Book of Yum

I first came across Asparagus Thin through Gluten-Free Mommy’s Gluten Free Menu Swap. I was intrigued by her international, healthy recipes and adventurous meal planning. I had thought about trying one of her recipes, but hadn’t had time yet when I came across her Gluten-Free Carob Brownie Recipe. I was immediately excited because I’ve been meaning to experiment more with carob and I had a big tin of carob powder in my pantry waiting for an opportunity like this. For the health conscious, carob doesn’t contain caffeine and is usually well tolerated by those allergic to chocolate. For this lunchbox edition of “Adopt-a-gluten-free-Blogger” I decided to make her recipe. After all, what lunchbox is complete without a little something sweet for dessert? The only ingredient that threw me was the sugar substitute. Perhaps in keeping with the Asparagus Thin name, the newly engaged Manda uses sugar substitutes in baking. I don’t use artificial sweeteners, but I thought perhaps agave nectar would be a good natural substitute. But I had a feeling that Manda’s proportions were for a powdered sugar substitute. Hmm. I decided to use 3/4 of a cup of agave nectar instead of sugar to combat the differences between liquid and dry materials, and otherwise followed the recipe as written. It baked nicely, and although at first I was afraid I might have overbaked it, my fears turned out to be groundless. The funny thing is that while the recipe was good hot, I actually found that I liked the texture and flavor better at room temperature or cooler. For some reason, a lower temperature brought out the subtle flavor of the carob. Also, at room temperature or cooler, the brownies seemed less chewy and more fluffy, oddly enough. It turns out the DH is not a big fan of carob, but I really enjoyed this recipe. I only wish I could find a gluten-free carob chip to add to them- I think that would take them from a tasty and almost healthy sweet to a real decadent yum-fest. Anyone know of any source of gluten-free carob chips?

This is a wonderful recipe for anyone interested in experimenting with carob. I hope you’ll check out more of Asparagus Thin’s tasty recipes, such as her Shundal Chickpea Snacks, Intriguing Cinnamon Mevlana Pilaf, or her Coconut Pumpkin Potato Curry. They would all be wonderful in a tiffin (an Indian lunch box) or as a tasty dinner at home.

*In the spirit of our Lunchbox/Tiffin/Bento theme, these carob brownies are pictured in a lovely metal tin I bought at a market in India. I inverted the tin and used it as a “brownie-cutter” to get a brownie the perfect shape. And then someone had to eat the scraps left, so… well… I did. Tough life, this food blogging business.

Interested in more gluten-free carob recipes?

Try these:
Gluten-Free Coconut Carob Cake Recipe
Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Carob Cookie Recipe
Gluten-Free Carob Devil’s Food Cake Recipe
Gluten-Free Healthy Carob Brownies
Carob Banana Smoothie Recipe
Coconut Carob Truffle Recipe- with chocolate

Enjoy! I have found some seriously tempting carob recipes in the process of writing this post- I think it’s time for me to spend more quality time in the kitchen with my tin of carob! Please share the URL if you have a post with a tasty gluten-free carob recipes and I’ll add it to the list.

Have you enjoyed some gluten-free carob today?

Last evening I went through with my plan to make delicious, crunchy and decadent Dal Vada, otherwise known as dal pakora or dal fritters. We first had this recipe in India at the house of some friends, and it’s a little bit of effort due to the necessity of pre-soaking the beans (dal) and of course the trouble of deep frying anything. It may be a good thing it does take effort, because it’s so good I might otherwise be tempted to make it all the time! However, deep fried food and rice alone doesn’t seem like a proper meal, even with tasty chutney. I had intended to make Madras-style spinach from my A Taste of Madras: A South Indian Cookbook. This is a cookbook I use very rarely, perhaps because it is non-veg. However, it does have a good selection of rice dishes (including pulao), a good dosa recipe, and many chutney recipes, so I have kept it around. At the last minute I decided not to make the spinach recipe because DH hates spinach and instead I made a recipe from the same cookbook for green beans. I modified the recipe to work for those with lactose intolerance or vegans (depending on the modification you use) and it was absolutely delicious but less heavy than my other favorite Indian green bean recipe. I hope you enjoy this recipe! See my favorite Indian cookbooks below.

Madras Style Green Bean Recipe Side Dish  Vegetables  Indian

Ingredients 1 small red onion 1/2 pound green beans 2 tsp. ghee or butter (low lactose) OR mustard oil OR coconut oil 1/2 tsp. cumin seeds 1/2 cup milk of choice (I used rice milk) 2 tbsp. plain yogurt (soy or rice yogurt is ok if you like the flavor) 1/2 tsp paprika or chili powder 1/4 tsp. turmeric salt to taste 1 tsp. ground coriander Directions Cut the red onion in half and remove the outer skin. Thinly slice the red onion. Cut your green onions into short, bite sized pieces- either in half or in thirds for very long beans. Heat 2 tsp of ghee, butter, mustard oil or coconut oil in a cast iron pan on medium. *Make sure your pan has a lid.* Add the cumin seeds and when they start to brown, add your milk. Whisk in yogurt and add spices through salt (reserving the coriander). Let your sauce simmer for five minutes and then throw in your onions and green beans. Sprinkle coriander on top. Add lid and simmer for five minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of hot water and stir ingredients to evenly distribute the liquid. Cover again and cook for 10+ minutes (or less if you have very thin beans). You can check on the beans periodically to see if they are done to your liking. If they get too dry and you are cooking them longer than ten minutes you may want to add another tablespoon of hot water and replace the lid. When done serve on rice or other grain of choice, preferably with a dal lentil dish or pakora.

Rating:  8 Original Source:  Modified to be allergy/intolerance friendly from A Taste of Madras Recipe ID:  1299 Added:  October 7, 2008 Last Modified:  October 7, 2008