A Dose of Ayurveda with your Otsu Noodles

I couldn't help it but I had to post another soba noodle salad recipe that I made for friends this weekend. Not making soba is like admitting that summer is almost over! This recipe originally came from 101 Cookbooks, but I make a slightly modified version that my friend Jo passed on to me. At first, these noodles have a really mild, cool flavor and then they kick you in the pants with the hotness from the cayenne. I love watching people eat this dish for the first time because their eyes light up when the spiciness hits them.

This dish is Japanese influenced, but I couldn't help but notice how the six tastes that make a balanced Ayurvedic meal are all present: sweet, sour, astringent, bitter, salty, pungent. According to Ayurveda, each person is unique and needs more of certain tastes to maintain balance in their body. There are 3 doshas or types of energies that are present in variable amounts in each person. The three doshas are vata (comprised of air and ether elements), pitta (fire and water) and kapha (earth and water). The easiest example is someone who is mostly pitta, which is a very firey, aggressive type of personality. This type is best balanced out with colder foods and these tastes: sweet, astringent and bitter. Sounds new agey I know, but I have to admit I am quite intrigued by the concept!

This meal is one that is good for every dosha type, which explains why it is well liked by all that I introduced it to and why you should bring it to a party! For this recipe, I have matched up some of the ingredients in this recipe with their taste categories: sweet - soba, sour - lemon, astringent - tofu (surprise to me), bitter - cilantro, salty - tamari, pungent - cayenne.

Otsu Recipe, modified version from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients:
Ginger-sesame dressing (makes about double needed for recipe, but nice to keep around)
zest of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic crushed
1 1/2 oz. cleaned ginger, thinly sliced
1 tablesppon granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar
1/3 cup soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons pure sesame oil
~2 teaspoons tahini paste (just enough to make the dressing a bit thicker)

Soba noodle salad
8 oz. portion frozen soba noodles, thawed and softened in boiling water and rinse in cold running water (or equivalent dry soba noodles, cooked according to package instructions)
1/2 block firm tofu, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 scallion, green and white part, cleaned and thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut in half lengthwise then cut across into thin half-moons.
sesame seeds
more cilantro for garnishing

Method:
Add tofu to a large non-stick skillet without any oil and toss over high heat until all water has evaporated. Add canola oil, reduce heat to medium-high and fry, tossing frequently until tofu is firm and bouncy. Drain over paper towels.

In a food processor (or with mortar and pestle), combine lemon zest, ginger, garlic, sugar, cayenne, and salt and process to a smooth puree. Add lemon juice, rice vinegar and soy sauce. Blend well. Slowly add canola oil and sesame oil until well combined.  Add tahini and blend together.

In a large mixing bowl combine drained soba noodles, cilantro, scallions, cucumber and 2-3 oz dressing, toss well. Arrange salad in center of large plate and top with fried tofu. Garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro sprigs.

Kosambri (Carrot Salad)

Kosambri is a traditional South Indian salad that I love. Whenever I go to a South Indian restaurant I always scan the menu for it, but rarely does it ever appear. So if you want to try it you will most likely have to make the recipe or come to my house? I remember that this dish was made for special occasions and picnics, but when my mother figured out that I really liked it she would make it more often. She mixes all of the ingredients up with her hand and now so do I. I'm convinced it tastes better that way.

This salad has many variations, but most popularly it is made with grated carrot. Kosambri has such a unique, tangy flavor, which comes from the combination of coconut, lemon, chili and seeds fried in oil. You can also add soaked moong or chana dals to it. I forgot to soak the hard lentils the night before I made it for my friend's birthday picnic, but I will include the preparation with these dals in the recipe below.

This salad is so good for vegetarians not only because of the veggies, but because of the protein in the dals. I learned that the beta carotene in carrots is healthful in reducing the risk of cancer, but this recipe is actually doubly good because the nutrition in carrots is best absorbed when it is consumed with some oil. I had no idea how good kosambri was for me, but now I am really happy that I ate so much of it growing up. Thanks Mom and Aunties!

Kosambri (Carrot Salad)
video recipe

Ingredients:
1/8 cup yellow moong dal (optional) - soaked from night before
3 large carrots - shredded
1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, chopped small
little plum tomato chopped
1 shallot - chopped small
handful fresh coconut
juice of half a lemon
cilantro chopped
salt to taste (I find that putting a good amount brings out the flavor well)
1-2 green chilis chopped (optional if you like it hotter)

Vaggarne (Oil mixture)
2 teaspoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seed
pinch of hing (asafoetida)
3 fresh curry leaves (or dried curry leaves)
1 dried red chilis - broken in two

Method:
Wash dals until the water is clear and soak overnight. Drain dals next day and place in bowl with carrots, cucumber, tomato and shallot.

In a little pan, fry oil with mustard seed and hing. When the mustard seed starts to spurt, add fresh or dry curry leaves and dried red chili. Stir for few seconds until coated with oil.

Pour this oil mixture over ingredients in bowl and mix.

Add lemon, coconut, cilantro and salt and mix well. Taste and if you want more more spice, add some chopped green chili (I use the small green chilis you find in the Indian store).

Too Hot To Cook!

This past Saturday I had plans to cook all day, but it was just too hot. My friend Sahar was visiting from the Bay Area and we spent much of the day outside in my neighborhood in Fort Greene. It was inhumanely hot for the most part except for when we got drenched by a crazy rainstorm. We ended up grabbing some things from the grocery and running back to my place to hug my A/C. Sahar put together this spread for us to enjoy. It was so pretty, I had to take a picture of it.

Peanut Chili Soba Noodles

I make this recipe a lot, especially in summer. It is so nice to bring for a picnic and I have done this on many occassions. I have to admit though that it tastes a bit different every time, kind of because I just use what I have on hand. Its one of those recipes that you add the ingredients little by little and taste as you go along, but I have done my best to give the quantities I used. I think though that the fun of the recipe is kind of the experimentation part so use my quantities as a rough guide.

This time I made the peanut dressing with sriracha (Thai hot sauce), limes, tamari (kind of like soy sauce, but better!), sesame oil, ginger, garlic, red chili flakes. Other times, I have substituted the lime with some rice vinegar which is a nice variation. I had some avocado, a little cucumber and a carrot so I threw that in with a bunch of herbs and baked tofu - I like the Wild Wood brand. In the past, I have used steamed broccoli, asparagus, green onions, etc. I feel like many veggies go well in this recipe. I forgot to put peanuts on the dish I photographed, but definitely add that to your dish because it adds great texture. I remembered just as I was half way through and realized that I was missing my crunchy peanuts - don't make my mistake!

Ingredients:
Peanut sauce
(makes way more than you need, but good to put on the leftovers next day)
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 limes squeezed and zest of 1 lime
2 teaspoons chopped ginger
2 garlic cloves chopped and pressed
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon sriracha
1 tablespoon sesame oil
pinch of red chili flakes
1/2 cup warm water (may not use all, just stir in slowly until you get a consistency that is thick, but loose enough to pour)
salt to taste

8 oz. soba noodles
1 package Wild Wood baked tofu - cut into small cubes (you can also use regular tofu and fry it a bit)
1 small carrot - grated
1 persian or small variety cucumber, seeded and chopped into half moons
cilantro - 1/4 cup chopped
chives - 1/4 cup chopped
basil - 1/4 cup chopped
1 avocado - sliced thin
1/2 cup peanuts

Method:
Boil soba according to package directions.

In bowl mix up all peanut sauce ingredients. I first mix with a spoon and then whisk when the consistency gets looser with the water.

Combine soba and peanut sauce. I like to mix it with my hand because then the noodles don't break. Then mix in the tofu, carrot, cucumber, cilantro, chives and basil.

For each bowl, garnish with few of the avocado strips and peanuts.

Radish Raita

Radish is one of those vegetables that you buy in a bunch and rarely use all at once, so I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate it into dishes. This recipe is one of my staples for when I have some extra ones lying around. I never would have thought to put radish in raita if not for my mother. She gave me this recipe. It's a nice combination of spiciness from the radish and chili and sweetness from the coconut.



This raita is made in a South Indian style where you pour heated spices over the yogurt at the end. This spice mixture is called vaggarne (I have trouble saying it so don't feel bad if you can't either). In North India, this tempering of spices is called chaunk.  I made a video of this recipe which you can watch to understand how tempering works.



Raita is one of my favorite foods and I love how it is so versatile. You can make it with many vegetables - cucumber, tomato, potato, onion, but I feel that this raita is one I come back to over and over again. I also eat it in a variety of ways - as a side to a curry and roti, mixed in with rice, or just by itself.

Because I have cut out orange juice and many other citrus fruits for their high acidity, I have been looking for alternative sources of Vitamin C. Radish has become one of those substitutes. In addition, it is also good for digestion. This may explain why my grandmother would always put out some chopped radish to munch on while she prepared our meal.

When I first ate radish in India I realized that this vegetable is actually a spicy one. I have been finding though that in the US, only farm fresh radish has this same spicy flavor as opposed to the mild radishes you find in the supermarket.

Radish Raita
You can also watch a video of this recipe here.

Ingredients
1/2 of a 32 oz. tub of yogurt - I like to mix a little bit of Greek yogurt in with regular to get a thicker texture
1 radish - grated (prefer the larger shred)
1/2 small plum tomato - cut into small pieces, seeds removed
2 tablespoons fresh grated coconut or thawed out frozen

Vaggarne (tempering oil)
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seed
pinch of asafoetida
1 - 2 fresh or dried curry leaf
1 dried red chili - broken into pieces

salt to taste
cilantro

Method
Combine grated radish, tomato, grated coconut and yogurt into bowl.

In small pan, under medium high heat, place 2 tsps of oil. When oil is hot, place asafoetida and mustard seed. Shake the pan up and cover. When mustard seeds start popping turn the heat down to low and place the curry leaf and broken up red chili (be careful to not burn yourself). Mix everything with a spoon until coated with oil and the curry leaf is crunchy but not burned. Pour this oil mixture onto the yogurt. To get all of the oil out, I usually put a spoon or two of the yogurt into the oil pan and pour it back in with the rest of the yogurt.

Put salt and mix thoroughly.

Garnish with cilantro.

Sometimes I add a pinch of chopped ginger too, but this is optional.