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Recipe: A Kind-Of Salad Condiment – Kanda Kairi

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Kanda kairi is a traditional Gujarati condiment, but it is eaten in such large quantities in my home that it almost qualifies as a sort of salad. It features only two basic ingredients, as its name attests: onion (or kanda) and raw mango (or kairi). So it is remarkably simple to put together, and tastes great by itself and as an accompaniment.

Across Gujarati homes, you’ll find some kanda kairi being served on any thaali at this time of year. Similar to how buttermilk is a staple in the summer, so is this dish. It’s quite interesting how the kanda kairi has a reputation for being a cooling condiment, given the ingredients involved. Yet somehow, the combination works for this purpose. I recall how when I was growing up, my mom would insist that my siblings and I have a tablespoon of it daily during the hot months. I used to make a face every time, but now I do the same thing, and I love it.

Aside from onion and raw mango, I like to elevate the flavour with a bit of jaggery (which you don’t need if the fruit you use has a hint of sweetness), as well as some chilli powder. In India, we love to add that spice to raw mangoes as well as to guavas, as it adds a delicious edge.

Kanda Kairi

(Yield: Serves 2-4)

1 cup raw mango (grated)

½ cup onions (finely sliced lengthwise)

2 tablespoons coriander leaves (finely cut)

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon powdered jaggery

½ – 1 teaspoon red chili paste

 

In a bowl, add the raw mango and onions and coriander leaves. When ready to serve, add the salt, jaggery and chili paste. Mix well and gently, using your hands.

Your kanda kairi is now ready. Enjoy it as a salad or condiment. To me, it’s a bit of both – and so easy to bring together!

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Recipe: All Things Tropical: Summer Simplicity – Tender Coconut Salad

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Last week, I shared the recipe for eggless rose-coconut mousse, and the coconut theme continues with this tender coconut salad. At home, generally, a good salad is the star of most of our meals. Slowly, the staples of rice and roti have moved aside and given way to a salad as the base, and bigger servings of the same. Also, all of us have experimented with intermittent fasting and so on at home, and breaking the fast with a bowl of salad is a sensible choice. This means that salads feature in most of our meals, which also means that I try to be as creative as possible to maintain novelty in what I serve. This recipe is one I came up with as I wanted to use up some of the abundance of coconuts in my backyard.

When concocting a salad, I just eyeball the recipe more often than not. I put in whatever I feel will work. The ingredients that are in my kitchen, their seasonal availability and my own mood also determine what gets prepared. Those who help me in the kitchen are also aware of this, so we all pretty much just put into our salads whatever we feel like. It turns out tasty every time, and there is a reason for this.

The reason is that there is a pattern when it comes to salads, even when it appears to just be a bunch of ingredients thrown together. It is as follows. First, you add some kind of lettuce leaf. Then, some kind of protein. I tend to use lots of nuts and seeds, and if you’re a meat eater then roast chicken slices or such will work great. Raw vegetables come next. I also like to add something sweet like raisins, sliced apples or orange segments; these lift up the salad, in a very healthy way. Occasionally, to turn the salad into a complete meal in a bowl, I add a grain like quinoa, barley or millet. While I don’t do this too often, a bit of crispiness, such as crushed chips, can also add texture. The trick is that the proportions of each should be appropriate, and the combinations should be complementary.

As for the dressing, it’s usually based on whatever is there when I open the fridge: juice of lime, juice of half an orange, a dollop of almond butter… There are so many options.

To me, a salad never fails to please. Today, I’ve made coconut the hero – perfect for the summer. It’s important that the coconut is very tender, as the soft flesh is much better in this preparation than the hard pieces.

Tender Coconut Salad

(Yield: Serves 3-4)

 

1 cup tender coconut meat

¼ cup raw mango

½ cup red cabbage

½ cup spring onions with the greens

½ cup grated carrot

A few healthy lettuce leaves

½ cup edamame (or any other beans)

A few caramelized walnuts

1 small apple, sliced

½ cup long slices of cucumber

 

Dressing

1 teaspoon olive oil or coconut oil

Salt to taste

2 pinches of pepper

1 teaspoon honey

Juice of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon sriracha

 

Add all the raw ingredients to a bowl.

Separately, mix all the dressing ingredients and stir. When I make it during raw mango season, I like to add a bit of that too – to give a boost of Vitamin C and a nice tang, as well as increasing the tropical feel.

Before serving, pour the dressing over the raw ingredients and mix gently until all of them are well coated.

Your tender coconut salad is ready: as simple as that! I hope you’ll enjoy it. Don’t forget to explore more of my salad recipes too.

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Recipe: All Things Tropical: Refreshingly Marvellous – Eggless Rose-Coconut Mousse

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Every summer, at least once, I simply have to make coconut mousse. It is a light, airy, faintly sweet eggless dessert, which also makes it perfect for some of the entertaining that I do. I have many friends and relatives who are vegan or vegetarian, or who don’t like eggs. What’s also nice about it is that I can prepare it and put it in the fridge and theoretically it will last for a few days (of course, it disappears quite fast). To me, this eggless rose-coconut mousse is the perfect Indo-Western dessert.

In addition to the tropical taste of coconut, I also use a hint of rose, which makes it a kind of fusion dish. As a mousse or pudding of sorts, it is Continental in form but the flavours are more Indian to me. I have to admit that the first time I made it, I used less agar agar and it turned out almost like a kheer or a payasam. This is not to say that that didn’t work – it was delicious too. The consistency of the mixture determines what you can name the dish. I have used fresh, tender coconut meat, but you can also use grated coconut or coconut cream to thicken it.

I also very quickly realised that you can make a mousse with any kind of fruit puree, as long as you add agar agar and use flavours that complement each other, such as coconut and rose. If you aren’t a fan of these flavours, you can substitute them. Try saffron instead, or lavender perhaps. Maybe make it with a different ingredient each time, and play around with the garnishing too. I like to make this in individual cups as it feels more personalised, but you can also just put it all in one bowl and scoop out from it. Alternately, put it in a bowl with a lovely shape and upturn it once it has set.

The first time I tasted coconut mousse was at a very dear friend’s home, and she kindly shared the recipe. As you may know from several earlier recipes, summers mean an abundance of coconuts in my home thanks to the trees in the backyard, so I made this a part of my annual repertoire ever since. Looking at the trees always reminds me of how when we were growing up, our household staff would shave off the leaves, gather the stalks, and make a broom. How simply we used what was in our surroundings. Every part of the coconut tree was used. The image of her crafting the broom comes to me whenever I talk about homegrown coconuts. This also reminds me that it’s that time of year for me to make cold-pressed coconut oil too.

Eggless Rose-Coconut Mousse

(Yield: Serves 6)

1 can condensed milk

1 cup fresh cream

1½ cups fresh coconut milk

1 cup whole milk

10 grams agar agar

½ cup boiling water

1 cup tender coconut meat (finely cut or blended)

2 teaspoons rosewater

In a bowl, add the boiling water and then add the agar agar. Stir and allow to melt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, add the condensed milk, fresh cream, coconut milk and whole milk. Stir.

Strain and add the agar agar with the milk mixture. Add the coconut meat and rose water. Mix it all gently, using a hand blender.

Pour into the desired bowls and refrigerate overnight.

Serve cold.

This marvellous dessert is really so refreshing – perfect for summer and rich with tropical flavours. If you’d like to explore more of my dessert recipes, do check out a selection here!

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Recipe: All Things Tropical: Not Just A Substitute – Kela Nu Shaak

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I am visiting Kerala at the moment. Being in God’s own country, as this state is often called, has been a great experience. This is because Nature can be very inspiring. There is barely a single dry leaf anywhere – it is that beautiful. The lush greenery is all around, everywhere I go: mangoes hanging over the backwaters or down to the ground, coconuts, and plenty of banana varieties. The bananas called to mind some recipes that I really enjoy, including this delicious Gujarati dish named kela nu shaak.

Kela nu shaak is very popular among Gujarati Jains during fasting periods, when they may avoid greens. Thus, this savoury dish works as a vegetable substitute, and is eaten along with chapatis. That is, it is basically a banana subzi (“subzi” being the term for vegetable dishes). But it really is so delicious that it is a regular staple in the cuisine even beyond fasts. It goes quite well with other savoury dishes like kadhi, as well as various vegetable accompaniments too.

It was a dish my husband grew up eating, so it counts among his comfort foods and makes regular appearances in my cooking too as a result. It is really quite simple: the bananas are sautéed in ghee, and a few spices are added. I like to make it in a non-stick or iron pan, adding a little jaggery which turns crispy and golden at the bottom, almost caramelized. I find that this is a great way to lift the flavours of the dish.

If you don’t know what to do with overripe bananas, kela nu shaak is the dish for you. As you know, when they ripen the whole bunch does at once, so you may have quite a bit of fruit that doesn’t taste as good eaten raw. If you prefer something sweet instead, this banana bread recipe that I shared a while back is ideal.

I will be carrying back with me a few varieties of Kerala bananas, and it will be interesting to see the differences in flavours and the kinds of dishes they lend themselves well to. I will certainly share my findings with you once I get a good sense of how to use them. As for kela nu shaak, any of the usual green or yellow bananas that you have access to will do.

Kela Nu Shaak / Banana Subzi

(Yield: Serves 2)

5 small ripe bananas

1 tablespoon ghee

½ teaspoon jeera (cumin) seeds

½ teaspoon mustard seeds

Salt to taste

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

½ teaspoon chilli powder

½ teaspoon dhaniya (coriander) powder

½ teaspoon jeera powder

2 tablespoons jaggery

 

Peel and slice the bananas. Set aside.

In a non-stick pan, add the ghee. Once it’s heated, add the cumin and the mustard seeds.

Wait for them to splutter, then add the sliced bananas.

Move the bananas around on the pan a little bit without mixing too much, and allow the slices to cook on both sides, flipping at intervals until lightly brown.

Now, add the spices and the salt. Mix very gently until the slices are coated. Next, add the jaggery.

Allow to cook on a low flame, making sure the jaggery doesn’t burn.

Once the bananas has turned golden and the jaggery has almost caramelized, turn off the flame. Your kela nu shaak is ready to serve. Enjoy hot, with chapatis.

I hope you will enjoy this savoury use of a sweet fruit!

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Recipe: Easy Yet Exciting – Eggless Cinnamon Cookies

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Over the last several years, I have really felt like I am expressing my artistic side and my creativity through re:store. I pour everything into cooking and photography. So much so that I sometimes believe that I can make anything in the kitchen: cakes, fig rolls, the works. Now and then, however, I come up against my limitations and learn a bit more about myself and about cooking too. For instance, I found that cookies are not my forte, and that cakes are where I tend to shine. That said, I still love baking both, and sharing them with you too. So just in time for Christmas, here is my recipe for eggless cinnamon cookies.

I’m not one to go down the street and find a store in order to satisfy a craving. I would much rather eat home-made fare as much as possible, even when it comes to snacks. I enjoy having a cookie or a biscuit along with my late afternoon tea, so I quite often put something in the oven just for that.

What I am sharing with you here is a very basic cookie which is eggless, easy to make and easy to decorate. I’ve used some fancy cookie cutters just for the fun of it, and in the festive spirit. After all, how long can you go on denying yourself the things you love and enjoy?

On that note, you may have noticed that I’ve shared quite a few sugary desserts of late, and that is because of all the special occasions and entertaining that you (and I) may be doing at this time of year. I assure you that I have lots of lovely recipes lined up for January that are all about healthy and clean eating though!

In the meanwhile, let’s indulge: eggless cinnamon cookies, dipped with chocolate, love and good tidings!

Eggless Cinnamon Cookies

(Yield: 12-15 cookies)

 

150 grams all purpose flour

75 grams powdered sugar

50 grams cornflour

½ teaspoon salt

85 grams butter

1 tablespoon milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon powder

1 cup chocolate chips

 

Mix all the ingredients (except the chocolate chips) together well with your palm. Form a dough and wrap it in cling film. Refrigerate for an hour.

Preheat the oven to 160° C. Divide the dough into two discs, and with the help of parchment paper, roll them out. Use a cookie cutter of any desired shape.

Bake the cookies for 12-15 minutes or until they turn slightly golden at the edges.

Remove from the oven and allow the cookies to cool completely.

Meanwhile, melt the chocolate chips on a double boiler or in a microwave. Stir constantly.

Remove from the heat. Dip the cookies into the melted chocolate. Then place them on a tray and cool in the refrigerator, or at room temperature in a cool room, until the chocolate sets.

Store the cookies in an airtight tin and enjoy them with your favourite beverage. Whether you have a little treat daily or only now and then, these simple yet satisfying eggless cinnamon cookies are sure to delight you! If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also want to explore these sugar-free almond cookies and these ginger-jaggery Christmas cookies too!

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Recipe: Simple But Special – Semiya Upma

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For the longest time, from when I was a child, I’ve been eating semiya upma as a breakfast dish. Our mother prepared it often when we were growing up. Back then, cereals and so on were not readily available (at best, some cornflakes would show up at the grocery store, but they were a rarity, as were items such as baked beans). We would make a big fuss about wanting bread, buns or what to us were more interesting fare, but the fact is that our mother made us a hot, fresh breakfast every morning – and we were all the luckier for it. Things have really reversed now, and I understand that such thoughtfully prepared breakfasts are simple luxuries. I find myself doing the same now, giving my family the same benefits of a home-cooked meal.

After eating copious amounts of sugar for Diwali, this makes for a healthy and comforting breakfast. Many people feel like they really don’t want to reach out for sweets at this time, and are almost sick of them, so nutritious foods like a good semiya upma are ideal.

Upma is a South Indian dish that is usually made with any grain: poha, rava, broken wheat, millet and so on. Semiya is a kind of roasted vermicelli, and this is what my mother and now I mostly use to prepare upma.

My mom’s upma contained onions, as is usually the case, and I take the vegetable quotient further by adding carrots and beans. As children, we would often ask for a sprinkling of sugar over the dish, which she gladly agreed to in order to get us to consume it. She would occasionally take this to the next level and prepare a sweet upma with sugar and ghee too. I have yet to try this dessert version, but regularly have a variety of savoury upmas at home. We enjoy exploring an assortment of dishes, but upmas and pohas appear on our table at least once a week each.

Upma cooks very quickly, so aside from being a good breakfast it’s also perfect when you have a guest over suddenly during the day and need to whip up a meal fast. As far as breakfasts go, I have made various attempts at intermittent fasting but this semiya upma is the thing that gets in the way. It is just too dear to me and I don’t want to miss it, so I guess you could say it’s a cheat day special!

 

Semiya Upma

(Serves 2-3)

 

2 tablespoons oil

½ teaspoon mustard seeds and cumin seeds

1 cup carrots and beans (finely chopped)

½ cup onions (finely chopped)

1 cup semiya

1 green chilli

Salt to taste

3-5 curry leaves

3 cups water

1 lime

 

Heat a kadai. Add the oil. Once it has heated, add the mustard and cumin seeds. Allow to splutter, and then add green chilli and curry leaves.

Next, add the onions and sauté for a minute. Now add the vegetables. Cover and allow to become tender on a low flame.

Next, add the water and salt. Increase the flame and once the water boils over, add the roasted semiya.

Mix gently. Cover and allow to cook on a low flame until the water evaporates and the semiya is tender to the touch.

Finally, squeeze the lime juice in and mix gently. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Your semiya upma is now ready to be served. It can be eaten plain, or with some coconut chutney on the side.

While I’ve shared a traditional Indian favourite this time, breakfast does come every day and you may want to explore the varied recipes I’ve shared before from different cuisines. They will all give you a happy start to the day!

 

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Recipe: Memories & Many Learnings – Mixed Veg Cutlet

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I recently visited my very dear friend Girija, whom I’ve talked about before. Her stew is famous. I hope you’ve experienced why; I shared the recipe a while ago so that its delightfulness could spread even further. Whenever I visit her, it feels like I’m going home. She spoils me, looks after me, cooks everything that I like to eat, and I have to admit that she is a way better cook than I ever can be.

In my previous recipe, for beetroot cutlets, I mentioned that the dish had been popping up in various conversations around the same time. Girija was one of the people I discussed the dish with, and I recall telling her that what I usually make is a mixed vegetable cutlet. I enjoy talking to Girija about culinary innovations because there is a lot I learn from her. Through her, I know about cooking meat dishes that I wouldn’t otherwise have a familiarity with, along with details like spice usages and the reasons behind them. I often say that my mother was my first teacher in the kitchen, and that subsequently studying Macrobiotics at the Kushi Institute enhanced my outlook and the way I see and treat food. I feel Girija is among these teachers of mine too.

I share all this with gratitude, which is connected of course to the Indian belief that food must be treated with respect and should never be wasted, and to the practice of saying grace before meals in some cultures. As I share my mixed vegetable cutlet today, during this festive month and incidentally the month in which this blog of mine turns six years old, I want to say that am so happy to have such lovely people in my life. Between you and me, I am even grateful to have the not so lovely ones as well, for they teach us too. Life is all about learning and growing. Over the last few years, I’ve learned and grown so much in the culinary field and beyond. It all begins with the food we cook, the food we eat, and the food we learn to cook – together.

 

Mixed Veg Cutlet

(Yield: 6 pieces)

 

2 cups finely chopped vegetables (beans, carrots, peas)

1 boiled potato

1 slice of bread made into bread crumbs

1 teaspoon oil + oil for shallow frying

Salt to taste

1 teaspoon aamchur (raw mango powder)

1 teaspoon garam masala

 

In a kadai, add the 1 teaspoon of oil. Once it has heated, add the vegetables. Stir and allow to cook until tender.

Transfer the vegetables onto a shallow dish and add the potato, bread crumbs, salt, aamchur and garam masala. Mash all the ingredients together well until combined. Add the coriander leaves.

Make the mixture into palm sized discs. Set aside.

In a flat pan, add some oil. Once it has heated, gently place the cutlets onto the hot oil. Lower the flame to low-medium. Allow the cutlets to turn golden and then flip. Allow to cook on both sides.

Your mixed veg cutlets are now ready to serve. I hope you’ll try them out, and that you’ll also explore my beetroot cutlet, sweet potato tikki and harra bhara kebab recipes, which are in a similar vein. All go well with an assortment of dips, chutneys and sauces. Let me know what you think, and if there are any other cutlet recipes you’d like me to try out and share with you in future. As I said earlier – we just keep learning, and for me I find that sharing is a way of learning too.

 

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Recipe: Expanding The Veggie Oeuvre – Fried Okra Chips

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Okra, also known as lady’s finger, is a basic Indian vegetable that grows in any weather, any soil and any season. This means that it recurs as an ingredient in cuisines across the country, and there must surely be a hundred varieties or versions of cooking it. To give you some examples of its versatility: I’ve had it in a yoghurt raita and I’ve also had it in a tamarind sauce gravy, two very different concepts altogether. My most favourite way to eat okra, however, is in a dry stir fry that I make at home almost every other day as the sabzi part of our traditional Gujarati thaali. However, making a preparation attractive to the rest of my family, particularly the younger generation, has been a challenge. That was when I discovered that I could convince them to eat this vegetable by turning it into fried okra chips.

Initially, my plan was to simply introduce my kids to the wonders of a good okra dish and then have them develop enough of a liking for the vegetable that they also became interested in the regular stir-fry. I must confess this plan has backfired – we are all too addicted to this version! So it’s become more of a treat and less of a staple in my home.

Still, as I continue to find ways to increase the vegetable quotients in my kids’ diets, I’m glad to have figured out this simple yet delicious recipe. I have noticed that youngsters take some time to grow out of the feeling that brinjal or okra, vegetables that have a certain texture, are icky. Even though mine are now adults, they still have these dislikes. Preparing these vegetables they are picky about using a technique that makes the stickiness go away, such as frying, makes a difference. Do you have any such tips and tricks you’d like to share too?

Another great thing about these fried okra chips is that they require very little prep time, and as long as you have your usual spices and some fresh okra around, you can make them quite quickly. As with most vegetables, freshness is a key element when it comes to okra. When I was growing up, my mother taught me not only how to cook but also how to pick out the best vegetables when shopping for groceries. While you may not be able to do this at the market, when you’re about to cook, the secret to knowing how good your okra is this: snap the tiny piece of the tail end off. If it snaps immediately, it’s fresh. If it is tender, it’s losing its freshness.

When this happens, depending on the dish in question and the extent of the vegetable’s over-ripeness, I either use it in another preparation or else I discard it. By discard I mean that I go and feed it to the cows in the street. Most of the older vegetables amidst my groceries or in my fridge are “discarded” this way. In a sense, they are never wasted.

Fried Okra Chips

(Yield: Serves 4)

 

250 grams okra (sliced lengthwise)

Salt to taste

2 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder

½ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin powder

½ teaspoon garam masala

5 tablespoons chickpea flour

1 teaspoon chaat masala

Add all the spices and the chickpea flour to the okra slices, and massage well using your hands. Allow to sit for half an hour.

Then, heat the oil. Once the oil is heated, drop in the coated okra slices. Fry well until golden. Drain on a paper. Sprinkle with chaat masala for an additional boost of lovely flavouring. You can store the fried okra in a tin if consuming later.

These fried okra chips are a wonderful snack on their own, and also work as an accompaniment to a main course. I’d love to know what you think of them, and I’d especially love to know if you have more suggestions about how to sneak nutritious vegetables into the diets of the vegetable-averse!

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Recipe: Crunchy, Cool, Creative – Asian Cucumber Salad

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Confession: I have a dislike for cucumber. This has been a problem for me because for Indian salads, or at least the one I grew up having to eat, cucumber is a basic ingredient. At some point, I decided that I had better make friends with the vegetable. Not only is it present at so many meals, but it also happens to be very healthy, full of antioxidants and very hydrating. I knew that being innovative about the preparation, as well as making it attractive in its presentation, were the keys. That is how this Asian cucumber salad came to be.

The particular salad I grew up with was the Indian kachumber. It contains onions, tomatoes and cucumbers – all sliced and served raw, and seasoned with salt and chilli powder. My childhood impressions of it certainly did make me averse to cucumber, but in hindsight I recognise that it was the way it was presented that was as unappealing as the taste. Children’s palates veer away from vegetables. I eventually learned to love many of them, as you may have noticed from so many recipes and memories I’ve shared. But the way I saw cucumber changed only when I changed, well, the way I saw it.

As you can see, I have used a pretty platter to serve the dish. That is a vital component in making any dish look more attractive. When making this salad, here are a few more tips that will increase its visual appeal. Ensure that the cucumber is sliced just before serving, so that it doesn’t look wilted at all. I feel that round slices work better in terms of the look, but if you prefer long ones, go ahead. There are plenty of fancy slicers available too, to play around with shapes and cuts. They could especially increase the fun quotient for kids.

We eat first, but we also make things in our mind before we consume them. For instance, have you ever wondered why red wine is served in a certain glass or white wine in another? A plate, a cup, a serving spoon… It became the standard because someone began using it, and others followed suit. Make your own style, break out. It makes the whole culinary experience more interesting.

But it isn’t just the way the salad looks when well-plated that matters, but the dressing does as well. I found that an Asian-style dressing completely transformed the vegetable and perked it up beautifully. This really is the element that makes this whole dish what it is.

I’m very interested in Asian cooking and really enjoy the sauces used therein, along with certain techniques. For instance, vegetables are not always fully cooked. They are stir-fried in a variety of sauces that greatly increase their flavour and make you want to eat them in that semi-raw state. Being semi-raw, those vegetables are healthier and add more texture to the dish too. You may want to check out some recipes I’ve shared like this rice stir-fry and last week’s udon noodles to see what I mean.

My daughter happens to be quite talented at Asian cooking, and I love discovering dishes with her. We recently made kimchi together, which I shared on my Instagram. It was delicious, and also happens to be very good for gut health. When we get together, we explore this cuisine, and always make our regulars: burnt garlic rice and dim sums. If you happen to visit me when she’s in town, there’s bound to be something Asian on the menu. A really simple way to start trying out that range of cuisines is through a salad like this one.

Asian Cucumber Salad

(Yield: Serves 2)

 

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

3 cucumbers (medium-sized)

1 teaspoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

10-12 cashews (split and roasted)

½ teaspoon chilli flakes

 

Toast the cashew and set aside.

In a bowl, prepare the dressing. Add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, brown sugar, sesame oil and chili flakes. Mix well.

When you are ready to serve the salad, slice the cucumbers into rings, as thinly as possible. As I said before, this is my preferred method, but you should do yours. Arrange the slices on a plate of your choice.

Pour the dressing over the sliced cucumber. Sprinkle the toasted cashew. Serve immediately. Enjoy the burst of flavours as they mingle with the texture and coolness of the fresh vegetable. See what a big difference a good dressing and a pretty plate can make?

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Recipe: My Usual – Vegetable Udon Noodles

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I hope you aren’t bored of hearing about how I’ve been increasing my intake of vegetables and proteins, but I know that many people are doing the same and would appreciate more recipes. This vegetable udon noodles preparation, which I sometimes add eggs to (especially for boosting that protein quotient), fulfills this need – and fulfills my cravings too. It is an Asian-inspired dish, and a meal in a bowl by itself.

This dish is a great way to consume vegetables that are in the fridge that you may not use up otherwise. It is a highly adaptable dish in so many ways. For instance, while I have used the traditional soy sauce, you may wish to swap it out for Indian masalas and spices that suit your palate.

I prefer to have early dinners, and am done with my meals by 7pm. This is so that there is sufficient time to digest before bed, as recommended by health experts, which means that I can have carbs in the evening with less guilt. This delicious dish, absolutely bursting with flavours and equally nutritious, is something I love to eat for dinner.

Certain things are non-negotiable for me when it comes to food. The quality of the oil I use is one thing. Another important choice is that I get my vegetables from good, clean sources, and buy organic as much as possible. When I go on drives outside the city, I always enjoy the lush beauty of the farms and gardens – so green, so gorgeous, so perfect. Yet, I have seen them being sprayed by chemicals too. Education about toxicity is so important for us all, whether as consumers or as farmers.

I am also conscious of consumption, and try to make use of everything that is in my kitchen. I see this is not just a cost-smart practical habit, but a mindful one. Food is so easily hit by any external factor. Whether that is war, climate change or excessive or minimal rains in a particular season, what we eat is affected first.

All this said, it is true that organic ingredients don’t come cheap, but I believe we must make good choices within what we can afford. We can also cultivate some ingredients ourselves. Whether we have ample backyards or terraces or compact kitchen gardens, we can all grow a little bit of what goes into our pots and pans. Staples like coriander and green chillies are ideal. You can also grow herbs and condiments, like lemongrass. This is something I do at home, and want to learn to do more of. That’s the thing about living mindfully and caring about sustainability – it’s not like you finish a degree and you know everything about the subject, you constantly have to adapt to changes in the world. Personally, I love to learn and to keep growing – including literally growing my own food where possible!

Udon Noodles

(Yield: Serves 2)

 

1½ to 2 cups chopped vegetables (capsicum, carrots, beans, spring onions, cabbage)

1 cup cooked udon noodles

1 tablespoon garlic (finely chopped or grated)

1 teaspoon ginger-garlic paste

1 pinch black pepper

Salt to taste

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon chilli oil

1 teaspoon chilli flakes

1 teaspoon rice vinegar

1 teaspoon mirin

 

In a non-stick pan, heat 1 ½ tablespoon sesame oil. Add ginger-garlic paste and sauté till it is fragrant. Add the vegetables, sauté and cook. Cover with a lid till it’s al dente.

Add the cooked noodles into the stir fried vegetables. Add pepper, salt, soy sauce, chilli oil, rice vinegar, mirin and chilli flakes. Stir until all the spices and ingredients come together.

Serve hot, and take in all the delicious flavours. If you enjoyed this dish, you may also enjoy this Asian stir fry. Do give both a try and let me know what you think!

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