3. Thogayal made from Asparagus

Here is another interesting Indian recipe with asparagus. Thogayal or Thuvaiyal or Chutney for Rice is one of the quintessential South Indian Recipe. Rice with Thogayal and chips is an amazing and filling meal on its own. This is a Thogayal recipe prepared with asparagus. Thanks to my friend N for sharing this recipe.

Usually tender and young asparagus shoots are commonly eaten. As the buds start to open, the asparagus shoots become woody and become very hard to eat. According to Wikipedia, Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of vitamin B₆, calcium, magnesium, and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fibre, protein, beta-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamine, riboflavin, rutin, niacin, folic acid, iron, phosphorus, potassium, copper, manganese, and selenium as well as chromium, a trace mineral that enhances the ability of insulin to transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells.

Usually, we prepare roasted asparagus or asparagus soup, but here is the Indian Recipe with the same.  
 

Ingredients:

• Asparagus – 1 bunch
• Gingelly Oil – 1 tsp
• Channa Dal – 3 tbsps
• Urad Dal – 2 tsps
• Red Chilly – 2
• Green Chilly – 1
• Salt – 1 tsp
• Water – 2 to 3 tbsps
• Tamarind Paste – 1 tsp (See notes if you are using tamarind)
• For Tempering:
• Regular Oil – 1 tsp
• Mustard Seeds – 1 tsp
• Hing – 1/4 tsp

Steps:

• Wash the asparagus and remove the tough ends of the asparagus. (Just bend the asparagus, the tender part will automatically come off. Discard the tough ones)
• Chop them into small pieces.

• Now heat the kadai and add oil.
• Once the oil is hot add the chopped asparagus and saute for 5 to 6 minutes until they become tender.
• Remove the asparagus pieces and in the same kadai add the green chilly, red chilly, urad dal and the channa dal and fry until the channa dal turns golden brown.

• Let this mixture cool.
• Now grind the green chilly, red chilly dal mix first without any water.

• Then add cooked asparagus and tamarind paste and grind along with salt.

• Drizzle about 2 to 3 tbsps of water on required basis.

• Now heat the tempering pan or tadka vessel and add the 1 tsp of oil. Once its hot add the mustard seeds and hing.
• As it starts to splutter add it to the chutney.

That’s it. Yummy chutney is ready. Serve hot with rice or other tiffins.

Notes:

• Lemon juice (about 1 tbsp) can be added after grinding.
• Gingelly oil adds unique flavor, but regular oil can be used too.
• If you are using tamarind pulp, use about a small betel nut sized tamarind and saute along with asparagus so that it becomes soft.
• Adjust salt and chilies according to your preference.
• You can use the combo of green and red chilly or either one can be used.

4.  A Palakkad Twist to Rainbow Chard 

Moolagootal is a quintessential Tam Brahm staple, especially if you have Kerala origins. My grandmother had the perfect Keerai (Spinach) Moolagootal recipe! Its beauty comes from the coconut and curry leaves. The Rainbow Chard is pretty abundant in spring and fall in the US. It looks beautiful with the various colors of its stem and is great to grow in your front yard if you want to make a foray into converting your lawn into a vegetable garden.

I am adding my own twists to my grandmother’s recipe for this one. Traditionally moong dal was used, nowadays toor dal is used. I prefer masoor dal for all our traditional dal-based recipes because it is lighter and can be cooked without a pressure cooker.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Masoor Dal

1 bundle of Rainbow Chard chopped fine

1/2 cup of Shredded coconut

A handful of Urad dal

A handful of Jeera

3/4 Red chillies – Use Kashmiri Mirchi if you want color but not the heat!

A tsp of Turmeric

Couple of Curry leaves

A tsp of oil

Steps:

1. Boil the masoor dal and rainbow chard together with the turmeric. I used my slow cooker for this. Throw it in in the morning and you can be ready to make dinner in the evening.
2. Add a tsp of oil into a pan, toss in the urad dal
3. Add the Jeera and Red chilies just as the urad dal is starting to brown.
4. Add the coconut and roast a bit.
5. Set aside and let it cool
6. Mix this masala in your mixie
7. Add to the mixture of masoor dal and rainbow chard.
8. Add curry leaves and let it all simmer.

Traditionally eaten with white rice and roasted potatoes or even butternut squash togayal. A sublime Tambram meal!

5. Butternut Squash Thogayal

Butternut Squash is available in abundance in fall/winter. One of the best ways to eat is of course seasonal. Sometimes incorporating newer vegetables in traditional Indian food is hard. Here is one way to add butternut squash easily into our meals. This chutney/thogayal keeps for a couple of days at least in the fridge and great for working moms to incorporate in meal plans. Unfortunately, it is so lip-smacking it disappears at our home in a day!

Ingredients:

Butternut squash pieces

Red chilies:6

Urad Dal: 4tsp

Grated Coconut: 1 handful

Imli: A small piece

Gud/ Jaggery: 1 small piece

Coriander Leaves

Salt to taste

Procedure:

Step 1:

Cut the butternut squash pieces. Saute them in a pan

or

You can oven roast them at  350 F face down  with a little water till the skin browns and scoop out the squash

Keep them aside.

Step 2: Roast red chilies and urad dal in a pan with little oil till urad dal becomes reddish brown.

Step 3: Add grated coconut and roast for a minute or two.

Take the mixture from the pan and let it cool for a while.

Step 4: Grind the mixture little coarse without adding water. Add imli piece, gud piece, roasted squash, salt, and little water and grind again to get a thick paste. While grinding open the mixie and turn around the mixture so all the mixture gets ground uniformly.

Note: Do not add too much water else the mixture becomes too much watery.

You can do the same kind of thogayal with mint leaves, carrot, mixed vegetables, coriander, brinjal etc. Just saute them separately and add in step 4 instead of butternut squash.

Yummy thogayal is ready which goes well with hot rice or chapati. Great for sandwich spreads as well!

6. Aloo Collard Greens Sabzi

Collard Greens are a great green, they taste a bit reminiscent of Agathi keerai/Aathu Keerai. They also reminded me a bit of Methi (Fenugreek/Menthiyam) leaves because they are thick and slightly bitter. Though they look nothing like methi or agathi keerai.

From Wikipedia: Collard greens are excellent sources of vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, calcium and manganese.

I am usually an advocate of roasting vegetables. I feel that boiling them or steaming them makes them lose their essential character. But that’s just me, and I am no Chef. But there is also research that says frying vegetables in extra virgin olive oil is better than boiling them, and prevents cancer.

Here goes my Aloo-Collard Green Subzi recipe!

Ingredients:

1. 3 Golden Potatoes (These have great texture for roasting and don’t mush up)
2. 1 bundle Collard Green
3. 3 pods Garlic
4. 1 onion
5. Olive oil – 1 tbsp
6. 1 tsp Turmeric
7. Salt to taste

Method:

1. Heat up oil in a pan. Cut the Garlic and Onion into small pieces. and toss them in the Olive oil to roast. Set to Medium Flame.
2. Cut Collard Greens into small shreds and add them to the Onion and Garlic once they are roasted a bit. Roasting the Collard Green in oil somehow caramelizes it a bit and the bitterness is minimized.
3. Add Turmeric
4. Once the collard greens get wilted a bit. Toss in cut cubes of potatoes.
5. Let it all get coated in oil. Then add salt and let it cook for a bit.
6. Now sprinkle some water (you don’t want the potatoes to get mushy so just a tbsp with your hands) and close and cook till the potatoes are cooked through.

Note: I have not used any spices here to keep it preschool friendly, but you could toss in a couple of green/red chillies along with the Garlic and Onion in the first step.

Serve with rice and sambar/rasam or chapatis. Even tastes great in a sandwich the next day for lunch.

Remember to add some walnuts to your sandwich spread for some extra crunch and health.

My 5-year-old certainly approved!