Pumpkin & Pomegranate

I haven’t always been a fan of Indian food. When I was younger I tried some from a buffet and did not appreciate the spice combination so I shunned it for years. I am an adult now, and I recognize that I may have been overhasty. There is such variety in Indian cuisine I couldn’t possibly dislike EVERY dish. Plus, my taste buds have changes over the years, and I also know that buffets aren’t exactly known for their amazing food. Last year when Matt and I started dating I decided to give Indian food another go.  I asked my friends Aakash and Purva if they could recommend a good Indian restaurant in Seattle. They told me that there isn’t one* and that they would all give me indigestion. Apparently Indian restaurants in America are known for being heavy on the oil, and that isn’t something I am looking for. I decided the only way to do it would be for me to make the food myself.

*side note, there is a restaurant they recommend but it is in Renton and apparently it would be impossible for me to get vegan dishes there as they make almost everything with ghee.

So, last year I did make a few dishes, but I am still not as comfortable with Indian food as I would like to be. This isn’t because it is difficult, but because I don’t know enough about the cuisine itself to know what I will like and how to season things authentically. What I end up doing is seasoning them to my own personal taste, and that tends to be a tad spice heavy (and heat heavy). With that in mind I give to you a dish I was very happy with. I admit that I unfortunately did not add enough water to the pot while cooking the chickpeas, and Matt and I had to pick through each pea and discard the ones with the charring. So my dish ultimately had less chickpeas, but was still delicious. It also made enough for us to both have leftovers for two more meals.

The paratha was another adventure! I haven’t ever had traditional paratha, and since I don’t eat grains I left those for Matt (they looked and smelled delicious). I ended up making a non-traditional buckwheat (kuttu) paratha. It is non-traditional because I used sweet potatoes instead of the traditional white potato. I did this because sweet potatoes have much more nutrients than regular potatoes. They were a fantastic accompaniment to the masala dish, even if they were a mite tricky to deal with. I am going to include a special cooking notes section at the bottom below the recipes, so that might help out some.

This really is a good dish to make if you want to have something to eat for a few days. Feel free to adjust the spices to your liking, like I said I am a little heavy handed in the spice department.

Channa and Palak Masala

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Dried Chickpeas
• Virgin Coconut Oil
• 1 Large Onion, chopped
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 2 Bags Frozen Spinach, thawed (or 8 C. Fresh)
• 4-5 Roma Tomatoes, chopped
• 2.5 tsp. Ground Coriander
• 2.5 tsp. Ground Cumin
• 2 tsp. Garam Masala
• 1 tsp. Turmeric
• 3/4 tsp Cayenne
• 1.5 tsp. Sea Salt
• 1/2 tsp. Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• 2 T. Fresh Cilantro, chopped (optional)

Method:

1. Rinse the chickpeas and discard any stones or bad peas. Cover with water and let soak for 12-24 hours*.
2. Drain the chickpeas and then put in a pot and cover with water. Add enough water so that there is 3 inches of water above the top of the chickpeas. Bring water to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Partially cover the pot with a lid, and let simmer for 1-1.5 hours. remove from heat and pour any excess liquid.
3. In a heavy bottomed skillet, sautée the chopped onion in some virgin coconut oil until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and simmer for another minute.
4. Add the onions to the chickpeas along with the rest of the ingredients, except for the cilantro. Bring to a simmer and add the extra liquid if the mixture is too dry. Simmer for an hour and then stir in the fresh cilantro.

Buckwheat Paratha

Ingredients:

• 2 C. Buckwheat Flour
• 2-3 Small Sweet Potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt (or to taste)
• Virgin Coconut Oil for frying

Method:

1. With your fingers, mix together the mashed potatoes, buckwheat flour, and salt until it forms a dough. If you need a little moisture add a little bit of water. Cover with a damp towel and let sit for 30 minutes.
2. Form dough into 4-5 balls and cover again with the damp towel.
3. Sprinkle your counter with a little buckwheat flour and roll out into a disk that is about 1/4 inch thick.
4. Heat up some virgin coconut oil in a cast iron skillet and fry the paratha for about 45 seconds on each side, or until they start to develop brown spots

**Cooking notes**

• Make sure you have enough water in the pot when you cook your chickpeas. Don’t be like me and scorch a layer of them.
• Working with gluten free flours can be tricky. There is no bounce in the dough, and so getting it even is key or it won’t cook properly. Definitely make sure that you have some extra buckwheat flour. I didn’t and so I had to use oil instead so the rolling pin wouldn’t stick. It worked, but it wasn’t preferable.