Tag: Indian
Mughlai Karahi Gosht
Mughlai Karahi Gosht
Mughlai cuisine hails from Northern India, with huge Turkish and Persian influences. Mughal dishes like to use an abundance of freshly ground whole spices such as cumin, coriander, and black peppercorns. When you eat at a typical Indian restaurant in the U.S., you will see many interpreted Mughlai dishes such as kormas, rogan josh, biryani, samosas, and tandoori chicken to name a few.This dish consists of bone in lamb shoulder cooked with tomato, onion, and a seasoned yogurt sauce. There is no liquid added to this dish. The bone in lamb, tomatoes, and onions create enough of it’s own juices to slowly braise over the course of 90 minutes. While there are a fuck ton of ingredients in this recipe, it’s fairly easy to prepare and is honestly one of the most flavorful Indian dishes I’ve eaten. Serve the lamb curry with steamed rice and parathas.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 2 lbs bone in lamb shoulder cubed
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 medium tomatoes thinly sliced
- 1 medium white onion thinly sliced
- 1/2 tbsp Kashmiri chili powder
- salt to taste
- 2 tbsp Greek yogurt
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- 1/8 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin seeds crushed
- 1/2 tsp coarse ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp garam masala
Garnish
- 2 green bird’s eye chilies slit in half
- 2 tbsp cilantro chopped
- 2 tbsp mint chopped
- 3 tbsp ginger julienned
Instructions
- Marinate the cubed lamb shoulder in the ginger garlic paste for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- Heat up cooking oil a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sear the lamb on all sides for 10 minutes.
- Add in the sliced tomatoes. Continue cooking for 8 minutes.
- Add in the onions and Kashmiri chili powder. Cook for 3 minutes. Season with salt and cover, simmering over low heat for 30 minutes. Stir half way through.
- While the lamb is simmering, mix together the yogurt, turmeric, cumin, and black pepper.
- Add the yogurt mix to the lamb curry, making sure to stir in well so the yogurt doesn’t split. Place a cover half way over the pan and continue to simmer for 50 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Stir in the garam masala. Garnish with cilantro, mint, split bird’s eye chilies, and julienned ginger.
Palak Paneer
Palak Paneer
It’s April 1st, 2020; and every day this month is 4/20. To kick it off, I prepared my favorite Indian dish, and the first one I learned to cook, palak paneer. Palak paneer is a spinach curry gravy with chunks of paneer cheese. You may have seen this dish at an Indian buffet. It is usually overcooked and greenish brown in color. There is no comparison to the homemade version. It takes a little time, but us well worth the results. You can also prepare this dish with chicken or lamb. Below is also a recipe for homemade paneer cheese.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 2 bunches spinach washed
- 1/4 cup water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 medium white onion finely chopped
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 green bird’s eye chili finely chopped
- 1 small tomato finely chopped
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- salt to taste
- 1/2 tsp garam masala powder
- 12 oz paneer cheese cubed
Instructions
- Purée the spinach with a 1/4 cup of water in a food processor or immersion blender. Heat up the purée in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté for 10-12 minutes until it is thickened and the water has cooked out. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Fry the cinnamon stick, bay leaves, and cardamom pods for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions and cook for 15 minutes.
- Add in the ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add in the tomato. Cook for 6-8 minutes.
- Stir in the coriander powder.
- Pour in the spinach purée in the pan. Season with salt and garam masala. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the paneer. Simmer for 2 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Paneer
Paneer is used in a lot of vegetarian Indian cuisine as a substitute for meat. Paneer is made by adding acidity such as lemon juice or vinegar to boiled milk. The acidity curdles the milk, separating the milk fats frome the whey. They the remaining liquid is squeezed out of the cheese, resulting in a firm cheese that is slightly crumbly. The paneer doesn't melt, holding its shape when being cooked. It almost looks like tofu. Making paneer is quite simple and cost effective, rather than buying store bought brands. Something to keep in mind; 1/2 gallon of whole milk will yield about 8 oz of paneer in the end.
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon whole milk
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a large stock pot, bring the whole milk almost up to a boil. This will take about a half an hour. Make sure to constantly stir the milk so it doesn't burn in the botom of the pot.
- While the milk is cooking, line a collander in a large bowl with cheese cloth.
- At the 30 minute mark, stir in the lemon juice. You will notice in 30-60 seconds the milk curdling. Turn off the heat.
- Pour the milk into the collander. Let it cool.
- Once the milk has cooled, start squeezing out any liquid.
- Place another bowl filled with water on top of the twisted cheese cloth. This will weigh down the cheese and force out more moisture. Let this sit for an hour.
- Take the cheese out of the cheese cloth. At this point, the paneer is firm, but still has some moisture left in it. It will kind of feel like a firmer cream cheese.
- Place the paneer in a bowl or container uncovered in the refrigerator over night. This will help dry out the cheese even more.
- Your paneer will be ready the next day for use.
Palak Dal
Palak Dal
Dal is dried split legumes(lentils, peas, and beans). They are one of the most important food staples in South Asia, especially in the Asian subcontinent of India where a large percent of the population is vegetarian. There are over 50types of dried dal such masoor, urad, moong, toor, chana, etc. Dal is mostly prepared as a soup, usually with a base of onions, garlic, and ginger. It is typically served with steamed rice and some type of a flatbread such as roasted poppadum. Dal is very high in protein, iron, fiber, and vitamin D.This dal recipe contains a hulled and split urad dal, which is a bean called matpe. It is simmered for 45 minutes, then mashed. Cumin seeds, onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies are then fried, and the mashed dal is added. Chopped spinach is added the last 5 minutes of cooking. The dal is finished off with lemon juice. Serve the palak dal with steamed rice. While lentil soup doesn’t sound very exciting, this dal is unbelievably flavorful and is packed full of vitamins. Plus, all of the ingredients in this recipe is great for your immune system.
Equipment
- bean masher
Ingredients
- 2 cups split urad dal
- 1 bunch spinach washed and finely chopped
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 8 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1” ginger peeled and finely chopped
- 2 green bird’s eye chilies finely chopped
- salt to taste
- 1/2 lemon juiced
Instructions
- In a large pot, combine the dal, turmeric, asafoetida, and 4 cups of water. Simmer over medium heat for 45 minutes.
- Take off the heat. Mash the lentils with a bean masher or the back of a spoon. Set aside.
- Heat cooking oil in another large pot over medium heat. Fry the cumin seeds for 30 seconds.
- Add in the onions, garlic, ginger, and green chilies. Sauté for 8 minutes.
- Add in the mashed dal with 1 cup of water. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add in the chopped spinach. Season with salt. Simmer for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and squeeze out the juice of half a lemon.
