Are there any Indian food fanatics here?
I’m making a big pot of Chana Masala using one of those store bought spice packs and it’s excellent. Normally I avoid those ready made spice packs but this one is out of this world. The brand name is MDH and it’s called “Chana Masala (Spice Blend for Chick Peas)” I’m using dried chick peas that I soaked for 12 hours.
Thumbs up.. just in case someone else here would like to try it.
Yes me! 
I LOVE Alu Chana Masala - it’s my favourite! 
Whish I could get this spice pack… they probably don’t sell it here. 
I can only get the usual curry pastes at the Chinese shop (yeah, even though curries are Indian 
) like Madras or Vindaloo.
Got to go to go to an Indian restaurant for Alu Chana Masala.
Yum yum, now I’m hungry 
.
I bet you can find it. Do you have an Indian grocery at all? This package is printed in English, French and German so I think it gets distributed worldwide.
Chick peas are one of the few things I prefer ready in a can.
If I weren’t on a Mexican food kick at the moment (I have guajillos and anchos ready to roast shortly), I’d be throwing together chana masala right now.
Chick peas in a can?..where’s the flavor?
I’m on a Mexican kick just about all the time. How nice to see that you’re roasting dried peppers. Are you making a sauce? I grow a super huge batch of poblanos every other year. I eat as many as I can and then the rest I dry into anchos.
I’m having a tamalada this weekend. I ‘think’ tamalada is Spanish for ‘tamale making’. I’ll serve both the traditional pork variety and also a poblano/cheese kind that my wife loves. And plenty of cerveza fría of course. I made the stuffing this past weekend since the Browns were getting destroyed so I thought I would put my time to better use by preparing the pork filling. It’s pork simmmered in guajilla suace - yumola!
You guys are amazing. I can make soup, pancakes and I can boil water.
Water is my specialty.
At home, I chop whatever the chef (that is the Mrs) demands. I have no further influence.
In the can. It’s not like chick peas have a particularly delicate flavor.
I’m on a Mexican kick just about all the time. How nice to see that you’re roasting dried peppers. Are you making a sauce?
Oh, yes. And some time this week I will be trying my hands at fresh corn tortillas. Well, from pre-ground masa. I’m not going to soak corn in slaked lime just to cook for myself.
I’m having a tamalada this weekend. I ‘think’ tamalada is Spanish for ‘tamale making’. I’ll serve both the traditional pork variety and also a poblano/cheese kind that my wife loves.
Now I’m hungry again!
It’s pork simmmered in guajilla suace - yumola!
What cut of pork do you find best for this?
Is there any topic that can’t start a long thread here? I too love Indian food
Indians love it when their beans are cooked from dry. The bean will absorb some of the flavor. But you’re right it’s not all that much. But it does have a very different texture.
I’m with you on not making the masa. I read how that’s done and said forget it! I have made corn tortillas for years. I went to Mexico City when I was 12 and came back with a tortilla press.
They are a bit tricky to make for us Gringos. You’ll want to do 2 things.
Oh, and eat them asap. They taste goes only down hill the older they get. They are very filling.
Also, if you ever get a tortilla press, skip those light aluminum ones because they don’t press very well. The heavier the press the better.
About the Pork. I have NO idea what cut to use. I don’t cook with pork that often, except the dry rub pork tenderloin. The direction said that the pork would be tender in about an hour but I had to simmer mine for almost 3 before it was soft. It’s possible I simmered it too hot and then made it harder. I think I was using pork shoulder.
Indian food rocks!
Ahhh! I love Indian food!! Eating at restaurants or with friends’ families is great, but I eat most stuff at home. Pre-prepared. Channa Masala is good. (I wish I had time to cook, but the recipes I’ve looked at take forever!) My fav stuff from the store though is the Palak Paneer by Green Guru (frozen) and Dal Makhani by Tasty Bite (boxed). Tasty. All I need is some hot chapati to go with it… gosh I love chapati. And naan.
Ugh, I just had to post this…
Tamalda is not really like a tamales making… when you say things like tamalada, is more like a party in wich you serve a lot of tamales. Examples would be: Arepada (a party were tou serve a lot of arepas, only arepas), Quesada (well, i think you could understand that in different ways, but it could be like a cheese party too)…
I know that mexican food is very tasty, I love it too, but I could give some recipes for venezuelan food, if you’re interested. You should try and make some hallacas now this christmas!
http://www.venezuelatuya.com/cocina/index.htm
That part of the site is only avaliable in spanish, so you will have to make a small efort to understand it.
Cheers!
I’d like to ‘boob the burdee’ (poop the party) as they say and proclaim my dislike of indian food! I know some one else who hates it too. I also know that I have lost some respect for benissimus because he likes it. Then again he is american and eats too many mexican foods also. Or it may be because I am never hungry nowadays and my lack of appetite means that I boob the purdee of all foods.
oo indian food. im not too fond of it, but i was talking to my friend about a holiday that they just had. dawali? something like that? im not sure of the first letter.
“Diwali” is the spelling I see most.
Thanks for pointing out how ‘tamalada’ is used. It’s even better that it means tamale eating!
That link looks awesome. I had to print it out because I couldn’t easily read all of it, but with a dictionary I’ll be able to read it. I’m reading Spanish daily at this point, easy stuff really, so this will be a nice break and a real world challenge.
jeff
You guys are amazing. I can make soup, pancakes and I can boil water.
Well, there are now frozen Indian foods of all things. Just toss it in the microwave and now you are a chic gourmand. I just ate Samosa that has, instead of fried wrappings, a tortilla wrap. I use the oven instead of a microwave because microwaves leak some sort of icky radiation after a few years of use. Also, using the oven actually tastes better.