Recipes that use herbs and spices as a key ingredient.
The tang of tomatoes and the heat of chilies make roasted tomato chili chutney a delightfully fiery partner for stuffed parathas and cutlets.
If you’re like me, you would want a range of color on your plate. The speckled beige of chapatis, the white of yogurt, the yellow of turmeric-tanned Indian curries, simply ASK for some green and red.
My initiation into the kitchen was with tea-making – masala chai is all I knew how to prepare for many long years.
Chai is Hindi for tea, a word unknown no longer outside the Hindi-speaking diaspora – it’s usual for people to say "tea" when they mean Western-style tea, and "chai" when they’re talking about Indian-style tea (and sometimes, inexplicably, “chai tea”).
As an ardent tea lover, I am especially excited to share this recipe with you. I hope you enjoy this aromatic tea made the Indian way as much as I do.
A goodness-filled glass of fruit juice to start the day. Apple orange ginger juice can be made using the method described in this post, even if you do not have a juicer to do the legwork for you.
Chutneys give the innovative chef wide scope for play. Blend together myriad ingredients, vary proportions, add this and that…with caution and creativity, you come up with a delicious accompaniment for your meal.
In the western world, Indian cuisine is mostly equated with rich, spicy gravies – kofta curry and chhole masala and shahi paneer and their ilk. In reality, Indian cuisine is far broader than that. Indian food can be simple and minimalistic, as this dish I’m going to write about today – roasted moong dal with a green vegetable combination. I picked up the recipe of ridge gourd moong dal from a friend from Andhra, it’s been a regular in my kitchen since.
Ridge gourd and moong dal are both very gentle on the stomach, as are asafoetida (hing in Hindi) and lemon, the prime flavorings in this dish. Hing is a strong spice and, I suspect, an acquired taste. If this is the first time you’re cooking with hing, I’d suggest using very little of it. If you like it, use more another time. I do recommend it warmly, especially for its wide array of health benefits.
Beat the heat with this cool drink – mint-flavored salted lassi. For those new to Indian cuisine: lassi is a popular yogurt-based drink that may be had sweet or salted. Sweet lassi may contain sugar, honey, and fruit like mangoes. Salted lassi is usually flavored with spices and herbs. Lassi can be served along with the main meal like lunch or dinner, or as an evening drink. It’s filling, hydrating and cooling – the perfect foil for fiery curries or scorching weather.
