Vegetable Hakka Noodles

Ingredients

• 1 packet of Ching's Secret Hakka Veg Noodles or any other brand noodles (available at any local Indian Grocer)
• 1” piece of chopped ginger
• 4 cloves of garlic
I used frozen stir fried vegetable blend this time, but you can use following vegetables separately
• ½ cup thinly sliced carrots
• 1 cup of green beans
• 1 cup thinly sliced green bell peppers
• ½ cup thinly sliced cabbage
• ½ cup baby corn
• ½ cup mushrooms
• ½ cup water chestnuts sliced (optional)
• 1 cup thinly sliced onions
• ½ cup chopped spring onion leaves
• 2 tablespoon of Schezwan sauce
• 2 tablespoons green chili sauce
• 1 table spoon of Chinese five spice
• 1 teaspoon of garlic chili sauce
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 4 tablespoons Vegetable/Sunflower oil
• Salt to taste

Method

Cook the noodles according the instructions in the package. Cool the noodles immediatly by running it under cold water. Add a tablespoon of oil to the cooled noodles and keep aside.
Heat oil in a frying pan; add ginger, garlic, sliced onions, and the veggies
Add sauces, vinegar, salt and soy sauce, add cooked noodles, stir well until all the vegetables get blended well with the noodles.

Note: Hakka Noodles and all the sauces are available at local Indian or Chinese stores.

Garnish with chopped spring Onions.

Recipe modified by Surekha from different sources (family, friends)

Photo by Surekha

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Rajma (Kidney beans)

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry Kidney beans or 2 cans of kidney beans
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• ½ teaspoon of baking soda
• 2 tea bags
• 2 tbl spoon of vegetable oil
• 1.5 teaspoon cumin seed
• ¼ teaspoon of asefotida (optional)
• 3 pods of black cardamom
• 3 bay leaves
• 1-2 pods of dried red chilies
• 2 Onions finely chopped onions
• 2 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1.5 cups of crushed tomatoes from can
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 teaspoon of coarsely ground pepper
• 1 teaspoon of paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 2 tbl spoon of coriander powder
• 2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala powder (all spice)
• Salt to taste
• Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Soak the kidney beans for 7-8 hours (overnight).
2. Put beans in a pressure cooker and add 5 cups of water. Add 1 teaspoon of salt baking soda, and tea bags. Pressure cook until beans are almost soft. Take the teabags and discard them. Set the beans aside.
3. You can used canned kidney bean to avoid above steps
4. Heat oil in a sauce pan and add cumin seed, when crackle, add asefotida and immediately followed by cardamom, bay leaves and chili pods.
5. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 1 min
6. Add onions and try until golden brown
7. Add crushed tomatoes, let it cook for 2-3 min while you do following
8. Take yogurt in bowl and add all the spices to it and mix well
9. Add this yogurt mixed with spices to the onion tomatoes paste on stove
10. Cook for 1-2 more min
11. Add cooked Kidney beans to it, taste it and then and add salt to taste.
12. Cook this for 3-5 minutes to desired consistency
13. Garnish with fresh cilantro leaves

Note: You can also make this recipe without yogurt, which is more traditional dish from Punjab, simply omit step # 8 and add all the spices to the sauteed onion tomatoes on the stove and then add Kidney beans.

Quantity of spices can be varied per desired heat and flavours.

Serve hot with Roti/Chapati and Basmati Rice.

Recipe by Surekha
Photograph by Surekha

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Sweet Corn soup

Ingredients:

For soup
4 tbl spoon corn starch
6 cups of cold water
1 tbl spoon of oil
3/4 teaspoon of cumin seeds (optional)
One small chopped onion
3 spring onions chopped
1” grated ginger
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/2 cup of finely diced green beans
1/2 cup of finely diced carrots
2 cups of corn kernels (frozen or canned)
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
Salt to taste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp of chili sauce
1 tsp of Rice vinegar

Keep some extra chopped green onions for serving

Vinegar chili for serving:
1 cup of finely diced hot chili peppers
Vinegar enough in quantity to submerge the peppers
2 teaspoon of salt


Method:

Can make the chili vinegar pickle ahead of time and keep refrigerated until use.
This is just to give a kick to the corn soup and is optional; if you don’t want it spicy can omit making this.

For corn soup:
Mix the corn starch in cold water
Heat oil in a sauce pan, add cumin seeds when oil is hot, add chopped onions, garlic and ginger and saute for 2-3 min.
Add all the vegetables, cook for another 2 min, (it is good idea to keep the veggies a little crunchy) add sugar
Add water with corn starch.
Boil the soup for about 5 min (make sure it does not become too thick) on medium heat with occasional stirring.
Add soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce.
Add salt in the end to taste after tasting (because soy sauce and chili sauce are already salty)

Before serving garnish with some chopped onion and if guests want it spicy they can add vinegar and chili to it for extra crunch and heat.

Tips for variation:
If you like MSG can add a pinch to heated oil instead of cumin seeds, but not very healthy, so I usually omit this.
If you like this to be creamier, you can add one can of creamed corn to this soup and cut down the corn to one cup instead of two cups (I did not add creamed corn this time)
You can use any chopped veggies with corn: red peppers, celery, cabbage, mushrooms, etc.


Recipe modified by Surekha from different sources (from various cookbooks, magazines, family and friends)
Photographs by Surekha

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Mirch Ka Salan or Chili pepper Salan

Unlike my older son, my younger son loves spicy food. He was leaving for college today after a long vacation.

I had to use up all those peppers that you see on my slide show, an I am still having fun cooking my peppers, so here is what I cooked for dinner today: Mirch ka Salan, Chapatis, Golden Cauliflower, Plain Basmati rice and Raita.

Salan is a popular curry with sesame seed and peanut base with hint of tamarind and Jaggary. This is original dish from Hyderabad, India. The curry can be made with Eggplant or variety of Chili peppers. You can use Jalapenos peppers or Hungarian peppers. You may want to remove the veins and seeds from the peppers to reduce heat, or you may use variety of peppers that are not very spicy. For example I used Anaheim peppers. They are not spicy at all. I had to use cayenne pepper powder to give this dish a little kick.


Ingredients:
10 Anaheim peppers slit lengthwise with stem intact
¼ cup peanuts - roasted and skins removed
½ cup sesame seeds – toasted
½ cup of coriander seeds
1 teaspoon of peppercorn
3 small bay leaves
1 small stick of cinnamon
2 table spoon of Cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon of cloves
½ teaspoon of cardamom seeds
3 pods of dried red chili peppers (desired heat)
½ - 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper powder (optional)
Salt to taste

3 tbl spoon oil
1 tbl spoon of cumin seeds (*)
1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon of asafetida

1 onion finely chopped in food processor
5 cloves of garlic
1” piece of ginger
4 small tomatoes pureed
1 and half cup of water
1 teaspoon of Tamarind paste (diluted in water)
1-2 tbl spoon of Jaggary or sugar (optional)
Coriander leaves chopped for garnish


Method:
• In a wide shallow pan roast all the dry spices sesame seeds and peanuts on medium heat.
• Let them cool, and grind them in electric grinder, add salt to this mixture
• Fill the peppers with this ground spice mix, set aside.
• In food processor finely chop onion, garlic and ginger.
• In sauce pan heat oil, add one table spoon of cumin seeds and 1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds when oil is hot.
• These seeds will crackle, when they are light brown, add Asfoetida and immediately followed by onion, garlic and ginger paste.
• Saute this on medium heat for 3-5 min until light brown.
• Add stuffed peppers to and fry them for 1-2 min
• Add tomato puree and 1 and half cup of water to this
• Transfer the chilies in a microwave safe baking dish and cook for 7 min covered with plastic wrap ( after 4 min turn them over).
• Once cooked to desired consistency add tamarind paste diluted in water to this and mix well.
• If you like sweet and tart taste, you may add a little sugar or Jaggery (1-2 tablespoon) to this dissolved in tamarind water.
• Cook for another 2-3 min in microwave.
• Garnish with chopped cilantro leaves
• Serve with Chapati, Rice or Biryani.
• A cup of soothing Raita/yogurt on the side helps a lot with the heat of peppers.

Recipe modified by Surekha from different sources (family and friends)
Photographs by Surekha.

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Duchess Cheese Soup

People usually make jokes about Hospital food, but I had totally opposite experience. In 1993, I was doing my 8 wks clinical at Edwin Shaw Hospital in Ohio. Being a vegetarian, I could not eat most of the stuff in their cafeteria except they had this delicious cheese soup that I used to love.
During my last week of clinical there, I finally asked the chef, if she could give me the recipe. She was very generous and shared this with me. Unfortunately I don’t remember her name but believe you me, this soup is out of this world and the touch of Tapioca in the soup is something to die for…yummm.........

Ingredients

* 2 carrots shredded
* 1 medium onions finely diced
* Mushroom 6 ozs finely diced (optional)
* 1 tablespoon margarine/butter (to sauté veggies)
* 2 cups milk
* 2 tablespoons margarine butter ( for roux)
* 2 tablespoons flour
* 1/2 lb cheddar cheese, shredded
* Veg Bouillon cubes 1 oz (optional)
* Salt to taste
* Ground mustard ¼ tsp
* Tabasco sauce ¼ tsp
* Ground white pepper ¼ tsp
* Tapioca partially cooked 1/4-1/2 cup (optional if you don't like tapioca)

Method:

1. Sauté veggie and onions in the 1 tablespoon of butter.
2. In large soup pan, heat milk to a weak boil.
3. Melt 2 tablespoons butter, add 2 tablespoons flour to make roux, gradually add milk to roux using a wire whisk.
4. Add Bouillon cubes, salt, pepper, white pepper, dry mustard, tobacco sauce .
5. Cook until thickened stirring with whisk.
6. Add sauteed veggies and cheese, cook and blend with hand blender until melted, add tapioca.
7. Simmer 20 minutes until tapioca is well cooked and transparent looking.
8. Garnish with paprika
9. Great served with French or Sourdough bread !!

Serves 8
Recipe Source: Unknown Chef from Edwin Shaw Hospital cafeteria (1993)
Photo source: by Paul Eisenberg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/56833981@N00/2247029145/
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

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