While the debate about the difference between yogurt and curd will always go on, the good quality contained within will remain same always. While there are no stringent laws in India which defines the production of yogurt as per its guidelines, the US Food & Drug Administration agency is forthcoming as to what can constitute yogurt. As per the definition available with them, the inoculation of pasteurized milk has to be done with permitted cultured bacteria which contains Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus.

You will find that most of the Indian households make their own yogurt which finds variety of uses in the house ranging from being eaten sweet with sugar or jaggery, savoury as raita, curry and “kadhi” and even as a natural face cleanser.

Recipe for “Punjabi Kadhi”

Even though Kadhi is, more often than not, made as a stew to immerse gram-flour dumplings, the recipe given below can be also used on its own as an accompaniment for Indian breads or rice.

1 cup Curd (yogurt), preferably a day old,
2 tbsp Gram flour (besan)
¾ cup water
2 tbsp cooking oil
½ tsp cumin seeds
1/3  tsp Fenugreek seeds
6 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 no. Dry red chili whole
1 tsp Turmeric powder.
Salt As per taste

Method:

Beat yogurt and gram flour in a large bowl until smooth. Add water and blend again to obtain a smooth mixture. Keep aside.

Heat oil in a pan, crackle cumin and fenugreek seed and add garlic and dry chili. Cook for 30 seconds until the garlic has just turned golden. Reduce the heat to low.

Pour in the yogurt mixture in the pan and stir. Slowly bring to boil, stirring from time to time to avoid curdling, and allow to thicken to the consistency which you like to serve with your bread or rice.

Note: If you cannot use all the kadhi in a single meal, store them in the refrigerator. When you bring them out again, they would have thickened invariably. Boil some hot water, add the kadhi and stir them back to normal for further use.

- Kuntal

Tags: chicken, dhokla, curries, sambhar, chettinad, idli, handi, naan, tikka masala, murgh

Question : What would you reccomend for someone who is trying Indian food for the first time?
My boyfriend is Indian and I want to show him that I care about him and want to learn about his culture by trying Indian food. I am a picky eater and not a big fan of spicy foods. What would you recommend for someone who wants to try Indian food and will like it? (It is asked in reference to people going out and picking a dish from a menu)

Kuntal Answers : At the outset, allow me to dispel the notion that Indian food is spicy and oily. The spice present in the Indian cuisine is more than often confused with Chilli which is definitely spicy. The other spices are there to create the particular flavour and aroma which is distinctive in several of curries found in India, even with the use of same spices. The other common spices used in Indian cuisine are cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, fenugreek, dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi), dried bayleaf (tej patta), peppercorn (kali or gol mirch), saffron etc.

When trying to learn the cuisine of a particular country, it is advisable to stick to basic popular choices which are easy to understand, prepare and relish as well. Some of the examples can be Kadhai preparations like Kadhai chicken, lamb, vegetables or paneer, Curries like chicken curry, Lamb Rogan Josh, fish curry, Kormas like chicken, lamb, paneer or mixed vegetable. Some of the popular vegetarian dishes are matar paneer (green peas and cottage cheese), Palak paneer (spinach and cottage cheese), Aloo Jeera (potatoes spiked with ginger), Kadhai paneer (wok tossed cottage cheese with onion and tomato), Gobhi matar (cauliflower and green peas ) etc. Indian breads like tandoori roti, naan (plain or flavoured), Roti (Indian flat bread) or paratha (Triangular pan fried Indian bread which can be flavoured with fresh coriander, onion seeds, carom seeds etc.), For the rice preparation you can go for pulaos or biryanis of your choice. Spike your meal with Indian chutneys, pickles and papads.

For the starters you can go for Pakodas (Indian fritters), samosas (deep fried pastry with stuffing inside) or Tandoori vegetables and the chance for your success rate will be much higher.

For the desserts you can go with popular choices like Kulfi (Indian milk ice cream flavoured with saffron), gulab jamun (sweetened dumpling of reduced milk and cottage cheese) Kheer (rice and nuts pudding).

For more detail on popular choices of Indian dishes, you can also refer to the e-book “The Ultimate Indian Curry Manual” available with sonzykitchen.com where you will come across so many easy to prepare dishes with step by step instructions and explanations. Infact you can use that e-book to prepare a romantic dinner for your boy-friend.

Sonzy Adds : When choosing an Indian restaurant, ensure that it is run and owned by an Indian. Many Indian restaurants mislead people because cooks from other countries cook Indian food without knowing the authenticity or the technique of it.

Tags: tikka masala, tandoor, murgh, dosa, kulfi, indian curry, naan, tandoori, roti, kebab

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

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