2 cup whole wheat flour 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup water
Put the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the water and mix to a stiff dough; knead well until the dough feels firm and elastic. Place in a greased plastic bag or in grease proof paper and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes. Turn onto a floured board, shape the dough into a long roll, and divide into 12 equal slices. Roll out paper thin. Heat the heavy frying pan and when very hot, cook the chapatis for about one minute on either side. Cool between paper towels. Chapatis should always be cooked fresh.
NOTE: To cook them, you can use an ungreased heavy frying pan, griddle, or baking stone.
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Serve this tasty lentil dish with hot Chapatis (Indian flatbread) for a simple yet very fulfilling meal.
1 cup Split Moong Daal — split yellow lentil Salt, to taste 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 3 Tablespoon vegetable/canola/sunflower cooking oil 1 teaspoon cumin seeds A pinch of asafetida 2" piece of ginger grated 2 green chillies chopped very fine 1 Tablespoon lime/lemon juice Chopped fresh coriander leaves to garnish
Put the daal in a large bowl and wash throughly, then add the washed daal into a pot or deep pan to boil. Add enough water to completely cover the daal, salt to taste, and the turmeric powder. Mix well and set up to boil. Cook until the daal is soft but not mashed. Heat the oil in another pan on medium heat and add the cumin seeds and chopped green chilli.
Fry till splattering stops and add grated ginger. Fry for 1 minute. Now add the cooked daal and stir well. Do not mash the daal while stirring. Season with salt if required and stir. Remove from heat. Drizzle with the lemon juice, stir again (gently!), garnish with chopped coriander.
1 whole chicken, cut into small pieces 1 cup yogurt 6 onions, chopped 1 ginger 10 cloves of garlic 6 cloves 2 cinnamon Cardamoms 10 cashew nuts 10 almonds 1 cup coconut milk 1/2 cup oil Salt, to taste 1/2 tsp turmeric Chili powder, to taste
Make a paste of the ginger, garlic, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, cashews and almonds. Heat oil in a big vessel, add the chopped onions. Fry them until they turn golden. Then add the ground masala and fry very well. While frying this paste, add 3-4 tablespoons of water you will notice that oil floats on top. Now add the yogurt and the chicken. Season it well with salt, haldi and chilli powder. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the coconut milk. Cook till done, garnish with coriander leaves.
2 pounds fresh baby spinach, washed and stems trimmed 1/4 cup ghee 1/2 pound cubed paneer cheese 2 yellow onions, finely chopped 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger 1 teaspoon curry powder, recipe follows 1/2 cup buttermilk 1/4 cup plain yogurt Salt
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, toss in the spinach and blanch for 1 minute until very tender. Dump the spinach into a colander and press firmly with the back of a spoon to extract as much water as possible, set aside. Heat the ghee in a deep skillet over medium-high flame. Add the cubed paneer and fry for a couple of minutes until light brown on all sides, gently turning to avoid breaking up the cubes. Remove the cheese from the skillet and set aside. Return the skillet to the heat and sauté the onions, garlic, and ginger; cook and stir for about 5 minutes until soft.
Sprinkle the mixture with the curry powder; continue to stir to marry the flavors, about 1 minute. Fold in the chopped spinach and give everything a good toss. Shut off the heat and stir the buttermilk and yogurt into the spinach to incorporate. The mixture should be creamy and somewhat thick. Gently fold in the fried paneer cubes, season with salt, to taste, and serve with steamed basmati rice and/or flat bread.
1 pound unsalted butter
Put the butter in a heavy saucepan over moderate heat, swirl the pot around to ensure that it melts slowly and does not sizzle or brown. Increase the heat and bring the butter to a boil. When the surface is covered with foam, stir gently and reduce the heat to the lowest possible setting. Gently simmer, uncovered, and undisturbed for 45 minutes, until the milk solids in the bottom of the pan have turned golden brown and the butter on top is transparent. Strain the ghee through a sieve lined with several layers of cheesecloth. The ghee should be perfectly clear and smell nutty; pour into a glass jar and seal tightly.
2 Tablespoons coriander seeds 1 Tablespoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1 Tablespoon cardamom seeds 1 Tablespoon whole black peppercorns 2 dried red chiles pieces, seeds discarded 1 Tablespoon turmeric
Toast the whole spices (coriander, cumin, fennel, cloves, mustard, cardamom and peppercorns) and the chiles in a small dry skillet over medium-low heat, shaking the pan often to prevent them from burning. Toast for a couple of minutes until the spices smell fragrant. In a clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together to a fine powder. Add the turmeric and give it another quick buzz to combine. Use the spice blend immediately, or store in a sealed jar for as long as one month.
Photo credit — Cooking chapatis over a fire, ©iStockphoto.com/VIVIDclicks; Indian chicken recipe, ©iStockphoto.com/isatori; Curry spices— mustard seeds, turmeric, and chili, ©iStockphoto.com/jerryhat
