Pumpkin and Lentil Tajine

Ever since I had this blog, I have been trying various ideas to turn the Halloween pumpkin into something tasty. I already have some good recipes that I like, but I have recently found a few new ones and I have been anxious to try them. One intrigued me so much that I bought an extra pumpkin last week to try this dish before the pumpkin sitting on my porch will be available for cooking.

This recipe, as you can tell from the title of this post, comes from the Moroccan cuisine. And I must say that preparing pumpkin with oriental spices is my favorite way to turn this rather sweet and bland vegetable into a dish that is zesty, flavorous, and even spicy.

Moroccan cuisine, and particularly tajines, are my latest culinary fascination. They can make a wonderful and rich one-dish meal. Since my daily home cuisine is most often vegetarian, especially the vegetable tajines sounded very appealing to me. Moreover, unlike the meat tajines, they do not require very long cooking.

Tajine is traditionally made in a special, conic-shaped ceramic pot with a lid, which is designed for slow cooking. But if you do not have a tajine pot, this dish could be made in a regular non-stick heavy duty pot. It can be made entirely on the stove, or fried first and then finished in an oven at low temperature until soft.

Pumpkin and Lentil Tajine
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
1 lb of pumpkin (already peeled off and cut into cubes),
1/2 cup green lentils,
4 cups vegetable broth,
1/2 cup olive oil,
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced,
4 garlic cloves, chopped,
2 tsp paprika,
1 tsp turmeric,
1 tsp ground cumin,
1/4 tsp black pepper,
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper,
1/2 tsp salt,
2 tomatoes, cut into large cubes,
3 tbsp tomato paste,
1/4 cup raisins,
3 tbsp chopped flat leave parsley,
2 tbsp chopped cilantro.

Preparation:
1. Wash lentils and place them in a medium pot. Cover with broth and cook until lentil is tender but not soft. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil in a large heavy duty pan. Add onion, garlic and spices. Fry for about 2 minutes, until everything is mixed well and fragrant.
3. Add pumpkin cubes to the pot, mix well with spices, and cook for about 5 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and lentils together with the broth. Mix all the ingredients gently.

5. Scatter raisins on the top of the vegetables and reduce the heat to low.

6. Cook for about 20 minutes until pumpkin and lentils become soft. If you use a tajine pot, or any other oven-friendly pot, you can transfer it at this point to an oven and finish it there.
7. Sprinkle with parsley and cilantro on top and serve.

Sautéed Mushrooms--The Afghan Way

I always associate fall with mushrooms, especially the wild one that we picked in Polish forests, and later cooked, dried or preserved in vinegar. I hardly eat wild mushrooms in America, except dried porcini which I bring from Poland, or chanterelles which periodically appear at our local Costco. Maybe because fall is a mushroom season in Poland, I also like those cultivated white mushroom to serve most during this season.

When I saw my Afghan friend in September, I was happy to hear that she had for me a mushroom dish recipe, perfect for the season. She recalled these sautéed mushrooms while visiting the farmers market in Connecticut, where she bought these very fresh white mushrooms and cooked them the Afghan way. But, as she said, this recipe is good for any mushrooms. For instance, a mix of white and baby bella would be a perfect combination.

It is a very simple dish and, as almost all Afghan recipes, uses the same method and basic spices. I tried this recipe on a cold weekend in September and I was surprised that this dish tasted more like wild mushrooms that I know from Poland than the regular white mushrooms. It was well fried and aromatic thanks to dried spices and fresh coriander. Served with Afghan bread made a simple but delicious lunch.

Afghan Mushrooms
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 lb white mushrooms mix (or a mix of white and baby bella),
one large onion, chopped,
3 garlic cloves, minced,
2 tsp ground coriander,
1 tsp turmeric,
1 tsp chili pepper,
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves,
3 tbsp olive oil,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Wash and dry mushrooms. Cut then into thin slices.

2. In a large heavy duty frying pan heat the olive oil. Add onion and garlic and fry until they become transparent.
3. Add mushrooms and fry until the water they released evaporates and mushrooms become dry. At that moment add ground coriander and turmeric, salt and pepper mix. Fry mushrooms on the medium heat until they become slightly gold.
4. Sprinkle tops of mushrooms with chopped coriander and chili pepper. Cover and let the coriander to release the flavor to the mushrooms. It will take about 3 minutes.
Serve mushrooms with fresh, preferably Afghan bread.

Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Curry Leaves

It is hard to decide whch photo to put at the top of this post. Brussels sprouts are a very intriguing looking vegetable, but what makes this dish truly unique are the curry leaves and some other spices used in this recipe.

Did you even know that there is a curry tree that grows these very fragrant leaves? I had not been aware of that for a long time, assuming that curry is just a combination of different spices (which by the way do not include curry leaves) and altogether probably the most known Indian spice mix. But my neighbor grows a small curry tree in a pot and he introduced me to curry leaves. Whenever I need curry leaves and have no time to make a trip to my local Indian food store I borrow from him a brunch.

Curry leaves impart a spicy, peppery, and very distinguishable taste. Last week when I bought seasonal Brussels sprouts on stalks I thought about making curry with it. But not in a heavy, thick sauce but rather sautéed in curry leaves and other spices. First, I cooked Brussels sprouts until almost soft and then I fried spices and curry leaves and added them to the Brussels sprouts. Crispy and flavorous spices contrasted nicely with the soft and sweet vegetable. It is an unusual concept of serving the Brussels sprouts but, if you are one of these special people who love Brussels sprouts, it is worth exploring.

Spicy Brussels Sprouts with Curry Leaves (Serves four)

Ingredients:
2 lb Brussels sprouts,
1 tsp turmeric,
1 tsp ground ginger,
1 onion, chopped,
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp whole cumin seeds,
2 tsp mustard seeds,
1 tsp ground cumin,
1 tsp ground coriander,
1 tsp dhana dhal (coriander seeds),
about 12 fresh curry leaves,
olive oil for frying,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Put Brussels sprouts in a large pot, add a tsp of salt, turmeric, and ginger. Pour just enough water (about 4 cups) to cover Brussels sprouts and bring it to boil.

2. Cook for about 20 minutes uncovered until water reduces and Brussels sprout becomes soft. (When Brussels sprout is soft there should still left some water on the bottom of the pot).
3. In a heavy duty frying pan heat the oil until very hot. Add mustard seeds and when they start to pop, add whole and ground cumin, dhana dhal, and curry leaves. Continue to fry until the spices start to turn brown.

4. Turned the heat to a low and add to the spices chopped onion and garlic and fry for about 3 minutes until onion softens.
5. Transfer cooked Brussels sprout and remaining water the to the pan, mix gently to cover with spices and cook for about five minutes until Brussels sprouts become infused with spices. Serve alone or with rice.