Thai Glass Noodle Salad

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Gluten free, Vegan Thai Glass Noodle Salad | The Novice Housewife Things have been a little busy at my end and I will be updating you soon about that, but lets talk about this Thai glass noodle salad first.

Trying to lose weight? Trying to eat healthier? Looking for salads that don’t include mayo based dressings but still taste as great? Then look no further my dear lovely faithful readers, this glass noodle salad will answer all your woes. Well, most of them anyway!

Its light, refreshing and its gluten free, fat free, nut free, vegan and thus every reason why you should be making this. Gluten free, Vegan Thai Glass Noodle Salad | The Novice Housewife Made from mung bean starch, glass noodles (or cellophane noodles) are rich in iron and zinc. But lets be clear they are not a low carb option. They have their share of carbs, but its not white carbs and they have almost zero fat. Plus, if you have your glass noodles with a good serving of the veggies (like in this salad), I think this dish pretty healthy and fresh to include in your meals.

The salad is easy to make and pretty quick to put together. The only technique required is the cooking of the glass noodles, rest is chopping and mixing.

To cook glass noodles, soak the stiff mung bean noodles for about 15 minutes in hot water. Drain and wash it with cold water and cut the noodles to a smaller size. Then boil them for 30s- 1 min and drain again. If using in soups you can skip the second step. But if using noodles for this salad, you will need to boil them till tender. Read More →

Garam Masala Tuesdays: Punj Rattani Dal

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Dals are an integral part of Indian meals. In some form or the other, they are eaten daily in almost every Indian home.

Dals- lentils or pulses- are varieties of dried beans and peas. They are the main source of proteins for the average vegetarian Indian. Although dal generally refers to split pulses, in actuality there are two types of dal. Whole pulses are known as sabūt dal and split pulses as dhuli dal. The hulling of a pulse is intended to improve digestibility and palatability, but as with milling of whole grains into refined grains, this affects the nutrition provided by the dish, reducing dietary fiber content

Each state in India cooks its dal in different ways.  In south, dal is mostly eaten in the form of sambhar. People of Uttar Pradesh swear by toovar dal which is tempered with asafoetida, cumin seeds and sometimes garlic. Punjabis love their dal whole and unhulled, in the form of the delicious dal makhani, or rajma to accompany their rice or chole with their bhaturas.

When I have to describe dal to people in America who haven’t eaten it, the easiest way is to give them a picture of a lentil soup, although dal is a far cry from just a simple soup. The dal that we have is not as watery as soup, generally being creamier (without necessarily adding cream). A well cooked dal is generally quite thick, but sometimes just to keep it light, people thin it down a bit, such being the case for some of the dals that are cooked in southern India.

The tadka or the tempering is what gives a dal its distinct flavor, and is probably what distinguishes it from soups.

Tempering involves heating oil/ ghee in a small pan, to which whole spices are added, which in turn is poured over the cooked dal. Tempering can be simple with a little asafoetida and cumin seeds being tempered in some ghee/or oil, and then mixed in with the cooked dal. Or it can be elaborate by tempering some onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes in ghee/oil, before adding to the cooked dal.

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