Indian Quickie

Monday is "laundry day," right?  Well, as good as a big pot of red beans and rice sounds, I had no means to produce that today.  I did do a boatload of laundry, however.  No, for us, it was mommy's super quick Indian night here at the grand Chez Akre.


I am an uber-enthusiastic fan of the Indian "simmer sauces" found at Aldi.  These sauces are how I first introduced the Wunderkind to Indian food, which is one of her favorite cuisines, to this day. These jars of goodness simply call for you adding veggies and meat of choice and it's dinner time.  

I already had a baked chicken breast in the fridge, so I chopped that, chopped some fresh spinach, and half an onion.  For added protein, texture, etc. I also used 1/2 can of garbanzos. All I had to do for our dinner tonight was start a pot of Basmati rice, saute the onion, add my pre-cooked chicken, veggies and sauce and wait.  

I also had one more piece of naan (also available at Aldi) in the fridge.  I smeared on a thin layer of ghee, to add some flavor and popped it in a 400 degree oven for about 5 minutes, as my entree simmered. 

In literally minutes, we had Indian curry on our plates and in our mouths.  


 This is an incredibly easy way to introduce yourself or others to the flavors of Indian cooking.  Of course, doing it all from scratch is a wonderful adventure.  However, on a weeknight when nobody wants to spend tons of time in the kitchen, you can't beat this simmer sauce.  We've tried the Jalfrezi, Tikka Masala and the Korma and love them all. Couldn't be any quicker to cook and it's still an interesting and hearty meal without a whole lot of work.  Try it!  You'll like it!

 

Spice Junction in my House

I think I've told you all before that my little one 

(well, not so little anymore!) loves Indian food.  I must admit, it makes me feel really good to make that statement.  My child loves Indian food! 

I decided to shake it up tonight with my own Chickpea Curry over basmati.  Basmati is easily my most favorite rice on this good Earth.  It's pretty, fragrant and it has its own distinct flavor. Regular ol' Southern rice really doesn't have a flavor. 

As many of you know, I am a freak-a-zoid-a-maniac fan of Aldi.  Did you know that Aldi carries naan? Yes, you heard me.  I managed to get the last package of it on my trip today.  I have been planning an Indian dinner and tonight we had Chickpea Curry on our menu.  

I think Indian food has a tough row to hoe here in America.  Most people hear the word "curry" and automatically think of curry powder.  Any food with curry powder in it is a 50/50. People either love it or HATE it.  My sister is in the HATE IT camp.  More accurately, she's in the seething loathing curry powder hating camp.  Hates the flavor, the smell, all of it.  But in Indian cuisine, "curry" really means any kind of stew or saucy dish, usually eaten over rice.  Think of our Southern field peas over rice.

The second obstacle that Indian food faces here in the U.S. is that most people are intimidated by the ingredient list.  Indians are the spice masters of the world.  But here's the deal, you probably have most of their spices in your cabinet and don't realize it.  And, if you take a few extra minutes, those spices will make a good dish great.  
 So, my chickpea curry was ridiculously easy to make but no one would guess that from the flavor and the appearance.  Here goes:  

1) Chopped 2 onions and sauteed in about 2 Tbs veg oil until they softened. 

2) Added 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp minced fresh ginger, 6 whole cloves, a 2" stick of cinnamon snapped in half, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1/2 tsp cayenne, & 1 tsp turmeric. Cook all that together, stirring for about a minute.

3) Add 2 cans of garbanzos with their liquid and about 1/4 cup of fat-free half & half.  Stir/cook for about 3-4 minutes to heat through and soften garbanzos. Stir in about 1 cup chopped cilantro.

This dish took about 10 minutes to cook.  How easy can it be?  I warmed up the naan in the oven, cooked a pot of basmati, and <Boom> dinner.  And it rocked too.  And our house smells delightful.  And the only fat in the entire dish was 2 Tbs of veg oil to saute the onions and spices.  And, there is no reason for anyone to be intimidated by this recipe.  

Try it out.  Let me know what you think.

Tikka Masala Makes Ya Holla!

I've always been intrigued by how we have to teach our kids to enjoy other cuisines, such as Mexican, Indian, Japanese, etc. But, in Mexico and India and Japan, little kids are eating that food all day long.  You can't say it's too spicy or too weird for kids, because clearly, there are kids eating it.  I guess I have to conclude that somewhere in New Delhi there is a mom trying to introduce her kids to fried chicken and biscuits.  Right?  

I love Indian food.  I admit that I am far from being an expert.  I wish I were. But, thanks to Indian friends and clients, I know a thing or two.  I own an Indian cookbook, I know where my local Indian market is, I've made Biryani and Tikka Masala from scratch.  And since I love to cook, it's fun but make no mistake, cooking Indian takes time and lots of ingredients.  Mainly spices.  Lots and lots of spices.

Recently, I was cruising the aisles at Aldi and came across a brand of Indian "simmer sauces."  I got so excited; what a great way to have some Indian on a quick weeknight schedule.  And, the little one (not so little anymore...just had a birthday!) has been expressing interest in Indian food.  I bought Korma, Jalfrezi and Tikka Masala.  

It couldn't be simpler: cube up some chicken, saute it to brown, saute onions, sweet bell peppers, peas, whatever.  I added some chopped spinach to the most recent batch to add well, spinach, and color.  

Simmering away with Tikka Masala sauce

The first couple times I made it, I worried that the sauce might be a little spicy for the Vivver.  I portioned out enough for her and added some half & half to tone it down.  However, on our most recent dinner, she tasted it ahead of time and deemed it not too spicy, so I left it alone.  And since Aldi is the bomb-diggity that it is, they also sell really awesome packaged Naan bread that just takes minutes to warm in the oven.  It's like restaurant food on a Tuesday night!  

Our chicken Tikka Masala over Basmati rice and served with garlic naan

 And, now I have an 11 year old who is a fan and can't wait to actually go out to a real Indian restaurant and sample lots of good stuff!  My work here is done.  Not really, but you get my drift.  Next up?  New Peruvian restaurant in our neighborhood.  Anyone know anything about Peruvian food?

SouPhoria

I'm taking a quick break after a day of coupon organizing, list making, grocery shopping, prepping meat for the freezer and cooking.  In fact, I'm basking in the glow of a culinary success.  You know, that euphoria you experience when you just cooked a dish that is so good, it just makes you happy.  Giddy really.  In this case, it's a soup, so in my classically witty style, I've invented the word 'souphoria' for your reading pleasure.

A few days ago, I got an insane deal on cauliflower at Aldi.  

The vegetable that gets the least attention :-(

The rockin'est store on the planet!

I love it roasted, with cheese sauce, my friend MaryAnn's curried cauliflower casserole...but thus far, I haven't had much luck with the littlest diner.  I stared at the two heads of cauliflower as they stared back.  What to do?  What to do?  Perhaps if I could transform it then you-know-who wouldn't even have to hear the word "c'flower."  So, I decided to combine two faves:  roast it then turn it into soup.  

In a word...hotdamndiggity.  

Here's what I did:

2 heads cauliflower cut into florets
4 Tbs olive oil
4 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp nutmeg (fresh if you have it)
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs olive oil
2 med. onions, chopped
6 Tbs flour
2 1/2 cup chicken broth
1 cup water
2 cups milk
2 Tbs dry sherry

Place cauliflower in a roasting pan and drizzle with oil, sprinkle with seasoning and toss to coat.  Roast at 450 for 30-40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Keep an eye on it, you want it nice and roasty, but not burnt.

When done, set cauliflower aside.  Melt butter and olive oil in a stockpot or large saucepan.  Cook onions until soft and lightly browned.  Sprinkle the flour over the onions and keep stirring & cooking for a few minutes.  Slowly add the milk, broth & water.  Bring it up to a gentle boil to thicken it, stirring pretty often.  Add 2/3 of the cauliflower and the sherry.  Warm it through then blend with an immersion blender or in a regular blender.  Add in the rest of the cauliflower and heat through.  

Fill up a big bowl, get a big spoon and well, you can take it from here...

Side note:  the little one ended up with the grandparents this afternoon and wasn't hungry for anything upon returning home.  Will have to "guinea pig" her some other time.  But, the ball-n-chain and I loved our dinner!