Moth bean with buttercup squash

As the weather gets colder, we've been having a lot of soup. This year my squash of choice has been the buttercup variety. I had half a baked squash left over from the weekend and wanted to try incorporating it with some kind of bean - and moth bean with buttercup squash was created. I bought Moth Beans recently for the first time, mostly because I was curious about the this odd sounding, tiny bean. Looking it up, I found that it is pronounced Moat not Moth despite the spelling, is also known as Turkish gram and is called Matki in Hindi. 
This small, slightly longish bean is tan on the outside and brownish yellow on the inside. It has a nutty flavour and an earthy odour. Moth beans are available at Asian grocery stores or in the international aisles in large grocery chains. You can substitute with mung or adzuki bean. This high protein dish can be eaten as a snack or a meal. Serve with flatbread or rice.

 Skill Level: Easy
Serves: 4 - 6 

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup moth beans (soaked for a min of 3 hours or overnight 
• 1 medium onion sliced
• 2 cups baked buttercup squash     (approx. 1/2 )
• 1/2" piece of ginger grated
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 dry red chilli
• 1/8 tsp cumin whole
• 1/8 tsp nigella * seeds
• 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/8 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/8 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 large tomato chopped
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 T coconut oil

* Nigella seeds look like black cumin seeds, they are part of a group of 5 whole spices called paanch pooran used in Indian cooking. 

METHOD: 

1. Wash and soak moth beans for a minimum of 3 hours or overnight
2. Drain water; bring 3 cups of water to a boil and add garlic and moth beans to the pot
3. Boil until soft, drain but reserve 1/2 a cup of the liquid
4. Put oil in a saucepan and add the dry red chilli, cumin, nigella, fenugreek and mustard seeds, allow them to brown a little until fragrant. Add onions, saute until transparent
5. Cube the baked buttercup squash and add to the onion mixture, stir gently to keep the squash intact
6. Add chopped tomato, turmeric, cayenne, salt, pepper and cumin powder
7. Put the drained moth beans to the onion quash mixture, add in the reserved liquid and mix. 
8. Cover and cook on low heat for 10 minutes. Check seasoning. This dish is dry with very little liquid

Truffles

Around this time of the year, I am always on the lookout for recipes for my annual Christmas bake exchange. If the recipe has no added sugar, no egg or flour, then it covers most dietary restrictions in my circle of friends. This recipe I found on a blog called 
"An edible mosaic" is a winner. I used a combination of sunflower and pumpkin seeds simply because I did not have enough of the latter, otherwise made no substitutions It is moist and delicious and can be rolled in cocoa, nuts or seeds to have a variety of different looks with one recipe. Thank you to Faith Gorsky Safarini for this one.This recipe is a keeper; in fact, my blog partner's little guy loved it too, so it's thumb's up from a little person in addition to all the adults who tried it. Enjoy!

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 pitted chopped Medjool dates (approx 4 oz)
• 4 Tbsp roasted unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2 T pumpkin puree ( canned is fine, do not use pumpkin pie filling) 
• 1 T cocoa powder
• 1 T ground flax seeds
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 t coconut oil melted
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/8 t ground ginger
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 pinch ground cloves

TOPPING IDEAS: 

Desiccated coconut, cocoa powder, sesame seeds, crushed nuts

METHOD: 

1. Pulse together all ingredients (except toppings) in a food processor until it comes together to form a ball.
2. Scoop the dough into 1 tablespoon-sized truffles, roll into balls, and then coat in any topping(s) you like.
3. Store the truffles in an airtight container up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Corn and Potato Chowder with Bacon

This is a classic and hearty chowder for the whole family. You may think that chowder is a very difficult soup to make but trust me, it is not a complicated task that requires you slaving your time in the kitchen. I made this chowder out of ingredients that are available at the time. Not to miss bacon! I love adding bacon in my chowder to incorporate in smoke flavour. 

Skill Level:Medium

Serves: 6 - 8

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups chopped leeks, white part only
• 1 rib celery, sliced
• 1 can (12 oz) peaches and cream corn, or 1 cup of frozen corn 
• 1 can ( 14 oz) cream of corn
• 4 slices bacon, cut into 1/2" length
• 4 cups 2% milk
• 1 cup 35% cream 
• 1 cup chicken broth 
• 4 potatoes, cut 3 into small cubes, 1 to be shredded
• 1 tbsp wheat flour 
• 1 tsp salt
• black pepper, to taste

METHOD: 

1. In a pot, sautee bacon slices till crisp with medium heat
2. Scoopt the bacon on a plate layered with paper towel (to soak up the grease). Drain the fat and leave around 3 tbsp bacon fat in a pot 
3. With low heat, stir in wheat flour to make a roux (white creamy paste). Stir for 3 to 4 minutes to prevent any lumps
4. Increase the heat to medium and add in chopped leeks and celery, cook for another 3 minutes
5. Pour in chicken broth, peaches and cream corn, cream of corn, cubed and shredded potatoes
6. Stir well and cook till boil. Boil under low heat for 5 minutes
7. At this time, you can add in milk and cream. Continue to stir. Season with salt and pepper 
8. Heat through but do not boil. Cook till all vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes 
9. Serve with crispy bacon bits on top

Mango dessert with pomegranate

This is probably the easiest dessert I have ever made, the only thing easier than this would be to open a can of mango puree pour into bowls and hand out spoons ! I even bought a few extra cans to have in store for when I am short on time and have to produce something sweet. Alphonso mangoes are considered to be the best in terms of flavour and sweetness. They have a relatively short growing season and are known to be one of the most expensive varieties of mangoes. Fortunately, they can be found at Indian supermarkets and this year, even large grocery chains in Ontario carried them. The growing season is March to May which means they are not available now, but you can find Alphonso mango puree in cans at Indian grocery stores. 

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 4 - 6

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups mango puree
• 11/2  cup low fat cottage cheese
• 1 Tbsp rose water (found in Indian grocery stores) 
• 3 Tbsp pomegranate 
• 1/4 tsp cardamom powder  

METHOD

1. Put all ingredients except pomegranate and cardamom powder in a bowl
2. Using an immersion blender, mix until it is a smooth puree 
3. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours
4. It will not be cuttable in texture, more like a creamy soup
5. Before serving garnish with pomegranate and cardamom powder

Chutney Pulao (Pesto Rice)

This past weekend along with the clocks turning back an hour, Hindus around the world celebrated Diwali - the festival of lights - which is considered one of the most important of Hindu celebrations. Generally, small clay lamps (see picture) are lit and fire crackers are burst in order to chase away any bad spirits. This 5 day festival is spent with friends and family, involves a great deal of cooking, sharing of food and the exchange of Indian sweets.
On Diwali we try and observe a vegetarian diet and it gave me a chance to to try a new recipe for pesto rice that had recently tweaked my interest. Contrary to the image that pesto conjures up, this recipe did not call for pine nuts, basil or olive oil. It was easy to make and delicious to eat on it's own.
I am currently using coconut oil almost exclusively in my cooking and I substituted this in place of the oil or ghee the recipe called for and found that it enhanced the flavour. Another substitution I made was to use frozen green chickpeas or hara chana (Hindi) in place of green peas. Hara Chana is found in Indian stores but you can use any kind of beans of peas you have on hand.
The recipe suggested eating it with something light as this dish is quite rich. So I made dal and Indian Zucchini (recipe to follow). This would be equally good with some baked or steamed fish or BBQ chicken.

Skill Level: Easy

Serves: 2 - 4

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup basmati rice (washed, soaked and drained of water)
• 1/3 cup desiccated unsweetened coconut 
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 inch piece of ginger root 
• 2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro/coriander leaves
• 1 cup chopped mint leaves
• 2 T coconut oil
• 2 green chilli deseeded
• 12 raw cashew nuts
• 1 inch piece of cinnamon
• 4 cardamom pods crushed slightly
• 4-6 cloves
• 1 red onion sliced
• 1 cup frozen green chick peas
• salt to taste
• 2 cups of water

METHOD

1. Wash and soak the rice for 20 minutes
2. Put the coconut in a bowl and add a 1/2 cup of water, let it sit for 10 minutes
3. In a food processor add the coconut with the soaking water, chilli, coriander, mint, ginger and garlic and blend until smooth
4. Add 1 Tbsp of coconut oil to a pan and fry cashews until they are brown, remove, drain and set aside
5. Add the rest of the oil to the same pan and put in the cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, stir for a minute and then add the onion and saute until transparent
6. Add the rice, coconut mixture and salt and stir until combined, taking care not to overmix and break the grains of rice
7. Add the green chick peas and the 2 cups of water, reduce heat to low, cover and cook rice for about 10 minutes
8. Turn off the heat. Do not lift up the lid, allow rice to continue to cook in steam for another 7-8 minutes
9. Fluff rice with a fork, add cashews and serve with raita (seasoned yogurt) or chutney. Our raita had pomegranate seeds and a dusting of cumin powder