The Indian Food Thread

[kumudini]

You could also use a micro plane zester, DD.

 

[not_ally]

Re grinding spices, I use a coffee grinder for little batches (I do reserve that one just for spices, I have a separate one for actual coffee so that the coffee beans don't pick up any lingering spices, even after washing) and my mini Cuisinart food processor for bigger ones.

 

[navigator9]

Dancer, the differences b/c fresh and powdered ginger and garlic are immeasurable. Really, truly not comparable. The pre-cut garlic in preservative solution is better, but still the fresh is much better. I tried the tub stuff for a while b/c I don't like the way garlic sticks to your hands after you chop it, but it is worth it to have stinky hands for a little while

Sooooo true, not_ally. You can't even compare powdered ginger or garlic to fresh. I always have a zip loc bag in the freezer with fresh ginger in it. It keeps very well this way, and I usually buy a whole "hand", so it lasts me a while. I've found the easiest way to use it when frozen like this, is to grate it, (unless you're making something like ginger tea, when you want to slice it, and let it steep), and I usually use the same little grater to grate cloves of garlic, too.

Ginger tea is wonderful when you have an upset stomach. Put a couple of slices in a cup and pour boiling water over them, and let them steep. You can add honey if you like it sweet. Also good for colds in winter.

 

[navigator9]

Not_ally, when you bring up Indian sweets being too sweet for some palates, it reminds me of going to a buffet with DH. He snagged a piece of gulab jamun off my plate - thinking it was a little potato. The texture and flavor completely shocked him. I think it permanently scarred him from ever enjoying them. Unfortunately, it did not teach him to keep his fork away from my food.

Whaaaat......someone doesn't like gulab jamuns??? Is that even possible? Although, I guess he can be forgiven for not liking them, if he was expecting a potato. Tell your husband to send all his lovely, little gulab jamuns to me, I know just what to do with them. Yummmmm!

 

[snappyllama]

Update: I tried making my tikka masala with the suggestions... cardamon, onion, clove... It was soo much better! Thanks again for the tips.

 

[dixiedragon]

If you are trying to eat healthier or low carb, replace rice with grated cauliflower. This works especially well with Indian food b/c it is so flavorful. Grate the cauliflower with the cheese grater, add a bit of salt and a bit of whatever spices you are cooking your food with, cover with saran wrap (do NOT add water) and nuke for 2-3 minutes until desired doneness. The texture is very similar. The taste is not similar, but with strongly-flavored food you don't notice. 1 head of cauliflower makes 4 smallish servings. Unlike rice it does not grow in size and it does not absorb water.

 

[snappyllama]

If you are trying to eat healthier or low carb, replace rice with grated cauliflower. This works especially well with Indian food b/c it is so flavorful. Grate the cauliflower with the cheese grater, add a bit of salt and a bit of whatever spices you are cooking your food with, cover with saran wrap (do NOT add water) and nuke for 2-3 minutes until desired doneness. The texture is very similar. The taste is not similar, but with strongly-flavored food you don't notice. 1 head of cauliflower makes 4 smallish servings. Unlike rice it does not grow in size and it does not absorb water.

I always wondered if that really worked but have been too chicken to try it. I really, really dislike cauliflower... and love rice.

 

[not_ally]

Snappy, if you love rice, and are used to it w/Indian food, that might not work. I think it is a *great* idea for diabetics or other people who are watching their carbohydrate intake, but it would be hard for a lot of Indians (and you are kind of an honorary one, it seems, with respect to food) to make the switch.

My part of India (Kerala) has the highest rate of diabetes in the world, probably b/c in the last few generations we went from being mostly a people who had v. little money, ate tons of rice w/v. flavorful foods on the side to make it taste good, and got used to it. But worked it off in the fields. Then, even though the world changed and most of us were not so physically active, our tastes did not. Now we just eat a ****ton of crap, plus a lot of rice, and do not move around enough.

It is a huge problem, I really think that many folks there would rather put up w/the diabetes - and all the terrible things that come with it - than give up on rice. I am just woolgathering here, though, I have a feeling you are not gorging yourself on rice three times a day

 

[kumudini]

What would work with most Indian recipes, in place of rice is quinoa. Still a lot of calories but people say you get full on less, not true in my case though.
B, I agree that us Indians are eating a lot of crap just like in U.S, difference is the amount of sweets we've been eating. Just like we find McDs and KFCs everywhere, there is a sweet shop and snack cart in every corner. Ever went to India around a festival time? All the sweets being exchanged for gifts, they are ending up in someone's tummy. Businesses are just promoting mindless eating everywhere and the television made us couch potatoes.

 

[FlybyStardancer]

K, thanks for getting back to me! And that should have been obvious. I blame the fact that I've been really tired lately. lol And for what I meant by 'cooking it in oil', I meant the already-ground spices being cooked in oil for a specific recipe. For instance, in the totally-not-authentic mansoor dal I make, I cook the spices in oil for maybe 20-30 seconds (until I can really start to smell them) before adding the other ingredients to the pot.

For me, trying to get things done fast an easy means trying to minimize the time to prep and cook things (I'm really super slow at prep, so that can tack another half-hour onto cooking even for simple things), minimizing things I need to clean afterwards (one pot meals are the BEST), and minimizing ingredients... So a ground spice blend created ahead of time would be one ingredient. Growing up (or even now) the simple food has always been maybe 5-6 ingredients. (And admittedly we ate a lot of processed foods, because Mom was tired and overburdened and didn't have much time to devote to prepping or cooking food. Things like Hamburger Helper were easy don't-have-to-think-about-it foods.)

NA, I've been meaning to get a coffee grinder to use as a spice grinder. It just hasn't happened yet. Between money and not having space to store it... Yeah. Though I don't drink coffee, so any mix-ups would not impact me. Dad got rid of his grinder and switched back to pre-ground because he wasn't happy with it, plus any grinder I buy should be obviously-not-for-coffee since it's ME buying it. lol But space is a biiig issue. We really already have more kitchen stuff than we should. Dad INSISTED on bringing the rice cooker over and it is sitting on the floor because it has no space. And he doesn't use it anymore anyways, and ended up buying a microwave rice cooker that he's using now instead. I don't use either of them (and hate them), and I tend to cook rice on the stove. The only rice I would eat for a long time was spanish rice, and the rice gets fried in oil first before you add anything else. Trying to make it in a rice cooker just means more dirty dishes. No matter what I'm making rice for, I always fry it and add something to it, whether it be onions or garlic pepper, or some kind of flavored liquid.

I've been trying to switch over to brown rice... but that's VERY difficult. I'm struggling with both the liquid amounts and the cook time. The cook time is the REAL killer for it--I'm rarely willing to spend an hour on rice (between the prep work, frying the grains, and then the 45-50 minutes to simmer).

Snappyllama--I'm with you! No cauliflower. Yuck. lol

 

[navigator9]

I've been trying to switch over to brown rice... but that's VERY difficult. I'm struggling with both the liquid amounts and the cook time. The cook time is the REAL killer for it--I'm rarely willing to spend an hour on rice (between the prep work, frying the grains, and then the 45-50 minutes to simmer).

I would love to switch to cauliflower, but it's so expensive compared to rice. I eat rice frequently, and cauliflower would just be too expensive for me. FBS, it took me a while to get used to brown rice. I'm a rice lover, and I especially love basmati rice, I just love the smell when it's cooking! But I know brown rice is healthier, so I just forced myself to keep buying it, and now I'm finally used to it. I like to mix brown rice and quinoa in many recipes, for a little extra protein. Quinoa is a bit lower in carbs too, and it has a lot of nutritional benefits.

As far as cooking rice. I'm with you, FBS......I suck at it. What I learned to do many years ago, is simple and fool proof. I cook it like I would cook pasta. I fill a pan with water, bring it to a boil, and add the rice. I turn it down to a simmer, set a timer, and when it's done, I drain the water from it. It results in a rice that's not sticky, and very fluffy. I know that cooking rice should be simple, but it's just one of those things that's always given me trouble. Using the above method makes it simple for me. Just make sure that there's plenty of water compared to the amount of rice.

 

[not_ally]

I suck at cooking rice too! It is embarrassing, I feel like that is the one thing I *should* be able to cook. When I have people over for Indian I always make someone else bring the rice

 

[Seawolfe]

Im good at cooking white rice, but brown rice is still my nemesis - thats a good idea Navigator, cooking it more like pasta.

What would really help would be one of those fancy fancy Zojirushi fuzzy logic rice cookers!

 

[kumudini]

I thought I would share how I cook my rice. I do it on the stove, like FBS. I use a big enough sauce pan, rinse the rice twice, add double the volume of water.
For white rice, I set it on high heat, without the lid. Let the water reduce until I see little craters on the surface, takes 9-12 min. Then I reduce the heat all the way down to sim, cover with a well fitting lid, set the timer for 15 min and leave it. After the 15 min are done, turn the stove off, leave the lid on for 5 more min before serving.
For brown rice/ bulgar/ quinoa, I add double the amount of water, set it on high heat and once the water comes to a rolling boil turn the heat to low( between 1 and 2 on the dial), cover the pan with lid and let the grains slowly absorb all the water. Takes about 15 -20 min for quinoa and 30-45 min for the other two.
I get great looking results all the time.

ETA: 1. I toast my quinoa before adding the water, I don't wash the quinoa.
2. About the cooking rice like pasta, in olden days, my folks used to drain and save the rice water and once it cools down,they used to drink it with a little salt to cool off, so really no loss of all those water soluble vitamins. But if you are going to just throw it away, know that you are going to loose out on some nutrition.

 

[topofmurrayhill]

My Indian recipes are as authentic as possible, and the instructions are detailed enough to ensure success if you follow carefully. I have developed some efficient techniques that still preserve authenticity.

Instructions are included for clarifying butter because there's not much reason not to make fresh ghee, but you can buy it if you like.

Fresh turmeric root can often be found at Whole Foods or elsewhere, depending on your location, but turmeric powder is fine.

I get dried Kashmiri chillies at Indian groceries, or you can get them online. They are needed for the authentic flavor of Goan dishes like this one, so please try not to substitute.

This version uses black cumin (kala jeera), which is earthy and less pungent than the usual kind. Also obtainable from an Indian grocery or online.

Chicken Xacuti

MIS EN PLACE

Protein

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thigh

Trim excess fat. Cut into quarters, or as desired, and set aside.
​

Dry Masala

8 dried kashmiri chillies

4 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric powder (if not using fresh turmeric)

5 or 6 whole cloves
1 tsp black cumin
1/2 cinnamon stick, about 1 inch
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp peppercorns
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
1 small star anise

Remove stems from kashmiri chillies and grind. If chillies are mild and more heat is desired, include a dried Thai chili or two, or hot chili powder. Set ground chillies aside.

Separately, grind coriander seeds and set aside.

Separately, grind the remainder of the spices together and set aside.

​

Aromatics

2 small to medium yellow onions
1 inch ginger
4 large cloves garlic
1 inch fresh turmeric root

1/4 cup grated coconut
3 or 4 green cardamom pods

Cut onions in half, peel, and slice fairly thin. Peel ginger and turmeric, then coarsely slice or chop into chunks. Whack garlic cloves under a knife blade and separate from skin. Set all aside in a bowl.

Separately, set aside the grated coconut and cardamom.

​

Liquid Base

Chunk of dried tamarind
1 1/2 cups very hot water
1 can coconut milk

Mix coconut milk to homogenize and set aside. Mash tamarind in hot water and set aside. Pour tamarind mixture through a strainer and collect the liquid just before using (should be at least 1 cup, otherwise add some water).

​

Ghee

Melt 1 stick butter in a small pot and set heat very low. Pick up and swirl frequently as it's bubbling to distribute the heat and prevent burning. Remove from heat when the milk solids settle and begin to brown, and the bubbles start to get small. Slowly pour the ghee off the milk solids and through a strainer lined with a paper towel.

​

METHOD

Heat some ghee in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the aromatics along with 2 tsp salt and saute, stirring frequently, gradually decreasing the heat to low, until onions are brown. It will take a while. Add a little more ghee if necessary to avoid burning.

When the onions are almost done, add the grated coconut and cardamom pods and saute for 5 minutes or less. Transfer the mixture to a food processor along with the ground chillies (and turmeric powder, if using).

Add more ghee to the pot and increase the heat to medium. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally. While the chicken cooks, gradually add the tamarind water to the browned aromatics and process to a smooth paste.

When chicken is opaque and has released a lot of liquid, add the aromatic paste and stir well. Stir in half the coconut milk and the ground coriander and return to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer slowly for 45 minutes.

Mix in an additional teaspoon of salt, the rest of the coconut milk and the dry masala. Simmer for another 10 minutes more. Turn off heat and add a splash of white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar.

Serve topped with fresh chopped coriander (cilantro) alongside basmati rice or flatbread.​

 

[kchaystack]

I always wondered if that really worked but have been too chicken to try it. I really, really dislike cauliflower... and love rice.

Cauliflower smells like stinky feet. Really ripe stinky feet.

 

[kumudini]

Cauliflower is best when roasted or lightly steamed. When over cooked, it's like brussel sprouts, really yucky. There used to be a time when I hated that thing, but now I'm fine with it and I love those sprouts roasted as well.

 

[dixiedragon]

I use a rice cooker. It is idiot proof.

ETA: You can cook any grain in a rice cooker. I also cook quinoa in mine, and once I cooked some Kashi 7 grain pilaf.

 

[Saponista]

I'm loving this thread. Thank you everyone for all your input recipes and advice! I will be giving some of these recipes a go.

 

[not_ally]

Whaaaat......someone doesn't like gulab jamuns??? Is that even possible? Although, I guess he can be forgiven for not liking them, if he was expecting a potato. Tell your husband to send all his lovely, little gulab jamuns to me, I know just what to do with them. Yummmmm!

This made me laugh, Nav, I just imagined your GF opening up the package and saying "why are your soaping buddies sending us these little turdy-looking things?"