Chapati

 

Original Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/indian-chapati-bread/

This is another recipe idea I got from that Indian place in New York. It’s nothing more than a whole-wheat tortilla, really, but nothing makes a meal like a bread product. The best part about this recipe is that it doesn’t take a lot to make a lot.

Substitutions:

1. Used only whole-wheat flour.

Final Result Impressions: 

It’s important to keep the skillet hot, but not too hot. I was worried about not having it up high enough, and ended up with a few burn marks on my second chapati. This was easy enough to correct, and the slightly burnt piece was still good. You really can’t go wrong with this recipe, but it did help, I feel, to have cast-iron. My griddle isn’t as seasoned as I’d like, but making these is a quick and easy way to get it there. Keep a little oil in the pan while you’re cooking it, and there’s virtually no clean-up. Just wipe the extra around the pan, and it’s CLEAN!

Cost v. Outcome
Ingredients
◦2 cups whole wheat flour…………………5 lbs. bag ~ $4
◦2 tablespoons olive oil……………………..Had on-hand, 1 q. bottle ~ $6
◦1 tsp. salt…………………………………………Had on hand, 1 tub ~ $3
◦3/4 cup hot water or as needed………FREE
 Yields: 10 chapati

This recipe was definitely one of the easier ones in my Indian adventure. And, next to the paneer, the cheapest. Excluding the spices (which were paid for by D. and J.’s donations, this meal (which fed 5 and had enough for 2 to have leftovers) cost about 30 bucks. Considering it covered 7 meals, that averages around $4.30 a plate. Not a bad deal for a fancy Sunday dinner.

Potato Curry

 

 

Original Recipe: http://bit.ly/16jU9Id

When I lived in New York (I’m in Ohio now), there was an Indian place down the road from which S.’s family would order. For five bucks, we could get a main dish and several sides. It’s from here I got the idea for the paneer, and it’s from here I got the idea for potato curry. I love potatoes, almost as much as I love cheese. I LOVE cheese. That’s one of the reasons I knew I wanted to do a potato curry: to satisfy my own selfish desires (the paneer fulfilled this as well). Like the other Indian recipes, I wanted to limit the number of spices and extra ingredients I needed to purchase. I tend to keep potatoes and peas around, so this was a big win. And it was yummy. Almost as yummy as the fried paneer. Almost.

Substitutions:

1. Used brown mustard seeds instead of black.

Final Result Impressions: 

It’s important to note that, while I do enjoy the flavor of coconut, I have issues with its texture. J. does not have this issue. So I ate the beans freely, with a piece of coconut stuck on here and there, and left behind the coconut flakes for her. She ate them with relish. There was a lot of flavor added to the beans just from cooking with the coconut, so I don’t regret making it at all.

Cost v. Outcome
Ingredients
◦6 medium russet potatoes…………………. 5 lbs. bag ~ $3
◦2 tbsp. oil…………………………………………….Had on-hand, 1 q. bottle ~ $3
◦1 tsp. salt…………………………………………….Had on hand, 1 tub ~ $3
◦1/2 tsp. cumin seed…………………………….4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1/2 tsp. brown mustard seeds…………….4 oz. bag ~ $3
◦1 tsp. turmeric powder………………………..4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1 tsp. ground coriander……………………….4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1/2 tsp. cayenne………………………………….Had on-hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦1.5 cups water…………………………………….FREE
◦2/3 cups frozen peas…………………………..Had on-hand, 1 pound ~ $1 
 

Yields: ~ 6 servings

This recipe called for the most spices that I didn’t have waiting in my cabinet. Again, I had help paying for these, and I buy all my spices at Penzey’s (www.penzeys.com). Ultimately, my friends and family paid for the spices with their contributions. For $20, I was able to purchase four ounces each of cumin seeds, ground coriander, mustard seeds, turmeric, and black peppercorns. I feel like I got something else, too, but I cannot remember it off the top of my head. Oh well. This was good. I WILL make it again.

Achingya Thoren (Kerala-style Green Bean Curry)

Original Recipe: http://bit.ly/VT8eaI

I had known when I set out to create an Indian meal that I wanted to do some curry dishes, but I didn’t want to have to buy a million spices. After searching for popular recipes, I thought this one was interesting. It wasn’t curry as I thought of it: it was dry, without a sauce. It relied more on spices as flavor enhancers than as flavors for the liquid. Since I had a lot of these spices on my shopping list already for the Tandoori, I thought this would be a good recipe with which to experiment.

Substitutions:

1. Used Bay leaves instead of curry leaves, as the recipe indicated.

2. Used 1 tbsp. of crushed red pepper flakes instead of the whole dried peppers.

3. Did not include the rice.

Final Result Impressions: 

It’s important to note that, while I do enjoy the flavor of coconut, I have issues with its texture. J. does not have this issue. So I ate the beans freely, with a piece of coconut stuck on here and there, and left behind the coconut flakes for her. She ate them with relish. There was a lot of flavor added to the beans just from cooking with the coconut, so I don’t regret making it at all.

Cost v. Outcome
Ingredients
◦4 bay leaves……………………………………………………………………….. Had on-hand, 1 oz. bag ~ $4
◦3/4 cup coconut (finely shredded dried unsweetened)…………12 oz. bag ~ $5
◦1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin…………………………………………….Had on hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦1/4 teaspoon cayenne………………………………………………………….Had on-hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦1/4 teaspoon turmeric…………………………………………………………4 oz. bag ~ $5
◦2 cloves garlic, minced…………………………………………………………Had on-hand, 5 bulbs ~ $3
◦2 tablespoons vegetable oil………………………………………………….Had on-hand, 1 q. bottle ~ $3
◦1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds………………………………………..4 oz. bag ~ $3
◦2tbsp crushed red pepper…………………………………………………..Had on-hand, 4 oz. bag ~ $6
◦3/4 lb green beans………………………………………………………………1 pound ~ $2 
◦1 teaspoon salt…………………………………………………………………….Had on-hand, 1 tub ~ $3  

Yields: ~ 6 servings

Like the Tandoori, this is not cheap if you don’t have the spices on-hand. I had help paying for these spices, and some I did actually have. Again, I buy all my spices at Penzey’s (www.penzeys.com). While this was delicious, the unsweetened coconut was not easy to find, nor was it particularly cheap. I think, in the future, I was try a different dish that was coconut milk-based. That shit is easy to find and cheap, too!

Paneer

Original Recipe: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Paneer/Detail.aspx

I made my own cheese! That’s right, you heard me. It was like magic, easy, delicious magic. D. was coming over this weekend, and, as usual, I asked her from which country our dinner should originate. She said India. With so many options for Indian food, and D. and J. (S.’s sister) chipping in, I went overboard. I found this recipe on my Allrecipes app, and it looked too easy not to try it. Plus milk was on sale.

Substitutions:

None

Final Result Impressions: 
The above photos chronicle my process in making the cheese. It seriously could not have been easier. Boil a gallon of milk. Once it boils, add a quart of buttermilk, stirring continuously. The second photo shows what happened when I did that. After that, it was simply a matter of straining out the whey (which my cats LOVED), processing it until it was smooth, and refrigerating it. It needed to be refrigerated so it’d be more solid and manageable when it came time to fry. And fry we did. We also ate it all. It was delicious.

Cost v. Outcome
Ingredients
◦1 gallon milk…………………..On sale ~ $2
◦1 quart buttermilk…………..One quart ~ $2
◦2 cups oil for frying…………Had on-hand, 1 quart ~ $3
Yields: ~ one pound of cheese

This is a recipe I would definitely try again. And again. And again. In fact, I might just make more cheese this weekend. Because I can. And also because I filtered the oil I used to fry the first batch, so I won’t be using any extra oil to fry this batch. BONUS: The fried paneer can be frozen and eaten later. Awesome.