1,000 Indian Recipes (332 page)

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