(aka, what to make when you’re stranded at home because the town is shut down from swine flu)

For some strange reason, I crave Indian food on sundays. It’s probably because we have more time to cook, and Indian food isn’t the easiest food to make. But today’s 4 course meal took only an hour from start to finish, and it was one of those meals where you just have to force yourself to stop or else you’ll overeat and regret it later.

In the spirit of freestyle, recipe-free cooking, these recipes are just ‘guidelines’ and you should feel free to add or subtract or change it as you go.  Here’s the menu:

1. Sultana & Cashew Basmati Pilau

2. Chicken Tikka Masala

3. Curried lentils & vegetables

4. Saag Paneer (a creamy spinach dish that is a staple of indian cuisine)

(optional: 5. Naans — we didn’t ‘make’ these today, because we had some flat bread laying around, but I did recently post a recipe.  If you make these from scratch, I suspect the meal is going to take you a wee bit more than an hour, unless you really book it..)

Sultana & Cashew Basmati Pilau

I just bought a massive bag of basmati rice from costco that I’ve been dying to try out.  And this was totally experimental, because I made this dish in the rice maker.  Basically, I just followed the rice maker’s guidelines of 2 cups rice and 2.5 cups water:

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed and soaked for a bit, then drained of course

2.5 cups chicken broth

1 cinnamon stick

1 handful of cashews

1 handful of raisins (golden are best, but I just had regular and it was fine)

1 handful of slivered almonds (I chopped up some whole almonds)

a couple spoonfuls of garam masala (from the store or make it yourself.. mine had coriander, tumeric, cumin, fenugreek and chillies)

some more tumeric

a little oil for good measure (I did a couple teaspoons of canola oil.. butter works too)

That’s about it. I just threw it all in the rice maker and hit the white rice button, but you could accomplish this by throwing it all in a pot on the stove and cooking it like any old rice dish (although you may want to get fancy and saute the rice and some spices a little in oil or butter first)

Saag Paneeer

Oil (or ghee.. but I didn’t have any and didn’t want to make it)
1 onion, chopped
5 Cloves garlic, chopped fine
1 can of diced tomatoes
1″ chunk of fresh ginger, peeled, chopped fine (I didn’t have this, so I used some powder)
1 lb fresh or frozen spinach, thawed (I used fresh, because I had a huge costco bag threatening to go bad)
1 c plain yogurt (or sour cream if you don’t have yogurt laying around)
2 t crushed red chili (or red pepper flakes)
1 t cumin seed

1 t mustard seed

2 ts Garam Masala (or curry powder if you don’t have garam masala)

1.5 c half and half (or use 1 cup heavy cream and 1/2 c water, mixed)
8 oz ricotta cheese, or 4% cottage cheese, or Paneer (you can make it yourself with milk, lemon juice, and a cheese cloth. Really.  Google it if you don’t believe me)
Salt & pepper to taste

Boil the spinach in 1 cup of water in a large skillet covered with a lid for ~ 4 minutes. Drain well in colander. Return the skillet to heat and add some oil or ghee. Add the onions & ginger, stir fry for a few minutes, add the garlic, tomato & cumin seed. Cook a few minutes then add the yogurt or sour cream, chili, and garam masala/curry powder and the drained spinach. Simmer at medium heat for 5 minutes. Mash the ingredients with a potato masher or use a hand blender to puree. Add the half and half. Add the cheese, simmer 5 minutes.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Ok, now here comes the secret to the (relatively) quick meal:

Patak’s Tikka Masala Curry Paste from the grocery store.  It is soo good. I basically just threw in a few chicken breasts into a pot with a bunch of this stuff on top, and cooked it.

Curried Lentils & Vegetables

For this one, just use your imagination.  Heat up some oil, saute some onions and indian spices (i.e. garam masala, cumin seed, mustard seed, tumeric, lots of curry…), add the lentils (whatever color you have), some water, and some veggies (i.e. carrots, cauliflower, potatoes, peas, etc..).  Cook until done.. and a bunch of spices to taste..

And here is the finished product.  The iphone camera and paper plate (albeit biodegradable) don’t really do it justice, but trust me, it was delish.

This is a great way to use up all that zucchini in your garden
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 T red wine vinegar
1 T lemon juice
1 t Dijon mustard
6 T olive oil, plus extra for brushing
2 T chopped fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
2 T chopped fresh basil
salt and ground pepper
2 red bell peppers
2 yellow bell peppers
4 Asian (slender) eggplants, cut a lengthwise into slices ¼
inch thick
4 zucchini, cut lengthwise into slices ¼ inch think
18 asparagus spears, trimmed and peeled if desired
6 plum tomatoes, halved leghtwise
more parsley for garnish
(I just use whatever I have on hand for veggies)

Fire up the grill. In a small bowl, combine the shallot,
vinegar, lemon juice, and mustard. Whisk in the 6 T oil, then
add the parsley, basil, and salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to
a container with a tight fitting lid.

When the coals are medium-hot, (I just use my gas grill)
place the peppers on the grill rack and grill, turning, until the
skins blacken and blister. Place in a brown paper bag, close
tightly, and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the peppers and
peel off the charred skin. Remove the stems, seed, and ribs.
Cut into ½ inch slices. Place in a large storage container.

Lightly brush the eggplant and zucchini slices with olive
oil and grill, turning once, until lightly browned, 6-8 min total.
Place in a large storage container. Lightly brush the asparagus
and the tomato halves with olive oil. Grill, turning once, until
lightly browned, about 5 min for the asparagus, 8 minutes for
the tomatoes. Add to the container. Drizzle with the
vinaigrette and sprinkle with parsley. Keep chilled until ready
to serve. (To serve this, put in shallow dish or plate with rim.
Lay veggies out all going the same direction, but layering a bit)

Half a bag of chopped frozen onions
(or use some fresh)
salt and pepper
2 cloves of garlic (we always guess on
the garlic)
2 extra large chicken bouillon cubes
Oil for sauteing (Jason’s original
recipe calls for butter instead for
you purists out there).
1 cup flour
3 cups water
2 cans low-fat condensed milk
1/2 pound of cheese cut into cubes
2 bags of macaroni noodles.
Sauté onions, chicken bouillon
cubes , and garlic in oil. Once sauteed,
add condensed milk, 3 cups of water, and
stir in flour to thicken. Add cheese and
stir until it melts. Add cooked macaroni
noodles to cheese mixture and stir.
Sprinkle paprika on top. Place in a
casserole dish and bake at 375 for 30
minutes.

8 oz chopped cilantro
3 cloves garlic
1/2 c olive oil
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper
2 oz fresh grated parmesan cheese
Put cilantro and garlic in food
processor until finely chopped. While
processing, add olive oil then the rest.

fajitas

1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 T oil (any kind)
carrots, zucchini, yellow summer
squash - cut
julienne style
broccoli and cauliflower, cut into
small florest
green pepper & mushrooms, thinly
sliced
snow peas, whole
juice of 1/2 lemon

pico de gallo
1 small jalepeno pepper, minced
1/4 c diced tomato
1/4 c diced onion
3 T lemon juice
1.5 T finley chopped cilantro
1/2 t salt
Saute vegetables in oil. Place on
warm flour tortillas, top with pesto,
garnish with lime, sour cream,
guacamole, cheese, and pico de Gallo
Sauce.

1 lb bag of pinto beans, soaked
overnight
4 c chicken broth
2 Cloves garlic, minced
2 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
1 t. oregano
1 can chopped green chilis
up to 1 teaspoon of salt after cooked
Tortillas

Soak 1 pound of pinto beans
overnight. In morning, drain and rinse
bean. Put in crockpot on low with 4 C
chicken broth (2 small cans). Add garlic,
chili powder, cumin, oregano, green
chilis, salt after it is cooked. Mush up a
bit so that most of the beans are whole
and some are mushed up.

Don’t add too much salt because you
cook them in chicken broth. Serve with
tortillas and the usual toppings.

1 lb penne pasta, cooked
3 T olive oil
1.5 c chopped onion
1 t garlic
3 cans (28 oz each) drained
tomatoes
2 t dried basil
1.5 t crushed red pepper
2 c chicken broth (1 can)
topping:
2.5 c packed grated havarti cheese
1/3 c sliced olives
1/3 c grated parmesan cheese
fresh basil

Saute garlic and onion the olive oil.
Add tomatoes, basil, red pepper. Add
broth. Simmer for 1 hour. Throw in
cooked pasta then the ‘topping’. Mix &
serve.

Portobello mushrooms
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt
pepper
mayo

Buy some portobello mushrooms (i.e. costco), brush them with
olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then salt & pepper. Barbeque
them. Serve on a hamburger bun with whatever toppings you’d
like. Try it with a some balsamic mayo (mix mayo with
balsamic vinegar).

1/4 cup Mayonnaise
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1 tbsp Lemon juice
1/8 cup Olive oil
1 cup Sliced red bell peppers
1 Small zucchini, sliced
1 Red onion, sliced
1 Small yellow squash, sliced
2 (4-x6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split
horizontally
1/2 cup Crumbled feta cheese

1. In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and
lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.
2. Preheat the grill for high heat.
3. Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate
with oil.Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of
the grill,and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook
for about 3 minutes,turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The
peppers may take a bitlonger. Remove from grill, and set aside.
4. Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides
of thebread, and sprinkle each with feta cheese. Place on the
grill, cheeseside up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes.
Watch carefully so the bottoms don’t burn.
5. Remove from grill, and layer the with vegetables. Enjoy
as open faced grilled