The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

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Baingan Bharta

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Some food has a season, and baingan bharta is one of those foods. One of my all-time favorite Indian eggplant dishes, baingan bharta is best enjoyed at the intersection of two important external realities:

  1. Eggplant and tomatoes are in season
  2. Keeping the oven at 450°F for an extended amount of time doesn’t make you want to kill yourself nor result in AC bills that trigger thoughts of bankruptcy.

Now, more often than not, when one of these considerations rings true, the other does not. However, thanks to this very late autumn, eggplants and tomatoes are still in abundance at the Greenmarket, even while the weather starts to turn a tad chillier. And that means – time for baingan bharta!

This recipe is onion and garlic free, but extremely flavorful. Eggplant is roasted until very tender, and then the flesh is cooked with scallions, ginger, serrano, tomatoes, and the perfect blend of Indian spices. Finished with some fresh lime juice and cilantro, this is eggplant at its best.

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Spicy Tibetan-Style Potatoes & Spinach

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This dish is great because it’s so versatile. Can it be an stand-out veggie side? You betcha. How about a main dish? Yup – just serve it with your favorite grain, add in some lentils or chickpeas for protein, and maybe a drizzle of yogurt over your bowl of goodness for good measure! It also makes a fantastic stuffing: use it for cabbage rolls, stuffed peppers, inside my buckwheat kati roll wrappers, or as the filling for a fabulous fusion taco. (Add some chopped cilantro and potentially some mild feta, drizzle with yogurt and maybe some mint chutney and you are in taco fusion heaven!) It’s also fantastic for breakfast alongside some eggs. In fact, I really can’t think of a savory-meal situation where it couldn’t play a role!

Yesterday, my husband and I enjoyed this over millet with some Lapsang Souchang tea. And what a wonderful meal it was! As bite after bite of warming, spicy potatoes coated in a flavorful gravy of Indian spices like  turmeric, paprika, coriander, and garam masala hit my palate – along with crispy bits of scallion and serrano –  I was reminded of the potatoes our Tibetan housemate used to make when I was little. Granted, I will not go so far as to say these are “authentically” Tibetan. I’ve never studied Tibetan cooking and I was actually going for North Indian when I put this recipe together. However, they definitely have a Tibetan or Nepalese flair!

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Buckwheat Kati Rolls

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I could have called these Indian buckwheat crepes, Indian buckwheat tacos, or Indian burritos. Depending on how large, thick, or thin you make the buckwheat wrappers, and the way you choose to roll/fold them, they could be the base for all manner of delicious meals! But the filling screamed kati roll to me. And I loved the idea of a nutty, protein-packed buckwheat wrapper in place of the traditional paratha. So kati rolls they are.

For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, a kati roll is comprised of some deliciously spiced filling (either meat-based or vegetarian) wrapped in a buttery Indian flatbread (the aforementioned paratha). Kati rolls are sometimes made with other types of flatbread – hence my justification for making buckwheat ones!  If you live in the New York area, I recommend checking out Desi Galli – they have some really yummy filling choices and make a very nice chickpea flour wrap.

So enough about other kati rolls, let’s get to this one. Golden fried paneer, spicy chickpeas, and a bright carrot slaw that will knock your socks off all rolled up in a delicious nutty buckwheat wrapper. Highly recommended with my Mint Chutney or a nice raita. And if you don’t feel like making a batter, you can always turn this into a bowl and serve the fillings over your favorite grain. You can also make the wrappers in advance and store them wrapped in foil in the fridge or the freezer – just reheat them in a lightly oiled cast iron pan like you would a tortilla. (They are arguably even better this way because the outside will crisp up slightly when you reheat them, but they’ll still remain tender on the inside and flexible for rolling/folding.)

So what are you waiting for? Let’s make some kati rolls!

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Warming Spiced Lentil Soup

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There is something so incredibly nourishing about a nice, warm, hearty bowl of soup. And the aroma that fills the kitchen while it’s gently simmering on the stove is second to none. In fact, this particular soup smelled so good that I was reminded of the children’s story The Tale of Despereaux, which is set in a kingdom that holds soup in such high esteem that they have a holiday devoted to it every year! (That is, until a visiting rat is so entranced by the aroma of the Queen’s soup that he accidentally falls into her bowl, causing her to die of shock, which in turn causes soup to be outlawed in the kingdom!) Horrible, right? And what’s with rats being foodies in children’s stories, btw? (I recently rewatched Ratatouille.)

Anyway, I’m not going to ruin the book for you, but suffice it to say that the kingdom had it right: soup is so good that we really should have a holiday devoted to it. And if it were ever outlawed, I would totally join in on the illegal soup making that happens in The Tale of Despereaux. (Yes, there is illegal soup making … because soup is just that good!)

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Indian Cauliflower Steaks with Spiced Chickpeas and Spinach

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When I think of vegetables that are naturally beautiful, cauliflower definitely isn’t the first one to come to mind.  It’s oddly shaped, lumpy, blandly colored (although colorful cauliflower does exist, but not in most grocery stores), and just downright unglamorous. I mean, if asked to choose a vegetable based on beauty alone, most of us would go for the bright red, perfectly round and lusciously smooth-skinned cherry tomato, or the beautifully-tiny purple and white striped fairy tale eggplant, or possibly one of endless gorgeous varieties of microgreens. Certainly not lumpy old cauliflower.  Yet cut a cauliflower in the right way, and suddenly you have something that definitely starts to compete – maybe even outright beat – those perky, perfectly shaped, and vibrantly colored veggies in the beauty department.

The cauliflower steak, ladies and gentlemen, is the pinnacle of unexpected elegance – it’s the point in your favorite (or least favorite) teen movie when the nerdy girl lets her hair down at the homecoming dance or house party or wherever else the super original plot sets the pivotal scene, and Freddie Prinze, Jr (or whoever is playing the Freddie Prinze, Jr role) suddenly realizes what he’s been failing to see.  I mean, who would have thought cauliflower could be so elegant? And so visually striking?

And that’s where the She’s All That comparisons can end (phew!) Because while – if memory serves correctly – Freddie Prinze, Jr’s character had to work quite hard to win Laney’s heart, cauliflower steaks are super easy to prepare. They are also incredibly versatile, really fun to eat, and naturally gluten-free (grain-free too!) 

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Indian Chickpea Cakes

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Do you have specific foods that always stick out to you on a restaurant menu? The ones that immediately catch your eye and say “pick me, pick me!”? For me, it’s fritters, cakes, patties…anything that comes in the form of a nice, elegant, flavor-packed crispy round of goodness. I can’t say no! Sadly, since most restaurants use flour to bind those lovely little rounds, I often have to. And even the ones marked gluten-free often contain rice or rice flour, which is a no-no for me. Luckily, flour really isn’t necessary. My secret for making flourless cakes and patties that still hold together perfectly? Millet!

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