Indian Spiced Pork with Raita: Really Cheap and Easy, But I would Still Change a Couple Things

I think I've mentioned this before, but I love using Indian spices. This time, I used it on a pork tenderloin, and I have to say that it turned out pretty well.

First, grind up a teaspoon each of coriander, cumin, and fennel seeds in a spice grinder; add a half teaspoon of salt. Brush your tenderloin down with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and rub your spices all over the tenderloin. Let this sit at room temperature for half an hour; meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.

Cook your tenderloin in the preheated oven for half an hour or until cooked through. Meanwhile, make your raita by combining about 2/3 cup of yogurt with one grated cucumber, a teaspoon of lemon zest, and one minced clove of garlic.

Slice the pork and spoon the raita over the top of the pork; serve with rice.

Will and I both liked it, although I would have used roasted garlic instead of raw garlic in the raita because I forgot just how much I hate raw garlic. Otherwise, it's something easy that I can do again no problem.

Chicken Tikka: Cheap, Easy, and Really Tasty

I wanted to make something easy and cheap, since now that I'm back in school and working on a very full workload, things are often controlled chaos. I settled on chicken Tikka, since it takes so little actual effort to cook and clean up afterward.

First, create the marinade. Combine chicken tenders cut into pieces, plain yogurt, turmeric, coriander, chili powder, salt, and the juice of half a lemon in a bowl; toss the chicken in the marinade to coat and put it in the refrigerator to marinade.

Put a cooling rack over a cookie sheet. Place your chicken on the cooling rack and brush with about a third of a cup of oil. Place this sheet in a preheated 400 degree oven and cook 25 minutes, turning at least once, until cooked through. Serve with chapatis.

Will and I both loved it. It was a fantastic, warming meal, and made great leftovers. I will easily make this again.

Tricolor Pulao: Easy Vegan Meal

As I've said before, I'm always looking for good vegetarian or vegan options. I was looking through recipes and found this one; after a bit of tweaking, I got it to where it would be palatable for Will and me. He said it's one of his new favorites and, better yet, I should make this often because it's one of the best meals I've ever cooked.
First, lightly fry half a cup of cashews in grapeseed oil. Once they're golden brown and aromatic, remove them from your skillet or wok and set them aside. In the same pan, toast about a teaspoon and a half of cumin seeds until they spark and then add four green cardamom pods, two bay leaves and a half teaspoon of ground cloves. Once that's aromatic, add one diced onion and cook it until browned.
Next, add twelve diced baby carrots to the pan and cook for four minutes. Add a cup of basmati rice, the fried cashews, and a half cup each of frozen peas and corn; mix this until combined and the rice is a bit toasted. Add two cups of water, two teaspoons of ground cumin, and salt to taste. Let this simmer until the rice is cooked through, take it off the heat, and let it sit ten minutes before serving.
As I mentioned, Will and I loved it. I also made a discovery about myself when I made this: I don't like cashews raw, but I love them fried. I accidentally bought too many, so I'm thinking of frying what's left and using them as a snack or a component of a snack mix. This is another dish where I generally always have the ingredients, so I will be making this again.

Aloo Gobi: A Mistake Worked Out Okay

I decided to make aloo Gobi this week. Unfortunately, the culinary gods didn't seem to want to cooperate. My cauliflower wound up freezing and my turmeric mysteriously disappeared. Despite these setbacks, the dish came out quite successful.
Prepare the aloo Gobi like in my previous post, except omit the turmeric and you basically have what I made. The cauliflower greens were too badly damaged from the freeze to do anything but throw away, but that's not much of a loss because Will doesn't like cauliflower greens anyway.
Will and I both enjoyed it. While the dish was more of a russet than the golden yellow that aloo Gobi usually is, the loss of turmeric didn't take away from the flavor. Needless to say, though, turmeric is on my shopping list for the next time I go out.

Beef Biryani: Takes a Long Time, But Is Worth It

Will and I volunteered to watch our local boy scout camp in the off season to prevent vandalism, so we needed something that took a while for dinner on Friday night because the joke is, right when you sit down to eat is when a unit needs to be checked in or someone needs directions. We got a little more than we bargained for, between the altitude and that I forgot some of the necessary equipment.
Chop one onion and put it into a blender with two chopped garlic cloves, some ginger, and two Tablespoons of flaked or sliced almonds. Add a quarter cup of water and blend til it forms a smooth paste. Stick it into a bowl and set it aside. Thinly slice a second onion into rings and heat some butter in a stove proof casserole dish; cook the onions until they are a golden brown, then transfer them to a plate with a slotted spoon. Cook two Tablespoons of flaked almonds until golden and transfer them to the same plate as the onions. Add two Tablespoons of golden raisins and cook them til they plump up and transfer to the same plate as the onions and almonds.
Heat some more butter and add a pound and quarter of cubed braising beef; cook til evenly browned on all sides and transfer to a different plate from your onions.
Wipe the dish clean, heat a little more butter, and add the spice paste; cook, stirring constantly, until it starts to slightly brown. Stir in a Tablespoon of ground cumin, half a teaspoon of ground turmeric, half a teaspoon of ground fenugreek, and a pinch of cinnamon; season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for another minute.
Lower the heat and add three quarters of a cup of plain yogurt a little at a time until all of it is added to the spice mixture. Return the meat to the pan, stir to coat, and simmer for forty minutes or until the meat is tender; meanwhile, soak a cup of rice in water for twenty minutes.
Preheat the oven to 325. Drain the rice, and put in a pan with five cups of hot water; bring to a boil and cook for five minutes. Drain the rice and pile it on top of the beef. Make a hole in the center using the handle of a wooden spoon. Place the fried onion mixture on top of the rice, cover the casserole with foil, and bake for thirty minutes.
Will and I agreed this was an excellent dish. I will definitely make this again.

Garbanzo Curry With Minted Rice: Really Good and Pretty Easy

I've made the minted rice before, but I've never made the garbanzo curry that usually goes with it. Now I know this is an amazing vegan meal if you don't serve it with the cucumber salad I used as a side.
First, prepare the salad. Cut up your cucumbers, add your tomatoes and jalapeno, and mix in yogurt and salt and pepper to taste. Stick this in the refrigerator while you cook the curry and rice.
You're going to want to start on the rice because that will take the longest. First, toast a cinnamon stick, cumin seeds, and cloves in oil or clarified butter until aromatic. Then add one cup of rice and toast it without burning it. The toasting for the spices and rice lends a richer flavor to the spices and adds a unique texture to the rice. Then add some fresh chopped mint and one and three quarter cups water. Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer. Meanwhile, cook one chopped onion in oil or clarified butter with a cinnamon stick until the onion is tender. Add a small amount of garlic, ginger, and curry powder. I toast and grind my own. The next time I make korma, I will have to grind some more and will gladly share the recipe. Cook this mixture a minute longer and add your drained can of garbanzo beans, tomato sauce, and a cup of water. Let this simmer to thicken. By the time it thickens, your rice should be ready. Fluff it and serve everything.
I've made the cucumber salad before, and it's always a hit. The rice was much better using fresh mint rather than dried, and the curry was awesome. This recipe is a definite keeper.

Okra in Yogurt Sauce: Tasty and Quick

Last night I needed to make something vegetarian since my meat hasn't finished defrosting yet. I haven't yet made my vegetable stock, so I didn't want to make carrot casserole until after I did that. Thus, I had two Indian dishes I could have made. I showed Will the two dishes I had planned and he picked this one. I was pleasantly surprised on the flavor, and will definitely be growing okra next year just to make this dish again.
Heat some grapeseed oil or, if you're feeling more authentic, clarified butter. You can either get this premade at a well-stocked grocery store or make it yourself by melting butter and skimming off all the cloudy materials to make a clear substance. In doing so you raise the smoke point because you have pure fat instead of the milk solids and water that is in whole butter. Add one thinly sliced onion and two or three diced green chilies. Cook this until the onions are golden and add two teaspoons of shredded coconut, stirring constantly. Then add sliced fresh or frozen okra and cook until golden brown. Finally, add a Tablespoon of plain yogurt and two quartered tomatoes; cook until everything's warmed through. Serve it over rice.
I undercooked the rice slightly, but the okra turned out fantastic. Will and I agreed this is something worth making again. Also, just for a note, this does not reheat well so don't make extra with the intent of reheating it.

Aloo Gobi: One of My Husband's favorites

This is cauliflower and potatoes stir fried in toasted cumin seeds, ground cumin, turmeric, chili powder, and whole coriander, more commonly known as Aloo Gobi.
 Because I use fresh cauliflower and hate to waste perfectly edible food, I also cook the greens, which taste remarkably like broccoli, in garam masala and curry powder, both of which I toast and grind myself. The next time I make it, perhaps I shall post it here.
This time, Will, my husband, ate more of the cauliflower greens than usual and devoured the aloo gobi like he normally does.  He commented that it was better than the last time I made it; whether it was because of the cold weather or the fact that I didn't measure the spices I used, I shall never know.
The first time I made it Will intimated to me that he doesn't like cauliflower as he got up to get his third helping.