1-1/2 cups plain yogurt
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 green chilies
1/4 small onion, minced
2 teaspoons ginger puree
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek, crushed
3 cups spinach, chopped
1 red chili, chopped
1/4 teaspoon paprika
salt and pepper

1. Combine yogurt, water, chickpea flour, coriander seed and turmeric and set aside.
2. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat and add the vegetable oil and green chilies. Fry until chilies begin to blister, rotating to blister all of the skin.
3. Remove the chilies from the oil and discard. Reduce the heat to medium and stir in the onion, ginger and garlic, sautéing until tender.
4. Gradually incorporate the yogurt sauce, stirring constantly, and bring to a boil. Continue stirring to prevent curdling.
5. Reduce heat to a gentle simmer and cook until smooth and oil begins to separate.
6. Stir in the fenugreek, spinach, red chili and paprika and cook until spinach is wilted. Serve immediately over rice or with Chappati.

Makes 4 servings

2 cups flour
1/2 cup water

1. Sift the flour into a large bowl. Gradually add the water until you have a soft, elastic dough.
2. Knead dough on a floured surface for at least 10 minutes, then divide into 8 balls.
3. Take one of the balls and place it on a floured surface. Flatten it into a disc and roll it out until quite thin about about 4 inches wide. Repeat with remaining dough.
4. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add a flattened disc and cook until the surface is brown and bubbly, around a minute.
5. Flip over and brown the other side. Transfer to a plate to keep warm. Repeat with remaining dough.

Makes 8 servings

There are some things that I've learned so far this year, in regards to cooking, where I look back and think, "That was so obvious!" Tonight I had one of those moments. Unleavened bread is really easy to make. Chappati is nothing more than flour and water. I'm going to have to try my hand at pita soon. Initially I had a little bit of difficulty figuring out the process. This was more so due to over thinking it than anything. I'm still not sure of the best way of cooking the dough, but I used a nonstick skillet and it was fast and worked well enough. I always find it very satisfying to make something I've never made before and have it turn out, so when I first saw those golden brown bubbles I was happy.

I've made quite a few curries over the year. I know that there are many curry recipes out there that I haven't tried so far and they're all surprisingly different. I went with a spinach curry this time, trying to emulate a spinach curry they had at an Indian buffet that I went to a couple of weeks ago. Basically, it's Spinach in a Curry Yogurt Sauce. I'm still very afraid of cooking with yogurt because I think it's going to curdle very easily. I sort of cheated on this one, which usually happens when I'm hungry. The yogurt sauce is supposed to cook down until thickened, but I got impatient and thickened it with a roux. All the French tricks can be applied to anything! I really liked the flavor of this dish, which is of course due to me really liking cooked spinach. It has a really earthy flavor with ginger and chilies.

Of course, today is also a celebration. As you can see, not a single scrap of Turkey was used to prepare this meal. Tomorrow I'm taking the Turkey Lentil Chili for lunch and it's all over! Somebody better be making ham or roast beef for Christmas dinner this year.