Mixed Vegetable Raitha / Yoghurt Salad

I could potentially be vegetarian. But I could never be vegan. I love yoghurt way too much. I grew up on this elixir of MY life. Some white rice slapped with homemade yoghurt and a side of some sort of vegetable and I was set. To this day, it is my comfort food.

There are lots of variations of Raitha. If I'm having Biryani , I pair it with an onion raitha. When I went to India, I discovered a fruit raitha (mostly with pineapple). You could do any version with either one vegetable/fruit, or more than one. Today, I did a mixed vegetable raitha to go with some store bought (trader joes, for the win) garlic naan.

Serves 2-4

Ingredients:
Carrot- finely chopped 1
Roma Tomato - finely chopped 1 (I added the seeds as well)
Fresh Green Chilli- 1/2 (omit this if you can't take the heat. I've been using chillies that I pick up at the local Persian or Indian market. Looks like they aren't as spicy as Serranos or Jalapenos; though I've used serranos too for this recipe and I didn't feel the heat).
Red Onion - finely chopped 1/4-1/2
Cucumber- 3-5" long piece don't add the seeds finely chopped

Cumin - 1/4 tspn (optional)
salt to taste
some water
Plain yoghurt (1/2 cup)- i use non-fat or 98% fat free.

Cilantro/Coriander - finely chopped

Method:

1. Combine all the veggies (including cilantro) in a bowl with salt.

2. Add the yoghurt and some water to make it come to a dressing consistency. Yoghurt in india is very liquidy, so we dont normally add water. But the Yoghurt in America is SO thick!

3. Mix well, taste and add salt if required. Add the cumin powder and mix again. Some people like the flavor of cumin in their raitha and some don't. I would recommend testing it out before you add cumin to the main bowl.

4. Optional: garnish with some red chilli powder for color. Serve cool.

note: You can douse this over some crisp Iceberg and eat it with some naan or pita. so delish!

Seasoned Cauliflower / Cauliflower Upkari

Picture here

Ingredients: Serves 2-4

2 cups florets of cauliflower
1.5 tspn Black mustard seeds
1 tspn Vegetable oil
1-2 Dried Red Chilli (thai works, just use one)
Salt to taste 1/2 tsp-1tsp
Some water , say 1/4 cup
OPTIONAL asafoetida (hing) – pinch of a pinch of a pinch!
** refer to this recipe for a variation.

Procedure:
1. In a non-stick pan, add the oil and let it heat up on medium heat. Then add the mustard seeds and red chilli pepper and allow them to pop and crackle all over the place.

2. As the seeds are popping all over your stove, toss in the florets and saute so that it's covered with the mustard seeds. Add salt.

3. Add some water and cover to cook florets. Takes about 3-7 minutes on low medium heat. Once cooked turn off heat and this can be a side dish to a number of Indian dishes like this.


This upkari recipe is different from the earlier one because of the source of the heat; Here it is dried red chillies and there it was fresh green chillies.

Note: Instead of Cauliflower, broccoli, green beans, potato, zucchini, etc. can be substituted for variation.

Fried Rice, Desi Style

There's nothing specifically Indian about this but this is pretty much what we get when we go to a Chinese restaurant in India and order fried rice. Indianized chinese food is heavenly.

Ingredients:

Carrots - peeled and chopped finely [into tiny cubes]
Zucchini- Chopped finely
Green Beans- Chopped finely
Green Bell pepper- Chopped finely
Button (white) mushrooms - thinly sliced
Celery- chopped finely
Spring Onions- finely chopped
Red onions - 1 medium sized one, finely chopped.

Ginger: about 2 thin slices (about 1 cm in breadth), DO NOT FINELY CHOP, not much fun to eat this. Remove before serving.
Optional: add other colored peppers, sprouts, spinach!, etc. Don't add eggplant, potato, sweet potato, etc.

Basmati Rice- 1 or 2 cups. [ will serve 2-4 people]

Vegetable cooking oil
Optional: a few drops of sesame oil for aroma.

Salt to taste.
Pepper to taste.
Soy Sauce (totally optional. I prefer it without)

Procedure:

Step 1: Cook the Rice.
I own a rice cooker and use it to make rice. However, if you don't own one then general rule of thumb for cooking rice.: 1rice:2water.
For every cup of rice, add 1.75-2 cups of water to cook it.

Once it is cooked, take it out of the cooker or pot and spread it out on a large plate so it can cool down and separate.

Step 2: Cook the veggies:

In a large pot, put some oil to coat the bottom. If it's a non stick pan then just add a little bit. To it add onions, ginger, carrots, and celery. Saute for about 2 minutes. then add green beans, zuccini, green peppers. Saute for a minute. then add mushrooms (takes the least time to cook) and the spring onions. Keep saute-ing until the veggies are semi-ccoked. i.e. they should remain crunchy when you taste it but at the same time cooked.

Step 3:
Once it is at this stage, add the rice. Also at this point add salt and pepper and soy sauce (if you want, but I don't) and also 1/2 tsp of sesame oil . Mix thoroughly for about 2-4 minutes on the stove and you are done!!!

Notes:
I purposely have not specified how much of each veggie since it depends on if you want more rice or more veggies.

Optional variations:
To make Chicken fried rice:
Buy boneless chicken, preferably chicken breast (white meat):
cut into manageable pieces and marinate for about 30 minutes with ginger and soy sauce. Saute separately and get it cooked.
Once cooked, chop finely and add it to the veggie mixture when you add the rice.

To make Egg fried rice:
On the side scramble an egg or two. Once your fried rice is ready, plate it up and then top it off with the scrambled egg.
Another option is to make fluffly omelette's (properly cooked) and then to chop it up into cubes/squares/rectangles and to top off the rice with it.
Enjoy!!