2 potatoes, boiled
2 pinches pepper powder
2 pinches saffron
2 tbsp melted ghee
½ tsp salt
ghee for deep frying
Peel and grate the potatoes and make a fine paste.
Mix the flour, pepper, ghee and salt properly.
Put the saffron in the milk and mix with the flour. If you want, put a little
saffron colour in the milk.
Knead and dough properly. Leave aside for 1 hour.
Roll into small puris and deep fry in hot ghee till they puff up.
Ingredients:
Ingredients:
Tandoori Murg or Tandoori Murga
One of the all time tandoori favorites.
Ingredients:
• 1 kg. Chicken pieces, skin removed, washed and drained
• 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 inch piece or 1 tbs. grated ginger, peeled
• 2 tsp. cardamom seeds or powder
• 4-5 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp. ground black peppers
• 1 tsp. cinnamon powder
These five whole spices can be substituted with 2 heaped teaspoon of Garam Masala
• Flesh of 1 lime or lemon, rind and pips removed
• 3-6 green chillies (less or more as desired), stalk removed
• 1/2 bunch fresh coriander leaves
• A few strands of saffron (optional)
• 2 tbs. cooking oil
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. paprika powder for colour
• A small carton (150 ml.) of thick yoghurt or coconut milk
• 1 tbs. plain flour
Preparation:
1. Prick each chicken piece a few times with a fork. This helps to absorb flavors.
2. Place ginger, garlic, cardamoms, cloves, bay leaf, cinnamon powder, black pepper, peeled lemon, green chillies, coriander, saffron, cooking oil and salt in a liquidizer and blitz for a few seconds, to make a smooth paste.
3. Add yoghurt or coconut milk and blitz again for a few more seconds, to mix everything well.
4. Adjust salt and spices, which should taste extra strong at this stage, as they will be added to 1 kg. of chicken.
5. Mix with chicken pieces, place in an airtight box and leave overnight or longer in the fridge.
6. Heat oven to 240º C or 475º F (tandoor is supposed to be very hot).
7. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil (this saves washing up).
8. Place chicken pieces on the tray and bake in the centre of a hot oven, until nicely browned and dry. The chicken should look crispy and charred in places. You will need to turn the pieces over half way through cooking. Time varies in different oven but it usually takes around 30 minutes in a preheated oven. Chicken is ready when the meat begins to ‘come off’ the bones. You may need to drain off the excess liquid from the cooking tray so that the end result is not soggy
Serve hot with other curries, Dals and Nan or simply as a starter. Mint Sauce in Yoghurt also goes well with it.
Naan, Nan or Indian Bread
A popular Indian bread made in clay ovens called tandoors. Also called tandoori naan or nan.
Ingredients:
• 4 cups or approximately 600 gm. self-raising flour (S-R flour is plain flour ready mixed with raising agents). You can use plain flour, mixed with 1 tsp. baking powder. If you have good yeast, baking powder may be omitted all together.
• 170-200 ml. hand warm water (not hot)
• 170-200 ml. hand warm milk (not hot)
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 tbs. dry yeast (roughly 1 tsp. per cup of flour). Make sure it is fresh. Once a packet is opened, the leftover yeast will last for only 3 months or so, unless kept in a freezer.
• 3-4 tbs. ‘active’ natural yoghurt (dahi)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2-3 tbs. flour, for dusting during rolling out
• 1 tbs. ghee for cooking
• 2 tbs. poppy seeds (khus-khus) or sesame seeds (til)or nigella seeds(kalonji/kalaunji)
• 3-4 tbs. ghee or oil (optional)
Procedure:
1. Mix milk, water and sugar in a jug, sprinkle yeast and keep aside for 15-20 minutes, until it looks frothy. This is activated yeast.
2. Sift flour, salt (and baking powder if you are using plain flour) in a bowl.
3. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add yoghurt and oil/ghee.
4. Now make a soft, bread like dough using required amount of liquid from the warm milk-water-yeast mix. The dough should be soft. So don’t be afraid to add a little more or a little less water than the recipe states. Add a little at a time, so that you don’t end up with very runny dough either. Knead it well.
5. Cover with an oiled cling film and leave it to ‘mature’ in a warm place, for 4-6 hours. It may take less in hot weather. The dough should rise to approximately double. You can make dough in a bread maker too. Simply place all ingredients and switch to ‘dough’.
6. Knead the dough again. Allow it to double in size again.
7. Divide dough into 8 portions and roll into balls. Keep covered with a moist cloth.
8. Heat grill/oven to maximum or heat a pan. For cooking under a grill/oven, leave the tray under the grill/in oven, to heat to maximum(around 225°C). Nans placed on cold tray will stick and you will get stiff/hard/leathery nans!
9. Dust one ball at a time, and roll out into to an oblong, approximately 20-22 cm. or 8-9 inches in length, one end narrower than the other, shaped like a large ‘tear drop’. This can be done by rolling down one end more than other, or by pulling one end of the nan to elongate it. Roll out 3-4 nans at a time. You can roll out the next batch of nans while the previous batch is baking. Brush with a little ghee and sprinkle a few nigella/sesame seeds.
10. Dust the baking tray with a little flour.
11. Place 3-4 nans at a time on the pre-heated tray. Place the tray under the grill or in the oven. The nans will puff up fairly quickly. Turn over and cook the other side. When ready, they have a few brown blisters scattered on each surface. Remember that the tray needs to be re-heated fully, before you cook the next batch.
12. To cook on a griddle or a heavy bottomed pan or tawa, place 1 nan on a heated griddle. When a few blisters appear, turn over. After about 30-40 seconds, turn over again and gently coax it to balloon up by pressing with a kitchen towel.
Serve hot, with a curry of choice. Whether you brush it with ghee or not, is your choice.
Crisp and hot nans can be eaten with a little cheese and salad.
A simple every day dish. Tastes great with naan, roti or parathas.
Baingan or Brinjal or Eggplant do Pyaza
Ingredients:
• 400 gm. Baingan (Brinjal) ( this is roughly 1 large Baingan (Brinjal)). Small Baingan (Brinjal) taste nicer.
• 200 gm. onions (1 large)
• 1/2 inch piece (10-15 gm.) ginger
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 tbs. mustard or olive oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds or rai
• A pinch of asafoetida or hing powder
• 8-10 curry leaves (not bay leaves) - optional
• 1/2 tsp. chilli powder, adjust to taste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp. paprika powder for colour (not hot)- optional
• 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
Preparation:
1. Cut Baingan (Brinjal) into small pieces & wash. If using small ones, slit into quarters lengthways, including stalks.
2. Peeled and slice onion thickly.
3. Peel and grate ginger coarsely or chop finely.
4. Heat oil in a wok or a heavy bottomed kadhai.
5. Add mustard seeds, asafoetida powder and curry leaves, wait until seeds splutter. Keep the lid on, to avoid mustard seeds jumping all over your kitchen.
6. Add aubergines, onions, ginger and all spices except garam masala.
7. Cook on high heat, stirring frequently, until aubergines are cooked tender. This does not take very long as aubergines and onions are both soft vegetables.
8. Squeeze the lemon juice on top and keep sir frying until oil begins to separate. The aubergine should have a fried, shiny look and all liquid disappears.
9. Add garam masala and stir it in.
Serve hot with Chapatties, Naans or Plain Parathas.
Ingredients:
• 4 cinnamon sticks (dalchini)
• 4 tbs. black cumin seeds (kala jeera)
• 2-3 bay leaves (tej-patta)
• 2 tbs. green cardamoms (choti illaichi)
• 4 tbs. back peppercorns (kali mirch)
• 1/2 tbs. cloves (laung or lavang)
• 1 tbs. fennel seeds (saunf)- optional
• 1 tsp. mace (javitri)
• A large pinch of nutmeg (jaiphal)
Preparation:
1. Dry roast all ingredients in a heavy bottomed pan, on medium heat, until a nice, spicy aroma rises (6-8 minutes).
2. Allow to cool and grind together to a fine powder.
3. Store in an airtight container.
Curry powder is a mixture of spices of widely varying composition developed by the British during their colonial rule of India.
The word “Khari” from which “curry” is derived, comes from Southern India and refers to a sauce of any kind. “Curry powder” was developed by the British, who wished to take the taste of Indian food home, without having to utilize fresh spices. As a result “curry powder” in the Western world has a fairly standardized taste, but there are literally millions of curry flavors in India.
Ingredients:
• 1 tea cup or 40-50 gm. coriander seeds
• 2 tbs. cumin seeds
• 4-5 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbs. cloves
• 1 tbs. black peppers
• 1 tbs. black cardamom (bari illaichi) seeds or 4-5 whole cardamoms
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 1 tbs. small green cardamoms whole
• 1 tbs. dry, whole red chillies
• 2 tbs. turmeric powder
• 1 tsp. mace powder (javitri)
• 1 tsp. nutmeg powder (jaiphal)
Preparation:
1. Place all ingredients, except last three, in a kadhai or wok or griddle and dry roast for 10-12 minutes.
2. Cool.
3. Grind to a powder.
4. Sieve through a fine sieve, to remove husks/fibre of cardamom etc.
5. Mix last three ingredients.
6. Store in an airtight jar.
Garam masala is a blend of ground spices common in the Indian cuisine, whose literal meaning is ‘hot (or warm) spice’.
Garam masala can be used during cooking, but unlike many spices, it is often added at the end of cooking, so that the full aroma is not lost. Garam masala is not “hot” in the sense that chilies are, but is fairly pungent.
Ingredients:
• 1 tbs. black peppers
• 1 tsp. cloves
• 4-5 large cardamoms
• 4-5 bay leaves
• 3 inch cinnamon stick or equivalent small pieces
• 1-2 tbs. cumin seeds (optional)
Preparation:
1. Grind all ingredients together finely, sieve them to remove any husks/fibres and store in an airtight jar to keep the flavours in.
2. Alternatively, you can dry fry/roast all ingredients lightly in a wok or kadhai, all together or individually. Cool and then grind them all together. This is supposed to give more intense flavour. Personally, I don’t pre -roast them. I feel that the flavour is released and lost well before you come to use it. My mum and others in my family do not roast them either. Remember that in most instances garam masala is sprinkled on top of a hot dish, which is enough to release the flavours.
Making Khoa or Mawa or Khoya (Solidified Milk)
Ingredients:
• 2 litre full cream milk
• A heavy bottomed pan.
• If making granular khoya, juice of 1/4-1/2 lemon
Instructions:
Making Plain Khoya:
1. Bring milk to boil in a heavy bottomed pan. Reduce flame to medium and simmer. Continue simmering, stirring very frequently, especially towards the end, when milk has become thick. You must not let it ‘catch/stick’ at the bottom, or it will burn. Smell of burnt milk is terrible and no good for making anything with. It is good only for the bin!
2. When the milk is almost solid, quite thick, turn the heat off and allow to cool. It will solidify a little more as it cools.
3. If not using immediately, cut in 2-3 portions and freeze, wrapped in a cling film or in a plastic bags.
Making Granular Khoya (Danedar Khoya): This is used for making some special sweets like Milk Cake and Kala-kand.
1. Bring the milk to boil. Turn heat down to medium.
2. Add 1/4-1/2 tsp. of lemon juice, a little at a time, until the milk curdles very, very slightly. The whey should not separate. If it does, you have added too much lemon juice. Proceed to make paneer.
3. Continue to simmer until it is almost solid. The resulting khoya is slightly granular.
