.: evil jungle prince :.

Today I had some interesting ingredients in my refrigerator to work with. For the record, I normally don't plan dishes, I just let them create themselves based on what I have on hand. This might drive other cooks crazy but rarely do I do advance meal planning. Instead, it's an Iron Chef contest of one. I do this to use up everything I can, avoid waste, and challenge myself.

Based on the availability of almonds, pistachios, and some wonderful Anaheim peppers which I spotted at the grocery store recently, I decided to combine two dishes: fried green peppers with garlicy yogurt sauce and Istanbul pilavi, or Instanbul style pilaf. Although the latter is normally made with chicken, I substituted mine with chickpeas to make for a completely vegetarian meal.

To start, I began by making my yogurt garlic sauce, combining Greek yogurt, 1 clove of garlic (minced), a squeeze of lemon juice, and salt to taste. I love this sauce and it's incredible to think how such a simple thing can taste so delicious! Next I made my pilaf by:

1. First I sauteed almonds and pistachios in a little butter, using Trader Joe's butter which is free of Bovine Growth Hormones. Next I added my rice to mixture (long-grain) and sauteed that as well.

2. I then added vegetable stock, salt, black pepper and and a little saffron water (made by soaking saffron threads in warm water). Next the water was added (measure using the finger method*) and the mixture brought to a boil. Add chickpeas. I then covered the pot and allowed it to simmer until done.

3. Finally, I stirred some fresh dill and allowed the rice to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

* to measure enough water to prepare rice, place your finger on top of the rice and fill with water until the water reaches the first bend in your finger. In this case, since I made long-grain rice, I added just a tad more water so that the rice would not be sticky.

I discovered the following video on youtube -- it knocked my socks off! Although the instrumental introduction is slow, hang in there for the incredible voice of Turkish singer Bulent Ersoy.