Tomatoes 2: Garam Masala with Tomatoes and Tofu

My neighbor, The Extraordinary Gardener, always suggests the best Indian recipes. When I wondered aloud, how am I going to use all these tomatoes for dinner this week?, she mentioned that she had just made a recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking, Chicken with Tomatoes and Garam Masala.

The seasonings below are taken exactly from the cookbook's chicken recipe but, except for the tomatoes, I changed up all of the other ingredients, substituting garbanzo beans and tofu for the chicken and adding zucchini. (steps are mine - I got lazy while hand-copying the recipe)

Interesting thing about Indian seasonings - you can change just a couple of the spices and end up with an entirely different flavor. We use garam masala a lot, but the blend of spices in this recipe gave a whole new dimension and richness. The cardamom pods and cinnamon are wonderfully aromatic while this is cooking.

Garam Masala with Tomatoes and Tofu

5 Tblsp. vegetable oil

3/4 tsp. whole cumin seeds

1 inch stick cinnamon

6 whole cardamom pods

2 bay leaves

1/4 tsp. whole peppercorns (can sub ground pepper if you hate chewing on the peppercorns like I do)

6-7 cloves garlic, minced

6 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped 

To peel the tomatoes, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Drop in whole tomatoes and let sit in the water for about 45-60 seconds. Peels will come off easily under running cool water.

1 package extra-firm tofu

1 (16 oz) can garbanzo beans drained and rinsed

1 medium zucchini, diced

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. garam masala blend

Heat oil in dutch oven or other largish pan, medium heat. Add spices (cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, and peppercorns). Allow to warm/pop for 1-2 minutes until your kitchen smells like an Indian restaurant.

Meanwhile, in another pan, or on the grill, cook the tofu. I drained, tossed with some garam masala powder, salt and pepper, and cooked on the stovetop just until some of the moisture was gone and flavors mixed. Put aside.

Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Add the garbanzo beans and zucchini, cover and cook for about 5-7 minutes, until zucchini starts to change color and look cooked. Add the tomatoes and the cooked tofu. Cover and allow to cook another few minutes. Add the remaining seasonings, stir, and allow to cook another 1-2 minutes. Whole spices should be removed before serving.  

Serve with rice. (serves 4)

Tomorrow, we're trying Theresa's grilled pizza! Wish me luck.

In which I finally use my new spice grinder (Sambhar Curry)

My mom bought me a Cuisinart spice grinder for Christmas. I appreciate the heft and visual appeal of a mortar and pestle, but oooh, this thing is so much better. The first thing I made with it was a batch of Sambhar curry powder, which I used to season a vegetable-lentil dish (recipe below). The recipe below made about an additional half-cup which has stored well and smells like - oh, heaven. Wish I could photograph the fragrance.

I consulted a few recipes and used what I had on hand, so my spice mix may not match the one in your recipe book - but trust me, it's delicious. One ingredient you can't skip is the fresh curry leaves, which is a drag since I have to go across town to find those.

Note about curry leaves. "Curry" means a yummy spice blend used in Indian cooking. And curry leaves are used in some curries but other than that, as far as I can tell, they are a different thing. Curry leaves don't taste like "curry." (Yes, I ask the stupid questions so you don't have to!)

Sambhar Curry Powder

2 tsp whole cumin seed

6 Tblsp. whole coriander seed

8 curry leaves (fresh)

1/2 tsp. asafetida seeds (or powder)

1 1/2 tsp. whole fenugreek seed

2 tsp. turmeric (powder)

2 tsp. whole mustard seed

1 1/2 tsp. red chili (I used powder)

20 peppercorns

Heat a cast iron skillet (or similar) to medium heat on stovetop and dry roast each of the whole spices separately, putting roasted spices into one bowl together. To dry roast, use a spatula to turn the spice for just a minute or two. Curry leaves will become crisp and dry (but not burned). Seeds will begin to brown and pop when done. You probably don't have to roast the powders unless you get in the groove and feel like it.

roasted spices ready for the spice mill

 When all spices are roasted, grind into a fine powder using your spice grinder. (wheee!) Can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for several months.

We've used this mix in several recipes that call for curry. It's sweet and fragrant and fresh-tasting. But the recipe I originally made with it is inspired by the South Indian Lentils and Vegetables recipe in Indian, Deliciously Authentic Dishes. I'm almost embarrassed to site the book since I doubt they'd recognize my version of their recipe. But - it was delicious!

Sambhar Lentils and Vegetables

4 Tblsp. vegetable oil

6 curry leaves

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Sambhar curry powder (2-3 teaspoons)

1 cup dried split red lentils (masoor dahl)

1/2 tsp. turmeric

about 2 cups water (or 1 cup water 1 cup coconut milk) [the original recipe calls for dessicated, unsweetened coconut]

about 2 tsp tamarind cake soaked in about 1/2 cup of very hot water for about 20 minutes [or 4 tablespoons tamarind syrup]

About 3 cups raw vegetables of your choice - for example, zucchini, green beans, onion, and carrots

15 oz can whole tomatoes, drained and chopped

for finish:

2 cloves garlic, finely sliced

handful fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan or dutch oven. Fry the curry leaves and garlic until slightly brown. Add lentils, curry powder, turmeric and water / water coconut milk mix. 

Simmer until lentils are mushy. Add vegetables, tamarind juice/pulp, and tomatoes. Cook until vegetables are slightly crunchy. 

In a small skillet, fry the garlic slices and fresh cilantro. Pour over lentils and vegetables. Serves 4 with leftovers.

Mmm, slow cooker. Mmm, Indian food

Life got in the way of blogging these past couple of weeks. Apologies! 

February is Cheap Eats month at Stuff My Kids Will Eat, but clearly even if I’d been keeping up, a 28-day month is not enough time to do justice to Cheap Eats, and boy, do I have lots of “stuff” to share. So, let's call it Cheap Eats Late-Winter. We’ll do what our agrarian ancestors did and keep up the cheap eating until it’s time to, I don’t know, slaughter the Easter ham and/or tofu block. 

One goal I have (and have been avoiding mightily) is to figure out how to budget and plan for a whole week of dinner menus. It sounds frighteningly planful. More on that soon.

In the midst of all the blizzarding and budgeting, an amazing new cookbook came into my life and became an obsession, thanks to friend Molly, who mentioned the Indian Slow Cooker Spice Tour on facebook (To which I said, Indian? Slow Cooker? Devon Avenue? YES!) 

Anupy Singla is the local author of The Indian Slow Cooker. We joined her for a fun and informative shopping spree followed by a yummy, inexpensive lunch at  Annapurna. Then I came home with all of my lentils, spices, seeds, and yes, curry leaves – at last! – and cooked until my kids started to wonder what was going on (“mom, I like Indian food, but are you ever going to cook any other kind again?”)

Spiced [meatless] Crumbles with Peas (p.116)

The book is gorgeously photographed and includes useful information on the basic spices used in Indian cooking. It’s great for anyone starting out with this cuisine, and for anyone looking for new uses for the slow cooker.  Anupy includes a lot of vegetarian recipes in here, which is great for me because finding vegetarian slow cooker recipes of any kind is pretty difficult. One note of warning – as Anupy told me, the “heat” in these recipes is the authentic style. If cooking for kids, you may want to be cautious with the chili powder and fresh chiles. 

You can buy paneer on Devon Ave. Also, this whole wheat roti.
p. 96, Anupy's Curried Spinach with Homemade cheese.
The dish at left top is a Sambhar vegetable and lentil curry (not slow-cooked)

If you’re in Chicagoland, check out Anupy’s website for cooking classes and spice tour dates – she does the spice tour every month. Did I mention that’s she’s super fun and friendly, too?

Our group

I learn about lentils

Potato Fritters, Indian style

This is sooo delicious. I’m sure it’s not especially good for you, but luckily the Stuff My Kids Will Eat Kitchen does not have the scientific instruments that would allow us to confirm that.

We served these fritters as a starter for family favorite chana masala, which bubbled on the stove while I cooked the fritters. The extra potato-ends (too small for fritters) got diced and added to the main dish. The fritters made with white potatoes were OK, but the sweet potatoes were divine. I didn't add the serrano chiles called for in the recipe.

We served store-bought coriander chutney for dipping. I think this would also be good with mango chutney, or the mint chutney suggested in the cookbook - or just eaten plain like French fries, as my kids enjoyed it.

Speaking of French fries, one of my favorite things about exploring the simpler dishes of other cuisines is learning how much they have in common across cultures. The seasonings change, but comfort food is comfort food (and everyone likes a fried potato.)

Potato Fritters Appetizer
Adapted from “Vegetarian for All Seasons,” Williams-Sonoma
1 cup chickpea flour (also called besan or gram flour)
1 cup vegetable stock or water
1 Tblsp. peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
Oil for frying
1 Tblsp. garam masala
½ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp. baking powder
2 green onions, minced (note: I substituted finely-diced yellow onion)
(optional) 1 serrano chile, minced
2 Tblsp. minced fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large sweet potato
1 large baking potato


In a bowl, combine the flour, stock, 1 tblsp. oil, garam masala, turmeric and baking powder. Stir until well mixed. Stir in the green onions, chile, and cilantro. The batter should be thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Peel and thinly slice the potatoes. The slices can be as much as ¼ inch thick and will still cook through, but taste-test your first batch for doneness.

The original recipe calls for deep frying in an inch of oil, but I'm a hot oil wimp, so I used a large (12”) non-stick skillet and generous dollop of oil, adding more oil every batch or two of fritters.  Heat the oil to medium-high or high temperature. Working one batch at a time, dip slices into the batter to coat and place immediately into hot pan. Fry a single layer at a time, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Transfer to paper towels to drain. While cooking the next batch, you can keep the fritters in a warm oven.

When all potatoes have been cooked, serve with the chutney.


February is Cheap Eats Month
Headlines say to expect high grocery prices during the next few months. I thought it would be fun to devote a month to cheap eats. They say food doesn’t have to be costly to be fresh and delicious. (Will the Kids agree? Will they notice any difference?)

What’s your favorite inexpensive main dish? How do you stretch your weekly purchases across a week of menus? Add your comments, favorites or requests below.