Craving Spicy, Healthy, and Exotic

After a weekend of tradition French and Italian fare, I was really craving complex spices, vegetables, and healthy cuisine. I had most everything I needed for a recipe for Spicy Ethiopian Tomato Lentil Stew from PostPunk and a promising Naan recipe from Jugalbandi. As much as injera is the authentic bread of Ethiopian food, it doesn't appeal much to me and I am on a mission to make the perfect Naan. Last night, I came pretty close.


The Spicy Ethiopian Tomato Lentil Stew was a huge success, although I might add some green chilis next time or throw in more cayenne as it didn't pack as much heat as I thought it would. The flavors of the spice blend though, were perfect, so it didn't really need the heat anyway. This is rated an A for nutrition, coming in at only 184 calories per generous serving (this makes 8 portions), 5.3g fat (.7g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 319mg sodium, 8.7g dietary fiber, 8.2g sugars, 8.3g protein, 70% vitamin A, 67% vitamin C, 7% calcium, and 19% iron.

I took half a huge onion diced, one huge carrot diced, and four smashed and roughly chopped cloves of garlic and sauteed them in some EVOO. While those were cooking, I created a spice blend consisting of 2 tsp cumin, 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp fenugreek, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp ground cardamom (a la coffee grinder -- seriously, invest in a good coffee grinder for your whole spices and you will not regret it!), 1/2 tsp ground coriander (again, coffee grinder -- coriander, cardamom, and nutmeg are three of the spices I find are far superior freshly ground), 1/8 tsp allspice, 1/8 tsp ground clove, 1/8 tsp cinnamin, 1/2 tsp cayenne (should have used more!), and salt to taste. Throw that all into the pot and let the heat draw out their scents and flavors. I also threw in about 1/4 cup of ground flaxseed at this point.

Now, at this point, I should have also added 2 tbsp of coarsly chopped ginger, but I ended up throwing it in towards the end. The result? The ginger maintained a wonderfully fresh flavor. I love ginger, so I think this may have been an improvement, but it definately stands out if you put it in too late.

Once the onions are almost translucent, add 1.5 cups of stock. I added almost two cups of low sodium chicken stock (but this can be vegetarianized) and 1 can of no salt diced tomatoes and let it come to a simmer. The recipe called for 10 plum tomatoes, but after seeing the beautiful tomatoes in France and the lackluster tomatoes at Whole Foods, I subbed the canned tomatoes. Although the recipe called for a cup of lentils, I used 1/2 cup of quinoa. Quinoa takes a while to cook so I put them in first and let them simmer for about 20 minutes. Then I added 1/2 cup of red lentils and about half a small can of tomato paste. When it was simmering again, I added the forgotten ginger, a cup of frozen peas and a little more water as the consistency was pretty thick), covered, and let simmer for another 20 minutes.

Make sure to stir this once every 5 minutes or so as the lentils and quinoa may stick to the bottom of the pan, especially if there isn't enough liquid. Saves really well and comes out nice and thick which serves over rice and flatbread wonderfully. I think you could also add some nice greens to this and it would be fantastic.

And now, the new and improved Naan. Behold, the glorious George Foreman Grill.


I believe that this is the secret to the perfect naan. At least the perfect, easy, and consistent naan in my kitchen ... which does not ever result in something pita-like.

I had found several million recipes for naan, ranging from using milk and baking powder to yeast and honey to using a baking stone to stovetop. My first attempt turned out like nice soft pita. Tasty, but lacked the nice char marks and crusty outside with chewy inside that good naan has. The baking stone seems too require perfect timing and I find is better for breads that need really high heat. The most successful naan, apparantly, is done over medium heat. So I ruled that out. Other cooking methods like using a cast iron pan or stovetop grill also seemed to be really determined by perfect timing. One idea was to use a regular wire rack and place it over a burner which was going to be my method, until I realized that the George Foreman grill is set permanently to medium heat and has grill sections. Hmmmm.

This recipe makes 10 small pieces of naan. The result is wonderfully crispy on the outside, chewy and fluffy on the inside, and doesn't require the diligence of some of the other methods of cooking naan. It grades A- for nutrition coming in at 122 calories per piece, 1.9g fat, 1mg cholestrol, 125mg sodium, 1.7g dietary fiber, 1.4g sugars, 3.7g protein, 6% vitamin C, 3% calcium, and 8% iron.



Take one small yukon gold potato and microwave it for 4-5 minutes until very well cooked. Let cool and mash so its about 1/2 cup. Mash really well because it needs to integrate with the flour. Yukon golds have a wonderfully naturally buttery flavor which eliminates the need to brush these babies with butter or ghee afterwards in the tradition of Indians.

Proof 1 1/4 tsp dry active yeast in 1/3 cup of warm water and 1 tsp of raw honey. Then add 6 tbsp nonfat greek yogurt and 1 tbsp oil (this is where I would change the recipe -- I think less oil would suffice, maybe just a teaspoon -- don't take this out because this is what helps the char in the cooking process -- I also used grapeseed oil for kicks to see what would happen -- couldn't really tell the difference except that it doesn't impart any particular flavor).

Take 2 1/4 cups flour (I mixed 1 cup unbleached all purpose flour, and then equal parts whole wheat flour, spelt flour, and millet flour ... I ended up using just under 2 cups of this though) and mix with the mashed potato, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp gluten, and 1/2 tsp baking powder. Slowly mix in the liquids and knead until the dough is flexible and elastic. The key is not to overdo the flour. Cover and let rise for about an hour.

Since I had used what I felt was too much oil, I ended up just using a bamboo cutting board which is polished with oil to keep it from drying out and using a tiny amount of oil on my rolling pint to roll these out. I also figured out that just taking a ball and stretching it out was successful, less messy, and provided for a chunkier texture, which I like. Divide into about 10 pieces. Don't go too thin on these because you want the dough to rise enough so that the George Foreman grill plates have contact on both the top and the bottom by the end of cooking.

Heat up the grill until the red light goes off. Put the dough down and close the grill. I had actually done a few where I kept it open and flipped them, but that is unnecessary so long as the dough is about 1/4 inch thick. Each one takes just a couple minutes. I figured out that the light goes on when you put the dough down, and when it goes off the first time, you can check to make sure everything is okay and/or rotate if you like crispier naan. Then close the lid and wait for it to go off again and then its done. This is a forgiving method as well. I had one or two I pulled off too early or too late, and they were still pretty good.



The great thing with this method is that since the grill marks are offset on the George Foreman grill, the dough rises into the cracks in between, so they still feel quite fluffy. I think the chewiness comes from the fact that no moisure can escape (and the potato adds moisture) since the grill is cooking both sides at once. Anyway, just saying, I love my George Foreman grill.

Mambolicious Indian Feast

One of my good friends from the salsa scene is obsessed with Indian food. He loves food more than his native-ish Mexican food, but don’t tell his mama that. Anyway, inspired by my last Indian food fest, I invited him over for some pre-salsa party Indian food. The deal we brokered was that he would make a spicy chutney and bring over some music for me. This is a pretty great deal for me since he is one of the up-and-coming salsa DJs here and well, his music collection is well over 120 gigs. Drool. I’m actually jamming to some new music as I relive this feast of Makhani (Butter) Chicken, Beet Green Dal (Lentils), Raita, Cilantro-Mint Chutney, and Garlic Naan.

I made the Raita waaaay ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge. Basically followed the same recipe as before, only I omitted the onion and used a little extra mint.


And this is my favorite greek yogurt that has spoiled me – I can’t go back to the regular crap.


The Makhani Chicken recipe I found online was very labor intensive and I think if I make this again, which I will but maybe with homemade paneer, I would omit the second marinating step as I’m not sure it was worth it. The sauce, however, was absolutely perfect. Chunky, tangy, spicy, fragrant, and had a certain depth to it that made it feel authentic, rather than the “almost” flavor of so many jarred Indian sauces.

The sauce for this chicken, which can really be paired with anything from tofu to pork to paneer, grades A for nutrition. It makes 3 servings at 124 calories per serving, 5.3g fat (1.1 g saturated fat), 2mg cholesterol, 285mg sodium, 3g dietary fiber, 10.2g sugars, 4.8g protein, 20% vitamin A, 18% vitamin C, 11% calcium, and 12% iron. Add another 100 calories or so per serving for the chicken, paneer, or fewer calories depending on your tofu. And remember that a serving is the size of the palm of your hand, not the size of your foot.

Saturday morning, I placed about one big boneless chicken breast cubed in a glass dish with the juice of one lemon, a pinch of salt, and 1 ½ tsp chili powder. I marinated it for about 1 hour and the lemon had made the chicken all nice and plump (it’s a tenderizer). The recipe then had me make a marinade of more lemon juice, ½ c. strained yogurt (I used the greek stuff), 1 TBS garam masala, 1 TBS vegan butter melted, 1 ½ tsp chili powder, 1 TBS ginger paste, 1 TBS garlic paste (for both pastes, I just mashed the finely diced garlic and ginger under the flat side of my santoku knife which worked fine), and 1 TBS EVOO. Then I marinated the chicken another 4 hours in that. This step, I felt did not do a whole lot. I would probably just take all of the spices called for here, take the yogurt out, and put it in with the first marination step. Technically, this recipe makes you do tandoori chicken which then gets simmered in the sauce.

Roast the chicken at 400 degrees for about 10-15 minutes. The recipe had said to do it on skewers. I just stuck em on a rack with a baking pan underneath. Now, you are supposed to cook the chicken until they are “almost” done. I don’t think I achieved this as my chicken ended up a little on the dry side. I would suggest either roasting it for just 5 minutes to get the nice crust on the outside, or sear it in a pan or on a grill, then take it off to finish in the sauce later.

Okay so to make the sauce, melt 1 ½ tsp vegan butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 1 ½ tsp garam masala until it begins to crackle, mix in 1 ½ tsp ginger paste, 1 ½ tsp chopped garlic, 1 TBS chopped green chili pepper (I kept the seeds in for extra kick since my friend and I both love spice), and sauté until tender. Then stir in 1 c. tomato puree. I used no salt added canned diced tomatoes threw it in my blender. The best part was that I had leftover tomato puree for a recipe I had planned for the next day -- I hate wasting food. Stir in 1 ½ tsp chili powder, salt to taste, and ½ c. water. Bring to boil and reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes or more (the longer you simmer, the more integrate the flavors are). Then add 1 ½ tsp raw honey and ½ tsp fenugreek (it took me a while to find this, but Whole Foods does carry it – I wish I had a metro accessible Indian grocery for this stuff though).

I added to the sauce a mix of cashews that had been toasted and turned into flour in my coffee grinder as well as ground flaxseed to add a nice nutty undertone. I stole this idea from the Sag Paneer recipe I did last week.

Once the honey is melted in and everything is almost ready, place the chicken in the sauce and cook another 5 minutes until the chicken is done. Then, stir in ½ cup of yogurt (the recipe calls for fresh cream, but I prefer the yogurt as a healthier alternative). I was skeptical of the overuse of chili powder in this recipe, but this was fantastic. Didn’t really look like any butter chicken I have eaten at Indian restaurants, but it was better in many ways.


While the chicken was marinating, I whipped up an easy lentil recipe, Beet Green Dal. Really, you can do this with any dark leafy green, I just happened to have beet greens on hand from the beets I had roasted during the week. This is one of those recipes that provides a perfect contrast to the spiciness of the Makhani Chicken and adds veggies and legumes to what would have been a very meat heavy meal.

This is also super-healthy, earning a nutrition grade of A. This recipe serves three people with each serving containing 155 calories, 2.3g fat, 0 cholestorol, 22mg sodium, 10.9g dietary fiber, 1.1g sugars, 9.9g protein, 139% vitamin A, 93% vitamin C, 8% calcium, and 19% iron.

Soak ½ c. red lentils for an hour and drain. Saute ¼ chopped onion, 1 deseeded green chili, pinch of salt, ¼ tsp cumin, and ½ tsp dry mustard. Then add the lentils with about 3 TBS water and simmer on low for 5-10 minutes with the lid on. Bring the temperature up to medium-high and add a big handful of greens cut into 1-inch strips and stir. Put the lid back on to allow the greens to wilt. Grate some fresh nutmeg on top and add a squeeze of lime juice.

This dish is easy to make ahead of time during the day and just leave the lid on to keep the moisture in.

While all of this was going on, my friend threw together a wonderfully spicy and zippy Mint and Cilantro Chutney. It’s an easy recipe as, according to him, that’s all he’s capable of (Jon, I'm convinced you will be able to master more complicated things after a few more cooking sessions with me!). But it made a perfect compliment to the rest of the dishes and is another grade A nutritional addition to the meal. This makes 3 servings at 46 calories a serving, .6g fat, 1mg cholesterol, 400mg sodium, 3.4g dietary fiver, 4.7g sugars, 2.5g protein, 45% vitamin A, 13% vitamin C, 12% calcium, and 31% iron.

Take 1 ½ c. of mint leaves, 1 c. cilantro leaves, 1 green chili, 1 TBS tamarind paste (we actually used tamarind concentrate and it could have used a little more – this is what gives this chutney tanginess), 1 tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp raw sugar, and 3 TBS thick plain yogurt. My friend actually brought over some Indian yogurt, but I think I may have preferred this with the greek strained yogurt which would have made the chutney a little less runny (not that it was really runny, but it didn’t stick together like the chutneys I’ve seen elsewhere). Put all of this is a food processor and voila!

And finally, the Garlic Naan. Really, this ended up being just some really awesome pitas. They were wonderfully soft and poofy, but definitely not the consistency that naan should have been. This recipe makes 8 pieces of naan, each coming in at 109 calories, 2.4g fat, 1mg cholesterol, 157g sodium, 1.4g dietary fiber, 1.7g sugars, 3.5g protein, 3% calcium, and 7% iron.

I took ¼ c. water, 1 tsp raw sugar, and 1 tsp dry active yeast, let it sit for 5 minutes. Then added ½ cup yogurt and 1 TBS EVOO to the mix. I slowly added ¾ tsp salt, 1/3 c. spelt flour, 1/3 c. whole wheat flour, 1/3 c. millet flour, and ½ c. unbleached all purpose flour with about 1 tsp gluten. Add 1 tsp minced garlic and beat it with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes or so. This should be a very flexible dough so be careful when adding the flour not to force it to take too much. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, then heat your oven to high 400 or more with the baking stone in the top rack very close to the broiler.

Divide the dough into 10 pieces, flour your hands, and take each piece and roll it into a small ball. Take a ball, and roll it out into a thin circle. Now, the recipe said to put it on a piece of hot greased foil. But I just put it on the baking stone and it poofed up like a beautiful piece of pita. I brushed it with melted vegan butter when it came out of the oven and threw it in a piece of foil to keep warm. It was how I wanted my original pita to look like. I was also supposed to flip it over. My mistake? I think I should have put some foil on top of my baking stone and used some vegan butter or something, and I should have flipped it over and let it bake longer. Or maybe try it in a hot skillet. I’ve also read that you can try to do it on a George Foreman grill but keep the lid open. But the end result was delicious, it sure wasn’t naan, but it was delicious.

But it was fun and totally worth it. Jon, another photography buff, helped me document the ride, although he kept trying to take pictures of me freaking out about the naan. We sat and savored the meal, had a glass of Bordeaux that held up to the Indian spices, and pressed our noses to his Indian cookbook for inspiration for our next culinary disaster.


The second best part about this meal was being able to serve it up again the next day for dinner. I had some extra chicken breast that I hadn’t diced up that I threw in the yogurt marinade. Somehow, it made it better to get two meals out of all that work. I took it out of the marinade the next day and dredged it in leftover cashew/flaxseed flour, then threw it on a hot George Foreman grill to cook. I steamed the rest of the beet greens and added them to the leftover dal (lentils), and toasted the last piece of garlic naan. And insta-Indian feast for one. So. Good. Again. Who says leftovers has to suck?