Bean and Spinach Stew/Soup

This recipe is from a couple of weeks ago when it was raining very hard in Autsin.

It has been raining cats and dogs since yesterday (Jan 24). Flash floods, power outages, tornado warnings and thunder so loud that the windows in my house rattled last night. So this weather calls for a hearty bean soup/stew that will warm and comfort us all. Best part, it is super healthy. This chilli is packed with protein, fiber and nutrients and low on fat as well as calories. This pairs really well with some corn bread. So lets get this baby cooking...

RECIPE: Bean and Spinach Stew
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 Tbsp garlic, minced

2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp chili powder

2 cans diced tomatoes (14.5oz)

1 can dark red kidney beans, rinsed & drained

1 can black bean, rinsed & drained

1 can white beans, rinsed & drained

4 cups fat-free low sodium chicken broth

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

3 cups fresh baby spinach leaves

 

Method

1. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in 4-quart saucepan. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes, until softened but not browned. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Do not brown garlic.
2. Add spices and tomatoes and simmer about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups (2 cans) of beans and 2 ½ cups of broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.
3. Place remaining beans and broth in bowl of food processor or in blender. Add cilantro and puree until smooth. Add mixture to stew.
4. Add spinach and heat just until wilted. Stir well and serve hot.

Step-by-step process,

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in 4-quart saucepan. Add onion and sauté about 5 minutes, until softened but not browned.

Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Do not brown garlic.

Add spices and tomatoes and simmer about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups (2 cans) of beans and 2 ½ cups of broth and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer.

Place remaining beans and broth in bowl of food processor or in blender. Add cilantro and puree until smooth. Add mixture to stew.

Add spinach and heat just until wilted. Stir well and serve hot.

This is just a perfect meal seved with some corn bread and avocados.

Spicy Peanut Kachumber Salad

This is one of my most loved and popular creations. No matter how big a serving I make, it gets goddbled up FAST.... I have doubled-tripled-quardrupled it but I still run out :) You will be amazed at how humble and simple to prepare it really is.

RECIPE: Spicy Peanut Kachumber Salad
Ingredients
Salad:
1 Onion, coarse dice
1 Seedless Cucumber, diced
2 Avacados, diced
2 Tomatoes, diced
1 Green chilli, chopped
handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1 Cup Peanuts, roasted and lightly salted
Dressing:
2 Lemons, Juiced
salt to taste
1 tsp Cumin seeds, roasted and ground
1 tsp Corinader seeds, roasted and ground
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp Paprika

Method

1. Chop the onions, cucumber, avacados, tomatoes, chillies and coriander.
2. Now add the peanuts and toss it all up.
3. Whip up all the dressing ingredients and drizzle over the salad. Toss it well and that is all it takes to make the best salad in the world :).

Tandoori Salmon

Hello to all my viewers in India, USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, Germany, Russia, Canada and the Middle East. I am overwhelmed with the response and thank you all for taking out the time to read my blog.
Hope 2012 brings you and your loved ones all the good health and happiness. I have been very blessed and fortunate in the past years and want to take this moment and thank each and everyone in my life for being there and making it so perfect. 

On that note, lets kick off this year with a heart healthy, simple yet delicious Salmon dish that is by far on the top of my favorites list.

You will not find this recipe on any website or cookbook. This is an original by yours truly!  After years of trial and error I have finally perfected it. It is super simple to make if you have the basic ingredients on hand. I have made this a lot for family and friends and it has gotten rave reviews each and every time. 

The key is to have fresh Salmon, I get mine from Costco. After trying all the fine, high-end fish selling places, Costco has proven to be by far the best on both price as well as taste. The other key ingredient is the Tandoori masala I use. Will have more details on it in the step-by-step process.

Salmon, as you all might know is very high in Omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil). Its benefits include Cardiovascular health, reduce blood pressure, increase metabolism by better absorption of insulin and promote better eye, brain and nerve health (this is my extreme interest in nutrition kicking in). I love everything about this dish. You could serve it as an appetizer, or top off your salad with it or even serve it in main course with some Daal and Naan.

I apologize for not having the final picture, we were all so ready to eat that I actually forgot to take a picture. I will post it up soon I promise. 

Fresh Salmon from Costco

My all time favorite tandoori masala

NOTE: I have a separate coffee grinder just to grind my fresh roasted spices (my secret is out). This makes all the difference in a recipe, believe me and its not that much work. Its adds a couple more minutes to your overall cooking time and the flavor is a thousand times better.

Recipe: Tandoori Salmon
Ingredients
1 large Fillet of Salmon (about 1.5 lbs)
2 Tbsp Organic extra Virgin Olive oil
5 Garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbsp Rajah Tandoori Masala (or any other tandoori masala you have)
1 Tbsp Cumin seed, pan roasted and finely ground
1 Tbsp Coriander seed, pan roasted and finely ground
Black pepper, fresh ground, to taste
salt to taste
few blades of Rosemary (dried or fresh)
3 Tbsp Coriander leaves, finely chopped
1/4 cup Fage greek yogurt 0% or 2% (normal will do too, but its a little runny. I prefer greek yogurt)
Lemon wedges for garnish

Method

1. Take the Tbsp each of cumin and coriander seeds and dry roast them on low heat setting in a small non-stick pan. Once you smell the flavorful aroma and they start to brown a little, take it off the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Grind them to a fine powder (I have set aside a coffee grinder just for spices).
2. Now in a small mixing bowl mix together the olive oil, minced garlic, fresh ground spice powders, Tandoori masala, salt, pepper, Rosemary and 2 Tbsp of the coriander leaves. Stir it all together till it well blended.
3. Take the 13 by 9 glass pan and smear the fish with the marinade. Make sure to get all the side, top and bottom nicely. If the fillet has skin, make sure you keep it skin side down to marinate.
4. Let it sit for 2-3 hours. 
5. Pre-heat your charcoal grill and set it on medium heat. Spray the grill with olive oil and set your fish on it skin side down. Let it cook till the fish flakes easily with the fork (about 15 minutes). The time will vary depending on your grill. You can bake it too at 450 degree F for about 12-15 minutes.
6. Put it on your serving platter and sprinkle with a little lemon juice and coriander leaves. Decorate the platter with a few lemon wedges.

NOTE: This dish pairs really well with Daal and tandoori roti or naan. You could also pair it with some grilled vegetables and rice pilaf.

Step-by-step process,

Take the Tbsp each of cumin and coriander seeds and dry roast them on low heat setting in a small non-stick pan. Once you smell the flavorful, woody aroma and they start to brown a little, take it off the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Grind them to a fine powder (I have set aside a coffee grinder just for spices). Add some whole black peppercorns while you are grinding the roasted spices.

Now in a small mixing bowl mix together the Fage Greet Yogurt, Tandoori Masala, roasted and grinded spice powder, garlic, Coriander leaves, Rosemary blades and salt. Stir it all together till it well blended.

Take the 13 by 9 glass pan and smear the fish with the marinade. Make sure to get all the side, top and bottom nicely. If the fillet has skin, make sure you keep it skin side down to marinate for 2-3 hours.

Skin side

Apply marinade generously

Pre-heat your charcoal grill and set it on medium heat. Spray the grill with olive oil and set your fish on it skin side down. Let it cook till the fish flakes easily with the fork (about 15 minutes). The time will vary depending on your grill. You can bake it too at 450 degree F for about 12-15 minutes.

Put it on your serving platter and sprinkle with a little lemon juice and coriander leaves. Decorate the platter with a few lemon wedges. 

Again, my apologies for the missing final picture. Will upload it soon. Enjoy making and eating it as much as I did.