Hodgepodge of Greens & Toasted Coconut Kura

Once again, the CSA has offered us some mystery greens.  Now if I were to go back into my e-mails, I'm sure I would be able to deduce what the leafy green were, but that is a lot of effort I'm not willing to put forth. You know, they were so fresh that I found a dead moth in between one of the lettuce leaves....I tossed that leaf in the garbage and made sure the other ones were thoroughly washed.

In an effort to make sure they don't turn into a liquidy mess in our vegetable bin, I chopped up the greens and invented a kura. You know how they say "necessity is the mother of invention"? Do you think it stemmed from the fact that mothers are in the need of inventions? Funny? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Anyways check out the recipe below.

Greens & Toasted Coconut Kura 
Ingredients

• 1/4 cup of toasted shredded coconut 
• 3 heads of random greens (even lettuce counts!) 
• Sesame oil (optional) 
• Hing powder 
• Salt
• Turmeric 
• Chili Powder
• Splash of tamarind water  

Directions 

1. Thoroughly wash and clean the greens. Then do a rough chop of the greens. 

2. In a small pan, add the coconut and toast on low heat. Mixing periodically to prevent burning. 

3. In a deep pan, heat the sesame oil. Once the oil is hot, add a dash of the hing powder. Then slowly add in the greens. Add in a 1/3 at a time so there is time for the greens to reduce down. 

4. Once all of the greens are added, season with: salt, turmeric and chili powder. Then add the tamarind water and mix. 

5. Cook the greens until 95% of the water is gone and then add the toasted coconut. Mix in and enjoy! 

Ease: Very easy to make! 

Ayurvedic Friendly: The tamarind water is a fail but whatever 

Yummy: Well, I was hoping to get more of a tang from the tamarind water and more nuttiness from the coconut. Will just have to change it up next time! 

Misshapen Sweet Potato Spelt Parathas!

Blog readers, I'm so sorry I have taken so long to add a new blog entry! I have had quite the hectic August. First, I finally got a job (yaya!) and then I went off to VHPA Camp for a week (semi vacation). For a while I was MIA and not cooking. Things that don't blend well when you have a cooking blog. Well I think I have come back with a recipe that will make you very happy. It's something that is totally Ayurvedic friendly (and I am 99% sure) and is actually delicious! Most of my Ayurvedic friendly stuff tastes pretty good, but this one was something I seriously pulled out of thin air. 

World, I present to you: Sweet Potato Spelt Paratha! I do love me some parathas. Nothing is better than combining carbs with more carbs topped with melted ghee. My version is a healthier version (only just) and I think all of you will love it! Check out the recipe below.

Sweet Potato Spelt Parathas 

• Filling
• 1 sweet potato, cut into large cubes
• 3 cloves of garlic 
• 1/2 in of ginger 
• 2 tbs coriander leaves 
• 1 tbs cumin seeds 
• Salt 
• 2 green chilies 
• 1/2 tbs of lemon juice 
• Paratha Bread
• 14 fistfuls of spelt flour 
• Pinch of salt
• 3-4 tsp ghee 
• Water (enough to make a dough) 

Directions 

1. In a pot, boil the sweet potato until it is soft. Drain the water and set aside. 

2. In a blender jar, add the rest of the filling ingredients and blend into a rough chop. 

3. Combine the sweet potato with the rest of the filling ingredients. Mash the sweet potatoes into a uniform mixture. Then make 14 even size dollops of filling. Dollop is an official measurement. 

Mmmmm, pretty

4. In a bowl, add the spelt flour, salt, ghee and water. Fistful may not seem like the most sophisticated measurement system, but it's what my mom told me to use. She said that when you make roti, one equals one fistful of flour. So far it has worked for me. Also remember not to over work this dough because the spelt flour can become brittle when cooked.

Yummy, ghee.

5. Roll the dough into a log and divide into 14 even round balls. Place them back in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. So they don't dry out and become an epic fail.

6. Take a cutting board (or roti rolling board) add a little spelt flour. Then take one of the ball and flatten it with your fingers. Then using a rolling pin, roll it out in to a small circular round. 

7. Then place one of the dollops of the filling in the middle of the round. Then pull in the sides of the dough around the filling and cover it. 

8. Then take the rolling pin, and carefully roll the filled round into a flattened circle. Now be careful to not have the filling squirt out the edges of the paratha. If it does, it's not a huge deal, just be careful.

Australia is a legitimate paratha shape.............

9. Heat a tava or pan to medium high heat. Add the paratha and then add oil around the edges of the paratha. Cook until golden brown on both sides. 

*Notes*

* Round parathas are overrated. All of my parathas looked like Pacific Islands. On purpose, perhaps?

* These can be eaten by themselves or with a side of your favorite subji, achaar, lentil or soup. 

* If you are reheating this, do it on the stove and not in the microwave. 

* When you make the portions of fillings, you may get more or less than what I measured. That is okay, just adjust your fistful of flour accordingly. For every one dollop of filling there should be one ball of dough. 

Ease: I would give this a medium to hard. This is a long process (probably more than an hour) and definitely requires some patience 

Ayurvedic Friendly: Yes! And I'm sooo excited it is!!! 

Yummy: Soooo good, and you know what, the sweet potato didn't make it sweet! 

Reverse Rose Peach Cobbler

Not the prettiest of presentations

Baking is not one of my strong points. I try to bake, but I'm not one to measure, which completely defeats the purpose of baking. Yesterday, my cousin came over with a bunch of peaches and my mom requested peach cobbler. I've never made this before so I naturally turned to the queen of Southern Cooking (in my opinion, refute if you want to) Ms. Paul Deen. I'm Paula Deen and I loooove butter!! 

I went to the Food Network and looked up one of her recipes for Peach Cobbler. Now the one thing I did not have that the recipe called for was self-rising flour, which in hindsight is rather imperative. I used regular unbleached flour in hopes of getting a similar effect. Well, I didn't. Instead of rising over the peaches, it baked on the bottom. If I had poured the mixture on top, then I would have gotten a similar effect; however, I didn't and that's how I created reverse peach cobbler. 

Reverse Rose Peach Cobbler 

Ingredients 

• 7 peaches, peeled and sliced 
• 1/2 cup of water 
• 1 tbs of rose water 
• 2 cups of sugar 
• 8 tbs. butter (I used Smart Balance)
• 1 1/2 cups of unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 cups of milk
• Ground cinnamon 

Directions

1. Peel and slice the fresh peaches. Peeling a peach is not an easy task, let me tell you.

2. In a sauce pan, place the peaches, water and 1 cup of sugar. Mix thoroughly and then boil. Once boiling, turn it down to a simmer and let it sit for 10 minutes. Take off the heat, and then add the rose water and mix in.

3. In a 3 quart baking dish, add the butter and melt in a 350F degree oven. 

4. In a bowl, add the flour and sugar. Then slowly add in the milk in order to prevent lumps. I failed epically at avoiding lumps. 

Mmmmm, lumps!

5. Take out the baking dish, and add the flour mixture. Next, spoon in the peaches and syrup. Sprinkle cinnamon powder on top.

6. Place in the oven and bake at 350F, 30-45 minutes. Take out of the oven and cool. 

*Notes*

* This recipe is adapted from Paula Deen's Recipe for Peach Cobbler provided from Food Network

* You can serve this with ice cream or whipped cream or both?

Ease: This is super easy to make

Ayurvedic Friendly: Negatory 

Yummy: It may have been made wrong, but at least it tastes good!