Besan Ji Bhaji

Ok, I know "normali" is a relative concept on this blog, but this recipe is still downright weird. Don't get me wrong, this is delicious, fantastic, bizarre, and amazing: exactly what I'm searching for. And it isn't simple; this takes a while. This is delicious though.

Gram flour, or besam, or chick pea flour may be available at your local natural foods store, and definitely at a local Indian store. It's usually very cheap, so this is an inexpensive meal.

Besan ji Bhaji

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hour

Serves: 3-4

Chickpea Biscuits:

1 cup gram flour (besam)

1 tbsp poppy seeds

1/4 tsp turmeric

1 tsp coriander

3/4 tsp red chilli powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 garam masala

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp coriander powder

2 tbsp oil

salt to taste

Curry:

3 onions, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp coriander powder

1/4 tsp red chilli powder

2 green chillies

1/2 tsp garam masala

Prepare the Gram Flour Biscuits:

Mix all the chickpea ingredients in a bowl. slowly add water, mixing until it has a dough-like consistency. Use the gram flour to powder a surface and your hands, and flatten the dough onto the surface. Sliced into small squares.

Heat a large pot full of water, and add 1/2 tsp turmeric powder.

Add the squares and boil for five minutes.

Remove them and strain, and then heat a little oil in a frying pan and fry the chickpea pieces, until golden brown on each side. Remove from the oil, and set aside to prepare curry.

Curry:

In a large pot, heat a little ghee or oil. Add the onions, lightly salting them, and fryuntil translucent. Add green chillies, turmeric powder, red chilli powder, coriander powder, and tomatoes and cook until tomatoes are tender. Add the garam masala and chickpea biscuits and sprinkle a little water over the curry, and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

Serve with rice and garnish with cilantro.

Kidney Bean Curry

This red kidney bean made its way to India from Central America, and this dish certainly, in some ways, is reminiscent of Chilli con Carne, minus the Carne, but the uniquely Indian blend is sure to impress anyone who thinks they've tasted it all.

Rajma

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 1/2 hours

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

1 cup red kidney beans, soaked overnight

3 cups water

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger, grated

1 clove garlic, minced

1 pinch asafoetida

pinch of turmeric

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp red chilli powder

2 big tomatoes, finely chopped

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1 tbsp coriander

1 1/2 tbsp ghee or oil

salt to taste

Precook the beans:

Pressure cook or boil red kidney benas in water until they are soft. Remove half a cup of beans and crush coarsely.

Preparation:

In a food processor, grind onion, garlic, and ginger into a fine paste.

Cooking:

Heat ghee or oil in a pot, and then add the cumin seeds, frying them until they are browned slightly. Add red chilli powder, turmeric, coriander powder, cumin powder, and salt, and mix well.

Add the tomatoes, and cook until the ghee seperates.

Add whole kidney beans and a couple cups of water, return to a simmer and cook for three minutes.

Add crushed kidney beans and a cup of water. Add garam masala and cook until thickened.

Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with Jeera Rice.

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.

Veer Zaara

Rogan Josh is a popular lamb and spice dish. I found it on this page. I've adjusted the terminology and ingredients based on what you'll find out here (the midwestern US for newcomers). This is absolutely delicious.

Rogan Josh

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time 2 hours

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 tsp ginger paste

1 tsp garlic paste

2 tsp salt

1 tsp turmeric

3 tsp garam masala

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp chilli powder

1 1/2 lbs leg of lamb, cut into bite-sized chunks

16 oz can crushed tomatoes

4 tbsp yogurt

cilantro (optional)

Cooking:

Heat oil in a large pot until hot, and then sautee onions until soft, then add the garlic and ginger and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add thesalt, turmeric, garam masala, coriander, cumin, and chilli powder, and fry until aromatic. Then add the chunks of lamb and cook for five minutes, until meat has fully browned. Then add the can of tomatoes, and cook for five minutes.

Add the yogurt, and then bring the mixture to a rolling boil, then reduce heat and gently simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

Take off heat and add fresh cilantro leaves to taste. Serve with naan or rice.