TASTY TURMERIC

     Even my father-in-law is aware of the health benefits of turmeric. It's become all the rage these days, and for good reason. It's about time too, seeing as it has been used in India for thousands of years as a spice and medicinal herb. The main active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin which has powerful anti-inflammatory effects and is a strong anti-oxidant. Low levels of inflammation in the body is responsible for most chronic diseases, and oxidative damage in the body is a factor in ageing and disease. Can you see why everyone's so excited about turmeric and curcumin?!  Curcumin is also linked to improvement in brain function and lowered risk of heart disease. So while turmeric itself has relatively low levels of curcumin, the supplemental extract is your best bet if you have chronic illness or inflammation.

     That being said, eating turmeric daily is a great way to benefit from the tonic effects of curcumin. In order to fully absorb the medicinal properties of turmeric, it is best consumed with fat and black pepper. Or just eat Indian food. A lot. Like we did last night. Not only did we eat a whack of turmeric, I also found an amazing way to eat the zucchini that are beginning to overflow in the fridge from my daily harvesting in the garden. 

I am in fall preparation mode, so I doubled this recipe and froze half of it to reduce meal preparation. With both kids in school this year, I have lots of time to work and don't want to waste it making dinner and washing dishes!

TOOR DAL CURRY

(Yellow Split Pea Curry)

1 pound organic split yellow peas, soaked overnight

about 1 litre water

2 tsp organic turmeric powder

8 cloves organic garlic, crushed

2 cm piece organic ginger, peeled and grated

sea salt to taste

4 Tbsp organic coconut oil

2 tsp organic black mustard seeds

4 tsp organic cumin seeds

3 dry chillies (optional)

2 pinches asafoetida powder

2-3 organic tomatoes, chopped
organic ground black pepper

Method: Drain the peas and place in a pot with the water and turmeric and boil for 45-60 minutes, or until the peas are soft.

Meanwhile, pound the garlic, ginger, and a pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle to form a paste. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over low heat. Add the mustard seeds and allow them to pop. Add the cumin, chillies, asafoetida and the garlic/ginger paste and fry until fragrant. Stir into the dhal. Season to taste with salt. Add the chopped tomato and simmer for another 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

ZUCCHINI & PEPPERS

2 lbs organic zucchini, halved and sliced

2 organic green peppers, chopped

1/4 cup organic ghee or butter

1/2 tsp organic turmeric powder

1 tsp organic cumin seed

1 tsp crushed chillies

1/4 tsp sea salt
organic ground black pepper

Method: Heat a large cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Melt the ghee and add the cumin, chillies, and turmeric. Heat and stir until fragrant. Add the zucchini, peppers and salt. Cook, stirring often until the vegetables release their water and evaporates, producing a nice spicy gravy, about 10-12 minutes.

Serve both dishes with steamed basmati rice, chutneys, and yogurt or raita. 

You can also try out this recipe I discovered last summer when I was making all my preserves. It's an Indian-style zucchini chutney which might come in handy if you tend to plant way too many zucchini plants like I do.

KASOUNI

(Zucchini & Eggplant Chutney)

125 grams organic ginger, peeled 

65 grams fresh organic garlic, peeled 

60 grams organic green chilli (or less)

25 ml organic apple cider vinegar

125 ml organic sunflower oil

45 grams organic black mustard seeds

15 grams organic turmeric powder

45 grams organic cumin powder

30 grams dried organic chilli flakes (or less)

225 ml more apple cider vinegar

125 grams organic coconut sugar

35 grams sea salt

700 grams organic zucchini, peeled and grated

300 grams organic eggplant, peeled and grated

Method: Place the ginger, garlic and green chilli in a blender with 25 ml of vinegar, and mince.

Heat the oil until it is very hot and then add the mustard, turmeric, cumin, and chilli flakes and stir for a few minutes. Watch to make sure it doesn't stick or burn.

Add the garlic puree and cook for another few minutes.

Add the remaining ingredients, stir and let it simmer gently for one hour.

It is ready when the oil rises to the top and it has thickened.

Pour into sterilized mason jars and process in a hot water bath for 12 minutes. Refrigerate once opened.

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INDIAN FOOD

     I didn't wake up this morning expecting to make a huge Indian feast.  In fact I didn't even know it was going to happen until I started.  I absolutely love paneer in any Indian dish, so decided to make some.  I will remember next time to wait until I have LOTS of milk in the fridge, because by the time you strain off all the whey, you aren't left with much cheese.  Anyway, there was just enough to make a small batch to use in a lovely dish that was made with whatever chard was left in our garden, along with some kale.  

     The ultimate kicker in this feast was the Puris I made, otherwise known as FRIED bread.  That's right, pretty much like dipping donuts in your curry.  But oh so good and worth the hassle of deep frying and the oily drippiness of it all.  I can remember eating lots and lots of puris in my favorite Indian restaurant when I lived in Ontario, where it was served with a bowl of delicious curried chick peas.

PANEER

A punjabi homemade cheese resembling ricotta.  It can also be pressed to make a harder curd much like tofu.  For the recipe I made tonight, I kept it soft and crumbly.

1 litre organic whole milk

juice of 1 organic lemon

Method:  Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy bottomed saucepan.  When it boils, it will rise to the top of the pan.  Turn off the heat and immediately add the lemon juice.  Stir with a wooden spoon and watch the curds separate from the whey.  Strain with a cheesecloth in a colander.  

METHI CHAAMAN (Chard with Fenugreek and Indian Cheese)

 1 1/2 (675 g) pounds organic chard

2 cloves organic garlic

4 Tbsp organic yogurt

1 Tbsp fresh cilantro

3 Tbsp ghee or oil

8 oz crumbly paneer

sea salt

2 Tbsp fenugreek leaves, dried (methi)

1/2 Tbsp dried organic coriander powder

1/2 tsp organic cumin powder

pinch organic cardamom powder

pinch organic clove powder

Method:  Rinse the chard well, drain and coarsely chop.  Boil it in some water for 10 minutes, drain.  Put the spices, a couple of tablespoons of the cooked chard, garlic, yogurt, and coriander in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste.

     Heat the ghee or oil in a large saucepan or skillet and stir fry the paste for 6-8 minutes, adding water to prevent sticking.  Add the remainder of the chard and stir fry until it is well mixed and heated through.  Add the cheese and salt to taste.  You can add more water to make it runnier.  Serve hot.

MASOOR DAL (Red Lentil Curry)

1 cup organic red lentils (masoor dal)

5 cups water

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp each organic turmeric, coriander and cumin powders

1 Tbsp freshly grated gingeroot

1 Tbsp organic oil

1/2 tsp organic black mustard seeds

1 organic onion, chopped

2 dried hot red chiles broken in half and seeds removed (optional)

pinch of hing

Method:  Wash the lentils and drain; set aside.  Boil the water and add the lentils, turning down the heat and cover, cooking for about 15 minutes.  Next add the salt, spices, and ginger.  Cook for another ten minutes, reducing to low while you prepare the next step.

     Heat the oil in a small saucepan.  Add the mustard seeds.  When they finish popping, add the onion and saute until translucent.  Stir in the hing and broken chile.  Pour this into the pot of dal.  Continue to cook until the dal becomes thicker, about 15-20 minutes.  Serve with basmati, garnished with fresh cilantro.

PURIS

1 cup organic whole wheat flour

1 cup organic unbleached white flour

2 1/2 Tbsp organic ghee or palm oil

a little over 1/2 cup warm water

organic ghee or vegetable oil for deep frying

Method:  Add ghee solids or palm oil to flour and mix with your hands until flour is the consistency of coarse meal.  Add water and keep mixing.  Knead dough about 10-15 minutes.  Cover and let sit for half an hour.  

For rolling, lightly flour your surface and pinch of bits of dough and roll into round flat circles.  Place puri in hot oil, push it to the bottom and bathe it in oil.  It will rise and puff up like a balloon.  Turn over quickly and remove with tongs.

Indian Dal and Mango Chutney Coleslaw

Dal is a very easy Indian dish to make, and in fact the first Indian meal I mastered.  I usually serve it with white basmati (shh don't tell the fibre police) because I love it so much, but tonight I thought I'd be all healthy and go with quinoa.  The Mango Chutney salad was an impromptu creation using up a virtually empty jar of organic mango chutney I found in the fridge.  I normally buy Patak's Mango Chutney, until one day I found an organic version at Planet Organic.  It is very different from Patak's, a much runnier chutney, but tasty nonetheless.  I added some apple cider vinegar and sesame oil to the jar, shook it up, and presto!  instant mango dressing for our salad.

INDIAN DAL

For last night's dinner I added some chopped kale to this near the end of cooking just to add some more vegetables to our life, but I usually don't.

1 1/2 cups organic yellow split peas, rinsed

1 tsp organic turmeric powder

1 large clove organic garlic, smashed and chopped

2 Tbsp organic butter

2 tsp organic coriander powder

2 tsp organic cumin seed powder

1 organic onion, chopped

1/4 tsp hing (asofetida) powder

1-3 tsp sea salt

2 tsp organic black mustard seeds

Method:  In a medium saucepan, combine the peas and enough water to amply cover them and the turmeric.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 1 hour or until the peas are soft and mushy.

     Meanwhile, in a cast iron skillet melt the butter over medium heat and then fry the onion until soft.  Then add the spices and garlic and cook another minute.  Stir into the peas when they are 3/4 of the way cooked.  When the peas are cooked, season with salt to taste.

MANGO CHUTNEY COLESLAW

2 cups, thinly sliced and chopped organic cabbage

1 large organic carrot, shredded

1/4 cup chopped organic cilantro

handful organic cashews

1/4 organic red onion, chopped

1/4 organic red pepper, chopped

1 Tbsp organic mango chutney

1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 Tbsp organic raw sesame oil

Method:  Toss all ingredients together and let sit for 15 minutes before serving.