Pleasing Punjabi Popeye

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.