Things have been hectic around here. Rabbit is gradually recovering from being hit by a car, the library is moving, and I'm in the home stretch of the last semester at this school which includes service learning. That and needing to get a garden planted, family concerns and trying to breathe means a need for faster meals. Also, possibly a maid. Seriously, our apartment looks like a gentle laundry producing tornado hit. We went out for dinner for our anniversary...an Indian vegetarian place we love, Uru Swati (very vegan and gluten/ wheat free friendly) after getting some wheat free flours and spices at a nearby Desi grocery. Sorghum (Jowar), Besan (chickpea),and some paneer, also 1 lb of cumin runs 3$ there and we use the stuff like water. In said grocery store we saw pizza like things made on naan (you could use pita I'm sure) with a cilantro or tamarind chutney, veggies and paneer. It was frozen and looked like it was mostly actual food. Now those of you who can't eat wheat know naan is ,sadly, stuff we shouldn't eat. (If anyone has a recipe for good gf naan I'd love to try it.)But ...chickpeas go with virtually every Indian influenced type of food known to man ..and that farinata/ socce type crust I told you guys about is down to a science in this house. It's something even Rabbit feels confident cooking. Rabbit has been known to panic about making stirfry despite their master level chowing skills, so this is saying quite a bit. So last night I came home to a lovely surprise which I am sharing here with Rabbit's permission.
For the crust
Mix:
1 1/2 cups chickpea flour
1 c water
2 tb olive oil
pinch salt
(optional 1 tsp whole cumin)
Pour into a cast iron skillet and bake at 425 F until the crust is firm in the middle 15-20 minutes or up 30 minutes for a crisper crust
While the crust is baking wash some spinach, slice up some veg, 2-3 oz of diced paneer cheese and some red peppers (in our case ancient red was cheap as I've been hoarding them in the freezer. To do this just wash and put them in the freezer) I'm thinking red onion, cauliflower, and frozen okra slices next time.
When the crust is done remove from oven and spread crust with chutney of choice using the back of a spoon. In our case Rabbit used about 1/2 cup of jarred cilantro mint chutney (I'll share my homestyle recipe for this kind of chutney at the end). Now add your veg and a quick drizzle of olive oil over the paneer chunks so they brown a bit. You could probably sub bake fried tofu here for the vegans or those with no access to paneer with minimal flavor change. Stick this back in the oven for 10-15 minutes at 425F. Serve. The leftovers are even pretty awesome. If you are me ...spread this with an unholy quantity of hot lime pickle.
Cilantro-mint Chutney
Put the following in a blender/ food processor:
2 inches peeled fresh ginger
5-6 peeled cloves garlic
1 tb cumin
1 pinch salt
1 bunch washed green onions - remove stump
1 large bunch cilantro (including stems)
1 small washed bunch of mint (also including stems
1/4 cup water
juice of two limes or 1 lemon
Blend until it becomes smooth.
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