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!!

Pan Fried Greenies

With our garden handing over a plethora of crispy, clean vegetables, it's hard to keep up with using em' up! Lately, we've been picking crunchy green beans and munching on them like crazy. The following recipe is just a quick, tasty way to prepare them, though the options are endless. I love a good stir fry or sautée, and I feel this is a zip of both. Not so much time is spent over the stove, and more time is spent at the table-eating the GREEN beans! Mm mm!

You'll need:

2-3 cups of freshly plucked green beans, ends trimmed off, but keep the length
2 tablespoons olive oil (bacon fat also is quite tasty)
1 tablespoon butter
1-2 pcs crumpled up bacon, small pieces
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
Salt & pepper to taste (watch the salt if you use bacon fat)
1 teaspoon lime zest

Heat the olive oil and butter in a skillet over medium heat. Drop in bacon pieces. Add green beans, lemon juice and garlic, and red pepper. Cook until the beans are tender but still a bit crunchy, approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Salt & pepper to taste. Add lime zest over top. And of course, as I always say, ENJOY!