Indian

[tammy35]

I have a Bengali friend at work and she has given me some wonderful ideas. She even made a batch of her own curry and gives it to a few of us to add to our food.

Here are some of the things she has made:

Chick peas (Garbanzo beans)
Spray a skillet, add onion, beans, and curry. This is great with ANY dish and as a snack

Curry chicken:
stew/simmer chicken with the curry, tomatoes, and various veggies. I sometimes make this with brown rice.

My only question is why hummus is not a core food?

[pookie]

tammy, it is if you make it yourself without tahini, there's a hummus recipe in the appetizer section

[pugdoggy1]

Tandori Style Chicken
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs
***TANDOORI MARINADE***
1 onion -- chopped coarsely
2 garlic cloves -- chopped fine
2 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili pepper -- powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cups plain nonfat yogurt
Mix all the ingredients (except the oil) in a large glass (or other non-reactive) bowl. Toss well. Cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Stir several times during this period. Pre-heat the oven to 500. Place the chicken in a baking dish. Bake for 30-50 minutes. Serve with rice.
Also good for clay-pot cooking.

[nra3aa]

Ground Meat Kebobs

Ingredients
2 lb. lean ground beef (could use chicken)
2 tbsp. ff yogurt
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 inch fresh ginger root, finely chopped
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh cilantro or mint
1/2 tsp. garam masala (spice mixture available at Indian stores)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Mix all the ingredients together. Shape into burger-type rounds. Grill or pan fry. I use a good non-stick pan with no oil. You can add a little healthy oil if you choose.

[nra3aa]

Shrimp Curry

1 pound peeled shrimp
1 tbsp healthy oil (can adjust according to need - I use very little)
1 onion, chopped
1 inch ginger root, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt and chili powder, to taste
2 tsp coriander, ground
2 tsp cumin, ground
1 tsp turmeric
2 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup pureed tomatoes

Heat oil and fry onions, ginger, and garlic until golden brown and soft. Add spices and continue to fry for a couple of minutes. Add shrimp and continue to stir fry for a few minutes. Add vinegar and tomato. Continue to stir and cook until the liquid evaporates and the shrimp are cooked.

[nra3aa]

Mint Chutney

1 bunch fresh mint
2 garlic cloves
1-2 fresh jalapeno peppers (adjust based on how hot you want it)
salt (to taste)
1/2 cup yogurt

Puree all ingredients together in a blender or food processor.

[nra3aa]

Chopped Salad

1 cucumber
1 tomato (firm not mushy)
1 medium red onion
Juice of 1 fresh lemon
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)

Cut the cucumber in half and remove seeds. Chop cucumber, tomato, and red onion. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss together.

Variations: Can add chickpeas or other beans.

[nra3aa]

Cumin Scented Potatoes

1 tbsp healthy oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
3 cups cubed potatoes
Salt (to taste)
Crushed red pepper flakes (to taste)
1/4 cup water

Heat the oil. Add cumin seeds and fry until golden brown (they start to spatter). Add potatoes and fry until coated. Season to taste. Add water and lower the heat. Simmer until potatoes are cooked through.

[nra3aa]

Garlic Karahi Chicken

1 tbsp. healthy oil
10 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 lb chicken breast
Salt (to taste)
Chili powder (to taste)
3 large fresh tomatoes
1 bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/3 cup scallions, chopped
1 inch ginger root, thinly sliced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat oil. Add garlic and fry until golden brown. Add chicken and brown. Puree and add tomatoes. Season to taste. Cook until the chicken is done and the liquid from the tomatoes evaporates. Add the bell pepper, scallions, ginger and cilantro. Stir fry for about 5 minutes until the peppers are just tender.

[photodreamer]

Glad I found this one I am always happy to add to my cookbook these look great. Thought I would add one that I can not go with out. It makes eating the very HOT food a little easier.

Yogurt Sauce
Large container of Fat free plain Yogurt
one cucumber chopped fine
one small onion chopped fine
pepper to taste
Mix together and serve with anything

Sometimes I add LOTS of Cucumbers and eat this as a salad by itself ;D

[sma148]

Just an idea to add into your yogurt sauce....about 1/4 cup of dried dill weed. This makes it a traditional Persian side dish called mast va'khiar (yogurt with cucumbers). We put several large spoonfuls on top of basmati rice, on top of various stews, as a dip with veggies, even on salad. Delicious!

[girliepurple]

Mmmm I copied the Tandoori Chicken and the Yogurt Sauce ... just wondering as I hardly ever cook Indian/Persian but these recipes look great ...

What kind of veggie side dish would you serve with the tandoori chicken? Or with any main meal. I will go in the veggie thread but I wanted some traditional Indian veg to go with the chicken. Unfortunately I am allergic to peas and lentils but anything else would be great!

Thanks!

[CoreIsCool]

Spinach goes well with Indian. I think I saw some Indian recipes for cooking it somewhere on these boards.

[mermaid]

I don't remember the exact proportions, but there are 2 veggie dishes that can easily be adapted to core.

One involves dry sauteeing cauliflower with a combination of tumeric, corriander, cumin, garlic, 1 choped tomato, and a dash or two cayenne pepper if you like it extra spicy. The directions involved making a paste out of chopped garlic and the corriander/cumin spices, and create your sauce by adding it to the pan with the tomatoes. (I am doing this from memory from an old Indian cookbook in my collection)

Another nice Indian combination is eggplant and potatoes. Also used to make a curry. I seem to remember this combination included the same as above, but also included dry black mustard seeds and ginger.

The combination of corriander, cumin, tumeric, ginger, and garlic are fairly common spices when creating Indian vegetarian dishes.

It's only if you add ghee (clarified butter) to your saute pan does it go wickedly off-core

-Amy