Katchoomber Salad (and a Recipe Index!)

I love non-lettuce salads.

I like the fact that you get more nutritional bang for your buck with more substantial vegetables in the salad bowl.  Another plus is that these salads keep longer in the fridge than their lettuce-based counterparts and you know how much I love taking leftovers for lunch!

Katchoomber is one of my favourite salads.  It is easy to make, tastes wonderful, and keeps for a couple of days in the fridge without going soggy.  I am not a fan of raw onion, so feel free to add a few slices of red onion to the carrots, cucumber, and celery if you like.

This recipe has been adapted from Daksha’s Gourmet Spices Cookbook Three: Indian Vegetarian Cuisine. The neat thing about this cookbook is that it my In-Laws picked it up for me at a local craft sale.

They certainly know me well: I love cookbooks and I love Indian Cuisine.

The cookbook comes in a package with 5 or 6 spices that are needed to make the recipes in the book. Of course you can pick them up at any specialty Indian grocer, except for one. One of the spices, thana jeero is a special blend from the author’s family, so when I ran out I had to make a trip to the craft sale the following year to pick up more of the spice.

As I mentioned before, the best thing about this salad is the crunch. Of course the tangy vinegar, the musky cumin, and the surprise bite of freshly grated parmesan (which at first seemed a little out-of-place – until I tasted it!) make this salad stand out. Just to prove my point, I took this salad to a work potluck and it was all anyone could talk about. Everyone, even the more conservative eaters, couldn’t get enough.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have added a recipe index to Cookbook Cooks to make searching for your favourite recipes a bit easier.  You can access it from the top of the page, or by clicking here.

Katchoomber Salad

1/2 long english cucumber, julienned
3 medium carrots, julienned
3 celery stalks, julienned
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon crushed cumin seeds (I crushed them using a motar and pestle)
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon grated parmesan

• Put vegetables in a large serving bowl
• Whisk together oil, vinegar, salt, cumin, and cayenne until well blended
• Pour dressing over salad and toss.
• Add cilantro and parmesan before serving

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Quick and tasty weeknight meal – Thai Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

Did you ever think you could enjoy a Thai curry on a weeknight without having to go to a restaurant?

Perhaps it seems to exotic to fall into the quick and easy category?

Well, exotic or not, this Thai Curry is quick and tasty enough to spruce up your weeknight dinner repertoire.

I came across a version of this recipe in Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Suppers, but after taking a look at the recipe I realized that it was basically the same as the one on the side of my jar of Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste.

Thats right. I took this recipe straight of the side of the jar of curry paste – with the appropriate vegetarian modifications, of course. You certainly do not have to limit yourself to the red curry, as the green curry paste is equally good. In addition, feel free to experiment with the vegetables: half a can of baby corn, some broccoli or cauliflower would work equally well.  I also think a bit of spinach would be a tasty addition.

Aside from slicing a carrot and a couple of shallots, chopping and seeding a roma tomato, cubing a package of firm tofu, and tearing some basil leaves, the meal came together with frozen green beans, frozen peas, and a can of coconut milk. To cut down on time I decided to forgo the brown rice and use brown rice noodles instead. They cook quite a bit quicker and offer a pleasant change of pace.

Thai Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 -14 ounce can light coconut milk
1-2 tablespoons Thai Kitchen red curry paste (this is quite spicy, so adjust for personal taste!)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons soya sauce
1 block firm tofu, cubed
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 roma tomato, seeded and chopped
2 medium carrots (cut into thirds and thinly sliced lengthwise)
1 cup of frozen green beans
1/4 cup of frozen green peas
10 basil leaves, shredded

• Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet add tofu cubes and cook until golden.  You will need to turn the tofu half-way through cooking.
• Remove the tofu from the pan and set aside.  In the same pan gently fry the scallions for 3 minutes and then add the curry paste, stirring until fragrant.
• Add the coconut milk, soy sauce and sugar and stir to mix well
• Add the carrots, tomato, green beans,peas and simmer until tender (about 10 minutes)
• Add the tofu and basil and cook until heated through
• Add water if sauce is too thick.

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Thai Chickpea Curry

I borrowed Vatcharin Bhumichitr’s Thai Vegetarian Cooking from my Mom a few years ago when I was visiting her and my Dad and I still have it.

I haven’t delved too far into the cookbook.  In fact, I think I have only made 4 recipes, but the recipe that I am going to share with you today gives this book its deserving place on my cookbook shelf.  This is recipe is so great that Lorna Sass adapted it for her wonderful book Great Vegetarian Cooking Under Pressure.  You can find Lorna’s pressure cooker version of this recipe here.

The first words out of my husband’s mouth, after he finished chewing and swallowing were, “if I got this at a restaurant I would be really happy!”  (That means he really likes the dish).  The funny thing is I have made this dish a few times before, but he can’t remember.  Which brings me to a cute habit that my husband has.  He keeps a little notebook on his dresser where he writes down the recipes that I have made (or that he has made) that he really likes.  That way he won’t forget about them.  Since starting this blog we have rarely eaten the same thing twice and I think that he figures that with every dish I am delving into new uncharted territory.

I guess for Thai food, this is uncharted territory. Having chickpeas, or any bean, in a dish is quite unusual for Thai food.  I can say I have never seen a dish with chickpeas or any other bean on the menu at a Thai restaurant.  Vatcharin came across this recipe at a forest monastery west of Bangkok, so although not a common Thai recipe, it certainly is as authentic as it is delicious.

The recipe calls for coriander roots and, as I am sure you can imagine, these are difficult to find.  If I do find them at all, there is often just a small nub of the root left attached to the stalk, so you need to use quite a few of these nubs to equal 2 roots.  Personally, I do not find that the flavour is lacking without the roots, so you can avoid a special trip to the Asian market to search them out and just go ahead without.

Thai Chickpea Curry

3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
2 coriander roots, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of whole black peppercorns
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 400 ml can of light or regular coconut milk
1 tablespoon of curry powder
1 large potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, diced
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar

10 basil leaves, coarsely chopped

• Using a mortar and pestle pound the garlic, peppercorns and coriander roots, if using, to form a paste.
• Heat the oil and fry the paste for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
• Add the coconut and stir well.
• Add the remaining ingredients, bring to boil and simmer, until the potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.
• Add the basil leaves and stir until wilted.
• Serve over brown rice.

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Lorna Sass’s Udon with Green Beans and Peanut Sauce from Short-Cut Vegan

Thank goodness the recipes in this cookbook are quick, otherwise I may have finished off all the peanut sauce before it even made its way onto my noodles!

I couldn’t decide if I should make Lorna Sass’s peanut sauce recipe, or use the bottle of store-bought I had in the fridge.  In the end I decided that I should be true to the recipe and take the extra five minutes to make the sauce. Well, I made the right choice.  Short-Cut Vegan’s peanut sauce is simply delicious.  And yes, the pun is intended.

I took Lorna’s suggestion and added some tofu to the mix.  Did you know that 85 grams of tofu has 45 % of your daily calcium requirement!  Aside from the fact that tofu is a great source of protein, the calcium alone is a great reason to include it in your diet.  I also substituted whole wheat linguine noodles for the udon, because that is what I had in the cupboard

I always find it a bit challenging to cook when EPC is away.  I get used to cooking for two.  Having my husband around gives me that extra motivation to take time in the kitchen to make something special (or at least more special than the prepared spaghetti sauce I ate last night).

Short-Cut Vegan is making cooking for one a bit easier for me with it’s collection of quick tasty meals.  So, instead of me being jealous that my husband is eating out every night, he will be jealous of  me eating this delicious meal in the comfort of our home!

And that, dear readers, is exactly what happened.

Udon with Green Beans and Peanut Sauce

8 ounces of brown rice udon, rice noodles, or angel hair, or whatever long noodle you have in the cupboard
1 2/3 cups of frozen green beans (defrosted) or use fresh, cut into thirds
1/2 cup diced red or yellow pepper (I just used a whole one)
1/2 cup of Asian peanut sauce (see recipe below)
Tamari or soy sauce to taste
175 g firm tofu, cubed (if desired)

• Bring water to boil in a large pot
• Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package
• Meanwhile saute tofu (if using) until golden
• Add the green beans to the pasta and continue to cook until the pasta is done.
• Drain pasta and beans and transfer to a large bowl
• Add tofu and bell pepper and enough peanut sauce to coat.
• Add tamari/soy sauce to taste
• Serve warm or at room temperature

Asian Peanut Sauce

1 cup of natural peanut butter
2 1/2 tablespoons of tamari or soy sauce
2 teaspoons of seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
2/3 to 3/4 cup of boiling water, or more if needed

garlic and ginger, finely minced to taste

• Blend peanut butter, tamari, vinegar, cayenne, and boiling water in your food processor.   Add more water if needed to make a thick but pourable sauce.
• Add ginger and garlic before serving
• This can keep up to two weeks in the fridge and will need to be thinned with hot water before serving

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