home cooking – Indian Culinary Center, NYC

Simple Chana (chickpeas) Masala

September 5, 2017Leave a comment

Chickpeas are a delicious and nutritious protein to add to your meals.

You can use dried chickpeas which I do often, or use the ones from a can – either is fine really as long as you cook with them.

Last weekend I had the yen for a traditional Indian breakfast which included these chickpeas, potato curry indianculinarycenternyc.wordpress.com/2017/01/18/quick-spicy-potato-curry/ and Kulchas (a bread which I will post the recipe for another time).

For the chickpeas:

2 cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/8 tsp. ajwain**seeds (optional)

1/4 tsp. Nigella seeds

2 Tbs. Tamarind Paste or the Juice of 2 lemons/limes

2 green chilies, sliced (or 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper)

Salt to taste

2Tbs. ground coriander powder

1Tbs. cumin powder

Thinly sliced ginger and scallions for garnish

Heat the oil in a pan and add the nigella and ajwain seeds. Cook for about 20 seconds or until you smell their aroma and then add the washed and drained chickpeas. Add salt, cayenne or green chilies, cumin and coriander powder. Stir on high heat. Add the tamarind paste and a splash of water if the chickpeas are sticking.

Stir well and taste for seasoning. Add the lemon/lime juice in the end if not using the tamarind paste.

Garnish with sliced ginger and scallions.

Serve hot.

(Ajwain, ajowan (/ˈædʒəwɒn/) Trachyspermum ammi, also known as Ajwain caraway, bishop’s weed or carom, is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It originated in India.

Until I cook again!

Meat Pulao (rice casserole) with leftovers and a Raita

July 25, 20171 Comment

A couple of weeks ago I made a beef curry which was wonderfully delicious.

https://indianculinarycenternyc.wordpress.com/2017/07/10/sunday-beef-curry-with-potatoes/

What was leftover was not enough to feed 3 people – the number of people in my household and so I repurposed it into a pulao (rice casserole). This was enough to happily feed 3 people and it was also a new dish from leftovers.

I like to cook this way and following are the instructions to make the rice.

I have several recipes for rice on the blog and as most of my recipes, these are suggestions and feel free to use what you have.

Saute an onion and a tsp. of cumin in a tsp of oil. Cook for about five minutes and then add the leftover beef curry (or any curry you may have on hand). Heat through and add frozen peas if you like. Now add a cup of basmati rice (more if you have a lot of leftovers). Stir well and brown the rice a little. Next add 2 cups of water (a little less if there is a lot of sauce in the curry) and bring to a boil uncovered. Taste the water for seasoning – add some salt if you need it.

When the water comes to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer and cover for about 15-20 or until all the water has been soaked up.

Let stand for a few minutes.

In the meantime I made a raita (a yogurt dish with various ingredients like cucumber, onions, tomatoes or herbs).

I had a boiled potato that I diced, a tomato and sliced a red onion. Mixed in plain yogurt. Seasoned with salt, cumin powder and dried mint.

Now serve the rice with the raita.

You have a new and delicious dinner.

Until I cook again!

Simple Biryani with Turkey Meatballs and Peas

February 2, 2017June 8, 20171 Comment

Biryani is a rice casserole. It is traditionally made with Basmati rice. This can be a very complex dish and take many many hours.

However, this is a simple and quick version. It is still very delicious and satisfying.

Start with the meatballs for the biryani

Pick a protein – I used minced turkey but you can use what you like – beef, lamb, chicken – I would say even fish would be great.
Season generously with salt, pepper, chopped cilantro, ginger and garlic. I also used fresh dill since I love the fresh flavor of dill.
Form the balls and cook them on the stove top in a skillet with a little oil.
They can also be baked. I have added them raw too.

I know I frustrate some people with my recipes – but I like to have options. Technique is far more important than exact instructions and so I am not a baker.

Set the meatballs aside – they should not be cooked through – just browned. They will finish cooking in the rice.

Heat a casserole and add a tbs oil.
Add cumin seeds, a couple bay leaves, cardamom pods and dry red chillies if you have them.

Next add a sliced onion and saute for about 5-7 minutes. Season with salt.

After the onions have browned, add frozen peas if you like.No need to defrost – they will cook sufficiently in the upcoming process.

Next 2 cups of rice. You can increase or decrease the amount of rice. A rule of thumb when cooking rice is 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of liquid. Be aware if your base has its own liquid, like if you were using tomatoes – to reduce the amount of liquid.

Stir the rice, onions and peas well for a couple of minutes. I like to brown the rice a little at this stage.

Next add the water and stir.
Stick your finger in the water to check for seasoning.

Bring to a boil and cover with the flame on a low simmer.

Rice normally takes 20 minutes – at the 10 minute point is when I add the meatballs. I push them down into the rice – so they cook evenly.
Cover again and cook for another 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let stand covered for up to 20 minutes.

When you open the lid, the rice will be on the top and all the yumminess underneath. Use a spatula to gently mix everything.
I happened to have boiled eggs laying around and so I used them for garnish.

I served it with yogurt on the side and Indian pickles if you have them.

I hope you try this simple and healthful dish.

Until I cook again!

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