What does a civil engineer, a teacher and an industrial mechanic have in common?
Besides sharing a friendship for over 30 years, it was a passion for beer that kindled the first sparks for three young men from Schmalkalden to establish a small brewery.
A shawarma, a doner kebab or gyros – all cut from the same vertical spit? Not at all! While one will find the concept of meat stacked on a skewer and grilled on a vertical rotisserie in many variations, the intricate blend of spices, herbs and condiments and the kind of meat or poultry used make each dish stand its own ground.
Quick dinners are my life saviour at the moment. We’ve been busily chugging along ever since school started. The ease of summer break when the days were relaxed and calm have gone. Instead it’s work, photo shoots crammed in between guitar lessons, swim practice, homework and school projects. During the week I slip into the role of a single mum as Tom’s current project has him in Amsterdam from Monday to Friday. Weekdays are packed, mostly with fun and laughter but there are tantrums and the stubbornness of a pre-teen that need to be fended. So sometimes I cannot wait till Friday comes around when I can hand over the baton of responsibility to Tom.
Mexican cuisine is known for its varied flavors, wide use of spices and fresh vegetables, fruit and beans. Each region in Mexico offers its own traditional variety of food and flavors and they all differ greatly in cuisine and style of cooking. However, many of the Mexican dishes we eat outside of Mexico are often not the authentic Mexican cuisine. Generally it is a fusion of some kind and more often than not it has been adapted and Americanized to what we know as Tex-Mex.
This is not any ordinary rice and beans dish. It looks like it at first sight, but there is a whole lot of excellent flavor hidden below each dish.
Although my family and I eat meat, if you looked at our meal plan for an entire week, I would say it is 75 - 80% vegetarian. Yes, I do believe that eating vegetarian is healthier and keeps you fitter. I do not need a study to tell me I am right or wrong because I see the effects it has on my family.
The last 12 months I have been consciously cooking more vegetarian food, at times even dabbling into vegan meals and I see the results. My husband says he feels better – more energy and simply “lighter”. I see exuberance in Soeren’s face and his high spirits are all signs that show me, the slight change in our diets is working for the positive. Personally, I have lost a bit of weight, despite all the desserts I make and hardly visiting the gym (don’t ask!). I feel my skin glow and energized throughout the day.
So why have we not decided to turn 100% vegetarian? Well simply because we enjoy seafood and poultry. I also believe within limits, the “right” kind of meats adds to a healthy diet. We occasionally each beef and hardly any pork, because there is nothing like a good thick steak from time to time.
Cooking a vegetarian meal is not challenging at all. I have been enjoying experimenting with nutrition, flavors and ingredients to make sure that the vegetarian meals I serve are fun, healthy and delectable.
All three of us really love chili con carne. A spicy stew Tex-Mex stew made of ground beef, tomatoes and spices. So, I took on a challenge to experiment with a vegetarian version of the chili. I did try vegetarian “crumbles” made of soya protein. They tasted good but it was an easy trade – crumbles instead of beef. I wanted to work on the recipe more. I consulted a few other recipes in books, on the web and discussed it with a few old chefs of the trade.
The final outcome is so fantastic that I would not even say it is based on the original chili. I used dried black beans for this chili. Black beans originate from Mexico and taste light and a tad bit sweeter than other beans. Great for a chili. It’s a perfect dish in itself. Paired with saffron rice and a papaya salsa, it’s like the threesome was just meant to be. Like I said – a lot more than Beans & Rice!
Interesting Reads:
Ingredients
Printable version of recipe here.
For the Black Bean Chili
200g black beans, soaked overnight
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
450ml canned cocktail tomatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and Pepper
For the Saffron Rice
250g Basmati rice, washed
1 teaspoon saffron strands
1/2 lime, zest and juice
2 tablespoons Ghee or clarified butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Papaya Guacamole
For the Black Bean Chili
Either using a pressure cooker or a pot with water, cook the beans until soft.
In a separate saucepan heat the oil and sauté the onions and garlic until transparent. Add the spices - cumin, paprika, bay leaf, and chili flakes, and continue to sauté for a another minute or so.
Pour in the cocktail tomatoes with juice, salt and pepper. Allow the mixture to simmer for approx. 10 minutes until reduced, then add the beans. Simmer for a further 15 minutes. Finally drizzle with lime juice.
For the Saffron Rice
In a large saucepan bring approx. 600 ml water with salt, saffron strands and lime juice and zest to a rolling boil. Allow to steep for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a heavy pan heat the ghee and add the rice. Cook for a good minute, then pour in the saffron water and bring to a boil. Covered, simmer for 10 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
For the Papaya Guacamole
Using the back of a fork gently mash the papaya cubes. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve in small individual bowls.
Verdict
There are a lot of flavors coming together here, but they all harmonize so perfectly with each other. The entire meal leans very heavily on the Mexican cuisine with a hint of Indian aromas. We loved the slight sharp chili with the fruity papaya guacamole. It's a fantastic alternative to the regular chili for sure.
More Mexican fiestas on WFLH:
 | Tuna Tacos |
 | Chiles Rellenos |
 | Cheese Quesadillas with Two Salsas |
I'd like to send this one over to Culinary Bazaar who is celebrating the Mexican cuisine. Hope you like this one DK!
All photographs and written content on What's For Lunch, Honey? © 2006-2008 Meeta Khurana unless otherwise indicated. | All rights reserved | Please Ask First
You all are really great! Not only do you all actively take part and enjoy these teasers of mine, but most of you guess, more or less correctly. More or less. Yes, the Salsa was correct. The tricky one however was the other one, right? Yes, it was Guacamole, well sort of. But what was in it. Some guessed potatoes. No, it was not!
There can be only one!
The theme for the Cookbook Challenge this time round is Cinco de Mayo. A fantastic theme and it was clear that I definitely had to take part.
Well I dug out one of my old cookbooks that I really had not used in years. When I first came to Germany I was not able to cook nor speak the language. So, I decided to combine both. Buying cookbooks became a hobby and as I got better in both, German and cooking I was intrigued with trying out different types of dishes. I wanted to try every type of cuisine. It was in this phase that I came across a series of cookbooks that specialized in various recipes of the world. I loved these books as they were so much more than just cookbooks. There were detailed stories about the country, people and of course the foods! I relished not only the recipes but the stories.
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Tacos are loved by almost everyone I know. Although Tom sometimes complains because one can never eat a Taco with a certain countenance: I file it in my Non-Countenance recipes! But he too loves these great finger foods. The recipes I have for tacos are mostly with beef, chicken, pork - so when I saw this recipe with tuna in a German food magazine, I was delighted.
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