Pumpkin Chunks in Garlic Spiced Coconut Cream

This is a re-post of my previous post pumpkin curry in April this year. Ever since I started focusing on improving my food photos, I've felt I should replace all my previous posts with basic compact camera.  Re-posting all of them with new improved photos will take time. One of them for which I just replaced the photos has become a great hit and now is the most popular post - Eggplant Curry.

Pumpkin curry, eggplant curry, and a leafy vegetable stir fry served with rice as a main meal, along with crunchy papadams and curd chili would be a perfect authentic Sri Lankan lunch. Hot and sour taste of eggplant curry goes well with this sweet garlic spiced pumpkin chunks and rice. It’s one of my favorite combinations of curries with rice.

Pumpkin is full of vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants. Pumpkin is loaded with vitamin A and antioxidant carotenes. Also it’s a good source of vitamins C, K, and E, and lots of minerals, including magnesium, potassium, and iron. 

In this curry I’ve cooked them with skin, that’s how authentic Sri Lankan pumpkin curry is made and it tastes good with skin. At home they also make simple stir-fry dish with diced pumpkin.

Spinach & Yellow Split Peas Soup & a Free Recipe Book Giveaway

I first tasted this as a side dish served with banana leaf lunch. Typically in a banana leaf lunch they serve around 8+ side dishes. So some of them I eat alone without rice. As soon as I tasted this curry it stroked me that what a healthy curry that can be made as a soup.

Spinach combined with legume – yellow split peas provides complete nutrition and protein.  Spinach is ranked as one of world’s healthiest vegetable. It’s rich in vitamins (vitamin A, K & C) and minerals (Iron, magnesium, folate etc) and also a powerful anti-oxidant. It is best to eat spinach in raw form, (in salads & sandwiches) else if you are cooking spinach it has to be cooked for less than a minute to preserve its nutrition’s.

I had to put some extra effort to do this post, as I’m still recovering from post holiday syndrome. Slowly getting back to my routine. I really enjoyed this holiday in Europe, wonderful weather, indulged in scrumptious food and took 1000+ photos in picturesque sights. Stay tuned I’ll share some photos with you’ll in photography page. Some of you may wonder why I’ve enjoyed weather, it’s because I come from a hot, humid 24*7 sweating weather, I love to walk outdoors, but I can’t do that here because of weather. That’s why from morning till 10pm or so, I was out enjoying 20+^C weather in Europe.

Green Beans Spicy Stir-fry

This dish reminds me of my mum’s scrumptious cooking and family lunches. My father always remind us about nutritional benefits of eating green beans. We grew up in a boarding house while schooling. So I’d wait till school holidays to indulge. I guess mom too planned to entertain us with variety of food. I still cherish those days where all four of us will sit together and enjoy scrumptious food. I really miss those special days. Now we are all scattered. Those days my mum teases me telling that I’m a balloon. Because I gain during school holidays and lose weight when I’m back in boarding house.

I never managed to get this dish the way my mom made. But somehow with practice I’ve got it.

Eat more green beans to prevent osteoporosis. Green vegetables are very good source of Vitamin K which is important for bone health. Vitamin K deficiency is associated with low bone mineral density, and an increase in bone fractures. Green beans are good for heart because its high fiber content helps to lower cholesterol. They are also a good source of protein, folic acid, iron, potassium, magnesium and phosphorus.

Bitter Melon Salad

I grew up seeing my grandma eating fresh bitter melon salad, juice and bitter melon curry to control her diabetics. As it is in the name it is very bitter in taste. My mom would soak them overnight in coconut water and cook them with tamarind pulp and pinch of sugar to reduce bitterness. Memories of my mum’s delicious bitter melon curry is making me salivate as I’m writing about it.

There are different variety of bitter melons, dark green small ones, green long ones and light green long ones. Some of my Chinese friends like it just in a stir-fry dish with tofu. Small dark green one’s are much bitter compared to other two varieties. Hence I guess you could stir fry other two varieties i.e long green and light green ones. You can also find bitter melon juice in all fruit juice joints in Southeast Asia.

This vegetable is rich in iron and its calcium content is said to be twice that of spinach. Even the beta carotene content in bitter melon is double the amount nutrient in broccoli. It is also a rich source of potassium, phosphorous, dietary fiber, etc.

One of the most important health benefits of bitter melon is its blood sugar lowering properties. So, it is said to be best for diabetics. Bitter melon is also said to be beneficial for those with intestinal parasites.  Other benefits of bitter melon is it is useful for cleansing blood, boosting immunity and balancing hormones.

This recipe is something I learnt from mom, when bitter melon is fried with salt and turmeric it’s crunchiness and savory taste overpowers its bitterness. It’s also a very popular side dish served with banana leaf meals in Malaysian Indian Restaurants.

Paneer Tikka Masala

Panneer tikka masala served with vegetable biryani and raita (Indian salad) is one my favorite comfort food. Needless to say being a spice lover, I love this yum cottage cheese cubes marinated in tandoori spices and served in a tangy gravy made with full cream milk, minced onion, chili, garlic, ginger and other Indian spices. The main meal is fragrant basmati rice infused with Biryani spices. And definitely something very charming and to cool your body is salad in yogurt base. It is mouth watering as it looks; this is the kind of a food that takes you above the grounds…. You know what I mean right? Such a comforting meal to have for a weekend lunch. 

Greek Style Tomato & Bean Stew

Everyone has their own successful weight loss formula. For me it’s taking soups for dinner, sandwich and milk for lunch combined with regular exercise. When I switched to carb meals for dinner it started showing up in the scale. So with much determination I’m trying to take more soups / stews for dinner.

Idea for this soup is adapted from one of my favorite Spanish Vegetarian food blog. But I’ve added / subtracted some ingredients and modified the method to suite our taste preferences. Spanish food blogger Natalie also shares lovely pictures of country side surrounding she lives in. I’m so much in love with that type of country side living.

This stew is packed with legumes that are rich in nutrition, including protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals. Legumes are being used to lower cholesterol levels, improve blood glucose control in diabetics, and reduce the risk of many cancers. Legumes contain many important nutrients and phytochemicals, and when combined with grains, they form a complete protein.

Caramelized Onion and Garlic in Hot and Sour Fenugreek Gravy (Venthaya Kuzhambu)

Gravy curry known as Kootu or kuzhambu in tamil is one of the main curry in south Indian meals. It goes well with rice, which is the staple food of South Asians. This curry has an aromatic flavorful gravy base, which is made with coconut cream and spices such as curry powder, coriander powder, tamarind pulp, chili powder and garam masala is added to enhance flavors of this curry. Similar type of curries are popular in Malaysian, Thai and Sri Lankan cuisine. Curries of each cuisine will have its own distinctive ingredient. For example Thai curry will be flavored with aromatics like kaffir lime leaf and lemon grass. Distinctive ingredients in Malay curries are shrimp paste or fried shrimp or fried anchovies. Sri Lankan curries are lot spicier than other curries due to heavy use of chilies. You can see lot of similarities as well as differences in these curries.

This tangy gravy is made of coconut cream and flavored with tamarind, chili and curry powder. Caramelized onion and sautéed garlic gives a pungent flavor to this gravy. Fenugreek seeds help to cool down your body from extra heat created by garlic and chili. This spicy gravy is best to serve with rice or pittu (Popular Sri Lankan meal, it’s texture is like Israli couscous, but its made with red rice flour) or roti.

Broccoli and Tofu Stir-fry with Thai Red Rice (Low Glycemic Meal)

I'm glad that I got the habit of reading health related articles and books from my dearest Dad. So when my DH asked me to read this book on "Healthy for Life" by Ray D Strand, MD, I willingly accepted.  I strongly believe in this quote “Prevention is better than cure”.

Below are some insights I gathered from this book.

The way to manage weight and maintain healthy life is to consume protein rich food combined with complex carbohydrates and to avoid high sugar and refined flour food. Our diet plays an important role in managing the insulin levels in blood.  When we consume high sugar food, the level of blood sugar rises, resulting in high insulin levels. The role of insulin is to drive sugar into a cell to be either utilized or stored as fat. In fat cells insulin enhances the conversion of glucose into fat resulting in weight gain. Hence higher insulin levels converts sugar into fat, and also holds on to stored fat like a sponge holds on to water.

The opposing hormone to insulin is Glucagon – a fat releasing hormone stimulated by the intake of protein. It is suppressed by the intake of carbohydrates. Hence when we eat a lot of high-glycemic carbohydrates rich food such as cakes, doughnut, croissant, sugar, white bread, polished rice, potatoes etc., insulin levels rises and glucagon levels drop. On the other hand when we eat balanced food having protein, good fat, and low glycemic carbohydrates in a meal, insulin and glucagon levels remain in a healthy balance. Examples of low glycemic food are fruits, vegetables, beans, legumes, tofu, unpolished brown and red rice, parboiled long grain rice, nuts, rolled oats, low fat yoghurt and skim milk.

Knowledge from this book has inspired me to add more protein, and create a meal around protein.

Vegetarian Spaghetti

Spaghetti and noodles are my favorite dinner meals. However they are high in starch, hence especially if you’re taking it as dinner it has to be consumed in moderation. I picked up this spaghetti sauce idea from Jamie Oliver; however I did not want to serve them only with sauce. Because I was only going to use around 100g -150g of spaghetti for 2, so I had to make it filling by adding more vegetables and legumes. I added other Italian ingredients like olives, 3 colored peppers, zucchini and kidney beans. Just as I’m writing this post I got an idea; next time I should add some spinach or basil leaves. Try it out…. I’m sure you guyz will like it.

Soy Tikka Masala served with Carrot Rice & Raita (Salad)

Chicken tikka and paneer tikka are some of the most popular Indian dishes served in restaurants. Tikka means pieces. Specialty of this dish is paneer is marinated in tadoori spices and yoghurt and baked or barbequed in skewers. Then it’s added to tangy creamy gravy which is the base of this dish. It can be served with rice, biryani or Indian breads like naan or chapatti.

I tried the same cooking style with textured soy protein chunks. I recommend using soy chunks because similar to paneer (cottage cheese) it’s bland in taste; also textured soy protein has soft spongy texture. Hence its texture helps to absorb maximum flavors when marinated and roasted in oven.

I chose to serve Soy tikka masala with carrot rice, again a rice recipe I picked up from my mom. My version has roasted peanuts and yellow split peas for protein and crunchiness. Whenever I make main meals like rice, pasta or noodles, I look for other ingredients to add volume so that I can serve a meal with less carbohydrate and more vegetables and nuts or legumes.

Carrot gives mild sweetness to this rice, served with spicy soy tikka masala, and raita (Indian Salad) is a perfect combination for a special occasion.

Chickpeas (Garbanzo Beans) Salad

Whenever I make salads, I add legumes as a protein source. Nutty flavor of chick peas goes well combined with sour green apple and colored peppers.

Garbanzo beans (chickpeas) are a very good source of folic acid, fiber, and protein.  They are also a good source of protein, as well as minerals such as iron, copper, zinc and magnesium. As a good source of fiber, garbanzo beans can help lower cholesterol and  improve blood sugar levels. This makes them a great food especially for diabetics and insulin-resistant individuals. When served with high quality grains, garbanzo beans are an extremely-low-fat, complete protein food.  

Print recipe here
Ingredients

Serves 2-3

100g boiled chickpeas

¼ of each red, yellow and green peppers, thinly sliced

1 green granny smith apple, diced

1 red onion, thinly sliced

½ of Japanese cucumber, thinly sliced

2 red chilies, halved and sliced

50g pitted black olives                                                                50g cherry tomatoes, halved

For Dressing

2 tbsp low fat yogurt (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic and ginger

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp dried parsley

Pinch of salt and pepper

Method

Mix all the dressing ingredients, set them aside.

Add all vegetables to a large salad bowl, drizzle dressing over the vegetables. Mix well with wooden spoon, serve immediately.

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Malaysian Mee Goreng (Fried Noodles)

Making tasty noodles has evolved in my kitchen with age and places I’ve been living. My childhood memories of home cooked noodles is simple. Noodles slightly colored in yellow using turmeric powder, mixed with leeks and carrots served with fried fish curry. (yes I’m a converted vegetarian, for 18 years) After a while when my mom became vegetarian and chose to avoid garlic and onion, she’d make the noodles with french beans, cabbage and carrot and serve it with some curry. South Asians cannot live without curry. (Some of Hindus (Brahmins, Jains) and Chinese vegetarians do not consume garlic and onion)

As we moved to South East Asia I was introduced to variety of noodles, and different methods of cooking them. Noodles in curry bowl (Laksa), Bee Hoon (Rice Noodles), chow mein (Chinese style stir-fried noodles), char kway teow  etc., While I tried most of them I also developed my style of making noodles incorporating Malaysian, Chinese, Thai as well as my mom’s style.

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Tomato and Rice Stew

This is a satisfying meal made with savory blend of rice and tomato.


Ingredients
Serves 2-3


2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic and ginger
50g long grain white / red rice washed
200g can tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 potato diced
1 celery stalk sliced
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp chili powder
1 vegetable soup cube
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of roasted peanuts and coriander leaves for garnishing


Method


Heat oil in a large pan sauté onion, garlic ginger for 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, tomato puree, sugar, chili powder, stock cube, potatoes, celery and rice. Stir occasionally till liquid is absorbed by rice.


Add one bowl of water, close the lid, lower the heat, and cook for 15 minutes till rice is soft.


Turn off heat add salt and pepper to taste. Serve in soup bowls garnish with coriander and roasted peanuts.

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