Sauerkraut

This recipe is adapted from "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon, which I recommend checking out. It's quite a thought-provoking book, sort of a cross between a nutrition textbook and a cookbook. And, best of all, there's a whole chapter on fermented vegetables and fruit.

To make sauerkraut, you'll need a large bowl, a grater, a potato masher or large wooden spoon, and a mason jar.

You'll also need the following ingredients:

half of a medium sized cabbage
one large carrot (optional)
3 tablespoons coarse salt
3 tablespoons whey (or substitute one tablespoon coarse salt)

Note that you can make whey by straining yogurt overnight. The liquid you collect is whey and can be stored in the fridge for six months.



1. Grate the cabbage and carrot into a large bowl (I used more carrot here since I ran out of cabbage).

2. Add the salt and whey. Mix well.

3. Mash for several minutes with the potato masher.



4. Let sit for thirty minutes, mashing occasionally. You should start to see juices collecting in the bowl.

5. Pack the cabbage and carrot into a mason jar one spoonful at a time. As you add the vegetables, pack them down so that there are no air pockets. Juice from the vegetables should ooze up to the top.

6. Stop filling the jar when you are 2 or 3 centimeters from the top. At this point there should be a layer of juices sitting on top of the packed vegetables.



7. Next you need something to keep the vegetables submerged under the layer of juices while they are fermenting. I use a ziploc bag that has been filled with a small amount of water and inserted into the jar so that the weight from the water holds the vegetables down and the juices come up around the sides of the bag. It's very important to make sure that no air is touching the packed vegetables, so push out any air bubbles you see. You probably also want to leave a little room between the top of the juices and the lid, or else the juices will ooze out during fermentation (which isn't bad, just messy).



8. Screw on the lid and put the jar in a bowl (to catch any leakage) in a warm, non-sunny place.

9. Then you wait for three days. You'll notice little bubbles forming around the vegetables after two days. By the third day there will be large air pockets forming in the jar and it will smell quite sour when you open the lid.

10. After the third day, remove the ziploc bag and transfer the sauerkraut to the fridge. It's ready to eat at this point, but tastes better if you wait at least a couple weeks.

Cabbage and potato subzi

I'm not entirely sure how to define subzi, except to say that if you stew vegetables for a while in thorka (a mixture of tomatoes and spices) you're probably making subzi. Even if you are completely ignorant of punjabi cuisine, you likely already know a very popular subzi: aloo gobi. Cabbage and potato subzi is made using the same technique.

You will need:

butter (or oil if you prefer)
1 large onion, sliced
half a head of garlic, peeled and minced
thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and minced
4 tbsp garam masala
1.5 tbsp ground turmeric
1 tbsp whole or ground cumin
0.5 tsp ground red chili
1.5 cups fresh or canned tomatoes, diced
3 cups cabbage, diced into small pieces
1.5 cups potato, parboiled and diced into large pieces
large handful of fresh cilantro, chopped



This is how big I dice the cabbage:



1. The first step is to make thorka. Heat the butter in a deep pan (I find that a dutch oven or a stock pot work well). Err on the side of more butter because (a) it tastes better, and (b) otherwise the spices will stick later. As you are cooking, feel free to add more butter or a little bit of water if things start to stick.

2. Add the onion and saute on medium heat until the onion starts to get translucent.

3. Add the red chili, cumin and 3 tbsp of the garam masala and saute for a few minutes. The measurements for the spices are just a guideline: feel free to adjust to personal taste.



4. Add the garlic and ginger and saute until the garlic turns golden.

5. Add the tomatoes and turmeric. Let that cook down for a while, until the tomatoes are the consistency of a sauce or a gravy.



6. Once the thorka is done, the next step is to add the cabbage and potatoes. You want the vegetables to have enough time to cook and take on the flavours of the thorka without overcooking them. But, you also want to time it so that the cabbage and potatoes are both finished cooking around the same time. I usually parboil the potatoes ahead of time so that I can add everything at roughly the same time.

7. Cook the potatoes and cabbage, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft. Taste the potatoes to make sure they've absorbed the flavours of the thorka. Add 1 tbsp garam masala, adjust spices if necessary and add salt to taste.

8. Remove from the heat and add cilantro. Stir well.



9. Serve with roti (flatbread), yogurt and achaar (spicy pickled fruit/vegetables in oil)