Indian | Stylish, Stealthy & Healthy.

This

Good.

Seriously. Would I lie to you?

The answer to that is no. Even though when I was a young lass (no I didn’t grow up in Scotland, I grew up in PA, but I like saying “young lass”) I was a wee bit of a pathological liar. I don’t know if it’s because I liked getting a reaction out of people or just the sheer attention, but something about telling a classroom full of wide-eyed peers about how you got a hot air balloon ride for your birthday and your parents just bought you a horse, it just came out naturally. And they totally believed me. Maybe I was convincing, maybe I was just convincing myself, but either way, it made me feel super cool even just for a few minutes. Which was not an easy feat when you had big Sally Jesse Raphael glasses and a nice big gap in your front teeth. Who wouldn’t want to be my friend, right?? Right…

Red Lentil Curry Stew
(Adapted from AllRecipes.com)
You’ll Need:
1 cup uncooked red lentils, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 Chobani fat-free greek yogurt, 6oz container
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 T coconut oil (or olive oil)
1 cup diced frozen onions and green peppers
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 T grated ginger root
1-2 T minced garlic
1 15 oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 T cilantro paste (or bunch fresh, roughly chopped)
1 15 oz can mixed soup beans

Directions: Place lentils into a pot and fill with water, until covered. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low simmer and cover, cooking for 20 minutes. (Watch these as they can dry out and you can just add a little more water.) In a bowl mix tomato puree and greek yogurt. Add garam masala, cumin and turmeric, stir to combine.
In a large sautee pan, heat oil over med-high heat and add spinach, peppers and onions and ginger, and sautee for about 8 minutes until thawed and spinach is wilted. Add garlic and sautee for another minute. Slowly add in yogurt mixture and then diced tomatoes. Stir in cilantro, lentils and soup bean mix and cook for another 5 minutes until heated through.

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This is honestly one of the easiest and most flavorful dishes I’ve ever made. You have to do a little bit of prep, but believe me when I tell you it’s totally worth it. I know my dinner is good when I call my mom after I take the first bite just to tell her how good it is. And then she asks for the recipe and I tell her she has to wait like the rest of the world to get it. But then I tell her that I love her. And then I ask why I never really got a hot air balloon ride or a horse.

Oh, girls nights.

Is there anything better than an evening spent in the company of a few good friends, sipping wine, sharing and retelling your favorite stories and debating only the most sophisticated topics like the latest drama on the Real World, all the while in sweatpants and what’s left of the makeup you applied at 7am that morning? I think not.

So last week when we planned one of these perfect little evenings, upon agreeing that I’d cook and the others would supply the wine (um, best deal ever), I started spinning my wheels on what to make…what…to…make…

My friends have become savvy to the fact that when I’m making dinner, they can count on the fact that it’s probably going to be on the healthy side, but throw in the fact that I’m a week into my vegetarian challenge, and I knew it had to be something that wouldn’t scare them or make them decide to order a pizza. All signs pointed to Indian cuisine.

Never one to be defeated, I decided on one of my personal favorites: channa masala. And as luck would have it, this incredibly easy recipe all but fell into my lap. And one of the requirements of a girls night dinner is that it be simple enough to make even after consuming a glass of wine or three. (We get chatty, y’all.)

Channa Masala
(Adapted from Cookin Fanatic)
You’ll Need:
1 T coconut oil
1/2 cup diced onions and green peppers (I used frozen)
2 T minced garlic
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 26 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 cup water
Salt & Pepper
Basmati Rice to serve

Directions:
Cook basmati rice according to package. (Uncle Ben’s makes instant for such occasions like this where you want to make it in 90 seconds.)
Heat coconut oil over med-high heat in a large sauce pan and sautee green peppers and onions for about 15 minutes, until very tender. Add garlic and sautee for another 30 seconds. Pour in diced tomatoes, water and chickpeas, as well as all the spices. Simmer on med-low heat for about 10 minutes, covered so the tomatoes cook down and the sauce thickens up. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve over rice with some garlic naan.

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The spice blend in this sauce was really spot on, and the ladies were quick to tell me how much they enjoyed it (completely unrelated to wine, I’m sure). But I will absolutely be making this again. I’d also definitely recommend this for someone who has been hesitant to experience Indian food and wants to give it a try. And if I may, I strongly suggest enjoying it in the company of a bunch of beautiful ladies with the soundtrack of seven strangers picked to live in a house while having their lives taped softly playing in the background.

Oh and wine. Lots of wine.

Stylish, Stealthy & Healthy.

Tag Archives: Indian

Red Lentil Curry

Channa Masala for the Ladies

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