Morning! It is a great day! The weekend is upon us… 🙂
Yesterday was also a pretty good day. It began with a 35 minute workout at the gym- a mix of bike and cardio (my usual) and stretching. I laid off the weights for a couple of days to let the muscles in my neck and back relax.
When I got back, I just wanted something light for breakfast, so I made a bowl of cottage cheese, pumpkin granola, 1/2 a banana, sliced pineapple, and a scoop of apricot preserve. With some earl gray…
I was running late to work, but I wanted to pack something homemade for lunch instead of having to eat out. I saw leftover brown rice in the fridge and threw some of the cottage cheese on top of that (I know, 2 servings in one day!), packed a bag full of veggies, and another PURE bar for snack.
It was actually pretty filling! I think all the fiber kept me full throughout the day.
I was excited yesterday to get an email from Nishant, our friend who is staying with us for 10 days. He is Indian and a really good cook. He said he wanted to make dinner for us and I was psyched. He asked what I wanted and, of course, I said, “Indian, please!”. I know he makes great Indian food and I had never had homemade Indian.
He went out and bought a TON of Indian spices and a really nice dubba (a tiffin) for us for all of them to go in!
How awesome is that?!
We didn’t eat until around 9, so I munched on some Italian salami around 7:30 to hold me over. Nishant made an amazing spread: aloo gobi, a potato and cauliflower sabzi, using onions, tomatoes, red chili powder, cumin, turmeric, cilantro and garam masala spice; yellow dahl using cumin, turmeric, tomatoes, garam masala, and cilantro; and some white basmati rice. I took some pictures of him and Loren in action!
Tasting…
And perfecting…
It was amazing!! What I really liked about the meal was that it wasn’t oily at all- Nishant used a lot of water and spices in the dishes but barely any oil. It was so fresh and flavorful.
I added a dollop of yogurt to my plate to balance the SPICINESS of the meal. It was sooo good!
We drank lots of yummy red wine, too. My tummy was very warm and very happy when my head hit the pillow. 🙂 It was a great night!
That looks so good. I would give anything to learn how to cook Indian food the right way. Yummy. And red wine, too? You almost had my dream dinner last night.
Lucky you with a fabulous chef of a guest!! I love Indian food but have no idea how to make it at home. The only thing I have is Tandoori and curry powder…none of that singular spice stuff that pro’s use to customize their Indian food. Even better is that it wasn’t oily huh??? Love your idea of putting a blob of yogurt to “refresh” the dish a little!!! I need a fried who cooks to visit me too! Hahaah
JEALOUS!!
Oh I want a dubba too! My former roommate had one and I was so jealous 😉 Ah spices – love.
Indian food is amazing and also so easy to make at home 🙂 I’m glad to hear that everything turned out well! I haven’t made aloo gobi in ages and should make some again soooon 🙂
Happy Friday!
Your spice box looks just like ours! It was a house warming gift from my MIL… I think she wanted to make sure that her son would continue to have homecooked Indian food! 🙂 Your dinner looks so good. I just ate lunch and now I’m hungry again after seeing your photos.
wow indian foooood! so many spices but so worth it!
Ummm can you send your friend to my house please! Dinner looks amazing 🙂 Nothing like men in the kitchen either, super sexy whoop whoop!! Happy Friday girl!
I LOVE Indian food and yours looks amazing!
That food looks SO good – I absolutely love the flavours in Indian food!
That looks like an awesome meal– we had Indian last night too! I love that dubba!