Re-invent the Roti
Extending our commitment for RENEWAL to creativity in the kitchen can result in delicious healthy meals for your family. My husband and I have a new passion for Indian food so I have been experimenting with some recipes. Last year I hit a home run (in my husband’s opinion) when I created a Bombay Bowl , so I had a bit of confidence that he would be up for trying another Indian surprise. Last week we enjoyed an Indian style wrap called a Roti. Roti is the flat bread made form stoneground whole wheat flour. In contrast to Naan bread, Roti is unleavened and therefore is perfect for a wrap style Indian meal. If you do not have the interest or time to make your own Roti flat bread, you can use Trader Joe’s whole wheat tortillas for a perfect Roti wrap. I had read about an eggplant curry from East India called Vindaloo. This curry is a popular dish from the region of Goa and is also found in the cuisine of Mumbai. Knowing that eggplant is not my husband’s favorite vegetable, I added equal amounts of roasted zucchini and roasted eggplant and the results was perfection. I also made a potato, carrot, pea and chicken filling as well.
Ingredients for Eggplant Zucchini Vindaloo Curry Roti Filling
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 yellow onion sliced thin
4 Indian eggplants or 1 medium regular eggplant cubed (1 1/2 cups needed)
2 zucchini cubed
3 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoon Garam Masala spice
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 plum tomatoes chopped
1/4 cup water
Heat oil in a large pan on medium high heat and add onion. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Add eggplant and cook until eggplant is browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add zucchini and cook 2 more minutes until zucchini begins to get soft. Add garlic, ginger, garam masala and curry powder and stir for 1 minutes until spices cover all vegetables. Add tomatoes and water and cook 2 more minutes.
Ingredients for Curried Chicken, Potato Roti Filling
3 potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)peeled and cubed
4 carrots peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch circles
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 chicken breast cut into bite sized pieces
1 medium onion chopped
3 cloves garlic smashed
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons Garam Masala
2 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon salt
Place potatoes and carrots in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes and carrots are tender. about 10 minutes. Heat olive oil in large skillet. Add chopped onion and garlic and stir until soft. Add Chicken pieces and begin to brown. When almost cooked through, add ginger, garam masala spice, curry powder, tumeric and salt. Finish cooking chicken as the spices blend and cover all pieces. Add the potatoes and carrots and frozen peas and stir on low until the peas are warmed through. Add more salt as needed.
Take 4 Roti flat bread circles (or 4 Trader Joe’s whole wheat flour tortillas) and place a generous portion of filling down the center of the Roti. Each of these filling recipes makes enough to fill 4 Roti. We each had one Eggplant and one chicken Roti. (So we were able to make two meals plus out of these two filling recipes.) Serve with Plain yogurt or mango chutney as your sauce/condiment.
Have you tried cooking Indian food? What are your favorite Indian recipes you have tried?
