Pan-roasted brussels sprouts

Brussels sprouts are a great favourite with me, especially since I discovered that they could be roasted in the oven. That is definitely my most preferred way to eat these little green cabbagey things. My mother and I are the only two people in my family who would willingly and happily eat sprouts. My husband turns green at the sight of a sprout. Despite that, he always insists on having this vegetable as a side dish at Christmas dinner, and he'll even put a couple of them on his plate - but they remain untouched all through the meal and then they go straight into the bin. I've asked him why he wants sprouts on the table if he hates them so much, and why he puts them on his plate if he never means to eat them. The only answer I've received is a stubborn "There should be Brussels sprouts at Christmas dinner. It's a tradition." Yeah, his Christmas tradition being never to eat sprouts.

Anyway, my mother-in-law, brother-in-law, my niece and I all make up for Pete's boycott of the sprouts, because we all love them.

Today, inspired by Masterchef Australia 2016 (which I have been watching diligently and religiously), I decided to pan-fry my sprouts. I usually add a lot of chilli powder to my dry curries, but for some reason I refrained, just limiting myself to a pinch of Jaffna curry powder. 

Cooking the sprouts on a slightly higher heat, covered, for 15 or so minutes helped them "caramelise" where they were in contact with the hot pan. Masterchef contestants (and judges) are very big on caramelisation, which I've interpreted as "crisp in places and just very slightly burnt". 

Well, whatever the actual definition, the sprouts were absolutely delicious! i'm not joking when I say that I kept eating them straight from the pan - the caramelised bits were lovely and crunchy, the inner bits were soft... seriously, just thinking about it is making me salivate. I still have a few sprouts left and I'm very certain I'll be making this again tomorrow. Thank you, Masterchef Australia, for the caramelisation fixation!

Recipe for: Pan-roasted Brussels sprouts



Ingredients:

15 medium sprouts
1 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder (optional)
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp Jaffna curry powder (or any curry powder or garam masala you might have)
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Trim the sprouts and cut into quarters.

2. Heat the oil in a pan. Add the asafoetida powder and coriander powder and stir it for 30 seconds. Then add the quartered sprouts, sprinkle the curry powder or garam masala over, and stir to coat the sprouts in the oil and spices.

3. Keep the heat just below medium-high and cover the pan. Let the sprouts cook for 15 minutes undisturbed. Then take off the lid and check to see that they are cooked. They should be beautifully caramelised from the prolonged undisturbed contact with the hot pan. Sprinkle the salt over the cooked sprouts and stir it in.

4. Take the pan off the heat and serve the sprouts hot as a side with rice and sambar. (I ate most of them straight from the pan because they were just that delicious.)

Brussels sprouts and cabbage with sesame masala

Cabbage and brussels sprouts are not most people's favourite vegetables, but I love them. I made this recently for the first time when a friend came to dinner. It went down very well with rice and sambar, but it would also be just as good with rotis. Cabbage love is such a heartwarming thing when it happens naturally... Please don't ask me what that means, because I don't know. The sentence/sentiment just popped into my head and out through my fingers. Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy this dish, readers mine, so do try it.
Recipe for: Brussels sprouts and cabbage with sesame masala

Ingredients:

2 cups cabbage, shredded

1/2 cup brussels sprouts, shredded
2 tsp oil
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp mustard seeds

3 dry red chillies, broken into 1" pieces (or to taste)

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 fenugreek seeds
10 curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Dry roast the chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves in a small pan on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the seeds and chillies turn aromatic and a little darker in colour (about a minute).

Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Now dry roast the sesame seeds separately until they turn a shade darker and start to sputter a little. Let it cool down, then grind the sesame seeds along with the rest of the roasted seeds into a fine powder.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder. When the seeds stop spluttering, add the shredded cabbage and sprouts. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is cooked but not mushy.

4. Sprinkle the sesame seed powder over the cooked cabbage and mix it in. Serve hot as a side with rice and sambar, or with chapaties.

RECIPE: BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND CABBAGE WITH SESAME MASALA
Ingredients:

2 cups cabbage, shredded

1/2 cup brussels sprouts, shredded
2 tsp oil
1/8 tsp asafoetida powder
1 tsp mustard seeds

3 dry red chillies, broken into 1" pieces (or to taste)

2 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp cumin seeds
3-4 fenugreek seeds
10 curry leaves (optional)
Salt to taste
Method:
1. Dry roast the chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek seeds and curry leaves in a small pan on medium heat, stirring constantly, until the seeds and chillies turn aromatic and a little darker in colour (about a minute). Remove from the heat and set aside.
2. Now dry roast the sesame seeds separately until they turn a shade darker and start to sputter a little. Let it cool down, then grind the sesame seeds along with the rest of the roasted seeds into a fine powder.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds and asafoetida powder. When the seeds stop spluttering, add the shredded cabbage and sprouts. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is cooked but not mushy.
4. Sprinkle the sesame seed powder over the cooked cabbage and mix it in. Serve hot as a side with rice and sambar, or with chapaties.

Balsamic roasted brussels sprouts and mushrooms

So here I am with the first offering (luckily not burnt) of the year - roasted brussels sprouts, which I simply adore. The recipe is simpler than simple and I've been eating this for four days straight - although not JUST this, of course, otherwise I'd be my own jet-pack being propelled around by - er, you know, natural gas. (Not petroleum - respect for the earth's resources and all that).

I love the flavour of balsamic vinegar and it goes beautifully well with the sprouts. It doesn't hurt the mushrooms either, although you don't HAVE to use mushrooms at all if you don't want to.

Do try this, if you're a brussels sprouts fan like me.

Recipe for: Balsamic roasted brussels sprouts and mushrooms



Ingredients:



12-15 medium sized brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced vertically in half
10 baby chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean
1-2 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp olive oil or 2-3 sprays of Pam
1/2 tsp dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh (I used lemon thyme)
Salt and freshly-milled pepper to taste

Method:



Toss all the ingredients together well, and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200C (about 390F), until the sprouts are caramelised and cooked. Check on them after 20 minutes, and do not let them get mushy. Serve warm as a side dish. I like it as a snack too.

BALSAMIC ROASTED BRUSSELS SPROUTS AND MUSHROOMS

Ingredients:

12-15 medium sized brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced vertically in half
10 baby chestnut mushrooms, wiped clean
1 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp olive oil or 2-3 sprays of Pam
1/2 tsp dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh (I used lemon thyme)
Salt and freshly-milled pepper to taste

Method:

Toss all the ingredients together well, and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200C (about 390F), until the sprouts are caramelised and cooked. Check on them after 20 minutes, and do not let them get mushy. Serve warm as a side dish. I like it as a snack too.

Tomato-brussels sprouts thogayal (chutney)

This is the last post for 2010. I would like to wish everybody - regular commenters, lurkers, casual browsers and the odd passers-by - a wonderful, exciting, fulfilling but above all else, a HAPPY new year 2011! I could have seen the old year out on my blog with something sweet, but I think I'll save that for the new year. So the year 2010 on my blog ends with a simple thogayal that uses a rather hated vegetable - brussels sprouts - to make a dish that is entirely suited to Indian taste-buds. I used baby brussels sprouts (couldn't resist buying them, they looked so cute) but regular sized ones will work just as well in this recipe.

Recipe for: Tomato-brussels sprouts thogayal

 Ingredients:

1 cup brussels sprouts, quartered
3 medium plum tomatoes, quartered
4 fresh green chillies, chopped (or to taste)
4 dried red chillies (or to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
Large marble-sized piece of tamarind fruit (or 3/4 tsp tamarind paste)
Salt to taste
4 tsp oil

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the asafoetida powder, cumin seeds and green chillies. Fry for 45 seconds, then add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the tomatoes are cooked.

Remove from heat and reserve.

2. Heat the remaining oil in another pan and fry the dry red chillies and urad dal for 30 seconds,

then add the brussels sprouts and stir well.


3. Add 3-4 tbsp water, cover the pan and let the sprouts cook till done on low heat, about 8-10 minutes.

4. Grind the cooled tomatoes with the tamarind to a smooth paste, then add the sprouts and grind to a fairly coarse paste. Add salt to taste and mix well.

Serve as a side with idlis, dosa, chapaties, etc. Also good mixed with plain
cooked rice and ghee.

RECIPE: TOMATO-BRUSSELS SPROUTS THOGAYAL
Ingredients:

1 cup brussels sprouts, quartered
3-4 medium tomatoes, quartered
4 fresh green chillies, chopped (or to taste)
4 dried red chillies (or to taste)
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp urad dal
1/4 tsp asafoetida powder
Large marble-sized piece of tamarind fruit (or 3/4 tsp tamarind paste)
Salt to taste
4 tsp oil

Method:

1. Heat 2 tsp oil in a pan and add the asafoetida powder, cumin seeds and green chillies. Fry for 45 seconds, then add the tomatoes and cook on medium heat till the tomatoes are cooked. Remove from heat and reserve.
2. Heat the remaining oil in another pan and fry the dry red chillies for 30 seconds, then add the brussels sprouts and stir well.
3. Add 3-4 tbsp water, cover the pan and let the sprouts cook till done on low heat, about 8-10 minutes.
4. Grind the cooled tomatoes with the tamarind to a smooth paste, then add the sprouts and grind to a fairly coarse paste. Add salt to taste and mix well. Serve as a side with idlis, dosa, chapaties, etc. Also good mixed with plain cooked rice and ghee.

Gingery brussels sprouts sambar

Beans, beans the musical fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot

This ditty has one major error and one major truth - the error is that beans arent fruit and the truth is that yes, they DO make you "toot"! Which is why we Indians tend to use ginger - especially in bean recipes - to aid digestion and reduce the tooting involved.



However, beans arent what I used to make today's dinner - it was brussels sprouts, those little baby cabbagey vegetables that make people go "yum" or "yuck" with no real middle ground between like and dislike. I'm firmly in the "yum" camp and Pete just as firmly belongs to the "yuck" camp. Sometimes I really wonder what it is that keeps us together because we're SO unalike in major ways - starting with food!

Anyway, this sambar was entirely and only for myself. Since I was cooking with sprouts, something Pete wouldnt touch if you put him before a firing squad, I made it as spicy as I could possibly want. But as sprouts are pretty much up there with beans in the tooting department, I decided to add a generous tablespoon of grated ginger while making the sambar.

Now, ginger is not an ingredient that goes in any sambar I've made thus far and I wasnt sure what effect it would have on the taste. I neednt have worried - the sambar was delicious! I used more tamarind than I normally would, but it went well with the sprouts and ginger, methinks, gving it a sharp piquancy.

I paired the sambar with plain steamed rice, pan-roasted potatoes, a simple tomato-cucumber salad and microwaved appalam (papad) and considered myself well and truly pampered.

Oh, and I dont mind adding that thus far, not a single toot has announced its presence!

Recipe for: Gingery brussels sprouts sambar



Ingredients:

1 generous cup cooked and mashed toor dal

10 brussels sprouts, washed, trimmed and quartered
1 tbsp tamarind paste, dissolved in 4 cups hot water
1 tbsp ginger root, grated
1 tsp oil
pinch asafoetida powder
5 green chillies or to taste
2 htsp sambar powder
Salt to taste

For tempering:
1 tsp oil
5-6 fresh curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp oil in a saucepan. Add the asafoetida powder and green chillies and stir-fry for 30 seconds.

2. Add the quartered brussels sprouts and stir fry on high heat for a minute, then add the ginger root and fry for 30 seconds more.

3. Add the sambar powder and mix, then pour in the tamarind water.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium heat and simmer till the sprouts are cooked.

5. Now add the mashed toor dal (mixing it with 1/4 cup hot water first to make a pourable paste) and stir it in well. Add salt to taste.

6. Let the sambar boil for 5 minutes.

7. To do the tempering, heat 1 tsp oil in a small pan. Add the curry leaves and mustard seeds, cover the pan. When the mustard seeds have finished popping, pour it on the sambar.

8. Mix well. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.

If possible, let the sambar sit for 2-3 hours to let the flavours develop. Bring to a gentle simmer again, before serving hot with plain rice and any vegetable curry.

Oven-roasted brussels sprouts

Okay, they're not everybody's favourite vegetable... in fact, Pete has the same reaction to them that I have to aubergines (it goes something like "bleaurrrgh") but I've always liked these miniature cabbagey balls. I used to make sambar with them in India, and I've had 'em boiled here, sprinkled with salt and pepper and tossed in a little butter. Nice, for sprouts fans.

But then I came across a recipe for oven-roasted sprouts in one of my favourite blogs Words to Eat By and decided to give that a go.

Of course, I couldnt just leave it at adding just salt and pepper - I like more zing. So I made up a spicy mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, some red chilli powder and coriander seed powder and a little mustard and whisked it all together. Tossed my halved sprouts in the mix and set it in the oven at 180C for about 30 minutes.

Well, it should have been 30 minutes, but as often happens, I got caught up in something else and nearly burnt the layers off my sprouts. Luckily they were only slightly burnt and I liked the extra outer crispiness anyway. The insides were soft - a lovely contrast. I dont really know how soft the inner portion of the sprouts should be when they are perfectly done - perhaps they shouldnt be as soft as mine got. I'll keep a closer eye on my sprouts next time. Excuse me while I go and pig out on my spicy roasted brussels sprouts... it's dinner time!

Recipe for: Oven-roasted brussels sprouts



Ingredients:

1/2 kg brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half if too large
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp fresh ground black peppercorns
1/2 tsp mustard seeds, finely powdered

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (350F).

2. Whisk the oil and the various powders until well amalgamated.

3. Toss the sprouts in the seasoned oil.

4. Place on greaseproof paper on a shallow baking tray, in a single layer.

5. Roast the brussels sprouts for 30 minutes or so, or till the outer layer is brown and crisp.

6. Serve hot. Yum!