Well, my attempt this week to make an Indian style dish ended up in a funk of different flavors that didn’t exactly please the palette. So after having a somewhat unpleasant lunch and getting inspired by an episode of Iron Chef, I decided to take a new direction and make some thing with a little Asian flavor. I’ve always enjoyed simple, stir-fry dishes, because they really bring out the flavor of the vegetables, instead of masking them with all sorts of spices and sauces. That’s exactly the flavor I was going for with this dish, which has the added benefit of being ridiculously simple to make. For anyone who doesn’t have an hour to prepare dinner, I’m sure this will be one of your new favorites.
Ingredients
* 1 1/2 tbsp Nama Shoyu/Braggs Liquid Aminos
* 1 1/2 tbsp Ume Plum Vinegar (if you have it) or Apple Cider Vinegar *
* 1 tbsp Agave Nectar
* 2 tsp Sesame Oil
* 1/4 tsp Grated Ginger
* 1 pinch Asafoetida or 1 clove Garlic **
* 1 zucchini - chopped
* 1 carrot - chopped
* 1/2 head broccoli - chopped
* 1 bellpepper - chopped
* 1 cup pealed and chopped sunchokes ***
* 1 cup peanuts
* 1/4 head iceberg lettuce
Directions
Lets see how short I can make this (just to show you how simple this really is):
Put chopped vegetables, except lettuce, and peanuts into a bowl. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. Let sit and marinate for 15-20 minutes. Serve over lettuce as pictured. Eat it and enjoy!
Notes
* Ume Plum Vinegar can be hard to find raw, and its very expensive. So if you don’t mind normal ume plum vinegar, use it, otherwise ACV works just fine.
** Asafoetida is a powdered spice available in most Indian grocery stores. It is used as a replacement for garlic, because garlic (along with onion) is considered to be rajsaic.
*** Sunchokes are a native American vegetable that for some reason haven’t really caught on in their home country. I usually find mine at Trader Joes.
As the first order of business for this post, I would like to announce the opening of the Roshi’s Online Store. As our very first product, we will be selling incense sticks (known as agarbathies in India) which I brought back from India this summer. The incense sticks are hand made by the Aurobindo Ashram in Pondicherry, India. The Aurobindo Ashram is well known for its support of cottage industries (industries made by hand, in a home and not a factory), like production of incense sticks, textiles, artwork, etc. I brought back a bunch of these incense sticks for myself because they smelled so wonderful and they are made with all natural ingredients. For more information on the incense, you can visit the Auroshikha website. Then head over to our store to pick up a batch.
Chaat it up Pizza
So I actually started this recipe with something completely different in mind, which ended up not working out like I wanted it too (I would of had to use a dehydrator to get it just right, and you all know how Ro and I dislike waiting for food). After playing around with what I had made, I thought I would go for more of a fusion feel on this one. The idea of pizza popped into my head, and so the chaat it up pizza was born. I actually wasn’t sure if it would taste good until I took a bite, and wow! what a bite.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with chaat (literally meaning to lick or to taste), this should be a good introduction. Chaat is style of Indian snack food, mostly found in the north of India, and consists of all of my favorite Indian dishes. Chaat usually consists of a variety of cracker like snacks, topped yogurt, tamarind chutney, yogurt, and basically every spice known to man. The result is an explosion of flavors you probably didn’t know was possible and a stomach that will likely be angry with you for submitting it to such a concoction. Luckily, this dish should give you all of those wonderful flavors without the resulting gas problems. Hope you all enjoy it!
Ingredients
Crust:
* You’re favorite raw cracker/bread (should be hardy enough to hold all of toppings - I use Wheat-Free crusts from Mauk Family Farm’s)
1st layer:
* 3 handfuls cashew
* 2 medium tomatoes
3rd layer:
* sliced tomato
* chaat masala (I prefer MDH’s Chunky Chaat Masala - available at your local Indian grocery store)
Directions
1st layer:
In a food processor, put all of your cashews and just 1/2 of a tomato. Keep adding more tomato until the juices from the tomato makes the mixture mildly smooth and sauce like. If you have any tomato leftover, you can use it for the 2nd layer. That’s it for step 1.
2nd layer:
Grate carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and tomato into a large mixing bowl. Then add coriander, cumin, turmeric, Nama Shoyu, and walnuts pieces. Let the mixture sit for a bit so all the juices have time to mix together.
Assembly:
Take one slice of crust, and spread tomato-cashew mixture on top as the 1st layer. Then, top with the vegetable mixture for layer 2. Place thinly sliced tomatoes on top of the vegetable mixture, and, finally, dust the top of the pizza with chaat masala. Chaat masala has a very strong taste, so first add a little to see how much you’d like to add. I personally love spiced up food so I like to add a bit more than a dusting, but it’s up to you. After that, all you gotta do is take a bite and enjoy it!
I’m temporarily done with my travels. Now I’m working with a consulting company in San Francisco. I’m trying to save up money so that I can go to law school, then save the world…I’m still having fun on the weekends though. I just went to Stinson Beach this last weekend on a hike with some friends.
Today I’m writing about an issue I’m very concerned about. It’s also an issue that I’m unsure about. WATER
As many of you may have heard, scientists have discovered all types of medical waste, drugs, toxins, and chemicals in tap water. This has prompted many people to start buying bottled water because they believe it’s cleaner. Guess what? Not really.
The Environmental Working Group recently analyzed samples from 10 major bottled water companies. They found the same contaminants in the water that caused the ruckus over tap water–disinfection products, caffeine, Tylenol, nitrate, industrial chemicals, arsenic and bacteria were detected. Pretty nasty stuff.
I could have predicted this, but yes, bottled water is no better than tap. It’s just more expensive.
But like I said, this is an issue that I’m unsure about how to approach. It’s very difficult to be particular about the water you drink. On top of that, there’s all these conflicting theories over which water is best–some say distilled, some say RAIN water. Sometimes food issues like this are so large and so widespread that the only way we can address them is through policy. Something needs to be done at a high-level with this problem. Until then, be mindful that you’re probably not getting what you’re paying for when you buy bottled water…
Hi everyone! Well, here it is, my first recipe post since I got back from India. After traveling around for three long months, I learned a lot about how Indian food is put together and what all the spices can be used for. I also learned a lot about the different styles of Indian cooking. Food really differs from state to state in India, almost as if each state is a different country with a different culture (each state also has its own set of dominant languages). Most of the Indian food you are probably familiar with (such as Tandoori Paneer or Naan or Paneer Makhani) is from the state of Punjab (my families home state), but there is so much more variety in Indian food that most people in the West are unfamiliar with. So I’m going to try to bring some of that variety here, and of course, do it raw!
To start with, I’m bringing you an all-over-Indian all-time favorite known as halva. Halva is usually made out of semolina, but there are dozens of other varieties like almond, carrot, jackfruit, and strawberry. Halva was something I grew up with, and it was always one of my favorite desserts/breakfasts. Its sweet, spiced, buttery, delicate and just overall amazing. If you’ve ever had freshly made homecooked halva, you know what I’m talking about. I really tried to capture that traditional halva taste in this raw halva, and I think I hit this on the head. I hope you all try this one out and enjoy it. And to all of Roshi’s Indian followers who have given up this tasty treat, I hope this brings you back to your childhood like it does for me.
Ingredients
* 3/4 pound almonds
* 1/2 cup white sesame seeds
* 6-7 whole green cardamom seeds (or to taste)
* 2 tbsp agave nectar (or to taste)
Optional Mix-ins:
* 1 handful almonds
* 1 handful raisins
Directions
Put all the almonds into a food processor until they are ground down to be as powder-like as possible. Put the sesame seeds and 3 cups of water into a blender on a low setting. Don’t allow the blender to run too long because you’ll need the sesame seed pulp. Using a very fine strainer or cheese cloth, separate the sesame seed pulp from the water. Take the sesame seed pulp and mix it together with the almond powder by hand. Skin and grind the cardamom seeds into a powder and add to the mixture. Next add the agave nectar.
Mix-ins:
Some people like their halva straight, others like a little variance. For the almonds, crush them up a bit and then mix them into the halva. For the raisins, you can mix them in straight, or soak them first and then mix them in to give them a more cooked texture.
And that’s it!
Simply the best raw halva you’ll ever try. We promise!
Pictures from India
I’ve uploaded a select few photos from my trip to India for everyone to see, and by few I mean around 150. They all have a little caption, and if you follow the link to Google’s Picasa, you’ll be able to see on a map exactly where each picture was taken. If you’ve never been to India, I hope these pictures will give you an incentive to go there. It’s really such a wonderful country filled with so much knowledge, mystery, and beauty that everyone needs to see at least once.
After a three month siesta, Roshi’s is back! Recharged after a summer that was highlighted by my 3 month trip to India, and Ro’s graduation and 3 week trip to Brazil, we’re ready to get back to business. We’ll once again be updating regularly, so look out in the upcoming weeks for some interesting articles, tips, and great recipes.
With all the time we’ve taken off, we’ve also had sometime to brainstorm some new and innovative ideas on how to run this noble little experiment of ours, which you should be implemented within the coming weeks. I’m not going to spoil any surprises, but I will say that you will be seeing a little more spice in our offerings and a lot more wisdom.
I hope you’re all as excited as we are.
–Rishi
UPDATE:
Here’s a little something to show you the direction we’ll be taking the company in.
I graduated this past May and I start working in San Francisco towards the end of July. My friends and I decided to college with a bang and go to Brazil. We started our trip on June 27th and we´re going to be out here until July 17th. So it´s a decently long trip before I start the grind. We´re hanging out in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and we went to go see the Iguacu Falls in Argentina. It´s been a blast so far. Brazil is a beautiful country with amazing beaches…and the girls are gorgeous. I´ve been able to keep going strong because there´s plenty of fruit options available. Everyone drinks coconuts, acai, and other fruit juices. E também aprendo português
Well, that´s all the time I have for now. I´ll be putting up some new posts about health policy when I get back to the states. Check out the photos. Ciao.
