Indian Foods I Loved from an Amazing Indian Wedding

We went to an Indian Wedding this weekend and it was so much fun!  The wedding was beautiful and full of colors and energy.  The women's dresses were amazing.... bright colors, with ornate designs, and beautiful jewelry, like Matha Patti an Indian head jewelry piece.  There was cool music, lots of dancing, and amazing food.  So, I thought I would share some of my favorite foods from this weekend!

#1 Dosa

Dosa is like a pancake ore crepe made from fermented rice batter and black lentils.  Do you remember my post on Whole Food, Plant Based diet on fermentation and helping your gut flora???  They cook it on a griddle and stuffed it with a potato mixture and I loved it.  It was crunchy on the outside with the soft potatoes seasoned with all those amazing Indian spices on the inside.  It was also gluten free and good for my gut flora... this is why it is my number 1 food item I LOVED! 

#2 Chole 

Chole is a chickpea curry mixture.  I like curry but do not love it, but this one was amazing.  It was especially delicious with rice, because it soaked up all the flavor.  The basis of this dish is chickpeas, onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger paste.  The curry spice list is long, but also kind of cool.  I think who thought of combining ALL these spices.  Now in days if recipes have over 10 ingredients most people (including myself) would not make it.  Here is a Curry Masala Spice ingredient list: 

• ·         Caraway seeds (Shahi jeera) – ¼ cup
• ·         Cumin seeds – ½ cup
• ·         Star anise – 4
• ·         Cloves – ½ tbsp
• ·         Black peppercorns – 2 tbsp
• ·         Black cardamom – 2 tbsp
• ·         Green cardamom – 2 tbsp
• ·         Bay leaves – 6, big
• ·         Cinnamon – 16, 1-inch pieces
• ·         Nutmeg – ½ of the whole seed
• ·         Roasted sesame – ¼ cup
• ·         Whole red chilies (byadgi mirchi) – 25
• ·         Coriander seeds – ¼ cup
• ·         Turmeric powder – 1 & ½ tbsp
• ·         Dried mango powder – ¼ cup
• ·         Dried ginger powder – 2 tbsp
• ·         Black salt – 1 & ½ tbsp
• -        Fennel Seeds -- 1/2 tbsp

* from http://www.flavouroma.com/blog/chole-masala-powder-recipe/

#3 Samosa

Fried dough with potatoes and peas inside.  Anything crunchy I like.  They also had this amazing coconut cilantro chutney with it called Hara Dhaniya ki chutney.  A chutney is like a sauce or relish originating from India.  It is a blended mixture of fruits or vegetables with vinegar, spices, and sugar. 

#4 Badam Halwa

This is a desert made with puréed almonds, ghee (clarified butter), sugar and saffron.  It was the texture of poridge but WAY more delicious!  It was nutty and sweet, but not too sweet like the the other desserts.  That is why this one was my favorite :)