Winter Dinner
Rick and I sit down together for dinner every evening between 7 and 8. Usually we make something predictable which includes a protein, starch and vegetable. Sometimes we follow a recipe, but generally not. Lately dinner has been feeling like too much to me, I get up from the table full. So this week I had the "brilliant" idea to make dinner much simpler by having soup and salad every night.
I pulled down my favorite soup cookbook and chose three recipes to start with so we could shop for ingredients. Monday night it was cream of mushroom soup with noodle salad with fresh vegetables mixed in with some Asian dressing. Tuesday it was red pepper soup with tabouli salad. Wednesday we had Goan potato soup with spiced pea samosas. By the time we arrived at this point we had discovered an unexpected truth. Soup and salad is NOT a simple dinner and following all these recipes made for a very long dinner prep. By mid-week I had given up my clever idea altogether. But since our Indian meal was very nice indeed (although I doubt we'll be making it again anytime soon), I thought I'd post the recipe for you here.
To make the soup (for 4): Heat 4 tablespoons sunflower oil in a soup pot. Add 2 teaspoons black mustard seeds. Cover the pot and cook the mustard seeds until they begin to pop. Add 1 chopped onion and 1 seeded and chopped red chili to the pot and cook about 5 minutes until soft. Stir in 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 4 curry leaves. Stir. Add 2 lbs potatoes cut in chunks and 3 cups water. Cover and cook on a low flame for 15 minutes until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally. Add 8 oz of chopped spinach leaves and cook for a further 5 minutes. Add 1 2/3 cups coconut milk and continue cooking for 5 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in a handful of fresh coriander leaves before serving.
To make the samosa dough: Mix 10 oz flour with 1/4 teaspoons salt in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add 2 tablespoons sunflower oil and 2/3 cup warm water. Combine. Knead on a floured board for a few minutes then put the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
To make the samosa filling: Heat 4 tablespoons sunflower oil in a frying pan and add 1 finely chopped onion. Cook 6-7 minutes until golden. Add 1 1/2 cup frozen peas thawed, 1 tablespoon grated ginger root, 1 green chili seeded and finely chopped and 3 tablespoons water. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes until the peas are cooked. Add 12 oz of cooked and finely diced potatoes, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander, 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons lemon juice. Cook over a low flame for 2-3 minutes. Stir in 2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander. Season and leave to cool.
To put the samosas together: Divide the dough into eight pieces. Work with one section at a time, leaving the others in the refrigerator. Roll out each 1/8th onto a floured board making an approximately 7" circle. Cut the circle in half. Put the cooled filling on one half of each half, then fold them over using a little water on the rim of the dough to glue them shut. Use a fork or your fingers to seal them. Each eighth makes 2 samosas.
To fry: Heat vegetable oil in a pan to 375 º F and fry for 3-4 minutes, turning once.
Voila!
Our salad was a simple avocado with some very nice dressing. Recently I have been making a batch of salad dressing in a jar and using it on both my lunch and dinner salads. A jar lasts at least a week. My favorite recipe is this one:
Catalina Dressing: Put together in a jar ⅓ cup red wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar, ½ cup ketchup, ½ cup olive oil, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 teaspoon finely chopped onions, 1 teaspoon paprika, 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Shake.
