Northern chickpea curry

Spicy Chickpea Masala

This is a spicy take on one of the most prevalent dishes in India, It seems like I always get chickpea curry even when I don't order it as a side or a accompaniment for a dosa or a roti. I like my chickpea curry very thick with a lot of gravy so I do not drain my chickpeas before cooking. If you prefer a looser drier dish drain and rinse some or all of the chickpeas. To be honest the full strength recipe is just barely in my own tolerable level and I love very spicy food. Jessie gave up after a bite or two so feel free to tone it down.

If you just want a fully flavorful non-spicy chickpea masala omit the cayenne, and dried red chilies.

3 x 15.5 oz cans of chickpeas (undrained for saucy, drained and rinsed for dry)
1/2 cup of oil (it can be cut down)
1.5 Tb ginger garlic paste
8 dried Asian red chilies broken in half
1.5 Tb coriander seeds crushed
1.5 Tb cumin seeds crushed
2 medium onions minced
4 fresh green chilies slit lengthwise
1 inch ginger peeled sliced thin against the grain and diced
2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 teas salt
1 Tb Garam Masala
1 teas cayenne pepper
1 cup water
2 Tb fresh squeezed lemon juice
1 Tb Methi Leaves (Fenugreek Leaves) not to be confused with fenugreek seeds
Handful of chopped Cilantro

Fry the ginger garlic paste in the oil for 1-2 minutes stirring constantly. Add the Red chili peppers, coriander, and cumin seed and fry for 30 seconds or until they become fragrant.

Add the onions, green chili peppers, and ginger. (if you want a smoother gravy blend these ingredients first) cook for 10 - 15 minutes allowing the gravy to bhunao (the oil separates from the ingredients showing the spices being fully developed). Add a little water to deglase the pan as needed.

Add the tomatoes, Garam Masala, and cayenne and cook for 30 seconds to allow the spices to toast. Add 1 cup of water and the chickpeas. Bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes to allow the gravy to thicken and blend. Add the lemon juice methi leaves and cilantro and toss to mix.

Pack half of the chickpea curry into a vacuum sealed container and ship to me on gel or dry ice. Serve the rest hot with your favorite Indian bread or rice.

Lamb Biryani

I LOVE LAMB! I mean... yeah I love lamb, and when it comes to lamb biryani, I really really miss Singapore. This is more of a moghul version of Lamb Biryani rather then a Singapore version. I couldn't find head nor hair of a version like we had in Little Lndia in Singapore, although there were dozens of stalls selling it.

This is introduce another cooking technique called Dum cooking. The idea is to create a low pressure pressure cooker which will help seal in the flavors and aid the rice in cooking by increasing the boiling point of water slightly.

This technically is a Pakhi style Biryani where the rice and the protein are cooked separately and then they are mixed together and cooked Dum style in the oven.

2 C basmati Rice
2-3  green cardamom pods
2-3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
1 Tb. salt
2 Tb ghee
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 lb cubed leg of lamb
1 teas cayenne
2 Tb ground coriander
1.5 Tb ginger garlic paste
1 green chili finely chopped
1/4 Cup yogurt
2 Tb garam Masala
juice of half a lemon
1 cup cilantro leaves coarsely chopped
Store bought fried onions (cheap at Indian groceries) you could substitute Frenches in a pinch.
Raisins or currants (optional)

Rinse the rice several times in water then soak for anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour.

Bring a pot of well salted water to a boil, add Cardamom, cloves, and bay leaf. While its coming up to a boil start working on the lamb.

Heat ghee over medium heat and add the onions until they start to caramelize. Add the lamb, cayenne, ground coriander, ginger garlic paste and green chilies and allow the spices to coat the lamb and brown the lamb slightly without burning the spices. After each side of the lamb is lightly browned add the yogurt, and 1 teas. salt stir to coat.

While the yogurt is cooking off, add the rice to the water and cook for 8 minutes or until 80-90 percent done.

If the lamb dries out completely before the rice is done add a little water to keep it from sticking, keep it hot until the rice is ready. Add the Garam Masala to the lamb and mix in well.

Divide the lamb mixture in half and layer the first part in an oven safe pot.  Add a layer of dripping wet rice, and then add 3/4 of your cilantro and a handful of fried onions add the second half of the lamb mixture and the rest of the dripping wet rice. Top with some more onions, and the juice of half a lemon.

Seal the pot well either with a very tight fitting lid or you can make a dough with flour and water to completely seal the lid.

Cook through in the oven for 15 minutes. After you remove it from the oven, fluff the rice and top with the last 1/4 of cilantro. You can also garnish with some raisins or currents.

-NOM

Garam Masala

Homemade Garam masala

Glossary

Garam: Garam literally means "hot," but refers more to the strength of the spices rather than a spicy capsicum component. While many store-bought garam masala powders are indeed quite spicy the recipe I use is actually not spicy at all.

Masala: Masala literally means "mixture," but it usually is used referring to a mixture of spices which is the base of a curry dish.

This is a simple recipe which uses whole spices which we quickly toast in the pan to maximize their flavors. Many store-bought Garam Masala powders are not toasted to save the manufacturer time and to make the spice blends last longer. Unfortunately, this severely limits its flavor profile.

I would suggest getting a small coffee grinder and reserving it for grinding spices. Fresh ground spices are much more pungent and powerful then pre-ground. Whole spices will keep for a lot longer than ground spices. I grind one recipe of this every 2 months or so.

1 stick cinnamon

10 green cardamom pods

5 bay leaves

1 T black peppercorn

1 t whole cloves

2 T cumin seeds

1 T coriander seeds

1 teas fennel seeds

Bring a small pan to medium heat. I like to add the spices in order from largest to smallest since the largest will need the most time to heat through properly. They are done when they are all pungent and giving off a strong spice smell. Toss them frequently to keep them from burning. After they are done, set them aside to cool or when you blend them they will create a lot of steam and loose some of their flavor (I know from experience).

Grind them into a fine powder and store in a spice jar for 1-2 months for optimal flavor.

-Nom!

Mint cilantro chutney

Jessie makes this fairly regularly. I always have a few bites and give the rest to her, it's delicious but she likes it more then she likes me ;) which is saying something. This makes a good accompaniment to samosas as well as just eating it plain with Naan. Actually my very favorite application is to make a bagel with a little cream cheese and just put a very thin layer of the chutney on top of the cream cheese. The blend of the fresh herbs and the creamy cheese makes for a flavor explosion. I very briefly thought about going into the flavored cream cheese business based on this combination of flavors.

Another variation of this would be to use about a 1/4 a cup of yogurt to get some of that creaminess.

2 cups cilantro leaves
1 cup mint leaves
1 small yellow onion
1 garlic clove
1/2 teas. cumin
2 green chilies, seeded and minced
1/2 teas. sugar
1 teas. salt
2 Tb.lemon juice


In a blender or cuisinart blend the cilantro, mint, onion, garlic, cumin, chili, sugar, salt, lemon juice until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.

Refrigerate until ready to serve. The chutney keeps for up to 2-3 days refrigerated in an air tight container.

Lamb Curry

Lamb Curry

When I made this for the first time I hardly ate any of it. I know this may be hard to believe, but I took two bites, put the spoon down and sighed.

"It's almost too much, Like a rich dessert," I said to myself in a stupor.

I just stared at the bowl, moaned with pleasure and made plans to make it last for a few days. It was just too much, and too good, to be finished in just a single meal.

I LOVE LAMB. OK I've said it before and I will say it again. It's one of the cutest of meats, baby lambs are just so soft and fuzzy... and friendly... they will just nuzzle up in your arms and go to sleep... So... Are you going to eat that? 'cause I'll take it if you're not.

Don't be afraid of over-marinating. Marinate for 24 hours, or 48 hours, it'll be worth it I swear. I always hate it when a cookbook says you can marinate things for 4 hours. Sure you can, but there is hardly any point, especially if you are going to marinate in the refrigerator.

For the Marinade
3 medium red onions rough chopped
1 Tb cayenne pepper
1 Tb ground cumin
1/2 Tb tumeric
1/2 cup yogurt
1 Tb garam masala
3 teas salt

2 lbs leg of lamb cut into bite sized pieces

For the Gravy
3 Tb Oil
5 green cardamom pods
3 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1 teas cumin seeds
1 Tb ground coriander
4 green chilies
1 medium tomato chopped
2 cups water
1 cup yogurt
4 Tb chopped cilantro to garnish

Combine all the non-meat ingredients for the marinade in a blender or food processor and blend until it's a homogenous paste. Toss the meat in the marinade and mix well. cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least overnight and as much as 2-3 nights. If you only have 4-6 hours, massage the marinade into the meat every 30 minutes and keep it turning.

On the day of cooking, heat the oil in a large pan, add the whole spices (cardamom, bay leaves, cinnamon, and cumin seed) allow them to heat and crackle in the oil for a minute. Immediately add the ground coriander and the lamb with marinade and stir-fry on high heat for 5 minutes.

At this point you want to cook all of the juices out of the lamb and the marinade, this should take 20 minutes or so. Do this on medium-low heat. Only simmer, if the pan heats up to a full boil the proteins in the meat will clench up and become rubbery.

Once the meat is mostly dry increase the heat and caramelize the meat. When you see oil separating from the rest of the marinade it's done. this is called Bhunao and it essential to properly flavored Indian food.

Once the meat is browned and the sauce is done bhunao(ing), then you add the tomato, green chili and 1 cup of yogurt and 1 cup of water. Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the lamb is tender.

Put half of the lamb curry into a airtight container and send it to me. Enjoy the rest hot.

~NOM!

Butter Chicken

I think of butter chicken as the General Tso's chicken of Indian food. Sweet, rich, a little spicy, and nothing too far from the norm of the western palette. Of course, this dish originated in Britain. I still love it. Just because it didn't come from India originally doesn't mean it's not authentic... OK maybe it does. But it's delicious, thats all that should matter. Good day sir.

For marinade
1 lbs cubed Boneless chicken
1 T Lemon juice
1 T Cayenne
1/3 c Greek yogurt
2 T Ginger garlic paste
1/2 t Cayenne
1 t Garam masala
2 t Ghee

For gravy
2 T Butter
2 Green cardamom pods
2 whole cloves
3 Black peppercorns
1 stick cinnamon
2 T Ginger garlic paste
1/2 cup Tomato puree
1/2 t Cayenne
2 T Sugar
Large pinch methi leaves
3 T Half and Half

First sprinkle the lemon juice and cayenne over the chicken breasts and let sit for 30 minutes. While it's resting, mix the the ginger and garlic pastes, red chill and garam masala powders, salt and ghee. Apply all of the above to the chicken and let it marinate overnight. Skewer the marinaded chicken and put into a 400 F oven for 10 minutes or grill. Remove the chicken and set aside

To make the gravy, heat the butter in pan. Add the green cardamom, cloves, peppercorns and cinnamon. Sauté to let the spices toast, add the ginger and garlic pastes and sauté for two minutes. Add the tomato puree, red chili powder, salt. Bhunao the mixture at this point removing all of the water and allowing it to stick lightly to the bottom of the pan but not to burn. This will bring the aromatic oils out of the spices. Add 1/2 cup water and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and methi leaves. Add the cooked chicken and simmer for 5 minutes. finish at the last moment with Half and Half. Put half into a freezer bag, freeze and ship to me. Enjoy the other half with Naan or Rice.

-Nom

Mulligatawny Soup

I used a famous chef who shall remain unnamed for the initial recipe for this soup. Lets leave it at he likes to kick things up notches and shouts Batman expletives at every turn.

His recipe is pretty tasty, and there are just a few points that I would change. I have made those adjustments below

This is another British addition to the Indian cuisine. It does have an indian version actually a Tamil version which translates to "pepper water", though I belive what we think of as mulligatawny has very little to do with that soup. Either way, gimme some more of that Pepper water!

4 Tb Ghee
2 lbs bone in skinned chicken thighs salted well
2 Tb Garam Masala
1.5 teas salt
3 small onions
1 carrot diced
1 celery rib diced
4 Tb ginger garlic paste
2 granny smith apples peeled and diced
1 medium yukon gold or other white potato
1 small sweet potato
1 cup dried red lentils
6 cups chicken stock
1 teas black pepper
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1 can Coconut milk
1/2 can diced tomatoes
1 Tb apple cider vinegar
3 cup steamed white rice
1/2 cup ground cashews
Cilantro to garnish.

Heat the ghee and add the garam masala to the oil and allow to cook for 30 seconds. Add the salted chicken and allow it to brown properly on all sides. Remove the chicken from the oil and set aside.

Add the onions, carrots and celery to the ghee and sauté lightly. Add the ginger garlic paste and bhunao the mixture lightly. Add the diced apples and allow them to sweat and caramelize. after about 10 minutes you can add the potatoes, sweet potatoes and lentils to the pot, toss briefly to coat everything and add 6 cups of chicken stock. Bring this to a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender. Add back the chicken, the rest of the salt and the pepper, zucchini, squash, coconut milk and tomatoes. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until the chicken and squash is tender. Remove from heat and stir in cider vinegar. Serve with steamed rice and garnish with cilantro.

I was a big fan of this soup but for some reason Jessie didn't like it much, I guess to each their own! More mulligatawny for me! No soup for you!

-Nom!

Whole green lentil stew

It is nice to know that there are as many healthy Indian choices as there are those
with coconut milk or a half cup of oil. The whole green lentil stew is one such dish. The best thing about this dish is that it has a good amount of kick to it, and I love a good kick. It's also simple. You can almost say "set it and forget it."

A note about this recipe: when cooked with the listed ingredients, it lived up to the name of "stew." It also wasn't much of a yield. I would suggest either doubling the recipe, or doubling the lentils and adding 6 cups of water instead of 7 (if doubled) to make it thicker.

1/2 C whole green lentils
3.5 C of water
1 small tomato
3 garlic cloves with slits cut into them to release the flavor
1/4 t turmeric
1/2 t Ground red pepper (cayenne)
3/4 t salt
2 T of vegetable oil
1/4 t Cumin seeds
1/2 small onion, diced
1 t peeled and finely diced fresh ginger

Rinse the lentils 3 times, making sure there are no rocks or other debris. Combine the lentils, water, tomato, 1 garlic clove, turmeric, cayenne, and salt into a pan and bring to a roiling boil on low heat. Once it comes up to a boil, stir, and reduce to medium-low and cover. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 40 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and brown for about 10 seconds. Immediately add the onion, ginger and 2 garlic cloves and sauté for about 5-6 minutes until the onion is browned,

Add the spices to the lentils and stir to combine.

-NOM!

Notes on Ingredients

Methi leaves
These are some stinky stinky leaves. they are related to fenugreek seeds in that they are the leaves of the plant that produces the seeds. Methi leaves have a very similar flavor to fenugreek seeds a deeply herbal umami flavor. However, they are an order of magnitude stronger.

When we bought these they came sealed in a very flimsy plastic bag which tore easily, so we transferred the leaves to a couple of layers of ziplock bags and tossed the now empty plastic bag into the trash. The next morning the scent of methi filled the house to the brim and I could quite literately follow my nose straight to the garbage can. Step by step it get noticeably stronger and more pungent. Not that it needs to be said, but we took out the trash immediately that morning.

These can only be found in a well stocked Indian store. It only takes a small pinch to finish a large curry and it imparts a very well rounded flavor that acts to bring together a lot of the disparate elements of spice in a good curry. It does seem to cook out if you simmer too long with it though, so I usually just toss in a pinch when the dish is done.

Two weeks later we were looking through the recipe books and when we opened up to the page which held the recipe we used the methi leaves on we got a heavy whiff of methi leaf smell! It had permanently sunk into the page!!!

Asefoetada powder
This is a very powerful souring flavored ingredient.  When bought in powdered form it’s usually mixed with rice flower or some sort of fluffy starch to aid in the measuring and dispersal of the flavor. However, I think the amount of asefetoada to power ratio could be quite different from brand to brand because some recipes call for an overpowering amount of asefoetada if you use the stuff we have, and more than a tiny little pinch can completely overwhelm a dish and make it unpalatable but just a hint does wonders to good Indian foods.

Again this can only be found in a well stocked Indian grocery store.

Mawa

This is basically thickened evaporated milk, you can reduce milk down in the pan until it becomes a thick paste, then mix in dry powdered milk until it's a thick paste. We found our Mawa in the frozen section with the paneer a lot easier. It looked like a very hard cheese but melted fairly well into the navratan Korma. It added a lot of creaminess.

Green Chilies

These are a special chili which are long skinny and green. We buy them at the Indian grocery and I haven't seen them at a non-ethnic market. They are fairly equivalent to a serrano for spiciness and the flavor isn't super unique. In India these are sometimes served raw as an accompaniment to meal. To remove some of the heat, remove the seeds or chop more coarsely.

Curry leaves

This is Jessie's favorite ingredient. They offer up an amazingly unique flavor. Some recipes say you can substitute dried curry leaves for fresh ones, but to use fresh changes the entire flavor of the dish. Good reason to make the trek to the Indian grocery store!

Chicken Biryani Disaster

Chicken Biryani haste makes waste!

This dish could have been good. Good biryani is a thing to behold, a dish worthy of long cooking or long traveling. But it has to be respected, there aren't any cheats. no shortcuts can be taken. This is the story of one such short cut. What I'm trying to say is that Biryani has approximately the same gestational period as an baby so it's more of a date night thing.

It started out well, we went to the Indian store and bought nice saffron, we marinated the chicken for 24 hours, assuring that it would be tasty and full of flavor. We even soaked our basmati rice for the full hour suggested before cooking. Our biggest mistake was to try to cook Biryani on a weekday. a good biryani takes 3-4 hours to be made right, of course our cookbook said it would take an hour and 45 minutes. but we've since discovered that this author is amazingly bad at math.

Here is the recipe as we should have done it

For the Marinade 
3Tb chopped garlic
3 inches of Ginger sliced thin against the grain
10-12 fresh mint leaves
1/4 cup packed cilantro
2 fresh green peppers
2 Tb fresh squeezed lime juice
2 cup yogurt
1 Tb Homestyle Garam Masala
Salt (1-0.5 T estimated)
1 whole skinned chicken cut into pieces (3-4 lbs)

For the Rice
1.5 cup Basmati Rice
5 cups water
7 green cardamom pods
1 cinnamon stick
4 bay leaves
4 whole cloves
4 whole mace blades
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 C water

For the garnish

2 Tb chopped mint
4 Tb chopped cilantro
1 teas Saffron Threads soaked in 1.4 C milk
2 Tb almonds (toasted)
Crispy fried onion (I would highly suggest buying these at a Indian grocery store or replacing with French's fried onions like for green bean casserole it's pretty much the only short cut possible in this recipe)
         3 Tb ghee
         2 Onions thinly sliced
         Makes about 1/2 cup fried onions

First the marinade: combine all of the ingredients for the marinade except for the chicken in a blender or food processor. If it doesn't all fit, you don't have to add all of the yogurt it can be stirred in later. After everything is well blended into a paste pour it over the chicken and mix it well. Put it into the refrigerator overnight or up to a few days.

On the day of cooking (this shouldn't be a weeknight unless you have 3-4 hours to devote to making this dish. Wash the basmati rice several times then soak it in cold tap water. This should soak for 30-60 minutes. After it is done soaking let it sit and drain for 15 minutes.

For the initial cooking of the rice we cook it like pasta in an excess of water. Bring 5 cups of water to a boil and add the 2 Cardamom pods, 1 stick cinnamon,  2 bay leaves, 2 cloves, a generous pinch of salt, and the drained rice. We're going to parboil the rice for 5 minutes until it is approximately half cooked. Drain the rice and discard the spices.

If you are going to make your own fried onions, add 3 Tb ghee to an oven safe large pot such as a dutch oven and fry your sliced onions for 8-10 minutes until they are crispy and golden brown. Add to this oil the rest of the whole spices (5 cardamom, 2 bay leaves, 2 cloves) and the mace and cumin. Stir until the spices are fragrant and start to change colors.

Add the marinated chicken to the spices and cook until all of the marinade is dried up and you can start coloring the chicken. (this is a very important step called Bhunao). If you don't do this most of the spices will die ignominiously and be completely flavorless until you bite into a rogue cardamom pod, plus there is a huge amount of liquid in the marinade which will turn your flavorless biryani into flavorless rice soup. This we learned from experience. It will take 30-40 minutes to reduce out all the water in the marinade. Take your time and do it right, unless you like flavorless rice soup.

When your chicken is browned and fully bhunao'ed add the last cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the chopped mint and cilantro on top of the chicken, then layer the parboiled rice on top of it. Finally drizzle the saffron.milk mixture on top of the rice. Seal the pot with tinfoil and put on a heavy lid. Traditionally this is sealed with a flour and water dough to be totally air tight. Bake it in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

After it is done fluff the rice with a fork and serve with fried onions and chopped almonds. If you happen to get this one right, please do feel very proud of yourselves. This is not an easy meal to make.

~NOM!

Navratan Korma

Glossary
Korma - Thick saucy dish which is finished with yogurt or heavy cream
Paneer - Indian Cheese in this preparation it is lightly fried before it is added to the mix. somehow it stayed solid through the frying and the stewing
Mawa or milk solids - I don't know what this is, we found it frozen with the paneer in an Indian grocery store the recipe didn't contain and directions how to prepare it so I just chopped it roughly, it sort of melts into the sauce
Navratan - Nine Gems this is a lucky number featured in lots of jewelry like:

Image borrowed from www.shahji.com 

We're going to try to make my sister's favorite Indian dish. I secretly figured this out by asking her what her favorite Indian dish is... no suspicions aroused.

I knew from the start that making Navratan Korma is going to be a hard sell... it's not exactly the most healthy Indian dish. The recipe I found is purported to be of the Royal Court of the Mughals. The variety of textures, flavors and the luscious gravy of this dish make it a real joy to eat and look at. I made a few small changes to the original increasing the amount of vegetables and omitting the almonds. Half-and-Half was substituted for cream as well.

1 T ground spice mix: 1 T (2 bay leaves, 3 green cardamom pods, 1/2 cinnamon stick, pinch mace, pinch cloves and pinch nutmeg, Toast them in a dry pan then grind them to a fine spice mix)

2 cups total of potatoes, carrots, cauliflower florets and green peas all cut into small cubes. (Well, except for the peas, of course.) Almost any vegetable can be substitutes or added to this list.

1/2 cup cubed paneer
1 Tb ghee
1 Tb Ginger paste
1 Tb Tomato paste with water added to become liquid
1 teas cumin
1 teas cayenne
1/2 cup cubed Pineapple
1/2 cup cubed Dry "fruits" A mix of raisins, almonds and walnuts
2 Tb Cashew nut paste (made by blending cashews with water)
1 Tb Pomegranates seeds
1/2 cup Mawa or milk solids : 1/2 cup (75g)
1 cup Milk
1 Tb Half and half
1/2 teas salt (or to taste)

Warm the Ghee in the pan and add the ground spices. When they are sizzling, add the paneer to lightly color, this will make them hold their shape in the final product. When the paneer is lightly browned, remove them from the oil and add in your 2 cups of vegetables. Cook on high until they get a little browned.

Next add the ginger paste and allow it to become fragrant and add the tomato paste, mix so that it coats all of the vegetables and allow it to brown lightly.

Add the cumin and cayenne to the mostly dry mixture, this should make it fairly spicy, more cayenne can be added if you want more heat.

Add the cashew nut paste and allow to simmer for 3-5 minutes. taste and salt well.

Roughly chop the Mawa and add it with the pineapple chunks sauté for several minutes until the mawa is blended in.

Add the milk and simmer on low covered until the vegetables are soft.

Add the paneer, allow them to heat through and finish with half and half, if the dish is too dry add a little more milk or water.

Serve over a bed of hot rice and garnish with the cilantro and pomegranate seeds. Those cool bursts are a real gem!  Yuk Yuk Yuk.

-Nom

(I forgot to add the ground spice mix at the beginning and I didn't want to add it into the simmering broth so I took advantage of another Indian technique called baghar which involves heating a little bit of oil in a pan and simmering the spices, to a extract all of their flavors, then this oil with all it's spices is added to finish a dish. It worked out very well in this dish, though I can't help thinking it might have been even better if I had done it correctly!)

"If I could never eat meat again, but I could eat this dish every single day, I would be happy" - Max

Curried Cauliflower

This is a good recipe for curried cauliflower. But it's not Murali's (my Indian-Singapore ex-roomate) mom's curried cauliflower. Which in addition to removing the lining of your mouth it was delightfully flavorful each bite a little balance of pleasure versus pain. I like this version, until I can beg the recipe off Murali it'll have to be good enough.

This is a fairly common dish in India. Sometimes Potato is mixed in during the cooking.

5 T oil
3 t cumin seed
2 t fennel seed
1 large onion
3 T ginger garlic paste
1 t turmeric
2 t Cayenne
2 t ground coriander
1 C water
1 small tomato
1 t salt
2 lb cauliflower
3 t Garam Masala
2 in ginger fine julienned
Cilantro for garnish

Heat the oil in a pan, add cumin and fennel seed, brown lightly. Add the onion, ginger garlic paste, turmeric, cayenne, coriander and tomato. Bhunao this mixture until the water is gone and the oil starts to leach from the food. Add a little bit of the water if it starts to burn.

Add the cauliflower and cook stirring until it starts to brown. and the rest of the water and cover, cook on medium heat for 10 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender.

-Nom!

Samosa

Samosas are relatively easy to make as long as you have all of the proper equipment to make them. They also can be bought frozen or even in the refrigerator of many Indian grocery stores. Out samosas are filled with the Traditional Potato Masala. However they can be filled as many ways as there are under the sun. A thick palak paneer, chickpea curry, masoor dal and rice.

For the dough

2 C AP flour
1/2 t salt
4 T oil
4 T + water
1 t oil

Mix the flour salt and oil in a bowl until it forms small pea like clumps. Then mix in the water slowly until it forms a stiff ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and hand kneed for 7 minutes or mix in a KitchenAid for 2-3 minutes. Lightly cover the ball with the 1 t oil and wrap tightly in plastic wrap for 30 minutes to rest at room temperature. This would be a good time to make your samosa filling.

Roll the dough out into a snake and divide into 8 even balls. On a floured surface roll each ball into a 7 inch round. Cut each round in half. Fold the semi-circle in half and use a little water to join the flat edges together. Now you should have a little cone. holding it in a loose fist. Fill it almost full, this will take practice to get right. the dough will stretch a little bit, but it will tear if you stretch too far. Use a little more water to seal the top of the cone closed. I like to use a fork to crimp the seams. This seems to work pretty well. Once it is sealed let them sit uncovered for a few minutes for the extra water to dry up and the seam to become well bonded.

Heat 3 inches of oil in a large pan to 325F you'll need a thermometer for this. If you just wing it you might end up with overly browned samosas. To test the oil take a small peice of bread and throw it in to pot it should be hissing and slowly turning brown over 40 second, if it's not hissing the oil is too cold and if it is browns faster then that the oil is too hot.

Cook samosas in small batches so you don't drop the heat of your oil too much, this will make for less oily samosas. Turn them frequently until they are golden brown. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Serve hot or at room temperature.

NOM!

Masoor Dal

As a devoted near-carnivore, a true lover of meat, the only thing I can say about this dish is... it's made of lentils... and I LOVE it. Definite meat replacement item here.

I think along with strong spices this is one of the secrets of the Indian vegetarian diet. Lentils, especially highly flavored thickly textured lentils like these give the same satiation as meat for me.

To the recipe!

1 cup brown lentils (dal)
1/4 cup orange split dal
4 Tb oil
large pinch fenugreek seeds
2 curry leaves
1/2 medium onion
2 small tomatoes finely chopped
1.5 Tb ginger garlic paste
1 teas cumin seeds
1/2 teas black mustard seeds
1/2 Tb cumin powder
1/2 Tb coriander powder
1/2 Tb cayenne
1/2 teas tumeric
1 teas salt to taste
Fresh chopped Cilantro
Lemon wedge to taste when garnishing

Rinse both the brown and orange lentils (dals) together and soak them in plenty of water for for 6 hours to overnight. In a large pot heat the oil add the curry leaves, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds. When they begin to crackle, add the onions.
Cook onions on medium heat till they are a light brown and then add the ginger-garlic paste. Mix well. Allow this mixture to bhunao lightly before adding the tomatoes. While the tomatoes are cooking remove the dal from the soaking water and reserve the soaking water for cooking. Add the dry spices, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and tumeric powders and allow to become fragrant. Add the drained dal and mix well. Add 2 cups of the soaking liquid back into the pan to cook with the dal for a mushier version and add 1 cup of the dal for a drier version

Add salt to taste Appx. 1 teaspoon.

Garnish with a lemon wedge and roughly chopped cilantro.

This can be eaten alone or with bread, or simply served over a bed of rice. It is the perfect vegetarian meal, heck it's even vegan! And believe me... it makes me shudder to even think that word.

-Nom!

Basmati Rice

Basmati rice is prepared much like other types of rice in asia. The main difference is after rinsing with 2-3 changes of water it can be soaked anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours then thoroughly drained usually set into a fine mesh colander and left to drain for 15 minutes. Then it's cooked in just enough water to thoroughly hydrate the rice.

1.5 cups of rice
2 3/4 cups water
1 t salt

After rinsing the rice well set into a pot and soak for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Sources say that the shorter the soak the easier the final product will break into shorter grains and will be more sticky. It's really a balance of time vs reward.

Bring the water, rice and salt to a boil in a saucepan. reduce heat the to lowest setting and cover with a tightly fitting lid. Cook for 10-12 minutes. after 10-12 minutes remove from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes covered.

Classic Chicken Curry

This is a classic chicken curry recipe, it's not very dynamic, but it's a good introduction for the curry shy and as long as you use the correct techniques it can be very delicious. The first time we made this was before learning how to Bhunao, which is the technique of lightly browning the spices with the onions and ginger garlic pastes. This heats the spices well beyond the boiling point of water which allows the aromatic oils in the spices to be released and to more fully infuse the dish.Without bhunao this dish is quite bland and lacking. It's like a soup without any salt in it. The flavor components are there but the overriding taste is more like cardboard then curry.

 1 lb boneless chicken cubed
2 T oil
1 large onion
2 T ginger garlic paste
2 t garam masala powder
1 t red chilli powder
1 t coriander powder
1 t cumin powder
1 stick cinnamon
1 c yogurt
3/4 C tomato puree
2 medium tomatoes diced
2 medium potatoes diced boiled and drained

Heat oil in a pan add onion, ginger garlic paste and cinnamon stick and saute for four to five minutes. Add the garam masala powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and chicken. Bhunao the mixture by reducing all of the water out of the vegetables and allowing them to stick to the pan lightly, if anything starts to burn add a few tablespoons of water and then repeat try to brown the chicken on all sides. Add the yogurt and tomato puree and diced tomatoes, bring it to a simmer do not boil it or you will make your chicken stringy and dry. Just a light simmer always for proteins. You can either add in the potatoes now or eat them on the side.

Not so Nommy yet.

-NOM!

Masala Yanks

Jessie and myself have been experimenting with indian food for a couple of weeks. One morning I was in the shower and thinking about making some of my killer hash browns when it hits me, Why don't I make Indian hash browns! Thus was born my first fusion dish... god that phrase even makes me shudder!

Why is it that great inspiration comes while in the bathroom? Sometimes I think the only time I'm truly creative is when I'm in there. 

Glossary
Aloo - Potato
Masala - cooked heavily with spices
Yanks - an american variety of hash browned potatoes.
Aloo Masala - This is a classic indian dish often used as stuffing for Dosas or Samosas.

So Jessie and myself have a very different idea of the right amount of oil to make hash browns with. Thus hers are a bitter cracked desert of wasted potato (This may not be an accurate description of her hash browns) while mine are a fluffy on the inside crunchy on the outside little plate of heaven.


This recipe is somewhere in between our two oilynesses, In fact Jessie would never use anywhere near this amount of oil to make regular hash browns, however, like in most Indian foods, large amounts of oil are absolutely necessary to properly distribute flavors from the spices and infuse them into the ingredients.

This is the minimum amount of oil you could use and still get good results (IMHO).

1 lb. New potatoes
1 t Ginger paste
½ a medium onion, grated
3 T Vegetable oil
½ T Garam Masala mix (see below)
Garnish with Riata (optional)
Salt

Cut the small potatoes in halves or quarters to make 2 inch chunks of potato. Put into a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer covered until a knife as very little resistance poking into the middle of the potatoes. Drain the potatoes.

Add the oil to a frying pan, add the onions and ginger paste. Cook on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes until the onions start to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the Garam Masala mix. Stir the spices into the oil and allow them to infuse the oil for a couple of minutes.

Add the drained potatoes to the onion spice mixture and smash the potatoes once with a cup or jar, this will give them a nice fractured texture. salt well at this point. Mix the pan well to coat all of the potatoes in spicy oil. Staying on medium heat, allow the potatoes to brown on the bottom without stirring for 3-4 minutes, then turn them and allow the other side to brown. Pour onto a plate and serve. You could garnish with riata or eat plain.

- NOM!

Masala Crusted Tilapia

This is delicious! Very easy and quick. I am going to be keeping this spice mixture on hand to sprinkle on fish on a whim! We often make quick meals of fish fillets and rice. I have found a new twist. Nom Nom Nom. Tilapia is a very versatile fish, it has very little flavor of its own but takes on other flavors very well. Kind of like chicken.

4 tilapia fillets
2 T oil
wedge of lime

Indian Blackening Seasoning
1 T cayenne
2 t garlic salt
2 t toasted and ground cumin seed
2 t toasted and gound fennel seed
2 t garam masala
1 t salt

Coat tilapia fillets in blackening seasoning, we let them rest for 30 minutes for the flavors to seep in. Fry fish on medium heat in the oil. Flip gingerly. When it's done all the way through, carefully plate the fish and squeeze some lime juice over it. Enjoy! Serve with steamed rice.

For a healthier option you can bake it in the over at 375 for 10 minutes, flip half way through.

-NOM!

Notes on technique: Baghar and Bhunao

 Baghar AKA Tadka or Chonk (instant flavoring or Tempering) 

This is one technique that is fairly unique to Indian cooking, whole spices are dropped into oil to infuse. this technique is called Baghar, Tadka or Chonk.

1. Heat oil quite hot but not so hot that it starts to smoke and then drop in whole spices which then release their flavors into the oil.
2. Larger harder spices like stick cinnamon, and star anise can be added first. (stir constantly)
3. Once the larger spices have started to swell and and change color. (stir constantly)
4. cardamom can be added, and shortly thereafter (stir constantly)
5. Smaller spices like fennel seed, cumin or coriander seed can be added last and will only cook for 30 seconds depending on the heat of the oil. (stir constantly)
6. Stir constantly until the smallest spices are fragrant and have darkened in color.
7. Remove from heat.

The purpose of this technique is twofold, to infuse the oil with as much of the flavor from the spices as possible, and to toast and brown the spices themselves which will further develop new flavors in the spices which will infuse the oil.

When baghar (translated as instant flavorings or tempering) is performed correctly there is a physical change in the spices, they will become toasted and more brown, dry spices will uncurl and expand slightly, and the smell will change from a raw spice flavor to a more intense toasted flavor.

Remember to heat your oil before adding your spices, add from the most hardy to the smallest spices, wait for the color change and smell change before moving on in the recipe.

This technique can be used in two different ways, either use the oil in the pan to cook other ingredients or to pour the oil over a completed dish to add another kick of flavor at the end.

Bhunao (sautee)
This is not a French sautee, although it is similar up to a point. Almost all curries and thick sauce dishes use this method of cooking at one point or another. To develop a great Indian sauce this technique is paramount!

1. Oil or ghee is heated in a frying pan (sometimes Baghar(see above) is performed to flavor the oil first). Then wet ingredients are added, it could be vegetables or marinated meat.

2. These ingredients are then cooked over a hot flame to reduce to a thick paste. stir occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed and heating evenly.

3. Once its lost almost all of it's liquid, you can reduce the heat to medium or medium high. Stirring every so often and allowing the paste to lightly stick to the bottom of the pan, then scraping it off with a spatula.

4. Once it begins to stick so much that you can't lightly scrape it off you drop a few tablespoons of liquid into the pot until the stuck parts will dissolve while you mix and scrape them (deglazing the stuck on foods)

5. This is then mixed into the rest of the paste and you then let the excess liquid evaporate.

6. Repeat the sticking and deglazing 3-4 times.

The real key is to let it stick a little bit and actually brown, just like you let meat brown to get that delicious brown outer crust. The more times you repeat this process and the deeper the browning the more deep and flavorful your paste will become. Just don't let it burn!

This can be done with any liquid that is being added to be pot such as tomato puree, broth or water.

Notes for food nerds

While Bhunao sautéing breaks the rules for a true french sauté it's actually a process that is intrinsic to Cajun and Creole cooking. This cooking tradition uses the exact same process for cooking sauces and bases for stews and thick dishes like gumbo, jambalaya, etc.

The browning and maturing of the spices in the Baghar process as well as the browning of the vegetables and marinades are both a result of a Maillard reaction, named after the chemist Louis-Camille Maillard. This process is  a very complicated synthesis of organic flavor compounds created by the reaction of sugars with amino acids. They form a vast array of flavor compounds that as of yet haven't been adequately studied. However, they taste... awesome. These are behind some of your favorite cooking flavors, browned meats, toasted bread, toasted marshmellows, maple syrup, roasted coffee, French fries, etc.

Notes on Equipment

There are a few essential pieces of equipment that I think are absolutely necessary to cook traditional Indian food.

Blender/food processor/emulsion blender
A lot of the sauces and gravies use onions as a base and they need to be pureed to get the textures right.

Spice grinder
I bought a cheap coffee blender at big box store X 20 bucks will get you a nice model. I would not suggest doing double duty with a coffee grinder. you'll just end up with funny tasting coffee and funny tasting indian food.

Good Sharp Knives
Really this is essential for any sort of cooking, but Indian food usually has a large number of ingredients and a lot of prep work. You're going to be doing a lot of chop chop chopping. I would suggest getting a nice set of knives or sharpening up your current knifes. 


Pictures of these neat pieces of Equipment
Less essential for cooking Indian food but more essential for me writing about cooking Indian food. I'm going through a break-up and don't have access currently to these lovely pieces of equipment to take pictures of them. This will be remedied some day. I will just have to trust everyone out there to know what these things are.