Jenmenke

Road Warrior

Indian food

Meatless Monday Twelve!

Indian? Again?

Yes. Indian again. Stop your complaining. (And try not to be too put off by that disgusting picture. Honestly, I tried to make it look good, but I lack the skill necessary to do so.)

I’ve waited several weeks to make Indian again so as not too dilute the yearning. We love it so much! Always fun to discover something ‘new.’ And isn’t it funny how once you are made aware of something, like a new word for example, that you start to see it or hear it everywhere? So it goes with Indian food. It seems every magazine I pick up is featuring Indian recipes. It’s fun to compare them all, since I am new to it.

Ironically (or not so ironically?), my parents were here for Meatless Monday Twelve, just as they were for Meatless Monday Ten and Meatless Monday Five. They were excited to try Indian and they loved it too.

I was most excited to make Naan Bread again. This time I tried a recipe from the cookbook Dave gave me that I like so much. Fail. It was not good at all. Really. Horrible. I am going to blame myself for the flop, rather than the cookbook. I probably did something stupid. I still don’t know what it might have been, but since every other recipe out of it has been great, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

I also made the Red Lentil Dal with Spinach that I had made before (except without the chickpeas), because I had a lot of spinach I wanted to use up.

The new recipes this week were 1) Cardamom & Cumin Infused Rice and 2) Curried Chickpeas. Both were delicious. The chick pea dish was really interesting. I have no prior experience to compare it to, but I’ve eaten it two more times since (as leftovers for lunch!) and each time I mull over the flavors. I like it. But it is very different.

Here is one observation about any recipe I’ve come across for Indian style curries: they don’t contain curry powder like I expected.

I suppose that’s a no-brainer for most. Curry powder is made from a mix of other spices like cumin, turmeric, coriander, etc. When you are adding all those spices separately, you are — in effect — making your own curry powder. But it does not taste the same at all. I wonder what it is in the manufactured curry powder that gives it that flavor… Anyone?

Anyway, I post all these pictures with trepidation. I mean… they are seriously gross looking. But I stand by my earlier observation that these dishes are beginning to appeal to me as I get to know them better. For example, when I look at the curry photo at the top it no longer looks like a side dish to me anymore. I can visualize it as something more substantial.

So, there really is a shift happening. And isn’t that what the whole Meatless Monday Movement is about?

(In case you have missed my veiled attempts to make you feel guilty that you are still consuming meat at every meal every day, this is the sentence where I confirm your suspicions: I am better than you.)

Just so we’re clear.

The Recipes:

I got these recipes from Rouxbe Online Cooking School. Anyone been there yet and watched the videos? Many of them are free. I loved them so much I became a member. I haven’t had a lot of time to dig deeper than my first, initial trial account, but they sent out an email called “Throw an Indian Dinner Party!” So I clicked the link and found all these great recipes. I encourage you to go there and snoop around. Many of the best cooking schools use their videos for instruction. Very well done.

Curried Chickpeas
  • 2 large onions chopped
  • 5 T Ghee (clarified butter) it’s a lot, and next time I’d cut back
  • 1/2 t Kosher salt
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 1/2 inch piece ginger, grated
  • 2 small hot chilies
  • 3 tomatoes, chopped (about 3 cups)
  • 2 – 19oz cans chickpeas
  • 2 t coriander seeds
  • 1 t cumin seeds
  • 1/4 t cayenne
  • 1/2 t turmeric
  • 1/4 t chili powder
  • 1 t Kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup water
  • juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 3/4 cup plain yogurt

Heat large dutch oven type pan over medium low heat and melt ghee. Add the onions and the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes, until onions are golden.

Using a mortar and pestle, grind the coriander to a powder, followed by the cumin. Once the onions are deep golden, add the garlic, ginger and chilies. Stir and cook about a minute.

Turn heat to medium and add tomatoes and salt and cook until tomatoes are softened, about 10 minutes. Then add chickpeas and water. Bring to a boil, then partially cover and turn to low. Simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. You want the liquid to thicken, but it should still be somewhat saucy.

When chickpeas are consistency you like, squeeze the lemon juice over the top and let cook a minute or two. Turn off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Right before serving, top with the cilantro.

Cardamom & Cumin Infused Rice
  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1 t Kosher salt
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 t whole cardamom pods
  • 1 1/2 to 2 cups water (use 1 1/2 if you soaked rice 20 minutes or more. 2 cups if you didn’t)

Rinse the rice vigorously in a fine mesh strainer until water is clear. Soak the rice in about twice the amount of water for about 20 minutes. Then drain.

Place rice, salt, spices and water into a medium pot. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Once boiling, turn heat to lowest setting and cover with a tight fitting lid. Cook 15-20 minutes.

Remove from heat and let sit covered 10-15 minutes more. Fluff with a fork before serving.

Meatless Monday Four!

Indian Daal, Naan, Fried Rice… HOMERUN!

Well, I finally did it. I spent some TIME and I PLANNED a Meatless Monday meal. And now I know why I didn’t do that before:

It takes a lot of time.

I blew the whole morning looking at recipes. The whole morning. Part of that might be because I got lost in about a hundred YouTube videos by this Indian lady (really, really good videos) who — in order to be very, very clear — talked very, very slow. The videos were very clear and very slow.

I think my hemming and hawing and inability to just pick a recipe and be done with it were due, in part, to my general feeling that vegetarian Indian dishes were not going to truly satisfy our dinner hunger.

That, and — let’s be honest — photos of chickpeas swimming in brownish sauce with chopped spinach really aren’t all that inspiring.

(More on this later)

Anyway, I was WRONG!

Everything was fantastic.

We ate till we were sick.

Indian is the new Beef.

Some things to note:
1) I don’t have photos of the process. It was a mess. Indian cooking is messy. Pouring liquids into oil, cumin seeds popping out of pans like popcorn, hitting me in the face, Garam masala? I don’t have garam masala. What can I use instead? What is asafetida? Someone google asafetida… Is oven on? Oh shit, I forgot to add the lentils… you get the idea. The Canon had no place in the chaos. No place.

2) The photos I have are not particularly appetizing. In fact, the photos I saw and the videos I watched of Indian food were not particularly appetizing in general. At least not to me. It leads me to the conclusion that perhaps vegetarian dishes are not very visually appealing to me at all. Could that be part of my resistance to vegetarianism? Maybe the allure of these ugly photos starts to happen as you fall in love with new tastes and get to know that this awful looking food is actually delicious and the ugly photos start to look beautiful? Like when you look at a pool of chopped spinach and beans you go: “ooooh, yummmm?”

Instead of: “I can’t serve that for dinner.”

That makes sense, I suppose. But consider it a warning. Unless you are already a brainwashed vegetarian, you will probably think my photos look gross. But trust me when I say they are NOT gross. In fact, as I write this, my daughter is eating the leftovers before soccer practice. I asked for a bite and she said no. (And now it’s the next day, as I finish writing this, and I’m actually considering making it again tonight for dinner.)

3) I got my recipes from manjulaskitchen.com. Of course I did a bit of tweaking, because of course I didn’t have everything oh hand. What is asafetida, anyway? Plus, I had gone to the trouble of buying red lentils — why I thought I needed them, I have no idea — and dammit, I was gonna use the stupid things. But in general, my recipes are her recipes. And each of them was so delicious that I can promise I will be going back for more. I encourage you to do the same.

Spinach and Chickpeas with Red Lentils (Daal*)

*Completely unclear on this Daal thing. From what I can gather, anything comprised of beans is Daal. Which makes no sense to me whatsoever, because I think daal is the Indian word for lentil. Anyone?

  • 1 15oz can of chickpea
  • 3/4 cup red lentils (these were my add. Not in her original recipe)
  • 3 cups finely chopped spinach (palak)
  • 2 cups (or more) water (her recipe, without the red lentils, calls for 1/2 cup)
  • 2 medium tomatoes (I used 1 cup chopped frozen tomatoes from garden)
  • 1/2″piece ginger grated
  • 1 green chili
  • 3 tablespoon oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon asafetida WHAT? (I omitted this.)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (adjust to taste)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon garam masala (I didn’t have this. I used a tiny bit of cumin, chili powder, cayenne, nutmeg & cinnamon. Though garam masal has a lot more spices in it than that, I think)
  1. Drain the liquid out of the chickpeas and rince the chick peas well.
  2. Blend the tomatoes, green chilies, and ginger to make a puree.
  3. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready.
  4. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds.
  5. After the cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree, coriander, turmeric, red chili powder and cook for about 4 minutes on medium heat.
  6. Tomato mixture will start separating from the oil and will reduce to about half in quantity.
  7. Add spinach, and salt, lentils and and water and let it cook covered for 10 minutes on medium low heat covered.
  8. Add the chickpeas and mash a few of them lightly with a spatula so they soften Note: add more water as needed to keep the sauce consistency to your liking, and let it cook on low heat for 7 to 8 minutes until the red lentils are soft.

Yellow Fried Rice with Peas

  • 1 cup basmati rice
  • 1/2 cup green peas
  • 2 cups water
  • 3 tablespoons oil
  • Pinch of asafetida (I omitted)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seed
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  • 4 whole red chilies
  • 2 bay leaves
  • About 1inch piece of cinnamon stick
  • 1 teaspoon salt adjust to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  1. Wash rice gently and soak it for at least 15 minutes prior to cooking.
  2. After cooking rice expands to about three times in volume, so be sure to use the proper size pan.
  3. Drain the rice and put into the saucepan. Add the water, green peas, 1 teaspoon of oil, and salt, bring to a boil and turn the heat to low, and cover the pan.
  4. Cook about 15 minutes, or until the rice is tender and the water has evaporated. Turn off the heat and fluff the rice with a fork.
  5. (I used 3 cups of cooked jasmine rice from the night before and frozen peas and started the recipe at the next step)
  6. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil; if seed cracks right away oil is ready. Add asafetida, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds.
  7. After the seeds crack, add red chilies, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick and stir-fry for few seconds.
  8. Add rice, turmeric, and cayenne pepper to the spices in frying pan. Mix it gently.
  9. Stir-fry for about 5 to 6 minutes.

Indian Naan Bread*

*Amazingly, this is cooked much like my rosemary cracker bread, on a baking stone in a very hot (500 degree) oven. I felt right at home! I’d love to do a video, but am conflicted about it being of someone else’s recipe. Seem’s not cool. Comments?

  • 2 cups of All Purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon active dry yeast (I used instant)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Pinch of baking soda
  • 2 tablespoons of oil
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons yogurt (My yogurt expired in June of 2009 — not kidding — I used sour cream w/a little milk as a substitute)
  • 3/4 cup lukewarm water
  1. Dissolve active dry yeast in lukewarm water and let it sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture becomes frothy. If using Instant Yeast, as I did, mix instant yeast with the dry ingredients, not the water.)
  2. Add sugar, salt and baking soda to the flour and mix well. (Add instant yeast here)
  3. Add the oil and yogurt (or sour cream or buttermilk) mix, this will become crumbly dough.
  4. Add the water/yeast mixture (or just plain water if using instant yeast) and make into soft dough.Note: after rise dough will become little softer.
  5. Knead until the dough is smooth. Cover the dough and keep in a warm place for 3-4 hours. The dough should almost be double in volume.
  6. Heat the oven to 500 degrees with pizza stone for at least thirty minutes so stone is hot. Using a pizza stone will help to give naan close to same kind of heat as clay tandoor.
  7. Knead the dough for about two to three minutes and divide the dough into six equal parts.
  8. Take each piece of dough, one at a time, and roll into 8-inch oval shape. Dust lightly with dry flour to help with the rolling.
  9. Before putting the Naan in oven, lightly wet your hands and take the rolled Naan, and flipp them between your palms and place onto your baking/pizza stone into the oven. (yeah. good luck with that. Mine were a wreck going onto the stone, but turned out just fine. She makes it look so SIMPLE in the video!)
  10. You can place about 3 Naan on the stone at a time. The Naan will take about 2 to 3 minutes to cook, depending upon your oven. After the Naan is baked (Naan should be golden brown color on top).
  11. Take naan out of the oven and brush lightly with clear butter or ghee. (yes, you guessed it, I just spread it with regular butter.)
  12. wait 2 to 3 minutes before baking the next batch of naan. It gives oven the chance to get heated again to max.

I am very happy with Meatless Monday Four. The only downside, is that it will be a tough act to follow.