works great for most dishes. For each recipe, I will specify whether it is okay to freeze it. When you’re ready to freeze a dish, make sure the hot food has cooled down to room temperature, especially before putting them in plastic containers or in freezer-safe plastic bags, and then place in the freezer for up to a month. Make sure the container is well covered or airtight so that ice crystals won’t form on the food. The easiest way to reheat frozen food is to first thaw it by placing it in the refrigerator. For example, if it is Monday morning and you know after a long day at work you will want to enjoy the Chicken Tikka Masala (page 95) and Creamed Spinach with Paneer Cheese (page 124) that are in your freezer, place the frozen dishes in your refrigerator before heading off to work to thaw. Then, when you come home, you can quickly warm up the thawed food and some rice or Mexican wheat tortillas (the latter is a great substitute for chapati, the daily homemade bread eaten in Indian homes). If you have some plain yogurt to enjoy along with the meal—you are all set! Some rice dishes freeze well so you can freeze them into individual or family size containers or plastic bags and let them thaw in the refrigerator while you are away. If you forget to thaw the food during the day, you can use a microwave to defrost it and then finish reheating it on the stovetop, in the microwave, or in the oven depending on how the dish reheats best without altering its taste and texture. I specify in each recipe the ideal way to reheat food. You may also reheat the frozen food directly without thawing by heating it in a saucepan or skillet on the stovetop over medium–low heat. Stir occasionally until the food is thawed and warmed up. Normally food will thicken when chilled but when reheated, it will return to its original consistency. If the food is still thicker after being reheated, simply add some water to thin it out.
Indian Ingredients Explained
In this section, I explain the basics of the frequently used ingredients in this book—how and where to buy items, how to store them and more. I have made every effort to use easy-to-find spices and ingredients so that you do not have to make special trips to ethnic markets. However, there are a few ingredients such as fresh curry leaves and the different varieties of Indian lentils that might be hard to find at your local grocery store. Start by checking the international section in your grocery store for a greater selection and better prices. Natural food stores and gourmet grocery stores can also be good places to look for Indian ingredients. You can even purchase items online or from Indian stores that will ship to your door. (See Resource Guide, page 142, for a listing of such stores.) If you’re lucky enough to have an Indian market nearby, shop there for one-stop economical shopping.
Basmati rice (Basmati chawal) Basmati rice is long grained, fragrant rice used in Indian cooking. It is now commonly available in most grocery stores in small packages or you can buy big burlap sacks of Basmati rice at ethnic stores, which is more economical if you cook rice often. Rice can be stored in a jar, plastic bag or in the burlap bag it came in for at least six months in your pantry. It is a good idea to thoroughly wash the rice before cooking it to clean it and remove any starchy residue so that the final result is less sticky. In general, the rule of thumb to cook Basmati rice is to use twice the amount of water to rice. One cup of uncooked rice yields about three cups of cooked rice.
Bay leaf (tej patta) Bay leaves come fresh or dried but it is common to use dried bay leaves in Indian cooking especially if one does not cook with them too often. I use the dried leaf to add a sweet and woody scent to rice dishes such as Vegetable Rice Pilaf (page 75) and Chicken Biryani Rice (page 72). When cooking, the leaf is added to heated oil or butter to release its aromas. You may leave the bay leaf in your dish for presentation purposes, but with its sharp dried edges, it is best to avoid eating it.
Black pepper (ground and whole peppercorns) (kali mirch) Pepper is a berry that grows in grape-like clusters on the pepper plant. The berries can become green, black or white peppercorns, depending on how ripe the berry is when it is plucked and how it is processed. Black peppercorns arise when the almost ripe berry is picked and then dried until it shrivels and turns black. White peppercorns arise when the fully ripe berry is picked, its skin removed, and then dried. Black peppercorns have the strongest flavor whereas the white ones are milder and are used when you do not want the black pepper to show in food, such as white sauces. The green berries are unripe when plucked and are commonly preserved in brine or pickled for a fresh taste. It is common in India to buy whole black peppercorns and then to crush them using a mortar and pestle. For everyday cooking, I use the finely ground black pepper that comes in a tin but for some dishes like Vegetable Rice Pilaf (page 75), I prefer to use whole black peppercorns for stronger flavor. If you prefer to use freshly ground whole peppercorns rather than the pre-ground pepper, you can do this throughout the book whenever ground black pepper is called for.
Cardamoms (elaichi) Cardamom pods are the aromatic fruit of the cardamom plant and they are plucked when they are still unripe and then dried. Cardamom are available in small green pods with intensely flavored small back seeds inside, which is what I use. There are also big black pods, which I used to call a “roach” when I was a kid! If you shop in ethnic markets, you may also see small white cardamoms, which are simply the green ones that have been bleached for aesthetic purposes and result in a milder flavor. Cardamoms are used to flavor Garam Masala (page 36), rice and meat dishes and add a special touch to tea and desserts. To open a pod to release the flavorful seeds, place it on a cutting board. Place a small knife on its side over the top of the cardamom and press on the knife to crack it open. You can also tap on the pod with a rolling pin to break it open and then pry it apart with your fingers. If I am just cooking for my family, I simply bite the cardamom pod between my teeth until it cracks open and then I pry it apart with my finger. Cardamom pods also make good breath fresheners. Simply pop a whole pod in your mouth and chew on it and eventually you can swallow everything.
Carom seeds (ajwain) Also called “bishop’s weed,” these tiny brown seeds are a great natural remedy for an upset, gassy tummy. Even to this day, when I complain of an upset tummy, my mother will tell me to take a teaspoon full of carom seeds with water. I like to use carom seeds when cooking seafood dishes. The seeds look small and harmless, but if you bite into them, they release a peppery punch, though they are not spicy. Carom seeds can be found at Indian markets and are more commonly known by their Hindi name ajwain. If you cannot find them, you can use dried thyme leaves as a substitute but it will not have the exact sharp flavor of carom seeds. Do not confuse it with caraway seeds.
Chapati flour (chapati ka atta) This is a finely milled whole wheat flour that is used to make Indian flatbreads. Some bags of Indian chapati flour say “100% whole wheat flour” on them. If you compare that flour to American whole wheat flour, you might notice the American one is darker. This is due to different crops of harvested wheat that have slight variations in color, and also variations in the milling process. If you do not have chapati flour, in general, you can use a 1:1 whole wheat to all-purpose flour (white flour that is non self-rising called maida in Hindi) ratio, although sometimes I use a 3:1 or 4:1 ratio ratio of whole wheat to all-purpose flour if that is easier to measure for a recipe. Chapati flour can be stored in an airtight jar in your pantry up to three months. Because chapati flour has natural oil in it, it can go rancid if kept over three months. Keeping it in the freezer can prolong the life of the flour for at least up to six months.
Chili peppers, green (fresh, whole) (sabut hari mirch) There are hundreds of varieties of chili peppers, varying in length, thickness and spice level. Generally, the smaller the pepper, the hotter it is because there are more seeds proportionally and the heat comes from the seeds. In Indian cooking, many types
