you. I have just a few helpful words before I start you off making fabulous and quick Indian home-style meals that will have you and anyone who is lucky enough to savor a bite be simply wowed.
Indian food is flavorful food that is cooked with a mixture of exotic spices. The recipes in this book, which I have learned from my mother, mother-in-law and a few I have learned and created on my own, are from all over India. My mother is originally from the northern Indian state of Punjab and my mother-in-law is from the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, each of which has distinct dishes, flavors and cooking styles. The southern part has rice as a main staple and very spicy foods since rice and hot chili peppers are grown abundantly in this region. The northern part has richer foods with butter and cheeses. There, wheat grows plentifully so bread is the main staple. Food from this region is not as spicy as the food from the southern part of India, but you can always increase the heat by adding more chili peppers or ground red pepper (cayenne). Traditional home-cooked Indian dishes are passed down from generations. Both my mother and my mother-in-law learned to cook from their mothers, who in turn learned from their mothers. My version of these classic recipes uses easy-to-find ingredients and basic cookware. More importantly, I have standardized them with actual measurements—rather than just adding ingredients based on sight, feel and taste as traditional Indian cooks do! In fact, the only reason my mother has a set of measuring cups is because she bought them for me when I was younger. She simply uses a coffee cup as her one-cup measurement and can estimate one-quarter or one-half cup from it.
Curries and Masalas
Here in the United States and in other Western countries, when we think of Indian food, the word curry most often comes to mind. In fact in Britain, where Chicken Tikka Masala is now as popular as fish and chips, curry is synonymous with Indian food. A Brit will say, “I’m in the mood to eat curry tonight,” meaning Indian food in general. Curry powder, a Western invention that is not used in traditional Indian cooking, is a convenient readymade blend of various Indian spices. Indians typically use the word curry to simply mean “sauce” or “gravy” (either thin or thick), and thus all dishes that have a saucy or gravy consistency are called “curries.” In this book, I use the term in the same way. When I refer to “curried vegetables” or “curried meats,” I mean that those dishes have a “wet” curried base—which is a gravy or saucy (sometimes near soupy) consistency instead of a “dry” sautéed style dish. There are some exceptions to this rule—for example, even though lentils are typically cooked in a liquid base, they are not called “curries.” Then there is the curry leaf—an aromatic leaf from the curry plant that is used as an herb in cooking. Many Indian homes around the world grow a curry plant in their backyards so they will have fresh curry leaves on hand. These plants can eventually grow into curry trees, but mine has stayed as a potted plant. (I use fresh curry leaves in some recipes, but have made their use optional because they are one of the few ingredients I use that do require a trip to an Indian market if you do not have a curry plant growing at home.)
Dried red chili peppers for sale at an open street market in India.
After curry, the term masala, which is the Hindi word for “spice,” is probably the second most commonly used word when discussing Indian food. Masalas can be “dry” or “wet,” but in either case they form the flavor base of a dish which is a key components in Indian cooking.
Dry masalas may consist of individual spices, such as turmeric, red pepper (cayenne), coriander, or be a special blend of spices that have been roasted and ground together. Garam Masala (page 36), Biryani Masala (page 72), Rasam Masala (page 80) and Sambar Masala (page 82) are all examples of the latter type of dry masalas. These roasted spice blends can be stored up to three months in an airtight container, but after that they lose potency.
Wet masala can refer to both the flavor base and also the cooking method, which consists of cooked and spiced onions and/or tomatoes. The “wet” masala cooking technique is common in the northern region of India, especially in the state of Punjab, and is used in many of the dishes from this region. It is the base that adds flavor to the fish, meat or vegetable. First, onions, if used, are shredded or finely cut and browned in oil until golden so that they no longer have a raw taste. Sometimes, garlic and ginger are added to cook with the onions for more flavor. Then tomatoes, if used, are added and cooked until they are completely mashed, and then the dry spices are added. When making a masala with tomatoes, the end result looks like a coarse paste. The longer the tomatoes and onions cook with the dry spices, the darker the masala will become, resulting in a darker base or “curry” for the dish, and the more the flavor of the spices will develop. When I was little, I used to watch my mom make masala. Before she would add the vegetables, I would ask her to save a small amount of the masala for me to enjoy with a slice of plain white bread!
Fire-Roasted Eggplant.
Wet masalas are customized based on the amount of onions, tomatoes and combination of dry spices, ginger and garlic that are added. Some are made with just tomatoes and dry spices, some are made with just onions and dry spices and some are made with both tomatoes and onions and dry spices. There is no definite ratio of the amount of onions to tomatoes—it depends on whether you like the taste of less or more onions or tomatoes. You will see that in my recipes the amount of onions and tomatoes varies a bit, but you can adjust if you like.
My mom usually just adds ground turmeric, ground red pepper (cayenne), salt and ground black pepper to most of her masalas. Even though she often uses a similar combination of spices, each dish has a unique flavor that comes from the main ingredients that are added to the masala. If she is really feeling fancy, she will add spices such as cardamom or carom seeds to the masala for added flavor.
To save time, you can make the onion and/or tomato masala in bulk and refrigerate or freeze it until you are ready to make a dish. When you are ready to cook a dish, lightly oil your saucepan or skillet, add the desired amount of refrigerated or defrosted masala and then add the rest of the main ingredients. (You can defrost the frozen masala in the refrigerator or directly in the lightly oiled saucepan.) This makes cooking more efficient for me, since making the masala takes a bit of time. If I already have it completed, I can quickly make any dish that uses a masala as a base. With practice, you will get a feel on how much masala to use for a dish and whether you want your dish to have more onions or tomatoes in the masala. You can also then customize what spices you want to add to the masala.
Enjoying Indian Food at Home
Whether a formal or casual meal, Indian food is typically served family-style—meaning everyone gathers around the table, the dishes are placed in the center and everyone helps themselves to a bit of each dish. In India, modern homes have dining tables but many families still sit on the floor gathered around the food. A sheet, large cloth or thin bamboo mat, is spread out on the floor and the food is placed in the center. Everyone sits on the sheet or on small floor stools or cushions with their plates in front of them on the ground. Small bowls may be given to everyone to put yogurt or any dish with liquid or curried base. In the southern part of India, giant fresh banana leaves are sometimes used as plates since bananas are abundantly grown there. When visiting my paternal grandparents in their village, I remember having delicious, fun and intimate meals with relatives in their open veranda on the ground while sitting on floor cushions. Sometimes, we would place the food on large tweed cots and sit outdoors on the cots and eat. It was like a fun family picnic right at home!
There are no special rules for eating an Indian meal except usually the food is only eaten with your right hand while your left hand is placed in your lap, but you can use it if needed. Since much of Indian food is eaten with your hands, washing your hands before eating (and of course after!) is essential.
