Chickpea and Tofu Mild Curry

Chickpea and Tofu Mild Curry

 

I have never made curry from scratch, so I was excited to try this mild curry from the You Are What You Eat cookbook that I've used so much.

 

There are a lot of ingredients to this dish, but most of them I already had in the fridge, pantry, or cabinet.

 

I started by cooking onions in olive oil for 10 minutes until they were very tender.

(there's a theme, I'm venturing out and cooking with onions more and more these days)

 

Then I added in drained/cubed tofu, chickpeas, fresh cilantro, diced carrots, spices, and water. 

I brought it to a boil, then covered it and let it simmer for 10 minutes.

While it was simmering I boiled a large pot of salted water and cooked a pound of shredded kale for about 4 minutes until it was good and tender.

 

I added in dissolved cornstarch and miso that I had dissolved with a little bit of the curry liquid, and let the curry cook another few minutes.



 

I drained the kale and placed it on a platter, topping it with the curry and some fresh cilantro.

 

 

I served the curry with rice and warmed naan.

 

The flavors are very mild and might need a little more salt during the cooking process.

But everyone liked it and it made for a nice change of pace!

 

Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

 

आप का खाना स्वादिष्ट हो

(Hindi for "Bon Appetit!")



Chana Dal

Chana Dal

(Bengal Gram Dal)

Recently I picked up a bag of legumes that I had never seen before but thought would be fun to try out.

I found Chana Dal in the Indian section at Jungle Jim's International Market in Cincinnati.

Thanks to Google, I knew I could find a recipe or two for this yellow looking pea.

I did, indeed, find lots of recipes online for Chana Dal, and many many blogs and website talking about the great nutritional value (it's a 5 on the glycemic index!) of this cousin to the chickpea.

I married several recipes to come up with my own version of Chana Dal.

It is absolutely delicious!

source

You start by soaking a cup of Chana Dal in water for 2 hours.
Drain and pick through.

Then boil 3 c of water on the stove and add the Chana Dal.  Cook on low for 30 minutes.
Then add spices and simmer.

Heat a little oil in a small frying pan and add mustard seeds and garlic.

Too much oil here.

Once the mustard seeds have popped and the garlic has lightly browned, add all to the Chana Dal.

The boys thought it was corn while I was cooking it.
Does look like it with the turmeric added!

I served the Chana Dal with Pappadam that I also picked up at the store.

They're like little Indian tortillas, made from lentil and rice flours.
You dip your fingers in oil and smear a little on each Pappadam and then microwave them for 50 seconds to make them softer and easier to fold up.

The Chana Dal was delicious.  Everyone in the family liked them, and so good for you!
The Pappadam were OK but I'd like to experiment with other ways of using them.

I could see using Chana Dal in a variety of ways:  plain, as a dish with rice, as a side dish with a curry, in egg rolls...


Double click to print as a 5x7 recipe card.

आप का खाना स्वादिष्ट हो
(āp kā khānā svādiṣṭa ho)
Hindi for Bon Appetit!

Easy Indian Food

Easy Indian Food

I usually have a few packages of Indian in the pantry that I serve from time to time, especially when I don't have a lot of time in the evening.

It's great for a change up and everyone especially likes it when I serve it with naan.

I make a big pot of rice and then serve two different packages, along with naan and a vegetable.

It's a great meal that everyone likes.

Our local grocery stores have a few varieties of Indian food that are on the shelves near the rice.

These are two that we especially like.

There are several varieties though, and we've tried a number of them.

I can usually find naan wherever I shop too, even Target!

I have heated it for a few seconds in the microwave, put it on a cookies sheet and popped it in the oven for a few minutes, or served it right out of the package.  My family isn't picky, they just like it!



Some of the Indian varieties are spicy, so it's great to serve it with lots of rice and naan!