Nutty Garam masala stir fry – what a surprising delicious and quick meal

Hi main meal makers,

Ever wonder what to make for dinner and you really don’t want to spend hours making it?  Well this dish is super quick – about 10 minutes and is surprisingly delicious.  Why surprisingly – well I whipped this together for dinner and was shocked by how good it was.

I am an experimenter in the kitchen.  I read recipe books, mentally note all the recipes in the book and then hardly ever use the book again.  I look for food combination, spices and preparation methods and then try them out in my kitchen.  At times I stumble but most times what I make is quite good and sometimes I try throwing items together just to see.  Early today I made a smoothie that will never make this site – no one but me would drink it and I made myself finish it.  So tonight when I made this I was praying it was not going to a repeat flop – two in one day is very disappointing.  Happily I can say this is a “make again please” dish.

If you have never tried Garam Masala the taste will delight you.  Think of cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves, cumin seeds, cardamom pods ground together to create an aromatic and slightly spicy blend.  Some blends may also include dried red chili peppers, dried garlic, ginger powder, sesame, mustard seed, turmeric, coriander, malibar leaves, star anise and fennel.  Either way, I love it.  My brother-in-law from Iran introduced me to this wonderful spice blend as well as some of the elements of this recipe.

Nutty Garam Masala Stir Fry

• 1 tbsp organic coconut oil
• 1/3 cup Eden chick peas
• 1 -1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1/2 head of Napa cabbage
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup chopped curly parsley

Directions

1. Take out your wok or a large frying pan and heat the pan/wok.
2. Melt the coconut oil.  Coconut oil is best for cooking as it will not go rancid in high heat and will not cause free radicals to be produced – plus it tastes great in this recipe.
3. Add the chickpeas and warm up the chick peas for about one minute.  Don’t overcook or they will dry out.
4. Add the garam masala and mix thoroughly.
5. Chop the napa cabbage into thick shreds.
6. Add the napa cabbage to wok/pan.
7. Add the lemon juice and mix thoroughly.
8. Add cover to wok/pan and let napa cabbage steam on medium heat for about five minutes, stirring occasionally (about every 2 minutes).
9. Chop the walnuts and the parsley (if you have not yet done it).
10. Add to the wok/pan mix thoroughly.
11. Leave on medium heat for one more minute.
12. Serve immediately.

Serves two with leftovers for the next day.

May your day be filled with surprises and experiments that fail so you are encouraged to try harder.

To the spice of life,

Jo, your 9CupChallenge partner