Vegetarian Stuffed Mushrooms

Delicious stuffed mushroom recipe. Stuffed mushrooms are juicy, savory and have an appetizing crunch. This easy recipe is perfect to add to a routine meal and also a great choice for entertaining--especially for providing vegetarian options for guests.

What you need:

• 12 baby bella mushrooms, whole
• 1 celery stick, chopped as finely as you can
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
• Salt to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup favorite cheese, shredded (Le Gruyere or white cheddar work well)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided into 1 tablespoon each
• 1/2 cup - 1 cup French's french fried onions

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. 
2. Grease a baking tray with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil, some salt and cayenne pepper and place to the side.
3. Wash whole mushrooms. 
4. Remove the stems from the mushrooms and dice the stems only. Leave the rest of the rest of the mushroom intact.
5. Place mushroom caps on tray with opening facing up and massage in oil and spices all over.
6. Combine in a mixing bowl the diced mushroom stems, chopped celery, minced garlic, chopped cilantro, shredded cheese, remaining one tablespoon of oil. Add salt and cayenne pepper to taste (remember all items in the mix can be eaten raw, so tasting is not harmful). This is your stuffing [shown].
   
7. Evenly distribute the stuffing into mushroom caps, slightly overfilling them. Top the mushrooms off with the french fried onions as shown.
   
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the french fried onions have browned. [If desired, the baking temperature can be adjusted to 425 degrees mid-way.]
9. Serve and enjoy! Be careful--the mushrooms will be hot on the inside.
   
   
   

Cauliflower Stir Fry

This dish is simple to prepare and delicious! 

Makes 6-8 servings [varies based on portion size].

What you need:

• 1 and a half tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 chili, whole [optional]
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 cloves
• 1 cardamom
• 1/8 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• Approximately 1 head of cauliflower, broken into 2-inch pieces
• 1 medium tomato, chopped [optional]
• 1/2 teaspoon salt and additional to taste
• Cayenne pepper to taste
• Freshly cracked black pepper [optional]
• Handful of cilantro leaves [optional]

Directions:

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium-sized pan that has a lid. 
2. Add the cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and whole chili [warning:  may splatter].
3. When the fenugreek seeds turn brown, add the cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves, cumin powder, coriander powder, ginger and garlic. 
4. Sauté the spices for a few seconds and add the cauliflower and salt.
5. Cover and cook until cauliflower has reached desired texture [we do it for approximately 10 minutes.] Midway through cooking, add the tomato [optional].
6. Add additional salt and black pepper if desired and cayenne pepper to taste. 
7. Cook uncovered for additional time for a slightly roasted flavor.
8. Garnish with cilantro [optional].
9. Serve and enjoy! 

Plan ahead tip:

Keep ginger and garlic chopped and ready to go. You can even freeze it so that it lasts longer.

Vegetarian Momos

Momos (dumplings) were always a special treat in our household. Learn more about the history of momos. Check out this vegetarian version below, courtesy of my mother.

What you need:

• 1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 cup cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh cauliflower, chopped
• 2 cups spinach, chopped
• 1/2 cup white onion, chopped
• 1/8 cup green onion, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
• 1/8 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh garlic, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• Gyoza/potsticker wrappers [so you do not have to make the dough by hand].

Directions:

1. Process the mushrooms in a food processor.
2. Sauté the processed mushrooms until browned (this helps to dry them out).
3. Process the cabbage and cauliflower.
4. Combine the mushrooms, cabbage, cauliflower, spinach, all onions, ginger, garlic, cilantro, salt, coriander, cumin, red pepper, vegetable oil, and egg. This is your filling.
5. Add water to a large pot with steamer basket. Let water boil.
6. Lay out gyoza/potsticker wrappers and add about 1-2 teaspoons of filling to the center of each wrapper as shown. There should be empty space around the circumference, which you will need to close the wrapper. While you do not need to drain the juices, avoid adding too much of them as they will spill out.
7. Grab edges of wrapper and bring them to the center. Pinch in the middle to close and then twist.
   
   
   [There is a whole art to this but I am sharing my quick and easy way. See this blog for some great instructions.]
8. Once you have enough to fill your steamer basket, add them and cover. Steam for approximately 15 minutes, until cooked.
9. Serve and enjoy! Pairs well with Tomato Mint Chutney (recipe here).

How to make Tomato Mint Chutney

This minty achar is flavorful and goes with almost everything. It's one of my favorites!

What you need:

• 8-9 roma tomatoes, whole
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 green chili
• 1/4 teaspoon schezuan pepper
• Juice from lemon (add more to taste)
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Add oil to a non-stick pan that has a lid. Heat for 30 seconds on medium heat. 
2. Add whole tomatoes to the pan. Cover with a lid.
3. Cook on medium heat until tomatoes are softened (20-30 minutes).
4. Once soft, mash the tomatoes until it appears as in the photo. 
   
5. Let tomatoes cool.
6. Combine all remaining ingredients and blend.
7. Serve and enjoy!

Bittermelon Chips!

Warning:  Bitter! Not for the faint-hearted....Here is a wikipedia article on the scientific features of the plant and culinary uses. This is a common dish in South Asia.

Fresh bittermelon from my mother's garden! 

Directions:

1. Slice clean bittermelon so that pieces are small circles as shown in the final product photo above.
2. Place in a bowl and salt liberally. Set aside for 30 minutes. This step helps to remove some of the bitterness flavor from the bittermelon.
3. Very important:  After the 30 minutes have passed, transfer the bitter melon into another container and squeeze out any remaining moisture.
4. Heat up oil in a frying pan.
5. Place sliced bittermelon in the pan so that the bittermelon slices are not on top of each other [they are all making contact with the pan.] This is critical to ensure a dried, crispy texture in the end.
6. Cook the slices for 30-45 minutes on low to medium heat, flipping slices over once in between.
7. When slices begin to brown, toss with minced garlic.
8. Add salt to taste.
9. Serve and enjoy!

Tomato Achar

This achar can be eaten alongside a traditional Nepali meal of rice and lentils [dal] or as a dipping sauce or salsa. Learn more about achar in South Asian cuisine.

What you need:

• 8-9 small tomatoes [adjust if using larger tomatoes], chopped into large chunks
• 1/2 onion, chopped into small pieces
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• Red pepper to taste
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Add oil to a non-stick pot that has a lid. Heat for 30 seconds on medium heat. 
2. Add onions to pan. Stir and cook until clear. 
3. Add tomatoes, garlic, ginger and cumin. Cover with lid.
4. Cook until tomatoes have reduced in size and mixture resembles a thick salsa or chunky pasta sauce.
5. Add red pepper and salt to taste.
6. Enjoy warm or refrigerate to serve cold. 

Easy Blackened Chili Avocado Salad

Or you can call it guacamole. :)

What you need:

• 1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 dried chili
• 1 large avocado or two small avocados
• Juice of 1/4 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• Salt to taste (I use 1/4-1/2 teaspoon)

Directions:

1. Add oil to a pan and heat for 30 seconds on medium heat. 
2. Carefully add the chili(es) to the hot oil. [I like to do multiple chiles at a time; however, this recipe only requires one.] 
3. Flip chiles when blackened and turn the heat off. See the picture.
4. Wash the avocado and separate the avocado(s) from the peel.*
5. Put the avocado, minced garlic, lemon juice and chili in a bowl.
6. Use a fork to mash the avocado, crush the blackened chili and ensure that all ingredients are evenly dispersed.
7. Add salt to taste and mix some more.
8. Serve and enjoy!

*I wash the avocado, slice it carefully in half and scoop out the avocado from each half using a spoon. Exercise caution with the seed--it can be a choking hazard.

How to make Raita

Family raita recipe

Here is a simple recipe for raita, which is a creamy, flavorful and healthy sauce that can be used as a side or dipping sauce. There are many variations of this dish. Here is ours!

What you need:

• Half a pound of cucumbers (about 2 medium-sized cucumbers), shredded*
• 1 cup of plain yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, divided into 1/4 teaspoons

*If you have a food processor, you may be able to use it to shred the cucumbers. Or, you can chop the cucumbers very finely by hand.

Directions:

1. Mix shredded cucumbers with 1/4 teaspoon salt and let it sit for 15 minutes. The purpose of this step is to reduce bitterness and separate water from the cucumbers.
2. After 15 minutes, remove the cucumber portion from the water and squeeze the cucumbers to remove even more water. After squeezing, your cucumbers may not look that attractive, but this is normal. They may look like those in the picture shown. 
   
3. Mix the cucumber, minced garlic, yogurt, cumin and remaining salt in a bowl.
4. Add more salt or other seasonings if needed.
5. Serve and enjoy! Or store for a few hours in the refrigerator to make the raita even more flavorful.

How to make Spicy Nepali Squash Curry

Seasonal Squash Curry

*Note: The photo was updated to show this recipe made with zucchini, not yellow squash. You can interchange your favorite seasonal squash.

This recipe is courtesy of my mother. For this, I used yellow, round squash that I picked up at the local farmer's market. However, you can experiment with different varieties of squash--some will have a sweeter flavor. You can play around with the texture too. This recipe creates a dish that has a soft consistency.

Makes 2-4 servings (varies based on portion size).

What you need:

• About 1 pound of your favorite squash
• 1/2 an onion [I used white]
• 1/2 a small tomato [or 1/3 of a large one]
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon chopped ginger
• 1 dried chili [optional--if you want the spicy flavor]
• 15-20 fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1/8 teaspoon tumeric powder
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• Salt to taste

Directions:

1. Chop your ingredients as shown in the picture. [Note:  my garlic and ginger is combined in the picture and a whole tomato is shown even though I only used 1/3. ] Onions were chopped as small as I could get them. Squash was chopped into pieces of about 1 cm by 1 inch. The tomato was chopped about that size too. 
2. Heat the canola oil in a medium size cooking pan on the stove over medium heat. The pan should have a lid.
3. Carefully add fenugreek seeds and chili [optional] allowing them to brown. Be careful because the oil may splatter. [The lid can be used as a shield :P or you can cover the pot with the lid.]
4. Once the seeds and chili have browned, add the onions to the pot. Increase the heat to medium and cook until golden brown, stirring constantly. This may take several minutes. If you need to take a break from stirring, be sure to turn the heat down to low. You want to avoid the onions sticking to the pan and burning. 
5. Once the onions are golden brown, turn the heat down to low.
6. Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric and cumin
   and stir again for a minute or so. The reason why the heat is low at this stage is the ingredients that you just added can burn easily.
7. Add the squash to the pan, cover and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes. You will have to stir the squash every few minutes to avoid burning. If you want to check less often, decrease the heat to low, but you may need to cook a little bit longer.
8. After 15 minutes, add the chopped tomato.
9. Cover and cook for 10 minutes over low heat.
10. Add salt to taste. 
11. Serve and enjoy!

Plan ahead tip:

Keep ginger and garlic chopped and ready to go. You can even freeze it so that it lasts longer.

Favorite vegetarian scrambled eggs with mushrooms and greens

Coming soon!