September 2020

Chana Masala

Chana Masala
Source of Recipe
Cook's Illustrated: Recipe developed for the September / October 2020 issue
Serves/Makes/Yields
4 to 6

Chana masala is arguably one of North India's most popular vegetarian dishes, and it can be quick and easy to prepare. We started by using the food processor to grind the aromatic paste that formed the base of our dish. We opted for canned chickpeas because their flavor and texture were nearly indistinguishable from those of chickpeas that are cooked from dried, and we didn't drain them because the canning liquid added body and savory depth to the dish. The canned chickpeas still retained a bit of snap, so we simmered them in the sauce until they turned soft.

Lahmajun (Armenian Flatbread)

Lahmajun (Armenian Flatbread)
Source of Recipe
Cook's Illustrated, Recipe developed for the September / October 2020 issue.
Serves/Makes/Yields
Serves 4 to 6

These thin, crispy, savory meat-and-vegetable-topped Armenian flatbreads can sprayed with lemon juice and eaten like pizza, or turned into sandwiches by rolling them around a salad of fresh or pickled vegetables. Our dough started with a higher-protein all-purpose flour to create an ample amount of gluten that gave the dough both crispness and tenderness but not so much that it turned tough.