Indian Spiced Pita Chips with Roasted Garlic Raita

I always save my too-old bread for homemade croutons and can never believe how easy it is or how awesome they are. This week I had some chewy pitas that weren't so chewy anymore and thought to turn them into pita chips. Yet another example of "why didn't I try this sooner?!"

For a light lunch today, I whipped up a cucumber yogurt dip (raita) and paired it with Indian spices on the chips. I knew I wanted to incorporate roasted garlic into the dip for the chips. I love roasted garlic- if you're not a garlic fan or haven't had roasted garlic before, you should know that its spicy raw flavor disappears and is replaced with a nutty sweetness that can be eaten entirely on its own with pleasure.

To make your own- Simply lop off the top of a bulb, add a little flavor if you choose, wrap in foil and bake.

After the roasted garlic has cooled a while, take the entire bulb in hand and squeeze the garlic paste right out of the paper. This can be spread on toast, mashed into butter, whipped into a bechamel or some softened cream cheese...you name it!

I would have been happy to squeeze this straight into my mouth...but today I used mine to make a dee-licious dip!

Roasted Garlic:

One bulb garlic with the top sliced off to expose the cloves
Several wide slivers of lemon zest
A little drizzle of olive oil
A pinch of salt and pepper

Set the bulb onto two squares of foil. Set the zest, oil and seasonings on the exposed cloves and wrap tightly in foil. Place in the center of a 325F oven and bake for 1.5 hours. Remove from the oven, open the foil and let cool. Grab the bulb in your palm and squeeze the soft garlic paste out of the top. Use it in large chunks, mash it with a fork, press it through a sieve or spread it directly onto your food.


Roasted Garlic Raita:

Mix together:
Juice from one wedge of lemon
A light drizzle of honey
One bulb of roasted garlic
One slice of fresh ginger, grated
Stir in:
One cup greek yogurt
Fold in:
One small (6") cucumber or a section of english cucumber, grated
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 to 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

Serve chilled, immediately or at the most the same day.


Indian Spiced Pita Chips:

Spice mix (mix together)
3 parts ground cumin
One part each:
Red pepper flakes
Black pepper
Fennel seeds
Ground coriander
1/2 part each, ground:
Cinnamon
Turmeric
Cardamom (use sparingly to taste)
Cloves (use sparingly to taste)

Measure out 2 teaspoons of the spice mix into a small bowl and add 1/4 cup olive oil. Mix well and let rest for a bit. Tear 4 large pita breads into chunks and place in medium bowl. Drizzle the spiced oil over the bread chunks and toss with your hands until the bread is well coated (add a little plain oil if it's not covering the majority of the bread). Place the moistened bread on a sheet pan in a single layer. Bake in the center of a 350F oven for ten minutes or until the edges are beginning to toast. Turn once and bake another 5 to 10 minutes more or until the pita chips are golden brown and toasty. The chips will crisp up out of the oven while they cool for 10 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!