Brussels sprouts in gravy

What a delicious dish we had! I had found this recipe on a very good Indian cooking blog, and saved it as a favorite; tonight we finally made it, with some amendations I'll detail.

Note that the measurements here are double what the original recipe calls for.

Ingredients:

* Brussels sprouts: a whole small bag of sprouts, which I think was about 2 cups
* Yellow Onion: 2 finely chopped
* Tomatoes: 4, or 1 large (28 oz.) can of crushed tomatoes, plus a smaller can (15 oz.) of diced tomatoes
* Cashews: 2 tbsps
* 5 dried Thai (bird) chillies rather or 2 large red chillies, finely minced. You may wish to adjust to your own tastes - we love heat!
* Cardamom: 4 crushed
* Cloves: 4
* Bay leaf: 2
* Fennel seeds: 2 tsps
* Ginger garlic paste: 2 tsps. We used equal amounts of minced garlic and ginger.
* Garam Masala: 3-4 tsps
* Salt as required it definitely did need some, but we added afterward
* Sugar: 1 tsp
* Coriander (cilantro) leaves for garnishing

this sauce would be fantastic with greens or chickpeas (or both!), or with dry-fried tofu and some fresh spinach thrown in.

Directions

1. Wash the Brussels sprouts in running water and slit open the bulb ends like "X". This helps in steaming the bulbs evenly. Steam the Brussels sprouts for about 7 minutes in a idli cooker until half done or in the microwave for about 5 minutes - depending on the size and amount of sprouts.

2. Meanwhile, puree tomatoes, red chillies and cashew in a blender. If you are using canned tomatoes, skip the pureeing step, and just blend the Thai bird chillies or red chillies and the cashews until they're nice and smooth - throwing in some of the crushed tomato from the can to help.

3. Heat oil in a pan, then add bay leaf, cardamom, cloves, Fennel seeds and onions. Fry for about 3 minutes over medium heat and then add Ginger garlic paste and continue to cook, until the onion is light brown.

4. Now add the tomato puree, garam masala, sugar and salt and cook until raw smell goes off this took about 10 minutes for us.

5. Add the brussels sprouts and cook until the oil separates.

6. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with your choice of bread or rice. We chose to serve it with quinoa, which was just wonderful with it! After some relatively rich fare over Christmas, I think we are both ready for some light and healthy meals.

Fresh Spring Rolls

copied from culinate, an interesting omni blog

From the book Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites by Moosewood Collective
Serves 6
Total Time 1 hour
Yield 12 rolls
Introduction
\s.
Ingredients
Rolls
3 oz. rice vermicelli
2 to 3 cups lettuce, shredded
1 cup scallions, minced
1 cup carrots, peeled and shredded
1 cup red bell peppers, thinly sliced
\1¾ cups tofu strips (about 6 ounces)
½ cup fresh basil and/or cilantro, chopped
¼ cup toasted peanuts, chopped (optional)
12 rice-paper discs (see Note), each 8 to 10 inches in diameter
Dipping sauce
~ Hoisin sauce, thinned with a little water, or a combination of:
1½ Tbsp. brown sugar
¼ cup soy sauce
2 Tbsp. rice-wine vinegar or lime juice
Steps

1. Place the rice vermicelli in a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water, and set aside for 10 to 12 minutes, until soft. Drain well.
2. Assemble all of the filling ingredients, then dampen a clean dishcloth and lay it flat on a work surface.
3. Fill a large bowl with hot water. Holding a fragile rice-paper disc by the edge, gently lower one side of it into the hot water; it will soften as it absorbs water. Slowly turn the disc in the water until it has completely softened, taking care not to force it or it may crack. Place the disc on the damp towel and flatten it out (see Note).
4. Using about 3 tablespoons of noodles, make a small bed of rice vermicelli just below the center of the disc. Top the noodles with 1 or 2 tablespoons of lettuce, a pinch of scallions, a sprinkling of carrots, 1 or 2 bell-pepper strips, and finally a few tofu strips. Sprinkle on some basil and/or cilantro and chopped peanuts, if desired.
5. Fold the two side edges of the disc over the filling to form a rectangular shape with curved ends. Roll up from the bottom to make a neat little package. Place, seam side down, on a platter.
6. Soften and fill each of the remaining rice-paper discs, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until ready to serve.
7. Serve with either, or both, of the two dipping sauces.

Notes

To soften several discs of rice paper before beginning to fill them, soften each one individually and arrange on the towel side by side; don’t stack them, because they will stick together.

Culinate editor’s notes: Other potential filling ingredients include fresh mint leaves and long, thin matchstick slices of cucumber.

This content is from the book Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites by Moosewood Collective.

My note: these are SO good! try them with the peanut sauce on this blog, or a chili sauce!