Soulful Creations

Warning: I am no professional restaurant reviewer by any measure but I have come to learn "good food" in the past few years. I decided to do this now because I am leaving Cambridge to go to Houston, Texas and this is a tribute to all those foodie joints (good and not-so-good) that I visit often! This one is yet another fave, an all vegetarian and vegan place in Watertown (now that is the only disadvantage since it is not on any T line)- The Red Lentil . Every dish that I have tried is actaully different from the other- unusual flavor combinations are a big draw (for me anyway). I will surely miss their Nirvana Delight and ooh the gobi manchurian. I also love their entire line of brunch menu (think I can safely brag that between the wise guy, my mom and me- we have tried most of what is on their menu).While their food is great- there are times when I have been frustrated with their wait staff. In fact this year's Mother's day was celebrated at The Red Lentil.

My mom is visiting and one of the things I ask her to make every time she visits is some form of paruppu thuvaiyal (a kind of pesto that you eat with rice, similar to chutney except a lot more thicker) This recipe uses yellow moong dal- skinned and split mung beans that are easy to digest. Ingredients 1 cup yellow moong dal 1 clove garlic 2 dried red chillies * a pinch of asaefotida (hing) 2 tbsp oil salt to taste water, minimal quantity for grinding Method Heat oil in a pan. Add the garlic, red chillies, asaefoetida- saute for about 30 seconds. Then add the yellow moong dal and roast till the dal is golden brown. Cool it down and grind with minimal amount of water. Serve with hot rice, ghee (clarified butter) and some fried papad! Judgement With the garlic and the heat from red chillies, it sort of warmed me up- exactly what I needed after kind of weather we have been put through here in the area. (I guess I cannot complain about it being cold when people dow

Warning: I am no professional restaurant reviewer by any measure but I have come to learn "good food" in the past few years. I decided to do this now because I am leaving Cambridge to go to Houston, Texas and this is a tribute to all those foodie joints (good and not-so-good) that I visit often! Tucked away in a neat little spot in Central Square, Cambridge (MA) is this great burger joint- Four Burgers . I chanced upon it accidentally on my walk from Harvard square to Central square. There are not too many choices- basically they have an organic vegan black bean burger which is served with either salsa or guacamole (your choice). So you go in- choose your bun (or not), the burger, toppings and fries if you want any that is (including cheese). The vegan burger in itself tastes really good- I had it with guac while the wise guy had it with salsa. Each of us had a couple of toppings and each of our burgers tasted different (and good!). Now that is a rarity even today- veggi

Plantains are something that I grew up with. Although, I never liked the ripened version much- my mom or grandma would eventually have to force it down my throat (well, I would eat it myself once they have uttered their few choice words :D). But the raw plantains, now that is a different story... If you do use bananas and plantains interchangeably- then you would be wrong, because they are different. You can find the differences between these cousins here . The key difference is that plantains have more starch content than their sweet cousin (I read somewhere that you should think of bananas as the dessert wine). I remember my peeps telling me how everyone should have at least one of these herbs in their backyard (that is right, it is an herbaceous plant). My mom would tell us how every part of this plant is useful, it got compared to the kamadhenu (the cow that keeps giving)- you can eat the stem (வாழைத்தண்டு), the flower (வாழைபூ, I never liked this either except when cooked as a