Vegan Malai Kofta (Indian curry with dumplings)

I have always loved Indian food, and my absolute favourite dish to order is Malai Kofta. It’s a thick, creamy tomato sauce with cheese dumplings. I then order fresh baked naan, saffron rice and maybe – as an appetizer – some deep-fried vegetable pakora…

INGREDIENTS (serves 4):

1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 heaped tsp minced ginger
1 heaped tsp minced garlic
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
4 ripe tomatoes
5 tbsp almond meal + about 2 tbsp water
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup silken tofu + 1-2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp garam masala
Fresh cilantro (around 1/2 cup chopped, or to taste)
8 falafel balls (I used Veggie Patch falafels I buy ready-made at the store. Otherwise you can use my recipe here)
1 cup basmati rice
2.5 cups water
2 pinches saffron

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oil in large pan. Add garlic and ginger, stirfry 2 mins. Add turmeric, cumin, coriander and chili powder. Stir 30 seconds.

2. Puree tomatoes in blender. Add to frying pan. Turn heat down and let it simmer for 30 minutes, until thick like a paste. In the meantime, add rice, water and saffron to a separate saucepan and let boil and cook.

3. Mix almond meal and water till it forms a paste. Add to tomato mixture, simmer 3-4 mins. Gradually add water until it forms the consistency of sauce you want (you might not need the full half cup). Then puree the tofu with water to form a paste and fold that in. Sprinkle in garam masala. Add in falafel balls.

4. Let simmer 5-6 minutes. Serve kofta over rice and sprinkle over cilantro.

Dum Aloo- potatoes!

500gm / 1Lb Baby Potatoes

2 Onion chopped

1 Tsp Ginger paste

1Tsp Garlic Paste

1Tsp Cumin Seeds

1 cup Yoghurt

1Tbsp Coriander powder

1Tbsp Chilli Powder

1/2 Tsp Turmeric Powder

1/2 Tbsp Cardamom powder

1Tsp Garam Masala

1Tbsp Salt (or to taste)

Neutral Oil of your choice or Ghee – 2Tbsp plus extra for deep frying

LASSI–The best refreshing drink to beat the scorching heat

It's a yogurt drink.

Spicy Cabbage And Potato Curry (Cabbage Aloo Vepudu )

You need:

* 2 cups of tightly packed medium finely chopped cabbage
* 1 large red/boiling potatoes(you may want to add more)
* 1/2 cup peas
* 4-6 green chillies
* 1/4 cup of grated fresh coconut
* 6-8 curry leaves
* 3 stalks cilantro
* 1/2 tsp turmeric
* 1 tsp cumin seeds( jeela karra )
* 1 tsp mustard seeds( Aavalu )
* 3-4 tbsp oil
* Salt to taste

How to:

* Chop cabbage finely, potatoes 1 inch cubes and green chillies length wise
* In kadai or pan heat oil and add cumin and mustard seeds
* When they start to pop add curry leaves, green chillies
* Add potatoes and green peas
* Saute for a min and then add cabbage
* Add salt and turmeric and mix together and cover with a lid
* Cook on medium flame stirring occassionaly. Make sure you dont burn cabbage
* When the potato is cooked add coconut and fry till all the water evaporates
* Adjust salt to taste
* Switch off the heat and add chopped coriander

Mushroom and Potato Curry Soup

1 1.2 lbs potatoes, unpeeled
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
3 tbsp finely chopped garlic
3 tbsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp salt
2 1/2 tbs ground coriander
1 tbsp crushed cayenne pepper
1 tsp turmeric
5 cups water
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
6 oz mushrooms, chopped

1. Place potatoes in a large pot, cover with water and bring to a boil on high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to medium and boil for 45 minutes, or until potatoes are soft but not mushy when pierced with a knife. Drain potatoes and set aside to cool.

2. Once potatoes are cool, use your fingers or a sharp knife to peel off and discard the skins. Roughly mash the potatoes, using your fists or a potato masher. Be sure to leave the potatoes a bit chunky, as you want some texture in the soup.

3. In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil on medium high for 45 seconds. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for 30 seconds. Add garlic and saute for 1 to 2 minutes, or until golden. Stir in ginger and saute for 30 seconds, then add salt, coriander, cayenne and turmeric, and saute for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to medium-high, add the 5 cups of water and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat to low.

4. Pour buttermilk into a large bowl. To prevent the buttermilk from separating in the soup, use a ladle to spoon about 1 1/2 cups of the hot potato curry into the buttermilk. Whisk the mixture until it is well combined. Carefully spoon all of the buttermilk into the pot of curry. Using the whisk, mix well and, stirring continuously, bring to a boil on low heat. Add mushrooms and cook for about 2 minutes, or until slightly wilted.

Paneer Bhurji is another variation of a Paneer recipe .It is a quick, easy and a tasty to prepare dish at home.Its is similar to egg burji but instead of eggs Paneer is used in the recipe.

Paneer
1 finely chopped Onion
1 finely chopped Tomato
finely chopped Green chillies according to taste
1/2 tbsp Ginger garlic paste
1/4 tbsp Turmeric powder
1/2 tbsp Chilly powder
1/4 tbsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tbsp Garam Masala
finely chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Paneer Bhurji
In a Pan heat refined oil and add cumin seeds.Add onion and green chilly and saute till onion changes color. Add ginger garlic paste and saute for 2-3 minutes.

Add diced tomatoes and saute for a minute till it is cooked .Add all the spices into the pan and saute for 1-2 minute.

Crumble the paneer over the mixer. Combine them well together.

Add fresh coriander leaves and serve hot with naan/parantah or bread toast. You can add a tbsp of butter to enhance taste.

Palak Paneer

Palak translates to spinach whereas paneer is indian farmers cheese. Store-bought paneer’s are readily available from local indian/ethnic grocery stores. It definitely can’t beat a freshly homemade paneer.

Gujarati Daal

Ingredients:

Toor daal (Arhar Daal) – 1/2 cups soaked and pressurecooked

Red chili powder – 1/4 teaspoon (or to taste)

Turmeric powder – 1/4 teaspoon

Dhania-Jeera powder – 1 and 1/2 teaspoon

Green chili and ginger paste – 1/4 teaspoon (optional)

Salt to taste

Grated Jaggery – 1/4 cup

Oil for tadka – 2 tablespoon

Rai/ Sarson for tadka – 1/2 teaspoon

Methi seeds for tadka – 1/4 teaspoon

Hing for tadka – 1 pinch

1 medium sized Lemon

Method:

1) Pressure cook the daal nicely.

2) Once it is cooked, beat it thoroughly using a beater or Valoni/Ravoi. You should not be able to see any grain of daal, it should all be liquidy.

3) Add water and make it of thin consistency (like sambaar)

4) Now add salt, turmeric powder, red chili powder (if using green chili and ginger paste then you can reduce this to 1/4 spoon), green chili and ginger paste, dhania-jeera powder and jaggery.

5) Mix well and keep on low flame. Keep stirring till the jaggery is dissolved, if you leave it un-dissolved then it will get burnt.

6) Now you can leave it on low flame, occasionally pop up in the kitchen and stir the daal.

7) Once the daal thickens (may take upto 20-30 minutes), it’s the time for tadka.

8) So in a kadai (my mom uses a small iron bowl for tadka, as it adds extra iron to the daal), take oil, add rai/sarson to it and put on a low flame.

9) once the rai crackles, add methi seeds, and as they turn brown, add hing and turn off the flame.

10) pour this tadka over daal and mix well. Boil daal on high flame for 3 minutes

11) Add the juice of 1 medium sized lemon and the daal is ready.

With rice and ghee it tastes heavenly!!! If you eat ghee, then do add it, it notches up the taste to a higher level.

Potato Dosa (Indian Crepe)

South Indian Idlis (Steamed Rice Cakes)

Loads of tip here
Ingredients

3 cups par boiled rice/Idli Rice/puzhungal arisi (see Tips)
1 cup Urad dal (whole skinned black lentils)**
salt to taste
about a fistful of cooked rice (see Tips)

Tips

My mother used to make with 3 cups and now she has changed it to 4 cups for 1 cup lentils. Some recipes even use up to 5 cups of rice to 1 cup of lentils. I assume that 3 cups was used by the elders when they hand ground the batter. Now with modern appliances (and may be the quality of ingredients) this proportion has been adjusted. Few other recipes use a combo of regular medium grained rice with parboiled rice with a few tsp. of fenugreek seeds. Experiment with the proportions since the weather and quality of ingredients will play a huge part in the end result.
Instead of cooked rice, you can use Rice Flakes (Poha in Hindi or Aval in Tamil) soaked in water.

Method
Soak the lentil and par boiled rice separately for at least 6-8 hrs. I have used Wet grinder to make my batter but you can do the same with your food processor. First add the rice in your grinder and grind it well. The batter will not be smooth but little coarse-grained.

Remove and set aside in a large bowl. In the same grinder ( you don’t have to wash/clean) add the lentil along with cooked rice.

Grind it once again. This takes longer and the more you grind, better the idlis. You need to keep adding little water now and then. You will notice that the batter doubles up in volume when ground. When the batter is smooth ( feels like satin), remove and pour it along with rice batter.

Add salt, mix well and set aside

The next day, after fermenting, stir the batter well. I have a non stick Idli plate

You can use small bowls if you don’t have these plates to make them too.Pour out the batter in each of the plates.

Place it in a pressure cooker (no weights reqd.) with little water underneath ( take care since lots of water will make the idlis in the last plate soggy and too little water will burn the bottom of the cooker!) or if you dont own a pressure cooker,use a steamer. Cook for 10 in high flame and then lower it to min for last 5.

They are done when a little stick/spoon pricked in the middle comes out clean.

Cool them for 1-2 minutes and then serve warm with suggested accompaniments.

Tangy, hot and fiery South Indian Soup/Rasam

The secret of a good Rasam lies in good quality ghee and rasam powder. Store bought rasam powder cannot match the robust flavours found in homemade spice blends. When the seasoning is poured into the boiling pot during the final stages of its preparation, a delightful hissing sound is produced. Enjoy rasam as a drink or relish with hot rice and a dollop of ghee with some crisp hot happalams or papads.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup /(80 ml)/60 gm Toor/Arhar Dal
1 tsp ghee or vegetable oil
¼ tsp turmeric powder
¼ tsp asafetida/hing
4 cups water
1 tomato
1 tbsp tamarind + ½ cup water to prepare the tamarind
1 tbsp Rasam powder
1 tsp cumin seed powder
½ tsp red chilli powder/cayenne powder
Gratings of fresh pepper
10 to 12 curry leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
2 ¾ tsp salt

Seasoning:
2 tsp Ghee or Vegetable oil
1 ½ tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp Asafetida/hing

Method:
Cook the dal with 1 tsp ghee, ¼ tsp turmeric and ¼ tsp asafetida with 1 cup water in a pressure cooker. Wash tamarind in many changes of water until clean, and bring to a boil with ½ cup water.

To the cooked dal, add the strained tamarind mixture, Rasam powder, red chilli powder, pepper, curry leaves and 1 chopped tomato and bring to a boil. Put in 3 cups of water, chopped coriander, salt and boil again.

In a small pot, heat the ghee or oil, put in the mustard seeds and when they splutter, stir in the hing. Pour in the seasoning to the boiling rasam, moving a few steps behind while doing so and switch off the flame. Serve hot as a drink or with plain boiled rice and a dollop of ghee.

Here's a link to Manjula's Kitchen for Indian vegetarian recipes.

And here's one for Indian Food Forever. There's a section on regional dishes, too.

Aloo Methi

Aloo Methi is a delicious dish made with potatoes, fenugreek leaves, and a combination of spices. Fenugreek is a green leafy vegetable with a unique taste that is packed with nutrients. There are many health benefits of fenugreek. This dish is delicious in addition to being healthy!

Recipe will serve 4.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium size potatoes peeled and cubed byte size; this will make about 3 cups of cubed potatoes.
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed (jeera)
• 1/8 teaspoon asafetida (hing)
• 3 whole dry red chilies broken in 2 pieces
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric (haldi)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder (dhania)
• 2 cups fenugreek leaves chopped or 1/2 cup dry fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon mango powder (amchoor)

 Method

1. Wash peeled and cut the potatoes in small cubes.
2. Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed to the oil. If the cumin seed cracks right away, the oil is ready.
3. When the cumin seeds crack, add asafetida, and red chilies stir for few seconds add potatoes stir add turmeric, coriander powder, red chili powder, salt and fenugreek leaves. Mix it well and cover the sauce pan.
4. Turn down heat to medium. Let it cook until potatoes are tender and cooked well it should take about 15 minutes. Do stir one or two times in between.
5. From some sides potatoes will be light brown in color. If potatoes appear to be very dry add one or two tablespoons of water.
6. After potatoes cooked well, add the mango powder and mix it well. Turn off the heat. Aloo Methi is ready to serve.

Saag Paneer

Raita

Dosa (crispy savory pancakes)

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rice
• 1 cup skinless split urad daal (skinless black gram)
• 3/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
• Salt to taste
• Vegetable/ canola/ sunflower cooking oil

Preparation:

How To Make Paneer, (Indian Cheese- SIMPLE!)

Ingredients:

1 litre full-cream milk (use lean milk for a low-fat version)
½ tsp citric acid/lemon juice
½ cup warm water

Preparation:

Set the milk up to boil.
As the milk is readied, dissolve the citric acid/lemon juice in half a cup of warm water.
When the milk comes to a boil, pour the acid-water/lemon juice-water mix into it.
Reduce the heat and stir continuously until the milk is completely curdled.
Remove from the heat when the separation of the curds and yellowish whey is complete.
Strain the mixture through a clean muslin cloth.
Hold it under running water for a minute and then press out the excess water.
Hang the muslin for 15-20 minutes so that all the whey is drained out.
To make the paneer into a block tie the muslin and place it under something heavy.
The paneer can now be cut into chunks and used as required.

Chutney Links

PakiRecipes.com

Chefs United

Easy Thai Green Curry Chicken Recipe

More Tips Here

4-5 cloves garlic
1-3 green chilies (jalapeno work well if you can't find Thai green chilies)
1 shallot (OR 1/4 cup purple onion), chopped
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, sliced
1/2 cup fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves & stems roughly chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper (available in most supermarket spice aisles)
3 Tbsp. fish sauce
1 tsp. shrimp paste
1 Tbsp. lime juice
1 tsp. brown sugar
1/4 can coconut milk (set the rest aside for later)

Blitz well [I love that!] to create a fragrant green curry paste. If using a blender, add more coconut milk to blend ingredients, up to 1/2 can as necessary.

Kore Laotian all-purpose curry paste Recipe

Ingredients
11/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 stalk lemongrass, outer leaves discarded
then chopped
1 oz (30 g) galangal, chopped
grated zest of 1 kaffir lime
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
1 large shallot, chopped
3 tbsp finely chopped cilantro root
1 oz (30 g) turmeric root, chopped, or
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 oz (30 g) fresh ginger root, chopped, or
1/2 tsp ground ginger
4 or more green or red Thai chilies, seeded
2 tsp shrimp paste
1 tbsp Indian curry powder (optional)

method:-
Heat a dry frying pan over moderate heat and roast the cumin and coriander seeds for about
2 minutes or until fragrant.
Put the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime zest, garlic, shallot, cilantro root, turmeric, ginger, chilies,
and roasted cumin and coriander seeds in a blender. Blend the ingredients to a smooth consistency,
adding water (1 tbsp at a time as necessary) to ease the process. Add the shrimp paste and curry
powder, if using, and blend well.
The paste can be kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days

Burmese Vegetable Curry

Ingredients

2 tbsp Oil
1 Small onion
2 Garlic cloves
1 Cm fresh ginger
1/2 Tspn chilli powder
1/2 Tspn turmeric
200g Can chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp Chopped fresh coriander
2 Potatoes, cubed
500g Mmixed stir-fry vegetables (eg. carrot, aubergine, beans)

Preparation

Heat the oil and fry onion, garlic, ginger, chilli powder and turmeric until aromas are released.

Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 tbsp coriander and bring to the boil.

Add potatoes and vegetables, cover and cook for 8 mins.

Remove the lid and cook for further 4 mins.

Just before serving sprinkle with remaining coriander.

Burma Meatball Curry

Ingredients
450g (1 lb) minced beef
2 tablespoons (30ml) rice flour
1/4 teaspoon (1ml) turmeric
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) salt
1/2 teaspoon (2.5ml) paprika
1 teaspoon (5ml) fish sauce
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons (30ml) cooking oil
1 cm (1/2 inch) piece of lemon grass stalk, finely chopped
1dried red chilli, crushed into flakes
1 large tomato, finely chopped
2 teaspoons (10ml) tamarind paste
1 cup (250ml or 8 fl oz) water

Method
Put the minced beef, rice flour, turmeric, salt, paprika, fish sauce and fresh chilli in a large bowl, mix well and set aside

Put the ginger, garlic and onion into a food processor and blend into a smooth paste (add a little water if needed)

Add the onion paste to the bowl (of beef mince and other ingredients) and mix well (you need a meatball mixture that is firm - add more flour if the mixture is too runny)
Make meatballs from the beef mixture with each meatball being 2.5cm (I inch) in diameter (there should be enough mixture for around 20 meatballs). Flatten the top and bottom of the meatballs by pressing down on them

Heat the oil in a large frying pan (or saucepan)

Cook the meatballs so that they become light brown (2-5 minutes), stiring often and set aside

In the same frying pan (or saucepan), fry the lemon grass and crushed chilli for 2 minutes, stirring a couple of times
Add the chopped tomato and stir-fry for 2 minutes
Add the meatballs, tamarind paste and water, bring to a simmer, cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring a few times

Remove the lid, increase the heat a little and cook for 5 minutes, stirring when necessary, so that the sauce thickens

Serve hot on rice

Burmese Pork Curry 2

This delicious curry no doubt owes much to the large quantity of garlic and ginger used, but also to the long, slow cooking that develops the unique flavor.

Serves 6-8

3 large onions, roughly chopped
20 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup peeled, sliced ginger
1.5 kg (3 lb) pork loin or thick leg chops, cut into large cubes
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons vinegar
1-2 teaspoons chilli powder
8 tablespoons peanut oil
4 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Put the onions, garlic and ginger into food processor or blender and process until finely chopped. Set a strainer over a saucepan and turn the chopped mixture into it, pressing out as much liquid as possible. Reserve the solids left in the strainer. To the liquid in the pan, add the pork, salt, vinegar, chilli powder and 4 tablespoons of the peanut oil. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer over low heat for 1½ hours or until the pork is tender. If necessary, top up with a little hot water.

In another heavy saucepan heat the remaining peanut oil and sesame oil. When very hot, add the onion pure. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the mixture turns a rich reddish brown. From time to time add 1-2 tablespoons water to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan or burning. Spoon off some of the oil that rises to the top of the pork mixture and add it to the cooking onions with the turmeric. When the oil separates from the pork add the onion mixture to the pan and cook uncovered over medium heat until the oil separates again. The pork should be stirred frequently when it reaches the stage where the liquid is almost evaporated or it could stick to the base of the pan and scorch. Serve with steamed rice and vegetable accompaniments.