last week dw & i went on a Road Trip
to upstate New York,
to Rochester,
for his high school reunion
the thing about seeing where
the love of my life went to school,
the streets he ambled on,
(just kidding, the man doesn’t amble)
the little pizza store he used to
order from that got robbed,
is that i got to meet the him Before,
the him before we met,
and my opinion of him was re-enforced,
the man i’m officially (and legally)
binding my heart to is a good guy
he is sincere
he is the salt of the earth
he is so funny
and he can be so g h e t t o sometimes,
dropping old-school rap lyrics
at a moment’s notice,
which just tickles me so much

during our 4 day stay up there
we dined on indian twice
i will admit to
being in absolute AWE
that these small ethnic establishments
meticulously indicated what ingredients they used,
if it was merely vegetarian,
or specifically vegan
they scored major points with
me in that regard, and
it made me so incredibly annoyed
with the places we have here further south
that do not pay that kind of attention

anyway, despite having had indian
so recently
i was inspired to try my hand
at making a few of the dishes i tried
i will admit that the flavorings
were not as bold,
i had a light hand on spices
and spiciness levels
and my naan making skills could
use some practice
but dw, being the good guy that he is
devoured everything
the daal, or lentil stew,
will probably be a staple for us
as the weather cools
eggplants are in season now,
as are tomatoes, although i suppose
canned tomatoes could work in a
pinch
the flavorings
were all the better the next day
as leftovers

peshawari naan
adapted from manger

2 cups sifted spelt plain flour
½ tsp salt
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp active yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ cup coconut milk, lukewarm (the drinking variety, not the canned stuff)
2 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp olive oil, for brushing over the naan before serving

Filling: 2/3 cups mixture of dried coconut, chopped raisins and handful of sunflower seeds

in a small bowl, mix milk, active yeast and oil together, leave for a few minutes while the yeast is activated

sift flour into a large bowl. add salt, sugar, baking powder and mix well.add the liquid ingredients and start mixing the dough with a fork or a dough whisk. dump mixture on the counter and knead for about 10 minutes, or until you get a soft dough. shape into a ball, lightly oil and put back into the bowl, cover with a clean cloth and leave to rise in a warm place for an hour.

when ready, preheat oven to 450F.

divide the dough into 6 balls, cover, leave to rise in a warm place for a another 15 minutes.

on a lightly floured surface, roll the balls to a small palm-sized circle, add a tbsp of nut mixture in the center, wetting the edges with some water. fold the circles in half. roll again to an oval shape, so all the nut mixture gets spread out in the naan. place the naans on a hot pre-heated baking tray, and bake for about 5 minutes, until they puff and have a few brown patches.

when ready, brush naans with olive oil. serve immediately.

yields: 6 medium naans, serves 6, or 3 per person… – calories: 165 | total fat: 0.5g | saturated fat: 0.2g | sodium: 248g | total carbs: 34.6g | dietary fiber: 1.7g | sugars: 2g | protein: 4.8g

red lentil curry
adapted from Real Simple

splash of canola oil
2 TBL chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, chopped
half red onion chopped
1 TBL curry powder
4 medium carrots, chopped
1 large potato, cubed
1 cup red lentils (soaked overnight)
4 cups water
kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

in a pot heat up the oil and add in the ginger, garlic & onions. saute until fragrant and softened. stir in the curry powder, coating the mixture well. next, throw in the carrots, potato cubes and lentils, stirring the pot to warm all the ingredients through. at this point, season with salt & pepper. pour in the water, bring to a boil and then a low simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the veggies are soft.

serve with naan

serves 6 – calories: 374 | fat: 11g | saturated fat: 1g | cholesterol: 5mg | sodium: 549mg | protein: 19g | total carbs: 50g | sugar: 7g | fiber: 6g | iron: 3mg | calcium: 78mg

baingan bharta
adapted from sinfully spicy, recipe found here

1 large eggplant
some oil to rub over the eggplant
3 TBL olive oil
1 cup chopped red onions
1″ fresh ginger root, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup fresh tomatoes, rough chopped
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 whole dried red chilies
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt, to taste p

reheat oven to 325F wash and dry eggplant, cut in half length-wise. rub with oil. when oven is warm, put eggplant cut side down onto cookie sheet. roast for about 30 minutes. the goal is to soften the flesh and have it pull from the skin.

meanwhile, in a mortar & pestle, grind the coriander seeds and dried red chilis. set aside. remove the eggplant from oven, allow to cool. when easy to handle, peel off the skin. you can remove seeds if you’d like. using a fork, mash or tear the flesh. set aside.

in a pan heat up the olive oil. add the chopped onions, sauteing until translucent. add in the chopped ginger and minced garlic, until super fragrant. add in the coriander & red chili mixture, mix well. finally, add in the tomatoes, until mixture has softened. at this point, i season with salt & pepper to taste. add in the mashed eggplant and mix thoroughly, again season to taste. remove from heat, add in the garam masala. bam.

serves 4 – calories: 124 | total fat: 11.2g | saturated fat: 1.8g | cholesterol: 1.3mg | sodium: 278mg | total carbs: 5.7g | dietary fiber: 1.2g | sugars: 2.8g | protein: 1.3g