Shakshouka of a vegetarian persuasion
Tag: vegetarian
Peppers roasted perfectly
There is another recipe – pickling your own bell peppers – that has a delicious pickling liquid recipe. However, this recipe focuses on the peppers.
Someone asked me recently why I buy a box of peppers at a time. Well, as a box costs R39 and a pack of three costs R25, you can do the math. The box I bought had 39 peppers. So, R1 per pepper! This is eight times cheaper! Wow.
Roasted (bell) peppers is a wonderful ingredient to have in the fridge. I have a trusted tupper container that I stack the roasted peppers in. In the fridge they last for at least two weeks. And added to anything, this sweet and slightly tart flesh elevates any dish. Cold, used in a salad, it balances the creaminess of avocado, the blandness of chickpeas and the spiciness of salad onions. Added to a pasta sauce, it adds that beautiful smokey and sweet pepper taste to any type of sauce. Even on a sarmie it is devine. Truly something you want to have in the fridge. Also, as the seasons change, you are stocked up. I would pickle some for the longer keep.
This is not so much a recipe as a “life hack”.
The simple trick is this:
I take a hand full of olive oil and rub all of the (washed and dried) peppers individually. I then place them in an oiled tray in a 200 degress celcius preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. The skin should turn deep brown but not black. It should also separate from the flesh. I do not cut the peppers first, as I want to steam the inside of the flesh.
When done, you can put them in a bowl of ice and water and the skins would easily peel off. Most of it, anyway. Then I press my finger into the top and remove the stem and the seed-ball. I rinse the seeds I missed out with water. You can now cut it or dice it or even keep them intact – depending on what you want to use them for. The peppers taste the same however you slice or dice.
And that’s it. Another hack is to sprinkle salt on the oiled peppers. This gets them to roast better and seasons them at the same time. Adding some chillie flakes makes them nice and spicy, and, as they are family, they fit well together.
Dal should not be dull – My vegetarian journey
One of the most common words in vegetarian recipes is dal. Many simply call them lentils, but this is not as simple as it may seem.
In the Indian subcontinent, dal refers to many types of legumes (some of us know them as pulses). Which means that in Indian cuisine, when the term dal is used, it does not neccesarily mean “lentils”. And each has its own quirks when cooking them.
I found this lovely picture on the wonderful website called myheartbeets. (Great name too).
Just a little snippet of interesting facts about understanding dal: Not only are there so many types, the way that they are prepared for the market is important to know as well. Especially if, like me, you love Indian cooking. The problem is this: When you buy dal, the name on the package may not be what it is called in a recipe. And, the name in the recipe could be called something completely different depending on where you stay. So, here goes:
There are three main forms that dal come in: unhulled (whole) called sabut; split with hull left on the split half called chilka and split and hulled (also called “washed” or dhuli) called urad dhuli (Hindi) or mung dhuli (Urdu). Then, English speakers use a term called gram, which refers to whole and not split (sabut).
Putting this together sensibly does show the comedy of trying to understand this. A mung bean (type of legume) that is split and hulled is called yellow mung or – wait for it – mung dhuli mung (in Urdu). So, if the recipe says – add 100g of yellow mung – you can go and shop for any of the above. Good luck. Alas, with time you will be able to quickly discern them visually, which is better than trying to read the print…
But this is not an academic paper. This is about cooking!
This recipe is part of a process that I used to make a Keeri Kozhambu, or my version of it. The recipe for the dish will follow. In the preparation process, I found that the dal came out absolutely delish. Here is how I did it.
Tender flavoured dal for a base recipe
2019-10-26 06:36:22
Serves 6
This recipe prepares a flavourful and interesting dal that I use for the base of many other dishes. Even on its own I love it.
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
12 min
Total Time
22 min
Ingredients
- 200 grams of masoori dal (split red lentils)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or 2 teaspoons garlic paste
- 1/4 teaspoon asafetida
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Wash the dal in running water and drain. You don't need to soak them.
- Put a nice large pan (preferrably with a lid) on medium heat and add about 800ml of water.
- When the water boils, add the masoor dal, the turmeric, the salt, the garlic and the asafetida, as well as the olive oil.
- Cook for about 10-12 minutes until tender but not falling apart. (I like the dal to be a little firm and to keep their shape.
Notes
- Try other dals with this method. I tried black-eyed beans and they came out lovely. The taste and texture was different and I had to cook longer. You have to experiment.
- Also try other additives. The garlic is lovely, but you can try ginger as well. or both.
- For an easy dish, mix this with chopped peppers, a chopped chillli and chopped cilantro. Perhaps a little chopped red onion too.
- If you cool this down it's a lovely additive to a salad.
- Njam.
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