White Pumpkin in Tamarind Gravy (Gummadikaya Pulusu Kura)

Vegan Mofo Day 10:

White Pumpkin aka Ash Gourd in India is a very versatile vegetable (wow.. alliteration right there). You can make both sweet and savory dishes with it. My mom makes halwa with it, but I’ve never tried it myself. I usually make aviyal or this curry with it. But this time wanted to try something slightly tangy and sweet with it. Curry tastes even better the next day.

Ingredients:

Ash Gourd/ White Pumpkin/ Gummadikaya – 1 small piece, 3-4 cups when chopped
Onion – 1 medium, chopped
Green chilies – 2, slit
Tomato Paste – 2tbsp
Sambar powder – 1tsp (I use MTR brand)
Tamarind paste - 2tbsp (Thanks Anise for pointing this out)

Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Jaggery/ Brown sugar – 2tsp
Roasted peanuts – 2tbsp, coarsely ground
Sesame seeds – 2tsp, dry roasted and ground to powder
Salt – to taste

For tempering:
Urad dal (Minapappu) – 1tsp
Chana dal (Senagapappu) – 1tsp
Cumin seeds – 1tsp
Mustard seeds – 1tsp
Dry Red chilies – 1-2
Curry leaves – 6-8

Method:

• Microwave the chopped pumpkin with ½ cup of water & pinch of turmeric until ¾th cooked but not completely cooked, about 5-6 minutes.
• In a sauté pan, heat 2tbsp oil; add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add onions and green chilies.
• Sauté until onions turn translucent.
• Add tomato paste, sambar powder, turmeric and ½ cup of water. Cook on medium-low flame until almost all the water evaporates.
• Add the cooked pumpkin along with the water; cover and cook until the veggie is completely cooked through.
• Add tamarind paste and jaggery and more water if the curry looks too dry. Cook for another 5 minutes.
• Stir in ground peanut & sesame seeds, mix well and simmer for 5 more minutes for all the flavors to meld.

Serve with steamed rice and plain dal or with rotis.

Swiss Chard & Tomato Dal (Lentil Soup)

Vegan Mofo Day 9:

I love making dal with greens, I think greens make dal special, yummy & nutritious. I used a combination of moong and masoor dal (red lentils), but toor dal can be used too. I pressure cook the greens and tomatoes with dal, but dal & the veggies can be cooked separately too (it just takes longer to cook)

Ingredients:
Masoor dal (Red Lentils) – 1 cup
Moong dal (split yellow colored) – ½ cup
Swiss Chard – about 3 cups, chopped roughly (half of a medium size bunch)
Tomatoes – 2, medium
Green chilies – 2, slit
Tamarind pulp – 2tbsp
Red Chili powder – ½ tsp (or more to taste)
Turmeric – ¼ tsp
Salt – to taste

For tempering:
Cumin seeds – 1tsp
Mustard seeds – 1tsp
Hing (Asafoetida) – pinch
Curry leaves – 6-8
Dry Red Chili – 1-2

Method:

• Rinse dals and cook with 3-4 cups of water in pressure cooker. I put the greens, tomatoes and chilies in the pressure cooker in a separate container along with the dal. Cook on medium flame for 4-5 whistles. Wait till the pressure is completely released.
• In a saucepan, heat 1tsp oil; add the tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add the cooked greens and mix well.
• Next add dal, turmeric, tamarind, red chili powder, salt and 1-2 cups of water (depepnding on the desired consistency). Bring to a boil and simmer on medium-low flame for 10 minutes.

Serve with steamed rice or roti or slurp it as soup.

Update on the Heating situation: We have the guys from the repair company working in the basement as I type this (it's now 8:30PM and this is officially the 18th day we are going without heat). If we are lucky we will have heat tonight, still keeping crossed and toes curled. Will update tomorrow.

Simple Cabbage Curry

The day started on a high note: one extra hour of sleep, thanks to clocks falling back for day light saving and the anticipation of a warm house after getting the heating unit fixed. I made wholegrain waffles for breakfast (not vegan, so no recipe) and made this simple cabbage curry.

But the heating unit is not fixed yet and we are still trapped in an extremely cold house (average home temperatures have been between 54 to 58F). I have my son in at least 3 layers and he started to complain saying "we are not going out Amma, I don't want this shirt". I don't know when this ordeal is going to end. I was wondering if there's any consumer protection groups in US that we can complain about this very unprofessional company we are dealing with. Any suggestions are highly appreciated. We are extremely motivated to complain to anyone who can help us out with this situation.. Thanks in advance.

Moving on to the cabbage kura/ curry recipe.

Ingredients:

Cabbage - 3 cups, chopped (I like savoy cabbage, but used the regular one this time)

Onion - 1 small, chopped

Green chilies - 2, slit

Salt - to taste

Grind to a powder:

Putnala pappu (Dalia/ split chana dal) - 2tbsp

Grated dry coconut - 2tbsp

Red chili powder - 1/2tsp

Cumin seeds - 1tsp

Tempering:

Senagapappu (Chana dal) - 1tsp

Minapappu (Urad dal) - 1tsp

Avalu (Mustard seeds) - 1tsp

Jeera (Cumin seeds) - 1tsp

Dry Red Chili - 1-2

Curry leaves - 6

Method:

• Heat 2tsp oil in a saute pan; Add tempering ingredients and once the seeds start sputtering, add onion and green chilies and saute till onions turn translucent, about 5 minutes.
• Add chopped cabbage and cook covered on medium low flame until tender, about 10-12 minutes.
• Season with salt and add the dalia powder. Cook uncovered for another 4-5 minutes.

Serve with steamed white rice or roti.

Spelt Pancakes

We are still living in cold and have to endure this for another day as the heating repair guys are "scheduled" to come in tomorrow. We are crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

For breakfast this morning, I made Spelt pancakes and served them with maple syrup. Recipe is from "Whole Grains Baking by King Arthur Flour". It is an egg-less recipe that is very easy to veganize. I use soy milk and earth balance butter instead of regular milk & butter. The batter needs to rest for 15 minutes which allows the grains to absorb liquid, making the batter fluffier and the baked pancakes smoother to eat. This time-out also lets the leavener a head start, giving a cakier pancake.

Recipe adapted from Whole Grain Baking by King Arthur Flour.

Ingredients:

Whole grain Spelt - 2 cups

Sugar - 2tbsp

Baking Powder - 1tbsp

Salt - ¾tsp

SoyMilk - 1¾ cups

Butter - 2tbsp, melted

Vanilla extract - 2tsp (optional)

Method:

• In a medium size bowl, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
• In a another small bowl, mix all the wet ingredients.
• Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until just incorporated.
• Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Heat a griddle, brush lightly with oil and once the surface is hot enough, add ¼ cup full of batter onto the hot surface.
• Let the pancake cook on the first side until bubbles begin to form around the edges of the cakes, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Flip and cook for another 1 minute until they are golden brown on both sides.

Serve hot with maple syrup and/ or fruit of your choice.