Cauliflower Bengali Style

1 medium sized cauliflower cut into medium sized pieces
2 tsp Panch pooran (5 spice mixture)
2 tsp Cumin powder
1 tsp chilly powder – according to preference
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp turmeric powder – mixed in some water to make a watery paste
1 tsp ginger
1 or 2 green chillies either chopped with seeds or deseeded and use skins
Fresh coriander
Juice of lemon – if preferred
Oil for frying
Salt to taste

Use a heavy based pan if possible when cooking vegetables. Heat oil in a pan (use according to preference though as you have to fry the cauliflower you might need more than you would usually use). When hot put in the panch pooran mix, when it sizzles add ginger and green chillies, stir a few seconds and then add the cauliflower florets cut into medium sized pieces. Fry this on a fairly high heat and keep stirring till the florets brown a bit. Then add the turmeric paste and mix again. Now add the garam masala, red chilly and cumin powders and a sprinkling of hot water and stir till it all mixes well. Turn down heat a bit and cook till cauliflower is nearly done and not too soft. Finally sprinkle fresh chopped coriander and juice of lemon if preferred. The cooking time depends on how big the cauliflower pieces are and how soft of crunchy you like them.

Pulao (spiced rice) – peas or carrots (or both) with spices

Use basmati rice (tilde) when cooking a pulao and you can use any spice and vegetable(s) of your choice. With pulao you use the method of cooking rice where you don’t drain the water and measure the ratio of 1:2 (1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water).

Pea’s pulao
1 cup basmati rice (1 cup serves about 2-3 persons)
1 cup peas (if using frozen defrost them before hand)

Whole spices:
2 or 3 pods of cardamom – white or black
2-3 cloves
1 stick of cinnamon

1 tsp garlic crushed
1 tsp ginger crushed of finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala or according to preference
1 tsp turmeric powder
Oil for frying
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander to sprinkle over

Use a heavy based pan if possible. Heat 1 tbsp oil and when hot add the whole spices and soon after the ginger and garlic, stir for a bit and then add the garam masala and turmeric powders. When mixed well add the rice that has been drained, salt to taste and then add the measured water. Turn the pan around gently to let the rice mix with the other ingredients (do not stir as this breaks the grains), then add the measured hot water (1:2) and bring to the boil. When it starts to boil, turn down heat, cover and let it cook for about 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle coriander, check that grains are cooked and then turn off heat. Don’t serve rice immediately as it’s still wet and stirring would make the rice patchy. It’s best that rice is cooked ahead of time and left to settle for 10 minutes or so, before you are ready to serve.

Tomato chutney

This chutney comes from Bengal (north east India) and served after all the main courses and just before dessert as palate cleansers accompanies by crisp papadums. You can of course serve this chutney with any Indian meal. In Bengal, small cubes of dried mango are added towards the end of the cooking period. These are hard to find in the West so apricots make a good substitute.

Oil for frying
½ tsp panchporan (5 spice mixture)
2 whole dried red chillies
1 tsp of garlic mashed
1 tsp of ginger chopped
4 or 5 large tomatoes
½ tsp chili powder
Salt
4 dried apricots cut into small cubes
2 whole fresh hot green chillies

Heat oil in a pan and when hot in the panch pooran. When it sizzles put in the red chillies and soon after the ginger and garlic. Stir for a few seconds and then add the tomatoes and salt. Simmer on a medium to low flame or until the chutney begins to thicken. This may take about 15-20 minutes. Now add the apricot cubes and the green chillies. Simmer and cook on a low heat for another 10 minutes or until the chutney is thick.

If you want a spicy chutney then add ½ tsp of more of chili powder towards the end of the cooking time as the red chillies are used whole and not broken up with seeds and so also the green chillies.

Panch pooran from Bengal
2 tsp whole black mustards seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp nigella seeds
¾ fenugreek seeds
Panch pooran can also be used when making a rice pulao or a vegetable dish. You would start by frying these seeds and then adding the rice or vegetable.

Red paste mushroom (or prawns) – Madhur Jaffrey

I have borrowed techniques from both India and Indonesia to make this dish. In Indonesia its redness comes from hot red peppers. I use a combination of the sweet red pepper, paprika and a hint of cayenne instead.

500 gms mushrooms chopped
1 big whole fresh sweet red pepper or 2 small
1 onion peeled and coarsely chopped
10 whole macadamia nuts, or 10 raw cashew nuts
Vegetable oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika or according to taste

Put the red pepper, onion and nuts into the container of a food processor. Blend thoroughly, stopping to push down ingredients with a rubber spatula whenever necessary. Take out the paste and keep in a bowl.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan over a medium high flame. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, put in the garlic. Stir once and put in the mushrooms. Sprinkle about 1/4 tsp salt over the mushrooms. Stir and fry till mushrooms turn soft. Remove them leaving the oil behind. Keep them aside and reserve any liquid with it. Add oil to the wok and put in the red pepper paste. Stir and fry for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce looks quite dry. Add the cayenne and paprika. Stir once and put in the mushrooms. Lower heat and stir gently for 1 minute. You should have a very thick sauce. Check if there is enough salt and add more if required and cayenne pepper if you would like it more spicy.

Navratna kurma

A mixture of vegetable (about a cup full)
Carrots, green beans, red peppers
Cashew nuts – small cup
1 chopped onion
1 tomato
Finely chopped garlic – 3 pods
1 green chili
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 cloves
2 inch piece cinnamon
3 cardamoms
1 tsp garam masala powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
¼ cup pineapple pieces
2 tsp raisins
½ cup milk
¼ cup yoghurt
Coriander leaves to garnish

Soak a small cupful of cashew nuts in warm water for 15 minutes and then grind to a paste. Heat oil in a pan. Add cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom. Sauté for 10 seconds. Add onion, garlic and green chilly. Fry till onions turn golden brown. Add tomato and other veggies (except peppers), turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala and some salt. Sauté for a couple of minutes. Add ½ cup of water. Close the pan with a lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until the veggies are cooked. Add peppers and sauté for 2 minutes. Add m ilk, yoghurt, the cashew nut paste, pineapple, raisins and salt and cook for 5 minutes. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Bean soup (Priya)

For 3-4 people

100 gm white beans (you can get a pot from the Natuur winkel which are pretty good, or soak the dry ones overnight)
250 gms sperziebonen (green beans) I would add a bit more if you like them
250 gms potatoes
4 tomatoes

Water

• 1 bouillon tablet or powder
• 1 (or 2) cloves of garlic
• Some thyme
• 3 spoons of basil (fresh) or more if you like
• 1 spoon olive oil
• 100-150 gms grated cheese (you can also use parmesan)

Soak white beans overnight (if you are not using them from a pot) and to it add the veggies. If you are using white beans from a pot, then you can start with cooking the green beans, potatoes, tomatoes bouillon tablet and enough water to cover the veggies. Add salt to taste. Cook till the veggies are soft and rinse the white beans from the pot before adding them to the soup towards the last 5 minutes of cooking time.

In a pestle and mortar grind basil, thyme, oil, garlic to a smooth paste (or use an electric grinder). Just before serving add this to the soup (leave it for a few minutes off the heat). When serving soup in the bowl, add grated cheese on top.

You can make the soup the day before, and if so make the herb mixture only on the day you are serving the soup.

Chickpeas cooked in a mint sauce

250 gm chickpeas soaked or a tin of chickpeas

1 tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
3 fresh green chillies, finely chopped
A handful of fresh mint leaves coarsely chopped
Vegetable oil
2 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
225 gms chopped tomatoes
Salt to taste
1 ½ tsp ground coriander
1 ½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp garam masala
Lemon juice to taste

Boil chickpeas (if using dry ones) for about an hour or so till cooked. Grind garlic, ginger, mint leaves and green chillies with water and push down the mixture with a spatula when necessary. If very thick add more water.

Heat oil in a pan and add the onions when hot. Stir and fry until onions are a rich reddish brown. Add the tomatoes. Stir and cook until the tomatoes reduce and darken. Put in the minty sauce paste and stir on medium high heat for 5 minutes or so. Add the chickpeas to this mixture along with salt, coriander, cumin and garam masala powders and lemon juice. Stir well to mix. Cover,

Potato filling for dosai (rice pancake) or for chappati (Priya)

1 kg potatoes quartered
4 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 medium onions sliced
3 small chillies or 1 large green chilly diced
2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
5-6 curry leaves
Garam masala powder to sprinkle over at the end
Coriander according to preference.

Boil and cut potatoes into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and when hot put in the mustard seeds. When they pop add curry leaves and soon after green chillies and onions. Fry till onions brown slightly. Then add turmeric, potatoes, salt and fresh coriander and mix well. Finally add garam masala 2 tsp or according to preference and stir well before turning off heat.

Lentils also known as dhals in India

All lentils should be washed and soaked for at least 10 minutes before cooking. You can mix a combination of 3-4 lentils together to make an interesting lentil/dhal mix.

1. Red lentils – takes the least time to cook
2. Channa – (yellow) – has a nutty flavor
3. Toor – (yellow) good to cook in combination with vegetables
4. Whole moong dhal – (green) which can be sprouted, also good uncooked in salads
5. Split moong dhal – yellow – and good cooked in combination with rice
6. Black whole dhal – used in north Indian cooking and good in combination with red kidney beans (also a split version)
7. Urad dhal – white – used for making breakfast dishes in the south i.e. pancakes, rice cakes etc and also for raitas, rices and vegetables dishes when fried in small quantities.
8. Kitshidi dhal – green - split moong dhal

Beans

All beans/peas must be soaked for at least 5 hours (or overnight) otherwise they are not easily digested. It takes al least 1 ½ hour to 2 hours to cook the beans/peas but if you have a pressure cooker then it’s much faster – 5 minutes!

1. Red kidney beans – used in north Indian dishes a lot
2. Black eyed beans – used in both north and south Indian dishes
3. Chick peas – used in north and south Indian dishes and sometimes eaten as a snack on its own with spices

There are many other lentils and beans that are used in India but these are the most commonly used ones and what is available in Europe

Mango Raita

1 large ripe mango
1 tsp whole black mustards seeds
1 tsp mustard powder (grind mustard seeds in a coffee grinder)
½ pot plain yoghurt
1 tbsp finely grated fresh coconut of desiccated
Coconut – optional
Salt to taste
Vegetable oil
1 whole dried hot red chili

Cut the mango into small pieces. Put the yoghurt in a bowl, beat lightly with a fork until smooth and creamy (add salt to taste if preferred). Add the ground mustards seeds, coconut (if using it) and the mango pieces and mix well.

Heat oil in a small frying pan over a medium flame. When hot put in the whole mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop (this just takes a few seconds), add the red chilly and fry until it darkens. Now empty the contents of the frying pan into the bowl with the mango. Stir to mix and add a sprinkling of red chilly powder.

Tangy Potato Dish with mint (Priya)

1/2 kg New potatoes with skins left on
Fresh mint chopped– 1 tbsp
Lemon juice from 1/2 lemon
Green chilies – 2-3
Fresh coriander chopped 1 katori
Ginger – 2tsp
Garlic – 2 tsp
Cumin powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1 tsp
Red chili powder – 1 1/2 tsp or according to preference
Salt Oil for frying

Blend together fresh mint, lemon juice, green chilies and fresh coriander into a puree. Heat oil and add ginger-garlic paste and potatoes. Sir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add cumin, coriander and red chilli powder and stir till it mixes well. Add salt and a cup water and bring to the boil and simmer till potatoes are cooked. Add the blended puree and fry till the liquid dries up and puree is absorbed by the potatoes.

Raitas – yoghurt salads

Raitas consist of vegetables (cooked or uncooked) that are added to yoghurt and flavored with seeds, un-cooked lentils, leaves and spices . Raitas are nearly always served as part of an Indian meal as they add a cooling effect if the food is very spicy.

Aubergine raita:

Cut a medium sized aubergine into very tiny pieces and put in a colander with salt and let it drain for about 15-13 minutes. Pat dry on kitchen paper or squeeze out all the water just before frying. Heat oil, add as many aubergine pieces as you can to the pan and when brown remove and drain on kitchen paper. The aubergine pieces should be as crisp as possible when put in a bowl of yoghurt. Add a sprinkling of chili, turmeric powders and salt (if required as the aubergine has been salted) and sprinkle with fresh coriander.

Ladies finger of okra raita:

The okra should always be dry after it is washed otherwise it will get sticky when fried. Cut off tails and tops of okra and cut into smallish pieces. Heat oil and fry okra till crisp and slightly brown. Drain on kitchen paper and put in a bowl of yoghurt (to which you have added salt to taste) with spices and fresh coriander as given above for aubergine raita.

Potato raita:

Boil and dice potatoes into small pieces. Fry lightly in oil and then add to a bowl of salted yoghurt with turmeric and a sprinkling of chili powder. You can also fry 1 tsp of mustard seeds and some curry leaves and pour this into the yoghurt mixture.

Spinach raita:

Steam spinach in a steamer and leave to drain till cool and try to squeeze out all the water. In the meantime, mix yoghurt, with some salt, pepper, if you wish and some dried of fresh dill. You can also add a bit of garlic lightly crushed.

For uncooked vegetables like cucumber, carrot, tomato etc. heat oil in a small pan and when hot add 1 tsp mustard of cumin seeds, 1 tsp urad dhal (small white lentil) and some curry leaves. Add this mixture to the yoghurt (salted to taste) with the uncooked vegetables. Sprinkle with fresh coriander. You can also sprinkle turmeric and red chili powder (not too much depending on how hot you like it).

Egg Curry

Eggs boiled for 10 minutes, shelled and halved (1 egg per person)
1 large onion chopped very fine
2 tomatoes chopped very fine
Tomatos puree 1 tbsp (optional)
Ginger and garlic paste about 1 tsp each
2 tsp curry powder (add more if required) or t tsp sambar powder if you have it
½ tsp turmeric powder
Freshly chopped coriander
Salt to taste and oil for frying



Heat oil and fry chopped onion. When golden brown add the chopped tomatoes, ginger/garlic paste and spice powders. Let all the spices mix well and cook till the mixture is soft (about 5-8 minutes). Add about ½ cup or more of hot water to this mixture (depending on how much liquid you would like it to have), and when it starts to bubble slowly immerse the eggs into the pan, yolk facing downwards. Spoon the sauce mixture from the pan over the eggs so that it mixes into the sauce. Turn down heat and simmer for about 5 minutes to let the sauce seep into the eggs. Sprinkle with fresh coriander, add salt to taste and turn off heat.

Tomato Pulao (spiced rice)

Use basmati rice when cooking a pulao and you can use any spice and vegetable of your choice. With pulao you use the method of cooking rice where you don’t drain the water and measure the ratio of1:2 (1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water). You need to soak the rice in cold water for at least 15 minutes before cooking. This help the grains swell and stops it from breaking and it cooks faster.



Tomato pulao
3 cups basmati rice (1 cup serves about 2-3 persons)
2 large tomatoes made into a thick puree
1 cup basmati rice, washed and soaked for ten minutes
1 whole black cardamom
A few curry leaves (optional)
1 tsp garam masala powder (or a bit ore if you like it spicy)
2 tsp garlic crushed
2 tsp ginger crushed of finely chopped
A few threads of saffron soaked in milk
Oil or ghee for frying according to preference
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander to sprinkle over

Use a heavy based pan if possible. Heat the ghee and when hot add the black cardamom and curry leaves, stir around and soon after the ginger and garlic and then the tomato puree. Fry for just a few seconds and then add the salt, garam masala and saffron soaked in milk. Stir again and then add the rice that has been drained and turn the pan around gently to let it mix with the other ingredients (do not stir as this breaks the grains). Finally add the measured hot water (1:2) and bring to the boil. When it starts to oil, turn down heat, cover and let it cook for about 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle coriander, check that grains are cooked (if not add a sprinkling of hot water and cover) and then turn off heat. Don’t serve rice immediately as it is still wet and stirring would make the rice patchy. It’s best that rice is cooked ahead of time and left to settle for 10 minutes or so, before you are ready to serve.

Paneer koftas in a spinach sauce

For the paneer:
Un-homogenized milk if available of full milk, 1 litre. Juice of ½ lemon (or more if necessary). Heat milk and when it is close to boiling add the lemon juice to curdle the milk stirring gently all the time. Once it sets strain through thin cloth. This makes about 175 gms paneer.

For the koftas:
175 gms paneer
2-3 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp chopped coriander
2 green chillies chopped finely
Salt to taste
Mix the above ingredients, shape into small balls and deep fry in oil till golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and keep aside till ready to use.

For the sauce:
1 tbsp grated coconut
1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts
1 tbsp white poppy seeds (grind these ingredients to a paste)

4 cloves garlic chopped
3 cm piece fresh ginger, chopped
4 green chillies (or according to preference)
1 tsp aniseed
Yoghurt

Heat enough vegetable oil or ghee (clarified butter) to start frying first the ground paste of coconut, nuts and seeds and soon after add the garlic, ginger, green chillies and aniseed and stir for a few minutes (be careful not to burn). Soon after add 150 ml plain yoghurt and fry it for a while with the paste till it blends in well. Add 250 gm (or more depending on how many people you are cooking for) finely chopped spinach (deep freeze spinach works equally well) and add salt to taste and stir for a while and allow the spinach to wilt (or milt in). Check the seasoning and if you want a more spicy sauce add a bit of red chili powder. When you are ready to serve add the paneer koftas to the sauce.

Red paste mushroom (or prawns) – Madhur Jaffrey

I have borrowed techniques from both India and Indonesia to make this dish. In Indonesia its redness comes from hot red peppers. I use a combination of the sweet red pepper, paprika and a hint of cayenne instead.

500 gms mushrooms chopped
1 big whole fresh sweet red pepper or 2 small
1 onion peeled and coarsely chopped
10 whole macadamia nuts or 10 raw cashew nuts
Vegetable oil
2 tsp mustards seeds
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika powder or according to taste

Put the red pepper, on ion and nuts into a container of a food processor. Blend thoroughly, stopping to push down ingredients with a rubber spatula whenever necessary. Take out the paste and keep in a bowl.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick frying pan over a medium high flame. When hot, put in the mustard seeds. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, put in the garlic. Stir once and put in the mushrooms. Sprinkle about ¼ tsp salt over the mushrooms. Stir and fry till mushrooms turn soft. Remove them leaving the oil behind. Keep them aside and reserve any liquid with it. Add oil to the wok and put in the red pepper paste. Stir and fry for 4-5 minutes or until the sauce looks quite dry. Add the cayenne and paprika powder. Stir once and put in the mushrooms. Lower heat and stir gently for 1 minute. You should have a very thick sauce. Check if there is enough salt and add more if required and cayenne pepper if you would like it spicier.

Chutneys

Coconut:

1 big cup shredded coconut, 4-5 sprigs of fresh coriander, 2 medium green chillies, ½ tsp tamarind or lemon juice, salt to taste. Grind all the ingredients in a blender, with a little bit of water till you have a smooth paste.

Peanut:

1 big cup roasted peanuts, 1 small onion, 2-3 green chillies, t tsp ginger, coriander leaves about 2 tsp and salt to taste. Grind all the ingredients in a blender, with a little bit of water, till you have a smooth paste.

To season uncooked chutneys use the following method:




Heat oil in a small pan and when hot add 1 tsp mustards seeds. When they pop add 1-2 s mall or big dried red chillies (don’t break up the chillies) and then a few dried curry leaves. Pour this fried mixture over the uncooked chutney.

Lemon Rice

1 cup cooked rice (either basmati or any other types)

2 small green chilies – either chopped or just skins if using large ones
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
Peanuts (unsalted – about 3 tbsp)
A few curry leaves (optional)
Juice of half a lemon or more according to taste
Fresh coriander
Oil for frying

Heat oil in a small pan and when hot add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle add the green chilies, a few curry leaves and soon after the peanuts and stir for a few seconds till everything mixes in well. Then add turmeric powder and take of the heat. Pour this mixture over the cooked rice. Add the lemon juice and taste to see how tangy it is before adding more. Sprinkle fresh coriander over the rice.

Lentils - Dhal

In India lentils (cooked and uncooked) are known as dhals. You can get various kinds of dhals on the menu in Indian restaurants and the most common is dhal fry. All lentils should be washed well and then soaked for at least 10 minutes if not longer. It takes about 15 to 30 minutes for the lentils to cook depending on which one you are using, red lentils cooks the fastest. Do not add salt till the lentils are cooked – it changes the cooking process.

Most lentils are made with the basic spices that are fried in oil and added to the cooked lentils. You need about 1 cup of lentils which can serve about 4 people. If you like thick dhal then you should let the water dry out and if not then add water to make the consistency of your choice. After the lentils have cooked put them aside and fry the basic spices, which can be any of the following combinations:

In a small pan, heat a tbsp of oil, when hot fry 1 tsp mustard or cumin seeds and when they pop add any of the following combinations:

1-2 chopped green chilly (the skins only, if you don’t like them with the seeds), 1 tsp each of ginger and garlic (or more if required according to taste), 1 chopped onion and then the powder spices like: 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander, 1 tsp garam masala
Or
1 chopped onion, 1 tsp each ginger & garlic, 1-2 chopped green chilly (optional), 2 chopped tomatoes and then the combination of dry spice powder as mentioned above or just one or two of the spices according to preference.

Add freshly chopped coriander to dhal after you’ve fried all the spices. As a variation you can also add some lease of fresh spinach.

Dhal Fry

If you’d like to make a dhal fry, the method is slightly different. After you’ve cooked the dhal use a fairly good sized frying pan to fry any combination of spices (as per the suggestions given above in bold), and then add the cooked dhal to this spice mixture and cook for a few minutes till everything mixes well. Sprinkle fresh chopped coriander.

Potato filling for dosai (rice pancake) or for chapatti

1 kg potatoes quartered
4 tbsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
2-3 medium onions sliced
3 small chillies or 1 large green chilly diced
2 tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
5-6 curry leaves
Garam masala powder to sprinkle over at the end
Coriander according to preference

Boil and cut potatoes into small pieces.

Heat oil in a pan and when hot put in the mustard seeds. When they pop add curry leaves and soon after green chillies and onions. Fry till on ions brown slightly. Then add turmeric, potatoes, salt and fresh coriander and mix well. Finally add garam masala 2 tsp according to preference and stir well before turning off heat.