summer is for salad

mmm...salad.

mung bean sprouts
fresh seasonal veggies, like carrots, kholrabi, cabbage
cilantro, chopped
peanuts

dressing:
tahini or peanut butter
lime juice
hot sauce
salt
minced garlic
minced ginger
water

chop, grate, or julienne the veggies. mix all the veggies, beans, and cilantro. stir together the dressing ingredients, thin with water to a pourable consistency, and adjust flavors as necessary. toss with salad. garnish with chopped peanuts.

madhur jaffrey's spiced rice with cashews

like most indian food, it's really easy to eat too much of this.

spiced rice with cashews

2 cups white basmati or other long-grain white rice
4 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp raw cashews, split in half lengthwise
1 medium-sized onion, peeled, cut in half, and sliced thinly
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp peeled, grated fresh ginger
1/8 tsp cayenne
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp garam masala
3 cups hot vegetable stock (make it by boiling 10 dried shitake mushrooms, 1/2 an onion, 2 carrots, for 20-30 minutes, then drain broth from veggies)

rinse the rice 4 or 5 times. cover rice with 4 1/2 cups of fresh water and leave to soak for 1/2 an hour. drain, and leave rice in strainer.

preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

use a heave ovenproof pot or 2-quart sauté pan with a lid. heat the oil over medium heat. Put in the cashews. Fry for a few seconds, until the nuts turn golden brown. remove nuts with a slotted spoon and set aside.

fry the onion slices in the same oil for a few minutes, until they begin to brown. add the drained rice, garlic, ginger, cayenne, garam masala, and salt. turn heat to medium low and stir and fry the rice for 7-9 minutes until rice is translucent and well coated with the oil.

add the heated stock. keep stirring and cooking on a medium-low flame for another 5-6 minutes. when the top of the rice begins to look dry (there will still be liquid left on the bottom of the pot), cover the pot with a well-fitting lid and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes until rice is cooked through. remove pot from oven, stir in cashews and leave, covered, for 10 minutes.

when ready to serve, break up clumps in rice and spoon onto plates.

saag paneer

i could live off of this, especially since i have access to lots of free greens and milk. homemade paneer is the way to go. chard is a good green to use, as is spinach, although i think you get a little more mileage out of the chard.

5 bunches of chard
paneer
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 small onions, chopped
1 inch ginger, grated or minced
2 Tbsp butter or ghee, and 2 Tbsp veggie oil
cumin
turmeric
garam masala
cardamom
cinnamon
cayenne
nutmeg
yogurt

first blanch the chard bunches, one at a time. as you're blanching, cut off the stems and process them in batches in the food processor, or mince them up finely by hand.
heat the oil and butter in a pot and add the onions. cook for a few minutes before adding the mustard, cumin seeds, and turmeric. keep cooking for about 5 minutes. add the garlic and ginger, cayenne, garam masala, cardamom. cook until onions are translucent. add chard and cinnamon. cook until chard is completely soft, adding some liquid if you need it (milk or water). while the greens are cooking, fry the paneer in a little butter, preferably in a non-stick or cast iron skillet. add the cinnamon and grated nutmeg to taste towards the end of cooking. the nutmeg is really what makes this taste like what you get in indian restaurants, so keep adding it until it tastes right, probably about 1/4 tsp or so.
let the dish cool a little when it's done cooking, then add yogurt to desired taste and creaminess. stir in the paneer. serve with basmati rice!