Two stir frys, distinctly different

Stir frys are big time favourites in family. They are healthy, hearty, colourful and tasty. I learnt about stir fry, after I came to the US and made my own for the first time, some 5 years ago. I make my own sauce with simple ingredients I already have in my pantry and hence obtain different flavour each time.

I had already planned on making stir fry tonight. Since not many vegetables are in season right now, I resorted to frozen bell peppers and asparagus.

 During my weekend trip to farmers' market, I saw really fresh bok choy and could not resist it. I bought about 2 pounds and hence made another simple stir fry with just the juicy, tender and delicate bok choy.

I generally serve my stir fry over brown rice, which I ran out of today and resorted to regular white rice.

For bok choy stir fry (adapted from recipe in Steamy Kitchen)
Ingredients:
Bok choy - 2lbs
Ginger - minced - 2 tsp
Chilly flakes - to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Sesame oil - 2 tbsp
Lemon juice - a dash

Method:
Trim the stems of the bok choy just enough to loosen the leaves. Leave the inner 2-3 tender leaves as a bunch. The leaves may have to be washed 2 -3 times to remove all the sand particles. I prefer immersing them into water to wash than use a running stream.

I generally use the cold wok / pan method for all my stir frys as explained in Steamy Kitchen.

In a cold pan/ wok, add sesame oil, chilly flakes and ginger. Turn the heat up to medium high and let it sizzle and infuse the oil with great flavours. Then, add the bok choy and toss quickly for about a minute. I had to do the stir frying in batches to avoid crowding. Season with salt, and this lets out enough water to cook the bok choy completely, for about another minute. Remove from heat, add a dash of lemon juice and season with freshly ground pepper to taste and enjoy warm.

For Mixed vegetable stir fry
Ingredients:
Carrots - 2 large cut into 2 inch strips
Broccoli - 1 large head - separated
Colourful bell peppers, cut into strips - 3 large (I used frozen)
Asparagus - 10 oz (I used frozen), cut into 2 inch pieces
Onion - 1 large diced into strips
Garlic - 3 large cloves, minced
Chili oil - 4 tbsp
Salt to taste

For sauce:
Soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Hoisin sauce - 1/2 tbsp
Tomato ketchup - 1 tbsp
Sriracha Hot sauce - 3 - 4 drops or to taste
Corn starch - 1 tsp
Water - 1/8 cup

Method:
Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and whisk thoroughly and set aside.

In a cold pan, add oil and garlic and turn up the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, add onions and fry for a minute. Add carrot and broccoli, fry for about 30 seconds. Season with salt and fry for 30 more seconds. Add little water and fry for 2-3 minutes until the carrots and broccoli almost cooked. Since I used frozen veggies, I add them at this point and add more salt to taste and fry for another 30 seconds. Now add the sauce and let it come to a boil and then remove from heat and enjoy hot over a warm bed of rice.

Channa Masala - The universal side dish

Channa masala is a very popular Indian side dish made using garbanzo beans. It goes well with rice, roti, poori, batura, bread etc. It also forms the base of many chaat preparations like samosa chaat and Kachori chaat.

Dried Garbanzo beans are always stocked up in my pantry. I generally soak them overnight and pressure cook with salt and one whole green chilly (which I remove later). It might seem easier to open a can, but there is a subtle difference in flavour and you can alter the way you cook it to achieve desired results.

This summer, we planted bell peppers in our small backyard. I love bell peppers, and when they are home grown, it becomes extra special and yummy. I dice them, saute them and add them to almost anything at the end of cooking process as a garnish. It brightens and freshens up any curry.

Ingredients:
Garbanzo beans (dry) - 1 cup or 16 oz can
Onion - 1 large, diced
Tomato - 2 large, diced
Ginger - 1 inch piece, peeled and cut
Garlic - 5-6 cloves
Green chillies - 3 or to taste
Dried red Kashmiri chillies - 3 to 4 (optional)
Channa Masala powder or Garam masala (store bought)  - 1 tsp
Cinnamon stick - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 3 - 4
Bay leaf - 1 large
Green and /or red bell peppers - 1 to 2 (optional), diced
Salt to taste

Method:
If using dry garbanzo beans, soak in water overnight. Pressure cook with water and salt until soft.
If using canned beans, drain and rinse with water.
Heat little oil in a large skillet, saute ginger, garlic and onion. Add a little salt to let the onions sweat out. When the onion turns transparent and raw smell goes away, add diced tomatoes. When tomatoes are completely cooked, remove from heat, cool and grind into a smooth paste.
In the same skillet, saute the diced bell peppers for about a minute. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
Add 2 tea spoons of oil to the skillet. When hot, add bay leaf, cinnamon and cloves. When they turn brown, add the cooked / canned beans and the ground paste. Add required amount of water so that the gravy just covers the beans. Add Channa masala powder and more salt to taste. Cook covered until it comes to a boil. Add sauteed bell peppers, mix well and serve with any accompaniment.