Samosa Stuffed Jacket Potatoes

Proof that potatoes do not need to be slathered in loads of butter, cheese, and sour cream to taste good! (Not that I don't enjoy the occasional butter-, cheese-, and sour cream-slathered potato but I usually prefer less artery-clogging food).

These were lovely! I made them as twice-baked potatoes but the original recipe called for making them as potato skin-style appetizers (yes, now I'm thinking I need to plan a Bollywood movie night so I can make these yummy things as part of the menu!)
As I made them, they make a great meal on their own or with a salad (I should have planned better and bought stuff to make a chutney for them...) or make them as potato skins and have them as a starter for a curry dish.


Excuse the crappy photo... hubby left for Texas this morning and took my camera leaving me to take this with my phone. The finished potato was really pretty; this does not do it justice.

I bet you could make these the night before, wrap them up and keep them refrigerated, and then just heat up for lunch the next day.

Makes 2 twice-baked potatoes or 4 potato skin appetizers

Ingredients:
2 Russet potatoes, scrubbed, baked, and cooled
1/8 cup non-dairy milk, veggie broth, or water (I used broth)
A little non-dairy, non-hydrogenated margarine (1/2-1 tsp.)
1 1/2 tbsp. canola oil
1/2 cup carrots, cut into small dice or shredded
1/2 cup onion, cut into small dice
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. fresh ginger, grated
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/4 cup frozen peas (leave them frozen)
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Extra canola oil for brushing the skins
Cilantro and/or green onions as a garnish (completely forgot I was going to add those until now)

Method:
1. If you are making twice-baked potatoes, slice off the top of the potato leaving three sides intact. Scoop out the potato flesh and place it in a bowl. Be careful not to break the skins. Set the skins aside.
If you are making potato skins, slice the potatoes in half and then scoop out the filling. Again, be careful not the break the skins. Set the skins aside.

2. Mash the potato filling with the milk, water, or veggie broth and margarine until it's the consistency of mashed potatoes.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrots and saute until the onions are lightly browned and both veggies are soft (7-10 minutes).

4. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute. Add the mustard, coriander, cumin, curry powder, turmeric, and salt along with a little splash of water. You can add more water if it looks too dry. Stir well.

5. Add the onion-carrot mixture to the mashed potato filling and mix well. At this point, I poured a little water into the skillet to pick up more of the spice mixture. I added the frozen peas to the skillet/water and gave them a quick stir. Drain the peas and then add them to the potato mixture. Add the lemon juice and stir to incorporate all the ingredients.

6. Brush the outside of the skins with a little extra canola oil and then scoop the potato mixture into each skin. Press gently so you have the entire potato shell filled.

7. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh cilantro and sliced green onions if desired.

Note:
If you're going to eat the skins, try to find organic potatoes. Potatoes are on the "dirty dozen" list of items with high concentrations of pesticides.

Reference:
Based on Samosa Stuffed Potatoes from Veganomicon.
I made several changes:
*As mentioned above, I made mine as twice-baked potatoes.
*I added the margarine and curry powder.
*The original called for peanut oil. I just used canola.
*Original recipe called for yellow mustard seeds and coriander seeds and to add these to the skillet prior to adding the onion and carrot. I just used ground mustard and ground coriander and added them with the other spices.
*The original said to add the potato filling into the skillet and heat it through. I skipped this and just added the stuff from the skillet into the potato filling in a bowl. I also decided to throw a little water into the empty skillet and swish the peas around in that to try to get a little more of the spices.

Amazing Lentil Curry

Yeay for curry!
I used to make these really brilliant chicken and fruit curries - so tasty, you have no idea - and I have to admit, I miss them. This, though, has changed my mind! The lentils really make up for the lack of chicken and they do a wonderful job of absorbing all the great flavours. The only thing I'd add next time is some apple (and maybe some coconut...)
This does have a nice kick to it, even with mild curry powder, so if you're not a fan of spicy foods you may want to leave out the jalapeno.
I should also warn you that it takes a small lifetime for this to cook! It is so worth it, though. :)
Almost forgot, this is a good source of vegetarian protein and iron. Not much to look at but it tasted wonderful!



Enough for 2 large servings (or 2 dinners and 2 lunches the next day - hurray!)

Ingredients:
1 tbsp. olive oil
1/2 of a red onion, chopped
1/2 jalapeno pepper
1/4-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/2 large parsnip, peeled and chopped
1 tsp. curry powder (any *strength* you like)
1/4 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
3/4 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed
2 cups vegetable broth (or water)
3/4-1 lb. cauliflower, chopped into small florets
1 tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 tsp. sea salt

Method:
1. Make sure you have all the stuff chopped and ready to go (well, not the lime or cilantro - that's not added until the last minute) - it goes pretty quickly, like a stir-fry.

2. Heat the oil in a stock-pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion and saute for 5-7 minutes until translucent. Add the ginger and jalapeno and saute another minute. Add the spices and then give them a good stir for 30 seconds.

3. Slowly pour in the vegetable broth, then stir in the lentils. Cover the pot and raise the heat to high. Allow the mixture to boil for 1 minute, stir, and then reduce the heat back to medium-low. Simmer for 12 minutes.

4. Add the cauliflower, stirring so they are coated with lentils. Partially cover and let it simmer away for 25 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender and the broth has all been soaked up. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro, lime juice, and salt.

5. Allow the curry to sit (covered) for 15 minutes or so. This is a good time to make some rice to go with it. ;)

Reference:
Based on the Red Lentil-Cauliflower Curry recipe from Veganomicon.
My changes - used regular old lentils in place of red lentils; used red onion in place of regular old onion; skipped the shallots; used olive oil in place of peanut or grapeseed oil.

Indian Lentil Soup

I love Indian flavours and lentils so I was excited to find this soup! It's really tasty! This is a fairy quick meal so it's good for a weeknight dinner when paired with a salad or some brown rice.

Makes 2 servings (excuse the weird amounts - I divided a recipe by 3!)

Ingredients:
1/3-2/3 cup green lentils
1/3 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/12 tsp. turmeric
1/6 tsp. coriander
1/6 tsp. curry powder
1 small clove of garlic, minced
1/8 cup carrot, diced
1/12 cup oatmeal
1/3 tsp. tomato paste
2 cups water or vegetable broth
Vegetable oil (I used olive)

Method:
1. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the cumin, coriander, curry powder, and garlic. Stir for 1 minute until the flavours bloom/become fragrant. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Stir in the tomato paste.

2. Add 2 cups water or broth, carrots, lentils, and oatmeal. Bring to a boil and then lower to a simmer. Simmer for 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft. You can add salt and pepper to taste if desired.

**Note, the original recipe also called for 1/6 cup diced potato. I didn't feel like chopping up a potato for that small of an amount so I left it out! Next time I may add some chopped red potato.**

Reference:
This recipe is from "Fresh Mama's: Whole Cooking for Our Whole Families." That's the cookbook one of my student's parents gave me. :) It's compiled of healthy recipes using whole ingredients.

Mulligatawny Soup

I love the name of this soup - always makes me think of Irish pubs! lol :) Totally not an "Irish pub" sort of taste, though! I have been wanting to make this for a long time and have had the recipe tagged, I just haven't gotten around to it!
Well, this past Saturday I was driving home from the grocery store with all sorts of exciting ingredients to make lots of yummies over the weekend... unfortunately, as I was driving I noticed I was going from sweating to shivering and that my throat was getting scratchy. Great, here comes that nasty cold that everyone has had that I was sure I had managed to avoid. :( Good thing I was planning on soup for Saturday night's dinner! By about 4pm, I was just feeling so crummy and the last thing I wanted to do was stand in the kitchen chopping veggies. But, being the bit of a masochist that I am, I did it anyway! Boy, was it worth it! As yucky and stuffed up as I was feeling at that point, the soup still smelled so wonderful while it cooked and the spiciness really helped soothe my throat. Yum! Hooray for soup! :)
Here's the recipe:
This made enough for 2-3 servings

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped apple (I used Red Delicious and left the peel on)
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/4 can (14.5 oz) diced peeled tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup chopped celery
1/6 cup long grain rice
1/8 cup chopped onion
1/8 cup raisins
1/2 tbsp. snipped fresh parsley
1/2-1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

Method:
1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven combine the broth, apples, carrot, undrained tomatoes, celery, uncooked rice, onion, raisins, parsley, curry powder, lemon juice, pepper, nutmeg, and 1/2 cup water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat.

2. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the rice and carrots are tender. Enjoy :)

Notes:
The original recipe called for chicken broth in place of vegetable broth and to add 3/4 cups chopped cooked chicken or turkey after simmering for 20-30 minutes. I wanted to make mine vegetarian so, obviously, I omitted the chicken!

Reference:
The original recipe is from the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (1996 edition).

Rajmah

Yes, I am sure that photo will win me a spot on the Ugly Food blog... ugh! Talk about someone with too much time on their hands! lol...

Rajmah is a kidney bean curry dish - it can be made vegan if you use soy plain yogurt (feel free to sub regular plain yogurt for a non-vegan meal - it will still be vegetarian).
It isn't much to look at but it smells and tastes great! It has this wonderful almost fruity flavour which is making me wish I'd added chopped apples and raisins to it like I do a regular curry. Idea for next time I guess. :) It's nice and spicy, too!

The rice and beans, by the way, are complementary proteins so this is an excellent dish for vegetarians since it provides all the necessary protein types (I used to know what those were..!) Figured I'd use that "teachable moment" for a small nutrition lesson. :)

Another meal I wish I had some naan (sp?) bread to go with!

2 servings

Ingredients:
1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 tsp. canola or olive oil, divided
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. ground coriander
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tbsp. tomato paste
1/2 tbsp. plain soy yogurt or regular plain yogurt for a non-vegan dish
1 clove minced garlic
1/4 tsp. ground ginger or 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger
1/2 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
**ooh, it also called for salt but I missed that... seem to do that a lot! You won't miss it if you forget it! There are so many other wonderful flavours going on :)

Method:
1. In a medium saucepan or Dutch oven, saute the onion in 1/2 tsp. oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes. Push the onions to one side of the pan and add the remaining 1/2 tsp. oil. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin and mix well. Add the coriander, curry, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Cook the spices for just a little bit and then mix them with the onions.

2. Reduce the heat and add the tomato paste, yogurt, garlic, and ginger. Stir and simmer for about 2 minutes. Mash about 1/4 of the kidney beans and add them, along with the other beans, and the water to the pan. Stir and then simmer for about 30 minutes.

3. For a thicker sauce, cook uncovered for an additional 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Serve over rice.

Reference:
I found this recipe in a cookbook one of the moms at work gave me :) So nice of her! It's a book that was compiled by the mothers in her playgroup (The San Diego North County Attachment Playgroup) so I'm sure it's not readily available but here's the information on it anyway!
Fresh Mamas: Whole Cooking for Our Whole Families (2007 Cookbook). Edited by Carol Jefferies and Jenny Kim. San Diego, CA.
Yeay! :)

Curried Couscous with Vegetables & Chickpeas

I love all things curry so this was right up my alley! This could be a main dish or a side with some chicken/shrimp or even a veggie soup. I just had it by itself. Very flavourful and the peas added a nice crispiness to it :)
I just remembered I had some yummy mango chutney in the fridge that would have been wonderful with this... oh well, next time!
Hubby, who will not try my vegetarian delights, kept saying how yummy this smelled. Bet he wishes he wasn't so stubborn - I would have shared :) My kitchen does have a great "Indian restaurant smell" I just hope that goes away before tomorrow... lol

I only changed a few things from the original recipe. Here they are:
*Ground ginger in place of fresh (my grocery store never seems to have fresh when I need it!)
*Onion in place of shallots
*Sugar snap peas in place of snow peas (again, couldn't find them. The sugar snaps added a nice sweetness which contrasted well with the curry)

Serves 2-3 as a main dish

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1/2 tbsp. curry powder
1 1/4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup couscous
1/4 cup sliced onion
1/4 cup sliced carrots
1/8 tsp. ground ginger (um, I knew I should have written this down! I can't remember if I used 1/8 or 1/4 tsp... either way, I couldn't really taste it over the curry powder)
1/2 cup sliced button mushrooms
1/2 cup sugar snap peas
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed

Method:
1. In a wok or small skillet, heat 1/2-1 tsp. olive oil over low heat. Remove from the heat and stir in the curry powder. Set aside.

2. Bring 1 cup of vegetable broth to a boil in a saucepan. Add the curried olive oil mixture and stir. Add the couscous, stir, and cover immediately. Remove from heat and let sit 5 minutes.

3. While the couscous sits, place a wok or skillet over high heat for 1 minute. Add 1 tsp. olive oil and the onion. Reduce heat to medium and stir-fry until the onion softens. I did this in the same skillet I used to heat the oil and curry powder in step 1. It gave the veggies a great curry flavour (which may explain why I couldn't taste the ginger! lol)

4. Add the carrot and ginger; stir-fry 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms; stir-fry 1 minute. Add the peas and stir-fry 1 more minute.

5. Heat the remaining 1/4 cup veggie broth, salt, and pepper in a saucepan. Add the chickpeas and simmer for 2-3 minutes until warmed through.

6. Combine the couscous, vegetables, and chickpeas with the seasoned broth. Serve hot.

Mmmm... wish I'd had some of that Indian flat bread to go with it (again, next time!) ;)


Reference:
This is based on the Curried Couscous with Vegetables and Chickpeas recipe from the book The Occasional Vegetarian by Karen Lee.