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Stewed Garbanzo Beans with Potatoes and Indian Spices

1-3 large chopped yellow onions
8-10 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
2 TBS vegetable oil
½ TBS butter (I omit this for my allergy girls!)
3-4 lg russet potatoes, peeled and chopped (I substituted a sweet potato for one of these)
2 TBS whole cumin seeds, or 2 tsp. powdered cumin
2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp whole mustard seeds
2 small hot green chiles (I never have these, so I don’t use them)
1 inch piece ginger (or some powdered if I don’t have fresh)
2 lbs fresh red tomatoes (I always use canned because they’re peeled and easy)
3/4 c cilantro
3-4 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS Major Grey’s chutney (I never use this)
Salt

Saute onions in oil/butter until they start to change color, and then add garlic. Add potatoes and spices (through mustard seeds). Stir for ~3 minutes. Add 1-2 tsp. salt (or more), chilies, ginger, tomatoes, cilantro and probably 1 cup of water (maybe more?) so there’s enough liquid to soften the potatoes without getting them burned on the bottom of the pan. Simmer till potatoes are soft. Add garbanzo beans (for this batch I added a big can of organic pre-cooked garbanzos, which was probably about 28 oz.) Let simmer for a few more minutes. Serve with plain rice, or basmati pilaf.

Delish with naan, samosas, raita. (I buy my naan and frozen samosas from Trader Joe’s.)

Basmati Pilaf (This recipe is quite approximate.)

2 cups basmati rice, rinsed well
4 cups water
vegetable oil
currants or raisins
almonds
green onion
turmeric
coriander

Saute rice in a bit of oil until kernels are a little toasted. Add water, turmeric, coriander, and salt. Simmer like you would normal rice. Close to the end, quickly lift lid and add currants, green onion, and almonds. Cilantro is a nice addition, too.

Cucumber Yogurt Sauce aka Raita

½ c plain yogurt
½ c sour cream
½ cucumber, diced
½- 1 tsp onion powder

Mix together. This is a really yummy accompaniment to Indian food—the coolness of the yogurt balances out the robust spiciness of the stew. Serve on the side and kind of dip your food into this.