Indian Basmati Rice Pilaf

I love the Indian rice pilaf that is served in the restaurants. But it never occured to me to look up the recipe. Go figure. However, I heard my friend, Kiran, tell one of our co-workers how to cook rice the Indian way. Unfortunately, I was only able to get bits and pieces of how its done. What I do remember is that the rice must be rinsed thoroughly until the water runs clear and soaked for a while to get rid of the starch, so the rice wouldn't be sticky. Asian rice is normally so sticky that "you can build a house with it," as hubby would say. Indian rice pilaf is soft and fluffy.

I decided to incorporate Kiran's method of cooking the rice with this recipe from Epicurious. It turned out delicious. A lot of the Indian restaurants cook their rice with spices such as cumin seeds. I'll attempt that next time. This rice would go great with my Chicken Tikka Masala or kabobs, which is what I'm making for dinner tonight.

2 cups Basmati rice

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 1/3 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1) Rinse rice several times until the water runs clear. Soak rice in fresh water for about 20 minutes. Drain well through a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside.

2) In a 4 quart saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add rice and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Stir in water and salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Once it starts to boil, lower heat to low. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until rice is tender and water is absorbed, about 20 minutes.

3) Remove from heat. Let stand, uncovered and undisturbed for 5 minutes. Fluff rice gently with a fork and serve.

Mango Kulfi (Indian Mango Ice Cream)

I love any kind of mango ice cream. Even Indian Mango Ice Cream (aka Mango Kulfi). My first taste of Mango Kulfi was years ago when I was first introduced to Indian food. I haven't had it in a while, and was craving it. So I decided to search for a recipe I can use and found this one.

It was pretty easy to make and required little ingredients. This recipe calls for cardamom, which is quite expensive and I can probably do without in the recipe. But in order to have that indian flair, cardamom does the trick. It came out quite tasty and light. I'll definitely make this again, probably with less or no cardamom.

3-4 fresh mangos, pureed

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/2 tsp. ground cardamom

2 cups heavy whipping cream

chopped pistachios, for garnish

1) In a large bowl, combine condensed milk and cardamom. Set aside.

2) In another bowl, beat whipping cream until it forms soft peaks. Gently fold whipped cream into condensed milk, making sure not to over-mix. Gently fold in mango puree until well incorporated.

You can now either freeze mixture in a container as-is, or continue to run it through an ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. Freeze in freezer for at least 6 hours before serving. Top with chopped pistachios for garnish.

Potato Paratha (Potato-stuffed Indian Flatbread)

I think Paratha is the first Indian dish that my friend Kiran had me try. She brought some to work that her mom had made and I was hooked. I always secretly hope that she brings some to work for me everytime her mom makes some :) Its a flat bread stuffed with various things. Most of the time, its stuffed with potatoes. I saw this recipe on the new Cooking Channel with Bal Arneson of Spice Goddess. Kiran and another Indian co-worker of mine would tell me how to make Paratha, but I think I had to have a visual on how to make this dish. So when I saw this on TV last night, I was dying to try to make it today.

It wasn't as hard as I thought, though there just seems to be something missing in the filling. Maybe because I omitted the fenugreek leaves (because I didn't have any). The Garam Masala was a little overpowering, so I may lessen the amount the next time. Overall though, the taste was there. I'll try to make this again next time, with different ingredients.

Filling

1 cup mashed potatoes

2 Tbsp. minced onion

1 Tbsp. fenugreek leaves

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 Tbsp. Garam Masala

salt & pepper to taste

Dough

2 cups flour

1/2 - 3/4 cup water

1) Combine the ingredients for the filling in a medium bowl. Set aside

2) In another bowl, combine dough ingredients and knead until it forms into a smooth ball, similar to a stiff pizza dough.

3) Take a piece of dough about the size of a golf ball and roll it into a disc. Lightly dust surface with flour, and using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll out the disc into a thin patty (like a pancake).

4) Place about 1/4 cup of filling in the center of the disc then fold the edge of the dough over the mixture and form into a ball. Gently roll the paratha into a flat patty (like a tortilla), being careful not to squeeze the filling out.

5) Heat a skillet to medium-high. Place paratha on hot skillet. Cook until dough begins to bubble and brown, then flip on the other side to cook, about 3 minutes on each side.

Indian-style chicken burgers

All of my Indian dishes are inspired by my dear friend, Kiran. This one isn't an exception. She brought some chicken burgers to work one day for us try out. It was so tasty and so flavorful that I wanted to try making it at home too, so she gave me the basic recipe for it. I also found a recipe online for a Tandoori chicken burger, so I incorporated both recipes and came up with this one.

1 1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (I used ground turkey)

4 stalks green onion, chopped

3 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

2 Tbsp. lemon juice

1 Tbsp. paprika

1 tsp. garam masala

1 Tbsp. cumin seeds

2 tsp. turmeric

1/2 tsp. red chili flakes (more if you want it spicy)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

1) Heat grill to medium-high. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, green onion, ginger, lemon juice, paprika, garam masala, turmeric, chili flakes, salt and pepper. Set aside and marinate for 10-30 minutes.

2) (Skip this step if you're using ground turkey): Transfer mixture to a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped, but not pasty.

3) Form mixture into patties (4 large patties, or 8 medium sized patties). Moisten grill with oil. Cook patties on grill until opaque throughout. Serve on hamburger bun or pita bread, topped with tzatziki or cumin yogurt sauce (recipe below).

Cumin Yogurt sauce

In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 1/2 tsp. cumin, salt and pepper to taste.

Vegetarian Samosas

You know that almost every Asian culture has its own version of an eggroll. I guess you can say that this is an Indian style eggroll. This is another great recipe that my good friend, Kiran, and her mom were kind enough to share with me. Traditionally, the crust on the outer part of the samosa is made from scratch, but I was suprised when Kiran told me that her family just uses Tortillas as the crust. She said it tasted just as good as the one you would make from scratch. It sounded pretty easy, so I jumped on the idea. The difficult part was making them into perfect triangles. I'm still working on that.

1 Tbsp. oil

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup frozen peas

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. red chili flakes (or 1 Tbsp. minced green chilies)

1 Tbsp. lemon juice

2 cups chopped boiled potatoes

1 medium onion, chopped

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1/2 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

flour tortillas (soft taco size)

paste of flour and water mixture

1) Heat oil in a pot. Add cumin seeds and cook for about a minute. Add ginger, peas, salt, lemon juice and chilies. Cook for another minute.

2) Add boiled potatoes and mix well. Let mixture cool completely.

3) Once mixture has cooled, return to heat and add onions, cilantro, garam masala and turmeric powder. Continue cooking until mixture is well incorporated.

4) Cut flour tortillas in half. Roll into a cone shape. Stuff the cone with the potato mixture. Fold the open-end over to close. Seal with the flour paste. Deep fry the samosa until golden brown. Serve with cilantro & mint chutney (recipe to follow).

Cilantro & Mint chutney

I've found that Samosas taste better with cilantro & mint chutney.

2 cups cilantro leaves
1 tsp. red chili flakes
2 cloves garlic
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
water
salt to taste

1) Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add water a little at a time to get your desired consistency. Chutney will last 3-4 days in the refrigerator.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Indian food is another type of food I learned about and became addicted to through work. My friends from work and I used to always go to this Indian restaurant where I would order the Chicken Tikka Masala. I never got a chance to eat Indian food outside of work, because my husband says "curry" doesn't always "agree" with him. So I was limited to eating Indian food while at work or at functions my good friend, Kiran, would invite me to. Kiran and her mom were kind enough to teach me this recipe, and when I had my husband try it, he became an instant fan of Indian food. Surprisingly, this dish isn't really a "curry" and was really simple to make. Thanks to my friend, I'm able to eat Indian food anytime I feel like it :) Thanks for this recipe Kiran and mom! And thanks for supplying me with some of the spices for this dish!

1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 lb. boneless, skinless chicken (cut into cubes)
1 small onion, chopped
3 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tomato, diced
2 tsp. tomato paste
1 can tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes (more if you like it super spicy)
2 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. garam masala
heavy cream

1) Heat oil in a medium saucepan. Add onions and cumin seeds. Cook until onions start to brown. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about a minute. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce and salt. Cook tomatoes through.

2) Stir in chicken. Add red pepper flakes, turmeric, and paprika. Simmer until chicken is done (about 10 minutes).

3) Add garam masala and a splash of heavy cream and cook for another minute to incorporate the flavor. Serve with basmati rice and naan or rotti.