Indian dinner

Way back when I just started writing this blog and wasn't sure what to do with it I started to draft some sort of essay on Indian cooking.  Check the archives; it never made it to publication.  Since then I've posted three Indian(ish) recipes, one of which hardly even counts despite having a semi-accurate flavor profile and ingredient list.

Which is all leading up to say: Indian cooking can be tricky.  Forget the ingredients; they're really not that unusual for the most part.  We all know about cumin and ginger and mustard and cinnamon and even some of the less obvious things spices like turmeric, coriander, and even cardamom aren't anything all that special.  In the end dal is just lentils and asafoetida isn't strictly necessary.

And yet it still ends up being somewhat tricky to figure out -- largely because of the process involved.  But rest assured, tricky doesn't mean hard.  Just... tricky.  All the rules about what goes in when and why in French cooking get tossed out the window (note: same is true of most Asian cuisines; it's just that Indian food is also quite different than anything with Sino-Japanese influences).  You end up building your spice profile from the beginning rather than the end, use odd thickening tricks, employ dairy in weird ways... etc, etc, etc.  But once you get the hang of it it's actually pretty hard to screw it up.  At least not too badly.  After trying a few (good) recipes (that actually try to explain themselves) and maybe using some of those boxed spice mixes (and analyzing what's in them and what each ingredient adds) improving becomes relatively simple.

Case in point: new year's eve 2010.  The wife (am I going to get used to saying that sometime?) calls on the way home and requests Indian.  A quick inventory of the kitchen and a run to the store yields:

• Almost 2 lbs of tri tip (thank god for discount meat but note that there's absolutely no reason to use this if you want to be authentic or otherwise cost-conscious; just replace with boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer)
• 2 yellow onions
• 3 bell peppers
• 3 jalapenos
• 7 red potatoes
• Chicken broth
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• Olive oil
• Cumin (whole; this is important)
• Coriander (whole; this is important)
• Cardamom pods (always pods; the flavor difference is substantial)
• Ginger (powder is fine but raw grated is always good)
• Cinnamon (ground; sticks are fine)
• Yogurt
• Rice
• Salt/pepper

I also had turmeric and a handful of masala blends laying around but opted against them this time around.

Looks viable... right?

Of course.  We'll start with the rice:

• Make rice

Basically I'd forget to do this until too late if I don't get it in early.  And if it's a little cool by the time you serve it it's no big deal.

Then move on to bigger, better things.  Like building a spice profile and braising a bit.  In a skillet combine:

• Olive oil
• Cumin seeds
• Coriander seeds

Get that HOT.  You want the seeds to be popping and jumping and generally scaring your domestic wildlife.  A little smoke from the oil isn't a bad thing.

In the meantime cube up your meat of choice.  Since mine was beef I felt obligated to conservatively apply salt and pepper.  Brown that in the superheated oil then transfer to a stock pot (along with some of the oil, naturally).

Take the heat down in the skillet, add a touch more oil along with the seeds from a half dozen cardamom pods.  Bring the heat back up a bit until they become pungent and then quickly add onions chunked rather largely and toss until they're just slightly cooked.  Then transfer everything to the stock pot, scraping for all the little bits of goodness left behind from the high heat.

Now you're just stewing.  Add:

• Bell peppers, also chunked
• Jalapenos, I like them ring sliced, seeds and all
• Diced tomatoes with juice
• Chicken broth
• Ginger

Bring to a boil and let that simmer together for a few minutes before adding:

• Potatoes, large chunks
• Cinnamon to taste -- but don't go overboard
• Tomato paste to thicken

Stir well, ensuring that the tomato paste is evenly distributed.  That's the only thickener you're using so make the most of it.  You're likely to want to add a bit of salt somewhere in here as well.

And that's it.  Walk away.  When the potatoes are done you have dinner.

Serve in a bowl with layers of rice, stew, and yogurt.  Garnish with cilantro if you're so inclined.

See?  Simple.  The spices toasted at the beginning are the primary flavor modifiers -- and they had to be whole in order to stand up to the high heat without burning.  The secondary spices are more mellow, present primarily to round out the flavor.  The onions are left nearly raw, imparting a very different flavor than the long sweats and browns you're used to.  The jalapenos add just enough heat to notice without being overpowering.  The potatoes take on the flavor of the broth, oil, and tomatoes.  And it all works wonderfully.

But yes, it does take some getting used to.

Dal and chicken

Ok, so this did require some prep time.  And it wasn't optimal; I love masoor dal for something like this but it wasn't to be had.  Chana helps though.

Three parts.

First, just prep some lentils.  Boil them as usual, not adding spices.  They'll keep for days; don't worry.  Just pull them when they're done and it's all good.  This is where I'd prefer red lentils, but those can be somewhat hard to come by, so do as you can and will.  The standard green/french worked just fine.

Second, prep some chicken.  Thaw whatever you have and make it ready for marinating.  Breasts worked fine here.

In a cast iron skillet, heat some oil.  Neutral is better but olive works.

Add to the hot oil, in this order:

• Palmfull of cumin seads
• Half that whole coriander
• Garlic, if desired
• Brown mustard seeds; if not available sub in yellow
• Whole black or white peppercorn
• Mustard seeds; have a lid ready to cover as they pop like crazy

Drop the heat and add cayenne powder.  Turmeric wouldn't hurt here either.  Stir to combine.

Drop that all in a bit of yogurt, combine in a ziploc back with chicken, let sit overnight.

Third, add a small amount of oil to a small sauce pan.  Toast about three cloves and a cinnamon stick along with the innards of three or four cardamom pods.  Additional cumin sead wouldn't hurt here either.

When that has been toasted, add your lentils and one can of chana dal (chickpeas; whatever) drained and one can undrained.  Simmer that down after adding turmeric (to taste, but be generous) and salt (again, don't be stingy).

While that is simmering down, start grilling your chicken.  Take it to medium-well at least; the yogurt will have softened it enough that it shouldn't be tough nomatter how much you overcook it.

Spoon 3/4 of your bean mixture into a blender and puree it; add it back to the pan.

Slice the chicken on bias.  Serve with a flatbread and some greens and you have a great meal.

Bastardized chicken curry thing

This isn't curry.  This is barely Indian.  This is not how you make Indian food.

It is, however, simple and quite tasty.

This was stolen and modified from, I believe, Food and Wine, although good luck finding it on their god awful website.  It literally took me 80 minutes the first time -- and I knew what I was looking for.

The link to the original recipe is here (and OK, the website has improved).

But like I said, it's been modified through much trial and error.

First, a side point that will become relevant later: garam masala is a finishing spice.  It is not one of those things you toss in and let stew for hours or some such.

Basic ingredients:

• Oil of some sort; standard vegetable seems to work fine
• Yogurt. In this case any plain variety is fine but I still like full fat.
• Red onion; sliced
• Four to six jalapenos.  Red if you can get them.  Seeded if you're feeling weak; otherwise leave them in as extra capsaicin on the tongue never actually hurts.
• Chicken breasts; probably three or four to serve four or five.
• Turmeric
• Curry powder -- I think hotter is better but moderate as you will
• Garlic, and naturally the more the better; finely chopped
• Naan or pita
• Tomatoes
• Lettuce of some sort
• Garam masala

Slice the chicken into something like 1/8 inch strips and toss those in a bowl.  Cover in yogurt and add sliced jpeps if you dare along with the curry powder and turmeric until the whole thing is nice and yellow and spicy.  Let that sit for a bit; at least until you're done with the rest of the recipe and preferably up to an hour.

Slice tomatoes to taste and chop the lettuce.

Slice the onion; heat the oil.  Sweat them a bit until just barely translucent.

Toss in the chicken mixture with the onions.  And keep tossing.  And tossing.  Otherwise the yogurt will separate.  This should simmer down nicely.

Drop the heat.  This is kind of important.

Start with your chosen bread.  Either toast the pita or tell whatever the naan package tells you to do.

Add more yogurt and garam masala to taste; both will sour the mixture but in a good way.

Serve the chicken/onion/yogurt thing with the tomatoes and lettuce plus the bread.  Really can't go wrong on this one though I really wouldn't call it Indian food.  Either stuff the pita or do the more traditional thing and just scoop ingredients from the plate.  In fact, this wouldn't go wrong with the Ethiopian method of serving everything on a platter and letting everyone scoop from there.

Random dal

This was an experiment from a few years ago, but it turned out to work.

Beans

Bring to boil:

 * 6 cups water
 * 1 cup lentils of some sort (I like some of the more interesting varieties but experiment as you will)

Cook for a long time, until lentils are soft and mushy.  Add:

 * 1 can garbanzos, strained and washed

Cook through, bring off heat.

Other stuff

In large pot with, oh, for kicks, walnut oil (I happened to have some at the time), toast:

 * Pinch of brown mustard seeds (only use yellow if that's all you can find; brown have a much earthier taste that compliment the dish much better)
 * 15-20 black peppercorns

When those pop, reduce heat and add:

 * 1 medium onion, diced
 * About the same amount of sliced carrots

Let that cook for a bit.  When onions brown, add:

 * 4 cloves garlic
 * 1 or 2 serranos
 * Generous turmeric
 * Some coriander
 * Cayenne
 * 1 or 2 cups water as needed
 * Bean mixture
 * Small amount of garam masala

In that order, mind.  You need to not toast the garam masala.  And don't add too much.  The cinnamon in the stuff gets to be overwhelming, and really, there's already enough flavor in there without overdoing it.

Serve with rice, which for this seems to go well with toasted cumin.

Very hearty.  Give it a shot.