Yesterday was my 27th birthday! YAY! I love birthdays and I have so been looking forward to celebrating this year. Yesterday was my first day out of my ACT Inspiration cleanse and all month long I had been pinning all my hopes on this day. I didn’t have any serious cravings or problems on the cleanse (except for a few short days) but I would always comfort myself with the knowledge that I could dive head first into a vat of fried goodness on my birthday. I knew exactly what I would want too – Channa Masala, a very spicy onion and cashew gravy filled with tender chickpeas, Potato Vada – fried balls of heaven, filled with spicy mashed potatoes coated in a crispy chickpea flour batter, and a stack of Puri, crispy, tender, chewy bread to sop up all the greasy goodness. I usually get this great meal at Anand Bhavan, but since I couldn’t make it to Bahrain I decided to whip it up myself.
Channa Masala – this is one of my favorite dishes in the entire world. It is so comforting and rich and spicy and ooohhmmmm….just perfect! The spices all blend together to create a hearty, savory riot in your mouth that is balanced by the creaminess of the blended cashews and the earthy chickpeas. Add a sprig of bright green cilantro and you have the perfect mix.
Ingredients
4 cans chickpeas
2 yellow onions, chopped small
3 cloves garlic, diced fine
1 and 1/2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp turmeric
1 Tbsp cumin
1 Tbsp fenugreek
pinch of cloves
pinch of salt and pepper
1 Tbsp garam masala
1 Tbsp kalonji black onion seeds
4 cups water
1 large can chopped tomatoes
1 cup ground raw cashews
- In a large soup pot in a drizzle of olive oil fry the 2 onions for 10 minutes until soft and slightly golden
- Add the garlic, curry, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, cloves, salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes
- Add the can of tomatoes and the 3 cups of water and the garam masala and bring to an *almost* simmer, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly
- In a hand mixer or blender or food processor blend the entire mixture until smooth, place back on medium heat
- Add the ground cashews, chickpeas and kalonji to the blended mixture and bring to an *almost* simmer for at least 30 minutes. The longer it cooks and sits the better! Serve topped with fresh cilantro.
Potato Vada – The perfect snack food! The mashed potatoes in the center are lightly fluffy and fragrant with a delicate spice blend, then dipped in a simple batter and fried quickly to golden perfection.
Ingredients
4 large potatoes, peeled, chopped into chunks and boiled until soft
1 large yellow onion, chopped small
2 cloves garlic, diced fine
green chilli, seeded and diced fine
2 Tbsp vegan butter
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp fenugreek
pinch of cloves
1 tsp kalonji black onion seed
pinch of fennel seed
3 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Batter
2 and 1/2 cup chickpea flour
3 cups water
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
- In a large frying pan on medium heat fry the onions for 10 minutes and then add the garlic for 5 minutes
- Add the green chili, 2 Tbsp vegan butter, and all of the dried spices and cook for 2 or 3 minutes
- Add the spice mixture to the cooked and drained potatoes and mash together until they are light and fluffy, you don’t want them creamy and soft, they should be fairly dry
- Add the 3 Tbsp of vegan butter and the cilantro and combine. Set aside till they come to room temperature.
- Combine the batter ingredients and prepare a large pot of VERY HOT vegetable oil. You want the oil as hot as you can make it because you want the balls to fry very quickly, almost instantly so they don’t get heavy and soggy.
- Form the potato mixture into balls the size of a lime or lemon, dip into the batter and then drop them into the hot oil. As soon as they are nice and golden, take them out of the oil, sprinkle with salt and eat!
(For the puri bread recipe….well, let’s just say you try and try and try and they never taste good, so you go to your freezer and you pull out the frozen ones you bought from the store. Pop those into the frying pan and you are good to go! Ha ha!)
And what would a birthday be without cupcakes!?! And since I was the birthday girl I didn’t have to choose between chocolate and vanilla!
ps. This meal was delicious, really tasty and just what I had been dreaming of all month. But…I think the ACT Inspiration has warped my brain. While I was standing in the kitchen preparing this glorious feast of fried amazingness, all I kept thinking about was the huge bowl of fresh salad in the fridge. And while I did have a yummy plate of spicy channa puri and crispy potato vada, I must admit that the plate was small….and front and center on a BIG plate was my raw veggie salad. Sigh. What has become of me!?!?!
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! 27 is my lucky number so I hope it is a great year for you! =)
Amazing cuppers! I want to eat them right off the screen!
Happy birthday! Your birthday meal sounds fabulous. It's been a while since I've had Indian food and your post is making me hungry for it. Your chana recipe is interesting, I bet the ground cashews make it really creamy!
There's nothing wrong with enjoying a salad with your meal. Salad is tasty too!
Happy Birthday! Sounds like a wonderful celebration–filled with lots of my favorite foods!
Happy Birthday! All that Indian food looks so amazing!!!! I love channa masala too, and I haven't made it in years. I may have to try your recipe!
Happy Birthday!
I will not complain about the 104 temps here.
Geez, 125. Now that is hot! I feel bad for my boys. They are literally prisoners of the heat. i take them to play in the early morning and in the evenings. Here's hoping for a cooler Fall and Winter for us all.
By the way, I really like your blog. It is terrific.
Hope you have a wonderful day.
How fun! Indian food's the best. And channa masala really is one of the best never-get-old dishes ever!
Happy Bday!
Happy Birthday
How does it feel to be 27? I will be 27 next year and I am scared.
Indian food is my favourite. I make the puri bread at home but it is a little different from the India Indian kind as it has less fat.
I love how your menu is Indian!
I could send you a recipe for Puri. And – most Indian food is vegan and I'm glad the world is realizing that!
The cupcakes look great! And happy bday to you
Thanks everyone! I'm glad to know there are so many fans of Indian food – isn't it great? Spicy, amazing and naturally vegan! YAY!
CaribbeanVegan – 27 feels amazing! Why are you scared? Every birthday is a commemoration of another year of wisdom gained and joy experienced. Don't buy society's insistence that you fear maturity, power and wisdom and stay a fearful child forever! Rise above it and celebrate the life you have led with gratitude and wonder!
Maybe it is the fear of time slipping away. The fear of being 30and thinking I have to have achieved so much by that age. It is definitely not abt image or anything just stopping the train and taking it all in. Society makes everyone feel guilty about ageing and I never bought into that. It is just I want to hold on to all the old times and live in these times and I am not really interested in moving on yet esp when I do not know where I am moving too. Well said VV.Next year I hope to be more positive about turning 27. I admire your approach.
Caribbean Vegan – In that case I totally understand! There is so much I want to do in this life, and time seems to move so quickly, I worry that I will never get even a tenth of it done! I really get your sense of not wanting things to change, wanting to stay with what is good and what you know you enjoy. I've moved from country to country about a million times in my life and I have definitely felt that way a time or two….or a dozen! I'm not sure I have anything to say or any advice to give, but I'd like to think that the more experiences we have and the more life we are lucky enough to savor the more ability we have to enjoy what is coming next. Part of the adventure is learning to love the ride, I guess! Thank you for your honesty and your thoughtful comment.
Speaking from the ripe old age of 46, I can say it just gets better the older I get. Age brings wisdom, confidence, knowing who I am and what is important to me… and with our healthy vegan diets, we should all be going strong at 100!
LAH
Happy birthday! Hope you enjoyed your day to the fullest… Those cupcakes sure do look amazing! Makes me wish there was a birthday I could celebrate too, if only for the excuse to make some sweet treats like that.
LAH – Let me raise a glass of green juice to going strong at 100! You are so right! Thank you so much for your comment, it put a great big smile on my face.
Hannah – Go the Alice in Wonderland route and just proclaim today your un-birthday and get to those cupcakes!
Happy Birthday to you!!!
Your Channa Masala recipe looks amazing! I hate to admit this but I've only made this from a box. My mouth is watering, I need to make this very soon.
I have been reading your blog for a while, and I love it! I have never commented before, but I did want to say Happy Birthday! And to thank you for all that you do–I know it must be time consuming to post and take photos of all of your food, but it is greatly appreciated! I love your recipes and every one I have made has been great
Courtney
Awww Courtney thank you so much for your sweet comment! And thanks for reading.
Hi
I just found your blog and I love it! Happy birthday to you! Indian food is one of my favorite cuisines…I haven't had it in forever but now i'm craving it!
happy belated birhtday! That looks like a fantastic meal. What a perfect channa masala! Wow, I have to try that recipe soon.
Happy Belated birthday! That looks like a feast – I am definitely trying that recipe for channa masala!
I'm in the process of catching up on my commenting so this is a little late but Happy Birthday!! It looks like you had a delicious one! Keep enjoying those birthdays! I decided my last one was as old as I'm turning and am ignoring the fact that I have another one coming up in a month
I also you Birthday attitude, something I'll being trying to emulate.
Not only the recipe is great, so much so I linked to it from my site:
http://tellmewhatsfordinner.com/idea/channa-masala/
happy birthday! You are such an inspiration to me, thank you for being so lovely!
[...] the side I served up my famous Potato Vada. Imagine the perfection if you can – Indian spiced mashed potatoes, rolled into balls, [...]