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| Aloo Gobi, prior to cooking. |
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| Fixin a plate |
Our friends are coming over for dinner tonight, and I am making Indian food in the crock pot. I LOVE crock pots. Also, Stephanie O'Dea from A Year of Slow Cooking is my idol and has inspired me to make my own blog. A crock pot is like a magical cauldron that you don't have to watch and amazingness comes out of it with little effort. It's witchcraft. And my sister gave me a cook book for Christmas called The Indian Slow Cooker which is actually written by Chicago resident Anupy Singla. One of the best things about living in the Lincoln Square/Albany Park area of Chicago is that you are not too far away from the shops on Devon Ave. It's the Little India of Chicago. I just love India. I went there about 4 and a half years ago and dream of returning one day. I sound hippy dippy talking about it, but for real, it is awesome. They just know how to cook. It doesn't hurt that everything that makes food tasty grows there on trees. And I've seen the trees! And they smell good too!
If you buy McCormick spices at the supermarket you might as well be throwing money in the toilet. You can get basic stuff on the cheap at ALDI and Trader Joe's, then get spices used in Mexican cuisine in baggies at most locally owned groceries in Chicago. And you can get pretty much any spices all at Indian grocery stores. Let's talk about what a RIP OFF spices can be. I'm just looking at Amazon, which has pretty cheap prices on most things. The cheapest they have on McCormick Turmeric powder is $3.57 per ounce if you get it through subscribe and save. I just looked at Peapod, and they have McCormick Turmeric for $3.35 per oz for a 2 oz bottle. At Patel Brothers, a small chain of Indian food stores which has a location on Devon Ave., you can get Turmeric Powder for $0.36 per ounce. If you are buying spices at national chains, I suggest you stop NOW. This is why I'm saying this. For years, I didn't cook for two reasons 1) recipes called for ingredients, including spices, which I felt were cost prohibitive 2) I didn't want to eat the same thing over and over again because I was cooking for one. If the cost of spices are getting in your way, I suggest you go to your local ethnic grocer or check out an online store. There are two in my links section. I picked up a lot of my produce at Fresh Farms International Market on Devon.
I'm making two dishes today. Let's break em down. Because one of our friends is veg (as Indians say) we are making meat-free dishes.
Aloo Gobi - Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes
1 big head of cauliflower (about 41 ounces) - $1.26
2 russet potatos (about 16 ounces) - $0.32
1 medium yellow onion (about 10 ounces) - $0.30
1 medium tomato diced () -. $0.34
1 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and grated - $0.11
3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped - $0.14
3 serrano peppers (1.85 oz) - $0.22
1 T cumin seeds (.5 oz) - $0.16
1 T red chili powder (.5 oz) - $0.12
1 T garam masala (.5 oz) - $0.12
1 T salt (.5 oz) - $0.04
1 T turmeric powder (.5 oz) - $0.15
3 T vegetable oil (.5 oz) - $0.15
1 T fresh cilantro - $0.10
TOTAL with TAX: $3.53
Spicy Butternut Squash
2 T vegetable oil (1 oz) - $0.20
2 tsp fenugreek seeds (.4 oz) - $0.09
2 tsp cumin seeds (.4 oz) - $0.12
2 cardamom pods(.4 oz) - $0.02
1 cinnamon stick (.1 oz) - $0.09
1 medium yellow onion (about 10 ounces) - $0.30
1 medium tomato diced - $0.34
2 tsp tumeric powder (.4 oz) - $.10
1 tsp ground coriander (.2 oz) - $0.04
4 lbs of butternut squash $3.32
3 serrano peppers (1.85 oz) - $0.22
2 tsp brown sugar (.4 oz) - $0.02
1 tsp garam masala (.2 oz) - $0.05
2 tsp salt (.4 oz) - $0.03
1 tsp red chili powder (.2 oz) - $0.05
1 T lemon juice (.5 oz) - $0.03
TOTAL with TAX - $5.02
I also got a package of frozen naan for $2.18 and we'll probably have some rice, and I'm not sure exactly how much I paid for that. But hey, it's rice. It can't be more than a $1, right? So, this meal is coming in at under $12. It's going to feed 4, and there will likely be leftovers. So at the maximum, it's $3 a person for a dinner party. PARTY PARTY!!!
Pictures of the final result to come later...
If you buy McCormick spices at the supermarket you might as well be throwing money in the toilet. You can get basic stuff on the cheap at ALDI and Trader Joe's, then get spices used in Mexican cuisine in baggies at most locally owned groceries in Chicago. And you can get pretty much any spices all at Indian grocery stores. Let's talk about what a RIP OFF spices can be. I'm just looking at Amazon, which has pretty cheap prices on most things. The cheapest they have on McCormick Turmeric powder is $3.57 per ounce if you get it through subscribe and save. I just looked at Peapod, and they have McCormick Turmeric for $3.35 per oz for a 2 oz bottle. At Patel Brothers, a small chain of Indian food stores which has a location on Devon Ave., you can get Turmeric Powder for $0.36 per ounce. If you are buying spices at national chains, I suggest you stop NOW. This is why I'm saying this. For years, I didn't cook for two reasons 1) recipes called for ingredients, including spices, which I felt were cost prohibitive 2) I didn't want to eat the same thing over and over again because I was cooking for one. If the cost of spices are getting in your way, I suggest you go to your local ethnic grocer or check out an online store. There are two in my links section. I picked up a lot of my produce at Fresh Farms International Market on Devon.
I'm making two dishes today. Let's break em down. Because one of our friends is veg (as Indians say) we are making meat-free dishes.
Aloo Gobi - Spiced Cauliflower and Potatoes
1 big head of cauliflower (about 41 ounces) - $1.26
2 russet potatos (about 16 ounces) - $0.32
1 medium yellow onion (about 10 ounces) - $0.30
1 medium tomato diced () -. $0.34
1 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and grated - $0.11
3 cloves garlic peeled and chopped - $0.14
3 serrano peppers (1.85 oz) - $0.22
1 T cumin seeds (.5 oz) - $0.16
1 T red chili powder (.5 oz) - $0.12
1 T garam masala (.5 oz) - $0.12
1 T salt (.5 oz) - $0.04
1 T turmeric powder (.5 oz) - $0.15
3 T vegetable oil (.5 oz) - $0.15
1 T fresh cilantro - $0.10
TOTAL with TAX: $3.53
Spicy Butternut Squash
2 T vegetable oil (1 oz) - $0.20
2 tsp fenugreek seeds (.4 oz) - $0.09
2 tsp cumin seeds (.4 oz) - $0.12
2 cardamom pods(.4 oz) - $0.02
1 cinnamon stick (.1 oz) - $0.09
1 medium yellow onion (about 10 ounces) - $0.30
1 medium tomato diced - $0.34
2 tsp tumeric powder (.4 oz) - $.10
1 tsp ground coriander (.2 oz) - $0.04
4 lbs of butternut squash $3.32
3 serrano peppers (1.85 oz) - $0.22
2 tsp brown sugar (.4 oz) - $0.02
1 tsp garam masala (.2 oz) - $0.05
2 tsp salt (.4 oz) - $0.03
1 tsp red chili powder (.2 oz) - $0.05
1 T lemon juice (.5 oz) - $0.03
TOTAL with TAX - $5.02
I also got a package of frozen naan for $2.18 and we'll probably have some rice, and I'm not sure exactly how much I paid for that. But hey, it's rice. It can't be more than a $1, right? So, this meal is coming in at under $12. It's going to feed 4, and there will likely be leftovers. So at the maximum, it's $3 a person for a dinner party. PARTY PARTY!!!
Pictures of the final result to come later...
Mikka nundri, Sara!
ReplyDeleteAnother place to look for bulk spices is your local co-op or health food store. I don't know if Whole Foods sells bulk spices anymore though.
ReplyDelete