Lemon Rice (South Indian)

1 cup rice soaked for 1 hour

2 1/2 cups water

1/4 tsp. Turmeric

20 tiny shallots ( 1/3 cup ) or large shallots chopped into pieces

3 green chili’s, slit

3 dozen curry leaves

2tsp. Mustard seeds

1/2 cup peanuts, dry roast them

2 Tbls. Cilantro

Juice of one lime, or combined lemon & lime

1 1/4 tsp. Salt

2 Tbls. Oil

Pressure cook the rice and set aside to cool. (Or, use about 2 1/2 to 3 cups leftover cooked rice).

Heat the oil in pan or wok to HOT. Add dried red chili, mustard seeds, the green chili and the curry leaves in quick succession. Then add the shallots and stir as they cook a bit.

Turn off the heat and add the roasted peanuts. Add half the cilantro, stir in and allow the mixture to cool down before adding the rice, which has also cooled a bit. (If using leftover rice, warm it slightly and add a bit of turmeric to color it yellow.)

Combine the rice and the flavorings. Dissolve the salt in the lemon/lime juice and stir that in and serve.

Kofta Palak Curry. (North Indian)

6 small potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 cup chopped fresh spinach

1 large floret cauliflower (1/3 -1/2 cup) chopped fine

2 medium carrots, grated

2 Tbls. Cornstarch

1/2tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Chili powder, hot

1/2tsp. Fennel seeds

Oil, sufficient for frying or deep frying in wok

Mix together potato, chopped spinach, cauliflower, and carrot in a bowl. Add 2 Tbls. Corn starch, salt, chili powder and fennel seeds. Form into small. Alls about golf ball size. This will make about 7 balls.

Heat the oil to HOT, SMOKING. Cook just a few balls at a time and turn them until they are browned slightly. Drain them and cook the rest. Set them aside. They will be reheated slightly when the spinach curry gravy is made and they are put into it.

Spinach Curry (gravy)

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 medium tomatoes, quartered or chopped

1Tbls. Slivered ginger

1 fresh green chili

2 to 3 dozen cilantro stems, cut into 2-inch pieces

Large handful spinach leaves

4 cloves of garlic

1 Tbls. Oil

1/2 tsp. Fennel seeds

1 tsp. Cumin seeds

1 Tbls. Oil

1 dried red chili

1 tsp. Garam masala

2-inch stick cinnamon

1tsp. Salt

1/4 cup heavy cream

First, purée the handful of spinach with the garlic. The garlic keeps the spinach from turning brown.

Next, heat the first Tablespoon of oil in the wok until HOT. Add cumin and fennel seeds together and let cumin seeds darken slightly — just a few seconds — before adding the onions. Stir the onions until browned a bit, then add slivered ginger, stir, add the green chili and stir about 30seconds.Add tomatoes and “let it become soft and pulpy” as Renu says. Then put in the cilantro stalks and cook for another minute before turning off the heat and letting the mixture cool a bit before puréeing it.  When puréeing it in the blender get it really really fine by adding just a bit of water. It should be totally smooth, says Renu.

Now put the second tablespoon of oil in the wok and get it HOT. First add the dried red chili, then the cinnamon stick, then the purée you have just made.  Ok and stir this as it sputters. The oil will bubble out almost immediately. At that point add the puréed  spinach/garlic mixture. Finally, stir in the cream and set aside. It will thicken a bit. Before serving add a bit of water to loosen it and gently place the Kofta balls into it. Reheat very gently… maybe adding a bit more cream before serving.

Credit: Renu www.explorindya.com

Aloo Gobi ( Potato / Cauliflower ) (Northern Indian)

2 large potatoes , cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces

3 cups cauliflower florets

2 green chili’s, split

2 inch ginger finely chopped

1 Tbls. Cilantro

Spices

2 Tabls. Oil

1/2 tsp. Cumin seeds

1/2 tsp. Fennel seeds

1/4 tsp. Fenugreek seeds

1 tsp. Coriander powder

1/2 tsp. Hot chili powder

1/4 turmeric

1 tsp. Salt

Heat the oil to hot. Add pinch of asafetida powder. Add cumin seeds to sputter and then quickly fenugreek, fennel seeds, ginger and green chilis in succession. Stir fry. Then add potatoes and toss. Add 1/2 cup water and cover. Leave over lower heat stirring occasionally for about 10to 15 minutes until water is absorbed. Add cauliflower and another 1/2 cup water, toss and then cover. Simmer for another 8 or 10minutes. When almost all moisture is absorbed, add the 6 dry spices and salt. Cover and set aside. When serving, add the fresh cilantro.

Methi Paneer (a Renu recipe)

1 cup Paneer ( made from 1 1/2 liters whole milk and 1 1/2 tsp.  vinegar)

1/3 cup cashew paste (made from 20 cashews ground with water)

1 pinch asafetida powder

2 Tbls. Heavy cream

3 Tbls Kashmiri Methi leaves (fenugreek leaves)

2 bay leaves

1 dried red chili

1/2 inch cinnamon stick

5 cardamom pods, seeds only

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Tbls. Oil

Cube the Paneer into 1/2inch pieces.

Heat the oil to hot and add, in this order, pinch of asafetida, the red chili, cinnamon stick, bay leaves.

Add Paneer cubes and toss until they take on slight color. Add the Methi leaves and the cream. Then add cashew cream and salt. Remove from heat. Add the cardamom seeds and stir gently. It will thicken. If serving later, add a bit more water and reheat gently.

Purayal (South Indian Beetroot with Coconut)

4 medium beets, cooked, cooled, peeled and diced

Pinch asafetida

1 tsp. mustard seeds

2 dried red chilis

12 curry leaves

1 tsp. Urad dal

1 tsp. Salt

3/4 cup fresh coconut ground fine

1/2 Tbls. Oil

Heat oil to hot. Add pinch of asafetida. Add mustard and let pop for a second only . Add quickly urad dal, chili pieces, curry leaves. Be careful not to burn the lentils… so quickly add the chopped beets. Take off the heat and stir in the salt and coconut. Serve.

Tadka Dal (Northern India)

2 cups toor dal ( yellow dal)

2 fresh green chilis

1 dry red chili

1 1/2 inches ginger

1 cup chopped red onion

3/4 cup minced fresh tomato

2 Tbls. Ghee

2 Tbls. Garlic chopped

1 Tbls. Chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp. Cumin seed

1/4 tsp. Hot chili powder

1 tsp. Paprika (for color)

1 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Turmeric

Rinse the dal. If not using a pressure cooker, soak it more.

Heat the ghee to hot. Add, in quick succession, cumin seeds, dry red chili, the green chili, and the chopped onions. Lightly brown the onion before adding the garlic and then the ginger. Sauté a minute or two. Then tomato and cook until the moisture escapes and the oil bubbles out. Add salt, chili powder,, paprika, turmeric and 1/2 Tbls. of the cilantro. Pour this mixture over the dal and mix. Put in instant pot with 3 cups water and cook about 5 minutes on high and then allow natural release.

Add chopped cilantro when serving.

North Indian Raita

1 large cucumber

1/2 cup minced red onion

1/2 cup minced tomato

1 Tbls. Cilantro, chopped

1 cup yoghurt

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 green. Hili, finely minced

1/4 tsp. Roasted, freshly ground cumin powder

Mix vegetables together with cilantro. Add salt and roasted cumin and green chili. Stir in the yoghurt and sprinkle a bit more roasted cumin on top. Serve.

Ravi’s Puffy Bread: Bhatura

2 cups flour

1tsp. Salt

1/2 cup yoghurt

Water

Mix ingredients together to make a soft dough. Leave it to rise in a covered bowl for one hour.

Knead the dough. Divide and roll out into circles the size of your wok.

Heat oil in wok. Gently drop the circles into VERY HOT oil to fry on both sides. This takes just seconds.

Drain in paper towels.

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Renu’s Chickpeas in Tea

2 cups dry chickpeas, soaked overnight in ample salted water

Tie into muslin packet:

2 tsp. Tea leaves

1 inch cinnamon stick

1 Black cardamom pod

Boil chickpeas for 20minutes in fresh water along with the tea-cinnamon  packet.

Seasonings:

2 onions minced

1 inch ginger, minced

1 green chili, minced

2 tomatoes, puréed

Chole masala packet

2 Tbls. Oil

Heat oil to hot. Add cumin seeds and toast briefly. Add onion and sauté. Then ginger, green pepper and tomato purée. Cook until moisture evaporates and oil starts to bubble out.

Tamarind /Jaggery Sauce makes a good accompaniment. Mix the two together with a bit of water, salt, cumin and chili pepper to taste. It should be a bit sweet.

credit: Renu Kumar www.explorindya.com

Coconut Chutney (South Indian)

1 small coconut, meat removed

1 tsp. Salt

1 green chili

Put all together in the processor and start grinding, dry…. no water. Grade thoroughly not adding water until you must to keep going. Gradually add a bit of water, still staying mostly dry. When it comes together as a paste, add a bit more water.

1 TBLS oil

1 dried red chili, broken into pieces

1 tsp. Urad dal

12 curry leaves

1;tsp. Mustard seeds

Now heat oil to hot. Add in quick succession dal, pepper, curry leaves, mustard seeds. Do not let dal get dark. Lift pan off heat if dal browns too quickly. It should be light brown. This should take only seconds, so have your spices ready. Pour this spice mixture over the chutney. Mix now or mix later.

Khatta Meethi Baigar ( sweet and sour eggplant ) ( North Indian)

4 small hard egg plants

1/4 tsp. Oil

1/2 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Fennel seeds

1tsp.  Coriander powder

1/2 tsp. Turmeric powder

1 Tbls. Tamarind paste

25 grams jaggery

In a small bowl, put the oil and mix all the spices into it, making a paste. Slit eggplants into pieces vertically from the bottom without cutting through the top and stem. Rub the spice mixture into the cut sections of the eggplant.

Mix the tamarind paste into a bit of water to form a thick syrupy liquid. Add water to the jaggery and let sit.

2 Tbls. Oil

Asafetida, a sprinkle

1/2 tsp. Nigella seeds (black onion seed)

1 Tbls. Water

Heat oil to hot , sprinkle in asafetida. Add seeds and let them pop. Add 1 T. water and then the eggplants.  Cook gently over low heat until eggplants are almost entirely soft. Add the tamarind syrup and the jaggery and it’s liquid. Bring to a boil and cook it until the sauce is thick. About 5 minutes. Cover and let sit until ready to serve.

Rawa Idli (South Indian)

2 cups water, room temperature

2 cups semolina

3 Tbls. Yoghurt

Soak semolina in the water and yoghurt for several hours.

Seasoning ingredients

12 or more curry leaves

2 dried red  chilis

1 tsp. Mustard seeds

1 tsp. Urad dal, white

1 tsp.salt

2 tsp. Eno ( 1 tsp. Bicarbonate of soda mixed with 1 tsp. Of citric acid)

Put the salt into the semolina mixture. It should be a sloppy loose mixture. Add the Eno powder (or the bicarbonate and Citric acid mix) and stir it in. This makes the mix a bit fluffy.

Heat the seasonings

Put 1/2 Tbls. oil in the pan and heat to hot. Add,  in order:  lentils, then chili, then leaves, then mustard seeds. Toss the pan a bit. So the spices don’t burn, then pour them out onto the semolina mixture and stir.

Brush a bit of oil onto the idli forms. Spoon mixture into the forms, stack them and steam gently for about 12minutes.

Note:  This batter can be kept in the fridge for a week or more if you withhold the Eno powder / bicarbonate-citric acid. Add that just before cooking. To turn this batter into a dosa batter, thin it with a bit of water.

Paratha stuffed with carrot / cauliflower ( North Indian)

200 grams flour

1 tsp. Salt

Water to mix

2 medium carrots, grated

2 large florets of cauliflower, crumbled fine or chopped

First mix the dough, knead it minimally and leave it to rest, covered.

Put carrots and cauliflower in two separate bowls. On top of each, put

1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp. Fennel seeds

Pinch of asafetida

One green chili. Dry finely chopped

1 Tbls. Chopped cilantro

1/4tsp. Chili powder

Stir up the cauliflower mixture. Do NOT stir up the carrots mixture until ready to cook. Let it sit awhile, then stir the salt and spices just before cooking.(Otherwise the salt will force liquid out of the carrots. )

When ready to cook, divide dough into golf ball sized balls and roll them out to 1/8 inch thick. Put 2 Tbls. of cauliflower or carrot into the center and gather the dough up around the filling like a pouch. Flatten the pouches with the help of a bit of flour and roll out again.

Toast the paratha on a hot griddle or skillet on one side until browned spots show. Flip it, drizzle with oil, look for slight browning and then flip it again and again drizzle with oil. Take it off the flame.

credit: Renu Kumar www.explorindya.com

Matar(peas) Paneer

1/2 litre milk

1 1/4 t vinegar

Boil milk. Add vinegar very slowly, while stirring milk. When it has separated scrape from side of pan and drain in a sieve. Pat in to rectangular shape while pressing out excess liquid.

Matar:

Asefitada

1.5 t cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1” piece cinnamon

1 dry red chili

2 tomatoes puréed

1/2 t coriander

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t paprika

1/2 t salt

1c peas

1 T chopped cilantro

NOTE: when using Asefitada never use garlic and vice verse.

2 T oil in pan – heat.

Add pinch of asefitida, cumin seeds. Let pop. Add bay leaf, cinnamon stick, and chili. Add tomato purée and cook down. Add remaining dry spices to the tomatoes. Add peas and paneer.

Cut the paneer in to cubes and brown lightly in a little oil.

Sprinkle with cilantro.

Baingan Bharta (Punjab/Rajasthan)

1 eggplant

Char over open flame.

1 tomato diced

1/2 red onion, chopped finely

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1T ginger, chopped

1t garlic, chopped

1/2 t salt

1/2 t paprika

1/4 t chili powder

1/4 t turmeric

1/2 c yogurt

Handful of fresh mint.

Heat 3T oil. Add fennel seeds and let pop.

Add onion and cook until light brown. Add ginger and garlic

Add tomato and cook until soft. Remove from heat.

Peel and chop eggplant. Add to tomato mix. Add dry spices, yogurt and half the mint, chopped.

Chop remaining mint for garnish.

Roth bread – an old recipe from Rajasthan.

This particular bread is eaten at the full moon in August. Married women fast for the entire day, and they prepare this bread serving the first piece to a cow, the second piece to their husband, and only then can they break their fast and eat themselves.

250g whole wheat flour

1 t salt

1 t carom seeds (Adjuain – good for digestion)

1 T ghee

Crumble ghee and add enough water to make a firm dough. Cover and let it rest.

Punch and knead lightly until smooth and even. Break off golf ball size pieces and roll to about 1/8”thick – about 6”diameter. Crimp the edges and stamp with wedding band to make rings on surface.

Bake on dry cast iron pan. Flip and brush ghee on browned surface. Flip again with ghee side down.

Credit: Renu Kamir www.explorindya.com