Sleek and I love, love, love Indian food. Unfortunately, our local Indian restaurant closed a little over a year ago. (I'm not supposed to be eating at restaurants anyway. One of the whole points of this blog!). Anytime we travel, we're looking for a good Indian joint to ease the pain and longing. We finally decided that it was high time (heh!) to learn to make some good, simple Indian food at home. I've made the basic lentil/vegetable curry, but I was looking for something with more complex flavor. So, I came across this little number on the web, and it looked very easy with easily attainable ingredients. I got it started at about noon, so the flavors would have plenty of time to meld before dinner at 6 p.m. I did add slightly more garam masala and curry powder than the recipe called for. Sleek wanted me to give it a try with Jasmine rice, so even though it is stripped of all nutritional value, I made it. (I ususally stick with brown basmati. It's my fave, even though it takes four times as long to cook). The masala and the rice both came out beautifully! Now that I know how to make a good masala sauce, the possibilities are endless. I'm thinking next it will be a fish (Halibut or Cod) masala with some cauliflower, potatoes and peas. If only I had a Tandoori oven to bake some naan to go with it!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Channa Masala
Sleek and I love, love, love Indian food. Unfortunately, our local Indian restaurant closed a little over a year ago. (I'm not supposed to be eating at restaurants anyway. One of the whole points of this blog!). Anytime we travel, we're looking for a good Indian joint to ease the pain and longing. We finally decided that it was high time (heh!) to learn to make some good, simple Indian food at home. I've made the basic lentil/vegetable curry, but I was looking for something with more complex flavor. So, I came across this little number on the web, and it looked very easy with easily attainable ingredients. I got it started at about noon, so the flavors would have plenty of time to meld before dinner at 6 p.m. I did add slightly more garam masala and curry powder than the recipe called for. Sleek wanted me to give it a try with Jasmine rice, so even though it is stripped of all nutritional value, I made it. (I ususally stick with brown basmati. It's my fave, even though it takes four times as long to cook). The masala and the rice both came out beautifully! Now that I know how to make a good masala sauce, the possibilities are endless. I'm thinking next it will be a fish (Halibut or Cod) masala with some cauliflower, potatoes and peas. If only I had a Tandoori oven to bake some naan to go with it!
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13 comments:
This stuff was even better today than it was yesterday. DM, my leftovers are going to be famous in the office.
Nann rules. And so does Tandoori chicken. At the local all-you-can-eat indian place that my wife and I go to, they have these milk-ball things soaked in some kind of suary syrup for dessert. They are called something-Guloog or something like that. Love'em. Perhaps you can figure out how to whip them up?
I have a blog that you might like... well, I don't have it, a friend of a friend does it.
www.28cooks.blogspot.com
She comes up with healthy recipes and many of them might be right up your alley.
Seriously.
I make hummus from this website that changes peoples lives.
I've heard through the grapevine (from the owners of Cafe of India) that another family is moving into the area to open up an Indian restaurant. Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeease be true!!!
Congrats on the blog, DM!
I'm an unfortunate Indian food virgin but I've been dying to give it a try. I'm a horribly picky eater and I don't eat any meat except occassional bird, so trying new things scares the crap out of me... but I've always been curious about Indian food because it seems like something I would just love.
We've been wanting to try out the Little India restaurant in our neighborhood that we've heard is pretty decent one of these days but haven't found the time to do so yet. I figure for never having Indian food before, I better let someone that knows what they're doing prepare it for me ;)
Zee: It's gulab jamun. It's actually made with the cheese that they usually make on-site at Indian restaurants. The syrup contains rosewater, which I always thought was really cool.
melissavina: I'll be checking out that blog ASAP.
G: Next time I cook Indian, I'll invite you over. As a matter of fact, you can just show up for dinner whenever you want. I don't mind at all.
Valyna: Your cherry must be popped! Get over to Little India ASAP! Post the details here.
First off, thanks to Melissavina for the great shout out for my website.
I've actually never had brown basmati rice, but it's definitely going on my list of things to buy. And even though jasmine rice has no nutritional value, I still adore it.
And OMG I have those same plates! Well, I have the yellow and the blue ones.
Gulab Jamun!!!! Thats it.
Now I remeber announcing, as I headed to the dessert table, that I was about to "Jamun it, Jamun it, Uh-Jam-J-J-J-J-Jamun it!"
valyna: If you hit up the Indian restaurant, you gotta get some gulab jamun. Mmm. Mmm. Mmmmmm. (Especially after spicy Indian food!)
zee: OMG! That is soooo freaking funny! I'm dying laughing here!
So what makes a Masala sauce a Tikka Masala sauce? Do you know the difference?
sleek: I'm not sure, but the tikka masala always seemed a little creamier. Maybe coconut milk or cream?
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