Sunday, December 26, 2010

The Indian bread called "naan" - Finally posting an actual recipe!

My specialty had been Italian and French cooking for a long, long time. I expanded into the American South, Cajun, Creole, and Southwestern cuisines, as well. Now I've headed back to the other side of the world recently with my explorations into Moroccan, Indian, and Thai cooking at home. Indian has been intriguing me the most in the past month. I never tasted Indian food until I was in my mid-20's and living in Los Angeles - and, of course, I was not kosher by then so nothing was off limits. One bite and I've never looked back. To my taste buds these new flavors were the essence of what eating is about for me! It's like I was born to eat Indian food and savor all the herbs and spices.

For Shabbat dinner two Shabbatot back I made kosher Chicken Tikka (a yogurt-based marinade with traditional Indian herbs and spices, but the version I made included tomato paste). I used rice milk instead of a yogurt substitute and it tasted very similar to the non-kosher original. (I prefer rice milk over soy milk now that I know it's better for people with gluten-free diets.) For anyone who seriously knows Indian cooking I realize that I am horrifying you with my substitutions! The recipe might not have been authentic, but the taste was close to what it's meant to be and that is what I care about.

Then continuing my Indian cooking kick, last week I made a braised tofu and vegetable dinner with a korma sauce (curry and coconut milk). But anytime I serve tofu as the main protein in a meal I feel like I need a heavier carb to fill everyone up. And that is when I came across an easy and flavorful recipe for the Indian bread naan:

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe-Tools/Print/Recipe.aspx?RecipeID=14565&origin=detail&servings=14

I highly recommend making this naan at home! We could not stop eating it and it reminded me of what is served in Indian restaurants. That's what my kosher kitchen is all about - bringing those favorite old foods with me into this new life! I didn't have to abandon anything and I love the creative challenge of re-creating the foods I adore.

1 comment:

  1. If only I could make it gluten-free :D (Don't forget paragraph breaks! It's hard to read big chunks of text!)

    I'd love to see photos of your food adventures, too!

    ReplyDelete