Green Noodles

An Indian on foreign turf, makes a beeline for the Indian grocery store, like a homing pigeon. He/she will fill the cart with all familiars like beans, legumes, rice and flours, chai biscuits et al. The bachelor will head to the ready-to-eat section, and unerringly stash his basket with frozen vegetable entrees and rotis/naan  and  then order his meal in the store-cum-restaurant, eat his fill.

The 'family' people stagger out with grocery and walk purposefully to pizza hut and stuff their hungry kids to the brim with pizza and heave a sigh of relief. A newly married couple will pick up items that are a mix of ready-to-eat and some 'experiment on spouse' items and then in all probability head out to a restaurant to try something 'different'. They walk in, uncertainly, into a fast food joint or restaurant and gaze at the menu with curious intensity. This uncertain couple are reflections of my former self, a good 6 years ago. I liked eating out as much as at home, the only hitch being, I was a vegetarian in a meat lovers land! What can I order without lengthy explanations of how I prefer my 'vegetarian' soup without it's chicken/beef stock? In a menu where egg or fish were considered vegetarian, I was treated like an oddball, chafing at the limited options I had, or so it seemed.

Sound familiar?

I haunted the local library for cookbooks, much like a family spectre, vanishing at closing time. I read them like novels, gazing lustily at the glossy pictures. Slowly, I stepped into the world of blogging to showcase my love for food and experimenting with flavors and try to replicate international recipes using Indian spices.  I was thrilled to discover, that using staples in my pantry, but with different proportions and technique, I had a completely new dish to serve up. Mexican, Caribbean, Thai food was suddenly an option and I was lovin’ it.  I discovered that we may be worlds apart, but many of these International cuisines used standard stuff I used in my Indian kitchen! What a thrill that was!

My focus was and still is, on simple recipes that do not require me to buy expensive or difficult-to-pronounce-and- procure ingredients, but mixing and matching what was in the fridge to a couple of store bought items, like the recipe I have for you today.


In fact, I have another sauce that can be used with the noodles and that is coming up soon!  Flat rice noodles, 2 ways. 


I like this sort of thing , two ways with one ingredient, when I bring in one packet of noodles, I can never finish it off at one go and  I do not want to repeat the same  recipe and so having an alternative is great.

Green Noodles

Recipe Courtesy:  Cara Hobday’s Noodles Asian Style. 

1 Garlic clove

1 Tsp. Salt

1 Tbsp. Black Peppercorns

2 oz. Fresh cilantro (leaves and stems)

2 Tbsp.  fresh Parsley, chopped

2 Scallions, chopped

1 fresh Red Chili, sliced (add more if you want the noodles to be HOT)

3 Tbsp. Fresh Lemon juice
2/3 cup Coconut Milk

2 Tbsp. Peanut butter

8 oz. Flat Rice Noodles

Lemon Quarters to serve

Make the sauce: Grind Garlic, salt, peppercorn and cilantro together. Add parsley, scallions and red chili and make a rough paste.

In a saucepan, add the above paste, lemon juice, coconut milk and peanut butter, mix well and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, boil water in another pan, switch off the heat and add noodles, cover and let it stand for 5 minutes or as per directions. Drain well.

Final assembly: Toss the noodles in the sauce until evenly coated. Serve immediately with lemon quarters.

Notes: 

·        The noodles are mild, if you want, amp up the heat by adding another red chili. Lemon juice is a must to add a burst of fresh flavor.

·      Leftovers make a great lunchbox option. The flavors soak into the noodles and taste great. Gently re-heat  before serving.

·         This is not a complete meal, add a protein on the side.