Anyway, if I didn't: I did! I've wanted both items for a year and decided it is TIME, past time, to buy something I want, can afford, will use, and won't get from anyone else. I preach fiscal conservatism, but not ongoing self-denial.
So, new gadgets made me look for recipes that would require lots of chopping & cooking, and boy did I find one. Two, in fact! The Oyster Evangelist's post about Chickpea Cashew Curry caught my eye. She based her recipe on Pithy and Cleaver's Chana Masala. So what did I do? I made both. And no, reader, I did not cut either of them in half or thirds. I now have chana masala in the freezer, have eaten it for a number of meals, fed it to my lunch group, and STILL have some in the fridge. Do you think I'll ever learn?? (Side note, not sure it'll thaw okay, but one friend pointed out I could just puree it and use it as a dip if the texture is less-than-pleasing.)
So anyway, the recipe. I'll just paraphrase to save time. Follow the links above to actually recreate these.
1. Get some really cool spices. Put them in oil and heat on low to infuse the oil with the spices. For future reference, I'd use a smaller pot - my spices weren't fully immersed so I don't think I got all their goodness into the oil.
2. Shred a metric ton of onions. Squee with delight when your shiny new toy chews through them in seconds. Brush from your consciousness that you nearly fill a 12-cup food processor TWICE. Nah, that's not too many onions for one person.
3. Put the onions into the spice-infused oil (having removed the spices!) and cook on low for hours. No, I'm not kidding. Again ignore the evidence that maybe you're going a wee bit overboard.
4a & b Some of the onions are carmelized with spices (for the chickpea cashew curry); some are not (for the chana masala):
5. Follow the directions for the recipes and enjoy the results. Here's the chickpea cashew curry:
Marvel over your genius. Realize you went way the hell over the top. Hope fervently you can bring yourself to make & eat these recipes again someday. For the record, they were both excellent and totally worth the effort. I had a slight preference for the chickpea cashew curry.
Too funny! I can't believe you made both recipes and accumulated 24 cups of onions. The food processor does make it fun though, that's for sure. The cashew curry definitely freezes and defrosts well--I've already reheated it a few times. I'm glad you liked the cashew curry. Thanks for the link back!
ReplyDeletewow! that's a lot of onions -- the only time i used a food processor to chop onions, i ended up with onion slurry. oops. it doesn't work the same as chopped onion, let me tell you.
ReplyDeletethis looks delish. i'll have to add the cashew curry to my list of things to cook and freeze fo' sho'.