Italian-Indian Fusion

A friend was giving away cookbooks so I took one titled Sicilian Vegetarian Cooking, by John Penza. I have to say, since my adventure into Indian cuisine, I’m interested in vegetable recipes. With respect to Italian cooks and Mr. Penza, the recipes in this book, seemed quite boring. Every other recipe had ¼ to ½ cup Italian Parsley, whoa, not a very exciting ingredient, at least to me. There was garlic, onion, tomatoes, wine, lots of cheeses and very few spices - tiny amounts of nutmeg, red pepper flakes and oregano. I did, though find a thorough discussion of how to cook polenta. That was followed by a recipe for polenta layered with cheese and a tomato, mixture. The seasoning for the tomatoes beyond garlic was 20 whole Basil leaves 1 teaspoon oregano and the ubiquitous Italian Parsley. I couldn't stop thinking about a recipe I have for an Indian Dahl that has tomato, onion, zucchini, green pepper, garlic, and ginger. It sings with flavor from garam masala and has the textural addition of yellow peas cooked with onion. I decided the polenta layered with cheese and my Tomato, Onion Zucchini Dahl might just be very exciting. As I was making the Dahl for a picnic, and needed an hors d oeuvre for the following evening, I doubled the batch and kept some for this idea.

I considered that there might be a correlate in Indian cuisine for polenta so I went searching in my Indian and Eastern cookbooks. An eye opener - Madhur Jafferey, a famous Indian cookbook author, wrote a 460 page Vegetarian cookbook of recipes from India and numerous other Far Eastern countries. In this huge volume of vegetarian recipes there were only 3 that contained corn. I called my Indian cooking mentor, Mina, to ask about what they would use similar to polenta and she offered, "It would be Semolina, we don't grow much corn." Wheat, I thought, hm. Then it hit me, that's Cream of Wheat! I had that in my cupboard. But, I decided, I wanted the rougher texture of the cornmeal for this recipe so decided to stick with my fusion idea. (Actually, Cream of Wheat was close but Indian markets sell a straight Semolina grain for cooking.)

On my quest for polenta, I dropped by Whole Foods which sells it in bulk. Treating the cooking of the polenta like I do my Indian dishes, I set aside some time, organized everything and took the time to make slow cooking polenta from scratch, stirring it for 30 minutes. I spooned it in 1/2' layers into a round casserole (a layer topped with plastic wrap, another layer more plastic wrap and a third layer) and popped it into the frdge to cool and thicken.

I discussed with my husband, a great cook, the best cheese to use. The Italian recipe called for Mozzarella. I wondered if maybe a stronger tasting cheese might meld better with the flavorful Dahl. Then there was the idea of using cottage cheese such as in lasagna. Our cheese larder currently has American cheese slices, grated cheddar, some smoked mozzarella (I bought it for a pasta salad but it’s too smoky and intrusive a taste, I decided), some Queso Fresco (a very bland Mexican cheese I bought for chilies relleno), some pepper jack cheese (a suggestion from my husband but maybe too intrusive, I’m thinking). I chose to go with color, cheddar against the whiter polenta. (For later versions I've used freshly grated Parmesan which is a great choice.)

It was fun, my first attempt at a fusion, Italian-Indian. On top of  polenta I layered some Dahl then some cheddar cheese added another layer of polenta. On top of that, more Dahl, more cheese and topped with a third layer of polenta more dahl and grated cheddar to melt on top. I heated in the oven to meld all the ingredients and brown the cheese on top.

I served it in small wedges that tasted amazing.  People couldn't stop eating it. I'm definitely making it again. If you have to make a meal for guests that include vegetarians, this would definitely impress everybody.

Tomato, Onion, Zucchini Dahl

(In Indian cuisine, “dahl”generally refers to a dish that includes dried peas, beans or lentils)

Serves 8 (I double it and freeze it in small portions)
Ingredients

The Boiled Peas
8 oz yellow split peas (often available in bulk at natural food markets)
1 - 14 oz. can chicken stock, if more liquid is needed add water (vegetable stock for vegan)
1 small to med onion, coarsely chopped
(I leave out salt because of the salt in the stock)

The Vegetables

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds (at East Indian stores or natural food stores.)
1 inch piece fresh ginger root, grated (available fresh or in jars of ginger paste in supermarkets)
1 large sweet onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 green pepper, chopped coarsely
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (an Indian spice mixture available in bulk at natural food markets but is in most supermarkets)
2 6” zucchini, scrape the skin a bit leaving some green (I use a zester) and slice into 1/4” rounds
1 – 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes. (I like petite diced))
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
2 Tablespoon water
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

 

Coarsely chop the onions. and separate into dishes ready to add.

Wash the split peas and place them in a saucepan with the stock, the small chopped onion and some salt. Cover, bring to boil, then simmer for about 25 minutes, until the peas are soft but still whole. Drain the soft, but still whole, yellow peas. Set aside.

While peas are cooking, measure garam masala and turmeric in a small dish, and brown mustard seeds in another, ready to add.
Coarsely chop the green pepper and add to the large chopped onion. Slice the zucchini and place in a separate bowl ready to add. Crush the garlic and peel and grate or finely chop the ginger placing both on a plate or in a bowl ready to add.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok, add the mustard seeds, cover and fry briefly until they start popping (don’t let them burn).

Quickly add the large chopped onion, the ginger, garlic and green pepper and fry gently for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the turmeric and garam masala and cook for 1 minute, (the aroma will be amazing) then add the zucchini, tomatoes, lemon juice, about 2 tablespoons water, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer until zucchini has softened.

Carefully fold the split peas into the vegetables.

If serving as a main dish, serve over basmati rice, or as a side dish with Nan bread (Trader Joe’s Frozen Garlic Nan is a treat.)

Polenta

You can buy polenta in rolls ready made to slice into the layers. I like the process of the slow cooking process, it relaxes me.

Ingredients:
3 cups water
1 cup polenta (sold in bulk at places like Whole Foods and in bags in Safeway)
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons butter

Instructions:
Bring water with salt to a boil. Add Polenta in a thin stream whisking it in so it doesn't lump. Turn down to medium heat and whisk pretty regularly until thick and done 25 to 30 minutes. Butter the Casserole dish you will use, pour in 1/2 inch layer of polenta. Cover it with a sheet of plastic wrap. Pour in another 1/2 inch layer of polenta, top with another sheet of plastic wrap. Pour in a third 1/2 layer of polenta.  Put in refrigerator to cool and thicken.

Extra polenta? Pour into buttered muffin tins, freeze then remove into zip sealed freezer bags and keep on hand for a new idea for spaghetti sauce or fry slices for a breakfast treat.