Chicken Curry

Ingredients

2 pounds Chicken; cut into small pieces

1 medium sized onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic

1 inch of finer

1 medium tomato

2 tablespoons yogurt

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon garam masala

2 tablespoons cream, optional

Salt, to taste

Directions

1. Cut the chicken into half-inch cubes and wash thoroughly.

2. Marinate with salt, yogurt, turmeric and chili powder for 30 minutes.

3. In a skillet, fry the onion using 1 tablespoon of oil, until soft. When the onion is soft, add ginger and garlic. Fry for two minutes. Turn of the stove and cool the contents.

4. Boil the tomato and remove the skin.

5. Grind the contents of the skillet and the peeled tomato in a grinder until it is smooth--this is the masala.

6. In the skillet, place another 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the masala and cook for 8-10 minutes.

7. Add the chicken to the skillet. Mix well. Cook the chicken in medium heat until it is well cooked (approximately 25 - 30 minutes.)

8. At the end, add garam masala.

Note: You can also add 2 tablespoons of cream at the very end for a richer taste.

Paneer & Pea Curry

There are very few foods I could image living the rest of my life off of. The exclusive list would consist guacamole, sushi, pizza, cheese and paneer.

Being a type of cheese, paneer doesn't need its own category, but I love it so much that I give it one. Especially when it comes to South Asian cuisine. Paneer could compel me to become a vegetarian (but there's always sushi to pull me right back).

This paneer and pea dish is both easy and a lot of work. It's preparation and composition is very simple and easy, but the recipe calls for fresh homemade paneer--you just can't get away with the slab of grocery store paneer.

That being said, making homemade paneer is time consuming but isn't really difficult.

INGREDIENTS

Home Made Paneer, made from 1 gallon milk

Peas, 3/4 cup peas

1 inch ginger, grated

green chili, 3-4 pieces

1 whole tomato, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

4-5 cashews (optional), grounded

1 teaspoon garam masala

1/2 stick butter

salt, to taste

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 tablespoons heavy cream

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, add a little bit of oil and melt the half stick of butter.

2. When the butter is melted--not browned--add the chopped onion and green chills. Fry until the onion is light brown.

3. Add grated ginger. Fry for 3-4 minutes.

4. Add chopped tomato and fry for 5-6 minutes.

5. Add peas and cook for 5-6 minutes, or until the peas are half cooked.

6. Add the scrambled homemade paneer. Add turmeric, salt and chili powder. Cook well until all the ingredients are mixed.

7. Add the ground cashew (optional). Mix well.

8. Add heavy cream, mix well. Add garam masala. Mix well.

Chole (Chickpea Curry)

Indian Chickpea Curry

Chole is one of my absolute favorite Indian dishes. But I'm really picky on how it's prepared. As with any dish, there are several ways it can be prepared: The chickpeas can either be soft or hard. I, for one, prefer my chole to be softer and not too liquid in consistency.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups of Garbanzo Beans, fresh

3 cups water

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon Turmeric

Salt, to taste

1 large onion, chopped

1 large Tomato, chopped

3 cloves garlic, grated

1/2 inch ginger

2-3 green chili; chopped

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 teaspoon Coriander Powder

1/2 teaspoon Cumin Powder

1 tablespoon Channa Masala

1/2 teaspoon Garam Masala

2-3 tablespoons Coriander Leaves

EQUIPMENT

1 Pressure Cooker

1 Bowl

1 Drainer

Cutting Board + Knife

Grater

1 Skillet

DIRECTIONS

1. Soak 2 cups of chickpeas overnight.

2. Wash the chickpeas and strain from water.

3. Place the drained chickpeas to a pressure cooker and add 3 cups water.

4. Add 2 bay leaves, little bit salt, 1/4 teaspoon turmeric.

5. Pressure it for 10-15 minutes, or until the chickpeas are soft.

Meanwhile...

6. Chop onion and tomato, grate 3 cloves of garlic and half inch of ginger and chop 2-3 green chilies. Keep all ingredients separate.

7. In a skillet, heat 3 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the chopped onions and green chilies.

8. When the onion is half cooked (5-6 minutes) add grated garlic. Mix well. Add grated ginger. Mix well.

9. Add turmeric and chili powder; mix well for 2 minutes.

10. Add chopped tomatoes. Mix well. When you cook tomatoes, water will be released. Cook for 5-6 minutes until the water from the tomato juices are fully mixed with the contents of the skillet.

11. Add 1 teaspoon of coriander powder and 1/2 teaspoon of cumin powder. Mix well.

12. Drain the chickpeas from the pressure cooker. Save the water in a separate container.

13. Add the chickpeas to the skillet and mix well for 5-6 minutes until the chickpeas are evenly mixed with the contents of the skillet.

14. Add all the water from the pressure cooker into the skillet. When the water boils, add 1 tablespoon of channa masala and 1/2 teaspoon garam masala; mix well. (Note: If you don't have channa masala, add amchur powder.)

15. When it is well done, add 2-3 tablespoons chopped green coriander leaves.

*Best served with bathure.

Aloo Gobi

Every time I hear the phrase aloo gobi, I think of the 2002 comedy film Bend It Like Beckham where the feisty Indian mom tells the lead protagonist that every good Indian girl needs to learn to make Aloo Gobi. (And she just might be right, it's a staple dish that's easy to make!)

The one thing I did find is that this recipe is super easy if you do a little prep work before the actual cooking. I made this recipe twice and found that prepping first (as directed below) makes the kitchen a lot less chaotic and I can focus on making sure nothing gets overcooked.

For full disclosure: If you're a proficient cook, you might hate the prepping strategy. My mom, who taught me how to make this, thinks it's not an efficient use of time and hates that the prepping process adds more dishes to be washed. That being said, I definitely prefer prepping and then cooking.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

4 red potatoes

1/2 cup green peas

1 tomato

1 onion, medium sized

2 cloves garlic

1 inch ginger

1/2 teaspoon coriander powder

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

2 bay leaves

Salt, to taste

Vegetable Oil

Equipment

1 Skillet

1 medium bowl

1 knife

1 cutting board

1 strainer

2 plates

1 spatula

Prep

1. Wash all the red potatoes and slice each potato into 4 pieces. Set aside in a microwavable bowl.

2. Wash and cut 1 whole cauliflower. Cut each cauliflower floret in half. Set aside.

3. Clean and chop 1 tomato and 1 onion. Set the chopped onion and tomato aside, separately.

4. Grate ginger and garlic and place in a small bowl.

5. Set aside the coriander, cumin and cayenne pepper in a small bowl.

Directions

1. Microwave the potato for 3 minutes. Meanwhile, heat oil in a skillet.

2. Add a pinch of salt and a little turmeric to the potatoes (roughly 1/8 teaspoon) and fry them in the skillet for 3-4 minutes in medium heat. Keep potatoes aside.

3. Fry the cauliflower florets with salt and the remainder of the turmeric (you can reuse the skillet and use any residual oil left from frying the potatoes). When half cooked, set cauliflower aside.

4. In the same skillet, add a little bit of oil (if necessary). Add 2 bay leaves and the chopped onion. Fry until light brown.

5. Grate 2 cloves of garlic and the ginger into the skillet. Fry for an additional 1-2 minutes.

6. Add the chopped tomato and salt (to taste). Mix ingredients while cooking.

7. Add coriander, cumin, chili peppers and the green peas to the skillet. Cook for another 2-3 minutes.

8. Add cauliflower and mix well. After two minutes, add potatoes and mix well.

9. Mix the contents in the skillet until the potatoes and cauliflowers are well coated with the masala. (Should take 2-3 minutes.)

10. Add garam masala. Mix well. (Note: You add the garam masala last so that the scent lasts.)

11. Garnish with coriander leaves.