Nurturing my inner... never say never

There are some types of food I absolutely love, but would never dream of making at home.  Well, maybe not never.  I might dream about making it, but I would never think of actually trying to make it at home.  Well, maybe not never...

Chana Masala

1 tbsp Canola or vegetable oil
1 shallot, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsps tomato paste
1 can of Garbanzo beans (chickpeas), with liquid
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp corriander
1 tsp turmeric
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 cup split yellow peas, cooked and drained
1 potato, raw, peeled and diced
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp lemon juice

That may look like a substantial ingredient list, but it will be worth it.  Might as well start this adventure with a fearless attitude!  When I think "never," it really just turns into throwing down the gauntlet for myself.  (Consider it thrown.)

Indian food contains a complex, spectrum of flavors.  And I love it.  All of it.  There is little I haven't tried.  (Samosa, poori, biriyani, dal, paneer, dosa - I'll take some of everything and still have room for gulab jamun!)  I have my favorite local spots for easy carry out, (Harvest of India for the samosa, Mayuri for the palak paneer) but I just knew I couldn't leave this culinary, curried rock unturned.

Some main ingredients.

Indian food is all about layering.  And simmering.  And building.  And patience.  It cannot be rushed.  Unless you have a pressure cooker, then you can knock off an hour.  (I just tend to avoid having things in my kitchen that could explode and kill me.  But if you're comfortable with a pressure cooker, and have protective hockey playing equipment, then hey, have at it.)

Indians use lots of garlic and onions in their cooking which helps to make it extremely aromatic.  I swapped out a shallot in this case for the onion because it's what I had on hand.

It was an acceptable substitute for me,
since shallots are a lot like onions.

I chose Canola oil instead of olive because I wanted to have a very neutral flavor base to build upon.

Cook slowly on medium just to soften.

Garbanzo beans were going to be the main ingredient, according to the unsubstantiated, unrehearsed plan in my head, but I knew I wanted to add a few other veggies as well.  Split yellow peas for starters.  Because I used dry, I would recommend boiling them in hot water for 30 minutes and draining before adding.  It will just help soften them faster.  Or you could soak them overnight if you were terribly ambitious and a grand planner.

Buy in bulk. It's cost effective.

I also diced up a raw potato.  I figured it would add a nice creaminess to the chana masala, but would be neutral enough to not to compete with the other flavors.

Cut pieces around the same size.

I tossed into the pan, with the already softened garlic and shallot, the can of chickpeas, the yellow peas and potato.  Along with the cup of chicken broth and 1/2 cup of water.  (The rest of the water will go in later.)

It's a one pot (well pan) wonder. So to speak.

It takes me a while to go through something when I only have to use a couple of tablespoons of it at at a time.  So I thought I would try tomato paste in a tube where it would keep the air out and stay fresh for the next time.  (Whenever that might be.)

You can buy anchovies this way as well.

It's kind of fun to use too.  Like squeezing out crimson-colored toothpaste.  I stirred that in, covered and set it on simmer for 1 hour.  Stirring now and then, keeping a check on the water level.  After about the first 45 minutes to an hour, I put in the additional cup of water.  But you can add it whenever you see it needs it or it's running low on liquid.

It's definitely approximate measuring when
your ingredients come out of a tube.

Fortunately for me, Whole Foods had small containers of spices.  So I didn't feel like I was buying large quantities of spices I would probably use a bit less frequently than my normal stash.

The prices weren't bad either.

I waited until the last 30 minutes to put in the spices and salt.  Stirred those in, covered again, and let them infuse the beans and liquid.

I even like all the colors. Like an autumn
sunset painting.

You probably didn't expect the cinnamon stick, did you. Well, that's why Indian food is full of surprises. You may not have realized what you were tasting when you thought, "Hmmm, that's unusually yummy."  It's fun to decode the mysteries of your favorite dishes.

After 1 1/2 hours total simmer time, everything will be well blended, soft and creamy.  Test the potatoes and beans to make sure.  Everything should be tender.

Pretty darn convincing for a non Indian chef.

In the freezer I had some rice, so I thought I would use it instead of boiling some from scratch.  It wasn't Indian basmati, but Jasmine is really close to it and would suit the dish just fine.

It's quick and easy to make.

It's so simple.  Cut a slit in the wrapper on the top and put in the microwave for 3 minutes.  Fool proof.

Perfect rice every time.

A bit of herb will round out the dish at the end.  Fresh cilantro.  Chopped up.

The herb will brighten up the flavor of the beans.

So, rice, chana masala, cilantro and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  And I can no longer say I never made Indian food.  I did it!  And it was bahut acha.  (Very good.)

Who's afraid of ethnic cooking? Not me.

What else ya got?  German?  Turkish?  French?  I'm pretty sure I can do anything now!  There's just no stopping me.  And if I think I can't do it, well shoot, that's really just an invitation to challenge myself to discover otherwise!  (BTW, this was the same attitude I adopted when training for my first 5K, so it's quite versatile.  In fact, I should write a book about it, sell it, become a motivational speaker and tour the world!  Okay wait, first I need to tackle creme caramel.  Then I'll write my best seller and pack my bags for Europe.)