Scratch Cooking December 21st

Soooooo, Sunday dinner was Indian food. I'm trying to up the anti-inflammatories in the hopes that it will help get rid of my rash and help cure my friend's cancer (we have a Sunday dinner tradition). Actually, turmeric has been shown to help shrink pancreatic tumors, so it may not just be wishful thinking on my part. Seriously, google it!

Here is the menu: Onion Biryani, buttered sweet potatoes, chickpea dal with dandelion greens and cauliflower pakoras. Let's start with the pakoras. Or not start with the pakoras actually. I'm not going to repeat the recipe because it really didn't work. The batter didn't stay on the cauliflower when I fried it and the part that did tasted floury. Maybe it's because I used garfava flour instead of chickpea flour. Maybe the oil wasn't hot enough, maybe the cauliflower was a little damp. Whatever it was, scratch that recipe off the list.

The chickpeas I soaked over night and then cooked in water for an hour by bringing to a boil, skimming off the foam and then simmering. Once they were cooked, I sauteed a chopped onion in some canola oil with turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, salt and pepper, between 1/2 and 1 teaspoon of each. Then I added some dandelion greens and the chick peas and let it cook for about 20 minutes.

Fo the sweet potatoes, I sauteed a chopped onion in butter with the same mix of spices and added a large sweet potato, peeled and cut in cubes. I covered it and let it cook for about 30 minutes until the potatoes were soft.

For the rice, I sauteed a chopped onion (are you getting a theme here?) in butter with the same spices plus fenugreek seeds and hing (also knows as asofetida). I added 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, some cardamom seeds and some whole cloves. Covered and cooked for 25 minutes.

Other than the cauliflower, it made for some delicious anti-inflammatories!