Jeera Rice

This isn't quite as amazing as Bugha Chawar, but certainly a tasty use for rice.

Jeera Rice

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 40 minutes

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

1 cup long grain basmati

1 tbsp ghee

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 cups water

salt to taste

Preparation:

Wash rice well and soak for twenty minutes.

Cooking:

Heat ghee in a heavy vessel. Add cumin seeds and fry until lightly browned. Add bay leaf and fry for a few seconds. Add sugar and drained rice, and gently stir for a minute.

Add garam masala and salt. Mix. Add water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 15-20 minutes.

Serve with rajma.

Curry Rice

"Curry", despite its origins in India, has manifestations in every country. Perhaps especially unique is Japanese curry, or curry rice as it is uaully known, as it's always served with rice.

The Japanese don't especially care for spice, so Japanese curry tends to be toned down quite a bit form its Indian counterpart, and unlike curry, which is thickened through yogurt, cream, or coconut milk, curry rice is thickened with roux, more like a stew or etouffee.

Japanese garam masala isn't exactly like Indian garma masala, although you can use the latter for a slightly spicier mix.

Curry Rice

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 2 1/2 hours

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

1 lb beef stewing chunks

6 large onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch piece of ginger

1 can crushed tomatoes (2 cups)

1 beef stock cube

1 bay leaf

1 star anise

2 tbsp garam masala

3 large carrots, chopped

1 medium apple, peeled and grated

salt and pepper to taste

3 tbsp oil or ghee

Roux:

4 tbsp butter ghee or oil

4 tbsp white flour

2 tbsp curry powder

Ingredients:

Heat 3 tbsp oil or ghee in the bottom of a large pot. Brown beef chunks, and then set aside on a paper towel.

Add onions and a pinch of salt. Slowly sautee onions until caramelized. Be patient, as this proces may take a long time.

Once the onions are soft and browned, add ginger and garlic and cook for a couple more minutes. Add the canned tomato, 6 cups of water, beef cube, the bay leaf, star anise, and apple. Bring to a boil, then lower and simmer for an hour.

While this is happening, dry roast 1 tbsp garam masala about 30 minutes into simmering.

Produce a Roux:

Melt the 4 tbsp ghee or oil in a pan over very low heat, and mix in the flour. Cook very slowly, stirring constantly. There's an art to this, and it takes patience. If you burn it, throw it out and try again. In about five minutes the mixture will be peanut butter colored. This mix, known as a Roux (pronounced "roo") will thicken your curry rice.

Remove the roux from heat and add the curry powder to the roux.

When the meat is about as tender as you'd like add the potatoes, and continue slowly simmering until potatoes are soft.

Take the pot off the heat and stir in the roux. Return it to heat and simmer for a couple more minutes. Dry roast the rest of the garam masala and add it to the curry.

Serve over sushi rice.

Chapter 9 : India - Kashmir

Half a century ago, India won its long-fought "peaceful" war of independence against Great Britain, onlyto split into two countries, India and Pakistan. One part of India, Kashmir, is precariously cut between the two, with India controlling a larger portion of this land.

Kashmiri food is similarly divided, between the vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The Kashmiri cuisine of the Muslims uses meat, lamb being the most popular, while the Hindus survive on a variety of vegetables, and both using India's amazing array of spices.

Butter Ghee

Butter Ghee is common across India for its rich flavor.

Mustard Oil

Mustard Oil mis common for flavoring and deep frying in Kashmiri cuisine. It's pungent aroma might seem daunting but it adds a wonderful flavor to recipes.

Asafoetida

Asafoetida is a spice whose aroma is so powerful, one can smell it sealed and frozen through plastic wrap. It smellls of rotten onions and garlic, and a pinch can flavor a dish.

And it tastes... wonderful. Sure, it might stink up your spice cabinet so badly it's all you smell when you open it, but once fried up in some oil the miasma of rotten onions vanishes and the flavor comes out.