Indian Style Mustard Seed Potatoes with Coconut Milk

Green Girl Goodies, May 2014

As a child growing up I didn’t see a lot of Indian restaurants around or ever eat much Indian food.  Living in the Silicon Valley for 10 years all that changed.  Some of our cafés had such a high Indian population that we would bring in a Guest Chef from outside the company to cook true authentic Indian food.  This begins the tale of my love affair with Indian flavors and cuisine. 

As a gift one year my Area Manager gave me the book “5 Spices, 50 dishes” by Ruta Kahate.  It looked interesting and once I tasted the amazing meals created by our Indian guest chefs I was hooked.  The variety of complex flavors created with minimal ingredients was so impressive.  Not to mention Indian cuisine is full of creative and interesting vegetarian options which I always love.  The secrets of Indian cooking lie in utilizing the proper techniques to draw out the rich flavors of the spices, garlic, onions, ginger and chiles.  I carefully listened, watched and assisted the Indian chefs whenever possible to learn more. 

These Indian-inspired rich and creamy potatoes are great as a meal in itself but would also be a delicious side dish to chicken, beef or lamb.  If you choose to eat the dish alone, serve it on a bed of fresh spinach or other greens of your choice for some added nutritional value and flavor!

Yield 2 Entrée Portions or 4 – 6 Side Portions

2 c Yukon Gold Potaoes, ¼” cubes

¾ c Onions, julienned

½ c Carrots, small dice

1 tsp Garlic, sliced

1 tb Canola Oil

2 tsp Cumin, ground

1 tsp Mustard Seeds

1 tsp Turmeric

¼ tsp Cayenne

1c + 1 ½ tb Coconut Milk

¾ tb Kosher Salt

-  Heat a large saute pan and once hot, add the oil.  Once the oil is hot add the mustard seeds.  Immediately cover the seeds with a lid, lower the heat to as low as possible and let the seeds sizzle slightly until browned and they begin to pop.

-  Increase the heat to high and add the onion, garlic and carrots.  Cook them on high, stirring occasionally until evenly browned.

-  Once the vegetables are evenly browned, add the spices and toss to coat the veggies and lightly toast the spices.

-  Add the potatoes.  Toss them to coat evenly with the spices and brown them slightly.

-  Add 1 c of coconut milk.  Make sure to stir the coconut milk before you measure your cup as it separates in the can.

-  Cover and stew on medium high heat until the potatoes are 80% done.  Remove the lid and reduce the liquid until it is 90% gone.

-  Reduce the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 ½ tb of coconut milk.  Recover the pan and cook until the potatoes are tender and the liquid is completely reduced.

- Serve immediately.  I didn’t have any on hand but the dish would also be delicious garnished with chopped cilantro.

Up next…

Greek Style “Fu-ttata” served with a Cucumber Spinach Salad

Cumin-Spiced Lamb and Duck Egg Meatloaf topped with Caramelized Onion Jam

Green Girl Goodies, May 2014  

Before summer truly begins and light meals and outdoor BBQ completely replace the comforting and heavier winter meals, I wanted to sneak in this delicious meatloaf I made a few weeks ago on a rainy Seattle Saturday.  Seattle still experiences cold spells until sometimes July anyways so if you are a PNW resident like myself you might find the need for a more hearty meal to fill your belly in the coming months.

My boyfriend and I had spent our Saturday preparing for massive spring planting and started spring cleaning.  Needless to say we were not only pretty exhausted but we were also quite famished.  My boyfriend headed to the store to pick up something quick and easy for dinner but instead returned home with some all natural, grass-fed Umpqua Valley ground lamb.  At first, I admit, I was pretty pissed as I had no desires to be cooking after our long day but after taking a look in our fridge I became immediately inspired.  It was time to do something the Green Girl doesn’t do all that often at home:  cook a rich, heavy meal based on “comfort food”.  And voila! The Cumin-Spiced Lamb and Duck-Egg Meatloaf was born. 

Meatloaf is something I must admit I had always looked down on as “TV dinner” food.  It wasn’t until I had the pleasure of tasting Chef Louis’ famous Turkey Meatloaf while working at Electronic Arts that I began to see that, like many classic comfort foods, even meatloaf can be made delicious for the modern foodie.  We had some duck eggs on hand so to add some more richness to the lean, grass fed Lamb I used 2 duck eggs instead of 3 regular eggs.  Instead of just the traditional mirepoix mix of carrots, onions and celery I added red bell peppers and to add a little ethnic twist, some cumin. Where standard meatloaf is usually glazed with Ketchup or BBQ Sauce, I made a Caramelized Onion Jam to finish the loaf.  The sweet and tangy jam is the perfect complement to the flavorful, rich lamb-loaf.   I also like to prepare individual loaves as well to glamorize the dish a bit more. 

In order to feel a little better about the hefty meat portion I served the meatloaf alongside a generous portion of braised kale and minus a starch.  The recipe made 4 mini loaves.  It was so tasty and we were so hungry, we ate it all in one sitting. Enjoy!!

*Chef’s Tip:

- Start the onion jam before even starting to cut vegetables for the loaf.  Caramelizing onions and reducing a sauce are both not steps that can be rushed along with positive results!

Caramelized Onion Jam

Yield Approximately 1 c (4 – 6 servings)

1 ¾ c + 1 tb Yellow Onion, small dice

1 c Apple Cider Vinegar

1 c Granulated Sugar

1 ½ tsp Kosher Salt

½ tb Vegetable Oil

-          Heat a medium sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Once hot, add your oil.  Once the oil is hot, add your diced onions and lower the heat to medium-low.  Slowly caramelize the onions, stirring occasionally to prevent charring.  Reduce the heat if necessary depending on the thickness of your cooking vessel.  You are looking for a nice even brown color on all the onions.  This takes approximately 15 – 20 minutes.

-          Once the onions are evenly caramelized, add your vinegar, sugar and salt.  Raise the heat to medium-high to bring all ingredients to a boil.

-          Once boiling, reduce the heat to maintain a simmer and reduce the liquid about 75% until it is almost syrupy.  This will take approximately 15 minutes on medium then 7 minutes on low heat.   The jam will thicken more as it cools. 

-          Let the jam cool and serve warm or at room temperature.  It will store properly sealed and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks.

Cumin-Spiced Lamb and Duck Egg Meatloaf

Yield 4 Mini Loaves (approximately 5 oz ea)

1# Ground Lamb

2 ea Duck Eggs (or 3 regular large eggs)

½ c Yellow Onion, minced

½ c Celery, minced

½ c Red Pepper, minced

1/3 c Carrots, minced *heaping cup

½ c Saltines (crushed, seen below) or Panko

1 tb + ½ tsp Garlic Powder

1 tb Cumin *if you are a big cumin fan, add an additional ½ tsp

1 tb Kosher Salt *if you are using saltines, start with 2 tsp of salt and test a small patty of loaf mixture in a sauté pan.  Add additional salt to taste.

8 Turns of Fresh Black Pepper

-          Set your oven to 375.  Gather all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.

-          Use your hands and mix all ingredients together so they are evenly distributed throughout the ground meat.

-          Form your mini loaves or if you prefer, form one large or two medium loaves.  Let the mixture stand at least 30 minutes refrigerated before baking.

-          Cooking times will vary if you are doing one large or two medium loaves.  For 4 mini loaves, bake them at 375 for 15 minutes.  Rotate the baking sheets and bake for another 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the loaf is 165.  Remove the loaves from the oven and brush them with the room temperature Caramelized Onion Jam. 

-          Let the loaves sit for 5 minutes to set and heat the jam.  The additional jam can be offered at the table as a condiment.

Up Next…

Indian Style Mustard Seed Potatoes with Coconut Milk

Life got in the way of our deadline and while site maintenance is finished, there will be no recipe for the evening.

A large catering was added to my already busy sushi week so sadly I have to call it an early night before finishing the promised post,  "Cumin-Spiced Lamb and Duck Egg Meatloaf".  I will post the recipe this weekend.

In the meantime, enjoy these pictures of some of my sushi from this week and keep your eye out for the recipes and a step-by-step sushi lesson coming soon!

Sesame Ahi Poke Tostadas with Napa Cabbage Slaw, Fresh Avocado and Spicy Mayo

Sushi!  Krab and Avocado topped with Shrimp and California Rolls

My Original "Green Goddess Roll".  Also available in extra spicy with jalapenos on top! :-)

Tomorrow will be a record setting day of sushi with an event for 85 plus a live rolling lunch event for around 100 - 120.  3:30 a.m. start, 28.5# of rice, 30# of assorted fish.  I'm going to need my sleep.

Wish me luck!

We Are Undergoing Site Maintenance and Editing starting 5/11 at 9:30 p.m. and lasting until 5/14 at 9:30 pm.

Thank you for your patience!  

We will be back Wednesday with an all new layout and this week's recipe, Cumin-Spiced Lamb Meatloaf with Caramelized Onion Jam.

Simple Sesame Tofu Stir-Fry

Green Girl Goodies, May 2014

With summer quickly approaching, it is time to not only lighten up my meals but also simplify the preparations so I can spend more time enjoying the Seattle sun!  Stir-fry dishes are a favorite of mine because they are quick, easy and healthy.  There is also an endless amount of ingredient combinations to make each stir-fry unique and different so you never get bored.

Enjoy your stir-fry over rice, noodles or in a larger quantity all by itself.  For this particular stir fry, I made a thick seasoning paste to add to my tofu and vegetables.  Happy eating!

Yield 2 – 4 Servings (depending on if served with our without a starch)

1 Block Medium Firm Tofu, cut into cubes

1 ¼ c Broccoli florets

1 c Bok Choy, chopped into 1” strips

1 c Red Pepper, medium dice

1 c Yellow Onion, medium dice

½ c Celery, medium dice

2 tb Garlic, thinly sliced

2 tb Canola or Vegetable Oil

For the Sauce:

¼ c + 2 tb Soy Sauce

¼ c Brown Sugar

1 tb + 1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tb + 1 tsp Onion Powder

1 tb + 1 tsp Roasted or Toasted Sesame Seeds

-          Start by combining all sauce ingredients and stir well to combine.

-          Next, heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Once hot, add the oil, heat the oil briefly then add the tofu.  Let the tofu sizzle undisturbed for 2 – 3 minutes to brown evenly then flip the cubes.

-          Let the tofu sizzle for another minute then add the vegetables.

-          Stir the vegetables and let them cook for 2 – 3 minutes.  Then add the sauce paste.

-          Stir well to coat the vegetables and tofu and cook for another 2 – 3 minutes to heat the sauce.  Turn off the heat and eat immediately alone or over the starch of your choice.

Up Next…

Cumin-Spiced Lamb and Duck Egg Meatloaf topped with Caramelized Onion Jam