Well, I am not Gina, as you can plainly see, so I hope you don't mind my reply.

I love Chicken Korma although I don't have one particular recipe. I do like it to have plenty of sauce to clean up with naan. I wish it were not so high in calories, though.

If someone has a favorite recipe, I'd be happy to see it.

Who is the former poster of Indian descent?

I really enjoy Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. Her turkey kebabs are my favorite but I couldn't find the recipe online. She is coming out with a new cookbook later this year .

I may remove the former poster comment after this thread gets going. Two days ago a woman introduced herself and started a thread about your "go to" ingredients. The kind of stuff you use everyday. That thread got quite a bit of interest. About 10 minutes after she started that thread, she commented on the Easter dinner thread. In that thread she included a link that was spam.

Anyhow there was enough interest in the ingredient thread and the fact that she was from India - that I thought maybe we should have a thread dedicated just to Indian food.

Teresa

Many of my friends would tell me that the biggest obstacle hindering them from trying Indian recipes at home was the long ingredient list. However, once you stock your pantry with a few commonly used spices, it is much easier. Cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and red pepper are repeated in many of the dishes.

Oh, I missed that. Too bad, as it would have been nice to have a genuine and sincere Indian person (living in India) join us. I always enjoy different cultural perspectives.

Someone (I believe it was Ann T) posted their favorite Indian cookbook, but I did not write it down, and now I am ready to buy one. I already have most of the ingredients necessary and can replace them easily enough, as there are several Indian markets close by.

My start in Indian cooking began with buying some spice mixes, and I learned quickly not to buy any from Pakistan, as those are mostly salt and cayenne, whereas the ones from India have more of the aromatic spices. From this start, I began adding more of the spices I preferred to the dishes, making something similar, but more suited to my tastes. I have bought several brands of garam masala and curry powder, both of which are already spice mixes, and I keep tumeric, fennel, and fenugreek. I have always had cumin and coriander on hand for other recipes - the coriander I get from my cilantro plants when they go to seed. I've always had cardamom on hand, but now I buy it in the pods, and the flavor is definitely different.

I think it would be helpful to have recipes for various spice mixes that one could make ahead of time and then use when needed, such as masala, gobi aloo, tandoori, etc.

I used to post on the "Another Subcontinent" forum (see link below), and a group of us toured southern Indian restaurants in Little India (Artesia), Orange County.

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: Indian food forum

Here is my Butter Chicken, from a Madhur Jaffrey cookbook. You start with Tandoori Chicken, and butter it up from there. If you have access to an Indian grocer, you can buy the Tandoori masala, which is a bit easier than making your own.

Chicken Makkhani (Butter Chicken)

1 recipe of tandoori chicken as below
4 Tbsp tomato paste + water to make 1 c.
1 cubic inch of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 1/4 c. 10% cream
1 tsp garam masala (or curry powder)
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1 fresh hot green chilli, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne (or to taste)
1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh green coriander
4 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground roasted cumin seeds
1/2 cup unsalted butter

Combine tomato paste, water, ginger, cream, garam masala, salt, sugar, green chilli, cayenne, green coriander, lemon juice and ground cumin. Mix well. (These can be prepared in advance and refrigerated until needed)

Prepare tandoori chicken. Heat butter in wide sauté pan or large frying pan. When melted, add combined liquid ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook on medium heat for a minute, whisking in the butter as you do so. Add the chicken pieces (but not any accumulated juices), Stir once and put chicken pieces on a warm serving platter. Spoon sauce over top and serve immediately.

Tandoori Chicken

Combine 2 Tbsp tandoori masala with 2 Tbsp plain yogurt, 2 Tbsp lemon juice & 2 Tbsp veg oil. Marinate 1 kg skinless chicken parts (or use somewhat less boneless chicken) for 6-8 hrs minimum. Make a few gashes into the flesh of the chicken and rub the marinade into these for maximum infused flavour. Grill over HOT coals until done OR bake on a rack in 450F oven for about 30 min.

Tandoori Masala
1 tsp Garlic (Lasun) Powder
1 tsp ground Ginger (Adrak)
1 tsp Cloves (Lavang) Powder
1/2 tsp grated Nutmeg (Jaiphal)
1 tsp Mace Powder (Javitri)
11/2 tblsp Cumin (Jeera) Powder
2 tblsp ground Corriander (Dhania)
1 tsp Fenugreek (Methi) Powder
1 tsp ground Cinnamon (Tuj/Dalchini)
1 tsp fresh ground Black Pepper (Kalimirchi)
1 tsp ground brown Cardamom (Elaichi) Seeds
2 tsp Red Food colouring

I've enjoyed this one posted by Bobby's friend Pranjal...

Hope you enjoy this one; doesn't need too many things; for me, a healthy dose of patience is required especially because I skip the garnishing part, I just want to eat it straightaway!
Ingredients:
4 cups freshly cooked rice (preferably long-grain; you may add a bit of garam masala when cooking)
2 medium sized onions, finely chopped
1/2 cup tomato puree (or 2 tomatoes, chopped)
500gm medium or large shrimp
1/2t garam masala pwd
Cooking oil
Salt, to taste

For the masala paste:
Grind into a thick paste(use very little water):
3 green chillies
1 cup coriander leaves
1 inch ginger
10-12 cloves of garlic

Heat oil in a pan and saut� the shrimp; as it turns pink, add onion, fry for 4-5 minutes. Add masala paste and cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add tomato and salt and let reduce until it is the consistency of thick gravy.

Mix the shrimp gravy and cooked rice in a pot, sprinkle garam masala powder on top, cover the pot tightly and cook on low heat for 5-8 minutes.

Notes:
-Rice may be cooked in chicken stock/shrimp stock
-The cooked rice should be warm/hot when mixing; helps with the last step
-The pilaf could be arranged in layers too; begin with shrimp at the bottom, topmost layer rice
-Small shrimp will get overcooked; med/large are best
-Garnish with herbs of choice/boiled eggs
-Raita goes well with this pilaf

Pranjal

I found an old thread about Indian Food Cookbooks:
http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/cooking/msg0321331231602.html

In that thread I mention that I have an Indian Cookbook that I haven't found very useful, since many times I'll find a recipe that looks interesting only to read further to where the recipe says: "first make your own raw cheese using the following process..." or "now simmer for 24 hours" or "cook outdoors in a clay oven"

When I make Indian Food I usually make several dishes: A chicken curry or a vegetarian curry, a lentil dish, a spinach dish (posted below) as well as Indian Rice, Faux Naan, and Raita, I will often cut corners on one or more of the dishes to make preparation faster. For instance rather than making my own raw cheese, for the Paneer I use a block of Feta cut into cubes.

Curried Spinach with Feta Cheese
my version of Palak Paneer

Serves six to eight
16 oz frozen chopped spinach
1 cup water
4 Tbsp Patak’s mild curry paste
1 stick butter
1 Tbsp mint chutney
1 Tbsp sweet mango chutney
4 oz feta cheese (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)

Put spinach and water in large pot, heat uncovered over medium heat until spinach is thawed and simmering. Add curry paste, mint chutney and mango chutney, continue to stir and simmer for about 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat, add feta cubes, stir thoroughly and serve with basmati rice and/or lightly toasted pita bread.
If you cannot find the mint chutney you can substitute 2 tsp dried spearmint leaves.

Lars, I have a number of Indian cookbooks, including Madhur Jaffrey cookbooks. But my favourite is Julie Sahni's Classic Indian Cooking.

I love Indian breads, especially Naan, but it is impossible to make a "real" naan without a tandoori oven, so I usually make chapati to go with a curry dinner.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Simple Chicken Curry
Source: Julie Sahni

Chicken pieces (Legs and thighs)Remove Skin
2 large onions
2 cloves of garlic
1 inch piece of ginger root
4 black or 8 green cardamon pods
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups chopped tomatoes
1 teaspoon cumin (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups chicken broth
salt
pepper
fresh cilantro
.

Saute the onions in vegetable oil (about 1/4 cup). Cook until they turn
light brown, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add garlic, ginger
and the spices. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes over low
heat. Do not burn.

Add chicken and cook turning to coat well with the spices. Add the
tomatoes and some chicken broth. Cover and cook until chicken is
tender. Serve with Basmati rice and sprinkle with fresh cilantro.

Meat Curry Adapted from Classic Indian Cooking 3 pounds lean boneless beef (or lamb) 2 large onions 4 cloves of garlic 1 inch piece of ginger root 1 tablespoon turmeric 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon cumin (or more to taste) 2 tablespoons ground coriander 2 cups chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned) 2 cups beef broth salt pepper 2 large russet potatoes chopped fresh cilantro Heat oil over high heat in heavy pan. When hot add the meat and brown well. Just a few pieces at a time. Do not over crowd the pan. Remove meat from pan. Add more oil and saute the chopped onions, stirring often, until they turn a dark brown. Be careful not to burn. Takes about 20 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and cook for a minute, add the spices. Cook until they give up their fragrance (just a few seconds). Return the meat to the pan, along with the tomatoes, salt and beef broth. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until meat is tender. Add the potatoes and continue cooking until the potatoes are tender. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice and Chapati. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Chapati Adapted from Classic Indian Cooking. 2 cups whole wheat flour 1 cup all purpose flour salt 1 cup warm water extra flour for dusting rolling surface Note: Recipe can be adjusted. Just keep the ratio of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour at 2 to 1. ie. 1 cup whole wheat, 1/2 cup all purpose. . Place flour in food processor and add salt. Mix well. Slowly add warm water and process until flour forms a soft dough. Knead in the machine for 50 to 60 seconds. Wrap in plastic and let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes. Knead dough again and divide into equal size balls , approximately 20 to 24 depending on size. Dust with flour and cover with plastic wrap to prevent drying out. Roll each ball into a thin 7 to 8 inch circle. Heat heavy frying pan and place chapati on pan and bake until small brown spots appear. Flip over being careful not to puncture. Cook of flip side and then remove and place directly on to the gas flame. Bread will puff up. If you don't have a gas burner then skip this process. Butter Chapatis, roll and wrap in a clean teatowel and place in low oven to keep warm while you cook the remaining Breads. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Cauliflower and Potato Curry Adapted from Classic Indian Cooking. 1 small head of cauliflower 3 russett potatoes 1/2 cup oil 1 small onion chopped 1 clove of garlic minced 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon cumin powder 2 tablespoons ground coriander 1/4 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 to 2 teaspoons grated ginger 1 cup finely chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned) 2 to 3 cups of chicken broth Fresh chopped coriander (Same as cilantro) . Break cauliflower into about 1 1/2 inch pieces. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1 1/2 to 2 inch pieces Heat the oil over medium heat and when hot add the onions and saute until golden, add garlic and cumin seeds. Cook for a minute or two. Do not burn. Add the rest of the spices. Stir and add the potatoes and the cauliflower. Toss with the spices and cook for a few minutes and then add the grated ginger, tomatoes and chicken broth. Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender. Turn off heat and add chopped coriander (cilantro leaves)

Theresa --> thanks for starting the post. I love indian food! Obviously :)

ann_t --> I am blown away by the pics! That phulka chapathi on the flames is as good as any I have seen being done by indian cooks. You are so talented.

I second the recommendation for Julie Sahni's book. I like some of Madhur Jaffrey's recipes but sometimes find the recipes a little light on directions and not specific enough.

The indian foodies have exploded into the blog scene and here are some really good ones. I love the video blogs as watching the videos helps translate the techniques and textures much better.

Manjula's Kitchen --> Try gatte ki kadhi and zucchini rice
Showme the curry --> The toaster tandoori rotis are surprisingly good. The palak paneer is good too.
Sanjeev Kapoor --> He is india's TV celebrity chef.
Vahrehvah --> Some of these recipes are good.

My one crib is that the focus on indian cuisine is mostly northern indian which is heavily influenced by mughal/ persian style use of dried spices.

I am from south india and the style of cooking is quite different. Rice is the stable grain not wheat. This is more akin to thai and laos style cooking. The spices are mostly used fresh and a lot of herbs like curry leaves.

Here is a recipe for Pongal, a risotto like dish with rice and split mung lentils spiced with ginger and green chillis and clarified butter. I make this quite mild with just a hint of spices and it is brilliant with just plain yogurt. If you have a presurre cooker even faster.

PONGAL (this is from tamil nadu and is the savory version. There is also a sweet dessert version that is made with palm sugar)

Ingredients

1 cup white rice. Short grain rice that is more sticky works well.
1/2 cup yellow mung dal (split and skinned dal)
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
1/8 teaspoon asafoetida
1 teaspoon whole pepper corns
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
4-5 curry chopped leaves (when chopped releases essential oils)
2 tablespoons halved cashew nuts
2 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter (climber 3 tbps of unsalted butter until it is the color of pale honey.
2 tablespoons oil
Salt to taste

Heat a pan on medium heat and roast the yellow mung dal until a lightly roasted aroma is released. Don't let it turn brown or burn.
Wash rice and mix with the roasted dal. Add 4 cups of water and salt to taste. Cook using the pressure cookeror in a pot. This will cook soft like almost a thick oatmeal.
Place a small heavy bottomed pan on medium heat; add the oil and roast the peppercorns for a few seconds. Add cumin seeds, ginger, curry leaves, pepper powder, asafoetida and saute for a few more seconds. Turn off heat and set aside.
Now heat 1/2 teaspoon of ghee in a small pan and roast the cashew nuts until pale golden and crisp.
Once the rice-dal mixture is cooked; add the roasted spices and the cashew nuts to the rice-dal mixture. Add the remaining ghee and mix till the spices have blended well into the rice. Ghee enhances the flavor of this dish. If you don't have ghee, just melt and cook half a cube of unsalted butter until it is slightly browned and you have ghee. Serve hot. Plain yogurt is a pleasant accompaniment.

Here is a recipe for a coconut milk curry that is very mild and goes well with plain rice

OLAN (recipe from Kerala)
Coconut Milk stew with pumpkin and black eyed peas

KERALA OLAN RECIPE

Ingredients:
3/4 cup black-eyed peas
1-2 cup pumpkin, cubed in 1in chunks. I also use butternut squash, winter melon etc. The amount of vegetables depends on how soupy you want it to be.
1-3 green chillies (depending on how spicy you like it and how hot your chilli is)
1can of coconut milk
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Salt to taste
To season at the end:
2 tsp coconut oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds (black or brown)
4 shallots sliced thin (optional). I usually skip this as DD prefers it without
A few curry leaves (just crumble in your hand before adding to release the essential oil fragrance)
Method:
1. Soak the black eyed peas for atleast 5 hours and cook till tender. I use a pressure cooker sometimes. Set aside.

2. In a pot, add the cubed pumpkin, butternut squash, winter melon etc. Slit green chillies, and add along with turmeric powder and a little bit salt into a pan with enough water to cover and let it cook just until tender. Don't let the vegetables get mushy. This shouldn't take more than 5-7 mins.

3. Add the black eyed peas and 1/2 cup coconut milk to the cooked pumpkin pieces. At this stage, adjust water so that the curry is not too watery or dry. Ideally, there should be enough liquid to cover the pieces. Cook until it just begins to boil.
   4. Add the rest of the coconut milk, taste and adjust for salt and heat through for not more than 2 mins. Remove from fire.

5. In a separate skillet, heat the coconut oil until you can smell it and add all the mustard seeds. It will start to pop. (tip: use one seed to see if the oil is hot enough, it should pop immediately. Use a splatter screen or a lid to avoid being splattered. Toss in the curry leaves (lightly crushed with hands and add this on top of the curry. If using shallots, add it right after the curry leaves and sautee. Once the shallots turn a golden brown, add it to the curry. Mix well and serve hot with white, thai red or brown rice.

I like Indian food, and I've cooked a bit out of one of M. Jaffrey's cookbooks as well as Julie Sahni's cookbook--but I must confess the Indian dish I make the most is from Lorna Sass's 'Pressure Perfect'. BTW, Lars, here's a nice one to try out that new pressure cooker.

It's so simple that I'm afraid an Indian gourmet might scoff at it, but it sure is good, quick, and easy.

Curry in a Hurry

This recipe from Lorna Sass’s Pressure Perfect is a quick and easy way to make a pretty tasty curry. You can make it with chicken, beef, lamb or pork, and vary the hotness by using mild or hot curry paste (Patak's makes both). 2 tablespoons of mild curry paste makes a pleasant-but-wimpy curry; 4 tablespoons of mild paste makes it pleasantly zingy; 4 tablespoons of hot curry paste makes it very hot, near my limit of tolerance (and I really like hot food). I generally use 2 tablespoons of hot and 2 tablespoons of mild curry paste. If you don’t want to mess with the yogurt, peas and cilantro, don’t bother--the dish will still be very tasty, but the sauce won’t be as rich or velvety-smooth. ( I personally don’t like cilantro, so I don’t use it.) The recipe calls for 3 pounds of bone-in chicken; I find it easier to use about 2 or 2.5 pounds of boneless skinless chicken thighs. --Once you get the pressure cooker up to pressure, make a pot of rice. By the time the rice is done, so is this.

1 cup water
4 tablespoons Patak’s Mild Curry Paste
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 pounds bone-in skinless chicken thighs or breasts, or 2-2.5 lbs boneless skinless thighs, or 2 lbs. other meat (see chart below)

1 cup plain yogurt
1 ½ cup frozen peas
3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped (optional)

Pour the water into a 4-qt or larger pressure cooker and blend in the curry paste. Place on high heat and add the onion and meat of your choice.
Lock the lid in place. Over high heat bring up to high pressure. Reduce the heat just enough to maintain high pressure and cook for the time indicated in the chart. Turn off the heat. Allow the pressure to come down naturally. (If cooking chicken, release any remaining pressure after 4 minutes.) Remove the lid, tilting it away from you to allow steam to escape. If the chicken or meat isn’t tender, cover again and simmer until done.
If necessary, skim off the fat that rises to the surface or degrease the broth in a fat separator. Blend the yogurt into 1 cup of the broth. Stir the peas into the curry and simmer until they are defrosted, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and stir the yogurt mixture into the curry. Stir in the cilantro and salt to taste. Serve in bowls over rice.

Meat choices and Cooking times

Chicken (see notes above) 8 minutes high pressure, 4 minutes of natural release, then quick release

Beef (boneless chuck, 1” cubes) 8 minutes high pressure, then natural release

Pork shoulder (1” cubes) 8 minutes high pressure, then natural release

Lamb (boneless, 1” cubes) 12 minutes high pressure, then natural release

If using beef, pork or lamb, trim off excess fat and cut the meat into approximately 1” cubes before cooking..

Thanks, Arley - that looks like something I would like to make, but I think I will try other Indian recipes in my new PC as well. I can imagine that it would make the chicken very moist and tender. I have cilantro growing in my yard, and so I would not omit that ingredient. I harvested some yesterday for the beans that I made, but I still have a lot. It doesn't grow well in the summer (unless kept in partial shade), but I do have some new plants coming up as well. I always keep frozen peas on hand as well, and I have chicken breasts in the freezer. I also have curry paste, but I don't know which brand it is.

I'm saving other recipes, especially the chicken ones, for future use. I want to make the Chapati as well!

Lars

Okay, all of you make me feel so lazy, lol. Usually the most I do is open a jar of spicy vindaloo marinade from one of our many local Middle East markets and marinate a leg of lamb roast for a full 24 hrs.

There's dozens of Indian/Pakistani/Afghani restaurants in our area, although only a few of them are really good. For us it's easier to go out for dal, aloo gobhi, dumba karahi, and as much raita and cilantro chutney as we can manage.

Lately we've been into Ethiopian food. There's a huge number of Ethiopians and Eritreans in our area with over 20 restaurants devoted to these two (slightly different) cuisines, within a 15-mile area. They make excellent yellow curries and spicy red curries, and it's a great change to eat these with injera, the spongy sourdough crepe that serves as their bread. Like Indian cuisine, the vegetarian dishes are varied and delicious - we especially love gommen (braised collard greens), buticha (seasoned chickpea salad), and kik alicha (braised cabbage, carrots and potatoes in turmeric sauce) as accompaniments to a good chicken or lamb curry.

Good idea. Here is the butter chicken recipe:

Butter Chicken (Indian Chicken in Tomato Cream Sauce)
Recipe courtesy Carla Fitzgerald Williams, Rotisserie Chickens to the Rescue!, Hyperion Books, 2003

Spice Blend:
1 tablespoon garam masala seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Sauce:
3 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes in juice
1 skinless rotisserie chicken, boned out and pulled into 1 1/2 by 1/2-inch chunks
1 (10-ounce) box frozen peas, placed in a colander and run under hot water to thaw
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Hot basmati rice, for serving
Pita bread, warmed according to package directions, for serving

To make the spice blend: Stir the ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

To make the sauce: Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until the pieces just begin to turn gold, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste and spice blend, and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly to prevent burning. The spices will be fragrant. Add the tomato sauce and diced tomatoes and stir will. Add the chicken pieces, spoon the sauce over the top and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is warmed through and the sauce is flavorful, about 10 minutes. Stir frequently.

Add the peas and cream to the sauce in the pan, stir well and heat through. Do not boil.

Serve with rice and warmed pita bread.

Serves 4

====================================

I also saved an old thread that Joe (gardenguru) posted full of Indian recipes. I will post it in its own thread. I haven't seen him in ages.

I make curries a lot but I never follow a recipe for it.

I also go out for Ethiopean and Eritrean food, as there are plenty of restaurants within 5 to 7 miles of me, and two are about a mile away that I especially like. The good thing about Ethiopean restaurants is that they tend to be cheaper than the Indian restaurants, except for the take out Indian delicatessens. Kevin often brings Indian food home from his lunch leftovers, but I like to make the Indian food myself because I like it better the way I make it. I have not found it necessary to adjust Ethiopean recipes, as I tend to like them just as they are in the restaurants. For me, the Indian spice blends need to be adjusted - not always - but often enough that I like to make them myself.

I have yet to make injera bread, but if I do start making it, I probably won't go to the Ethiopean restaurants as often. I have a good African cook book but have not made that many recipes from it yet. I'm looking for some new Jamaican restaurants because I like the way they make goat.

Lars

This post was edited by publickman on Tue, Apr 2, 13 at 20:06

I have tried injera a couple of times and I found it hard. I make fermented batter recipes like dosa all the time but this was not a success. I have to give this another try.

However here is a recipe for Adai(spicy lentil crepes) which is a dish from southern india.

ADAI (Spicy Lentil Crepe)
Adai is a wonderful crepe that is made with a rice/ lentil batter. I'm calling it a crepe, because it is made by spreading a batter on a griddle and cooked like a crepe. It is not thin like a crepe but thicker and firmer. I hesitate to refer it as Lentil pancake, it is nothing like a pancake.
This is a very easy recipe as the measurements really do not have to be precise. As long as the batter consistency is quite thick, it works.

Here is the version my grandma taught me. The quantity can be sized up or down. Just keep the ratio of rice to lentil mix 1:1
1 cup rice. I have used red rice, brown rice, short grain rice and basmati. All works.
1 cup of lentils (I usually do 2/3 cups yellow Toor Dal (split pigeon peas), 1/4 cup Channa Dal (split and skinned black chickpeas) and scant amount of skinned urad dal to fill the cup)
2-3 dried red chillies. Feel free to swap one green chilli instead of one red chilli.
10 curry leaves
1 inch of peeled ginger, chopped into small pieces.
Pich of Asafoetida
Salt to taste

Method:

To make the batter:
Soak the rice and dal for 3-4 hours. Drain and add to the blendar or food processor. Blend everything together with just enough of the soaking water to make a thick coarse batter . Make sure not to over blend, just give it a good whirr a couple of times and that's it. The batter should be coarse to touch and the lentils shouldn’t become pasty. Think a very coarse pepper grind for texture. This texture is necessary to makes the adais crisp. Once the batter is ready, you can make adais immediately or the next day. The batter stores very well in the fridge for upto 2 weeks.

Now to make adais: Heat a heavy griddle or skillet till it is hot. Test for heat by sprinkling a few drops of water which should sizzle immediately. Add a scant teaspoon of high smoke point cooking oil and smear around with a spatula or a wadded up paper towel. Pour about ½ cup of batter on the skillet and immediately spread into a circle. If the batter is very dense, you may need to pat with your fingers. It will be flat and somewhat thick. Just spread it as flat as you can. Make a finger sized hole in the center with the tip of the spatula or a spoon handle. Add a few drops of oil in the hole and around the edges of the adai. Once the edges are a bit crisp and bottom is cooked to a light golden brown (around 3-4 mins), flip over and cook the other side.
Other optional extras: Finely chopped vegetables are excellent additions to the batter. Try cabbage, onion, broccoli, kale and collards, fresh grated coconut, fenugreek or methi leaves. I add up to 1 cup of finely grated vegetables to 1 cup of batter. Lesser for denser veggies like broccoli and cabbage. Mix well into the batter and make as above.

IMHO, a good heavy griddle and maintaining the heat is important.

Gina W started another thread with Joe's Indian Recipes. I am linking it here. If someone does a search for Indian food - and are unaware of Joe - everything will be in one thread.

Here is a link that might be useful: Gardenguru1950 - Joe's Indian Recipes

GWlolo, thank you.

I really like the idea of your lentil crepe. How do you serve it? Is is a side or on its own?

Would you also share the recipe for your Dosa?

~Ann

Ann ->

It is traditionally served on its own. It works well with a yogurt based side like a simple raita that is not spiced with any masala. My family likes it best with plain yogurt. My daughter likes mini adais in her lunchbox. My irish friend made it and she served it cut up in little wedges as an appetizer :) If you try it, I would love to hear how it turned out. One note about the urad dal. This dal's property is to soften the batter, so too much of it will make the batter too goopy. Just a couple of t-spoons is enough to condition the batter.

I will look up my recipe for dosa and post as well.

GWlolo - have you made Methi Thepla (fresh fenugreek flat breads)? One of my favorite vendors at the Minneapolis Farmer's Market decided to start selling bunches of fresh fenugreek a couple of years ago. I could not believe how the Indian customers lined up for it. So I got in line and asked the woman in front of me how to use it.

She said it made good tea, the fresh leaves were great in hot cooked rice - but I should try making Methi Thepla. She did not have exact amounts of ingredients and told me to Google it. I viewed a number of videos and recipes. I am linking the recipe I ended up using. I love to eat the breads on their own or with a yogurt dip. But I have also eaten them wrapped around spicy chicken, diced tomatoes and cucumbers.

I can't wait until my vendor friend is selling it again - and my kitchen remodel is done!

Teresa

Here is a link that might be useful: Honest Cooking Magazine - Methi Thepla

I posted this message a couple of months back:

A week ago my wife had invited a friend over to watch the season premiere of Downton Abbey, with dinner before hand. At about 4:30 in the afternoon she reminded me that her friend is a vegetarian, since we had just returned from Christmas/New Years I didn't have much in the house. I thought of Indian, but had no cauliflower, or chick peas, or potatoes, or spinach in the house.

I did however have two packets of "Truly Indian Delhi Dal Makhani" and two of "Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes" and decided to forge on, and the results turned out better than I could have hoped.

I made "Indian Rice", Dal, a vegetable curry and some tandoori chicken for the non-vegetarians.

The Dal was the easiest, since I chopped an onion, sauteed it, and just added the pre-made packets, and simmered.

The "Indian Rice" was Basmati Rice with a pinch of tumeric and several whole cloves, tossed in the rice cooker.

The vegetable curry was the real winner.

Vegetable Curry

1 Tbsp oil
1 large onion (chopped)
1 large Sweet potato (3/4" cubes)
1 Tbsp Curry powder
1 15oz can diced tomatoes (drained)
1 Tbsp Mild Curry Paste
2 packets "Tasty Bite Bombay Potatoes"
1/3 cup frozen peas

Saute the onion in oil, and boil the sweet potato cubes in water, for about 8 minutes. Drain the sweet potatoes and add them to the onion, add the curry powder and saute another 5 minutes.

Next add the tomatoes, the curry paste, the Bombay potato packets, and the peas. Bring to a low simmer for 10 to 20 minutes. Serve with rice and Dal.

(I was going to title the recipe, POOF Vegetable Curry using the acronym that sometimes used here for "Pulled-Out-Of-Fridge" but realized that except for the frozen peas, everything was Pulled-Out-Of-Pantry and that acronym really doesn't work.)

For someone that wants to try Indian food but doesn't want to make a big investment in new spices, I wanted to suggest this Kitchens of India paste for butter chicken. It's much better than the bottled sauces and very simple to make. The paste is packed in a foil packet that you squeeze into your pan. My local grocery store has them in the international foods aisle.

Ingredient list: Tomato Paste, Water, Sunflower Oil, Spices, Onion, Garlic, Gram Flour, Sugar, Salt, Skimmed Milk Powder, Fresh Ginger, Melon Seed, Cashew & Spice Extract (Paprika Oleoresin).

Here is a link that might be useful: Butter chicken paste

"...once you stock your pantry with a few commonly used spices, it is much easier. Cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and red pepper are repeated in many of the dishes."

Does anyone use a dabba? It seems so much better than opening and closing 6 or 7 spice containers every time you make a recipe. When I first experimented with Indian cooking I bought a case of small canning jars for that purpose but it is pretty tedious to deal with all the separate screw caps. With a dabba you have just the one lid.

Jim

Here is a link that might be useful: Dabba

Great thread.
I haven't tried a lot of Indian food, but have liked pretty much most of what I have tried.
I just can't eat it super spicy,
Looking forward to trying some of these recipes.

Paneer is EASY - here is how to make it in the microwave. This is my preferred method nowadays. I use a 4 qt Pyrex bowl and do half a gallon at a time. Curdling it with yogurt only seems to work any more with home-made yogurt, which I haven't made in years. I can't seem to get good organic yogurt with the proper live cultures any more, so I've reverted to just using the white vinegar.

http://barbariansatthekitchengate.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/paneer-revisited-another-reason-to-love-your-microwave/

Not only do I use a dabba, I use TWO! One is the traditional metal dabba with all metal cups inside; the other is a Lock&Lock version which is slightly larger. I put my whole seed spices in the metal one and my ground spices in the Lock & Lock version, on the premise that the inner plastic lid and the Lock & Lock seal provides a better - well, SEAL, and preserves the ground spices better. The flavor is far more subject to oxidation/degradation in the ground vs whole spices so I want to protect them better.

I put little labels on each inner container because some spices look similar enough in the ground state that I want to be sure what they are. Also my son (rarely) cooks and he often can't tell a spice by sight or smell alone. It's better to have them marked.

After many years of always buying my cumin and coriander both whole and ground, I no longer buy these spices pre-ground. It got to the place where I could not tell the difference between commercially ground cumin and commercially ground coriander at all. So I started roasting and grinding these from whole seed and there is now a night-and-day difference. The cumin is noticeably better, but the coriander is just a universe away from the pre-ground stuff. There are citrus notes in the roasted and fresh ground stuff that are (and have been for some time) totally lacking in the commercially ground version.

Now I roast and grind my own whenever possible. Fennel, cumin, and other woody/oily seeds are best roasted and fresh ground. I don't bother with pepper or red chilis or turmeric, those I continue to buy pre-ground. The more volatile the flavor components, the more you will benefit from roasting and grinding it yourself. I use a cheap Krups coffee grinder (which has, of course, NEVER so much as seen a coffee bean).

Here is a link that might be useful: How to make paneer in your microwave

We love Julie sahni's book and have made the chapati a number of times. Thing I wished I'd known in Advance was that the flour makes a mess of the stovetop. It's fun to do with guests because it's novel.

I made my own dabba with an old Ball 1/2 cup jar box and the jars filled with some dried herbs and spices, plus some other jars of stuff I bought. I get it out when I want to make an attempt to cook Indian. I love the idea of Indian food but my own attempts haven't been that great, I just don't seem to have the knack for it, it doesn't come naturally to me. I can make a fairly good curry or soup, but the rest is just not something I have the space or inclination to try. For example I made my own chapatis and they weren't even as good as the fresh pita I get at the local Syrian bakery. I'll probably save this thread and put it with my other CF Indian cooking thread. GWlolo I can't wait to try that Olan/Pumpkin curry recipe. I love Thai style pumpkin curry.

pinkmountain, were you making chappati - or naan? Chappati are more like a flour tortilla - naan are somewhat similar to pita.

Watch the Vah Chef on his website, I think it's vahrehvah.com - lots of technique there. Plus I like him. I don't think he's very active any more but there are a LOT of good demonstrations on that site.

My favorite cookbook from years past is Flavors of India: Recipes from the Vegetarian Hindu Cuisine by Shanta Nimbark Sacharoff. It was re-released a few years back with the subtitle Vegetarian Indian Cuisine.

My favorites among more recently released books include "The India Cookbook" and "660 Curries".

I've also been looking over "Pure & Simple: Homemade Indian Vegetarian Cuisine" and "Indian Home Cooking".

Good timing. The Kid's fiance is interested in Indian cooking, so I got him a dabba for Christmas. A friend recommended 'India: The Cookbook' by Pushpesh Pant to go with it. Now I just need to fill that dabba....some good suggestions here...thanks.

Curry leaves would be good. They are not something that you can find commonly in less ethnic areas, and I see them called for a lot in Indian cooking. Also Thai. I got a few exotic Indian spices like tamarind powder and asafoetida but I find I don't really care for them all that much. But that's just me. Various types of cumin and mustard seeds I do like. And oddly, I find I am not a fan of fenugreek, which is a staple. Perhaps that's why I am so picky about Indian food! But I don't like tarragon either, and sage and mint only appeal to me in certain applications, so I'm equally picky about western herbs!

Just wanted to chime in with a recommendation for my favorite Indian food cookbook of all time: The Time-Life Foods of the World series Cooking of India. Every recipe that I have ever used from that book is foolproof, broken into fifty million steps, but worth it. I have used it since the early 70s, but I bet one could find old copies in used book stores or online.

Here is a link that might be useful: Only recipes, big pretty photo version not here

This post was edited by kitchendetective on Wed, Dec 4, 13 at 14:30