aka Jeera  :)