Indian Food

[Greg C.]

I hope Henry Warnell will appreciate this thread. A full thread dedicated to Indian food, which seems to be on the rise here in the United States.

Just went out for Indian food last night and it was great. I ordered Chicken Tikka which came in a skillet with grilled onions and peppers. Served on some Basmati rice with spicy onion relish, it was just to die for. My dad got Shrimp Masala which was six very big shrimp served in a tomato butter sauce (the Masala) and that too was excellant. My mom got Chicken Tikka Saag which was chicken mixed with spinach and indian spices.

What are some of your favorites?

P.S
My mom was telling me about the first time she had Indian Food. It actually happened in London, England when she went with my Dad who was on a business trip. The man my dad was with in London said that he knew every good restuarant in town and asked them what they wanted to try. My mom asked to try Indian food because there were hardly any Indian restaurants in the States at the time. She can't remember all of what she ordered but she does remember loving Onion Bhaji.

[neferetus]

I like the pemmican jerky and frybread.

[Greg C.]

I'm gonna cook Henry Warnell's Mushroom Bhaji tonight...

[neferetus]

One of my first encounters with Indian food was in London, back in 1985. I'd met this young lady (a Londoner) in Edinburgh while on a tour of the castle there and we made a date to attend a London show at the Shaftesbury Theatre about a week later. Prior to the show (TWO INTO ONE, with Tom Conti) we ducked into this nearby Indian Vegetarian Cafe for a bite and a drink. We shared chick pea curry over brown rice along with some potato and pea curry, while sipping fresh papaya juice. All in all, it was rather nice.

Being vegetarian wouldn't be such a bad thing until the desire for a nice, juicy beef steak overcomes you.

[henrywarnell]

I have only just spotted this thread Greg, perhaps you and Ned would like a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. The last time I tried Indian Frybread was at a restaurant in Mexican Hat in Utah, it came with a large dish of strange tasting mushy beans, and it was served up by an Navajo waitress! I think I will stick to the other Indian food.

[henrywarnell]

If you like a medium hot curry with a rich slightly sweet flavor, Chicken or Shrimp Dhansak served with Pilau rice is about the best. Or Chicken/ Shrimp Pathia served with Mushroom fried rice.

[Greg C.]

I would love a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala! It was the best Indian dish I had ever tried. The tomato sauce it was in was so rich and flavorful.

[henrywarnell]

Would you like me to post the recipe Greg, or send a P.M. There are no Tomato's in my Masala, it is based on double cream, the mixture of spices make it look like Tomato Sauce. There is Tomato Puree in the recipe for the Chicken.

[Greg C.]

You can just post the recipe here. Maybe other members will see it and make it as well...

And you're right about the tomatoes. The spices must just give is a red color?

[henrywarnell]

Before you can make Chicken Tikka Masala, you have to make Chicken Tikka, so I will start with that.
1lb boneless, skinned Chicken Breast.
1tsp. salt.
Juice of half a Lemon.
1/4 tsp. of red food coloring mixed with 1 tbls. of Tomato Puree.
2 cloves of Garlic, peeled and chopped.
1/2 inch cube of root Ginger peeled and chopped.
2 tsp. of ground Coriander.
1/2 tsp. Garam Masala.
1/2 tsp of ground Turmeric.
5 oz. thick set natural Yogurt.
4 tbs. of corn or vegetable oil.
1/2 tsp. Chili powder.
Cut the Chicken into 1-inch cubes. sprinkle with 1/2 tsp. of salt from the specified amount, and add the lemon juice-- mix thoroughly, cover and keep aside for at least 30 mins.

Put the rest of the ingredients into an electric food processor or liquidizer and blend until smooth. you might need to add some water.

Preheat your oven to 230 C/ 450 F/ Gas Mark 8.

Coat the Chicken thoroughly with the mixture, cover the container and leave to marinate for 6/8 hours in the refrigerator.

Line a roasting tin with foil, thread the Chicken onto B.B.Q skewers,leaving 1/4 inch gap between each piece.

Place the skewers in the prepared roasting tin, brush the Chicken with some of the remaining marinade.

Cook in the oven for 6-8 mins. take the tin out of the oven and turn the skewers over, brush the Chicken with some of the remaining marinade, return to the oven and cook for another 6-8 mins.

Shake off any excess liquid from the Chicken. ( keep any remaining liquid from the Chicken, you will need it for the Masala.)

When the Chicken has cooled you can remove it from the skewers.

THE MASALA
1/2 inch cube of root ginger chopped.
2 cloves of garlic peeled and chopped.
1 tsp. salt.
2 oz. butter.
1 small onion , finely chopped.
1/4 tsp. ground turmeric.
1/2 tsp. ground cumin.
1/2 tsp. ground coriander.
1/2 tsp. garam masala.
1/4- 1/2 tsp. chili powder.
4 fluid oz. of liquid made up with the reserved juice from the precooked Chicken Tikker and warm water.
10 fluid oz. double cream.
2 heaped tbsp of ground Almonds.

Mix together the ginger, garlic and 1/2 tsp. of salt, crush the mixture into a paste, keep the remaining salt for use later.

Melt the butter and fry the onions for 3-4 mins. add the ginger/ garlic paste and cook for about 1 min.

Stir in the turmeric and then the cumin, coriander,garam masala and chili powder. stir and cook for about 3 mins.

now stir in the liquid and gradually add the cream.

add the remaining salt and simmer for 5 mins and then add the chicken. turn the heat down low cover and cook for 10 mins.

stir in the ground Almonds and simmer for 4-5 mins.

Remove from heat.

Hopefully you should have a very tasty curry now. Try serving it with Mushroom Fried Rice , let me know if you want the recipe for that!! Good luck Greg.

[Greg C.]

Thanks for the recipes Henry! Isn't there a special oven they use to cook the Tikka in? It's like a well that they lower the chicken down into...

[henrywarnell]

Yes there is Greg, it's a clay oven called a Tandoor, if I had the room I would have one in my kitchen. You can buy them for home use, but they need a lot of space. You can still get good results with a normal oven.

[Greg C.]

Yeah, I forgot the name of it but it definately is a tandoor. At the indian restaurant I go to, they have the kitchen built so you can see the chefs cooking by the tandoor. They usually stick a steel rod through 5 or 6 pieces of chicken, lower it down, and when they pull it out, the chicken is almost an orange color.

[henrywarnell]

There is one thing that they won't let you see, that is how they make their base gravy. The base gravy is a closely guarded secret in an Indian restaurant. It is the base for most of the curries that they serve, that is why they can serve such a large selection of curries, very quickly. most of the meat used is precooked, so if you order something like Chicken Vindaloo, all the have to do is ladle out a portion of base gravy then add the appropriate spices and then add the precooked Chicken and a couple of pieces of cooked potato, the secret of that unique restaurant taste is in the base gravy, so we can't get our homemade curries quite the same. When I cooked Curries in our pub I had a lot of help from the manager of our local Tandoori Restaurant, and he became a friend,and he still is a friend, but no way would he tell me how to make the base gravy!!

[henrywarnell]

A very tasty dish for vegetarians who like a mild creamy curry,is Paneer Korma. Rather than making the Paneer into kofta's, it is cut into squares and deep fried, the paneer has very little taste, but when added to a Korma Sauce, it is very nice!

[henrywarnell]

Have you tried cooking that Chicken Tikka Masala, Greg?

[Greg C.]

Not yet...

[neferetus]

Hard to find all of the ingredients?

[Greg C.]

Apr 21, 2008 18:27:19 GMT -5 neferetus said:

Hard to find all of the ingredients?

I have some of the spices on hand, but others aren't something you'd find in the local supermarket...