Monday, March 28, 2011

My Indian Dinner, Again?

Yes, again! I am currently having a crave for Indian food, which has always been one of my favourites. Luckily, my hubby is not complaining! Over the years, looks like I have turned him from one who is not familiar with spicy food, to someone who looks forward to any spicy dish that I cook!

For our dinner a couple of days ago, I cooked an Indian Rice that goes together with a vegetable curry and a spicy meat dish. It was really good. I'm giving two of the recipes first, otherwise this post will be really long.


My Indian dinner menu :
Aromatic Indian Rice with Peas
Cauliflower, Pea and Potato Curry
Goan Pork with Hot Spices

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Aromatic Indian Rice with Peas: just as the name implies, this is an aromatic rice with the fragrance from the cardamom pods, cinnamon and cloves. This rice is good eaten with any curries. You may follow the instructions on how to cook the rice, or for convenience, cook it in the rice cooker, as I did. It cooked perfectly.



Aromatic Indian Rice with Peas
(adapted from "Curries 500" by Mridula Baljekar)
Serves 4
1-3/4 cups basmati rice
600ml/2-1/2 cups water
3 tbsp ghee or 2 tbsp vegetable oil and a small amount of butter
1 cinnamon stick
6-8 cardomom pods, crushed
4 cloves
1 onion, halved lengthways and sliced
25gm fresh root ginger, peeled and grated
1 tsp sugar
130gm fresh peas, shelled, or frozen
1 tsp salt
  1. Rinse the rice and put it in a bowl. Cover with plenty of water and leave to soak for 30 minutes. Drain thoroughly.
  2. Heat the ghee, or oil and butter, in a heavy pan. Stir in the cinnamon stick, cardamom and cloves.
  3. Add the onion, ginger and sugar to the pan, and fry until golden, stirring frequently. Add the peas, followed by the rice, and stir for 1 minute to coat the rice in ghee.
  4. Pour in 600ml/2-1/2 cups water. Add the salt, stir once and bring the liquid to the boil. Reduce the heat and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed.
  5. Turn off the heat, cover the pan with a clean dish towel and the lid, and leave the rice to steam for a further 10 minutes. Spoon the rice on to a serving dish.
(my notes : I cooked the rice in the rice cooker. Follow instructions up to step 3, transfer everything into the rice cooker pot, add water and salt, stir, cover and leave to cook! Simple and easy!)



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Cauliflower, Pea and Potato Curry : A light wonderful curry that is suitable for vegetarians. The potatoes are pre-fried first and the cauliflower are blanched briefly in hot water. I did the short cut way, (no need to wash addtional pot for blanching, am lazy!), just microwave the cauliflower on high for 2 minutes.





Cauliflower, Pea and Potato Curry
(adapted from "Curries 500" by Mridula Baljekar)
Serves 4
500gm/1-1/4 lb potatoes
1 small cauliflower or 350gm/12 oz cauliflower florets, with outer stalks removed
45ml/3tbsp sunflower oil or olive oil
1 large onion, finely sliced
5ml/1 tsp ginger puree
5ml/1 tsp garlic puree
2 green chillies, chopped, seeded if preferred
2.5ml/1/2 tsp ground turmeric
5ml/1 tsp ground coriander
175gm/6oz fresh tomatoes, chopped
5ml/1 tsp salt, or to taste
115gm/4 oz frozen garden peas
15ml/1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (cilantro), to garnish
  1. Halve or quarter the potatoes - the pieces should be quite chunky so that they do not fall apart during cooking.
  2. Divide the cauliflower into 2.5cm/1 in florets, then blanch them briefly and plunge them in cold water. (I microwave on HIGH for 2 minutes)
  3. Heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan over a medium to high heat and brown the potatoes in two or three batches until they look a little like roast potatoes. Drain them thoroughly on absorbent kitchen paper.
  4. In the same oil, fry the onion, ginger, garlic and chillies over a low to medium heat, stirring regularly, for 6-8 minutes or until the mixture begins to brown.
  5. Add the ground turmeric and coriander; cook for 1 minute and then add the tomatoes, fried potatoes and salt. Pour in 400ml/14fl oz/1-2/3 cups warm water. Bring this to the boil, reduce the heat to low, then cover and cook for 15 minutes.
  6. Drain the cauliflower and add to the pan with the coated potato mixture. Add the peas, cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve, garnished with coriander.

The recipe for Goan Pork with Hot Spices shall be on the next post. 


26 comments:

  1. Me, too. I could eat Indian every night. I wonder what it is. Thanks for another great recipe inspiration.

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  2. i love indian food a lot and i used to visit those banana leaf indian food rest very frequently but now not so ofetn cos i just cldnt help myself to 2nd servings and eat a lot. Your cauliflower curry looks delicious and i bet myself will also have bowls and bowls of rice with this too!

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  3. This looks so good! I love Indian food but don't cook it nearly enough. When I want Indian food we usually go out for it, but I may try your recipe the next time instead. :)

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  4. Hi Kirsten,
    I guess that its the spices and the aromatic way of cooking them. Since I have the new book, there will be more Indian recipes coming up!

    Hi lena,
    Banana Leaf Rice are really good! Have not visited these restautant in ages! I did not add any rice this time! Trying to cut down! He! He!

    Hi Betty,
    Hope you do try out any of the Indian recipes, most of them are not that difficult to do, sometimes the long list of ingredients makes it look so complicated! Try one out and see.

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  5. Whoo- a great looking meal..everything looks perfect n so appetizing!

    US Masala

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  6. Joy, I see all of your lovely Indian food and curries, but alas my own Honey does not care/like food cook in that style. I usually have curry out, or do not eat it at all. I would love to come to your house for dinner!

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  7. Me gusta la comida india por lo saludable y por todas las especias que usan,como el cardomomo el curry,tu guiso está estupendo con vegetales lleno de vitaminas ,me encantó,se ve muy apetitoso, cariños y abrazos,una buena semana para tí.

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  8. A lovely Indian meal...mmmm. I have never tried cauliflower curry. Looks very delicious.

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  9. Wat a filling and wonderful looking meal,makes me hungry..

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  10. nice combination of dishes....the photo is very appetizing!!

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  11. OMG... I love Indian food, wonderfull curry, looks yummy,good job;)
    Hugs.

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  12. Wah Indian food again...I love it! Must try those rice and the vegetarian curry, they look so delicious Joy!

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  13. We don't eat pork...so pass me the rice and that veggie masala pls! I'm craving for them here ;)

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  14. Good to hear that you are enjoying Indian food now a days. Curry looks delicious...You have made it perfectly

    Deepa
    Hamaree Rasoi

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  15. Love indian meals, and this look delicious! gloria

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  16. What a lovely meal. It really does sound delicious. I especially like the vegetable casserole. Have a great day. Blessings...Mary

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  17. It's very nice and delicious !!!
    I love cary and hot foods !!!!
    Many Kisses
    Greetings

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  18. This curry dish is wonderful and the rice must have such a fantastic aroma...delicious :)

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  19. I could eat curry nearly everyday, and thankfully, the husband loves it, too! The child, on the other hand, looks like a bandit, as he walks around the house with his shirt pulled over his nose, complaining! Your dinner looks amazing, and I'm drooling over the cauliflower curry and am looking forward to the pork recipe.

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  20. The aromatic rice and curry looks really good. I would love to have them both for dinner tomorrow.

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  21. I also crave of Indian food when I haven't had for a while. The aromatic rice looks something I really want to eat. Great job!

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  22. I love curry and would love to use it more. These Indian recipes look wonderful.

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  23. Indian food is one of my favourites. I'm with Louanne, I could eat curry nearly every day too. What a delicious meal, wish I could stop by and join you! :o)

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  24. Hi everyone,
    Thank you for stopping by! Love all your visits!
    Thank you for your lovely and encouraging words! Have a lovely day.

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  25. Hello, featuring this lovely meal in my Wednesday post, thanks!

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  26. hi joyce, you've been tagged for the easter paty@ 5 recipes to celebrate easter. Come and join if you can!

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