Geetha's Kitchen

Eggplant Caviar on Toasted Pita With Arugula and Roasted Cherry Tomato This colorful and nutritious veggie caviar is very easy to make; once you chop all the ingredients, the oven does the rest of the work. I was trying to clean out the fridge prior to going away for a few days and chopped up all the veggies available to make this dish. It got such rave reviews that it has become a regular at our home. Roasting produces an amazingly succulent result that is equally at home as a side dish, salad, or starter in an Italian or Indian setting. 6 - 8 Side Dish Servings Ingredients: 1 large Globe or 2 big Japanese Eggplants, diced 3 medium Zucchini, diced 1 Each Red, Green, Yellow, and Orange Bell Peppers, diced 1 large Red Onion, diced 1 clove Garlic, minced (optional) 1/2 to 1 tsp Red Pepper flakes (to taste) 2 Tbsp fresh Thyme leaves, chopped 1 tsp Sea Salt 1 pinch Turmeric 2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 2 large Ripe Tomatoes, diced (Optional) 3 Tbsp fresh Basil, chopped 2 Tb...

This year I am experimenting with growing! I have grown different herbs and lemongrass has been one of great joy. A little investment in time and effort has given fabulous dividends enjoyed not only by me and my family, but all of my friends too! Lemongrass is very easy to grow. I grew mine from the purchased stalks; I kept them in a jar of water to keep them fresh and lo and behold! they rooted very quickly. They have been planted in the garden and are growing beautifully. Lemongrass can be purchased as seedlings from a nursery and apparently you can grow it from seeds also. They are quite decorative as well as functional - can be grown in a pot or in the ground. Native to Asia, Lemongrass thrives in warm climates; I am not sure how hardy they are in temperate zones. They do well in most mild winter areas. The one downside to lemongrass is that the edges of the leaves are razor sharp; so be careful when harvesting or working around it - I highly recommend wearing long garden g...

Arugula or Eruca sativa is another herb/green that pays back abundantly for a little investment in time and effort. Arugula probably originates from the Mediterranean region and is called many names such as rucola, ruka, rocket, etc. It is an easily grown annual plant and one whiff or taste of the leaves will tell you that it belongs to the Brassica family along with cabbage, broccoli, mustard, etc. The peppery leaves, pale and pretty purple-veined cream colored flowers as well as the immature seed pods are edible either cooked or raw. The young leaves are milder; as the leaves mature, their flavor intensifies but are still tasty cooked as heat renders them mild. It is absolutely fantastic in sandwiches, pizza, pasta, pesto, and of course salads. I love Arugula for its many qualities - the peppery leaves, the abundant harvests, the ease with which it grows, etc. It freely self-seeds so that once you plant it the first time, you will not have to plant it again. If you don't wa...

I like the idea of having something growing so that I can pick a few leaves to add freshness as well as nutrition to the day's menu. Sweet Potato/yam (Ipomoea batatas) leaves are very easy to grow and absolutely delicious; for clarification of the name yam, check here . It is another dark green leafy veggie that you can add to your repertoire of home grown leaves. Whether you get heart-shaped or deeply divided leaves, the plant is quite handsome as a potted plant. All one needs to grow the leaves is a sweet potato; there are two methods that can be used for growing it: Place the whole potato in a dark cupboard and leave it undisturbed for a few weeks; it will sprout in its own time. You will see vines sprouting out. Place the potato in a jar of water and wait for it to sprout; soon roots and vines will start to grow. Choose either method (or both) and once sprouts start to grow, you can plant the whole potato with the vines attached in a large pot and watch the vine...

Making a good vegetable stock is not only easy, it is economical too. It is great for making flavorful soups such as Stone Soup and casseroles like Risotto. All one has to do is to collect all the clean vegetable scraps for a couple of days from whatever veggies are used - peels from potatoes and carrots, trimmings from celery, leeks, and zucchini, tomato pieces leftover from making sandwiches or salad, mushroom, spinach, parsley and other herb stems, corn cobs, etc. Strong veggies such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower etc are not used for making broth as their flavors tend to be overpowering or unsavory although Linola often uses cauliflower stalks and core. Once you have about a quart or more of scraps, proceed with making the stock. If you don't have any scraps, not to worry - go ahead and chop up a couple of carrots, celery ribs, etc and add to the rest of the ingredients. About 2 quarts Ingredients: Assorted vegetable scraps 1 each - onion, garlic, carrot 1...

A very simple and soothing soup that is very satisfying too whether you make it cheesy or not. Pat K. introduced the cheesy version of this luscious soup to us a long time ago. I have long since lost the piece of paper with the recipe but who needs it when it is indelibly etched on my brain? Pat prepared it with onions, celery and potatoes and served it with freshly baked carrot muffins and a Waldorf salad - I still remember the taste - yummy! I make this soup often with leeks instead of onions plus a few zucchinis too without any cheese or milk. You are not limited to using just these veggies; use any veggies you like. Now the big question is: do you want it with or without cheese - vegan or not - which one? Either way you end up with one delicious soup! Here is my vegan version; you can make it cheesy if you wish. Of course you can use non-dairy milk and cheese and have it cheesy while still keeping it vegan. Reduce the amount of water to 3 cups; add 3 cups of milk with 1 ...

Polenta is really plain cornmeal upma without the seasonings! The coarsely ground cornmeal is traditionally cooked on stove-top similar to the Indian Upma. Until corn was brought from the New World, Italians did not have cornmeal and used wheat, farro, chestnuts, etc instead. After the European exploration of the Americas, corn as well as potatoes and tomatoes have become integral parts of not only Italian cuisine but others word-wide. Baked polenta does away with all the relentless stirring of the traditional method as well as the burnt food if you are not diligent. You will want to make it a part of your repertoire of dishes to enjoy often once you try it. Enjoy creamy soft polenta with savory toppings or cool, cut and savor grilled, baked or broiled. Directions for both the soft type and the slices are given below. Polenta is coarse cornmeal; although polenta is preferable, regular cornmeal (ground finer) may be used for making polenta. Polenta made with regular cornmea...

Potato-Tomato Korma is one of Paji's favorite curries and one of his mother's recipes. It is spiced in typical Kerala style with coconut, cumin and black pepper. It is delicious served with rice, pongal , dosas, puris or other Indian breads, etc. Although Paji's mom made it only with potatoes and tomatoes, it is equally delicious when other mild vegetables such as chayote squash (variously known as Buddha's Hand squash, mirliton, vegetable pear, chow chow, or Bangalore kathirikai), cauliflower, etc are substituted for one of the potatoes. Fleshy Roma tomatoes would work nicely in this recipe. 4 - 6 Servings Ingredients: 2 Potatoes, preferably russet type 4-6 ripe Tomatoes 1 cup fresh or frozen grated coconut 1 tsp uncooked rice 1 Tbsp Cumin Seeds 1/4 tsp Black Peppercorns 2 hot Green Chilies 1/2 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Sea Salt or to taste 1 sprig fresh Curry leaves, minced 2 tsp Coconut oil (optional) Method: Cut the potatoes into long thick pieces. Cut the tomatoes into...