I have often found myself passing the spice rack at the Dining Center and wondering what I could possibly do with all the powders and salts that there are to choose from.

The options range from cajun jerk to garlic powder and lemon pepper salt. For those who have grown up without much experience cooking, the spice rack can be a bit intimidating. As I am one of those people, I have found it easiest to slowly ease into the process of cooking with these various flavors by looking up recipes and trying them out.

During my latest experiment with food in the dining centers, I used a blend of curry cayenne powders to perfect the healthy chickpea and rice curry dish.

Recreating the dishes that you used to eat at home with your family is not as difficult as it may seem. For those whose parents made a chicken and rice curry, the meal can be replicated right here in the North Dakota State University Dining Centers. The base of the meal can incorporate a number of different things. Rice and chicken are a great traditional method, but to mix things up a bit try substituting them with chickpeas and quinoa.

Kessel’s Curry Ingredients

¼ cup milk

1 tablespoon curry powder

¼ tablespoon cayenne powder

Drizzle of honey

Instructions

To prepare this dish, throw about a cup of chickpeas and a blend of quinoa/chopped onions onto the grill with some olive oil. Let the mixture sizzle and put a cover over to trap the heat.

While the chickpeas cook, grab a small bowl to prepare fellow NDSU student Katherine Kessel’s divine curry sauce to tie everything together.

After the sauce has been created and properly warmed up in the microwave, the tender chickpeas and quinoa can come together with the spicy curry sauce. This completes a delicious replica of those homemade dishes we all love and miss, all in just under 500 calories.