Hello from New Zealand! I arrived in New Zealand in October for a 9 month work holiday as they call it here. I am working at an urgent care and also traveling on my time off to explore the country. So far the hiking and scenery have been incredible, I’ll share some pictures after the recipe. The pace of life is definitely slower than America, I am living in Christchurch which is a modest city, quieter than my home in Seattle. I have a lot more time to read novels and start practicing yoga regularly with free videos on line. At the same time I’ve been exploring Indian cooking.
I checked out a few cookbooks from the library (again one of my favorite ways to try out recipes). This recipe is from Anna Jones and her cookbook aimed to get fast, fresh, health filled food on the table easily. While this recipe was billed in the 15 minute section, I would estimate it took me about 45 minutes to get this to come together. I made chapattis from scratch which added time but is optional, I will share in the next post!
I ended up combining all the toppings together for my leftovers and reheating it worked brilliantly. Just as delicious on day 3 as on day 1. I hope you enjoy! (side note, also super excited to be in a townhouse that has natural lighting so my pictures look a bit more appetizing)
Pea, Paneer and Cauliflower Chapattis
Adapted from Anna Jones: A Modern Way to Cook
Ingredients:
- 4 green onions, finely sliced
- 2Tbsp oil, separated (canola or coconut)
- 1.5 cups frozen peas
- half head of cauliflower, chopped
- 6 curry leaves (fresh or dried ones placed in water for a few minutes)
- 2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 lemons, zest of 1 lemon, juice divided
- 1 green chili, chopped (add more if you like things spicy)
- a bunch of fresh cilantro, stems separated from leaves, both chopped
- 1/2-1cup paneer, crumbled
- salt and pepper
- Chapattis (recipe soon to come!)
Directions:
- Boil water in a kettle or on the stove, place the frozen peas into a bowl. Pour boiling water over the frozen peas and leave for 5 minutes, then strain.
- Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Fry the green onions in the heated oil until they begin to turn golden.
- Add the cauliflower, curry leaves, mustard seeds and turmeric to the pan with the onions.
- Cook for 3 minutes, then add the juice of 1 lemon and continue cooking until the juice has evaporated.
- Taste a cauliflower, if still too raw, add a few tablespoons of water (1-3) to the pan and cook for a few more minutes until the cauliflower is tender to your liking (5-15 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a separate bowl.
- Mash the peas and then mix in the green chili, cilantro stalks, zest of one lemon, juice of half a lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Heat a tablespoon of canola or coconut oil in the pan on medium high, then add the crumbled paneer. Toss after a minute or two when it begins to turn golden. Remove from heat when sufficiently golden to your liking.
- Assemble by placed mashed peas over chapattis, then top with cauliflower and paneer. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro leaves.
And here are some favorite pictures from New Zealand including crumbled blue cod (aka best fish and chips of my life):
bakingbandit 