Happy Canada Day!

I hope everyone enjoyed the Holiday, I know I did. Spent the day outdoors mostly, except when shopping at lululemon in Oakville which was open today with stuff on "sale". The day concluded with a dinner party at a friend's house.

Birthday Dinner on Wednesday was a success...I think, haha. I made three dishes, two of which I had never made before. None were my own recipe, as I am not very well versed in Indian cuisine. I made Indian Spiced Baked Chicken, Palak Daal, and Bhindi Bhaji. These were served with naan bread and some brown rice (for save measures for the picky eater brother). I made few modifications this time around, but I have many suggestions for some modifications.

Indian Spiced Baked Chicken

This chicken recipe is actually really good (click here for the recipe). I love baked chicken, I find that it usually turns out very moist. I used chicken breasts and thighs instead of a whole chicken just so I didn't have to man-handle too much raw meat (not my cup of tea). In this recipe you "rub" the chicken with some spices and marinate for a couple hours. I was short on time so only did this for about an hour. Next time, I would leave out the ginger as I found it very overpowering in the end.

I loved the idea of the yogurt coating which is added after baking for 20 minutes. Once covered with foil and returned to the oven, I feel it really keeps the meat moist and adds a bit of creaminess to the drippings, which can be used as a sauce if desired. To make this recipe as healthy as it can be, and it is already lean and filled with beneficial spices, use olive oil to make the yogurt topping instead of the butter.

Palak Daal

Like I mentioned in my last post, this is one of my favourite dishes. I decided to follow the recipe more closely than I usually do (click here for the recipe). Normally, I do not add chili peppers, ginger, asafetida, or cilantro. I also use green lentils, ground cumin instead of cumin seeds, and add double the amount of cumin. I much prefer it with my modifications which were originally made out of convenience.

before:

after:

This soupy comfort food is good with rice and also with naan or pita bread.

Bhindi Bhaji

I wanted to also make a vegetable side dish that didn't have too much spice. This dish uses okra (click here for the recipe). I have never tasted okra before this so it was all very new. It kind of tastes like zucchini but not as good. Since my mom doesn't like tomatoes, I didn't add them afterwards as a garnish but had them on the side. I think it would have been best to add them into the pan with the okra. I also didn't use cilantro becuase I am not a huge fan, but I think I would next time; it was a little plain.

Cumin, tumeric and coriander are present in many indian and mediteranean dishes. There are many health benefits to these spices such as detoxing as well as increasing the metabolism due to the heat of the spices. Cumin is very versatile and can be added to almost anything, veggies, popcorn, guacamole, salads, etc. Have fun with it!

Tomorrow I will be talking about my new favourite breakfast which I finally tried after reading about it on one of my favourite blogs, "Oh She Glows".

P.S. I don't know why the font went all wonky...I didn't mean for the Bhindi to be all in your face, lol.