Indian Food

Hello fellow Indian food lovers,

I'm a complete disaster when it comes to cooking Indian food from scratch... I've tried and it never seems as nice as the take away I can get. And I'm no slouch in the kitchen, but I seem to be missing layers of flavor when I try to cook some Indian food myself.

That being said... perhaps I can cheat? Do you know of a good brand that sells ready made curry pastes? I've got Patak available to me in my country (Belgium), but I don't like the quality - there always seems to be some bitterness I can't fix when I use those jars.

Thanks for your advice!

I have been making my own paneer for almost as many years as i have been making Indian food. I started pressing it between two plates, now I have Dutch style cheese press that i use. I make two gallons of milk into paneer every other week or so. I love having paneer in the fridge and being able to make a dish on a whim.

Over the years my my method and presses have changed. My father and sisters are allergic to citrus, so i stopped using lemon juice as my acid and switched to white vinegar.

I am looking to upgrade my cheese molds, i am currently using some for tofu and the amount of pressure i use on the paneer is distorting them. I have good solid round molds, but i much rather the uniformity of square paneer. If anyone has a suggestion for some i would love to upgrade.

Hello and welcome all, I stopped posting/reading at the site that shall not be named, and I realized I do miss a few communities I was sort of active in, so hopefully this can become a good resource to discuss and share recipes from South Asia, and to discuss the sub continental food in general. Introduce yourself if you want, share your thoughts and recipes!

For the marinade: Chicken, without skin: 500g Yogurt: 1/2 Cup Ginger: 1 tsp grated Garlic: 1 tsp grated Cumin powder: 1tsp Coriander seeds powder: 1 tsp Mild Chilli powder: 1/2 tsp Nutmeg Powder: Pinch Finely chopped hot green chili, with seeds: 1 (optional) Oil: 1 tsp

For the curry: Onions: 200g - 250g sliced long Garlic: 2 tbsp sliced Melon Seeds: 1 tbsp (ground & powdered) Poppy Seeds: 1 tsp (ground & powdered) Rose essence/Kevda: pinch Whole spices: Bay leaf- 2, Cinnamon stick- 1, Star Anise- 1, Whole Black pepper - 10, Black Cardamom, crushed - 2, Green Cardamon, crushed - 4, Cloves -5 Yogurt: 1/2 Cup Water: 1 1/2 Cup Ghee: 1/4 cup Salt: To taste

For the garnish: Ginger: 1 tbsp julienne Coriander: 1/4 handful Green Chili, de-seeded and finely sliced: 1

Marinate chicken with the yogurt and the other marinade ingredients for a few hours

In ghee on medium flame, add in the whole spices till they crackle and release their aroma (a minute or so).

Add onions and caramelize till dark brown, add garlic and cook for a few minutes, then add the pumpkin and poppy seed powder, stir them in. Then add in the chicken with the marinade, stir for 5 minutes or so till lightly brown, add in the plain yogurt and water, cook till tender and almost off the bone. Once done, add in a pinch of rose essence.

Garnish with sliced ginger, coriander, de-seeded sliced green chill, serve with a naan bread.

Ingredients Urad Sabut/Black Dal - 2 cups Rajma/kidney beans - 1/2 cup Cinnamon stick - 1 Bay Leaf -1 Black Cardamon -1 Grated ginger - 3 inches Water - to cover over the soaked lentils by 2-3 inches

Wash dal thoroughly by rubbing between fingers, at least thrice, the last wash is with warm water, soak them over night, then add all ingredients with the dal, and cook in crockpot on low heat with pressure on for 6 to 8 hours, or on a slow cooker for 6 to 8 hours or till tender. The washing step is key to get the red color in the dal, and the runoff will be dark in color during the wash.

Tempering Masala Ghee/Oil 30 g 150g tomato paste or puree Asofetida powder - pinch Cumin seeds 1 tsp Toasted Fenugreek leaves powder - 1 tsp Kashmiri chili powder - 1tsp Garam masala - 1tsp Salt - to taste

Fry cumin seeds and asofetidia in oil till crackly, add in the tomato puree in and cook till the oil floats to the top, add in the rest of the masalas, and combine with the boiled dal. Cook on low heat for 30 minutes to 45 minutes till creamy, dilute with milk or water if required, garnish with butter/cream if desired.

Tandoori Chicken Recipe (in the style of Pritam da Dhamba):

1st Marinade: 30mins to 45 mins Scored skinned chicken: 900g Ginger garlic paste: 1tbsp , optinally add in one green chili Juice of 1 lemon or 1tbsp vinegar Massage & cover

2nd Marinade: 30 mins Rock salt or black salt 1tsp Cumin powder 1tsp Garam masala 1tsp Turmeric powder 1/2 tsp Kashmiri red chili powder 1tsp Coriander powder 1tsp Roughly ground cardamon powder 1/2tsp Kashmiri chili paste (made from rehydrated chilis) 1tbsp, can be substituted with food color Mustard oil 1.5 tbsp, if mustard oild is not available use ghee instead Massage, cover

3rd Marinade: 30 mins 4-5 tbps of hung curd Massage, cover

Preheat the air fryer at 180c for 5 minutes, and cook the chicken pieces for about 10 minutes on each side, giving a brushing of ghee once per side after 5 minutes. Raise the temp to 200c for the last 2 minutes for extra charring.

For the garnish, squeeze some fresh lemon on the chicken, and sprinkle chat masala.