Tag Archives: cumin

Hariyali aloo – Cilantro & mint potato curry

Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Indian, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Cilantro. Either you love it or you hate it. I’m from the loving side and I tend to add some fresh cilantro leaves to just any type of food. Sadly, in the Israeli kitchen cilantro is kind of left out and parsley gets all the fame. The Thai cooking trend saved the situation a bit but still it is one of the most underrated greens.

In Indian cooking its quite the opposite, both cilantro leaves and coriander seeds are central to lots of dishes and spice mixes. This curry is called in Hindi “Hariyali Aloo” which practically means green potato. This curry is based on lots of cilantro and mint which are blended together with spices and cooked with potato cubes. The potato cubes in this recipe can be replaced with paneer cubes or chicken breast pieces.

The end result is slightly sour and has a special taste. It is served with rice or some Indian bread and is a great side-dish in a Thali.

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Paneer Makhani – Paneer Butter Masala

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One of the dishes that drawn me to Indian food is the curry. Rich and creamy curry, full of spices and little sweet that is cooked with paneer cheese or chicken – this dish is definitely high on my most loved foods list. However, for years I tried over and over to recreate those restaurant style curry dishes and failed miserably. Something in the texture and spice balance just didn’t work.

Lately something clicked and I suddenly got it right! The curry magic started happening in my very own kitchen 🙂 Apparently the amount of cashews plays a big role, the quality of the blander is also critical and surprisingly the curry is better with bought tomato puree instead of fresh tomatoes.

This recipe is for a curry dish called “Panir Makhani” or “Paneer Butter Masala” and it is practically a reach, buttery, spicy and sweet sauce to which you add paneer cubes or chicken pieces (or even tofu – details below). It is served with white rice or Indian bread like Nan or Roti. In the original version you’ll find much more butter but after some trial and error I arrived at the conclusion that it is completely unnecessary and it is tastier when you just add more cashew nuts (or almonds).

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Lemon rice

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Despite my apparent liking of spicy and hot food I usually don’t like to change anything in rice – white rice is just perfect as it is and there is really nothing better to accompany and tone down my adventurous kitchen experiments. However, rice is one of the main players in Indian cuisine and a lot of times it appears not just as a side dish but as the main course.

Rice as main course has endless amount of versions – rice with varying spices, Biryani and many more. The most common rice dish in south India is lemon rice full of crunchy surprises.

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Aloo Tikki – Indian potato patties

Gluten Free, Indian, Vegan, , , , , , ,

Everyone have their own weird internet hobbies. Mine is viewing funny videos in YouTube of Indian grandmas making all kinds of weird and intriguing dishes. Those videos are usually in Hindi or some other Indian language and it took me quite some time to be able to understand the recipe without understanding the language.

Lately I’ve encountered somethings called “Ragda Patties”, which is a Chaat dish based on potato patties covered with a full-of-spices chickpeas curry, topped with yogurt, fresh tomatoes, onion, more spices and chutneys. A magnificent feast indeed. This dish will definitely be unraveled one day but in the meantime I decide to start with something less ambitious – the potato patties (= Aloo Tikki).

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Baked chickpeas snack

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Who doesn’t like beer? Dark and cold beer is definitely one of my favorites, especially when served with some crunchy and spicy snack. Baked chickpeas are the ultimate party snack, they require minimal prep time using simple ingredients you always have in your pantry and they tend to get lots of praise from surprise guests.

I make those chickpeas in two different versions, both based on cooked chickpeas mixed with olive oil and spices. The first version is pretty simple and consist of everyday spices that you can find in almost every kitchen. The second versions is the Indian version which is a bit more sophisticated. They are both great and pretty similar to one another, the Indian version is hotter and has a hint of Garam Masala.

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Spices Curry

Can be made vegan, Gluten Free, Indian, , , , , , , , ,

The first curry I ever made is still the one I make the most, mainly because its super delicious and easy to prepare, no fancy ingredients involved. The curry isn’t really photogenic, but what it lacks in looks it makes up for in taste. I call it “Spices Curry” since it is based only on ground spices. I’m not sure it can be considered as a traditional Indian curry but it is definitely in the right direction.

We love this curry in its non-kosher non-vegetarian version but there are vegan/kosher options here, see details below.

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Moong Dal Curry

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Moong Dal (called also Moong Bean or Green Gram) is kind of a bean that outside of India mainly known in its sprouted form. Moong Dal are actually small seeds which are green outside and yellow inside. In Indian cooking Moong Dal is used in various forms, whole, halved, with the skins on or off and more. The skinned bean has sweet flavor and it is used both in savory dishes and deserts.

Moong Dal Curry is a hearty and spicy dish which can be a whole meal served with white rice or some Indian bread (Roti, Idli, Appam or other… recipes coming soon!) and yogurt.

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Tamarind chutney

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Tamarind chutney is one of the most common and basic in the Indian kitchen. It is sour, sweet and hot and is sometimes referenced as the “ketchup of India”. This chutney is based on dates and tamarind. Tamarind is a kind of a tree with a pod-like fruit and have a little bit bitter and very sour taste. Usually this chutney is prepared with raw tamarind soaked in water but it is also possible to use a prepared tamarind puree.

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