A Quick And Easy Dinner- Chana Masala

People tend to have quite a few crazy ideas about Indian food. They think it all tastes the same and takes days to make to start off with... Well, this mom of 3 (about to be 4!!!) is all about quick and easy. I need recipes that make my life easier!Today, I'm showing you a simple vegetarian dish that will make your bellies thank me!All you need is a few ingredients and you're off! It hardly takes anytime at all! You can serve it alone with a chapati or serve up some Karahi Chicken with it! Guess what... It's even kid approved!Heat the butter over medium heat. When the butter has melted add in your onions and jalapeño.When these have browned add in your ginger garlic paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Add in your coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Allow these to cook together for another 1-2 minutes.Stir in your tomato and cook for five minutes.Add in your potatoes, chickpeas, and water. Turn up the heat to medium/high heat. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer.Sprinkle in the garam masala, salt, and squeeze in your lemon juice. Allow all of the ingredients to simmer until the potatoes are tender.Serve with rice or next to another one of your favorite Indian main dishes.

[ If you like this, you'll love my Karahi Chicken Recipe ]

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Simple Potato Curry Recipe

Evenings in my house are hectic to say the least. While some people are winding down for the night, my family is just getting started. My kids have had their second wind from nap time and are bouncing off the walls.They jump from couch to couch, flipping cushions, pretending the floor is lava. Come on, why would it not be hot lava that forces them to jump all over my furniture and throw toys to fight the supposed lava beast... They even make sure to let me know how important their fight is because they're saving me of course.Far be it for me to stop them. I just sit there hoping they'll get all their energy out before dinner. It only backfires 5 times out of 10. I'd say that's pretty good odds for a parent...Needless to say, I'm always looking for simple hacks to help my nights run a little smoother. Otherwise my kids end up eating peanut butter and jelly more often than I'd like to admit. Lately, I've been letting Indian cuisine influence my meals plans and I've found the easiest dish you have to try!Whether you're making an Indian meal or trying to sneak an Indian side dish in, potato curry is perfect.Potato Curry Recipe

Ingredients:

6-7 boiled potatoes (quartered)1/2 diced onion1 tsp turmeric1 tbs black mustard seeds2 tbs butter or ghee1 green chili (halved)1 tbs salt

Directions:

Boil your potatoes until tender. Make sure they aren't too tender otherwise this will turn into Indian mashed potatoes! Set them aside.Heat a small pan on medium low. When the pan is hot, add the butter, onion, and green chili.Cook them for about 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Add in the turmeric, salt, and mustard seeds.Cook for two minutes. Add them into the boiled potatoes and mix.

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Paratha Recipe

As I'm sure you know by now, we make a lot of Indian food in our house. This means we need to have rice and roti (Indian bread) on hand. Typically, I will buy a huge bag of parathas and keep them in my freezer. While they are extremely delicious, I decided we needed some homemade, fresh from the skillet parathas around here! I posted this recipe a few years ago and decided to update it. This is a great recipe because you can tailer it to your specific tastes. It's a very forgiving dough and you can see where your imagination takes you. Ingredients:2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flourWarm water2 tsp oil1 tsp salt1 tbs garam masala1 1/2 tsp fenugreek leavesDirections:Pour all of your dry ingredients into a bowl. Mix them, add your oil, and slowly add your water until all of the dry ingredients come together. The stickier your dough, the more moist your parathas will be. Make sure you don't make it too sticky, otherwise it will be too hard to work with. Knead your dough for two minutes and then set it aside for twenty minutes.Pinch off a chunk of the dough and roll it into a ball. It should be about the size of a golf ball.Roll out your dough to about half an inch thick. Brush the top with oil and sprinkle with flour. Cut a small slit in your dough.Roll your dough like shown in the picture. This by no means needs to look nice or be perfect.Place the tip of this in your palm or on the counter and press down to flatten.Roll your dough out one more time.Heat a pan on medium high heat, add a small amount of oil, and fry up your parathas. Cook them until they turn golden brown or start to bubble.These are delicious, flaky, and make your mouth water as you begin to smell them! Serve this with butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, chicken curry, or any other Indian dish. I turned my back for one minute and already found bit marks from  my little boys.

Samosa Recipe

Are you ready for one of the best appetizers you will ever have in your life? I hope so because this is the recipe for samosas! I made them for my family last night and I was barely able to take a picture of the finished project because my cousins and husband kept sneaking in and eating them!I made meat and potato samosas, but you can stuff them with anything that sounds good to you!

Meat and Potato Samosas

Ingredients:

Dough-3 cups of flour2 tbs semolina flour1/2 tsp salt1/4 cup of vegetable oil1/2 cup of warm waterFilling-1 lb ground meat (I used turkey)1 tsp salt1 1/2 tbs cumin powder1 tsp turmeric1/2 diced onion2 tsp chili powdervegetable oil2 tbs ginger/garlic paste1 1/2 tbs garam masala5 large potatoes1 cup peas

Directions:

Peel and boil your potatoes until tender. Strainthem and set them aside to cool.In a separate pan heat you oil on a medium/low temperature. When the oil is warm, add your onions. Cook your onions until they are a nice golden brown color.Add in the turmeric, cumin powder, chili powder, ginger/garlic paste, and garam masala and cook for two minutes. Add in your ground turkey. If you are using any other meat, besides ground turkey, brown/strain your meat first and then add it at this step.When your meat has cooked, add in your salt and peas. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add in your potatoes, mix, and cool.As your filling is cooling, you can start on your dough.Add your dry ingredients into a bowl (salt, flour, and semolina flour). Mix and add your oil.This is where you will get your hands a little dirty. Slowly add your water, a little bit at a time. While you are adding your water, you will mix it with your hands. Make sure all of your dry ingredients are mixed into your dough and start kneading. Knead until your dough until it starts looking like the picture below and has become more elastic.Separate your dough into six balls. Roll them into a circle. Take one dough ball and roll it out into a large circle. It needs to be very thin.Cut your dough in half.Pick up one piece and wet the edges.Fold the straight edges so they overlap and press together. This allows you to have a triangular pocket to stuff your filling inside.Spoon your filling inside. Continue to push your filling down so you can make sure it is nice and full. If your dough starts to break, touch it with a bit of water and pinch it together.Take the top half and fold it over.Then take your other top half and fold it over. Pinch the seam so there are no holes or openings. If there are any holes, your filling will come out during the frying process.Take a deep pot and fill it with enough oil to fully cover you samosas. Do not heat your oil until you are done putting your samosas together because your oil can burn. Heat your oil on medium high. Test our oil by putting a small piece of dough in. It should instantly start bubbling and sizzling.Add your samosas in three at a time. Turn them over after 20 seconds. Take them out when they are a nice golden color.You can serve these with a nice cilantro chutney! Watch out because these things fly off the plates at our house and everyone LOVES them!