My New Year's resolution is to learn more about real Chinese cooking; I have been studying Eileen Yen-Fei Lo's The Chinese Kitchen. But in the meantime, here are hundreds of Indian recipes in a short, convenient page...
Buy whole spices, not ground. Get:
Cinnamon stick (not the Mexican kind)
Cumin
Coriander
Cloves
Cardamom, preferably both green and black
Black peppercorns
Red chilis, or red chili powder
Wet ginger paste (go to an Indian grocer’s), or fresh ginger, never ever ever powdered ginger
Garam masala, here a good powder from an Indian mart is OK though better to make it fresh
Turmeric, powder will do
For bases, draw upon:
1. Sauteed and pureed yellow onions
2. Plain yogurt, some will wish to add heavy cream as a thickener
3. Coconut milk
Now start your dish. Create the chosen base. Ghee (clarified butter) can be added to #1 or #2 for yummy richness but I usually don’t for health reasons. Don’t mix #2 and #3.
Then take your preferred mix of spices. Fry the hard ones for two to three minutes over medium heat (3.5 on an electric stove) and puree them. Cinnamon stick should be left whole in the sauce to leach out its flavor. Never are more than three cloves needed and they can be left whole too. Cardamoms can be inserted whole and then removed, especially if large ones are smashed open a bit with a blunt edge. Otherwise experiment with preferred combinations.
In a separate pan, quickly cook your preferred meat over high heat, just enough to make it a bit translucent or pink. Insert the partially cooked stuff into the liquid base and turn to low heat until the dish is ready.
Vegetables can be substituted for meat.
You can introduce mace and mustard seeds, or tomato can be a base in sauces.
You now have a combinatorial knowledge of many many Indian recipes and you need not memorize anything.
By the way, if you must buy powdered curry, Golden Bell is by far the best. It is packed with bay leaves and stays potent for months. You can sautee some chopped yellow onions, toss in ground lamb, douse it in Golden Bell, cook over low heat until dry, and when on the plate, over rice, coat it in plain yogurt.
You can also marinade the meat in the ground spices and yougurt mix for an hour before cooking it. Fresh mint and Cilantro are excellent garnishes.
Why never ever ever powdered ginger? I thought that sometimes it’s called for specifically, but not used as a substitute for ginger root.
Is it difficult to make Indian breads at home? How is the frozen naan from an Indina grocer or Trader Joe’s?
“Why never ever ever powdered ginger?” – My one contribution to Tyler’s excellent list of recommendations is to *always keep a piece of ginger root in the freezer*. When frozen, it is really easy to grate into any dish. The smell alone makes it worth using whole as opposed to powder – and the cook’s experience has to count for something: the most enjoyable meals to cook are those you will cook again.
How to cook with Hungarian spices:
Spice: Paprika (none of that fake Spanish stuff).
Um… Base: Onions.
Lard can be added for richness.
Any questions?
(kidding, just kidding)
I cook like Daddy (a ’56 Hungarian emigre) taught me, and he would not buy anything but “real Hungarian paprika.” I’m glad to know that in a pinch I may rely on the fake Spanish stuff.
In any case, you took this way too seriously; I was parodying Tyler’s suggestion to not buy the Mexican kind of cinnamon. Which if you had taken your head out of your, um, stuffed shirt long enough to read and appreciate, you would have understood.
Don’t forget the vinegar. You can’t make vindaloo without it.
Sorry, I missed that line. I didn’t mean to offend you, just that
I didn’t want anyone to miss out on the Spanish stuff. The Spanish
smoke it which gives it a different flavor profile. And the Hungarian
paprika isn’t as hot as it used to be due to the uniform growing methods.
I would still use Hungarian paprika for more heat, but the Spanish one is
good for other applications. For example, any dish with octopus would do
much better with the Spanish one. However, in any goulash, or stew for
that matter, would probably benefit from the Hungarian one. That being
said, the paprikas from Hungary and Spain are top in the world.
Again, I didn’t mean to offend you. How is that collection coming?
Your method is identical to mine. I spent a while researching various Indian recipes, and created a heuristic that matches yours perfectly.
Only then did Indian cooking become an art for me, rather than merely following recipe algorithms.
(Can you tell I’m a computer scientist? :> )
I’ve had some success with naan in my gas oven on a baking stone. I’d be curious if anyone with a comal has tried it for naan, and if they were happy with the results.
Well, due to the difficulty of finding anyone who wants to pay me two cents for my opinion (why should they pay when I give out such copious free samples?), not so hot so far. (Unlike Spanish paprika, lol.) Thanks.
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Excellent tutorial and reference for spices used in Indian cuisine. This is going straight to my cooking references. I look forward to following your recipes to come. Indian cuisine is my favorite.. I love the sophisticated, subtle use of the spices and want to know how to make my own, since there are not any Indian Restaurants in our immediate area.
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