March 31, 2014

I am a very adventurous eater. I love trying foods from different countries, and my favorite world cuisine is Indian.  So much of the world eat far less meat than we do, and the cook their vegetables in incredibly creative, flavorful ways.  Vegetables are not an afterthought side dish in most of the world.

Cooking this way can require lots of herbs and spices... which can be a grocery budget disaster.  I find spices much cheaper when I can buy then in places that sell them in bulk.  Amazon can also be a great resource for harder to find spices.

One of my very favorite cook books is Extending the Table, a World Community Cookbook by Joetta Handrich Schiabach.  The cookbook was commissioned by the Mennonite Central Committee. In addition to wonderful authentic recipes, it is filled with wonderful stories about people from all over the world, and their food habits.  The following recipe comes directly from this book.

Recipe of the day:

Mattar Gobi- Indian Peas and Cabbage

Brown in 1 T oil:
1 clove of garlic, minced (7¢)
Add:
1 cup frozen peas (22¢ bought for 52¢ per bag at Target)
1/2 t. ground cumin (in cupboard, unsure of what I paid)
Stir briefly.  Add:
1/4 cup water
Boil until water evaporates. Add:
1 lb cabbage, shredded 29¢
1/4 t ground tumeric
1/2 t salt
dash of ground red pepper or to tast.
Stir and cook over medium heat 10 minutes.  Cover during last 2.3 minutes.

2 large servings at 29¢ plus cost of spices, estimate 8 cents bought in bulk per serving... 37¢