I’ve been making Indian food lately. It takes me forever, so when I do we always end up eating late. I need to plan better, I guess. I made several different Garam Masala mixes just to play around. The saag sauce that I made was the only one that didn’t really work out. I love my chicken tikka masala, but it is loaded with calories. The vindaloo was too oily. The recipe I had called for a huge amount of sesame oil. I’ll probably cut it in half next time. I don’t know where to get tamarind paste either. My paneer workes out very well, except it takes an incredible amount of non-homogenized milk to get much out.
I learned everything from the internet and the Time-Life series I have. Manjula’s kitchen is where I get my naan recipe. If you make naan this way, make the dough the day before and let it sit out overnight to rise.
Are there any good indian sauces that I can order online without breaking the bank? It seems like all the bottled curries here at my groceries go for $7-10 a bottle. Surely there is a cheaper option for my Chicken Korma quick fix, yes?
Have you ever shopped at any east-Asian stores? I went to the Indian area of LA (Artesia) on the weekend, and I was suprised to find that Indian ingredients are available in some east-Asian stores, for a much cheaper price than the Indian stores.
I don’t want to bash the nice lady, but I find a lot of Jaffrey’s recipes boring and bland. There is nothing wrong with her technique as such, but most of her recipes are simplified beyond the acceptable, and her use of spices is all too sparse. There are some decent recipes in her “ultimate curry bible”, and I like the historical angle to curry-making, but most of her food is unimaginative.
I much prefer Camelia Punjabi’s 50 great curries of India - I have made quite a few of those, and they always turn out well. They often demand more time than Jaffrey’s, but it is worth it .
For fast, unpretentious, and tasty homemade curry, try some of the Vahrevah chef’s recipes (much better than Manjula, IMO. Try his Mehti Chicken - you can substitue spinach for mehti. It only takes 20 minutes to make, and is quite good for an everyday curry. He is from Andhra Pradesh, I think, so he does use a lot of chili - you might want to restrain yourself a little there…
I have ordered An Invitation to Indian Cooking so I will let you know how I find that. We used some of the frozen vegetable puree to make the curry for tonight and it was great. I cut back on the chilli powder, and my son even ate a good bit; he is not fond of hot spices. It had some heat, but not much. I added some spices I did not the other day and that changed the character quite a bit. I am looking forward to the cook book so I can learn some specific dishes.
Panurge, I suspect you are right in that I will find her spices sparse, as the few recipes I have seen online use far less of the spices than I have been in my curries.
I think it is great that so much of the bulk in dinner tonight was vegetables that had been cooked in vegetable broth. That and tonight’s dinner was easy to make. All that work this weekend was worth it.
I made Manjula’s dal makhani recipe today, but I found it a little disappointing. Not bad, but not really outstanding either. I’m going to try Sanjay Thumma’s recipe next time (thanks for the tip). What does he mean when he says “chili powder?” He obviously can’t be referring to this stuff, which if I’m not mistaken, is dried ancho chiles and is ubiquitous in Mexican cooking. It’s just not hot enough. But that’s the only ‘chili powder’ that I am familiar with. What should I ask for when I go to the Indian store? What plant is he talking about? It’s a Punjabi dish, if that helps.
I think I found my answer. He’s referring to lal mirch, right? His recipe calls for 10 grams of the stuff (which would be about a tablespoon) for what I estimate to be about 4 – 5 large servings of dal makhani. I’m pretty much an uber-wimp in that department, so does that represent a lethal amount for me?
Yes, he means lal mirch (= “red pepper”). Over here (i.e. Denmark - and probably most of Europe) we can buy “chili powder” pretty much everywhere. I think Ms. Jaffrey uses cayenne pepper (which we can’t get as easily) in her recipes, and its probably the same thing as our “chili powder”.
An Invitation to Indian Cooking came yesterday, the day after I made my first tandoori style chicken for dinner.
The chicken was awesome. I put together the recipe from several sources and used a commerial spice blend (Eastern Brand) for part of the spices. I did use fresh garlic and ginger and limes. Since I don’t have a tandoori, I broiled the chicken. It came out juicy and very flavorful and even the right shade of red.
I look forward to following recipes from the book, I just don’t know where to start. I am pleased that she explains about how different preparation of the spices gives a different flavor. I had picked up some things from reading recipies like toasting certain spices, but not others and she explains why.
I was also pleased at her description of the first Tandoori style restaurant in Dehli, which is not the traditional home of tandoori cooking, and how the chicken they served was red! I have heard other people on the net declare that real tandoori chicken is not red, that this is an Americanization, and then others argue that is how it is in France and Britain too.
I will report back after trying some of the recipes from the book.