Bell Peppers with Aloo Gobi Stuffing

[This was originally written on 11/21/11 for a guest post on the Gnaana blog.]

One of my favorite things about Fall is Thanksgiving and one of my favorite things about Thanksgiving is stuffing! And I was eager to create a new stuffing recipe based on the popular Indian vegetable dish – Aloo Gobi (potatoes and cauliflower cooked and sautéed with onions and warm spices). But apparently there is a shortage of organic cauliflower around these parts and my neighborhood grocery store was out of this vegetable.

My eyes spied the Romanesco Broccoli also called the Romanesco Cauliflower. Being fractal lovers, I knew my husband and I would appreciate it in our stuffing. But it does have a slightly sharper taste than cauliflower. Should I continue my search for cauliflower or would the Romanesco Broccoli work well with my recipe and would others like it? There was only one way to find out. I bought it!

Just one shelf down from the Romanesco Broccoli was brightly colored bell peppers, just calling out to me. My recipe took another turn in that moment and I decided to stuff them with my aloo ‘gobi’ stuffing.

Sometimes when I experiment like this or make too many changes to a recipe, the dish doesn’t turn out too well. Fortunately, this story had a happy ending. The bell peppers with aloo gobi stuffing were a visual and tasty treat.

So if you’re looking for an Indian twist this Thanksgiving, here’s a fabulous recipe for you.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Gorgeous fall colors and the beautiful romanesco broccoli

Bell pepper 'cups' with aloo gobi stuffing

A vegetarian feast

 

For a Twist on Thanksgiving

All geared up for the big day tomorrow? If you’re like me, then you’re doing the last minute scramble and the to do list is still a mile long. Yikes! For those looking for a vegetarian alternative to the traditional thanksgiving meal or just an interesting take on the classics, there are lots of recipes. Gnaana, an Indian parenting resource, will be publishing my recipe, a fusion of the classic Indian Aloo Gobi with Thanksgiving stuffing, tomorrow.  In the meantime, here are a couple of recipes I published on the blog last thanksgiving (after the photo).

Fall bounty for a vegetarian pumpkin curry

Green Beans South Indian Style

Pumpkin Curry

Happy Gobble Gobble!

Making Green Beans Indian Style

I made green beans along with pumpkin curry as part of an Indian style thanksgiving menu meal. The classic green bean casserole is nice but tends to get sidelined. So how about an Indian take on this dish for something different? It’s easy and a lot healthier than cooking with cream of mushroom soup.

This recipe below is inspired by the recipe for South Indian style curried vegetables or ‘palyam’ but with a few changes that I thought were appropriate for thanksgiving.

Ingredients

(serves 6 as a side)

• 1 lb tender green beans, rinsed and ends cut
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1/4 cup unsweetened grated coconut (if using desiccated coconut, re-hydrate in warm water for 5 minutes before using.)
• 1-2 teaspoons lime juice

Recipe

Spread out the beans on a plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes. This greatly reduces the cooking time later.

Heat the oil in a skillet large enough to hold all the beans, over medium high heat. You know the oil is hot enough if you put in a mustard seed and it ‘crackles’.

Add the mustard seeds and wait for ten seconds or till they start popping. Immediately add the onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Saute till the onion is caramelized, about 10 minutes.  Stir regularly to ensure the onion doesn’t burn.

Add the green beans and mix well to coat the beans with oil. If the pan gets dry, add a bit more oil. Add a 1/4 cup water, cover skillet with lid, reduce heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes or till the beans are just cooked. I like my beans just slightly crunchy.

Mix in the grated coconut. If you’re using frozen coconut, bring it out of the freezer about 30 minutes before you need it. Turn heat off once the coconut has fully defrosted and mixes easily with the beans.

Taste for salt and squeeze lime juice and mix just before serving. Adding the lime juice at the end maintains the vibrant green of the beans.

Notes

Grated, desiccated coconut can usually be found in the bakery aisle in your supermarket.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Veena

Thanksgiving Curry

I miss my dad. He was supposed to be here right about now but his trip got delayed by a few months. With all the changes in his life and mine, we haven’t managed to get together since 2007! I was thinking about the last time we cooked together. And I think it was many many years ago when I lived in Cincinnati. We made a lamb moussaka together from my Mediterranean cookbook. It was my first time cooking with lamb and making moussaka. I forget how it turned out but I remember it was a fun experience!

So though we ( my husband and I) won’t be spending Thanksgiving with family, we’ll be spending it with some of our amazing friends here in Seattle. This post on Thanksgiving curry is for my dad, the friends who shared this meal with us (and who were nice enough to say this was one of the best curries they’ve had), and all the friends with whom we look forward to sharing a meal with soon!

Let’s talk about the curry. And yes, that’s Thanksgiving CURRY! And no, it’s not just curry that you happen to eat over Thanksgiving cause you don’t like Turkey or don’t eat meat. It’s an honest to goodness thanksgiving, fall themed curry. It’s Indianish Thanksgiving food. Or Thanksgivingish Indian food. Well, you get the idea. I’m sure this is not a new concept but is (or was) new to me. So what am I talking about?

Pumpkin curry. Specifically, steamed and mashed pumpkin ‘purée’ added to caramelized onions with garam masala and a few other spices. Oh yeah along with slightly roasted kuri squash and bosc pear. Pear! My new favorite ingredient to add to savory dishes.

This recipe serves 6.

Ingredients

• 1 (~2.5 lbs) sugar pie pumpkin, cut in half, de-seed, slice each half into 4 or 5 pieces, microwave on high for 3 minutes.
• 1/2 can coconut milk
• 1 small squash (I used 1/2 a kuri squash, a delicata would work well too), process same as pumpkin and then dice into 1 inch pieces
• 1 bosc pear, peeled and cubed into 1 inch pieces
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 inch piece of ginger, grated or cut into thin matchsticks
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (optional)
• pinch nutmeg (preferably freshly grated)
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided or to taste

Slices of pumpkin, microwaved

Recipe

Peel the skin off the pumpkin (once microwaved, it will peel of easily) and roughly dice. Throw the pieces into a pot and add a cup of water. Heat on medium high till the water boils and then simmer the pot with lid ajar for 10 minutes or till the pumpkin has the consistency of mashed potato. Mix with the coconut milk. Proceed to the next steps while waiting for the pumpkin to cook.

UPDATE – An easier way to puree pumpkin…http://www.ehow.com/how_4498298_puree-sugar-pie-pumpkins.html

Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or work. The oil is hot enough if you throw in a cumin seed and it sizzles.

Add the cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for just 5 seconds

Add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir regularly for 3 minutes

Add the ginger and garlic. Continue to stir regularly for another 4-5 minutes or till onion is golden brown and caramelized

Add the turmeric, paprika, coriander powder, garam masala and cayenne. Mix well.

Add the pieces of squash. Stir to mix with onion and spices. Allow to cook for 3 minutes.

Add the pear. Stir and cook for another 3 minutes.

At this point you will need to add the pumpkin gravy. If your pan is not big enough, transfer the onion/spices/vegetables and the pumpkin gravy into a big enough pot.

Add a pinch of nutmeg

Simmer on low for 15 minutes

Taste for salt

Serve with rice or naan or as a soup.

Notes

To save time, you can use canned pumpkin puree.

I used bosc pears as these are best for baking. Other varieties might also work just fine.

Have leftover squash and coconut milk? I plan to make a coconut squash shake (can you say squash shake quickly without messing it up???) with a bit of milk and pinch of freshly ground cardamom.

So there, here’s your start to Thanksgiving Indian style. Coming soon (tonight?), is a post on green beans made in a simple South Indian style. Wow your guests with something different than the same old green bean casserole.

Interested in making this curry but don’t have all the spices? I’m happy to mail the thanksgiving curry spice blend to the first five commenters to this post. It’s my way of saying thanks for reading the blog. Send me an email to veena (at) veenasmarket (dot) com with your address after you leave your comment. And no, I won’t give your address away, sign you up for spam or anything. I hate that too!

Veena