Sticking to it... and more recipes.

Hi folks, I'm definitely trying to keep to the basic constructs of eating well, but I'm not being as strict as that detox plan outlined. I'm trying to incorporate more fruits and vegetables, eating as little processed food as possible, and drinking a lot more water. My favorite moment at a Weight Watchers meeting (yes, I have pretty much tried it all over the years to keep the pounds at bay) many years ago happened when a woman said, "None of us are here because we ate too much broccoli." Well said, lady. Well said.

Over the weekend, I finished reading a book by Dr. Nicholas Perricone who extols the virtues of fish oil and omega fatty acids. Whether these experts agree on vegan vs. not, most of my favorite health and food writers (Michael Pollan, Mark Bittman, Joel Furhman, Neal Barnard) agree on the same thing - preservatives are bad news, too much meat is probably a bad idea, and you can't go wrong with fresh, healthful fruits and veggies. Incidentally, when I was growing up, my mother said this all the time too...

I wish I had the ability to keep a garden in Manhattan, because there's nothing more inspiring in the kitchen than going outside and picking a tomato or cucumber and some fresh basil from your garden to make a salad. My sister-in-law Sonia has a fabulous garden, and I love to visit my family in Austin for many reasons. But one of them is to see what she's planted and taste what amazing salad or soup or entree that she makes out of her harvest.

I decided to channel my mother over the weekend, and I whipped up some traditional Bengali comfort food. My relatives are going to crack up when they see these recipes, because they are pretty common "everyday" foods for most Bengalis. But I thought I'd share the processes with my non-Indian friends.

Roasted Moong Daal Kitchuri (made w/ cracked wheat instead of rice)
1/2 cup cracked wheat (cooked, per pkg directions)
1/2 cup split yellow mung lentils
1-1 1/2 cup water
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp garam masala powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
1/2 tsp grated ginger (optional)
1 tsp olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp salt

Start your saucepan on a medium heat and toast the unwashed lentils on the stovetop. You have to keep stirring this or the mung pods will burn. It goes rather quickly depending on the heat index of your particular stove, usually within a few minutes, and you'll be able to smell the nutty aroma as they get roasted slightly. When you see the mung daal change color from a light butter yellow to a darker ochre color, you're done. Remove the lentils from the heat and let them cool. Give them a little rinse to remove any grit or dust, and then put them back into the pot with about a cup of water (you'll want to add more if your lentils take a long time to cook). Bring that to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium low and add the chopped tomato, turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, and salt. Let the mixture simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes or until the lentils are softened (when you pre-roast daal in this way, the lentils will not melt down completely) and a lot of the water has evaporated. Then add in the cooked cracked wheat and stir it all together. Most of the water should be soaked up at this point.

The next step is the coup de grace really. It's very simple, and all Indian daals end this way. But without this step, this dish would just be so-so. Take the oil and heat it up in a separate pan (I use a small frying pan - and be a little wary, this part splatters a bit) on medium high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, red pepper flakes, and grated ginger and swirl the goods around in the pan. Once you smell the spices cooking (and you will smell it almost instantly, but give it a minute to really dance with the oil), add the spice mixture to the mung daal & cracked wheat concoction and stir to combine it all completely. This makes 3-4 servings.

PS - My mom adds some ghee (an Indian kitchen staple - clarified butter) to this last step to make the dish really rich, but if you are sticking to a vegan diet, you can omit the dairy. There are enough spices in this dish that it tastes pretty great without the ghee. If you are gluten-free, use rice instead of cracked wheat. This dish is traditionally made with the uncooked rice and daal thrown into the pot together and cooked through at the same time. I just find it easier to add the pre-cooked cracked wheat in later.

Bengali style cabbage
1/2 head of cabbage, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp oil
1 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat, and add the whole cumin seeds and red pepper flakes till they jump in the pan slightly and release their fragrant aroma. Add the cabbage and tomato and the remaining spices, give it all a stir, and then put a lid on it and lower the heat slightly. Keep stirring it all every few minutes to keep the cabbage from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Just keep an eye on it, but at this point, you're just cooking down the cabbage. It will let out a fair amount of water on its own, and you just want it to cook in its own juices. Towards the end of the cooking process, add in the frozen peas and give it a stir again. Once the cabbage is cooked through, raise the heat and cook of any remaining liquid in the pan, stirring often to keep the veggies from sticking to the bottom of the pan. When the water is gone, you're done. Serve with the kitchuri from above, and you have a pretty hearty, low-fat, & vegan meal.

I really should've taken some photos of this stuff. (I wish my beautiful and talented friend Kenzi lived near me to help me out - my food actually tastes a lot better than MY amateur photography skills make it look. She'd make it sing in photos.)