Mango Lassi

A few weeks ago, I was taking with a friend of mine about how much I love Indian food. She told me that she orders a Mango Lassi every time that she goes to an Indian restaurant. After she said that, I was dying to try one. I went to Bombay House and loved the one that they had there, so I decided to figure out how to make one at home. Of course it was even better because I got to use my Ninja blender! This recipe isn't quite as sweet as the one I had at the restaurant because that is the way I like it. You could add more sugar if you prefer.

Prep time: 5 minutes

Serves: 2 people

2 mangos

1 3/4 cup plain (or greek) yogurt

1/2 cup (a little less) sugar

1 cup ice

Combine everything in the blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken Korma

Anciently, Indian food was commonly made using a method called Dum Pukht. A Handi was the clay pot used for Dum Pukht style cooking, which is slow cooking meals over low heat for long periods of time. This style is emulated quite well by a modern Crock Pot. So now I have that figured out, I realize that I can make all of my Indian curries in the slow cooker and it will be much simpler.

1.5 lb chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
1-2 large potatoes, cut into chunks
1 tsp kosher salt
1 onion, coarsely chopped
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (or 3 plum tomatoes, diced)
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp fresh ginger
8 cardamom pods, crushed
2 sticks cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander
2 tsp Garam Masala
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cups plain yogurt
1/2-3/4 cup cashews (optional)

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker except for yogurt and cashews. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Stir in yogurt and cashews. Add more salt to taste. Serve over rice or with naan bread. I also added about 1/4 cup coconut milk, because I like the flavor it adds. Another option is to add about 1/4 cup raisins.

Curry with stir-fried spices

I went to the library last week and found out that they have shelves and shelves full of cookbooks. So I borrowed one called The Great Curries of India. Here is the first one that we tried; it is a recipe from Dehli called Bhuna Gosht.

1/3 cup oil
2 bay leaves
1 black cardamom
2-in cinnamon stick
10 peppercorns
4 cloves
1 1/2 onions, very finely chopped
1 oz fresh ginger, peeled and pureed
2/3 oz garlic, finely chopped
1/4 oz green chiles, chopped
2 1/4 lb lamb (I used chicken)
salt
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp garam masala powder
2 small tomatoes, pureed
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 Tbps chopped cilantro leaves, to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a cooking pot with the bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon stick. When the leaves begin to fry add the peppercorns and cloves. After a minute put in the onions and saute until lightly colored, about 15 minutes.

2. Add the ginger, garlic, green chiles, meat and 1 tsp salt and stir-fry over a low heat for 20 minutes. During this time stir every few seconds, scraping the spices off the bottom of the pot. Add 2 Tbsp water whenever it gets too dry.

3. Then add the turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper and garam masala powders and stir continuously for 5 minutes, adding 2 tablespoons water. Add the pureed tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

4. Add 4 cups water and simmer for 15 minutes. Whisk the yogurt and add to the pot. Cook over gentle heat until meat is tender. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro leaves.

Chicken Tikki Masala

This is another AMAZING curry recipe from my aunt. I have made this one a couple of times before and every time it has been great. This time I didn't plan ahead enough to marinate the chicken so I decided to cook it in a regular pan, seasoning it with the ginger, garlic, cardamom, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. When the chicken was fully cooked I set it aside and continued with the rest of the recipe as written. The only other change I made was that I added about 1/2 cup plain yogurt with the coconut milk. This was probably the best curry I have ever had.

Masala Marinade

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBSP ginger, finely grated
1 TBSP lemon juice
salt & pepper, freshly ground
¼ tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp ground coriander

2.5 lbs chicken, boneless, skinless thighs, fat trimmed
Thighs are best, can use breast meat

Sauce

Salt and Pepper, freshly ground
2 lg onion, finely chopped
4 TBSP +2 tsp veg oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 ½ TBSP Garam Masala
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
¼ to 1/2 cup almonds or cashews
Pinch of sugar
2 cup coconut milk
2-35 oz can peeled tomatoes, finely chopped, juices reserved
or use tomato sauce or puree for really smooth sauce.

1. Make the masala marinade:
In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine all the spices and yogurt.
Season with salt and pepper.

2. Prepare the chicken:
Using a sharp knife, make a few shallow slashes in each piece of chicken.
Add the chicken to the marinade, turn to coat and cover, and refrigerate
overnight.

3. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Remove the chicken from the marinade;
remove as much of the marinade as possible. Spread the chicken on a baking
sheet. Bake for 15 minutes or until just cooked, turning once or twice.
Transfer to a cutting board and cut into bite size pieces.

4. Meanwhile, in a blender, grind almonds or cashew until finely ground.
Remove nuts and set aside. Grind onions, garlic and ginger to keep sauce
smooth. Add little water to make paste.
5. In a large heavy duty pan, heat 2 TBSP oil until shimmering. Add ground
onion mixture from blender and cook about 5 minutes. Add the garam
masala and cayenne powder and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the
tomatoes with juices and sugar and salt and pepper. Cover partially and
cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is slightly
thickened, about 20 minutes. Add coconut milk and ground almonds and
cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 10 minutes
longer.
Stir in chicken; simmer gently for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, and serve.
Garnish with ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Serve with warm steamed Basmati rice, rice pilaf or warm naan.

Optional:
Try it with shrimp, lamb and vegetables.
Using tomato sauce/puree thickens sauce faster.
Heavy cream can be used instead of coconut milk, better with coconut milk
Can make ahead and gently reheat before serving
Freezes great
Grilling the meat is the best method, do not overcook!

Note:
Garam Masala adds pepper heat to the recipe
Increase or decrease spices/pepper heat to personal taste
Can add Garam Masala to marniade

Ground Lamb Kofto Kebabs

Last weekend we watched that Food Network show "The Next Food Network Star" for the first time. We really liked Aarti; we liked her personality the best and her food looked great and very original. When we saw her recipe for ground lamb kebabs with pomegranate glaze we thought it was right up our alley and couldn't wait to try it. All week we were looking forward to Saturday when we would finally get to try an award-winning recipe. We couldn't find ground lamb anywhere but luckily our 1957 Sunbeam Mixmaster (my husband found it at a thrift store and restored it) has a meat grinder attachment (I never expected to use it!). While we were making it we were both so excited because it looked and smelled delicious. My husband even fixed up a broken food processor that we had and made it so it will work with our blender! We learned a lot of things making this recipe (needless to say it took us much longer than 45 minutes to prepare). For example: what is a potato ricer? Apparently it is a kitchen gadget used to force cooked potatoes through small holes. We found another use for our meat grinder!

Here is the whole recipe (as posted on the food network website):

Ingredients

Raita:

• 2 Persian cucumbers, sliced 1/4-inch thick (about 1 1/4 cups)
• 6 sprigs fresh mint, leaves picked and minced (about 1/4 cup)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup Greek yogurn
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Potatoes:

• 1 pound new potatoes
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoons panch puran spice blend or Bengali five spice blend*
• 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
• Freshly ground black pepper
• *Can be found at specialty Asian and Indian markets.

Kebabs:

• 1/2 bunch fresh parsley, leaves picked (about 2 cups)
• 4 sprigs fresh mint, leaves picked (about 1 cup)
• 1 shallot, roughly chopped
• Zest and juice of 1 Meyer lemon
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 pound ground lamb
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil, for greasing and drizzling
• 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses*
• 1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
• *Can be found at specialty Asian and Indian markets
• Special Equipment: 12 (10-inch) bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 minutes

Directions

For the raita: Mix the cucumber, mint, garlic, and yogurt together in a large bowl with plenty of salt and pepper, to taste. Cover and chill.
For the potatoes: Fill a large pot with cool water and put over high heat. Add the potatoes and a hefty dose of salt. Bring to a boil, and then simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain and push them through a potato ricer. Heat the canola oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Once shimmering, add the panch puran seasoning. Cook the seasoning blend until fragrant and the spices begin to pop, about 30 seconds. Add the onion and saute until tender and lightly browned. Reduce the heat to medium. Add the potatoes and flatten them with a spatula, cook about 5 minutes, stirring and flattening a few times, until the bottom gets a little crispy. Season the potatoes with salt, and pepper, to taste, and keep warm until ready to serve.
Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine the parsley, mint, shallot, lemon zest, and garlic and pulse until finely minced. Add the mixture to a bowl with the ground lamb, baking soda and lots of salt and pepper, to taste. Knead until the mixture turns sticky, looks like a piece of knitted fabric, and holds its shape. Pull off a small ball of meat and shape into a fat cylinder. Thread a skewer through the middle lengthwise, and smooth the meat down the skewer until it's even all the way down. Repeat with rest of the meat mixture. Put the kebabs on an oiled baking sheet and drizzle with a little more oil. Combine the pomegranate molasses, lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.
Light a grill or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat.
Arrange the kebabs on the hot grill, turning every 2 to 3 minutes, generously brushing with the pomegranate mixture. Cook the kebabs until browned, about 6 minutes.
Transfer the kebabs to a serving platter and serve with the potatoes and raita on the side.

After all the hard work and ingenuity we put into making this dinner we were very excited to try it. It smelled wonderful and looked even better. But unfortunately it did not light up our taste buds like it seemed to for the judges on Food Network. It seemed like the type of dish that you would order at a foreign food restaurant and think "that was pretty good, but I wouldn't order it again." I don't know if I am revealing my unrefined taste in food or my lack of ability to adequately follow a recipe but let me just say that we ended up with a very expensive lesson on what NOT to do.

I went back and re-read everyone's comments on the Food Network and Aarti's personal website and they all seemed to agree that it was an incredible and practically flawless recipe but for us... not so much.

Chicken Curry and Na'an Bread

This is a great curry that isn't too spicy. I started becoming very interested in cooking curry when I was dating my husband. We went to a great Indian restaurant called Bombay House and thought, "why can't we make this at home?" Unfortunately very few of the recipes that we found on the internet were actually good, but even in all of those failed curry recipes, we started to recognize what ingredients we thought made curry taste good. Finally one day I remembered that my aunt is Indian! Why didn't I think of that before? Of course she would have an amazing and completely authentic recipe. So I gave her a call and she sent me the recipe for Na'an bread and some great curry. This recipe is inspired by one that she gave me but with a few differences.

Curry:
3 Tbsp olive oil
1-2 cinnamon sticks
1-2 bay leaf
3 medium onions, finely chopped
7-8 cloves of garlic (or tsp. minced garlic)
2 32 oz cans diced tomatoes
1/4-1/2 tsp. Indian chili powder (less for a more mild curry)
1 tsp turmeric powder
2 Tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ginger (powder or fresh)
1 lb chicken cut into small pieces
2 C plain yogurt
3/4 C cilantro, finely chopped
1 can coconut milk
salt to taste

In a large pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add cinnamon stick and bay leaf; fry until slightly brown. Add onions and saute until golden brown, 5-8 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 1 minute then add drained tomatoes. Add the spices one by one and mix well. Cook for 1 minute before adding chicken. Mix well and cook for several minutes. Stir in yogurt, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the cilantro, coconut milk, and salt. Simmer about 20 minutes or until sauce has thickened.



Na'an Bread:
1 Tbsp dry yeast
1 C warm water
1/2 C plain yogurt
1 Tbsp kosher salt
2-4 C bread flour

Dissolve yeast in 1/2 C of warm water in a mixing bowl. Place on mixer with dough hook and let stand 5-10 minutes. In a separate small bowl stir together remaining water with yogurt and salt. Turn mixer on low speed and add 1/2 C flour to the yeast mixture. While mixer is on, add the yogurt mixture. Slowly add remaining flour until well incorporated; mix on high speed for 5 minutes. Dough should start to become a ball. Remove from mixer and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Keep in a warm place and allow to rise for 30 min. Dough should be very soft.

On a lightly floured surface, divide and roll dough into 8 balls. May make more. Place on floured baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 30 minutes.

Take the Na'an dough and flatten or roll into 6" circles. Na'an bread usually comes in irregular shapes. Place dough on very hot grill rack and cook 3-4 minutes on each side. Dough should puff up and get brown spots. Remove from grill, lightly butter and keep warm, covered in foil. You may also sprinkle bread with minced garlic or garlic powder.