Friday 23 January 2015

Spiced Up Simplicity

Cavolini di Bruxelles & Carote Arrostiti alla Tandoori con Riso Aromatico
Tandoori Baked Brussels Sprouts & Carrots with Aromatic Rice


 

Bye-bye boredom- hello flavor! That was the message for my simple little vegetables this suppertime- and whoever would have thought, that with just a little bit of spice and imagination, 2 such humble vegetables could be come so delicious and fun?!?

Coated in yogurt, then spiced and finally baked in a very hot oven, these sweet carrots and Brussels sprouts took on and developed a lot of great and spicy flavor, that made them worthy of being seen as more than simple side-servings!


 

I served them with some simple, but flavorful rice- boiled with ginger and curry leaves and then sautéed with butter, turmeric and Spring onions... and what a wonderful and colorful combination it turned out to be!

 

To make this dish I needed equal quantities of carrots and sprouts, a little yogurt, a little ginger, some Spring onion, turmeric and tandoori powder, a little cumin, a few curry leaves, a little butter and a dash of sesame oil.

I am going to presume- and I very much hope, that you will be able to judge the quantities of each ingredient that you will need! I am not even about to begin saying how many carrots- it all depends how big yours happen to be! Same goes for the sprouts or the onion for that matter! Just look at the pictures and you will see all that you need to know- this is seriously no-risk stuff here!


 
 

The result is rich in spice and flavor, yet mild- it is aromatic and flavorful and healthy and inexpensive- and it is a whole lot of fun to make and eat, too!

 

Cut the carrots into thick slices and the sprouts in half and pre-cook them before start having all the fun! That means, drop the carrots into boiling, well-salted water for 2-3 minutes, then add the sprouts for around 3 minutes- this gives them both time to absorb some boiling water as well as to begin cooking.

Drain the vegetables well and then add a little sesame oil, yogurt, salt, pepper and a good sprinkle of tandoori spice. Stir them together well and then add a second sprinkle of spice- once that has been well integrated, add a last sprinkle- and turn on your oven and your rice cooker!


 

It is best to add the spice a bit at a time, so as to make sure that the vegetables get covered from all sides- if you add it all at once, it will be a lot more difficult to get it to spread evenly all over.

 

Once the carrots and sprouts are well coated, they can go into the oven, at the highest setting, for 15 minutes, to get nice and toasted from one side... in the meantime, you can boil the rice before flipping the vegetables over to finish- good timing is an important part of preparing a meal as you all know!

 

I boiled my rice in a rice-cooker, with 4-5 curry leaves, 3-4 small slices of ginger and a pinch of salt. After 15 minutes it was good and I turned off the heat, took of the lid and let off the damp so that the rice could cool off a little.

 

At that point, the vegetables were ready to flip over, so that they could get nicely crispy and brown from the other side before I got back to the rice.

To fry the rice, I added a pat of butter to my frying pan, the rice, some finely chopped Spring onion and a light sprinkle of turmeric powder. Once everything was nicely mixed and the rice lovely and golden and beginning to brown slightly, I added a few drops of sesame oil, stirred it in and turned off the heat... in just 3-4 minutes the rice was ready... and so were the baked vegetables too!


 

Rich, roasted, ever so slightly frazzled around the edges, they really did have a flavor and a hint of smokiness about them that you might have got from a real tandoor oven... only, you would never be able to stick your carrots and sprouts to the walls of a clay, underground oven now, would you? haha!

 


The touch of yogurt turns to a light crusty layer on the vegetables, which helps trap the moisture inside and keep them juicy and sweet and delicious- a really wonderful combination with the tangy richness of the spice!


Nothing that exciting to make to be honest... except for the taste- which is something worth getting excited about... and I hope you are eager to find out for yourselves, because I am confident that you are going to like it!

 

Who knew that such simple vegetables could taste sooo good? I did- that's who! And now you do too! 

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