A Dip, Blended and Bright Green

Is there a mundane life task that, for reasons known only to your subconscious, gives you immense satisfaction? For example, some people are pleased as punch when they can tick items off their to-do list. I know because I am one of them. I also get a strange pleasure from putting leftovers in just the right size Tupperware container. Seriously. And, I love, love, LOVE blending. Something about taking a few flavors that complement each other, giving them a little whizz with the food processor or immersion blender, adding a bit of this or a dash of that, and, of course, consuming the final product…it just fills me with glee. If I ever right a book about food, it will be called Soups, Smoothies, Dips and Other Things You Blend.

That’s why, on a Saturday afternoon, I found myself blending together the ingredients for an Ethiopian dish called atar allecha. Usually served with injera, I made the mixture a little thicker than the recipe called for, added a squeeze of lemon to brighten the flavors, and served it as a dip. The color is bright green due to the combination of green split peas and turmeric, and the taste is earthly and wholesome, with a spicy kick.

What a combo: a blended dip and – tick that to-do list! – a post, too. Now, I just need to find a Tupperware to store these leftovers….

Atar Allecha (Ethiopian Spiced Green Spilt Pea Purée)
Adapted from a widely available Internet recipe

1 cup / 200 grams split green peas
1 tablespoon / 15 milliliters vegetable oil
1/3 cup / 50 grams onion, chopped
1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 milliliters turmeric
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon / 2.5 milliliters salt
1 small hot green pepper, seeds removed and minced
Juice of ½ lemon
Chili powder, for garnish

Soak the peas for one hour. Put them in a pot with plenty of water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until the peas are soft – about 30 minutes. Drain, reserving the water. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for five minutes. Add the peas, turmeric, salt, and chili. Mix well. Add ¾ cup of the reserved water, stir and cook for 3-4 minutes. Take off the heat and blend with an immersion blender. Add more reserved water as needed to obtain the dip consistency that you prefer. Add the lemon juice and stir. Serve warm or at room temperature, topped with a light dusting of chili powder.

A Sprinkle a Day

When my brother and I were growing up, the treatment of choice for asthma was a medicine called Theo-Dur. To tempt little asthmatics like us, Theo-Dur was packaged in sprinkle form. I can certainly understand the marketing ploy – why not subvert children’s inherent aversion to medicine and take advantage of their pure, innocent, instinctive love of sprinkles on ice cream? And, the doctor assured us, you could also sprinkle them on applesauce! And pudding! They will make every food more fun!

Well, they didn’t. My brother and I hated Theo-Dur sprinkles.

Theo-Dur sprinkles may have been the first thing in my life that I reluctantly consumed because it was good for me, but it certainly wasn’t the last. I try not to remember, for example, those tasteless celery-sticks I ate in high school because they were rumored to have “negative” calories. My present-day equivalent of Theo-Dur sprinkles is moringa. Moringa oleifera is a tree that grows in tropical and sub-tropical areas, and its leaves, fresh or dried, have many amazing properties. Three times the potassium of bananas! Four times the vitamin A of carrots! Four times the calcium in milk! It is for good reason that the tree is promoted here in Zimbabwe by organizations concerned about people’s nutrition, particularly the nutrition of people living with HIV and AIDS. Leaf powder can be added to any food! It adds flavor and nutrition! Sadly, however, one of moringa’s amazing properties is not tastiness.

Undeterred, my husband has been dusting dried moringa leaves onto his yogurt and muesli breakfast, and even his oats and brown sugar breakfast, for quite a while now. I tried it once, insisted it made my breakfast taste like grass, and thereafter turned up my nose at the stuff. Grassy might be a favorable description when discussing a chardonnay, but not my morning muesli.

I recently discovered that I’m a bit anemic, though, and now instead of just giving me a “but it’s SO good for you” look of guilt every morning as I snub the moringa, Mark has become quite pushy. You see, one of moringa’s amazing qualities is that it is a good sourse of iron. Sigh. Rather than face grassy muesli every morning, however, I decided needed to find a better conduit for the healthy green stuff. Today, I had a breakthrough.

Zimbabwe’s electricity situation is bad and getting worse, and this afternoon we only had power in half of our house (strange, but true). This meant I had a functioning oven, but a non-functional stovetop. I never realized how many baked meals actually require a little sauté action beforehand. It is really quite a few. I finally settled on preparing a tapas-like lunch of brushcetta, feta-stuffed peppadews, roasted broccoli (tossed with dried red chili, lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper) and roasted green beans (tossed with salt). In an effort to add a little more zip to the roasted veggies, I prepared a yogurt-based dressing, and, in a burst of inspiration, added a healthy dose of the dreaded moringa. Its grass flavor blended right in, and the dried leaves accentuated the dressing's mellow green hue. I’ll add a sprinkle any time.

African Green Goddess Dressing

Plain Greek yogurt
Avocado
Parsley, chopped
Scallion, sliced
Dried moringa leaves (optional)
Lemon juice
Salt
Pepper

The amounts here are quite flexible – do what tastes good to you! Blend everything together using an immersion blender or food processor. Serve as a dressing or dip for roasted vegetables.

Tags: recipe, dressing, dip, moringa, vegetables, Zimbabwe, Field to Feast, food blog, Africa

One Pumpkin, Many Fritters

Pumpkins and beets. Before I lived in Australia, I thought that pumpkins were solely used for carving jack-o’-lanterns and making pumpkin pie, and that beets came out of a can for a speedy, but not-so-eagerly-anticipated side dish. Oh, how Australia changed these perceptions. Pumpkin became a welcome member of a roasted vegetable foccacia sandwich, a sweet substitute for spinach in a feta-filled filo triangle, and, when cubed and roasted, a colorful complement to couscous. Meanwhile, beets became beetroot, and a lunchtime staple sliced and served on a veggie burger. Who would have thunk?

I am happy to report that pumpkin also has a life beyond carving and pie here in southern Africa. For example, one traditional South African dish is pumpkin fritters. Spiced with cinnamon and served with cinnamon sugar, these fritters taste like mini-pumpkin pies without the crust and can be served as either a dessert or a side dish.

Since Australia greatly expanded my pumpkin repertoire, I thought I would try matching the pumpkin with some other ingredients – chutney, chili, lemon juice and cilantro for a sweet and spicy Asian-style fritter and fresh herbs and roasted garlic for a savory version. I have to say, the Asian-style fritters were my favorite. Luckily, my husband liked the sweet ones best (surprise, surprise), so we each gobbled up our respective portions. And speaking of gobbling, with Thanksgiving right around the corner in the U.S., these fritters – in any variation you choose – would make a unique alternative to the traditional sweet potatoes with marshmallows. You will never look at pumpkins the same way again.

Pumpkin Fritters
Adapted from Recipe Zaar
Makes about 24 little fritters

Necessities:
2 cups cooked pumpkin
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 tablespoon plus one teaspoon granulated sugar
2 large eggs
Extra flour, if needed
Vegetable oil, for frying

Option 1 – Sweet (traditional version):
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Cinnamon sugar, for dusting

Option 2 – Sweet and spicy:
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons minced cilantro (a.k.a. fresh coriander)
Juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon mango chutney
1 green chili, minced

Option 3 – Savory:
2 teaspoons roasted garlic paste
Handful chopped fresh herbs of your choosing (I used basil, oregano and marjoram)
Pinch of salt

Using a food processor, blend together the pumpkin, flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Add the eggs and blend until the mixture forms a thick batter that is firm enough to hold its shape when scooped up with a spoon. If the batter is too soft, add some additional flour.

At this point, you can follow one of the options above, or divide your batter into twos or threes and make several different types of fritters. Just mix in the ingredients listed under the option of your choice, reducing the quantities as appropriate if you are dividing up your batter.

Heat the oil in a fry pan over medium heat. Then, drop heaped tablespoons of the batter into the pan, leaving a bit of space between each fritter. Fry the fritters in batches until they are firm and golden on their undersides. Carefully flip over and fry on other side. The fritters are done if you can press them and they spring back, and no batter squishes out from the sides.

Serve fresh from the fry pan, or as Donna via JenJen suggests, cover the fritters that are ready with a clean tea towel as you prepare the subsequent batches. Or, if are cooking other items to accompany the fritters, keep the fritters warm in a 100°C (210°F) oven. If you made option 1, dust your fritters with some cinnamon-sugar. Garnish the other options as you please!

I roasted the pumpkin I used in this recipe, but you could also boil it. If you do boil the pumpkin, ensure it is very dry before you begin making the batter. Note, too, that the possibilities of how to modify your pumpkin fritters are pretty endless. You could add some currants to the sweet fritter, for example, or maybe make a savory one with zucchini (shredded, salted and well-drained) and crumbled feta. Depending on your additions, you may need to blend in extra flour to thicken the batter, or milk to thin it.

This post is an entry in Hay Hay it’s Donna Day #6- F is for Fritter, a food blog event excellently hosted by JenJen of Milk and Cookies.

Tags: recipe, South Africa, pumpkin, fritter, HHDD#6, side dish, dessert, Field to Feast, food blog, Africa