Chana Masala

I have been craving Indian food lately. I am not a big fan to the two Indian restaurants in town. But just tonight I noticed a new one and when I walked in to grab a takeout menu I was greeted by a friendly woman and an amazingly delicious smell. Seems promising. But last night I made my own Indian dishes to satisfy the craving.

I made chana masala, which is chick peas in a rich tomato gravy. Yum!

First, I rinsed and drained a 15 oz. can of chick peas.
Next, I roughly chopped 1 onion, 1 green chili, 4 cloves of garlic, and 1 inch of fresh ginger. The recipe calls for 1 fresh tomato but I used about 1/3C canned diced tomatoes instead.
After roughly chopping these, I put them in the food processor with the tomatoes to make a paste.

Now to the cooking. First, I warmed 2T olive oil and 'fried' 2 bay leaves. The recipe called for frying them but that didn't really seem to happen. I let them sit in the hot oil for 1-2 minutes but they didn't really seem to be sizzling or showing any indications of frying.

Next, I added the tomato-onion-etc. mixture the pan and let that fry over medium heat for 4-5 minutes.

On to the spices. I added 1t red chili powder, 1/2t turmeric, 1t coriander, and 1t garam masala. I stirred these in well with the rest of the mixture and let that fry for another 2-3 minutes.

The recipe calls for adding enough water to make a thick gravy. I ended up adding about 1C of water. I mixed this in and let it come to a boil.

I then added the chick peas and let the whole mixture simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes. I garnished this with cilantro and served it with basmati rice and some plain yogurt and sliced cucumbers.

Diablo Chicken!

This is a recipe we cooked in college. It was in a cookbook that belonged to one of my roommates. But it lives on on a food-stained index card. This is a super easy way to make a chicken breast a little more exciting.
I never wrote down how many chicken breasts this amount of coating is supposed to cover but I use it for 2 breasts. First, pound the chicken breasts to even thickness to allow for more consistent cooking.
In one bowl mix 3T dijon mustard with 3T oil, I use olive oil. Mix in 1/4C finely chopped scallions and 1/2t thyme. You could use dried or fresh thyme depending on what you have available.
In another bowl mix 1C bread crumbs (you can start with less than a cup and see if you need the whole cup) with 1/4t cayenne.
Dip the chicken breasts in the bowl of wet ingredients and then in the dry. Place the chicken breasts on a greased pan or baking dish. I lightly spray the top with some oil.
Bake the chicken at 475 for 12-14 minutes depending on the thickness of the breasts.

I served these with some rice and a salad with walnuts, blue cheese, apples, and chilled roasted beets.

Chili!

It seems appropriate to post a chili recipe in anticipation of Super Bowl weekend. I am aware that there are different styles of chili. My husband makes a red chili he learned in New Mexico. I've had Texas and Cincinnati style chili. I've had white chili. What I don't know is what style chili I make. It's the chili my mom makes. It's what I grew up knowing was chili. Maybe it's Eastern chili. I am open for names for this style chili!

First, brown 1 lb. ground meat. I usually use beef but turkey or venison work well too. I find it to be really useful to brown the meat in 2 or 3 batches so as to not crowd the pan. If you want to just use one pot brown 1 batch and then move it to a bowl while you brown the next batch. Then you can toss all the browned meat back in before, during, or after you saute the veggies.

Add more oil to the pan. Dice and saute 1 onion. Add 1/2 a green pepper, diced and 1 fresh jalapeno, also diced. After these are close to being done add 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed. Also, add crushed red pepper to your taste. I crushed a whole dried cayenne pepper from our garden this past summer.

Next add the spices before any liquid so that the powders can all toast a bit on the hot mostly dry pan bottom. I used 3T chili powder. I prefer Penzey's regular chili powder. I also added 1T cumin, 1t black pepper, 1t onion powder, and 1/2t salt.

Now it's time for the liquid. Add a 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes. I rinsed the can with about 1/4C water and added that too. Add a 15.5 oz. can of red kidney beans or whatever kind of beans you like. Add a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes. This time I used diced tomatoes with green chilis. Add 1/3C red wine, 1T dried oregano, and 1t dried basil.

I love this chili topped with cheese or sour cream. Or on top of a baked potato. Or served with cornbread. All the way around, it's just delicious chili of whatever style it is!

Coleslaw

I know I've already posted a coleslaw recipe but I've been working on it this winter. I know that coleslaw is usually a summer food but with all the cabbage we've been getting in our winter farm share I've been inspired to make slaw. Plus we've gotten pulled pork in our meat share and so what goes better with pulled pork than slaw?

First, shred 1 small head of cabbage and 1 carrot.

Then mix up the dressing: 2/3C buttermilk, 3T sour cream, 1/4C mayonnaise, 1t dijon mustard, 2t cider vinegar, 2T lemon juice, and 1/2t sugar.

Toss the cabbage and carrot with the dressing. Cover and let chill for a few hours before eating.

This time around I didn't have either a shallot or fresh parsley but if I had I would have chopped those up and added them too!

Enjoy and imagine you are having a summer BBQ.