Vermicelli Pilaf (Semya Upma) for National Noodle Month

Did you know that March is National Noodle Month? I wanted to make something on this occasion (??), for the past 31 days and as usual the month flew by right in front of my eyes. Well since there are a few more hours left to complete the month I thought I’ll post this yummy semya upma (aka vermicelli pilaf in a fancy way).

I usually end up making a sticky lumpy mess when I make semya, usually because I second-guess myself when adding the water and end up adding way more than needed. But my mom’s method of boiling vermicelli (just like pasta) in lots of salted water for 2-3 minutes until cooked through has solved my sticky mess problem.

Here’s how I made this dish.
Ingredients:
Semya (Short cut vermicelli) – 2 cups (I used Bambino brand available in Indian groceries)
Onion – 2 medium, finely chopped
Potato – 1 medium, diced
Roasted Peanuts – ¼ cup
Tomato paste – 1tbsp
Tomato – 1 medium, chopped
Kitchen king masala – ½ tsp (or to taste)
Lemon juice – 2tsp

For tempering:
Urad dal – ½tsp
Chana dal – ½tsp
Mustard seeds – ½tsp
Cumin seeds – ½tsp
Dry red chili – 2

Method:

• Boil 4-5 cups of water in a large saucepan, and once water comes to a rolling boil, add 1tsp and the vermicelli. Boil for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through (this should not take very long). Drain the water from the vermicelli and keep aside until ready to use.
• Heat 1tbsp oil in a sauté pan, add tempering ingredients and once the seeds start to splutter, add the onions and sauté until lightly browned around the edges.
• Add potatoes and roasted peanuts; cover and cook until the potatoes are cooked through, about 8-10 minutes.
• Next add the tomatoes and tomato paste, cook until they turn mushy. Season the veggies with salt and kitchen king masala.
• Finally add the cooked semya* with the lemon juice and more salt (if needed), mix everything gently. Cover and cook for 2 minutes, so the flavors get a chance to mingle. Let rest for 5 minutes and garnish with coriander leaves before digging in.

This is a great dish for BLD (Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner). We had ours for dinner with some homemade fruit juice.

* Note: Cooked Vermicelli might turn into a mush if left in the colander/ strainer for too long. Don’t worry, just rinse them under some cold water and squish them around with fingers to separate the noodles.

Chickpea Romesco with Saffron-Garlic Rice

This recipe is from Veganomicon by Isa & Terry. I love making nut based dishes, be it nut butters or just ground nuts-I think they make the dish creamy and extremely tasty. Romesco sauce is a Spanish style red sauce that is made with almonds, red pepper, vinegar, roasted tomatoes & garlic. It is typically served with seafood, but in this dish chickpeas are simmered in romesco sauce to make a delicious vegetarian/ vegan entrée.

Recipe adapted from Veganomicon.
Ingredients:
Slivered almonds – 1/3 cup
Roasted red peppers (home-made or store-bought) – 2
Fire-roasted tomatoes (or regular diced) – 1 28 oz. can
Garlic cloves – 3, minced
Red onion (or Shallots) – 2 small, finely chopped
Red Serrano chili – 1
Vegetable broth (or White wine) – ¼ cup
Red wine vinegar – 2tsp
Sugar – 2tsp
Dried thyme – 1tsp
Dried Rosemary – ½ tsp, crumbled

Chickpeas – 2 16 oz. cans, rinsed and drained (I used 1 can each of Chickpeas & Cannellini beans)

Salt & Pepper – to taste

Method:

• Grind the almonds into almost smooth, powdery crumbs.
• Blend roasted peppers and tomatoes until smooth and set aside.
• Heat 2tbsp olive oil in a medium-sized sauce pan; sauté garlic, chilies & onions until onions turn golden, about 5 minutes.
• Pour in the tomato & pepper puree, broth (or wine), vinegar, sugar and herbs. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Next add the chickpeas, season with salt and pepper and simmer the mixture on medium-low flame for about 20-25 minutes or until the mixture becomes thick and coats the beans. Serve with Saffron-Garlic Rice.

Here’s how I made the Saffron-garlic rice:

Since I was making this dish on a weeknight and it was only for the 3 of us, I used only a little bit of saffron (I use saffron extremely sparingly and guard it with my life, do you remember seeing saffron garnished on any of my dishes—nope, too expensive to use as garnish :0).

Ingredients:

Long grain rice – 2 cups (I used Sonamasoori rice, but Basmati would be excellent here)

Garlic – 3 cloves, minced

Saffron – pinch (or more)

Salt & pepper – to taste

Method:

• Rinse and soak rice in cold water for at least 10 minutes.
• Add 2tbsp hot water to saffron in a small bowl.
• Heat 1tsp oil and garlic in a pressure cooker. Once the garlic starts to sizzle and brown, add drained rice and mix to coat the grains with the oil. Sauté for couple of minutes until rice starts to turn opaque.
• Add saffron water, 4 cups of water, salt and pepper, mix well and cook for 2 whistles on high flame.

Serve hot with the Chickpeas. Yummmm..

This goes to Aipi’s Bookmarked recipe every Tuesday event.

Vankaya Kurma/ Eggplant Kurma

I was wondering one day, is it possible to make all the delicious recipes that I bookmark online AND make the recipes from my cookbooks AND make ALL my favorite recipes that Amma used to make AND make something new and creative when I’m inspired in ONE LIFETIME. I have my doubts, since I don’t actively cook during the week and weekend being ONLY 2 days, I don’t think I can do them all. Unless I stop bookmarking anymore new recipes for the next year and cook everything I already have. I really want to know how you guys manage your bookmarks, please!!

Years ago, I used to print the recipes and file them by category: rotis, rice, subzi etc. After flooding the favorite section on our browser, I’ve started to maintain a notebook where I write down the recipe name and the URL that interest me. So when I want to make something from my bookmarks I refer to my notebook.

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Vegan African Squash & Sweet Potato Stew

We have been having trouble with our electricity at home, thanks to the crummy contractor we hired to renovate our bathrooms a year ago. He messed up the internal wiring and now whenever we try to start the computer or run a vacuum, the fuse blows up. So had been away from the computer for the past 4-5 days. Hopefully we'll have it fixed (with a licensed professional this time) very soon.

Coming to today's recipe, I never thought Peanut butter based dishes could be this tasty. I was ranting and raving about this dish ever since I tried it. Peanut butter gives this stew both creaminess and slight sweetness that complement the texture and sweetness of both squash and the sweet potato.

Very simple to put together and the ingredients can be easily substituted with what you have on hand. I used butternut squash, but you can easily use any other winter squash like acorn or kabocha or even sweet pumpkin (thiyya gummadikaya). You can add cooked chickpeas or cannellini beans to add protein and make the dish more wholesome. Stew can be made as spicy as your palette can tolerate or bland-I think mine was somewhere in the middle. Served over rice or couscous, this is a very filling and comforting dish.

Recipe adapted from Vegetarian times.
Ingredients:
Butternut squash – 2-3 cups, peeled and diced (½ of a medium sized squash)
Sweet Potato – 1 medium, peeled and diced
Onion – 1 medium, chopped

Other Veggies – 2 cups chopped, I used frozen mixed veggies which had cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini and carrots. Feel free to use any veggies you have on hand. Original recipe only had cauliflower.

Ginger – 1” piece, finely grated
Garlic – 2 cloves, minced
Fresh Red Chili (like fresno chili) – 2, slit
Diced tomatoes – 1 15 oz. can (or 3 fresh ripe tomatoes chopped)
Peanut butter – ¼ cup
Cinnamon – 1/8tsp
Chili powder – ½ - 1 tsp (or to taste)
Salt – to taste

Method:

• Heat 1tbsp peanut oil in a large pan, add onions and sauté till transparent.
• Add ginger & garlic and cook for 1 minute.
• Next add sweet potatoes and butternut squash along with ½ cup of water or vegetable broth. Cover and cook till the veggies are half cooked.
• Add the remaining veggies; cover and cook on medium heat till all the veggies are cooked through, about 15 minutes.
• Stir in tomatoes along with cinnamon, chili powder, salt and ½ cup of water or broth. Cover and cook till the stew thickens a little bit.
• Whisk peanut butter with 3tbsp warm water into slurry. Slowly stir in peanut butter into the stew and simmer for 4-5 minutes.
• Serve warm over rice or couscous.