Beet Paneer Kababs & Green Bean Salad with Coconut, Cashews & Tamarind

I've been cooking vegetarian for two weeks now and I'm pretty proud of it. It's pretty easy to cook nutritious & vegetarian food when you're cooking Indian food. The only times I've consumed meat was over the weekend when I ate out or had friends over.
It wasn't a conscious decision at first, to be honest. After I menu planned for the week, I realized all the dishes I chose were vegetarian. So the next week, I made everything vegetarian on purpose in my new menu. Neither my husband or I have been missing the meat. In fact, I even inspired my husband to get vegetarian food at his work for lunch a couple times :)

It's not that I'm opposed to meat. When you buy sustainably raised & caught food, and consume it in moderation, it's still good for you and for the environment. But there's no doubt that almost everyone can benefit from eating more vegetables. So here I am with my long streak of vegetarian food :)

I made a beet & paneer kabab that is bound by an egg and some chickpea flour. While growing up, my mom always used used chickpea flour to thicken gravies and added them to fritters to make sure the fritters would bind well. I essentially used the same concept tomato these kababs. They're sweet from the beets but the sweetness is tempered by the garam masala, ginger and garlic used in the base. To add more heft, there's a big pile of grated paneer in the kababs as well. These fry up crisp and delicious and are amazing served with a salad for a vegetarian main course. I served them with a green bean salad that had an amazing dressing made up of coconuts, cashews, shallots and tamarind. The green beans are quickly boiled and then tossed with a caramelized shallot & nut sauce that is sweet from the shallots and sour from the tamarind. I kept popping this salad in my mouth while waiting for the kababs to fry up. They're that good!

Beets Paneer Kabab recipe adapted from Fresh India, Meera Sodha
Makes 18 kababs, 6 servings

Ingredients: 
1 1/4 lbs beets
1/2 lb paneer, grated
2 tbsp lemon juice
2" piece ginger, grated
3 fat garlic cloves, grated
1 jalapeño chili, finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
1 1/2 tsp (scant) sea salt
4 tbsp chickpea flour
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 egg, whisked
3 tbsp oil

Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Wash the beets well and trim. Wrap them in foil and bake for 1.25 to 1.5 hours or till very tender and a knife slips in easily. Unwrap and mash in a medium bowl and set aside to cool. This can also be done a day in advance and refrigerated. Just bring the mixture to room temperature before proceeding. To the beet bowl, add paneer, lemon juice, ginger, garlic, cili, garam masala, sea salt, chickpea flour, cilantro and egg and mix together well using your hands. Taking egg sized mixture into your hands, roll them into flat kababs 3" in diameter and lay them on a foil lined sheet. Heat a 12" cast iron pan on medium heat till hot. Add 1 tbsp oil and swirl it around. Lay 6 kababs in a circle and cook for about 3 minutes til browned. Turn over and cook for 2.5 to 3 minutes again till well browned. Remove to a plate and repeat two more times till the kababs are all fried.

Green Bean Salad recipe adapted from Fresh India, Meera Sodha
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:
2 lbs green beans, trimmed and cut into 3" pieces
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
4 large banana shallots, or other large shallots
4 oz raw cashew nuts (approx. 2/3 cup)
1.25 tsp sea salt
2 tsp tamarind concentrate (or 2 tbsp tamarind paste)
1/2 cup flaked coconut, toasted
1 red fresno chili, seeded and thinly sliced

Procedure:
Boil a lot of water in a 5 quart saucepan with 2 tbsp kosher salt. Add green beans and cook for 5-6 minutes till tender and to your liking. Immediately drain the beans and remove them to an ice bath. Set aside. Once the green beans have become nice and cool, drain this water and set them aside.
In the same 5 quart saucepan (rinsed and wiped now), heat the oil on medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds. Once the seeds are sputtering, add the shallots and fry for about 6-8 minutes, till soft and getting brown. Add the cashews and salt and fry for 3-4 more minutes till the cashews are brown and the shallots have browned evenly. Remove from heat and add the tamarind concentrate and most of the coconut and mix vigorously. Add the green beans and fresno chili and toss till everything is mixed through. Transfer to a serving bowl and sprinkle with the rest of the coconut.