Meatless Mondays: Indian Feast (feat. Moong Dal)

I'd like to take a moment to discuss thoughtfulness.


There are so few people who actually care about other people's lives. And this isn't my cynical-advertising-copywriter speaking. I think it's true. Sure, there are people in your life who care about you: your parents, your significant other, your close friends. And then there are those special few people who care about, well, everyone.


People who always remember birthdays - and send cards weeks in advance. People who donate to every charity run/walk/jump/bake sale possible. People who keep a mental catalogue of you, your siblings, your siblings' families, and your pets' health - and remember to ask about all those every time they talk to you.


It's safe to say I'm not one of those people. But I happen to know one - and she happened to send me a large container of mung beans. Not because I've been pestering anyone to buy me mung beans, but because I once - in passing (apparently) - mentioned I'm curious to try them. (Giver of the Mung Beans, you know who you are, and this post is for you!)


What better way to celebrate someone's thoughtfulness than to cook something seasoned with thoughts of them? (Loyal readers: don't fret, this is the most sentimental I'll ever get on this blog.) I did quite a bit of research on cooking mung beans. You can buy them with the skins already off (mine still had theirs on, which I'm convinced is more nutritious), and you can soak them (or not) before cooking. I didn't soak them. I left the skins on. And they were delicious.


Not to too my own horn, but - TOOT TOOT! This was by far the best Indian-inspired meal I've made to date. And it might even be the best Meatless Monday meal I've made. Ross said (and I'm paraphrasing): "UGGGHHHHHH, it's [expletive deleted] Meatless Monday, isn't it?" [ONE HOUR LATER:] "Oh my God, these are some delicious vegetables!...The whole point of cooking is to mask the gross taste of vegetables, and you really did that. This is really good. The rice is the best part. And the chapatis are amazing. I'll have another."

I know this meal has a lot of parts, and quite a few ingredients, but nothing about it is difficult. Even the chapatis are super low maintenance - unless you count the fact that Ross had to stand under the smoke alarm, fanning it with a towel, so I could get the pan hot enough to cook them (the perils of apartment living). If you try this meal at home, invite over someone really thoughtful - or at least be mindful of those who truly care about you. It'll make the food taste even better.

INGREDIENTS

Moong Dal:
1/4 c. olive oil
1 cup mung beans
3 cups water (actually I don't know how much it really was - I think it was more. I just kept adding water until the lentils were done)
1 onion, diced
3 finger peppers, sliced
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 medium tomatoes, in chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
fresh chopped cilantro
Cumin seeds (about a teaspoon, whole, toasted)
Turmeric
salt

Homemade Chapatis:
I used this recipe, subbing in 2% milk for the water.
I also used a little more than 3/4 c. milk, and I cooked each chapati in a smidgen of butter.


Creamy Spinach:
1 10-oz. bag spinach leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
a few tablespoons water
big spoonfuls sour cream
salt and pepper

Rice Pilaf:
1 cup rinsed white rice
2 cups water
turmeric (a few dashes)
cumin seeds, whole (about 1/2 tsp.)
1 cinnamon stick
a few tablespoons dried currants
a few tablespoons sliced peeled almonds, toasted
salt
olive oil

STEP 1:

In a Dutch oven or large pot, heat the 1/4 c. olive oil. Add the onions and some salt. Cook over medium high heat until translucent. Add the finger peppers, bell pepper, turmeric, bay leaf, and toasted cumin seeds. Stir and cook for a few minutes. Add the mung beans and a few cups water. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for about an hour, adding more water as needed and stirring every few minutes, until mung beans are tender and consistency is a bit thicker than a stew. Stir in chopped cilantro about 10 minutes before it's done. Taste and adjust seasonings. Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.

STEP 2:

While moong dal is cooking, prepare the chapatis. Cover with a kitchen towel and keep warm until ready to serve. Also prepare the rice: add rice, water, turmeric, cumin, and cinnamon stick to rice cooker (or pot with lid) and simmer until all water is absorbed. Stir in currants and toasted almonds. Fluff with a fork. Keep warm until ready to serve.

STEP 3:

Prepare spinach: in a pot with a lid, place the spinach and all other ingredients. Cook over medium low heat until spinach is wilted. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve moong dal and spinach over rice pilaf, with chapatis on the side. Enjoy!

Meatless Monday: Pizza a la Mumbai

This is how I described this meal to Ross [picture the proud, self-indulgent grin of a 4th grader bringing home an A on a math test]: "It's pizza with homemade Indian-spiced marinara, curried spinach and chickpeas, and fresh ricotta!"


Ross' response [picture a blank stare]: "Were you speaking English just then?" [Me: *shakes head.*]


When he finally took a bite, he exclaimed, "Whoa! This is like...Indian pizza! I get it!" He has seen the light! *ANGELS SINGING ON HIGH* After another bite: "It tastes just like Indian food...only, on a pizza." Wonders never cease. Actually, I was thrilled that he "got" the "concept" behind this Meatless Monday meal. Not that it was on a Moto-esque level or anything. But for someone who doesn't do a lot of fusion food (unlike one of my favorite bloggers), I was sort of proud of myself.


Before I go handing out my very own James Beard award, I should remind us all that anything - anything - tastes good on a pizza. And lest you think it's a completely original idea, let me admit now, publicly, that it was inspired by - of all things - something I saw on a Bobby Flay show, and also by the lone vegetarian dish I had while dining at the porktastic restaurant The Publican.


Anyway, it was good. The flavors in the marinara and the toppings melded beautifully, and the ricotta added a rich counterpoint to the bold flavors. One note: I wouldn't skip the cilantro and peppers on top - their brightness and crunch really lighten up the tastebud flavor assault.

INGREDIENTS

1 fresh ball of pizza dough
flour
cornmeal for dusting
1 batch Indian marinara (recipe follows)
~1.5 cups fresh ricotta cheese
olive or canola oil
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 large bag baby spinach leaves, steamed then squeezed dry, roughly chopped
several dashes curry powder
salt and pepper
fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish
1/2 thinly sliced fresh finger pepper (optional), for garnish

MARINARA:
1 medium onion, diced
1 finger (or serrano) pepper, sliced, with all seeds
1 large can whole peeled plum tomatoes and all juices
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
handful cilantro, chopped
a few dashes cumin
1 cinnamon stick
a few dashes allspice
salt and pepper
red pepper flakes

STEP 1:

Make the marinara: Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium-high heat. Cook the onion and finger pepper until beginning to soften. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes. Use an immersion blender to make it smooth (you can skip this step and have chunkier sauce). Turn off heat and set aside until ready to use.

STEP 2:

In a skillet, heat about 1 T. olive oil. Cook the chickpeas, seasoning with salt, pepper, and curry powder, for a few minutes, until chickpeas are hot and coated evenly with the spices. Remove the chickpeas and set aside. In the same pan (don't bother wiping it out), put a little more oil and the squeezed-dry spinach in the pan, and season with salt, pepper, and curry powder. Cook until hot and spices are evenly distributed.



STEP 3:

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Dust a little flour on your work surface and roll out the dough until desired thinness (I think thinner is better, but that's just me). Spread a little cornmeal over your pizza stone or baking sheet. Place the dough on top. Brush with a little olive oil. Spread the chickpeas and spinach over the dough evenly. Place dollops of fresh ricotta enenly around the dough. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the whole thing. Top it all with dollops of the marinara.



STEP 4:

Bake until dough is crisp and bown on the edges and ricotta is beginning to brown in places. Remove from the oven and cut into slices. Top slices with a little fresh cilantro and sliced finger peppers. Serve and enjoy!

Yogurt-Marinated Shrimp, Fiery Cauliflower & Indian-Spiced Sweet Potatoes

Someone stage an intervention. Because I think I'm addicted to serrano peppers.


How else to explain my constant craving for the lip-numbing heat, the crisp chili-ness, the slow burn? Serranos just make everything more delicious - bottom line. And I know at least one chef who would agree with me.


The British have a reputation for bland, boring food, but Jamie (like me) adds chilies to almost everything he cooks. And mainstream American curry powders have their roots not in India, but in the derivative Indian cooking of England. I hope that Jamie's uber-inspirational new show, Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, will inspire people around the country who have never so much as picked up a pan to try their hands at making healthy, unprocessed food in their home kitchens.


The show is fantastic - and if you don't catch it in its normal timeslot, every full episode is on Hulu. The amount of resistance Jamie gets from the people of Huntington, VA, is astonishing - but the way he overcomes every obstacle is truly amazing. It's a great show, and I hope that it's reaching the audience that needs to see it most (obviously, people like me are already on the home-cooking bandwagon).


And if YOU weren't interested in home cooking, you probably wouldn't be reading this blog! Hopefully these recipes will be more fodder for creating a great meal of your own - and don't worry, if you're sensitive to spice, you could leave out the serranos entirely and still have a great dinner on your hands. But if you're one of those crazies who can't quell the craving for heat, forget deseeding those babies and have a fiery field day, my friends.


The potato recipe would actually be a great way to indroduce kids to the complex flavors of Indian spices. They're sweet, creamy, and when you use a light hand with the spices, very mild and completely delicious. They'd be as at home on a Thanksgiving spread as they are on an Indian-themed plate.


The idea for marinating the shrimp in yogurt is based on the traditional preparation method for chicken tikka masala (funnily enough, people joke that it's the national dish of the UK) - the chicken is marinated in yogurt and then cooked in the tandoori oven before being stewed with vegetables. If you haven't ever had chicken tikka masala, find your nearest Indian restaurant immediately and try it - it's absolutely delicious. I don't happen to have a tandoori oven in my apartment, but the yogurt marinade gave the shrimp a tangy and complex flavor. The lemon juice thins it out, so only a little of the marinade sticks to the shrimp when you grill it, but the flavor really comes through.

INGREDIENTS

SHRIMP
12-15 medium sized shrimp, cleaned, peeled, and deveined (if frozen, thaw)
1 cup plain nonfat yogurt
several dashes curry powder
a couple dashes cayenne pepper
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon

SWEET POTATOES
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
2-3 T. butter
~1/2 cup milk
cinnamon
nutmeg
cumin
allspice
cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper

VEGGIES
2-3 T. olive oil
1 head caulifower, cored and cut into florets
1 red bell pepper, cut into chunks
1 medium sweet onion, cut into chunks
2 serrano peppers, minced, with all seeds (for less heat, remove seeds and/or leave out serranos)
salt and pepper
a few dashes curry powder
~1/3 cup water

STEP 1:

In a bowl with a lid, mix all the ingredients under the word "shrimp" (except the shrimp, haha) together in a bowl. Place the shrimp in the marinade and make sure they're all covered. Marinate for 30 min to an hour in the fridge.

STEP 2:

Boil the sweet potatoes until very tender. Drain. Pass through a potato ricer (or you can skip this part and just mash them with a fork in the pot you boiled them in) and add in the milk, butter, and spices. Set aside and keep warm.

STEP 3:

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid. Add the bell peppers, onion, chilies, and cauliflower. Add the seasonings and curry powder. Cook until veggies are beginning to brown at the edges. Add the water and cover and cook until the cauliflower is tender.


STEP 4:

Heat a grill pan over medium heat. Cook the shrimp, flipping once, until cooked through (about 2 minutes per side). Serve with the potatoes and veggies.


I hope I've helped inspire you to stay in and cook fresh! Check out Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution - maybe over a big dish of spicy sweet potatoes. Eat well and enjoy life! More soon...

Curry Lentils & Spinach with Biryani-Style Rice

My curry obsession might be getting out of hand.


In fact, my the flames of my burning Indiaphilia are stoked to panic levels every time I persuade one of my friends to accompany me to an Indian buffet. But I can't stop. Won't stop. And I won't stop cooking and posting curry-centric recipes unless there's some sort of Indian intervention. Until then, my fellow curry freaks, enjoy.

Namaste.

CURRY LENTILS & SPINACH WITH BIRYANI-STYLE RICE

INGREDIENTS

Rice:

1 c. white basmati rice
2 c. water
1 T. olive oil
salt
handful frozen peas
handful cashews
handful raisins
about 1 and 1/2 tsp. grated fresh ginger root
a couple dashes cumin
freshly ground black pepper

Lentils:

2-3 T. olive oil
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 medium carrot, cut into small pieces
2 cloves garlic
1 red chili pepper, finely chopped
1 tsp. freshly ground ginger root
salt and pepper
several good dashes curry powder
1 can vegetable broth
1 c. red lentils
3/4 c. water
1 bunch fresh spinach leaves, chopped
handful fresh cilantro, chopped

STEP ONE:

Start making the rice. Bring the water to a boil, adding the oil and some salt. Add the rice, cover, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the rice has absorbed about 3/4 of the water. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and cook until the liquid has been absorbed.

STEP TWO:

Meanwhile, heat the oil for the lentils/spinach in a large saucepan with a lid. Cook the carrots first for a few minutes, until they start to become tender. Add the onions and cook until they too are tender, seasoning with a little salt and pepper.

STEP THREE:

Judging by how dry the carrots and onions are, add a little more oil (start with a teaspoon) if needed. Add the red chili pepper, garlic, and ginger. Cook until fragrant.


STEP FOUR:

Add the vegetable broth and the lentils. Cover, and cook over medium-high heat until the lentils start to absorb the liquid and soften. Add the cumin and cook for a few minutes, covered.

STEP FIVE:

Stir in the spinach and cilantro, and add the water and a little more curry, salt, and pepper. Cook until most of the liquid is absorbed. Serve over a bed of the biryani rice and enjoy!



Much to my Indian craving's delight, this came out delicious. Hearty yet not heavy, flavorful and fiery, so healthy I couldn't help but stand over the leftovers and shovel some more in in the name of nutrients. The rice, especially, was delicious. There's just something about fluffy white basmati rice that's so irresistible.

And since I'm bragging, let me just throw in that I got the ingredients for this dish AND most of the ingredients for my next blog post (coming soon, my little chickadees) at Whole Foods (Whole Paycheck) for a measly $20 (!). I have - no joke - spent almost that much just loading up my bowl at the hot bar.

How did I perform such a magical feat, you ask? The Whole Foods bulk bins - these babies alone are worth the trip down to North & Sheffield. Rather than buy a GIANT bag of cashews for $12 and watch them go rancid, I got just enough to make the rice, for about $2.50 (with some left over for snacking). I also got the raisins, rice, and lentils from the bulk bins too. And not only do they save you money and prevent food waste, they're better for the environment because they use so much less packaging (you just scoop whatever it is into those thin plastic bags that you use for produce). And sampling small amounts of grains, nuts, or dried fruits from the bins means you can try new and interesting things without having to commit to 16 oz. of them.

Definitely pay the bins a visit. And give the biryani-style rice a try! If you need me, I'll be elbow-deep at the buffet.

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Curried Chickpea Lettuce Wraps with Avocado Yogurt

This is actually a two-recipe post, but I wanted to draw you in with the recipe that had the more glamourous name.


I should've named the post "A Tale of Two Chickpeas," because the other post features chickpeas prominently, also. I'm always raving about the nutritional superiority of chickpeas. Well, I often run my mouth about things I know almost nothing about, so to make sure I was right, I Googled it. Turns out, I knew what I was talking about: one cup of chickpeas (a very filling portion) contains a mere 264 calories, but packs 15g of protein and 12g of fiber. They are one of nature's greatest triumphs.

And one of India's greatest triumphs, curry, makes chickpeas even better: they're a natural and delicious combination. I was inspired to make this recipe after having a delicious curried chickpea salad at Whole Foods. A quick internet search confirmed that it was simple to make, and of course I added a few twists of my own.

This is a great summer meal for several reasons: a.) it's light - no bikini regrets about this one; b.) I ate it chilled, so it was cool; and c.) it requires minimal cooking (read: heating your already sweltering apartment with stovetop fumes). It's also a very recession-friendly recipe.

CURRIED CHICKPEA LETTUCE WRAPS WITH AVOCADO YOGURT

1 can chickpeas, well drained and rinsed
1 small sweet onion
1/2 c. roasted red peppers, chopped
1 red chile pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2-ish T. olive oil
1/3 c. fresh chopped cilantro
1 T. curry powder
salt and pepper
1 head Boston lettuce, leaves separated and kept whole

1/2 avocado
2 big spoonfuls Greek yogurt (I used Fage 0%)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
salt and pepper
fresh cilantro, chopped finely

STEP ONE:

Heat half the olive oil in a pan. Cook the onion and chile pepper over medium heat until the onion is translucent, seasoning with a little salt and pepper. Add the roasted red pepper, season a bit more, stir and cook a few more minutes. Add the chickpeas and the curry powder and the rest of the oil.


STEP TWO:

Allow to cook for a few minutes, tasting and adjusting seasoning as neccessary. Remove from the heat and put in the fridge, covered, to cool.

STEP THREE:

Meanwhile, remove the leaves of the lettuce and set aside. Also, make the yogurt sauce: mix together all ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Set aside, covered and refrigerated, until you're ready to eat. Spoon a little chickpea mixture into each lettuce leaf and top with a dollop of the yogurt sauce. Enjoy!



This next chickpea recipe is also best served chilled or room temperature, but it hails more from the Mediterranean than the Middle East. Like the other salad, it's light, heathy, refreshing, and simple to make.


I packed it as part of a picnic for myself and my friend Emily to eat in the park. It traveled beautifully, and was divine with a few slices of baguette, although it would be lovely stuffed into, or piled on top of, a whole wheat pita or naan bread as well. If you wanted to make it more of a full meal, I think it would be good with some regular old tuna or chunks of chicken stirred in for a wholesome lunch.

CHICKPEA, CUCUMBER, & BULGUR SALAD

INGREDIENTS

1 can chickpeas, drained and well rinsed
1/2 large cucumber, skin removed, cut into smallish chunks
1 c. cooked bulgur at room temperature
juice of one lemon
couple big spoonfuls of Greek yogurt
handful fresh parsley, chopped
salt and pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
pinch of all-purpose seasoning

STEP ONE:

Place the chickpeas, cucumber, and bulgur into one large bowl.


STEP TWO:

In a smaller bowl, mix all the rest of the ingredients with a whisk. Stir into the chickpea mixture, careful not to break up the chickpeas. Enjoy room temperature or chilled.



Thanks for reading! More soon...

Potato & Carrot Sweet Yellow Curry with Bulgur

There is an Alcoholics Anonymous idiom that goes, "If you hang out in a barber shop long enough, sooner or later you're bound to get a haircut."


This is what came sailing out of my subconscious when I joined my friends at - of all places - Northcenter's annual RibFest yesterday evening. If you have ever had the pleasure of being within inhaling distance of smoked barbeque pork ribs on a summer night, you know what I mean. And RibFest is about a 3/4-mile-long corridor of just that.

I made this delicious curry for dinner, filling up on purpose before I went to the festival. But there's a reason you don't find many priests roaming around whorehouses: temptation. Since I am a FLEXitarian after all, it wouldn't have been the end of the world if I'd tried a rib - as it turned out, I only had enough money for a Bud Light, and this time, alcohol won out over rib meat as the Eden's apple of my Friday night.

That said, this is a delicious, filling, and simple curry recipe that would be delicious with beef, chicken, tofu, or anything else you want to add to it. I think when I reheat the leftovers, I'll add the bit of broccoli that didn't go into my veggie-stuffed mac 'n' cheese (rest assured, the recipe for that is coming soon).


POTATO & CARROT SWEET YELLOW CURRY WITH BULGUR

INGREDIENTS

1 baking potato, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 carrot, peeled and chopped into medium pieces
1 red chili, seeded and cut into smallish pieces
1/2 red onion, cut into chunks
1 medium tomato, cut into large chunks
2 T. olive oil
2-3 T. sweet yellow curry powder
2 T. brown sugar
1 can lite coconut milk
2 T. smooth natural peanut butter
1/4 c. white wine (optional - can replace with water)
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. bulgur, according to directions on package (basically just simmer it - 2 parts water to one part bulgur - until it's chewy but not mushy; season with a little salt)
salt to taste

STEP ONE:

Par-boil the potato and carrot until tender, but not mushy. Drain and set aside.




STEP TWO:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the onion and chili until softened. Add the tomato, seasoning all this with a little salt, cooking until the tomato starts to break down, about 3 minutes. Pour in the white wine and stir, letting it boil until the alcohol evaporates. Add the curry powder and stir to combine.



STEP THREE:

Add the potato and carrot, coconut milk, peanut butter, brown sugar, and water. Stir to combine. Bring the heat to a low boil and let it cook until the curry thickens a bit. Serve over the cooked bulgur. Enjoy!




Thanks for reading! More soon...

A.U.R.A. - Cauliflower & Chickpea Curry...and Arroz con Pollo!

Are you sick of curry yet?

Wait, that's a ridiculous question, because who could EVER get sick of curry?!?! Certainly not this girl. Seriously though, I hope you'll forgive all the curry postings as of late; I blame A.) the magical folks at the Spice House for their excellent service and encyclopedic knowledge of the seasonings of the Far East, and B.) the piece of fresh ginger I bought a couple days ago.


Ginger has always been one of those ingredients that, for whatever reason, I was afraid to use. I guess that fear stemmed mostly from the fact that it looks something my cat would find in our alley...or like a stick had a love child with a shriveled potato. Either way, like most ingredients/recipes/techniques that scare me, once I break down and give it a go - wonder of wonders - the world doesn't stop turning. And usually, I discover something new and tasty (and it's almost never as hard as I think it's going to be).


Once I realized that all the poor little stick-potato-alley-rat thing needed was a good shaving with a vegetable peeler and a trip to Mount Microplane (my zester/grater/love of my life), it became such a glorious ingredient! Versatile! Bold! Deliciously exotic! It's used most often (I think) in Asian dishes, which suits me just fine since I am an Asian food junkie. It's relatively inexpensive, lasts awhile, and really adds a bright and spicy note to everything it goes in.

Since this is my second posting in my new "Actual Use of a Recipe's Awesomeness" category, you'll find the exact recipe below (from Closet Cooking, one of my favorite food blogs).

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry
(makes 4+ servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon oil
1 onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons curry powder ***Note: I used Sweet Curry Powder, a very common variety
1 tablespoon garlic (chopped)
1 tablespoon ginger (chopped)
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chili sauce (optional)
1 head cauliflower (cut into florets)
1 (19 once) can chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
1 cup water
1/2 pound green beans (trimmed and sliced into 1 inch long pieces)
salt to taste
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)

Directions
1. Heat the oil in a large pan.
2. Add the onion and curry powder and cook until the onion is tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the tomatoes, chili sauce, cauliflower, chickpeas and water and and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the green beans and cook until they are just tender and still crisp, about 3-5 minutes.
7. Serve on brown rice and garnish with cilantro.



And for my notes and tweaks:

1. I roughly halved this recipe.

2. I used chicken broth instead of water.

3. I used a can of stewed tomatoes instead of crushed ones (that's all I had).

4. Instead of chili sauce, I used half of a fresh, seeded and minced, serrano pepper.

5. I used a big handful of chopped cilantro IN the dish while it was cooking, and then put some more fresh on top.

6. I figured that since I was being sooo good and eating brown rice, it was OK to stir in just a little half and half (about a quarter cup) at the end for that creaminess that I love in curries.

Other than that, I followed the recipe almost to the letter! (How very unlike me.)

This came out even better than I expected. It was a really savory curry (which is a nice change of pace since I usually find myself eating peanut curries that are closer to dessert over white rice than they are dinner food), and I thought the tomato was a great element. This would be a perfect "Curry 101" recipe, both in ease of preparation and in overall mildness. The half pepper was just the right amount of heat (unlike Monday's lentil scorcher), and even though I enjoyed the touch of creaminess, the half and half wasn't what made the meal delicious.



Now, as the title promised, I will share with you another great recipe I made recently with my friends The LeCroys. It's Arroz con Pollo, from Smitten Kitchen.

It was super easy to make, and really really yummy. It was also in the "budget" category, which is nice. We used boneless, skinless chicken breasts instead of drumsticks, and we couldn't find real Spanish chorizo, so we used andouille sausage, and it all worked. The blend of spices was not a combination I ever would've thought of, but it really got me interested in using paprika for more than just topping deviled eggs. We got one good photo (this was taken before the addition of the rice).



Here's the recipe in its entirety:

Arroz Con Pollo (Cuban Chicken with Rice)

Serves 8

Chicken
3 large garlic cloves
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled
4 chicken breast halves with bone, halved crosswise
4 chicken drumsticks
4 chicken thighs

Rice
3 oz. Spanish chorizo (cured sausage), skin discarded and sausage cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 large garlic cloves, chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika, preferably the hot stuff, plus more to taste
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 lb. tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 12-oz. bottle beer (not dark)
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 cups long-grain white rice (14 oz.)
1/4 cup drained rinsed bottled pimiento or roasted red pepper strips

Marinate chicken: Mince and mash garlic to a paste with 2 teaspoons salt, then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in vinegar and oregano.

Remove skin and excess fat from chicken, then toss chicken with marinade until coated and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 1 hour.

Cook chicken and rice: - Cook chorizo in olive oil in a 6- to 7-quart heavy pot (12 inches wide) over medium-high heat, stirring, until some fat is rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions, bell pepper, and garlic and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add cumin, oregano, paprika, 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, and bay leaves and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add chicken with marinade to chorizo mixture and cook, uncovered, over medium heat, stirring frequently, 10 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes, beer, broth, and rice and bring to a boil, making sure rice is submerged. [Deb note: I actually had a really hard time keeping the rice underneath the chicken so that it would cook evenly. I'd suggest that you use tongs to temporarily remove the chicken from the pot, mix the rice in with the other ingredients in the pot, and then replace the chicken, pressing it into the broth a bit before going onto the next step. I will definitely do this next time.]

Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover mixture directly with a round of parchment or wax paper and cover pot with a tight fitting lid. Cook, stirring once or twice, until rice is tender, 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Discard parchment paper and bay leaves, then scatter pimiento strips over rice.

Note: Chicken can be marinated up to 2 hours.

I must say, I'm really enjoying the AURA posts (and hopefully, you are too). And believe me, there will be many more to come! I just received my newest cookbook in the mail, Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson's San-Francisco-hippie-chick ode to all things whole. (More on this later, but check out the book - it's informative, inspiring, and actually makes healthy vegetarian and vegan fare look completely mouthwatering. If you're curious in the meantime, check out her blog-cum-cookbook, 101cookbooks.com).

Thanks for reading! More soon...

Recession: Party of One - Clean-Out-The-Fridge Tagine

One of my favorite ways to eat healthily is to take all the inevitable leftover veggie scraps from a week or so's worth of meals and throw them into one dish. I'm always surprised how much I can make out of so little, and it's nice to have a reason to get all that clutter out of the fridge.


This meal was a perfect example of that. Every time I thought I had found every last veggie, I kept stumbling across more little Ziploc baggies of goodness.

I have recently been reading up on how to make tagines, which are a North African dish named for their clay cooking vessel (the tagine), which looks like this:


For those of us who don't own a tagine (er...put that one on the future-wedding-registry-list), making a tagine can involve a CrockPot or just a simple pot with a lid. They are most commonly made with lamb or chicken on the bone, and simmered for long periods of time to tenderize the meat. And if you're one of those gotta-have-the-most-obscure-kitchen-tools types, check out this tagine site.

My inspiration for the CrockPot veggie tagine was my weekend trip to The Spice House, an amazing spice store in Old Town, where I outfitted myself with some basic Indian and Moroccan spices for about $11 (!).


When I set out to put together my tagine, I simply couldn't decide which spice mix to use, so I just mixed the Garam Masala and the Moroccan spice blends. They have similar base flavors, so I figured they'd go well together.

Read on to see how to make one mean tagine...

MOROCCAN- & INDIAN-SPICED VEGGIE TAGINE

INGREDIENTS

(mesaurements are loose approximations)

3/4 c. chickpeas
1/2 c. sweet potato, in small chunks
1 orange bell pepper, cut into chunks
1/2 white onion, in chunks
1 large can crushed tomatoes
1/2 c. raw peas
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
1/4 c. cashews, slightly crushed
1 T. Moroccan spice blend
1 T. garam masala

handful of spinach leaves, raw
sliced green olives

white rice
chicken broth
saffron
salt and pepper
1 tsp. butter

sour cream (for garnish, if desired)

STEP ONE:

(This can be done the night before, which is what I did. The inner part of my CrockPot is removable, so I just put all the ingredients in there and refrigerated it overnight, then stuck it in the CrockPot base to cook all day while I was at work.)

Mix the first 10 ingredients together in the CrockPot.

STEP TWO:

Cook on low for about 8 hours (basically, just cook it while you're at work). When done, stir in the spinach leaves to wilt, and also the olives. Taste, and add salt if neccessary.

STEP THREE:

Turn CrockPot to WARM. Cook the rice in the chicken broth, adding the saffron. When done, add salt, pepper and butter and fluff with a fork.

STEP FOUR:

Serve the veggie tagine over the rice, topping with a little sour cream (or plain yogurt) if desired.


This was a really flavorful dish! The spices made it so complex that I would probably never think that it was a vegetarian dish if I hadn't known. I can only imagine how incredible this would be with some slow-simmered lamb...mmmm. I've also seen some great chicken tagine recipes with preserved lemon rind and olives.... Next time, delicious litte tagine, next time!

Let's check out the PARTY OF ONE PRICE INDEX, shall we?

CHICKPEAS: 20 cents
BELL PEPPER: $1.08
SPINACH: 66 cents
SWEET POTATO: 25 cents
CRUSHED TOMATOES: $1.15
PEAS: 50 cents
ONION: 10 cents (didn't use much)
CARROT: 15 cents
SPICES: around $1.00 total
CHICKEN BROTH: 40 cents

I'm leaving out the rice and the sour cream, since I already had those before my bulk shopping trip. This made about 4 good-size servings (the leftovers are in my lunchbag for tomorrow and stashed in my freezer), which puts the per-serving GRAND TOTAL at:

$1.37

Wow. What a great price for so much slow-simmered yumminess! Proof that you don't have to go halfway around the world to eat like it - that's what I call budget travelling ;-)

Thanks for reading! More soon...