Shahi Aloo Curry – India

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Naan bread as accompaniment to yoghurt potato curry

Shahi Aloo ( Creamy Potato curry)
 
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Nutrition Information
  • Serving size: 100 g
  • Calories: 207 kcal
  • Fat: 16.2 grams
  • Saturated fat: 4.2 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 12.5 grams
  • Sugar: 5 grams
  • Protein: 4.4 grams
Recipe type: Curry
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
  • Potatoes - 4 medium
  • Roasted large peanuts - ½ cup
  • Sesame seeds - ¼ cup
  • Coconut flakes – ¼ cup
  • Whole cumin – 1 teaspoon
  • White onion- 1 coarsely chopped
  • Brown mustard seeds - 1 teaspoon
  • Fenugreek seeds -1/4 teaspoon
  • Garlic – 2 cloves finely chopped (or use two teaspoons of garlic paste)
  • Ginger paste – 1 tablespoon
  • Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon
  • Chilli powder - 1 tablespoon
  • Cumin powder – ½ teaspoon
  • Green chillies – 3 to 4 (chopped)
  • Coriander powder – 2 teaspoons
  • Dried Kashmiri chillies – 4 to 5
  • Ghee (optional) – 1 tablespoon
  • Vegetable oil - 7 to 8 tablespoons
  • Green Cardamoms - 2 pods
  • Black pepper - ½ teaspoon
  • Yoghurt – one cup
  • Lemon juice – one tablespoon
  • Sugar -two tablespoons
  • Coriander leaves – handful chopped
  • Curry leaves – 4 to 5 dried
Instructions
Preparation
  1. Peel potatoes and par boil until almost cooked but still firm
  2. Toast coconut flakes and sesame seeds in a dry skillet on a medium heat on the stove. Stir continuously to promote even browning and prevent burning. Remove from stove and allow to cool
  3. Peel and chop onions into a medium dice (5 to 10mm)
Method
  1. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a sauté pan until hot enough for frying. Add par boiled potatoes and fry in batches until lightly browned. Remove from heat and allow to cool
  2. Place nuts, toasted coconut and sesame seeds into a blender with one and a half cups of water. Add salt. Blend until smooth. Keep to one side
  3. Add three tablespoons of vegetable oil and the tablespoon of ghee (if using) to a broad based pot / sauté pan and bring up to a medium heat. Use four tablespoons of vegetable oil if not using ghee
  4. Add Cumin seeds, fenugreek and mustard seeds and fry for a minute
  5. Add onions and cook until starting to change colour. Add garlic and green chillies. Fry for one or two minutes until softened
  6. Now, add Kashmiri Chillies, cardamom pods, black pepper, chilli powder, cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric. Cook gently for one minute
  7. Pour blended paste made from nuts, coconut and sesame seeds into the pot and stir well.
  8. Add three cups of water.
  9. Stirring continuously, bring to the boil and then turn down the heat. Allow to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes
  10. Add yoghurt, lemon juice and sugar. Bring back to the boil
  11. Add coriander and curry leaves and allow to simmer for five more minutes
  12. Serve with rice and rotis
Notes
This recipe yields 2 to 3 servings

Keywords: Indian potato curry

Image credit

Soniya Goyal / CC BY SA 2.0 / via Flikr

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Goan sausage (Choris)- India

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Goan Choris recipe

Goan sausage
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serving size: 100g
Recipe type: Sausages
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
This great tasting spicy sausage is the result of a fusion of Portuguese and Indian cooking. When the Portuguese invaded Goa in 1510, they brought not only their cuisine but also a host of other ingredients with them. ( believe this or not but the chilli was one of these) . After being introduced to chillies the Indians soon became experts in using them. Other Indian spices were combined with the Chilli to make the local variant of Portuguese Chouriço that was renamed Choris. Today it is a firm favourite, not only among the Goans but also with anyone who has had the pleasure of eating one. Outstanding!!!
Ingredients
For initial marinating
  • Pork belly (without skin) - 1.25 kilograms
  • Sausage casings - 3 meters 36/40mm diameter
  • Lemon juice – ½ cup
  • Salt (coarse) – 1 tablespoon
  • Prague powder No 1 – 2.5 grams
To make the masala (spice mix)
  • Garlic – 15g (finely chopped or use paste)
  • Ginger paste – 15g
  • Kashmiri Chillies (Dried) – 40 whole
  • Cumin (whole) – 3g
  • Black pepper (whole) – ¾ teaspoon (25 to 30 corns)
  • Cloves – 25 whole
  • Cinnamon sticks – 1 x 2-inch piece
  • Lemon juice – ½ cup
  • Vinegar (Goan or red wine) – half a cup (and maybe a bit more)
  • Turmeric) – 1 ½ teaspoons
Instructions
Pre-preparation
  1. Soak the sausage casings in cold water overnight to remove excess salt
  2. Chop pork belly into pieces (approx. 2-inch x 1 inch)
  3. Place in a stainless steel or plastic colander with feet
  4. Place the colander into a separate bowl to catch juices that will be pressed out of the meat in the next step
  5. Sprinkle coarse salt over the meat and add ½ of the lemon juice
  6. Place a small plate on top of the meat and weigh down with a heavyweight (The aim is to press as much liquid out of the meat as possible)
  7. Refrigerate overnight
Making the sausage
  1. Take marinated meat out of the refrigerator and remove weight. Juices will have accumulated in the bottom of the bowl that the colander has been resting in. This should be disposed of. Add the balance of the lemon juice and mix well.
  2. Place back in the refrigerator (with weight back in place). Allow meat to marinate for a couple more of hours
  3. Remove, once again, dispose of accumulated juices and then cut meat into small pieces ( 5 mm to 10mm) Sprinkle with Prague powder and mix well.
  4. Place all of the ingredients listed “for the masala (spice mix)” with the exception of the vinegar into a blender
  5. Add half the vinegar and start blending. Carry on adding vinegar until a thick paste is achieved. The amount of vinegar added is entirely based on your personal preference for the thickness of the paste. A good general guide is ¾ to one whole cup
  6. Combine the spice mix with the meat ensuring that all pieces are well coated.
  7. Keep cool in the refrigerator while completing the next step
  8. Mince the meat into a coarse mince using a 4.5 mm (0.177 inches) mincing plate.
  9. Prior to beginning stuffing of the meat, rinse the sausage casing in fresh, clean water and then soak in lukewarm water for 30 minutes.
  10. Place marinated meat pieces into a sausage - stuffer and fill casings. Ensure that the mixture is not filled too tightly as the sausages will burst when they are cooked.
  11. Allow sausages to dry in the refrigerator for two to three days.
  12. Set quantity aside needed for immediate barbequing/cooking and freeze the rest
Notes
This recipe yields approx 12 sausages

Keywords: Goan sausage, Choris, Indian Chorizo

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Indian green Chillies

Hari Mirch

It appears the term Hari Mirch (Hindi), which is used in Indian everyday parlance with the meaning of “green Chilli or Indian finger Chilli”, is not specific to a particular variety, but rather a generic name you can apply to your “Hari Mirch” of choice.

One of the most popular Indian green Chillies is the Jwala or Indian Finger hot Chilli. The Jwala is a reasonably hot Chilli with a Scoville rating of between 20000 and 30000 SHU. This places this Indian green Chilli in the same heat range as Serranos and Cayenne Chillies. Not “blow your socks off “hot, but certainly with enough heat to let you know that you’ve eaten a Chilli

The Jwala grows to approximately four inches in length and has a wrinkly appearance. The term finger in its name is from its shape, which is long and curled. In its young form, it is green, but as it matures, it will turn red.

The flavour of Jwala Chillies is described as having an apple note followed by a medium pungency. This makes it a superb Chilli to make sambals with tomato, onions, cucumber and green coriander to serve with curry. It is also delicious when served as a Chilli powder

These Chillies are used to great effect in Indian cuisine. There are many recipes for Indian pickles. They can also be used to make Hari Mirch Keema (chicken mince with yoghurt, chillies, and spices), a wide variety of other meat and vegetable curries and fantastic green Chilli powder.  It is also served raw with Samosas, Vada Pav and other similar Indian snacks.

Be your favourite Indian green Chilli, a Jwala, Hari Mirch, an Indian Finger Chilli or whatever you may call it, one thing is clear; these are wonderful chillies.

Image credit

Image: Shalu Sharma/ CC by 2.0 via Flikr

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recipe for Chicken cuury

The use of Chillies in Indian cooking

 

The use of Chillies in Indian cooking

The History Of Chillies in India

Many people are surprised to learn that before the Chilli being introduced to India by the Portuguese, towards the end of the 15th century, Indian chefs used other spices to provide heat to their cuisine.

Pippali  (Piper longum) also known as Indian long pepper, was the main spice used to provide pungency to curries (and to a lesser extent black pepper).  Pippali is a flowering vine cultivated for its hot fruit, which, when dried, has a similar but more pungent taste than the ordinary black pepper we know (piper negrum).

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Lamb Vepadu – India

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Naan bread to eat with lamb

Lamb Vepadu
 
Author: 
Nutrition Information
  • Serving size: 100g
  • Calories: 234 kcal
  • Fat: 24g
  • Saturated fat: 0.9g
  • Carbohydrates: 3.1g
  • Sugar: 2.9g
  • Sodium: 0.59g
  • Fiber: 0.9g
  • Protein: 3
Recipe type: Curry
Cuisine: Indian
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Indian cuisine is a great showcase of the ability of the Chilli to transform food into something special. This authentic lamb curry is in the style of cooking popular in the Andhra Pradesh state of India, where curries are stir-fried. I prefer adding tomato as I believe it adds more flavour In its authentic form, the tomato is left out to provide a fried lamb dish without sauce. Either way, this curry is outstanding.
Ingredients
For the marinated lamb
  • Lamb shoulder- 500 g chopped into 25 mm cubes
  • Lemon juice - 2 tablespoons
  • Ground turmeric -1/4 teaspoon
  • Red chilli powder - 1- 2 tablespoons
  • White onions - 2 large - coarsely chopped
  • Ginger/garlic paste -1 tablespoon
  • Salt to taste
Whole Spices:
  • Coriander seeds - 2 tablespoons
  • Dried Cinnamon - 2 inches
  • Green Cardamom - 4
  • Cloves - 8
  • Cumin– ½ tablespoon
  • Fennel seeds – ¼ teaspoon
  • Other ingredients:
  • 3 Green Chillies
  • Ripe tomatoes- 3 - 5 medium
  • Butter or ghee - 1 tablespoon
  • Vegetable oil -2 tablespoons
  • Dried Curry leaves - 4 to 5 (see note).
  • Dried Kashmiri Chillies - 5
  • Ground Black Pepper -1/2 teaspoon
  • Cashew nuts - 12 (finely ground)
  • Coriander/ Cilantro leaves- a handful- coarsely chopped
Instructions
  1. Place whole spices in a spice grinder (or pestle and mortar) and grind to a fine powder
  2. Combine ground spices with ingredients under " for the marinated lamb" with a little water . Add to lamb and allow to marinate until it is infused with the flavours (45 to sixty minutes)
  3. Remove meat from marinade.
  4. Heat ghee or butter in a heavy based frying pan and fry marinated meat (without onion) until the lamb is almost tender. If the meat appears to be drying out add water to keep moist, but towards the end, allow to lose moisture until almost dry (approx. 45 minutes).
  5. In separate pot, heat oil, add onions and green Chillies. Fry until the onions begin to change to a golden colour. Add tomatoes & Kashmiri Chillies and allow to cook for 10-15 minutes. Add the fried lamb and cook on low heat until very tender and oils begin to separate from the gravy. Finally add curry leaves, cashew nuts, and pepper. Cook for a further 5 minutes on a low heat. Scatter with chopped coriander leaves and serve with white rice and Indian chutney.
Notes
If using fresh curry leaves, use only 2 to 3 and fry with onions and green chillies (only dried curry leaves are added at the end)

If eating naans or rotis with this dish make sure they are gluten-free

This recipe yields 4 portions

Keywords: Lamb curry with chillies

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Bell peppers

image of yellow, orange and green bell peppers on a cutting board with a knife Loaded with goodness

Bell peppers, those vibrant, crunchy orbs of flavour, are a staple in kitchens around the world. From their rainbow of colours to their versatility in dishes, there’s much to celebrate about these delightful vegetables. Loaded with vitamins A and C, bell peppers offer essential nutrients for healthy skin, boosted immunity, and overall well-being. Plus, they’re low in calories, making them a guilt-free addition to any dish.water colour image of bell peppers on a cutting board with a knife

Whether raw, roasted, grilled, or sautéed, bell peppers add depth and flavour to countless recipes. In Indian cuisine, for example, they are a key ingredient in dishes like Aloo Capsicum (potato and bell pepper curry) or mixed vegetable curry. Their sweet flavour and vibrant colours complement the rich, aromatic spices typical of Indian curries.

In a Thai curry, bell peppers mingle with coconut milk, spices, and tender chicken or tofu, creating a harmonious blend of sweet and savoury flavours. For a taste of France, try Ratatouille. In this classic French dish, bell peppers join forces with eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes (with just a touch of oregano) in a hearty stew bursting with Mediterranean flavors, transporting your taste buds to the sunny coasts of Provence.

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Bhut Jolokia Chillies

Blisteringly hot

Are you ready to set your taste buds ablaze? Prepare to embark on a fiery journey with one of the hottest chillies known to humankind – the Bhut Jolokia, also commonly spelled as Bhoot Jolokia. Strap in, spice enthusiasts, because we’re diving deep into the realm of intense heat and unmatched flavour!

Originating from the north eastern region of India, particularly Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur, the Bhut Jolokia has earned its stripes as a legendary chilli pepper. It was officially recognized as the world’s hottest chillies by the Guinness World Records in 2007 with an official heat rating of over one million Scoville heat units. It was , a title it held for several years until being surpassed by other contenders – notably the Carolina Reaper

In many cultures, especially in India, it holds significant cultural and medicinal value. Some even believe it possesses therapeutic properties, ranging from pain relief to boosting metabolism.

But don’t let its intimidating reputation scare you off! While the Bhut Jolokia indeed packs a punch with its scorching heat level, it also boasts a unique flavour profile that adds depth and complexity to any dish. Its fruity and smoky notes can elevate everything from curries and salsas to hot sauces and marinades, infusing them with a distinctive warmth that lingers long after the last bite. Typical uses include the following:

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Naga Chillis Scoville ratings

Picture of red Naga Chillies on a tablecloth Delving into Naga Chillies Scoville ratings

When delving into the world of Naga chillies and their counterparts, understanding Scoville ratings provides invaluable insights into the sheer potency of these fiery Chillies . Take, for example, the Naga Jolokia, Dorset Naga, and Naga Morich—each renowned for their exceptional heat. These Chillies  proudly flaunt Scoville ratings that soar up to a staggering 1600 000 SHU or more, firmly establishing them among the hottest Chillies  on the planet.

Wilbur Scoville, an American pharmacist, invented the Scoville Organoleptic Test in 1912 to measure the pungency of chillies  His method involved diluting Chilli extracts in sugar water and relying on human taste testers to determine the level of heat. This pioneering work led to the development of the Scoville scale, which remains a widely used tool for quantifying the spiciness of Chillies .
Red Dorset Naga Chilli

Scoville ratings are a method of measuring the heat of Chilies. But beyond mere heat, Scoville ratings serve a crucial role in empowering cooks and aficionados to tailor their culinary creations to suit their individual preferences. For those who relish the thrill of a mild tingle, lower-rated  chillies offer a gentle introduction to the world of spice, infusing dishes with a subtle warmth that tantalizes the palate without overwhelming it. On the other hand, for those brave souls who crave the fiery inferno, higher-rated Naga chillies provide an exhilarating journey into the realm of intense heat, elevating dishes to new heights of flavour and excitement.

With Scoville ratings as their guide, cooks can skilfully navigate the vast landscape of spicy cuisine, striking the perfect balance between flavour and intensity. Whether crafting a delicate curry infused with the gentle warmth of Naga Morich or concocting a blistering hot sauce featuring the bold punch of the Naga Jolokia, each dish becomes a masterpiece of culinary artistry, tailored to satisfy even the most discerning palates.

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Lamb Kheema Roll Recipe

Lamb kheema, also known as keema or qeema, is a popular Indian dish made from ground or minced lamb meat. Its origin can be traced back to the Indian subcontinent, and it is a traditional part of Indian cuisine. Kheema is a versatile dish that can be prepared in various ways, with regional variations in spices and ingredients.

The term “kheema” or “keema” is derived from the Persian word “qeema,” which means minced or ground meat. This influence likely came through the historical interactions between the Indian subcontinent and various Persian and Central Asian cultures.

Kheema can be prepared as a dry dish or with a gravy base and is often used in various recipes, including keema curry, keema samosas, and keema pav (a popular street food in India). It’s a flavourful and spicy dish that is enjoyed by people of all ages across the Indian subcontinent and in Indian communities around the world. The spices and seasonings used in kheema can vary by region and personal preferences, making it a diverse and adaptable dish within Indian cuisine.

It pairs exceptionally well with soft, fluffy bread rolls, often referred to as “pav” in India. When served with bread rolls, it’s known as “keema pav.” The combination of flavourful minced lamb and freshly baked bread rolls is a popular street food and a favourite among many. You can also enjoy lamb kheema with various types of Indian flatbreads such as roti, naan, or chapati. The combination of the savoury kheema and the soft, warm flatbreads is a satisfying meal. Read more

Lamb Handi

Flavourful and succulent

Lamb Handi is a popular dish in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in North Indian and Mughlai cuisines. The term “handi” refers to a traditional clay pot or vessel that was historically used for slow-cooking and simmering curries and stews. This method of cooking in a clay pot imparts a unique flavour and aroma to the dish.

The origins of Lamb Handi can be traced back to the Mughal period in India.The Mughals were a dynasty of Mongol origin that ruled a vast and influential empire in the Indian subcontinent from the early 16th to the mid-19th century . They

were known for their lavish and flavourful culinary traditions, introduced various dishes that are still enjoyed today. Lamb Handi likely evolved during this time, combining the Mughal cooking techniques and spices with regional Indian ingredients and flavours.

Their cuisine  had a significant influence on the development of modern Indian cuisine, and many of its dishes are still enjoyed in India and other parts of the world today. The use of aromatic spices and slow-cooking techniques continues to be a hallmark of Indian cooking, and Mughal culinary traditions have left a lasting impact on the culinary heritage of the Indian subcontinent.

Over the centuries, the dish has evolved and adapted to regional preferences and ingredients, resulting in various regional variations. It’s a cherished dish in North India and is prepared with slight variations in different parts of the country, each reflecting the local culinary influences and ingredients.

To embark on a culinary journey that captures the essence of North Indian cuisine’s rich heritage, allowing you to savor the flavors of an authentic and succulent Lamb Handi, follow this straightforward recipe:
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