Greening Austin Daily

Restaurant Review Friday–Little City

2nd July, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments

photo credit

I eat at Little City pretty frequently because it’s conveniently located within walking distance of where I work but also because the food is really tasty.  They have several vegetarian options that aren’t too expensive and are great for a quick, light lunch. Also, they use organic greens in a lot of the salads and sandwiches, and their coffee is fair trade.  When I go, I usually do the combo, which is a half sandwich and half salad with a drink and chips and salsa, all for $6.95. Not bad. I like the Mediterranean Veggie sandwich: tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, olives, hummus, and sprouts on wheat bread. It’s surprisingly filling and the bread always tastes really fresh. The salsa is spicy and flavorful, so that’s a nice little addition. I’ve also had the Raspberry Pepper Salad, which combines greens, dark chocolate, strawberries, and blue cheese for a really interesting flavor. My one complaint with the salad is that even the large size doesn’t feel like a completely full meal. It’s satisfying, but it typically leaves me hungry a few hours later. The same is true for the Avocado on the Half Shell–a whole avocado stuffed with tomato, red onion, chili powder, and cilantro, drizzled with hot sauce and citrus. It’s really good, but not one of their more substantial items. Several of my friends have ordered the Poet’s Plate, which offers seasonal fresh fruit and vegetables, hummus, olives, pesto, havarti cheese, blue cheese, and fresh bread. While I haven’t ordered it myself, it looks like a good amount of food and seems to be one of the more popular items on the menu. I also enjoy the place itself–there’s usually interesting art on the walls inside and there are spaces to sit outside and watch people pass by on Congress. Overall, it’s a really nice, local establishment near a lot of downtown offices, and it’s nice to have a veggie- and organic-friendly option for weekday lunches or coffee breaks.

Restaurant Review Friday – Marakesh

25th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

This week I went to Marakesh for a light lunch. I think their website is under construction, but here is some info on the restaurant.  It’s right on Congress near the Capitol, and it’s a nice relaxing place for lunch with pretty quick service.  You order at the front, and then you can find a table and your food will be delivered right to you.  I had the vegetarian plate #1, which included falafel, tabouli, and humus with pita. The humus and tabouli were pretty standard, but I thought the falafel was some of the best falafel I’ve had.  In general, I think Mediterranean restaurants do vegetarian foods really well, and Marakesh was no exception! I’ll try to update with a picture later today if I can figure out how to transfer it from my phone.

Recipe Tuesday – Turkish Kabobs

22nd June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

This is another recipe adapted from my vegetarian cookbook.  It was very easy to make and it a nice light lunch – probably not enough for dinner by itself though.

Ingredients for kabobs:

• 1 eggplant
• 1 green bell pepper
• 6 roma tomatoes or plum tomatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 zucchini
• 1 lemon

Directions:

• cut veggies into chunks and put on skewers. Brush lightly with olive oil and grill on medium heat, turning frequently.

Sauce

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 cup of chick peas, smashed with a potato masher
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• lemon juice
• salt and pepper

Directions:

• stir in yogurt, spices, onion, and garlic. Season to taste with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill until ready to serve.  When kabobs are ready, gently heat the sauce and serve.

Restaurant Review Friday–Koriente

18th June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments

Koriente is this adorable little restaurant nestled at the very end of 7th street, right by Beauty Bar. They serve up Asian-inspired dishes, with an eye for offering healthy and fresh meals. They have a lot of vegan options, and many of the items are served with organic spring greens. I’ve gone there on several occasions, and I love getting the Noodle Garden: “a nest of spiced mung bean noodles on organic spring greens, with avocado, red bell pepper, red cabbage, and cucumber in our own balsamic soy sauce.” Delicious and just the right amount. Also, if you dine in during lunch, you get free miso soup and salad with an entree. At $6.50, it’s a steal. They also offer bubble tea, regular tea, and Ruta Maya organic coffee. The people who work there are so nice, and the place itself has fun decorations and lots of windows with natural light and pretty flowering plants outside. Check it out the next time you are looking for a quick and healthy option for lunch.

Noodle Garden

Last Night’s Dinner

17th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

I had two new experiences last night at dinner:

1) We ate our first green bell pepper from the garden. It seemed tastier than the ones at the store but I may be making that up. It looks a little yellow in the picture but that’s just the lighting – it was perfectly green.

2) We ate a vegan pizza from Whole Foods that my husband accidentally bought (he thought it was just vegetarian). I did not enjoy it at all and ended up scraping off all of the fake cheese, but my husband thought it was pretty good.

live it, learn it!

Recipe Tuesdays–Homemade Vegetable Broth

15th June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 3 Comments

I have wanted to try making my own vegetable broth for a long time now, for several reasons. First, it’s so cheap! It saves you from buying the packaged kind over and over again. And I use veggie broth in tons of recipes so this saves me a lot of money. Second, it’s really green! It reuses vegetable scraps and it avoids all that packaging from buying from the store. And finally, it’s really easy and tastes great.

So, the process. It’s really up to you what all you want to put in there. I used this recipe as a guide, but I saved up vegetable scraps in my freezer for several weeks, so I had all kinds of veggies–brussels sprouts, kale, collard greens, onions, carrots, tomato, garlic, broccoli, etc. I don’t even remember what all I put in there. And it doesn’t have to be the parts of the vegetable you would normally eat–onion and garlic skins, tomato tops, carrot peels, and broccoli and kale stems are all perfectly acceptable. Make sure it’s clean and not the bad/rotten parts of the veggie, and it’s good to go! Once you’ve saved up enough vegetables, all you have to do is add some olive oil to the bottom of a large pot, chop everything up (if it’s not already), and throw it all in there. Cover with water and simmer for about an hour. Add some soy sauce and/or sesame oil and/or salt to taste (I used all three) and let it simmer for another 20-30 mins. Strain, pour the broth into containers, and place them in your freezer. The broth should be good for about a week in your fridge and a couple months in the freezer. So simple!

Photo via veganyumyum

Restaurant Review Friday – East Side Cafe

11th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment

In the last 2 weeks I’ve been to the East Side Cafe twice, and both times had a wonderful dinner. Prior to my two recent experiences, my only other trip to East Side Cafe was about 3 or 4 years ago, and at that point I wasn’t wild about the experience – possibly because we ate really late, possibly because of the people we were eating with, and possibly because at the time, I was still in school and it’s a little expensive for a student ($12-25 for an entrée). So I never went back to try it again until about 2 weeks ago, at which point I had a delicious meal.  I started with a side salad that wasn’t on the menu but had roasted beets on top of mixed greens with toasted nuts (maybe pecans). Then I had the Artichoke Manicotti, which the menu describes as “Carrot pasta filled with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, pistachios, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese.  Topped with sun-dried tomato cream sauce and parmesan cheese.” (Half order was $13.95). It was wonderful and the best meal I have had in a long time. I finished up with a dessert that was the special of the night – blackberry cobbler with blue bell ice cream. It was a really tasty end to my meal. The service that night was also excellent.

I enjoyed it so much I suggested to my husband that we go try it out since he hadn’t been there in several years either. This time we had the Baked Brie with Apple Chutney as an appetizer, which was very good, and I had the Smoked Salmon and Shrimp Cake Salad, described on the menu as “Smoked salmon and shrimp cakes served on a bed of mixed greens tossed with lemon remoulade dressing.” It was also very tasty, and probably a lot healthier than the pasta/Mexican fare I am usually drawn to. And it actually came with 2 dressings which I think they made there – they were both really good.

Aside from the great food, the cool thing about East Side Cafe is that they grow some of there own veggies right on side – you can tour the gardens while you wait for your tables. And these gardens are farmed using only organic methods. Plus they just recently purchased some land off site to be able to grow even more of their own food.  They do purchase a lot of food from conventional sources as well, but it’s nice that some of it is organic and local.

Recipe Tuesday – Margherita Pizza

8th June, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

Margherita pizza refers to a pizza that has fresh basil, sliced tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese on it. It was first made in honour of a visit to Naples by the Queen of Italy, Queen Margherita, and has the colors of the Italian flag.  I like to make it as a fun, filling, vegetarian meal that I know my husband will enjoy even though it is meatless. It’s pretty straightforward but what I’ve found to be really good is to buy some naan (Indian bread) at HEB and use those to make little personal pizzas. They are about $3 for 2 breads, and they made a nice and easy pizza crust. Look for them near the deli with a pita bread.

To make these tasty little guys, all you need is some fresh basil leaves, some fresh mozzarella (I like to buy the kind that comes in liquid, but you can also use shredded), olive oil, salt and paper, garlic, and of course the naan.  I like to drizzle the naan with olive oil and then add some minced garlic, then add the tomatoes, then the cheese, and finally the basil with salt and pepper. Just follow the directions on the naan packaging for baking, and in less than 10 minutes you have a very delicious and meatless dinner.

Recipe Tuesday–Swiss Chard, Beet, and Goat Cheese Empanadas

1st June, 2010 - Posted by carsi - No Comments

I got a Greenling box last week, and there were a bunch of fun veggies in it, like beets and swiss chard. I like using up more than one vegetable in a recipe, so I just googled a few of the veggies I had and found this tasty recipe. Click over there to see beautiful pictures (that I could never hope to duplicate) of this recipe–they definitely made me want to make it! I’ve never attempted empanadas before, but it wasn’t too difficult, even though it does take a bit more effort than your standard dump and stir recipe. I couldn’t find any pre-made empanada discs, so I just used some pastry dough from Whole Foods, and it turned out really flaky and buttery and delicious. For the goat cheese, I used the local Cheesy Girl brand, also found at WF, in the Italian herbs flavor. The woman who invented this recipe recommends making a sauce for the empanadas, but I think the goat cheese I used was enough added flavor. I had extra filling at the end, and it was good enough to eat on its own. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

12 medium size or 20 small empanada discs (use homemade empanada dough for baking or store bought)

4 small beets, peeled, boiled until tender and diced

1 bunch of swiss chard, chopped

1 cup crumbled goat cheese

½ white onion, sliced

2 tbs olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbs finely chopped fresh oregano

1 egg, yolk and white separated and lightly whisked

Salt to taste

Serve with: Spicy mint crème fraiche sauce

Preparation:

1. Heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic for 3 minutes.
2. Add the chopped swiss chard and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Remove from the heat, cool down and mix with the diced beets, crumbled goat cheese and chopped oregano.
4. To assemble the empanadas spoon the stuffing on to the center of each empanada disc.
5. Brush the inside edges of the empanada discs with the egg whites, this is will help them seal better and keep the filling from leaking while baking .
6. Fold the empanada discs and seal the edges, use a fork to help seal the empanadas.
7. Lightly brush the top of the empanadas with the egg yolk; this will give a nice golden glow when they bake.
8. Chill the empanadas for at least 30 minutes, this will help them seal better and prevent leaks.
9. Pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.
10. Serve warm.

Restaurant Review Friday – Sagra’s

28th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

Last week I went to Sagra’s for lunch and had a delightful sandwich, the caprese panino.  It had tomatoes, pesto, and mozzarella on toasted homemade cibatta bread and it was sooo good. For $7, I thought it was a great deal for lunch because, along with coming with a small mixed salad, the restaurant has a very classy atmosphere that would make you think things would be more expense. Everything was very fresh and tasty, and I would say it’s the best lunch spot I have been to that’s near the capitol.  My mother-in-law also had a vegetarian sandwich,  the florentine panino, which was $8 and consisted of truffle mushrooms, spinach, and goat cheese served on cibatta bread – also very good. 4 stars! I took a picture of my sandwich, but now of course I can’t find it, so you’ll just have to trust me that it looked delicious.

Recipe Tuesday – Leek and Tomato Timbales

25th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

I also got this recipe from my vegetarian cookbook that I wrote about in my last recipe.  After the last recipe I made, I had a lot of leek leftover and wanted to find an easy recipe that would use some of it up, and found this one:

Ingredients:

• 3 oz angle hair pasta
• 2 tbs butter
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 large leek, sliced finely
• 2 oz sun-dried tomatoes (I didn’t have these, and substituted 1 diced roma tomato and it came out fine)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup light cream
• 1 tbs finely grated Parmesan

Directions:

1. Cook pasta about 3 minutes, to al dente; drain and rinse in cold water
2. Heat butter and oil in skillet, add leek and gently cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tomato and oregano and cook for 2 minutes, then remove from heat
3. Add the leek to to pasta, and stir in eggs, cream, and cheese. Season. Divide between 4 greased ramekin dishes.
4. Place dishes in roasting pan with enough warm water to come halfway up their sides. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for 30 minutes.
5. Remove by loosening with small knife around edges of ramekin and then turn out.  I served them with one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes I had warmed in a small skillet with some sautéed onions and garlic, and I topped them with some more cheese.

Recipe Tuesday — Roasted Squash with Quinoa Salad

18th May, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 1 Comment

I know I’ve already posted a quinoa recipe, but it’s such a wonderful, healthy vegetarian food that I’m going ahead and posting another one. Quinoa is considered to be a miracle food because it is a complete protein, provides eight essential amino acids, and is a good source of fiber and iron. It’s also really versatile, easy to cook, delicious, and filling. My stepmom made the following recipe as a vegetarian option on Easter, and I had a lot of leftovers to take home with me. The filling was good on its own, hot or cold, which made for easy leftover lunches.

Not the best picture, but here’s the final product

Ingredients

1. 2 Delicata squash (about 1 pound each), halved lengthwise and seeded
2. 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3. Salt and freshly ground pepper
4. 1 cup quinoa
5. 2 tablespoons golden raisins
6. 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
7. 1 teaspoon honey
8. 1 Granny Smith apple, finely diced
9. 1 large shallot, minced
10. 1 garlic clove, minced
11. 2 tablespoons chopped mint
12. 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
13. 2 ounces arugula (2 cups)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Brush the cut sides of the squash with 1 teaspoon of the olive oil and season the cavities with salt and pepper. Place the squash cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for about 45 minutes, until tender.
2. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring 2 cups of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the quinoa, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the raisins and simmer, covered, until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and let cool.
3. In a small bowl, whisk the vinegar and honey with the remaining 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Add the dressing to the quinoa along with the apple, shallot, garlic, mint and parsley and toss well. Add the arugula and toss gently.
4. Set the squash halves on plates. Fill with the salad and serve.

Recipe Tuesday – Lentil Roast

11th May, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment

This was a filling and tasty vegetarian meal I found in “1000 Vegetarian Recipes from Around the World,” a book I got several years ago in the clearance section of Barnes and Nobles.  It didn’t come out of the pan very easily for me, but I think that’s due in part because I forgot to try and loosen the loaf with a spatula before turning in onto a plate.  It was very healthy tasting and I would definitely make it again.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups red lentils
• 2 cups vegetable bouillon
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp butter
• 2 tbsp bread crumbs
• 2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 2 cups white mushrooms, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten

Directions:

• Put the lentils, bay leaf, and bouillon in a pan. Bring to a boil, cover, and let simmer for 15-20 minutes, until liquid is absorbed and lentils have softened.  Discard bay leaf.
• Base-line a loaf pan with baking parchment.   Grease with butter and sprinkle with 2 tbsp of bread crumbs.
• Stir cheese, leek, mushrooms, bread crumbs, and parsley with lentils.
• Add lemon juice and eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon into loaf pan and press down top.
• Bake in preheated oven for 375 and bake for about 1 hour, until golden.
• Loosen the loaf with a spatula and turn onto a plate.

It tasted better than it looks – promise!

Restaurant Review Friday — Beets Living Foods Cafe

7th May, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 1 Comment

Katherine and I went over to Beets Living Foods Café today for lunch to try out something new–it’s a raw and vegan restaurant on West 5th. I had been wanting to go there for awhile, and I was excited to try out some funky foods. Because of traffic, we were not able to have our meal there, so we placed our to-go orders at the counter. All our food was packed in compostable containers, even the plastic cover for my soup, so it was good to see a restaurant being environmentally responsible. The atmosphere is also very nice–lots of sunshine and modern décor, and everyone working there seemed helpful. They were not, however, very efficient. At one point, Katherine counted 10 customers and seven employees, yet we still had to wait quite awhile for our meals.

Beyond that, the food was pretty overpriced for very small portions. After glancing at the menu and seeing the pricey options, I opted for a soup and the salad sampler. I ended up paying $13 (with tip) for three small 2 oz. samples of salads and a tiny cup of soup. I realize that having high quality fresh veggies can get expensive, but they don’t even state that the food is organic. At least at Daily Juice, another fairly expensive vegan raw restaurant in town, some of the produce is organic and the portions will leave you reasonably full.

Let’s get past the slow service and the expensive menu and get down to how the food tasted.  The Curried Carrot Soup was the highlight of my little meal–it was cold, but the garlic, ginger, curry, and carrot flavors worked well together, and I wished that I had ordered more. Plus, it had a bit of a kick.  My salads, however, were a bit underwhelming. The restaurant was out of the Tex Mex Cabbage, so I replaced it with the Cabbage Kraut, which tasted a bit like pickled cardboard. The little cup of Sprouted Lentil Salad was very bizarre tasting, which is a lot coming from me since I am pretty open to most foods. I’m not sure why, because I like lentils and tomatoes and a lot of the ingredients, but it just didn’t taste that great. Maybe it was the vinegar? The best of my three salads was the Kale Salad, which was simple and crunchy but lacking in pizzazz.

My little lunch

After reading some of the reviews on Yelp, I realize that I should have tried one of the full entrees, like their versions of a pizza, burger, or chalupa, or some of the desserts. Expensive though they are, they get rave reviews online. So, in sum, I will go back and give their entrees a chance, but for now, I say if you want the most raw and vegan bang for your buck, I’d stick to Daily Juice.

Restaurant Review Friday – Bombay Express

30th April, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

Last weekend I went to lunch at the vegetarian Indian cafe,  Bombay Express.  It’s an old favorite of mine and I hadn’t been there in awhile.  There have been times before when I ate dinner at Bombay Express, took home the leftovers, and then immediately started to eat the leftovers, continuing to eat to the point of making myself feel sick – and yet still continuing to eat.  It is that delicious.  And the reviews on Yelp are very good, and I’ve spoken to friends of mine who are Indian who say it is the best Indian food in Austin.

The green part:  it’s all vegetarian. And delicious. If you’re looking to branch out and try new vegetarian foods, and foods that are very different from what you’ll get at most Austin Indian restaurants, it’s a great choice.

The not green part: everything is served on disposable plates.  Some things are even served on styrofoam. It’s a little out of control and I’ve backed off of eating there because of it.  When I went last weekend, I probably hadn’t been there in about 1 year, and things had gotten a little better, with the use of paper plates for more dishes than had previously been the case.  But I still felt wasteful eating there.

Here’s what I had:

Thaali: an assortment of different dishes. Served on a plastic tray, so not to good for the environment. The food was good but because of how it’s served, I don’t think I would get it again. The next two dishes are much tastier and a little greener in their presentation.

Masala Dosa:  A generously-sized, extra fine crepe made with rice batter, filled with seasoned potatoes.  Served on a paper plate, it’s one of my favorites and is a meal in itself.

kachori: fried dumplings with a spicy green pea filling.  I get these every time.  These yummy little guys are served in a little paper tray.

So there you have it – the green and not so green of Bombay Express.  I hope to someday have the courage to strike up a conversation with the owner about the styrofoam.

Recipe Tuesday – Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables

27th April, 2010 - Posted by katherine - No Comments

This is a good recipe if you are having a lot of people over – it’s very easy to make and very filling for a vegetarian dish.

Here are the directions from the food network:

Ingredients

• 2 red peppers, cored and cut into 1-inch wide strips
• 2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 2 summer squash, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 4 cremini mushrooms, halved
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced into 1-inch strips
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herb mix or herbs de Provence
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 3 cups marinara sauce (store bought or homemade)
• 1 cup grated fontina cheese
• 1/2 cup grated smoked mozzarella
• 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/3 cup for topping
• 2 tablespoons butter, cut into small pieces

Restaurant Review Friday — Me So Hungry

23rd April, 2010 - Posted by carsi - 4 Comments

Today for lunch I wanted to try out Cheer Up Charlie’s because I had heard it had tasty vegan food (and also because it’s an awesome name. Who doesn’t love that song?). So I was surprised when I got over to its location on East 6th to find that it is no longer a food trailer but instead occupies this little building:

After speaking with the bartender, I discovered that Cheer Up Charlie’s is in the process of changing things up. Instead of the food trailer, they’ve got a bar in the building, which they want to turn into a smoothie bar that will continue offering alcohol. They also are working on getting the food thing figured out, since the permit situation is complicated for the new building. I put my name on the email list so I will get notified when they start serving food again, so check back for a review at a later date. So annnyway, I went ahead and bought a handmade vegan coconut macadamia chocolate while I was there, and it was sooo good. The creamy, nutty filling  went really well with the vegan chocolate, which to me tasted like a high quality dark chocolate. Yum.

Then, I wandered next door in search of a meal and came across Me So Hungry:

This little food trailer recently relocated to East 6th and serves up cheap, delicious, and vegetarian-friendly Asian fusion cuisine. The menu is fairly limited, but they offer noodle bowls, banh mi, rolls, and a salad. Everyone on Yelp raves about the banh mi, but since I didn’t actually plan this little trip, I didn’t know that until after I left. They have BBQ tofu that I was considering, but that will have to wait till next time. Instead, I ordered the Pad Laos Noodle bowl with Lemongrass Tofu:

I brought it home and put it on a plate and look at how much food that is! For only five bucks! And it was so tasty! The lemongrass tofu added an interesting citrusy flavor to the veggies and noodles. Very good and very filling, and I have enough leftover for another meal. Not only was it cheap and tasty, but the service was exceptional. I spoke with Christina, the woman who runs the place, and she was very friendly and helpful. And they’re open till 3 am on the weekends! So even though I sort of stumbled across this place, it was a pleasant surprise, and I’d definitely recommend it for a nice lunch or a late-night meal.

Recipe Tuesday Pav Bhaji (Buttery Vegetable Curry)

13th April, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment

Yesterday I wrote about the cooking class I took last week at Whole Foods.  As promised, here is the recipe for Pav Bhaji:

• 1lb russet potatoes, peeled and cute into 1 inch cubes
• 2 carrots, cut crosswise into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 10 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 14 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons grated ginger root
• 2 tablespoons pav bhaji masala (a blend of spices you can get at an Indian food store – I skipped this part when I tried the recipe at home because I didn’t have it – I just used about 1 1/2 tablespoon of curry and 1/2 extra tablespoon of paprika)
• 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Boil potatoes, carrots and peas. Drain and mash. Set aside.

Heat butter in large pan on medium-high till foamy. Add oil.

Add onions, garlic, and ginger, and sauté for 10 minutes.  Add spices and salt. Mix well and cook for 10 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook for 5-10 more minutes on high heat.  Add veggies and 1 cup of water, and after mixing well, cook on low heat till you have a thick consistency.

Our instructor, Shefaly Ravula,  served the meal with butter bread. It was delicious!

you can see the Pav Bhaji here in the back

Cooking Class at Whole Foods – Mumbai Street Food

12th April, 2010 - Posted by katherine - 1 Comment

Last week I went to a hands-on cooking class at Whole Foods. I had a gift card to take a class, and figured I might as well try and pick a class with a vegetarian menu since most vegetarian dishes I end up making are usually pasta-related. I picked a class called “Mumbai Street Food” with Shefaly Ravula (here’s a twitter page I found for her).  The menu included Pav Bhaji (buttery vegetable curry), Bhel Puri (crispy snack mix with garlic-chili sauce, cilantro-mint chutney, and tamarind-date chutney), Pakoras (vegetable fritters) and Masala Chai.

Of the sauces/chutneys, I only got to try making the  cilantro-mint one with my partner, but it was pretty easy to make. The Pav Bhaji and Bhel Puri were really delicious and I was excited to learn how to make Masala Chai since I love tea.  We didn’t actually get to make the pakoras, which were just battered and fried veggies, but we got to see how they were made and since I’m afraid of catching my house on fire while frying, I had no interest in learning how to make those anyway so I was fine with just watching the instructor make them.  The class was a really great experience and the Pav Bhaji is something I can see myself making on a somewhat regular basis, it was so easy and tasty – in fact, I made it last night for dinner. (Check back tomorrow for Recipe Tuesday for the details on how to make it!) So if, like me, you are wanting to find some interesting veggie menus, taking a cooking class is one way to get ideas – it’s a little pricey but could make a nice date night or night out with friends, since you get to eat what you’ve made once it’s over (and take home any leftovers).

the classroom

blurry pic of  Pav Bhaji cooking

Pav Bhaji and Bhel Puri