Tandoori Chicken

10 chicken drumsticks
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, shredded 6 cloves garlic, ground
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons vinegar
Salt, to taste
Red pepper, to taste
Garam masala, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil


Prick the flesh of the chicken all over with a fork. Then, using a sharp knife, cut slashes in the flesh to allow the marinade to penetrate. Place the chicken in a nonreactive large, shallow dish. 

In a nonreactive bowl, combine the yogurt, lemon juice or vinegar, garlic, ginger, cumin, ground coriander, cayenne pepper, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and salt. Stir until well-mixed, then pour the mixture over the chicken and rub it into the flesh, turning the chickenseveral times. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight. (Do not marinate for longer than 2 days.) Remove the chicken from the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking. 

The chicken may be grilled or roasted. If using a charcoal grill, prepare a fire for direct-heat cooking. Position the grill rack 5 inches from the fire. Allow the coals to burn until white ash covers them and the heat is moderate. 

Remove the chicken from the marinade, pressing lightly to extract excess marinade, and brush with oil. Place the chicken pieces on a well-oiled grill rack and; grill, covered, with the vents open, turning 3 or 4 times, 45 minutes or until the juices run clear when a piece is pierced near the bone with a knife. 

If roasting, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the chicken on a rack in a roasting pan, brush with oil, and cook, turning once, 25 to 30 minutes until the juices run clear when a piece is pierced near the bone with a knife. 

Serve with sprigs of cilantro and slices of cucumber, red onion, tomato, and lemon. 

Murgh Makhan

1 stick butter
1 (3 lb.) chicken, skin removed and cut into 10 pieces 4 garlic cloves, halves
1 medium fresh hot green chile, seeded
1 (2.inch) piece ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped 2 cups finely chopped onions
8 cardamom pods, cracked
9 whole cloves
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon chile powder (unspiced ground red chiles) 1 (1 1/2.inch) piece cinnamon stick
1 (16 oz.) can whole tomatoes, chopped, with juice 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fresh coriander




Combine garlic, chile and ginger in a blender and process for 15 seconds. Add onions and process for 15 seconds. Add cardamom pods and cloves and process for 15 seconds. Set aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet until the foam subsides. Over medium heat brown half the chicken pieces on all sides. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with 3 more tablespoons butter and remaining chicken.
Add remaining butter and garlic/onion/spice mixture to pan and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes or until liquid has evaporated. Add cumin seeds chile powder and cinnamon stick and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add tomatoes, with their juice and salt.
Cook, stirring often, for 10 minutes. Add chicken and its juices. Reduce heat to low. Cook covered for 30 minutes, until chicken is tender and sauce is thickened. Garnish with fresh coriander to serve. 

Jhinka Masala

1 lb. shrimps, peeled and deveined 1 onion, pureed
1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tomato, pureed
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. chilli powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. salt or to taste
1 tsp. lemon juice Cilantro/coriander leaves
1 tbsp. oil


Heat oil in a non.stick frying pan and fry the onion, tomato, ginger and garlic, together with cumin and coriander powders and cilantro/coriander leaves for five minutes on medium low heat. Add shrimp, turmeric and chilli powders and salt together with half a cup of lukewarm water and cook on medium low heat for twenty five minutes. Keep the pan covered with a lid. Stir well to let the shrimps blend with the spices. Season with lemon juice, garnish with cilantro/coriander before serving. 

Zaffarani Pullao

2 cups long.grain rice, preferably Basmati 3 to 4 fresh ripe peaches, or 1 (16 oz.) can peaches in syrup, drained
6 tablespoons ghee or vegetable oil
1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds
1/4 cup unsalted pistachios
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 (3.inch long) cinnamon stick
1 cup milk
1/4 cup seedless raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon powdered saffron
Salt, to taste


Soak the rice in 3 cups cold water for 30 minutes. Drain the rice, reserving the water, and set aside. Cut the peaches lengthwise into 1/2.inch slices. Heat the ghee or oil in a large saucepan over moderate heat and saute the peach slices until golden on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.
In the same ghee, saute the almonds until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Remove and drain. Repeat with the pistachios. Set the almonds and pistachios aside. Add the onion to the ghee remaining in the pan and saute until tender, about 3 minutes. Add the cinnamon stick and fry for 1 minute. Add the rice and stir constantly for 2 minutes, until the rice begins to brown and is thoroughly coated with the ghee. Add the reserved water, milk, raisins, cardamom, saffron and salt.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low and simmer covered for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to sit covered for 15 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork, remove and discard the cinnamon stick, and transfer to a serving platter.
Surround the rice with the reserved peach slices and sprinkle with the almonds and pistachios. 

Rice Pudding (Payesh)

1/2 gallon full fat milk 2 cups cooked rice
1 cup raisins
1/2 cup sugar


Boil milk in a heavy bottomed saucepan until it reduces to half. The key to this dessert is vigilant, constant stirring to ensure that the contents do not stick to the bottom of the vessel. Add cooked rice, raisins and sugar and mix well till it attains a thick sticky consistency 

Prawn Patia

1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon crushed dried red chillies 4 tablespoons groundnut oil
1 capsicum, chopped small
2 large onions, sliced
1/2 ― ginger, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 fresh chillies, finely chopped
1 lb. prawns, peeled
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1.14 oz. can of plum tomatoes, drained and roughly chopped
water


Heat the salt, cumin and dried chillies in a heavy frying pan over a high heat for 1 minute. Keep the spices moving. Add the oil. Lower the heat and add
the onion and capsicum. Cook for a few minutes until the onions are soft.
Add the ginger, garlic and chillies. Stir for another minute. Add prawns, turmeric and tomatoes. If the mixture is too thick add a little water. Simmer until prawns are cooked through. 

Mango Chutney

1/4 cup refined oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 1/2 kg. raw mango
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water,
5 cups sugar
Skin the mangoes. Remove the seeds and cut the mangoes into small pieces. Keep them aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Sprinkle the mustard seeds into the oil.
Just as the seeds start to crack, add the turmeric powder, salt and mango pieces into the pan.
Stir them thoroughly and add the water. Allow the whole thing to come to a boil. Add sugar to it and continue boiling. The chutney will be thickening. In the process continuous stirring is a must. When the chutney becomes thick remove the pan from burner. Let it cool to normal temperature. Refrigerate and serve cold. 

Poha

2 cups flattened rice (poha)
available at any Indian grocery store.
2 cups water
1 potato, chopped small
2 tablespoons ghee
1 onion, chopped fine
1/4 cup groundnuts (raw peanuts)
1/2 teaspoon turmeric (just enough to color the rice) 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
Lemon juice, to taste
Salt and pepper


Soak the flattened rice (poha) in water and set aside. In a large round.bottomed frying pan, heat the ghee till very hot. Add mustard seeds, onion, potato and groundnuts. When the mustard seeds are tender,
cover with water and cook till potato and groundnuts are tender.
Drain off any excess water from the soaked rice. Add
the turmeric to the ricetill it â€TMs a nice golden yellow. Add the rice to the frying pan and mix with the potato.onion mixture until hot. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste. 

Peas Pulao

1 1/4 cup uncooked rice
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. chilli powder
1 tsp. each cumin and mustard seeds 1 tsp. salt or to taste Cilantro/coriander leaves
1 tbsp. oil


For the peas:
1 lb. shelled green peas 1 tsp. ginger paste
1 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. turmeric powder
1 tsp. chilli powder
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. salt or to taste Cilantro/coriander leaves 1 tbsp. oil


Heat oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan and fry the cumin and mustard seeds for one minute. Add rice, turmeric and chilli powders and salt together with two and a half cups of lukewarm water, cover with the lid
and cook on medium low heat for half an hour.
While the rice is cooking, heat oil in a non.stick frying pan (or skillet) and fry the cumin seeds, together with ginger and garlic, for five minutes. Add green peas, turmeric and chilli powders and salt together with half a cup of lukewarm water and cook on medium low heat for fifteen minutes. Garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves. When the rice is done, mix the peas and garnish with cilantro/coriander leaves.

Paneer Cheese

12 cups whole milk
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin seed, crushed 1/3 cup lemon juice




In a 5.quart Dutch oven bring milk, salt and cumin seed just to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Let stand 15 minutes.
Line a large strainer or colander with several layers of pure cotton cheesecloth. Strain mixture; discard liquid. Gently squeeze the cheesecloth to remove as much
liquid from the curds as possible. Wrap cloth around curds. Place wrapped curds in a large strainer or colander and put a weighted bowl on top to help press out any additional liquid. Let stand, covered, in the refrigerator for at least 15 hours.
Remove curds. Discard liquid. Form curds into a flat rectangle or press into a large bowl to shape. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until well chilled. Store in refrigerator, tightly wrapped, for up to 3 weeks. Yields about 1 pound. 

Raita

2 cups yogurt/curds Cilantro/coriander leaves
1 small onion, chopped fine 1 small cucumber, grated
1 small tomato, chopped fine 1 tsp. oil
1 tsp. mustard seeds
Salt and pepper to taste


Mix the yogurt/curds, onions and tomatoes, cilantro/ coriander leaves, cucumber, salt and pepper. Fry the mustard seeds in oil and add to the mixture. Serve. 

Masala Bhindi

1 lb. okra, sliced lengthwise or chopped into small pieces. 2 onions, pureed
2 tsp. ginger paste
2 tsp. garlic paste
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. chilli powder
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 potato, cubed
1 tsp. salt or to taste
1 large tomato, pureed
2 tbsp. oil


Heat oil in a non.stick frying pan (or skillet) and fry the onions, ginger and garlic, together with cumin and coriander powders and tomato for five minutes on medium low heat. Add potato, okra, turmeric and chilli
powders and salt and cook on medium low heat for half an hour. 

Naan

4 cups all.purpose flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon double.acting baking powder 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
4 to 6 teaspoons ghee or melted butter


Combine the dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir until the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Make a well in the center of the mixture and add the eggs, stirring them into the mixture. Add the milk in a thin stream (or a little at a time if you only have two hands), and stir until all the ingredients are well combined.
Gather the dough into a ball and knead for about 10 minutes, adding a little flour as needed to prevent sticking, until the dough is smooth and can be gathered into a soft, somewhat sticky ball. Moisten your hands with a teaspoon of ghee, rub it over the ball of dough, and place it in a bowl. Drape a kitchen towel over the bowl and allow to sit at room temperature for about 3 hours.
Place two ungreased baking sheets in the oven and preheat the oven and the sheets to 450F. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and flatten each into a tear drop, or leaf shape about 6 inches long and 31/2 inches across at its widest point. Use your fingers to do this, and moisten them with ghee as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. The ghee also assures the proper texture of the bread, so moisten your fingers with it even if the dough is not sticky.
Arrange the bread “leaves― side by side on the preheated baking sheets and bake them for about 6 minutes, or until they are firm to the touch. Slide them under the broiler for a minute or so to brown the tops lightly. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Masoor Dhal & Onions

2/3 cup masoor dhal
1 tbsp. oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp. turmeric powder 2 tsp. salt or to taste


Pre.cook the lentils using three cups of water. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry the onions for five minutes, stirring constantly. Add the lentils and another three cups of water and turmeric powder, heat till the mixture starts boiling, season with salt and turn off the heat. 

Masala Parathas

1 cup wheat flour
1/2 cup rice or all.purpose flour 1 onion
1 carrot
3 to 4 cabbage leaves
Cayenne Pepper to taste
1 jalapeno or serrano pepper
1 potato
4 green chiles
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder Salt to taste


Finely chop all the vegetables either in a chopper or by hand in a large plate. You may even grate them if a chopper is not available. Add the flours, 2 tablespoons oil, salt, cayenne, turmeric and knead to a very stiff dough. Do not keep the dough for long after kneading, or it will become gooey and soft. This would make it difficult to roll the parathas.
Divide into 3 parts. Roll into 5.inch rounds. Shallow fry on a hot griddle (tawa) on both sides until golden brown using the remaining oil. Eat hot or carry away for later, with sauce, tamarind or onion chutney. 

Mango Chutney

1/4 cup refined oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder 1 1/2 kg. raw mango
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup water,
5 cups sugar




Skin the mangoes. Remove the seeds and cut the mangoes into small pieces. Keep them aside. Heat the oil in a pan. Sprinkle the mustard seeds into the oil.
Just as the seeds start to crack, add the turmeric powder, salt and mango pieces into the pan.
Stir them thoroughly and add the water. Allow the whole thing to come to a boil. Add sugar to it and continue boiling. The chutney will be thickening. In the process continuous stirring is a must. When the chutney becomes thick remove the pan from burner. Let it cool to normal temperature. Refrigerate and serve cold. 

Rogani Gosht

1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup heavy cream
2 medium onions, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup blanched almonds
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
2 lb. boneless lean lamb, cut into 2.inch pieces 1 to 2 lb. potatoes, peeled and quartered


Combine all ingredients except the lamb and potatoes in an electric blender or food processor and process until smooth. Put the yogurt mixture and the lamb into a large, heavy pot (preferably nonstick) and bring to a boil over moderate heat. Reduce the heat and simmer tightly covered for 2 hours.
Check the stew and stir frequently, adding milk or water as needed if the sauce becomes too thick. Add the potatoes and continue cooking until tender, 30 to 45 minutes. 

Green Beans

1 lb. fresh green beans
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon black mustard seed
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped 1 hot red dried chile, crushed
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
Black pepper to taste


Trim the beans and cut into 1.inch lengths. Blanch by dropping them into a pot of boiling water and boiling rapidly for 3 to 4 minutes. Drain in a collander, rinse under cold running water and set aside. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add mustard seeds. As soon as they begin to pop, add garlic and stir until lightly brown.
Add crushed red chile and stir for a few seconds. Add green beans, salt and sugar. Stir to mix. Turn heat to medium/low. Stir and cook the beans for 7 to 8 minutes until they have absorbed the spiced flavors. Add black pepper, mix and serve. 

Green Moong Dhal

2/3 cup green moong dhal
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. minced ginger
4 large garlic cloves minced fine 2 large tomatoes, sliced
1 tsp. cumin powder
1 tsp. coriander powder
1 tsp. garam masala powder (optional) 1 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. salt or to taste


Pre.cook the lentils using three cups of water. Heat oil in a saucepan and fry the cumin seeds for a minute. Add the chopped onions, minced ginger, minced garlic, cumin, coriander and garam masala powders, as well as sliced tomatoes and cook, stirring constantly, for ten minutes on medium low heat.
Stir in lentils with another three cups of water and turmeric powder, heat till the mixture starts boiling, season with salt and remove from heat. 

Puris

1 cup whole wheat flour 1/2 cup all.purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil


Combine flours, salt and oil in a bowl and make a stiff dough by adding water. Knead dough for 10 to 12 minutes. Wrap in plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes.
Break off small pieces of dough about the size of a cherry tomato. Roll out to about 3 inches in diameter. Deep fry in vegetable oil over medium heat a few seconds. They should puff up. Drain on paper toweling and serve hot.