Bon Apetit - Quad's Cookbook

[Quadophile]

There are many on this forum who like some form of Indian food. I decided to create thread for posting some very interesting or classic dishes which can be tried by anyone interested. Some simple recipes can be also tried at home if you do not feel like going to a resturant. I will be posting recipes here which may not be my own but from various publications and something which I feel is a good example of the particular dish. I hope this thread would be found useful.

As we go along anyone can post here and ask any questions, give suggestions or ask for a particular recipe. I will do my best to oblige.

I posted a recipe on another thread which I think I will start off with today. Its the Chicken Tikka, and a very simple dish to experiment with.

Chicken Tikka

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken legs, thighs or breasts
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, roasted, ground
• 2 teaspoons garlic - minced
• 2 teaspoons ginger, fresh - grated
• 4 tablespoons plain yogurt (full fat)
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper - ground
• vegetable oil
• NOTE : You can add some red food coloring to the marinade paste for the traditional red color of this chicken dish.

Method

1. Remove the skin and make 2-3 deep cuts in each chicken piece.
2. Roast the corriander seeds in a hot cast iron skillet. After cooling, grind to powder.
3. Mix all dry ingredients with the lemon juice or vinegar and make a paste.
4. Put this paste onto chicken pieces and leave them for at least 4-5 hours to marinate. Better if left in refrigerator over night.
   
   Grill method
5. Rub each piece of chicken with a few drops of vegetable oil.
6. Grill the chicken using indirect heat over hot coals.
   
   Oven method
7. Put the chicken pieces (with the paste still on it) onto a broiler tray and cover them with aluminum foil.
8. Put the tray into a medium oven (350 F) for 30 minutes.
9. Then remove tray and pour off any liquid. Baste chicken with 2 tablespoons of oil and return to the oven for another 15 minutes until outside of chicken is crispy.

Bon Apetit!

 

[crazylegs]

Very nice Quad but would be more interested in a nice creamy Korma recipe....Please...

Also the recipe for the Saag Gosht......

 

[Taffycat]

Looking forward to this thread Quad, great idea

 

[Quadophile]

Very nice Quad but would be more interested in a nice creamy Korma recipe....Please...

Also the recipe for the Saag Gosht......

Both recipes would be posted on this thread soon!

 

[muckshifter]

Very nice Quad but would be more interested in a nice creamy Korma recipe....Please...

Also the recipe for the Saag Gosht......

I like the sound of that one ... I'd like to hear FBS say it after a few beers.

Saag Gosht ... post 'er up when your ready Quad, me gonna give that one a try out for sure.

 

[Quadophile]

Let's start with Cooking Tips which I am sure many will find handy since some of the ingredients in the type of food we are dealing with would be new to folks in Britain. If you follow the tips, the chances of getting the dish to look right at the time of serving would be much better.

Cooking Tips
​

Tips on Cutting and Peeling

• Wash vegetables before peeling or cutting to preserve the water soluble vitamins.
• Peel vegetables as thinly as possible to preserve the minerals and vitamins.
• Soak potatoes and eggplant after cutting, to avoid discoloration.
• If you boil vegetables in water, do not throw the water, keep it to make gravies.
• To avoid browning of apples after cutting, apply a little lemon juice on the cut surface. The apples will stay and look fresh for a longer time.
• Keep coriander leaves in a muslin (cheese) cloth bag in the refrigerator. They will remain fresh for a longer time.
• Remove the stems of green chilies while storing them .This will help them to stay fresh for long.
• After peeling onions cut in half and soak in water for about 10 minutes before cutting to avoid crying.
• Soak almonds in a cup of boiling water for 10 minutes .The skin will peel off easily.
• Chopping vegetables can be done in different ways using a sharp knife and a wooden chopping board. Cutting on a marble slab will blunt your knives.
• Remove the outer leaves and husks from the corn (bhutta). Holding the corn upright with the flat end firmly in a board, take a sharp knife and run it down between the kernels and the cob to strip them away.
• Wrap the fruits and vegetables in newspaper before refrigerating to keep them fresh for long.
• Chopping dry fruits - Freeze them first for one hour & then dip the knife into hot water before cutting them.

Tips on Frying

• Heat the oil thoroughly before adding seasonings or vegetables.
• Fry the seasonings until they change color, to get full flavour of seasonings.
• If masala sticks to the pan that shows quantity of fat included is not enough.
• Add some hot oil and 1/2 tsp of baking soda in batter while making pakodas.
• When coconut is used in grinding masala, do not fry for a longer time.
• If you are making patties or tikkis of potatoes, always make sure that the potatoes are boiled well in advance and cooled before you use them. It would be better if they can be refrigerated for a short time. This helps the starch in the potatoes to settle down and the tikkis will not be gooey.
• Smoke Mustard oil first before using for preparing vegetables etc.. by heating to a point till light white smoke emerges from it. This would remove the potency from the oil.
• Poori can be rolled and place between well-rinsed wet muslin cloth at least an hour ahead and can be Fried before serving.
• To make pooris more crispy add a little rice flour to the wheat flour while kneading.
• Pakodas will turn out crisper if a little corn flour is added to the gram flour (besan) while preparing the batter.
• Heat a non-stick pan and add a little more butter than usual. Now beat the egg and stir briskly (even while frying) with a fork. This way more air goes in your omelet, making it light and fluffy. Fry till done and serve hot.
• Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. That way it will not splatter all over.
• When browning meat in fat, choose a large, deep pan. This will enable you to fry quickly, without splashing the stove with fat and meat juices.

 

[Quadophile]

Tips For Gravies

• Always use ghee or vanaspathi with or instead of oil, which gives a good flavour to the gravy. If oil alone is used, it does not get separated easily from the ground mixture, as ghee separates from it.
• Fry the ground masala in reduced flame, so that it retains its colour and taste.
• Little plain sugar or caramelised sugar added to the gravy makes it tasty.
• When tomatoes are not in season, tomato ketchup or sauce can be successfully used in the gravies.
• To retain colour in the gravy always use ripe red tomatoes. Discard green portions if any.
• Good variety chillies and chilli powder also gives colour to the gravy. As far as pos sible try to use long variety red chillies. Dry it under sun for few days and powder coarsely at home. Always the coarse powder gives good taste in gravies and pickles.
• While using ginger and garlic paste in curries, always use garlic at 60% ratio and ginger at 40% as ginger is very strong and may make your dish sharp and pungent.

Tips On Cooking

• To make 1 cup of dal, add atleast 2-3 cups of water, depending on the type of dal.
• Soak whole pulses overnight and other dals for one hour before cooking.
• Always add hot water to the gravy to enhance the taste.
• Add 1 Tbsp of hot oil to the dough for making Kachories or Kulchas.
• Always use heavy bottomed vessels to make desserts, in order to avoid burning.
• Make desserts with full cream milk, to get thick creamy texture.
• Whenever curd is to be added to the masala, it should be beaten well and add gradually.
• Chop some extra vegetables, for next day stir fry.
• Use the leftover dal water to make rasam or sambar.
• Never discard water in which vegetables are cooked, use it in gravies, soups, rasam or kolumbu.
• Onions and masala are fried in the cooker body itself, raw vegetables are added to that with enough salt and water. Cook under pressure according to the cooking time of the vegetable. This method helps us minimise our cooking time, use of utensils and nutrients are also preserved.
• If poppy seeds are used in grinding, soak it in hot water for 10 to 15 minutes, if you are grinding it in a mixie.
• While boiling milk, always add a little water at the base of the vessel to avoid the milk from sticking at the bottom.
• Add a tsp. of hot oil to homemade pastes of garlic, ginger or green chili, along with salt to make it last longer and taste fresher.
• Store raisins in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will stay fresh for much longer. Pour very hot water over them if they had harden, after that drain them immediately, and spread on a paper towel to dry. You can also leave a spoon in the vessel in which the milk is being boiled at low heat so that it does not get burnt at the bottom
• Add a few drops of lemon a tsp of oil to rice before boiling to separate each grain.
• Never discard the water in which vegetables are cooked, use it in gravies or soups.
• Put tomatoes in a large bowl and cover with boiling water Leave it for about 5 minutes. Take out one by one, piercing them with a sharp knife, the skin will peel off easily.
• Immediately after boiling noodles put them in normal cold water to separate them each.
• If you forget to soak chana/Rajma overnight. Just soak the chana/Rajma in the boiling water for an hour before cooking.
• Curd in winter - Set in a ceramic container and place it on the voltage stabilizer of your refrigerator.
• Potatoes soaked in salt water for 20 minutes will bake more rapidly.
• Roasting is a dry heat method of cooking - it does not use water. The flavors roasting draws forth result from the process of browning. As the surface of the meat browns, and its juices and fats drip down and brown on the surface of the hot roasting pan, it adds to the flavour of the meat.

 

[Quadophile]

Tips On Leftover Food

• If you are making pasta or rice, cook some extra and store in refrigerator for the next meal.
• Keep some boiled potatoes in fridge, to make quick sandwiches for breakfast.
• Use left over rice for next day meal, use your imagination and cook something new.
• Keep some extra dough in fridge to make chapatis for breakfast.
• Use leftover sukhi dal to make stuffed paratha.

General Tips For Cooking Non-Vegetarian

• When you cook chicken or meat, you should first cook over high heat to seal juices and then lower the heat and cook till tender
• If you want to store fish for more than a day, first clean it, rub it with salt, turmeric and maybe, a dash of vinegar, and then freeze. It will stay fresh.
• Don't salt meat before you cook it. The salt forces the juices out and impedes browning. Instead, salt meat halfway through cooking, then taste when the meat is done and adjust the salt as needed.
• Meat that is partially frozen is much easier to cut or slice.
• Cooking of hamburgers may take hell of a long time. To cook them a little faster, you could poke a hole in the middle of the hamburger patties while shaping them. This helps them cook faster and the holes disappear once the burgers are done.
• Allow meat to stand at room temperature 1 hour before cooking: It will cook more quickly, brown more evenly, and stick less when pan-fried.
• To help keep meats moist during a long grill or barbecue, add a pan of water close to the fire, but away from the meat.
• To coat chicken evenly, you can place the seasonings or crumbs in a plastic bag, and then add a few pieces at a time and shake them well.
• For golden-brown fried chicken, roll in powdered milk instead of flour before frying.
• To prevent bacon from curling, dip the strips in cold water before cooking.
• Sprinkle a little amount of salt in the frying pan before adding bacon to fry. That way it will not splatter all over.
• To ensure that sausages keep their shape, put them into cold water, bring to a boil and then drain immediately and grill or fry in a saucepan.
• When you cook chicken or meat, you should first cook over high heat to seal juices and then lower the heat and cook till tender.
• To avoid kebabs from becoming hard and chewy, marinate them for a longer time and avoid over cooking them.
• To get rid of the smell of prawns, apply salt and lemon juice to the prawns before cooking. Leave for 15-20 minutes, then wash off and proceed with the recipe. This is usually done with prawns, fish and al kinds of seafood.
• For better results, mutton should be of a younger animal. It looks pink and not red and texture should be firm. If it is red and looks 'wrinkled', it will be tough.
• Softening chicken for salads and sandwiches Chicken in salads and sandwhiches is usually poached. What poaching does is surrounds the chicken with liquid, so no moisture is lost and cooks the chicken gently, as opposed to grilling or pan frying.
• How can you tell that steaks are done? Color can be a good indicator of doneness. This is because myoglobin which gives meat its color, changes from red to pink to brown as meat cooks. A rare steak is bright red. A medium-rare steak is dark pink with some red present; a medium steak is very light pink in color and of course, well-done is brown.

 

[Quadophile]

Paalak (Saag) Ghost

Ingredients

1 pound Lamb cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Chopped Onion
4 tspGround Coriander
1 tbspMustard Seeds
2 tspGround Cumin
1 tspChili Powder
1 tspTurmeric
1/4 cupPlain Curd
1 inchChopped Ginger
3Crushed Garlic cloves
2 lbSpinach
1/4 tspSalt
1/2 tbspOil
6 tbspFresh Cilantro
1 cupFresh or frozen peas

Preparation

• Spinach should be trimmed, washed and torn in small pieces
• Heat the oil in a casserole and cook the onion over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until soft.
• Stir lamb, coriander, mustard seeds, cumin, chili powder and turmeric. Mix all the ingredients well
• Add 1 tbsp of curd and cook over high heat, stirring the meat until all the curd is absorbed - 3 to 5 minutes. Repeat with a second tbsp of curd, third, etc till the yogurt is used up
• When the yogurt is used up, stir in the ginger and garlic, add just enough water to cover the meat and bring to boil. Cover the casserole, lower the heat and simmer for one hour.
• When the meat is cooked, increase the heat to medium and add the spinach in batches, stirring each batch until it is wilted. When all the spinach is incorporated, cook the stew, uncovered, over high heat to evaporate any excess liquid - about five minutes. Add the salt just before serving.

Bon Apetit!

 

[crazylegs]

Qaud what is 1/4 cup Plain Curd....forgive my ignorance..

Thanks for the Saag Gosht recipe going to try it tomorrow evening....

 

[Quadophile]

Qaud what is 1/4 cup Plain Curd....forgive my ignorance..

Thanks for the Saag Gosht recipe going to try it tomorrow evening....

Plain Curd = Yogurt

 

[crazylegs]

Aaaaahhhhhh many thanks....

 

[ChristopherP]

Oooh cool!!

Got a decent Korma recipe?

mmmm Korma

Had one from the dhanmondi tonight... much awesomeness

 

[Quadophile]

Lamb Korma

(Serves 4-6)




Ingredients

1 kg boneless lamb, cut into 3cm cubes

1 medium onion, chopped

2 teaspoons fresh ginger, grated

3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon cardamom pods

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon chili flakes, depending on taste (less (or more)

2 tablespoons ghee

1 medium onion, extra, sliced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/2 cup yoghurt


Preparation

1. Put the onion, ginger, garlic, coriander seeds, cumin, cardamom, salt and chilli flakes into a food processor and process until a smooth paste forms (or use a mortar and pestle).
2. Add the spice mix to the lamb and stir well to coat. Set aside for 1 hour.
3. Heat ghee in a large pan or wok. Add the extra onions and cook, stirring over moderate heat until the onions soften.
4. Add the lamb and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring constantly,until the lamb cubes are browned all over.
5. Add the tomato paste and 2 tablespoons of the yoghurt and stir until combined.
6. Simmer uncovered until the liquid is absorbed.
7. Add the remaining yoghurt, 2 tablespoons at a time, stirring between each addition until the liquid is absorbed.
8. Cover the pan and simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occassionally.
9. Serve with rice, raitas and relishes.

Bon Apetit!

 

[Rush]

Sorry guys i am in a minority of 1 in this country...I dont like curries or Indian food(s) except kofta or a basic shish kebab

 

[Rush]

A type of bread

The wife asks ..have you a good recipe for ..


Peshwari Naan Bread ?????

 

[Quadophile]

Sorry guys i am in a minority of 1 in this country...I dont like curries or Indian food(s) except kofta or a basic shish kebab

For YOU I have the humour thread

 

[Rush]

Right too !!

By Quad

For YOU I have the humour thread

and more than makes up for it too, bet no chef could make any food whilst reading your joke entries

 

[Quadophile]

Rush,

Naan is something very simple yet extremely difficult to make at home due to non availability of Tandoor (clay oven). Nonetheless many have had success and there is no harm in trying it out. Tell your wife to give feedback as to how it all went, if she is not satisfied I will try another recipe from some other place. The only thing I am worried about is the method and not ingredients. Anyway here is one for her to try.

Naan

Ingredients

3 cups self-raising flour (maida)
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup curds fresh
salt to taste
1/2 tsp baking soda (soda - bicarb)
warm milk for kneading.

METHOD

Sieve together dry ingredients into a large rimmed plate. Add butter curds, oil and crumble with fingers. When does is like course crumbs, add milk a little at a time, till a soft pliable dough is formed. Cover with wet muslin cloth. Cover with another plate and keep aside for 5 - 6 hours.

Knead dough lightly. Break of piece, the size of a medium potato and roll into a thick triangle, using dry dough if required.

Place on a pre-warmed griddle (tawa). Apply water on the top part with hands Invert naan and stick to griddle. Invert griddle and roast over the gas flame direct (or nothing like toasting over bar-b-que coals). Serve hot with a blob of butter on it.





Bon Apetit!

 

[Quadophile]

Alternate recipe for Naan



3 ½ cups All-Purpose Flour (Maida)

1 Egg

2 tsp. Salt

3 tsp. Sugar

1 2/3 tbsp. Dried Yeast

½ cup Plain Yogurt

¼ cup Butter

¾ cup Water





1) In a dish, take 5 tablespoons of water, add the yeast and a teaspoon of sugar and stir well. Set aside for 10-12 minutes. (You will see bubbles on the surface of the mixture which suggests that the yeast is allright).

2) Add in the remaining water, sugar, yogurt, egg, butter, and salt. And stir well.

3) Add the flour to this liquid and make it into a smooth, soft, and elastic dough. (This will take about 10-15 minutes). Take a warm bowl, butter all the sides and the bottom of the bowl then place the dough in the bowl, cover with a cloth and keep it in a warm place until the dough doubles in height (for about 40 minutes). Push a finger into the dough. If the impression remains, then it is ready to be baked.

4) Make the dough into 8 equal balls, flatten them into circles with your fingers so that the edges are thicker than the center. Pull one end of the circle so that the dough circle now looks like a tear drop or a balloon in two dimensions. The length is about a handspan and width about a palm.

5) Heat oven to 450F, and on a non-greased baking tray, place the dough. Bake for 10 minutes or until it gets golden brown.




[font=&quot]Yield: 5 Servings
Preparation Time: 55 Minutes



Bon Apetit!
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