A lesson in spice.
Tonight I learned that Indian food seems to use waaaay more spice than other types of food, and that I should perhaps be a little more liberal when seasoning my other food. (On a side note, my earlier post referenced Dune. After mentioning it, I had to watch it and finished the 1984 extended version this morning. Never gets old.)
I went to eat Indian food with my dad yesterday and was super excited to get some channa masala, my favorite dish. They didn't have any, though every single thing I chose from the buffet was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend the restaurant, Flavors, on Baymeadows Road.
I found a relatively simple recipe for channa masala, which didn't seem enough. I then found a pretty cool blog that has a series called "You're Doing it Wrong" and pulled the recipe from there, which seemed more authentic. It's a bit labor intensive. It took me a couple hours, with the prep work included.
I was going to wait until the beans had cooked for an hour to start, and I'm glad I didn't. The prep took about an hour. I have recently started to group the ingredients into stages in order to be able to add them quickly when actually cooking. That is common sense, I suppose, but it was a lesson that took me a long time to learn.
All my ingredients came from the Indian market near my home, Kalyaan. The produce, especially, was incredibly affordable. They also had multiple options at different prices of the ingredients I was looking for. I got out of there for under $20!
They didn't have jalapenos, so I minced some long green chiles.
The first step was to cook cumin seeds in peanut oil for a few seconds.
Then, add in the onion and cook.
Then, turmeric and chilies. Turmeric adds in that gorgeous color.
Following this, I added in 1/4 cup of ginger garlic paste and finished cooking the onions. Then, the tomatoes and all the remaining spices. This simmers for about thirty minutes, until soupy.
The final step is to add in chickpeas, then lemon juice and some amchoor (mango powder).
I made coconut rice by substituting half of the required water with coconut milk, on advice from a friend.
I was so proud of this meal that I ate it right away, and didn't wait for Drew to get home, like I usually do.
I went to eat Indian food with my dad yesterday and was super excited to get some channa masala, my favorite dish. They didn't have any, though every single thing I chose from the buffet was absolutely delicious. I highly recommend the restaurant, Flavors, on Baymeadows Road.
I found a relatively simple recipe for channa masala, which didn't seem enough. I then found a pretty cool blog that has a series called "You're Doing it Wrong" and pulled the recipe from there, which seemed more authentic. It's a bit labor intensive. It took me a couple hours, with the prep work included.
I was going to wait until the beans had cooked for an hour to start, and I'm glad I didn't. The prep took about an hour. I have recently started to group the ingredients into stages in order to be able to add them quickly when actually cooking. That is common sense, I suppose, but it was a lesson that took me a long time to learn.
All my ingredients came from the Indian market near my home, Kalyaan. The produce, especially, was incredibly affordable. They also had multiple options at different prices of the ingredients I was looking for. I got out of there for under $20!
They didn't have jalapenos, so I minced some long green chiles.
The first step was to cook cumin seeds in peanut oil for a few seconds.
Then, add in the onion and cook.
Then, turmeric and chilies. Turmeric adds in that gorgeous color.
Following this, I added in 1/4 cup of ginger garlic paste and finished cooking the onions. Then, the tomatoes and all the remaining spices. This simmers for about thirty minutes, until soupy.
The final step is to add in chickpeas, then lemon juice and some amchoor (mango powder).
I made coconut rice by substituting half of the required water with coconut milk, on advice from a friend.
I was so proud of this meal that I ate it right away, and didn't wait for Drew to get home, like I usually do.
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