Read 1,000 Indian Recipes Online
Authors: Neelam Batra
1
⁄
2
teaspoon fennel seeds
1 quarter-size slice of fresh ginger, coarsely crushed
1 teaspoon loose black tea leaves, or 1 teabag
Honey or raw sugar, to taste
1.
In a medium saucepan, add everything except the tea leaves and honey and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and continue to boil another minute to extract maximum flavor from the spices. Add the tea, turn off the heat, cover the pan, and set aside to steep, about 3 minutes.
2.
Pour through a tea or very fine-mesh strainer into 2 teacups. Discard the spices and the leaves. Serve hot, with the honey or sugar on the side.
Variation:
Instead of using the whole spices, boil the water with about
2
⁄
3
teaspoon
Chai Tea Masala
.
Fresh Mint Chai Tea
Pudina Chai
Makes about 2 cups
This is a fragrant, luxurious, and elegant addition to a high tea afternoon. For another exotic variation, add
1
⁄
4
teaspoon saffron threads along with the mint and ginger.
2 cups water
1
⁄
4
cup coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
1 quarter-size slice of fresh ginger, coarsely ground (optional)
1
⁄
2
cup milk
1 teaspoon loose black tea leaves, or 1 teabag
Honey or raw sugar, to taste
1.
In a medium saucepan, add the water, mint, and ginger and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to medium and continue to boil another minute to extract maximum flavor. Add the milk and bring to a boil once again. Add the tea leaves (or teabag) turn off the heat, cover the pan, and set aside to steep, about 3 minutes.
2.
Pour through a tea or very fine-mesh strainer into 2 teacups. Discard the spices and the leaves. Serve hot, with the honey or sugar on the side.
Kashmiri Spiced Green Tea
Kehwa
Makes 2 cups
This special green tea preparation, called kehwa or kahwa, is very popular in the northern state of Kashmir.
6 shelled raw almonds
1
⁄
2
teaspoon green cardamom seeds
1
⁄
4
teaspoon ground cinnamon
1
⁄
8
teaspoon saffron threads
2
1
⁄
2
cups water
2 teaspoons green tea leaves or 2 teabags
2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
1.
In a spice or a coffee grinder, finely grind 2 almonds and the cardamom seeds. Remove to a bowl and mix in the cinnamon and saffron. Then coarsely grind the remaining 4 almonds and reserve.
2.
Place the water, tea leaves, 2 teaspoons sugar, and the almond-cinnamon mixture in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and boil another 2 minutes to extract maximum flavor from the spices.
3.
Meanwhile, divide the reserved coarsely ground almonds into 2 cups. Then pour the tea through a tea or very fine-mesh strainer into the 2 teacups. Discard the spices and tea leaves. Serve hot, with more sugar on the side.
Indian Cooking Glossary
aalu
(also
batata
) potatoes
aalu-bhujia
(also
aloo-bhujia
) thin, wispy, half-inch noodles of spicy potato and chickpea flour batter
aam
mango
achaar
pickle
achaari
dish cooked with pickling spices
addai
crepe made with dal (legumes)
adrak
fresh ginger
ajwain
carom, lovage, omum or Bishop's weed
akoori
Parsi scrambled egg dish with vegetables, generally corn
amchur
mango powder, made from dried, ground, unripe mango pulp
ammavadai
croquettes made with a fermented mixed dal (legume) batter
ammbi
(also
kairi
) raw or unripe green mangoes
ammbi-panna
savory cold beverage made with unripe green mangoes
anaardana
pomegranate seeds
angeethi
(also
chulha, sigri
) an old-fashioned pail-shaped coal-burning stove, used for everyday Indian home cooking
arbi
(also
arvi
) taro root, a starchy underground tuber with fuzzy brown skin and white flesh
atta
whole-wheat flour
avial
south Indian yogurt, coconut, and vegetable soup
Ayurveda
the ancient Indian art of natural medicine
baati or baaties
whole-wheat bread rolls from Rajasthan; about 1
1
⁄
2
-inch thick disc-shaped rolls with a slight depression in the center
badi, badiyan, or vadiyan
(also
bari, vadi
) lentil nuggets made with spicy lentil paste shaped into nuggets and then dried in the sun
bajra
millet
basmati
fragrant long-grain white rice
bathua
lambs quarters, a type of greens
besan
chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour
besan pudhae
pancakes made with chickpea flour
bhagarae-baingan
spicy tamarind-flavored dish from Hyderabad
bhain
(also
kamal-kakdi
) lotus root
bhaji
vegetables
bhajia or bhajias
chickpea flour and vegetable fritters
bhalla
(plural
bhallae
) white urad bean (
dhulliurad dal
) croquettes
bhartha
mashed roasted vegetables cooked with onions and tomatoes, typically made with eggplants and opo (marrow) squash
bhath
cooked rice
bhatmas
(also
soyabeans
) soybeans
bhatura
(plural
bhaturae
) deep-fried leavened flatbreads
bhindi
okra
bhujia
see
sev
bhunae channae
roasted black chickpeas
bhuna-masala
roasted spices
bhunna
(pronounced
bhun-na
) to roast
bhurji
scrambled eggs
bhutta
corn-on-the-cob
biryani
(plural
biryanis
) elaborate layered basmati rice dish with meats or vegetables
boondi
deep-fried chickpea flour batter drops
boti
piece of meat with bone
boti kabaabs
marinated and grilled pieces of bone-in meat
bundh gobhi
cabbage
burfee
(plural
burfees
) milk fudge
cachumbar
chopped salad
chaach
buttermilk
chaat
a composed dish infused with complex savory, sweet, salty, tangy, and spicy flavors that is usually eaten as a salad or snack.
chaat masala
special savory spice blend
chaat-wallah
person who makes and sells chaat
chai
tea
cham-cham
paneer cheese dessert flavored with saffron and cardamom
chandi ka verk or vark
edible silver leaves used to garnish desserts; commonly referred to as
verk
channa
(also
channae, chholae
) chickpeas
chapati
(also
phulka
) whole-wheat flat bread