Healthy Recipes for the New Year

I may have mentioned that my husband and I have been on a healthy eating regimen for the last half year. Between us both, we have shed 100 pounds, and still have lots to go. In order to accomplish this, we have not been counting calories, nor have we been tightly following any of the popular diet crazes that exist just now.

My philosophy is that all we need is to reduce the amount of processed foods to almost none. This means no boxes or packages of "helpers," use very few cans, and preferably those with either 50% less or no salt. I limit cans to corn (which we eat rarely, due to the high amount of corn already found in our diets these days), tomatoes (paste, sauce, diced), and some beans (VERY well rinsed). I do occasionally use mushrooms from cans, but more often I just cook fresh mushrooms, or use dried and reconstituted.  I make things from scratch at least 95% of the time. And lots and lots of vegetables, very little bread, and only made from freshly ground wheat or rye, with no butter on it. My philosophy says that if the bread isn't good enough to eat without butter, then it's not good bread. We eat fruit, in small portions.

A couple of standby meals for us have been vegetable soup and one of many different takes on a Tarka (or Tadka) Dal. After trying a few recipes from my cookbooks and one from vegrecipesofindia.com, I started improvising and making my own mixtures. These can be as simple or as complex as you choose to make them.

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Vegetable Soup

I made a pot of vegetable soup today, as we have both been feeling so over stuffed as to be uncomfortable. My vegetable soups are made with whatever is on hand at any given time. Sometimes I have more ingredients in the fridge, and sometimes I am running low. My method is to use as many non-starchy vegetables as possible, and then using a handful or so of some whole grain such as long-cooking barley. Other times I toss in a handful or two of some of the Indian lentils (Masoor Dal, Toor Dal, Moong Dal, etc). These thicken the soup slightly, and are filling, while at the same time giving a nice dose of complex carbs. I usually start out with a good stock that I have made previously, but even starting with a pot of water works. I use about 6 to 8 cups of stock or water. And after that, it is all up to what is available. 

Everything But the Kitchen Sink Vegetable Soup

Serves 4 - 6 (or 2 people, for various days of lunches)

Everything But the Kitchen Sink
Vegetable Soup

These are things I most always use, and make up the basis of the flavors:

• 1 chopped onion
• 2 - 4 minced cloves of garlic
• 1 - 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
• 1 - 2 carrots, diced
• 2 - 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
• pinch saffron
• 1 bay leaf

And then these are additions that can be added in, depending on what's in the fridge, and what you are in the mood for. I never use everything on the list at one time:

• 1 cup cauliflower (grated, as my husband can't see it that way!)
• 1 - 1½ cups chopped cabbage
• 1 cup chopped fresh green beans
• 1 cup chopped fresh sugar snap peas
• 1 cup cubed winter squash, peeled
• 1 cup cubed zucchini
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• 2 cups chopped kale
• ¼ - ⅓ cup long-cooking barley
• ¼ cup red lentils (masoor dal), split pigeon peas (toor dal) or split mung beans (moong dal)
• tomatoes, chopped
• cilantro, chopped
• parsley, chopped

If I missed anything on your "favorite vegetables" list, you can add or substitute. I avoid potatoes, as they are mainly gratuitous starch. I salt the soup at the end of the cooking time, and sparingly. 

Toor Dal with Tomatoes & Spinach

I mentioned the lentil dishes I have been making, and they are pretty much a staple also, as they are great complex carbs, and add protein to our diet. I make a good sized pot of these lentils, and again, use them over a two - three day period, for lunch. I cook one day, and then have food for the next two. This gives me time to do other tasks on the off days, such as writing this blog! This Dal recipe is quite simple, but extremely flavorful.

Toor Dal with Tomatoes & Spinach

Serves 4 to 6

Toor Dal with Tomatoes & Spinach

1 cup Toor Dal (split pigeon peas)
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 Serrano pepper, minced (eliminate seeds for less heat, or add more chilies for more heat)
----- 1 tablespoon ghee or oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 dry red chili pepper, whole
12 curry leaves (murraya koenigii) 
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root
3 - 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
3 ounces spinach (or substitute kale)
 
Rinse the lentils repeatedly, until the water runs off clear. Place them into a pot with at least 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. The lentils will produce a thick scum, which should be skimmed off. Reduce heat to a simmer. Add in the tomatoes, turmeric and the Serrano pepper and allow the lentils to cook for about 40 minutes, while preparing the flavorings. 

In a skillet, heat the ghee or oil until very hot. Add in the mustard seeds, and if the oil was hot enough, they will begin sputtering and popping all over the place. Cover the pan, shaking it to keep the mustard seeds moving until they slow down considerable, similarly to popcorn. Remove lid and add in, stirring, the cumin seeds, the dried chili pepper and the curry leaves. Saute for about 1 minutes, then add in the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add this mixture to the cooked lentils along with the spinach and the salt and stir well. Serve with rice, preferably whole grain rice.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

Indian Lentils Make a Fantastic and Healthy Meal

If you have no interest in Indian cooking, and Indian flavors, then this blog will not be for you. Personally, Indian flavors just fascinate and intrigue, so every time I discover something new, it is time to celebrate. Just recently I discovered a few new lentils and lentil dishes and set off on a new path of flavors and textures.

My husband and I both (thankfully, both!) love Indian flavors. I am the more adventurous of us two, and tend to look for more and more interesting foods and new flavors. When I discovered various new lentils and the confusion surrounding them as far as what they are called and the things that get lost in translation, I wrote a blog about how to sort through all these terms. Click here to read about untangling all of those interesting lentils and sorting through the confusion. 

Mixed Lentil Dal (note the rose-colored rice)

I had been using the little red lentils (more like salmon colored) for many years now, and really loved the one "dahl" dish I made with them. Then, discovering some dishes with other lentils I had possibly read about, but had no knowledge of, I set about understanding all I could. Once becoming conversant with the different split and peeled lentils, or "dals," and tasting many of them on their own, to better recognize their flavors, I am now mixing and making some of my own dishes. Our diet has changed since June, with both of us losing weight, and I have worked to create a diet filled with vegetables and high-fiber lentils. I had been following recipes from a couple of books I have, and wrote about some of these recipes in that same blog about untangling lentil terminology.

Mixed Lentil Dal

After trying some of these recipes, I set about using some of the lentils in dishes with my own spin. I generally add in lots more vegetables to the dish to make it as nutritious as possible. I serve my lentil dishes with rice, but I have been using whole grain rices such as brown rice, Wehani rice, red rice, burgundy rice, etc. Most of these are available from either Lotus Foods or Lundberg. I buy these through either Amazon or Vitacost. The red rices cook up to a deep pinkish rose color, and make quite the contrast with the yellow of the lentil dishes, as seen in the photos here.

In the process of experimentation, I came up with a combination that just tasted so good to both of us that I have to share. I made it with a combo of 

• Toor Dal (split peeled pigeon peas), 
• Masoor Dal (split, peeled "red" lentils), 
• Moong Dal (split, peeled mung beans) and 
• Urad Dal (split, peeled black gram). 

Common flavoring ingredients, added once the lentils are cooked, are such things as onion, garlic, ginger (sort of the trinity of Indian flavors!), mustard, cumin and coriander seeds. Other possible additions are such things as curry leaves, asafoetida, green chilies and tomatoes. I used most of these in my Mixed Lentil Dal, and added in some other vegetables, mainly red bell pepper, cauliflower and kale.

Four Dals Used in Mixed Lentil Dal

My husband is not a lover of most vegetables, but I am finding that when presented in certain ways, he will tolerate them. Neither if us ever really ate kale, but it has become a staple in our diets of late. Adding finely chopped kale to most soups, stews and lentil dishes really makes kale easy to eat and like. Plus, the health benefits are astounding! Kale is high in lutein. Kale, combined with lentils, makes a highly complementary nutritional balance, as each contains nutrients the other does not have. Kale is great for cardiovascular health and improved cholesterol levels. It is high in Vitamins K, A and C, as well as manganese and copper. All this, plus it helps with the body's detoxification system, as well.

Cauliflower, which I love and he hates, can be grated finely and added into lentils (and sometimes soup), where it completely disappears and is consumed unnoticed. To date, I cannot get my husband to eat cauliflower in any state where it resembles the vegetable that it is! Again, cauliflower has many of the same benefits of kale (such as lutein, vitamin C and heart healthy), plus a few others of its own, so getting some of these vegetables into our diet, no matter the form, is healthier. Though it is advised to steam cauliflower, as boiling leaches many nutrients, since we are eating the cooking liquid, in the form of soup or the lentil dish, I feel we are getting most of the nutrient value. 

Amen. Off the soapbox!

Mixed Lentil Dal

Mixed Lentil Dal

Serves about 4, as a meal with rice 

⅓ cup toor dal
⅓ cup masoor dal
⅓ cup moong dal
2 tablespoons urad dal
½ teaspoon turmeric
-----
1½ tablespoons cooking oil or pure mustard oil
½ teaspoon brown mustard seeds, whole
½ teaspoon cumin seeds, whole
¼ teaspoon asafetida, optional
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1½ tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 - 3 green chilies, minced, optional
1 cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup grated, fresh cauliflower
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
¾ teaspoon salt
1½ cups fresh kale, chopped finely

Set all the lentils into a bowl and wash repeatedly, until the water drains off mostly clear. Place the drained lentils into a saucepan and cover with about 6 cups of water and the turmeric. Bring to boil, skimming off the thick foam as it accumulates, reduce heat to low and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the lentils are soft and beginning to fall apart.

Meanwhile, heat a skillet and add in the oil. If using mustard oil, allow the oil to come to smoking point before proceeding. Have the pot's lid at hand. Add in the mustard and cumin seeds and quickly cover with the lid. Allow all the snapping and crackling to subside, then remove the lid and add in the asafoetida, if using. Stir well, then add the onions. Over medium heat, cook the onions, stirring often until very soft. Add the garlic and ginger with chilies if using and cook for about 3 minutes more. Add in the tomatoes, red bell pepper, cauliflower and the coriander seeds and cook until most of the liquids from the tomatoes have cooked out.

Once the lentils are cooked through, add the mixture from the skillet into the lentils along with the salt and the kale. Cook for 5 minutes more to meld flavors. Taste for salt. Serve with rice.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.