Meatless Monday: The Tuesday Edition.

In my distress over stretch marks yesterday, I totally forgot to post for Meatless Monday. I had a post all written up and ready to go ranting about Congress trying to get pizza classified as a vegetable in school lunches, but in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I think I'll post a recipe instead. Not that it's a traditional Thanksgiving recipe or anything, but it's still tasty and you should give it a try. (This recipe originally came from my friend Jon who is a fabulous cook and all around fun guy.) 


So, here is a delicious recipe for Chana Masala - an Indian chickpea dish. This recipe makes a huge batch, so it will either make a big enough serving for several people (at least six), or you will have yummy leftovers for a few days.


Chana Masala:

2 Cans Chickpeas (or one 16 oz. bag dried - you'll need to increase the spice amounts a bit if you use the entire bag of dried beans) Rinse and drain if using canned. If using dried, soak with the quick soak method, drain, rinse, add water to cover and boil until soft (or use a pressure cooker, if you have one - cuts the cooking time dramatically). Then drain and add to recipe.

1 onion sliced thin
ginger - 1 in. piece, minced or grated (or approx. 1 Tbs powdered)

garlic (a few cloves, minced)
jalapeno (minced, optional - if you want the flavor but not much heat, make sure you scrape the seeds out before mincing it. one jalapeno in an entire batch shouldn't make it too spicy, but you can leave it out if you are worried about it)
1 Tbs turmeric
1 Tbs paprika
1 Tbs cumin
1.5 Tbs coriander
0.5 Tbs pepper

1 pinch asafetida (if you have it - can leave it out otherwise)

2 Tbs lemon juice
cayenne (just a dash. I'd put in a smidge even if/especially if you leave out the jalapeno, but it isn't crucial.)
salt (to taste)
1 quart vegetable broth

2-3 medium tomatoes, diced (or 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes)

1 14.5 oz. can tomato sauce (or juice)

Measure the spices out first and have them in a little bowl by the pot on the stove. You don't want to be measuring them in individually at that step because you need to stir them constantly to make sure they don't burn. Trust me on this one...

Caramelize onion in olive oil (this is the key - get them really brown and sweet!)
Add ginger. Cook for a bit. (until fragrant and soft - make sure you stir frequently so nothing burns - maybe a minute if using fresh, 30 seconds if using powdered)
Add garlic, jalapeno - cook 30 seconds or so
Add the spices - cook until toasted and fragrant, 30 seconds - 1 minute, stirring constantly

Add 0.5 cups water to make a thin paste

Add beans, broth, tomatoes, and the juices. Simmer until liquid is thickened and reduced. If the taste is a little too tomato-y or otherwise flat, add a bit more salt and maybe a bit more of the spice mix. (Just add in dashes of each until it tastes right. Wait until the liquid gets thick before you taste and adjust, though. Some spices take a while to cook and develop flavor - like turmeric - and concentrating the liquid will concentrate the taste.)

Garnish with cilantro, if desired. Serve over rice with a side of raita.

Rice:

The perfect ratio is 1/3 coconut milk, 2/3 water. For example, for 3 cups of brown basmati rice, use 2 cups coconut milk (basically, use 1 can) and 4 cups of water. Add (golden or regular) raisins, cardamom pods (green or black or a mixture) and turmeric before cooking (1-2 teaspoons for color). YUM! (Either fish out the cardamom pods before fluffing the rice - they should all be sitting on the top - or warn people they are in there!) That will make enough rice to have leftovers.

Raita:

Peel one cucumber, slice it in half down the length, an scoop/scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Then grate the halves with a box grater and squeeze out excess liquid from the shreds. Mix with one big container of soy yogurt (or greek yogurt or regular ol' yogurt), but make sure it's the PLAIN flavor! Add some salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. You can also stir in parsley or cilantro or a bit of mint if you like. Serve chilled on the side, or put a dollop on top of the chana masala when you serve it.

Yummy all around! Happy cooking!