Chana Masala

This recipe is easiest with an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, but can be adapted to a slow cooker (8-10 hours on LOW, 4 hours on HIGH). In a pinch, you can substitute canned beans, though the flavor won't be as good. Like any bean dish, this tastes better the next day.

2 c dried chickpeas
2 Tbsp oil or ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
1 c canned diced tomatoes with juice
2 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp amchur (green mango powder; substitute 2 Tbsp lime juice if necessary)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 tsp cayenne, to taste
2 c water
2 tsp salt
1/2 c cilantro 

Soak chickpeas overnight in double their water to cover. Alternatively, bring to a boil, then remove from heat and let stand 1 hour. 

Heat oil or ghee in an Instant Pot on the "sauté" function. When hot, add cumin seeds. Sizzle 30-60 seconds or until fragrant and beginning to brown. Add onion, stirring. When softened, stir in garlic and ginger. Cook a few minutes.

Stir in canned tomatoes, spices, and soaked chickpeas. Add water to just cover. Place lid and cook 15 minutes on HIGH. Allow pressure to release naturally. 

Stir in salt. Simmer using "sauté" function for a few minutes or until sauce reaches desired consistency. Stir in cilantro. Serves 8-10 as part of an Indian meal.

Moroccan Chickpea Chili

3 c dried chickpeas

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, cut in medium dice
6 to 8 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp broth concentrate
1 14.5-oz can chopped tomatoes (optional)
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt (to taste)
1/4 tsp finely ground black pepper
5 ozs baby spinach

Bring chickpeas to a boil in triple their volume of water. Cover; let stand 1 hour. Drain. Replace with water to cover. Pressure cook on HIGH for 14 minutes; let pressure release naturally.

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute until onions turn translucent. Lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices; saute 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.

Add tomatoes, chickpeas and their cooking liquid, broth concentrate, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper; stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. Pressure-cook for 8 minutes on HIGH and let pressure release naturally, or simmer in a regular pot on low for 45 minutes. (Can also be made in a slow cooker. Transfer sauteed mixture to a slow cooker and proceed. Cook on LOW for 8 hours or until flavors are well blended.)

Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash some chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in spinach; heat through just until wilted. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper. Serve drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil if desired.

Creamy Black Bean Spinach Enchiladas

For the sauce:

2 Tbsp sunflower oil
3 Tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
3 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 to 2 1/2 c no-chicken broth

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add flour; whisk to combine. Cook a couple of minutes, then whisk in spices. When mixture is fragrant, add broth, whisking continuously. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

For the filling:

1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 tsp sunflower oil
1 pound (2 c) nonfat cottage cheese
3/4 c pepper jack or Mexican blend shredded cheese
15-oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 c frozen spinach
3 Tbsp cilantro, shredded

Saute onion in sunflower oil over medium-high heat until softened and a bit brown. Set aside. Puree cottage cheese until smooth. Mix in remaining filling ingredients. Set aside.

Assembly:

1 dozen corn tortillas

In an oiled 13"x9"x2" casserole dish, layer sauce, tortillas and filling, beginning and ending with sauce. Top with additional shredded cheese if desired. Bake, covered, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 5 to 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and dish is bubbling.

Can also be made in a slow cooker. Reserve additional cheese for topping. Cook covered on HIGH for 2 to 4 hours. In the last 15 minutes of cooking, sprinkle cheese on top, replace cover and finish cooking.

Christmas Miracle Breakfast Casserole

I have been trying to get my kids to eat breakfast casseroles for years. YEARS. Nobody wants to be in the kitchen cooking on festive holiday mornings, and these "take it out of the fridge and pop it in the oven" casseroles promise to solve that problem, but not if your family uniformly turns up their noses every time you present one. So I sat down with my kids and we looked at recipes. Lots and lots of recipes. We picked and chose our favorite ideas from various recipes, and I assembled the resulting concoction. It's not that different from other breakfast casseroles I have made for them in the past. But they ate it. Both of them. And they enjoyed it. Talk about a Christmas miracle. 

Edited to add: I made this for Thanksgiving 2015, cooked it in a 6-quart oval slow cooker for 10 hours on LOW, and woke up to a perfect breakfast.

1 26-oz bag frozen hash browns (I use Trader Joe's)

1 Tbsp butter

1 c diced onion

1 lb cremini mushrooms, sliced

12 eggs

1/2 c milk

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ancho chile powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

12 ozs grated pepper jack cheese

Butter a 9x13 casserole dish or the ceramic liner of a 6-quart oval slow cooker. Set aside.

Heat butter over medium heat in a large saute pan. Add onions; cook until softened and beginning to brown. Add mushrooms in batches, stirring as needed. Add spices; saute just until fragrant. Turn off heat. 

While vegetables cook, beat eggs and milk together. Place one-third of hash browns in bottom of prepared casserole. Top with half of sauteed vegetables, then a little less than half of cheese. Repeat this process with one-third of hash browns, the other half of sauteed vegetables, a little less than half of cheese, and the rest of the hash browns. Pour egg mixture atop vegetables, poking gently as needed to coat evenly. Top with the rest of the cheese.

I baked this in a casserole dish immediately after assembling it. It took 45 to 50 minutes at 375 degrees, the first half covered. This was much longer than I'd anticipated. Next time I'm going to try to cook it overnight in my slow cooker, which has a "keep warm" feature once the set time has elapsed. I'll start with 6 hours on HIGH, and we'll see how it goes. 

Smoky Mexican Black Beans

I make these all the time, in a variety of ways, as you will see when you read the directions. This recipe makes 4 to 5 cups of cooked beans.

2 c dried black beans
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 c chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tsp smoked paprika
3/4 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ancho chile powder
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt, or to taste


Soak the black beans in triple their volume of water for 8 hours or overnight. Drain beans; discard soaking water and set beans aside. (If you are in a hurry, you can bring them to a boil, then remove from heat and let stand covered for 1 hour, then proceed as written. If you don't soak them, just cook them longer, up to double the indicated time, and prepare to feel a bit gassy.)

Heat oil over medium-high heat in a skillet (if using crock-pot) or a pressure cooker or large pot (if using stovetop). Add onions and garlic. Cook, stirring frequently, until softened and beginning to brown. Add spices. Cook and stir for a couple of minutes, until fragrant.

If making on stovetop, add soaked beans and bay leaf. Add water just to cover, stirring well. Cook for 90 minutes, covered, or 18 minutes at high pressure in a pressure cooker (natural release).

If making in crock-pot, scrape onion-garlic-spice mixture into bottom of crock-pot. Rinse/scrape skillet well and add this water with all its flavorful bits to crock-pot, then add black beans and bay leaf. Pour water in at least 1" over top of beans and cook 4-5 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.

Salt beans to taste. Remove beans to a heat-tolerant storage container (I use a large slotted spoon) and cook liquid down until slightly thickened. Pour over beans, stirring well to coat beans with liquid. Refrigerate everything overnight, then reheat and serve... because beans are always better the next day.

Midwinter Chili

I made this chili to feed a crowd at our annual midwinter party. It requires only minimal prep work, which the cook does ahead, then cooks itself while you prepare for your guests. And it is quite tasty. We hosted 18 people, with plenty of other food available, and the crock was slicked clean.

3 c dried black beans, soaked overnight
About 6 cups vegetarian broth (I use this one)
6 poblano chiles, halved and seeded
1 Tbsp oil
1 large onion, diced
3 large cloves garlic to yield 1 Tbsp minced
3 ribs celery, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed between your fingers
3/4 tsp ancho chile powder
1 28-oz can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes
1 large sweet potato (about 12 ounces), peeled and diced
1 6-oz can tomato paste 
1 Tbsp Sucanat or other natural brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste
Toppings: cilantro, avocado, sour cream

Pressure-cook soaked beans in broth to cover on HIGH for 12 minutes, or simmer 1 hour over medium-low heat, until just tender.

While beans cook, place poblano chiles on a baking sheet in a single layer, skin side up. Broil chiles 5-6 minutes, watching carefully, until skin is blistered and blackened. Remove from oven; cover with a towel and let stand until cool enough to handle, about 20 minutes. Peel chiles; discard skin. Chop chiles into 1/4" dice.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute onion until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and celery. When celery softens, add spices. Saute until fragrant. Add crushed tomatoes, stirring to bring up browned bits from bottom of pan. Transfer mixture to a large slow cooker. Add sweet potatoes, half the poblano chiles, and black beans and their liquid. Stir in tomato paste.

Cook on HIGH for 6 hours or until sweet potatoes are tender. Stir in Sucanat and lime juice; taste and correct seasoning with salt and pepper. Set out remaining poblanos for those who would like their chili a bit more spicy. Serve with desired toppings alongside. Serves 16-20.

Easy Paal Payasam for a Crowd

I developed this recipe as a substitute for the tedious stirring and long slow cooking intended to reduce milk in volume for payasam. I decided to start with a leg up by using some evaporated milk. This recipe is easy to have running in the background while you are at home doing other things. Serves 16.

2 cans evaporated milk (can be low-fat)
5 cans low-fat milk (fill the cans with milk to rinse them out)
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c uncooked white rice
8 cardamom pods
1/3 c milk
15 (approx) saffron threads
2 Tbsp ghee
1/3 c golden raisins
1/3 c cashew pieces

Pour milk and evaporated milk into a 6-quart slow cooker. Add sugar, rice and cardamom. Stir well. Set slow cooker to HIGH for 6 hours and leave uncovered. Stir every 20 to 30 minutes the first hour, every 15 minutes the next 4 hours, and every 5 to 10 minutes the last hour. If the milk develops a skin, simply stir it back in.

When you have only a half-hour to go, bring the 1/3 c milk to a simmer. Add saffron threads and let stand for 20 minutes. While this is standing, heat ghee over medium-high heat. Saute raisins until puffed and beginning to brown. Remove and follow with cashews.

When payasam is ready to serve, stir in the saffron milk, raisins and cashews. The finished product will be thick and slightly golden. Thin if desired with additional milk, and serve in small (1/3 to 1/2 cup) portions.

Easy Chana Masala

2 cups dried chickpeas
1 tbsp vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch piece ginger, peeled and finely grated (I use a microplane)
1 large onion, diced
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 c chopped tomatoes (can be canned)
1/3 c vegetable broth or chickpea cooking liquid

Soak and cook chickpeas. Put cooked chickpeas in bottom of slow-cooker stoneware. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute ginger and garlic until fragrant, about 60 seconds. Add onion and stir well. When onion begins to brown, add spices. Cook, stirring, a couple more minutes. Add vinegar, tomatoes and liquid to deglaze. Remove from heat and add mixture to chickpeas in slow-cooker stoneware. Stir well. Cook on Low for 4-6 hours or longer, until bubbly and flavors have melded well. Serve with rice and a vegetable dry curry for a side dish.

For an extra special treat, use a can of coconut milk in lieu of the vegetable broth. Yum!