Blanched Brussel Sprouts in thick Indian spiced yogurt sauce – a green side for Thanksgiving dinner.
Drum roll!
Our second giveaway winner this year is Charul Ajmera, for writing such a lovely comment. Do you want to know what she wrote?
I hate your blog.
I hate that you take pictures so beautiful and decadent that it is almost impossible to stick to any kind of diet after seeing your pictures, like right now, I need a bowl of gulab jamuns, pronto!
I hate that your pictures are so inspiring and neat and easy to compose that they almost force us to be better. Hence, more work to do, which of course, I hate.
And I hate that, on top of everything else, you have written the most easy to read and decipher photography tutorials in a humanly understandable language, which is by the way how I found your blog. Yeah, like your pictures weren’t enough to inspire us all. Duh!
So, there, I said it. I hate your blog.
Now, since we have all my hatred in the open, I will want to say thank you; especially for the pictures and tutorials.
I promise I will send all your gifts as soon as possible. I need to poke my workaholic husband to hasten the process.
This is our third giveaway this year. This time the boundary has been extended beyond the US, but it’s still limited to US, CAN, AUS, UK.
When I started food blogging last year, I came across Lakshmi Wennäkoski-Bielicki; She blogs at purevege.com. Soon I fell in love with her simple and pure photography style and write-ups. She is a yogi, and you can clearly notice that she prays to the almighty through her food. Her photos are divinely beautiful. So when I heard that she wrote a book, I could not stop myself from buying a copy.
The book is more than perfect. Her photos are flawless, and recipes are written in the simplest language possible. She has composed 108 Indian vegetarian recipes. It is made to match European palette. I know Indian cuisine, so it’s easier for me to understand the recipe. So I decided to ask my husband, who is American and has no cooking expertise whatsoever. He says –“I love the way she listed the spices and where to get them. For us, we have no idea what is ‘hing’, unless someone tells us what it is, and where to get it.” I am recommending Lakshmi’s book to all my non-Indian friends. If you read, I am sure you’ll do the same.
I am giving away a copy of “Pure Vegetarian”. If you want to win, click the link below, or you can leave a comment on all Thanksgiving posts I will be posting from now onwards. This giveaway ends on Nov 26th.
Done with my giveaway talk!
Now let’s jump into the green sea of brussel sprouts.
As some of you know, I am doing my first Thanksgiving this year. I am super excited and nervous even if I am cooking for just two. I looked in the NYtimes, and they suggest preparing 1. Chicken type dish 2. Something greeny 3. Something orangy 4. Something with potato and 5. Pies, of course. Read more about it here.
So I decided to start planning my menu a month in advance. I bought some props as well. In my future posts, I will slowly talk about other thanksgiving recipes. But today’s post is about Brussels Sprouts; Humble and simple sprouts. I have never seen sprouts in India. After I came here, I did not dare to try them until last year. My husband kept saying how much he loves sprouts. Finally one day, I bought a bag of sprouts from Trader Joe’s, and cooked them simply. We loved it.
Since then, I cook and love Brussels sprouts.
When I was browsing through Lakshmi’s book, her brussel sprouts recipe intrigued me. It’s simple and flavorful. I have altered her recipe with greek yogurt and replaced curry powder with my own ground spices. This is what I am preparing for my thanksgiving dinner, and I recommend you try it as well.
Details of the giveaway: How can you win this?
- Like my page on Facebook.
- Follow me on twitter
- Follow me on Pinterest
- Comment on my thanksgiving posts
Last day is Nov 26th! It’s limited to US, CAN, AUS, UK.
Recipe for Brussel Sprouts in Yogurt Sauce
- Spice blend
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorn
- 3 whole black cloves
- 4 whole green cardamoms
- 1/4 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds
- 1 piece (1 inch) cinnamon bark, lightly crushed
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- Sprouts
- 1 pound brussels sprouts, blanched
- 1 teaspoon clarified butter
- 1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
- 1/4 teaspoon chaat masala
- 1/4 teaspoon black salt
- 1 cup plain green yogurt
- salt to taste
- In a spice or coffee grinder, add black peppercorns, black cloves, green cardamoms, fenugreek seeds, fennel seeds, cinnamon bark, nutmeg, ginger. Work it until smooth. Take it aside in a bowl.
- Blanch the brussel sprouts. Put them in boiling hot water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until they are soft. Take it aside in a strainer. Run ice cold water through them.
- In a small pan, over medium heat, heat clarified butter. Add asafoetida and ground spices. Cook it for 2 to 3 minutes, or until they sizzle. Take it aside in a big mixing bowl.
- Add chaat masala, black salt, greek yogurt and a generous amount of salt. With a spoon mix it well. Add brussel sprouts and coat it well with this yogurt paste. Take it aside and serve as side dish.
Loving the wood grains, cuts on sprouts and the edits done very very pretty, apt for Fall pics. I love Brussel sprouts in any form hmm yogurt sauce.. need to try this sounds yumm. Good luck with Thanksgiving dinner planning.Hoping to see the shortlisted menu soon. 🙂
I too picked up Lakshmi ‘s pure vegetarian from the library. I like her clean food styling and the galore of simple and delicious food recipes she had provided.
The Brussels sprouts pics are awesome and the side dish looks simply amazing.
I am big fan of her style! Love her simple and pure food 🙂
Thank you love! More recipes are coming soon 🙂
Loved the cold rinse image on Brussel Sprouts. I am somehow not a fan of it, actually never tired having it as well.
Lakshmi’s work is so inspiring and I wish I could have joined the giveaway too. As for that brussel sprouts, love that you added yogurt and not cream!
Just trying to maintain my girly figure 😉 hehe
I am a sucker for brussel sprouts, because of their slightly nutty taste and crunch! Your photos, as always, are wonderful and mouthwatering! Now, all I need is a bushel of brussel sprouts and some enthusiasm to wield the ladle to make this yummy dish!
Thank you 🙂
Gorgeous pictures Dolphia. Lakshmi’s book feels like a vibrant soul. I am glad I was able to get a copy. Good luck to the winner.
Thank you 🙂
I am a fan of Lakshmi’s clean responsive images and content. So glad you are doing a giveaway and I can participate .
Coming to this post.. The capture of motion is lovely.. Specially where you have captured the water from the measuring jug – just about to fall .
You have a wonderful space and your pictures just speak for itself.First of all Congratulations on having such a wonderful blog. The book looks super cool.The reason why I would love to win this is..well honestly, I don’t own a cookbook yet….Yeah!! ..I have been food blogging for a long time and I do read a few books but I have been meaning to buy a book of my own.It would be really wonderful if I win this because my first book would be a prize to cherish. I also want to wish everyone here the very best of luck. Keep rocking Dolphia !
As an adventurous vegetarian family we are always on the lookout for new recipes. We are foodies as well so really love this idea with the sprouts. Thank you.
interesting fusion. I’ve never tried using Indian spices with brussel sprouts, might give this a try.
This book looks very interesting, always looking for new ideas.