2 Heartfelt thank-yous, 1 recipe and 1 challenge rec
First of all, THANK YOU SO MUCH for the paid time! No fair being anonymous, how am I supposed to be grateful properly if you don't tell me who you are? Please let me know what you want by way of art and it'll be yours, with much gratitude from me ♥
Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the 2007 Stargate awards. Three of my art pieces won, and I happen to love all three. I'm glad others do too :) Thank you!
Recipe: Indian style chickpeas with ground beef (note: the preparation tastes fine even without ground beef, if you're vegetarian, and bits of coconut actually goes very well with the chickpeas in that case)
Some of the measurements are approximations, change to what you think might work better for your own palate.
I used-
1 can of chickpeas (drained)
About a quarter of a pound of ground beef (vary according to how meaty you want it)
One large potato (diced into small pieces)
3/4th of a medium tomato (chopped into small pieces)
Quarter of a large onion (or half of a medium one), chopped fine
One medium section of garlic chopped fine (probably two full teaspoons of the minced
kind)
One teaspoon of vegetable oil (I didn't add too much oil since I did not have lean meat)
A cup of water
Spices: 1 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala, pinch of chili powder, two bay leaves, a few green cardamom pods and salt according to taste. If you don't have garam masala, just add in a few cloves, a dash of cinnamon and some ground coriander seeds, and powdered cardamom might work instead of the actual pods. It can be left out, as can the bay leaves, but they do have amazing fragrance.
1. Heat the oil, and cook the garlic and onions till the onions look a bit translucent, make sure to stir continuously. Add the cumin and turmeric and stir for a while, then add the potatoes. Fry for a bit.
2. Add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef for a while, stirring continuously until it starts looking brownish and add the chickpeas. Add salt.
Don't add any water yet, just keep stirring till everything seems mixed and starting to look cooked.
3. Now add the chopped tomato and cook some more. Once the tomato has been mixed in, add water.
4. When adding water, don't just pour it all in, add in small amounts, mixing after every addition so that all the spices and the onions etc. get incorporated as the gravy instead of floating in a cupful of water. Add in enough so it won't burn when you simmer the whole thing, or more if you want it with a lot of gravy. I woudn't advise making it too watery.
5. Add the garam masala, cover and simmer on low for about half an hour (if you're adding in bay leaves and cardamom, add in the contents of about three pods of cardamom and two large bay leaves in right before you start simmering). Taste to see if it's done when it seems like the meat should be completely cooked already.
ETA: If you're vegetarian and not adding the beef, please lessen the amount of spices you use. A little extra cumin will probably be ok, but too much turmeric can ruin your dish.
You can serve as is, or with a few coriander leaves, or a sprinkling of chopped onion on top. I like eating it with a sprinkling of lime juice on it too.
It tastes good with rice, naan, or even plain bread.
Finally, signups for the John and Teyla thing-a-thon over at john_teyla_fic end tomorrow. Stories/art can be gen or het which is excellent since my preference is, to quote pentapus, "basically John and Teyla Warrior BFF (with optional awkward yet smokin' sexual tension)". Go here to sign up for it.
Thank you to everyone who voted for me in the 2007 Stargate awards. Three of my art pieces won, and I happen to love all three. I'm glad others do too :) Thank you!
Recipe: Indian style chickpeas with ground beef (note: the preparation tastes fine even without ground beef, if you're vegetarian, and bits of coconut actually goes very well with the chickpeas in that case)
Some of the measurements are approximations, change to what you think might work better for your own palate.
I used-
1 can of chickpeas (drained)
About a quarter of a pound of ground beef (vary according to how meaty you want it)
One large potato (diced into small pieces)
3/4th of a medium tomato (chopped into small pieces)
Quarter of a large onion (or half of a medium one), chopped fine
One medium section of garlic chopped fine (probably two full teaspoons of the minced
kind)
One teaspoon of vegetable oil (I didn't add too much oil since I did not have lean meat)
A cup of water
Spices: 1 tsp Cumin, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp garam masala, pinch of chili powder, two bay leaves, a few green cardamom pods and salt according to taste. If you don't have garam masala, just add in a few cloves, a dash of cinnamon and some ground coriander seeds, and powdered cardamom might work instead of the actual pods. It can be left out, as can the bay leaves, but they do have amazing fragrance.
1. Heat the oil, and cook the garlic and onions till the onions look a bit translucent, make sure to stir continuously. Add the cumin and turmeric and stir for a while, then add the potatoes. Fry for a bit.
2. Add the ground beef. Cook the ground beef for a while, stirring continuously until it starts looking brownish and add the chickpeas. Add salt.
Don't add any water yet, just keep stirring till everything seems mixed and starting to look cooked.
3. Now add the chopped tomato and cook some more. Once the tomato has been mixed in, add water.
4. When adding water, don't just pour it all in, add in small amounts, mixing after every addition so that all the spices and the onions etc. get incorporated as the gravy instead of floating in a cupful of water. Add in enough so it won't burn when you simmer the whole thing, or more if you want it with a lot of gravy. I woudn't advise making it too watery.
5. Add the garam masala, cover and simmer on low for about half an hour (if you're adding in bay leaves and cardamom, add in the contents of about three pods of cardamom and two large bay leaves in right before you start simmering). Taste to see if it's done when it seems like the meat should be completely cooked already.
ETA: If you're vegetarian and not adding the beef, please lessen the amount of spices you use. A little extra cumin will probably be ok, but too much turmeric can ruin your dish.
You can serve as is, or with a few coriander leaves, or a sprinkling of chopped onion on top. I like eating it with a sprinkling of lime juice on it too.
It tastes good with rice, naan, or even plain bread.
Finally, signups for the John and Teyla thing-a-thon over at john_teyla_fic end tomorrow. Stories/art can be gen or het which is excellent since my preference is, to quote pentapus, "basically John and Teyla Warrior BFF (with optional awkward yet smokin' sexual tension)". Go here to sign up for it.