Samosas with Kheema

A few days ago my husband got the urge to cook Indian food.  Lately, we have had the pleasure of enjoying samosas made by some of the international students that my husband goes to graduate school with.  So he gave it a whirl this time with a little twist.

Samosas

from An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

2 cups whole wheat flour
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
oil for frying

Steps

1.  Combine oil and flour.  Rub together.
2.  Add salt and mix.
3.  Slowly add water until you have a firm dough.
4.  Knead for 7 to 10 minutes.
5.  Brush with a little oil, cover with a cloth and set aside until you are ready to use.
6.  Divide dough into 16 - 20 equal balls.
7.  Flatten each ball and roll until it is about 4 inches in diameter.  Cut the round in half.
8.  Wet the edges of the half circles with water, then fill with stuffing.  Press the edges together to seal.
9.  Heat oil for frying.  Fry each samosa for 2 to 3 minutes.  Drain on a paper towel.

Kheema stuffing

Ingredients

2 onions chopped
4 cloves garlic chopped
ginger, 2 in long by 1 in wide, chopped
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 stick cinnamon
4 whole cloves
4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
red pepper flakes to taste
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 large can of tomato
2 lbs ground lamb
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice

Steps

1.  Blend onions, garlic, ginger in blender with some water until you have a smooth paste.
2.  Heat oil in dutch oven over medium heat.
3.  Add cinnamon, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaf and red pepper flakes.
4.  When peppers turn dark (10 seconds), add paste from blender.  Fry for about 10 minutes. (add water if food gets stuck to bottom).
5.  Add coriander, cumin, and turmeric.  Fry for 5 minutes.
6.  Add tomato (chopped) and fry for 2 - 3 minutes.
7.  Add meat and salt.  Break up meat until it is browned.
8.  Add 1/2 cup water and lemon juice.
9.  Bring to a boil and cover.  Let simmer for 1 hour.
10.  Take off cover and cook until there is no liquid remaining.  Discard any fat.  It is now ready to use as stuffing.

The Final Product

Super tasty.  Really yummy.  I could have made a meal out of them alone - but we also had chicken and potatoes and naan.  But where is the twist you say?  We started to get a little antsy at the length of time it took to roll out each samosa and fill them.  You may notice in the picture that the samosa have cute little cut edges to them.  Well, we gave it a bit of an Italian twist.  We busted out my ravioli tray! We rolled out two pieces of dough long enough to cover the ravioli tray.  Next we laid one piece of dough down on the tray.  Then wet along the parts that we knew would be cut.  Added filling to each of the ravioli areas, the covered with the other piece of dough.  Then cut the raviolis.  Soooo much faster.  We will definitely try our hands at it again.  It was so good even JT had 3 of them.

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

Aha - new Indian recipe.  This one is not too overpowering - also it is a short slow cooker recipe.

Slow Cooker Tandoori Machi

adapted from The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook

Ingredients

2 tbsp Penzey's Tandoori Seasoning
1/2 tbsp garlic paste
1/2 tbsp ginger paste
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 tilapia fillets (any white or oily fish will do)
olive oil

Steps

1.  In a bowl mix together the first six ingredients.
2.  Rub the spice mix on both sides of each fish fillet.  Brush the fillet with a little oil.
3.  Wrap each fillet in aluminum foil.
4.  Line the fish packets inside the slow cooker. (If they all do not touch the surface, make sure to rotate the packets halfway through cooking time.)  Cover and cook on LOW from 1.5 - 2 hours. 

The Finished Product

Make sure your fillets are thawed - we had to let it go a bit longer because they were still very frozen.  The spice mix is fragrant but does not overwhelm your tastebuds.

Chicken With Potatoes

We are settling into a routine, so my hubby thought it would be a good time to get back into the Indian food rhythm.  Since we are now in the "baby could arrive whenever he feels like" time frame, I requested something that would not be too spicy.  The hubby wanted to do a bread as well but one that was not so intensive as naan.  So we decided to make Chicken with Potatoes and Paratha.

Chicken with Potatoes

adapted slightly from An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

3 medium potatoes
1 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 inch cube of fresh ginger
1 1/2 pounds of chicken (we used 1 pound of tenderloins)
5 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 whole cardamom pods
1 tsp of red pepper flakes (I can't remember the exact measurement but it was less than what Jaffrey calls for)
2 whole black peppercorns
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt

Steps

1.  Clean the potatoes.  Place in steamer bag and cook in microwave.  Let cool completely.  (Jaffrey says to boil the potatoes, we just found this to be much more convenient)
2.  Blend onion, garlic, and ginger with 5 tbsp water to a smooth paste.
3.  Heat oil over medium-high heat.  Add cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom, red pepper, peppercorns, and chicken.  (We use a mortar and pestle to break down the cinnamon, bay leaf, cardamom, and peppercorns prior to heatings.)  Fry chicken until golden brown on all sides.  Remove the chicken and set aside.
4.  Add the paste to the pot and then the turmeric.  Fry for about 3 minutes.
5.  Add the tomato sauce and chicken broth.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
6.  Meanwhile, peel and quarter the potatoes.
7.  Add the salt, chicken, and potatoes to the sauce.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 20 - 25 minute or until chicken is tender.

Paratha

from An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp melted butter
1/2 cup whole wheat flour for dusting

Steps

1.  Combine the flour, oil, and salt in a bowl while slowly adding 1/2 cup of water until all the flour adheres together.
2.  Knead for 8 - 10 minutes.
3.  Form into a ball, cover with damp cloth and set aside for 30 minutes.
4.  Divide dough into 8 balls.
5.  For each ball: roll out until it is about 5 inch in diameter.  Brush lightly with the melted butter.  Fold in half.  Brush again with butter.  Fold in half one last time.  You should have a triangular shape.  Roll the triangle so that each side is 5 inch long.
6.  Add butter to a griddle that has been heated over a medium heat.  Place the paratha on the griddle.  Once it is golden brown, add more butter to griddle and flip.  Cook until golder brown.
7.  As each paratha finishes, place on an aluminum sheet and cover tightly.  When ready to eat, preheat oven to 300 and heat covered parathas for 10 minutes.

Finished Product

I really enjoyed this meal.  We served it over some basmati race.  The chicken and potatoes were not spicy at all but had a wonderful smell.  The sauce was nice and thick from the potatoes giving off their starchiness.  This recipe also seemed to move along a lot quicker than some of our other recipe attempts.  A definite keeper especially because I like "Aloo" - Hindi for potato.  We also liked that the bread was not nearly as time intensive as naan.  I enjoy naan a bit more but for the time - parathas are so much easier. I encourage you to try this one out.

Big Indian Dinner

In this attempt, my husband went for the full effect.  He tried 3 new recipes in one meal - entree, side, and bread.  Gotta give him props for that.  I usually only do a new entree or a new side.  One at a time.  So here they are, all from An Invitation to Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffery:

Chicken Moghlai

Ingredients

2 - 3 pounds chicken legs, thighs, breasts
4 medium zied onions, 2 peeled and chopped and 2 cut in half lengthwise, then sliced into thin half-rings
fresh ginger, 1.5 x 1 in, peeled and chopped
8 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
10 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cinnamon sticks, 2.5 - 3 in long
2 bay leaves
10 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
10 whole cloves
1 tsp whole cumin seed
1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander, dry roasted with cumin
1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3 tbsp yogurt
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1 - 1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
1 tsp leaf saffron, roasted and crumbled
1 tbsp warm milk

Steps

1.  Skin chicken piece, quarter breasts and divide legs and drumsticks.
2.  Put chopped onions, ginger and garlic in blender with 4 tbsp of water.  Blend until there is a smooth paste.
3.  In heavy bottomed pot, heat 8 tbsp of oil and fry sliced onions over medium-high heat for 10 - 12 minutes or until dark brown.  Remove from pot and set aside.
4.  Set heat to high and brown chicken pieces in oil a few at a time.  Let chicken brown but do not cook through.
5.  Return heat to medium high, add remaining oil, cinnamon, bay leaves, cardamom pods, cloves, and cumin seed.  Allow cinnamon to unfurl.
6.  Add paste from blender and stir for 10 minutes.
7.  Lower heat to medium, add coriander, cumin powder, turmeric, and cayenne pepper.  stir for 1 minute.
8.  While stirring, add yogurt, then tomato sauce, then chicken pieces, then salt, and finally water.  Mix well, bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.  Turn the chicken every 10 minutes or so.
9.  In the mean time soak saffron in warm milk for 20 - 30 minutes.
10.  When chicken is cooked, add browned onions and saffron-milk.  Mix, cover, and simmer for another 5 minutes.

Green Beans with Ginger

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans
ginger, 2 in long by 1 in wide, peeled and coarsely chopped
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 fresh hot green chili (we used a serrano), washed and sliced very fine
3 tbsp chopped cilantro
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt

Steps

1.  Wash beans and trim ends.  Slice into rounds.
2.  Put ginger in blender with 3 tbsp of water until it becomes a smooth paste.
3.  Heat oil in pot over medium heat.  While heating add the paste and turmeric.  Fry, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.
4.  Add green chilies and cilantro and stir for a minute.
5.  Add the green beans and cook for another minute.
6.  Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala, lemon juice, salt, and 3 tbsp of warm water.  Mix well.
7.  Cover, set heat to low and cook beans for 40 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.

Pooris

Ingredients

1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
oil for deep frying
extra whole-wheat flour

Steps

1.  Place flour in large bowl.
2.  Pour oil over it.
3.  Slowly add up to 1/2 cup water and mix until all flour adheres and you can knead it.
4.  Knead for 7-8 minutes.
5.  Form into a ball, cover with damp cloth, and leave for 1 1/2 to 3 hours.
6.  Heat oil in skillet (we used the deep fryer since we lacked space on the stove).
7.  While oil is heating, knead dough and separate into 14 balls.
8.  Roll each ball out until is is 3 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter.
9.  Drop the pooris into the oil.  It should sink and then rise.  Gently push pooris down.
10.  In a half a minute the pooris should puff up.  Turn it over and cook for another 30 seconds.
11.  Remove witha slotted spoon, drain in towel and serve immediately.

The Final Product

It was good but I don't think I am a fan of the pooris.  I did really like the green beans.  Super yum.  Oh we paired with the rice and spinach.

Kheema with Fried Onions and Peas

My husband has been on a kick with cooking.  He finds it really relaxing - now he understands why I do it.  So I have been letting him enter my domain once a week or so to try some new Indian recipes.  My pregnant nose is still really sensitive to new Indian spices we have added to our repertoire - needless to say, I have not been trying these recipes myself.  Letting the spices heat in the oil to become fragrant have really kept me out of the kitchen.

This recipe turned out more like chili consistency but not very spicy.

Kheema with Fried Onions and Peas

from An Invitation To Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey

Ingredients

1 medium-sized onion, peeled and cut into very thin rings
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, 3 inches long
6 whole cloves
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
fresh ginger, 1 inch long and 1 inch wide, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp plain yogurt
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 lbs ground chuck or ground lamb
1/4 tsp ground mace
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 cup water
1 cup of frozen peas

Steps

1.  Halve onion rings and separate.
2.  Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Fry halved onion rings for about 5 minutes until they are dark brown by not burned.  Remove with a slotted spoon and spread on paper towels.
3.  Put bay leaves, cinnamon, and cloves in the hot oil.  When the leaves darken and cinnamon starts to unfurl, add the finely chopped onions, ginger, and garlic.  Fry, stirring for 10 - 12 minutes until onions darken to a medium brown edges.
4.  Lower heat, and add coriander, cumin, and turmeric.  Fry for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
5.  Add yogurt and stir for another minute. Then add tomato sauce and stir for another 2 -3 minutes.
6.  Put heat to medium, add meat and fry for 7 to 8 minutes.
7.  Add mace, nutmeg, salt, cayenne, and water.  Stir, bring to a boil, cover and let simmer for 50 minutes.
8.  After the 50 minutes are up, stir in the peas, cover, and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
9.  Finally, add onion half rings and remove cinnamon.  Serve.

The Final Product

First, I reiterate that the spice was not overly hot.  But there was enough for me to feel it.  Second, I sort of messed up while getting all of the ingredients the hubby needed.  I only picked up one pound of ground lamb (yes, I know shocking!  More shocking that the grocery store had ground lamb).  So we mixed 1 pound of ground lamb with 1 pound of ground beef.  I made for an interesting texture.  Still a yummy meal.  We paired with Naan bread and rice.

Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Butter

In preparation for our impending time in India, we have been slowly trying out Indian cuisine.  Since there really are no Indian restaurants in the middle of KS, we have been doing it at home.  Unfortunately, given my pregnant aversion to all food, I had not made Indian dishes in a while.  Enter sad husband.  He really really wanted some.  So for about 3 days, he bugged me to make food.  Then he started telling me - I will make it for us. To be honest, sometimes I cringe when he gets in the kitchen, or when I have to direct cooking.  But he said I want to make some for you.  After some inner thought, I resigned myself to letting my husband spend an afternoon in my kitchen making me dinner with the express condition that he must find a recipe where the ingredients are relatively benign and won't cause any pregnancy unpleasantness.  Here is want he found:

Chicken with Tomato Sauce and Butter

from Madhur Jaffrey's An Invitation to Indian Cooking

Ingredients

4 chicken legs
2 chicken breasts (we just used a pound and half of chicken breasts)
2 medium sized onions, peeled and coarsely chopped
5 cloves garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped
fresh ginger, 2 inches long by 1 inch wide, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 cinnamon stick, 2 1/2 - 3 inches, broken up
Seeds from 6 whole cardamom pods
8 whole cloves
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1 hot dried red pepper, crumbled (to save my tummy - I think we added about a 1/2 tsp of crushed red pepper flakes)
3 tbsp water
6 tbsp vegetable oil
16 oz canned tomato sauce
3/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp lightly salted butter

Steps

1.  Since we only had chicken breasts, we just washed them, quartered them, and set them aside.  If you have chicken pieces, remove skin, pat dry, and put aside.
2.  In a blender, combine the onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom seeds, cloves, peppercorns, bay leaves, red pepper, and 3 tbsp water.  Blend to a smooth paste.
3.  Heat oil in a 3.5 quart dutch oven over a high heat.  When hot, put in the chicken pieces, and brown them quickly (a minute per side).  Remove with slotted spoon.  If need be brown chicken in batches.
4.  Turn heat to medium and pour in paste from blender.  Stir and fry for 5 minutes, scraping bottom of pot well.
5.  Add tomato sauce, 3/4 cup water, and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to simmer for about 30 minutes.  Stir every 6 to 7 minutes.
6.  Add the chicken pieces to the pot along with any juices that may have collected.  Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer on low for 25 to 30 minutes.  Stir gently to avoid sticking.
7.  Cut butter into 4 pats,  Take chicken off heat and drop in the butter.  Stir to incorporate and serve immediately.

The Final Product
 
After spending most of the afternoon smelling the mixture of spices from the kitchen, I almost had second thoughts of sitting down and eating this meal.  But I am glad I pushed through the queasiness because it was totally yummy.  The spice was not to hot but definitely gave a kick.  Not to much of a kick because my tummy really enjoyed the meal.  We ended up with a lot of sauce mixture.  Next time, I would probably throw in another pound of chicken breasts just so we don't have to get rid of the sauce.

I have to thank my hubby for insisting that he make me dinner.  Now for his immortalization:

Slow Cooker Chicken Makhani

In the next few years, our little family will be heading to India.  Believe me, it is weird that we know where we are heading over the next couple of years - since with the army the mentality is more - "wait for it....wait for it...oh we wanted you to be at x-y-z location a week ago".  To prepare us for the all of the new adventures to come, I have done a few things - 1. got Hindi language software for me to work at home (goodness knows I am a whiz at foreign languages :o( ), 2. hubby got me a starter set of common spices in Indian food, and 3. I received two awesome Indian cookbooks at Christmas.  Since spicy and I do not mix well, I scoured for a simple not so spicy recipe to start with.  Here it is:

Chicken Makhani

from The Everything Indian Slow Cooker Cookbook by Prerna Singh

Ingredients

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 shallots minced
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2" knob ginger, minced
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp fenugreek
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp tomato paste
3/4 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

Steps

1.  Place chicken and all ingredients except the yogurt into slow cooker.  Stir well.
2.  Cook on LOW for 5 hours.
3.  When finished, add yogurt and serve immediately.

The Final Product

First, let me note some things that I did slightly differently.  I used just over a pound of chicken tenderloins, 1/2 of one small onion minced, and just about a 1/2 tsp of minced ginger (I have a little jar of minced ginger and I honestly didn't know how much a 1/2" knob of ginger was equivalent too).  Even though I am here in Kansas, I was able to get some ground cloves.  The fenugreek, thankfully, my hubby got as part of my spice set.

I thought it was really tasty.  It was just enough spice for me.  Now Kansas is not known for Indian food - so I do not have any way to say...go to an Indian restaurant to compare what I made.  But I enjoyed it so I think that is all that really matters.

Now, I usually don't let anyone else play around in my kitchen unsupervised.  My husband really wanted to try his hand at Naan bread.  He researched it, found a recipe he liked, and went to work on it.  I have not even really read the recipe for it yet.  This was his second attempt and I thought it was really yummy.  JT loves to eat it so I guess my hubby has the recipe down.  I won't mess with it.  He can make it anytime he wants then.