Geetha's Kitchen

This stew is so scrumptious and pretty easy to make - served over any grain or with some bread, it makes a lovely meal. The fragrant spices enrich the stew without making it overly spicy. I grow taro just for this purpose; leaves and stems are not always available in markets. But it is very easy to grow - see this post on How to Grow Taro . My grandmother used to prepare this dish using only the stems of the taro and called it "thalakam". You can make it with just leaves or both the stems and leaves. Other greens like amaranth, kale, collards, turnip greens, spinach, Swiss chard, etc may be used if taro leaves are unavailable in any combination. If you are using regular dried tamarind pulp instead of the concentrate, use about a 1" ball; remove seeds and any stringy fibers and soak in a little warm water; then add to the roasted spices and grind together. Taro Leaf & Red Lentil Stew With Basmati Rice, Taro Stem Thoran Ingredients: 1 cup Red Lentils ...

Fava With Veggies & Chips Red Lentils are considered gentlest on the digestive system as well as anti-inflammatory of all the members of the legume (bean/lentil) family; they are often recommended on Ayurvedic diets. Next in line for its gentle and anti-inflammatory qualities is another favorite - Mung beans! So I decided to try red lentils/mung beans to prepare Fava, a popular puree from Greece instead of the harder to digest yellow split peas. I should think that red lentils/mung beans should work just as well ... a bean is a bean, right?  Both red lentils and yellow mung beans make a lovely Fava. The other best thing :) about red lentils or mung is that they cook very quickly - in about 20 to 30 minutes - as opposed to the yellow split peas, fava beans, or chick peas which take as much as an hour or more. Don't get me wrong, I am not suggesting to totally eliminate them from the diet; they are just not on our anti-inflammatory diet for now. Chick peas are no...

Quinoa Soup is a treasure I found on a recent trip to Peru to add to my collection of fantastic soups. An Andean lady from Maras demonstrated how to prepare this simple but soulful soup; it is so easy and yet sustaining with all the essential ingredients for good health. Apparently on the cold highlands of the Andes, the day may start as well as end with a warming soup like this. Our hostess chopped and diced the veggies in the order she needed as the soup was bubbling along. She recommended eating quinoa soup twice a week for not only good health but great complexion :) - ladies take note! The first thing I cooked upon returning from the trip was ... any guesses? Absolutely Delicious! I have given the recipe here as I witnessed to the best of my recall; for best results, add the vegetable ingredients in the order given. The soup we had in restaurants had local zucchini, red bell peppers, cilantro, and once, even finely diced tomatoes in addition to the other basic ingredients; s...

This is a delicious but simple dal - great with rice or other grains, roti, and/or by itself.  We love the nutty taste of the chana dal which is really split and decorticated (skin removed) chick pea! I believe that it is made from the brown Indian chick pea rather than the golden type known as Kabuli chana or garbanzo bean. Chana dal (unlike mung or masoor dal) retains its shape and does not easily cook up mushy; hence the name 'chunky' :-).  I used a pressure cooker to cook this dal; it is a great tool to cook all dals, whole beans and grains quickly. Notes:  This is a versatile dal that changes its flavor based on the spices used - instead of the mustard and cumin seeds, substitute 1 tsp of panch phoron for a lively but different taste; or saute some leeks/onions after the thalippu is made and stir in some tomatoes before adding the dal.  Yellow or green split peas may be used instead of chana dal; one or the other dals may be omitted or used in any combinat...