Seeing Red!

I love vegetables and so have never had a doctor advising me to eat more veggies. One of my favorite vegetables is the ubiquitous cabbage, so hated by many. I can guess why so many people hate the cabbage; I can even empathize with them; I think it comes back to my pet peeve - overcooking. Overcooking cabbage brings out its horrible smell and makes the texture unpalatable and unappetizing. In addition, it loses its nutrients. It is a lose-lose proposition all round.

I have read a lot about the benefits of eating colored vegetables, the deeper the color, the more the nutrients. Red cabbage in particular is known for its phytonutrient content and is also particularly beneficial for women's health - especially in the prevention of breast cancer. It has an inordinate amount of Vitamin K, C, Folate, B6 and dietary fiber, promotes gastro-intestinal health and has cardio-vascular benefits.

Seems to me that eating what I love to eat anyway, is real winning solution! So when I go vegetable shopping, my shopping cart always has a head of green cabbage and a head of red cabbage. I made a red cabbage dish the other day. This is one the easiest dishes to make, especially when you are in rush and want to have something healthy at hand for your family's meal.

Here's how:

You will need:
6 cups finely shredded red cabbage
1/2 cup walnuts
1/4 cup cranberries (you can substitute with raisins)
3 tsp Extra Virgin Olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp red chili powder

Pre-heat oven to 450 degrees.

Wash and drain the shredded red cabbage thoroughly. Take care to air dry it until most of the water is gone. Toss it with Olive oil, salt and chili powder. Now add the walnuts and cranberries. Bake for 10 minutes (no more than 10 minutes so that it doesnt get overcooked).

Serve with whole grain bread, or with whole wheat rotis, or as a salad. Simply yummy and very healthy!

Universal Truth!

Tis a truth, universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in need of a wife! - so wrote Jane Austen in the opening lines of her famous "Pride and Prejudice".

I agree! I agree! "Tis a truth universally acknowledged, that only people who love to eat, can really cook very well!" To be able to dish up means that you know which flavors tempt, which ones tease, and which ones elicit gluttony, which satisfy and which haunt!

With that in mind, I started breakfast today - I mulled over what was in my larder and decided to make the very basic Upma - a steaming hot, satisfyingly filling, rice semolina concoction, which is one of the very first dishes taught to a young girl who is being groomed to cook in her in-laws joint family kitchen after marriage. All I had seen was a bland, oatmeal kinda dish - yummy, nonetheless, cause my mother is a chef non pariel. She would whip this dish with chopped onions, a bit of chopped ginger and it would taste just fantastic.

But I always have to go a step further and make it a healthy meal, so here's what I decided to put into the dish:
Semolina: 1 cup
Carrot: 1/2 finely grated
Green pepper: 1/2 finely chopped
Onion: 1 finely chopped
Ginger root: small piece finely grated
Potato: 1/2 finely chopped
Chili: 1 red
Water: 2 cups
Oil: 1 tsp
Black mustard seeds: 1/4 tsp

As I started to cook this meal, I got a call from a friend in India. Normally, I cannot multi task while cooking because I need to concentrate, but since this dish (remember, I had mentioned that this is one the first dishes a young girl learns to make?) was something I could make while blindfolded, I continued to talk and cook.

First, I roasted the semolina in the dry, hot pan with no oil.
See picture on the right. Then I removed it from the pan and dropped in the oil. Waited until the oil was hot to drop in the mustard seeds. When the seeds crackled, in came the chopped onions, red chili, grated ginger and chopped potatoes. Few minutes until the potatoes cooked, turned down the heat and added 2 cups of water. Added salt and waited for the water to boil. Once the water boiled, added the roasted semolina in slowly until all the water was absorbed. Now added the chopped green peppers, and closed the dish to let the green pepper partially cook in the steam. 2 more minutes, and this dish is done - add the grated carrot and here it is - a heart-healthy, low-fat, satisfying, breakfast dish - just eat it- you need no accompaniments with this.