15 Minute Creamy Corn and Potato Soup
~4 servings~

15 minutes.  Sweet.  Spicy.  Fresh.  Belly warming.  Do I need to say more?

1 yellow onion, diced
2 ears corn, husked and cut off from the cob
2 cups vegetable broth
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cubed into small one inch pieces
1 cup milk
Salt to taste
Red chili powder (cayenne pepper) to taste
1 teaspoon sugar

In a large saucepan, heat about a tablespoon or so of olive oil on medium heat.  Add the onions and saute until translucent.  Add the corn and cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring frequently.  While these cook, peel and chop the potatoes into one inch pieces.  Make them small so they boil quickly.  Add to the saucepan along with 2 cups vegetable broth.  Cover and increase temperature to medium high.  Bring to a boil and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender.  Stab them with a fork to test them.  Allow to cool then transfer to a blender reserving about a cup of the potato/corn/onion mixture.  Pulse just for a minute or so (really a few seconds should do the trick unless you prefer the corn really pureed).  Transfer back to the saucepan on medium heat.  Stir in the milk along with salt, pepper and sugar.  Cook for 3-4 minutes.  Adjust for salt, spice and sweetness.  Add the reserved potato/corn/onion immediately before serving.  I garnished with cilantro but it really didn’t add much.

Market Green with Split Peas
~8 servings~

I like to rotate the type of lentil that I use – yellow split peas, channa daal, french lentils and pink masoor daal work well because they cook quickly and each offers its own nutty, hearty flavor which pairs well with earthy greens.  Any greens works but I prefer fresh over frozen and something with a crunchy stem.

2 cups lentils
1 tomato, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
3-4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 green chilis, chopped
1 bunch greens, chopped
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Salt to taste

Add a tablespoon of cooking oil, lentils, tomato, onions and water to a pressure cooker.*  Pressure cooking times vary by cooker so check your cooker’s instructions.  Heat a deep, wide skillet on medium heat then add about a tablespoon of oil.  Add the mustard seeds (cover with a lid, the seeds pop) and when they start to sputter add the garlic and green chilis.  Saute uncovered for 2-3 minutes until the garlic gets golden brown being careful not to burn.  This will give the garlic a sweet, nutty flavor that makes this daal so decadent and enjoyable.  Add the greens and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally and partially covered.  Stir the greens into the daal.  Add lemon juice then salt to taste and adjust with water depending on preferred thickness.

Heating up tip: The daal tends to become solidified when you store it.  Whisk a little bit of water into the leftovers if needed to get the original consistency.

*Pressure Cooker Phobia? Add the oil, lentils, tomato, onion and about 4 cups of water to a saucepan.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to low and cook covered until the lentils are soft.  You may need to add more water as the lentils cook.  The cooking time varies by the type of lentil that you use and some may require overnight soaking.  Lentils that don’t have an outer husk will cook more quickly.

Preserving Greens: When you bring greens home, wash them, air dry or pat dry until mostly dry, loosely wrap them in paper towels then place in the plastic grocery store bag and store in the crisper.  Also, if you buy your greens from a farmers market or CSA they’ll last a lot longer than grocery store greens because there’s less travel time from farm to your fridge.

Cleaning and Chopping Greens: I find the best way to clean greens is to first trim a bit of the stems off then put them in a large bowl with cold water and swish them around so the dirt settles to the bottom.  Repeat a few times with new water.  I like to use the green stems but some people prefer just the leafy parts.  The stems pack a nice crunch so I keep them around.  Stack a few similarly sized leaves on top of each other then fold over two times placed vertically and run a large knife down the length of the leaves cutting into strips.  Turn the strips horizontal and chop into small square-ish pieces.

Green Tomato Lentil Stew
~6 servings~

This mildly spiced lentil stew is a good pairing for tangy, tart green tomatoes.  There are a lot of tasty variations though using different vegetables.  Try substituting chayote squash, eggplants or a mix of carrots and bellpeppers in this lentil stew.  A dollop of yogurt tops this off with a creamy flavor which balances against the spices and sourness of the tomatoes.

1-2 cups toor daal, boiled until soft (substitute: yellow split peas, channa daal or pigeon peas)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
6-8 green tomatoes, halved then quartered
1 tablespoon channa daal (substitute: yellow split peas)*
1 tablespoon urad daal (you can omit these if they are not available)*
2-3 dried red chili peppers*
1 teaspoon coriander seeds*
1 tablespoon tamarind paste**

*You can substitute sambar powder in place of these ingredients and skip step 3 below.
**I find the tamarind paste unnecessary with green tomatoes but it adds a needed sour kick when using other vegetables.

1. Pressure cook or boil the toor daal until its soft.  Whisk with a spoon to a smooth consistency.

2. In a deep wide skillet, heat some oil on medium heat.  Add mustard seeds and cook for 2-3 minutes until they start popping (careful, they sputter).  Add the green tomatoes and about half a cup of water and cooked partially covered for about 15-20 minutes until the tomatoes start to look soft.

3. Grind the channa daal, urad daal, red chili peppers and coriander seeds in a blender or food processor until ground to small pieces (do not add water).

4. Add this mixture to the green tomatoes and continue cooking.

5. Stir in the boiled toor daal and mix well.

6. Salt to taste. Continue cooking for another 8-10 minutes and serve hot with basmati rice or rotis and yogurt.

Charu Au Poix (French Inspired Rasam)

1 lemon sized ball of tamarind
1 1/3 pints of water (beer pint glasses are conveniently found in my house)
1/4 cup toor dal
1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter, substitute olive oil)
1-2 moderately small carrots, diced*
1 celery rib, chopped
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
5 curry leaves
1/2 large sized tomato, diced (not roma)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
3 cloves garlic, chopped finely
2 teaspoons rasam powder
3 dried red chillies (substitute green chillies)
1 cube Rapunzel Vegetable Bouillon cube*
1 handful of cilantro, chopped

1.  Soak the tamarind in a bowl with the water.  Depending on the brand of tamarind, You may need to break it apart while it’s soaking to allow it to properly soak.

2.  Pressure cook the toor dal in water until it’s soft, usually at the magical 5 whistle mark.  After pressure cooking, discard of any excess water.

3.  Create a mirepoix by sautéing the celery, carrots, and onions in the ghee until the onions are semi-translucent and all the vegetables are soft.  Usually around 15-20 minutes on medium-low heat.  Be sure not to brown the vegetables while making the mirepoix.

4.  There should be some excess ghee from creating the mirepoix.  Pour the excess ghee into another pan to be used to temper the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves.  Heat until the mustard seeds pop.

5.  After the mustard seeds start popping, add the diced tomato, turmeric powder, garlic, rasam powder, and red chillies.  Saute the tomatoes for 7 – 10 minutes until the tomatoes are cooked and have absorbed the rasam powder and turmeric.  Stir frequently to prevent burning.

6.  Add the Rapunzel Vegan Vegetable Bouillon cube (with sea salt) to the mirepoix.

7.  Add the water from the soaking tamarind to the mirepoix consisting of celery, carrots, and onions.  You may need to filter the tamarind water concoction to prevent seeds and other extraneous tamarind content from entering the pot.  Blend the mirepoix and tamarind mixture until completely pureed.  We use a hand blender because it’s convenient and effective.

8.  Add the tempered tomato, garlic, and mustard seed mixture to the tamarind and mirepoix.

9.  Add 1 cup of water (maybe more or less depending on how spicy you like it — more water == less spicy)

10.  Finish the charu with a handful of chopped cilantro.

11.  Bring to a boil, until everything has melded together well.  Add salt and a little red chili powder to taste.

12.  Serve with basmati rice.  And a side of Lay’s Original Potato Chips as pictured.  Also goes well with sauteed potatoes and french style green beans.

*You need not worry about separating the leaves of cilantro from the stems because the stems contain a lot of flavor.  Be sure not to chop the cilantro too finely, or else you may lose more flavor to the cutting board than you will put into the charu.

*I used very little salt because the bouillon cube has plenty of salt itself.

*  We love the Rapunzel brand boullion cubes because 1) they’re vegetarian friendly and 2) they’re very tasty.  We buy them at Whole Foods, but you might find them elsewhere.

* Use less carrots if you prefer it less sweet, but use 1 carrot at a minimum.