Kabocha Squash Curry with Lentils and Spinach

I am craving for more Kabocha squash, but today I am feeling lazy to do any heavy duty cooking. It's mostly about Trader Joe's today. I'm doing a quick cook using most of the ingredients purchased from Trader Joe's. Kabocha squash is a Japanese pumpkin. This squash is cross between a sweet potato and a pumpkin. The skin is edible so you don't have to peel it. Kabocha squash is rich in beta carotene with iron, Vitamin C and potassium. Trader Joe's does not carry Kabocha squash. You can purchase Kabocha squash from an Asian market. A few supermarkets do carry this squash, but it is more affordable purchased from an Asian market. 

One 3-1/4- to 4-1/4-pound (purchased weight) Kabocha squash
Two 15-ounce jars Trader Joe's brand Curry Simmer Sauce
2 cups water (16 ounces)
One 17.6-ounce package Trader Joe's brand Steamed Lentils
One 10-ounce package Trader Joe's Organic Lacinato Kale OR 1 bunch lacinato kale, tough stems removed, washed well and spin-dried, then sliced into thick strips (about 6.2 ounces) OR One 12-ounce package Trader Joe's Baby Spinach
3/4 cup Kitchen Thai brand coconut milk (6 ounces)
One 10.5 package Trader Joe's Indian Fare Punjab Choley
1 teaspoon salt
Cilantro for garnish

Scrub the Kabocha squash well under running water and dry with a paper towel. Cut squash in half and discard the seeds and membranes. Cut the Kabocha squash into 1-1/4-inch-size chunks. You will now have approximately 2:14.6 to 3:8.6 pounds of squash. Set aside.

In a 6-quart stock pot, combine the curry simmer sauce and water. When sauce comes to a boil, add the Kabocha squash and lentils. When mixture returns to a boil, reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Gradually reduce heat from medium to medium-low heat if mixture is bubbling profusely. Add the kale or spinach and continue to cook, covered, for additional 3 minutes (5 minutes for kale), stirring occasionally. Stir in the coconut milk, Punjab Choley and salt. Continue to cook for another 2 minutes, covered, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Mixture will thicken more as it cools. Garnish with some fresh cilantro and serve with brown rice.

Yields 8 to 10 servings

Masala Chai Tea

Masala Chai (Indian Spiced Tea)

Masala Chai is an Indian spiced black tea. I am addicted to this tea and actually crave for this in the evening like a cup of hot cocoa. The tea is infused with cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, ginger, pepper and fennel which are all great benefits to our health. The spices are steeped along with black tea leaves in water and milk; then strained into a cup. You can conveniently purchase chai tea bags in your local supermarket, but I find that the tea bags are very weak. In an Indian market, you can purchase instant chai that are sold in boxes of 10 or 20 pouches per box. I prefer the instant chai from an Indian market than the tea bags. Of course, homemade is always better. Chai is very simple to make, but there are so many variations to preparing chai, depending on the region where the recipe is originated. After a long search for or a good masala chai recipe, I decided to combine several recipes to come up with my own version. This recipe is pretty darn close to the chai I love to drink from our favorite Indian restaurant.

Masala Chai Spice

1-1/2-inch stick cinnamon
8 cloves
8 green cardamom pods, gently crushed to just crack each pod
4 black peppercorns
1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon fennel seeds

Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Position oven rack to the center of oven. Place cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamon pods, peppercorn, ginger, and fennel seeds in a small shallow ovenproof plate. Roast for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Place spices in a coffee grinder and process until very fine. Transfer to a small airtight container and this can be stored for up to 6 months.

Masala Chai

2 cups cold water (16 ounces)
2 cups 2% reduced fat milk (16 ounces)
2 tablespoons loose orange pekoe black tea or Darjeeling tea (0.4 ounce)
1/2 teaspoon Masala Chai Spice (recipe posted above)
3 tablespoons organic natural cane sugar (0.9 ounce) or to taste (optional)

In a small pot, add the water, milk and tea. Cook over medium-high heat until it comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in the masala chai spice. Cover and let tea and spice steep for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, uncover and return to medium heat. Add the agave nectar or evaporated cane juice, if using. Cook just until it starts to bubble. DOUBLE STRAIN by pouring through a very fine-mesh strainer into a gold coffee filter fitted over a glass coffee carafe. Ready to serve. Alternately, you can use a milk frother to give it some froth before pouring into individual cups.

Yields 2 to 3 servings

NOTE: I usually double the masala chai recipe and leave the carafe of chai in the refrigerator. Stir and reheat inidividual servings in the microwave.

Ground Turkey with Peas

Ground Turkey with PeasMurghi Ka Keema

This recipe is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking. This dish is quick and easy to prepare, hence the title of this book. While a pot of brown rice was cooking for 45 minutes, I was preparing the ingredients for this recipe. By the time the rice was done cooking, this dish was already cooked. I had extra time to cook 3 eggs, over-easy and wash most of the dishes before sitting down to dinner. I will definitely make this dish again, especially on nights when I don't know what to cook and want to cook something healthy, fast, and budget-friendly. The peas can be substituted with lima beans, green beans, corn or garbanzo beans.

3 tablespoons olive oil (0.7 ounce)
1-inch stick cinnamon
4 cardamom pods
2 bay leaves
1 small onion, finely chopped (4 to 5.3 ounces)
3 large cloves garlic, finely minced (0.5 ounce)
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh ginger (0.4 ounce)
One 1.25-pound package lean ground lean turkey or ground chicken
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1-1/2 teaspoons store-bought garam masala
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-3/4 cup frozen peas (7 ounces)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (0.8 ounce)

Heat a large skillet on medium-high heat until hot, but not smoking. Add the oil to the hot skillet. Tilt the skillet so the oil collects to one side of the pan. Add the cinnamon stick, cardamon pods, and bay leaves to the oil. "Fry" for a few seconds or until cardamon pods starts to pop. Lay the skillet flat down on the burner. Add the onion. Stir and fry until the onion pieces turn brown at the edges, about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and stir for a few seconds. Add the ginger and stir for another few seconds. Add the ground turkey. Increase heat to high heat; stir and fry until the turkey is cooked through and broken up into small pieces, aobut 4 to 5 minutes. Lower heat back to medium-high heat and add the turmeric, garam masala, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Stir and fry for a few seconds and then add the peas and lemon juice. Continue to cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Discard the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods and bay leaves before serving.

Serve with brown basmati rice.

Yields 3 to 4 servings