Tuesday, 17 January 2012
Recipe : Spinach Kofta with Yellow Curry
Your home-grown vegetables needs special recipes. Here is one that I enjoyed. Its inspired from a cook book called " Great Tastes: Indian " by Bay Books.
Yellow Curry
1 cup plain yogurt
4 tbsp besan( chickpea floor)
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp fenugreek seeds( meethi dana)
2 tsp black mustard seeds
8 curry leaves
4 cups water
Spinach Kofta
400 gms spinach leaves steamed
1 cup besan
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
4 garlic cloves crushed
1 tsp cumin powder
a spring of fresh coriander leaves
Bhagaar (optional)
2 tbp oil
1 onion thinly sliced
3 whole dry red chilies
6 curry leaves
a pinch of cumin seeds
Yellow Curry
1. Mix together yogurt, besan and water in a bowl.
2. Heat oil in a deep, heavy base pan and add fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. Stir fry for a minute.
3. Add chili powder and turmeric powder and stir for a minute.
4. Add yogurt mixture and mix well. Season with salt and let it cook on medium heat until the mixture is little thick. This will take around 15-20 minutes.
Spinach Kofta
5. Blanch spinach leaves in boiling water for a minute and then refresh in cold water. Squeeze as much water possible.
6. Chop spinach and mix remaining ingredients using little water. Make a soft mixture that can easily turn into a ball.
7. Heat oil in a pan and shallow fry spinach koftas until lightly browned.
Combine koftas with yellow curry before serving. Prepare bhaghaar for more flavor and finish.
Heat oil in a frying pan and add onion. Stir until its golden browned. Add remaining ingredients and cook for 30 seconds. Add bhaghaar to your dish.
Serve with roti or boiled rice.
*Caution!
Be careful when adding bhaghaar to the curry. Oil
If you have a recipe that you would like to share with us, post it on www.facebook.com/cropsinpot with a picture.
Environmentalist, sustainability educator and a freelance writer. Co founder of Organic City Pakistan.
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Two motivational talks by two inspirational gardeners
While browsing through TED.com, I came across these two brilliant short videos that will leave you charged and you might end up plotting a new garden ( like me!!).
Here is the first one by Britta Riley who dint want to depend on anyone to come up with an idea to grow food food even in harsh winters. She knew that NASA uses hydroponic systems to grow food in space, so she made her own system that is now getting famous around the world. The best part is that its surprisingly easy to build! Watch the video to learn more.
Britta Riley: A garden in my apartment
www.windowfarms.org/
http://kitchengardeners.org/
I am sure you enjoyed these videos and learned something from them too. If you did, share! :)
happy gardening!
Zahra
Here is the first one by Britta Riley who dint want to depend on anyone to come up with an idea to grow food food even in harsh winters. She knew that NASA uses hydroponic systems to grow food in space, so she made her own system that is now getting famous around the world. The best part is that its surprisingly easy to build! Watch the video to learn more.
Britta Riley: A garden in my apartment
www.windowfarms.org/
Loved it? I know !
Here is our next inspirational video of the day. Roger Doiron is the founder of the KGI.org Kitchen Gardeners International that has over 20,000 members from 100 countries! He grows his own food and wants everyone to grow their own food too. You must watch and listen to what he has to say!
Roger Doiron: My subversive (garden) plotHere is our next inspirational video of the day. Roger Doiron is the founder of the KGI.org Kitchen Gardeners International that has over 20,000 members from 100 countries! He grows his own food and wants everyone to grow their own food too. You must watch and listen to what he has to say!
http://kitchengardeners.org/
I am sure you enjoyed these videos and learned something from them too. If you did, share! :)
happy gardening!
Zahra
Environmentalist, sustainability educator and a freelance writer. Co founder of Organic City Pakistan.
Monday, 26 December 2011
Lets swap our plants!
Plant exchange is a brilliant practice that lets us swap plants from our gardens.
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| My first home-grown pineapple! |
2 years back, a friend gave me a Pineapple plant that was 1 year old. Last year it produced the most delicious Pineapple I have ever tasted and later it left me with 4 baby plants.
I am keeping 3 for my own garden. 1 of these plants can be yours if you have a special plant to make a trade :)
So hurry up! Post a photo of your plant on Crops in Pots that you wish to swap for my pineapple plant or email me at crops.in.pots@gmail.com
Note: Pineapples loves to grow in containers but will take up some space. They fruit when they are 2 years old and after fruiting they will leave 3-4 new plants for you.
* this offer is only for Karachi.
Environmentalist, sustainability educator and a freelance writer. Co founder of Organic City Pakistan.
Sunday, 11 December 2011
Sunny Solutions
Guilty of overindulging in bottled water? You’re certainly not the only one.
The number of “health-conscious” people in Pakistan, who carry their bottles of mineral water while rushing off to work, sauntering in parks and shopping at malls, is on the rise. Bottled water is now ubiquitous in Pakistan — not only is it on the checklist of essentials of most people; it’s also served during conferences and business meetings. And there are figures to prove its rampant consumption. The use of bottled water — typically considered as high quality and safe drinking H20 — is growing by 40 per cent each year. In the year 2000 alone, Pakistan experienced an astonishing 140 per cent growth in bottled water usage — the highest in Asia. It is estimated that the cost of mineral water for one person is roughly Rs1,400 per month — equivalent to Rs. 16,800 per annum. That is a lot of money for something that is our basic right: drinkable water!
The increasing acceptance of bottled water has obviously made consumption of tap water — generally associated with nasty stomach bugs — unthinkable in today’s age. But what if I told you that you can purify water, straight from the tap? You won’t even have to filter or boil it. All you need are some empty PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles, clear tap water and some bright sunlight and you can start the solar water disinfection (SODIS) process at home! This process, developed by the University of Beirut in 1985, has been practiced in many countries and regions around the world, including Pakistan.
To purify your water by using sunlight, simply follow these steps:
Find PET bottles with a resin identification sign of 1. Your plastic water or juice bottles are safe to be reused for this project. The bottles must not contain more than 3 litres of water.
• Wash the bottles thoroughly with soup.
• Fill them with tap water. Make sure your tap water is visibly clean. This method is not very effective for hard water.
• Put on the cap and place the bottles in full sunlight for at least 6 hours. If it’s cloudy, keep them out there for two days.
Your water, without any added chemicals, is now ready to drink!
Despite being the simplest way to purify your water, SODIS has a few disadvantages:
• The process will only be fully effective on sunny days
• It does not work on hard water (water with high mineral con tent)
• It takes time and effort.
But look at the bright side (pun intended) of the entire procedure. It’s a natural, eco-friendly and healthy way of disinfecting your water and will allow you to save money in the long-term. And as far as the exertion required in disinfection is concerned, a light workout never harmed anyone!
So go ahead: make use of nature and purify your water the sunny way!
Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, December 11th, 2011
Environmentalist, sustainability educator and a freelance writer. Co founder of Organic City Pakistan.
Sunday, 27 November 2011
Winter Colours and Flavours for Your Garden
Winter may feel cold and colorless but your garden doesn’t need to be monochrome. Nature presents us with stunningly vibrant foliage and flowers that adds warmth to your garden and gives you a reason to be out in the sun on a wintry day.
Using a blend of seasonal winter flowering plants in a variety of containers is an easiest way to brighten up your garden. Place it at your entrance, align it along the pathway or position it on your window sill, they will add interest to your garden for months to come.
Add some plants to hanging baskets and place them outside your windows to add a color to the view from inside.
A Spark of colors
Pleasing fusion of bulbs and winter-flowering plants adds sparks of colors to your garden. Select from your local bulbs such as the classic white tube roses or go for Lilies, Daffodils, Tulips or Amaryllus according to the city you live in. Plant large Indian Dahlia for a bold splash of colors or clusters of tiny Alyssum flowers in containers. If you have an ugly wall to hide, grow tall stunning Holy Hocks. Options are endless,but here are some must-haves for this season: Petunia, Carnation, Marigolds, Antirrhinum, Salvia, Calendula, Dahlia, Geranium, Lupin, Pansies and many more. Select according to your taste and space.
Add fragrance and flavour
Yes flavor! Why not play with edible plants, vegetables, herbs and flowers! Here are some ideas:
- Combine a bush cherry tomato plant with chives or marigolds in a hanging basket.
- Mix together pansies with strawberries.
- Use mixed verities of leaf lettuce as fillers between your other ornamental plants.
- Blend Dill with Nasturtium flowers which are edible!
- Blend a contrasting color Petunia with strawberries or hanging tomatoes. Imagine a purple petunia plant with yellow cherry tomatoes hanging right on your favorite corner!
- mix dwarf sweet pea with Purple Cabbage.
Use plants with lush green or colored foliage and different textures. Have some perennials and annuals too along with the seasonal plants. Bring together plants that have similar needs( sunlight, type of soil, water) and also keep in mind about the space they will need to grow.
The options are endless so why not create a garden this winter that not only has stunning colors but also something much more.
Published in Express Tribune Classifieds on Sunday 27th November, 2011
Image credit: Mehlum Sadriwala studios
Environmentalist, sustainability educator and a freelance writer. Co founder of Organic City Pakistan.
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