Cultures all over the world have traditional foods to bring luck in the new year. In the US South black eyed peas and greens are common. In Germany, sauerkraut. In Italy, lentils and sausages. Most of these traditions have to do with green vegetables bringing green (dollars, clearly) in the new year. The traditions around beans tend to be because they are a cost effective option that manages to double in size, doubling in size is something most of us would not refuse for our luck or the money in our pocketbooks. Lentils are because they look like coins, as do the sausages when cut.
I’ve never made these traditional foods on New Year’s Day for good luck. I did try making yeast cinnamon rolls once for the first time over a new year’s eve. Which is a poetic idea I like, as the beans do, so too does yeast when rise, double in size.
Along that idea I decided an Indian feast for New Year’s day was in order. My husband will eat beans or lentils, but a bowl of them would not be his idea of good luck. I perused a wide variety of cookbooks and recipe clippings to decide on the final line up. Some say a good cook doesn’t need recipes, but all cooks have to start somewhere, and me I often like to start with recipes. I may not always follow them to the letter, but it works for me.
Since I had the day off, it seemed a great day for a project recipe.Homemade Onion Naan from an issue of Bon Appetit http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/onion-naan last year fit the bill. When they published that they also included a recipe for Spicy Sauteed Spinach http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/spicy-saut-ed-spinach. Good luck references and spice for my husband? I’d add that to the menu.
But I didn’t stop there. I added Red Lentil Daal from Cooking Light’s Global Kitchen, the closest recipe I can find for that is this one http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Lentil-Dal-101019, also from them. If you don’t have this cookbook, but like to eat light and try new cuisines I’d highly recommend it. Last but not least I added Tandoori Shrimp from a cookbook I got called “Indian” at Five Below. What can I say, I’m a cookbook fiend, I leave no stone (or upscale dollar store) unturned.
It turned out great.
I don’t know if it will bring us good luck, but I certainly enjoyed flexing my cooking muscles in the kitchen.