Another popular Indian dish is the Eggplant Masala. We’re confident you’ll love this tasty treat – it’s ideal before you head off to your usual casino night out or trip to the movies with friends. It can be knocked up very quickly with ingredients close to hand.

Ingredients

• 1/2 Kg. Small Long-shaped brinjals/eggplants (Baingan – Indian Eggplant)
• 2 Onions
• 6 Tomatoes
• 1 Small Garlic
• Whole Black Pepper
• Cumin Seeds
• Methi (Fenugreek)
• Curry Leaves
• Oil for frying
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon Vinegar
• Ghee

Method
# Cut Brinjals into Half from the middle.
# Fry the Brinjals in oil.
# Brinjals are not to be fried for long so take them out and keep them aside.
# Take some ghee in a pan and put in Onions, Garlic, Cumin Seeds, Methi(Fenugreek), Curry Leaves, Salt to taste, Black Pepper, Red Chilli Powder, Haldi.
# Fry for 2-3 minutes and put in Brinjals and Tomatoes
# Put in a little of water to make gravy.
# Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes.
# Add Vinegar to it and keep it for a while before serving.

Tags: vindaloo, gosht, murgh, indian curry, dosa, desi, handi, tikka masala, kebab, naan

While classifying Handi cooking through the annals of Indian culinary preparation has been the recent endeavour, the cooking vessels in ancient India were mostly Handi-like made from either clay or copper. The pots are typically round thick bottomed which tapers towards the mouth to capture the steam throughout the cooking process. The process is a bit lengthy because it dwells upon the principle of slow cooking to fully develop the flavor and aroma. While  the recipe of “handi dal” vary from place to place, as tracing this recipe through the culinary journey of past years does not yield much information, the widely acceptable lentils for Handi cooking are Arhar Dal, also known as Tur dal or yellow lentil and Whole urad dal, also known as Black lentil. We will try to recreate the recipe which is a close version of what most of the restaurants do while leaving the choice of lentil to you as per your convenience. Please remember that cooking Urad dal will take longer because it contains skin for this recipe and also because it releases its creaminess through slow cooking process as evident in Dal makhni.

Ingredients:
1 cup Yellow lentil (tur/ arhar dal)
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp chopped garlic
3 tbsp chopped onion
½ tsp turmeric powder
3 green chili, chopped
¼ cup chopped tomato
3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
1 tbsp ghee/ white butter

Method:
Pick the lentils, wash in running water and keep soaked for 30minutes. This allows the lentil to hydrate and cook evenly. Place the washed lentil in handi with salt, turmeric and water (approximately 4 ½ cup), bring to boil, reduce the heat and remove the scum which surfaces on top.

Heat oil in pan, sauté until light brown, add chopped ginger and garlic and keep cooking until all the ingredients are of the same colour (light brown). Then add green chili, stir for a minute.
Add tomatoes and continue cooking until tomatoes are reduced to a pulp. Transfer the mixture to the lentil and stir. Continue cooking until lentils are cooked and of medium thick consistency.

Just before serving, stir in the ghee/ white butter and chopped coriander. Serve hot from the handi either with Indian bread or as an accompaniment for rice.

Bon Appetit !

- Kuntal

Tags: curries, naan, roti, chettinad, dal, paneer, handi, kebab, kulfi, tandoor

In India, Cumin is known in as “Jeera or Jira”. The use of cumin is very common in Indian and Pakistani foods. Black cumin seed (also called black seed) should not be confused with the herb, cumin. It is know as Shahi jeera and is the essential spice for so many aromatic preparation.

It is an herbaceous annual plant, with a slender branched stem 20-30 cm tall. The leaves are 5-10 cm long. Cumin seeds are similar to fennel and anise seeds in appearance, but are smaller and darker in colour. Cultivation of cumin requires a long, hot summer of 3-4 months, with daytime temperatures around 30°C (86°F); it is drought tolerant, and is mostly grown in Mediterranean climates. It is grown from seed, sown in spring, and needs fertile, well-drained soil.

Today, cumin is identified with Indian, Tex-Mex, Cuban and Northern Mexican cuisine. It is used as an ingredient of curry powder. Cumin can be found in some Dutch cheeses like Leyden cheese, and in some traditional bread from France.

A few of cumin’s medicinal uses include treating asthma, tumors, colic, fever, and snakebite.
Additionally it also acts as a stimulant as well as a great herb for digestive disorders and even as a antiseptic of sorts. The seeds themselves are rich in iron and are thought to help stimulate the secretion of enzymes from the pancreas which can help absorb nutrients into the system. It has also been shown to boost the power of the liver’s ability to detoxify the human body.

I wish to recreate a simple recipe which is being used in India for centuries and is the real cold drink with all the goodness to fight the extreme summers of the sub-continent.

Jeera Pani
2 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted until fragrant
570 ml water
15 grams fresh mint leaves
1 teaspoon rock salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Method
Put water in a saucepan and bring it to boil. Remove from heat and allow cooling slightly.
Crush cumin lightly to release flavor, add to the water alongwith mint, salt, sugar and lemon juice. To have a smooth drink, you can also strain the water but for additional character, I like to serve with all the ingredients. If you wish to spice up the drink, you can also add finely chopped green chili. Chill and serve.

- Kuntal.

Tags: dosa, lentil, karahi, handi, kebab, gosht, roti, desi, idli, indian food

Question : When making curry and adding coconut milk, should you heat the milk till it separates?

Kuntal Answers….

While some of the recipes require to cook the coconut milk longer along with the paste which act as a natural emulsifier for the milk and does not allow it to separate easily. It is quite common to see the fat from the coconut milk flowing on top of Thai curries and soups. In the Indian cuisine especially in the South India cuisine, most of the curries are thin; hence thick coconut milk is preferred. Reduce the heat to low after adding the milk and stir for a while to form an emulsion with the rest of the ingredients, allow the curry to simmer only to avoid the distasteful split which develops if one cooks on a high heat after the coconut milk is added.

Seasonal vegetable in coconut milk
Ingredients:

• 2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced into an inch
• 12-15 broad beans stringed, halved and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup green peas, shelled
• 1/4 flower cauliflower cut into medium florets
• 2 medium carrot peeled and diced into an inch
• 100 gm red pumpkin, peeled and diced into an inch
• 1 ½ cup freshly scraped coconut flesh, (white part only)
• 2 tbsp tamarind  pulp
• 3 tbsp groundnut  oil (olive oil optional)
• 4 red chilies whole
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 8-10 garlic cloves,  peeled
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• salt  to taste
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp black gram split
• 8-10 curry leaves

Method:
1.Add warm water to one cup of scraped coconut and extract the first pressing using a muslin cloth. Next blend the contents of the muslin with half a cup of water until smooth and strain again using the same muslin/ cheesecloth. Keep aside. Dissolve tamarind pulp in half cup of water.

2.Heat a little oil and sauté 2 whole red chillies, cumin, coriander, garlic and the remaining half cup of scraped coconut until aromatic. Grind into a fine paste using little water.

3.Simmer the vegetables in the thin coconut milk adding the hard vegetables first in descending order with turmeric powder, tamarind extract and salt until three-fourth done. Add the ground masala and cook for 10 minutes.

4.Heat a little oil separately and add the remaining red chillies broken into two, mustard seeds and Black gram split. Add curry leaves and add this to the vegetables.

5.Continue cooking the vegetables till done. Then add the thick coconut milk and simmer for two to three minutes. Serve hot with boiled rice.

Bon Appetit !

Tags: handi, dal, bhatura, dosa, tikka masala, gosht, paneer, balti, kulfi, curries

Bhatura is a fried indian bread made from refined wheat flour, typically served with chickpea curry.

Ingredients

• 1 Kg. Maida flour
• Sooji flour (Rava) 100 Grams
• 1 Spoon Baking Powder
• 2 Tbsp. Fat or Ghee
• 1 Cup Curd
• Salt To Taste
• Oil for Deep Frying

Method
Mix all the Ingredients.
After Mixing, make a dough out of it.
Leave the Dough so that it can ferment(because of Baking Powder and Curd) for 6-7 hours.
Make Pedas (small round balls )out of the dough and make Oval shaped Rotis or Chapatis ready for Deep frying.
Deep fry the kneaded Rotis out of the dough.
Serve hot with Khatte Chane.

- Sonzy.

Tags: karahi, tikka masala, tandoori, indian curry, tandoor, chettinad, murgh, handi, naan, dal

Tags: roti, tandoor, handi, gosht, naan, indian food, indian curry, chicken, karahi, murgh

Quick Tip: Keeping garlic fresh for a longer period of time: Peel and mince a full garlic clove, then place it in a small jar and cover with olive oil. You can refrigerate it for about one week, and to your great surprise, it will remain fresh and will give you the same garlic flavor.

Pakwan Buzzword: Degchi/Pateela/Handi/Deg
These all belong to the same family of pots and are traditionally made of brass or copper. Nowadays, the use of stainless steel and aluminium is also widely used. The shape of the vessel may vary. The pateela has straight sides and the bottom is slightly rounded. The handi, on the other hand, has a neck that is more
narrow than the base. A deg is a bigger version of the handi.

Quick Tip:
Q: If you have absolutely no traces of curd in your house, how can you make curd without borrowing a little from your neighbor’s house?
A: If we put in a little (2 tsp) of Dal (Pulses) Stock in the utensil in which curd is made, you can still make curd without any help in the first place.

Buzzword: Tandoor (tahn-DOOR)

Used throughout India (and found in Indian restaurants throughout the world), the traditional rounded-top tandoor oven is made of brick and clay. It’s used to bake foods over direct heat produced from a smoky fire. The dough for the delicious Indian bread naan is slapped directly onto the oven’s clay walls and left to bake until puffy and lightly browned. Meats cooked in the tall, rather cylindrical tandoor are usually skewered and thrust into the oven’s heat, which is so intense (usually over 500*F) that it cooks a chicken half in less than 5 minutes.

How to make Paneer
1 litre milk
1/2 tsp citric acid or lemon juice
2 tbsp water

Method:
a. Dissolve the citric acid in water. Bring milk to boil, stirring continuously. Add the acid solution gradually, while stirring. When the milk curdles fully, turn off heat.
b. Cover for 3-4 minutes. Drain into a muslin cloth. Hold pouch under running water. Press out excess water.
c. Shape and place cloth under heavy weight for 2-3 hours before using as required. However, another substitute which can be used to make paneer dishes is Tofu or cheese made of soy milk.
Try that too

Buzzword : “Karahi” is indeed a wok-type utensil used in India. Karahi dishes are quick stir-fried style cooking with lamb, chicken, seafood or vegetables, often served in a cast iron skillet. These karahi dishes are very famous in British restaurants.