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indian cuisine by jac and gil

let me start by letting you all know of a new weekly posting by jac and gil (jill). each week my friend jac from devourthis and i are getting together to make a gluten-free meal together then post about our results. perhaps it was beginner's luck, but this week was a success! read on....

so jac and i put ourselves up to a challenge. the first part was easy: go to the gym or skip and make dinner? we conquered that hurdle--we went home with gym bags in hand, and started on planning our meal. due to some recent mouth pain, (my dear friend jac has decided to get braces; any former braces wearers must remember that pain?!) the challenge was trying to find a palatable dish that was soft and appealing. of course i offered up the idea of various forms of mashed potatoes, a chart-topper on my list of comfort foods. but after a week of pasta combos, and even skipped meals for jac, i think it was time for some substance, and taste. additionally i had a craving for vegetable pakoras, which i convinced jac (who originally dismissed my suggestion) that we could make soft instead of crunchy. i know this is not exactly truthful, but i am a ruthless campaigner and now had the salty taste of pakoras in my mind. by the time we walked back to jac's house, we had pretty much settled on indian food. there was one catch-- where would we find chickpea flour? without hesitation i called our local organic, health food store, basic, and sure enough found besan (chickpea flour). with that confirmation jac was off and running on the main dish, as she is the much more senior (and talented) chef of the two. coincidentally, she had found an indian recipe months back that she had been meaning to try, so we rose to the challenge. we read her recipe for easy chickpea and spinach curry and of course, altered to our liking and ingredient options. we did the same for the pakoras. i find it easier to find recipes that are intriguing as a foundation, and then alter them to my dietary needs or ingredient options. flexibility is key. epicurious is a great place to start.

our pakoras called for deep-frying, but we chose to pan fry instead, and were pretty happy with the results. the recipe was very quick and easy. essentially all i needed to do was combine chickpea flour, some oil, salt, cumin and water and throw it in the food processor until it got smooth and fluffy (about 4 to 5 minutes in the food processor). then i set it aside at a warm temperature, which was for us the kitchen temperature— a comfortable 90 degrees this ridiculously hot and humid day. i can’t believe we ventured to cook during an east coast heat wave in a non-air conditioned kitchen, while there were plenty of indian options just minutes away. but, as i said… it was a challenge. part me was holding out for the suggestion of eating out, but jac is always up for cooking, so i kept the idle chatter in my mind quiet and got back to the pakoras. next we chose vegetables that we thought would taste good and remain somewhat mushy. we went with onions, spinach, and peas. i went a little crazy with the chopping, and i think the onions were diced too thin and small. i prefer longer strands of onions in pakoras for texture and appearance. i would change that next round. i also followed the suggested amount of salt from the original recipe, which i found too salty. so, i have adjusted the amount of salt in the recipe below. after the veggies were chopped, i mixed them into the chickpea batter, and they were ready to be fried.

while i was working on the pakoras, jac was busy making the main dish. she used a combination of fresh and frozen spinach, again because that is what was in the house, diced tomatoes, and chickpeas. the original recipe called for a slow cooker and dried chickpeas, but we made this on the stovetop and used canned chickpeas, and it turned out great. jac added indian spices to the dish and let the meal stew on the stove until it became a soft texture, the perfect consistency. surprisingly, this meal was easy to make and actually very healthy. the end product was better than we imagined. the pakoras were so tasty, and yes, a bit crispy on the outside, but soft enough inside and so flavorful that even jac enjoyed the appetizers. the main course was also extremely flavorful and just a perfect blend of spices. we put it over a combination of rices, jasmine, wild, and brown. we were not equipped with those wonderful indian sauces that come along with most indian fares at restaurants, but we did use tangy mango chutney to compliment the dish. nice work jac, this was exactly what i was craving.

check out devourthis. for more exciting dishes by jac.
(recipes below taken from devourthis.typepad.com)
easy chickpea and spinach curry
adapted from epicurious
serves 6

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups baby spinach leaves
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon garam masala (you can buy this spice mix premade.)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
peas, (just a handful for garnish)

just throw everything in a large pot, stir, and cook over medium heat anywhere from 15 min. (to heat everything through) to 40 min. (to let flavors meld more thoroughly). stir occasionally. enjoy over basmati rice.

breezy vegetable pakoras
adapted from indiaforvistors.com
makes 12-15 pakoras

1 cup chickpea flour
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt ( stick with 1 teaspoon; i used a little more and it was on the salty side)
1/2 cup water
1/2 onion, diced
1 10 oz. package frozen spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry
1/2 cup frozen peas, defrosted
3/4 cup canola oil

accompaniment: mango chutney (for spice, stir in crushed red pepper flakes!)

in a medium bowl, mix together the first 5 ingredients then beat in a blender or food processor 2 to 3 minutes to incorporate air. let the batter rest for 30 minutes in a warm place (like jac’s kitchen). add the vegetables and mix in evenly. in a large sauté pan, heat the cup of canola oil until a drop of batter sizzles upon impact. with two spoons, form small, thin patty shapes with the very wet batter and gently drop into the oil. be careful not to crowd the pan. cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. drain on paper towel.

finally, a slice of nyc pizza

in lieu of working, i spent the day roaming around the city with a good friend, searching for bookstores, until finally finding the perfect books for the day, catching some great holiday sales, and of course eating gluten-free food. the first place we stopped was mozzarelli's on 38 east 23rd street, another one of these gf-friendly places i have been reading about, but not quite getting too. i have now tried several gluten-free pizzas in various places throughout manhattan, but this place has been called “the best gluten-free pizza in nyc,” then again i have heard that tagline before. but still, i couldn’t help get one review out of my mind i read on yelp or city search, where a brooklynite said he traveled the boroughs just to get a piece of gluten-free pizza this good. so, i found myself standing in the storefront, perusing the menu with a myriad of gluten-free options, and of course, ending up with a slice of pizza. hats off to the guy from brooklyn because this is to date the best gluten-free pizza i have ever had (sorry mom).

it didn’t hurt that the restaurant is located right across the street from madison park, which on this particular day was sunny and inviting. we found a bench, and ate our greasy, cheesy slices on top of the brown paper bags, and paper plates they were served to us on. the weather was great, and even new yorkers seemed to be smiling today—perhaps because we all we not in our cubicles. i went for a traditional slice of cheese with thick marinara sauce smothered underneath the globs of mozzarella cheese, but it was incredible. beyond the flavorful pizza sauce, it was the crust that sold me. let’s be honest, gluten-free carbs are not typically the tastiest. but, this crust was soft inside, crunchy outside, and tasted rich from the buttery dough. i’m smiling just writing about it.

for all the gluten-free people out there, this is a must on the food list. i was pretty satisfied with my midday meal, so after we rested in the park for a bit, we headed up to central park with our books and blanket in hand. by the time we made the trek all up to central park, we had worked up our appetitive again. or perhaps we were just craving dessert on this summer day. we hopped into a little frozen yogurt shop near the park to end this gluten-free dining experience. we took our desserts with us to the park, laid out our blanket, grabbed our books and just relaxed. I must admit, there really isn’t much better than a beautiful day in central park, with an ice cream, blanket and a good book. sometimes, it just takes a day off to make you realize how much there is to enjoy in life.