New Potatoes for GBP!

Roasted New Potatoes!

I didn’t know what new potatoes meant until I googled for some information about harvesting potatoes. I learned that potatoes can be harvested early while they are still immature and small. Potatoes turn mature when the top of the plant die and fall off before the first frost. But new potatoes are harvested early in summer. You just dig around the plants gently without disturbing the plant and pull immature potatoes from the vine. Leave the others safe and cover with soil. New potatoes have a very light skin and can be cooked whole without peeling. The flavor is mildly sweet and earthy. I would cook them with minimal herbs/spices and avoid adding too many masala powders to cover up their fresh flavor. New potatoes wouldn’t stay good for long time like the regular potatoes, so try to cook within a few days of harvest.

I had one roasted potato entry for last year’s GBP, with home grown herbs. A big improvement this year, the same roasted potatoes with home grown potatoes!!

Roasting potatoes is so easy and there is nothing to explain in detail. Cut the potatoes in bite size pieces, and marinate in your choice of seasonings. Here, I have sprinkled some seasoning salt and olive oil. If it was not for kids, I would have added some crushed red pepper as well. Roast these beauties in oven or in a skillet until golden brown. Garnish with chopped scallion and fresh herbs.

Entry for Green Blog Project-Summer 2007 hosted by Deepz of Letz Cook!

Strawberry-Watermelon Cooler & Watermelon Popsicles!

Watermelon is one of my favorite summer treats. The size of a watermelon usually scares me away from buying it often, as to how I am going to finish off this giant fruit. Nevertheless, if I slash it open and refrigerate as snack size chunks, it will vanish in no time. Watermelon kept this way works great as a thirst(as well as appetite) quencher. The seeds are indeed a nuisance, so I think the seedless variety is a wonderful invention. Though I try different recipes to finish off the big fruit, especially drinks mixing with other fruits, our all time favorite is just plain watermelon crushed or blended with a little sugar if necessary.

Watermelon is naturally sweet and those who like a little tartness can try adding a little lemon juice. Watermelon blended with tart strawberries also produces the same effect. That’s what I have for AFAM-Watermelon, hosted by Bee & Jai of Jugalbandi.

To make strawberry-watermelon cooler, you will need 4-5 strawberries for each cup of watermelon. Blend it together. Add sugar if needed. Crush some ice, and serve immediately.

You can also make popsicles using the above recipe. The popsicles in this picture is made with plain watermelon juice. Extract the juice from the watermelon and pour into popsicle molds. Freeze for at least 4 hours or until set.

Watermelon Popsicles for Bee & Jai!

Bitter Gourd/Paavakka Pachadi

I am not a big admirer of bitter gourds, but I like this pachadi that my mom often makes. I can’t tolerate the bitterness of this vegetable, but in this pachadi, the flavor of coconut and yogurt prevail over the bitterness.

Grind 3/4 cup of coconut with one or two green chillies. Grind it until it turns to a smooth paste. Use up to half a cup of water for grinding and keep aside.

Heat up 1 tbsp oil and add

Finely chopped shallots/onions – 1/3 cup

Cook it for a couple of minutes and add bitter gourd slices. (I used 2 small bitter gourds. Remove the seeds and slice into small pieces. You can sprinkle salt on the bitter gourd pieces and after about 20 minutes you will be able to squeeze out water from the pieces. This helps to get rid of some bitterness. But if you like the bitterness, you don’t have to do this. You might be loosing some nutrients too when you do this.)

Fry it until it turns to a golden color and there is not water left in bitter gourd pieces. Add the ground coconut and salt. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes until the curry is thick. Turn off the stove.

Add a cup of yogurt and mix well.

In another pan, heat a tbsp of oil, and add the following:

Mustard seeds – 1 tsp

Curry leaves – a few

Cumin seeds – ¼ tsp

Whole red chilli – 2

Add it to the pachadi. Serve with rice.

And while I am at it, let me add one more pachadi! :)

This is made with spinach, and since it was a quick fix, I didn’t add coconut paste in this. But you may do so to enhance the taste.

Heat up about a tbsp of oil, and fry minced shallots(1 tbsp). Add chopped spinach(1/2 a bunch) and cook until the leaves are wilted, about 3-5 minutes. You can also add one chopped green chilli. Let it cool. Before serving, add yogurt and mix well. You may do a seasoning with mustard seeds, red chilli etc. as well like I did for the above paavakka pachadi.

Sig's Pavakka Pachadi