Monthly Archives: January 2013

Lassi – The indian way of milkshake

29 Tuesday Jan 2013

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No indian meal without a lassi.

Mango Lassi

Lassi is a popular and yogurt based indian drink. It can be both sweet or savory. Traditional Lassi is savory, often yogurt is blended together with water and spices like roasted cumin and coriander seeds. It’s said to help your digestion when enjoying an indian fest, too.  The most popular way to enjoy a sweet lassi is mango lassi. It’s refreshing and not as filling as a milkshake. And it tastes really great!

If the mango you use is ripe enough, you won’t need any additional sweetener. At least, that’s what my tastebuds told me. Feel free to add  agave, sugar, stevia or blend in some dates. Whatever works for you is fine!

Another thing I like about Lassi: It’s so simple! No fancy ingredients! Okay, you can add fancy ingredients like rose water, but you don’t have too!

Mango Lassi 2

Mango Lassi 

  • 1 cup yogurt (I used soy) 
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 ripe mango, cut into cubes *
  • Optional: a dash of cardamom or 3 cardamom pods
  • Optional: 1 teespoon rosewater

Put everything in your blender and mix. That’s it! Enjoy  Lassi with an indian meal or just like that!

Note: Cardamom and rosewater are not for everyone. I love cardamom, but most people I know don’t… so please make sure you like it before you add it to your lassi! I warned you!

* No fresh mango on hand? Use some pieces of dried mango! Soak before mixing or use a high speed blender, it does the job!

Lassi 3

You might have noticed that there was no mini fig here. You’re still on the Playful and Hungry website, don’t worry. I must have been out of sorts when I was taking these pics… and probably really hungry, too!

Okay. I just can’t do this. I just can’t post this without a playful pic. That’s just not right! So here you are. The hippie is one of my favorites. However, I definitelly need a female hippie to identify with…

Let’s make the connection between Lassi and my playful hippie picture: Many hippies travelled to india! =D There you go!

hippie and horse

Navratan Korma – The nine gems

21 Monday Jan 2013

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Navratan Korma – I even like the name of this dish! Navratan means nine gems and stands for the nine vegetables, fruits and nuts originally used in this dish. However, it’s up to you how many ingredients you want to add, as always, just add the veggies you like and that are available to you. Navratan Korma is more about the delicious, creamy sauce anyway.

Navratan Korma

Too me, it’s THE Indian dish. It took a while for me to notice that each time I was at an Indian Restaurant (and I’ve been to many Indian restaurants!), I’d usually take Navratan Korma. Well, who needs variety when you can always just eat the most delicious dish on the menu?

Okay, I guess you noticed that Navratan Korma is delicious to me… So could just stop talking and giving you the recipe!

Oh, and don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients! It’s really not that much once you have all the spices!

Navratan Korma 2

Navratan Korma 

inspired by The Lotus and the Artichoke

  • 1 cup / 8og cauliflower, chopped
  • 1/2 cup / 50g bush beans
  • 1/2 cup / 50g peas
  • 1 large potato, chopped (I didn’t peal, it’s up to you)
  • 3/4 cup / 180 ml water
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1/4 tsp granulated garlic OR 1 clove fresh, finely chopped garlic
  • 1 inch / 2 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
  • 1/2 cup cashews plus some for decoration
  • 2 tsp cumin, ground
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • cayenne pepper (optional, it’s hot!)
  • 1 tomato, chopped
  • a little less than 1 tsp salt
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/3 cup raisins
  • optional: fresh coriander leaves, for garnish

Heat the oil in a big pot on medium heat. Add onion and ginger (and fresh garlic, of using). Stir constantly and fry for about 2-3 minutes.
Add cumin, coriander, garam masala and tumeric and fry again for 2-3 minutes, until the spices omit a nice smell. Mix in the chopped tomato and cook for another 3 minutes. Turn of the heat now and puree the spice-tomato mix together with the cashews and water. Put the sauce back in the pot, turn on medium heat and add the bay leave, salt and raisins.
Now it’s time to add the veggies! You could also precook them, like the original recipe does, but I found it sufficient to cook them in the creamy sauce for about 15 minutes. Make it hot: Add cayenne pepper to taste!
Garnish with fresh coriander leaves.

Indian Navratan Korma

Cheers!

Indian Naan Bread

12 Saturday Jan 2013

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No Indian meal without Naan! I could go without the basmati rice. I often do eat my Indian curries without basmati rice. Don’t get me wrong, I really like basmati rice, it’s my favorite kind of rice. But Naan bread is just SO much better! So when I do have the choice – rice or naan, it’s gonna be Naan! A lot of Naan!

Naan Elephant

If you want to be really authentic: Try to eat your indian meal using the naan bread the grap the veggies and suck up the sauce. No knife, fork or spoon needed! Okay, that’s for pros. Might be easier than chop sticks, though.

My twist on Naan bread was to use whole wheat  flour. It fills you up and makes you feel much better. I also prefer the hearty flavor! However, feel free to use either whole wheat flour or just normal white flour – it both works in this recipe. Just keep in mind that whole wheat flour need a little bit more liquid than white flour.

Naan

Naan Bread 

inspired by “The Lotus and the Artichoke” (have a look – it’s a great website and a unique approach)

  • 1/2 package dry yeast (or 20g fresh yeast)
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbs warm water
  • 1 3/4 cups / 220 g wholewheat pastry flour (Germany: Weizenmehl 1050)
  •  1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 Tbs soy yogurt
  • 2 Tbs water or soy milk
  • 2 Tbs oil

Whisk yeast, sugar, warm water in a small bowl. Let it rest and rise for 10 min. Combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Mix soy yogurt, soy milk, oil in another small bowl and add this to the yeast-water mixture. Add combined wet ingredients to dry mix in large bowl. Fold, mix well. Knead for 5-7 minutes until dough is soft and rubbery. You can add slightly more water or flour if needed. The dough should form well and not be sticky. Cover dough and let it rise in a warm place for 2-4 hours.
Heat a large pan on high heat. Separate the dough into 4 different pieces and form long, oval naans. Cook dough in the pan. Each side should cook 4-5 min on high heat. Once there are brown spots and bubbles on each side, this delicious bread is done!

I am getting hungry by looking at it. And so does my little zoo right here…

Naan Panda

So, it’s your turn. What’s your favorite part about indian food?

Coming up: Navratan Korma and Mango Lassi!

Authentic Indian Feast – Dahl Soup

02 Wednesday Jan 2013

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I love Indian food.

So when we were thinking about what to make for New Year’s Eve (the traditional stuff here would have been Raclette or Fondue, which I am not really fond of), it didn’t take me long to come up with the idea. We’ll make a big, yummy, tasty, authentic, Indian feast!

Indien feast

As a starter, we had Dahl soup.
Our entree was Navratan Korma with Naan bread
Accompanied by Mango-Chai Lassi
And finally, sweet rice pudding with rose water as a dessert!

I’ve had all those dishes cooked by an Indian family before… and I tried to get as close to the flavor I remembered. What should I say… I think it worked out just fine!

Here are all the recipes from our feast:

Dahl Soup (recipe in this post)
Navratan Korma
Naan bread (Indian flatbread)
Indian Lassi
Sweet rice pudding

Let’s start with our starter!

Dahl Soup

Dahl Soup

  • 1/3 cup red lentils 
  • 2 fresh, chopped tomatoes
  • about 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1 teaspoon garam Masala
  • a pinch of asafoetida
  • optional: cayenne pepper
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • water as need for desired consistence
  • 1 tsp oil

Heat the oil in a pot (medium heat). Add cumin, garam masala and asafoetida and roast until the spiced omit the typical, delicious smell (just take care that you don’t burn them. However, you’d smell that, too ; ) ). Add chopped tomatoes and cook for about 3 min. Now, add coconut milk and lentils. Don’t add salt until the lentils are cooked and really soft! Depending on your desired consistence, add water. Cook until the lentils are soft. When the soup is done, you can use a potato masher to make it even more creamy. Season the soup with salt, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Little friend Dahl Soup

Keep in mind: Hot food makes you happy! I guess this little guy added a lot of cayenne pepper… This Dahl is really rich and creamy, if you want to lighten it up, use less coconut milk. It will still taste great.

Dahl soup and cheers

Cheers! I hope you all had a great start of the year. My little friends and I are looking forward to many more yummy, vegan and playful blog posts in 2013!