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Interracial and Intercultural Marriage and Family
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1. This is a Punjabi, north Indian dish
2. This is the first Indian dish I cooked for my man and I did two practice runs before making it for him!
3. I would say it’s Medium spicy.
CHICKEN VINDALOO!!! REALLY YUMMY!
Ingredients:
3 cups chopped onions
1 1/2 cups chopped seeded tomatoes (about 4 medium)
2 1/2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon garam masala*
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon (or more) cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 skinless boneless chicken thighs, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth or water
Preparation:
Blend first 11 ingredients and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in processor until paste forms. Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add paste from processor and cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and potatoes; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Uncover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes longer. Season with more cayenne, if desired, and salt and pepper.
*A spice mixture available at Indian markets, some specialty foods stores, and many supermarkets. To substitute, mix 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin, 3/4 teaspoon ground coriander, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper, 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon; use 1 teaspoon of mixture.
By: NeoKalypso on February 6, 2008
at 2:18 am
This is simple home food that my boyfriend cooks all the time. I don’t know if it’s “traditional” Gujarati or not… probably not really. But it’s quick & delicious.
1. Take 2 cups of basmati rice & cook them. (I make this much so I can have leftovers – it’ll probably feed like 4 people.)
2. chop an onion.
3. heat some oil in a big pan (a wok works well). Put in about a half tablespoon each of mustard seeds & cumin seeds (I just kinda grab little handfuls). let them get sputtery, then put in the onions. If you want, here you can add a chopped hot pepper.
4. add the rice. stir it around until the spices are mixed well.
5. add some turmeric. Maybe another half tablespoon. you might need more or less depending on if your spices are old. If you didn’t add a hot pepper before, add lal mirch powder to taste (other kinds of chili powder taste different). You can still add this anyway, but if you didn’t put in the pepper it’s mandatory.
6. stir the rice until the spices are all mixed in well. if you want you can scramble an egg or two in there, too.
7. eat it with plain yogurt on top. The yogurt is crucial. It’s so good.
By: KC.galaxie on February 6, 2008
at 5:13 am
I forgot to mention that it is also delicious to throw in something green with spicy fried rice: frozen peas, cut-up broccoli, chopped cilanro, whatever.
By: KC.galaxie on February 6, 2008
at 11:09 pm
So THAT is how to make fried rice. I LOVE fried rice, esp chicken fried rice galaxie. If I don’t want to make it spicy, what do I need to leave out? the pepper?
NK, your dish sounds very similar to a type of chicken stew my mom makes. So far the only difference I see is that my mom doesn’t add marsala, coriander, paprika and ginger. I should get her to add some of those spices to her stuff sometime then..well except coriander..allergy!
By: ara0062 on February 7, 2008
at 1:02 am
You need a little bit of pepper, or it won’t taste quite right. Plus, when you eat it with yogurt, the yogurt makes it milder.
But lal mirch is just a particular kind of hot red pepper, ground up. It has a special kind of hotness which is why I mentioned it in particular.
Oh! And I forgot salt! You will of course need salt.
By: KC.galaxie on February 8, 2008
at 9:25 pm
It sounds so much like Chinese fried rice (with the scrambled egg, etc) – just instead of the tumeric and specific spices Ang uses soy sauce, etc. The only thing you absolutely never see in Chinese food is dairy of any kind. No wonder they’re lactose intolerant. lol No yogurt, cheese, milk, nothing.
By: chineseambassador on February 8, 2008
at 9:33 pm
Now I am going to tell you how to make spicy fried potatoes. These you can eat plain, or you can fill a dosa with them and pour sambar and sweetened runny yogurt on top (this is how my man’s mom makes masala dosas).
1. Cook some potatoes. I usually cook them in the microwave because it’s fastest. You want them cooked enough that you could mash them pretty easilly.
2. Once they cool a bit, peel the potatoes (you can just take the skin off with your fingers) and cut them into little cubes. Maybe half-inch sized or so.
3. Chop some onion.
4. Heat some oil in a pan, and throw in some mustard seeds & cumin seeds. Let them get sizzly. Add the onion & cook it a bit. You can add chopped hot pepper here if you want.
5. Add the potatoes and cook them a bit. If you are careful and lucky with the scraping, you can get them to be a little crispy in spots, which is especially delicious.
6. Add a little turmeric. You can also add lal mirch here if you want. Don’t forget the salt. Stir everything around.
Done!
Most of the things I know how to make start with mustard seeds & cumin seeds in hot oil, then stir-frying. Sometimes they involve adding other spices, sometimes not. There are often onions. You can do this well with broccoli or green beans, too. It tastes good if you add cilantro to green things. If you’re cooking greens that are a little bitter, add sugar.
By: KC.galaxie on February 8, 2008
at 9:34 pm
And I think I said to put in too much turmeric in the rice. I just made it, and it doesn’t take as much turmeric as it does mustard & cumin seeds.
By: KC.galaxie on February 8, 2008
at 9:40 pm
VANKAI KOORA ( Egg Plant Curry)…. one of my favorites, esp when mom makes it
Ingredients
1. 2 Chopped Onions
2. 1 Egg Plant
3. 1 Spoon Garam Masala
4 1/2 – 1 Spoon Reg Chilli Powder
5. 1/2 Spoon Turmeric
6. a sprinkle of Cumin Seeds
7. Salt to taste
1. Chop onions and fry them medium brown in some oil.
2. Slice a Egg Plant into medium sized matchstick slices, add them to the onions.
3. Put the rest of the stuff in mix well, cook till medium brown and njoy.
By: 6mile on February 11, 2008
at 7:07 am
thanks ara. here is another one.
Rajma Curry ( Kidney Beans Curry)
Ingredients
1. 2 Chopped Onions
2. 2 Tins of Kidney Beans
3. 1 Spoon Garam Masala
4 1/2 – 1 Spoon Reg Chilli Powder
5. 1/2 Spoon Turmeric
6. a sprinkle of Cumin Seeds
7. Salt to taste
8. 1/2 spoon lemon Juice
9. 2 chopped Tomatoes
1. Chop onions and fry them medium brown in some oil with cumin seeds.
2. Add the Kidney beans and 2 cups water with the chopped tomatoes.
3. When it starts simmering add some turmeric and chilli powder and salt to taste and of coz garam masala.
4. Let it cook for about 20-25 min on a medium flame, it will thicken gradually.
5. Add lemon juice and mix well , serve.
if you dont want it too hot, you can go less on the masala and add a little more lemon, to give you a tangy taste.
By: 6mile on February 13, 2008
at 10:31 pm
MMM yummy recipes! I wish one of y’all could come and cook for me. Im so lazy. lol
Just a side note, actually vindaloo is more of a Goan, and not Punjabi dish. The addition of vinegar is common to Goa, because of its Portuguese roots.
Im loving your blog, CBC. Hey maybe I can post a gulab jamun recipe!!! Heheh, just kidding!!!
By: mirchi on April 10, 2008
at 5:13 pm
Thanks, mirchi – and welcome! (and no more gulab jamun, pleeeease!
)
In all seriousness, apparently Swad can take care of all your Indian dish needs! I think they sell it at Trader Joe’s if you have one of those. I’ve had the samosas from Trader Joe’s (though I think they’re another brand), and they’re pretty good. Not like homemade, but we gobble them up pretty fast (a whole box goes down scary fast!).
By: colorblindcupid on April 10, 2008
at 11:18 pm
I could cook when I come over
.
How about some spiced up garam pasta, or italian fried rice.
CBC, paneer is known as cottage cheese in india, its pretty close to tofu in texture but tastes diffrent as made from curdled milk.
By: 6mile on April 11, 2008
at 1:20 am
You can get both Swad and Deep at the regular grocery store. Not all of their products, but some. The samosas are definitely there. There’s also an “Ethnic Gourmet” brand, but I’m pretty sure I’ve only seen that at Whole Foods.
I got G to agree to eat Indian food once a week so that I can practice cooking it.
I’m sticking to Madhur Jaffrey’s cookbooks for now, so I don’t have any original recipes to add. I made KC.galaxie’s fried rice a few weeks ago, and it was good.
Oh, and mirchi is correct – vindaloo is Goan. That’s where G’s peeps are from, and it’s his favorite (although his mom and I usually make it with pork).
By: D on April 11, 2008
at 2:21 pm
BTW, Amy’s Organics have some AMAZING frozen Indian dinners. They’re all vegetarian, and pretty low in calories too. My favorites are the mattar paneer and the palak paneer – they come with rice and yummy dal or chickpeas. Mmmmmm!
By: mocroidh on April 11, 2008
at 8:33 pm
Make fried rice indian style , add italian seasoning for flavour. Comes out pretty well and not too spicy.
By: 6mile on April 11, 2008
at 10:24 pm
I love bagara baingan, yummy ! You reminded me of my mom.
hmmmm, bhendi masala, two of my favorite dishes I don’t know how to make:(
All we need to do is top it off with some baadam milk!
By: 6mile on April 12, 2008
at 12:36 am
I don’t think any good Indian recipe cookbook is complete without a chai recipe since there seems to be so many ways to make it. I hate the instant stuff, and I’ve tried the short-cut recipes, but it doesn’t taste as rich. I like to make the tea masala myself because I can customize to suit my mood and the aroma and flavors and just much better. This is how I make it for my Indian fiance who craves it almost every afternoon.
Ingredients (serves 2):
2 cloves
1 piece of cinnamon bark (about 1 inch or a little more)
6 whole cardamoms
1 piece of ginger (a small circle piece about 1 inch in diameter)
6-10 whole peppercorns (depending on how spicy you want it)
2 teaspoons lipton black tea
2 mugs of milk (about 16 oz)
water
1. Grind the cloves, cinnamon bark, cardamom, peppercorns, and ginger (I use a mortar and pestle for this) and put into a small sauce pan/pot.
2. Add the black tea to the pot and cover with water (usually about an inch of water).
3. Boil on high for two to three minutes. Most of the water should have boiled off and what is left should be a nice dark brown color and smell delicious.
4. Turn the heat to medium and add the milk. Boil until the milk just begins to rise (about 5-8 minutes). You do not need to stir while it is cooking.
5. Pour the chai into cups with a strainer and add sugar to taste.
This is perfect for cold days instead of hot chocolate because it’s so creamy. I usually serve this with store bought tea rusks or homemade toast.
By: Blue on August 16, 2008
at 7:16 pm