Thursday, August 28, 2008

Indian Food via Vcon

After a busy week and weekend, we all decided an uncomplicated (no fancy plating?) and comforting meal would suit us just fine for Sunday dinner. I hadn’t made Indian food in a while, so I turned to Veganomicon to try two new recipes.

Although I love the unique and complex flavors of Indian cuisine, I do have a few issues with it. One, it’s just not real pretty. Two, it never includes broccoli. Three, recipes that call for curry powder don’t taste authentic. The first recipe from Vcon I selected and have wanted to try for quite a while was Samosa Stuffed Baked Potatoes. I liked this recipe okay, but my main complaint is the suggestion to serve it with Red Lentil Cauliflower Curry, which I did. The two recipes were very similar in taste and color. Also, the potatoes took much longer to prepare than the 20 minutes (after baking the potatoes) indicated. I added broccoli to our potatoes, and served it and the curry with some pita bread and sliced mangoes.



Blah, not a very pretty plate. Chase told me during dinner he really prefers tomato based curries. I should have made ED&BV’s Palak Panera again. It’s such an excellent recipe with vibrant color. I can’t remember the last time Sunday dinner was a flop. Anyway, we decided we will go back to fancy fun and pretty dinners. We did however enjoy my chili cupcakes for dessert!

Some personal notes - the Invisalign braces are working out okay. They require a lot of care and attention, and my mouth and hands are always impeccably clean.

Watching Chase and his band perform was such a thrill! I don’t know when they’ll get another gig, but I do hope it’s soon. I was so proud.

I’m really looking forward to a long holiday weekend. We will most likely celebrate with a traditional menu – grilled something and all the sides. I hope you get to enjoy an extra day off as well.

11 comments:

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

FAAAABULOUS meal!!

Glad that the braces are working out for you!!

I'm praying that Chad continues to have great success with his band - sounds like they're doing well!!

Enjoy your long weekend, Diann!

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

I love those samosa potatoes! I'm sorry they didn't work out for you. :( I haven't tried that curry yet. Congrats to Chase for a great gig!

Amey said...

Hi Diann,
Sorry your special Sunday dinner was a bust. poop!

Indian food certainly can be beautiful! Do you have Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian" ? There are a lot of really wonderful indian recipes in there.

Hey, I have 5 packages of "The Cravings Place" Gluten Free Baking mixes: Chocolate Chunk Cookie Mix, Ooey Gooey Chocolatey Chewy Brownie Mix, Quick Bread & Muffin Mix, Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie & Muffin Mix, Dutch Chocolate Cake Mix. One of my yoga students gave them to me... but seeing as how I don't have gluten concern, I seem to just keep baking with regular flour. Any chance you are interested? I'd be happy to send them to you. The two cookie mixes require adding margarine and water, the others call for oil and water. Anyhow, send me a note if you're interested. You're the first person I thought of! Of course!

ameyfm - at - yahoo.com

love Amey

Anonymous said...

I just love Indian food, but it is more of a challenge to get a beautiful picture! Yours looks great, though!

I usually cheat when recipes just call for curry powder and use curry paste to give it a more authentic taste. I'll have to try those taters, I haven't made them yet.

And yippie for Chase & his band, how fun!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

That's seriously so exciting about Chase's band! Of course you should be proud!

I'm so sorry about your Indian flop... but I still think the plate of food *looks* pretty.

aTxVegn said...

Oooh Amey, thank you. I DO have World Vegetarian and I love it. It even has broccoli in it! You are so kind to offer to send me the GF mixes. I'll send you an email!

Anonymous said...

I wouldn't worry so much about the photogenic qualities as the taste! It sounds like it would have been delicious, anyway. . .

Must have missed your first post on the braces. Lucky you--nobody has to know (I had a silver mouth for 2 years!). Enjoy your long weekend and have some great food!

Ann said...

Quick note about braces...there is new string-free and reusable dental floss on the market. Its called BrytonPick - FLOSS in Seconds. Its huge time saver for invisalign braces...you can really floss after every snack!

aTxVegn said...

That's an interesting device, Ann. Thanks!

Carrie™ said...

Good luck to Chase & his band! If I lived near, I'd go. I really enjoy live shows.
Indian-type dishes I make at home are far from authentic, but I try to make them tasty. I know what you mean about it never really looking nice and yea, what's the deal with broccoli? I usually throw some into a curry anyway. Makes it even less authentic!

Vegan_Noodle said...

Hah! Glad to see you snuck some broccoli in there!