Creamy Dal Soup

I’m still on a soup trip! It’s one of my favorite things to make (and eat!)… and again, as discussed on the last Soup Posting, really the ideal food for cold and dry days!

Creamy Dal with Yogurt & Sweet Potato-Kale

In our house, we make dal alot… and today, I was in the mood to alter the basics a little… so I made a basic dal, but added both celery & celery root to it, and then blended it up for a really creamy result.  It ended up tasting very similar to split pea soup… with a similar texture.   You’ll need the hand-held immersion blender for this recipe… or a regular ol’ blender (but it’s not nearly as fun or convenient!)

Celery Root - it's pure white inside the skin!

If you don’t already know this, Celery Root (also known as celeriac) is an amazing way to make soups creamy… I learned this in a fantastic restaurant that has a daily vegan soup… they put celery soup in EVERY soup, and blend it up for a creamy result. Plus, Celery Root is not as heavy, starchy or sweet as potato or flour (the traditional go-to thickeners to soups and sauces).  Its popular in France, and is used in all kinds of ways.  Its sweet, creamy, flavor is well balanced by sour, salt and pungent tastes (such as lemon, rock salt and mustard).  In this particular recipe, the spices and the dollop of yogurt on the side provided delicious balace in rasa (taste).

Creamy Dal Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 Cup red lentils (can also use split yellow mung… they will take a little longer to cook)
• Water to cover
• 1 heaping tsp turmeric powder
• 1/3 bulb of celery root, peeled & chopped into small cubes
• 1 celery stalk, washed and chopped roughly
• 2 TB sunflower oil or ghee
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 TB sucanat (raw sugar)
• 4 curry leaves (if available – find them at an Indian market)
• 1 chopped small green chilie (optional)
• 1-2 inches chopped fresh ginger

Instructions

• Rinse the lentils
• Immerse in enough water to cover in a pot, and bring to boil
• Add the turmeric & simmer for 15 minutes (longer if using mung) or until lentils are soft (adding more water as needed)
• (While lentils are cooking, prep the ginger, chilie, celery & celery root)
• Add the celery & celery root to the pot
• (Meanwhile) heat the oil or ghee in a small pot or saucepan
• Add the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds and stir over medium heat until they turn color and become aromatic (about 2 minutes)
• Add the ginger, chilie, sucanat and curry leaves and stir into the mixture for about 1 minute
• Pour the spice mixture into the lentil pot and stir in.
• Continue cooking until celery root is soft
•  Remove from heat & blend it up thoroughly (with your hand held immersion blender or regular ol’ blender)

Serving Ideas

• Enjoy with a squeeze of lemon or a dollop of plain whole milk organic yogurt.
• You might pair with a good bread or whole grain or quinoa (which is technically a seed – making a high protein combo with the soup)
• Pair it with a mixed veg curry or even some steamed veggies, such as zucchini, green beans or ginger kale. Something green goes great with this soup!

Creamy Dal Soup

Polenta!

Golden, delicious corn… it’s sweet, warming, light and nourishing..  In Vedic Astrology, corn is ruled by the moon… because the fresh kernals are full of sweet, cooling juice, and the moon rules all watery things.  Used as a dried grain,, corn is considered more drying and warming in Ayurveda.  Polenta is a great balance… generally quite moist, yet warming.

Polenta Sliced and Ready to Bake

I love polenta… and it’s one of the rare things that I use pre-made.  Āyurveda recommends that all food be freshly prepared… one should avoid or reduce eating left overs or pre-prepared foods as much as possible… And yet… we live full lives.  Some people live alone, work full-time, have kids who want to eat NOW, and so on.  Polenta is available in these ready-to-cook tubes… and I have not seen any negative health effects from making delicious & creative use of them.

Use ready-to-go Polenta if:

• You are cooking for kids – they are very kid friendly, fast, easy.
• You love sauces – they are a fantastic “vehicle”
• You are on the go, have a busy day, and need to make something quick.
• You are on a gluten or wheat-free regime
• You are vegan – polenta has a creamy, chewy & satisfying texture without dairy or eggs

You can make Polenta from scratch… but here’s an image of the pre-made tube I use… available at Whole Foods & Trader Joes.  Please use ORGANIC – so you avoid (as much as possible) the GMOs that are rampant in US corn crops.

Organic Polenta

You simply remove the wrapping, and then you can slice it or crumble it.  Various ways to prepare it…

• Bake on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper & drizzled with oil.  You can sprinkle them with salt, pepper and dried herbs (dill, coriander, rosemary are lovely).
• Cook on the stovetop in a pan in oil with salt, pepper, dried herbs… and some red pepper flakes (more spice the better for kapha types & in cool / damp weather)
• Mash and cook with veggies, like a tofu scramble or scrambled eggs.
• After cooking you can top with sliced feta or tomato sauce or olive oil & balsamic
• Top with Pesto – Parsley, Cilantro or Basil Pesto (made with walnuts or pinenuts)
• Towers – layer baked polenta with stirfried veggies and pesto in between

Here are some images to inspire some ideas….

Baked Polenta with Feta (and a side of green beans)

Polenta Mash - with Brocalli, Watermelon Radish & Black Olives

Polenta with Feta, Green Olives, & Asparagus

Baked Polenta layered with Pesto & Sauteed Lima Beans, Butternut Squash and Black Olives

Winter Soup

Today it is super cold and dry out… classic winter weather… this kind of day can be very aggravating to vata dosha – causing dryness, busy mind, agitation, cold, scatteredness, and joint pain. So, to balance it out, Ayurveda recommends staying warm and moistening the body, outside and inside – for the outside part – warm oil self-massage.  As for the inside… soup is best!

Blended WInter Soup

I love blended soups… not just because of the smooth creamy texture, but because it’s a great way to “hide” any veggie… I’ll often do a “cleanse the kitchen soup” – the day before it’s time to go to the market,  mixing all my  fresh veggies in one pot, blending them into an awesome color. The key to a blended soup is a hand-held immersion blender, which you literally hold in your hand and immerse into the item you want to blend!  I use it for dressings as well.

Here I am about to blend the soup!

Ayurveda teaches that vata (which will be high in cold / dry / windy environments) is calmed and balanced by foods that are warming, grounding, oily, rich, and easy to digest.  A blended soup is about as easy to digest as it gets – it is baby food for all ages!  To really balance vata, choose grounding root vegetables and emphasize warming digestive herbs or spices and a high quality olive oil or ghee.  I love using butternut squash, carrots or sweet potatoes because the enlivening orange color warms the mind and heart!

Today’s soup also includes red lentils… “sneaking in” the protein to make a heartier soup that is both satisfying, warming and easy on the digestion.

Ingredients & Instructions

• 1 Cup Red Lentils
• 2 tsp Turmeric powder
• 2 Cups water

Rinse the lentils and then place in a large pot with the 2 cups water & turmeric.  Bring to boil and simmer on medium heat as you prep the veggies. 

• 6-8 Cups chopped veggies – washed / peeled & chopped into medium sized cubes (see photo).  I used 1 Sweet Potato, 1/2 Celery Root, 1 large parsnip, 2 carrots, 2 celery stalks.
• 6 Cups water (approximately)
• Salt to taste

Veggies Chopped and Ready

Add the chopped veggies, salt and water (enough water to cover the veggies) to the pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down to cook over medium heat, partially covered.  As the veggies are cooking, you can prep the spices & herbs..

• 3 TB olive oil or ghee
• 2 TB ginger, shredded or chopped
• 1 tsp dry ginger powder (optional)
• 3 TB dried dill (or other herb of your choice)
• 2 dried red chillies (or one fresh one)
• 1 heaping TB sucanat (raw cane sugar)

As the veggies simmer, heat the oil or ghee in a pan over medium heat..  Add the other ingredients (or make up your own spice mixture – coriander, cumin, fennel, turmeric and ginger work well!).  Stir over medium heat for about 2 minutes – until it becomes aromatic.

Now add the spice mixture to the soup pot.  Continue cooking until the veggies & lentils are soft.

BLEND!! With an immersion blender, or transfer to a regular ol’ blender.  Add water to get a smooth (but not too thin) consistency.
Add salt & black pepper to taste.  

Soup with Gingered Kale & Organic Blue Corn Chips

Serving Ideas (choose one or more of…)

• with some fresh bakery bread with ghee,  olive oil, or feta cheese
• with some rye toast (especially for kapha types who do best with less wheat or white flour)
• with a side of quinoa or brown rice
• with some organic corn chips (chips are dry and can increase vata… but if you LOVE chips… now’s the time to have them, when they are balanced by the smooth liquidity of the soup)
• with some stirfried kale or other greens
• with some baked polenta & olives

Mujaddara – Lentils and Rice

This is a classic Lebanese dish that I grew up eating… I do it without the traditional onion and serve with a side of roasted vegetables in the fall and winter or a shredded salad in the spring and summer.  This is one of the most economical meals you can make with short prep time and only five ingredients.  You can dress it up and vary it in all sorts of ways.

Mujaddara

Legumes in general are high in proten.  Ayurveda considers them sattvic and astringent (drying)… on their own the can increase vata… but are easily balanced with spices, bay leaves, oil and a grounding grain like rice.  Large beans like kidney beans, chick peas and black eyed peas require soaking, but small lentils and dals need only be rinsed before cooking.  This recipe relies on cumin which enkindles agni (digestive fire) without overheating, cleanses the urinary tract, and encourages good absorption and clean breath.

Mujaddara Recipe

• 1/3 Cup Green, Brown or French Lentils, rinsed
• 2/3 Cup Water
• 1 Cup White Basmati Rice, soaked in 2 Cups water for 15 minutes
• 3 TB Sunflower Oil, Butter, Ghee, or Olive oil
• 3 tsp cumin seeds
• 1-2 Bay Leaves
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• Black Pepper to taste

Preparation

In a medium pot, head the oil over medium heat.  Add the cumin seeds and stir until slightly browned & aromatic..

Add the lentils and stir into the oil & cumin to coat.  Add the salt, bay leaf and 2/3 cup water and bring up to boil, stirring occasionally.

Add the rice plus the 2 cups soak water and bring up to boil.

Cover and turn down to low to simmer.

Cook about 20 minutes (checking occasionally that the bottom isn’t sticking – without overstirring… if it’s starting to stick or water is absorbed but lentils and rice are not yet cooked through, stir in more water)

Turn off heat & let sit for 10 minutes before serving.  Add black pepper to taste and top with extra olive oil.

Serving Ideas

• Top with a thin lemon-tahini dressing.
• Before stirring stir in finely chopped fresh mint or parsley or top with ground dried mint.
• Serve with a dollop of organic whole milk plain yogurt.
•  Serve with a side some baked or roasted beets.
• Serve with a simple salad of thinly sliced radish, fennel, & cucumbers with mint, lemon & olive oil.

Wholesome Pecan Bars (or Pie)

Aaahhh…. winter… a time to get baking & warm your kitchen with the oven.  I love to warm up my body with the physical activity of pouring, mixing, stirring, kneading… then pouring myself a pot of tea while the oven does the rest of the work.

Today’s treat is Pecan Bars (thought pictured below I made them with Almonds)… based on a recipe from the book Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar  This recipe uses all wholesome ingredients and is easy to make gluten free.

According to Ayurveda, the sweet taste is the first taste… it is the taste of mothers’ milk and is also the first taste that we cognize on the tongue.  Sweet taste is made of the elements earth & water, and therefor (in moderation) is nourishing, grounding, soothing, and cooling.  This recipe is quite sweet! The pecans contribute a warming & nourishing protein.

Pecan Bars

Shortbread Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I use Namaste  or Authentic Foods gluten free blends)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• A big pinch of salt
• 3/4 cup organic unsalted butter (or use salted butter and remove the “pinch of salt” from the ingredients)

Pecan Topping Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons arrowroot (found at health food stores in baking or bulk section) – if not available use cornstarch
• 1/3 cup organic cream or milk (or almond milk)
• 1 1/2 cups organic dark brown sugar
• 2/3 cup brown rice syrup
• 2 tablespoons melted organic unsalted butter (or use salted butter and remove the “pinch of salt” from the ingredients)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/ 4 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups coarsely chopped pecans (or almonds for almond bars)

PREPARATION

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9x13x2-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, making sure the foil completely covers the sides of the pan, with about 2 inches folded outside over the edges. Spray the bottom and sides of the pan generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Prepare the Shortbread
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Use a pastry cutter or two knives held together to cut in the margarine until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Pour crumbs into the prepared baking pan and press down evenly and very firmly, making sure to press the mixture all the way to the edges of the pan. Bake the crust for 8 to 10 minutes until firm and very lightly browned. Remove the pan from the oven and set it aside.

Prepare the Topping

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and nondairy milk until foamy. Stir in the dark brown sugar, brown rice syrup, melted margarine, vanilla, and salt until smooth. Fold in the pecans and pour the mixture onto the crust, using a spatula to spread the topping evenly.

4. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is rapidly bubbling. Place the pan on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, then move it to the refrigerator to finish cooling and setting. Chill for at least 2 hours or, even better, overnight.

5. To slice completely cooled bars, grab a hold of the foil and carefully lift the whole thing out of the pan and onto a heavy cutting board. Peel away the foil and cut bars with a heavy, sharp knife.

Variations:

• Exchange the pecans with almonds – keep in mind the bars will be crunchier and a little more like candy… but it’s delicious!
• Exchange the butter for oil & the milk for almond milk to make the recipe vegan (or acceptable for those with dairy sensitivity).  In this case, you can simply stir the oil into the shortbread dry ingredients with a fork until just mixed (don’t overmix).
• Exchange the shortbread bottom with a pie crust.  Make the crust dough, lay in a pie plate and before baking, fill in with the pecan topping recipe.  I did this for Thanksgiving, using Martha Stewart’s Recipe for Pie Crust, then baked it for a little longer than the bar recipe, because in a pie, the filling was a little thicker – I baked it at 375 degrees for about 50 minutes.

Coconut Cake

So delicious!!! You can see the “Favorite Cake!” recipe on this blog… essentially I added some coconut to the cake batter and to the frosting.  It was darn yummy.

Quinoa Pasta

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is a great source of light, easy to digest, gluten-free protein.  Native to the Andean Region of South America, quinoa cooks like a grain, it is actually a seed.  For years, I’ve been making pilafs with quinoa, vegetables and lentils… great with cumin and balsamic dressing or tahini dressing.  The grain cooks like rice – 2 parts water or vegetable broth to one part quinoa.

Ayurveda stats… Quinoa is light, warming and drying, so on it’s own it balances the damp, cool, heavy qualities of kapha and spring season.  However, cooked with balancing spices and herbs and combined with heavier, more grounding ingredients such as oil, avocado, winter squash and root vegetables, quinoa becomes balancing for all three doshas.

For a quick, protein rich meal I often make what I call “quin-wasta” – quinoa pasta – available at health food stores from Ancient Harvest.  Many shapes are available, I love the spagetti size personally – I find they most closely resemble a traditional duram pasta.

Ingredients

• Package of Quinoa Pasta (or pasta of your choice), prepared according to directions to be al dente
• Butternut squash, chopped and steamed (or an winter squash or sweet potato)
• Asparagus, snapped in half and steamed (green beans or zucchini also work well)
• Flat leaf Italian parsley (rinsed & chopped)
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• Cumin seeds, dry-toasted & ground – See Post
• Olive oil
• One of the following: balsamic, lemon, ricotta, feta (any of these will add the sour taste.

Process

• Toss all the ingredients together!

Sesame Carrots

If you’re like me, you almost always have carrots in the fridge. This recipe, with sesame seeds and ginger is particularly warming, and I enjoyed it on a cool northern California evening when the winds were stirring up vata.

Ayurveda Stats…Carrots are sweet, nourishing, warming and grounding.  Particularly balancing for vata… which means they are especially great to partake in during vata season (autumn) or if your lifestyle has been vata derranged (lots of travel or movement or excessive talking, for example).

Ingredients

• 2 cups carrots, sliced thin on the diagonal
• 1/4 cup sesame seeds
• 1 inch shredded ginger
• 2 TB Butter (to balance pitta), Ghee (to balance vata), or sunflower oil (to balance kapha)
• 1 TB brown sugar or raw sugar (eg. turbinado)
• Salt and black or white pepper to taste
• Lime wedges (optional) – to serve with the carrots for squeezing

Process

• Warm the butter, ghee or oil in a pan over medium heat
• Add the ginger, and stir about 1-2 minutes to infuse the oil
• Add the carrots and salt and stir to coat
• Cook (stirring occasionally) until the carrots are cooked through, not too firm, not too mushy
• Stir in the sesame seeds, sugar and pepper
• Serve with lime wedges

I served these carrots with Asparagus with Parsley and Skillet Cornbread.

Asparagus with Parsley (and a kick)

Asparagus is easy to cook in a variety of ways – asparagus tastes great steamed, stirfried, broiled, or grilled.  One of my favorite ways to have asparagus is tossed with oil and salt and broiled in the oven for 10 minutes.  But on this occasion, I decided to steam the green stalks and toss them with a simple dressing.

Ayurveda Stats… Asparagus is sweet, bitter and beneficial to the reproductive system for men and women.  Asparagus is a tri-doshic vegetable.  It harvests in the spring (though it has a longer season in California), and thus is a particularly great kapha-pacifying vegetable.  

Snap-trick – snapping the stalks is preferable to chopping (and fun).  Snap off the ends.  Then if you don’t want to cook them long, but prefer more biteable sized pieces, snap the stalks where they break easily.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch asparagus, ends removed and snapped in 1/2
• 1 head Flat leaf parsley, chopped
• Olive oil
• Sour element – lemon, lime or apple cider vinegar
• Salt
• Black or White Pepper
• The “kick” – optional – a few dashes of green tobasco sauce

Process

1. Place the snapped asparagus in a steaming basket over boiling water & cook until cooked through but still firm (time depends on the stalks and can vary from 5-10 min)
2. While stalks are steaming, mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl – about 1 part sour element to 2 parts oil, salt, pepper and tobasco to taste and stir in the parsley.
3. Toss the asparagus with the dressing.

I think green things go great with orange… so you might enjoy this spicy and sour dish with sweet potatoes, carrots or squash.  I served it with sesame carrots and skillet cornbread.

Cornbread

When I was a kid, my mom was a great breakfast maker.  A family favorite was “Johnny Cake” – cornbread on which we would spread butter and pour maple syrup.  My husband is a big fan of cornbread, corn muffins, cornmeal pancakes and cornmeal scones, so I always have cornmeal in the kitchen.  We are housesitting and I couldn’t find a small enough baking dish for a single batch recipe… but I do have my cast iron skillets!  I’ve never made “skillet cornbread” (more of a southern thang)… I gave it a try, and it came out beautifully!

Ayurveda Stats…Corn is a stable grain of ancient north, south & central America Both ancient American folklore and modern archaeology trace the birth of corn close to the beginning of creation.  In the vedic tradition, corn relates to the moon, the planet that is closely connected with mother & nourishment.  Corn is light, warming, dry and rough.  As such, it balances the damp, cold and soft qualities of kapha and is a great grain to emphasize on cold and damp days. Of course, though corn can balance excess kapha, baked goods in general should be enjoyed in moderation. This particular recipe is not too sweet, and is particularly fine for kapha types if made vegan and gluten free! ***Pitta & Pitta-Vata types might also consider blue corn – a slightly coolor and damper form of corn, which can be replaced, cup-for-cup in recipes.

My cornbread recipe is egg-free & easily made gluten free (scroll down for my favorite gluten-free flour).  It’s vegan if you use almond milk instead of cow’s milk.  I have made this for my non-health-conscious brother, and he says it’s “better than Mom’s”.

Ingredients

1 Cup Corn Meal

1 Cup all purpose flour OR Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour (see my favorite brand below)

1 and ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

1/4 C Sunflower Oil

1/4 C Maple Syrup

1 Cup Organic Cow’s Milk or Almond milk or combo or whole milk yogurt + water

(for a sweeter batch, increase the maple syrup & reduce the milk) ***Add about 1/4 extra of this milky liquid for the skillet version!

Regular Baking Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine dry ingredients

Combine wet ingredients

Mix together. It should not be as runny as pancake batter, or as thick as biscuit dough – somewhere in between. Add more milk as needed.

Pour into an oiled baking dish (or muffin tins)

Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Skillet Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Combine dry ingredients

Combine wet ingredients – ADD a little extra milk (say 1/4 cup) to make it more pourable! It should not be as runny as pancake batter, or as thick as biscuit dough – somewhere in between but a little closer to pancake batter for the skillet. Add more milk as needed.

Mix together.

Warm the skillet on the stove, with 2 TB oil (grapeseed or sunflower is best)

Pour in the cornbread batter and cook on the stovetop for 1.5 min on med-high heat.

Transfer the skillet to the oven and bake 20 min (or until golden grown)

The edges should be crispy!

I served the skillet cornbread with sesame carrots & asparagus with parsley.

Here’s my favorite all-purpose gluten-free flour… maybe be hard to find (I got it at a specialty gluten-free shop, and never see it at wholefoods) but you can order it online.  Look for any brand that uses tapioca, rice and / or nut flours.  Avoid the brands that use bean flour (chickpea or pinto bean for example) as that much bean is difficult to digest, particularly for those with excess dryness in their constitution (vata).