Dining In - Indian Buffet Trio - Saag Aloo, Chana Masala, Vegetable Biryani & Garlic Naan

Indian Buffet Trio - Saag Aloo, Chana Masala & Vegetable Biryani - Chloe's Kitchen

This dinner was a labor of love. I was feeling ambitious and decided to try a four-part recipe from Chloe's Kitchen. In retrospect I should have made this for a dinner party or a larger group, since I had tons of leftovers after my boyfriend and I enjoyed the meal. 

Indian food is generally veg-friendly, but you do have to make sure the food isn't prepared with yogurt or "ghee" which is clarified butter. For these recipes, canola oil makes a good substitute. I had never prepared Indian food before, but it wasn't too difficult. Many of the ingredients are repeated throughout the dishes - onions, curry powder, cumin, ginger, garlic, salt and pepper. The rice dish, called Vegetable Biryani, was the favored one of the meal. 

I have to admit the garlic naan was a bit of a failure. I used store-bought whole wheat pizza dough instead of creating it from scratch. It didn't have the chewiness or softness that traditional naan does. Better luck next time. You can find this recipe and others in Chloe's Kitchen (buy your copy here).

Saag Aloo
1 large russet potato, peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander
5 oz. baby spinach, ripped or chopped into bite-sized pieces
3 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt
Ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste

Chana Masala
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
Sea salt
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large pinch cayenne pepper
15 oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup water
Ground black pepper
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Vegetable Biryani
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 1/2 cups basmati rice (I used jasmine rice and it worked out fine)
1 tomato, chopped
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1/2 cup raisins
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

Garlic Naan
8 garlic cloves, minced
1 lb. pizza dough
Flour
2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

To Prepare Saag Aloo:

Boil potatoes until fork tender

Cook potatoes in salted water in a small saucepan. Bring water to a boil and then let cook until potatoes are fork tender. Drain water, set cooked potatoes aside. 

Boil cashews in a small saucepan with enough water to cover them for 10 minutes, then drain. Put cashews and water in a blender and process until very smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. Add ginger, curry powder, cumin, and coriander. Cook a few minutes, while stirring. Add in spinach, garlic, cashew mixture, and potatoes. Let cook a few minutes, season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, add in tomato paste and stir. Taste test it and add more seasonings if needed. Serve warm. 

Saag Aloo - Chloe's Kitchen

To Prepare Channa Masala:

Heat oil in large skillet on medium-high heat, add in onions. Season with salt and cook until softened and browned, 5-8 minutes. 

Add garlic, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin, ginger, cloves, and cayenne. Cook for a couple more minutes. Add in the chickpeas, tomatoes, and water. Season again with salt and pepper. 

Reduce heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes, uncovered. Add in cilantro, brown sugar, and lemon juice, stir to blend together. Serve warm. 

Channa Masala - Chloe's Kitchen

To Prepare Vegetable Biryani:

In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook onions until softened. Add in garlic, cumin ginger, curry powder, cinnamon and salt. Cook for a few minutes. 

Stir in dry rice, tomatoes, frozen vegetables, and raisins. Let cook for another minutes (it may seem odd to cook when rice is dry, but it works out by the end). 

Add in water and broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 10 minutes or until rice is cooked and most of the excess liquid has been absorbed. Remove from heat and let the pan sit, covered for about 15 minutes. 


To Prepare Garlic Naan:

Preheat oven to broil and have a baking sheet ready.

Knead the minced garlic into your prepared dough until it's evenly distributed, do this gently and slowly otherwise the garlic pieces will pop out as you stretch the dough. 

Split dough into 6 pieces, roll each into a ball, then roll out until flat and very thin (this is the part I struggled with, my dough kept bounces back and became too thick).  

Place flattened circles onto baking sheet and brush with melted margarine. Broil for 2-3 minutes then flip, brush more margarine on other side and broil again for 2 minutes. You should see some brown spots and hear some sizzling. 

Garlic Naan - Chloe's Kitchen

Congrats, you're done! Serve the three dishes together with the naan on the side.