Broccoli and Potatoes

If you are like me then you know what I mean when I say that sneaking broccoli into your diet in a "love-it" fashion has been sort of a challenge (well, atleast for me :-)). Don't get me wrong, I love the "concept" of eating broccoli; it's health benefits are well-known and pretty much any healthy cooking show you tune to now-a-days has the hostess screaming eat more greens with a background picture of spinach, kale and broccoli! Well, I love all my greens except for broccoli.... or may be that I just hadn't come across a recipe of broccoli that I really liked. This all changed one evening last week when my husband prepared this broccoli dish!

Now to be fair, broccoli-potato with Indian spices is something I have cooked many times before but always either the broccoli would be too raw, too unwilling to mingle with Indian spices or the whole concoction would be mushy. In contrast this dish was a delight to eat (and not just because I was sipping a Chai and reading a book while my husband was cooking, though that was surely a part of it!) but because the potato was so crunchy and the broccoli was so cooked to perfection... the dish was brought to a whole new level by the sprinkled lime juice-chili flakes and black pepper on top!. I could just eat this dish as a snack without chapati or roti, it was that good! After persistent questions about how this was cooked, finally I learnt the secret: it was the way broccoli was prepared.

Broccoli is a great source of Vitamins C, K and A. It has been associated with cutting various cancer risks, has detox benefits and supports digestion. The more you enjoy this vegetable the more your body will thank you. In my relentless effort to love broccoli, I had tried a broccoli soup, a broccoli slaw and an egg-broccoli gratin. The last one came closest to my liking but I think I am going to stick with this broccoli and potato dish for now!

Do you have a favorite broccoli recipe?

Recipe:
2 broccoli bunches
2 small potatoes
2 serrano peppers - reduce if you are not a fan of spicy food
3 cloves of garlic
1/4tsp turmeric powder
1tsp cumin seeds
olive oil

Garnish: lime juice & chili flakes, salt-pepper to sprinkle on top

1. Chop broccoli and potatoes into byte sized pieces.
2. Steam broccoli pieces for around 7-8mins (more or less depending on the size of the pieces and the amount of broccoli). Don't let the broccoli get mushy.. when it comes out of the steamer it should be al-dente (it will cook a bit more with potatoes). Set aside. If you don't have a steamer see note below.
3. Meanwhile, heat 1Tbsp of oil. When the oil is hot temper with cumin seeds followed by chopped chili peppers and garlic and cook for a couple of minutes until fragrant.
4. Then add potatoes and turmeric and pan-fry (uncovered) for 5-6 mins on medium high heat.
5. Finally add the steamed broccoli to the potato mixture and cook (uncovered) for few more minutes; season with salt & pepper and drizzle a bit more of olive oil on top. 
6. Serve with some fresh lime wedges and hot chapati!

Variations: Next time I might try the exact same recipe but with roasted broccoli & potatoes instead of steamed. I have a feeling it might taste very good.. I'll let you know :-)

Note: If you don't have a vegetable steamer its really easy to improvise: just heat a big pot with water filled less than halfway. When water starts to boil, place broccoli florets in a metal colander and place the colander over the pot (such as colander won't contact the boiling water but the steam from the water will reach the florets). Cover the pot and steam!