Chickpea Curry - PUBLISHED

http://herbivoracious.com/2012/01/kala-chana-black-chickpea-curry.html
http://www.bhg.com/recipes/how-to/cooking-basics/ginger-substitute/

1 - This was surprisingly good, and so gratifying to use the chickpeas we'd grown. The husk of the black Kabouli chickpeas are a little thicker than the common chickpea. The changes I made to the original recipe turned out quite nicely.
2 - Yep, still good. I reduced the amount of salt to good effect.
3 - Used fresh tomato. I let it cook too long and the chickpeas began to dry out and get tough. Poop!

4 - Used a mix of regular chickpeas and desi (probably). It was still good. I suspect this is just a good chickpea curry recipe. I made a few alterations, again.

5 - I think this is pretty solid. I need to cook my chickpeas more but that has nothing to do with the instructions as they stand.

1 cup (328gr) dry chickpeas
1 tsp salt
4 Tbsps light vegetable oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp dried chilli flakes (or 4 dried chillies)
3 cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick

Optional : 1/8 teaspoon asafoetida (hing)

1 medium onion, peeled and finely diced 
3-4 pressed garlic

1" fine grated ginger
2 roma tomatoes (6oz/170g), pureed (fresh preferred, canned ok)
Dash ground allspice
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp generic curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (or less - it is very hot)
1/4 cup or more water, or vegetable or chicken broth
2-3 Tbsps finely chopped cilantro (optional)

1. Soak the chickpeas in plenty of water overnight.  Bring fresh water to a boil, add drained chickpeas, simmer until soft.
2. Heat oil in a wide sauté pan (pan should be at least 3″ deep) on med-high heat. Add mustard seeds, chillies, cloves, and cinnamon stick and Optional asafoetida. Fry for about 1 min or until fragrant.
3. Turn down the heat and add onions to the pan and cook until onions soften and become translucent. Add garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 mins.
4. Add tomatoes to the pan, stir well, and then add allspice, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne.
5. Cook for 5 minutes, mixing well. Add garam masala and beans. Cover and simmer on low for 20 mins, stirring occasionally. Add liquid (water or broth) to get desired sauciness (should be a bit on the thick/dry side).
6. When cooked, take a quarter of the chickpeas and coarsely mash. Return to the pot and mix in to thicken what liquid there is.
7. Turn off heat, garnish with cilantro, and serve over rice, or with flatbread, parathas, or naan.

Testing - Dairy-free coconut custard

1 - The custard set well. I actually baked it all together in a stoneware pot, which baked well but got messy when serving it up; it lost points on presentation. Once scooped out it filled 4 ramekins, not 6. We served it and had pots of cream and maple syrup we could pour, to taste, on our dessert, which elevated the dish.

(makes 6 4)

2 cups non-dairy milk (I used 'coconut' as in drinking, not the canned pure stuff)

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup shredded coconut

6 egg yolks

2 Tbsp. sugar (optional)

a pinch of salt
Cream (non-dairy or dairy) (optional)
Maple syrup 

1. Heat the oven to 325F
2. Heat the milk, vanilla, sugar and shredded coconut, remove from heat just before it boils. Pour into a measuring cup for liquids and set aside to cool a bit, about 10 minutes.
3. Whisk the yolks a bit. To avoid making scrambled eggs, whisk in a bit of the milk at first - it's quicker and easier this way because it gradually warms up the yolks, and you'll be sure that the yolk is well diluted into the milk mixture before streaming in the rest.
4. Scoop off any froth, then strain to get rid of any particles, to have a smooth texture. Stir in the shredded coconut.
5. Pour into 6 4 ramekins and bake in a bain-marie (or a 9x13" glass pan filled 1/3 with water) until set at the edges, but slightly jiggly still in the centre, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate several hours before serving.
6. Serve with small jugs of cream and/or maple syrup on the side.

Simple Cornmeal Bread - PUBLISHED

1 - The flavour is nice but it may be a little too crumbly still. I'll add some flour to see.
2 - I remember trying it with more flour and it decreases the lovely, nutty flavour of the cornmeal, so I now have it as 1:1 cornmeal to flour.
3 - So easy, so simple, good accompaniment to other dishes. Typical dry, crumbly cornbread.

1 cup milk
6 Tbsps melted fat (butter, lard, olive oil, whatever)
2 large eggs
1 1⁄4 cups cornmeal
1 1/4 cup flour
1⁄3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1. Heat oven to 400F.
2. Grease bottom and side of a round cake pan or line with parchment paper.
3. Whisk the milk, butter and eggs in large bowl.
4. Plop in the remaining ingredients all at once and stir just until the flour is moistened (the batter will be lumpy).
5. Pour it into the pan.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and it passes the toothpick test.
7. Cut into wedges and serve.