meatballs

When I began this blog, my aspiration was to learn traditional Indian recipes from my Mom. It was quite touching, really. Well, clearly it's evolved into more of a 'I'm trying to make the tastiest possible meals in as little time as possible' and I've gone astray from my original objective.

Luckily, my Moms was in town for about a week before Christmas and I did take advantage of learning exactly one dish. Meatballs. I heart meatballs. Especially Goan-style meatballs. They were surprisingly easy to make and turned out delicious.

Ingredients

1 pound ground chicken

1 tablespoon garam masala

1/3 cup finely minced onions

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup chopped coriander leaves

1/4 cup chopped mint

1/3 cup zucchini

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 tablespoon salt

a few drops of lime

Mix all ingredients together. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn meatballs and bake another 15 minutes.

I love, love, LOVE these meatballs. My Mom did tell me to tweak the recipe to my tastes. Meaning add more onions or less salt, etc. You can eat them with some rice, throw them into a pita or naan with some raita, or just eat them plain.

crock pot tonak

Tonak is a traditional Goan dish with beans, potatoes and onions, generally eaten with bread, naan or rice. 

Ingredients

Canola oil

1 small onion (chopped)

1 1/2 tbsps garlic

2 1/2 tbsps garam masala

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

2 tbsp tamarind paste

1 tbsp low fat sour cream

1/4 cup or two cubes coconut milk

1 can of chickpeas

1 small potato (diced)

1 cup water

Preparation

Heat up crock pot and oil on high heat. After oil is warm, add mustard seeds. In frying pan, mustard seeds should pop when ready for onions, however in the crock pot they will change color to sort of a grayish/purple. Either look for the color change or wait 5-10 minutes and add the onions and garlic. Once onions are clear, add remaining ingredients. If you’re on a time crunch, then throw diced potatoes in the microwave in a bowl of water for two minutes before adding to pot.

If you have all day, then leave the crock pot on low heat for 8 hours. If you begin preparation in the evening then leave on high heat for an hour, then move to low heat until ready to eat. I think a minimum for cook time is at least four hours for this to turn out to optimal levels of tasty. This way the spices can really saturate the chickpeas and potatoes.

eggcellent curry

When the Mister is on call, as a courtesy, I ask him what he wants for dinner. Occasionally it happens (usually it doesn’t). Last night, he requested egg curry. 

Egg Curry

Ingredients

6-8 eggs

1 large onion chopped

1 medium tomato chopped

1-tsp turmeric

2-tbsp minced garlic

1-tsp chili powder

1-tsp cumin

2-tbsp garam masala

1/2-cup low fat coconut milk

1-cup water

coriander leaves for garnish (optional)

The fact that garam masala is necessary for this recipe may be a little intimidating. What the hell it is and where you can get it? Garam masala is a mixture of Indian spices. My Mom makes her own masala (although a lot of people don’t) and that’s what I use in all my Indian cooking. From what I gather, she fries her chosen spices then grinds them in a coffee bean grinder. I sort of skulk away when I see her making anything that may be a lot of work. I prefer our current set up where she miraculously shows up with a fresh baggy of garam masala. No questions asked.

Most grocery stores carry a generic mixture of garam masala that will suit your needs, if you have an Indian or Asian grocery store nearby I would suggest going there. It’s cheaper and the spices will probably be more fragrant. You can also purchase the chili powder, turmeric and cumin there on the cheap.

Be forewarned...Indian people can be rude and once you enter their territory all bets are off. If you’re not brown, you’ll get suspicious stares – as if you’re there on a surprise audit or to commit some type of felony. As a rule, Asians find it completely acceptable to hone in on someone who is different and make them feel uncomfortable by staring at them with trepidation and, eventually, amusement. Often, they will talk about you in “Indian” while you stand there paying for your goods. They’ll even look right at you and laugh a few times while they make fun of you. (And I’m not saying that Indians are shady, but I would check your receipt to make sure there aren’t any extra zeros.)

While you're there, I really, really like this sauce. It’s called Maggi Sauce and the chili garlic flavor tastes like spicy, tangy ketchup. I put it on my grill cheese with some onions.

Preparation

Fry the onions and garlic. Add the chili powder and turmeric. Once the onions are translucent, add the tomato, cumin and water. Add the garam masala, coconut milk and salt to taste. Bring to a boil. Taste it to make sure it’s to your liking. If it’s too spicy you can add a little more coconut milk, if it’s not saucy enough, you can add a little more water. Once you are happy with the sauce, add your eggs. Cook them until the yolks are cooked…probably 10 minutes.

I freeze the leftover coconut milk in ice cube trays. When frozen, throw them into a plastic bag. Next time you need coconut milk, you can use the cubes.

Serve the egg curry with bread, naan or bread.