Ingredients for an Indian Feast. So many colors!

Indian food is still something I am experimenting with and learning about. Two of my favorite local Indian restaurants are Venky’s Spice House and The Banana Leaf. I might even get around to reviewing both of them someday. The great thing about these restaurants is that you get to sample fresh and authentic food that has been made by expert hands with years of experience. I also love all of the new foods and flavors these restaurants have introduced me to. Venky’s is responsible for my love of Garlic Naan, while the Banana Leaf’s waitress taught me about all the different foods I was eating.

In my own kitchen, I haven’t ventured very far outside of the curry zone when making Indian food. I’m just happy that I’ve been brave enough to avoid the premade curry powders sold in grocery stores. In general, I find premade spice mixes too heavy on salt and lacking in other flavors. I’d much rather buy my own spices separately and combine them to my liking. Anyway. I digress.

My Indian Feast was my first attempt to make anything Indian, other than curry, completely from scratch. For my sides, I chose the Carrot-Coconut salad from the same Food Network Magazine article that had the Chickpea & Cauliflower Curry recipe, and a Garlic Naan recipe that I found online. Both side dishes turned out better than I had imagined they would. After making this meal, I definitely feel more encouraged to play with new and unfamiliar recipes in the future.

Garlic Naan
Makes 12 servings

Ingredients
2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
1 c. warm water
1/4 c. white sugar
3 tbsp. milk
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp. salt
4 1/2 cups bread flour, sifted
3 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
1. In the bowl of a stand mixer affixed with a dough hook, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add milk, sugar, salt, egg and enough flour to make the dough soft. Mix until combined well.
2. Place dough in a well-oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Set the dough aside in a warm place and let it rise until it has doubled in size, about one hour.
3. Punch dough down. Knead garlic into dough. Roll into golf-ball sized balls and set aside to rise for another 30 minutes.
4. Melt a small amount of butter in a skillet. Flatten each dough ball and place in skillet over high heat for 3-5 minutes. Brush uncooked side with butter, flip, and cook other side an additional 3-5 minutes until browned.

Naan frying in the skillet

Carrot-Coconut Salad
Makes 6 servings

Ingredients
1 tsp. sugar
1/3 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 tsp. salt
Juice of 1 lime
4 large carrots, shredded
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds
1/3 c. coconut, shredded & unsweetened

Directions
1. In a large bowl, combine sugar, cilantro, salt and lime juice. Add shredded carrots and toss.
2. In a small skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and toast for about 30 seconds. Make sure to swirl pan and keep seeds moving so they do not burn.
3. Add coconut and swirl until coconut is lightly toasted.
4. Once coconut-cumin mixture has cooled, combine with carrots to complete the salad.

My thoughts & suggestions

• The naan was easy to make. Like any bread, make sure you’re exact about your measurements and you won’t have any problems. On a side note, I found the naan recipe on All Recipes. In general, I’m a fan of that site. It allows you to search recipes and save them in an online recipe box. The commenters are also pretty helpful. I usually read through a few of the comments to see what others have done to modify a recipe. They’re a great learning tool.
• I couldn’t find unsweetened, shredded coconut in the local grocery store. So I bought a fresh coconut instead. I had never worked with fresh coconut before. Fortunately, Google is my friend and led me to this coconut-opening tutorial. I successfully used Method #1, and was surprised that just tapping the coconut along its seam caused it to open. To make it easier to remove the meat, I would recommend roasting it in a 350° for about 15 minutes. I then shredded the coconut (and the carrot) with my trusty cheese grater that I bought at a Mexican grocery store.

Recipe Sources: Carrot-Coconut salad from “Crowd-Pleasing Curry”, Food Network Magazine, January/February 2010. Naan from All Recipes.

In general, I take lunch to work with me. My job doesn’t lend itself to going out to lunch very often. So I try to make my lunch break a true break. It’s nice to take time during the workday to relax and enjoy good food while catching up on blogs and Facebook or chatting with coworkers. Lunch at work is especially nice when you take the time to prepare something fresh and tasty rather than run out for a sandwich or heat up a frozen meal (though I admit I do both of those things on occasion). Since mornings are so hectic, I like to prepare my lunch the night before. Leftovers are the obvious easy workday lunch. Just pack them up when dinner is over, reheat and you have a tasty lunch.

Big salads are another great lunch option. There are endless combinations of vegetables, add-ins and dressings. Salads are filling and healthy, as long as they contain a good mix of fiber, carbs and protein. Just go easy on the high-fat cheeses and dressings. It’s simple to prepare a couple salads at once, and can even be done a day or two in advance. Finally, one of the best things about lunch salads is that they are easy to adapt to the season. This winter salad is a favorite this time of year.

Winter Salad
Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 tomato
1 small onion
1/2 yellow bell pepper
1/2 c. shelled walnuts
2/3 c. dried cranberries
8 oz. bleu cheese
2 tbsp. turkey bacon bits (optional)
Freshly ground sea salt & black pepper
Light balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

Directions
1. Wash lettuce and dry well. Chop roughly. Wash and chop tomato, onion and bell pepper.
2. Combine walnuts, cranberries, bleu cheese and bacon bits (if using). Mix thoroughly.
3. Portion lettuce into 2-3 resealable containers. Add the other veggies. Top each salad with an equal amount of the walnut/cranberry/cheese mixture. Grind a little salt & pepper on top.
4. When ready to eat, add dressing to salad. Place lid on container. Shake to thoroughly combine salad dressing and ingredients. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 lb. ground turkey
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon Goya Adobo
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 medium yellow onion, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and diced
1 head green leaf lettuce
1 tomato
1 red onion, sliced
1 15 oz. can black beans
1/2 cup shredded Mexican Cheese
yellow corn tortilla chips
4 tablespoons hot salsa
4 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream (optional)
guacamole (optional)

Directions
1. In a large skillet, brown meat, diced onion, diced jalapeño and spices in oil over medium-high heat.
2. While meat is cooking, wash and chop lettuce and tomato, slice onions and heat black beans.
3. On a large dinner plate, layer lettuce, meat, beans, tomato, onion, sour cream, guacamole and salsa. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips.