Bharta

This recipe for bharta (eggplant) is an excellent example of a style of cooking dominant in Indian cuisine. If you examine the list of ingredients below, you'll notice that the recipe requires twice as many spices as other ingredients! For a novice to Indian cooking, this can be quite intimidating. But I guarantee that after a few attempts to cook different Indian dishes, you'll start feeling more and more comfortable with those spices, and you might even find yourself tempted to experiment with them a bit.


Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 5 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
• 5 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• a pinch of hing 
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1 tsp of sesame seeds
• 1 tsp coriander powder 
• 1 tsp cumin powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 1/2 tsp hot red pepper powder 
• 1/2 tsp tumeric

Directions:

1. In the hot water simmer the eggplants for about 10 minutes. When soft, drain the water, mash the eggplant, and add the crushed roasted peanuts and the fresh chopped cilantro.
2. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large saucepan. 
3. Add a pinch of hing and 1 tsp of cumin/mustard/sesame seeds. 
4. When the seeds pop, add the chopped onions and all the other spices (1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp hot red pepper powder, 1/4 tsp tumeric).
5.  Saute until the onions are light brown. 
6. Add the eggplant mixture, mix and serve.

Carrots with Fresh Cilantro

Here is another quick and easy recipe. Of all the different ways in which carrots can be prepared, this is my favorite.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp canola oil (or olive oil)
• pinch of hing
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 big carrots, peeled, diced
• 8 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• lemon juice, to taste

Directions:

To the hot oil add the hing and cumin seeds. After 15 seconds add the carrots, cilantro, cayenne, salt, garam masala, and lemon juice. Stir for a minute. Add 3 tbsp water, cover and cook for about 5 min, till carrots are tender.

Hot & Sour Vegetable Curry

I adapted this recipe from Suneeta Vaswani's "Complete Book of Indian Cooking." It's rather elaborate and time-consuming, but it's also well-worth the effort. Whenever I feel like eating something a bit more sour in taste, this is the dish I prepare.


Ingredients:

• sweet potato (2 cups, peeled, cut into 1 cm cubes)
  
• potato (1 cup, peeled, cut into 1 cm cubes)
  
• carrots (1 cup, peeled, cut into 1 cm pieces)
  
• frozen peas (1 cup, thawed)
  
• green beans (1 cup, cut into 2 cm pieces)
  
• onions (2 cups, chopped)
  
• tomatoes (1 cup, chopped)
  
• cilantro (1 cup, chopped)
  
• garlic (6-8 cloves, finely chopped)
  
• ginger (2tbsp, finely chopped)
  
• white vinegar (3/4 cup)
  
• water (1/2 cup)
  
• sugar (1.5 tsp)
  
• cumin powder (1 tsp)
  
• salt (1/2 tsp)
  
• turmeric (1 tsp)
  
• cayenne pepper (1.5 tsp)
  
• oil (as little as possible)

Cut carrots

Cut sweet potatoes

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potato and saute until it becomes slightly brown. Set aside.
2. Saute the carrots as above. Set aside.
3. Saute the potatoes as above. Set aside.
4. Saute the beans as above. Set aside.
5. In meantime, blend the garlic and ginger with 3 tbsp of water. Set aside.
   
6. Stir the sugar into vinegar. Set aside.
   
7. Saute the onion over medium-high heat until golden.
   
8. Add the tomatoes, garlic-ginger mixture and all spices (salt, turmeric, cumin, cayenne). Mix well, cover and cook until tomatoes are soft (6-8 minutes).
   
9. Add all other veggies (sweet potato, carrots, peas, beans, potatoes). Mix.
   
10. Add vinegar and water. Mix and cook until vegetables are tender (6-8 minutes).
    
11. Add cilantro. Mix and cook for 2 more minutes.
    
12. Serve with rice, quinoa or couscous.

Hot & Sour Vegetable Curry

Kale with Raisins

Here is another quick and easy recipe. This delicious recipe for kale with raisins comes from Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian."

Ingredients:

• kale (~ 1 lbs, cut into fine strips) - remember to buy organic!
  
• raisins (~ 1/2 cup)
  
• olive oil (as little as possible)
  
• garlic (3 cloves, peeled, lightly crashed but left whole)
  
• hot dried red chili (1, left whole)
  
• vegetable broth or water (2 glasses)

Directions:

1. Put the oil, chili, and garlic in a frying pan and set over medium-high heat. Stir until garlic becomes golden-brown on both sides.
   
2. Add the raisins. Stir once.
   
3. Add the kale, stir.
   
4. Add the vegetable stock, mix, cover and turn heat down to low.
   
5. Simmer 20-30 minutes, add salt if needed.
   
6. Serve and enjoy :)

Venetian Carrot Cake

Since we are on a subject of food, I'm going to share a few recipes with you.

The first one is for a delicious almond-flour carrot cake. The recipe traveled to me from Poland, but it's actually a creation of the British cook, Nigella Lawson. The original version of the recipe can be found on the Food Network.

I introduced a few minor modifications to the recipe (e.g., I use less than a half of the amount of sugar the original recipe calls for), and I plan to further experiment with it (I think next time I'll try to add some coconut). Here is how I make it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2-3 large carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup golden sultanas OR cranberries
• 1/4 cup rum (can be omitted)
• 1/2 cup superfine powdered sugar OR 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups almond meal/flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Line the baking pan with baking parchment.
3. Toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan (without oil). Set aside.
4. In a small saucepan place the raisins (or cranberries) and rum (or hot water), bring to boil and simmer on low heat until most of the rum (water) evaporates.
5. In a large bowl whisk the sugar with olive oil until creamy.
6. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and nutmeg.
7. Fold in the almond flour.
8. Add the grated carrots and raisins (cranberries).
9. Lastly, add the lemon juice. 
10. Mix well and transfer to the baking pan.
11. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.
12. Bake at 350F for around 35-40 minutes.

The cake can be stored at room temperature for a few days, it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, and it can even be frozen. It can be served warm, but tastes best when cold–then the marzipan taste comes out the most. 

It's one of the easiest cakes to make. It demands no baking skills whatsoever, and it only takes 15-20 minutes of work (plus 40 minutes in the oven). At the same time it's quite delicious and all my friends that tried it, liked it too. An added bonus is that it is gluten-free, and if made with honey, it can also be served to paleo-maniacs.

How to Reduce Sodium Intake

Salt-free food can be very tasty. I cook almost completely without salt and, despite that, I often receive compliments on my cooking skills.

In my household of two, a kilogram of salt lasted more than two years (which means that my husband and I consumed less than 0.7 gram of salt per person per day, well within the limits of the Institute of Medicine recommendation to reduce salt intake to less than 1.5 grams per day. (Our bodies need only 0.18-0.5 grams of sodium per day! Still, the average daily sodium intake in the US is about 3.5 grams per person, age two and older.)

If we would eat out often, or would eat processed food, we would probably end up slightly above the daily limit. Luckily, I love cooking and my husband enjoys home-cooked meals much more than eating out, so we don't have that problem. As a result, my blood pressure is usually about 90/60, and doesn't rise much even after several coffees. So you can consider me a living proof that a low-salt diet works.

Needless to say, maintaining a low-blood pressure has multiple health benefits, the most important of which is decreasing the risk of stroke and heart disease. Nearly 400,000 Americans die every year as a result of high-blood pressure. Most of these people could be saved if only we could convince them to switch to and maintain a low-sodium diet.


So how to switch to a low-sodium diet?

(1) Cook for yourself.

(2) When you eat out:

• Ask that the food be prepared without added salt, MSG, or salt-containing ingredients. 
• Stay away from salty snacks, as well as mustard, ketchup, pickles, soy and teriyaki sauces.
• Don't add extra salt.

(3) Don't buy pre-cooked foods.

Cut back on frozen dinners, especially pizza, canned soups and broths, as well as salad dressings—these often have a lot of sodium.

(4) Cook rice, pasta, potatoes, and vegetables without salt.

Cut back on instant or flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, as they usually have added salt.

(5) Limit consumption of pickles, pickled vegetables, olives, and sauerkraut.

(6) Limit consumption of ketchup, mustard, and horseradish.

(7) Limit consumption of even lower sodium versions of soy, teriyaki, and barbecue sauces.

(8) Eliminate canned food, especially canned fish and ham, but also beans and vegetables.

Choose fresh or frozen products over canned. And if you have to use canned foods, rinse them well to remove some of the sodium.

(9) Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat, rather than canned, smoked, or processed types.

(10) Limit consumption of processed cheese.

(11) Use other spices instead of salt. Flavor foods with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, or salt-free seasoning blends.

(12) If salt is needed, add it at the very end, just before serving food, and choose large-grain potassium and magnesium-enriched sea salt instead of regular salt.

(13) When buying food, look for no-salt-added, salt-free or low-sodium versions of foods.

Read the Nutrition Facts labels on foods to compare the amount of sodium in products. Look for the sodium content in milligrams and the Percent Daily Value. Aim for foods that are less than 5 percent of the Daily Value of sodium.

This is what labels mean:

Sodium free or salt free	Less than 5 mg per serving
Very low sodium	35 mg or less of sodium per serving
Low sodium	140 mg or less of sodium per serving
Low-sodium meal	140 mg or less of sodium per 31/2 oz (100 g)
Reduced or less sodium	At least 25 percent less sodium than the regular version
Light in sodium	50 percent less sodium than the regular version
Unsalted or no salt added	No salt added to the product during processing (this is not a sodium-free food)

(14) Conversely, increase consumption of products rich in potassium and magnesium, such as: potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, kale, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, apricots, oranges, soybeans, lentils, kidney beans, split peas, almonds, milk, yogurt, lean meats, fish, and poultry.


Adapted from: link.

Pesticide-Rich Foods

As I mentioned in the previous post, there are very few, if any, proven adverse health implications from consuming trace quantities of pesticides present on exterior of foods. However, there might be long-term effects of pesticide consumption that we aren't aware of yet. So I'd recommend playing it safe, and trying to limit consumption of foods which have a lot of pesticide residue.

One way of achieving it would be eating only organic food. By definition, organic produce was cultivated without use of pesticide or other harmful chemicals.   

If organic food is not available where you live, or you can't afford to go purely organic, take a look at the list I posted below, and consider either limiting those foods in your diet, or switching to buying their organic counterparts. If you do that, you should be able to reduce your exposure to pesticide by 80% (link).

A list of foods that consistently have a lot of pesticide residue (based on the USDA tests conducted after a typical household preparation):

(1) Leafy Greens 

• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Collard Greens

Safer alternatives: cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, dandelion greens.

(2) Berries

• Strawberries 
• Blueberries 
• Cranberries 
• Cherries 

Safer alternatives: kiwi, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, melons.

(3) Tree Fruits

• Apples, as well as apple juice and apple sauce.
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Grapes, as well as raisins and wine

Peeling will help reducing exposure to pesticide residue, but it will also take away many of the fruit's most beneficial nutrients.

Safer alternatives: kiwi, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, melons.

(4) Celery

Safer alternatives: cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.

(5) Potatoes

Safer alternative: sweet potatoes. 

(6) Fatty Meats

Safer alternative: lean meats.

(7) Milk

(8) Coffee and cocoa beans (coffee, cocoa, chocolate)

And here's a list of fifteen "clean" vegetables and fruits: 

(1) Onions 

(2) Sweet Corn

(3) Pineapple

(4) Avocado Avocado

(5) Asparagus

(6) Sweet peas

(7) Mango

(8) Eggplant

(9) Cantaloupe (domestic)

(10) Kiwi

(11) Cabbage

(12) Watermelon

(13) Sweet Potatoes

(14) Grapefruit

(15) Mushrooms

In general, fruits and vegetables with thick skins that are removed before eating (melons, avocado, corn, etc.) tend to have the lowest amounts of pesticide residue.

Adapted from: link.

Drink Milk from Happy, Grass-Fed Cows

"Organic" food is food grown without use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

This kind of food is growing in popularity in California, even though there aren't any proven adverse health implications associated with consuming trace quantities of pesticides.

Playing it safe, of course, cannot harm. So if you can afford buying organic food, go ahead and keep on doing it. (In California, organic food is, on average, two to three times more expensive than non-organic.)

However, know what you are paying for. "Organic" does not mean "natural." For example, buying organic milk doesn't automatically guarantee that the cows that produced the milk were grass-fed.

This is an important issue, as the composition of milk from grass-fed cows is vastly different from the composition of milk from grain-fed cows. In addition, several research articles showed that the milk from grass-fed cows is healthier for the heart, significantly reduces risk of stroke, heart attack, several types of cancer, allergies, diabetes, and may help with weight loss (you can read more on this subject here).

This prompted me to conduct some more Internet research to identify milk that comes from grass-fed cows and is easily available in San Francisco shops. I found a very informative webpage, which collected information on all "organic" milks available in the US. As per this article, some of the "organic" milks do not even deserve such name!

On this website you can find a link to a rating of all organic milks available in the US: a complete list.

Based on that list I concluded that the best organic brands of milk available in San Francisco are:

(1) Organic Valley
score: 1115/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with hormones or antibiotics

(2) Nature's One
score: 1100/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with hormones or antibiotics

(3) 365 Organic from Whole Foods Brand
score: 1070/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with hormones or antibiotics

(4) Clover Organic
score: 1050/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with antibiotics, but OXYTOCIN occasionally used!!!

(5) Sunnyside (available e.g. at SaveMart, Lucky)
score: 1025/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with antibiotics, hormones unclear

My Body Is My Temple

When you are young you take your body for granted, as if it was a piece of machinery that can't be broken, or that could be easily repaired/replaced.

As you get older you slowly start to realize that your body can't be replaced, or easily repaired. You come to a realization that you're not as much in charge of it as you thought you were. And if you're smart, you realize that the better you treat your body now, the better it will serve you in future.


So what does it mean to "be good to your body"?


At the very minimum it means:

(1) Not smoking.

(2) Being physically active. Even as little as one hour of physical activity a week will do.

(3) Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

(4) Drinking between 1 to 14 units of alcohol per week. (A pint of 3 to 4% beer equals 2 units. A glass, 125 ml, of wine equals 1.5 units.)


If you follow all four recommendations, you will live, on average, 14 years longer than people who adopt none of these behaviors.

Isn't it amazing how easy it is? I'm sure that most of the readers of this blog follow all of these recommendations anyway. But if you don't, please start! (Here is a link to the article that describes those findings in detail: link. I critically examined this paper and trust its findings and conclusions.)


If you want to do more, consider the six other recommendations, also based on the study mentioned above:

(5) Learn how to cope with stress. One good method of doing this is through meditation. Even as little as 20 minutes of meditation a day can have a drastic positive impact on our health (link).

(6) Maintain healthy body weight. Keep your BMI between 19 to 25, or 30 even. Interestingly, people with BMI between 25 to 30 (classified as "overweight") live the longest (Portland/Canadian study; Japanese study).

(7) Eat a hearty breakfast. Consuming a higher proportion (20 to 50%) of total daily calories at breakfast is associated with relatively lower weight gain in middle age.

(8) Limit the amount of sodium you consume. Decreasing sodium intake below 1.5 grams a day will keep your blood pressure in check, and decrease your chance of stroke and heart attack. Along the same line of reasoning, eating food rich in potassium is good for you. It means you should cook your own food; processed and restaurant foods will put you way over the recommended salt intake limit.

(9) Eat fiber. Dietary fiber protects against bowel cancer, even in red-meat eaters.

(10) Do sports! Various health experts recommend different amounts and kinds of sports, but I'd still stick with the old rule: at least 3 times a week 30 minutes of whichever intense cardio activity you enjoy. Not only it will help you keep your heart healthy, but also it may help you preserve bone density and reduce the risk of fracture.

These recommendations are discussed in more detail on this webpage. The site also provides links to some relevant papers that I read and trust.

In the next few posts I'll talk about organic food and ways of limiting your sodium intake.

Zucchini with feta and basil

Here is one of my new favorite recipes that many times proved to be popular with my guests (dinner victims). The big plus of this recipe is that it takes not more than 5 minutes of work (wash veggies, cut veggies) and is fully ready in 25 minutes (20 minutes of steaming on the frying pan).

Ingredients needed:

1. 4-5 zucchinis, washed, not peeled, cut
   
   
2. two cloves of garlic, chopped
   
3. glass of crumbled feta
   
4. 20 fresh basil leaves, washed, chopped (could be substituted by dried basil and oregano spice)
   
5. 3 tbsp of fresh cilantro (also can be omitted)
   
6. salt and pepper to taste
   
7. 2 tbsp of olive/canola oil

Instructions:

1. Warm up oil on the frying pan.
   
2. Add zucchini and garlic, mix, cover, steam for around 15-20 minutes.
   
3. When zucchini becomes soft and slightly brown, remove from fire, add feta, basil, salt, pepper, cilantro. Mix and serve warm.
   

I do not think recipes get any easier!

Greek yoghurt dessert with dates and honey

I specialize in quick and easy recipes that I like to believe are tasty too :)

Here is a Greek-style dessert that takes 2 minutes to make:


Ingredients (per serving):

100ml Greek style yoghurt
3 dates, cut into slices
1 tsp cranberries (I prefer orange-flavored ones over regular ones)
1 tbsp honey

Parmigiana di Zucchine

One of my favorite dishes is parmigiana di zucchine. I often prepare it when I have guests over for dinner as it seems to please everybody's taste. Every single guest that I have ever served this dish really liked it. Moreover, most of my friends like it so much, that they asked me for the recipe so that they could cook it for themselves.

Ingredients:

4-5 zucchini
10 oz mozzarella (sliced or grated)
3 tbsp olive oil
20 oz tomato sauce (I used to make my own tomato sauce, but I became lazy and now I buy ready one. I just usually add more freshly chopped oregano and basil to it.)
3 eggs
1/2 cup flour
salt, pepper, oregano, basil
4 tbsp grated Parmesan

Preparation time: 1h (40 min of work, 20 min in the oven)
Servings: 6-8
Calories: 2010 (total), 350 (assuming 6 portions)
Protein: 96g/16g
Fiber: 35g/6g

Cooking instructions:

1. Peel the zucchini and slice it along the longer edge into around 4mm thick pieces.
   
2. Toss the zucchini in the scrambled egg (with pepper and salt) and then in flour.
   
3. Put 1 tbsp of olive oil in the large frying pan, heat it up and add zucchini. Fry it for 2-3 minutes on each side. After it is done (when the fork goes easily into it), place the zucchini onto a parchment paper to drain the excess of olive oil. Continue with frying the other slices of zucchini until all of them are ready.
   
4. Pre-warm the oven to 350F.
   
5. In a large baking dish layer: zucchini, tomato sauce, mozzarella, zucchini, tomato sauce, mozzarella, zucchini, Parmesan cheese.
   
6. Bake parmigina at 350° for 20 minutes, or until thoroughly heated and bubbly. Let stand for 8 to 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
   

This is how parmigiana looks before it is baked:

Salad with mango and avocado

Here is a recipe for a mango salad that I really like. It takes just a few minutes to make, but is very tasty. If you use the amounts of ingredients written below, it will be enough to feed 5-6 people.

Ingredients:

1.5 head of lettuce, chopped
1 mango, chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, cut into eights
1 cucumber, chopped
1 large medium-ripe avocado, chopped
juice of 2 lemons
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
5 tbsp sunflower seeds (roasted or not, whatever you prefer)
salt, pepper

I like to make this salad just before I eat it and I do not mix it till the last moment before eating:

Salad with avocado and olives

Here is a recipe for one of the salads that is a regular guest on my table. It is very simple, quick and easy to make, but also very tasty at the same time. In my house it lasts usually 2 days (with 2 people eating it).

Ingredients:

1 head of lettuce, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
4 cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 medium-ripe avocado, chopped
15 Greek olives, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper

Mix all ingredients in a big bowl, cool for 30 minutes, serve:

Morning Star's Veggie Pattie Sicilian Pasta

Several months ago Anil convinced me to try veggie burgers from Morning Star Farms. Initially, I was very skeptical about them as I like to prepare my food from scratch and I do not like to eat ready-made products. But since he was talking so highly about it, I decided to give those burgers a chance. To my great surprise, I really enjoyed their taste. I became especially fond of Tomato & Basil Pizza Burgers, Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burgers and Garden Veggie Patties Veggie Burgers.

Importantly, those patties have also outstanding nutritional value, so I got convinced that they are also a healthy food choice. Garden Veggie Patties that we eat almost every day for breakfast contain 18g of protein (that's 1/3 of your daily needs!), 4g fiber, 0mg cholesterol and only 150 calories in 1 patty weighting 100g. That's pretty damn good. Oh, and they are really cheap too. Costco is offering a package with 16 patties for around 10$! They can also be bought at Trader Joe's for 3$/4 patties.

Yesterday I decided to check out a recipe for "Veggie Pattie Sicilian Pasta" that I found on the back of the package of Garden Veggie Patties. It is extremely easy and fast to make, and it only calls for ingredients that I always have at home.

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories (per serving): 350
Protein (per serving): 14g

Ingredients needed:

• 200g pasta (rigatoni)
  
• 2 veggie patties
  
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  
• 10 olives, sliced
  
• 4 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  
• 4 tbsp almonds, silvered & sliced
  
• 1 tbsp olive oil
  
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
  

Preparation steps:

1. Cook pasta according to the instructions.
   
2. Microwave the veggie patties (3 min), cut into pieces.
   
3. Chop garlic and sun-dried tomatoes, slice olives.
   
4. In medium size frying pan warm up 1 tbsp olive oil. Add crushed garlic and heat for 0.5 min. Add olives, sun-dreid tomatoes and almonds. Heat for 2-3 minutes (until almonds turn brown) and then add white wine. Reduce the heat and seamer until most of the wine evaporates.
   
5. Drain pasta, add the sauce, mix. Garnish with chopped parsley if you wish.
   

Buon appetite!

The outcome might not look great, but is truly delicious:


To crush garlic I use this little garlic chopper that I got from Ania for Christmas:


I can highly recommend it. It crushes garlic in seconds, without making your hands smell and taste of garlic:


It is also very easy to use: you just fill it with peeled garlic cloves, then roll it. The stainless steel blades chop peeled garlic cloves into chunks, ready for cooking.

This is how the sauce looked just before I added it to the pasta:

Phulawar Makai Nu Shaak - cauliflower w/corn & spices

I was looking for a new way to prepare a cauliflower, so I decided to try out a recipe for cauliflower with corn from a cookbook that I recently bought World Vegetarian: More Than 650 Meatless Recipes from Around the Globe by Madhur Jaffrey.

This recipe is from India and is very easy and fast to make. Basically it involves cooking one head of cauliflower, cutting it into florets and then frying/steaming with corn (1 drained can) and spices (1 tsp whole cumin seeds, 2 tsp fresh finely chopped ginger, 2 small onions, 1/4 tsp ground turmeric, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp chili powder) for a few minutes. Recipes hardly ever get easier than that and the outcome is delicious, especially when served with yogurt relish.

Phulawar Makai Nu Shaak with a Greek-style yogurt served on Methi Thepla: