Cumin seed and Curry leaf

Jeera kashayam and Use of Curry leaves

Disclaimer: These are spices and herbs that I use for my personal wellbeing. I am just sharing what worked for me, an adult Indian male. Effects may vary in your case. This is not a dietary or medical advice.

Today we will quickly go over the benefits of Jeera (zeeraka/cumin seeds) kashayam (infusion) as well benefits of curry leaves (Murraya koenigii).

Helps me with: gastric issues (bloat), acidity (sometimes). They also say it helps in cooling, all over India people drink jeera water with some salts. I think the general hydration helps more, but I digress.

My Grandma's Recipe:

Dry roast 1 table spoon of good quality cumin seeds without any debris.

Roast on medium heat with light stirring till they sputter. (Takes 3-4 mins max for me)

Transfer to a quart pan, add two cups of water and bring to boil. Let the water level go down to ~1-1.25 cups, then switch off the stove. Add a drop o two of ghee. If you don't have ghee, you can substitute for the fat content with a tiny amount of coconut oil or peanut butter. 

Allow liquid to cool, filter out the infusion. (I use a separate tea mesh strainer, you can use fine cheesecloth for better filtration). Drink it lukewarm where possible. During summer you can drink this over ice, with a squeeze of lemon and little honey.

A recipe that is similar with pics is here

http://www.cookatease.com/jeera-kashayam-cumin-seeds-juice

Curry Leaves:

Roast 6-8 curry leaves in half a tsp of hot oil, it will sputter so use a splatter screen, or a partially closed lid. 

Add as a garnish to any salad or curry.

Helps me with: Antioxidant properties, digestive health. They also supposedly help with cholestrol balance, hair growth, kidney health, etc .

Where do you find these? 
1) Cumin seeds: This is so common now that you can find it all regular grocery stores in the spices section. Of course, Indian grocery stores carry larger sized packets. It may be recommended to get certified organic products if you have a concern about the supply chain/contaminant/residue from spraying etc.

2) Curry leaves - US: typically Indian grocery stores in most cities and suburban areas carry these. Ask for fresh curry leaves at the store and they will point it you. In some states like Florida you can even buy a small plant (to grow in warm conditions - aka indoors)
One such link that also discusses some benefits/uses is: https://www.ypfarms.com/did-you-know/curry-leaves/  Thanks,  Nari

Starchy Vegetables - Crispy Indian Style

SOUTH INDIAN LOW SPICE CURRY

General method for a south indian styled curry, especially when working with starchy vegetables like potato, plantain (green unripe banana, yams, beet root, sweet potato etc:

Safety: Use a splatter screen or a partially closed lid for preventing mustard from jumping out. Keep all things dry of water, hot oil and water drops do NOT mix.

Sweet potato curry

- (Add to hot oil at medium/high heat in this order left to right) --> Mustard seeds (let it sputter for 1-2 mins), coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chopped cashews (can substitute with peanuts or yellow split peas - mainly for texture).. All of these sputter and splatter, so a half closed lid or splatter screen is useful at this stage.

Reduce the heat a little then..

If I have curry leaves and hing (a pungent edible resin) I add them at this stage...once these were browned, I added chopped onions, let it brown or caramelize depending on taste preference. and after this..

 I add chopped ginger..(and garlic sometimes).. after couple minutes I add the sweet potatoes (or any other vegetable).. after this I sprinkle salt, turmeric and also a little bit of black pepper. Turmeric's bio-activity is best when consumed with some pepper/chili powder etc.

if you do not want it spicy SKIP the red chili powder but do use some black pepper.

if you want it spicy, add red chili powder after you add turmeric. You can also supplement with chopped green chili peppers (

Cook to tenderness and it's ready to eat!

Similar method can be applied to most root/tube or starchy vegetables like carrot, jicama, beets, potatoes, green plantains etc.  This method it can also be used with turnip roots but cook it for lesser duration

Fresh curry leaves will be there at many Indian grocery stores. Their aroma is amazing when added to hot oil.

if you like crisp green plantain curry specifically.. check out this recipe that I posted on my blog a while ago..

 http://spicetruck.blogspot.com/2015/10/plantains-tamil-style.html

This is a recipe adapted from a live demo I conducted for my friends at New River Gorge when I had participated in a plein air painting workshop. I apologize for any errors in the language. Please let me know in comments or on my facebook page, and I will strive to fix it soon!

Thank you for your thyme :) ! 

Colorful Food is Appetizing!

A good mix of colors in the food I eat is always very appetizing to me. Even a simple salad made out of carrots, cucumbers (and you can add spinach, cilantro, walnuts or almonds for plant protein) looks great simply due to the contrast of bright colors. That is one of the items I made today for lunch along with a lentil-rice "pie" and a stir-fry with assorted vegetables.

Carrot-cucumber salad: Washed carrots (scrub well), washed cucumbers and then peeled. Sliced both into small pieces, mixed them up in a salad bowl with some lemon juice and sprinkled salt to taste. Also added some almonds to my salad to give some crunchiness. Picture shows what is left of the salad after we ate it while waiting for the stir fry to get ready.

Stir-fried Vegetables: Will add procedure soon. This included potatoes, zuccini, red peppers with cilantro seasoning at the end. Spices used were garlic, ginger, cumin seeds and asafoetida (optional).

Lentil-rice "pie": Not really a pie, but I just shaped the rice and lentils that I had cooked to softness in a pressure cooker (with 1 tbsp butter added) into the shape of a pie. You can also make this in a crock pot but start preparing the lentils first and then add the rice in about a 1/5th into your estimated total cooking time. So if you wanted to cook lentils for 60 mins in a slow cooker, then add rinsed rice and appropriate amount water about 12 mins into cooking cycle.

A different angle

Note: usually I add 2.25 cups water per cup of dry lentils and 2 cups water per cup of brown rice. these amounts may vary with your rice/lentil type.. add less and you can add more later if needed.

For other recipes using lentils, check out: http://spicetruck.blogspot.com/search/label/lentils