I went with a friend to a indian cuisine buffet today, and to my surprise...I really liked it! If I made it myself, I would tone down the spicyness a bit, cuz I like it bland . Two chicken dishes (one masala...one, Ummmm..not sure), and a few vegetarian dishes. Trying to find recipes, I might've eaten some potato (oh well, I'm doing fine...no cravings, not hungry), but I'm really not sure what I've eaten.
Anyone enjoy Indian cuisine and have some good recipes they'd recommend?
I also loooooooooooooveee indian food, but unfortunately I do not eat out at Indian places because most of them are unhealthy due to the large amounts of ghee lol.
I really really enjoy rasmalai...it is pure heaven. It is a dessert..get it if you see it next time Chicken khorma is really good too. My neighbors from India always feed me, but they never tell me what it is called and I never ask what is in it because one time I did and I found out I was eating gizzards and livers from the chicken. Very yummy lol.
At H.E.B (Texas grocery store), they have whole wheat naan so I do not feel as guilty. I also buy the brown rice basmati. Try to look for a cookbook because you can see the mass amounts of oil that it used.
I am very, very interested in trying Indian food. I have a few indian recipes saved to my documents, but haven't tried them yet, since a few involve like a billion ingredients.
Indian food is the one type of cuisine that I have never gotten a taste for myself.....but I do love naan bread .....and have bought it in the past and made pizzas out of them.....
Mel, I have a great recipe for tandoori chicken....it isn't super authentic, but it easy and light on ingredients. It will also give you an idea what indian food is all about without having to spend a fortune on the ingredients to make it at home.
We have an indian buffet around here...omg....it's so good. I've had to ban myself from going there when I'm following sbd because I just totally forget about my willpower. That and my dad's apple crisp are my two weaknesses that I can't even encounter or I'll eat it all.
Anyway, here is the tandoori chicken recipe:
1 lb. chicken breast tenders or breasts cut into long strips
2 T. vegetable oil
1 t. garlic paste
1 1/2 t. garam masala (seasoning blend - might be able to find it at a supermarket - more likely a specialty shop (i've seen it at a greek specialty shop, a lebanese one and an indian one)
1 t. grated fresh ginger
8 oz. fresh asparagus spears, trimmed
cooked brown rice
8 oz. plain yogurt
1 T. lime juice
Toss chicken with 1 T. oil, garlic paste, garam masala and ginger. Thread each piece onto a skewer. Coat asparagus with a little oil.
Put the skewers and asparagus right on the rack of a grill over medium heat for about 10 minutes. Turn occasionally.
Cook rice. Cut asparagus into 2 inch pieces and mix into rice. Mix yogurt and lime juice together and serve on the side.
I've discovered that finding a spice combo you like is the trick. this recipe is a favorite in our house. I've changed the veggies a lot, made chard garbanzo curry the other night Another place to look is www.recipesource.com. I've found lots of new favorites there and it's very user friendly.
Eggplant Spinach Curry
1/4 c Oil
1 t Black mustard seeds
12 Garlic cloves, minced
2 lb Spinach, rinsed, dried, - and finely chopped
1 md Eggplant - cut into 1/2" cubes
1 Piece ginger root (1-inch) -peeled and grated
1/4 ts Jalapeno chiles, minced
1/4 ts Tumeric powder
1/4 ts Paprika
1/2 ts Ground coriander
1/2 ts Ground cumin
2 md Tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Heat the oil with half of the mustard seeds in a large saucepan. Add remaining mustard seeds when the cooked seeds begin to pop. Add the garlic
and saute until tender. Add the spinach, a small amount at a time, stirring occasionally to keep the spinach from scorching. When the spinach wilts, add the eggplant, ginger, jalapeno chiles, tumeric, paprika, coriander, and cumin. Saute to blend the flavors. Cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season to taste with salt. Cook, uncovered, 5 minutes longer. Garnish with cilantro.
In a large saucepan over low heat, combine lentils, onions, curry powder, salt, turmeric, and 2 cups water; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and the sauce has thickened, about 45 minutes. Add tomatoes, cauliflower, and jalapeno peppers and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is tender, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Remove from heat.
Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and cook for about 10 seconds. Add garlic and ginger; saute‚ until the garlic is lightly browned, about 1 minute. Stir in cayenne and immediately add the oil-spice mixture to the cauliflower mixture. Stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Taste and adjust seasonings with additional salt and cayenne.
I love Butter Chicken. However, I think for SB you'd have to replace the butter with a lesser amount of olive oil. This is for 4-6 servings. Uneaten servings freeze well.
2-3 TBS butter (would have to be 1-2 tsp olive oil)
1 onion cut into thin wedges
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp garlic pressed (or jarred)
2 tsp ginger pressed (or jarred)
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1-2 tsp chili powder
1 TBS coriander
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into small cubes
1/4 - 1/2 cup ground almonds
8 oz can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
1 TBS tomato paste (I rarely use tomato paste as it always makes the resulting food too sweet. Omit unless you can find some that is unsweetened)
1/2 cup plain LF yogurt
Heat oil in large pan, add onions and cinnamon and cook until onions are soft. Add the garlic and ginger, turmeric, chili and coriander and heat through. Add the chicken and stir constantly until chicken turns white. Pour in almonds, tomatoes and tomato paste. Stir together. Cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Add yogurt and stir just until heated. Remove from heat. This has a lot of sauce and you'll want to serve it on brown rice. When planning side dishes, it's helpful to know that the sauce is a lovely orangey red. Yum.
I didn't eat the bread (gosh, it did look good though!), nor the rice. I suspect that if it had a lot of oil or cream in it, I would've gotten an upset tummy (which I didn't) since I'm not used to that anymore.
I've discovered that finding a spice combo you like is the trick. this recipe is a favorite in our house. I've changed the veggies a lot, made chard garbanzo curry the other night Another place to look is www.recipesource.com. I've found lots of new favorites there and it's very user friendly.
Eggplant Spinach Curry
1/4 c Oil
1 t Black mustard seeds
12 Garlic cloves, minced
2 lb Spinach, rinsed, dried, - and finely chopped
1 md Eggplant - cut into 1/2" cubes
1 Piece ginger root (1-inch) -peeled and grated
1/4 ts Jalapeno chiles, minced
1/4 ts Tumeric powder
1/4 ts Paprika
1/2 ts Ground coriander
1/2 ts Ground cumin
2 md Tomatoes, finely chopped
Salt
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish
Heat the oil with half of the mustard seeds in a large saucepan. Add remaining mustard seeds when the cooked seeds begin to pop. Add the garlic
and saute until tender. Add the spinach, a small amount at a time, stirring occasionally to keep the spinach from scorching. When the spinach wilts, add the eggplant, ginger, jalapeno chiles, tumeric, paprika, coriander, and cumin. Saute to blend the flavors. Cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season to taste with salt. Cook, uncovered, 5 minutes longer. Garnish with cilantro.
I love indian food. We're leaving tomorrow or Thursay to visit my family in Bloomington, IL and there's a wonderful Indian Restaurant there called Puran. Last time we visited, we didn't get a chance to go, so hopefully this time we will.
My sister made chicken tikka masala at home from a spice kit she got in an Indian grocery store when she and my parents went to the traditional Sikh wedding of my sister's best friend. Really cool story, my mom when she had my sister, Ann shared a room with an Indian lady who was married in an arranged marriage (her mother-in-law arranged the marriage - basically picked her out for her son - and now that they're married, doesn't get along with the lady. So see, even if MIL hand-picks her DIL, the relationship isn't always easy). Any way, in grade school, my sister becomes best friends with the girl whose mother shared a room with our mom. Because they were born only a few days apart, they call each other "my twin" (one indian, and one german/polish/italian).
So Mom, Dad, and Ann went to the wedding. I would have loved to see a traditional Sikh wedding (the festivities go on for several days and the groom arrives on a white horse with an elaborite beaded veil). The bride and her female friends, relatives and soon to be relatives have a henna party the day before the wedding and get fancy henna designs painted on their hands and feet (or maybe it's just the brides feet). So Ann got to get the henna tattoos too.
Anyway, Ann brought home a lot of indian seasonings, mostly in the "kit" form, since she didn't know how to blend the spices (basically the indian equivalent to "hamburger helper" the seasoning are preblended and you add meat, vegetables, and make your own rice or naan to accompany it).
From what I understand, a traditional gift to the bride (I think from the MIL) is a large silver or stainless steel box filled with many tiny matching tins filled with whole spices (often with glass lids so you can see into the little tins to identify the spices).
I bought some biryani seasoning once, because hubby loves it. But even though it's the "hamburger helper" equivalent, there are still so many ingredients to add and steps to the process that I've never made it at home. Biryani seems like the equivalent of fried rice, but it's really more of a layered multi-step casserole. Should have read the label before buying it.
Kaplods - the wedding stuff is interesting, thanks for sharing!
I told my husband I enjoyed the indian cuisine...he had a COW. Freaked. Out. I thought it was because his ex (yeah, that's what....8 years ago now?) was a vegetarian and he was exposed to a lot of things like that; he claims it's because he tried it 6 or 8 times, and just didn't like it.
I responded, "well, I make a lot of stuff for myself only now, I guess this will be another!".
Indian Cuisine
. Two chicken dishes (one masala...one, Ummmm..not sure), and a few vegetarian dishes. Trying to find recipes, I might've eaten some potato (oh well, I'm doing fine...no cravings, not hungry), but I'm really not sure what I've eaten.
Chicken khorma is really good too. My neighbors from India always feed me, but they never tell me what it is called and I never ask what is in it because one time I did and I found out I was eating gizzards and livers from the chicken. Very yummy lol.
Yum.
