Nani’s Vegetarian Cooking

Nani's Vegetarian Cooking Front Cover

After nearly 20 years, I’ve finally released my book, Nani’s Vegetarian Cooking. The book was officially released in September and I wanted to take some time to quickly mention it here for my blog readers. If you enjoy the recipes on my blog, you’ll definitely enjoy the many recipes in my book. I’ve covered a variety of recipes across appetizers, beverages, desserts, rice dishes, lentils, and breads and also provide many helpful cooking tips. One way I think my book distinguishes itself is that unlike many Indian cookbooks, Nani’s Vegetarian Cooking focuses exclusively on Indian vegetarian cuisine.

Over the years, both Indian and vegetarian cuisine have become increasingly popular but it’s tough to find cookbooks that effectively blend the two cuisines. In addition, some may find both Indian and vegetarian cuisine intimidating as the two cuisines may be out of their comfort zone. As a result, it’s really important to make sure the recipes are accessible to a variety of readers and cooks.

While I’m just a little biased, I tend to think that Nani’s Vegetarian Cooking does a splendid job in making Indian vegetarian cooking accessible to beginners but can also offer advanced chefs something new. I really wanted to make this a manual that invites cooks of all styles and levels and I focused on providing recipes that could grow in complexity with the level of the cook. The recipes are explained in a very clear and concise manner and in certain cases I make sure to provide optional steps that can make the dish less difficult to prepare while not resulting in a bland offering.

If you’re looking for something new in terms of cookbooks and have liked what you’ve seen on my blog, Nani’s Vegetarian Cooking could be a great new addition to your bookshelf. You can order it at a variety of places such as Trafford Publishing, Amazon.com, and Waterstones.com. Hopefully, my little informercial wasn’t too long! Thank you for your support and check back here for additional recipes in the future.

Happy Holidays!

Kaju Burfi

Happy Deepavali (or Diwali for short)!

Kaju burfi is a festive sweet, traditionally prepared by using an array of dairy-products and nuts (almonds, cashews, coconuts, pistachios or a variety of grated vegetables), or flour, sugar and flavorings in my nani’s kitchen.

2 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup granulated sugar or to taste
1 1/2 cups cashew (kaju) flour
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground cardamom
3 drops rose essence

1) Lightly grease a 10-inch baking pan (stainless steel round plate or thali) or line it with non-stick parchment paper for easy clean up. Set aside.
2) Combine milk and sugar in a heavy-bottomed 2-quart saucepan and bring to a full boil, stirring constantly until sugar has completely dissolved.
3) Add 2 teaspoons of white vinegar and a generous pinch of salt to boiling milk. Stir to mix and cook the milk mixture until most of the liquid has evaporated. (At this stage I like to add a generous pinch of mace or nutmeg and additional ground cardamom). Add the remaining ingredients except rose essence and stir until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
4) Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring constantly to prevent from sticking on the bottom of the pan, until all the liquid has evaporated. At this point the mixture should have the consistency of cookie dough (almost resembling almond paste).
5) Remove from the heat and add the rose essence (or pure almond extract) if desired. Empty the mixture into the baking pan and spread evenly with a lightly buttered back of metal spatula. Garnish it with sliced cashews or silver leaf for festive look. Let it cool for at least 1 to 2 hours and cut into squares or diamond shapes if you prefer. Serve at room temperature or chilled. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Yield: 12 servings.

Kofta

Kofta is traditionally a Middle Eastern and South Asian round or oval shaped meatball, made primarily with minced or ground meat usually lamb or beef flavored with onion, herbs and seasonings. However, I have the memories of eating many vegetarian versions of koftas made with an assortment of grated or chopped vegetables (e.g. edible gourd or lauki, ash gourd, cauliflower, carrot and paneer etc.) in my nani’s kitchen. These are quite versatile and may be served as an appetizer (small kofta or mini bites) or as an entrée served with creamy rich sauce along with the side dishes of naan and fragrant rice.

Cauliflower Kofta

2 1/2 cups grated cauliflower
1/4 cup grated onion
1 teaspoon grated ginger and pinch of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala and salt to taste
1 cup chickpea flour or more to hold the shape
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves and extra for garnishing – optional
Vegetable oil for deep-frying koftas
Prepare the sauce as needed

1) To prepare the cauliflower kofta: In a large bowl, combine grated cauliflower, onion, ginger, baking powder, garam masala, 1/3 teaspoon salt, chickpea flour and chopped coriander leaves. (Add 1/2 tablespoon water and 1/8 teaspoon black pepper if needed). Mix thoroughly and shape in about 10 to 14 medium-size koftas or balls. It is extremely important to season the mixture generously and use the light touch while shaping the koftas.
2) Carefully drop onto the heated oil and deep-fry, a few at a time, until crisp and lightly brown on both sides 3 to 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and repeat the process until all the koftas are deep-fried. Set aside.
3) Prepare creamy rich sauce according to the AP Spice Paste recipe given under this blog or simply use the commercial Masala Simmer Sauce. At this stage I like to add defrosted green peas (pan-fried paneer or extra firm cubed tofu) and cook for about two minutes. Adjust the spices according to taste.
4) Stir in garam masala if desired and carefully add koftas in a single layer to prepared sauce. Gently turn koftas once; making sure not to break them. Simmer about 2 to 3 minutes and garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves just before serving if needed. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Note: The koftas shown in the picture with this recipe do not include the sauce or gravy.

Sweet Potato Halwa

Halwa or halva is one of the simplest sweets, traditionally prepared by cooking grated vegetables (lauki or edible gourd, ash gourd and a variety of root vegetables) in generous amount of ghee with the combination of flour, sugar, milk, flavorings and nuts in the Indian kitchen.

1 sweet potato
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or ghee
1/4 teaspoon green cardamom seeds, crushed
1/4 cup sugar or to taste
1/8 cup milk powder or khoya – optional
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
1/8 cup unsalted cashews, chopped

1) Remove the skin from sweet potato and wash thoroughly. Cut into uniform pieces or cubes (yielding about 2 1/4 cups chopped).
2) Place them into a microwave-safe bowl and add 1 teaspoon water. Cover and microwave on high for 5 to 6 minutes. Stir and microwave for another 1 to 2 minutes or until they are fork tender. Remove from microwave and mash them without adding any liquid. Set aside.
3) Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat and add roughly crushed cardamom seeds (if you like) and mashed sweet potatoes and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except cashews (choice of nuts). Continue to cook, stirring constantly until there is no moisture left in the pan. Stir in the chopped cashews.
4) Remove from the heat and transfer the mixture to a lightly buttered 8-inch round baking pan or thali (Indian stainless steel round dish). Spread the mixture evenly with a lightly buttered back of metal spatula. Let it cool completely and cut into desired shapes. Serve it warm or at room temperature. Yield: 6-8 servings

Note: This dish may be prepared with baked or boiled sweet potatoes along with additional flavorings and nuts.

Chickpea Patties

This is a great–tasting quick-to-make method of making leftover cooked chickpeas. If you like, the patties may easily be prepared with a combination of cooked soybeans and cooked brown rice, along with herbs and seasonings of choice. Chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, are available in three varieties – brown or kala chana, green and opaque (garbanzo), or kabuli chana in the Indian kitchen.

Tip: Once the chickpeas are cooked; they may be used in four different ways: dips, fritters (falafel), salad, or simply using the chickpeas along with the herbs and seasonings of choice (like chana chaat).

2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/4 cup white sesame seeds, lightly toasted
1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped
1/2 tablespoon chana chaat masala or to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
1/4 cup rice flakes, moistened
Vegetable oil for pan-frying

1) Combine cooked chickpeas, salt, sesame seeds, ginger and garlic in a food processor. Add chana chaat masala or 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 tablespoon fresh lemon juice if desired and pulse until the consistency of a coarse thick paste or dry pulp.
2) Empty the mixture to a bowl and add the remaining ingredients except the vegetable oil and stir to mix. Add additional rice flakes (poha) or sesame flour as needed to hold the shapes of the patties and mix thoroughly. Adjust the seasonings as needed.
3) Form the chickpea mixture into patties and coat each patty with additional rice flakes. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before pan-frying.
4) Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet and pan-fry in oil for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until lightly brown. Serve warm.

Yield: 4-6 Chickpea Patties.

Chickpea Pakora

Chickpea pakora is traditionally a round or oval shape fritter resembling falafel, made primarily with pureed split hulled beans or dals with onion, herbs and seasonings in the Indian kitchen. Chickpeas are one of the most versatile legumes (or beans) and may be used in a myriad of ways ranging from appetizers, entrees, and even desserts (made with chickpea flour, known as besan halwa).

1/2 cup hulled split chickpeas
1/8 cup hulled split black beans
1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped coriander leaves
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

1) To prepare the batter for these fritters simply follow the same steps (#1 and #2) given for the Dahi Vada recipe posted on August 18, 2008 on Nani’s Indian Cooking blog. The batter can be made the evening before and kept covered in the refrigerator until needed.
2) Transfer the mixture to a bowl and add a generous pinch of baking powder and set aside at room temperature for 30 minutes. Add onion, chopped coriander leaves, 1 tablespoon semolina (sooji) and additional water if necessary to form a batter just thin enough to drop from a spoon. Stir to mix thoroughly and adjust the seasonings.
3) Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet (preferably a wok) and gently drop a heaping teaspoonful batter for each fritter onto the heated oil and fry a few fritters at a time until crisp or approximately 4 to 6 minutes.
4) Drain on paper towels and repeat the process until all the fritters are deep-fried. Serve warm with chutney or tomato based dipping sauce.

Yield: 30-45 Chickpea Fritters.

Dahi Vada

Prepared in advance, made from dhuli urad dal, there isn’t a time when this wouldn’t be welcome addition – at a lunch, served as a side dish at a sit-down dinner, or the traditional late-afternoon combo snack known as chaat in my nani’s kitchen.

1 cup dhuli urad dal, soaked
1 32-ounce plain yogurt
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon chaat masala
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon mild chili powder
Salt and black pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for deep-frying

1) Drain dhuli urad dal (hulled split urad) thoroughly and place in a food processor fitted with a sharp metal blade and add 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger.
2) Proceed to pulse until the mixture turns into a coarse paste. Turn off the blender and scrape down the sides of the food processor bowl with a rubber spatula. Add 1/8 to 1/3 cup water little at a time to facilitate the blade. Process until the mixture is smooth (almost resembling sticky dough).
3) Empty the batter in a mixing bowl. Cover the bowl and let it rest for about 30 minutes at room temperature. Just before deep-frying the vada or round fritters add in a generous pinch of salt, baking soda and 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice. Stir to mix thoroughly.
4) Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet and gently drop a heaping tablespoonful of batter for each vada onto the heated oil, frying 4 to 5 vadas per batch and leaving room between each vada for expanding or spreading, until golden, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain on paper towels and repeat the process until all the vadas are deep-fried.
5) Place the vadas in a bowl filled with cold water. Let them soak for 3 to 4 minutes and gently squeeze out the water without breaking them.
6) In a medium-size bowl, combine yogurt (dahi), lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon chaat masala, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. Add a generous pinch of roasted ground cumin if needed.
7) Place vadas into a non-metallic shallow dish and pour half of the seasoned yogurt sauce on top. Refrigerate covered until time to serve.
8)To serve: Spoon a little yogurt onto each plate, spreading it around in a spiral fashion with the back of the spoon to form a large circle. Carefully place a vada onto the circle made with yogurt, drizzling a bit of additional yogurt over top if desired, and garnish as needed.

Tip: The ideal way to serve dahi vada is buffet style with a combination of samosa, sev and chaat where everybody can make their own plate according to their taste. Tamarind or date chutney, plain yogurt, chaat masala, roasted ground cumin, ground red chili powder, cayenne pepper, chopped green chilies and additional black salt are often served with this dish.

Note: While preparing seasoned yogurt sauce it is advisable to add seasonings to only 2 cups of plain yogurt and serve the remaining yogurt as needed along with the additional spices.

Yield: 12 to 16 Dahi Vadas.

Cantaloupe Salad

Summer is a perfect time for easy, no cook desserts made with strained yogurt or by simply combining plain yogurt in a variety of ways in the Indian kitchen. I call this the Indian version of ambrosia. This is a multi-purpose basic strained yogurt or yogurt cheese often used to make a variety of spreads ranging from savory to sweet in my nani’s kitchen. I have tasted one of the best combinations prepared with mulberry and strained yogurt in my nani’s kitchen. As summer arrives my family enjoys it with cubed mangoes, honeydew, or any combination of berries.

1 cantaloupe, peeled, seeded
2 seedless oranges, peeled
1/8 cup freshly grated coconut
1 32-ounce plain yogurt, strained
1/8 cup honey or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom
Mint for garnishing

1) Cut cantaloupe into 1/2-inch cubes and cut oranges into small segments.
2) Combine all the ingredients except mint in a bowl and stir to mix.
3) Cover bowl and chill for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving. Garnish with fresh mint as needed.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Coconut Cookies (Nan Khatai)

Nan Khatai (the way I remember it) is a shortbread with a buttery, crumbly cookie texture and is subtly flavored with a combination of spices common in both savory and sweet Indian dishes. Cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, ginger and fennel seeds are some of the must-have spices in my desserts, breads, and cookies. Aside from these spices desiccated coconut, pistachios, walnuts, almonds, cashews, peanuts, chironji, flax seeds, poppy seeds, black and white sesame seeds are also used in making a myriad of sweets in India.

Traditionally nan khatai was prepared with ghee or dalda (clarified butter or Indian version of vegetable shortening), sugar and a combination of all-purpose flour (superfine wheat flour – maida), rice flour or semolina with or without any leavening agent. It is simply a delicate butter cookie (quite rich almost resembling pecan sandies) which just melts in your mouth. Over the years I have made various types of cookies with or without the nuts. My son’s favorite is with chocolate chips and chunks of walnuts.

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar or to taste
1/2 teaspoon pure coconut or almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
1/4 cup sooji or cream of wheat
1/2 teaspoon roughly crushed cardamom seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt and generous pinch of baking powder
1/4 cup desiccated coconut, lightly toasted
1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1) In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and coconut extract until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients except toasted desiccated coconut and walnuts. Stir to mix until the mixture comes together and forms stiff cookie dough.
2) Or remove the dough from the mixing bowl and knead it until all the ingredients are fully incorporated. Using a rolling pin, lightly roll out the cookie dough and flatten into a patty. Wrap the patty in the plastic sheet and chill in refrigerator for about 30 to 45 minutes.
3) Preheat oven to 325 to 350 degrees F. Shape the dough into 1-in balls and place them on ungreased baking sheets, spacing them about 1/2-inch apart. Lightly flatten with the tines of a fork (dipped in milk) in criss-cross pattern.
4) Or using a rolling pin, roll out the flatten patty into a rectangle measuring about 9 by 13 inches 1/4 to 1/8-inch thickness or as desired. Using a 2-inch round cookie cutter cut as many circles or cookies as you can from the rolled out rectangle. Lightly flatten with the tines of a fork (dipped in milk) in criss-cross pattern. Repeat the process until all the cookie dough is used.
5) Carefully lift the cookies with a spatula and place them onto ungreased baking sheet, spacing them about 1-inch apart.
6) Bake the cookies for 8 to 10 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, rotating the baking sheet front to back and top to bottom rack halfway through the baking time for even baking, or until the cookies are lightly golden around the edges. Cool slightly before removing from baking sheet. Remove and cool completely on wire rack before storing in an airtight container.

Note: This recipe is base for so many cookies in my western kitchen. Often prepare them with the combination of flour, rolled oats, unsalted butter, roughly chopped nuts of choice, extract, leavening agent, salt and powdered sugar along with the liquid of choice.

Yield: Approximately 3 dozen cookies.

Spicy Fiddlehead Ferns

Fiddlehead ferns are compact baby ferns before they open up. My recollection of fiddlehead ferns starts as a child since they, along with other varieties of wild greens, grew abundantly near a stream running through my parents’ peach-apricot orchard in the northern hills of India. These fiddlehead ferns were actually much thinner than most varieties available in a produce section of the local supermarket and were traditionally prepared either by parboiling with generous amount of ghee, garlic, ginger, salt and red pepper flakes, or without parboiling and braised in spicy yogurt or tomato-based sauce. Fiddlehead ferns are an acquired taste and are one of the seasonal greens found in early spring to late May here in New England but in India we had it right after the monsoon season.

1 pound fiddlehead ferns
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium-size onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger (optional)
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste
Juice of 1/2 lemon

1) Remove the stem ends from fiddlehead ferns, and discard. Place the fiddlehead ferns in a strainer under cold running water and wash thoroughly; drain.
2) Bring water to boil in a saucepan, add fiddlehead ferns and parboil for 25 to 30 seconds. Drain and set aside.
3) Heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat in a large skillet. Add onion, stirring, until translucent, about 1 to 2 minutes.
4) Stir in garlic, ginger and turmeric, and cook for about 10 to 20 seconds. Add more oil if needed. Add fiddlehead ferns and stir to mix. Season with salt and red pepper flakes to taste.
5) Cover and cook until fork-tender, no more than 6 to 7 minutes. This is one of the dishes you don’t want to overcook. Add lemon juice and a few drops of water, if necessary (or if you like crispy taste follow the same method until fork-tender except add about 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter and cook over the high heat without covering the skillet for about 1 minute).