We're lucky around here… quite a few VPR staffers are terrific cooks. Fabulous smells often emanate from our kitchenette, and we do a lot of recipe swapping and taste testing! We love to cook for one another, and we'll use this page to showcase some of our favorite recipes, as well as the stories and traditions behind them.
In my house I usually prepare a special meal of some particular ethnicity for Thanksgiving. Indian cuisine (that's South Asian Indian, not Native American) is our favorite. This Sambhara (Gujerati-style cabbage with carrots) comes from Indian cuisine expert Madhur Jaffrey and it's one of my favorites.
Madhur Jaffrey's Sambhara
(Gujerati-style cabbage with carrots)
¼ head green cabbage
3 large carrots
½ fresh hot green chili
4 TBSP vegetable oil
Pinch of ground asafetida (optional)
1 TBSP whole black mustard seeds
1 whole hot dried red chili
1 ¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. sugar
4 heaped TBSP chopped fresh green coriander
1 TBSP lemon juice
Core the cabbage and cut it into fine, long shreds. Peel the carrots and grate them coarsely. Cut the green chili into thin, long strips.
Heat the oil in a wide, casserole-type pot over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in the asafetida. A second later, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop (this takes just a few seconds) put in the dried red chili. Stir once. The chili should turn dark red in seconds. Now put in the cabbage, carrots and green chili. Turn the heat down to medium and stir the vegetables around for half a minute. Add the salt, sugar and green coriander. Stir and cook for another 5 minutes or until vegetables are just done and retain some of their crispness. Add the lemon juice. Stir to mix.