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Indian Cooking For Dummies

Suvir Saran

By Suvir Saran
in India: Cooking & Baking

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NewYorkTexan

NewYorkTexan

Posted
Posted

What can I say....wow.

This is an incredible resource. Unfortunately client work will have to wait this afternoon while I educate myself on Indian cuisine.

Suvir Saran

Suvir Saran

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
What can I say....wow.

This is an incredible resource.  Unfortunately client work will have to wait this afternoon while I educate myself on Indian cuisine.

You are too kind.... Thanks for the idea NewYorkTexan.

Do share with us as you find any interesting threads... You should post on the relevant threads... and feel free to revive old discussions.. add your thoughts.. and question each of us... It is a great way of learning... Far better than what one can get even after reading a book..... It is amazing what sites like eGullet can do to food. I have learned so much at the cooking forum on eGullet. It is amazing to see how much people know here.

Have fun in your reading about Indian food.... Looking forward to hearing about your take on things... :smile:

Brad S

Brad S

Posted
Posted

:smile:

Suvir,

I guess I won't have to buy your book now (Kidding)

I certianly have my "reading" work cut out for me.

Thank you for capsulizing all of this great imformation.

Turnip Greens are Better than Nothing. Ask the people who have tried both.

Suvir Saran

Suvir Saran

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
:smile:

Suvir,

I guess I won't have to buy your book now (Kidding)

I certianly have my "reading" work cut out for me.

Thank you for capsulizing all of this great imformation.

I hope you too will share all your thoughts with us on eGullet as you read. :smile:

Thanks for your kind words.

torakris

torakris

Posted
Posted
Wow!

I know what I will be doing all day Saturday!

And how was your Saturday? :smile:

very, very busy!

Too busy reading to write anything!

Kristin Wagner, aka "torakris"

 

Suvir Saran

Suvir Saran

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
Wow!

I know what I will be doing all day Saturday!

And how was your Saturday? :smile:

very, very busy!

Too busy reading to write anything!

Do share with us your observations... questions.... or whatever... helps each of us learn more. :wink:

  • 1 month later...
Anna N

Anna N

Posted
Posted

This is to keep a promise.

I have made both the Tandoori Cornish Game Hens and the Butter Chicken (Chicken Tikka Masala) both posted by Suvir Saran and I have a number of questions which may help others who are trying these dishes for the first time:

First - questions on the Tandoori dish:

Is there an easier way of getting the quantities right other than weighing them? With only a metric postal scale (my kitchen scale isn't precise enough for such small quantities) this was quite an undertaking - though I ended up having fun anyway.

Before I made the Tandoori dish, I had to roast the spices and then grind them to make the Garam Masala. From a recent post by Suvir I understand that I should have roasted each spice separately not all plopped together!

How do I know when each is roasted enough? What sort of pan would be best to use?

I used both green and black cardamom each in their pods and opened them as one would a clove of garlic - by smashing them beneath my cleaver - is there a better way - should I have roasted them in their pods? Should I have weighed them in their pods?

How does one get rid of the chaff - the bits and pieces inside the pod that are not seeds? Does it matter?

The recipe calls for paprika - I used hot Hungarian - was that right?

I tried processing the marinade ingredients in a blender but because there was not enough liquid (I cut the recipe in half) this was most unsuccessful - I made another marinade using a mini-processor and this worked much better.

By the way - the resulting dish, even with my errors, was DELICIOUS.

Now to the Butter Chicken and my questions:

The recipe calls for making a puree of onions, garlic and ginger and then browning this in oil for about 20 mins or until golden brown. This created real problems. The puree tended to stick to the pan and brown much too quickly. As noted in the recipe I kept water near by and put a little in the pan but in the end, after 20 minutes I can't say that anything except the stuff that stuck, had much colour. Was I using too big of a pan - mine was a 12 inch heavy stainless steel saute pan.

The tomatoes I was able to obtain were quite disgusting in terms of taste so I added a tablespoon or so of tomato paste, a cup or so of crushed, canned tomatoes and a mere hint of sugar just to perk up the flavour a little. (I had the canned tomatoes leftover from a pizza sauce and the tomato paste was on hand because I was about to make another concoction!) I'm betting that made in season with ripe, juicy tomatoes would send this dish right over the top in terms of flavour.

The recipe calls for covering the chicken with foil - mine didn't brown at all and I wasn't sure if it should - is it supposed to remain pristinely white? Did I cover it too tightly with foil so that it steamed instead of baked?

My cinnamon never did unfurl - could that be because it isn't really cinnamon but cassia - it is extremely thick and coiled both sides to the centre.

The recipe calls for cooking the tomato puree until the fat separates. This never happened for me. Perhaps I used too little oil?

Having said all of this and asked all these questions, the final dish was so good I had to force myself to refrigerate some else I would have continued eating until it was all gone! I can hardly wait for lunch tomorrow when I will be able to finish it up.

Thanks, Suvir for two recipes that worked for this DUMMY!

Anna Nielsen aka "Anna N"

...I just let people know about something I made for supper that they might enjoy, too. That's all it is. (Nigel Slater)

"Cooking is about doing the best with what you have . . . and succeeding." John Thorne

Our 2012 (Kerry Beal and me) Blog

My 2004 eG Blog

Suvir Saran

Suvir Saran

Posted
  • Topic Starter
Posted
First - questions on the Tandoori dish:

Is there an easier way of getting the quantities right other than weighing them?  With only a metric postal scale (my kitchen scale isn't precise enough for such small quantities) this was quite an undertaking - though I ended up having fun anyway.

Before I made the Tandoori dish, I had to roast the spices and then grind them to make the Garam Masala.  From a recent post by Suvir I understand that I should have roasted each spice separately not all plopped together!

How do I know when each is roasted enough?  What sort of pan would be best to use?

I used both green and black cardamom each in their pods and opened them as one would a clove of garlic - by smashing them beneath my cleaver - is there a better way - should I have roasted them in their pods?  Should I have weighed them in their pods?

How does one get rid of the chaff - the bits and pieces inside the pod that are not seeds?  Does it matter?

Well, in my cookbook, all measurements are going to be mostly using cups and spoons.

I think it makes it easier in the US.

I have a weighing scale and use it a lot for baking. But I can easily see the problem.

Here is the recipe for the garam masala using familiar measures.

2 inch cinnamon stick

2 bay leaves

2 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 1/4 teaspoons black pepper powder

1 1/4 teaspoon cardamom seeds (removed from pod)

3/4 teaspoon whole cloves

1/2 teaspoon mace

Break the cinnamon sticks into pieces. Add the bay leaves.

Heat a heavy frying pan and after 2 minutes put in the whole spices.

Dry roast over a medium flame till color darkens, stirring or shaking the pan frequently to prevent burning.

Place the contents on a cold platter to cool, then grind and blend with mace powder.

Store in an airtight container.

You do not have to roast spices individually. It was done and can be done. But the above method is just fine.

If you do intend to roast all spices individually you can find out when they are done by color and smell.

I use a heavy bottom frying pan.

You can use just green cardamom. You opened the cardamom pods just as I would have. The recipe calls for just the seeds. The chaff is fine to throw in, if you cannot remove easily. Once you grind the masala, it will not matter anyways.

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