Please pass the peas

Sweet and Sour Gujarati Tomato Curry with Tofu

February 29, 2016

Gujarati Sweet and Sour Tomato Curry with Tofu from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

This time four years ago, I was in India, on leave from my newspaper job and working as a volunteer English teacher.

I was newly married, but living apart from my husband, in convents among nuns. Paul held down the fort back at home.

When I left India at the end of my volunteer stint, it was with the certainty that I would one day go back. I still hope I will, but so much about my life has changed in the intervening years and right now any return trip seems an awfully long way off.

These days, the closest I come to a return to India is at the dinner table.

This tomato curry reminds me of all the amazing food I ate in the northwestern state of Gujarat, during a few days of vacation just before I returned home to the United States. Gujarat is one of my favorite places in India — it’s one of my favorite places in the world, actually — a fascinating stretch of unspoiled beaches, vast salt plains, beautiful architecture and skilled artisans.

And the food! The food is amazing. Many people associate Indian cuisine with fiery spices, but Gujarati cooks seem to embrace a wide array of flavors and a single meal might includes dishes that are salty, sweet, hot and sour in various combinations.

This curry is typical of Gujarat, in that it incorporates a little sugar into an otherwise savory dish. There, something like this would likely be served alongside several other dishes, probably including some sort of beans or lentils, rice, and various vegetable preparations.

I rarely have the time to prepare such a multifaceted meal, so I added cubes of tofu to the curry make it feel more complete. You could certainly throw in some homemade paneer instead. We ate this alongside store-bought naan and last summer’s pickled okra for a perfect quick dinner. I happily heated up the leftovers for lunch along with some extra farro and lentils left hanging around from a previous meal.

Spices from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

I usually start making dinner about 30 minutes before we plan to sit down and eat and it’s easy to fall into a rut when my main goals are to get something family-friendly and reasonably healthy on the table in a short amount of time. I like trying new things, but the truth is that we fall back on old-favorites a lot.

Also, I don’t think I’ve blogged about this before, but we’re expecting another baby soon — a little sister for E. I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which means I have to eat pretty carefully and my dinnertime choices are more limited than before. I need to balance my carb intake with lots and lots of protein, so no more big bowls of creamy pasta for the time being.

I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy too, and sometimes struggled to find good meal options. Working out which recipes would have the appropriate amount of carbs relative to protein, fiber and so on could get complicated and, in the end, I grudgingly ate a lot of processed food because reading labels was easier than analyzing recipes.

This time around, I’ve been determined to stick with eating as much “real food” as possible. I don’t want to start feeding E a lot of processed crap just because it makes things easier for me.

Fortunately, this sweet and sour curry works within my new dietary restrictions. It’s also quick to prepare, interesting enough for the grown ups at the table and not too spicy for the resident toddler. It’s definitely a new favorite and one I’ll be happy to fall back on, time and time again.

Toddler-approved Tomato Curry with Tofu from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

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Sweet and Sour Gujarati Tomato Curry with Tofu

Yield: about 4 servings, although you might find yourself going back for seconds…

Adapted from "At Home with Madhur Jaffrey."

Sometimes I find Indian food a little fussy to prepare, especially since most recipes include a long list of ingredients, some of which can be hard to track down. So I was skeptical when I saw this one described as something that would come together in just 10 minutes, but it does (and I tend be cooking amid a lot of distractions).

I've made this with both fresh and canned tomatoes and, while both versions were good, I prefer it with fresh ones. Out of season, I find that cherry tomatoes are usually more acceptable than the full-sized specimens.

Also, I make this with a generous 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and find that that's the perfect amount of spice for us, just enough to keep things lively without putting off the toddler at the table. Having said that, if you aren't feeding little kids, you might want to rachet up the spice level just a bit.

  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground asafetida (sometimes called hing instead)
  • 1 teaspoon whole black or yellow mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
  • 2 pounds medium-sized tomatoes, quartered, OR cherry tomatoes, halved, OR one 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes
  • 1 package of firm or extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into bite-sized cubes
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground numeric
  • 1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar (I only had light brown, so I used that along with a tiny drizzle of molasses)
  • 1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the asafetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. You may want to use a splatter screen or partially cover the pan because the mustard seeds will quickly begin to pop.

As soon as the mustard seeds start popping, add the tomatoes and the cubed tofu. If using canned tomatoes, use your fingers to tear the tomatoes into large pieces and make sure to add any liquid from the can as well.

Stir once or twice and add the salt, turmeric and cayenne. Stir. If using fresh tomatoes, add 3 tablespoons of water. Omit the water if using canned tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Jaffrey says to cover, but I leave mine uncovered and like the slightly thicker result.

Stir in the sugar (and molasses, if using) and ginger. Taste, correcting seasonings if necessary, and cook for another 2-3 minutes before serving.

3.1
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Filed Under: Entree, Gestational Diabetes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Winter Tagged With: curry, Indian, tofu, tomatoes

Simplest Shakshuka with Feta

February 3, 2016

Simplest Shakshuka with Feta from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

I’m not even going to get into all of the reasons why I haven’t posted since, ahem, before Thanksgiving.

They are myriad and I could go on about them all day, but that would just be burying the lede, which is to say: Shakshuka! Have you tried it? You really, really should.

We’ve been eating, and loving, shakshuka for years but I never bothered to write about it before because it has been all over the Internet for quite some time. I guess I figured most of you have already at least heard about this North African dish of eggs poached in smoky, spicy tomato sauce.

But I want this blog to be about the foods I’m excited to eat right now, so shakshuka it is.

Pretty backyard chicken eggs from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.comA common breakfast dish in places like Israel and Tunisia, I especially like shakshuka for dinner. It retains a strong spot on my list of favorite cold weather comfort foods, is quick enough to pull off on a weeknight and reasonably healthy to boot.

I’ve seen lots of recipes for this homey dish, sometimes with the addition of red bell peppers, leafy greens or assorted other spices, and though I always mean to try them, I keep coming back to this simple version instead.

Paul and I used to eat this pretty regularly, but that more or less fell by the wayside after we discovered that E is allergic to eggs. Last weekend, however, we shipped the little guy off to his grandparents’ for the night and had a date night in, complete with a steaming bowl of spicy poached eggs, topped with lots of salty feta and a flurry of flat-leaf parsley.

Sure, there are more romantic menu options out there, but for sheer deliciousness on a chilly winter night, shakshuka is hard to beat.

Steamy shakshuka from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

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Simplest Shakshuka with Feta

Yield: 3 filling dinner portions, allowing 2 eggs per person. (The photos above show a half recipe.)

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen were it was in turn adapted from Savuer

Essentially eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, shakshuka is perhaps my favorite breakfast-for-dinner meal.

Make sure to serve this with bread to mop up all the delicious sauce. Pitas are a traditional accompaniment, but I like pillowy challah bread best.

  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • one small yellow onion, chopped
  • five Anaheim chilis or three jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
  • five cloves garlic, minced
  • one tablespoon paprika
  • one teaspoon cumin
  • one 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes
  • salt to taste
  • 6 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup feta, crumbled
  • 1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
  • challah or pita, to serve

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chili and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown. Add the garlic, paprika and cumin and cook for another minute or two.

Next, add the tomatoes and any juices to the pan, gently squeezing each tomato between your fingers first to break it into smaller pieces. Watch out for squirting tomato juice! Add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan, turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Taste the sauce and add a little salt, if needed.

Crack the eggs into the pan, spacing them evenly, and cover the pan. Cook, covered, until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are just beginning to set, about five minutes.

Top with feta and parsley and serve with challah bread (my preference) or pitas.

3.1
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All content and photos copyright Please Pass the Peas ~ pleasepassthepeas.com

Filed Under: Breakfast, Brunch, Entree, Vegetarian, Winter Tagged With: eggs, tomatoes

Tomato Chutney

August 21, 2015

Tomato Chutney from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

When we decided to move (much, much) closer to my parents, I expected the free babysitting to be a big perk and it definitely is.

But a little more than a year later, I’ve learned there are other benefits too, like being the lucky beneficiary of 15+ pounds of tomatoes my mom picked up on whim from a roadside stand.

Fifteen pounds is a lot of tomatoes, even for someone like me, who considers the archetypal tomato sandwich one of summer’s greatest pleasures and whose toddler pounds cherry tomatoes like candy…. 

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Filed Under: Accompaniments, Summer, Vegan, Vegetarian Tagged With: canning, chutney, Indian, preserves, tomatoes

Tomato cobbler

August 4, 2014

tomatoes for cobbler from https://test.pleasepassthepeas.com

We recently spent a long weekend with some good friends at their family’s condo on Oak Island.

It was only about an hour from here, but it still felt like a real vacation. (Thanks again guys, for inviting us.)

In fact, now that I think of it, it was the first real vacation we’ve taken since E was born over a year ago. We’ve traveled to family weddings and that sort of thing, but never just left town with no particular agenda.

Traveling is definitely different with a baby. Even with no place we had to be, it’s not as though we were exactly freewheeling.

We were up and out of the condo first thing every morning, so as to squeeze in as much beach time as possible before E’s morning nap.

The great thing about going to the beach at 8 a.m. is that we had it all to ourselves. Some mornings we were the only ones out there except for the odd dog walker passing by.

I don’t know what it is about going to the beach (where, let’s be honest, I’m mostly sedentary) but I’m always really ravenous afterwards.

This tomato cobbler is something I made for dinner one night at the condo. Paul calls it “stodgy man food.” It’s just the sort of thing I’m in the mood for after a day at the beach: fresh, uncomplicated and filling…. 

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Filed Under: Entree, Summer, Vegetarian Tagged With: cobbler, tomatoes

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