Some of our favorite Indian Recipes


Slowcooker Tomato Butter Sauce

- adapted from "The New Indian Slow Cooker" by Neela Paniz

6 T butter
1 c heavy cream
1 c half & half
1/4 t saffron
56 oz canned crushed tomatoes (2-28oz cans) or pureed fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup water
1 (2 1/2") piece ginger, grated
1 jalapeno pepper, minced
1 1/2 t garam masala
2 T geera (roasted cumin)
1 1/4 t salt
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t red pepper flake
4 T sugar
2 T cilantro

1- Heat slowcooker on high and add the butter to melt.
2 - Add cream, half & half and saffron and mix well.
3 - Add tomatoes and rinse cans w/ 1/4 cup of water and add.
4 - Add remaining ingredients, except cilantro. Cover, reduce heat to low & cook for 6 hours.
5 - Add cilantro at service.

* I tend to make this the day before I need it, let it cool and store in tupperware in the fridge. This allows the flavors to further develop in fridge and frees up the slowcooker for the Dal. To reheat the sauce, add 2 cups of sauce per pound of meat, or 1/2 cup sauce per person, to a saucepan and gently heat over medium low heat. Once up to temp, add your cooked chicken and serve over basmati rice. You will have extra sauce, which you can freeze or share with friends.

Slowcooker Mango Dal

- adapted from EatingWell Magazine, Jan/Feb 2010

1.5 c yellow lentils (or your favorite variety, I used rainbow lentils)
4 cups water
1 t salt (divided)
1/2 t ground turmeric
2 mangoes, peeled and diced (frozen works great as well)
1 T coconut or canola oil
1/2 t cumin seeds
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 T fresh ginger, minced
1/2 t ground coriander
1/4 t red pepper flake
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 - Place lentils in a colander and rinse until the water runs clear. Add lentils, 4 cups water, 1/2 t salt, turmeric and mangoes to the slowcooker.
2 - Heat oil in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and cook until fragrant and starting to brown, about 30 seconds. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft and beginning to brown, 4 to 6 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, red pepper flake and the remaining 1/2 t salt and cook, stirring, for 1 minute more.
3 - Stir the onion mixture into the lentils. Set the slowcooker to low and cook for 6 to 8 hours. Check on the lentils every few hours and give them a stir. If the dal gets to thick, add a bit more water. Add the cilantro just before serving.

Chicken in Green Spices - mirch masala tikka

- adapted from "The New Indian Slow Cooker" by Neela Paniz

8 to 10 cloves garlic, peeled
1 (2" piece) fresh ginger, peeled
1 jalapeno pepper, top removed
1 bunch cilantro or culantro (chadon beni)
12 to 15 mint leaves

1 T garam masala
1 T ground coriander
1 T ground geera
1/2 t red pepper flake

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast butterflied to even thickness
1 t salt
2 T coconut or canola oil

1 - Add first 5 ingredients to a blender and pulse with 1/4 cup of water to make a puree.
2 - Mix puree and next 4 ingredients together to make the marinade.
3 - Salt chicken and add to the marinade.
4 - Marinate chicken in the fridge for at least a 1/2 hour and up to 6 hours.
5 - Remove chicken from the fridge, add oil to the chicken and let come up to temp.
6 - Cook over coals, in a cast iron pan or on the deck of a forno oven. Our oven was at 425 F when we cooked our chicken.
7 - Add to butter sauce and serve.

Garlic Naan - Oven-Baked Flat Bread

- adapted from Aarti Sequeira, The Food Network

3/4 c warm water (about 100F)
1 t active dry yeast
2 t sugar (divided)
3 c all-purpose flour
1 t fine sea salt
1/8 t baking powder
3 T plain yogurt
2 T olive oil
1 t fennel seeds (optional)
1/2 c melted butter infused with 2 cloves garlic, smashed

1 - In a two cup measuring glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 t sugar in the warm water. Let sit on your counter until frothy, about 10 minutes.
2 - Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large deep bowl.
3 - Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and add the fennel seeds, if using, and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough (you should just be able to knead it). As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft free place for 2 to 4 hours.
4 - When you are ready to roll, make sure that you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky; this is perfect! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of flour to keep them from sticking to each other.
5 - Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape. It should be 8 to 9 inches long, 4 inches wide at it's widest point and about 1/4 inch thick. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough.
6 - Warm a large cast iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Pick up a naan and place it on a floured hand. Use the other hand to sprinkle water onto the face up side of the naan. Place the dampened side of the naan onto the skillet. The dough should start to bubble. Sprinkle more water onto the dry (upright) side of the naan.
7 - After about a minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened. Cook for 30 seconds to a minute more.
8 - Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with a bit of garlic butter. Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve.

* we used the deck of our forno pizza oven to make the bread. The deck temperature was at 500F.




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