TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Basics: Ghee, Plain Yogurt Raita
• Beverages: Mango Lassi, Seema's Chai, Sweet Lassi, Taryn's Chai
• Bread: Naan, Taryn's Naan
• Chicken: Chicken Naseem
• Rice: Lemon Rice, Pea Pulao, Vegetable Biryani
• Vegetables: Gujerati Sem (Gujerati green beans)
• Sweets: Nisha's Halwa Ras Malai

ABBREVIATIONS

t. or tsp......................................... teaspoon
T.................................................... or tbl tablespoon
c..................................................... cup
oz................................................... ounces
# or lb............................................. pound
lg..................................................... large
med................................................. medium
pkg.................................................. package

SOME HELPFUL HINTS

• Use a coffee grinder to grind spices.
• If you can find them stock whole spices and grind as you need them…they will stay fresher longer when whole than when powdered.
• If you can, use pure chili powder instead of American-made brands which have other things mixed in.
• By the way, for paneer, we just simply substitute lightly pan- fried tofu. It tastes like paneer but is healthier!
• Be advised that it's dairy products which combat the sting from food that you find too spicy hot; water just spreads the heat.

 

 

BASICS

GHEE
Submitted by Jennifer
1 # unsalted butter (sorry margarine won't work!)
Put butter in a heavy saucepan. Melt the butter and then cook on low heat until the solids begin to get brown and drop to the bottom of the pan. Pour the clear liquid off into another container and throw away the solids. This clear liquid is ghee. It's the same as clarified butter.

PLAIN YOGURT
Submitted by Jennifer
4 c milk
2 T. plain yogurt
Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy saucepan, stirring constantly. Transfer the milk to a large container that has been sterilized with hot water. Set aside to cool. While still warm, add the yogurt. Mix thoroughly. Cover with a clean cloth or a lid. Keep in a warm place for 6-8 hours until set. The yogurt should be thick and firm. Chill in refrigerator.

RAITA
Submitted by Jennifer
1 cucumber, peeled
1 ½ - 2 c yogurt
dash of salt
dash of black pepper
1-2 t black mustard seeds
small amount of vegetable oil
Grate or chop the cucumber into small pieces. Mix in with the yogurt. Add the salt. In a small frying pan, fry the black mustard seeds in the vegetable oil. When they start to spatter, quickly remove from heat and add to the yogurt cucumber mixture. It's probably a good idea to keep the frying pan covered until you remove it from the heat, because these babies can fly when they spatter. This side dish is a must for all those who like their food mild. You can take this on your plate and mix it into any curry dish which is too hot (the spicy kind of hot) and it will bring down the heat.


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MANGO LASSI
Submitted by Brenda
16 oz. plain yogurt
3 T. sugar
1/2 c. mango paste (available at Asian grocery stores in 28 oz. cans--or use fresh)
4-5 ice cubes
1/4 c. water
Buzz in blender. I usually double it but doubled BARELY fits in my blender. My family likes the mango one the best. You can adjust it to be thicker or thinner if you want.

SEEMA'S CHAI
Submitted by Brenda
2 c. milk
2 c. water
1" fresh ginger root, crushed (in mortar, if possible)
2 whole green cardamon pods (or 1/2 t. ground cardamon)
1 T. loose black tea (or teabag, but Lipton's loose tea is better)
1 T sugar
Slowly heat the milk and water together until bubbles form on the edge of the saucepan. Add the ginger root and cardamon and let heat awhile (10 min.?) so the milk/water takes on the flavor. Add the tea and the sugar, leave on heat until tea is as dark or strong as you like, a couple of min. or so longer.

TARYN'S CHAI
Submitted by Taryn
1 T + 2 t black peppercorns (no kidding!!!)
1 T cardamom seeds (green)
1 T whole cloves
1 (1½ inch) cinnamon stick
1/3 c ground ginger
hot tea
boiling water
milk and sugar to taste
Put peppercorns, cardamom seeds, cloves and cinnamon in a mortar and pestle, and grind to a fine powder. Add ginger and grind a few seconds to mix. Add about 1/2 t of spice mixture to a pot of tea; leave in a warm place 1-2 minutes to brew. Serve hot, with milk and sugar. Makes about 8 tablespoons spice mix, enough for 16 pots of tea. Store remaining mix in an airtight container, in a dark cupboard to preserve flavor. It will keep 2-3 months this way.

SWEET LASSI
Submitted by Brenda
32 oz. plain yogurt
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. cold water
8-10 ice cubes
1/4 t. ground cardamon, if desired (also can use rose water)
Buzz in blender. Watch out, your blender will be full and you might want to make it in 2 batches.

BREADS

NAAN
Submitted by Dave & Bharti
Naan is Indian flat bread made with all-purpose white flour. Similar to another posted earlier, except we use the BROILER not the oven. This works much better, but do be CAREFUL!! White flour with a little bit of baking soda and 2-3 tsp oil. Make a mixture of yeast, sugar, and warm water. Knead dough by adding the yeast mixture. Let sit for 6-7 hours until dough rises. Oil a cookie sheet. Punch the dough and make balls. Roll into flat circles. Don't thin it too much. Place on cookie sheet. Turn on broiler. Place the cookie sheet under the broiler until the side turns light golden brown. Don't let it burn. Then VERY CAREFULLY using tongs turn the flat bread over and broil the other side as well. Remove with tongs and lightly spread butter on one side. Do the same for the next batch of naans. Enjoy!

TARYN'S NAAN
Submitted by Taryn
4 cups all-purpose flour
1 t baking powder ½
t baking soda salt to taste
1 egg, beaten
6 T plain yogurt
3 T butter or ghee, melted
About 1 cup milk
1 T poppy seeds (black, or a mixture of black and white)
Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Stir in egg, yogurt and 2 T butter. Gradually mix in enough milk to make a soft dough. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and put in a warm place 2 hours. Preheat oven to 400F. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for 2 - 3 minutes until smooth, then divide dough into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then roll out to make ovals about 6 inches long, pulling ends to stretch dough into shape. Brush ovals with water and place wet side down on greased baking sheets. Brush dry side with melted butter; sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake 8 - 10 minutes, until puffy and golden brown. Makes 8.

CHICKEN

CHICKEN NASEEM
Submitted by Rebecca
1 medium chicken, skinned and in serving pieces (leave the bones in)
1 medium onion, chopped
1½ t ground turmeric
1½ t ground red pepper
1 clove garlic, minced or mashed
1½ t ground coriander
1½ t ground garam masala
2 whole bay leaves
2 t salt
I recommend doing this in a high sided pot such as a Dutch oven rather than the traditional pan normally used for frying. It makes clean up much easier and you capture the steam needed to get the chicken cooked quicker. Using as little oil as possible, fry onion until translucent. Add spices and fry for ten minutes. (Add small amounts of water as necessary to keep mixture from sticking to pan.) Add a little water and cook until onion disintegrates. Putting a lid on and steaming it is a good way to do this. Add chicken, cook until done (roughly 1/2 hour but depends on how much heat you are using and whether you put the lid on the pot). Best served over basmati rice.

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LEMON RICE
Submitted by Jennifer
Extracted from Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan
1 c long grained rice
2 t oil
1 t black mustard seeds
1 t cumin seeds
1 t black gram dal (urad dal)
1 t Bengal gran dal (channa dal)
1 red chili, halved
½ asafoetida powder
a few curry leaves (optional)
2 green chilies, finely chopped
a piece of ginger 1 inch long, finely chopped
3 T raw peanuts (optional)
¼ t ground turmeric
salt to taste (I use 1 t)
juice of 2 lemons (You may have to play with the amt..I find that 2 lemons is often a bit too much.)
coriander leaves, chopped (to garnish)
Cook the rice and set aside. Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, urad dal, channa dal, red chili, asafoetida powder and curry leaves. When the mustard seeds sputter, add the green chilies, ginger and peanuts. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Add the lemon juice and cook for a few minutes more. Add the cooked rice, the turmeric and salt to taste. Mix thoroughly. Remove from the heat garnish with coriander leaves. This dish is a favorite picnic favorite in my family. It doesn't need to be served hot and travels well. We take it with potato curry and papadums.

PEA PULAO
submitted by Rebecca
1/2 package frozen (not canned) peas, or equivalent fresh ones
1 cup cooked rice
4 whole cloves
4 whole peppercorns
4 whole cardamon pods
1/4 t. ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 stick cinnamon
2 T butter
salt to taste
Cook rice per directions, adding spices to the boiling water. Cook peas, then saute lightly in butter. You may choose to leave the whole spices in before serving, but warn the people eating to look out for them and remove! Add peas and serve.

VEGETABLE BIRYANI
Submitted by Elisabeth
1 c. basmati rice
2 med. or 1 lg. red onion
2 T. olive oil
1/2" piece of ginger root
2 c. water 3 c. chopped vegetables (I used 1 bell pepper, 1 c. each of broccoli and carrots, and 1/2 c. mushrooms. Peas & cauliflour are also nice!)
2 heaping T. biryani paste (I used Patak's brand, from the Indian grocery)
2 T. olive oil
2 c. water
small pkg. sliced almonds
chopped cilantro
Wash the rice and soak it in clear water for 20 min. while you dice the onion and chop the ginger. Saute the onion and ginger in the first 2 T. of olive oil, 'til the onion is lightly browned. Chop up the bell pepper into 3/4" pieces. Put the first 2 C. water, the onions, and all the vegetables into a lg. sauce pan with the biryani paste. Bring to the boil. Drain the rice and brown in the next 2 T. of olive oil. Stir into the vegetables; mix with the next 2 c. of water & bring back to the boil. Put the whole mess into a large casserole and bake at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Every fifteen minutes or so, push the rice at the top down into the liquid so you don't end up with dry pieces. Toast the almonds and stir into the rice mix. Sprinkle the top with chopped cilantro and serve with raita.

VEGETABLES

GUJERATI SEM (GUJERATI GREEN BEANS)
Extracted from Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey
Submitted by Beth PK
If you do not want the beans to be hot, either, do without the red chili or else discard all its seeds and use just the skin for flavor.
1 pound fresh green beans
4 T vegetable oil
1 T whole black mustard seeds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
½ to 1 hot, dried red chili, coarsely crushed in a mortar
1 t salt
Trim the beans and cut them into 1 inch lengths. Blanch the beans by dropping them into a pot of boiling water and boiling rapidly for 3 to 4 minutes or until they are just tender. Drain immediately in a colander and rinse under cold running water. Set aside. Heat the oil in a large fry pan over a medium flame. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop, put in the garlic. Stir the garlic pieces around until they turn light brown. Put in the crushed red chili and stir for a few seconds. Put in the green beans, salt and sugar. Stir to mix. Turn the heat to medium-low. Stir and cook the beans for 7 to 8 minutes or until they have absorbed the flavor of the spices. Add the black pepper, mix and serve.

SWEETS

NISHA'S HALVAH
Submitted by Brenda
1 c. cream of wheat (or semolina)
3/4 c. ghee (or butter)
3 c. water
1 c. sugar
chopped cashews
1/2 t. ground cardamon
coconut and raisins for garnishing
Melt ghee or butter and brown cream of wheat until it is between light and dark brown. This could take up to 20 min. Add water, sugar, cashews and cardamon. Boil about 1 min. Pour into serving dish and garnish with coconut and raisins. Hint: using all ghee here really makes a difference in the flavor

RAS MALAI
submitted by Jennifer
1 lb. Ricotta cheese
½ c. sugar
¼ t. nutmeg powder
¼ t. cardamon powder (this is optional, but I always use it)
1 small carton of heavy cream
¼ c. milk
4 t. sugar
1/8 c. almonds
Mix the ricotta cheese, ½ cup of sugar, nutmeg, and cardamon powders well in a bowl and place it in a small baking dish, (the size of the baking dish is not critical; I use an 8x8 in square cake pan). Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Let it cool completely and then cut into one inch squares. In the meantime, combine the heavy cream, milk, sugar, a pinch of nutmeg powder and a pinch of cardamon powder and the almonds in a serving bowl. Add the cut squares of cheese in the prepared cream sauce and cover all of them with the cream sauce. Refrigerate until ready to serve, it should be chilled. If the sauce gets thick, you can add a little more milk just before serving. This serves 5-6 people.