Indian Food Recipes - any killer recipes you've tried? Curries? Desserts? (1 Viewer)

[adonis]

I love indian food and am having trouble finding great Indian curry recipes.  I've been eating indian food at restaurants for a couple decades now, on average about once every week or two over that period of time.

I'm hoping you can share some indian food recipes that you think kick ###, and I'm going to try to cook those that are the most recommended.  

 

[Mister CIA]

Please check out this YouTube channel: CookingInRussia. Yes, Russia. The guy is an American chef currently living in St. Petersburg, hence the channel name. It's by far my #1 rabbit hole on YouTube.

I've only made the Butter Chicken and Chicken Saag, and they both turned out perfect. The technique he shares in like nothing else I've run across on the internet.

Here's a direct link to all of his Indian recipes. Chicken Korma is the dish I want to queue up next. These recipes are not easy, but they will get you laid (should that be one of your goals). I own the cookbooks he references frequently. If you want a detail or two from the books, holler.

 

[Bonzai]

Great minds, adonis.  I just started this process myself.  Made a couple curries this week (just finished making one about an hour ago).

This post on reddit is what inspired me:

I used to, but now it's to the point where I actually prefer my own cooking to restaurants. Mine is also healthier -- instead of a cup of heavy cream in my chicken tikka masala, I use a cup of yoghurt and save 600 calories, for example.

A few things have really helped me improve my Indian cooking, though. I buy my spices at the Indian grocery store (cumin, coriander, turmeric, hot red chilli powder, garam masala, red dried chilli peppers are my mainstays; also use saffron, cinnamon stick, cloves, green and black cardamom, star anise, mustard and cumin seeds for some recipes). Compared to your typical chain grocery store they are much cheaper, and also seem a lot fresher.

I use ghee (clarified butter) for cooking the onions, it provides a texture and "mouth-feel" that can't really be duplicated.

I always use as many fresh ingredients as I can (garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes and chillies when in season, limes, cilantro).

The actual cooking method is pretty simple. Heat up your ghee; add thin-sliced onions and cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. You're going for a golden brown, caramelized look. Add diced garlic and ginger, cook for a few more minutes. Then add your spices (note, I prefer ground spices to whole spices because I don't like picking chunks out of my teeth when eating) and cook for another minute or two -- you will smell them getting nice and fragrant.

Then you add your tomatoes and chillies and simmer for about 15 minutes. For chicken tikka masala, I then put the mixture in a blender, add fresh lime juice, and pulse it until it's smooth; then put it back in the pot.

If I'm doing it up fancy, I marinate the chicken and broil it -- if not, I just fry up cut-up pieces of chicken in a skillet. Note, you will have much better results with chicken thighs than breasts. The dark meat has a richer taste.

Add the cooked chicken to the pot of curry, and add your heavy cream (or yoghurt), and a big handful of chopped cilantro. Put the lid on and simmer for another half-hour or so. A lot of people like to add a little more cilantro at the very end, and also a teaspoon of garam masala a few minutes before you're finished cooking.

Mainly, I'd say experiment, go read a bunch of recipes and/or cookbooks, and have fun!

 

[RBM]

I love indian food and am having trouble finding great Indian curry recipes.  I've been eating indian food at restaurants for a couple decades now, on average about once every week or two over that period of time.

I'm hoping you can share some indian food recipes that you think kick ###, and I'm going to try to cook those that are the most recommended.  

What's your favorite few dishes and give a brief description. I've never had but a friend keeps pushing me to check it out. 

 

[culdeus]

Please check out this YouTube channel: CookingInRussia. Yes, Russia. The guy is an American chef currently living in St. Petersburg, hence the channel name. It's by far my #1 rabbit hole on YouTube.

I've only made the Butter Chicken and Chicken Saag, and they both turned out perfect. The technique he shares in like nothing else I've run across on the internet.

Here's a direct link to all of his Indian recipes. Chicken Korma is the dish I want to queue up next. These recipes are not easy, but they will get you laid (should that be one of your goals). I own the cookbooks he references frequently. If you want a detail or two from the books, holler.

Wow this looks amazing

 

[Dickies]

I made this butter chicken recipe that tasted really good, but the consistency of the sauce was really thin.  Will have to check out this CookingInRussia guy because this is a cuisine I would love to cook more of.

 

[Mister CIA]

Wow this looks amazing

If I only pimped one thing on the internet, it would be this guy. I'm making gumbo tomorrow (for Sunday dinner).

I've been placing an emphasis on cruciferous vegetables in my diet lately, and his cauliflower and Brussels sprouts recipes are invaluable.

 

[gianmarco]

:IndianDot:

 

[Steve Tasker]

Great minds, adonis.  I just started this process myself.  Made a couple curries this week (just finished making one about an hour ago).

This post on reddit is what inspired me:

I cut out the quoted post, but I agree with buying spices from either Indian food stores or the international section of your market.  The international section of my local Wegmans has bags of curry, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, etc.  You can buy the same spices in the spice aisle for like 4x the price with no discernible difference in quality.   When you cook Indian food as often as I do, you need it in bulk for sure.

 

[Mister CIA]

I cut out the quoted post, but I agree with buying spices from either Indian food stores or the international section of your market.  The international section of my local Wegmans has bags of curry, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, etc.  You can buy the same spices in the spice aisle for like 4x the price with no discernible difference in quality.   When you cook Indian food as often as I do, you need it in bulk for sure.

For emphasis, the price of spices in my local Indian grocery store are ridiculously cheap, something I wish I had learned a little sooner.

 

[Mr. Ected]

Great minds, adonis.  I just started this process myself.  Made a couple curries this week (just finished making one about an hour ago).

This post on reddit is what inspired me:

I cut out the quoted post, but I agree with buying spices from either Indian food stores or the international section of your market.  The international section of my local Wegmans has bags of curry, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, etc.  You can buy the same spices in the spice aisle for like 4x the price with no discernible difference in quality.   When you cook Indian food as often as I do, you need it in bulk for sure.

Wegmans is the most wonderful place in the universe for grocery shopping. Sure going to an Indian store would be great, but if you had to hit a US grocery store, a Wegmans is the place to go!!

 

[Bonzai]

Please check out this YouTube channel: CookingInRussia. Yes, Russia. The guy is an American chef currently living in St. Petersburg, hence the channel name. It's by far my #1 rabbit hole on YouTube.

I've only made the Butter Chicken and Chicken Saag, and they both turned out perfect. The technique he shares in like nothing else I've run across on the internet.

Here's a direct link to all of his Indian recipes. Chicken Korma is the dish I want to queue up next. These recipes are not easy, but they will get you laid (should that be one of your goals). I own the cookbooks he references frequently. If you want a detail or two from the books, holler.

This is pretty intense. Out of my league.  That Butter Chicken looks amazing though.

 

[higgins]

 

[adonis]

I love indian food and am having trouble finding great Indian curry recipes.  I've been eating indian food at restaurants for a couple decades now, on average about once every week or two over that period of time.

I'm hoping you can share some indian food recipes that you think kick ###, and I'm going to try to cook those that are the most recommended.  

What's your favorite few dishes and give a brief description. I've never had but a friend keeps pushing me to check it out. 

I go to indian buffets for lunch regularly.  A lot of times the dishes are given some generic names as the actual recipes can vary wildly:

- Chicken Tikka Masala - A staple of almost any indian restaurant.  Typically tender chicken, incredibly flavorful/rich curry sauce, and goes really well with rice.  

- Butter Chicken - Not vouching for this recipe, but it looks right and is my favorite of the indian curries

- Naan - All kinds of Naan you can get, with toppings like garlic, seasame seed, and even some dessert stuffed naan, but the plain naan with ghee (type of butter) is delicious

Then you have all kinds of different vegetable curries, with different combinations of veggies in them.  Saag paneer is one variation on creamed spinach. Dal is basically lentils and is delicious.

Most indian food is pretty spicy, but if you go to a buffet at lunch you will generally get more toned down versions of the food (still may be spicy if you're not used to that) and it'll give you a chance to sample a variety of options.  I typically get a plate with a fair amount of rice, get a couple curry types, some vegetables, and naan (usually get extra curry/sauce to dip naan in).  Then i grab a little dessert, whether it be rice pudding, or other things they put out (lots of mango dishes, some carrot puree-type dessert that's good).  

It's just a really good cuisine different than most of our normal fare with a lot of flavors americans don't typically use.

 

[adonis]

Please check out this YouTube channel: CookingInRussia. Yes, Russia. The guy is an American chef currently living in St. Petersburg, hence the channel name. It's by far my #1 rabbit hole on YouTube.

I've only made the Butter Chicken and Chicken Saag, and they both turned out perfect. The technique he shares in like nothing else I've run across on the internet.

Here's a direct link to all of his Indian recipes. Chicken Korma is the dish I want to queue up next. These recipes are not easy, but they will get you laid (should that be one of your goals). I own the cookbooks he references frequently. If you want a detail or two from the books, holler.

Gonna definitely try some of these...probably my first attempts.  After watching this a bit, it looks considerably better than other versions I've seen.  Thanks!

 

[BobbyLayne]

:IndianDot:

Just a few years you could have said :RedDot:

 

[snitwitch]

pork vindaloo

 

[Da Guru]

Chana masala   

 

[Jaysus]

My wife makes a bastardized version of Aloo Gobi that we call Meloo Gobi that I just can not get enough of.

 

[jon_mx]

Requires about 8 hours of marinating, but Chicken Tandoori is always good.  I am pretty sure this is the recipe I followed. 

 

[the moops]

Palak Paneer is my go to. My little ones eat that #### up too.

 

[adonis]

If you have dishes you like, please post recipes.

im interested in recipes for Indian food that people 100% vouch for.  I've tried some from cookbooks and online and they suck compared to what I get in a restaurant.

i can recreate or improve on many restaurant fares in other areas of cooking, but Indian food eludes me because not enough folks I know in personal life like it enough to cook at home.

So if you have a dish you really enjoy that is homemade...I'd love to see a recipe and I'll probably try to make quite a few of these.

 

[Caesar]

I have seen both Saag and Palak paneer mentioned, which are my favorite.  i really dont know the difference between them.  Its basically creamed spinach dish.  I have attempted to make it a couple times.  While it tasted good, it was nowhere near what I love from a restaurant. 

Does anyone know if there are subtle differences between palak and saag?  Maybe a north India vs South India difference?   I usually get the lamb, but they don't put that out at too many buffets, so paneer will do the trick. 

Either way, it is my favorite food, and its not even close.  I don't eat saag too often, so it will remain my favorite food. 

 

[adonis]

This Butter Chicken recipe looks right.  I'm going to make it and report back here on the outcome.  (One of the ones from the link provided by the friendly CIA).

 

[Binky The Doormat]

Yeah, I know it's cheating, but I use these jarred Indian cooking sauces and they are pretty damn good.  

And really quick and easy ...stir fry some onions and your meat and throw this in ...and more hot spices of course.  

 

[Dickies]

Yeah, I know it's cheating, but I use these jarred Indian cooking sauces and they are pretty damn good.  

And really quick and easy ...stir fry some onions and your meat and throw this in ...and more hot spices of course.  

I'm always disappointed by these and they are really expensive

 

[Binky The Doormat]

I'm always disappointed by these and they are really expensive

We really like them.  I just wait for them to go on sale.  Got them for $2.50 a piece last time.  They are usually $4 or so.  

 

[Eephus]

I have one of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks which is good as a reference.  My experience has been that the hardest part about Indian recipes is finding the ingredients.  Once you have everything you need, the preparation isn't technically complex.

There used to be an Indian store about ten blocks from me but that closed.  I can find the basics like garam masala but stuff like kaffir limes are more difficult.  Even then, unless you cook Indian food a lot, using some of the spices before they go off is a challenge. 

 

[msommer]

Great minds, adonis.  I just started this process myself.  Made a couple curries this week (just finished making one about an hour ago).

This post on reddit is what inspired me:

Saag i sfrigging awesome. And I use neither yoghurt nor cream (or sour cream). Just plenty of chili and a lot of spinach

 

[msommer]

I have one of Madhur Jaffrey's cookbooks which is good as a reference.  My experience has been that the hardest part about Indian recipes is finding the ingredients.  Once you have everything you need, the preparation isn't technically complex.

There used to be an Indian store about ten blocks from me but that closed.  I can find the basics like garam masala but stuff like kaffir limes are more difficult.  Even then, unless you cook Indian food a lot, using some of the spices before they go off is a challenge. 

Maybe try a Thai grocer. They are used there as well

 

[D_House]

Palak Paneer is my go to. My little ones eat that #### up too.

My wife makes this and my kids love it. I'll get the recipe from her and post when I have some time.

 

[Caesar]

Requires about 8 hours of marinating, but Chicken Tandoori is always good.  I am pretty sure this is the recipe I followed. 

Marinating this now.  Will update tonight.

 

[ren hoek]

this is a super-easy butter chicken recipe if you're the slow-cooking type.  i can't cook a ####### thing but i can cook some dank butter chicken 

-3 or 4 chicken breasts, like the nice ones in the saran-wrapped section, not the frozen trash

-a nice bell pepper, chopped

-half an onion (i prefer red but whatever you like), also chopped

-mushrooms, chopped 

-two packages of this stuff: https://www.spoofee.com/6-pack-of-kitchens-of-india-paste-butter-chicken-curry/deals/784453

-a can of diced tomatoes.  i prefer the mexican style with little peppers thrown in there

-a little bit of half & half (maybe 3 ounces)

-a stout little dousing of cumin, salt, pepper, and garlic (from a shaker or peeled, your preference)

-a stick of butter

1. literally put all of those ingredients except for the butter into the slow-cooker.  set it on low and leave it for 2-3 hours.  doesn't matter if the chicken is completely frozen, although the flavor does set in a little better if it's thawed/shredded before cook.  it will look like there is not enough liquid but the juice will come adonis 

2. put a stick of butter in a couple hours into the cook and stir the pot.

3. check on it a couple hours later and stir some more.  it's probably ready but you can leave it in a little longer if you feel like it needs it 

4. eat!  congrats on the massive amount of savory and delicious chicken you just created for yourself.  eat with rice and sour cream if you're feeling really ambitious.

don't forget to eat a tum before bed 

 

[Abrantes]

Haven't looked for the recipes online, but I got Meera Sodha's "Made in India" cookbook around two months back and I love the hell out of it. Cooked about a dozen recipes off of it already, and it all came out great, and was less labor-intensive than I expected.

This salmon & spinach curry from the book isn't a super traditional recipe, but it was so damn good (even if mine didn't come out as pretty as the one in the picture).

 

[Caesar]

Requires about 8 hours of marinating, but Chicken Tandoori is always good.  I am pretty sure this is the recipe I followed. 

Had this last night.  Made a couple mistakes with it, but it turned out pretty good.  Overall, the chicken tasted like a traditional yellow curry...  probably due to me going overboard on the turmeric.  Would make again.

 

[Tick]

Good first Indian cook book: https://www.amazon.com/Curries-Without-Worries-Sudha-Koul/dp/0446670782

It's good because it's written by an Indian woman living in the USA, and she does a good job of adapting to what's available in US grocery stores and giving replacement ingredient advice.  Ghee is an ingredient in most Indian dishes, she says it's great and all, but just use butter for convenience.  Little tips like that make it easy to add Indian food to your rotation without it being a big production.

Once you learn how to make those recipes (which are good), you can adapt any other recipe you run into.

 

[E-Z Glider]

I like making my own paneer. People are always amazed. "You made your own cheese!?!?". Its actually very easy (although a bit time consuming).

• Pour 1 gallon of whole milk into large pot.
  
• Heat and stir until it just starts to boil (takes a good 20 minutes or so).
  
• Add 1 cup of white vinegar and turn off heat (the milk will curdle when you pour this in). Wait a minute or so.
  
• Line a colander with cheese cloth, place it in sink, and pour contents of pot into colander (the liquid will drain, the curds will remain)
  
• Fold cheese cloth over top and set a heavy pot on top for an hour to squeeze the rest of liquid out.
  
• After an hour, it will have formed a block of cheese.
  
• Slice into cubes and fry.
  

You can make dipping sauces for the paneer or sometimes I just add it to a dal.

 

[VA703]

I made this butter chicken recipe that tasted really good, but the consistency of the sauce was really thin.  Will have to check out this CookingInRussia guy because this is a cuisine I would love to cook more of.

I don't have a pressure cooker. how important is it?

 

[SWC]

one of my favorites indianized dishes is to take a boston creme pie and put a little curry powder on a tiny bit like maybe a dusting on about a quarter inch of the crust and then just demolish the hell out of the pie it is soooooooo goooood holy smokes brohans give it a whirl and taste the asian subcontinent swc style take that to the bank 

 

[need2know]

:X

 

[McGarnicle]

Charmin Freshmates, or Cottonelle Fresh Care?

 

[Doug B]

Does anyone know if there are subtle differences between palak and saag?  Maybe a north India vs South India difference? 

Palaak is the Hindi word for "spinach". Saag is the Hindi word for "greens" (cf. turnip greens, collard greens, etc.).

Saag paneer -- made with whatever local greens are popular and/or handy -- is considered to be somewhat inauthentic and may have been invented outside of India (like Chicken Tikka Masala, which was first made in England).

In the U.S., spinach is readily found all over. A lot of Indian places around where I live (and I assume elsewhere in the U.S. will make saag paneer out of spinach anyway and still call it "saag paneer". They've also tell you, if you ask, that "palak paneer" and "saag paneer" are the same thing. In the places where they are offered separately, palak paneer is "creamier" and less coarse -- think of the difference between oatmeal and, say, Cream of Wheat.

 

[Steve Tasker]

Here's a bastardized foolproof Indian-ish dish that I really like.  I am sure it is extremely inauthentic but I kinda created it as a riff on some dishes I've had at Indian restaurants and a mish-mash of recipes I've found online.  

Chop and caramelize two onions in a few tbsp of vegetable oil.  Make a spice mixture of curry powder, garam masala, ground ginger, and turmeric roughly in a 4:2:1:1 ratio, with at least 2 tbsp of curry powder.  Add a few pinches to the onions for color.  Cook the onions until they slightly brown a bit on medium temp, maybe 10-15 minutes.  Mince 4-5 cloves of garlic and add to browned onions along with the remainder of spice mixture, stir and cook for a minute or two, careful not to burn the garlic.  Add 1 - 1 1/4 cup of chicken broth or white wine, and a can of crushed tomatoes (can add tomato paste as well), maybe 15-20 oz tomatoes.  Add 1 - 1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, a jar of chickpeas (drained and rinsed) and ~a cup of raisins.  Stir, bring to a healthy simmer, turn temp to medium-low and cover, cook for 12-15 minutes.  Uncover and fish out the chicken breasts which should now be fully cooked or just-about there.  Continue to cook the sauce on a medium-low setting and roughly cube the chicken.  Add chicken back to sauce and add ~1/3 cup of cream or half-and-half.  Stir together to thicken sauce.  Once you are satisfied that the chicken is fully cooked, serve over rice or whatever you prefer.

For a little extra heat, you can finely dice a jalapeno or serrano, or use a hot curry powder or throw in a little bit of cayenne.

Again, I'm sure it's quite inauthentic but I really enjoy it, definitely a staple of our household.  I'm eating some right now.

 

[Eephus]

I made this butter chicken recipe that tasted really good, but the consistency of the sauce was really thin.  Will have to check out this CookingInRussia guy because this is a cuisine I would love to cook more of.

Whenever I'm using the pressure cooker, I reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe by half.  Even then, I usually have to separate out the fat and reduce (or thicken) the remaining sauce.

 

[Faust]

 

[Tick]

Regarding desserts, IMO don't bother.  Mango lassi is interesting, but in my opinion, Indian desserts aren't worth the calories.  Heck, that extends to all of Asia for me.  Make a French dessert if you want a good dessert.

 

[jon_mx]

Had this last night.  Made a couple mistakes with it, but it turned out pretty good.  Overall, the chicken tasted like a traditional yellow curry...  probably due to me going overboard on the turmeric.  Would make again.

 

 

[jon_mx]

Regarding desserts, IMO don't bother.  Mango lassi is interesting, but in my opinion, Indian desserts aren't worth the calories.  Heck, that extends to all of Asia for me.  Make a French dessert if you want a good dessert.

A lot of truth in this. Asians are very good with soups and noodles and spices and seafood and meats.   But deserts range from edible to horrendous.  

 

[Jaysus]

My wife makes a bastardized version of Aloo Gobi that we call Meloo Gobi that I just can not get enough of.

made this last night: 

Fry garlic, onion, and carrot for a few minutes, add curry, ginger, paprika, fry for another minute.  Add vegetable stock, tomato puree, potatoes, chickpeas and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, add cauliflower and let simmer for a half hour.  Add garam masala and curry to taste, serve with warm naan. 

If anyone in interested I am sure I can get exact measurements. I was just taking mental notes while my wife made it. 

 

[Chaka]

Good stuff.