Trying My Hand at Indian Cooking

My inspiration came from our upstairs neighbor, who told me about an Indian market not too far from us and thanks to that inspiration, decided to try some Indian cuisine out.  After all, I LOVE Indian restaurants, why not try making something for myself?

I say myself because it really is just myself, DJ is not a fan of international food.  I love eating for health, taste, and flavor {in that order}.  He is more of a quantity over quality kind of guy when it comes to food.  Which makes cooking for both of us somewhat difficult, but we have our "regulars" that we both like, so its all good :)

Anyways, I had this week off from classes and took some time to try some new recipes!

 

Wednesday I tried Eggplant and Mushroom piccata {making chicken for him}, yesterday experimented with cold Quinoa salad, and today jumped into Indian cooking with both feet trying a vegetable masala {I didn't know what it was either until I got started}

 

I have learned two big things from this experience:

First, NEVER BUY SPICES AT THE GROCERY STORE.  I'm sure you seasoned home-makers are well aware of this but for those of you that this is news to, let me explain.  A .9 oz jar of cloves at the grocery store is $12.05 an ounce, at the International Market, a 7 oz bag of cloves was only $3.50... I was blown away!

Second, dry beans take a REALLY long time to soak {Chickpeas took me ~12 hours}.  Just a heads up so you can prepare accordingly{or just go with canned beans} :)

The recipe I used, I found here, but by the time I made my changes, it was a whole new recipe :)

Vegetable Masala
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients:
3 red skinned potatoes cubed
1 cup chickpeas
4 cups of cold water
1/2 cup frozen sweet peas (thawed)
1 t salt
1/2 t turmeric
1 T coconut oil
1 t ground cumin
1 small sweet onion (finely diced)
2 cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 t garam masala
1 t garlic powder
1/2 t chili powder
1/2 t ground ginger
1/2 t fennel seeds

1. Soak potatoes & chickpeas in the 4 cups of water while prepping other ingredients, drain before using.
2. Mix salt, turmeric, potatoes, chickpeas, and sweet peas in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave for 8 minutes
3. Heat oil in saucepan, mix in cumin.  Add onions and cook until traslucent.
4. Once onions are cooked, stir in tomatoes in juice, with garam masala, garlic powder, chili powder, ground ginger, and fennel seeds. 
5. Stir microwaved vegetables into the rest of the ingredients
6. Let simmer until potatoes & chick peas are fully cooked, adding water or broth as needed

I served it over brown rice and would be delicious with some yogurt if you'd like :)

Mmmmmm!  I am not sure how "true" to Indian cuisine this is, but I loved it :)