Some Indian Food I Made The Other Day

I’ve been saying I’d write something in this newfangled internets machine, so here we go. All of these recipes together will serve 5-6.

Tamarind-Chile Chicken with Mint

• approx. 1 lb chicken of some variety, cut into bite size pieces
• 1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
• sliced green chiles to taste (crushed red pepper is ok too, again to taste)
• 2 tablespoons mint, torn
• approx. 3/4 cup tamarind extract
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 2 large tomatoes, cut into large pieces
• vegetable or other neutral oil

1. Boil the chicken in enough water to cover until most of the way done, about 10 minutes.

2. Heat oil in pan, add ginger, onions and green chiles. Fry until onions are beginning to become transparent.

3. Add chicken, tomatoes, mint and tamarind extract. Reduce heat and cover until chicken is cooked through.

Spinach and Potato Curry (adapted from Mridula Baljekar et al, Best Ever Indian Cookbook (London: Hermes House, 2004), 318.)

• A double handful of spinach, uncooked (measuring is an exact science for Christopher D Russell)
• 1 large potato, cut into small pieces
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 inch ginger, minced
• 1 med. sweet onion, sliced
• 1 tsp. black mustard seeds
• 2 tsp. red chile powder
• salt to taste
• approx. 1/2 c. water
• vegetable oil or other neutral oil

1. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and squeeze out excess water.

2. Splutter mustard seeds in oil under medium heat. Add onion and aromatics and saute until onions begin to become transparent.

3. Add potato, salt and chili powder and stir fry for 6-7 minutes.

4. Add water and spinach. Reduce heat and cover for 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are cooked through.

Gobi Manchurian

This dish is served in Indian Chinese restaurants, and is a favorite of Thara’s.

Part 1, the sauce.

• 1/2 large tomato, diced
• approx. 1/4 cup green onions, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp. sambal oelek or to taste (chili paste, available in the asian section of most grocery stores)
• at least 3 tbsp. kecap manis
• vegetable oil or other neutral oi
• corn starch for thickening

1. Heat oil in pan. Add garlic and fry until aroma is released, then add tomatoes and green onions. Fry until the tomatoes begin to release oil, about 3 minutes.

2. Add sambal oelek and kecap manis. Adjust heat level as desired, adding more kecap manis if too spicy. If mixture becomes to thin, add 1 tsp. corn starch in 2 tsp. cold water to thicken as desired.

Part 2, frickin fried cauliflower.

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into bite size pieces
• 4 tbsp. flour
• 4 tbsp. corn starch
• vegetable oil for frying

1. Cut cauliflower into slightly larger than bite size pieces. Heat 1/2 inch oil in shallow frying pan to 275-300 degrees. Incidentally, although I usually don’t truck with them gosh darned fancy kitchen appliances, an oil thermometer is basically a must here.

2. Mix the corn starch and flour in a small bowl, and add water until the consistency of buttermilk. Dip the cauliflower in the batter and fry until brown and crispy, turning once. Incidentally again, here I would normally suggest taking off your shirt and enjoying the spluttering of hot oil searing bare skin, but due to the wetness of the batter this is not required. A mesh cover will significantly reduce the damage to your person.

Serve dishes with steamed rice. The Gobi Manchurian can be served with the sauce poured over top of the cauliflower or on the side. I’d suggest the latter, since the dish can become soggy if allowed to sit in the sauce.

In practice, the chicken turned out a bit on the bland side, and thus I would suggest using storebought tamarind extract rather than making your own as I attempted.