Curry Chickpea Stuffed Pitas with Tsatziki

For a soon-to-be graduate in the fall, summer is that awkward in-between phase where you are not graduated but you are also not attending class.  You might have a summer job or internship, but you still feel the pressure to put all this “free time” to use and find “the job” for after graduation.  Since I can’t yet apply to jobs, I’ve been thinking a lot about resumes, interviews, and jobs.    I never expected food to come into play.


I have been stuck on one of the seemingly favorite interview/application questions: “What is one of your weaknesses?”   Now, I love questions that focus on my insecurities as much as the next candidate, but I still find it difficult to list and describe weaknesses.   I have finally found my area of development: spicy foods. 

As a kid my favorite foods were mostly comfort foods like meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and spaghetti and meatballs.   Thus, you won’t find me napalming my food with Sriracha, or setting it ablaze with red pepper flakes today.   Eating at home required only a tolerance for black peppercorns.   However, age and exposure have enlightened my tastebuds to how limited I am by spicy foods.  I feel that I am missing out because I have refused foods that are “spicy”.   I cannot expect to taste the full flavor of life without a little sweat and tears.  To improve meant braving the heat and tackling the fire.  My goal this summer is to acquire a liking for spicy foods. 

So, just as I was congratulating myself on not only tolerating but actually enjoying the heat of curry powder, I discovered that it is only a pale, Western approximation of traditional Indian spice blends.  Boo.  Well, it’s a start, I guess.    

Curry powder suits my tolerance for heat because of the familiar spiciness from cumin, coriander, ginger, and cayenne.  I enjoy the concentrated combination of these individual spices in the curry powder.  Chickpeas serve as the perfect protein, beautifully blended along with garlic and onions.  Stuffed inside of a warm, whole wheat pita and topped with cool and creamy tsatziki, this dish sets you up for a wonderful juxtaposition of temperatures, textures, and tastes. 

Slowly, but surely I will build my spicy heat tolerance. 

Curry Chickpeas

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

½ onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely diced

2 tsp fresh ginger root, finely diced

1/8 tsp ground cloves

½ tsp cinnamon

2-3 tsp curry powder

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1 (15 oz) can chickpeas / garbanzo beans

Salt and Pepper

Instructions:

1.       In medium sized saucepan, heat oil over medium heat and sauté onions until tender (about 5-7 min)

2.       Stir in garlic, ginger, and remaining spices.  Cook for about 1 minute over medium heat, stirring constantly. 

3.       Mix in chickpeas and liquid.  Cook until well blended and heated through (about 3-5 min).

Curry Wheat Berry Salad

I was imagining whole wheat…strawberries? No. Blueberries? Definitely not. Okay, so it’s actually the flower of a wheat plant. How I got a hold of these is one thing; how to cook said “berries” was another. I would liken them to something such as barley: tons of natural fiber, a bit lacking in the flavor department. Like beans, they had to be soaked overnight and then boiled for a good while over the stove to achieve an edible tenderness. Add to the mix a slew of fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts and a tart dressing and we had ourselves a full bodied salad.

Mind you, I was skeptical. It sounded a bit “crunchy granola” for my tastes, but I figure give everything a go, at least once. I was pleasantly surprised by the unique and healthy salad that resided in my dinner bowl. While it’s no main course dish, it is definitely one to accompany a barbecued, pulled pork sandwich and some buttery corn on the cob. The acidic tones will please the palate when balanced with something savory or sweet. Bold enough to spark conversation at dinner, this nontraditional salad won’t replace mac n’ cheese, but it will speak volumes for your creative abilities.

This recipe was adjusted from the Lower Byrd Farm’s, an organic farm in Virginia.

Curry Wheat Berry Salad

Ingredients:

1 ½ c wheat berries

1 apple, peeled and diced

1 cucumber, peeled and diced

½ green bell pepper, diced

1/3 c Craisins

1/3 c almonds, chopped

1/3 c olive oil

¼ c apple cider vinegar – CRUCIAL, don’t use regular vinegar

3 T honey

2 T shallots, minced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 T lemon juice

1 T curry powder

Salt and pepper

Instruction:

1. Soak wheat berries overnight in water.

2. Bring to boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain and chill.

3. Combine wheat berries, apple, pepper, cucumber, almonds and raisins.

4. In a separate bowl olive oil, vinegar, honey, onion, garlic, lemon juice, and curry powder.

5. Pour over wheat berry mixture and stir to combine.

6. Chill and serve.