Some dishes are picked from a cookbook from Madhur Jaffrey, who actually had a TV show cooking Indian food (on Swedish TV).
Once it was hard to find Indian/Pakistani ingredients but the immigrants from all over the world has brought in lots of new interesting stuff. Some Arabs has opened a great shop in our neighbour town where I can find all kinds from Eastern Mediterranian and also Pakistan/India.
My wife is especially fond of the garlic pickles, but right now we "just" got Hyderabadi Pickles
.
Once it was hard to find Indian/Pakistani ingredients but the immigrants from all over the world has brought in lots of new interesting stuff. Some Arabs has opened a great shop in our neighbour town where I can find all kinds from Eastern Mediterranian and also Pakistan/India.
My wife is especially fond of the garlic pickles, but right now we "just" got Hyderabadi Pickles
.
Patak's (Pathak's) is more export oriented, may be modified or toned down taste.
Try Priya Pickles, their quality is good.
Nilon's has started using vinegar instead of the preferred oil, which is not authentic.
Gatte ki Sabji is chana daal powder (Besan) dumplings in a curd based gravy, originally from Rajasthan.
Baati is flour dough balls left overnight buried in the ground under a fire, slow cooked overnight. Eaten with spicy daal after being broken and soaked in ghee, accompanied by churma, dry roasted flour with sugar or molasses, sometimes spiced with the likes of cardamom. Also from Rajasthan.
Try Priya Pickles, their quality is good.
Nilon's has started using vinegar instead of the preferred oil, which is not authentic.
Gatte ki Sabji is chana daal powder (Besan) dumplings in a curd based gravy, originally from Rajasthan.
Baati is flour dough balls left overnight buried in the ground under a fire, slow cooked overnight. Eaten with spicy daal after being broken and soaked in ghee, accompanied by churma, dry roasted flour with sugar or molasses, sometimes spiced with the likes of cardamom. Also from Rajasthan.
Madhur Jaffrey had a bored tone about her, as if somebody had forced her to do the show, no enthusiasm.
Tarla Dala has shows and books, so has Sanjeev Kapoor.
Highly recommended is the book "Prasad" by J.Inder Singh Kalra, very accurate and authentic, no missing ingredients like Sanjeev Kapoor.
Tarla Dala has shows and books, so has Sanjeev Kapoor.
Highly recommended is the book "Prasad" by J.Inder Singh Kalra, very accurate and authentic, no missing ingredients like Sanjeev Kapoor.
This has been our family's favorite. We are in US. How do you guys think about it? Is this considered to be a junk food in India?
ITC Hotel curry
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V17MLS/
ITC Hotel curry
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000V17MLS/
Rasedar Jhinga = Juicy prawns, ie Prawns in gravy, not dry.
No, ITC is highly reputed for its Welcomgroup hotels, there is a restaurant in Delhi in one of their the hotels, called Bukhara, considered the best in the world for authentic North West Frontier food.
The hotel is in Chanakyapuri are of Delhi, it is called the Maurya .
They just might have altered the taste for Western palates.
Ask an Indian friend. But top quality materials used, for sure.
No, ITC is highly reputed for its Welcomgroup hotels, there is a restaurant in Delhi in one of their the hotels, called Bukhara, considered the best in the world for authentic North West Frontier food.
The hotel is in Chanakyapuri are of Delhi, it is called the Maurya .
They just might have altered the taste for Western palates.
Ask an Indian friend. But top quality materials used, for sure.
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In Rajkot city, they are fond of ice cream, in winter they add ginger for warmth.
And in Surat, green and red chilly ice creams are available.
And here the ice cream is not stabilized foam like in the USA, where the weight would be about 400 grams per liter, here it is more fat, and around 1 kilo per liter at artisanal shops, and starts with reduced milk to which sugar has been added.
The rest are added later, after cooking or reducing the sweet milk.
We do get branded ice cream, or stabilized foam as I call it.
And in Surat, green and red chilly ice creams are available.
And here the ice cream is not stabilized foam like in the USA, where the weight would be about 400 grams per liter, here it is more fat, and around 1 kilo per liter at artisanal shops, and starts with reduced milk to which sugar has been added.
The rest are added later, after cooking or reducing the sweet milk.
We do get branded ice cream, or stabilized foam as I call it.
Oh, thanks. We bought a several curry recipe books and dried spices in Indian grocery in US, but we could not make satisfying curry from scratch ourselves, so we still use this kind of instant curry mix. When I cook, I usually fry dried spices until they smell nice, then add veggies and meat with instant curry mix like this.
Are you guys usually using fresh spices in India? Fresh turmeric tastes very good.
Wife has agreed to try the Jalfrezi recipe. Odd that I hadn't thought about that before, but it was all I ever ordered in restaurants in my carnivorous days.
For pickle our current favourites, other than Ma's homemade ones are Priya branded. But homemade lemon pickle is simply amazing and very simple to make.
For pickle our current favourites, other than Ma's homemade ones are Priya branded. But homemade lemon pickle is simply amazing and very simple to make.
Fresh spice pastes mean a lot of preparation time, which is difficult, particularly for small families. To make a fresh spice paste for just three people is tedious. It also involves buying the fresh spices and herbs, that too in small quantities at the big market, it is only 3.5 km from my house, but crowded.
So I also end up gently frying the dry spices at about fried egg temperature.
Curry leaf plant we have at home. Fresh turmeric is available 4 out of 12 months a year here.
Planted a couple of lemon trees at the factory, will take two years to give fruits. Seedless, good for pickles...
I tend to use Shaan brand spice mixes, because their mix of mild flavors, they do not emphasize chilli so much.
For vegetables, I add them later, but chicken I cook with the onions at the time of adding spices.
When the onions turn into gravy, add the tomatoes, cover the pot / vessel, cook till those have disintegrated to paste.
Turn down heat and cook till oil comes to surface.
Should be done by that time.
Some daals are cooked with the spices, but some have the spice paste / temper / garnish added later, after they have been cooked.
So I also end up gently frying the dry spices at about fried egg temperature.
Curry leaf plant we have at home. Fresh turmeric is available 4 out of 12 months a year here.
Planted a couple of lemon trees at the factory, will take two years to give fruits. Seedless, good for pickles...
I tend to use Shaan brand spice mixes, because their mix of mild flavors, they do not emphasize chilli so much.
For vegetables, I add them later, but chicken I cook with the onions at the time of adding spices.
When the onions turn into gravy, add the tomatoes, cover the pot / vessel, cook till those have disintegrated to paste.
Turn down heat and cook till oil comes to surface.
Should be done by that time.
Some daals are cooked with the spices, but some have the spice paste / temper / garnish added later, after they have been cooked.
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Sainsburys in Basildon close to work has it, I buy a pack every other week. Boy, does it stain
The recipe in post 26 for BIR Gravy (Curry base) turned out four and a half American pints of sauce, so roughly 2L.
If using measuring teaspoons, double or even triple the measurements.
I used measured teaspoons and it is very mild.
I am making shrimp curry with creamed spinach, Jasmin rice and a baguette for dinner tonight. Hopefully I can remember to take pictures and post them.
If using measuring teaspoons, double or even triple the measurements.
I used measured teaspoons and it is very mild.
I am making shrimp curry with creamed spinach, Jasmin rice and a baguette for dinner tonight. Hopefully I can remember to take pictures and post them.
Madhur Jaffrey´s first recipe book(s) are a treasure.
My indian friend and amazing cook thinks she must have writers for her books nowadays.
The very simplistic recipes are not comparable to the first book of hers.
A good friend has it and often cooks the Rogan Josh from it.
Here´s his pretty simple adaption I often cook:
If using more meat the taste won´t be as good and ideally you have to adapt the spices (which unfortunately can´t be scaled easily/proportionally).
My indian friend and amazing cook thinks she must have writers for her books nowadays.
The very simplistic recipes are not comparable to the first book of hers.
A good friend has it and often cooks the Rogan Josh from it.
Here´s his pretty simple adaption I often cook:
Works for a reasonable amount of chicken for 4 persons.
If using more meat the taste won´t be as good and ideally you have to adapt the spices (which unfortunately can´t be scaled easily/proportionally).
Rogan Josh is supposed to be prepared using lamb. Lamb and chicken are definitely NOT at all the same kind of flavor. How do you feel this recipe tastes using chicken?
I can get goat meat, and there is a a dry spice mix from MDH that works very well with it. Has anyone tried that?
Not exactly a pickle but an accompaniment that really picks up an Indian meal. Onion sambal:
Thinly slice 2 onions, add a tsp or so of salt, about 2 tsp of chili powder, and a couple of tablespoons of lemon juice. Mix well, cover, and let sit refrigerated for at least a couple of hours. The onions will soften in the salt and acid, and will be pretty zippy from the chili powder. A spoonful of that on the side is a great accent. (Note: Indian chili powder is not at all like American or Mexican chili powder. Mexican chili powder is a spice blend made with cumin and other spices. Indian chili powder is powdered dried red chilis.)
Another standby is cucumber dahi raita:
Thinly slice a large cucumber, mix with a couple od teaspoons of salt, and let it sit for an hour or two, then press out the excess moisture (that removes a lot of the salt too). You can put the sliced cukes in a colander with a plate on to and something heavy on the plate, and leave it for a while.
Then grate about a tsp of ginger and a clove of garlic, mix with the drained cucumber and a couple of cups of yoghurt. This is a lovely cooling accompaniment when you are having your very spicy vindaloo or whatever.
Mogul style biriani:
(going from memory here so this is a bit sketchy)
Make a rich stock from two lamb shanks, an onion, a clove of garlic, 12 peppercorns, a couple of bruised cardamom pods, a piece of cinnamon, and 2 liters of water, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for a couple of hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Strain and reserve the stock (skim off excess fat), and pick the meat from the bones and chop it up.
Now make a curry with a kilo of lamb leg meat cut into cubes, a couple of onions, garlic, ginger, ground coriander and cumin, chilis, and quite a bit of cardamom. Fry the onions, add garlic and ginger, add ground spices, add salt and the meat, stir to coat everything evenly, add a couple of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of saffron soaked in a few tablespoons of hot water, stir again, and simmer until meat is tender and gravy is thick.
Now in another pot fry a couple of cups of rice in some ghee, and stir in the hot stock (remember the stock? measure 4 cups (twice the volume of the rice) and have it hot before you start the rice), the chopped shank meat, and a teaspoon of garam marsala, and cook covered for 20 minutes. Let the steam escape for a bit then stir it up to mix evenly.
Now take a large covered casserole, melt some ghee and swirl it around in the casserole to coat it, put 1/3 of rice in the bottom and press it down firmly. Put in half the lamb curry, then half the remaining rice, then the last of the curry, and finally the last of the rice. Cover the vessel and put in a medium oven for half an hour. Take it out and flip the whole thing onto a platter. (In India they make special copper or brass vessels for this purpose, where the "lid" is a large serving tray.) You can sprinkle it with hot green peas and fried sultanas if you want.
The first time I made this it was a 2-day cook!
(going from memory here so this is a bit sketchy)
Make a rich stock from two lamb shanks, an onion, a clove of garlic, 12 peppercorns, a couple of bruised cardamom pods, a piece of cinnamon, and 2 liters of water, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for a couple of hours until the meat is falling off the bone. Strain and reserve the stock (skim off excess fat), and pick the meat from the bones and chop it up.
Now make a curry with a kilo of lamb leg meat cut into cubes, a couple of onions, garlic, ginger, ground coriander and cumin, chilis, and quite a bit of cardamom. Fry the onions, add garlic and ginger, add ground spices, add salt and the meat, stir to coat everything evenly, add a couple of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of saffron soaked in a few tablespoons of hot water, stir again, and simmer until meat is tender and gravy is thick.
Now in another pot fry a couple of cups of rice in some ghee, and stir in the hot stock (remember the stock? measure 4 cups (twice the volume of the rice) and have it hot before you start the rice), the chopped shank meat, and a teaspoon of garam marsala, and cook covered for 20 minutes. Let the steam escape for a bit then stir it up to mix evenly.
Now take a large covered casserole, melt some ghee and swirl it around in the casserole to coat it, put 1/3 of rice in the bottom and press it down firmly. Put in half the lamb curry, then half the remaining rice, then the last of the curry, and finally the last of the rice. Cover the vessel and put in a medium oven for half an hour. Take it out and flip the whole thing onto a platter. (In India they make special copper or brass vessels for this purpose, where the "lid" is a large serving tray.) You can sprinkle it with hot green peas and fried sultanas if you want.
The first time I made this it was a 2-day cook!
