When I saw that Diane’s (The W.H.O.L.E. Gang) theme for this month’s Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! event was Scared Silly—foods you’ve been afraid of, but have learned to like—I had a very long list of ideas. But first, a few words about the Go Ahead Honey blog carnival. It was initiated several years ago by our delightful gluten-free friend across the pond, Naomi, of Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried. Each month of Go Ahead Honey features a different host and the host chooses the theme for that month’s roundup. Themes really run the gamut for this carnival and it’s always such a great time with so many wonderful recipes. Last month, there were actually two hostesses—Ali (The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen) and Chouchipen (C’est Sans Gluten). Ali selected Packing a Healthy School Lunch, which got a great turnout. Chouchipen ended up with two amazing bread entries—Naomi’s pita bread and Carrie’s (Ginger Lemon Girl) vegan French bread. Then she added an impressive display of her own bread recipes, namely, lemonade scones, baps (which I need to investigate–they look like yummy rolls), a “real” bun, bagels, and mock sourdough bread. However, she’ll gladly accept more bread entries for her roundup. So if you have a great bread recipe, please head over to her roundup post so you can leave a comment to connect with Chouchipen or just leave a link with your entry. If you’d like to plan ahead for future Go Ahead Honey roundups, take a look at the hosts and themes through June 2011 here.
Now back to Diane’s theme, Scared Silly … Many foods and dishes have scared me silly throughout my life, so I had a lot to choose from. Going gluten free has been a godsend in that area as I truly started looking at all the real food options I had when I decided I didn’t want to eat the majority of the gluten-free processed foods. The real food possibilities were almost endless and so encouraging! I’ve mentioned my “dislike” of curry and Indian dishes previously so I decided to combine two such recipes into one for this challenge. Part of my fear of curry has been the spiciness factor, and while I have many friends who love Indian, that spiciness thing just kept coming into play too much. However, I’ve been trying to expand my horizons and have actually enjoyed including curry in dishes recently. I started out with a tiny amount in my Slow Cooker Potato Zucchini Soup. It was amazing how much flavor that little bit of curry added. Then I tried a Bombay Potatoes dish recently that included chickpeas and fell in love. Okay, you know I’m weak for chickpeas, but combined with potatoes in a slightly spicy tomato sauce … talk about comfort food! When a recipe for Chickpea and Tomato Curry appeared in our local newspaper soon after, I knew I just had to “marry” the two dishes for my Go Ahead Honey entry.
The curry dish created by Susan Nicholson is easily made vegan (by opting out on the yogurt topping or subbing non-dairy yogurt) and comes together very easily and quickly. (If you’re a curry fan, it’s definitely worth making on its own.) For the Bombay Potatoes part of the recipe, I added Yukon Gold potatoes and additional spices and seasonings—chili, cayenne, cumin, and coriander. (As you can see, that makes the recipe gluten free, dairy free, sugar free, soy free, egg free, and vegan.) Then I slow cooked this dish while I was at work. The smells coming from the kitchen as I walked through the door were the best welcome a girl could have! A lift of the lid revealed a nice stew-like concoction just as intended. The taste test proved worthy as well. This was a good dish. Mr. GFE and I both enjoyed it. However, it’s not top notch though. Those of you who enjoy Indian food could probably make some simple seasoning/spice changes that would make this dish phenomenal. And, for those who don’t like much spice, you would probably like this dish just fine. I was surprised that I felt it needed a little more oomph, but I do. I’m no longer scared silly of curry or Indian food, but I do need to learn more about this type of cooking! Oh, and what would go perfectly with this recipe? How about some gluten-free Naan (flatbread)? Now that would have been great! We have so many talented gluten-free cooks in our community. Here are some Naan recipes that would have gone well with my Bombay Potatoes and Chickpeas Tomato Curry dish:
Sea (Book of Yum)—Gluten-Free Indian Wholegrain Naan Flatbread Recipe
Ellen (I Am Gluten Free)—Gluten-Free Naan
Brian (Fire and Salt)—Gluten-Free Naan Bread
Jayne (AuntJayne’s Blog)–Gluten Free Naan
Be sure to check out the complete roundup over at Diane’s. She did an amazing job on her post and you’ll enjoy the read for sure!
Bombay Potatoes Chickpea Tomato Curry
- 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
- 5 large Yukon Gold potatoes, skins on, well scrubbed, diced (about 7 ½ cups; see notes)
- 1 (28-ounce) can petite-cut diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1½ cups tomato juice
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 ½ cup onions, chopped (I used two medium-sized onions)
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tsp fresh ginger (or 1 tbsp ground ginger)
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
- 1 tbsp curry powder, or more to taste
- 1 tbsp chili powder
- ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp coriander
- 1 tsp sea salt
- In 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, add chickpeas, potatoes, tomatoes, tomato juice, olive oil, onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, cumin, coriander, and sea salt. Stir all together.
- Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or high for about 4 hours (see notes). Serve alone, with Naan bread (links to recipes above), or even a non-Indian bread like cornbread, popovers, or muffins--corn, cheese, or "bran."
This post is linked to Go Ahead Honey, Meatless Mondays, and Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, and Friday Foodie Fix–Tomatoes.
The Celiac Husband says
5am in Calgary. Read a book, or one of Shirley’s posts….. You won out.
Curries are a main stay in my kitchen maybe because we have such an extended population of Indian descent, that makes it very easy to find all the necessary ingredients to make all sorts of curries.
Mild to hot, we enjoy Indian influenced foods often, the favorite being Butter Chicken, a very mild, creamy dish.
Come to think of it, maybe I should post about it
Shirley says
Good afternoon, H.Peter–I wasn’t up quite that early this morning, but not too long after … baking cookies and re-inventing this Indian stew for the meat lovers in our camping party. I’ve now added a pound of ground venison which I turned into taco meat with chili powder, cumin, and garlic. So many spices and flavors … I’m embracing them and I know all will enjoy it tonight. 🙂 I bet you could wow me with your curries and Indian dishes. Butter Chicken is actually the one Indian dish that I’ve eaten out with friends. I enjoyed it very much. Yes, absolutely, do a post on it—that would be great! Then I’d know how to make it at home. 😉
Shirley
glutenfreeforgood says
Shirley,
I’m so glad you chose a curry focus for your version of GAHIGF. I love curry and am always on the lookout for a new version. Love the idea of Yukon Gold potatoes added to the mix, rather than the more common use of rice. I have a bunch of potatoes from my CSA right now, so you’ve really inspired me to make a patch of this curried stew of yours. The “celiac husband” mentions “creamy” in his comment above and I’m guessing the use of Yukon Gold potatoes probably adds a touch of creaminess to your dish. That’s something I love about those potatoes — the creaminess factor. And you know that curry is SO good for you. It’s been used forever in Indian food for not only the wonderful flavor it imparts, but for medicinal purposes as well. Great post, Shirley. It’s cloudy and cool here (at least I think it’s cloudy, it’s still dark out, I’m on the same 5AM schedule), so it’s a perfect day for curry.
Melissa
P.S. Off to hear Dr. Ford speak this morning. He’s here in Denver!
Shirley says
Hi Melissa–Oh, lucky you getting to see and hear Dr. Ford speak again today! I know he’ll be fabulous. Just love him, and his mission!
I know you are a lover of curries. 🙂 I know so many people who crave Indian food and say they feel so good after eating it … nourished and revived, so to speak. I do believe it’s because of all the healthy benefits of eating it. Our body knows. I made a large amount of this dish (much more than we could eat), so I added venison taco meat to it this morning and we’ll be eating it around the campfire with old and new friends tonight. 😉
xoxo,
Shirley
Sophie says
MMMMMM,..what a tasty dish for the eyes & the senses! Love it!
Shirley says
Hi Sophie–This dish does have perfect fall colors, doesn’t it? One would think that it contained pumpkin the way I set it up against the backdrop of pumpkins, etc. But, yes, it’s great fall, cool weather flavor. 🙂 Thanks, dear!
Shirley
Celiacs in the House says
Good for you. Overcoming that fear of Indian food will open up a whole new way of looking at spices. By the way, did you use those roasted spices we got at BlogHer Food. Those are wonderful. I’ve been using them in everything this week and I could smell and taste them even with a nasty cold. I may even pull off my post for this event today.
Shirley says
Hi Wendy–I’m so glad to see you here! Even before reading your comment on the benefits from the roasted spices, I knew this had to be a good sign that things were looking up for you if you were up to reading and commenting. 🙂 I have been using the roasted spices. I agree; they are terrific! Somehow I left the after party without any and Lael graciously gave me hers because she said she already had plenty. I’ll check your blog to see if you came up with something for Go Ahead Honey. In any regard, I hope this illness is receding into the distance!
Hugs,
Shirley
Debi says
So glad to see you breaking into the Indian food, especially the curry. I absolutely love curry, but the rest of the dishes I was always reluctant to try for some reason (no idea why), but after exploring Indian foods the last couple of months I am totally in love! Happy explorations, Shirley!
Shirley says
Hi Debi–Woohoo, we’re both expanding our horizons! Love it! We’ll have to share more notes as we explore more and more. 😉
Hugs,
Shirley
Zoe says
The curry looks wonderful, Shirley! And how funny, too, I have an Indian recipe coming up as well…though, not for my Scared Silly post. I’ll have to try your curry out sometime soon. 🙂
Shirley says
Hi Zoe–Thanks so much! I’ll be looking for your post. I think mine is a beginner curry; your curries are probably much better. 😉
Hugs,
Shirley
glutenfreeforgood says
Shirley,
One of these days, we’ll be sharing food and stories around a campfire. Sounds good, don’t you think?! Either a campfire or a resort. Okay, maybe a resort somewhere. =)
Dr. Ford was wonderful! Love that guy. He’s on a mission, one I agree with.
xo
Shirley says
Melissa–Ha ha … yes, a resort that has great, healthy food … yoga … massages … and more! 😉 But, we can still do the campfire bit some time. It’s always good times when one gets to hang out around the campfire. 🙂
Dr. Ford is just such an amazing infusion of good … so glad you got to see him again!
xo,
Shirley
Maggie says
We looooove curry Shirley! I’ll definitely try this out – I’ll have to pull out my crock pot! I like that you used one of your favorites (chick peas!) to overcome your fear. Yay Shirley!
Shirley says
Hey Maggie–You are so funny … and so right!!! The disappointing thing is that Mr. GFE has just told me he doesn’t like chickpeas and would really not like to see them in any more dishes. 🙁 To add further insult to injury, he refused to say the word properly. He calls them chickapeas. Sigh. So I guess it’s back to individual chickpea dishes for me. 😉
Thanks for being my cheerleader! 🙂
Shirley
Alisa - Frugal Foodie says
I don’t blame you for being afraid of Indian food! I confess, that is probably my least favorite cuisine … but, those potatoes look amazing and just reading the spices and get hungry just imagining the smell. I love that you don’t use yogurt in this, dairy-free or not, the tang of yogurt is one of the flavors I hate most in Indian (and Greek) food, so this is a refreshing changed. Thanks Shirley!
Shirley says
Ah, Alisa, an understanding soul–thank you! 🙂 I fell in love with those Bombay Potatoes and just went from there. No need for yogurt at all. I agree that I am not always keen on yogurt being used in so many dishes.
Shirley
Chaya says
I just discovered Indian food and I love it. That is why I am excited to see this recipe here and that you linked it up at My Meatless Mondays.
Since, I started blogging, I have taken new paths, both in challenging items like pie crusts or foods new to me, like Indian or Japanese. What I have discovered is that I like a lot more food than I would have guessed and I am willing to travel to new places.
It makes cooking so much more fun.
Shirley says
Hi Chaya-Thanks so much! I’m glad I remembered to link up to Meatless Mondays, even if I was a little late. 😉
Thanks so much for sharing your story on how blogging has expanded your horizons! That’s definitely one thing I love about blogging, and being gluten free! Yes, cooking is much more fun and more exciting when we don’t box ourselves in to the same recipes and same cultural recipes over and over. 🙂
Shirley
Alta says
So glad you are venturing into Indian cuisine! Personally, I love the spices. They’re warming and comforting. This looks tasty.
Shirley says
Hi Alta–Yes, warming and comforting is a perfect description of spices used in Indian cooking. I’m looking forward to experimenting more. 🙂
Thanks!
Shirley
natalie says
this looks great – can’t wait to try it!