Chapter 1 THE BASICS
Most Indian meals are prepared fresh. But it makes your cooking easier and less stressful if you have a few basic preparations and key ingredients made up in advance. If you understand the basic preparations and techniques, know your way around the kitchen, and have a love of good food, you can master Indian cooking. Don’t hesitate to experiment with spices, as the discoveries made can be very flavorful and rewarding.
Indian cooking is all about spices and flavor. To the Indian cook, the two are one and the same: spice equals flavor. To understand Indian cooking is to understand how to use spices individually and in combination to enhance food. The specific mixture of spices in the food is referred to as a masala, which means a blend of spices or herbs. It is this unique combination of spices or herbs that creates the distinctive taste of each dish. This section includes recipes for masalas and other basic flavor components that form the building blocks of Indian cooking.
Masalas can be in the form of a powder or a paste. Different Indian recipes may call for a different blend of masalas in either form. Often a recipe will call for a just a sprinkling of mustard seeds and ground turmeric, whereas some recipes may call for a masala that is a blend of many different spices. In fact, even a minimal use of spices will lend a wonderful, aromatic accent to a dish. So do not hesitate to use just a few spices to create your masalas.
The proportion of ingredients in these spice blends, as well as the amount used in a recipe, can be adjusted to suit your taste. Experiment by tweaking the spice profiles to arrive at your own personal versions. You can also substitute many of these masalas with store-bought, prepared spice mixes. However, for the best flavor, I recommend using freshly blended spices. When making masalas at home, you are able to slightly roast the spices before grinding them into a powder or a paste—an extra step that helps release the flavors and oils of spices into the blend, thus adding more potency (and magic!) to the spice mixture.
Garam masala, literally “hot spice,” is the most popular spice blend used in Indian cooking. It is the basic essence of Indian cooking. There are as many versions of garam masala as there are chefs. This recipe blend is what I use very often in my kitchen. It is important that the spices are blended fresh as needed. Many store-bought garam masala blends aren’t roasted and tend to be very poor in flavor. Try this recipe and you will never buy a ready-made version.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes about ⅔ cup (75 g)
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 dried red chili pepper
10 dried allspice berries
1 stick cinnamon, ½-in (1.25-cm)
10 green cardamom pods
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
5 bay leaves
In a small skillet, dry roast the whole spices over medium heat, stirring until fragrant, 1–2 minutes. Remove the spices from the skillet and set aside to let cool completely. Grind the spices in an electric spice grinder to a fine powder and store in an airtight jar for up to 4–6 weeks.
Chaat Masala
Chaat is a commonly used term to describe street snacks of India. These small dishes are infused with a complex blend of sweet, tangy, and spicy flavors. They are always seasoned with a spice mix called chaat masala. Like any other Indian spice blend, each one has its own regional variation throughout India. This spice blend is great for more than just snacks. You can use it to jazz up your salads, dressings, fresh fruit, fruit juices, and grilled meats. This spice blend is easily available pre-mixed at Indian grocery stores.
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Makes about 1½ cups (200 g)
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, roasted and ground
4 tablespoons dried green mango powder (amchoor)
2 tablespoons ginger powder
2 tablespoons ground ajwain seeds (optional)
1 tablespoon finely ground sea salt, preferably black salt (kala namak) or 2 teaspoons common table salt
2 teaspoons Asian red chili powder
1 teaspoon ground asafetida (optional)
In a medium, nonstick skillet, dry roast the ingredients, stirring and shaking the pan over medium heat, until heated through, about 2–3 minutes. Remove the spices from the skillet and set aside to let cool completely. Store in an airtight container. The shelf life is about 1 month at room temperature or it will last about 6 months if it is stored in the refrigerator.
NOTE ABOUT THE INGREDIENTS—
Amchoor is a green mango powder. Unripe, sour green mangoes are sliced and dried in the sun and then ground. Amchoor, a key ingredient in chaat masala, is one of the many souring agents used in Indian cooking.
Ajwain, sometimes called carom, is a small, grayish, egg-shaped spice. It is commonly used in Indian cuisine. Raw ajwain smells almost exactly like thyme, however, it is more aromatic and less subtle in taste, as well as slightly bitter and pungent. It is only available in stores as a whole seed. Amchoor and ajwain are available at Indian grocery stores, specialty stores, or online (see Shopping Guide, page 140).
Ginger-Garlic Paste
Although you can easily find ginger-garlic pastes at Asian markets, it is simple enough to make it at home and it keeps well in the refrigerator. Plus the homemade paste gives the dish a much better flavor than the store-bought one. Basically it is just equal amounts of fresh ginger and garlic pulsed together.
Makes about 1½ cups (500 g)
2 pieces ginger (about 8 oz/250 g), each about 4 in (10 cm) in length, peeled and coarsely chopped
½ lb (250 g) garlic (about 6–7 heads), coarsely chopped
¼ cup (65 ml) water
Place the ginger and garlic in a food processor or a blender. Add the water and process to make a fine paste. Store the paste in a clean jar with a tight-fitting lid in the refrigerator up to 3–4 weeks.
Indian Curry Basics and Tips
Unlike in Western cooking, flour is almost never used to thicken Indian sauces and curries. The dark, thick sauces in Indian cooking are achieved through a proper balance of ingredients and correct cooking techniques. For example, the body of Indian sauces very often comes from onions, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes, which may be chopped, creating a textured sauce, or made into a paste in a food processor or a blender. Once a paste is made, it is then cooked or browned in oil. The sauce is allowed to cook further until it is reduced and becomes thick. Sometimes cream, yogurt, coconut, or nut pastes such as those from almonds and cashews are added to Indian sauces to give a creamy texture.
SIMPLE HOMESTYLE CURRY CHICKEN CURRY—1 lb (500 g) Cornish hen, or 2 breast fillets, or 4 thighs, or 6 drumsticks
LAMB CURRY—10 oz (300 g) stewing diced lamb
FISH CURRY—2 fillets of cod, about 8 oz, or 2 salmon steaks
VEGETABLE CURRY—8 oz seasonal mixed diced vegetables
4 tablespoons oil
1 large onion (about 8 oz/250 g), minced
1 tablespoon Ginger-Garlic Paste (page 22)
½ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon Café Spice Garam Masala (page 22)
1 teaspoon Asian red chili powder or cayenne pepper
2 tomatoes (about 8 oz/250 g), chopped
Salt, to taste
2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)
Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for about 10–15 minutes or until deep brown (browning). Add the Ginger-Garlic Paste and fry for 1 minute. Add the ground coriander and stir for a further full minute. Then add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala, Asian red chili powder or cayenne powder, and sauté for 30 seconds (bhunao). Add 1 cup (250 ml) of water and cook for 10 minutes. Put in the tomatoes, stir well, and cook for 5 more minutes. Add salt, to taste.
Add in the chicken, lamb, fish, or vegetables. Add 1½ cups of water for the chicken, 2½ cups (625 ml) for the lamb, 1 cup (250 ml) for the fish, and 2 cups (500 ml) for the vegetables. Cook until done. Sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves just before serving.
CHEF’S TIPS
• Indian cooking tends to have many ingredients. Prepare all the ingredients before you begin to cook. Keep the spices handy by the stove.
• If cooking for a special event, you can cook the sauce, marinate the meat, cook the lentils ahead of time, and finish the dish before serving. Vegetables can be cut and set aside, a day in advance. Bread dough can be made a day ahead. Chutneys and accompaniments can be made a day ahead and stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Curries of meat and chicken can be frozen. Cooked lentils, chickpeas, and vegetables freeze well.
• Always keep Ginger-Garlic Paste ready in your refrigerator; it will come in handy. Browned onions must be fried in batches and refrigerated or frozen.
• Most of the recipes call for fresh tomatoes. Canned tomato purée can sometimes replace fresh tomatoes, but the resulting curry’s color won’t be as vibrant.
• If onions burn while browning, remove the burnt bits, change the pot, and add a little fresh oil. If a burnt taste persists, you will have to start again.
• If the dish has become too spicy and contains tomatoes and/or whipped yogurt, or coconut milk, add an extra tomato or two. Also add ½-1 teaspoon of sugar. Adding sourness sometimes helps to cut down the heat. On the other hand if the dish is not spicy enough, fry some chopped green chili peppers in hot oil in a small saucepan and add it to the dish.
• If the curry has become too salty, add pieces of potato, which you must remove before serving. The potatoes will absorb the liquid and then you can top up with a cup of plain water to dilute the saltiness.
• If the sauce is too liquid, boil uncovered for a few extra minutes, until it reaches the desired consistency.
