Channa Masala

It's been a while! Now that finally on my own and trying to feed myself and my husband, I realized I needed to learn how to make Indian food quickly and easily. My husband and I are medical residents and want to spend as little of our free time cooking.

Today I'm going to share a simplified version of my mom's Channa Masala recipe. Channa is chick pea and masala is what people would call curry. (On a side note, "curry" is comprised of so many different spices). To make this even quicker, I will be using my new Instant Pot, but this can be made on the stove in the pan as well!

Chickpeas and kidney beans are a great source of protein. 1 cup of chickpeas contains about 40g of protein and 1 can of kidney beans contains 16g of protein! This is especially great for vegetarians like my husband. We are always looking for ways to increase our protein intake.

Ingredients:
- 2 Cans Chickpeas, drain and wash
- 1 cup of tomato sauce from the can (can also use tomato paste and add water, can also use 2-3 fresh tomatoes)
- 1 medium sized onion, cut finely
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp ginger garlic paste

Seasoning
- 1 tsp of daniya powder
- 1 tsp of cumin powder
- 1 tsp of paprika
- Salt to taste

Steps
1. Add oil to pan
2. Once hot, add onions and cook till translucent
3. Add ginger garlic paste and cook till the smell of rawness is gone
4. Add salt, daniya powder, cumin and paprika
5. Add tomato sauce and cook for a couple of minutes
6. Add in the washed and drained chickpeas
7. Close the instant pot and set it to pressure cook
8. Once its done, I like to place in saute mode and add additional seasoning till you get desired taste!

On a side note, you can also make the same recipe with Rajma or kidney beans!

Brunch Highland Bakery

Highland Bakery

Address: 655 Highland Ave NE Atlanta, GA (multiple locations)

Website: http://highlandbakery.com/ 

What to order: 

Food:
Something sweet: Ricotta pancakes with blueberry compote take the prize for the best sweet dish. The consistency of pancakes is thin and crispy. Essentially the pancakes are perfect. the blueberry compote adds the perfect amount of taste that makes syrup unnecessary. The picture below doesn't do  it justice.

Something hot: Because of how often I go to Highland Bakery, I have gotten to try so many of their savory dishes.

1. Burritos de heuvos

2. Rustic Italian - This is my all time favorite! It has grilled rosemary garlic bread with melted mozzarella, sauteed mushrooms, spinach, tomatoes, onions, red peppers with two over medium eggs topped with marinara sauce, fresh basil, and shredded Vermont white cheddar with potatoes. The combination of the flavors is amazing.

3. Make your own omelet - they have lots of options for the omelets. I would highly suggest getting the goat cheese. (I LOVE GOAT CHEESE + EGGS)

Drink: As usual, I always order the fresh OJ and it is amazing.

Bottom Line: THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!!!! My absolute favorite brunch place.

Sun in my Belly

Website: http://suninmybelly.com/

Address: 2161 College Ave NE, Atlanta, GA

Brunch hours: 8 AM - 4 PM

What to eat:

I really wanted to break out of the omelete rut, so I ordered the eggs benedict on a bed of spinach and sweet potatoes and a biscuit. I loved the presentation of the elements and the mix of flavors and textures. I would say that this is probably on the top of my savory brunch options. My brunch buddies also ordered the omelete special of the day which had broccoli, mushrooms, bell peppers and onions served with a side of potatoes. The addition of broccoli was unique compared to other brunch places, but it did not add any value to the taste of the dish.

 
were seasoned well with rosemary, salt and pepper.

If you want to try something sweet, I would recommend the Challah french toast stuffed with ricotta cheese and fresh fruit.

What to drink: Mason jar full of freshly squeezed OJ for 2$$

Atmosphere: I think the service here is fantastic; however we did go early Sunday morning before the crowd started. The eclectic decor includes string lighting, paper table cloths over bench furniture, and exposed industrial ceilings.



Atlanta Brunch: Morningside Farmer's Market and La Calavera Bakery

We were driving to brunch one morning when we spotted the Morningside Farmer's Market. I'm a sucker for farmer's markets because of the local mom and pop stores that have booths there and of course the fresh veggies and fruits. While perusing through the market, I spotted La Calavera bakery.

I would highly recommend checking them out! The amazing smells from the fresh breads at the booth makes the cold trip worthwhile. I bought a few different types of bread, and loved all of them. My personal favorite was the one pictured below. It's some type of sweet cornbread, but i've already forgotten the name.

There use of organic sprouted breads makes them unique. All that really means is that they use the grains/lentils when they after they sprouted but before it becomes a full-fledged plant. This gives the advantage of less available starch and more available proteins, minerals and nutrients. Plus for people who have trouble digesting starchy foods, this leads to improved tolerance. Conventionally bread makers use ungerminated lentils/grains. (In case your wondering this benefit hasn't been proven through research, but is more of a trend catching on these days)

La Calavera Bakery

DELICIOUS (but I can't remember what it was called) 

Bakery Website: http://lacalaverabakery.wordpress.com/pantastico-pictures/
Market Website: http://www.morningsidemarket.com/
Timings:Every Saturday morning 7:30 AM to 11:30 AM (8:00 AM Jan – Mar)
Address: 1393 N. Highland Ave Atlanta GA 30306 

Atlanta Brunch : Rise and Dine

Continuing with the Brunch theme, I ventured to Rise-n-Dine with another brunch enthusiast.

Rise-n-Dine 

Sadly no website :-(

Brunch Monday - Sunday : 7 AM - 3 PM

Address: 1565 N Decatur Rd, Atlanta, GA 30307

What to order: 

Food: As usual my brunch buddy and I always get something savory and something sweet. Our sweet dish was the challah french toast with bananas and maple syrup. I have to say I'm not that impressed compared to most other brunch restaurants. For our savory dish, we built our own omelete with goat cheese, onions, portobello mushrooms, roasted red peppers and spinach.  The food was simple and descent, but nothing to brag about. In retrospect, we should have probably ordered other items on their menu like the sweet potato pancakes and the Greek omelet. If I was to go back, I would probably try both of those.

Drink: If you order coffee, I've heard that they will give you the coffee to-go at the end of your meal. As I mentioned previously, I love fresh juices so I stuck to my freshly squeezed orange and grapefruit juices, which as usual were delicious.

Atmosphere: Located near Emory, Rise-n-Dine is a small brunch spot. It has a very diner-feel from its tiled flooring to the eclectic mirror decor. While it's size maybe small, its popularity is not. The lines outside the establishment are crazy! Don't even think about trying to go here without a reservation on a weekend because the wait times can be an hour long. Plus the service is very slow during those peak hours.

Prices: $-$$ Rise-n-Dine has very reasonable prices compared to many brunch places. It won't break your wallet.

Parking: There are lots behind and beside the restaurant and additional parking at the CVS lot. I've never had trouble finding parking, but I have heard that this can be a challenge.

BOTTOM LINE: Cute brunch place with a clever name and descent food that you should avoid in peak brunch hours.

Atlanta Brunch : Rosebud

Lately I've been really into Brunch, and Atlanta has some great places to offer. So, I spent the past few months brunching! Also fair warning, I don't eat red meat so those items are not going to be featured in the posts.

Rosebud Atlanta

http://www.rosebudatlanta.com/

Friday brunch: 10 - 3:30 

Sat Brunch: 9 - 3:30

Sun Brunch: 9 - 4 

Address: 1397 North Highland Ave NE 

What to order:

Food: We usually order 1 sweet and 1 savory dish. A must eat sweet item is their whole wheat pancakes made with organic flour with ginger thyme blueberry butter and vermont maple syrup. The taste of the melting butter is the perfect amount of sweet that you don't even need syrup. When it comes to the savory dishes, I really love the mushroom omelet with shaved fennel, leeks and vermont goat cheese and the chicken omelet with caramelized onions, cream cheese, and pickled jalapenos. Personally I would recommend the first. There's something about the combination of creamy goat cheese and fluffy eggs that I think tastes heavenly. The savory dishes come with a side of potatoes, which sadly are the only part of the experience that leaves me unsatisfied. The potatoes are too crispy and don't have enough flavoring.

Drink: I love fresh juices! I had 2 glasses of the freshly squeezed OJ, but next time I go back I really want to try the byne farms blueberry cider.

Atmosphere:

Located in Morningside, just outside the Virginia-Highlands, Rosebud is a cute intimate restaurant.
Parking: There is limited parking across from restaurant, however, I've never had trouble finding a spot on a Sat or Sun.
Service: Solid!

Rumi's Persian Restaurant

Nothing soothes the soul like Persian food. As a novice to middle eastern cuisine, my friends took me to a new Persian establishment in Atlanta: Rumi's. The restaurant has a very open layout where the kitchen opens into the bar which opens into the front of the restaurant. The contemporary design makes it a very beautiful place to celebrate occasions. Even if you have a reservation, the wait can be slightly long esp on weeknights. Our service, however, was impeccable.

The best part of the experience is the food. I ordered the Jujeh Chicken with saffron rice and cooked tomato served with fresh basil. I would have to say this was the best chicken I have ever had. The meat literally melts off of the bone and is so tender and infused with herbs. In addition, they have this special house seasoning that complements the rice and the chicken. My friends tried the Chicken Koobideh and the Barg Kabob Beef Tenderloin and both raved about their dishes. For dessert we ordered Rumi's tart and baklava; Both of which has really good texture, and the perfect amount of sweetness that wasn't overwhelming on the palate.

The prices I would say are on the higher side with a typical entree between $18 - $25, but the portions are pretty large. Overall, I would come back here if it was a nice occasion for their amazing chicken. Plus I want to try the fig ice cream and the Pot Du Creame!