Geetha's Kitchen

Mung Sprouts Salad is a delicious snack or side dish; the lime juice and spices give it a snappy fresh flavor and piquancy perfect for a quick pick-me-up. Mung Sprout Salad is a version of Indian street fare. Although the salad can be made simpler without the veggies, we love the colorful and flavorful additions. The wonderful thing about this is that while amazingly satisfying, it is not a calorically dense food; so enjoy without guilt :D. We enjoy the fresh and crunchy sprouts any time of the year but particularly in the summer when we love lighter foods. It is quite similar to the  Sprouted Bean & Lentil Salad , Kale Bhel Salad and Chundal/Sundal . Sprouting beans, peas, lentils, or seeds makes their nutrition more available and easier to digest. Most bean, pea, and seed sprouts are also edible raw; exceptions are kidney beans, pintos, and limas - usually all big beans need to be cooked until well done. Sort, soak, and sprout the whole mung beans. Sprouting may tak...

Tzatziki/Raita Tzatziki (zat-zee-kee) is very similar to the Indian Raita. It never ceases to amaze me that so many wonderful ideas are shared among the various cuisines of the world - imagine meeting the familiar raita in Greece :)!! Other cuisines also have similar salad or dip recipes. Only a couple of the ingredients are different; both are delicious! Raita or Tzatziki, both maybe served with a meal or as a starter or dip with some fresh warm flat breads. NOTES: Persian, English or hot house type of cucumbers have thin skins and need no peeling. Garlic is first minced finely; then using the flat side of the knife, mash by dragging while pressing down the knife back and forth over the garlic until finely macerated. If you prefer to not use tofu, a plain unflavored non-dairy yogurt maybe used; if using non-dairy yogurt, it does not need processing. Just add the yogurt along with all the other ingredients and mix well. Ingredients: 1 cup any Non-Dairy Yog...

Wow, no fat added in this luscious Aloo Gobhi - an all time favorite dish you can enjoy guilt free! Roasting leaves one free to do other things. If you wish, Aloo Gobhi maybe cooked on stove top; cook in a skillet or Dutch Oven with a tight-fitting lid on low heat until the veggies are tender and then uncover to finish cooking for the moisture to evaporate a bit so the veggies are not soggy. I usually serve Aloo Gobhi with roti , rice or other grains and a bean dish like Dal , Rajma , Dal Makhani , or Chole and some type of a chopped salad . Delicious! Variations: Add colorful sweet peppers, carrot slices, and/or peas - whatever is in the fridge or suits your fancy at the time. About 6 - 8 Servings Ingredients: 1 head cauliflower, separated into bite-sized florets 3 Medium Potatoes, scrubbed clean and cubed 1 medium Onion, diced 1 Tbsp freshly grated Ginger 1 tsp ground Garam Masala 1 Tbsp Kasoori Methi (dried Fenugreek leaves) 3-4 Tbsp fresh Cilantro, chopped + extra...

Taro Stem Thoran w/Rice & Taro Leaf Lentil Stew Taro Stem Thoran is a delicious side dish to go with any type of Indian stews made with lentils or served by itself with rice, other grains or breads. I like to roll it up in a roti burrito fashion for a lovely snack or lunch on the go. If I do not have enough taro stems, I like to add kale or chard (silver beet) stems, their leaves or diced zucchini, also. Beet greens and stems are great too. This time added chard stems. Radish Leaf w/Mung dal Thoran (l) & Kale Stem w/carrot Thoran (r) I used very mild green chiles, New Mexico Chiles - the plants were gift from a neighbor :)! The taro and chard were homegrown as well. If using dried coconut, use unsweetened. Ingredients: 14-16 fresh Taro Stems  1 Tsp Oil 1/2 tsp Brown Mustard seeds 1 Tbsp Chana Dal 1 Tbsp Urad Dal 2 dry Red chiles, broken into two 1-2 Green Chiles, chopped 1 stem fresh Curry Leaves 1/2 tsp Turmeric 1/2 tsp freshly ground C...

Black Bean Burger Burgers are popular with or without a bun piled with all the traditional additions of lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, etc or  tucked inside the pockets of pita breads with your favorite fixings for a very satisfying meal. Black Bean Burgers are not exceptions; they are fabulous additions to the comfort food repertoire. I like serving these burgers on crisp shredded Romaine lettuce along with avocado slices, tomatoes and onions with some fresh salsa, tomato chutney or  tomato sauce for topping. The burgers may be made a day or two ahead and grilled with a little barbecue sauce to warm them. These burgers are not as tough as the store-bought ones and hence need to be handled gently while cooking and grilling. I used crushed tortillas and added a bit of organic rolled oats to bind; the tortillas add to the southwest flavors along with the spices. Whole grain bread or cracker crumbs may be used if you don't need to go gluten-free. Two 15 oz cans of ...