Not pictured, but a nice surprise, was batter-fried paneer balls. I got the recipe from a nice blog called Authentic Food Delights (click for the recipe). I don't usually do fried foods, but this looked irresistible. I didn't make the whole recipe, just the balls. The simple batter made from all-purpose flour, salt, and water fried up so tender and light. I was very surprised at how "un-oily" these were. I made them small (half-dollar sized patty) and they were absolutely delightful. Lots of bright herbal flavor paired with richness from the paneer and the batter-crust. I definitely need to make these again.
Butternut Dal Soup
1 cup diced butternut squash
1/4 cup red lentils
1/2 cup chopped spinach leaves (or more it you like)
1T oil or ghee
1/4 t each of cumin seeds, mustard seeds, nigella seeds, and fennel seeds
1/8 t asafetida
1/2 t salt or to taste
Place the squash and red lentils in a saucepan and add enough water to cover the ingredients by one inch. Bring to a boil and then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or until the squash and lentils are very soft. You may need to add more water to achieve soup consistency. Add the spinach and cook a couple minutes until wilted. In a small skillet, heat the oil and then add the seeds and cook for 1-2 minutes until the seeds start to turn color. The longer they cook, the stronger the color. Add the asafetida and immediately pour into the soup. Add salt and stir.
Shredded Carrot Apple Salad
sauce adapted from Creamy Almond Sauce with Horseradish in Lord Krishna's Cuisine
1 medium carrot
1 apple
currents or sultanas or raisins (optional to your taste)
1T oil or ghee
1/8 t each ground cardamom, nutmeg, cayenne, turmeric, and white pepper
1/4 t ground coriander
1T toasted soy or garbanzo flour
1/4 cup almond meal or ground almonds
1 cup yoghurt (thinned with water to thick-cream consistency)
1/4 t salt or to taste
2T freshly grated horseradish or 1/2 T ground dried horseradish or wasabi powder.
Shred the carrot and disc the apple and place in a bowl. Add the dried fruits if using. In a small saucepan, heat the oil or ghee and temper all the spices for 1 minute or so. Take off the heat and add in the remaining ingredient, whisking until blended. Return to heat and gently heat until the mixture simmers and thickens. About 10 minutes. Allow to cool and then mix about half of the mixture into the carrots and apples. You can refrigerate the rest of the sauce to use in another dish or just make a bigger salad with more carrots and apples! You could also include grapes, cucumbers, jicama, persimmons, green tomatoes or other type of firm, juicy, fruit, depending on the season. The nutmeg makes this a fall/winter dish for me, but if you left out the nutmeg, this could be part of a summer or spring menu, especially with a bit more horseradish.
