Everyday Mixed Vegetable Curry Recipe

serves about 4
Ingredients
2 large ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 green chili, slit, optional
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaping teaspoon ground coriander
1/8th teaspoon chili powder, or more according to taste
1/2 cup diced carrot (small cubes)*
1/2 cup chopped green beans*
1 cup chopped cauliflower florets*
Salt
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

*Chop all the vegetables small, and keep them the same size so they cook evenly

Method
1. Core the tomatoes and puree them in a blender, using as little water as possible. Blend into a very smooth puree and set aide.
2. Heat oil in a saucepan. Add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle, add the green chili and cook for 10 seconds. Turn the heat down to low.
3. Sprinkle the turmeric, cumin, coriander and chili powder on the oil. Immediately pour in the pureed tomatoes plus 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat enough to maintain a lively simmer. Cook till the sauce thickens just a little, and gets glossy, about 7 minutes.
4. Now throw in the vegetables and salt and cook covered till vegetables are soft.
5. If the sauce is too thick, add up to one cup of water to thin it down and boil for another minute. This is not a thick curry, it should be a little thin.
6. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with rotis.

My paternal grandmother passed away a year ago this month. My grandmother raised me, and taught me a great deal. In her memory, I will be posting a series of her favorite recipes. The first in the series is this tomato stew with coconut milk. My grandmother relished this dish, often eating it with steaming hot idlis for dinner.

I’ve already written a little about my grandmother and what an accomplished woman she was in this post. In this series, I will share more memories of her through her favorite recipes. My grandmother was far ahead of her times. She pursued higher education, a career and a public life – something very few Indian women did during her time. She was a PhD in philosophy and literature, a public speaker, author of many books and an educationalist. And she spent a life time championing womens’ education in India.

Not only was she a career woman, she also enjoyed hosting and entertaining guests in her home..

Tomato stew with coconut milk - one of my grandmother's favorites.

My grandmother playing with my iPhone on Pongal day 2013. This was the last picture taken of her.

Diwali, 2002

Getting ready for bedtime, 1982

My grandmother’s dinner parties were legendary and her hospitality impeccable. Although she never took an interest in cooking, she had a keen palate and a great love of hosting and feeding people. She would give her cook, Mariappan detailed instructions before the dinner parties. She would have the coconut trees in her lawn decorated with strings of light bulbs. She took care of every detail – the decoration, neatly folded napkins, extra large sized silver plates, polished cutlery, and a lovingly curated menu.

A typical menu made by the talented cook Mariappan would include tomato rasam and rice wafers for dipping, green pea rice scented with cumin, plump vegetable cutlets coated with golden bread crumbs, fried puris, fragrant garlicky cauliflower masala and delicate sweet polis made with lentils, cardamom and drenched in ghee. As a child, I looked forward to those balmy evenings when my grandmother would regale her guests, laughing, quoting poetry, and coaxing them to eat more. Nobody ever went home hungry after visiting my grandmothers house!

Even in her passing she found an opportunity to entertain people. Let me explain. Where I come from in India, it is customary to host a lunch in the honor of the deceased a few days after the funeral. My grandmother must have known intuitively that her death was near. So one week before her passing she wrote out the menu for the post funeral lunch, along with detailed instructions on how it should be served. Thats right, my grandmother made the menu and gave instructions for her own funeral lunch!

As per my grandmother’s wishes, my family organized a multi course lunch, with four desserts (she had quite the sweet tooth!) served on the largest, freshest banana leaves on the very same lawn where she had regally presided over dinner parties for fifty years. It was the best send off we could have given to a woman who was so passionate about food, people and life.

It is an honor to have been raised by a woman who was so intelligent, beautiful and exuberant. Her life was grand and her love was abundant. This post is the first in a series of recipes I will be posting as a tribute to my grandmother. These recipes have all been tried and tested over decades. Every single recipe I will be posting was a favorite of my grandmother’s. Each one brings back a flood of memories.

In creating these posts, I am filled with tremendous pride to have been part of this incredible woman’s life, and at the same time I am filled with great grief that she is no more.

Tomato Coconut Stew

serves about 4 as an accompaniment/curry

Ingredients
1 lb ripe tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
1/4th teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4th teaspoon urad dal
1 small onion, minced
5 cloves garlic, chopped
6 curry leaves
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Method
1. Bring plenty of water to boil in a saucepan. Drop the tomatoes into the water. Let them boil till their skins blister, about 2 minutes. Then drain.
2. When tomatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and discard the skins. Then puree the tomatoes without any water. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add the urad dal, and mustard seeds.
4. When the mustard seeds pop, add the onion, garlic, curry leaves and cook for about 2 minutes.
5. Pour in the tomato puree, chili and turmeric powders, salt, and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil.
6. Then reduce heat, and cook on medium-low heat, uncovered, till the sauce becomes thick. About 15 minutes.
7. Add the coconut milk, stir, and turn off heat.
8. Garnish with cilantro. Serve with roti, idlis, dosa, or neer dosa.

Hello everyone! Sorry I’ve been missing for a while! Offline, non-blog stuff took over. But I’m back now and have  an irresistible line up of vegetarian recipes for you this year!

I’m in Kerala, India right now, on an Ayurvedic retreat. Its something I do once every two years or so, and there is no better place for this all natural detox, than the beautiful state of Kerala! My daily schedule here includes yoga twice a day, meditation, chanting, two Ayurvedic massages, and cooking class.

Above is the main building of Kalari Kovilakom, the Ayurvedic center I’m staying at. A beautiful, serene place with lotus ponds, a temple, and the nicest staff. The food here is fantastic and all vegetarian. Its all personalized and cooked according to each person’s Ayurvedic dosha (constitution). And the chef Nishant is ever so willing to share his simple, healthy recipes. 

The dining room..

Whem I’m not doing yoga, meditation, getting massaged or hanging out in the Ayurvedic kitchen, I sit outside my room and catch up on reading. There is no tea or coffee here. Instead everyone gets herbal tea. This one is kapha tea, made with boiling water and powdered cinnamon, cardamom and long pepper.

I love sitting by the pond in the evenings..

..and feeding the fish!

This is the center’s Ayurvedic kitchen. They use traditional cooking vessels made of brass, wood and stone. And im telling you, it makes a huge difference in the taste!

These are the ingredients for this easy tomato soup. (All the vegetables here come from an organic farm..)

Here is is how chef Nishant makes his simple, healthy, ayurvedic tomato soup. I was blown away by the simplicity of it! And there isn’t a drop of oil in it!

Chop tomatoes, onion, garlic, ginger, carrots and cilantro root. Yes, the root. Cilantro root has a great flavor, so dont throw it away when you buy a bunch! Its perfect in this soup. And the carrot adds some sweetness to the soup, which is a nice counter point to the tangy tomatoes

Throw all the vegetables and some water into a pot with salt.

Boil till the tomatoes are soft. Then blend the soup.

Strain the soup. Return it to the pot and bring to a boil. Adjust salt if needed. Thats it!

This delicious, super easy, no-oil tomato soup is ready to serve! Needless to say, garnish with cilantro!

Here are some healthy, equally tasty variations to this soup. Keep everything the same, and just switch out the carrots and tomatoes:

Carrot soup – 3 chopped medium carrots, plus half a tomato

Spinach soup – 3 cups fresh spinach

Beet soup – 3 small beets peeled and chopped, plus 1 tomato

Quick, Healthy Tomato Soup Recipe

serves about 2

Ingredients

3-4 medium tomatoes, chopped

1/4 cup grated carrot

1/2 medium red onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger

4 cilantro roots, chopped. Substitute with leaves and stems.

Method

1. Place all ingredients in a saucepan, along with salt and enough water to cover the vegetables, about 3 cups.

2. Bring to a boil, and continue to boil till the tomatoes are soft.

3. Let it cool a little, and blend into a liquid. Pass the soup through a strainer, pushing out all the liquid, using a wooden spoon.

4. Return the soup to the saucepan. If its too thick, add some water. Bring back to a boil. As soon as it boils, turn off heat, adjust salt if needed, and serve hot, garnished with chopped cilantro.

If you know how to open a few cans, you can make this vegetarian drunken pumpkin chili recipe. Its that easy! I kept this recipe seasonal by using some pumpkin. You could easily leave out the pumpkin part of the recipe, and still have a very yummy chili.

In the summerI use zucchini in this recipe instead of the pumpkin. But no matter what season you make this chili, make sure to use a beer you actually like. Dont use a beer that is too bitter, it will make your entire chili bitter. As a tribute to Oregon’s amazing local beers, I used a beer from here. But any pale lager or medium bodied beer will work. Serve the same beer with your meal.

This is a great recipe to make ahead or to feed a crowd. The recipe is also very forgiving, you can adjust the seasonings as you like, leave out the pumpkin, use different beans, cook it too long, too less..it will still taste good! Meat lovers will like this dish too.

Drunken Pumpkin Chili Recipe

Serves about 6

Ingredients
one 1.5 lb pie pumpkin or sugar pumpkin
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 large carrot, cut into matchsticks
2 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
one 15 oz can kidney beans, drained
one 15 oz can pinto beans, drained
half a 15 oz can sweet corn, drained
two 14 oz cans of diced tomato
1 tablespoon tomato paste
one 12 oz can of beer (pale or medium lager)
2 cups meatless crumbles like Yves ground round or Morningstar crumbles
1 cup shredded pepper jack cheese

Method
Pre heat oven to 375f

Using a sharp knife, cut the pumpkin in half. Using a spoon, scoop out the seeds and membrane. Place the pumpkin halves on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, cut side down. Bake in a 375f oven for 15 minutes or just until the pumpkin is soft enough to peel the skin away. 

When the pumpkin is done, remove from oven. Wait for it to cool enough to handle it. Peel the skin, and discard. Also discard the stem end of the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. You should have about 3 cups of cubed pumpkin.

In a large pot, heat the oil and add the diced onion. Cook on medium heat till the onion is soft. Then add the carrots, paprika, chili powder, and cumin. Stir for about 30 seconds.

Add the kidney beans, pinto beans, sweet corn, and tomatoes, tomato paste, beer, the baked and peeled pumpkin, and salt to the pot. Bring to a boil, while stirring. When the chili boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes or till the pumpkin is soft.

If the chili gets too thick, add 1-2 cups water.

When the pumpkin is soft, stir in the meatless crumbles and cook just untill the crumbles are heated through. If using frozen crumbles, make sure they get completely heated.

Taste and adjust for salt. At this point if you like, you can add 1 tablespoon of sugar to the chili for some sweetness or 2 tablespoons lime juice for some tang. Both are optional.

Serve drunken pumpkin chili with sprinkled cheese on top and tortilla chips or brown rice.

This is the easiest method to smoke something. I learned this method from Sanjeev Kapoor’s new book, How to Cook Indian (scroll to the bottom of this post for a chance to win a signed copy of the book!).

I was intrigued by Sanjeev Kapoor’s koyla (charcoal) chicken recipe in the book. He makes a chicken curry and then smokes it by placing a bowl with a smoking hot piece of charcoal in the curry. The smoke gets into the curry, making it all smoky and wonderful. I’ve adapted Sanjeev Kapoor’s smoked chicken curry by using eggplant and creating a great vegetarian smoked eggplant curry recipe.

How to smoke the eggplant curry

Heat charcoal till its red. Then put it in a small bowl, and place it over the curry.

Pour a little oil over the hot coal. The coal will now give out smoke, that will flavor the curry.

Cover the skillet to trap the smoke. Let it sit for a few minutes so that the smoke infuses the eggplant curry.

When choosing charcoal, make sure you buy all natural charcoal. Don’t buy anything that has chemicals or petroleum added to it or is ‘self igniting’.

Watch Sanjeev Kapoor making his smoked koyla chicken curry. His method of smoking and my adapted recipe will work well for zucchini curry, mushroom curry, or use paneer or mock meat in this recipe.

Smoked Eggplant Curry Recipe

vegetarianized from Sanjeev Kapoor’s Koyla Chicken recipe from his book, How to Cook Indian

Serves 2

3 medium tomatoes
6 whole cashewnuts
1 tablespoon butter, ghee or vegetable oil
½ lb American or Indian eggplant
1/2 teaspoon ginger paste
1/2 teaspoon garlic paste
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
¼ teaspoon or to taste, chili powder
1 teaspoon lemon juice, you may need more or less depending on how tart the tomatoes are.

For smoking the curry
1 lump of charcoal, about the size of a large lemon
1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Boil a medium pot of water, and drop the tomatoes in whole. When the tomato skins start to blister, drain them and let them cool a bit. Then peel the tomato skins and discard. Core the tomato. Place the skinned, cored tomatoes in a blender along with the cashew nuts and puree. Set this aside.

Cut the eggplant into 1 inch cubes. I peeled the skin first, but that’s optional.

 Heat butter, ghee or oil in a medium skillet. Add the eggplants, and let them brown a little on medium-high heat, about 4 minutes. Then add ginger and garlic. Stir on medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add the garam masala and chili powder and cook another 30 seconds.

Pour in the tomato puree and salt. Boil for 7 minutes or till the eggplant is cooked and the sauce has thickened a little. If the sauce gets too thick, sprinkle some water over it.

Turn off heat. Taste the curry and add lemon juice, if using.

Now comes the fun part – smoke the curry!

Hold a piece of charcoal, using tongs, over an open flame. You can do this on an open gas flame, or an outdoor grill. Heat it till it becomes red hot. (Be careful, the hot coal may give out sparks, turn on your ventilator or exhaust). Now you need to work quickly. Place the red hot coal in a small bowl.

Immediately place the bowl inside the skillet with the eggplant curry. Pour the oil over the coal, so that it smokes. Quickly place a lid over the skillet. Let the smoke from the charcoal infuse into the covered curry for about 6 minutes. The longer the charcoal bowl sits in the skillet, the smokier your curry will get.

Remove the bowl from the skillet, and discard the charcoal. Serve the smoked eggplant curry with rice, roti or naan.

**************************************************

This giveaway has ended, the winner is comment #65, Shil!

Win a signed copy of Sanjeev Kapoor’s new book,

How to Cook Indian!

This book has more than 500 classic Indian recipes for the modern kitchen.

To enter the giveaway:

Leave a comment below and tell me whats an Indian dish you havent tried at home yet, but would love to try and make.

Giveaway ends Friday June 3rd 9pm EST. One random winner will be picked.

I will ship anywhere in the world!

I met Sanjeev Kapoor at a book signing, and had an extra copy signed just for this giveaway. The signature says “Veggie Belly Reader, Happy Cooking! Sanjeev Kapoor ”

****************************** 

A traditional Mexican chile relleno (stuffed chile) is usually a poblano chile stuffed with meat and cheese, dipped in batter and deep fried. My Portobello mushroom and zucchini relleno recipe is a little different. It is a lighter, simpler, vegetarian, vegan relleno, and it requires no frying. This recipe can get even simpler if you use store bought ranchero or enchilada sauce.

Ground annatto gives the rice its brilliant orange-yellow color. Annattos are the red seeds of the Achiote tree, often called ‘lipstick tree’ because of Annattos coloring properties.

This is a good make ahead recipe. You can make the ranchero sauce and the Mexican yellow rice ahead of time. Simply cook the vegetables the day of, heat up the sauce and rice and assemble everything!

Watch this video to see how to make Portobello rellenos stuffed with peppers and rice. It’s in Spanish, but the method is simple to watch and follow

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Portobello and Zucchini Rellenos in Ranchero Sauce with Mexican Yellow Rice

Serves about 4

For the ranchero sauce
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves over garlic, minced
½ jalapeno, or according to taste
½ teaspoon scant, ground cumin
½ teaspoon dry oregano
One 14 can crushed tomatoes OR 2 cups fresh chopped tomatoes
Salt

Heat oil in a medium saucepan and add the onions. Cook on medium heat till they are soft. Add the garlic, and jalapeno and stir 2 minutes. Then add cumin, oregano, tomatoes, and salt. Cook the same on medium heat for about 3 minutes. If you are using fresh tomatoes, they will take longer to cook.

Serve the sauce chunky or puree it in a blender. I pureed it.

You can make this sauce up to 3 days ahead.

For the vegetables
6 small portabello mushrooms (weighing about 8oz total)
1 teaspoon + 1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
1 large zucchini, cut into small cubes
½ cup cotija cheese (feta, grated pepper jack or cheddar will also work)*
Salt

* I didn’t use the cheese

Wipe the portabellos with a paper towel. Then using a small spoon, gently scrape out the dark gills. Using a small, sharp knife, remove the stem.

Brush a little oil all over the mushrooms.

Heat a skillet on medium high, and cook the mushrooms, gill side down, in a single layer for 2 minutes. Then flip the mushrooms and cook the other side another minute or till cooked through. While the second side is cooking, sprinkle salt and half the oregano over the mushrooms cavities.

In a same skillet, heat a little more oil, add the zucchini and remaining oregano. Saute on high heat for about 2 minutes or till the zucchini is tender but still a little crunchy, and not mushy. Sprinkle salt, and the cheese.

For the yellow rice
1 large or 2 small vegetable bouillon cubes*
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon achiote powder, also called ground annatto (substitute with ¾ teaspoon turmeric or saffron)
1 cup long grain rice
Chopped cilantro for garnish

*I used 2 small Herb Ox brand vegetable bouillon cubes; they are tasty and have no MSG. Maggie or Knorr stock cubes will also work.

Dissolve the bouillon cubes in warm water and set aside.

Sauté the onions in butter or olive oil in a medium saucepan. When the onions are soft, add the Achiote powder and rice. Stir on low heat for a minute.

Pour in the bullion water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low, cover the pan, and let the rice simmer for 10 minutes or till the rice is cooked, but the grains are still separate, and not mushy. Cooking time may vary depending on the rice.

Fluff rice with a fork. Garnish with cilantro.

To assemble and serve
Spread ranchero sauce on a platter. Arrange the mushrooms, gill and stem side up, over the sauce. Spoon a little zucchini and cheese into the mushroom cavities.

Serve the yellow rice on the side, along with sour cream (optional), extra cheese and extra chopped cilantro.

I fell in love with the flavors of gado gado when I first tasted it in Indonesia. It is a quick, easy, healthy salad that you can serve as an appetizer, as a salad course, or pack for office lunch. Typically, the vegetables and peanut dressing are tossed together, or the peanut sauce is poured over the vegetables. Here, I serve it deconstructed on a platter, with the peanut sauce or sambal kacang on the side for dipping.

In Indonesia, the peanut dipping sauce is prepared by pounding together roasted peanuts, garlic, palm sugar, chillies, and shrimp paste. I left out the shrimp paste to make the gado gado vegan. I used peanut butter instead of roasted peanuts – a great shortcut!

The gado gado I had in Indonesia was served with tomato wedges, beansprouts, tofu and boiled eggs. You can use absolutely any vegetable you like. For this recipe, I served the gado gado peanut sauce with steamed broccoli, cherry tomatoes, carrot sticks, baby radish and rice balls.

Lontong inspired rice balls

These rice balls are inspired by Indonesian lontong (or Ketupatin some parts of Asia). Lontong is cubes of compressed, cooked rice, that is sometimes served with gado gado. Traditional lontong is made by half cooking rice, packing it into a banana leaf lined mould, steaming the rice in the mould, and then cutting it into cubes or discs.

I love the taste of lontong, but wanted to make something quicker but similar for the gado gado. So I simple rolled cooked sushi rice into balls, and coated the rice balls in sesame seeds. Simple, and delicious!

Oil your hands, and scoop a tablespoon of cooked sushi or sticky rice. Using your palm and fingers, gently squeeze the rice into a ball.

Roll the rice ball into a nice round shape. Roll ther ice ball in toasted sesame seeds.

More Gado Gado recipes

Indonesian Sambal Kacang recipe (peanut sauce for gado gado) from the book Indonesian regional cooking

Agado gado recipe from Rasa Malaysia

Gado gado surabaya style on Indonesia eats

Street sidegado gado making in central Java, Indonesia

Gado Gado with Peanut Sauce Recipe

serves about 6

for Peanut Dipping Sauce (Sambal Kacang)
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 fresh green chili chopped, (use 1/2 for milder sauce, or leave it out)
Salt
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon jaggery or palm sugar or regular white sugar
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 cups hot water

Place the garlic cloves, green chili and salt in a mortar and pestle and pound into a paste.

In a small bowl, add the garlic paste, peanut butter, sugar and lime juice. Pour in hot water a little at a time, while whisking the peanut butter. Stop pouring the hot water when the peanut butter forms a smooth, dippable sauce. You may not need to use all of the hot water.

Taste the peanut sauce and adjust salt, sugar and lime juice if needed. Serve with vegetable crudites.

for Rice Balls with Sesame Seeds

makes about 6 balls

1/2 cup sushi rice (or other similar glutinous, sticky rice)
1 cup water
salt
1/2 cup toasted sesame seeds
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Place rice, water and salt in a pan. Bring to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer, place a lid on the pan, and cook till rice is done, about 15 minutes. Let the rice cool a little.

Spread sesame seeds on a plate.

Rub a little sesame oil on your hands (so rice doesnt stick). Scoop about 1 tablespoon of cooked rice, and using your palms, form the rice into tight balls. Roll the rice balls in sesame seeds. Rub your palms with more sesame oil if needed. Repeat till you use up all the rice.

Serve rice balls with peanut dipping sauce.

the vegetables
Choose 5 items from this list, and serve about 1 cup each on a platter, along with peanut dipping sauce (recipe above)

Cubed, fried tofu
Pan fried Tempeh pieces
Tomato wedges or cherry tomatoes
Cucumber slices
Green and red pepper strips
Bean sprouts
Baby radish
Carrot sticks
Celery sticks
Boiled potato
Blanched green beans
Lightly steamed broccoli
Rice balls (recipe above)
Boiled egg
Tortilla chips
Pretzel sticks

If you’ve been reading my blog for sometime, or you have been following me on twitter, or facebook, you know I have a great love for traveling.  Travel opens up the mind, gives me different perspectives and squashes prejudice. I learn so much through the things I see and the people I meet my travels.

One such person was Monika, whom I met in Melbourne. (More about my Australia, New Zealand, Fiji trip in later posts!). Both Monika and I were staying with a host family for the weekend. Our lovely hosts were Hungarian, lived in New Zealand, and then moved to Australia. Monika is Polish, grew up in Germany, and studied in Spain. Then there was me – grew up in India, studied in the UK and now live in the US. We were all representing at least 3 countries each, and combined, have traveled to over a 100. So you can imagine all the international conversations we had!

Monika and I were roommates for the weekend. We chatted through the night, lying on our bunk beds, discussing life, love, marriage and men in our respective countries. We both learnt so much from each other that weekend.

I decided to cook an Indian meal for Monika and our hosts. I was more than thrilled to find out that our amazing Hungarian hosts had a pantry full of Indian ingredients, including asafoetida and curry leaves!

When I finished making tomato rice (which Monika loved!) and pumpkin curry, the aroma of curry leaves, turmeric and fragrant basmati filled the kitchen. I was nearly transported back home. Only, I was in Australia, happily finding curry leaves in a Hungarian fridge!  

This is for you Monika ♥

A good paella always has a crusty bottom called socarrat. To me, thats the best part of the dish. I’m always scraping up the delicious crusty rice! This dish is tomato rice, not paella, so we wont call its crust soccarat. But in any case, the bottom layer of caramelized basmati rice is just wonderful.

First, cook onions, garlic, and tomatoes, along with a little turmeric and paprika.

The tomatoes will break down, and the sauce will thicken and reduce to about half its original volume. Now add rice.

Stir the rice and let it toast a little. Then add water, cover, and simmer.

caramelized bottom layer – the best part!

How to get a paella style crust (socarrat) – when the rice is done, crank up the heat to high just for about a minute. This will make the rice in the bottom toasted and crispy. Thats it! Be careful not to burn the rice, you just want it browned a little.

You must use a wide skillet, preferably non stick, to achieve the crispy bottom layer. If you dont plan on creating the crust, a saucepan will do.

Tomato Rice with a Paella Style Crust: Recipe

serves 2-3

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
6 curry leaves
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 medium tomatoes (1 lb) chopped fine (about 2 cups when chopped)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon paprika or chilli powder (adjust according to taste)
1/2 teaspoon sugar, optional
1 cup bastmati rice
1 cup water
3/4 teaspoon salt (adjust according to taste)

Use a 10 inch non-stick skillet thats about 1 1/2 inches deep and has a lid. Heat oil in the skillet, and add mustard seeds. When they pop, add cumin seeds and let sizzle for a few seconds. Then add curry leaves and chopped onion. Cook on medium heat till the onion is lightly brown. Add garlic cloves to the oil, and stir for about a minute. Dont let the garlic brown.

Now add chopped tomatoes, turmeric and chili powders to the skillet. Add sugar if using (I like to use a little sugar if the tomatoes are too sour).

Cook on medium high heat, stirring occasionally, till most the liquid is gone, the tomatoes have broken down, and the sauce reduces to about half its original volume. This will take 10-15 minutes. You will land up with just over one cup of tomato-onion sauce.

To the reduced sauce, add rice, and salt. Stir on medium-high heat for about 4 minutes. Add water to the rice and bring to a boil. Reduce to low, cover the skillet and simmer for about 15 minutes, or till the rice is cooked and fluffy. Start checking the rice after 12 minutes to ensure it doesnt over cook.

When the rice is done, increase the heat to high. Let the rice sit on high heat for about one minute. This will form a tasty rice crust on the bottom, much like in a paella.

Serve tomato rice with my grandmother’s multi coloredvegetable raita.

Optional garnishes for tomato rice - roasted cashews, roasted peanuts, crispy fried onions, or chopped cilantro

What an amazing weekend it was! Three childhood friends visited me, and we spent the weekend chatting, catching up and having a great time (N, I am still thinking of your amazing  lychee martinis!).

When my dear friend Santha wrote to me requesting this paneer tomato curry recipe, I was flooded with memories of school lunch times and all the wonderful food we used to share from our little tiffin carriers. I was somewhat famous for this curry back in school. I’d take this dish and rotis for lunch every Friday. And I always had to take extra because it was so popular with my classmates. So I decided to make this curry for my friends for our ‘reuinion’ weekend. 

Santha, this is for you ♥

Make sure you use ripe, juicy tomatoes. Canned tomatoes are ok, but you will get the best results if you use high quality canned tomatoes like Muir Glen or San Marzano.

Paneer is an Indian cottage cheese, easily available at Indian stores. For this recipe, you can buy raw paneer and shallow fry it yourself, or you can buy pre-fried packaged paneer (which what I use). Nanak brand paneer is quite good.  Store bought paneer can be quite compacted and hard, so you need to soak it in hot water to soften it a bit.

Daily meals has a tomato paneer curry recipe using garam masala. Mahanandi blog has a paneer tomato recipe as well. Be sure to checkout Local eater blog’s delicious tomato paneer curry recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s world vegetarian cookbook.

Paneer Tomato Curry Recipe

Serves about 10

For the tomato gravy
6 large, ripe, juicy tomatoes
1 tablespoon oil
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds, optional
1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped fine
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
½ teaspoon or to taste, chili powder
Salt
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup. Use less if you want a less sweet gravy.

For the fried paneer
2 cups cubed paneer*
A large bowl filled with very hot, salted water

Make the gravy
Remove the core of the tomatoes. Quarter the cored tomatoes and place in a blender, along with 2 cups of water. Puree until the tomatoes have become a very smooth sauce. You should have about 8 cups of puree. Set this aside.

In a large saucepan, heat the oil. Add mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard starts to splutter, add the chopped onion. Cook on medium-low heat till the onion is soft. Add turmeric, cumin and chili powders. Stir for a few seconds.

Then carefully pour in the pureed tomatoes. Bring the gravy to a boil. Then reduce heat and let the curry simmer on low heat for about 20 minutes or till the curry has reduced a little and you can no longer smell raw tomatoes. Add more water if needed.

Fry the paneer
While the tomato gravy is simmering, work on the paneer.

Fill a large bowl with very hot water. Add salt to the water, and set the bowl near you.

Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry the paneer cubes in batches.Flip the the paneer around so that all sides are lightly golden. Remove paneer cubes from the oil using a slotted spoon and place the fried paneer in the hot salted water. Be careful when doing this, the oil in the paneer will splutter when it hits the water.  Repeat this with all the paneer cubes. Let the fried paneer sit in the hot water for about 15 minutes.

*Use the above method if you are frying your own paneer. Alternatively, you could use store bought, pre-fried paneer. Simply open up the package and dunk it in the bowl with hot salted water. Let it sit for 20 minutes; then proceed with the recipe.

If you are using homemade paneer, soak it in the hot water after frying for only 10 minutes. (Store-bought paneer is harder and needs to soak longer).

When the tomato gravy is ready, drain the paneer cubes from the water, and add to the gravy.  Add salt to taste. Increase heat to medium, and let it cook for about 5 minutes.

Then stir in ketchup and turn off heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serve paneer and tomato curry with rotis or chapatis.

This has to be one of those recipes where I say “If I give you the recipe I have to shoot you”. Because its that good. But because I love you all, I will share this recipe with you, without any shooting involved.

Summer may be winding down, but its still super hot. This easy to make, raw, cold, refreshing gazpacho is just what you need to beat the heat. If you like this tomato and roasted red pepper gazpacho recipe, be sure to check out my other no-cook recipes.

If you are entertaining, serve the gazpacho in mini martini glasses or shooter glasses. For a more casual meal, simple bowls or mugs will be perfect.

A dollop of creme fraiche adds richness to this gazpacho. Creme fraiche is a thick soured cream from France. It tastes a little like sour cream, but thicker and richer. Substitute creme fraiche with sour cream or thick yogurt. Vegans can use coconut cream to top their Gazpacho..remember Aarti made gazpacho with coconut milk on the next food network star?! 

For some variations, check out Matt Bite’s two Gazpacho recipes. There is a gorgeous gazpacho recipe on Simple Recipes. This almond gazpacho recipe in La Tartine Gourmande looks unique. However you make it, Gazpacho is a quick, easy, no-cook summer soup that you will love. Make a meal out of it or take it along on a picnic!

Tomato, Roasted Red Pepper and Black Olive Gazpacho with Creme Fraiche

inspired by Ina Garten’s gazpacho recipe
serves about 6

2 large ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 small cucumber peeled, seeded, roughly chopped
1 red pepper or store bought roasted red pepper, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons pitted black olives (or green olives)
2 cloves garlic, peeled
6 basil leaves

one 11oz can tomato juice (I used Campbells)
a few drops Tabasco sauce, or to taste, optional
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar or any other type of vinegar or lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper

for topping

6 tablespoons creme fraiche or sour cream
a few basil leaves cut into strips

Place tomato, cucumber, red pepper, olives, garlic in a blender or food processor. Pulse to a coarse puree. Add basil, tomato juice, tabasco, vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. Pulse once or twice till everything is well combine. Cover and refrigerate the gazpacho. Serve chilled, topped with basil and creme fraiche. Gazpacho tastes better the next day!