Beet Raita

I always love eating raita when I go out for Indian food, and am scared of making it at home because I so badly want it to taste good so I don't want to screw up. But then I came across this beet raita and thought it sounded interesting and different, plus I love beets. (Beets are actually one of my favourite foods. I don't post about them often because I love eating them just roasted and plain.) Thus my first adventure with raita began! It's interesting because it's so full of chunky stuff - beets, potatoes and green onions. I'm used to raita being more like a dip/sauce and quite smooth. Anyway it was yummy and I'd make it again to eat with Indian food - it's always nice to have something cooling. If you have a good plain raita recipe, I'd love for you to share it with me!

My fiancé couldn't find Abby one morning, then finally found her hiding on his dresser behind clothes. So cute!

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Sesame Beets
Beet, Barley and Black Bean Soup
Indian Stir Fried Cabbage
Pink Beans with a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce

Beet Raita
Adapted from The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook

Makes about 3 cups

2 medium beets
1 medium waxy potato, peeled, such as Yukon Gold (I would omit this next time)
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (I used 2%)
2 green onions, minced
1/2 clove garlic, grated
2 tsp dried dill
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced
1/2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oven to 425F.

Wrap the unpeeled beets in foil. Bake the beets until tender, about 50 minutes, depending on size. Unwrap and slip off the peel.

Meanwhile, fill a medium saucepan with enough water to cover the potato. Bring to a boil over high heat, add the potato, cover, and lower the heat to medium. Boil the potato until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.

In a mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, green onions, garlic, dill, cilantro, lemon juice, beets and potato. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled through, about 1 hour. Serve cold.

Chocolate Walnut Yogurt Muffins

When I saw these double chocolate yogurt muffins on Cookie Madness, I knew I had to try making them. I love yogurt in baked goods. I wanted to try making them healthier though so I changed a bunch of stuff. Now that I'm looking over the recipe, I'm thinking maybe I should've added more liquid to compensate for the sugar and butter I took out (well I replaced sugar with maple syrup and butter with oil, and reduced both amounts). But they turned out nice and soft when I made them. Next time I'll add more cocoa powder to make them more chocolatey. These muffins are a healthier version of a chocolatey bready baked good, but if that's not your thing then check out this coco-nana bread I made not too long ago.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal Muffins
Strawberry Lemon Sunflower Seed Muffins
Whole Wheat Orange Spice Muffins
Applesauce-Oat Bran Muffins

Chocolate Walnut Yogurt Muffins
Adapted from Cookie Madness

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup oil
1 cup yogurt, vanilla flavoured or plain
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (215 g)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups.

Stir maple sugar and oil together in a medium size bowl. Add yogurt, egg and vanilla and stir until thoroughly blended.

Combine flour, cocoa, salt and baking powder in a large mixing bowl. Add yogurt mixture to flour mixture, stirring only until blended. Fold in walnuts. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins and bake for 22-25 minutes.

Makes 12

Pink Beans with a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce

This is the first recipe I've tried from 660 Curries - which is one of the most massive cookbooks I own with over 800 pages! I was really intrigued by a yogurt sauce where the yogurt is cooked down into curds, so decided to try out these beans with cardamom-yogurt sauce. And it was yummy! A bit spicy with lots of flavour (love intensely flavoured food). I used nonfat yogurt which I think resulted in the curds not being as big? But it was good, though I'd like to try it with whole milk yogurt. And my boyfriend liked it which means it must be good since he doesn't like beans. I hope to find many other great recipes like this one as I work my way (slowly) through it.

If this sounds good, you might also like:
Curried Mushrooms and Peas
Spicy Indian Chickpeas/Chana Masala
Curried Sweet Potato Soup
Roasted Taco Chickpeas

Pink Beans with a Cardamom-Yogurt Sauce
Adapted from 660 Curries

I think you can use whatever kind of beans you want - the original recipe called for kidney beans. It also calls for a specific type of garam masala but I just used one that I bought. The final flavour of your dish is going to be quite affected by the garam masala so use one you like!

1/2 tbsp oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
6 green or white cardamom pods
1 cup plain yogurt (Ashley note: I used nonfat and it was fine but I bet whole milk yogurt would be better.)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
2 cups cooked pink beans
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh cilantro

1. Heat the oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cardamom pods, and stir-fry until the onion turns light brown around the edges, 3 to 5 minutes.

2. Stir in the yogurt and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the watery liquid evaporates from the yogurt and leaves behind reddish-brown curd like pellets, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle in the turmeric and incorporate it into the tart sauce. Add 2 cups water and the beans, salt, garam masala, and cayenne. Bring the curry to a boil. Then lower the heat to medium and gently boil the sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until it has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Sprinkle the cilantro over the curry, and serve. (Remove the cardamom pods first, if you wish.)

Carrot Cake Oatmeal

I have always hated oatmeal. Hot mushy stuff? Gross. But for some reason when I saw it on Veggie Delights who adapted it from La Belle Vegan who (yes this is coming to an end) adapted it from Kath Eats, I was intrigued. So one night for dinner this is what I made. Have I changed my mind about oatmeal? Maybe slightly, since it was quite filling and is of course healthy. But for me the first few bites were exciting, and then it went back to that hot mushy stuff. Nevertheless, it's a really fun oatmeal recipe that I'm sure many other people would love.

Other healthy breakfasts:
Mini Pear Loaves
No Fail Granola
Applesauce Oat Bran Muffins
Banana Bran Muffins

Carrot Cake Oatmeal
Adapted from Kath Eats

Serves 1

1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup soy milk
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup of grated carrot (I think this might've been 1 carrot?)
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp nonfat plain yogurt
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tbsp chopped pecans
1 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut

Combine the rolled oats, soy milk, water, carrots and salt in a saucepan. Turn heat to medium and stir occasionally until mixture comes almost to a boil and most of the liquid is absorbed, which takes about 5-7 minutes. When oats are done, stir in vanilla and brown sugar.

While oats are cooking make "icing" by blending 2 tbsp of non-fat plain yogurt with 1 tsp maple syrup. Toast pecans in the toaster oven for a few minuteS (watch carefully).

Pour oats into a bowl and top with coconut, pecans and icing.

Sweet Potato Badi

I really like this meal because it's tasty and I feel like it's good for me (hopefully I'm not deluded in thinking that). It has red lentils, tomatoes, zucchini, peas, sweet potato, and yogurt to make it creamy. (And being a coconut fiend, I love that this main course incorporates dried shredded unsweetened coconut.) The sweet potato badi is filling and easy to make, so as you can see this dish is a keeper. This is actually only my second time making it, only because I like trying out new recipes. I can see it being a dish I fall back on when I don't want to think about my meals for the week.

The first time I made the recipe I thought it was really weird that I had mixed up this bowl of coconut, plain yogurt, minced chile peppers, and salt. Definitely not a combination I had encountered before. All the ingredients come together really well though, and it's good reheated too.

Sweet Potato Badi
(Adapted from Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons)

Serves 4
Takes about 40 minutes to make.

1/2 cup dried, unsweetened coconut
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup raw red lentils
8 curry leaves or 1 tsp ground cumin
1 medium yellow, white or new potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes*
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 small zucchini, cut into 1/4-inch thick rounds
2 plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup frozen baby peas
1/2 cup (175g) plain yogurt
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 tsp salt

Brown rice

1. In a small, dry skillet, toast the coconut over medium heat, shaking the skillet often, until the coconut is uniformly light brown, about 5 minutes. Transfer the coconut to a small bowl and set aside.

2. In the same skillet, heat the canola oil over medium heat. Add the lentils and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, stirring, until they begin to brown. Stir in the curry leaves or cumin. Add the potato, sweet potato, and 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover, and simmer stirring occasionally for 15 minutes. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, and peas, and cook until the vegetables are fork-tender and the liquid is almost gone, about 10 minutes more. If the liquid evaporates too quickly, add a little more water. Remove from the heat.

3. Measure out 2 tablespoons of the toasted coconut and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the remaining coconut, yogurt, chiles, and salt, and whisk until smooth. Fold the yogurt mixture gently into the vegetables. Cover the skillet and let stand for a few minutes until warmed through. Transfer the badi to a serving bowl and sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons coconut on top. Serve immediately with rice.

*I halved the recipe this time and just used the 1 sweet potato.
General note: If you're eating this with brown rice, start cooking the rice before you even start doing anything.