Bazaar Jaisey Aloo (Potatoes in Ginger Tomatoes)

At February 24, 2010
By megan
In ginger, Potato, Savory Spice Shop, taste and create, tomatoes
1

For this month’s Taste and Create, I was paired with Padmajha from Seduce Your Tastebuds. She is a fantastic cook with recipes that go way beyond my perceived comfort zone in the kitchen. Luckily, living here in Boulder, CO, I was able to rely on my friends at Savory Spice Shop to buy some fresh, high quality Fenugreek Seeds, Fennel Seeds, Curry Leaves, and Asafetida. With excellent ingredients, this dish turned out to be quite easy and incredibly delicious.

Here is the link to Padmajha’s recipe.

Here is what I did-

Ingredients:

5 Yukon Gold Potatoes (I found some local organic potatoes at Whole Foods)
1 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes, separated from their juices (It is not the season for fresh tomatoes, so I will repeat this dish once Colorado’s growing season is in full bloom)
1 TB olive oil
a pinch of asafetida
1 TB cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
4 dried thai chilies
1 TB grated ginger
6-8 curry leaves
1 cup water
sea salt

First, I brought some water to a boil to cook the potatoes that I had washed and quartered with the skin on. When they were done, I let them cool so I could touch them.

The actual dish is quite easy. I brought the oil to medium high and then added the asafetida and cumin. I tossed them in the oil and then immediately added the fennel, fenugreek, and chilies. I mixed them and then right away added the tomatoes, ginger, and curry leaves, stirred it all together, and let it cook a few minutes, turning down the heat to medium. Next, I added the juice from the canned tomatoes plus 1 cup water and stirred to combine.

After a few minutes, I crumbled in the potatoes by hand, breaking them into bite sized chunks. I mixed this well and let it cook for 15 minutes. When it was almost done, I added some sea salt and mixed it again. I served this with a quick version of Padmajha’s Chapathi, which I will try to recreate another day in an attempt to perfect it.

Ginger Baked Tofu Soup

This soup was delicious because of the tofu. The stock is very simple and not overpowering, but it complemented the tofu very well.

There are a few steps to making this soup. I made a stock from kitchen scraps rather than use a pre-made stock, so that took some time, but it was worth the effort. Ever since getting a Vita-Mix, I have lots of kitchen scraps, like pieces of celery, carrot, apple, and pear. I plan to use them in soup stocks now rather than buy a store-bought brand.

For the soup, I started with the stock recipe below. To that, I added one yellow onion, chopped, 5 cloves of minced garlic, and 1/2 TB freshly grated ginger. I let this boil for 15 minutes and then added some frozen peas. I poured this over the baked tofu.

Baked Tofu Ingredients:

1 package of firm tofu, frozen, thawed, and pressed
2 TB soy sauce
1 TB toasted sesame oil
1/2 TB onion powder
1/2 TB garlic powder
1/2 TB freshly grated ginger
Sriracha- add as much spice as you like
2 cups water

Preheat oven to 350. After the tofu is thawed and pressed, cut it into cubes. Mix up the marinade and pour it over the tofu in a Pyrex baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes or so until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Arrange the tofu in a bowl and pour the broth on top.

Soup Stock Ingredients:

4 stalks celery
2 carrots
1/2 yellow onion
the core from a pear
2 cloves garlic
water
3 TB soy sauce

Put all of those ingredients (except the soy sauce) in a large stock pot and boil for at least an hour.

I let mine boil for 2 hours, cooled it, strained it, and then added soy sauce. If it you make more than you need, freeze it or save it for a week in the fridge. It is healthier for you than the packaged stuff.

Sweet Potato Mid-Day Smoothie

At January 25, 2010
By megan
In Apples, beets, ginger, healthy lunch smoothie, smoothie, sweet potato, Vita-Mix
1

The Vita-Mix ideas just keep coming.

Ingredients:

boiled yam without the skin
4 or 5 pieces of beets- red and golden
a carrot
a cup of red or black grapes
2 apples, cored
4 medjool dates, no pits
a small piece of fresh ginger root, peeled
2 cups water
1 cup ice

Throw it all in the Vita-Mix, start on low, variable speed and turn it up to 10, then high, then done. Enjoy another healthy lunch smoothie, courtesy of my Vita-Mix.