Indian Delight!

It's time for yet another veggie dinner, and we dined North Indian style courtesy of our distinguished chef, Archana! Why the distinction of North Indian (instead of just Indian), well, the cuisine of Northern and Southern India differs greatly in style and preparation. All I know is this: it's all good eatin!!

The Menu

• Roti
• Subzi/Curry
• Lime Rice
• Drink - Organic, fresh squeezed apple juice from Whole Foods, yum!
• Dessert - Mango sticky rice (prepared by Russel)
  
• Chips - Kettle Cooked Salt & Pepper Chips (purchased by Avory)
  
• Kachori - Purchased from little India. (thanks for the last minute pick up Sheldon!)
  

Lime rice:

• 2 cups cooked rice
• 2 Tablespoons oil
• 2 whole Red Chilies
• 1/2 teaspoon Black Mustard seeds
• 6-8 Curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon Channa daal
• 1 teaspoon Udad Daal
• 3/4th teaspoon Turmeric Powder
• 1 Tablespoon dry roasted Peanuts
• Juice of 1 Lime ( not lemon)
• Salt to Taste
• A pinch of Asafoetida

Preparation

Cook the rice (depending on what type of rice you choose, this may vary -- we're assuming you know what to do!) and allow it to cool. Tip: It is also a great way to use left over rice.

Heat oil in a pot. Add asafoetida, black mustard seeds, curry leaves , chana daal, urad daal and red chilies. Once the black mus tard seeds start to sputter and the daals are slightly light brown add the peanuts, salt and turmeric powder. Finally, add boiled rice, lemon juice and mix it well. Serve at room temperature.

Aloo matar:

Ingredients:

• 3 Potatoes
• 1/2 cup Peas
• 1/2 cup Curd
• Salt To Taste
• 3 Green chillies
• 1 Onion
• 3 Tomatoes, chopped finely
• 1 inch Ginger
• 1/2 tsp Corainder powder
• 1 tsp Red chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp Garam masala
• Salt To Taste
• 2 tbsp Oil
• 1 Turmeric powder
• Handful Pinch Corainder leaves
• Some garlic

Preparation:

Boil the potatoes and peas. Cut half the potatoes into big pieces and mash the other half. Grind onions, chillies, garlic, ginger with little water to fine paste. Heat oil, add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and fry till they pop up. Add the ground paste and fry until it is done. Add tomatoes, salt, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, corainder powder, garam masala and mix well. Add the boiled potatoes, peas, one cup of water. Cover and cook for few minutes. Add the beaten curd and cook on slow flame until a thick gravy is formed. Garnish with corainder leaves and serve hot with parathas.

Dessert

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups sticky or sweet rice
• 14 oz can of coconut milk
• 1/4 cup of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 mango

Preparation:
Add rice and 3 cups of water to rice/pressure cooker. While rice is cooking, in a pot, mix the coconut milk, sugar, and vanilla. Heat over medium heat and slowly heat the mixture to thicken the sasuce. Stir often. Put rice in a bowl and add 1/2 to 2/3 of the coconut milk mixture over top of the rice and mix in with the rice. Let the rice cool down for an hour. Refrigerate up to 24 hours. Do the same for the remaining coconut mixture. Cut up mango in slices. To Serve: Scoop rice into bowl, pour some of the coconut mixture over top of the rice (to desired sweetness) add mango slices.









As usual, there were many compliments for the chef and fabulous conversation! We learned a great deal about the town of Hershey, PA from our Hershey School alumnus, Chris. Ram, a Cricket aficionado, suggested we see Fire in Babylon, a movie about the the legendary West Indies Cricket Team. I had NEVER heard of them before, what a treat! I can't wait to watch this movie. Aside from the food, the Veggie Dinners brings a diversity of thought that is refreshing, entertaining and educational! Next month, in honor of Cinco de Mayo, I will be preparing one of my favorite styles of food: Mexican!! I grew up in Nuevo Mexico, so I am excited to share this with my veggies. Until next time, happy eating!