Read Online 1,000 Indian Recipes by Neelam Batra - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Neelam Batra
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rosewater, and, occasionally, a touch of black pepper. Although each dessert can be customized, the following standard mixture can be added to almost all desserts. This pale green mixture is also a spectacular garnish over entrees such as rice, casseroles, and white curry dishes. A tablespoon of this stirred into hot milk is also really delicious. I often sprinkle it over vanilla, strawberry, or other fruit-flavored ice creams, and even over Indian banana fudge ( burfee ) and crème brûlées.
1 teaspoon saffron threads, dry-roasted and coarsely crushed ( Dry-Roasting Spices, Nuts, and Flours )
1 cup shelled raw pistachios
1 ⁄ 2 cup shelled raw almonds, coarsely broken
1 ⁄ 4 cup cashews, coarsely broken
1 tablespoon coarsely ground green cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black cardamom seeds
1. Prepare the saffron. The, in a spice grinder or in a small food processor, pulse together the pistachios, almonds, and cashews in one or two batches, to make a coarse powder.
2. Mix in the green and black cardamom seeds and the saffron. Store in an airtight container, about 3 months in the refrigerator or 1 year in the freezer.
Chai Tea Masala
Chai ka Masala
Makes about 1 1 ⁄ 2 cups
Every family has its own recipe for chai tea masala, but the following blend has the basic ingredients, which you can add to or alter to your own taste. Use about 1 ⁄ 4 to 1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon per cup of water to make chai tea. See the variation in Spicy Chai Tea .
1 ⁄ 2 cup fennel seeds
1 ⁄ 3 cup green cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons black cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons dried mint leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1 ⁄ 2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1. In a spice or coffee grinder, grind together the fennel seeds, green and black cardamom seeds, mint, and peppercorns to make a fine powder.
2. Mix in the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, and grind once more to mix the spices. Transfer to a small container and store in a cool, dark place, about 1 month at room temperature or about 1 year in the refrigerator.
Kitchen Basics
While it is true that Indian cuisine excites the senses and satisfies the palate with complex flavors, it is also true that with a little guidance and practice, achieving those results, especially for everyday home cooking, is simple.
Generally, most Indian meals are prepared fresh, but what simplifies matters is knowing some basic techniques and having some preparations and ingredients pre-made. If you understand these basic techniques and preparations, know your way around a kitchen, and allow yourself time for chores such as chopping, grinding, roasting, and the like, you can cook Indian food. If this is all new, it's like doing anything else you do for the first time: There's a learning curve, but the experimental journey in the kitchen is stimulating and rewarding.
To cook Indian recipes, you don't need to outfit your kitchen with many gadgets and tools. I offer basic equipment and pan substitutions in recipes, but for true Indian cooking, it is useful to have a concave cast-iron tava griddle to make breads, and a nonstick or cast-iron, round-bottomed wok or kadhai , as it is called in India. (You can buy both at Indian grocery stores or markets.) Also, it makes sense (and doesn't cost much) to have an additional spice or coffee grinder for the express purpose of grinding spices. (That is, unless you don't mind your spices tasting of coffee, and vice versa!)
In this chapter, you'll find information on basic techniques used in Indian cooking, specific directions on important and classic techniques such as dry-roasting seasonings and grilling and roasting vegetables, and recipes for essential preparations such as clarified Indian butter ( ghee ), paneer cheese, and seasoning pastes such as ginger paste and tamarind paste, used in many Indian recipes in this book.
= Vegan = Pressure-Cooker Quick
Basic Techniques
Modern Indian cuisine is prepared both with
1 teaspoon saffron threads, dry-roasted and coarsely crushed ( Dry-Roasting Spices, Nuts, and Flours )
1 cup shelled raw pistachios
1 ⁄ 2 cup shelled raw almonds, coarsely broken
1 ⁄ 4 cup cashews, coarsely broken
1 tablespoon coarsely ground green cardamom seeds
1 teaspoon coarsely ground black cardamom seeds
1. Prepare the saffron. The, in a spice grinder or in a small food processor, pulse together the pistachios, almonds, and cashews in one or two batches, to make a coarse powder.
2. Mix in the green and black cardamom seeds and the saffron. Store in an airtight container, about 3 months in the refrigerator or 1 year in the freezer.
Chai Tea Masala
Chai ka Masala
Makes about 1 1 ⁄ 2 cups
Every family has its own recipe for chai tea masala, but the following blend has the basic ingredients, which you can add to or alter to your own taste. Use about 1 ⁄ 4 to 1 ⁄ 2 teaspoon per cup of water to make chai tea. See the variation in Spicy Chai Tea .
1 ⁄ 2 cup fennel seeds
1 ⁄ 3 cup green cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons black cardamom seeds
2 tablespoons dried mint leaves
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1 ⁄ 2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1. In a spice or coffee grinder, grind together the fennel seeds, green and black cardamom seeds, mint, and peppercorns to make a fine powder.
2. Mix in the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves, and grind once more to mix the spices. Transfer to a small container and store in a cool, dark place, about 1 month at room temperature or about 1 year in the refrigerator.
Kitchen Basics
While it is true that Indian cuisine excites the senses and satisfies the palate with complex flavors, it is also true that with a little guidance and practice, achieving those results, especially for everyday home cooking, is simple.
Generally, most Indian meals are prepared fresh, but what simplifies matters is knowing some basic techniques and having some preparations and ingredients pre-made. If you understand these basic techniques and preparations, know your way around a kitchen, and allow yourself time for chores such as chopping, grinding, roasting, and the like, you can cook Indian food. If this is all new, it's like doing anything else you do for the first time: There's a learning curve, but the experimental journey in the kitchen is stimulating and rewarding.
To cook Indian recipes, you don't need to outfit your kitchen with many gadgets and tools. I offer basic equipment and pan substitutions in recipes, but for true Indian cooking, it is useful to have a concave cast-iron tava griddle to make breads, and a nonstick or cast-iron, round-bottomed wok or kadhai , as it is called in India. (You can buy both at Indian grocery stores or markets.) Also, it makes sense (and doesn't cost much) to have an additional spice or coffee grinder for the express purpose of grinding spices. (That is, unless you don't mind your spices tasting of coffee, and vice versa!)
In this chapter, you'll find information on basic techniques used in Indian cooking, specific directions on important and classic techniques such as dry-roasting seasonings and grilling and roasting vegetables, and recipes for essential preparations such as clarified Indian butter ( ghee ), paneer cheese, and seasoning pastes such as ginger paste and tamarind paste, used in many Indian recipes in this book.
= Vegan = Pressure-Cooker Quick
Basic Techniques
Modern Indian cuisine is prepared both with
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