What's Cookin' Wednesday

Chickpea Curry with Coconut Rice and Homemade Naan!

Uhhh... yum. The title says it all. Boyfriend's sister was going to have dinner with us last night, and he loves Indian. I've only made a couple attempts at making Indian food (this Coconut Curry Lentil Soup, which was amazing), but it's something boyfriend and I both love. So, try, I must. Here I am worrying she'll be like, "wtf are you serving me?" and then she cancels. :( Lame, but dinner was delicious! Took me a good amount of time, but that's because I just did everything at once.
Warning: it's super filling. So many veggies & chickpeas. <3

Onward to the recipe! I prepared the naan first, as it needs an hour to rise.
Ingredients
2 cups flour (I used whole wheat)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 Tbsp sugar
1/8 cup hot water
1/4 heaping tsp active dry yeast
3/8 cup warm milk
1/2 cup greek yogurt
4 cloves roasted garlic
melted butter for brushing

Combine the sugar and warm water until dissolved. Mix in the yeast and set aside for about 10 minutes, until the mixture forms bubbles and smells all kinds of yeasty. Once the yeast mixture has started bubbling, add in the yogurt, warm milk, and roasted garlic. Mix well!  In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ones, stirring to combine. Use your hands to combine well. Once completely mixed all up and the dough forms a ball, cover with a damp towel and set aside (in a warm area) to rise for about an hour. If you're being smart and preparing beforehand, you can refrigerate the dough for up to 24 hours.

After about an hour, cut the dough into 6 equal chunks and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick. Brush butter onto both sides of the dough and place in a hot cast iron pan. Cover and let bake for about a minute. It should form some bubbles. 

Flip the naan and cook the other side until slightly browned. 

BAM! Homemade naan.

Onto the next part: Coconut Rice.

This part is really simple.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups jasmine rice

1 1/2 cups light canned coconut milk

1/2 cup coconut water

1 Tbsp oil (I used olive, but coconut would be great!)

A bit of salt.

Pop the first 3 ingredients into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it's at a boil, reduce the heat and cover, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed.

Stir in the oil and set aside until the curry is done (hopefully you've started the curry instead of watching the rice boil :P).

Curry time!

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Tbsp oil (I used olive, but again, coconut would be great)

2 leeks, cleaned and sliced

1/2 a red pepper, chopped

2 cloves of minced garlic

1/2 tsp ginger (fresh is better)

2 Tbsp red curry paste

1/3 cup edamame

1 (14 oz) can coconut milk

1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas

Heat the oil in a medium skillet. Toss in your leeks, garlic, and pepper. Cover and cook until the veggies are tender, about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the ginger and red curry paste, and cook for another 5 minutes. Then toss in the edamame and coconut milk.

 
 
 Let your little concoction come to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add the can of chickpeas and simmer for 5 minutes.

Pile some rice on your plate and top with curry, and try not to eat all the naan.

Delicious end result:

Let me know if you try this and how it turns out for you! It's boyfriend approved!

This weekend, I want to start refinishing my old desk. I'll post some pictures and simple instructions if it turns out right. :)