Category Archives: Indian Cooking

Mothers Day 1966

Posted on November 16, 2011 by alonna| 1 Comment

There is nothing quite like the loss of a same sex parent to make you sit up and take stock.  I am thinking about the similarities and strengths I inherited from my mother, as my siblings and I grieve her loss.  This gem arrived in the mail recently from one of my 4 sisters who was going through the last of our mother’s papers.

Yes, a little worse for the wear but it has every right to be as its been floating around for quite some time.  Dragged from one house to another, and from apartment to retirement home. It is interesting what one saves.

When I was in first grade (gasp!) we made this lovely little number.  I had a Great Aunt who, with her husband, was a missionary in India and one of our favorite meals was an Americanized curry and rice dish our mother inherited from her.

In looking at the posts that I have done so far, I realize that a good portion of them are about Indian food and cooking. That love affair started early!  My memory of this dish was that she used her beloved ground beef.  A credit to her efforts to keep us interested and satisfied with her cooking.

Posted in Cooking, Indian Cooking

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Weeknight Cooking — A Quick Indian Meal

Posted on November 7, 2011 by alonna| 1 Comment

Sometime you need that tasty, quick, healthy meal in under 20 minutes.  The following dish meets that criteria and  if you have rice or a grain (millet, couscous, etc.) that is ready to go, it can be done in under 10.   Trader Joes carries brown or white rice that is either frozen or shelf stable that is more than acceptable and makes for an important freezer or pantry item.

Here is what you do:  find the Jyoti brand Buttermilk Dumplings either at Whole Foods, Weavers Way Co-op in Mt. Airy, or an Indian grocery.  Another pantry must in our house.

I started using this product when my husband was doing the Atkins diet years ago.  The carbs and calories are amazingly low and the flavor and satisfaction is very high.  If you eat half the can yourself, you are only taking in 130 calories and 13 carbohydrates!

Open can; dump contents in a pot.  Scour frig for leftover meat and veggies.  Or go to the freezer for the must have frozen peas; throw in the mix.

As you can see I had some leftover chicken and sauteed zucchini.  A note to the spice wimps out there (me), taste for spice level.  I inevitably need to add some plain yogurt to tone down the heat.  Buttermilk, sour cream, crème fraiche,  or plain milk will also work.

Other additions that would be delicious:  shredded cabbage, cooked cubed potatoes, cooked carrots, and any other meat or vegetable that you and your family loves.   This would also be perfect as a vegetarian meal.

Depending on the appetites of the people being served and the amount of your additions, this serves 3 to 4 people.    Enjoy!

 More information:

If you love cooking Indian food, pop over to my post on the subject.  You’ll find sources for ingredients, recommended cookbooks and recipes online.

 

 

Posted in Indian Cooking, Weeknight cooking

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Indian Lemon Rice

Posted on October 25, 2011 by alonna| 1 Comment

Every time I try my hand at cooking Indian food, I am surprised at how delicious and within  reach it is.  For more on my ponderings about Indian cuisine and local resources click here.

The outline of this recipe came from Chez Cayenne, a great blog billed as “recipes from  a spicy vegetarian kitchen.”  I’ve simplified the ingredients, but the results are delicious and the perfect accompaniment to all sorts of meals, Indian or not.

Indian Lemon Rice:

  • 2 cups cooked basmati rice (though I also like using Trader Joe’s brown Jasmine rice)
  • 2 teaspoons olive or grapeseed oil
  • 2 tablespoons cashews, chopped
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cumin seeds
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1/4 teaspoon tumeric
  • 4 fresh or frozen curry leaves, chopped
  • 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Cook rice as directed on the package.

  1. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat.  Add curry leaves and fry for 5 to 10 seconds until crisp and fragrant; remove.
  2. Saute the cashews in remaining oil, stirring for about five minutes, until toasted.
  3. Add the mustard seeds, salt, cumin seeds, red pepper flakes and turmeric.  Cook for 2 minutes.
  4. Add spice, curry leaves, and lemon juice to the hot cooked rice and let sit covered for 5 minutes for the flavors and fragrance to blend.
  5. Heat olive oil to medium in a small skillet and add fresh peppers if using. Cook for 2 minutes and add mustard seeds, salt, cumin seeds, turmeric and curry leaves. Cook for 2 minutes. Stir this mixture into the rice and add lemon juice.
  6. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste.

Posted in Indian Cooking, Recipes

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Cooking Indian Food

Posted on October 24, 2011 by alonna| Comments Off

Oh, if you haven’t tried your hand at Indian cooking, it is time to get cracking!  One of my revelations in the kitchen was how easy it was to make delicious Indian food.  There are few basic cooking techniques to master and a hand full of spices to gather, but there are plenty of dishes that are easy to make.  And you’ll be pretty pleased with yourself.

In addition to the Indian grocery stories mainly scattered throughout the suburbs, we have Penzey’s Spices in Chestnut Hill, Tiffin on Girard carries spices for sale, and Whole Foods has the basics. One of my favorite sources, however, is Patel Food Market in Montgomerville, 215.855.5520. The one extra piece of cooking equipment I recommend you invest in as a coffee grinder for spices.

My recommendation for a starter cookbook:

“At Home With Madhur Jaffrey,” Madhur Jaffrey (Knopf, 2010)

Local cooking classes:

If you feel you need a little hand holding to get started, Haneeda Raiz of Haneeda’s Kitchen has a line up of cooking classes that might just be the ticket. The contact information:

Hanedda’s Kitchen
67 Station Road
Glen Mills, PA 19342
609.712.0150
http://www.haneedaskitchen.com

The In the Kitchen Cooking School classes fill up quickly:

In the Kitchen Cooking School
10 Mechanic Street
Haddonfield, NJ  08033
856-489-1682
http://www.inthekitchencookingschool.com

Main Line School Night often includes an Indian cooking class:

Main School Night
Various locations on the Main Line
610.687.0460
http://www.mainlineschoolnight.org/

Mt. Airy Learning Tree in Northwest Philadelphia often offers several classes:

Mt. Airy Learning Tree
6601 Greene Street
Philadelphia, PA 19119
215.843.6333
http://mtairylearningtree.org/concrete/

Online resources:

For learning about Indian spices.

For hundreds of authentic Indian recipes representing all the differenct regional styles.

Special ingredients:

Growing your very own curry plant is fun and you’ll never have to scurry around looking for curry leaves again.

My recipes:

Indian Lemon Rice

Weeknight Indian Meal

 

 

 

 

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