Spicy Roasted Ratatouille

I fired up my oven today and made this warm and earthy roasted eggplant dish to celebrate the first day of autumn. The recipe is my deconstructed take on a classic ratatouille, albeit with a lot of aromatic spices thrown in. And, instead of laboriously browning each vegetable individually in a skillet, as is called for in a traditional ratatouille, I took the liberty of tossing them all together into a baking dish and roasting them in the high heat of the oven until they cooked down to a luscious, golden pile of caramelized veggie goodness.

Ingredients

Vegetables 
3 lbs [1½ kg] Eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 small Red Onions, chopped
2 Tomatoes, chopped
8 cloves Garlic, peeled

Whole Spices 
2 Bay leaves
1 stick Cinnamon
1 whole Clove
1 whole Green Cardamom
1 whole Black Cardamom

Ground Spices 
1 tsp ground Garam Masala
Pinch of ground Nutmeg
½ tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
½ tsp Chilli Powder

2 tbsp Tomato Paste
½ cup Olive Oil
Sea Salt (to taste)

1. Pre-heat oven to 450º F (230ºC). Arrange vegetables and whole spices in a deep baking dish. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together ground spices, tomato paste and olive oil, and pour over vegetables. Sprinkle with sea salt, and toss well to mix. 
3. Roast in the oven for 30 mins, then stir the vegetables to ensure that they caramelise evenly. Continue roasting for another 15 mins. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Stewed Bok Choy and Potatoes with Caramelised Red Onions

This quick and easy side dish pairs the sweetness of caramelised red onions with pungent hing (asafoetida), to flavour mild and tender baby bok choy and potatoes. It is a great accompaniment to steamed or grilled fish, and equally delicious as a cold, day-old salad.

Ingredients
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
4 whole Dried Red Chillis
1 tsp Hing (Asafoetida)
1 small Red Onion, thinly sliced
1 lb [700gms] Potatoes, washed and cut lengthwise, skin-on, into 8 pieces each
Salt (to taste)
½ cup Water
1 lb [700 gms] Bok Choy, washed and with the ends of the stalks trimmed off

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add dried red chillis and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillis start to blacken. 
2. Lower heat to medium, add hing, and sputter for about a minute. Add red onion and fry for 3–4 mins till well caramelised.
3. Add potatoes and stir fry for 2–3 mins until lightly golden. Add salt and water, and continue cooking, covered, for another 5 mins, until the potatoes are fork tender. Add bok choy and stir briskly till the leaves are wilted. Turn off heat and let sit for 5 mins before serving.

Roasted Cumin Potatoes

This recipe is my take on a classic north Indian jeera aaloo—cumin potatoes. Unlike the traditional version, which is cooked stovetop, I use the customary ingredients called for, but roast the potatoes in the oven for a crisp and dry finish.

Ingredients 

2 lbs [1 kg] Potatoes, washed and cut, skin-on, into 1-inch-thick pieces
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp whole Cumin
1 tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp Chilli powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt (to taste)
2 tbsp Olive Oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 450º F (230ºC). Arrange potatoes in one layer in a baking dish. 
2. Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add cumin and let sputter for about 1 min. Remove from heat and pour the spice and oil over the potatoes. 
3. Sprinkle turmeric, chilli powder, black pepper, and sea salt, drizzle with olive oil, and using your hands, toss well to mix. 
4. Roast in the oven for 30 mins, then stir the potatoes with a large spoon to ensure that they caramelise evenly. Continue roasting for another 15 mins. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Wilted Radish Greens

When cooking and preparing tubers like radishes, turnips, and beets, most people discard the green leafy tops. But the bright greens are just as delicious as the bulbous tuber—served raw as a salad (dressed simply with lemon juice, olive oil, sea salt and black pepper), or equally good as a side dish when cooked quickly until barely wilted. When prepping my radish salad this afternoon, I reserved the peppery leaves and stalks, and got two delectable dishes for the price of one—versatile and economical!

Ingredients
1 tsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Nigella seeds
2 cloves of Garlic, cut into thin slivers
2–3 fresh Green Chillies, cut into half lengthwise
1 lb [500 gms] Radish Greens, washed and roughly chopped
Salt (to taste)
Juice of ½ lemon

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add nigella seeds and sputter for a few seconds. Add garlic and green chillies, and stir for about 1 min until they are lightly golden.
2. Add radish greens, sprinkle with salt, and cook until just wilted, about 2 mins. Turn off heat, add lemon juice, and let sit for 5 mins before serving.

Seared Bok Choy with Nigella and Blackened Chillis

Bok Choy, a Chinese cousin of the Western cabbage, is one of those wondrously mild and supremely versatile green leafy vegetables that takes easily to strong seasoning. It is also simple to prepare—just separate the individual segments and rinse well. If using baby bok choy, then the stems are tender enough to be cooked whole with the leaves. If using a more mature bok choy, then separate the harder stems from the leaves by chopping into smaller pieces. This recipe maximises the mildness of the vegetable, which is a perfect foil for the amazing smokiness of blackened chillis and musky nigella seeds.

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
1 tbsp Nigella seeds
3–4 cloves of Garlic, cut into thin slivers
1½ lbs [700 gms] Bok Choy, washed and with the ends of the stalks trimmed off
Salt (to taste)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add dried red chillis and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillis just start to blacken. Remove chillis and set aside. 
2. Lower heat to medium, add nigella seeds and sputter for about a minute. Add garlic and stir for about 2 mins until they are lightly golden.
3. Increase heat to high, add bok choy and stir fry for 5 mins until the ends start to char. Add salt and blackened chillis, and continue to stir for another 2–3 mins. Turn off heat, put a lid on the skillet and let sit for 5 mins before serving.