i really don't have the time to blog tonight. i like to get plenty of sleep and wake up quite early (before 5am), so i don't always have too much time after work for recreational activities. i had made up my mind to cook a really cool-sounding recipe that i had come across recently, so i cooked it and took photos and thought i would probably get around to the blog post this weekend.
the dinner was good. the dinner was really really tasty. really really interesting. in short, it was just wonderful.
so even though i used my recreational time to make the dinner, i am now going to postpone sleeping for a bit while i blog about the aforementioned meal.

i subscribe to too many cooking magazines. being that time is so obviously a limiting factor when it comes to many things in my life, it turns out that i can't get around to reading all of these cooking magazines as often or as in-depth as i'd like to. the other day, i picked up the february issue of eating well, which i have had for a while and i KNOW i looked through it before. but somehow i had missed the section on recipes from northern india! no clue how i bypassed it, because every single picture is gorgeous, every recipe delicious-sounding. i haven't had a lot of experience with indian food-- i have probably eaten it two times in my life and cooked it zero times. but i was intrigued. so tonight i made:

kadhai murghi (wok-seared chicken and vegetables)
adapted from eating well, february 2008

* 1.75 teaspoons ground coriander
* .75 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground
* 1 tablespoon cornstarch
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
* 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cup into 1-inch cubes
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 large carrots, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
* 1 large green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 small red onion, but into 1/2-inch cubes
* 4 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 1 dried ancho chili, stemmed
* 1 tablespoon lime juice
* 1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1) combine ground spices with cornstarch and salt in a bowl. add chicken and stir until coated
2) in a wok, heat 2 tablespoons oil over high heat. add carrot, bell pepper, onion, garlic, and chili. stir for about 6 minutes, until vegetables start to brown. transfer to a plate
3) reduce heat to medium-high. add remaining oil. add chicken to wok and cook about 7 minutes, until no longer pink in the center
4) add vegetables, lime juice, and mint to wok. stir for about 30 seconds, until heated through

a shot that is noticeably void of bell pepper . . .

bell pepper situation remedied!

wow! that's why i love to try such intriguing recipes. i never in a million years could have thought to combine coriander, tumeric, cumin, lime juice, fennel seed, and mint. never. and it was amazing. a combination my taste buds had never experienced and had definitely never expected. i am making dog ears all over this section of my magazine. i suggest you do the same, if you happen to have a copy.
the one main thing i changed about the recipe was the use of pre-ground spices. they suggest you ground the fennel, coriander, and cumin yourself. i already had ground cumin and ground coriander on hand, so i decided to use those instead of purchasing the whole seeds. if you make this yourself and want to ground the spices on your own, add .25 teaspoons (pre-grinding) to the coriander and the cumin.
the recipe also calls for THREE dried red chilies. spicier ones, too. since i was cooking for myself, i opted to go for a less spicy recipe. i'm working my way up to accepting the burn, but i'm not quite there yet.

so enjoy this! trust me-- if it's getting me to blog on a freezing work night, i must have enjoyed it immensely.