Sweet and Sour Veggies with Rice Pilaf

Seeing as Christmas is days away, I thought it would be a good time to clean out my refrigerator to make room for more holiday goodness. I'll be spending some time at my mom's house anyway, so I wanted to get rid of my fresh vegetables and herbs. These two dishes were perfect for that.

Neither dish is especially spicy, which might come as a surprise to you considering that I used about 8 green chillies total. In case you haven't already familiarized yourself with Thai green chillies, this is what they look like. Remember, they are small but potent.

The sweet and sour veggie dish was inspired by this recipe, but I made some changes of my own. I got pretty excited when I saw a whole list of "Indo-Chinese" recipes. Indo-Chinese food is basically the Indian version of the "Chinese" food we get in American restaurants.

Sweet and Sour Veggies
Ingredients:
4 green chillies, chopped
1 medium red onion, but into about 8 large peices
1 carrot, sliced.
1 sweet potato, chopped and boiled until edible
15-20 green beans
1 can of baby corn, rinsed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar (I used red wine vinegar because its all I have)
3-4 tablespoons ketchup
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons ginger-garlic paste
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
1/4 cup fresh chives (optional)
Sesame seed oil

Using sesame seed oil in a large pot, saute green chillies and cumin seeds until seeds start to pop. Add your onion, carrots, beans and corn. Add the rest of your spices slowly, and consider adding water if you'd like more sauce. Add sesame seeds, potato and chives. Serve once the vegetables are all slightly softened, about 10 minutes at a low heat.

Rice Pilaf, or whatever you want to call it
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups rice, uncooked
1/2 cup lentils of any color
4 green chillies, chopped
1 sprig of curry leaves
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
Oil to saute
Salt to taste

First, saute you're green chillies, cumin seeds, curry leaves and mustard seeds. Wait for the seeds to start popping. Add 4 cups of water. Add rice and lentils. Add chili powder, turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil and cover. Reduce the heat. After 20 minutes, remove from heat. Serve.