EATING SPRING: MUSHROOM AND ASPARAGUS RICE WITH TOASTED BLACK PEPPER

This is an easy and refreshing sattvic spring recipe that's so great on its own, with roasted vegetables like zucchini and carrots, or a salad of romaine lettuce and sliced cucumbers dressed with lemon juice and salt.

It won't be sattvic meal any more, but this rice would also be a terrific side with salmon, sea bass, barramundi (Asian seabass, bhetki in Bengali), or cod.

Ghee and black pepper are the big flavours in this dish, so if you use olive oil, the flavour will be very different. Butter will certainly work very well if you don't have ghee but it's heavier than ghee and not really a sattvic food.

Mushroom and Asparagus Rice with Toasted Black Pepper
Makes: approximately 4 servings (1-1/2 cups per serving)

- 1 cup basmati rice, soaked (at least 30 min, up to 24 hours)
- 3/4 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 in. pieces
- 8 oz. crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp. salt
- 3/4 - 1 tbsp. toasted black peppercorns, coarsely ground
- 1 tbsp. spiced ghee, regular ghee, or butter
- 1-1/2 cups water
- 4 tbsp. finely chopped parsley (i.e. finely chop enough parsley to make 4 tbsp.)

1. In a large pan on medium-high, heat the ghee. Lower the heat to medium and add the toasted peppercorns.
2. Add the mushrooms, then minced garlic and saute (turn the heat down to medium-low if needed until the mushrooms release water, then turn it back up to medium to evaporate the water and finish sauteing the mushrooms.)
3. Drain the rice well and set aside - you want minimal water on the rice.
4. When the mushrooms are sauteed, keep the heat on medium and add the asparagus and drained rice and saute for 3-5 minutes or until the rice is opaque and looks mostly dry.
5. Add the 1-1/2 cups water to the rice and vegetables and turn the heat up to high. Let the water come to a boil, add salt and stir.
6. Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer until the water is almost all absorbed. Then lower the heat to low, cover the pan and cook the rice until you can't see any water.
7. Take the lid off and serve garnished with 1 tbsp. parsley per serving.

Notes:

1. It's really not necessary to laboriously wipe the dirt off each mushroom. Give the mushrooms a quick wash and dry them thoroughly with paper or cotton dish towels before slicing.
2. Trim off the dried bit of each mushroom stem, and keep the rest of the stem on, or remove and slice separately if it's easier to handle the mushrooms that way. If you must discard the stems from mushrooms for a recipe, save them and use to make mushroom stock, or use in a recipe where you can use sliced or diced mushrooms.

SPICED GHEE

You are what you eat.

The internet is full of information about the importance of ghee in Ayurveda and the many health benefits of ghee so I won't get repetitive about it. But I will say that ghee is one of the best fats your mind and body can have.

This ghee with aromatic spices is wonderful for cooking, in rice dishes, and drizzled over oats or a warm fruit compote. One of my favourite winter breakfasts is rice with ghee, a bit of cayenne pepper, and salt. The spices in the ghee add roundness and warmth to the flavour of food - perfect for the cooler months of the year!

I use 4 cooking fats: ghee, cold expeller-pressed coconut oil, olive oil, and grape-seed oil, in that order. Of the 4, olive oil has the lowest smoke point so I almost never use it for cooking unless I'm sauteeing something at a very low heat or adding it to a soup or stew later in the cooking process and heating everything together.

Ghee and coconut oil have a higher smoke point and don't oxidize easily, and they taste divine in sweet and savoury foods alike.

Spiced Ghee

Makes: approximately 8 oz./1 cup

- 8 oz. organic cow's milk butter, preferably unsalted but salted will do just fine

- 1 tsp cloves, whole 

- 1 tbsp cardamom, whole

- 1 tbsp fennel seeds, whole

- 1 tbsp black Tellicherry peppercorns, whole

- 1 tbsp caraway seeds ("shah jeeru" in Gujarati)

- 1 stick cinnamon, 3-4 in. long

- stainless steel pan (cast-iron and enamel may be ok, but definitely not non-stick or aluminium)

- fine mesh strainer

1. In a mortar and pestle, lightly crush the peppercorns, cardamom, and fennel.

2. In the same pan that you will use to make ghee, add all the spices and turn on the heat to low and gently dry-roast the spices till aromatic. This will happen within a minute so keep an eye on things or you'll have burnt-tasting spiced ghee. If you are distracted or short on time, skip this step and add the spices and butter together to the pan. Unroasted spices will affect the final flavour far less than burnt spices!

3. Add the butter, turn the heat up to medium-low and let the butter melt completely.

4. Turn the heat to very low, for the remainder of the process, 25 - 30 minutes. The butter will start to foam and you will hear the butter crackle and pop - this is water evaporating from the butter.

5. Periodically check the butter without stirring: tilt the pan slightly or use a stainless steel or wood spoon to separate the foam so you can see the butter solids and spices. As the butter cooks, the solids will separate and settle, and the butter will get clearer.

6. As more and more water evaporates, the crackling and popping will reduce and the solids at the bottom of the pan will turn caramel in colour. Around 20 - 25 minutes after you start cooking the butter on low heat, the crackling and popping will almost completely stop. The solids will also turn a deep golden colour (not dark brown!).

7. TURN OFF THE HEAT! Deep golden to burnt takes no time at all and that's most definitely going to make the ghee taste burnt. 

8. Using a fine mesh strainer, strain the ghee into a completely dry container. Let the ghee cool completely before putting a lid on the container.

9. Store in a covered container at room temperature. Ghee at room temperature is straw coloured with a semi-liquid texture. If correctly made, it will be easily spoonable at room temperature, no scraping required. Always use a clean spoon to scoop out ghee for use. Ghee does not need to be refrigerated and if it is not exposed to contaminates, it will keep for over a year, even outside the fridge.

Notes:

1. If you don't have a strainer with very fine mesh, improvise by putting a paper towel inside the strainer and strain the ghee through that.