Indian at Home

I think I could get used to making Indian food at home. The couple next door is always making incredible smelling food, and it makes me Jealous with a capital J. Of course, the pain in the patooty part of this plan is having to start a whole new collection of spices.

Basmati rice is easy enough. I didn't have saffron, but a dash each of tumeric and paprika plus a bay leaf gave the rice some aroma.

The butter chicken was my least favorite dish last night. I've only had butter chicken at Little Delhi in SF. Their version tastes more like chicken tikka masala than what I made last night, so I think I'm going to stick to making CTM from now on.

The chana masala (chickpeas) were much tastier. They were really easy, too! You can use a can of chickpeas (aka. garbanzo beans) or throw a cup of them in water before you go to work in the morning. I boiled mine in water for twenty minutes, turned off the flame and let them soak for over an hour, then cooked them for another twenty minutes to get them very soft. During the last fifteen minutes of cooking I threw in two whole potatoes. However you cook them, just make sure the beans and optional potatoes are cooked through before you start this:

• Dice one large onion into tiny pieces.
• Sautee in one tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat until the onions are practically mush. Add a little cooking water from the garbanzo beans if you need to.
• Add the garbanzo beans to the onions, stir well, and then add the potatoes once you've peeled and diced them. Save the cooking liquid from the garbanzo beans.
• Puree half a bunch of cilantro, stems and all, in a blender with a little water. Add the puree to the pot (this is optional, but it's so pretty)
• Add two tablespoons of garam masala, which you can find at an Indian market or a fancy supermarket like Whole Foods. Add a teaspoon of turmeric if you have it. I like the fragrance and color.
• Stir well, making sure the spices coat all the beans. Add a cup of chicken stock or cooking water from the garbanzo beans. Add more liquid if you think you need to.
• Don't be afraid to mash some of the potatoes and garbanzo beans. It will give you a nice thick curry.
• Add salt and pepper to taste, and simmer until the curry has thickened and the flavors have penetrated the garbanzo beans and potatoes. I would say at least ten minutes, or as long as a few hours if dinner is a long ways off.
  

I know, roasted butternut squash is not Indian. But C had never eaten it before, so I thought a plain roast butternut squash tossed in olive oil, a teaspoon of maple syrup, and a sprinkling of salt would be a good introduction to the vegetable. This was a small butternut squash, so it was less sugary sweet than most I've had. I kind of liked that. It made it taste more like a vegetable and less like a weird sweet dish.

No time to bake, and hot chocolate is a great cold weather dessert. C brought some Godiva dark chocolate liquer (yay!) and whipping cream so we could have hot chocolate with the works.