The Indian Food Thread

[AlysounRI]

In reply to A&Z, I am adding this thread to share and swap Indian cooking recpies.

I will add a recipe for lamb/chicken pasanda when I get home this evening.

It's very good for hot weather as it has a kind of pesto made out of spinach, cilantro and mint leaves.

Anyone who has any Indian recipes to share, please add them here.

~Allison

[kareng]

Oh boy! I have been wanting to try Indian food.

[AlysounRI]

Oh boy! I have been wanting to try Indian food.

90 percent, aside from most of the breads (dosas which are made of white rice and lentils soaked and then made into flour are perfectly safe), of Indian food is inherently gluten free. Just be aware that most everything starts with onions, so if you've got a problem with the alium family (I've got friends who just cannot do onions and garlic), then eating/cooking Indian will be hard for you.

It's amazingly good for you, chillis are full of antioxidants, ginger is good for your stomach, and turmeric is one of those wonder spices that seems to be healthy for positively everything!!

Cooking it at home is not difficult either, you only need a few things and you can very easily do it at home. It's labor intensive though! No such thing as a "quick" meal.

To cook at home you need:

a large, heavy bottom pan, a separate grinder for spices, a mortar and pestle, a steady supply of garlic, ginger root, onions, and cilantro, and then you need the spices themselves, and where things are seeds you need to keep them in airtight containers unground until you use them.

Then you really are ready to go!!

~Allison

[bigbird16]

Hooray for Indian food!! In grad school, a friend and I would spend Fridays in the kitchen. We'd go to the variety market in Belfast first thing to pick up fresh veggies, seafood just hauled in that morning, fruit, or whatever tickled our fancy, stop by the Asian market for anything else we needed, and spend the rest of the day cooking a magnificent feast. It was almost always Indian, and we'd make enough to feed us through the weekend and part of the next week. There was always much laughter. Probably the best and most used cookbook I have--1,000 Indian Recipes or something along those lines--came from the bargain bin for

[A&Z'S MOM]

i am delighted..when we started our gluten-free diet...this forum was a lifesaver and now with this thread..things can only get better..

i am an average cook and my kids love sweet indian desserts...their fav is Ras Malai..its milk based and is ready in a jiffy

a litre of fresh milk + half cup sugar + 2 cardamom pods opened and powdered + pinch of saffron, leave this in heavy based pan on a simmer till its about to boil.

take a dish..add a cup of sifted milk powder+tsp of cornstartch+tsp of gluten-free baking powder,take an egg,whisk and combine with milk powder.Shape in to tiny balls(u will get about 18 from a cup of milk powder)

when the milk is nice and hot..slip in the milk powder balls..make sure the milk is on a simmer..leave it for about ten minutes

then using a flat spoon turn them over and cook for another ten minutes...cool refrigerate and dish out with pistachio nuts..yum

[lucia]

Allison,

You really cheered me up tonight! I had no idea that dosas were made from rice flour. My husband is second generation Indian American (he was born in the U.S., but his parents immigrated from India), and we have lots of relatives in India. I've been lamenting that I'll never be able to eat dosas again!

Here's our recipe for Chai Tea. Making it from scratch is really a treat. We use soy milk. You just need to buy 1) chai masala, and 2) black leaf tea at the Indian grocery.

1. Take 1 cup water put to heat. Add 1 1/2 tsp. sugar and 1/4 tsp. chai masala.

2. Add 2 pinches cardamom powder (optional), 1 full tsp. leaf tea. Allow to simmer till aroma exudes.

3. Add 1 cup milk, bring back to boil. Allow to simmer for 2 minutes.

4. Cover and take off heat. Keep aside for 2 minutes. Strain and serve piping hot.

[AlysounRI]

You really cheered me up tonight! I had no idea that dosas were made from rice flour. My husband is second generation Indian American (he was born in the U.S./quote]

You're welcome Lucia

I *tried* to make dosas yesterday, after soaking the rice and the lentils overnight, and I failed miserably.

I can make gluten-free naan, you'd think I could make a rice and lentil pancake

I've even made chapatis with great success (these have wheat in them. I still need to try them gluten-free).

I'll try again some other time.

I usually get my chai tea from a tea bag or loose already mixed but I will try that too.

I drink decaf chai and mint teas pretty much, as my stomach can't handle coffee anymore.

Thank you for typing that out!

I was at the Indian grocery near me just the other day - restocking such things as sorghum flour and I finally tried carrot halva, which I have a recipe for and want to make now. But I want to put whole pistachios in there when I do.

~Allison

[lucia]

I usually get my chai tea from a tea bag or loose already mixed but I will try that too.

I drink decaf chai and mint teas pretty much, as my stomach can't handle coffee anymore.

Thank you for typing that out!

I was at the Indian grocery near me just the other day - restocking such things as sorghum flour and I finally tried carrot halva, which I have a recipe for and want to make now. But I want to put whole pistachios in there when I do.

~Allison

Allison,

Chai the way I described it is definitely not for everyday, with all of the sugar. It's like a desert in a cup! You could easily use decaf black tea, if you wanted to try it.

I'm impressed actually that you cook Indian food. I was okay about cooking most cuisines, but always intimidated by Indian food (so many spices!) until I met my husband. We cook together using his Mom's recipes. I didn't post any of those though because they're kind of hard to follow. Indian women learn to cook in the kitchen from their Moms and Aunts, so the recipes say things like "a handful of" or "two handfuls of" or "to taste". They don't always come out great, but we like using them and get better each time we use the same one.

You've come up with such a great solution to the problem of gluten-free deserts! I like sesame halva the best. Once I feel better, I'll venture out and stock up on gluten-free flours.

I was thinking about trying to make cashew burfi. No flour needed. My indian relatives always buy sweets, so I've been looking for recipes online. Where do you find recipes?

Best

[A&Z'S MOM]

i usually google the recipe and go for which seems most authentic..i am looking for a good recipe for cashew barfi too but am able to make almond barfi..

soak 250 gms alomnds overnight

discard the water,skin n grind to a coarse paste them in the morning(i keep the skins for the fiber)

heat 125 gms ghee

add almond n roast on slow for 15-20 minutes

add 150 gms sugar n stir for another 15 minutes

add milk n stir for another 15 minutes

till the mix seems to leave sides of pan

spread out on greased tray

refrigerate then cut into shapes

its really yummy when its cold my kids like it

if u find any low dairy gluten-free recipes pls share...always keen to try out good indian foods

[A&Z'S MOM]

we luv chai n have it everyday for breakfast..its sweet n compliments a good savoury breakfast...we r absolute foodies...

[ChemistMama]

Channa Dal (I use this recipe but substitute 2 cans of chickpeas instead of cooking them from dry beans):

Open Original Shared Link

Mattar Paneer (or Mattar Mushrooms if you can't find cheese)adapted from Time Life's Recipes: the Cooking of India

5T ghee

2T scraped or finely chopped ginger root

1T finely chopped garlic

1C finely choppped onions

1t salt (optional)

1c milk

2T tomato paste

1t turmeric

1/4 t ground hot red pepper (opt)

1t ground coriander

1T Garam Masala

2C chopped fresh tomatoes (or one 14 oz can petite dice tomatoes)

1 small bag frozen peas (12 oz? I forget)

1t sugar (optional)

3T chopped fresh cilantro

1 small package frozen fried paneer, defrosted, or 1C sliced mushrooms, sauteed lightly (not mushy!)

Heat ghee in large skillet on med-high. Add garlic and ginger and fry for 30 seconds Add onions and salt and fry for 7-8 minutes until onions are soft and golden brown. Add milk and dry spices, stir to combine, Then add tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer for 10 minutes uncovered. Watch to make sure the sauce does not reduce too much. Add peas, sugar, and defrosted paneer/mushrooms, and simmer for 10-20 minutes or until you like the consistency of the sauce and the doneness of the peas. Garnish with cilantro.

[ChemistMama]

Asafoetida, DON'T DO IT!!! Most come with added wheat flour.

[ChemistMama]

I was going to write up a few more, but then I realized they're all from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking cookbook. This is a great book for those learning how to cook Indian (it was mu first!). Her dry potatoes and spiced pork chops are great.

[A&Z'S MOM]

Asafoetida, DON'T DO IT!!! Most come with added wheat flour.

absolutely its usely processed with wheat there fore not gluten free...its also called hing in hindi..watch out..its not essential and can be omitted...looking for savory snack recipes pls...if u have any

[munchkinette]

Asafoetida, DON'T DO IT!!! Most come with added wheat flour.

I was just going to post the same thing. This is the number one hidden gluten containing ingredient in Indian cooking. Frontier brand uses rice flour. Open Original Shared Link

You also need to watch out for certain kinds of Dosa mixes. Rava dosa means wheat dosa. Most other Indian cooking is pretty obvious, in terms of what is gluten free.

[Glutin-Free Man]

I was going to write up a few more, but then I realized they're all from Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cooking cookbook. This is a great book for those learning how to cook Indian (it was mu first!). Her dry potatoes and spiced pork chops are great.

I had to pull this old thread back out & reply, since I didn't do it when it was new.

I've been enjoying Indian food more lately (I just cooked it for dinner tonight), and have to agree with the others that Madhur Jaffrey's book is the only one I've ever used.

My family's favorite dinner is:

Minced meat with peas (Kheema matar) - we use lamb

Cauliflower with fennel and mustard seeds (Baghari phool gobi)

Red split lentils with cumin seeds (Masoor dal)

Spicy cucumber wedges (Kheere ke tukray)

and

Onion relish (Pyaz ka laccha)

all served with some basmati rice. They like some naan too, if we have it, but I typically don't make it (wheat), and it's usually too much trouble to go buy some.

I have been making papadums (gluten-free) with dinner lately, and my wife made a big batch of apricot chutney some time ago that we're still working on, so we'll typically have both of those as well.

Indian food nights tend to be a bit feasty around here

Other favorites are:

Chicken in a red sweet pepper sauce

(Lal masale wali murghi)

Cabbage with peas

(Bund gobi aur matar)

Dry Okra

(Sookhi bhindi)

Dry Okra is a big favorite -- my family (wife & I plus 7 & 4 year olds) can eat two pounds of Dry Okra (plus meat, dal & rice) at one sitting.

Tonight we tried:

Bombay-style chicken with red lentils

(Murghi aur masoor dal)

It's a nice stew-style dish that would be very good on a cold winter night. It wasn't bad on a cool fall night either.

What are your favorites?

[Marilyn R]

Wow! Can you be sweet talked into posting your favorite recipes? They sound wonderful!!

I don't have that cookbook and love the indian food I know so far (like baba g. and hummus and curry. I love tumeric! What a great spice, and one that's so good for you.

[kiani]

Hi im actually new to this site.. and im not sure how recent and updated the posts are .. but i wanted to ask if anyone knew if Shan Masalas are gluten free

[freeatlast]

First of all, thank you for the recipes and the thread! I have been looking for more Indian recipes.

Last summer, my vegan friend made a similar version to this when we got together with another vegan friend for lunch (I'm not vegan). I searched the internet and found this recipe which I have made a few times and actually like better than hers (her mother-in-law, who grew up in India, taught her). I always make flatbread with it:

Open Original Shared Link

Here's the flatbread recipe. I use 1/4 cup of four different gluten-free flours, myself (got burned out on quinoa in the late 90s):

Gluten-Free Flatbread

by Emilia on May 11, 2008

- 1 cup (2,4 dl) quinoa flour

-1/2 -1 tsp salt

-1 tbls psyllium husk

-3/4 cup (2 dl) water

Preheat oven to 200 Celsius (400 F).

Mix everything together in a bowl. It will be thick batter. Drop by tablespoons and then pat out flat in round shapes on to a greased baking sheet. I usually sprinkle onion powder and then caraway seeds or chives on top. Bake for 20 mins.

Mix up some chopped up fresh Greek Oregano and Thyme (or fresh herbs of your choice) in a tiny dish of olive oil for dipping. Very delicious!

[sora]

Dry Style Potato Curry

6 med. potatoes

2 med. onions

2 med. green chili peppers

1 tsp. ginger paste

1 tsp. garlic paste

10 curry leaves

1/2 tsp. black mustard seeds

1/2 tsp. turmeric pwd. (I add a little more)

1/2 c. oil

This is better if you cook the potatoes the night before and refrigerate then cut up next day.

Boil potatoes, peel and cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes, set aside.

Heat oil in wide skillet on medium and add mustard seeds, when seeds begin to pop add finely chopped onion and green chili. Fry until onion turns brown.

Then add curry leaves, salt, potato pieces, turmeric, ginger and garlic paste. fry on low heat 10 to 12 minutes.

I change it up sometimes by adding cauliflower, carrot or sometimes spinach.

[love2travel]

Fried Bajra Roti (millet flatbread)

Open Original Shared Link

[love2travel]

Chicken Tikka Masala

Open Original Shared Link

Chicken Makhani (Butter Chicken)

Open Original Shared Link

Potato Chutney Balls

Ingredients

1/2 kilo potatoes

2 teaspoons gluten-free flour or starch

2 tablespoons cheese (optional)

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly-grated black pepper

Chutney

1 cup of grated coconut

1/2 cube of ginger

1/2 teaspoon jeera

1 lump of tamarind ( Marble size)

4 green chillies

1-2 cloves of garlic (optional)

1/2 teaspoon salt

Method

Boil and mash the potatoes without any lumps (I use a ricer). Add the egg yolk, flour, cheese and seasonings and knead well. Grind all chutney ingredients together in mortar and pestle or food processor and set aside.

Roll the potatoes mixture into balls, the size of a large marble. Hollow them and insert a small lump of chutney and close.

Roll each ball in lightly beaten egg white. Deep fry in very hot oil until golden brown. Drain off oil and serve hot.

*Though I have yet to try it I imagine these would work baking in the oven rather than deep frying.

[love2travel]

Lamb Korma

serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 lb lamb (leg, shoulder)

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

3 large onions, chopped

2 cloves of garlic

1 inch piece of ginger

3 tablespoons of ghee

8 black peppercorns crushed

4 green cardamom pods coarsely crushed

2 cloves crushed

salt to taste

1 teaspoon chilli powder

2 teaspoons of coriander

1 pint of water

fresh chopped coriander (optional)

Method

Remove any excess fat from the meat. Cut into cubes.

Place 2 of the onions, garlic and ginger in a blender or food processor and blend to a smooth paste.

Heat the ghee in a wok. Add the remaining roughly chopped onion, and stirring frequently, fry to a pale golden colour. Add the crushed spices, salt and meat. Stirring constantly fry the meat for 5 to 8 minutes to a rich brown colour. The ghee will start to separate at this stage.

Add the ground onion paste. Continue to stir for another 10 minutes until the mixture is well browned.

Add the chilli powder and ground coriander. Stir well, then add the drained yoghurt 1 tablespoon at a time stirring continuously, fry until the ghee again starts to separate.

Soon after this the sauce or the masala will start to stick to the bottom of the pan. Add the water at this stage. Mix well.

Cover with a tight fitting lid, reduce the heat and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat is really tender and the sauce has thickened. Transfer to a serving dish sprinkle with fresh coriander and enjoy.

[love2travel]

I LOVE Rogan Josh! This recipe is extra easy.

Ingredients

1 tsp. ground ginger

1 Tbs. fennel seeds

1 tsp. shahjeera (black cumin seed)

6 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbs. pepper, red, powder (cayenne)

2 cinnamon sticks

6 cardamom seeds

6 cloves

1 bay leaf (Indian tez patta)

salt to taste

1 tsp. saffron

1 C. dahi (yoghurt), creamy (or sour cream)

3/4 cup ghee

1 kg. lamb, cut into large cubes

Method

Grind together the spices.

Soak saffron in the dahi.

Heat ghii and add meat and sear on all sides, frying until well browned.

Pour in the dahi and fry until liquid is absorbed.

Add a glassful of water and the spices.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, covered, until tender.

Remove cover and cook until liquid is nearly evaporated.