The aroma of Indian spices fills my home today.  Cumin, cardamom, turmeric, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, garlic and onions, all so aromatic and flavorful. 

Lentil & Split Pea Dip

Our Friday night first course was a lentil and split pea dip served with flatbread that was baked with a roasted garlic and cumin spread.  Simply a wonderful combination.  This recipe can be found on the Food Network  compliments of Bobby Flay.  As written, this dip is lacking in flavor and I found it necessary to add more seasoning as well as more olive oil then specified in the recipe.  I would also suggest doubling the amount of onion called for.  After I got done "tweaking" the recipe I was very happy with the results.  Wilson and I will be snacking on this dip over the next couple of days because it makes a ton! 

For my flatbread, I used a pizza dough recipe from The Bread Baker's Apprentice.  This is a must have book for anyone interested in bread baking. 

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Our second course was -

Indian Spiced Pistachio Balls

One of my favorite appetizer recipes is for "Nut Ball" made with a combination of ground nuts, bread crumbs, vegetables and spices.  Since I'm on an Indian food kick I modified them to include ground pistachios, ginger, onion, red chili, garam masala and cardamom. 

If you are thinking that the red sauce in the little bowl looks spicy, you would be correct.  That is a very hot tomato and mint chutney by Neera's.  It went wonderfully with my pistachio balls as well as our third course, my spinach and paneer appetizer.

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Spinach & Paneer Appetizer

This tasty appetizer is based on my spinach ball recipe.  Clearly I changed the shape for this presentation, as I was serving this along with my Indian Spiced Pistachio Balls and didn't want to serve two ball shaped foods:)  Attempting to emulate Palak Paneer, I combined aromatic Indian spices including garlic, ginger, cilantro, garam masala, cumin, turmeric and red chili with spinach, bread crumbs and of course paneer cheese.  The result was a unique, fun to eat appetizer that paired very well with the other Indian inspired foods I served this evening.

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Our fourth course was -

Cumin & Mustard Seed Potatoes

Our last course is based on the Indian samosa.  Samosas are a common snack in India and other neighboring countries.  Typically it is a fried pastry shell with a savory filling of potato, pea, onion and spices.  I decided to make a healthy dish based on the flavors of the samosa.  I boiled some adorable fingerling potatoes and topped them with a wonderful combination of onions sauteed with cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander, turmeric and lemon juice.  Delicious, full of flavor and much healthier then a deep fried samosa.