Everyday Exotic

During a recent trip to the local supermarket, I was amazed at the variety of authentic Indian spices available. I no longer have to trek to a desi market to find Indian turmeric or chili powder. These once exotic spices are becoming more accessible and non-Indians are willing to try making home made Indian food.

If this is your first time making Indian food, check out my "International Pantry Essentials" section. It gives you a list of items you'll need to start your Indian pantry.

Curried chickpeas with rice

 A few things I've learned along the way:
1. When you cook with Indian spices, low heat is the name of the game. Take your time and allow the spices to cook thoroughly to give your dish a complex yet unified taste.
2. Don't be afraid to experiment! The recipe below or any  of the other savory dishes that I've featured aren't written in stone. The liberating aspect of cooking (vs. baking) is that you can use a basic recipe (such as below) and modify it in countless ways to showcase your creativity.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
1-15 ounce can of chick peas, drained and washed
2 whole tomatoes, diced
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, grated
1 cup of fresh or frozen peas, thawed if frozen
2 green chili, diced
1/2 teaspoon of tamarind paste
1/2-1 teaspoon of garam masala, according to taste
1 pinch of turmeric powder
1 teaspoon of chili powder
1/2 teaspoon of coriander powder
2 cups of basmati rice
1/2 cup of cilantro, roughly chopped

Directions
Rice:
Cook rice according to package directions.

While the rice is cooking, let's prepare the chickpea curry.

Chickpea:
In a sautee pan, heat up one tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add the grated garlic and onions and sautee on low heat. 5 minutes. In the mean time, add the turmeric, chili, coriander and garam masala powder to a mortar and pestle. Add the diced green chili and grind until a thick paste is formed. Add 2 tablespoons of water to the paste to thin it out.

Add the thinned out mixture to the sauteed garlic and onions. On low heat, cook the spices thoroughly. 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add the chickpeas, green peas and a handful of cilantro. Coat well with the spices and tomatoes. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat. Stir occasionally.
<<side note: at this point, you may substitute chickpeas with cleaned fish, shrimp or chicken. Keep in mind that your cooking time may increase or decrease depending on the meat you use>>

Meanwhile, in a small container, add the tamarind paste to a cup of warm water. Stir to dissolve. Add this mixture to the pan and cook an additional 10 minutes.

Ladle the curried chickpeas on a mound of rice, sprinkle some cilantro and enjoy!

Till next time, To Life!