So I made a curried sweet potato dish, with black beans and cabbage. There was a bit of carrots thrown in, and then topped with extra-fatty yogurt and cilantro. The spices were a mix of cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and chipotle pepper.
Small problem #1: free-handing the quantities of spices.
I've generally made Indian dishes from recipe, and I've made enough that I have sort of a feel for the quantities of spices. Usually equal amounts of cumin and coriander. The end result was mediocre, so I'd say this wasn't a problem although it didn't help the final dish.
Small problem #2: extra-fatty yogurt.
I've regularly consumed yogurt (like almost-daily) ever since I moved to Canada and my mom put one in my lunch everyday for school. For all this time, I've operated on the principle that the more fat the better, since for most of this time fat-free yogurt has dominated the selection. So I was super giddy when I found 9% Siggi yogurt at Whole Foods and that's what I topped the dish with. This was a mistake as it simply has too much fat for a topping that's suppose to contribute acidity as well. Shoulda used sour cream, which I did go buy today. Daisy's sour cream is amazing and I'm very sad that it's not carried in Canadian grocery stores.
Big problem #1: cooking method
This is the heat problem. I only brought a pot with me, whereas I envisioned this dish as a roast / stir fry hybrid. Needless to say that result was not achieved.
Big problem #2: lack of other sources of acid
My main issue with the final dish is how heavy it felt to eat. This problem was entirely solved by squeezing some lemons onto the leftover portions, which were infinitely better tasting.
Lesson learned: acid is important
...
Which leads me to how great the BBQ sauce at B's Cracklin are. Yes I've finally made the trip to eat there. Yes it's amazing. I even bought some brisket for takeout and holy their brisket is maybe even better than the pork. Even their pancake-formed cornbread is delicious.
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