A Few More Recipes from the Subcontinent

SRI LANKAN CHOPPED SALAD

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded, chopped / salt / 1/2 cup thinly sliced shallots / 2 fresh green chilies / 1/2 t. salt / 1/2 t. black pepper / 2 T. each: lime juice and coconut milk

Place the chopped cucumber in a colander and sprinkle with 1 T. of kosher salt. Set aside for 1/2 hour then rinse well and pat dry.

Toss the cucumber gently with all the remaining ingredients and serve at room temperature. Delicious with rice and beans.

GREEN BEAN AND SESAME SALAD

A simple but flavorful side dish for almost any meal.

1 lb. trimmed green beans or long beans / 3 T. sesame seeds / 2 T. canola oil / 2 fresh green chilies of your choice / 1/2 - 1 t. salt / 2 T. lemon juice / chopped cilantro

Cook the beans until barely tender in boiling salted water and drain and rinse. Drain well again. If you have not done so already the beans should be cut into 1/2" long pieces.

Dry roast the sesame seeds in a hot iron skillet; take care to not burn. Cool then grind to a coarse powder with either a mortar and pestle or a coffee grinder. ( The Magic Bullet is useful here)

Heat the oil over a medium flame until quite hot and then add the chilies to the oil. Cook for 30 seconds and then pour all over the cooked green beans. Add the ground seeds, salt and lemon juice and toss well.

Allow all to rest for an hour or so to develop flavor and serve as a side dish decorated with some chopped cilantro.

CUCUMBERS WITH HOT MUSTARD DRESSING

1/2 lb. peeled and seeded cucumbers, sliced into matchsticks / 1 T. sesame seeds / 1/2 t. cumin seeds / 2 T. plain yogurt / 1 1/2t. mustard oil / 1/4 t. each: fenugreek and nigella seeds / 1 minced green chile / 1/4 t. cayenne pepper / good pinch of turmeric / 1 T. lemon juice

Sprinkle the cucumber with 2 T. of kosher salt and leave to drain in a colander.

As the cukes drain, dry roast the sesame and cumin seeds in a small skillet and then pulverize into a coarse powder. Mix with the yogurt to make a paste and set aside. Alternatively you can roast the seeds and mix with the yogurt but skip the grinding. 

Rinse off the cukes and pat dry well. Rub them all over with the spice-yogurt mixture and place in a large bowl.

Heat the oil over a medium flame and fry the nigella and fenugreek seeds for 1 minute. Add the chile, turmeric, cayenne and heat for another 15 seconds. Pour this all over the cucumbers, stir gently and allow the flavors to develop and meld together for about 1/2 hour before serving.

You may need to add further amounts of salt.

ONION SKILLET BREAD

Not so difficult to make but you will need to head to the Indian grocery store to pick up the urad dhal lentils.

1 1/4 cups urad dhal (white lentils), washed and soaked in 4 cups of water for 3 hours / 1 cup water / 1 t. salt / 1 T. or so of minced hot fresh chilies of your choice / 1 clove garlic, minced / 1/2 t. or just less of dried ginger / 1 cup finely chopped onions or shallots / 1/2 t. ground cumin / 1 cup chopped cilantro

Drain the urad dhal and blend with 1 cup water, the garlic and ginger, salt and fresh chile until you have a gritty batter.

Heat a cast iron skillet over a medium-high flame and add 1 t. of oil to the pan. When it is hot, pour 1/3 cup of batter into the skillet and spread into a circle about 7 inches wide. Sprinkle 2 T. of the onion, a pinch of the cumin and a bit of the cilantro leaves over all.

Cook for 3 minutes then flip the bread over and cook for 3 minutes on the other side. Remove from pan and keep warm in a very low oven.

Repeat and add 1 t. of oil to the skillet for each bread. This seems time-consuming but you don't need to do anything much during the 6 minute cooking time per bread other than flip it once.

The recipes above have been slightly adapted from those in the cookbook Mangoes and Curry Leaves.