Indian-Spiced Sauerkraut

This is our first attempt at making sauerkraut since taking the fermentation class over a year ago. In the interim,  friend gave us some wonderful homemade sauerkraut that had Indian style spicing, but we were not successful at getting to recipe. Thanks to the power of Google, we found a recipe to use as a base for experimentation.

Credits: this is from a recipe by Alex Hozven

We bought  3 cabbages from the farmer's market that weighed in at about 6.25 lbs. The original recipe was for 4 lbs so we modified accordingly. I'm listing the original amounts this time since I'm too lazy to change them.

Ingredients:

• 4 lbs green cabbage, sliced coarsely on a mandoline
• 1 Tbs cumin seeds
• 1 Tbs coriander seeds
• 1/2 Tbs fennel seeds
• 1/2 Tbs black peppercorns
• 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 Tbs plus 2 tsp coarse sea salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine all of the ingredients in a very large bowl. Squeeze the cabbage to release some liquid. Press a heavy plate on the cabbage to weigh it down and let stand at room temperature, tossing and squeezing the cabbage 4 or 5 more times, until it has released enough liquid to cover, about 4 hours.
2. Pour the cabbage and its liquid into a clean ceramic crock or tall glass container. Top the cabbage with a clean plate that just fits inside the crock. Place a glass or ceramic bowl on the plate and put a heavy can in the bowl; the cabbage should be completely submerged in its brine by at least a 1/2 inch. Cover the crock with a clean kitchen towel and set it in a cool, dark place to ferment for about 6 weeks.
3. Every 3 days, clean and replace the plate that sits on the cabbage, carefully skimming any foam or mold that forms on the surface of the liquid. Discard the cabbage and its liquid if it's foul-smelling, or if anything brown, moldy or slimy has penetrated below what can easily be scraped off the surface. If too much liquid evaporates before the sauerkraut is sufficiently fermented, dissolve 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in 1 cup of spring water and add it to the crock. When the sauerkraut is ready, it should have a light crunch and a bright, pleasantly tangy taste, with an acidity similar to that of a lemon.

The sauerkraut can be refrigerated in its brine in a glass or ceramic jar for up to 6 months. Drain before serving.

Baba Ghanoush

This recipe is from "The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook" in my Kindle library. 

2 eggplants (1 pound each), pricked all over with fork 

2 tablespoons tahini 

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving 

4 teaspoons lemon juice 

1 small garlic clove, minced 

Salt and pepper 

2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 500 degrees. Place eggplants on aluminum foil–lined rimmed baking sheet and roast, turning eggplants every 15 minutes, until uniformly soft when pressed with tongs, 40 to 60 minutes. Let eggplants cool for 5 minutes on baking sheet. 

2. Set colander over bowl. Trim top and bottom off each eggplant and slit eggplants lengthwise. Using spoon, scoop hot pulp into colander (you should have about 2 cups pulp); discard skins. Let pulp drain for 3 minutes.

3. Transfer drained eggplant to food processor. Add tahini, oil, lemon juice, garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Pulse mixture to coarse puree, about 8 pulses. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

4. Transfer to serving bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hour. (Dip can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours; bring to room temperature before serving.) Season with salt and pepper to taste, drizzle with extra oil to taste, and sprinkle with parsley before serving.