1,000 Indian Recipes (134 page)
Read 1,000 Indian Recipes Online
Authors: Neelam Batra
1
1
⁄
2
teaspoons grated lemon peel (zest)
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
1 fresh green chile pepper, such as serrano, minced with seeds
1
⁄
2
teaspoon salt, or to taste
1
⁄
2
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1.
Prepare the chaat masala. In a medium pot, cover the potatoes with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, let cool, then cut into
1
⁄
2
-inch pieces. (Do not remove the skin.)
2.
In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and add first the cumin seeds, then the lemon peel, mint, and green chile pepper. Cook, shaking the skillet, about 30 seconds. Add the potatoes and salt and cook, turning the potatoes as needed, until golden on all sides, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat if they start to brown too quickly.
3.
Add the cilantro and lemon juice, cook another minute, then mix in half the chaat masala. Transfer to a serving dish. Sprinkle with the remaining chaat masala and serve warm or at room temperature.
Potato, Sweet Potato, and Pea Salad
Aalu, Shakkar-kandi, aur Muttar ki Chaat
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Belonging in the
chaat
category, this is a fresh-tasting, spicy-and-tart salad. It is made by sautéeing white potatoes and sweet potatoes (
shakkar-kandi
), and then topping them with savory, mouth-watering spices. Make it as part of a holiday brunch or serve with barbecued foods.
3 to 4 tablespoons
Tamarind Paste
1
⁄
2
to 1 teaspoon
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought)
1 pound small white potatoes
1
⁄
2
pound small, pale-fleshed sweet potatoes
2 to 3 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1
⁄
2
teaspoon salt, or to taste
1
⁄
2
teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1
⁄
2
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
1
⁄
2
cup finely chopped sweet onion or white parts of scallions
1.
Prepare the tamarind paste and chaat masala. Then, in separate pots, cover the white potatoes and sweet potatoes in lightly salted water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes for the potatoes and 15 to 20 minutes for the sweet potatoes (depending on their thickness). Drain and let cool, then peel all the potatoes. Cut each white potato in half lengthwise, and cut the sweet potatoes into thick rounds.
2.
In a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat and cook the white potatoes and sweet potatoes until golden-brown on both sides, about 7 minutes, turning as needed. As you cook them, press each piece with the back of the spatula to flatten it as much as possible. Transfer to a plate, and when they are cool enough to handle, use clean fingers to coarsely break each piece into 2 or 3 smaller pieces.
3.
Add the peas to the same skillet and cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until barely golden, about 4 minutes.
4.
Mix the potatoes and sweet potatoes into the peas. Then add the tamarind paste, salt, cayenne pepper, chaat masala, and cilantro and cook, turning a few times as needed, about 2 minutes. Adjust seasonings, adding more salt, chaat masala, or tamarind, if needed. Transfer to a serving platter, top with the chopped onions, and serve.
Taro Root Salad with Ajwain Seeds
Arbi ki Chaat
Makes 4 to 6 servings
Taro root is a small, starchy tuber with fuzzy brown skin and white flesh. Look for it in Asian, Indian, and well-stocked American markets. Indians, especially northern Indians, cook taro root in numerous ways. Here is a simple, unique salad that is often served by street vendors. Taro root is considered hard to digest, so it is always cooked with
ajwain
seed to neutralize its gasiness.
1
⁄
2
teaspoon
Chaat Masala
(or store-bought), or to taste
6 to 8 small taro roots (about 1 pound)
2 to 3 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
1 fresh green chile pepper, such as serrano, minced with seeds
1
⁄
2
teaspoon ajwain seeds, coarsely ground
1
⁄
4
teaspoon salt, or to taste
1 to 1
1
⁄
2
tablespoons fresh lime juice
Prepare the chaat masala. Then, in a medium pot, cover the taro root with water, bring to boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool slightly, then peel and cut into
1
⁄
2
-inch pieces. Place in a serving bowl and mix in all the remaining ingredients. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Sweet Potato Salad with Tamarind
Shakkar-kandi ki Chaat
Makes 4 to 6 servings
This dish could be part of your next Thanksgiving banquet or a frequent addition to autumn meals. It is healthful, with no added fat, and has a flavor that will add sparkle to any evening's menu.
For a more authentic flavor, cook the sweet potatoes (called
shakkar-kandi
) on a grill until tender instead of boiling. Then peel and proceed with the recipe.
1 teaspoon cumin seeds,
dry-roasted
and coarsely ground
2 tablespoons
Tamarind Paste
4 small sweet potatoes (about 1 pound)
1 tablespoon peeled minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1
⁄
2
teaspoon salt, or to taste
1
⁄
4
cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, including soft stems
1 fresh green chile pepper, such as serrano, minced with seeds
Prepare the cumin seeds and tamarind paste. In a large pot, cover the sweet potatoes with water, bring to a boil, and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Let cool, then peel and cut into
3
⁄
4
-inch pieces. Place in a serving bowl and mix in all the remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour to serve chilled.
Green Salads
Indian cuisine is full of greens but not green salads. Lettuce, a mainstay of American salads, has traditionally been unavailable in India. The small amount of lettuce that could be purchased was tough, and therefore was used primarily for garnish. Furthermore, Indians have traditionally not eaten greens raw, believing them to be hard to digest, so greens are almost always cooked before being served. This, however, has changed over recent years, and Indians are now buying and eating more fresh lettuce.
While traditional recipes may not feature lettuce or other greens, I have created many green salads in my kitchen in Santa Monica, inspired by the flavors, seasonings, and vegetables of India, but using lettuce and fresh greens, and presented in a way Americans can appreciate.