Indian Feast

I love when the weeks are short—time for the weekend already!

Lately, I’ve been spending time doing prep work for my new job. It’s a dream job really—I have piles upon piles of cookbooks scattered on my living room floor, files for menu planning, and a gigantic grocery list to order from the distributor. I am in charge of menu planning for the summer and I am trying to incorporate a different cuisine every week. So in other words, I am branching out past American recipes and educating myself on all corners of the earth. So much food, so little time!

The basis of this adult camp is to help them learn to teach their language better. They will be coming from everywhere—China, Russia, Taiwan, and Spain. So the culture exposure will be exciting to say the least!

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Anyways, today’s cuisine is Indian. A little bit about it:

• It is characterized by the use of various spices, herbs and other vegetables.
• Each family of Indian cuisine is characterized by a wide assortment of dishes and cooking techniques.
• The staples of Indian cuisine are rice, atta (whole wheat flour), and a variety of pulses, the most important of which are masoor (most often red lentil), channa (bengal gram), toor (pigeon pea or yellow gram), urad (black gram) and mung (green gram).
• Most Indian curries are cooked in vegetable oil. In North and West India, peanut oil has traditionally been most popular for cooking, while in Eastern India, mustard oil is more commonly used. Coconut oil is used widely along the western coast and South India.
• The most important or frequently used spices in Indian cuisine are chilli pepper, black mustard seed (rai), cumin (jeera), turmeric (haldi, manjal), ginger (adrak, inji), coriander (dhania), and garlic (lassan, poondu).

Indian Style Baked Chicken

Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 2 tsp garam masala
• 1/4 c fresh chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 c hot sauce, such as Frank’s Original
• 3/4 c plain yogurt, I used fat-free
• 1/4 c low-fat buttermilk
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• 8 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
• 1 c yellow summer squash sliced, if desired

Directions:

• Combine all ingredients except chicken breast, in a large bowl and stir until well blended. Add chicken, turning to coat well. Pour everything into a gallon zip-loc freezer bag. Refrigerate at least 8 hours, but up to 24 hours is fine.

• Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray two 8 x 8 glass baking dishes.
• Remove chicken breasts from bag with tongs, leaving some of the marinade on each breast—this will ensure moistness.
• Place sliced squash on the side of breasts, if you choose to use the squash.
• Put 4 breasts in each pan, and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a meat thermometer registers at 165 F.

 

Bombay Sweet Potatoes

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

• 1 pound sweet potatoes
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 c Hunts fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

• Peel potatoes and cut into 2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until just beginning to soften, 10-15 mins. Drain.

• Heat oil in a large wok or sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add mustard seeds and bay leaf. When seeds start jumping (this surprised me a bit at first haha!), add ginger and onion. Sauté until the onion is deep golden brown. Reduce heat to medium-low and add turmeric, chili powder, lemon juice, garlic, salt, and potatoes. Cook, stirring occasionally, taking care not to break the potatoes. Add tomatoes and a little water to release any sticking potatoes, and cook a few minutes more, until potatoes are tender. When ready to serve, top with cilantro.

 Homemade Naan Bread

Serves: 14

Ingredients:

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water

1/4 cup white sugar, I used Splenda 

3 tablespoons milk

1 egg, beaten

2 teaspoons salt

4 1/2 cups bread flour—ended up using about 3 3/4 c

2 teaspoons minced garlic (optional)

1/4 cup butter, melted—I used ICBINB spread

Directions:

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.

Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.

During the second rising, prepare a medium-sized skillet. 

Lightly oil skillet.Place dough in skillet and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from skillet.

*All together now!*

Do you have any great Indian recipes I could consider incorporating into the menu?? Please share!