A mild aromatic korma that eats well (rich, nutty and creamy) and you can serve it up Western style and not like a conventional “curry”. There is a story behind this dish – legend has it that Shahjehan (mastermind of Tajmahal) used to have themed banquets on full moon nights at Agra fort. The theme was white so guests, carpets, flowers were all white and naturally all food served was white.
If you want to serve Mughal style, you can garnish with edible silver foil.
Do try and I believe it will soon be a favourite with family and friends.
Safaed Murg Korma
INGREDIENTS
3 large chicken breasts, skinned and halved lengthwise (about 800g in weight)
I’ve seen this dish on the menu at several Indian restaurants. Ever since the potato was introduced by the Portuguese in early seventeenth century, Indians love for this vegetable has also grown. It is often added to most North Indian style vegetable dishes. What I find interesting is that the South was kind of far removed from foreign influences so much so that it took a long time for the so called “Western” vegetables to be incorporated into mainstream South Indian cooking. Sorry for my digression.
More to the point of aloo baingan – this is a lovely vegetarian dish that is not too chilli hot, yet very flavourful.
I roasted the eggplants for a bit so they retain their shape and don’t fall apart.
Back in the day, I used to make my own paneer (it kind of resembles and tastes like ricotta) and it used to be quite the ritual of weighing the paneer down overnight with a tower of cans. Now like everyone else, I use store bought paneer.
Paneer is versatile because it absorbs the flavours of whatever sauce you are using. Mattar is peas in Hindi so this dish is peas with paneer in a thick tomato sauce. It is really nice with rotis, puris or any flatbread.
Mattar Paneer
INGREDIENTS
300g paneer
450g peas (frozen is fine)
150g onion, finely chopped
3 tablespoons ghee
5cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
2-3 plump cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½-1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon cumin seed powder
2 teaspoons coriander powder
60ml cream
Salt to taste
For the sauce
100g onion, chopped
100g carrot, peeled and chopped
300g tinned tomatoes
1 red chilli
1 tablespoon oil
METHOD
To prepare the sauce heat the oil in a small saucepan. Fry the onions and carrots for 3-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and chilli and 200ml water. Let it come up to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Once cool enough blitz in a food processor or a stick blender. Set aside.
Heat the ghee in a kadai or sauté pan. Fry the onions on low heat for 12-15 minutes until they are pale brown.
Pound the ginger and garlic in a mortar and pestle. Toss this paste into the onions and continue frying for 2-3 minutes. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, and cumin and coriander powders. Keep frying and when it starts sticking to the bottom of pan, add a couple of tablespoons of water. Fry the spice off for a couple of minutes.
Tip the sauce into the kadai and season with salt. Cover with a lid and allow to cook for 8-10 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, cut the paneer block into 16-20 pieces. Soak in warm water.
Soak frozen peas in water and change the water a couple of times. This way when you add to the sauce, they will retain their bright green colour.
At the end of cooking time, add the peas and paneer. Cook for a couple of minutes before stirring in the cream. Continue on the heat for a further minute or so.
When I was growing up in India, most of the dried fruit and nuts used to come from Afghanistan or Pakistan. They were mobile vendors on bicycles, who would do door to door selling. They were referred to as Kabuliwala, meaning a person from Kabul.
I am writing about this, because this korma dish uses pistachios. They are referred to as pista for short and generally reserved for ice-creams and halwas but pistachios along with cardamom add an interesting flavour to this chicken dish.
Pistachio Chicken
INGREDIENTS
1 kilo of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
100g shelled pistachio nuts, unsalted
6 green chillies
2 onions (100g each approximately)
3 centimetre piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
6 plump garlic cloves
¾ teaspoon garam masala powder
2 bay leaves
¾ teaspoon ground white pepper
1 heaped teaspoon fennel seeds
12 cardamom pods
3 tablespoons chopped coriander stems, leaves and roots
1 teaspoon tamarind puree
200ml chicken stock
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt to taste
METHOD
Cut the chicken thighs into half or a third depending on the size. Set aside.
Place pistachios in a microwave safe bowl that is fairly large. Pour enough water to submerge the nuts from a freshly boiled kettle. Let soak for a couple of minutes and then microwave on high for three minutes. Let cool. Once cool, rub the nuts with your fingers and remove the skin. Set aside.
Quarter one of the onions and finely dice the other onion. Place the onion quarters in a microwave safe bowl and pour enough water to drown the onions from a freshly boiled kettle. Microwave on high for 2 minutes. Discard the cooking water by fishing out the onions.
Put the pistachio nuts, the onion quarters, ginger, garlic, 4 of the green chillies, coriander leaves in a food processor along with 50mls water and process to a fine paste.
In a large sauté pan, heat the oil and fry the onions on medium high for five minutes until lightly coloured. Add the garam masala, white pepper, bay leaves and fennel seeds and fry another minute. Mix in the spice paste and stir continuously for a further two minutes.
Add the chicken and sauté for five minutes. Add the tamarind puree, remaining chillies, chicken stock and salt. Cook for another 15 -20 minutes until done.
Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and using a rolling pin or mortar and pestle powder the seeds. Just before serving, sprinkle the freshly ground cardamom powder. Serves 4-6.
The word “shorba” is of Persian origin and almost a dozen variations of the word exist. It is traditionally prepared by simmering meat or vegetables in boiling water along with salt and flavored with aromatic curry spices and herbs.
Carrot shorba
My recipe is an oldie but a goodie from the Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor who has been the celebrity chef on one of the longest running food shows of its kind Khana Khazana. (In fact the show has been running since 2010 and has over 500 million viewers.) I remember watching this show on my visits to India. I have simplified the recipe so it is easier and you don’t have so many dishes to wash up!
This is a great soup to serve as a starter for a dinner party and I assure you will have your guests wanting more and the recipe.
INGREDIENTS
500g carrots, peeled and cut into 2 centimetre chunks
Kichadi is essentially a dish made with rice and lentils.
There are so many versions of this dish and it is comfort food in a way –
because it is simple, easy to prepare and so creamy. Incidentally kichadi is
one of the first solid foods babies eat. My version, of course is a spicy one
and makes for a very convenient, one pot dish.
INGREDIENTS
300 grams Basmati rice, rinsed well
100 grams mung dhal, rinsed well
150 grams onions, peeled and finely sliced
300 grams medium potatoes, quartered or into eighths
This is a dish that keeps on giving. I say that because I tend to make a large batch and use it for toasted sandwiches or Indianish quesadillas a few days down the week! To make the dish more balanced and sumptuous, I add a tin of chickpeas. You can use seasonal vegetables of your choice.
INGREDIENTS
½ cauliflower about 400 grams, washed
1 potato (150 grams), peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
1 carrot (100 grams), peeled and cut into 5cms batons
1 cup of cut frozen beans
½ cup frozen peas
1 x 400 grams tin of chick peas, drained and rinsed well
This is home cooking at its best – not very creamy or buttery. The spices, tomato paste and yoghurt add the required richness. There is not too much sauce or “gravy” with the kadai chicken.
I have adapted this recipe from Atul Kochhar’s “Simple Indian” cookbook. He made this dish with baby turnips but I feel the pink table radish we get here are succulent prepared this way.
400 grams radish, cleaned and
trimmed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon nigella seeds
1 green chilli, chopped
2 centimetre piece of ginger
finely chopped
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped coriander leaves
5 grams root ginger julienned
Salt to taste
METHOD
Mooli Masala
Cut the radish into quarters.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan, add the nigella seeds, green chilli and ginger,
and sauté for 1-2 minutes until the seeds crackle.
Add the radish and powdered
spices, and sauté over a low heat for 2-3 minutes. Add the chopped tomato and
salt. Cover and cook until the radish are soft.
Sprinkle chopped coriander and
ginger julienne over the radish and serve hot as an accompaniment.
This is a very simple and satisfying dish (sometimes called tarka dhal or tadka dhal) you see on the menu in Indian restaurants and households. There are any number of variations – normally this is made with Toor Dhal (obtained from specialist Indian stores and you would cook this in a pressure cooker as stove top method takes too long) but I have done a simple one with all the flavours using red lentils.
Ingredients
1 cup red lentils washed
1 thumb size fresh ginger piece
chopped fine
1 large onion finely chopped
1 fresh red chilli finely chopped
¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons ghee
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Salt to taste
½ fresh lemon
1 tablespoon coriander leaves
finely chopped
Method
Place the lentils in a large
saucepan and add two and a half cups water. Add the onion, ginger, chilli and
turmeric powder. Stir to combine contents of the pot and bring it to a boil.
Once the water is bubbling, reduce heat and let the lentils simmer for 15
minutes stirring a couple of times so the lentils do not stick to the bottom. Once
cooked stir in the salt, lemon juice and coriander leaves and set aside. Heat
the ghee in a small fry pan. When hot add the cumin seeds, fry until they
splutter or the seeds have opened up and the flavour is evident. While hot pour
on top and serve immediately with pulao. Serves 4.
PULAO
Dhal fry and pulao
Ingredients
2 cups Basmati rice rinsed in a
sieve and drained
1 large carrot cut into a small 1
centimetre dice
1 large onion sliced very thinly
1 cup frozen peas
½ thumb size piece of fresh
ginger finely chopped
4 plump garlic cloves finely
chopped
1 x 5 cm cinnamon stick cut in
half
5 cloves
5 cardamom
4 tablespoons ghee
Salt to taste
Method
Take a wide saucepan with a lid
preferably one with a non-stick surface. Heat ghee and add the whole spices. Fry
for a minute until all the spices have opened up and the smell is evident. Then
fry the onions for three minutes. Add the ginger, garlic and continue to fry for
a further minute. Add the rice, carrots and fry for a couple of minutes. Add
salt and three and three quarters cups of cold water from the tap. Increase
heat and let the contents of the pan come up to the boil. Reduce heat to the
lowest setting and cook for 12 minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and continue
cooking for a further 4- 5 minutes. The key to cooking beautiful rice on stove
top is to get the best quality Basmati rice you can afford and also do not stir
more than once in the middle of cooking. Allow the rice to rest for ten minutes
before serving hot with the Dhal or raita.
Radish / Onion Salad
5 small pink table radishes
sliced thinly
2 medium red onions sliced thinly
Salt to taste
Pinch of sugar
½ teaspoon Ajwain seeds (Indian
store)
Juice of one lemon
Method
Using your hands, mix the radishes,
onions, salt, sugar and ajwain seeds. Squeeze in the lemon juice and allow to
pickle for at least half an hour. Serve as part of an Indian meal.
ANDHRA STYLE LEMON PICKLE
10 large, juicy lemons (Meyer)
Juice from 4 lemons
10 tablespoons salt
9 tablespoons chilli powder (I
use a combination of very hot and mild Kashmiri chilli powder)
1 heaped dessertspoon full of
fenugreek seeds (roasted until brown and ground to a fine powder)
10 cloves plump garlic (optional)
2 teaspoons black mustard seeds
4 tablespoons vegetable oil like
canola
Method
Cut the 10 lemons into eighths or
if smallish into quarters. Take a large jar and place lemons in jar. Add all
the salt and shake the jar so the salt is mixed in. Set the jar aside for 24
hours. Squeeze out all the pieces (retain the juice that has collected) and you
can dry the pieces in the sun or I prefer to dehydrate them in the oven at 50
degrees Celsius for about 16 hours or so. Heat the oil and add the mustard seeds – fry until
the seeds are sputtering. Then add the garlic and fry for about 30 seconds. In
another large mixing bowl, using a wooden spoon mix the chilli powder and roasted
fenugreek powder and add the oil mixture. Add the dried lemon pieces and also
the reserved juice (the one from soaking). Mix well and put all the pickle back
into the jar. Allow to rest in a cupboard for a couple of days. Then give it a
good mix and squeeze in juice from the four lemons. Will keep for a few months
in the back of your cupboard. Serve as accompaniment to an Indian meal.
