Monday, May 28, 2012

INDIAN STYLE BURRITOS WITH GREEN CHUTNEY


It's Food Matters Project Monday! The recipe we used as inspiration this week was Beans n Greens Burritos. It was chosen by Jacqui at Good Things Grow. Mark Bittman wrote a recipe for a burrito using black beans and kale. He also listed other ideas for filling the tortilla but nothing inspired me. I was thinking about skipping this week until I walked by an Indian restaurant and started thinking about how much I love garlic naan. That thought took me to Kati Rolls. Kati rolls are made with marinated chicken or vegetables cooked on a skillet and then served with green chutney and wrapped in parathas. 
  Parathas are an Indian flat bread and the ingredients are almost like making a flour tortilla.....
flour-salt-oil-water.

BINGO! 

 All I had to do was to decide on a filling.

 I purchased some whole wheat tortillas and made a version of Aloo Chole, Chickpea (garbanzo) Potato Cabbage Curry for the filling. For my "salsa" I made a batch of Green Chutney consisting of fresh mint, cilantro, onion, lemon juice and hot chilies. For all you cilantro haters out there I want you to know that this is great without it. I made it, served it, and while cleaning up I found all the cilantro in the salad spinner. I added it back in but we had already enjoyed our chutney without it.


The Indian spices combined with the potato, tomato, garbanzo beans and crunchy cabbage was a fantastic filling for the whole wheat tortillas. 


A drizzle of Green Chutney inside puts this burrito over the top. We were eating with a fork and knife so I drizzled the chutney on top of the burrito.


Aloo Chole: Chickpea Potato Cabbage Curry

1 lb waxy potatoes, scrubbed and chopped
1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 chili pepper, seeded and minced (optional)
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can chickpeas
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 small head cabbage (or 1/2 large head), sliced into very thin strips
1. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cook for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat oil in the bottom of the pot on Medium heat. Fry the onion for 5 minutes, until translucent. Add garlic, ginger, chili pepper, mustard seed, and cumin seed. Fry 1-2 more minutes.
3. Add tomato, chili powder, garam masala, turmeric, and salt. Cook for 3 minutes, until tomato juices are sizzling and starting to evaporate. Add cabbage, fry for 5 minutes, until slightly reduced. Add chickpeas and potatoes. Simmer for 15 minutes. Smash some of the potatoes against on side of pot.

 Recipe from strawberrypepper

 GREEN CHUTNEY  (CHAAT)

2 cups chopped mint leaves
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 large onion, sliced
1-2 TBSP. lemon juice
1 TBSP. sugar
4-6 green chilies
salt to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Add a little water to loosen it up so it will blend.

Makes 1 cup.

Recipe by Tarla Dalal

To see what our other Food Matters Project members made click here.

To read the original recipe go over to Good Things Grow.




18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Love this version. I'm not into Indian food but actually last night watched a cooking show called NY Indian and almost grabbed the curry to add an Indian twist. But I did not. I am going to have to research all the foods you mentioned here and will also try this version. Sounds yummy.

P.S. Who doesn't like cilantro? ;)

Maria
http://www.fitnessgirlkitchen.com/

Lexi said...

Hi Maria! Indian cooking is one of my favorite vegetarian meals to make. There is so much flavor in the combinations of spices. You should give it a try. Oh, I have found that you either LOVE cilantro or you HATE cilantro...there is no in-between :)

Marcia said...

Now this is a clever take on this week's assignment! As for cilantro, it hates me and I hate it as a result, so I'm glad I can leave that out! You've got me wanting to try my hand at Indian cooking now... Thanks Lexi!

Lexi said...

Hi Marcia, These were so good. I'm addicted to the green chutney. Now, Maria wanted to know who does not like cilantro!

Aura Caplett said...

Oh yum, yum, yum. I will need to try the potato curry over quinoa--not into most tortillas but your recipe for the curry looks great and the green chutney gave me an instant craving.

Anonymous said...

I love the filling you have chosen, especially with cabbage. I am also a big fan of indian food and spices ;-)

Sarah from 20somethingcupcakes said...

Loving your Indian inspiration!

Lexi said...

Aura...I bet it would be really good over quinoa.

Lexi said...

Thanks Jen! The cabbage gave it a nice crunch.

Lexi said...

Thanks Sarah!

Alyssa @ Everyday Maven said...

Lexi I am all over this! I love Indian food and love these flavors. I bet it was fabulous all together like this!

Mireya @myhealthyeatinghabits said...

I love the flavors of Indian food. The tortilla is perfect too—another name for chapati.

Evi said...

I love cilantro, so the "salsa" sounds fabulous- I'll have to use it in something Indian I make soon, but these do look delicious! I like how burritos can take a life of any type of food (not just Mexican).

Lexi said...

Thanks Alyssa! We loved it.

Lexi said...

Yes it is like chapati!

Lexi said...

Evi, the "salsa" was so good!

Joanne said...

I'm really wishing I had made my burritos indian-spiced now! These sound so delicious!

Lexi said...

Thanks Joanne, I really wasn't feeling the Mexican thing, this was fun.