A Really Good Chana Masala

There are a lot of chana masala recipes out there that are perfectly good, but this is the chana masala you should make tonight. It's what I want when I order chana masala in a restaurant. It's what I look for when I dive into a beautiful thali plate.

Chana masala the wildly popular dish from the Indian subcontinent made of chickpeas (chana) simmered in a feisty, spice-forward tomato sauce. It's one of those gateway preparations that introduce people to the food of India and Pakistan, and I've enjoyed versions of it all over the world. I've had it in Bangkok, I've had it in Rome, I've had it in Jodhpur, and I've had it in Istanbul. I've formed strong opinions, and there were a number of variables I wanted to (finally) get right for a go-to version I would make regularly in my own kitchen. It has taken me a while to crack the code!

Chana masala varies from region to region, across borders, and from cook to cook. This is the version of chana masala I hope for and crave when I order it at a restaurant. What you tend to get in a restaurant is often overly oily, sadly seasoned, boring. This is not that. This is a Technicolor version of chana masala. It's spicy, racy, and balanced. There's kick from cayenne, serrano, and chana masala powder. There's a bit of sour from the tomatoes, from the mango powder and pomegranate seeds in the chana masala powder.

As I was working on this recipe there were a number of things I wanted to focus on. First, I wanted to get the flavor and texture right (of course). Texture is really important, and my favorite chana masalas often lack clear definition between the chickpeas and the sauce, in a good way. They have this third thing going on, a crumbled texture of sorts, which I learned is from broken up chickpeas. You'll see that reflected here.

Second, I think one of the things that intimidates people about cooking Indian, or Pakistani, or Sri Lankan food at home is those long ingredient lists (so many good-for-you spices). I've written this recipe so you'll have enough of the simmer sauce for two meals. One for now, one to freeze for later. Double that and you've got four meals...

Which chickpeas to use? The answer is simple, whatever you have on hand. If you have chickpeas you've cooked from dried (like these turmeric soaked chickpeas), use those. If it's a Wednesday night, and all you have is canned chickpeas, go for it! Either way, your chana masala will be delicious.

Thick or thin: Some chana masala is thin and soupy, other times it is thick, and more cohesive. It's all a matter of personal preference - I tend to like mine somewhere in the middle.

Chana masala powder: You need to source good chana masala powder. It matters (meaning, don't leave it out), and you're not going to make it at home - it has mango powder, ground pomegranate seeds, dried musk melon, and a long list of other wonderful but challenging to source ingredients. I've been using this MDH chana masala powder, and I like it. Spicy! Tangy! Good sprinkled on all sorts of things.

Pair with: Eat chana masala with rice, eat it with flat bread, eat as a component in a thali plate, eat it spooned over your favorite grains. I love it with a simple side of cauliflower, and often I'll throw in a handful of shredded kale or spinach, to get my greens in - a perfect one dish meal.

Hope you love this recipe!

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Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil's Food Cake

What you see here is Violet Bakery Chocolate Devil's Food Cake. The chocolate factor is deep and strong. The cake itself is rich, moist, and tender. It's exactly what you want when you're craving a homemade chocolate cake - an ace in that regard.

I love a beautiful, frosted, homemade cake like no one else, but only bake them now-and-then. Because, cake. If it's there, I want to eat it. All of it. More often than not, I throw together quick and easy loaf cakes (like this, this, and this) and call it a day.

But, because I brought back a beautiful brass cake server from Simon Marks in Jaipur, and because my birthday was just around the corner, and because Claire Ptak's Violet Bakery Cookbook was winking at me, I pulled my favorite mixing bowl from the shelf, and checked to see if I had enough buttermilk. This cake was meant to be, I had all the ingredients on hand, and shy of the buttermilk, you probably do too.

The frosting is Claire's Marshmallow Icing, it's also in the same beautiful book. It's billowy, sweet, vanilla-flecked, and a compelling alternative to buttercream. You'll want to put it on the cake, and everything else edible in your life. I found myself dipping berries into it, and orange segments, and my fingers.

Simon, this marshmallow icing reminded me a bit of your incredible cannoli filling at Caffé Palladio. So so so so good!

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The Most Popular Recipe Last Month

I'm always quite surprised to see which recipes pop the most throughout the month. For example, the last time month I did this (January), the most popular recipe was this Black Bean Chili with Kahlua, even though I was sure it was going to be this Spicy Rainbow Chop Salad with Peanuts. You really never know what is going to resonate with people. Here's the recipe that took the top spot this time around - a vibrant twist on pad thai!

1. Sunshine Pad Thai (Vegetarian): This was the most popular recipe on 101 Cookbooks last month! Its a pad that that combines a Thai heart and a California spirit. Hot water is traditionally used to soften the rice noodles, and I boost that water with lots of turmeric. The noodles drink it up until they glow a hot yellow!

2. Spicy Instant Pot Taco Soup: And I can't help but mention the second place contender, because it really is the perfect weeknight meal. If you can bring yourself to chop an onion, along with a couple cloves of garlic - the rest of this taco soup creation is dump-and-stir. And in case you don't have an Instant Pot, no worries, it's just as easy to make on a conventional stovetop.

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Turmeric Soaked Chickpeas

Remember the turmeric-soaked turmeric noodles I used recently in this pad thai recipe? Well, these turmeric-soaked chickpeas build on that idea. I wanted to figure out a way to work turmeric into the chickpeas, and it was actually pretty straight-forward, thankfully. You can make them on the stovetop. You can make them in an Instant Pot - I tested both approaches. Pick whichever method you prefer!

I've been using these chickpeas in all sorts of preparations, and I thought I needed to isolate the recipe on its own, so I can point to the technique when I post a recipe that uses them. You can use them in a lot of recipes that call for chickpeas.

I've used these in hummus, in my favorite chana masala, and in meals like the one you see below. I'll post that recipe next! Working on it now. All in all these chickpeas are a great way to easily integrate a bit more turmeric into your everyday eats.

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Food, Flowers, and Photography - Traveling Around India

This is just a quick post to highlight some of the videos and photos I posted related to my recent India trip. Its for anyone who missed them as I was traveling, or anyone wanting to catch some glimpses of what traveling around India might be like! I posted a bunch to my Instagram account, and set up and India collection of video clips (which you can see on your phone) as well. This was the second time I've been to Delhi (and then Rajasthan), and it was as inspiring as the first. It was rickshaws and thali plates and rich, thick garlands of roses and marigolds. It was long dusty walks, faded floral fabrics, and market baskets filled with ladyfingers and bright green desert berries. The palaces! The forts! The traffic! It was deafening horns, and morning chanting, and gin and tonics, and getting sick, and then getting better. It was old trains, and desert blooms that blind you (literally), and kids in lots of denim with huge smiles, phones in hand for selfies.

To see the videos - if you're looking at my Instagram profile on your phone, you should see the INDIA collection. Beyond that, you can click on the location tags and hashtags to see where I am, or get more info. It looks like this:

I also posted a good number of photos, but they'll get pushed down my feed over time. In the short term, look for them here:

If you're curious about how I ended up in Rajasthan for the second time in five years, here's the story. Those of you who have been longtime readers know I like to take a class or workshop every year or so - whatever inspires me, or whatever I want to dive a little deeper into. Over the years I've done color photo printing classes, letterpress intensives, most of the G.I.A. labs - it all somehow weaves itself into my work at one point or another. I'd been looking for a serendipitous sign to pull me back to Rajasthan, and when I got an email from these two legends / superstars / favorite people, saying they were teaching a workshop in there. Exactly! I was in. This lady ended up being my roommate (leap of faith!), we had a blast, and are already scheming the next adventure. Maybe to the South next time?

I hope you enjoy the photos, there are so many more I haven't had a change to process yet. I shot a lot of portraits on this trip, and might wrangle them into a collection of some sort. Long way of saying, more to come.

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Melissa Clark's Instant Pot Hummus (with Variations)

I've been having quite a lot of fun playing around with different Instant Pot recipes over the past few months, but one recipe has emerged as a breakout. It's the one that keeps my Instant Pot on my counter instead of under it. You ready? It's the hummus from Melissa Clark's Dinner in an Instant. I find myself making it once or twice a week (no joke!). Because, who doesn't need nearly effortless containers of hummus in their refrigerator all week?

The recipe yields a silky, smooth hummus, and once you nail the method, the variations you can do are endless. I love to take it in different directions, and the version you see photographed here is fortified with a couple generous handfuls of spinach. I'll also including notes related to a few other favorite variations down below as well. Because, as much as I love classic, straight-forward hummus, I also like to make an herb version, a spinach hummus, there's a beet version, and (pictured here) berbere spiced hummus - maybe my favorite version yet?!. It goes on and on.

Melissa uses some interesting techniques here, and it results in a beautifully smooth, billowy hummus - without having to peel each individual chickpea! I think the biggest positive impact on the texture comes from making an ice watery paste with tahini, garlic, and lemon juice, and then working in the chickpeas from there.

Hummus Variations:

Berbere Hummus (pictured above): The version pictured here is flared out with berbere, a spice blend typical to Ethiopia and Eritrea. I like the berbere recipe in Josef Centeno's Baco cookbook. But if you don't have it, google around for another version online. To make the berbere-accented hummus, add 1 tablespoon (or more to taste!) of berbere spice to the blender with the other ingredients. Also, sprinkle on top of the hummus, after drizzling with olive oil.

Beet Hummus: throw a small, peeled (yellow, orange, or red) beet or two into the pot long with the chickpeas, and proceed with recipe. Alternately, you can add the beet raw to the blender.

Herby Miso Hummus: Add a dollop of this wintery miso paste to the blender,

Turmeric-soaked Chickpeas with Yuzu and Black Pepper Hummus: I'll post my technique for these chickpeas soon (working on it!), I season that hummus with a generous splash of yuzu juice, you can find alongside Japanese ingredients on occasion in well-stocked grocery stores. Also, lots of freshly ground black pepper.

If you don't have an instant pot, you can still use these ideas, just start with cooked (canned will work) chickpeas. Also, for reference, this is the Instant Pot I used for this recipe: Instant Pot DUO Plus 6 Qt 9-in-1

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