Aloo Channa Chat

this is street food inspired dish, found often on the bustling streets of india, tiny stands with rolled up newspapers transformed into eating vessels, scooped high with this salad. it is vibrant, flavorful, colorful in texture and taste. not to mention good for you! this is an eye ball recipe-meaning there aren't exactly perfectly measured ingredients, as long as you have the goods, toss them together and snack away! tweak it to your own personal taste! enjoy.

you'll need:

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and dried
salt to taste
1 large potato, peeled, boiled, and chopped into 
bite size pieces 
turmeric
garam masala 
red chili pepper 
cumin
ground ginger 
ground mustard 
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander 
1/2 red onion, finely chopped 
1-2 roma tomatoes, finely chopped 
freshly squeezed lime 

in a large pan, over medium high heat, 
saute chickpeas in a pat of butter. 
i added olive oil as well as i saw the pan getting a bit dry

add spices. continue to coat and cook the chickpeas till toasty, yet still a hint of soft. 

[if you haven't already, boil and chop the potato.]

once chickpeas are finished, toss in a large mixing bowl, throw in chopped boiled potatoes, as well as fresh ingredients [tomatoes, onions, and coriander]. 

mix it all together. 

squeeze lime juice over top. 

season with salt or any extra added spice to your taste preference. 

either eat immediately or chill for a bit and then eat later. both cold and freshly made is great!!

if you want to get the full experience, find some newspaper and roll it into a cone shape. 
serve channa inside with a spoon and sprinkled with sev. 

enjoy!!

Vegetarian Ginger Pancit

Pancit, pronounced pon-seet, is a common Filipino dish served in street vendor trucks and found in the wok all over the Philippines.

I was first introduced to this savory and tasty dish when we hung out with *peanut butter couple, Aaron and Laura. Aaron is Filipino and him and his wife are good friends of ours. Nathan and Aaron used be fellow employees at the JW Marriott as sound engineers and found they had so much in common. To find fellow believers in the workplace is such a gift and it was very encouraging for both of them to uplift each other while on the clock..;)

We had once decided to exchange culture food, to get a taste of both sides of our worlds. So I had made an Indian dish, and they had prepared a Filipino dish. Aaron then introduced me to the dish known as pancit and I was hooked.

Traditionally, pancit is contrived of rice noodles, chicken, and carrots and cabbage and sautéed in soy sauce and squeezed with fresh lemon. It is delicious. However, I am sure there are many different variations and all sorts of flavors added or subtracted, especially if walking on one region to the next.

SO-we are now entering the Bengali Mama region and this is MY version of pancit. The main ingredients are there, but I chose to go meatless and bring in more variety of veggies, while still making sure you weren't missing out on a full meal.
While I will not argue that Aaron and Laura's was the best I had, I would dare put mine at a close second. I incorporated an Indian staple ginger, instead of garlic, and it changed the flavor, but it was/is oh, so tasty, more crisp and floral and easy to down in seconds.

Tell me what you think!

You'll need:
1 (12 ounce) package dried rice noodles
4 tbsp butter (you of course can use canola oil, but I love the silky flavor butter leaves behind)
1 onion, finely diced
2" piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into tiny pieces
2 cups stir fried frozen veggies (my pack included red peppers, baby corns, green beans, snow peas, mushrooms..)
2 big carrots, sliced, julienned (you can purchase them precut)
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 lemons - cut into wedges, for garnish

Place the rice noodles in a large bowl, and cover with warm water. When soft, drain, and set aside.

Heat butter in a wok or large skillet over medium heat.

Saute onion and ginger until soft.

Stir in veggies and carrots and soy sauce. Cook until veggies begin to soften.

Toss in noodles, and cook until heated through, stirring constantly.

Transfer pancit to a serving dish and garnish with quartered lemons.

When ready to eat, squeeze fresh lemon all over and enjoy!!

Creamy Baked Masala

Last night we headed over to Matt and Amy's house-they're a great older (yet STILL young) couple that we've gotten to know, full of laughter and wisecracks, we have a great time together. Amy is one of those supermoms that makes her own jam-pulls her kids slivers out with her teeth-busts a cap in Insanity (with her rockin' bod)-is a Jill of a million trades-teach Sunday school kind of lady, if you know what I mean. And then there's Matt, quiet, but charming, unassuming and quick to laugh-they are a blessing to us both. Shaina and Phil were there too (read my post about Shaina if you haven't already..)

Matt heads down once a year to LA to purchase large mounts of shrimp, straight from the Gulf. I am definitely not a shrimp eater-I've probably only eaten it twice in my life, but I am never one to turn down highly recommended food..the way he prepared it was absolutely delicious!! Coconut oil, butter, Cajun seasonings, dipped in some crazy remaloude, and grilled on wooden skewers-I never ate so many shrimp in my whole life. He said there was plenty because it gets thawed in 5lb blocks!!

Anyways, Amy asked me to bring a little Bengali something, so with having the main dish taken care of, I just thought a side dishy/appatEASER would be appropriate. So this is where baked masala was born.

My cousin had served a baked dip that I had tried with a delicious marinara sauce and goat cheese and I was surprised at how much Indian hints it had to it. She said it wasn't meant to taste like that, but it urged me on to take it a step further and create it specifically with a Bengali flavored intent.

This wasn't anything crazy. Very simple actually, two humble ingredients and a lot of spices. I wasn't trying to impress. Just satisfy.
Turns out I did both. Everyone really loved it and were very kind in telling me so. I served it with mission flour tortillas (I didn't have time to pick up naan or roti) but that is what I will serve next time, but no one seemed to notice. In fact, Amy ran in to get some more of her own tortillas bc I ran out, and everyone was still dipping!

You'll need:
1/2 jar of Dave's Gourmet (DG) Masala Marinara (I picked mine up at D&W)
2 (8oz each) goat cheese
1 tbsp garam masala
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp coriander
1/8 tsp nutmeg
Juice of 1/2 lime (about 1-2 tsp)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a baking dish (I used my banana loaf pan, but you could use any medium size casserole dish) pour goat cheese in. Add spices one by one, making sure to fold it all in with the goat cheese.

Add marinara sauce and continue mixing everything.

Pop in oven covered in tin foil for about 25 minutes.

Serve with naan, roti, plain soft tortillas, fresh veggies, or over rice..

Califlour & Chickpea Masaman Curry

I have been trying my darndest to perfect and excel in my Bengali Cooking. My desire is to create authentic, flavorful, dishes that can be enjoyed by as many eaters as possible!! What fun in there in a tasty meal alone?

This dish was served for our friends, Nick and Becca, who have become dear friends. Nick actually sought us out one morning after church and in one small blip in time, he spilled his salvation story and how Christ saved him, only recently, but after listening to him talk, you would never guess he was such a baby Christian. It has been amazing to witness the joy and zeal he has for Christ, and the wisdom he has attained in such a short amount of time.

Him and his girlfriend, Becca have been dating forever, and it also has been a privilege to walk along side them in this relationship they are tending to as they move one step closer to marriage. Becca is sweet and kind, full of laughter and I am loving getting to know this free spirit.

Nick and Becca happen to be not only vegetarian, but vegan as well, and I am learning a lot about food through them. So when we wanted to have them over for dinner, it was a good challenge for me to be not only creative, but health minded as well-and you and I both know that's not always at the top of my list..(i love a good Oreo or two..which p.s. they're vegan!)

So within those boundaries, I created this curry with vegetables instead of chicken, and it was just as filling and wonderful!!
I will be using this recipe for meatless Mondays.

Want to try?
Please enjoy.

you'll need:
1 head of cauliflower, or 1 package frozen, in small florets
2 cans of chickpeas, drained
1-2 tsp sesame oil
2 can of coconut milk
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger-i cut off about 1" piece
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp gar am masala
2 tsp turmeric
1 small can of masaman curry paste
1 tablespoon yellow curry paste


Method:
In a small sauce pan mix masaman paste and coconut milk. Simmer and mix well. Set on low heat and stir often.

In large wok, heat up and drop sesame oil on to coat. Throw in chickpeas. Toast and roast, until browned. Add ginger, cinnamon and coat chickpeas until fragrant. Add cauliflower. (add more sesame oil if needed) Stir in coriander, garam masala, and turmeric. You want everything to mix well and evenly coat veggies. Stir fry (about 8-10 min) You want the vegetables to be soft, yet a bit of crunch still left.

Pour in 2nd coconut milk in and lower the heat. Add yellow curry paste. It will only add another depth of flavor.
Thoroughly stir and mix vegetables and curry mixture. Finally add sauce pan of masaman.

Once you have let EVERYTHING simmer and stir for another 9-10 minutes, it should be ready to serve.

Spoon over basmati rice.
Garnish with cilantro leaves.