Stir Fry Cabbage

Stir Fry Cabbage

This recipe is a take on the German Sauerkrat. Literally translated, it means Sour Cabbage!! Eaten as a side dish with Meat it completes the meal.

This dish is full of flavour. It is easy to add  any of  your favourites to this recipe and omit any of the vegetables you are averse too. 

3 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
4 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup sliced onions
3 thinly sliced green onions
1 thinly sliced green chillie, Jalapeno or Indian
1 large red chillie, dried or fresh. 
2 egss
1/2 cup diced Smoked Veal
salt to taste
1 tsp pinch of brown sugar
Juice of one lemon
Handful of freshly chopped corriander leaves

In a deep wok heat the oil, add the mustard seeds
immediately add the chillies, then the smoked veal, toss around and add 
onions, cabbage, carrots, sprinkle with salt, sugar and toss again.
Cook on a high flame, 
Three minutes later add the lemon juice.
Give it a toss and add the corriander leaves.

In a separate pan heat a drop of oil, beat the eggs, pinch of salt and make a plain omelette. Remove on a chopping board, roll the omelette and slice thinly into strands. 
Toss it through the Stir fry and serve immediately.

Tips
Cook the stir fry at the last minute. It should be a tad crisp and not over cooked or mushy.
It takes 10 minutes at the most, so keep everything ready to assemble.

You can use any smoked meat of choice. Or even omit it.
Dry red chillies are generally flat and large.
You can use a dash of vinegar instead of lemon juice if you prefer.
Substitute Parsley for Corriander if you prefer the taste.

Serve this with a piece of fish marinated in My Magical Marinade
or a piece of steak marinated in my Chimmichurri.

Eat Your Carrots?

Carrots

Most vegetables are claimed to be the healthiest in the world! I wonder if a parent decided to start that rumor? Yet there are some vegetables healthier than others. The term healthier is relative.

What is it that your body needs to run more efficiently? Each nutrient and mineral ingested helps balance the functions of our body. The lack or excess of any of this tips it over to make you unwell. Hence the key is not to continue munching on everything we are told to eat,  but instead help getting to know what you lack and what overkill you have running your blood stream. Ensuring that fine balance will get you back on track to be healthy. The nutrient food scale constantly rocking to and fro can only be brought to a steady pace when you make it happen. Know your body, know yourself, eat right and feel good. 

Carrots have the highest percentage of Vitamin A which is great for your eyes. Juicing carrot gives you all the health benefits. Eating them raw is good, and the next best is to steam them. Boiling them losses the health gains. Stir fry them, pan fry them and add them to your stews. Biotin and Vitamin K are found in carrots. Continuous studies link  the beta carotene found in carrots to help prevent colon cancer and to reducing cardiovascular disease. 

Carrots come in a variety of colours. The darker the carrot the healthier they are for your health benefit. 

Fresh carrots deep purple, orange, yellow and green

Originating in the areas of Ancient Persia; what is modern day Iran and Afghanistan, history takes us back 1100 years ago to this root vegetable. Carrots  were predominantly purple. It was in The Netherlands in  the mid1500's that they were farmed  to be orange. This was as an act of loyalty to the Prince of Orange, William Van Oranje who led the Dutch to victory over the Spaniards.   Orange was hence proclaimed to be the national colour of The Netherlands!!   

A little Trivia to share; the colour ''orange'' did not exist before the 16th century. It was best referred to as hues of red and yellow !! Fascinating isn't it?.

Best grown through the summer to fall months carrots are sweet and juicy at their best, and can be woody and fibrous with not much flavour when out of season.

In the culinary world carrots are a part of the Mirepoix, the base of all soups; which is the trio of carrots, celery and onion. The importance of carrots is deeply rooted in the foodie world.
In India the Carrot/Gajar halwa is part of every celebration. The Europeans add carrots to their coleslaw. The Carrot cake, a British tea-cake revived during the rationing of World Wars became a favourite when North Americans introduced it in their delis and cafes with a smothering of cream cheese!
The popularity of this root has increased during the past decade all around the world. Carrots  in every form continue to be favoured by the world of health food fans.