Authentic and traditional Indian recipes....

[uniqueenigma]

Indian cooking sounds very appealing to me and I'd like to try it soon.
I've found some recipes here and there via the internet, but the collection I have for Indian recipes is essentially only a small handful. A request before I go into great detail with this post. PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE FUSION CUISINE WITH THE INDIAN RECIPES POSTED. I'm not trying to be rude or yell, but I'd like to start learning the recipes traditionally used in Indian cuisine before I try recipes that fuse two different cultures cuisines together.

I know it's spicy, which I don't care for, it doesn't suit my palate; I can always omit the ingredients that are the cause of the spicy flavors, which is what I is what I'd intended to do initially, and plan to stick to this plan-of-attack.

I've found a few curry recipes (some for vegetable dishes and some for meat curries). I've also managed to find a few for some lentil dishes; I'm curious to try Indian lentils (in all their various forms) as I've never had them before and they just sound intriguing to me.

These are the recipes I've managed to find:

chicken saagwala (a chicken and spinach curry where the spinach is pureed)

chicken makhani (Indian butter chicken)
rogan josh (a meat based curry using lamb or beef)

Punjabi Dal Makhani (lentil indian curry)
sambar (recipe I have is a vegetable and lentil curry)
Masoor Dal (lentil based curry that uses yellow Indian lentils)
Grilled Indian Meat Patties (believe the name is Kheema, but not sure)

Aloo Mattar (a curry that uses ground lamb or curry; has typical Indian spices, garam masala, and some veggies in it too)

samosas (have meat and veggie filling variations for it)

Those are the recipes I have.

I'm looking for other Indian recipes. I would like these categories:

Soups/stews
Salads (pickled or regular if applicable with Indian cuisine)


meat dishes (if it calls for lamb, tell me a substitute I could make and what type of meat I should use please.......pork, chicken, or beef; I've never had lamb before so I don't know if I'd like it; in addition, lamb is difficult to acquire where I live, and when I can acquire it, it's very pricy since it's hard to come by)

curries (includes purely meat curries, purely vegetable; OR a meat and vegetable curry; would like different categories of both please)

last but not least....

since they're used constantly in Indian cuisine and I'd like to try them anyway, recipes using Indian lentils.

If a recipe refers to ingredients in Indian dialect, please give the English
equivalent. This request applies ESPECIALLY to dals (the different types of Indian legumes). Please specify what color the lentil is, how big, if it's split or not.......as I'm not very familiar with Indian lentil recipes. If anybody would like copies of the recipes I listed above, please let me know, as I have copies of them all; I'll be more then happy to provide the links as well as the recipes that I didn't acquire via surfing the internet.

 

[Yakuta]

There are many many recipes in the categories you have listed below. I suggest that if you want to try your hand at Indian food, buy a good cookbook and try out recipes from that. My favorite is Charmaine Solomon's complete Asian cookbook. In addition, to Indian it has all the cuisines of Asia but I can vouch for the Indian section being very authentic and very good. It's better written than many Indian cook book authors.

Indian food just like other cuisines differs from North, South, East and West. If there are specific dishes that you have tried and you'd like to try at home I can help (send me a PT) but to list out recipes without knowing things you like or dislike is a bit difficult just because there are so many. I have a dozen recipes for just dal if not more.

Indian red meat curries use goat and lamb. You can however substitute it with veal since it's a smaller animal and the meat is more tender, it's not traditional but I have tried it and it works O.K although I prefer goat the best even over lamb. I can't comment on pork since I don't eat it. Normally in India you don't find Pork or Beef readily except in Goa where they have a heavy Portuguese influence.

Indian food in the west is modified to suit the American palate and I would not consider it to be very authentic, with the exception of a few places that you will mostly find Indian crowd at. In India you would never get papad (papaddums) as a starter with the dipping sauces . Papads in India are normally served with rice, dal or kichdi and kadhi (specific type of rice made with lentils and sour curd soup).

 

[uniqueenigma]

I am willing to try just about anything.......

Unfortunately veal isn't a viable option either, because although I love veal, it's way
too expensive for me to purchase and consume on a regular basis.

The meats I like are:

pork, meat, and chicken (don't like anything that has a really "fatty" flavor when it comes to meat)

enjoy shrimp; would like to try sea scallops or bay scallops. Unfortunately, haven't had enough exposure with eating them to know if I'll like them. Other then this with seafood, don't like crab, lobster, or any type of fish (fresh or saltwater); just not my cup of tea.

like tofu (know that the use of it is practically non-existent in Indian cuisine though.....at least to my knowledge)

Will eat just about any type of veggie:

Ones I like are:

cabbage (napa, green, or bok choy; prefer it not to be shredded because then I can't really taste it.....like it as more of a coarse chop.....or in chunks)

carrot

potato (don't really care for sweet potato) (for regular potatoes, like red and Idaho or russet; willing to try Yukon gold, but don't know if I'll like or not......never had it before)
broccoli
sugar snap peas and/or snow peas (regular peas I hate)

cauliflower seems okay, but I'm not sure, I haven't eaten it enough to come to a conclusion of whether or not it's a vegetable I'll like (nor was it a vegetable I was really exposed to alot as a kid)

celery will eat, but not raw and has to cooked until tender; has to be combined with other veggies and/or meat. Just don't care for the taste of it by itself.......whether raw or cooked......may sound dumb, but just personal preference

love sweet red bell peppers
green peppers will eat, but only like them so-so. Have to be cooked; hate them raw
love onion, doesn't matter what kind
like zucchini
like tomato or any type of tomato product (will not touch raw, find it absolutely appauling raw); but will eat them cooked

haven't tried eggplant enough to know whether I would like it or not......heard that unless you salt it, it has a very "slimy/slippery texture" and that it's very watery; how to avoid these problems?

haven't tried turnip at all; so know clue whether I would it or not. If it has mild sweetness I know I won't like it; don't like veggies that have a "sweet" taste to them. Only exception is carrot.

haven't tried pumpkin. Willing to eat to try it cooked.....so long as it has a pleasant flavor that isn't really "sweet" more then willing to eat it.

Enjoy spinach.

hate corn in any shape or form; only way I like it is if it's cornmeal, and that's if it's used in a baked good or bread.

As far as spices used in Indian cooking, the only ones I'm not familiar with, as I've yet to use them in my cooking are coriander (ground or whole) fenugreek (ground or whole) and cardamom (ground or whole). Love the taste of anything that has a curry flavor. Hate anything that is really spicy, just doesn't appeal to my palate. Don't mind something sour, so long as it's not overwhelmingly tart.

I would love to request specific recipes with Indian cooking. However, as you stated in your preceding post, there are so many, and so many Indian recipes to find via the net (unfortunately my only option right now.....can't really afford to purchase a cookbook; budget is kinda tight) that I don't know what's authentic and what's not. That and I don't have a vast knowledge of Indian cooking and don't have a huge repetoire of Indian recipes. Sorry my description is so long, but hope it helps. Like I said, willing to try just about anything.

 

[jpmcgrew]

This is a great book to start with Indian food it is a bit complicated to the average American But I have made many of the recipes here. I have more books on Indian Cuisine but this is my favorite. I highly recommend this little gem.
Curries Without Worries by Koul, Sudha

 

[Yakuta]

Alright I can provide you with three recipes. One is for a chickpea curry. You can use canned chickpeas or garbanzo beans for that. No matter where you are, you can find them pretty easy.

The next is for an eggplant salad. Since you are willing to try, this is an easy dish that is extremely healthy and very delicious.

Finally a recipe for spicy potatoes that again very easy and versatile. In addition, I would recommend making a fresh spice mix. Unlike what you may have heard it's not hard to make.

Chickpea Curry
1 large yellow onion finely diced
2 cans of garbanzo beans (large ones) - Drain them in a colander, rinse them in cold water so that the canned liquid is out.
2 tsps of cumin seeds
Now the spice mix - 2 tsp of cumin seeds, 2 tsp of corrainder seeds, 1 dried arabol chili (yes they are spicy but you need a tiny bit of spice to balance out the flavor in Indian food). Arabol chilis are available at any hispanic market or any grocery store in the ethnic isle.
1 stick of cinnamon, 3 cloves, 2 cardamoms.
Put all of these spices in a microwave proof bowl and roast it in the microwave for a minute.
Put them in a coffee grinder and make a powder
1 small can of tomato sauce (smallest one, I believe it's like 4 oz)
salt to taste
turmeric if you have it (1/4 tsp)
handful of freshly chopped cilantro
2 dried bay leaves
2 tbsps of oil
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1/4 stick of ginger freshly chopped
1 cup of water

In a saute pan, add the oil. Once it's hot, add the cumin seeds and bay leaves. Add the onions and let them cook until golden brown. Add the garlic, ginger and dry spice mix. Toast it for 2 minutes in the oil. Next add the tomato sauce, chickepeas, cumin and salt. Add the water, cover and let it simmer on low for 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve.

Eggplant Salad
1 large Eggplant - peeled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup of water
pinch of salt
1.5 cups of yogurt (thick greek style would be the best)
1 bunch of green onions finely chopped
1 cup of cilantro finely chopped
salt and black pepper to taste

Place the cubed eggplant and water with a pinch of salt in a saucepan. Cover and let it cook until eggplant is tender and all the water evaporates. You should be able to mush the eggplant with a fork. If you need to add more water do that. At the end you should be left with almost and eggplant mush.
In a large bowl, add the yogurt, eggplant mush, finely chopped green onions (the entire bunch) and cilantro. Add salt and pepper to your liking. Cover and refrigerate for an hour before serving. Healthy and Delish.

Potatoes:
3 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and cut into small cubes
3 tsps of brown whole mustard seeds
1 sprig of curry leaves (absolutely recommend it, if you can't then leave it out but if you can get them you should use them)
1/2 tsp of turmeric
2 tsps of cumin powder for the end
1 tsp of chili powder
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/4 tsp of salt
juice of 1 lime
2 tbsp of oil

Add oil, once it's hot add the curry leaves and mustard seeds. Next add the cut potatoes followed by the turmeric, chili powder, sugar, salt, lime juice. Cover and let it cook until the potatoes are nice and crusty.
Sprinkle with the cumin powder and serve.

I will post a recipe for poori bread later. It's not the most healthy but it's really good. It's basically fried dough and I don't many people who have tried it and not liked it.

 

[geonerd20]

Simple Indian Lentil Soup

Here's one recipe for a simple, mild, not spicy Lentil soup. Have you found a good Indian or Asian grocery store in your neighborhood yet? That would be Step One. Or, you can search online for grocery stores. Let me know if you need help with that.

In India, this would be eaten with hot steamed rice or Indian bread. You can cut out the chilies if you prefer, but I recommend reducing them (if you must!) rather than completely eliminating them.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup – yellow mung lentils, rinsed, and soaked for a couple of hours (Indian or Asian Grocery Store)
3 medium tomatoes – diced to 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion – diced roughly
¼-tsp – turmeric (Indian/Asian Grocery Store)
1 tbsp – peanut of vegetable oil
¼-tsp – asofoetida (Indian/Asian Grocery Store)
1 tsp – urad daal (Indian/Asian Grocery Store)
1 tsp – fenugreek seeds (Indian/Asian Grocery Store)
1 tsp – mustard seeds (Regular Grocery Store)
1 tsp – cumin seeds (Regular Grocery Store)
2 dried red chilies
6 to 8 curry leaves (optional, but recommended. Indian/Asian Grocery Store)
Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Place the soaked lentils, diced tomatoes, and 3 cups of water in a deep sauce pan.
Add a drop of oil, and cook over medium high heat.
When the lentils are about half-done, add the roughly diced onion and continue to cook till the lentils are fully done. Add ¼-tsp turmeric and stir well. Continue to cook on low.
In a separate fry pan, add 2 tbsp peanut or vegetable oil. Add 1 tsp urad dal and 1 tsp fenugreek seeds. Heat over medium high heat till the grains are light brown.
Add 1-tsp mustard seeds and the dried red chilies.
When the mustard seeds start to sputter, add 1 tsp cumin seeds, and continue to cook for about 60 seconds.
Add ¼-tsp asofoetida, and immediately add the curry leaves (Careful – the hot oil will sputter and splash!).
Add this mixture to the lentils-tomato-onions mixture, and stir well.
Add salt to taste. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Let me know if you like this recipe. If you do, I will continue to post when I have the time.

 

[radhuni]

Here is a eggplant recipe for you:

Spicy Eggplant (Masla Begun)

Ingredients:
400 gm small eggplants (cut in two pieces vertically)
25 gm black mustard seeds
2 tablespoon garlic paste
1 tablespoon whole coriander
1 tablespoon pepper corn
2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoon red chili powder
2 teaspoon cumin powder
Salt & sugar according to taste
1 cup of mustard oil

Preparation:
Make a paste of mustard seeds, coriander, pepper corn.
Heat the oil in a pan, fry the eggplants and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a pan, saute the spice paste and fry well.
Add turmeric powder, red chili powder, cumin powder, salt and sugar according to taste.
Add pre-fried eggplants and cook it properly.
Add 1/2 cup of water and cook it for 10 min in a medium flame with a cover.
When the gravy becomes thick and dry, turn off the gas.
Enjoy the spicy eggplant with Plain rice.

 

[uniqueenigma]

I've heard regular eggplants (the globe variety) are bitter and tend to dilute the flavor of a dish if you don't salt and drain them prior to cooking them.
I love almost any vegetable, but I hate anything that has a bitter taste, that's just a personal preference of mine regarding my palate.

Could I use Asian Eggplant, preferably Japanese? They're long and slender and heard they're not bitter. If you salt globe eggplants (dark purple, so dark they look almost black, also very shiny) prior to cooking will this get rid of the bitter taste?

Also I don't know how to use metric measurements with cooking or baking, because I use the customary system of measurement. What is the customary measurement equivalent in pounds or ounces of 400 grams?

 

[radhuni]

Indian Eggplant or brinjal are not at all bitter in taste. Cooked brinjals are very soft but not watery and don't dilute the taste of any preparation. Try the recipe, I hope you will enjoy it.

400gm=1pound

 

[AllenOK]

Radhuni, in the recipe you provided, at what point do you incorporate the garlic into the dish? In the paste with the coriander, peppercorns, and mustard seeds?

 

[radhuni]

Oh sorry
You have to saute the garlic paste with coriander, peppercorns, and mustard paste.

 

[geonerd20]

Burmese/Thai Tomato-based Curry Sauce

This is a recipe for a tomato-based curry gravy. What’s unusual about this recipe is that it contains typical Southeast Asian ingredients like soy sauce, fish sauce, and lemongrass, but not the ubiquitous coconut milk.

INGREDIENTS
1-inch ball - Tamarind
2 tblspns - Tomato paste
3 stalks - Lemongrass, white part, chopped fine
1 large or 2 medium - Red or yellow onions, diced medium
3 to 6 red chilies - Fresh or dry ok. If dry, soak in warm water for 1 hr
4 cloves - Fresh garlic, chopped medium
1 inch piece - Fresh ginger, copped medium
1 tspn - Cumin Powder
6 to 8 - Curry leaves
2 inch piece - Turmeric root chopped fine, or ¼-tspn turmeric powder
2 tblspns - Peanut or vegetable oil
Salt to taste

2 cups - Water
1 tspn - Light soy sauce
1 tspn - Fish sauce or ½-tspn shrimp paste
2 tblspns - Fresh cilantro leaves, chopped fine



PREPARATION

Soak the tamarind in 1 cup of water and microwave for 30 secs. Remove and allow to soak and cool for an hour. Use fingers to knead and break down the tamarind. Strain and collect tamarind liquid (extract). Discard solids.

Grind to fine paste: Onions, chopped lemongrass, red chilies, garlic, ginger, turmeric or turmeric root, cumin powder.

Add oil to a pan and heat over medium high. Add curry leaves (CAREFUL – the hot oil will sputter and splash!). Immediately add the finely-ground spice paste from above. Stir constantly and continue to cook till paste reduces in volume to nearly half. This will take 15 to 20 minutes. Make sure not to burn the paste.

Add half the tamarind extract and continue to cook for about 60 seconds, stirring constantly.

Add soy sauce and fish sauce (or shrimp paste) and continue to stir and cook for 60 seconds.

Add tomato paste. Stir well to mix and cook until the raw flavor disappears. This should take 5 to 10 minutes. Again, make sure not to burn the mixture.

Add 2 cups of water and simmer over low heat. Add salt to suit your taste. Taste, and add more tamarind extract to suit your taste. The curry gravy is ready.

NOTE 1
You can use this gravy with veggies, chicken, beef, or hard boiled eggs. The spices are too mild for lamb, and lamb is therefore not recommended. To add vegetables, boil the veggies in lightly salted water until they are about 80 percent cooked; then add to curry gravy and simmer till fully cooked. If using chicken or beef, cut into bite size pieces and cook in broth. I use plan water with a couple of cubes of bullion, or add a couple of tablespoons of old curry powder that has lost its flavor and will likely be tossed! Boil till fully cooked. Then add to the gravy and simmer for 15 minutes over low heat. If using hard boiled eggs, shell the eggs and cut in half length-wise. Add to gravy and simmer for 10 minutes over low heat. In all cases, garnish with chopped cilantro leaves.

NOTE 2
You can find tamarind in Asian or Indian grocery store. I prefer the Thai or Indian brands which come in the form of a 4 in by 5 in by 1 in slab, wrapped in plastic. I do not recommend the tamarind paste that you can buy in a little plastic can/tub. If you cannot find tamarind, replace with 3 medium sized ripe tomatoes. Boil in water for a couple of minutes and immediately dunk into iced water. Remove skin and puree. Add the tomato puree immediately after the tomato paste step described above. Cook till the raw flavor disappears. Add 1 cup of water instead of 2, and simmer.

 

[Valdoria]

Chicken Saagwala - Is there an authentic Recipe out there?

Hello. Would anyone out there mind offering a bit of assistance?

I am trying to find a Chicken Saagwala recipe which is similar to the Chicken Saagwala I enjoy a local Indian Restaurant, Red Chiles.

It would be nice to be able to surprise my fiancee with a birthday present of his favorite dish and of course, its a favorite of mine as well.

Researching online, I see many different options but all use tomatoes and from looking at the dark green creamy saagwala, I can't possibly imagine tomatoes in it.

This certainly does contain a large amount of puree'd spinach and when it is served, it has a white streak ladeled into the dish which I imagine to be cream or possible yogurt thinned liquid.

Does anyone out there have any authentic recipes to offer which might fit this description? The dish has a small 1" stick of cinnamon in it which I find when eating so I know there is some cinnamon yet it doesn't taste like it really.

Your help is so very much appreciated. Thank you.

Peace & love,
Stacie

 

[Yakuta]

Try this recipe, I make it with both lamb and chicken but only once in a while since it's pretty rich and some work but hopefully should be similar to what you eat at a restaurant.

First Step:

You need spinach - If you want to save time, use frozen chopped spinach it works very well. I would suggest using atleast 3 small packets of chopped frozen spinach
1 large onions finely chopped
1 large tomato finely chopped
1 jalapeno finely chopped
1 tbsp of minced garlic
1 tbsp of minced ginger
2 tsps of ground cumin powder
2 tsps of ground corrainder powder
Note: Best to dry roast whole seeds and grind them in a coffee grinder
salt to taste
1 tbsp of oil

First add some oil in a pan, add the onions and cook them until almost lightly brown. Next add the ginger, garlic and saute them for a minute, next add the jalapeno pepper, tomato salt and spinach. Cover and let this all cook for 15 minutes until the spinach has absorbed all the flavors.

Now take a hand blender or regular blender and puree this mixture. Reserve.

Now starts Step 2 (You need the following)

One whole chicken - Skinned and cut into small peices
6 cloves of garlic finely chopped
2 tsp of cumin seeds
1/2 cup of cream
Pureed spinach
3 tbsp of butter

In a pan, add the butter. When it's melted add the cumin seeds and garlic and toast it a bit until a nice aroma develops (garlic should be slightly brown). Next add the spinach puree and chicken. Cover and let this cook on low until the chicken is tender. Chicken will release a lot of water. So ensure you don't add any water. At the end you you should be left with a medium thick green gravy with the chicken in it. You can then stir in the cream and let it simmer for 5 minutes. It should resemble a thick gravy not runny, if it's runny reduce it more before you add the cream.

You can serve with a swirl of just plain cream on the top as garnish. There are some great naan's available in the frozen section of Indian stores now a days. You can try one of the tandoori naans that tastes very authentic.

 

[Claire]

I have to say I've gotten lazy when it comes to Indian food. A friend introduced me to Kitchens of India, and it is a staple in our home. If it is too mild I zip it up a little, and I always have a store of basmati rice. I still have a store of some basic spices and do occaisionally try from scratch. Even have a curry plant growing in my kitchen to freshen the flavor. But unless you cook it every day, trying to keep a cupboard full of the spices and keep them fresh is too much. Thank you, kitchens of India!

 

[Elie]

Indian recipes great ones

 

[Elie]

Choco Frozen Cake

Ingredients

glucose biscuits 4 packs
drinking chocolate 400 gms
cocoa powder 200 gms
coffee powder 50 gms
dry coconut powder 200 gms
sugar as per taste

Method

Make some coffee solution Put some coffee in water and mix well
Dip the glucose biscuits in a coffee solution and arrange it in a layer in a tray Now mix cocoa powder and drinking chocolate 1: 2 .
Add sugar to taste and form a paste with water Now spread this paste on the layer of biscuits Sprinkle coconut powder on it Now again form a layer of biscuits by dipping them in sugar over this chocolate covered layer
And repeat the same steps Add up to 4 or 5 layers of biscuits
Then completely cover it with chocolate paste and garnish completely with coconut powder Keep it in freezer for an hour .The choco frozen cake is ready.

 

[SusannL]

They have good curry sauce and curry sauce mix in the British section of Publix supermarket. I am intimidated by the long lists of ingredients and processes in many Indian recipes, but I do love Indian cuisine. Amy's frozen meals include some delicious Indian offerings. I wish I knew how to make them!