Chaat??? Kind of...Well, not really!

  If you don't know what Chaat is then... I guess I'm not alone.  Chaat is a term that is used to describe snacks that are usually served in stalls or carts, typically, in India!   No, I did't go to India!  I wish!  Instead, over spring break this year our family had gone to Washington D.C.   I ordered Chaat in a restaurant having no idea it was a deep-fried food (my bad).  When I came home I decided I could make a "Healthy" version of Chaat with absolutely nothing bad for you!  In this version I kept the Chickpeas, added a seasonal corn (yum), and opted out of the fried bread and potato pieces.  I also made a Yogurt garnish but decided to take it up a notch and used plain greek yogurt for the extra protein benefit.   So... without further a-due, here is the Scandinavian (a.k.a me) version of Chaat!

Base

1 cup Chickpea's (I used canned organic)

1 teaspoon curry (Use more if you really like the taste of curry)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/2 small purple onion, diced
1 fresh tomato, diced
1 small cucumber, diced
1 large ear of corn, boiled and cut off of cob
2 tablespoons fresh parsley chopped


Probiotic Yogurt Topping (a must)

1 single serving container of plain Greek Yogurt
1 1/2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon fresh dill (I used the dill flower from the garden to decorate:)

Method

1)  Warm the chickpeas on top of the stove on low.  Add the sesame oil, curry, salt and pepper.  Keep warm until you cut up the vegetables.
2)  Place all the other ingredients in the base layer and toss to combine.  Add the chickpeas and sauce to the fresh vegetables and toss to combine.
3) Meanwhile, mix the greek yogurt, honey and fresh dill in a small blender until well combined.
4) If you want you can serve this over rice ( I would make more yogurt topping if you were to do so)
5) Place Chickpea mixture on a plate and top with Yogurt topping, Enjoy!

"The Emperor Moth," the story we all need to remember!

  
Sorry I haven't blogged about food lately!  It seems life always brings struggles to overcome.  Everyone has at least one... or at least I would like to believe that is true.  I came across a little story that really has seemed to hit home and help me remember that there is "light" at the end of this tunnel.  Hope this story finds you well.  If not, maybe it can help you look at the bright side today.  


  "A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth. he took it home so that he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. On that day a small opening appeared, he sat and watched the moth for several hours as the moth struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther. It just seemed to be stuck. Then the man, in his kindness, decided to help the moth, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The moth then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time. Neither happened! In fact, the little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It never was able to fly.    What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body of the moth into its wings so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon. Freedom and flight would only come after the struggle. By depriving the moth of a struggle, he deprived the moth of health."