Category: Indian

Pushpesh Pant’s Chicken in a Rich Scarlet Sauce (Murg Roganjosh)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

The name on the tin is exactly what you get here: a beautiful chicken curry in a rich scarlet sauce.

Another Pushpent Pant win.

Marinate the chicken overnight and this is a simple, authentic curry for a special mid-week meal.

Ingredients

1 c natural yoghurt, whisked
4 green cardamom pods
2 black cardamom pods
800gm chicken thigh cut into pieces
1 c mustard oil*
2 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks, 2.5cm long
4 cloves
Small pinch of asafoetida
1 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground aniseed
1 tsp Garam Masala
Salt

Method

  1. Mix the yoghurt and cardamom pods in a bowl to make a marinade, then season with salt. Put the chicken in a large shallow dish and rub the marinade evenly over the chicken, cover and set aside in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
  2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based pan over medium heat, add the chicken, bay leaves, cinnamon, cloves and asafoetida and stir gently though constantly for 10 minutes until the yoghurt dries and the oil separates out. Now reduce the heat and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken turns brown. Mix in the chilli powder, increase the heat and stir quickly, then add the ginger, aniseed powder and garam masala together with 1 c of water. Reduce the heat and cook until the sauce thickens.

* Two points here. 1. Mustard oil is lovely and definitely worth getting. 2. I used a little over 1/4 c. Oily Indian curries are lovely, though 1 c will scare your guests.

Pushpesh Pant’s Paneer Scramble (Paneer di Bhurji)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

Nat loves paneer and I know I have said it before, though worth saying again: make your own.

The flavour and texture is completely superior to that of store-bought paneer and it’s a pretty simple process.

This particular Pushpesh Pant dish is absolutely moorish and we loved the texture of the crumbled paneer.

We always cook at least one vegetarian dish when we pull together an Indian banquet and this is one recipe I will be requesting again!

(Have halved the quantity of cloves and added a can of cherry tomatoes; and suggest you do to.)

Ingredients

1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
4 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, chopped
5 tsp ginger/garlic paste
1 medium tomato, chopped
1 can cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 c cooked chana dal
450gm paneer, mashed
2 green chillies, deseeded and cut into long strips
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp ground green cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground fenugreek

To garnish

1 x 4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and julienned
4 tbsp chopped coriander leaves

Method

  1. Put the turmeric and chilli powder in a small bowl, add 2 tbsp water and mix together.
  2. Heat the ghee in a heavy-based pan over medium heat, add the cumin and stir-fry for about 1 minute, or until the seeds begin to splutter. Add the onion and fry for 5 minutes, or until it turns light golden. Add the ginger/garlic paste and stir-fry for 1 minute, or until the moisture has evaporated. Add the turmeric mixture and fry for a further 30 seconds, or until all the liquid has evaporated.
  3. Add the tomatoes and fry for about 10 minutes. Now add the chana dal and stir-fry for about 2 minutes, or until the oil separates out. Add the mashed paneer and stir, then add the chillies and season with salt. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, before adding the ground spices. Stir, then remove from the heat and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and garnished with julienned ginger and chopped coriander.

Jamie Oliver’s Bombay Potato Salad

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 8

For all the traditional curries and dosa we cook, we love our roadside and contemporary Indian.

Hankering for a mid-week BBQ, I nominated a leg of lamb though Nat insisted we do this remarkable Khan leg of lamb, a dish we picked up in India a few years ago.

So in keeping with the BBQ theme, we of course needed a salad and so enter this moorish Bombay Potato Salad from Jamie Oliver.

Another potato salad to rival this recent classic that has become a bit of our “everyone bring a salad” whenever we are invited over for a BBQ.

My only adjustment was the addition of a 1/4 cup of crème fraîche which in my opinion, added a lovely touch of creaminess.

Your call.

Either way, this is an excellent and equally simple salad and one that would jazz up any BBQ.

Ingredients

1.5kg salad potatoes
Extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp turmeric
1 red onion
1/4 c crème fraîche
1 lemon
2 tbsp mixed seeds (poppy, pumpkin, sesame etc)
1 bunch mixed herbs: parsley, mint and coriander
1 c, baby peas

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 190c. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.
  2. Leaving the skins on, halve any larger potatoes, then place in the water for 8 – 10 minutes to parboil.
  3. Drain, steam dry, then transfer to a roasting tray. Crush slightly with a fork, drizzle with oil, then sprinkle over the cumin seeds and turmeric. Season, toss to coat, and roast in the oven for at least 25 minutes, or until golden and crisp.
  4. Peel, finely slice and place the onion in a shallow bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice and leave to soak for 15 minutes. Stir through the crème fraîche.
  5. Toast the seeds in a dry pan and set aside. Pick and finely chop the herb leaves.
  6. When the potatoes are ready, leave to cool a little, then transfer to a serving bowl. Add the onions, herbs, peas and a drizzle of oil. Toss to coat, then serve sprinkled with the toasted seeds.

Ajoy Joshi’s Palak Murgh

.Reading time 4 minutes.

Serves: 4 – 6

Nat and I landed from 10 nights in Japan this morning.

Talk about a foodie destination. My god: street-food, Egg-sandwiches at 7Eleven, Michelin Starred restaurants. It honestly doesn’t matter.

A six-seat mixology place floors up somewhere in Tokyo.
Alain Ducasse’s restaurant Benoit in Kyoto. Holy moly.
Lurra. Featured on Someone Feed Phil, a top 50 place to eat in the world. Staggering.
A toasted egg sandwich infused with soy on the side of the road. Seriously, this place would be a pop up institution in Sydney. Here, they just asked us to wait with our sparkling sakes.

The Japanese care about food at every level, at every moment. From a broth at breakfast to tuna belly sashimi at the Tokyo Fish Markets, it literally doesn’t matter.

I kid you not, the fried chicken at the every-corner corner-store Lawsons is hands down better than the best KFC here in Sydney.

We even had an Indian meal in Kyoto in the smallest restaurant you could imagine (well, every restaurant in small) and wasn’t it a complete win on a level you’d almost never find in Sydney?! Cheap, cheerful, completely authentic – a total slam dunk.

You cannot go wrong no matter how much you might try.

But this isn’t a Japan post (which I will do) but a post because we are back and of course, drowning our sorrows with a wine, we return to a curry at the start of a cold, gloomy Sydney winter.

Nat wanted a tomato based curry and who was I to argue?

This relatively simple Ajoy Joshi number absolutely hits the note.

I added a little more Garam Marsala at the end, though do your thing.

Just make sure you slowly cook it down to reduce almost all the liquid.

A beautiful heat, wonderful spinach, just bloody lovely with a red on the couch ready to catch up on whatever Netflix we’ve missed.

(I have slightly adapted this recipe.)

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh cut into 4cm pieces
1 tsp Garam Marsala
500gm baby spinach
3 mild green chilies, split lengthways
2 brown onions, roughly chopped
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp crushed ginger
1/4 c full-fat yoghurt
1/2 tsp chilli powder
3 ripe tomatoes, finely chopped

Method

  1. Marinate the chicken pieces in the Garam Marsala and set aside.
  2. In a food processor, process the spinach and chillies until a paste forms. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
  3. Clean and dry the food processor and process the onions until finely ground. Set aside.
  4. In a large, heavy-based frying pan, heat the oil. Add onions and salt and cook, uncovered, until lightly golden. Stir in garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant. Add the yoghurt and cook for 5 minutes further.
  5. Raise heat to high, add the chicken and cook until browned. Stir in chilli powder and cook until all moisture evaporates and oil separates.
  6. Stir in spinach purée and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat and cook until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Uncover and if any liquid remains, cook over a medium heat until the liquid has evaporated. Serve immediately with rice. (And chutney is my strong recommendation!)

Maunika Gowardhan’s Chicken Curry cooked with Fried Onions, Tomato, Spices and Garam Masala (Murgh do Pyaza)

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

Another cracker from Maunika Gowardhan.

The addition of the chargrilled shallots at the end is the clincher here, adding great texture and flavour: though the whole curry is just a wonderful Saturday night in sort of curry. Plus the potato adds even more luxury when accompanied by the couch, dimmed lights, a glass of red and a good movie.

Somewhat on the Colonial Indian side of cooking.

Definitely one to bookmark. (And do yourself a calorie favour, even on a Saturday night: substitute this great cauliflower rice for rice and cut your calories by 90%!)

Ingredients

1kg skinless chicken thigh, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped*
2″ ginger, roughly chopped*
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 bay leaves
2 dried mild red chillies
200gm white onions, finely chopped
1 1/2 mild chilli powder (or Kashmiri chilli powder)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp cumin powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
200gm tomatoes pureed to a paste
140gm Greek yoghurt whisked
150ml water
140gm baby potatoes, roughly chopped
Sal to taste
1 tbsp garam masala
Coriander for garnish

For the shallots

2 tbsp vegetable oil
200gm shallots peeled and halved

Method

  1. Grind the garlic and ginger in a blender with a splash of water. In a large mixing bowl add the chicken, and mix in the garlic ginger paste. Mix well and set aside for an hour or overnight preferably.
  2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottom sauce pan over a medium flame. Add the bay leaves and chilli and fry for a few seconds. Add the onion and fry for 17 – 18 minutes, stirring well: as they begin to brown, add the marinated chicken. Turn the heat up and cook the chicken until it is sealed.
  3. Stir well and at this stage, add the chilli powder, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Fry for a minute. Add the pureed tomato and mix well, scraping the bottom of the pan. Cook for 4 minutes.
  4. Turn the heat back to medium and add the yoghurt, a little at a time. Stir well, ensuring it doesn’t curdle, for 6 minutes. Add water, potatoes and season to taste. Turn the heat down low and cook the curry for 20 minutes with the lid on or until the potatoes are cooked through and the gravy reduced. Add the garam masala and let rest.
  5. In the meantime, in a frying pan, heat the oil and fry the shallots for 5 – 6 minutes on each side over a medium heat. Cook until slightly charred, add to the curry and stir well. Garnish with coriander and lemon juice and serve with rice or roti

* Or if you’re cooking curries as often as we are, get yourself a large jar of garlic and ginger paste from any good Indian supermarket and measure out the equivalent amount.

Maunika Gowardhan’s Pomegrante and Chilli Spice Chicken (Anardana Murgh)

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Serves: 4

I typed up this wonderful Thali Nat and I plated a while back, from the aptly named cookbook ‘Thali’ by Maunika Gowardhan. And now I am back with the absolutely wonderful chicken curry.

Served alongside an excellent Spiced Turmeric & Coriander Potato Curry from the same book, this chicken curry is just pure moorish.

It is also really unique in terms of the heavy use of pomegranate powder, a style I had never encountered and wasn’t really sure of. (Note: I substituted mango powder (Amchur) which has essentially the same tanginess and qualities.)

It’s also a pretty simple recipe.

An absolute homerun of a curry. Mate it with a vegetable curry for a dahl and this is the perfect way to end the week and say hello to an Autumn weekend.

Ingredients

1kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 tbsp vegetable oil
300gm white onions, thinly sliced
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 c chicken stock
Salt to taste
2 green bird’s-eye chillies, slit lengthways
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander leaves

For the pomegranate marinade

4 tbsp pomegranate powder (substitute mango powder (Amchur))
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
6 garlic cloves, pounded to a paste*
5cm ginger root, grated*
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

  1. First, make the marinade by mixing all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl. Smear the mixture over the chicken pieces and leave to marinate in the fridge for 3 – 4 hours or overnight.
  2. When you are ready to cook, heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan (skillet) over a medium heat. Fry the onions for 11 – 12 minutes, until they are soft and turn light brown.
  3. Tip in the marinated chicken pieces and fry, sealing the meat, then continue to fry for 5 minutes until the chicken is browned. Add the garam masala and stir well. Now add the stock, then season and bring to the boil.
  4. Reduce the heat to low, letting the mixture simmer gently. Cover the pan and cook for 9 – 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, stirring halfway through.
  5. Add the green chillies and fresh coriander. Stir and serve with warm paratha or rice.

* I always substitute garlic ginger paste from all good Indian supermarkets.

Kwality’s Chana Bhatura

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I wrote a long post some time ago about a meal we had in New Delhi which blew our minds.

The restaurant Kwality in Connaught, New Dehli, where we had this dish of chickpeas served with fried and puffed potato bread and my goodness, wasn’t it a revelation.

The chickpeas, soaked overnight in tea, and then braised with spices is literally perfection. Throw in that oily potato bread and this is just sex.

Nat keeps going back to many of the recipes we discovered on our Indian trip and this is one I am happy to go back to. Most happy.

Served with this Bhatura (potato bread), this is just heaven.

Ingredients

1 c white chickpeas, soaked overnight with a tea bag
1/2 tsp cumin
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cm piece of ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp chilli powder
2 tsp dried mango powder (amchur)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Salt to taste
Slided red onion to serve
Lemon wedges to serve

Method

  1. Discard the tea bag and boil the chickpeas until they are soft. Drain and keep aside.
  2. Heat the oil in a pan and add the cumin seeds. When they crackle, add the onion, ginger and garlic and sauté until the onion is golden brown. Add the garam masala, chilli, mango, coriander, cumin and turmeric powders and salt and sauté for another minute. Add the chickpeas and 1 c of water and mix well. Simmer for 15 minutes.

Manali Singh’s Bhindi Masala

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I don’t know when Nat fell in love with okra, though it has become a total staple in our Indian cooking. No complaints whatsoever there!

It is a little-known vegetable in Australia and to make it sing, it does need a bit of prep.

Sans prep, it’s slimy and that isn’t going to make the cut.

Soak the okra overnight, however, and it is such a versatile and wonderful vegetable: somewhere between French beans and eggplant.

The best Indian is vegetarian and this recipe is exactly why. Served alongside this Ajoy Joshi Hyderabadi Chicken, this was such a brilliant match.

Honestly, cook these two recipes with some Jasmine rice and tell me this isn’t as good as Indian comfort food gets!

Ingredients

2 1/2 vegetable/canola oil, divided
500gm okra
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium red onion, chopped
3cm ginger, grated
1 green chilli, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp amchur (mango powder)
1/4 tsp chilli powder
3/4 tsp salt
Garam masala to sprinkle
Julienne ginger to garnish
Rotis/Rice to serve

Method

  1. Soak the okra overnight. Wash and pat dry each okra with a paper towel and then chop into 1cm rounds, discarding the head and tail. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan on medium heat and when hot, add the chopped okra. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently and then lower the heat for 5 minutes more. The okra should be cooked by now (15 minutes) and there should be little sliminess (!) left. Set aside.
  2. Add the remaining 1 1/2 tbsp oil on a medium heat and when hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds. Add the chopped onion and saute for 2 – 3 minutes until soft. Then add the ginger and green chilli and cook for 1 minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and cook until soft and mushy.
  3. Add the spices and some water so that the spices do not burn. Stir well.
  4. Add the okra back in and cook together on a low-medium heat for 5 minutes, uncovered.
  5. Sprinkle with garam masala and serve garnished with julienned ginger.

Ajoy Joshi’s Hyderabadi Chicken

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Well, here we are again.

Another Ajoy Joshi homerun curry, completely consistent with his wonderful use of onions and a yoghurt marinade.

The addition of the sesame seed and peanut paste adds luxury and when served alongside this completely contrasting okra dish by Nat, it was just an absolutely, if understated lunch.

Flavours that just complimented each other so easily, we really had no words.

Ajoy has an unusual approach of sealing the pot – for the final 45 minutes – with a large metal bowl in order to steam the chicken and seal the delicious flavour.

I skipped this step. I made the marinade the night before and then cooked until I had a wonderful yoghurt gravy. The result was just excellent and I have adjusted the recipe this way.

Hats off Ajoy Joshi. Truly a signature dish and one he is famous for.

Ingredients

1kg chicken thigh fillets, cut into large cubes without trimming off the fat
1 tbsp sesame seeds
50gm peanuts
Milk
1/3 c vegetable/canola oil
1 onion, sliced
Salt
1 tbsp crushed ginger
1 tbsp crushed garlic*
1 1/2 tbsp crushed green chilli
Pinch of turmeric
1 1/2 c natural yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp black cumin seeds
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

  1. Toast the sesame seeds and peanuts in a dry frying pan then grind to a paste. Mix the paste with a little milk.
  2. Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan and add the onion and 2 pinches of salt. Cook over medium-high heat until caramelised and golden brown. Remove from the heat.
  3. Place the peanut paste, ginger, chilli, turmeric, yoghurt, garam masala, cumin seeds and a pinch of salt in a large bowl and mix together. Stir in the fried onion and chicken. Leave to marinate for 10 minutes.
  4. Put the chicken and marinate in the saucepan used for the onions and cook over a medium-heat for 40 minutes until you have a thickish gravy. Just before serving, stir through the lemon juice.

* I’ve said it before. Get yourself a jar of garlic ginger pasta and cruise through this step!

Pushpesh Pant’s Samosas

.Reading time 3 minutes.

Makes: 10

Nat is often asked to make samosas for family gatherings and this has become her go-to.

We serve them with this quite excellent mint sauce recipe.

I’ve included the dough that comes with this recipe, though Nat makes a shortcrust pastry which when fried, is absolutely lovely.

As with all Pushpent Pant recipes, you know this is as traditional as it gets. As an alternative, if you are looking for a meat-based samosa, this Dan Toomb’s Keema Pau Samosa is just as excellent.

(Note, I have adapted this recipe by reducing the fresh and powdered chilli. You would blow people’s heads off with the original measurement. Trust me, we know!)

Ingredients

500gm all-purpose flour plus extra for dustingz
Vegetable oil, for deep frying

For the filling

100gm (2 small) potatoes, unpeeled
1 c peas, shelled if fresh
4 tbsp ghee
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 x 5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 – 2 green chillies, de-seeded and chopped
1/2 tsp chilli powder (you can always add more)
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp pomegranate seeds
1 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
Salt

Method

  1. Put the flour in a large bowl and mix with enough water to form a stiff dough. Divide the dough into 10 equal portions and roll into balls. Cover with a damp cloth.
  2. For the filling, cook the potatoes in a pan of boiling water for about 20 minutes, or until soft, then drain and allow to cool. When cool, peel of their skins, return to the pan and roughly mash. Cook the peas until soft.
  3. Heat the ghee in a deep, heavy-based pan, add the cumin seeds and fry over a medium heat for about 15 seconds. Add the ginger, chilies, chilli powder, turmeric, coriander and season with salt. Stir-fry for about 1 minute, then add the mashed potatoes and peas and stir-fry for another minute. Add the pomegranate seeds and chopped coriander and stir. Taste and adjust the seasoning, if necessary, then remove from the heat and allow to cool. When the filling is cool, divide it into 10 equal portions.
  4. Place the balls of dough on a lightly floured surface and roll into rounds of about 12cm diameter. Moisten the edges with water, then place a portion of the filling in centre, fold over and press all around to seal the edges.
  5. Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a deep heavy-base pan to 180c or until a cube of bread browns in 30 seconds. Working in batches, add the samosas carefully to the hot oil and deep fry for about 2 – 3 minute, or until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.