Chappli Kabab

We recently came back from visiting friends in upstate New York. While there, we spent time visiting a bunch of local ethnic markets - which the hubs and I just adore doing. And since we don't have a large selection of ethnic markets where we live, it's fun to explore new markets and discover new tastes and foods while we're away.

Our friends recommended we try a boxed mix for Chappli Kabab and we are so glad they did.

We made these the other night for dinner, as directed, but using ground turkey. We did use the whole packet of spice with it, which was probably a bit spicier than we would have liked, but they were still yummy! And it wasn't really spicy as much as it was cumin-y. The kabab patties came out so crunchy and delicious and it was a fabulous meal with some mixed greens, tomato and naan.

I did hang on to the box though, so that next time I can go based off of the ingredient list and make the seasoning for the patties myself. This way it will cut back on the sodium in the meal - because it was a salty dish!

If you can find the boxed mix, I recommend trying it - just make sure you like cumin! Once I make them again from scratch, I'll post that here so you can try it as well.

Perfect Saag Paneer

So, I made saag paneer once at home, and it was good but just not the texture I was seeking. I finally came up with the idea of using, gasp, canned spinach to make the saag paneer again... and you know what, it was the exact texture I was seeking!!

The recipe was creamy, flavorful and delicious. Instead of paneer, I used haloumi cheese this time that I diced up and browned up.

The rest of the recipe for the paneer I followed from Serious Eats.

1 large can canned spinach.

1 onion diced

3 cloves of garlic minced

about 1 T fresh grated ginger

6 oz. haloumi cheese diced and browned

1 teaspoon cumin

2 teaspoons curry powder

1 container plain yogurt

salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onion and garlic with the cumin and curry and then add in the canned spinach, undrained. Stir in the yogurt, salt and pepper to taste at the end. Add in the cheese and toss to combine. I also did add in some crushed red pepper flakes for a little spice.

My First Adventure with Paneer

The first time I had paneer, my good friend Rupa brought me some to work to try - she's so good about brining me in tastes of the delicious food she and her husband make so I can try new Indian flavors and spices.

Since then I've been determined to make saag paneer. But I don't do anything half assed (ok that's a lie), so I decided to make my own paneer. Yeah that was a BIG FAT SUPER DUPER FAIL!!! Instead of forming in to a brick/cube, it came out all crumbly and well, it was great the next night on our has and eggs! So I had to make a pre-dinner run to Whole Foods to pick up paneer. Let me just say at 8.99 a box, and needing 2 boxes for the recipe, I need to work at finding a really fantastic recipe for making paneer at home.

The recipe for the spinach was pretty good, the flavor was great but it wasn't creamy enough for me, I wanted something more pureed and smooth. So this is a recipe I will continue to play with and figure out how to perfect.

Since I don't eat much meat, having the paneer as a protein option is really a nice choice and I just have to keep working at this!

Next time, I'm going to use this paneer recipe. And I relied on my old stand by of Serious Eats for the Saag Paneer recipe. Again, I just have to play around with the creaminess of it, but that's just my taste. I served this with naan and it was just a wonderful vegetarian meal full of great flavor.

Pea-Lafel

So, if you are a frequent reader you know my affinity for Aarti on Foodnetwork. Well did you know she has a blog?? Um, I didn't and I can't believe I haven't found it before. It's a great mix of recipes, music, culture, fun and more - check it out.

So back in Feb. we made these WONDERFUL pealafel sandwiches for dinner from her Belly Dance show. Oh my goodness they were so good and really more flavorful that traditional falafel. They were rich, crispy, smooth, creamy and had the most beautiful vibrant green color.

I do have to say though they did not re-heat in the microwave well the next day for lunch and became a bit greasy, but I think re-heating in the oven would be a much better route - that is if you have any left, because they are so good you'll want to eat them all!

We served with a simple tabouli salad and in pitas with the sauce - delicious!!!

This is certainly a great summer meal as tomatoes, cukes, and herbs start sprouting!!

Pea-Lafel/Fried Pea & Mint Sandwiches

Adapted from Aarti Parti, Food Network

For the Sauce

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 cup plain non-fat yogurt

1/2 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped, plus 3/4 cup whole leaves

Kosher salt

For the patties

1 cup frozen peas, thawed and drained

1 cup frozen edamame, thawed and drained

1 small onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, peeled

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup flour

Canola oil, for frying

pitas, halved

2 large vine-ripened tomatoes, cut into large dice

1 large English cucumber, sliced into 1/8-inch rounds

In a small skillet, toast the fennel and coriander seeds for a couple of minutes until they're fragrant and slightly darker, about 2 minutes. Remove from the pan and throw into a coffee/spice grinder. Grind to a fine powder.

For the yogurt sauce: Mix the yogurt with the 1/2 cup finely chopped mint leaves and a generous pinch of salt. Chill in the fridge.

Throw the peas, edamame, ground spices, shallot, garlic, remaining whole mint leaves, olive oil, and salt into a food processor and puree until smooth. It won't get completely smooth because of the edamame, but process until it is as smooth as possible.

Scrape into a big bowl and stir in the flour. The mixture will still be pretty soft. Not to worry!

Pour enough oil into a large skillet - about 1/4-inch deep. Heat over medium heat until shimmering. Then shape the pea mixture into 12 small patties the size of a golf ball, and then gently drop into the oil. I did this by using my cookie scoop to get the rounded size I wanted. I then flattened them a bit between my hands before popping in the oil. Fry until the bottoms are browned and then carefully flip over. Brown the other side, and then remove from the pan and drain on a paper towel-lined plate - do drain them!! they retain a bit of oil and you'll want that to soak out before you put these in your pitas.

Serve warm in a pita bread pocket stuffed with the fresh veggies and a spoonful of the yogurt sauce.

Oh Indian Food - I LOVE YOU!!!

Seriously, I think I love Indian food as much as I love Thai and Japanese and Chinese food. It's a vicious 4 way love affair when it comes to meal planning at my house.

My friend recently asked me if I had a recipe for Keema, which I did not. But I found one online and my good friend Rupa assured me it seemed pretty authentic. So I figured I'd give it a shot and see how it was.

Along with the Keema Matar, I decided I'd try yet another Aarti Party recipe (surprise, surprise, right??) for her Chapatis. The whole meal was absolutely fantastic and I will make it again.

The Keema Matar was flavorful, aromatic and filling. The chapatis were fun to make, quite easy, tasty and were a great pair with the keema.

Keema Matar

adapted from Simply Spicy

1 lb. ground meat - beef, turkey or chicken

2 cup - frozen green peas, lightly defrosted

1 Onion, chopped

1'' piece of ginger peeled and minced

2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 can petite diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cinnamon sticks

2 cardamom pods crushed

3 cloves

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp each Coriander, Turmeric, Cunim, Red chili powder

pinch of salt

Cilantro to sprinkle on top

Mix coriander, turmeric, red chili and cumin powder with little water, salt and set aside.

Heat oil in a pan and fry onions until golden brown. Add garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cardamom, cinnamom, cloves, bay leaf and fry for 3 - 4 minutes. Add the powder paste and continue frying for a minute.

Add ground meat, peas and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until meat turns brown. Add 1 and 1/4th cup boiling water to the meat. Cover and cook on low heat until meat is cooked and the gravy is thick. Now you can further cook without the lid, till all the water is used up. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Chapatis from Aarti Party on Foodnetwork. I made these as she did, but used white flour (I didn't have wheat). So refer to her recipe here for the technique and ingredients - but I promise you it couldn't be easier. Just be sure to leave 30 minutes of rise time for the dough.

We're doin' it up Aarti Party Style!

So after the delicious meal we had on my birthday from Aarti Party, I decided I'd try her Chickpea and Artichoke Masala recipe.

Oh my goodness, so easy, so good, so flavorful, and incredibly filling! Serve with some naan or rice and it's a meal fit for a king on a pauper's budget and vegetarian's palate! And even the non-vegetarian loving husband enjoyed this meal quite a bit! There are very few veggie recipes that he asks for a repeat of - this was one he said he'd be happy to see on the menu again and again. YAY!

Chickpea and Artichoke Masala

Recipe courtesy Aarti Sequeira and Aarti Party

Ingredients

1 large red onion, chopped (about 2 cups)

2 tablespoons Ginger-Garlic Paste, recipe follows, or 1 clove garlic and 1/2-inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped

3 large Roma tomatoes, chopped - since it's out of season, I simply used 1 can petite diced tomatoes and drained it.

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon cumin seed

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/4 cup yogurt, whisked until smooth

1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and halved - I chopped these up even more so the pieces were smaller to handle.

Kosher salt

1/2 cup water

Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish

Directions

Process the onion, Garlic-Ginger Paste, and tomatoes in a food processor or blender until smooth. * I Just used 1 garlic clove and a nob of fresh ginger here.

Meanwhile, warm the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once the oil is shimmering, add the cumin seeds. Once they're done popping, add the onion-tomato paste you just made, and saute until it thickens and deepens in color, about 10 minutes.

Add the ground coriander, garam masala, paprika, and turmeric and saute about 30 seconds. Then add the yogurt, a little at a time so it doesn't curdle. Stir in the lime juice, chickpeas, artichokes, salt, to taste, and water. Cover and simmer 10 minutes. Taste for seasonings and serve garnished with cilantro

Mmmmm Curry!

So I found this wonderful beef curry recipe on All Recipes, because, well, that's what I was in the mood for. However, when it came time to actually making the meal, I guess I neglected to pre-read the recipe and realize how long it's supposed to take. So not going to fly at 8 pm at night. So I made a LOT of shortcuts here and in the end came out with a dish that was just wonderful and is something we'll make again and again. I'm posting how I made the dish, since it was quite different. But here's what I should have made!

Easy Weeknight Beef Curry

Pam

1 onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon hot chili sauce

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger root

1/2 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. ground clove

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon tumeric

1/2 cup water

1 pound boneless thin sliced beef cut thin

Heat Pam and add the onion, cook and stir until soft and translucent. Reduce heat to medium low and cook stirring until onion is very tender and dark brown.

Stir in garlic, and seasonings and cook until fragrant for about 30-60 seconds. Add your water and simmer until most of it has been evaporated. Then add your beef and cook until the beef is browned but still tender and is fragrant of the curry.

Serve over rice and enjoy!

So that's what that was a picture of...

I had a picture saved on the computer of a meal we obviously ate, but the hubs and I kept looking at it and we could not remember what on earth it was - since it had been about two months since we ate it to when I downloaded photos. *UPDATE - I guess I didn't delete this photo - I just found it! See, now doesn't that look so good you want to add it to your menu this week!?*

Then today, going through my reader I came across a recipe and went, WAIT, that was it! Too bad I already deleted those photos though.

Now, my lack of remembering what the photo was a dish of is hardly a case for how this meal tasted because we both remembered it was a REALLY killer dinner and so easy and good - hearty, filling, warm, comforting.

So I'm sorry I don't have a picture, but make this - it's got great warmth of flavor and is good on these cool fall nights now.

Thank you to Simply Recipes for yet another great meal on my table.

Curried Ground Turkey with Potatoes (recipe as is at the link- how I made it below)
A few sprays of Pam
1 pound ground turkey
1 chopped onion
2 chopped garlic cloves
1-2 teaspoons chili sauce/paste
1 T grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 can petite diced tomatoes (you can use fresh, but they didn't look great at the market so canned it was)
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Spray pan with Pam and then add the ground turkey and cook to brown. .
Add the chopped onion. Stir and sauté for 4-5 minutes, or until the onion begins to color a bit. Sprinkle salt over everything.
Add the grated ginger and garlic, mix well and sauté for another 1-2 minutes.
Mix in the spices, chili paste, water, and the potatoes. Stir to combine and cover. Turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
When the potatoes are tender, add the diced tomatoes and peas. Mix well and cover the pot. Cook 2-3 minutes.
Right before you serve, mix in the chopped cilantro.

Now you could serve this with rice or naan, but with the potato in it, it really did not need any other starch or grain with it we thought. We loved this dish - it's going to be a make again. It even froze and reheated well for leftover lunches!

I can not even begin to tell you

Just how incredibly delicious this meal is. I mean, WOW.

Do you ever read a recipe on a website or blog and think "WOW this is really daunting but it looks so good!!"? I do that a lot and sometimes end up passing things up because, really, I just don't have the time.

But this recipe from The Food in My Beard, I could NOT pass up. I made everything as is. I took the time to marinade the meat with the herbs, make the bbq sauce, the slaw, everything. I did cheat and use store bought naan though and it as more than fine. The only thing I'd change is to use plain yogurt in the slaw mixture because the hubs didn't like the Greek yogurt in it. he found it too bitter. I will admit, there were some of the spices that I didn't have and I omitted those - so I'll indicate that here. But the link above is the recipe as is.

Really, don't be intimidated, it's delicious - make it make it make it!!!

Indian BBQ Brisket with Raita

Marinade
2 tablespoons mexican chile powder - I used regular chili powder
2 tablespoons ancho chile powder - I used more regular chili powder
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 tablespoon pepper
1 tablespoon whole cumin seeds
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds
2 teaspoons black mustard seed - I didn't have any so I just used some dijon mustard
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons cayenne
seeds from 10 cardemom pods - surprisingly, I did have this!!
5 allspice berries - I just used a couple teaspoons of allspice
5 cloves
teaspoon fenugreek seeds - Um yeah, I didn't have this. I just omitted and didn't replace with anything.
1 medium onion
5 cloves garlic
1/4 cup worcestershire
1/4 cup apple vinegar


Toast whole spices on the stovetop, then food process. Add the rest of the dry spices and process some more. Add the garlic, onion, worcestershire, and vinegar and process until smooth. Take a 4 lb brisket peice and make some holes in it with a skewer. Put it in a large zip lock and pour in the marinade. Yum. Marinate this for at least 24 hours, 48 would be better. ***NOTE - I did this in my mini chopper and it stained the plastic horribly. So either use a special herb grinder or just wash it out really well when done. After about 3 washings the red color faded off the mini chopper.***

BBQ Sauce - made this all as is.
1/2 stick butter
1 red onion
salt
3 cloves garlic
square inch of ginger
1 and a half large cans whole tomatoes (or 3 small ones, or one large and one small)
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup mustard
1/4 cup molasses
tablespoon honey

Saute the onion in butter for about 15 minutes. Add some salt at one point. Next garlic and ginger. Now add the rest of the ingredients. Next take your brisket out of the marinade, reserving as much of the marinade as possible. Dump that marinade into your bubbling BBQ sauce. At this point, the smell is going to blow you away and you will want to taste it really bad, but don't! It is full of raw brisket juice. Simmer this violently for about 15 minutes. Pour it into your slow cooker on high and blend it with a stick blender, now you can take a small taste if you want and adjust seasonings as needed. You can also add a cup of water if it is too thick or intense, but it should be kind of intense. Sear the beef and add to the slow cooker, fully covered by the liquid. Cook for 6 hours. You can do this in a dutch oven if you want, but mine is on loan to a friend. If you do that, throw it in the oven with the cover ajar at 250 for 6 hours. *** I cooked mine in the slow cooker and it was great!***

Raita-Coleslaw
half a small cabbage - I just used a bag of coleslaw mix
3 large carrots - omitted since I used the coleslaw mix
2 medium cucumbers
bunch of scallions
handful of dill
handful of cilantro
2 cloves garlic
about 2 cups of yogurt - Again I'd use plain next time and not plain Greek
salt and pepper

Use the shredder attatchment on the food processor for the cabbage, cuke, and carrots. Take a paper towel or cheesecloth and squeeze out some moisture from this. Chop up the scallions, dill, and cilantro and mix it in. Microplane the garlic in. Add 2 cups of yogurt that you strained the liquids from for about 2 hours. Or just buy Greek yogurt... either way. Add some salt and pepper and mix it all up. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour or two before serving.

THANK YOU FOOD IN MY BEARD - You rocked our bellies!!!

Any Meal That Uses Peanut Butter....

May very well be something that goes in to our meal rotation.

I'm a PB addict (although I eat very little of it!) and I love to add PB to recipes for a nice rich Thai flavor.

I found this recipe on MyRecipes.com (the site for Cooking Light recipes). So easy and so yummy!

I did make an adjustment to the recipe. I didn't realized it called for 2 1/2 pounds of chicken, and I only got two small chicken breasts out to defrost. I had so much sauce that I needed some more protein in the meal to justify the amount of sauce - so I added one can of chickpeas to the mix. WOW the mix of chicken and chickpeas was wonderful and really, the recipe with just chickpeas would be fantastic too if you wanted to make it vegetarian/vegan.

Here is the recipe as is - I did everything the same except for the addition of the chickpeas. Which I do HIGHLY recommend.

I want to go back to Chicago...

So I can become best friends with one of my favorite Chicago bloggers and eat her most glorious cooking!

I first "met" Joelen on the What's Cooking page on the Nest... she was even my secret Santa one year and sent me some beautiful Asian dishes, spices and Chicago candies. We've been admiring one another's blogs for a couple years now. But let me just say, I would KILL to be as creative, inventive and adventurous in the kitchen as she is!

She made these two recipes the other week and I immediately added them to my reader to make.

So we had dinner a la Jolene on Sunday night here.

Let me tell you, the chicken, did not disappoint and the rice - HEAVENLY!!!

I mean her recipes are so good I even went out at 8 pm at night on Saturday night to get more curry powder so I could get the chicken swimming in the wonderful marinade overnight.

I changed NOTHING with either recipe - so you can visit her blog to see the recipes - but you should visit Joelen's Culinary Adventures daily!

Ginger & Cilantro Lime Rice

Lemon Curry Chicken

I'll Take Falafel with a Side of Hot Dog...

I'm going to do this post a la Pulp Fiction - backwards.

We're cleaning up dinner tonight, and this is the conversation that followed. To all of you die hard vegans/vegetarians out there, please don't be offended, the hubs is NOT an insensitive, naive person... he just has to find some way to bust my chops and make me laugh every day:

Me to Hubs: "You can take some falafel for lunch tomorrow."

Hubs: "with a side of hot dog."

Me: "a side of hot dog? why do you need that with falafel for lunch?"

Hubs: "because there's no meat."

Me: "but you don't need meat, it's vegetarian and has beans, that's your protein."

Hubs: "yeah but it's still not meat - and if I don't eat the meat who will save the animals? What about all the animals?"

Me: "WHAT?! What are you talking about?"

Hubs: "I'm not a vegetarian so I can keep the animals from suffering even longer at slaughterhouse or farm."

Me: "Well yes that's bothersome but we eat vegetarian for the health benefits more."

Hubs: "nope, the more meat the better."

So, as you can see, we had falafel for dinner tonight.

It was so good, and we were so hungry - yeah I didn't take any pictures - sorry bout that! But it looked beautiful!

The recipe came from Branny Boils Over on her blog and I made it AS IS (minus the fact that I bought my pita!) The only thing I changed, was I doubled the recipe so I could have extra for lunch. I used my mid sized scoop to roll it out and I got 24 (with the doubled recipe - so 12 with 1 recipe) and we put 3 in each pita with a T or 2 of the sauce.

Do make this - I know we'll be making it again and again - it was seriously the best falafel I've ever had - and I'm WAY picky with falafel.

Falafel and Sauce

1 3/4 cup chickpeas
1/2 cup sliced green onions
3 T tahini
1 egg white
2 T parsley
1 t cumin
2 t lemon juice
2 cloves garlic
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/3 c dry bread crumbs

Combine all ingredients except bread crumbs in your food processor. Blend until smooth. Fold in bread crumbs. Form into falafel balls or patties (your preference). Bake at 350* for 15-20 minutes until they begin to brown.

Yogurt spread
3 T yogurt
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tomato, chopped in a small dice

Combine.

Curry Burger

So this recipe is an oldie but a goodie from a Weight Watchers cookbook I pulled out. I've made this before as the burger patties, but this time, I, quite frankly, was just too lazy to form burgers.

In the end, the hubs and I discovered we really like the meal this way - just a ground meat with the rice. Really, either way you make this it's good and tasty...

Curried Turkey Burger with Rice

1 pound ground turkey

1/2 cup plain low fat yogurt

1/2 small onion, grated (grate for burgers, dice for the meat mixture)

1 T bread crumbs (omit if you're making it the way we did)

1 T curry powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

2 cups brown rice

1/2 cup bottled mango chutney (I don't like mango, so anytime I make this, I've never used it)

OK for the burgers: spray a broiler pan and preheat your broiler and use the turkey, 1/4 cup yogurt, onion, bread crumbs, curry, pepper in bowl and form in to 4 burgers and cook until done and serve with the rice, the chutney and the rest of the yogurt.

NOW for the burger crumble like we made it.

Spray a pan with Pam and saute the onion and the meat together. Add in the curry, salt and pepper. When done, remove to low heat and once it cools a bit, add in the yogurt and stir to make it creamy, then turn the heat back up to warm it up. Serve it over the rice.

Calories:

1 burger

2/3 cup rice

1 T yogurt and 2 T chutney

380 calories

3 g fat

7 g fiber

A New Twist on Curry

Well thanks to our good friends here who are from India, the hubs and I have really developed a taste for Indian food.

I found this recipe on myrecipes.com and was truly intrigued. I had two small sugar pumpkins around that needed to be used so this fit the bill.

Absolutely incredible, I can't say enough about it! I did omit the jalapeño and the limes (the limes because I forgot and it was 9 when we sat down to eat). I served with rice and also some naan.

Totally easy meal to make too! I did use the whole bag of red lentils - I always do when I make Indian food - I just use most or all of the bag so I have enough for leftovers.

Do make this - you could use butternut squash as well.

Sorry no pictures- again, it was late and we were famished.

Pumpkin and Red Lentil Curry

Another new curry favorite

The hubs and I have really begun to like Indian food - thanks to our friends Rupa and Dibyendu. They introduced us to authentic Indian cooking at their house and now we're kind of hooked.

I made this recipe from Epicurious and it was SO tasty and good! Very easy to make as well. Served over Bastami rice.

I made a few changes though - I used canned chickpeas for a quick meal and did not use the slow cooker but the stove top.

Will certainly be adding this to our regular rotation of vegetarian meals.

Spicy Chickpea and Spinach Curry
Epicurious.com

2 cups dried chickpeas, picked over
8 cups baby spinach leaves
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In large bowl, combine chickpeas and enough cold water to cover by two inches. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain chickpeas, then combine in slow cooker with 1 cup water. Cover and cook on high, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 hours. Add spinach, tomatoes and their juices, coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook 1 hour more. Sprinkle in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir in cilantro and serve.

Again you can easily do this with canned chickpeas on the stovetop - it took us about 25 minutes and we made that while the rice was finishing steaming.

Finally good Indian Food!

So I tried making curried chick peas a few weeks ago and it was such a bust I couldn't even eat the meal.

So I finally found a recipe on epicurious.com I thought I'd try - similar to what my friend Rupa at work told me real Dal is supposed to taste like.

I even made sure I had tumeric this time!

This was SO delicious, easy and fun. I served with diced tomatoes, naan (from the store heated in the oven), and fresh sauteed spinach.

I will so make this again!

Red Lentil Dal

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onions
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups water
1 cup dried red lentils
3/4 teaspoon turmeric
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup basmati rice, cooked according to package directions
2 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeño chili, seeded, chopped

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add 1 cup onion and 1 minced garlic clove and sauté until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Set aside. Combine 3 cups water, lentils, remaining 1 cup onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, turmeric, cumin and ginger in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 15 minutes. Transfer half of lentil mixture to processor; purée until smooth. Return purée to same saucepan. Mix in sautéed onion mixture. Simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon rice into bowls. Spoon dal over. Top with tomatoes, cilantro and chili.

We didn't have this with rice, instead the naan. It was so good either way.

Do make this!!

That's a Spicy Shrimp

Not really - but this is such a delicious and flavorful meal. We've made this a ton of times in the past 5 years since we got this cookbook. It's quick, it's easy, it's healthy and yummy!







Shrimp Vindaloo



1 T olive oil

2 onions chopped

1 T lemon juice

2 tsp. curry powder

1 tsp. cumin seeds

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1 1/2 lbs. plum tomatoes chopped

2 T sugar

1 T minced fresh ginger

2 garlic cloves minced

1 1/2 lbs. medium shrimp peeled and deveined

3/4 tsp. salt



Heat nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Swirl in oil, add onion, lemon juice, curry, cumin and cayenne. Cook stirring until onions are soft. Stir in tomatoes, sugar, ginger, garlic. Cook until tomatoes are softened. AAdd the shrimp and cook until done. Stir in salt and serve. We serve this with rice.



This is from an old WW cookbook that we have - take out tonight. SO GOOD!

You must try this.