Cooking Indian

[eleneariel]

Apropos of nothing, I decided to make my next big family meal* an Indian one.  I have eaten real Indian food exactly once, but I think I like it and I'm feeling the itch to cook something wildly different than normal.

I have mastered falafel, and I have Biz's naan recipe, but other than that I'm on the hunt for ideas. If you have a favorite curry, Indian dessert, or anything else, do comment!


* for those new to these parts, my parents and I take turns staying home from church on Sunday to take care of the Very Elderly Grandparents. The person staying home gets to cook Sunday dinner. :)

Comments

[walkingworthy.livejournal.com]

I don't really have a recipe, but I love Indian food. Naan is sooo tasty. Ashamed to say it but I use Patak's Indian Sauce that you get in a jar, but you don't find it in your everyday grocery store. We have some authentic popadums from India and they're the best. Put them in the microwave for a minute and they swell up all nice and crispy. Man, I'm getting hungry =)

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

You made me hungry!

[princess-mia.livejournal.com]

Wow, I wish I had a recipe to share... I may ask one of my friends who is into the culture to see if she has anything to recommend. I know that Tandori chicken is amazing!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

The one Indian meal I've had included Tandori chicken ... sooo yummy.

[radiantlove.livejournal.com]

I just want to know if you might be persuaded to share Biz's naan recipe. When I have some spare time, I want to try making some & have yet to get around to looking for a recipe :) Besides, friends' recipes are always the best!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Of course! As ... soon as I find it again. Lol. Do I have your email address?

[jennymae.livejournal.com]

Could you pretty please send me the recipe too? :-) I've never had naan before (I don't think), but I'd love to at least see what it's like! But only type it up if it's convenient...don't go out of your way to send it to me. :-) Thanks!

[radiantlove.livejournal.com]

I got it- Thank you SO much!

Ps: how did yours turn out?

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

They were good! I think they'll be great as leftovers, too ... I can see making flatbread pizzas with them. :)

[main-hoon-emily.livejournal.com]

Aloo gobi. You have to make it. It's a potato-and-cauliflower curry and it is amazing:

Peanut or canola oil, for shallow frying
1 pound boiling potatoes, peeled and cut into thick 2 by 1 by 1-inch fries
1 head cauliflower (1 3/4 pounds), cut into delicate florets
1 tablespoon peeled finely chopped fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 tablespoons water
2 to 3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Put the oil in a large frying pan and set over medium heat. When it is hot, put in the potatoes and fry them until they are golden and almost tender, about 10 minutes. Lift the potatoes out with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels. Turn the heat to medium-high, put in the cauliflower florets, and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, until they are golden brown. Lift the cauliflower out with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Turn the heat off. Remove all the oil from the frying pan except for 2 tablespoons (the extra oil can be drained and reused). Turn the heat to medium-high and put in the ginger. Stir for 10 seconds. Now return the potatoes and cauliflower to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium. Put in the turmeric, salt, cayenne, cumin, and coriander. Stir gently to coat the vegetables with the spices. Add 3 tablespoons of water. Stir once and cover the pan. Turn the heat down to low and cook very gently for 4 minutes. Add the cilantro and toss gently. Serve hot.


Also if you can find the cookbook 5 Spices 50 Dishes, the author does a good job of simplifying some more complicated recipes so they only use 5 basic spices.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Thanks, Emily! This sounds perfect - I was hoping to find a curry with lots of potatoes. Would you still eat this over rice, then, (since it does have the potatoes for starch..?) or just with naan or something?

I bought fresh ginger for the first time today. :)

[main-hoon-emily.livejournal.com]

It's more authentic to have it with naan or chapatis (whole wheat tortilla-ish breads), but rice is fine, too. Most Indian meals are three or four vegetable dishes, some sort of lentils or beans, a meat dish, and then either rice (South India) or bread (North India), so the fact that there's starch in the dish already doesn't matter much.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Oh perfect, thank you. I knew you'd be a big help. :)

[bellablu.livejournal.com]

Here is an awesome Tandoori Chicken recipe that is easy, just requires a little prep. My mom used to make it when I lived with my parents and now I make it for my husband and I.

Tandoori Chicken
A Taste of India/Mary Atwood
Servings: 6
Add fresh cilantro to marinade; use whole anise seed instead of powdered. Also goes well with tomato chutney.
Posted on Prodigy Food Forum by SALlie Kratz
Formatted by Nancy Dolce
3 pounds frying chicken, quartered
1 cup yogurt
3 cloves garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger root, grated
1/4 cup lime juice
2 teaspoons coriander seed, ground
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, powdered
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
onion rings, thinly sliced
lime wedges
Combine yogurt, garlic, ginger, lime juice, coriander, cumin, cayenne and anise. Marinate chicken in this mixture for at
least 24 hours, or up to 48 in refrigerator. [48 hours is definitely better. NTD]
Put chicken on greased rack in a baking pan and roast at 375°, occasionally basting with the butter (or vegetable oil) until
tender. [Approximately 50 minutes.] Serve garnished with thinly sliced onion and wedges of lime.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Mmm, thank you. My only Indian meal so far in life including Tandoori chicken, and I loved it. :) I'm printing this off for future use!

[elvishcalarilme.livejournal.com]

I love Indian food! Our pastor's son student taught in India and a few years ago he brought Indian-cooking-stuff to our house and we made Indian food. It was amazing.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I'm eager to experience more of it. :)

[fogwood214.livejournal.com]

You've mastered falafel?

I'm jealous. I've tried to make it twice with lousy results (taste was good, texture not so much) and simply resigned myself to the box mix (which isn't bad, per se). I'm curious how you make your falafel? Pretty please? :-D

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Well, I've mastered a falafel that I'm happy with. I sort of took some liberties with the recipe, although it's more like "what recipe? There was a recipe?"

I take a can of chickpeas or black beans - I actually almost like the black beans better - and mash them up with a fork. I add a finely diced clove of garlic and some onion, about a cup of bread or cracker crumbs, and whatever spices sound good. Usually salt, pepper, cumin, curry powder, and (don't die) chili seasoning, maybe a dash of red pepper. I didn't have any cilantro, so last time I put it a handful of fresh parsley. And an egg. Which is not a spice.

Then I cheat and "fry" them in a tiny bit of oil in a cast iron pan. I just don't deep-fry things all that often, and I like them fine this way even if it's not really authentic. :)

[jennymae.livejournal.com]

Oooh!! Thank you for this, Marie! I loooooooooooooove falafels (and Greek food!), but have never made them before. The deep-frying scares me (we don't have a pot of oil sitting around and making a pot of oil for deep frying seems almost wrong! LOL), so I'm glad to see how you do it without deep-frying. YUM. I'm so going to try it sometime!

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the only things we deep fry are doughnuts and onion rings ... and we do those exactly once a year!

[jennymae.livejournal.com]

Oooh! I want to try making doughnuts! I've never done that before. And onion rings are yuuuuuummy! I'd love to try tempura sometime. And funnel cake. It's too bad I like deep-fried foods. :-( LOL

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

Once at a faire I had a deep-fried slice of cheesecake. o_O

[jennymae.livejournal.com]

Was it good? My first response is, "Ewww!" But who knows? Maybe it was good? Was it? It's one of those things I'd want to try but probably not eat a whole piece of. lOL Have you ever had deep fried Oreos? They're supposed to be good. I've never had them. And I think there's deep-fried Dr. Pepper--but that seems weird.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

It was good. So good. :)

Deep fried pickles are good, too!

[tosayhello.livejournal.com]

Indian food is the best! I have a few recipes that I should share sometime.

[eattheolives.livejournal.com]

I would love to have your recipes!