Indian redux

Every day I walk into the work kitchen, the air is filled with the aroma of Indian spices, mostly ginger, garlic, onions, and the ever so popular cumin. And honestly, when you have a fellow neighbor who is Indian or your neighbor is by chance cooking Indian food, the scent of the spices flood hallway. That's just the way it is, and it is beautiful. Taking a softer and more subtle approach to Indian food was the endeavor of today. The spices are there. The ingredients are there. However, let's just say it's Indian nouveau.

Early spring vegetable fricassee, roasted spiced garbanzo beans, and sooji upma

The veggies were super simple: White and green asparagus and sugar snap peas tossed in a bit of fresh grated ginger, a touch of lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper and simply roasted at high heat. To add a bit of pungency, julienned spring garlic (yes - it's incredibly pungent) was grilled then tossed into the roasted vegetable mixture as well as fresh cilantro. A drizzle of masala spiced (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garam masala, cayenne, pepper, and raw sugar) dressing (adding fresh ginger, coconut water, shredded coconut, organic honey, apple cider vinegar, and extra-virgin olive oil) adorned the vegetables. The same masala spice mixture was tossed with chickpeas and roasted at high heat. Some turned out crunchy, some did not. And the upma? It was my first time making it and it was savory. It started off with a fry of cumin seeds, ginger, red onions, Serrano chilies, and curry leaves. Toasted semolina was added and then boiling water. I had to stir in constantly to ensure even distribution of water and to ensure that the upma did not clump together undesirably. After the sooji cooked for about 10 minutes, a blend of toasted cashews, almonds and coconut along with fresh cilantro were folded in.
Indian-inspired? Most definitely.