Indian Potato Curry with Toor dhal on rice w/ Chicken

I was in Chapters over my lunch hour last week checking out some different books when I passed by the cook book section. Normally I just search for recipes online but there were a number of books on sale for $10. I was mostly interested in the books that had root vegetables in them as it's hard to come up with different ideas for potatoes and beets, and I always end up just making the same things. From this book comes tonight recipe for "Indian Potato Curry with Toor dhal". I added the chicken :)

This one was a little weird for me as it's the first recipe that I've made in the longest time that didn't call for me to saute onions first. I love to saute onions by the way!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 - Cups of Yellow Lentils (I only had green and all the grocery stores were closed because it was a holiday)

3 - Tbsp Vegetable Oil

1/2 - Tsp Mustard Seeds

1/2 - Tsp Fenugreek Seeds

1 - Tsp grated Ginger

1 - Tsp crushed Garlic

1 - Tsp Chili Powder

1 1/2 - Tsp Coriander

1/2 - Tsp ground Turmeric

4 - Tomatoes, skinned and chopped

1 - Tsp Salt

1 1/2 - lbs Potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces

Ingredients to Serve:

2 Tbsp - Freshly chopped Cilantro

1/2 Tsp - Garam Masala

Basmati Rice

Chicken

Directions:

Wash the lentils well in several changes of water. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the mustard and fenugreek seeds.

When they begin to pop, stir in the ginger and garlic, and fry for 30 seconds.

Add the chili power, ground coriander, turmeric and fry for another 30 seconds.







Add the tomatoes and lentils, cover with 2 1/2 cups of water, add salt and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 - 30 minutes or until the lentils are soft
 

Add the Potatoes and simmer over low heat for another 10 - 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Sprinkled with chopped cilantro, Garam Masala. put over top of Basmati Rice

It tasted okay but I wanted something more. I ended up topping it with Chicken and Tamarind Sauce for some added flavor!

Zucchini Boats

I was positive that I posted the recipe for these before but I can't seem to find it anywhere so I'm going to post it now. Zucchini Boats. These are a pretty healthy side dish that is pretty to make and because I generally load them with cheese, the kids don't mind eating them ;)



Ingredients:
3 - Zucchini (Green or Yellow)
1/2 - Quart of Cherry Tomatoes
1/4 - Cup of Bread Crumbs
1/2 - Cup of Shredded Cheese (Mozzarella or Cheddar)
3 - Cloves of Garlic minced
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the 3 zucchini in half, lengthwise

Trim a little bit off the bottom of the zucchini (this will allow it to sit still on a baking sheet).

Using a spoon, scoop the seeds out of the inside of the zucchini and discard.

Mix together the minced garlic and olive oil. Brush liberally into the scooped out section of the zucchini and then grind salt and pepper over top.

Arrange halved grape tomatoes into the grooves, sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake in oven (350 degrees) for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and add shredded cheese on top. Place them back into the oven but now under broiler until golden and bubbling (3 - 5 minutes).

Remove from oven, cut into pieces and enjoy :)

Twice Baked Cauliflower

Updated 2015/2/27

There is no shortage of recipes on the internet and today while browsing around I saw one for Twice Baked Cauliflower. What really grabbed my attention is how it looked. The golden browness of it after being broiled in the oven is what made me want to try it. I've done a couple of Cauliflower flower recipes before and they've all turned out really good. (see Cauliflower Pizza).

After a quick look at the ingredients I figured I only need Cauliflower so I stopped and picked it up on the way home from work. Once I started pulling everything out to make this recipe I found out that I was short more than 1 ingredient.... oh well it happens and this is my attempt at Twice Baked Cauliflower without all the ingredients :)

(First Attempt)

(Second Attempt - With Cheese Broiled on top)

Ingredients:
1 - Head of Cauliflower cut into small pieces
1/2 - Cup of Milk Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 - Cups of Monterery Jack Cheese (or Mozzarella)
1 - Cloves of Garlic (any more and it has too much of a garlic flavor)
1 - Green Onion chopped

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
In batches, process Cauliflower in a food processor and put into a large bowl.

Add Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Green Onion and Garlic to the bowl of processed Cauliflower. Mix ingredients well.

Transfer to a greased baking dish

Place in 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. When 20 minutes has passed switch to broiler mode and broil for 5 minutes to get the golden brown top (mine didn't really get as golden brown as I would have liked but it was better than nothing)

(Original Attempt - no cheese on top)

(Second attempt with cheese on top! about a 1 cup)

Plate and serve!

For anyone who is interested, here is a list of the ingredients I was missing and what I did to work around it.

Cheddar Cheese -> I didn't have any, which is unusual for me and I wanted something with more flavor than Mozzarella so I went with Monterery Jack Instead.

Chives -> I have a ton of these in the garden but it's winter here so... Green onion is a good substitute

Yogurt -> I normally have Greek Yogurt in the fridge but not today

Sour Cream -> Another product I though I had but didn't. At this point I knew I needed something to give the mixture more moisture and that's why I went with the milk. For my second attempt I when with Greek Yogurt and it made a huge difference!

Bacon Bits -> I was just lazy and didn't want to cook up any bacon

I missed the whole tips section about using olive oil and and Parmesan cheese to help get it that golden brown. oh well, live and learn!

Beet Salad

Large bags of beets were on sale the other day at the grocery store so I decided to pick up a bag. In the early fall I pickle beets, in the winter I like a nice borscht and other times I'll just roast them but this time I decided to try something a little different so I started looking up some beet salad recipes. I found a couple different ones but ended up making my own. Check it out and let me know what you think!



Ingredients (Beets):
15 - Small to Medium Beets, Scrubbed and washed
1 - Tsp Salt
1/2 - Tsp Pepper
1 - Tbsp Olive Oil

Ingredients (Dressing):
1 - Tbsp Dijon Mustard (or regular mustard if you don't have Dijon)
1 - Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 - Tbsp Olive Oil

Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Add beets to an oven safe dish, cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Tightly cover with tin foil. Place in oven and cook for 60 -75 minutes or until a fork can easily pierce the beets.

Let the beets cool to room temperature or just put them in the fridge over night.

Cut off the bottoms and peel off as much skin as possible. Cut into small piece and put into a large bowl.

In a separate bowl add the mustard, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Whisk together and pour over top of the beets. Mix until the beets are well coated. Top with some chives or green olives and serve as a side.

Bruschetta Bread

I was really surprised that I didn't already have this recipe posted as it's something that I make all the time. Bruschetta Bread is pretty quick appetizer and easy to make.



Ingredients:
3 - Large Tomatoes (Field Tomatoes are better because they aren't as juice)
3 - Tbsp of Balsamic Salad Dressing
1 - Tbsp of Olive Oil
2 - Green Onions (Just the greens)
2 - Cloves of Garlic
1 - Baguette



Directions:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Score the three tomatoes on the bottom.

Put the tomatoes in a steamer, turn it on high and steam for 4 or 5 minutes until the skin starts to loosen. (You don't want to cook them).

While the tomatoes are steaming, cut the Baguette into 1" think pieces, brush olive oil onto one side and place face down on a backing sheet. Bake at 400 for about 6 - 8 minutes or until top start to get a little bit golden brown.

Take out a large bowl, add the balsamic, oil, green onion and garlic.

Mix it all together.

Once the tomatoes skins are starting to peel off, take the pot off the heat and pour cold water over it until cool.

Once the tomatoes have cooled, put them on a cutting board.

Chop them up.

Add the Tomatoes to the mixture and mix together.

At this point the baguettes should be ready. Pull them out and flip over.

Take a large spoonful of the mixture, place it on a baguette and serve. Make sure that you keep the bowl handy because you always need to load on some extra topping :)