Shrimp Malabar Thiyyal

Shrimp Malabar Thiyyal

1 # medium prawns, peeled

¼ t turmeric

½ t Kashmiri chilli

½ t salt

2 T olive oil

½ cup onion, minced

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 t ginger, crushed

10 curry leaves

2 t Shrimp Malabar Spice Blend

¼ c cup water

Marinate the shrimp in turmeric, Kashmiri chilli and salt for 15-30 minutes.  Meanwhile, heat a skillet over medium-high heat and sauté onions in olive oil until golden-brown, about 10 minutes.  Add the crushed ginger and curry leaves and sauté for 2 minutes more.  Add chopped tomatoes and cook 5-10 minutes.  Add the Malabar spices and reserved shrimp.  Coat the shrimp with tomato-spice mixture and add water.  Cook until shrimp cooked through and the tomato-spice mixture clings to the shrimp.  Taste for season and serve with rice.

Zucchini-Carrot Muffins

From Chef Katherine – When Seena and I started selling the Neeliyam Spices at the St. Helena Farmer’s Market, we always had a taste of something savory to entice our customers to buy our spices and cook at home.   But, even some of the die-hard Indian food lovers were at times reluctant to sample Channa Masala or Lamb Kebab with their coffee at 7:30 a.m. on a foggy market morning.  So Seena and I decided that we should come up with a bite of something that you wouldn’t mind eating while the taste buds were still waking up.  The answer:  Zucchini-Carrot Muffins with Seena’s Garam Masala.

These tasty little muffins  go very well with your morning coffee or tea, or even with the curried butternut squash soup you might be making later in the day!  The recipe works well with a variety of fruit and vegetable substitutions (such as apple-banana or sweet potato)  and try coconut oil instead of canola oil sometime for a tasty and healthful  treat.  Get ‘em before the kids eat them all!  Enjoy.

1 c all purpose flour

¼ t baking powder

1 t baking soda

1 t Seena’s garam masala

2 T oat bran

2 T ground flaxseed

¼ c canola oil

¼ c honey

1 egg

½ c plain yogurt

1 t vanilla

1 c grated zucchini

½ c finely grated carrot

1/3 c golden raisins

Line muffin tins with paper liners or lightly oil or butter.  Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and garam masala in a large bowl and stir in the oat bran and flaxseed.

In a smaller bowl beat the oil, honey, egg, yogurt and vanilla together until well blended. Stir the liquids into the dry ingredients until just blended.  Do not over mix.

Fold in the zucchini, carrots and raisins.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin filling about 2/3 full.  Bake in (pre-heated) 325 oven for 25-30 minutes.

If you would like to order spices, email info@neeliyam.com or visit http://www.neeliyam.com/store.html

Mung Beans with Coconut

Chef Katherine says, “On one of my first trips to Vik’s Indian Market in Berkeley with my friend Seena I was impressed with the variety of dry beans available.  There were lentils of every color- red, yellow, black and white… chickpeas and split peas and more.  I have slowly been testing out the ones that were new to me.  One of my favorites is the mung bean.  While I have known about the health benefits of mung beans for a long time, I have to admit I had never cooked with them.  Now, I cannot get enough of them.

Like most legumes, the mung bean is a good source of protein and fiber.  It is also rich in vitamins and minerals and is more easily digested than most other beans.   Research shows the mung bean to be a nutritional powerhouse offering health benefits for the immune system, the metabolism, the heart and more.   An added bonus:  mung beans have a quick cooking time and require no soaking.   It also helps to have a great recipe.  Seena taught me this one- Mung Beans with Coconut.  Now, you can try them too.  Enjoy!”

 

Mung Beans with Coconut

Recipe

1 ½ cups dried mung beans, rinsed

5 cups water

Bring water and mung beans to a boil. Turn heat down and cook at a simmer until the beans are cooked but still holding their shape- 25 to 30 minutes.  They should have a slight, starchy texture.  To the cooked beans add:

1 t Kashmiri chilli

½ t turmeric

1 ½ t salt

6 curry leaves

1 can coconut milk.

Continue to cook on medium-low heat until the beans are soft- another 10-15 minutes.  Set aside.

In a small sauté pan, on medium-high heat combine:

2 T coconut oil or olive oil

1 t whole black mustard seeds

¼ cup finely chopped onion

3 dry red chillies

Cook until the onions turn golden brown- about 5 minutes.

Then add:

10 curry leaves.

Combine onion mixture with the mung beans in coconut.  Stir and serve.

Tadka Mung Dal (Lentils)

Tadka Mung Dal

Tadka mung dal is a lentil dish that is very easy to make. The word tadka means seasoning fried in oil. Don’t let the word “fried” get to you – Lentils (dal) are packed with protein, making this recipe healthy and delicious.

Cooking time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4 to 6

2 cups Tadka Mung Dal, rinsed
4 cups water

2 T olive oil
2 t black mustard seeds
2 t cumin seeds
2 whole dry red chilies
¼ t Asafetida
2 t turmeric powder
2 t salt
2 cup water
2 red Thai chilies, minced
2 T chopped cilantro

Combine Mung dal with 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.  Skim any foam that comes to the surface. Cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes or until the Mung dal is soft.

In a sauté pan heat the oil with the black mustard seeds and cumin seeds.  When you start to hear the mustard seeds popping, stir in the red chilies, the asafetida, turmeric and lastly the cooked dal.  Add 2 cups of water and salt and bring to a simmer.  Remove from heat once fully combined and heated through.  Add the cilantro and chilies to garnish and serve.

TIP: If you do not have Thai chilies, you may use minced Serrano chilies. If you want less spice, you can use minced red bell pepper instead of the chilies.

Eating Healthfully

Rebecca Bell, enjoying the flavors

Everyone is very conscious about eating healthfully these days. Why not?  Bill Clinton recently turned vegan. The unfortunate notion is that a vegan or vegetarian diet is boring.  Whether you are on a low sodium diet, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian or even non-vegetarian diet, we all want interesting food. Many of us have our favorite recipes but even chefs have to explore new flavors and recipes to keep things interesting. You can get innovative with your meals. Spice it up!

Rebecca Bell, a friend of ours, recently turned vegan. As a result of following this diet she has lost weight and is feeling healthy and energetic. A couple weeks ago she bought our spice blends to cook with and was immediately hooked. She began to sprinkle the spices in her dishes and loved the flavors. She got inspired to know how else she could use the spices that she had purchased. She called us and we arranged an evening to cook together. The focus was to create new and easy vegan recipes using Neeliyam spice blends. We came up with three new dishes that are easy to prepare and delicious. Just ask Rebecca….

First, we showed her how to make Channa masala (garbanzo beans). This is one of our favorite recipes, already in our recipe archive. Second, we made New Rajma – so named because Rajma is a traditional North Indian recipe which we have simplified for our purposes. We made our Rajma (Red Kidney Beans) with tomatoes and seasoned it with our Kebab spice blend with excellent results. Third, we made Masoor Dal. There are so many ways to prepare red lentils. In this version we made for Rebecca, we chose to season with onions, garlic, turmeric and garam masala.  Again with incredible results!

Something we did not realize until that evening is that Rebecca cooks with little or no salt. So we did not add salt to the Channa Masala or any of the bean dishes. Rebecca was amazed at how flavorful the food was. It tasted great and it led to a discussion about various health conditions that require low or no salt.  This is a sure way to add flavor to your food in a healthful way. In fact there is a whole other discussion about how some of the spices are beneficial for your health.

Our last dish of the evening was the Vegetable Vindaloo with Tofu. Here again we have used a traditional spice blend in a non-traditional way. Served alongside brown basmati rice, this is a perfect meal. One note about this dish; we all agreed that it benefited with a small amount of salt.

A Healthy Meal

The evening was a success! Rebecca now has new ways to use her spice blends. Not only is she enjoying the food, but she is also thrilled about preparing these easy recipes herself.

To order spices, email info@neeliyam.com

Here are the new recipes:

Channa Masala

Rajma(Red Kidney Beans) – A Break from Traditional Style

Masoor dal with Garam Masala (Red lentils)

Vegetable Vindaloo with Tofu

Masoor Dal (Red lentils) with Garam Masala

Masoor Dal (Red Lentils) with Garam Masala

1 c red lentils (masoor dal)

3 c water

2 T olive oil

1 c chopped onion

2 t minced garlic

1 t turmeric powder

1 t Seena’s Garam Masala

2 T chopped cilantro

1 deseeded and chopped green chilli for garnish (optional)

Salt to taste

Combine red lentils and water and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and cook lentils until soft – about 10 minutes.  Skim any foam that rises to the top. Remove from heat and set aside. In a separate pot large enough to hold the lentils, heat the oil. Add onions and garlic. Sauté until lightly browned or for about 10 minutes.  Add turmeric, garam masala and cilantro and sauté for another minute.  Add the lentils and simmer until heated through.  Season with salt to taste.  Garnish with green chilies. Serve hot with brown basmati rice.

Rajma (Kidney beans) – A Break from Traditional Style

Rajma(Red Kidney Beans)

2 T olive oil

¾ c chopped yellow onion

1 t minced garlic

1 t minced ginger

½ c chopped tomato

1 T Kebab spice blend

½ c canned tomato sauce

2 cans kidney beans, drained

½ c water (optional)

2 T chopped cilantro

Heat a sauté pan on a medium-high heat.  Add olive oil and onions and sauté for 10 minutes or until onions are lightly browned.  Add garlic, ginger and Kebab spices and sauté for a few minutes.  Add chopped tomato and canned tomato.  Bring to a simmer and add kidney beans.   Heat through and serve with chopped cilantro.  If you would like a saucier dish, add 1/2 cup water along with the kidney beans and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer 5-10 minutes or until desired consistency.

Spiced Lamb Chops

Spiced Lamb Chops

We love our Kebab Spice blend. You will love it too; not only is it delicious but it is also super easy to prepare. Try out this recipe for lamb chops the next time you want to have a fun appetizer or simply jazz up your entree. To buy the spices, email info@neeliyam.com or come see us at Saint Helena Farmer’s Market. You can also get the spices at Sunshine Foods Market in Saint Helena.

Ingredients:

8 to 10 lamb rib chops

3 T lemon juice

3 T olive oil

4  1/2 t Kebab Spice Blend

1  1/2 t of Seena’s Garam Masala

3/4 t salt

Combine lamb chops with the lemon juice, olive oil, spices and salt. Allow to marinate for one hour. Grill to desire temperature. Serve as an appetizer or an entree.

Cooking tip: Let the meat marinate at room temperature to absorb the spices and for best grilling results.

Chicken Vindaloo

Chicken Vindaloo is a Portuguese dish and has been prevalent in India since the Portuguese settlement in Goa and North Kerala in 1500s. The Portuguese originally made Vindaloo or Vindallo with pork, lamb or meat. It is then cooked with wine or vinegar, spices and potatoes. The use of potatoes can be optional. This dish became popular in Goa and since then the Goans will have this dish on every occasion and commonly use alternatives like chicken or vegetables or egg are used for a vegetarian version. This is a simple dish to make if you have all the spice ingredients. If you do not, you can use Neeliyam’s Vindaloo spice blend (order spices at info@neeliyam.com) that is sure to make your lives easier and keep your bellies and palette happy!

Cook time: 40 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:
4 Chicken Breasts, cut into 1 inch cubes

½ cup Vinegar, white wine or distilled

7 T (one packet) Vindaloo spice blend (contact me to order)

1 T Garlic paste

1 T Ginger paste

1 Serrano chili, deseeded and chopped

¼ cup Olive Oil

1 ½ cups Onion, grated or finely chopped

20 Curry leaves or ½ cup of chopped cilantro

2 Tomatoes, chopped or pureed

2 Russet Potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 t Salt

1 ½ cups Water

Mix the Vindaloo spice blend and vinegar to make a paste. Marinate the chicken with the spice vinegar paste, garlic, ginger and Serrano. Set it aside for 1 hour.

Heat oil in a large wide bottomed saute pan. Add onion and curry leaves. Sauté for about 10 minutes or until lightly brown. Add the tomatoes. Sauté for 5 – 20 minutes or until the liquid evaporates and the oil starts to separate from the onion-tomato mixture. Add the marinated chicken, coat with onion-tomato mixture. Add potatoes, salt and water. Cook on moderate heat for 20 minutes or until the chicken and potatoes are tender and cooked through.

Grilled Vegetable Kebabs

Our Kebab spice blend isn’t just for meat kebabs. Marinating vegetables and paneer with this spice blend is outstanding as well. Dust off the barbecues and get ready for summer grilling. If you are looking to serve a vegetarian meal, you can have a delicious menu of Grilled Vegetable kebabs, Cucumber Raita,  Tadka Dal served with Peas Pulao or Naan bread.

Grilled Vegetable Kebabs

Prep time 30 minutes, cook time 15-20 minutes

Serves: 6 to 8

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper

1/2 red onion

8 oz cremini mushrooms

2 medium zucchini

8 oz paneer (optional)

2 t ginger paste

2 t garlic paste

2 T lemon juice

1/2 c yogurt

1 T Kebab spice blend (order here)

1 t Seena’s Garam Masala (order here)

1 t Salt

1 T oil (canola or olive)

Cut paneer, red pepper, zucchini and onions into approximately 1 inch pieces. Cut mushrooms into half or quarters depending on how on size. To make marinade, mix together ginger, garlic, lemon, yogurt, spices and salt. Combine marinade with paneer and vegetables. Let it stand 20-30 minutes. If using wooden skewers, be sure to soak in cold water for 30 minutes. Thread paneer and vegetables onto skewers alternating vegetables of your choice. Grill until the vegetables are cooked but still slightly crunchy and serve. As an alternative to grilling, you can roast vegetables on a sheet pan (on skewers or off skewers) in 500 degree oven for 20 minutes.