Tag Archives: indian food

{Recipe} Indian Potatoes & Peas

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Indian Potatoes & Peas

Last night I made a pot of chicken curry and while I had out all my spices and ingredients, I decided to make a batch of Indian Potatoes & Peas while I was at it. This originally started out as a filling for samosas, but because I have a fear of deep-frying, it has become a simple side dish that is even better the next day. I have also frozen small containers of this recipe with some quinoa in there, too, and it tasted fine! I know sometimes potatoes don’t freeze the greatest, but the texture didn’t seem to change too much.

 

Indian Potatoes & Peas
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Ingredients
  1. 4 med. potatoes, peeled and quartered
  2. 1-2 Tbsp. coconut oil or ghee
  3. 1 med. onion, diced
  4. 1 cup frozen green peas
  5. 1-inch chunk of ginger, peeled and shredded
  6. 1 jalapeno pepper, diced (remove the seeds if you want less heat)
  7. 1/2 c. water
  8. 1 tsp. salt (potatoes absorb salt, so you may need to add more)
  9. 1 Tbsp. curry powder
  10. 1/2 tsp. coriander
  11. 3/4 tsp. cumin
  12. 1/4 tsp. chili powder
  13. juice from 1/2 a lemon
Instructions
  1. Boil the potatoes in well-salted water until tender. Drain, and set aside to cool.
  2. Melt coconut oil or ghee (or fat of your choosing) in a deep skillet or large pot. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add the jalapeno, peas, ginger, and a little of the water (a splash at a time, just so the vegetables don't stick). Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the peas begin to thaw.
  3. Break the cooled potatoes into small chunks and add to mixture (I just do this right over the pan). Add the rest of the water and the salt, curry powder, coriander, cumin, and chili powder. Squeeze the lemon juice over everything and give it a good stir.
  4. Cook for an additional 10 minutes. Stir again before serving
Notes
  1. This is a highly nontechnical recipe. Use more or less water. Add more onion. Make it milder. Make it spicier. It's very forgiving, and very delicious.
Pure Sugar http://www.puresugar.net/
If you have some mint chutney around, it will really complement this dish! But it’s just as good plain.

{Recipe} Masala Chili

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I don’t even know how I came up with this recipe. I guess I was thinking of both my favorite chicken curry recipe, but also Indian-spiced chicken meatballs and somehow this happened. And I’m glad it did because it was easy and delicious. And quick. And perfect for this rainy day. Basically, I just started throwing things into a pot and tasting and at some point I decided “OK, this is actually good!”

Although we really enjoyed this recipe as written here, I feel like it’s missing something. Maybe some spinach? Maybe coconut milk instead of the yogurt? I don’t know… But it’s a starting point and I hope you play around with it. Let me know what adjustments you make and how you improve upon it!

Masala Chili
An Indian-spiced take on traditional chili.
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Ingredients
2 Tbsp. coconut oil or ghee
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1/2 c. diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1-2 chile peppers, diced (I used jalapenos because that’s what I had)
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger, shredded on a microplane
1 Tbsp. coriander
1/4 tsp. tumeric
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. chili powder
1/2 Tbsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 lb. ground chicken
1 15-oz. can of chick peas, drained and rinsed
1.5 c. tomato sauce
1/2 c. water
1 5 oz. container of plain yogurt
Cilantro (for garnish)
Instructions
In a stock pot, melt the coconut butter or ghee and add the cumin seeds. When they start sizzling, add the onions, garlic, ginger, and peppers. Cook until soft and then add the coriander, tumeric, cumin, chili powder, curry powder, and salt.
Add ground chicken and cook through. Add chick peas, tomato sauce, and water. Simmer for 15-20 minutes until flavors have all combined.
Remove from heat. Stir in yogurt. Adjust seasonings if necessary. Serve with rice or naan. Garnish with fresh cilantro.
Notes
A side salad of freshly sliced cucumbers and onions with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice is an excellent accompaniment to this dish.

 

Linking up with: Cooking Thursday
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indian spiced chicken meatballs

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indian spiced meatballs with savory tomato sauce

Earlier this week I finally had a chance to try Cinnamon, a new (well, new-ish) Indian restaurant in Rhinebeck. The food was delicious and I’ve had curries on my mind ever since. Yesterday I had some ground chicken in the fridge, and an idea in my head: meatballs simmered in a creamy sauce, infused with all of my favorite Indian spices.

If you use a food processor, this recipe comes together lightening-fast. And even if you chop everything by hand it shouldn’t take too much longer.

Indian-Spiced Chicken Meatballs
in Savory Tomato Sauce

Meatballs:
1 lb. ground chicken
1 med. onion
1-2 jalapenos, seeded
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. coriander powder
1/4 tsp. tumeric
1/2 tsp. salt

Coconut oil (or fat of choice)
1 Tbsp. cumin seeds

* Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup tomato sauce
1/2 Tbsp. garam masala
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
salt to taste

For the meatballs, combine onion, jalapenos, and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the vegetables are finely minced. Add the ground chicken and spices and process to combine. Shape into meatballs of your desired size. Melt coconut oil in a pan over med-high heat and add cumin seeds. Turn heat down to medium and let the seeds sizzle for just about 30 sec. – 1 min. until you can smell them. Add the meatballs to the pan

While meatballs are cooking, combine the tomato sauce, yogurt, garam masala, and cayenne in a bowl. Add salt to taste. (You can also add more yogurt or tomato sauce, adjust the spices, etc. The sauce is pretty forgiving.)

When meatballs are about halfway done, add the sauce to the pan and finish cooking until the chicken meatballs reach an internal temp. of 165 degrees F.

Garnish with cilantro.
Serving suggestion: cucumber and onion salad dressed with a squeeze of lemon juice; basamati rice (if you eat it) or riced cauliflower.

* PALEO OPTION
I realize that many people who follow a Paleo diet do not eat dairy. If that’s the case, my suggestion would be to add some fresh chopped tomatoes and extra onions to the coconut oil and cumin seeds, along with the garama masala and salt, allow it to cook down a bit, and then add your meatballs.

These meatballs were delicious, considering I threw them together at the last minute (since the kids ate all the taco meat I’d made!). I’m making another batch today for the freezer. I think this is a pretty versatile recipe that is easy to adapt to whatever diet you follow, whether it’s a standard diet, low-fat diet, low-carb diet, or Paleo. A little something for everyone 🙂