chana masala

[redbird]

switterbeet mentioned this recipe recently, and I read it and decided to give it a try, since it calls for garam masala, ginger, and garlic, but no hot peppers, and looked fairly easy.

I made it this evening, serving it over rice instead of sweet potatoes, and adrian_turtle, cattitude, and I were all quite pleased. Adrian was a little surprised that it contains coconut milk, which makes it very nice and creamy (and different from what we're used to seeing in Indian restaurants).

I left out the cilantro, and used olive oil instead of coconut oil, which worked quite well. (I suspect canola or a similar neutral-flavored oil would also be fine.) I also used slightly less coconut milk than it calls for, that being what I had, and might use slightly less next time.

I'll be making this again, which is why I'm posting this. It's vegan; that isn't an issue for the three of us, but I'm glad to add to my small repertoire of vegan meals that I like and hence am comfortable serving to guests.

Comments

[alatefeline]

YUM!

[bibliofile]

That sounds very tasty! I'd want to try it over rice and again, later, over sweet potatoes. Yum.

[liv]

This sounds awesome, thank you for passing it on. I make a chana masala with a fairly similar spice mix (sometimes also cloves and cardamoms). My experience of low-heat curries though is that substituting in olive oil can be quite detrimental. Coconut oil cooks a rather higher temperature and that is good for releasing the flavouring chemicals from the spices; as you're cooking without chillies you need that to really get the benefit from ginger and paprika. If the recipe wants coconut oil I'll substitute butter for preference (though that does contribute to the flavour balance), or second choice is something that tastes of nothing but cooks at relatively high temperature, such as your suggestion of canola.

[switterbeet]

Ooo! Actually this was one of the 2 dishes from that menu I didn't wind up making, but I still have all the ingredients to make it this week. Glad to hear it worked out well for you! I'm extra excited to try it now. The other recipes I did make (spinach one-pot, squash tostadas, and quinoa dish) were amazing!

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

That sounds scrumptious!