Chana Saag - Spinach, tomato and chickpea curry

This was really delicious.  Unfortunately I only had one 6 oz bag of spinach, when the recipe calls for a pound.  That's a lot of spinach!

Used sweet paprika and cayenne instead of Kashmiri chili

I got to use some of the black mustard seeds - had a large bag from Guru grocery store.  Can't wait to try the leftovers!

Good reason to start soaking and using dried chickpeas.

Tom McCorkle for The Washington Post; food styling by Gina Nistico for The Washington Post

NOURISHJAN 5, 2023

This take on chana saag, from author Meera Sodha’s cookbook "Fresh India," is a mouthwatering example of the extraordinary tradition of India’s vegetarian cuisine. Especially convenient and fresh-tasting, it brims with healthful flavor from aromatic spices and is packed with protein-rich chickpeas, savory tomatoes and piles of just-wilted spinach. It comes together in one pot — and it tastes even better warmed up the next day.

Total time: 50 mins

Storage Notes: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.

Where to Buy: Kashmiri chile and black mustard seeds can be found at well-stocked supermarkets, Indian markets or online.

---

SERVINGS:   3 - 3.5   6 - 7   12 - 14   18 - 21   

Tested size: 6-7 servings; makes about 7 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or grapeseed
• 1/2 teaspoon black mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 large yellow onions (1 1/2 pounds total), diced
• 5 medium cloves garlic, minced or finely grated
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
• One (14-ounce) can plum tomatoes, with their juices
• 3/4 cup water
• Two (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground Kashmiri chile (may substitute 3/4 teaspoon smoked paprika and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper)
• 1 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 pound baby spinach
• Plain whole-milk or reduced-fat yogurt, for serving (optional)

---

DIRECTIONS

In a very large, wide, lidded pot over medium heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until they begin to pop, about 30 seconds.

Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and their juices, crushing each tomato by hand as you add it to the pot, then stir in the water.

Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 10 minutes. Stir in the chickpeas, coriander, ground chile, salt and turmeric to incorporate. Working in batches, if needed, add the spinach, letting it wilt so you can stir it into the mixture before adding more spinach. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is soft and tender, about 5 minutes.

Remove from the heat, ladle into bowls and serve, topped with a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

---

RECIPE SOURCE

Adapted from “Fresh India” by Meera Sodha (Flatiron Books, 2018). 

Jan's recipe for Old Bay

From Allrecipes.com 

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons celery salt

• ¼ teaspoon paprika

  ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

• 1 pinch dry mustard

• 1 pinch ground nutmeg

• 1 pinch ground cinnamon

• 1 pinch ground cardamom

• 1 pinch ground allspice

• 1 pinch ground cloves

• 1 pinch ground ginger

  DIRECTIONS - mix all ingredients together.  Great blend. 

  Used for Wild Rice Soup with Kindsoups.  Added a cinnamon stick to the soup when it was cooking.  Really delicious.

• 
  

 

Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup with KindSoups 1/16/23

Cozy Autumn Wild Rice Soup

This smells so good and is delicious.  Changes made are noted below - cinnamon stick added; mushrooms sautéed separately; only one can of coconut milk, full fat.  See separate post for Old Bay substitute.  This is the KindSoups double version.

Ingredients

• 12 cup vegetable stock 
• 2 cups uncooked wild rice*
• 16 ounce baby bella mushrooms, sliced - sautéed separately in a little bit of balsamic vinegar
• 8 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 medium carrots, diced
• 4 ribs celery, diced
• 2 large (about 2 pound) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
• 2 small white onions, peeled and diced
• 2 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoon Old Bay seasoning - used ‘Jan’s recipe’ online as substitute - delicious
• 2 (14-ounce) cans unsweetened coconut milk - I only used one can and it was delicious
• 4 large handfuls of kale (or spinach), roughly chopped with thick stems removed
• fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
•  Added one cinnamon stick during cooking

Instructions

• Sauté the veggies. Heat (an extra) 1 tablespoon butter or olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and translucent. Stir in the garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until fragrant.
• Add base ingredients. Add in the vegetable stock, wild rice, mushrooms, carrots, celery, sweet potato, bay leaf and Old Bay seasoning. Stir to combine.
  Simmer. Continue cooking until the soup reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally.
• Add final ingredients. Add the coconut milk and kale to the soup, and stir gently until combined. Taste and season with salt and pepper (plus any extra Old Bay seasoning, if you would like) as needed.
• Serve warm and enjoy!

 

Tahini sauce

Love and lemons

I used this with baked falafel that came from Hungry Harvest.  The sauce is very good, but needs much less water.  I added 4 Tbsp and needed to add more tahini to compensate.  The tahini I used was not as solid as some, I suppose

https://www.loveandlemons.com/wprm_print/42590

Tahini Sauce

Prep Time: 5 mins

Total Time: 5 mins

Serves 4

This easy tahini sauce is versatile and delicious! Drizzle it over grain bowls, salads, falafel, and more. Find my favorite variations in the post above. All keep for up to 1 week in the fridge.

Ingredients

Basic Tahini Sauce

• ½ cup tahini*
• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons water, plus more as needed
• 1 small garlic clove, grated or pressed
• ½ teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

• In a small bowl, stir together the tahini, lemon juice, water, garlic, and sea salt. Season to taste. If you find the tahini sauce too bitter, add ¼ to ½ teaspoon maple syrup or honey to balance the flavor. If it’s too sharp, add ½ to 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil to mellow the flavor. If it's too thick, add water, as needed, to reach your desired consistency.

  See the blog post about for the turmeric, beet, and green tahini sauce variations.

Notes

*I prefer these brands of tahini: Cedar’s, Seed + Mill, and Soom. 

Freestyle Ramen

Adapted from https://damndelicious.net/2014/10/13/easy-homemade-ramen/

EASY HOMEMADE RAMEN

yield: 4 SERVINGS

 

prep: 10 MINUTES

cook: 20 MINUTES

total: 30 MINUTES

The easiest ramen you will ever make in less than 30 min. And it's so much tastier (and healthier) than the store-bought version!

I adapted this with the ingredients I had available.  I had forbidden rice ramen, so I used that and traditional wheat ramen.  Also used a little red onion with the garlic and ginger.  Used arugula instead of spinach, and added okra because I had it.  To keep it vegan, use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth, and omit the eggs.  It was very good, especially for a quick meal.

4.9 stars (33 ratings)

INGREDIENTS

• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth (used veg Better than Bouillion)
• 4 ounces shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
• 3 5.6-ounce packages refrigerated Yaki-Soba, seasoning sauce packets discarded* (used forbidden rice ramen and usual wheat ramen)
• 3 cups baby spinach
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

• Place eggs in a large saucepan and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Cover eggs with a tight-fitting lid and remove from heat; set aside for 8-10 minutes. Drain well and let cool before peeling and halving.
• Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and ginger, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.
• Whisk in broth, mushrooms, soy sauce and 3 cups water.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until mushrooms have softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in Yaki-Soba until loosened and cooked through, about 2-3 minutes.
• Stir in spinach, Narutomaki, carrot and green onions until the spinach begins to wilt, about 2 minutes.
• Serve immediately, garnished with eggs.

NOTES

*Yaki-Soba is ramen-style noodles and can be found in the refrigerated aisle of your local grocery store.

*Narutomaki is a type of kamaboko fish cake and is mainly used as a garnish in noodle soups such as ramen or soba.

This Easy Homemade Ramen recipe is brought to you by DAMN DELICIOUS  

Stuffed red peppers

Love and lemons

Stuffed Peppers

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Serves 4 to 6

Tried this tonight - excellent mixture, with or without the red peppers.  This amount makes way more than enough to fill 4 peppers.  I cut the jalapeño down from 2 to only ~1/2 and that was perfect.  The lime gives it a little kick as well. TJ’s vegan cheese would be perfect on it.  
This easy stuffed peppers recipe is fresh, healthy, and delicious! Top the peppers with cheese, or skip it, and serve them with guacamole or chipotle sauce for a vegan variation.

Ingredients

• 4 red bell peppers - would use 6 bell peppers with this amount of filling.
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
• 1½ cups white cheddar cheese or TJ’s vegan cheese mozzarella/cheddar
• Avocado slices or guacamole, for serving
• Lime wedges, for serving - perfect! 
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Filling

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 jalapeños, diced, more for topping, if desired
• 2 scallions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon lime zest
• 1½ tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
• 3 cups cooked white jasmine rice
• 1½ cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1½ cups corn kernels

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Slice the peppers in half lengthwise, remove the seeds and membranes, and place on the baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, and pepper and bake 10 minutes. Tip out and discard any liquid that pools inside the peppers. Set the peppers aside.
• Make the filling. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, jalapeños, scallions, lime zest, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cayenne, salt, and cilantro. Fold in the rice, black beans, and corn.
• Scoop the filling into the pepper halves and top them with the cheese. Broil for 2 to 5 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling and browned. Alternatively, continue baking at 450°F for 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese is melted. Serve with the avocado slices, lime wedges, and extra jalapenos, if desired.

Notes

Vegan version: Skip the cheese. Don’t bake the peppers the second time, and serve them with guacamole or chipotle sauce.