Cabbage Sabzi/ Patta Gobi Sabzi

We spent the first day of our long winter vacation shopping for ear covers, water proof pants and other skiing accessories. We were preparing for our Tahoe vacation and the monstrous job of packing clothes was still left to be taken care of. Such was the situation when the question of "what to make for dinner" arose. I scanned the fridge for vegetables which would cook fast and saw a cabbage head lying there. I decided to make this subzi which had very often adored our tiffin boxes in the school and college days.

Broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage are part of the cruciferous family of vegetables. They contain high quantities of vitamin C and I have also read about them possessing cancer fighting properties. Here is the quick recipe for cabbage sabzi.

Ingredients
4 cups shredded green cabbage
2 potatoes
1 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
pinch of asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon amchur or dry mango powder
4 tablespoon cilantro or coriander leaves
1 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method
Wash and peel the potatoes. Chop the potatoes into small cubes. Heat oil in a skillet and add cumin seeds. Add asafoetida and turmeric powder. Add potato cubes and cook covered till the potato is soft. Add the shredded cabbage and cook covered for 3-4 minutes. Cooking the cabbage for a long time will turn it soggy and cause the cabbage to loose its crunchyness. Add chili powder, cumin powder, amchur and garam masala. Mix well. Add salt as per taste. Garnish with coriander leaves and enjoy the sabzi hot with roti.


Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-3

Paneer Jalfarezi

During our Tahoe trip we were eating continental and chinese food for almost a week. Atul wanted me to make some sabzi with lot of vegetables and paneer. I then thought of making spicy and tangy paneer jalfrezi which was perfect for the cold weather. It was quite some time since I made this sabzi and both I and my husband enjoyed it thoroughly.

Ingredients
300 gms paneer
1 cups chopped onions (chopped into 1 inch big pieces)
1 tablespoon ginger cut into thin long stripes
1 tomato quartered
1 cup onions ground into a paste
3 tablespoon tomato paste or 3 tomatoes ground into a fine paste
2 bell peppers or capsicum(I used one yellow pepper which has a sweetish taste and a green pepper)
3/4 cup peas and/or corn
1/2 cup diced carrots
2-3 slit green chilies or as desired
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder or as per desired taste
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon amchur powder or dry mango powder (or substitute with 2 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice)
5 tablespoon chopped coriander or cilantro
4 tablespoon oil
salt for taste

Method

Heat one tablespoon oil in a skillet. Add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and fry for around 30 seconds. Add chopped onion, slit green chilies and capsicum. When the vegetables are cooked half way add the quartered tomato. Fry on medium flame till the capsicum is soft and cooked. Boil the carrots, peas and corn separately till soft. Keep aside. Fry the coriander seeds and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds for around 3-4 minutes on low flame. Powder them when cooled down.
While doing the above mentioned steps, parallelly add 3 tablespoon oil in a skillet and add the onion paste. Cook it till the raw smell of the onion disappears. Add ginger. Add tomato paste and stir and cook till the gravy leaves the sides. Now add the coriander and cumin powder, turmeric powder, chili powder(as per taste), amchur powder and garam masala. Add the remaining vegetables and mix well till the gravy coats the vegetables. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve hot with onion rings and roti.

Preparation time: 40 minutes
Serves: 3-4

Farmer's Market

Where to find organic and locally grown produce in US? The answer is farmer's market. It is like the regular Sabzi mandi's in India. It took me a year after living in California to discover that we have two farmer's markets near our home. There is a Farmer's market in Mountain View and Sunnyvale (Bay Area). The Mountain View farmer's market has greater number of stalls and variety of produce than the Sunnyvale Farmer's Market. We visit Farmer's market almost every weekend to buy fruits and vegetable. We get some very good quality organic vegetables and fruits here. Many varieties of mushrooms are also available. In summer, one finds very very sweet peaches, plums, strawberries, blackberries, blue berries, watermelons, cantaloupes, pluots, oranges and nectarines. In winter we shop for apples, pumpkins, pumpkin flowers, pumpkin greens, Bartlett pears and Persimmon. There is a large variety of green vegetables like beans, spinach, dill, bitter melon and other leafy vegetables. Click here to know more about which organic products are vital.

Here are some produce of the Mountain View farmer's market captured on camera.

Various color bell peppers

Peanuts


Spicy breads


Indian chutney's and masalas (Sukhi's Stall)

Lovely flowers

Cherry tomatoes

Green Vegi's

Raspberries, Blackberries and strawberries packed with antioxidants


Organic carrots and beets

Cabbage

10 pound bags of orange

Different variety of grapes


Chinese eggplants


Summer squash

Tahoe Trip

We had been to Lake Tahoe during the holidays. One of the most amazing things about Tahoe is the breathtaking views of the lake and surrounding mountains. The combination of crystal clear water lake and the Sierra-Nevada mountain range makes it a pleasurable destination to spend the vacation. We also traveled to the top of the mountain range to the Heavenly resort. It is a delight to play in the soft snow on the slopes. During the summers one can explore the lake from the cruise. Heavenly village houses many artifacts and alpaca wool products selling shops apart from shops stocking snow clothing. Read more about Lake Tahoe here.

My snow man and his castle

Views from Heavenly resort

Fannette Island




Lake Tahoe in Summer

Fannette island in Summer


Cruise on the lake


View from heavenly village

Tomato Soup

Tomato soup is one of the hearty and healthy dishes during winters. I also use carrot to thicken it instead of cornflour. It is a great remedy for cold or flu. I generally serve it with toasted bread and it makes a good late evening snack. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
3 tomatoes or 3 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup roughly chopped carrot
1 teaspoon butter (optional)
2 tablespoon heavy cream or milk
1/2 cup corn kernels or peas (optional)
1/2 teaspoon sugar
salt
pepper

Method
Chop the tomatoes and carrots and boil them for around 10-15 minutes till soft. If you are using tomato paste then boil the carrots only. Boil or microwave the peas or the corn kernels with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup water, till soft. Puree the tomato and the carrot. Put the puree in a pan and add the peas or the corn kernels. Add water as per desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper as per taste. Get the soup to a boil. Add milk or heavy cream and give it a good stir. Season with butter and serve hot.

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2

Merry Christmas

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