Ever since I was teeny-tiny, I've had this thing about India. I remember being about 4 years old and finding a Hare Krishna booklet and falling in love with the beautiful drawings...the saturated colors, the serenity and grace in the faces of the goddesses and gods portrayed. When I played my brother's Beatles albums I was mesmerized by the songs produced in their "trippy" period. So, follow me after the jump for a little discussion of Indian cuisine as well as some of my favorite recipes.
Here, let's set the mood a bit, with the Bombay Dub Orchestra
It wasn't until I was in college that I actually tasted Indian food, but I was addicted from the first time I savored a steaming morsel of butter chicken. I mopped up every drop of the rich sauce with that incredible naan, and swore that I'd learn to cook this for myself. If I were stranded on a desert isle and could eat only one cuisine it'd be Indian. Why the appeal? For starters, I adore spicy food and complex, strong flavors. Second, there is tremendous variety - India is more than 3 million square kilometers in area, and the various regions have their own unique contributions to what we call "Indian food." Finally, if I really were on a desert isle, I'd be less likely to die from bacterial infections if I was eating Indian chow. Think I'm lyin'?
Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything), followed by thyme, cinnamon, tarragon and cumin (any of which kill up to 80 percent of bacteria). Capsicums, including chilies and other hot peppers, are in the middle of the antimicrobial pack (killing or inhibiting up to 75 percent of bacteria), while pepper of the white or black variety inhibits 25 percent of bacteria, as do ginger, anise seed, celery seed and the juices of lemons and limes. -- Science Daily, March 5 1998
Most of those spices are staples of the Indian cook's spice cabinet. And, if you'd like to try cooking Indian at home, PLEASE go and stock your pantry with the following: cayenne pepper, turmeric, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and cardamom. Do not use generic "curry powder." Real Indian home cooks make their own spice blends, and it's so easy there's no reason you shouldn't either.
I was thrilled to get to do this diary tonight, because it gave me a very good reason to cook (and eat) a lot of my favorite foods. It also gave me and the husband an opportunity to invite our neighbors (the only other Dems on our block) for dinner for the first time! We decided to plan our dinner party to echo the experience of going to an authentic Indian restaurant, so we planned to make several dishes and serve them family-style. Great food, great conversation...and since you all couldn't be there, I've got recipes and some photos!
The Menu
Starter: Samosas (store-bought from our Indian market) with cocktails (if you're looking for a great cocktail to go with Indian, try this!)
Entrees: Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani), Chicken with Spinach (Murgh Saag), and Lamb Curry (Rogan Josh)
Sides: Basmati Rice, Chapatis, Gujarati-style green beans, and Eric's Carrot-Zucchini-Paneer Curry
We were running low on various pickles and chutneys, so I sent H out to our local Indian market to pick up a few favorites. He brought back tomato pickle, hot lime relish, mango chutney, and onion chutney. The shop also sells a small selection of homemade treats, so H picked up some potato & pea filled samosas. I've never made them myself, but will definitely be giving them a try at some point. They were delicious, and came with a pungent and fresh-tasting cilantro dipping sauce.
Now, on to the cookin'!
I own only one Indian cookbook. I can't recommend it highly enough. It is Sudha Koul's Curries Without Worries, a tiny gem of a cookbook. I bought it after I finished grad school and took a teaching job in a frozen, rural part of New York's "North Country." There was no ethnic food to be had unless we road-tripped to Ottawa, so I began developing my Indian cooking skills there. The color and the heat of the dishes warmed up the dreary and long winters, too. Anyhow, the three entrees we served at our dinner party are all Sudha Koul's recipes.
Whispering Windows Butter Chicken
If you like tikka masala when you go out for Indian, you'll love this recipe. It's spicy and aromatic, with a luscious creaminess that comes from the ground cashews. If you're watching your weight, you might want to eat light for a few days after having this!
12 skinless chicken thighs
1 cup yogurt (I used 2% Greek style)
salt to taste
1/4 lb butter (I used about half this amount)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander seeds
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 cup strained tomatoes
1/2 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)
1/2 cup ground cashews
1 tsp cardamom seeds, crushed
Cut 2 parallel slits in each chicken thigh. Marinate overnight in yogurt & salt.
Heat butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook onion in butter until golden. Add cumin, coriander, cayenne, and tomato. Stir well, then add chicken and marinade. Reduce heat to medium. Stir and cook covered for 15 minutes.
Add cream, cashews, and cardamom; stir well. Cover and cook at least 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
What I find works best is to stop at this point and let the dish cool, then put it in the fridge and reheat the next day. The chicken becomes super tender and the spices marry and become more complex and delicious. This goes for all the entrees here, actually.
Murgh Saag
This is my personal favorite. It's pure comfort food and very healthy to boot! Koul uses fresh spinach and cooks it first; for convenience I always use chopped frozen spinach. Since tomatoes are not in season, I subbed a can of whole tomatoes and squished them with my hands. This makes the saag more tomato-y, which I like.
1 box frozen, chopped spinach (thawed)
1 cup water
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic (or more if you're like me)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup oil (again, I use considerably less)
8 cloves
8 boneless & skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 cinnamon stick, coarsely crushed (I subbed 1/2 tsp ground)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used 2% Greek yogurt)
1/2 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
salt to taste
Puree spinach and 1 cup water in blender. Set aside.
Puree onion, garlic, and ginger with 2 Tbsp water. Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add cloves and onion puree. Stir briskly until puree begins to brown. Add chicken and stir fry about 2 minutes. Lower heat to medium high and brown chicken. Add tomatoes and all other ingredients except for the spinach. Stir well and bring to a boil. Add spinach puree and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until tender (at least 45 minutes).
In another diary a few weeks back, someone asked if I could address the issue of bitterness in saag. I've never had a problem with bitterness myself, but I suspect that any bitterness might be related to using too much turmeric.
Rogan Josh
Don't be intimidated by the amount of cayenne - it mellows as it cooks. Still, this is not a dish for weak stomachs.
1/2 cup oil (me, not so much!)
8 cloves
1 medium onion, chopped
3 lbs leg or shoulder of lamb, cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup yogurt
1 tsp chopped fresh ginger
2 Tbsp cayenne
3 cups water
1 Tbsp ground fennel seeds
1 tsp powdered ginger
salt to taste
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed cardamom seeds
Heat oil in large saucepan on high. Add cloves and onion and cook 'til onion begins to brown. Add lamb and brown. Add yogurt and ginger and stir briskly until most of the liquid evaporates. Remove from heat and quickly add cayenne, stirring to coat meat. Add water and return to burner. Add fennel, ginger, and salt...Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until lamb is tender (at least 45 minutes). When lamb is tender add cinnamon, cumin and cardamom. Stir, cover and cook for another minute.
Eric's Carrot-Zucchini with Paneer Curry
I have no idea where this dish came from originally. My dear, late friend Eric used to make it and he very well may have invented it himself. If you have access to paneer by all means use it. I used low-fat cottage cheese. For this recipe I do use a commercial curry powder from Penzey's. I like their Maharajah curry powder. This could easily be an entree, and is a fantastic cheap and healthy and filling dish.
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large carrots, grated
1 large zucchini, grated
1 tsp curry powder (more or less to taste)
salt to taste
1 cup cottage cheese
Heat oil and cook garlic and onion 'til soft. Add carrot and zucchini and stir fry briefly until the vegetables soften a bit. Stir in curry powder, coating vegetables well. When ready to serve, add in cottage cheese and heat through.
Gujarati-style green beans
I had an abundance of fresh green beans and decided to find a recipe to use them up. This was very simple and delicious. It's not aggressively spiced and would make a great vegetable side for almost any meal.
The meal was rounded out with basmati rice and chapatis. H purchased refrigerated chapati dough, pre-rolled and ready to cook. They puffed up beautifully and had a great texture and good wheaty flavor. Although we've made chapatis totally from scratch, these were so good we decided going totally home-made isn't worth the effort.
I hope you enjoyed these recipes and my photos! If you're ever visiting NE Florida, drop me a line and come over for dinner!
Namaste....