Green Beans, Carrot, and Cucumber Salad

Colorful, healthy, low fat, vegan (or not), and most important, delicious.

In the last several weeks I have been tackling a project long neglected even though it is very close to my heart; that of organizing recipes that have been sitting in random files and notes for close to two decades. I have two large binders, one which has recipes I have made and would like to make again (keepers, in the current parlance) and another which has recipes that I would perhaps like to make some day (the paper equivalent of bookmarks), and somewhere the lines cross and the mess begins. Most of the recipes and notes are in non-standardized formats, and especially the best ones. From a printout of an email from parents, something scratched on the nearest notepad while on a phone call with a cousin, or clippings from old magazines and papers that do not have digital archives. I didn't have the heart to throw out most of them without taking a look, and I finally found time over the holidays to start reviewing and organizing everything. What good it is otherwise! One by one, I hope to start digitizing everything, either by scanning them for my records, or typing them up on the blog (which would mean I also need to make each dish, photograph it, and type it up), so that all I would have left is a few handwritten recipes that I would keep for sentimental reasons. It is a lofty goal and it might take years to get through a lot of it, but I had to start somewhere.

When I started looking through the files, I found so many wonderful notes of things I used to make regularly and enjoy, but somewhere along the years got buried in there. One such gem I found is the salad my mother had made during a trip to India, circa 2003. That was when she used to make lots of vegetable based meals with little or no fat for my father, who had very strict diet restrictions at that time. This salad however can be enjoyed by all, without even realizing that it is very healthy. I wondered why I stopped making it. There was no particular reason that I can think of, except that it is not something I can usually throw together on a whim. It needs a few incongruous ingredients that don't always happen to be at home at the same time. That is also partly what make this salad so wonderful. The combination is unexpected but it just comes together.

When I made it recently, it was a side to a warm and spicy moogachi khichadi, but it fits in nicely with any meal, with rice and dal, a simple pulao, or alongside a bhaaji or usal.



Green Beans, Carrot, and Cucumber Salad
Serves 3-4, and can be easily multiplied or halved.

1/2 cup finely chopped green beans
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup peeled, seeded and chopped cucumber (see note 1)
1 small green chili, finely chopped (see note 2)
1/4 cup grated coconut (fresh or frozen)
3/4 teaspoon sugar (do not skimp)
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
2-3 Tablespoons of finely chopped cilantro
1-2 Tablespoons lemon juice OR 1/2 cup (or more) yogurt, but not both (see note 3)

Start by chopping the green beans. Put them in a steamer and steam them for 5-8 minutes until they are tender and cooked to your liking. Take them out of the steamer and let cool.

While the beans are cooking and cooling, prepare the vegetables - grate the carrots, chop the rest. Mix everything together in a bowl.

Notes

1. You can chose to not peel or seed the cucumber if you like.
2. The chili gives the salad a spicy bite but not too much. If you prefer mild food, use only half of the chili if it is very sharp, or remove the seeds, or use a sprinkle of cayenne or Indian red chili powder.
3. When I first had it, it was made with lemon juice, but one time I added yogurt when I had a friend over because I know she likes yogurt and it certainly changed it to something else. I make both versions, depending on what else is part of the meal.

Ma-po Tofu

Some things begin with a plan, and others happen at random. This time it started with a packet of tofu that was getting close to its expiration date. Tofu and I share a strange relation. When I see it in the store or in some recipe I feel very inspired but then it languishes in the fridge for a while before I start reminding myself to use it up in the intended recipe. Usually it lands up in a Thai curry with some other vegetables of choice, but this time, I had eaten Thai for lunch just the day before, so I wasn't feeling enthused about it.

While searching through my collection of favorites I decided on this 'Tofu stir-fried with basil' which I hadn't made in a long time and which I know is fantastic. On a whim, I thought I'd check if anything else catches my fancy on that site, which, by the way, has several really good Southeast Asian style recipes. When I saw the 'Ma Po Tofu', that was it. That gorgeous color in the photo of the dish caught my attention, and the recipe sounded so unbelievably simple that I had to try it. Plan changed, for the better. This recipe is just awesome, an absolute winner.

You could use the original recipe just as it is, with the chef's witty add-ons and informative notes. Sichuan pepper is called as tirphaL in Konkani and Marathi, and is not in any way related to the churna of the same name. If you have it, use it. This is what I did, following the recipe as closely as I could, which is why I have kept most of the instructions as they are.

Ingredients

Firm Tofu - 270 gm, about half of a standard block
3 Tablespoons oil
1.5 Tablespoons chili bean paste
2 teaspoons fermented (preserved) black beans
5-10 dried or fresh red chilies
(I used 5 fresh red Thai chilies, and that was decently spicy enough for me)
1/2 cup water or stock
pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
2 teaspoons cornstarch mixed with a Tablespoon of water
white pepper to taste
1 or 2 spring onions (scallions), to yield about 2 Tablespoons

Method

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet or wok.

Cut off about a fifth of the tofu, and crumble with fingers or fork. Add this to the oil and let it fry until golden brown in color.

In the meanwhile cut the remaining tofu into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces. Chop the scallion into rings, using the white and green portion.

Move the fried tofu to one side of the pan, so the oil can drain back into the middle of the wok. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the chili bean paste and stir-fry for 30 seconds. The oil should turn red. Add the fermented black beans and red chillies and stir-fry for another 30 seconds. Add the water or stock and stir it in.

As it starts to form a sauce, gently add the cut tofu to the liquid. Don't stir-fry this too much or the tofu could break apart. Try to hold the pan by its long handle and gently shake it back and forth.

Add the sugar and light soy sauce. Turn the heat down and simmer the mixture for about 5 minutes.

Depending on how thick the sauce is at this stage, stir in some of the cornstarch-water mixture and turn up the heat to medium. The sauce should start to thicken. Add more of the mixture and cook till the sauce has the consistency slightly more runny than tomato ketchup. It should cling to the tofu.

Stop the cooking at this stage, add some of the spring onions and white pepper. Serve with the remaining spring onions garnished on top.

The perfect accompaniment to this would be plain white or brown rice, and any type of sauteed greens, to add a vegetable component to the meal.

For that, here is a bonus recipe:

Sauteed Green Beans and Cashews

Stack together some tender green beans and trim off the ends. Heat oil in a wide skillet, add a couple of cloves of minced garlic, a broken dried red chili or two, a handful of cashews, the beans, salt, and cook for a few minutes. Add some soy sauce and toss together for another two minutes.

This dish might sound simple, but it tastes absolutely fabulous.


About Express Cooking



If I have to cook while time is at a premium, I am most likely to turn to something that does not need a precise recipe, like pasta with whatever-is-in-the-fridge, or eggs, or something that I have made so many times that I know exactly what it involves. Trying out a new recipe for which I have to refer to something is best left for when there is plenty of time.

This Mapo tofu scores some more points because this was the first time I made it, I had to refer to the printout, and yet it took less than 20 minutes. As if that wasn't enough, it is made without using anything frozen, leftover, or canned. Just the tofu itself and the couple of sauces are ready-made.

By using multiple burners, all three components of this meal can be cooked together to create a healthy balanced meal for the Express Cooking event.