The Recipe Room

Dum Aloo is a delicious vegetarian potato dish. It consists of fried potatoes in a thick yoghurt gravy. Since Dum Aloo is a lot like a potato stew,  (try this red lentil and potato bake recipe), it is rather substantial and filling, so it makes for a great veggie meal.

This potato dish goes well with naan bread or even with rice. When preparing this recipe, be careful not to add too much ginger, or it will overpower the entire dish.

The potatoes and yoghurt gravy can be garnished with chopped coriander leaves. This will give the dish a lovely refreshing touch.

Ingredients:

• 10 small potatoes
• 4 onions
• 3tbsp ghee
• 4 curry leaves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1tsp ginger powder
• 1/2tsp red chilli powder
• 2tsp coriander powder
• 1tsp cumin powder
• 250ml yoghurt
• Pinch of salt to taste
• 1/2tsp garam masala powder
• vegetable oil to deep fry the potatoes
• 10g fresh coriander

Preparation Method:

1. Boil the potatoes. (This will cut down on the amount of time you need to fry them later, so it will be less fattening.) Drain them and wait for them to cool before  peeling and cutting them in half.
2. Fill a pot with vegetable oil and warm it up on high heat.
3. Once the oil is hot enough, slowly add in the potatoes. Deep fry them until they turn light brown.
4. Remove the potatoes and set them aside.
5. Chop the onions very finely. They should be almost minced.
6. In a pot, heat up the ghee.
7. Now add the onions and fry them until they are light brown.
8. Lower the flame. Add the curry leaves and bay leaves to the pan and continue frying.
9. Now add the ginger powder to the pan and continue frying on a low flame while stirring slowly. Be careful not to let anything get burnt.
10. Stir in the red chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder.
11. Slowly stir in the yoghurt.
12. Add the salt.
13. Now slowly add in the fried potatoes.
14. Stir in the garam masala powder.
15. Cover the pot and let this simmer for about 15 minutes on a low flame, stirring occasionally. You will see the gravy get thicker.
16. Serve hot and garnish the Dum Aloo with chopped cilantro leaves.

Takes: 1 hour
Makes: Enough for 4 servings

Chicken Biryani is a tasty Indian dish made with a layer of marinated chicken and a layer of basmati rice. Some people alternate and do four or even six different layers, but in my house we always prepared it with just one layer of chicken and one layer of rice.

I have always made this with ghee, which is Indian butter. Ghee can be bought at many speciality Indian grocery stores, or you can try my ghee recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1kg Chicken
• 100ml Yoghurt
• 1 Green Chilli Pepper
• 8 Cloves Garlic
• 5tsp Ginger Powder
• 1/2tsp Red Chilli Powder
• 1/2tsp Coriander Powder
• 1/2tsp Turmeric Powder
• 500g Basmati Rice
• 1l Water
• 300g Ghee
• 2tbsp Whole Garam Masala
• 2 Large Onions
• 4 Medium Tomatoes, Chopped
• 30ml Milk
• 1/2tsp Saffron
• Pinch of Salt to taste

Preparation Method:

1. Chop the raw chicken into medium-sized cubes.
2. Mix the yoghurt, finely chopped green chilli pepper, ginger powder, 4 cloves of chopped garlic, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder in a big bowl.
3. Add the chopped chicken.
4. Let this mixture marinate in the fridge for 4-6 hours, or overnight.
5. In a bowl, cover the basmati rice with water. Let it soak for 20 minutes.
6. Remove the rice from this water and rinse it in a strainer.
7. Fill a pot with 1 litre of water. Add the rice. Bring it to the boil. Once it is boiling, let it cook for 2-3 minutes. You should only cook the rice halfway at this point. You are going to finish cooking it later. Take it off the stove and set it aside.
8. Melt the ghee in a pot.
9. Add the garam masala and gently roast it. It will pop in the pot, so be careful not to get burnt.
10. Chop the onion and 4 cloves of garlic finely and add them to the pot. Fry the onions until they are golden brown.
11. Add the finely chopped tomatoes to the pot and cook for 3 more minutes.
12. Add the marinated chicken to the pot and stir all these ingredients.
13. Make sure all the ingredients in the pot are level and flat by patting them with a wooden spoon. Now add the layer of basmati rice by putting all the half-cooked rice on top.
14. In a separate pan, heat up the milk and add the saffron. Let them cook together for one minute.
15. Sprinkle this milk and saffron mixture on top of the rice.
16. Cover the pot with a very tight lid. Let this simmer on a low flame for 30 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

Makes: Enough for 8 servings

Takes: 2 hours (plus 4-6 hours to marinate the chicken)

Note: Although not Indian, I recommend this hot and spicy chicken with almonds recipe. It´s another tasty chicken and rice option!

Mango Pachadi is a delicious Indian side dish which is actually quite fun to make. It is best served with rice and curry like this yellow thai chicken curry.

One of the key spices that gives this dish its distinctive flavour is asafoetida. This Indian spice is said to be very good for digestion. This is helpful, since many of my friends here in England say they find Indian food quite heavy. However, if you add a nice digestive ingredient like asafoetida, it makes for much better digestion and can be found at your local Indian market.

Ingredients:

• 1 large mango
• ½tsp turmeric powder
• 10 red chilli peppers, minced
• 1tsp mustard seeds
• 2tbsp jaggery
• 1/2tsp chilli powder
• Pinch of Asafoetida
• 1.5tsp rice flour
• Salt to taste
• 600ml water
• 5tsp oil

 Preparation Method:

1. Peel the large mango. You can use a normal potato peeler to do this because mango peels are quite thin. In fact, I have always found mangos very easy to work with.
2. Next chop the large mango into small pieces. These can be roughly 2 centimetre pieces. But again, I mean very roughly.
3. Add the mango to a pot, along with the turmeric powder and the water. Bring the water to the boil, then lower to medium heat. Cover the pot and let it simmer for about 10-15 minutes, or until the mango is cooked. You will know the mango is cooked when it is soft.
4. When the mango is cooked, remove it from the water
5. Mince the red chillies and set them aside.
6. In a separate pot, heat up oil on a very high flame. Add the mustard seeds. They will start to pop and crackle. But be careful they do not the splatter on you, or you will get burned.
7. Lower to medium flame. Now add the minced red chillies, jaggery, chilli powder and asafoetida to the pan. Fry for 3 minutes.
8. Now add the mango to the pan. Add another 150ml of water and stir slowly on a low heat for a few minutes.
9. Add salt to taste.
10. In a separate bowl, combine 300ml of water with the rice flour to make a paste.
11. Add this paste to the pot and stir slowly until thick.

Makes: 2 servings
Takes: 40 minutes

Lamb Biryani is a dish consisting of a layer of marinated lamb and a layer of basmati rice. It is quite tricky to cook both the marinated lamb and the rice to perfection. When you first cook the rice, it must only be half-cooked. When you add it to the pot later with the marinated lamb, it will finish cooking. If you want to get the flavour just right, you must use basmati rice.

Once you get the hang of making sure the lamb and the rice are both cooked perfectly, you might want to try my Chicken Biryani recipe. But just love lamb? Give this lamb roast with garlic and rosemary a go.

Ingredients:

• 1kg Lamb
• 100ml Yoghurt
• 2 Red Chilli Peppers, 1 chopped and 1 left whole
• 1/4tsp Garam Masala
• 2tsp Ginger Paste
• 2tsp Garlic Paste
• 1tsp Chopped Mint
• 1/4tsp Turmeric Powder
• 3 Large Onions
• 500g Basmati Rice
• 1l Water
• 1/2tsp Lemon Juice
• Pinch of Salt to taste
• 200g Ghee

Preparation Method:

1. Chop the raw lamb into medium-sized cubes.
2. In a large bowl, mix the yoghurt, red chilli peppers, garam masala, ginger paste, garlic paste and mint.
3. Now slowly stir in the cubes of raw lamb.
4. Add the turmeric powder and stir.
5. Peel and chop the onions.
6. Heat the ghee in a pan on a medium flame and add the chopped onions. Fry the onions until they are crispy and light brown. Do not fry them for so long that they get caramelised.
7. Remove the onions and place them on a plate with a kitchen towel or paper towel below them. You want the ghee to drain away so that the onions are crispy.
8. Let the crispy onions cool. Then, add them to the marinade.
9. Put the bowl in the fridge and let the lamb marinate for at least 6 hours, or overnight.
10. Soak the rice for 20 minutes in cold water.
11. Wash the rice and put it in a pot with 1 litre of water. Bring the water to the boil, then lower the flame and cook for 2-3 minutes. Remove the rice from the heat and set it aside.
12. Heat the ghee in the pot on a medium flame.
13. Add the marinated lamb—with all the marinade—to the pot.
14. Add the basmati rice on top of this.
15. Squeeze a little lemon juice onto the rice.
16. Add a pinch of salt to taste.
17. Cover the pot. Allow it to cook on a high flame for about 15 minutes. Then lower the flame and let is simmer for about 1 to 2 hours, or until the lamb is tender and fully cooked.

Makes: Enough for 6 servings
Takes: 2 hours (plus 6 hours to marinate the lamb)

Carrot Kanji is a refreshing drink made from fermented vegetables. You basically chop up various vegetables and mix them into water in a transparent pitcher and leave them in the sun for a few days to ferment. It does not take long to prepare, and once made, it can stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to two weeks. This drink is served chilled, and it has quite a strong, unique carroty flavour. In fact, some people find it a bit too strong the first few times they try it.

Traditionally, kanji is made with black carrots, which are found in northern India in the winter. However, since black carrots are hard to find in the West, you can use regular orange carrots for this Carrot Kanji drink, and it will still have its distinctive flavour. (For a warm treat, I recommend this comforting carrot, coriander and cumin soup.)

Carrot Kanji not only is low in calories but also may help you lose weight. Some studies have shown that eating red chilli peppers helps people slim down. Apparently, they curb your appetite. They may also raise your metabolism. Since my Carrot Kanji recipe calls for red chilli peppers, this is good news for those of you on a diet. I must point out that you may add in more red or green chilli peppers if you want to. Play around a bit with the quantities to see what spiciness level you like best.

Chutney is such an amazingly versatile food, and it goes well with so many Indian dishes. This Coriander Mint Chutney is a lovely, refreshing chutney recipe I got from my Mum. She likes to serve it with samosas. It is refreshing enough to offset the spicy taste of my Chickpea Samosas or my Vegetable Samosas.

This Coriander Mint Chutney is not as spicy as my Tomato Chutney is. In fact, it is rather light and zesty, thanks to its combination of mint, coriander, lemon and lime.

Mint is highly digestive. For many of my English friends, the hot spices of Indian food are rich and delicious – but make for difficult digestion. That is why I like to serve mint chutney along with many dishes. It really does help your stomach.

Mint also goes very well with lamb, so this chutney can garnish your favourite lamb dish, such as this Lamb Mussaman.

Ingredients:

• 200g fresh mint leaves
• 100g fresh coriander (leaves and stems)
• 2 cloves garlic
• 10g ginger
• ½ small onion
• 1tsp lemon juice
• 1tsp lime juice
• Pinch of salt

Preparation Method:

1. Pick the mint leaves off the stalks and stems. Wash and set aside.
2. Remove the coriander roots. Remember, unlike with fresh mint, you can actually include the stems of the fresh coriander. Wash it and put it in the blender.
3. Wash the garlic and ginger thoroughly and add to the blender. You do not need to slice the garlic or grind the ginger beforehand.
4. Cut the onion into about 4 pieces and put in blender. Putting the ingredients in one at a time helps avoid overworking the appliance.
5. Mix thoroughly.
6. Add the lemon juice and lime juice. This will provide a zesty flavour.
7. Once everything is well-mixed in a purée form, you can now add the mint. The mint is added at the very end so as to not blend it for too long.
8. Taste the chutney and then add a pinch of salt to taste. Do not add too much salt as you want it to taste refreshing and tangy.
9. Give it one last blend and it should be ready.

Makes: Enough for 8 servings.
Takes: 20 minutes.

Ghee is Indian butter. My mother used to make it, especially in the winter to put on our toast or in Bengali spiced vegetable cakes. My grandmother used to make it from curd, but that takes a lot longer. It is much easier to make it from unsalted butter bought at the supermarket.

The leaves are added in to give it an herby aroma. It really has a lovely fragrance. Although it is usually a solid, it can easily be melted so you can drizzle it on top of your favourite Indian desserts such as Puran Poli. It can last up to 6 months in the fridge, but it’s so delicious, I doubt it will!

Ingredients:

• 2kg unsalted white butter
• 10 curry leaves
• 10 drumstick leaves
• 4 bay leaves

Preparation Method:

1. Put the unsalted white butter in a deep-bottomed pan. On a medium flame, slowly stir the butter.
2. Once the butter is melted, lower the flame. Leave it to simmer on the low flame for a few minutes longer.
3. Slowly add in the fresh curry leaves. They should not be chopped as you are only adding them for the aroma. Stir slowly.
4. Next, slowly add in the whole, fresh drumstick leaves. Stir gently.
5. Finally, mix in the bay leaves.
6. After some time, the milk will divide into two parts: one solid and one liquid. The clear, liquid butter should rise to the top and the solid portions will sink to the bottom. The solid portions will form little clumps. Leave this on the flame long enough for these solid clumps to turn a slightly brownish colour, but be careful not to burn them!
7. With a wooden spoon, remove the curry, drumstick and bay leaves. When you do this, you need to be careful not to remove the solid clumps yet. You can just throw the leaves away.
8. Continue simmering with the solid clumps for a few minutes longer.
9. Remove the ghee from the flame. Put a sieve over a heat-resistant bowl and pour the ghee through it. This will separate the solid clumps out from the liquid ghee. Be very careful not to let it splatter, as it is very hot.

Takes: 50 minutes.
Makes: 1600ml of ghee.

Puran Poli makes a mouth-watering meal. It is a type of flatbread similar to Naan but with a sweet flavour. It is tied for my favourite breakfast food along with spicy Indian scrambled eggs, either of which can be served with ghee. As a tasty dessert, puran poli can be served sprinkled with powdered sugar or chocolate syrup.

Ingredients:

• 400g Chana Dal
• 400g chopped jaggery
• 2.5 tsp. cardamon powder
• 500g Maida (all-purpose flour)
• 4 tbsps. vegetable oil
• pinch of salt

Preparation Method:

1. Wash the Chana Dal thoroughly. Cover them with water and leave them to soak overnight.
2. Drain the Chana Dal. Put in a pot with 1 litre of water and cook until soft (about 35 minutes).
3. Strain the water. Lower the flame.
4. Add the chopped jaggery. Stir slowly until they melt. Make sure all the liquid fully evaporates. The Chana Dal and the jaggery should form a solid paste.
5. Slowly stir in the cardamon powder.
6. Set it aside in a bowl and allow it to cool.
7. Sieve the Maida and salt in a sieve or a sifter.
8. Put the sieved Maida flour in a bowl. Add some water and vegetable oil.
9. Knead the dough until it is soft, elastic and smooth. If you find that the dough is not becoming soft enough, just slowly add in a bit more water, but do not overdo it!
10. Divide the dough into 8 portions. Slowly roll each portion into perfectly round balls.
11. Prepare a rolling surface by cleaning it and sprinkling it with flour.
12. Take one of the 8 dough balls and flatten it into a round, thin circle. Do this first gently with your fingers. Then use a rolling pin afterwards.
13. Take a small spoon of the paste and place it gently in the centre of the flat dough circle.
14. Pick the sides of the dough up and press them against the paste. Do this until they entirely cover the paste. Try not to break the outer covering of the dough. If a small hole appears as you are closing the seams over the paste, just take a small dollop of dough and press it gently over the hole so that it is covered.
15. Flatten the ball with your fingers. With a rolling pin, gently roll it into a flat circle.
16. Heat pan on a medium flame. When it is very hot, place the rolled poli on it and cook.
17. Flip and fry it on the other side until it is well cooked.

Takes: 10 hours (including soaking time).
Makes: Enough for 8 servings.

I just love bringing samosas to my friends’ parties. Everyone’s faces light up when they see me walk in the door with this tasty finger food. Like my Vegetable Samosas, Chickpea Samosas are completely vegetarian, so everyone can enjoy them.

They also make the perfect accompaniment for any dish, such as this Mussel Rassam Curry.

Ingredients:

• 400g chickpeas
• 100g peas
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 140g of wholemeal flour
• 175ml water
• Vegetable oil
• Pinch of salt

Preparation Method:

To make the pastry:

1. Put the wholemeal flour in a bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and the water.
2. Knead the dough. This can be quite tiring, but remember, the more you knead it, the better the results will be. Think of it as good exercise!
3. When the dough is elastic, mould it into a ball shape and set it aside for 15 minutes.

To make the samosa filling:

1. Clean the chickpeas and soak them overnight or for a minimum of 8 hours.
2. Boil the chickpeas in a pressure cooker for 10 minutes.
3. Remove them and set them aside.
4. In a frying pan, fry the onions for 4 minutes until they turn a golden brown.
5. Add the peas and stir.
6. Add the chickpeas and the chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir. The tomatoes should become very soft.
7. Now it is ready for the spices. Add the garam masala, cumin powder and coriander. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Stir slowly for 2 more minutes before taking them off the hot stove.
8. Take the dough and divide it into 4 portions.
9. Roll these 4 portions into flat circles.
10. Gently add the chickpea samosa stuffing to each circle using a small teaspoon. Be careful not to overstuff.
11. Fold the top flap over and gently press the sides together.
12. Fill a heavy-based pan halfway with vegetable oil and heat on high. Slowly lower the samosa into the hot oil. Be careful not to do this too fast or the oil will splatter and you’ll get burned. Deep fry for 5 minutes
13. Remove the samosa and leave them on a kitchen roll to drain some of the excess oil off.

Note: Hot oil can be dangerous and should never be left unattended.

Takes: 10 hours
Makes: 8 large chickpea samosas

Bhaturas are Indian fried puffy breads. They actually puff up as you deep fry them, which is why they are a lot of fun to make. This is a lovely recipe I learned from my grandmother. (If you want more ideas, try this cheese and onion bread recipe.)

Since they are neither sweet nor salty, Bhaturas are very versatile. You can drizzle your favourite chutney on them. Check out my chutney recipes on my homepage.

Many Indians serve these tasty breads with Channa Masala.

Ingredients:

• 240g all-purpose flour (also known as Maida)
• 1/2 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 50g yoghurt
• 2 tsp. milk

Preparation Method:

1. Sieve the all-purpose flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl.
2. Melt the butter a little bit in the microwave and add to the bowl.
3. Add the milk and the yoghurt.
4. Knead until the dough is soft and elastic. This may take a while, but consider it good exercise!
5. Now roll this dough into a ball.
6. Cover the ball with a wet cloth.
7. Set the ball of dough aside for 5 hours. From time to time, check the cloth on top of the dough. You do not want it to dry up completely, so wet it every so often.
8. After the allotted time, take this dough and knead it more.
9. Take a small amount and roll it into round circles that are approximately 1 centimetre by 10 centimetres thick. Try to make these circles as perfectly round as possible.
10. Heat up the vegetable oil in a deep-bottomed pan. Wait until it is very hot.
11. Take one of these circular Bhaturas and slowly lower it into the oil. Do this slowly because at this point the oil is very hot and if it spatters up on you, it will burn you.
12. Let it fry for about 2 minutes. It should puff up as it is frying.
13. Flip the Bhatura over. You will only flip it over once. Wait until it is slightly golden.
14. Carefully remove from the oil.
15. Leave it on a paper towel to let the oil drain off. Otherwise, it will be extremely fattening!
16. Repeat this with the rest of the dough circles.

Makes: 5 Bhaturas
Takes: 30 minutes (plus 5 hours for the dough to sit)