Indian Menu Planning

[Monica Bhide]

I am looking for some help on an article I am working on. I would love to hear your tips/hints/secrets when you are planning an Indian dinner. What are some of the tips for other cuisines that can be used here? I would appreciate any help

Thanks!!

[A Scottish Chef]

Thanks for starting this Monica.

I'm desperate to hear about Indian menu planning. I've been watching this Indian forum for a couple of days and I find the qaulity of information and help here quite astonishing.

I'm in the middle of finishing my Indian Menu for summer 2003. The tourists start arriving soon and they are more demanding and selective year on year.

I need new ideas and they need to be do-able in my kitchen. I'm really looking forward to seeing this thread develop.

[indiagirl]

that's a good question. i usually cook based on what's in the fridge. i host one big indian dinner every year (about 30 people) and that is when i do my most "conscious" menu planning.

here (i think) are my criterion:

what's in season:

who is the audience (how accustomed they are to indian food)

is there sufficient contrast in texture

is there sufficient contrast in flavor

is there sufficient contrast in richness

is there sufficient contrast in taste

my basic dinner contents almost always include:

a dry vegetable

a gravy of some kind - vegetarian or not (more often vegetarian since i'm only a fledgling non-vegetarian but i've got a list a mile long that i want to try)

a dhal type dish

rice

naan

raita

dessert

so, to illustrate, if i decide to make a cream based dish with paneer in it, like a makhni style paneer, then i pick a dry, light, crunchy vegetable to go with it - like green beans tossed in ajwain, cumin and garlic with coconut. or a light, dry pepper dish with besan in it. i'll make a non-dairy raita without yoghurt (a misnomer, i know) but with a lentil based tarka to give it crunch and a squeeze of lemon juice.

or if decide to make a pilaf with vegetables and nuts, i keep the dal simple, or even substitute it with a tomato coconut shorba / rasam / mirchi ka salan (which i think rocks) - especially if i'm making faux-biryani style rice

or if i make an apricot based khubani murgh which is sweeter, i'll make a dry, spicy, sour potato fry to go with it. and a raita with tomatoes and onions and green chillies. i find bengali recipes for vegetables make good counterpoints to rich mughlai center piece dishes.

i like to keep desserts light and refreshing (and i think this is what a lot of italians do to, notwithstanding some of the heavier desserts that are so popular) - like a fruit icecream or shrikhand or sorbet.

am i rambling? or is this what you were looking for, monica?

scottishchef? are you looking for actual menu suggestions? or just ramblings like mine? planning your menu for the summer. how exciting. i'm envious. are you looking for a prep cook?

if you are looking for actual menu suggestions perhaps you could outline some criteria for us (in terms of restaurant scale production feasibility or specific ingredients) and we could make suggestions.

[Suvir Saran]

What a great post Indiagirl.

You think like any foodie would want to... and I feel lucky to have read that post...

Please ramble as you do.. you shall never seem out of place.

[Suvir Saran]

Scottish Chef, do you think you can post a menu of yours? That would give us a feeling for what you already do. It would give a point from where we can all begin..

Also, I am anxious to see what you offer...

Thanks!

[A Scottish Chef]

or if i make an apricot based  khubani murgh

scottishchef? are you looking for actual menu suggestions? or just ramblings like mine?

Firstly, I'd love to know how you make the chicken in apricot. It sounds delicious.

I'm looking for suggestions, names that I can add and simple variations I can add to the menu I already have.

Currently the largest part of my current menu is dedicated to the syle of any particular dish. For example, I have a heading of Do Piaza, a brief description of the dish, and then the ingredients availble for that choice. Like Haldi chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka, King Tiger Prawns etc. Pretty typical of UK Indian takeaways to be honest.

A while ago you gave me the name of "Hansi Ki Achari" as a suggestion and that is going on the menu. It's a spicy curry, made with hot mixed pickle and my tests have shown that it's both easy to implement and tastes good with the choices we offer.

Where I am really in need of improvement is in the breads and starters we offer. I think we could do so much better than we currently do. I'm interested in stuffed parathas, some curry dish of chick peas as mentioned earlier. I'll be adding Bhel Puri to the menu and hopefully some dhals at last. I only had these available for a short time before simply because I didn't rate the version that Babu taught me. A popular dish here is Dhansak - curry with dhal as I understand it - and I had to remove it from the menu last time around because I thought it very poor.

Of course it could be that I was just not doing it very well.

As I said before, any and all suggestions are welcome

Edited March 5, 2003 by A Scottish Chef (log)

[A Scottish Chef]

Scottish Chef, do you think you can post a menu of yours?  That would give us a feeling for what you already do.  It would give a point from where we can all begin..

Also, I am anxious to see what you offer...

Thanks!

I'll do that Suvir

It'll take me some time to get it typed out, but I'll do it as soon as possible as I'd really appreciate the thoughts and input.

[indiagirl]

scottishchef ..... i'll post the recipes when i get back from work tonight.

just wanted to point out something about "hansi ki achari". for correct usage you would have to follow that with either murgh or raan or something. achari is an adjective. it must be followed by a noun. apologies for the pedantic grammar lesson!

perhaps suvir would be able to give you a more elegant name for that - is suspect he is more proficient at hindi than i

dhals. ahh yes, that is a vast vast door to have opened. my current favorite is made of black lentils and cooked in a yoghurt-saffron base.

my staple is toor with the standard onions, tomatoes, garlic and ginger and fenugreek leaves (which i can buy in dried form at the local indian)

annd that's only a microcosm

since suvir has given me licence to ramble here :) let me tell you what i dream of? the restaurant i will start someday? a menu which has nothing more than the raw fresh ingredients available that day. no more than 3-4 groups od diners for the evening. they come in - we talk. they tell me what mood they're in, hot and heavy, light and flighty, you know? and then i go and cook up something for them. sigh. someday.

i once made this dinner for all my friends - a sort of faux thai style. i made 3 or 4 different kind of sauces and set them outon the table - red curry based, green curry based, peanut coconut. i set out a number of flash fried vegetables on the side and my guests tossed together their dinners. i'd love to do something that is conceptually similar for indian food someday, i suspect it may be a little more difficult and would take some trial and error

Edited March 5, 2003 by indiagirl (log)

[A Scottish Chef]

just wanted to point out something about "hansi ki achari". for correct usage you would have to follow that with either murgh or raan or something. achari is an adjective. it must be followed by a noun. apologies  for the pedantic grammar lesson!

No need for apologies

I think it might work as you describe anyway. Here how it would look on the menu layout as we currently have it.

Hansi Ki Achari

Description (I'm not sure at all how to describe this as I'm thinking that the very word pickle here would put many off in case they assume it would be like chunks of gherkin or onion)

Available with

Haldi Chicken

Chicken Tikka

Tandoori Chicken

Prawn

King Tiger Prawn

Mushroom

Mixed vegetable

Quorn (now asked for too often to be ignored)

Also, the grammatical correctness isn't really important to be honest. Our local Asian population is Zero. As in none at all Attractive sounding names are important, however. Given that the name you offered means 'laughing pickle' I'll also enjoy explaining the dish

Edited March 5, 2003 by A Scottish Chef (log)

[Monica Bhide]

that's a good question. i usually cook based on what's in the fridge. i host one big indian dinner every year (about 30 people) and that is when i do my most "conscious" menu planning.

here (i think) are my criterion:

what's in season:

who is the audience (how accustomed they are to indian food)

is there sufficient contrast in texture

is there sufficient contrast in flavor

is there sufficient contrast in richness

is there sufficient contrast in taste

my basic dinner contents almost always include:

a dry vegetable

a gravy of some kind - vegetarian or not (more often vegetarian since i'm only a fledgling non-vegetarian but i've got a list a mile long that i want to try)

a dhal type dish

rice

naan

raita

dessert

so, to illustrate, if i decide to make a cream based dish with paneer in it, like a makhni style paneer, then i pick a dry, light, crunchy vegetable to go with it - like green beans tossed in ajwain, cumin and garlic with coconut. or a light, dry pepper dish with besan in it. i'll make a non-dairy raita without yoghurt (a misnomer, i know) but with a lentil based tarka to give it crunch and a squeeze of lemon juice.

or if decide to make a pilaf with vegetables and nuts, i keep the dal simple, or even substitute it with a tomato coconut shorba / rasam / mirchi ka salan (which i think rocks) - especially if i'm making faux-biryani style rice

or if i make an apricot based  khubani murgh which is sweeter, i'll make a dry, spicy, sour potato fry to go with it. and a raita with tomatoes and onions and green chillies. i find bengali recipes for vegetables make good counterpoints to rich mughlai center piece dishes.

i like to keep desserts light and refreshing (and i think this is what a lot of italians do to, notwithstanding some of the heavier desserts that are so popular) - like a fruit icecream or shrikhand or sorbet.

am i rambling? or is this what you were looking for, monica?

scottishchef? are you looking for actual menu suggestions? or just ramblings like mine? planning your menu for the summer. how exciting. i'm envious. are you looking for a prep cook?

if you are looking for actual menu suggestions perhaps you could outline some criteria for us (in terms of restaurant scale production feasibility or specific ingredients) and we could make suggestions.

Nice.. I was looking for exactly something like this. May I quote you? I can say Indiagirl or if you wnat to PM me your name, I can use that as well... and thanks for taking the time

[indiagirl]

ScottishChef

Murgh Khubani (Joyce again, I worship this woman)

750 g skinned chicken breasts

1/2 cup finely chopped dried apricots

1/4 cup sultanas

1/2 cup hot water

1 cup lightly whisked yoghurt

2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground black pepper

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp Kashmiri garam masala (I posted the recipe for this in the garam masala thread)

2 tbsp ghee

1 inch cinnamon stick

2 lightly bruised cardamom pods

2 finely sliced medium onions

2 tsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/2 tsp saffron threads steeped in 1 tbsp hot milk

1 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

2 tbsp cream

Cut the chicken into large bite sized pieces and set aside

Steep the apricots and sultanas in the hot wwater for 30 minutes and set aside

Put the yoghurt in a bowl, add the coriander powder, cumin powder, salt, pepper, chili powder and garam masala and stiir well to make into a marinade. Add the chicken pieces and leave to marinate for two hours.

Heat the ghee, add the cinnamon stick and cardamom pods and fry for a couple of seconds to release their aromas. Add the onions, ginger and garlic and lower the heat and stir fry until the onion starts to change coloour.

Add the chicken and the marinade and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Then stir in the apricots and sultanas and the liquid in which they have been soaked. Add the saffron threads in milk and cilantro and simmer for 5 minutes. Discard the cinnamon sticks and cardamom pods. Stir in the cream, ifusing, and serve.

Have fun, scottishchef and I'm glad you're keeping the name of the dish!

:))

ta-ta , must go sell my soul to the corporate world.

:)

[A Scottish Chef]

It looks as if it will produce a delicious result IndiaGirl.

What I don't get - and presumably others around here - is how someone with your talent, knowledge and passion for cookery manages to avoid working in this industry other than your voluntary work

I'll make this dish in my kitchen at work over the weekend so that I can learn it and allow the Chef who works with me a chance to extend his repertoire. I'll let you know how I get on with it as soon as I can. Thank you very much indeed for taking the time to type it out on our behalf

[SobaAddict70]

A question -- do you eat your meals using thalis? Are thalis (pls correct me if I'm wrong about the plural form) common outside of India?

I have yet to see a meal served in the traditional style, here in the U.S., and especially here in NYC.

Soba

[indiagirl]

What I don't get - and presumably others around here - is how someone with your talent, knowledge and passion for cookery manages to avoid working in this industry other than your voluntary work 

Aaah, ScottishSchef. Thanks for the praise. That would, indeed, be my dream life. That's why I asked in that other post if you were hiring cooks!

2 degrees in Mechanical Engineering. 10 years of experience in the auto industry. 8 of those in immigration shackles. What can I say?

Besides, I'm trapped. Nigella Lawson has my life. I'm convinced we were switched at birth.

;)

SobaAddict, I eat in stainless steel thalis (yes you had the plural correct) with katoris (little indian bowls) and drink water in copper glasses (oxymoron, i know) whenever I cook Indian food - about 2-3 times a week. I don't know why it has not caught on in restaurants - specially with the so many stainless steel kitchen appliances becoming a vogue. If I had a restaurant (I posted a description of the restaurant I dream of starting on another thread which I cannot recall now) I would serve in steel.

I think colonialism is possibly the answer - even today in India, many families entertain using china. Steel is for family meals, you know?