Indian Cooking Newbie

[mikeczyz]

Hello

Anybody got any ideas for my first time trying to cook indian food? any easy dishes to start with? i eat just about anything, so feel free to toss out the ideas! thanks

mike

[Simon Majumdar]

Mike

Have a look through the posts on this board. Aaprt from making exceptional reading, all of the recipesw Suvir ha shared with us are very easy to follow and delicious.

His recipe for a salad to accompany a tandoor was miraculous.

For my part, I can recommend the Chickn korma recipe I posted on the Chicken curry thread as being easy beyond belief and equally delicious. It is also a very impressive dinner dish for a guests.

Good luck and report back what you eat

S

[Suvir Saran]

Mike what do you want to try working with as you begin to experiment with Indian cooking?

Meats? Veggies? Chicken? Eggs? Lentils or beans?

If you can answer this, perhaps we can get you a few recipes.

You may want to read the chicken curry thread and also the Keema thread. Both have some basic recipes.

I will also PM you some simple recipes that I have written for my cookbook. You can play with them and give me your feedback privately.

Also, are there any special dishes you have enjoyed at Indian restaurants? Maybe that can give us all an inkling about what it is that you really enjoy and crave. Maybe we can base our recipe suggestions based on that.

[Suvir Saran]

Check the Chicken Korma recipe t hat Simon posted earlies this morning. I will post a link as soon as I can get to it. It sounded amazing. Maybe you can report back on the success of that recipe. It seems authentic and sooo easy to prepare. You will certainly love that dish.

[Suvir Saran]

Mike, below I am posting a great chicken recipe for you. Really easy to make and also amazingly delicious. Will also post you the link to that Chicken Korma from Simon.

TANDOORI ROAST CORNISH GAME HENS

Serves 4

For the best flavor, the hens should be marinated overnight, but in a pinch, marinate 4 hours. Line the roasting pan with aluminum foil for easy clean-up. Also can grill chicken parts for how long?

2 Cornish game hens

1 tablespoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

Juice of 1 lemon

MARINADE

1 small onion

4 garlic cloves

2 inches peeled, fresh ginger

1 teaspoon ground, toasted cumin

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Pinch ground cloves

Pinch ground cinnamon

Pinch garam masala

1/3 cup yogurt

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon canola oil

2 tablespoons canola oil

Lemon wedges, for serving

1. Pull and cut the skin off the hens. Make several deep slashes in the breasts and thighs.

2. Mix the paprika, salt, turmeric and lemon juice together in a bowl. Rub the mixture over the hens and then massage the birds with the spices for about 1 minute to ensure that the spices are rubbed in nicely. Set aside, covered for half an hour.

3. Meanwhile, put all the marinade ingredients in a blender and process on low speed until smooth.

4. Toss the hens in the marinade until coated. Place in a zip loc bag and marinade in the refrigerator overnight or for up to 2 days.

5. Bring the hens to room temperature by placing outside the refrigerator for an hour before ready to cook.

6. Preheat the oven to 500?F. Add the 2 tablespoons oil to the bowl with the hens and stir with a rubber spatula to coat. Remove hens from marinade with whatever marinade sticks to them. Put them on a rack in a roasting pan and roast 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand 5 minutes. Cut in half and serve with lemon wedges.

[Suvir Saran]

Following is the post Simon made in the Chicken Curries thread.

"My absolute fave chicken recipe is taken from a book of anglo indian recipes ( I can never remember the name of the book ) and is for Chicken korma. The recipe is the version prepared for Mountbatten and was his favourite dish. I have no idea how authentic the dish is, but it is rich and delicious and the single favourite dish when I prepare an indian meal."

Ingredients ( to serve 4 )

four boned and skinless chicken breasts in 1in Chunk

two green chillies chopped

1 fat clove garlic chopped

1/2 tsp turmeric

Fry the chilli garlic and turmeric in a little oil until they lose their rawness ( but not until the colour ) add the chicken and cook thoroughly. Place in a heat proof dish in the oven on a low heat to keep warm.

SAUCE

1 cup of ground almonds

1 pinch sugar

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 small carton single cream

1 pinch salt

1/2 pint boiling water

mix all of these in a jug and leave to one side for 5 mins until the oils in the almonds begin to thicken the sauce.

Finally return the chicken to a pan on a low heat, pour over the sauce and cook until the sauce is thickened.

Stir in a big bunch of chopped fresh corriander and squeeze over the dish the juice of two limes.

Fantastic. Give it a try

Chicken Curries Thread

[mikeczyz]

hmmm, as for dishes i remember enjoying, samosas (vegetable) and lamb baltibotikabob. i think that's how you spell it. it was served with a coconut chutney. i think the chutney had ginger in it from what i remember. i love curries. saag paneer. alu methi. umm. this is it from the top of my head. i love dark, savory dishes. thanks

mike

[Suvir Saran]

Aloo Methi... wow! Where did y ou eat that? What restaurant? I am yet to find it in most restaurants around NYC... Some have it... and as specials.

It was my favorite dish growing up. I love potatoes... and I love Methi. This was heaven at every bite for me.

Methi is fenugreek for those that care to know.

[mikeczyz]

i found the aloo methi in a restaurant in baltimore where i was attending school. mughal garden was the name of the joint. really tasty food. what's fenugreek? what other things went into aloo methi? i love vindaloo also. pretty much anything that said methi or vindaloo at the end was enjoyable.

mike

[Suvir Saran]

So you like bitter things... If you ever come to NYC.. do let me know.. maybe I will volunteer to make you food and deliver where you are staying... I love bitter stuff now.. as a child I hated those things... Albeit, Methi Aloo.

Fenugreek = Methi

In Methi Aloo, very often dried Fenugreek leaves are used. These are called Kasoori Methi. You can find them in most all Indian stores and also online at namaste.com

I always have my mother bring me dried fenugreek leaves from home. Panditji cleans the leaves, chops them and dries them just for me. They are great. But the pacakged store brought ones are equally good.

I usually begin by heating a tablespoon or two of oil in a wok. To that I add cumin seeds and whole dried chilies. A little asafoetida just as the cumin seeds start to splatter. Then I add the potatoes. I saute them till they are beginning to get color on the edges. At this point I add the kasoori methi. Fresh if using fresh. I cook covered over a very low flame till the potatoes are cooked through. I use baby red potatoes.

When the potatoes are cooked, I uncover and cook for a few minutes to make them crispy. I add a pinch of garam masala. Salt to taste and serve with chapatis (Indian flat bread). Pita is fine as well.

I also add some crushed red pepper with the cumin seeds when cooking for just Chuck and myself. They add a great depth of flavor. The heat is excellent with the sweet-bitter flavor of the dish.

[Suvir Saran]

My co-writer also loves anything with fenugreek. Methi that is. In fact in many Indian homes, the cooks often add just a teeny weeny bit of Methi to spinach dishes. It adds great flavor to the spinach sauces.

Will post a recipe for a Vindaloo for you. Hope you can cook and post about the experiences soon. Cannot wait to hear how you interact with spices and this new way of cooking. I am sure as an experienced chef you will find it very easy.

[mikeczyz]

what kind of potatoes are indiginous to india? can those varieties be found in the u.s.? can you tell me about baltibotikabob? i think i remember that it was from the western regions of india but that's about it. it was the first time i had encountered it. are there many regional differences in indian cuisine? fundamental differences such as how the lower you go in italy, the more prevalent olive oil is as compared to lard/animal based fats in the northern regions? thanks

mike

p.s. probably will not have time to cook until saturday or so. will post on those experiences then.

[Suvir Saran]

Balti Boti Kabab is from the Baltistan region. These are recipes that come from India's North West Frontier.

Maybe you want to start a new thread on that dish. I am sure between the collective experiences on this site, you will get a lot of information on that dish.

I did start a thread on fenugreek/methi.

Fenugreek/Methi

And all the best with preparing for these recipes.... if you need substitutes for spices or help finding any, feel free to post here... I am sure your questions will get answered.

You may want to read the two threads below for an introduction to Indian cooking. Add to them any relevant questions you may have.

Getting to know Indian food

History of Indian food

The above threads will give you an extensive general overview of Indian food.

Indian cooking is very regionally biased. In fact with India having more languages and dialects in one country than all of Europe and North Ameirca, it should give you a decent idea of what diversity you are trying to explore. India also is home for at least the people of over 8 religions. Indians can look as different from one another as one would find in comparing an African American from a Caucasian American. And of course a large chunk of India's 1 Billion plus populace fits somewhere in between.

It's climate goes from being similar to the American to being tropical. So of course there is great regional difference that has been created by such geographical variances. Spices are what are common, but produce and meats change. Cooking medium (fat) changes from region to region. Yes there are parts of India where lard is used. In others mustard oil, in others sesame oil, in others peanut oil, in others coconut oil, in others sunflower oil and so on and so forth.

As for Indian potatoes.. I find them closest to the red potatoes you get here. Our white potatoes are very different. I have yet to find a close match. SOme times I find the fingerling potatoes in the farmers market as being close to the ones I grew up eating.

We mostly use red onion in indian cooking. Also we use shallots a lot. But most chefs identify them as being small white onions.

[Suvir Saran]

Mike,

I just realized how just in the last few weeks... if you go through posts on this forum, you will get a very myopic insight into the regional aspects of Indian cooking.

Each member here brings a very unique flavor to the forum. While certainly most of them are able to understand and cook and enjoy all the many regional foods, they have grown up with a bias towards one or the other. Maybe not.. but they can explain that with their own words.

I have enjoyed learning from each of them... I will take the risk of stating that which I feel have been my understanding of each of their strengths.

Simon Majumdar - Bengali Cooking while certainly he has a great knowledge about many other regions and foods.

Anil - This man is hard to narrow into any category.. But I feel he would know more about Gujarati food than many of us ever can.. he also has shown amazing insight into Bengali cooking.

Polly - The little I have read from her has had a slant towards South Indian cooking. I know her living in Australia must give her so much more of diverse knowledge. I envy her.

Oliva - Again, I am yet to have a lasting impression, but she seems to be concealing a great deal of knowledge about the foods of North Western India. I also am judging this by my assumption that she is either from Pakistan or born to parenst from there. I may be altogether wrong about this.. But these are my thoughts. And as with anything, I will be humbled but happy to stand corrected.

Vivin - A globe trotter that he seems, I also know has a whole lot to offer with his having grown up in the home of Delhis premiere restaurant family. Certainly he would take for granted many things that are novel to many others about the foods of Delhi and Punjab.

And then we have the independently tutored and self trained and self-motivated brilliance added to the forum by Sandra, Toby, Hasmi, Jaymes, Sobaaddict, etc etc... I am sorry that I am unable to name every name.... These members have shared their unique ability to have taken a cuisine that they may not have grown up with, but have mastered with their desire to explore.

I often feel this latter group has an edge over people like me. We take for granted and often do not challenge many things given to us. SO the magic of many small nuances of cooking can get lost. But to the novice, it is all a discovery that comes with great many surprises. As you read the threads around this forum, you will begin to understand how diverse India is and how different people react so differently to the same thing. It is wonderful to have such diversity. It is exciting and makes for a long journey full of entertainment.