indian night!

i originally was going to make chickpea cutlets but decided on a whim that i wanted indian food. i usually make saag with aloo gobi, but decided to use what we had. here's a delicious chole recipe that adapted from a few online sources & a yummy recipe for aloo saag.

chole
ingredients:
1-2 T canola oil
1 28 ounce can chickpeas
1 medium onion, finely diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T ginger paste
1 green chile, split
1 small can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water

1 1/2 T coriander powder
1/2 t tumeric
1 t cumin
pinch of asafetida (hing)
salt
1 t paprika
1/4 t garam masala

1. heat oil in pan. saute onions, garlic, ginger, and chiles until onions are soft and beginning to caramelize.
2. add coriander, tumeric, cumin, paprika, and hing and fry until spices are fragrant.
3. add chickpeas and coat with onion/spice mixture. add tomatoes and water and let cook covered on medium heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. add salt to taste and garam masala.

aloo saag
ingredients :
1-2 T canola oil
5-6 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into bite-size pieces
1 small (10 ounce) package of spinach
1 small can diced tomatoes pulsed in a blender

pinch of hing
1/2 t cumin seeds
1/2 t crushed red pepper
1/2 t tumeric
1/2 t ginger powder
4-5 dried red chiles
salt to taste

2 T cornstarch mixed with water
soy milk (1/2-3/4 of a cup?)

1. boil potatoes until fork tender, but not still firm.
2. heat oil in pan. when hot add pinch of hing, cumin seeds, red chiles, tumeric, red pepper and ginger. fry until fragrent.
3. add tomatoes and fry until well combined and darker in color.
4. add spinach and stir to coat with spice/tomato mixture.
5. add cornstarch/water mixture and stir spinach until well combined. add soy milk to desired thickness.
6. cook on medium-low heat for 6-7 minutes covered.
7. stir spinach and add potatoes, stirring until well combined. continue cooking on medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until spinach is at desired softness.

mmmm..! we had both with steamed brown basmati with peas. so good!

quick dinners, crazy kitties, & snow days

ryno & i had a pretty productive weekend, if i do say so myself...

we did a ton of food shopping (which is always super exciting) and picked up some fun things like dumpling and spring roll wrappers, brown sushi rice & a sushi mat, and a few different asian noodles! i foresee lots of experimenting and playing in the future!

today i'm having a snow day, letting our new crock pot handle some yummy tempeh chili, and cuddling with the crazies... and i do mean crazies!



we got home pretty late sunday night and we threw together a quick dinner... bare bones, no rice.. no bread.. ! just aloo gobi (indian potatoes and cauliflower)


ingredients :
1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped
2-3 medium sized potatoes, cubed (i prefer red for this dish, but used russet because it's what i had.)
2 green chilies, diced
2 bay leaves
1 T canola oil
pinch of hing
1 T fresh, grated ginger
1/2 t cumin seed
1/2 t tumeric
1/4 t red chili powder (more for a spicy dish, obviously)
salt to taste
1/2 t amchoor (mango) powder (optional)
handful of chopped cilantro leaves (optional)

01. combine chilies, ginger, tumeric, & red chili powder and add water to make a paste.
02. to a heated pan, add canola oil. to test that oil is hot enough, drop 1 or two cumin seeds into the oil - if they sizzle and rise to the top quickly, the oil is ready.
03. add hing, cumin seeds, and bay leaves to hot oil. fry for minute.
04. add spice paste to the pan and fry until fragrant (about 3-4 minutes).
05. add cauliflower & potatoes to the pan, as well as a little bit of water. stir to coat vegetables with spices. add salt to taste.
06. cover and let cook on medium heat for five minutes. after five minutes, check vegetables, stir, and add more water if they seem dry.
07. cover and cook for another 10 minutes, stopping to stir half way through. at this point the potatoes and cauliflower should be tender.
08. sprinkle with mango powder and stir to incorporate. garnish with cilantro and serve with brown basmati rice.

palak tofu

i made some palak tofu and jasmine rice for lunch before work... yum yum!

ingredients:
10 oz package of frozen spinach
1/2 lb extra firm tofu, cubed
2 T canola oil
pinch of hing
1 T ginger paste
1/2 t cumin seed
1/2 t tumeric
1/2 t red chili powder
1/4 t red pepper flake
about 3/4 c tomato puree
2 T cornstarch mixed with cool water
soy milk

01. lightly pan fry cubed tofu in canola oil. remove tofu from pan and use remaining oil to cook in.
02. add pinch of hing, ginger paste, cumin seeds, tumeric, red chili powder, and red peper flake. fry until fragrent.
03. add tomato puree and fry until well combined and darker in color.
04. add spinach and stir to coat with spice/tomato mixture.
05. add cornstarch/water mixture and stir spinach until well combined. add milk to desired thickness.
06. cook on medium-low heat for 6-7 minutes covered.
07. stir spinach and add tofu, stirring until well combined. continue cooking on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
08. stir well before serving, and plate with steamed rice and choice of bread.