2013-03-04

Indian Chickpeas and Greens

I hope everyone had a great weekend.  We have been experiencing the first real spring-like weather here in Eastern Washington, and I am very much enjoying the sunshine and lighter-jacket-weather.  Kevin and I had quite a few adventures this weekend, including attempting to move our new couch into our apartment.  This attempt ultimately failed, not because the couch was too big, but because our door is at such and angle to the stair railing.  Oh darn!

After Kevin and I talked about some of our complaints and needs, we decided we needed to look for a new place.  I have been desperately wanting a new couch for months and months, pretty much since we got married.  Since then we have been using Kevin's college futon, which is anything but comfortable.  So, a few weeks ago, Kevin caved-into my request under the condition that we get one at a discounted store.  OK!  Fine by me, as long as I get a couch I can knit and relax on!  We found the perfect one and a matching recliner from Big Lots, but had to wait a few weeks to pick it up.  Well, as the story goes, it was not a success and we ended up having to store the couch at my parent's place for now.

Luckily our lease was up at the end of this month (it would have gone month to month after that), so on Sunday we went around town all afternoon looking at places, and finally decided on some apartments that were a bit older than ours, in about the same location, is almost the same in rent, and has way more things we need/want.  (1) A door and angle big enough to fit our new couch and recliner, (2) an in-unit washer and dryer, (3) an on site fitness facility, (4) plenty of parking, (5) everything else our old place has.  I'm pretty happy with our new place, and we are both very excited to move (AND HAVE MY DAMN COUCH)!

Well that is what is new with my life, other than this amazing Indian dish... that I have made three times already.  Seriously!  It is that good!  I hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:


  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 can diced tomatoes
  • 1 small can fire roasted chiles (mild)
  • 1 tsp minced or paste ginger
  • 3-5 cups dark greens, washed and well chopped (kale, spinach, green collards, etc.)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 Tbsp corriander
  • 1/2 tsp tumeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • salt to taste
  • whole wheat naan or brown rice for serving
Directions:

  1. In a blender, blend together the canned diced tomatoes, canned chiles, and ginger paste, until smooth.
  2. In a skillet on High, bring 1/2 cup of water to a very very rapid boil.  Toss in the cumin seeds, and while continually stirring, let the water boil off.
  3. Once the water has nearly boiled off, pour in the pureed tomato mixture and the rest of the spices.  Cook on Medium High at a simmer for 5 minutes.
  4. Add the dark greens, stir them in, and cover for 5-8 minutes, until the greens have wilted down.  
  5. Add the chickpeas and simmer on low for 8 minutes, adding more water if need be to maintain a gravy consistency.
  6. Serve hot over brown rice or with whole wheat naan bread for dipping.
Amy's Notes:
  • I have made this dish with a few different types of greens and found that I like baby kale or spinach the best.  Regular kale and collards take a bit longer to steam, and gives the dish a bit more of a greens-bitter taste.  So, if that's what you like, keep that in mind.
  • If you happen to have garam marsala in your spice repetoir, I would suggest using 1 tsp of that and leaving out the tumeric, cayenne, and cloves.
  • If you would like to make your own homemade whole wheat naan, this is the recipe that I use, but minus 1 Tbsp of oil.
  • If you are not a fan of spicy foods, eliminate the cayenne pepper, or replace it with chili powder.  Also, make sure to get a can of MILD roasted chiles.

This was my very first try at making Indian food and all I can say is... I'M HOOKED!  I have been doing some research about Indian food and found that a large portion of the population in India are vegetarian.  I'm thinking I can hopefully nutritarian-ize a few tradtitional recipes that are already vegetarian. 

Do you have any favorite vegetarian or nutritarian Indian recipes?

14 comments:

  1. I love dal and saag...Indian food is SO good!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know Indian food terms well enough to know what those are, but I'll have to research those recipe when the Indian food mood strikes me again... so probably soon ;)

      Thanks for reading!

      -Amy

      Delete
  2. This recipe sounds great. I can't wait to try it. I love Indian food! We're lucky enough to have a fabulous Indian restaurant near our house that has a decent vegan menu. They cook everything without butter, and the naan doesn't have yogurt in it.

    But, since we don't eat out much, when I get a craving for Indian, I have to make it myself. One of the easiest recipes I have is for Chickpea Curry with Cashews. Quick and easy, and great over a bed of brown basmati. I usually add veggies on the side.

    Here's a link to the recipe, which came from Prevention.com. I just leave out the yogurt. http://recipes.prevention.com/Print/ChickpeaCurryWithCashews-Recipe.aspx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is so nice that you have an Indian place close by that is able to cater to your needs! I had no idea that yogurt was so prevalent in Indian cooking until I went to a local restaurant with my family a few months ago. I had to be careful what to order for sure!

      Chickpea Curry with Cashews sounds wonderful! I just made a big batch of chickpeas from dried beans, so I would love to try it sometime soon. However, I'm having a hard time following your link. It seems to take me to a fairly blank page with just a few notes on it. Hopefully I'll be able to search it out on Prevention.com.

      Thanks so much for your comment and for reading!

      -Amy

      Delete
    2. Sorry, I think that was the "print" link. Here's the regular page: http://recipes.prevention.com/Recipe/ChickpeaCurryWithCashews.aspx.

      We just started cooking all our beans from dried too. Got a pressure cooker so I don't have to plan so far ahead. ;-)

      Delete
    3. That one worked this time! Oh that sounds so delicious, AND with cilantro! Mmm!

      I would love to have a pressure cooker someday for that convenience, but with the space my kitchen has, I think my crockpot will have to do for a little while longer. Hehe.

      Delete
  3. Indian is my all time favorite Ethnic food!!!! LOVE LOVE LOVE Indian!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And for good reason! I feel like I'm just starting to discover a whole new world of deliciousness I've been missing out on! I think it is all of the wonderful spices in the recipes that really make me love Indian food. Thanks for reading! -Amy

      Delete
  4. I've been there with the couch and door situation. No fun. Hope you get to move into your new place soon so you can enjoy the new couch. :)

    Yum, the chickpeas look wonderful. I bet the smell is fantastic, too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Nikki! Moving is thankfully coming soon for us. And, this recipe does smell great! Indian spice mixtures are so yummy :)

      Delete
  5. It took me a while but now Indian food is definitely my favourite! Dals are really easy to make once you have the spices (and the beans). I made something similar to this recently with mushrooms thrown in... actually I have been making a lot of beans+greens skillet combinations lately. My favourite has been chickpeas + spinach + dill + lemon. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have yet to try dal, but that is next on my list of Indian dishes to nutritarian-ize. I love beans and greens as well. They are so versatile, and can range from a simple ingredient meal to an extravagant burst of flavors. They are also so good for you too ;)

      Delete
  6. WOW! This looks amazing! And so does the rest of your blog! Mind if I link you on my site? Swing by and let me know when you have time!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jennifer, Thanks so much for stopping by! I see that you write a few blogs, but feel free to link to me anytime on any one of them :) Thanks for reading- Amy

      Delete