Kosher Curried Chicken and Chick Peas

I've already said I love Chick Peas. To me, they're the vegetarian version of chicken - little flavor on their own, but so versatile, so able to absorb any spices, and so tasty in so many different contexts. So I was craving curry curry tonight, but too lazy to drive to Shalimar or Annapurna's Veggie Place, my two favourite Indian restaurants here in Louisville. Instead, I raided my cupboard and came up with this quick and easy curry. It took half an hour, start to plate. Ingredients

• 1 can chick peas, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes (unseasoned)
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, diced
• 2 medium onions, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1/2 cup "goldens and cherries" or your preferred dried fruit
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 2 heaping tsp your favourite curry powder (Madras Hot, if you don't have a fave)
• 2 tsp olive oil

Curried Chicken and Chick Peas

In a medium saucepan, brown onions until almost translucent. Add chicken and brown.

Dump everything else in the pan and stir until well mixed. Cook over medium heat until the liquid is boiled down.

Serve with basmati rice, hard boiled eggs, and hot naan or pita bread.

Variations:

• This can be made vegan by simply excluding the chicken. If so, double the chick peas or just cut the curry powder by 1/2 tsp.
• If you don't like a sweet bite with your hot food, leave out the dried fruit.
• If you're not fond of hot food, use a mild curry powder. There are plenty of good curry powders out there which don't have a bit of heat. Don't reduce the quantity of curry, though, or you'll end up with a boring, bland plate.

Kosher Channa Masala

I adore chick peas (also known as garbanzo beans). My quick version of channa masala (there are as many versions as there are languages in India) substitutes olive oil for dairy and canned beans for ones you'd otherwise have to soak overnight. Served with rice or bread, this makes a great weeknight meal. For carnivores, it also makes a great side served alongside curried chicken or spicy steak.

• 1 can chick peas/garbanzo beans, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, with liquid
• 2 chopped onions (or 2 cups frozen chopped onions)
• 1 inch peeled and chopped ginger, or 1/2 tsp ginger powder
• 1 tbsp minced garlic (from a can is fine)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (less if you don't like hot foods)
• 1/4 tsp tumeric
• 1 tbsp olive oil

In a medium saucepan, over a medium heat, fry the onions in the olive oil until they turn translucent.

Add the ginger, garlic, garam masala, cumin, cayenne, and tumeric. Stir well and continue frying spices for 1 - 2 minutes, or until the seeds start to pop.

Add drained chickpeas, undrained tomatoes, and brown sugar. Stir until everything is well blended.

Cook uncovered for around 15 minutes, or until the liquid has boiled down to a thick sauce. If you forgot to drain the chickpeas first, increase all spices by 1/4 tsp (it's fine if you throw them in at the last minute), up the heat to medium-high, and cook for an extra 15 minutes.

The end result should have a thick sauce, perfect for serving with basmati rice and naan or pita.

Variations:

• My heavily carnivorous husband loves this (and most dahl's) with a hard boiled egg. If you're octo/lavo, boil some eggs, slice them in half, and cover them with the hot channa masala when serving. The flavors soak in beautifully.
• Use 2 tbsp ghee or unsalted butter in place of the olive oil if you prefer the flavor of dairy.

Garam Masala is just a mix of half a dozen commonly used Indian spices. Using the mix is a lot easier than using 1/8 tsp of five different things. It is available in the spice isles of most mega-grocery stores these days, right alongside Garlic Salt. If yours doesn't have it, the staff of your local Indian grocery will be more than happy to introduce you to their favourite blend.

Vegan Keema

I adore Indian food, but yoghurt is one of the staple meat sauces. There are two ways of getting around this when cooking at home. You can use fake meat or fake yoghurt. In this particular recipe, I use both, making it not only kosher but vegan. This recipe is also great if anyone in your family is lactose intolerant. Unlike the Keema with Whole Spices, this simple recipe cooks up in half an hour start to table with no fuss. It makes a great weeknight meal. Like many soup/stew/wet recipes, it's even better as leftovers because the spices have more time to mingle and mature.

• 1 lb bag frozen ground beef substitute
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp ginger powder (or 1/2 inch piece of peeled ginger, chopped fine)
• 1/2 tsp allspice
• 4 tbsp soy yoghurt
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Cook the diced onion in the olive oil over a medium heat until translucent. Add the ground beef substitute and mix well, cooking until warmed through. You MUST use the olive oil here, as the beef substitute is usually fat free and will not only stick to your pan but will burn horribly. Add all other ingredients except yoghurt and mix thoroughly. Reduce heat to low and add yoghurt. Mix thoroughly. Continue to cook on low for 20 minutes so the spices mingle.

Serve with warm naan (substitute pita if naan is unavailable.)

Variations:

• Keema is often made with green peas. I like it both ways. If you want to add peas to this one, add 1/2 cup green peas after mixing everything thoroughly and before continuing to cook on low for 20 minutes, and you'll be set to go.
• If you like your meat from a cow, go ahead and use 1 pound of very lean ground beef and reduce the olive oil to 1 tsp (for frying the onions.)
• If you have no dairy issues, feel free to use regular yoghurt. If using regular yoghurt and regular beef, follow the above variation.

Keema with Fresh Spices

Like most Indian food, it's easy to turn it from treif to kosher by substituting soy yoghurt for milk yoghurt. Since the yoghurt forms the base of a sauce and is not the major flavoring ingredient, you're honestly not missing anything. The tang of soy and dairy are the same, as is the viscosity. Whole spices are a different matter entirely. Using whole spices rather than ground makes a world of flavor difference, but often takes a lot of extra time. If you want to make an impressive, flavorful dish, this is a great way to show off for friends and family. The smell will tantalize them the second they walk in the door and the taste will absolutely blow them away.

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 small tomatoes, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 6 whole cloves
• 6 whole black peppercorns
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 tbsp soy yoghurt

Chop all spices and veggies.

Brown meat in a medium saucepan over a medium heat. Drain off any fat.

Add everything but the yoghurt and stir until well mixed.

Cover saucepan, stirring every 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Cook until moisture is gone (15 - 20 minutes).

Add soy yoghurt and stir well. Cook another 5 minutes, or until keema is relatively dry.

Serve with hot naan or pita bread.

Variations:

• After everything but the yoghurt is mixed in, add 1/2 cup frozen peas. Follow the remaining directions.

Kosher Winter Lentil Soup

Most hearty brown lentil soups are made with pork. People insist there is no way to capture the flavor of a thick lentil soup without a ham bone in it. Ah, the naivete. In response, I submit this kosher lentil soup. I always think I'll have enough soup to provide my lunch for 3-4 days and always end up staring sadly into a fragrant yet empty pot by day 2.

This thick, hearty, Kosher soup is perfect comfort food for a cold winter day. It is inspired by the first course I enjoyed at a medieval themed bed and breakfast. Serve it with a hearty brown bread for mopping up the bowl. Like most soups, this one is even better as leftovers than it is the first day, so make it on a weekend and eat it for the rest of the week.

• 1 lb brown lentils
• 3 fourteen oz cans reduced sodium beef broth
• 1 fourteen oz can diced tomatoes
• 4 medium yellow onions, diced
• 4 large carrots, diced
• 3 tbsp chopped garlic (or 2 1/2 tbsp garlic paste, or 1 tbsp garlic powder)
• 2 tbsp coarse ground pepper (mixed peppercorns are best, but plain black will do)
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tbsp olive oil

  Wash and rinse the lentils. If you don't, you'll find some stones in your soup.

  Brown the onions and carrots in the olive oil over a medium heat for about 10 minutes.

  When the onions start to turn translucent, add the beef broth. Stir well. Add all other ingredients, stir well.

  Bring the concoction to a boil, then reduce heat and let it simmer for the next 2 - 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Once the soup thickens from lentils in broth to a thick lentils in paste texture, it is ready to eat.

  The soup will be VERY thick, almost more like a beanpot. If you prefer a thinner soup, add an extra ½ can of beef broth and stir. If that is still too thick for your liking, add another ½ can of broth.

  
  
  Variations:
  
  * Vegetarians substitute veggie broth for beef broth and increase the thyme and basil by 1/2 tsp each. It won't taste exactly the same, but it will still be surprisingly good.

  * Beef lovers, when you add the broth, also add either 1/2 pound lean browned ground beef or 1/2 pound lean stew beef minced very small.

  * Instead of regular olive oil, use basil flavored olive oil. Do not reduce the basil.

  * Instead of plain diced tomatoes, use some of the pre-flavored tomatoes on the market these days, such as the garlic and oregano ones. Stick with European themed tomatoes. Cajun style, for example, wouldn't taste right alongside the other ingredients.

  * Rather than chop onions yourself, buy bagged frozen ones instead. 4 cups frozen onion works well.

  *If you're a good person who likes fresh veggies, rather than chop all the veggies by hand, cut the stems off the carrots and the outer skin off the onion then drop them all in a blender. The finer the veggies the better.

Fig and Blackberry Chicken

I whipped up this shockingly easy dish as something sweet to celebrate Rosh Hashana for 5765. The sauce is delicious on rice and tastes great sopped up with challah. It's also surprisingly good as cold chicken leftovers or chopped up and thrown onto a sweet chicken salad.

• 1/2 cup blackberries
• 1/2 cup dried figs, stems removed and figs quartered
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp coriander
• 1/2 tsp white pepper (black will do)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 - 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Preheat your oven to 375. Mix everything but the chicken in a big bowl. (If you add the ingredients in the order listed, you only need to dirty a single measuring cup.)

Put chicken in a shallow baking dish, preferably one just large enough to hold the flat chicken breasts side by side. Pour the fruit mix over the chicken and cover the baking dish with a piece of aluminum foil.

Bake at 375 for half an hour. If doubling the recipe, bake for 45 minutes.

Serve with rice or challah.

Crack Carrots

Crack Carrots got their name because they're as addictive as a street drug. My mother-in-law refuses to be embarrassed by drinking whatever juices remain after the carrots are gone, and this is a woman who is keen on appropriate cutlery.

• 1/2 pound baby carrots
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp Star of Siam Oil
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Mix everything but the carrots. Mix in the carrots until well coated. Either microwave for 4 minutes (longer if you prefer your carrots mushy) or bake at 400F for 20 minutes.

Serve still in the juices, which taste great on rice, noodles, or whatever starch they touch.

** If you don't want to invest in the Star of Siam oil, and I highly recommend you do, try adding a pinch of lemongrass, garlic, and ginger to 2 tbsp peanut oil. It won't be quite as addictive, but it'll still be pretty darn tasty.