INDIAN && COOKING 7INDUS An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers India Pvt Ltd 7/16 Ansari Road, New Delhi 110 002 First published in Australia by William Collins Pty Ltd in 1988 Published 1995 by Indus Copyright © Gladys Roach, 1988 Photography by George Seper ISBN 0-7322-0019-9 All rights reserved. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of private study, research, criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright Act, no part may be reproduced by any process without the prior permission of the publishers. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. Printed in India by Pragati Art Printers 11-5-422/C, Red Hills Hyderabad 500 004 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are so many people who have helped to make this book a reality, but most special thanks go to my husband, Neville, and my children Joan, Vijay and Saritha ~ without their help and support this book would never have happened. I also want to thank my sister-in-law Daphne and my friend Shanta. A special thank you to my friend Louise Daniel who so wanted to see this book published ~ no matter what! My thanks must also go to the Indian Tea Board for their invaluable assistance. The following people were extremely generous in giving us the material for the photographs: Joan Bowers Antiques, Paddington, NSW, Made Where, Double Bay, NSW, Fred Pazotti, Woollahra, Motyaj, Paddington, NSW, and Moses Spice Centre, Bondi Beach and Lindfield. Thank you to George Seper for taking these wonderful photographs, and Alison Morath for styling them, I would like to remember my mother-in-law, Teresa Roach, who loved eating as much as I do and whose every letter contained at least one recipe for a dish that she thought her son would like. I hope she would be proud of this book. Lastly, but by no means least, the publishers and I would like to extend a special thank you to Alison Morath for her always practical and helpful advice and for getting me into a publisher's office! Her dedication to this, book and the time she gave me are really beyond thanks,--= FEEEPEEPEEEEELSSE CONTENTS FOREWORD INTRODUCTION WHAT IS WHAT IN INDIAN COOKING MENUS 1-12: SIMPLE MEALS ‘MENUS 13-24: MORE ELABORATE Mi SPECIAL OCCASIONS SPECIAL RECIPES BREADS ACCOMPANIMENTS. DRINKS SPICE SUPPL!FOREWORD In the years I have lived in Australia - I came here in 1965 - I have been delighted at the dramatic increase in the number of Indian restaurants in the major Australian cities. And the patrons at these restaurants are not just a few homesick Indian students or retired British Colonels from Poona, but, in the main, dinkum Aussies. Unfortunately, while the eating of Indian food is becoming increasingly popular, very few Australians have taken to cooking Indian meals themselves. My main aim and hope in writing this book is to persuade Australians to attempt Indian cooking so that Indian dishes and entire Indian meals become a regular part of their diet. This book will, hopefully, explode four myths about Indian cooking that are probably responsible for the exclusion of genuine Indian food from the average Australian family meal. The first is that Indian cooking is very complex, a traditional skill that takes years to develop. I can personally vouch for the falsity of this belief. Ishould know, after all, I couldn’t even make a cup of tea when I first arrived in Australia. Yet with the help of recipes sent by my relatives, I was soon able to satisfy my husband’s critical palate, and have successfully catered for as many as 100 people at a time. The art of Indian cooking can be learnt from a good simple recipe book, and I hope this book proves just that. The second myth is that Indian cooking is very hard work; involving hours of grinding and blending spices. Again, this is just not true. The use of powdered spices and simple kitchen gadgets makes it easy to rustle up a good meal in a short time. I have catered for unexpected guests within a couple of hours of them dropping in. The third myth is that genuine Indian meals cannot be prepared in Australia because of the difficulty of obtaining the proper ingredients. Actually, all the ingredients required for the full variety of Indian cooking are readily available here at extremely reasonable prices. The fourth myth is that Indian food cannot find a regular place in the family menu because it lacks variety - it is nothing but CURRY, hot, medium or mild. Well, Indian food has its own speciality and every occasion has a special dish. The Indian diet includes meat, fish, vegetables and lentils, baked, fried, roasted, boiled and even barbecued. There are breads, dumplings, and pancakes made from wheat; rice and lentils, sweets and sherbets, salads and savouries. No book can hope to cover the entire range of Indian cooking, but I have attempted to provide sufficient variety to enable you to have a different Indian meal at least once a week, every week of the year.FEEESLELSE INTRODUCTION Indian food is generally not served in any particular order, i.e. entree, main course, etc. All the dishes are placed in the centre of the table so that individuals can help themselves. Guests not familiar with Indian food, should be asked to keep all the different dishes they serve themselves quite separately on their plates, and to initially taste a little of each with rice or bread. They can then mix them according to their taste. Sweets, desserts or fresh fruit are usually served after the main course - though the Gujarathi community serve their sweets with the main meal. Some Indians, especially South Indians, would not feel their meal to be complete unless they had at least one spoonful of rice and yoghurt at the end, whilst others are happy with just bread, If you wish to serve an entree, separate from the main course, choose a dish with little or no sauce, and serve it with one of the breads or pancakes. If you do not have the time to make these, it is quite acceptable to serve bread rolls, Middle Eastern unleavened bread, or the Greek Pita. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks may be served with an Indian meal. Beer is a popular choice although rosé wines, white wines, fruit juices and lassi (a yoghurt drink), may be served. To help those unfamiliar with Indian food to plan complete Indian meals, T have arranged the recipes in the form of twenty-four menus. Each menu contains a meat, vegetable or fish curry, followed by a rice preparation, a vegetable and a salad. The first twelve menus are designed to serve four people, however if an extra dish is added from another menu or from the Special Occasions section, the meal should feed six people. In addition, menus 13 to 24 each start with a snack or entree, which can be served with predinner drinks, and end with a sweet. After the main menus, there are recipes for special occasions such as barbecues, suppers and afternoon teas. The more elaborate menus are designed to serve six people, but can be stretched to feed eight. In the next section, I have included a few ‘Special Recipes’ - special to me, that is. Although omitted from the main menus, I felt they were too good to be left out altogether. Finally, there are recipes for breads, accompaniments like pickles and chutneys, soups and drinks ~ even an Indian (or Anglo-Indian) aperitif! Once you have tried several recipes, you can develop your own menus by interchanging items between the menus in this book. To assist you, there is an index of recipes, classified by major groups, for example, rice, vegetables, fish, sweets, etc., at the end of the book.VV VV VV VV VII VV VV VI VV VV VV VV VI VI VV V VV VIII VV YN WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAEAAAAAAAAAAAA B | ([ VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV VV en Bn i i i na et. i Do DD DD BD Bi Do Dt i Bi Di. BB Bi Di Di. Bi Bix Di Bi. Ds. Bes Bs Bs Ds es Bs Bos Bs Bs Bd EEFEEGERREREEEEEGEINDIAN COOKING Wuat Is WHAT IN INDIAN COOKING CURRY ‘As used in India, curry is the liquid part of a dish, i.e, the gravy, the sauce, or the juice. To say that all Indian food is curry, either hot, medium or mild, would be the same as saying that all casserole dishes are stews, be the result Italian or Chinese. The use of spices in Indian cooking is not solely to make the food ‘hot’, Obviously among the millions of people who eat Indian food, there will be many who like it ‘hot’, and some dishes, especially from South India, would only be poor imitations if altered to taste ‘mild’. The opposite also applies. But most dishes can be altered according to personal taste by reducing or increasing the ‘hot’ spices like chilli, pepper and mustard. . The art of Indian cooking is in the subtle use of spices, not in overuse where the flavour is lost. GRINDING is ‘Time consuming tasks like slicing, chopping, grinding, mixing, and even kneading dough for Indian breads, can be done efficiently and quickly with a good food processor. However, grinding can be done using a mortar and pestle, a grinding stone, or in a blender or vitamizer. Tuse the latter because it is both simple and effective. If the ingredients are to be ground in a vitamizer, they must be roughly chopped or grated. ‘Add a little water at a time, and grind on a high speed for half a minute. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides, and repeat the process until you have a smooth paste. : To powder spices, especially if they are to be stored, like the garam masalas, a dry mortar and pestle should be used. There are a number of blender attachments, such as coffee grinders, now available that will also do the job quickly and easily. It is better to use these smaller attachments when there is only a small quantity of ‘masala’ to be ground. FRYING SPICES e This is a very important step in the cooking of a number of Indian dishes. The spices to be fried should be mixed together in a small bowl with a little water, When frying, sprinkle with water to prevent the spices from burning or sticking. When the spices need to be very well fried, a good test is to fry until the spices and oil separate, Fry on a low heat unless otherwise stated. LEFTOVERS : Except for potatoes and some other vegetables, most Indian dishes lend themselves extremely well to freezing. So, after a family meal or a dinner party, if there is enough left over for another meal, freeze it all. PANIR This is a type of cottage cheese which is very easy to make. 650 ml milk 6 tablespoons lemon juice Heat the milk. When it is boiling, add the lemon juice. Leave it covered for 15 minutes. Strain through muslin cloth until all the liquid has been drained out. Squeeze to drain it properly. Panir is used for making sweets and can be used in some savoury dishes. When cubes of panir are required, place it under some weight for about 2 hours, until it shapes into a slab, and then cut it into cubes. The whey can be used instead of water when cooking rice or kneading the dough for pooris, samosas, etc., and is considered to be ‘good for you’. COCONUT MILK Unfortunately the fresh coconuts available in Australia are not very ‘tender’ or green, but they are better than none. Where possible, it is better to use fresh coconut which can be ‘scraped’ with coconut scrapers, or grated. Desiccated coconut can be used as a substitute. Fresh grated coconut, if frozen, will keep for up to 6 months - just break off the required quantity and immediately return the rest to the freezer. Coconut milk, as required in the recipes, is not the water which is in the middle of the coconut, but is obtained by putting the required amount of fresh or desiccated coconut in a vitamizer with water, grinding it a bit, and squeezing out the milk. Alternatively, you can bring to the boil desiccated coconut and cow’s milk; leave it to stand for about 10 minutes before squeezing out the milk. ‘Cream of coconut’ and tinned coconut milk is now available in most supermarkets. I usually use the latter. Unused coconut milk can be frozen and used later. If you don’t have suitable ‘implements’ for breaking a coconut, here is what you can do, First pierce two of the ‘eyes’ or the depressions of the coconut with a skewer. Pour out the liquid or ‘water’. (This is usually sweet and makes a refreshing drink.) Put the coconut in a preheated oven (180°C or 350°F) for 10-15 minutes. Remove it from the oven, wrap it in a towel, and hit it in the middle with a chopper or the back of a heavy knife. This should break it. Remove the flesh from the shell and use it grated or ground. PICKLES AND CHUTNEYS Pickles and chutneys are made from fresh mangoes, green or just ripening (if available), lemons and all kinds of fruit and vegetables, dried or fresh. If made properly, they should keep for months. In fact, many improve with keeping. One of the rules to remember is that no water or moisture “4 IsINDIAN COOKING should fall into the pickle or chutney, and a separate spoon or fork should be kept for each pickle and chutney while in use at the table. Uncooked chutneys will only keep for a day or two and should be reftigerated. ‘These are not a must with every meal. In fact, they should not be served if the dishes on the menu are lightly spiced and aromatic, At no time should pickles or chutneys be eaten like tomato sauce, drowning the subtle flavours of the meal ~ they should be eaten in small quantities to enhance it, By the way, many Indians prefer tomato sauce toa chutney, especially with snacks like samosas and pakoras. RICE Rice is, I think, the easiest and most difficult thing to cook just right When | first arrived in Australia, each time I cooked it we either had to drink it or, well, eat what looked like a gluey white mess. Of course I blamed the rice because back home I had seen it cooked so effortlessly. My husband bought me an automatic rice cooker, and almost immediately I learned to cook rice. If you are as bad as I was, here are a few hints: Wash the rice in at least three changes of water, no matter what it says on the packet. If you have time, soak the rice in cold water for about half an hour (this is very important in making biryani and pulao). Then either: (i) cook in plenty of salted boiling water for about 20 minutes and drain in a colander, or (ii) use 1 cup rice to 2 cups cold water (3 cups to 5 cups water). Bring the water to the boil. Add the rice, and cover. Simmer for about 20 minutes on a very low heat. To test whether the rice is cooked, take a couple of grains, and squeeze them between your thumb and finger. ‘They should be cooked through, and not grainy or hard in the centre, Once you have learned to cook rice successflly, you can experiment with the many rice recipes included in this book. I have found the long grain rice better and less starchy than the short grain which, when used, should be washed well. One tablespoon of oil, ghee or butter added to the rice helps keep the rice grains quite separate. It is better to find a brand of rice that you like and stick with it. The amount of water the rice will absorb will vary according to the type of rice. For example, Basmati rice cooks more quickly and requires less water than any other rice, even other long grain varieties. i FETE rE Clockwise from left! Choko Raita (Choko Salad), Kofta Curry (Meatball Curry), Phool Gobhi Bhaji (Cauliflower) |Clockwise from lefts Plain Boited Rice, Dukra Che Indad (Pork Indad), Gajjar Raita (Carrot Salad) Baingan Tamatar (Begplane cooked with Tomatoes) WuaT Is WHAT IN INDIAN COOKING BANANA LEAF You will find recipes for Indian dishes, not only in this book but in others, which tell you to steam, bake or cook in banana leaves. Because these are not easily available in most parts of Australia, I experimented with various other leaves. Silver beet, I found, was the best substitute. Aluminium foil is adequate for cooking but, of course, has to be discarded before eating, while the silver beet can be eaten with whatever is inside. Banana leaves can also be used as disposable plates for special occasions. ‘THICKENING Flour should not be added to thicken a curry. If there is too much liquid and the gravy looks ‘watery’, then one of the following is recommended. If there is no danger of overcooking the meat, just remove the lid of the saucepan, and cook on a higher heat until the extra liquid evaporates. If the meat has cooked enough and there is too much liquid, take out the pieces of meat, and let the juice or gravy evaporate on its own as above. The second method is best for fish or vegetables, as these overcook very quickly. Mashed potatoes can also be added to thicken a curry. DRY COOKING ‘When things have to be cooked with very little or no water, the heat should be low. Another way to prevent burning is to invert the lid of the saucepan and put water in it. KHOA OR MAWA This is dried, fresh whole milk. In some recipes I have successfully used substitutes like full cream milk powder or ricotta cheest with tinned condensed milk, but for some dishes the ‘real thing’ To make about 4 tablespoons of mawa: 600 mil full cream milk Ye teaspoon tartaric acid Boil the milk in a heavy saucepan. Stir occasionally until it starts thickening. It now needs to be stirred continuously so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pan and burn. When the liquid has evaporated, you will be left with a lump of soft dough To make granulated khoa, add the tartaric acid to the milk when it is boiling. This will curdle the milk slightly. Now follow the above method until khoa is formed.INDIAN COOKING Wuat Is WuaT IN INDIAN COOKING NIBBLES Shev, chivda, karakaddi, ghatia, chaklies, etc. can be served with predinner drinks. These can be made at home but I have not included recipes for them as they are very complicated to make and the ‘tools’ for making them are not commonly available. However, many such snacks are being commercially prepared by Indian housewives in Australia, or are imported and sold by the shops listed at the end of this book. PAPADUMS (OR PAPADS) T have often been asked for a recipe for papads. I could give you one but, believe me, they are much simpler to buy and not very expensive. In India there are many varieties that are made in the summer, and stored for the monsoons. They are made from various ingredients — lentils, wheat, rice, sweet potatoes, sago, jackfruit and so on. If you buy a big packet and want them to keep for a while, spread them out for half an hour in the sun, and then store them in an airtight container. ‘They are roasted or deep fried and eaten with the meal. GHEE Ghee is clarified butter, a cooking medium used as an alternative to oil, margarine or butter. It is rich and does not burn easily. It is available in the larger supermarkets and Asian spice shops. WHOLE SPICES Spices such as cardamom, cloves and cinnathon bark, should be removed from the dishes after cooking if served to people unfamiliar with Indian food. CURRY LEAVES These are small leaves used in a great many Indian dishes to ‘season’ the dish, Until recently, only the dried leaves were available in Australia. These do not have much aroma, Now you can buy the fresh leaves, or better still, the small plants, in a number of nurseries and Indian shops. As long as they are not exposed to frost, they survive quite well. MUSTARD SEEDS (RAI) Whole mustard seeds when ‘popped’ give the dish a different flavour and aroma than if they are added with the other spices or if ground mustard is used. To ‘pop’ mustard seeds, heat the ghee or oil, put the mustard seeds in, and cover (or else you will have mustard seeds flying in all directions), As soon as they start ‘popping’, take the pan off the fire to prevent them from burning. 20 EERE EEEREREEEEEE FRESH CORIANDER This is very easy to grow. It can be grown in a box or in your herb garden. Buy the whole coriander seeds which are sold in most supermarkets. Plant them in a sunny spot or in a box, and keep well watered, They might take about 3 weeks to grow in the cold weather. Even snails like these leaves! Coriander leaves are used for chutneys, garnishing and cooking in various dishes, The leaves must be washed thoroughly before use. If grinding, the roots can also be used but should otherwise be discarded. CHILLI Fresh, green or red, or the dried whole and powdered variety are used in most Indian dishes. If a recipe in this book calls for green chillies or chilli powder it means the HOT CHILLI. It is the chilli that provides the ‘hotness’ that people tend to confuse with curry. Until one gets accustomed to it, it is better to use only a small quantity, except in a few dishes which really wouldn’t be ‘right’ if they weren’t hot. In most Indian dishes, chilli is meant to flavour the main ingredient, not to burn away the taste of all the other flavours present. If you find that you have made something too hot, you can remedy it by adding yoghurt, cream, tomato paste or coconut milk. Of course you won’t have the original dish but, who knows, you might find that you like the new one more! Chilli powder should not be confused with ‘chilli? - a combination of spices sold for making dishes like chilli con carne. SALT Nothing is more annoying than to see someone madly shaking the salt and pepper over food without even tasting it first. This is one of the reasons I keep completely empty salt and pepper cellars on the table and only bring out the salt when specially asked for during the meal. Indian food is supposed to have adequate salt added during cooking and extra salt is added only by those who, after tasting the food, feel they require just that little bit more. About a flat teaspoon per 500 g of meat or fish is usually enough, a bit less for vegetables and salads. If you have added too much salt, put in a whole peeled raw potato and it will absorb most of it. aiINDIAN COOKING WHAT Is WHAT IN INDIAN COOKING GARAM MASALA Garam masala is a combination of spices which are powdered, mixed, and stored for use in various dishes. It can be bought in stores or made at home. If stored in an airtight container, garam masala will keep for about 2-3 months. There are various recipes for it. This is the one traditionally used in my family: 30 g crushed cardamom seeds (removed from the pod) 30 g powdered cloves 15 g bay leaves (broken into pieces) 30 g powdered cinnamon bark 4 g grated nutmeg KASHMIRI GARAM MASALA 4 g black pepper 15 g white cardamom pods (use seeds only) 4 g black cummin seeds 4g cinnamon bark 2 ¢ grated nutmeg % teaspoon powdered mace Grind the spices to a fine powder, and store in an airtight bottle. Grinding is best done in a coffee grinder as no water should be added = the masala should be completely dry. It might be better to make half this quantity until you start using it regularly. It is very aromatic, and even a pinch or two added to casseroles, etc. will enhance them. TAMARIND (IMLI) This is a brownish pulp from a bean-like pod of a tropical tree. It has a distinct flavour and is often used as a souring agent in Indian cooking. It is either ‘ground’ in a blender with other ingredients, or is soaked in water for about 30 minutes, squeezed, and just the thick brown water is used. Make sure you remove the seeds and fibre from the tamarind before grinding. If tamarind is not available, strong vinegar can be used. Tamarind concentrate is now available in most supermarkets. Adjust the quantity as required. JAGGERY (PALM SUGAR) - GUR This is a strongly flavoured sugar obtained by boiling the sap of the coconut and palmyra palms until it crystallizes, It is usually sold in small cakes or little lumps, and is available in most Asian shops. A substitute for palm sugar is the unrefined dark brown sugar sold in health food shops. Another kind of jaggery is unrefined cane sugar (gur), for which the nearest substitute is molasses. ASAFOETIDA (HING) This is a gum derived from a Persian plant with a strong aroma. It is available in powdered form. No more than a pinch must be used in most recipes. BAY LEAF (THE] PATHA) When used in Indian cooking, these leaves provide a distinctive fragrance. Use fresh leaves if available. CARDAMOM (ELAICHI) The aromatic fruit of a plant native to South India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia. The small pods have green or white skins and the larger ones, black. These have a powerfull aroma, but quite a delicate taste ~ except when chewed whole. Make sure you remove them before serving. CINNAMON (DHARCHINI) Cinnamon is the bark of a tree native to Sri Lanka, India and other South-east Asian countries, and is used as a flavouring, either in whole or powdered form. CLOVE (LAUNG) , Clove is the dried bud of tree native to many Asian countries including China, and may be used in whole or powdered form as a flavouring. CUMMIN (JEERA) The aromatic seeds of the cummin plant. There are two varieties. The white cummin seed has a nutty aroma and taste, while the black seeds have a delicate texture and mellow flavour. FENUGREEK (METHI) Both the seeds and leaves of this plant are used in Indian cooking. They are not interchangeable as they have different flavours and aromas. CORIANDER SEEDS (SOOKHA DHANIA) Dried fruit of the coriander plant. Used whole or powdered. AMCHUR (MANGO POWDER) This is powdered, dried, green mango (unripe mangoes) and has its own special ‘sour’ taste. It is added instead of tamarind, lemon juice, etc. to vegetable and fish dishes. 22. 23INDIAN COOKING lean POPPYSEEDS (KHAS-KHAS) Both black and white poppyseeds are used. It is better to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Always buy small quantities, as they go rancid easily. MENUS 1-12 SAFFRON (KESAR) SIMPLE MEALS This is the most expensive spice, the dried stamens of the saffron crocus. They are threadlike, orange strands and are available in powdered form (not to be confused with turmeric). Good quality saffron has a strong perfume, and is used in savoury and sweet dishes. Each menu will serve 4 people. Cut down the amount of rice if, unlike most Indians, you generally do not eat a lot of rice. TURMERIC (HALDI) Belongs to the ginger family and resembles the ginger root but is bright yellow in colour. It is not only used as a colouring agent, but adds flavour too. Only recommended quantities should be used as overuse masks more delicate flavours. Sa eeee iq iq iq 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 iq 4 iq iq ‘ ‘ iq iq iq iq ‘ 4 4 4 iq iq 4 4 iq 4 4 4 id 4 ‘4 VVVVVVVWVWVWVVVWWVWWVV VV VV VVV IVI WII VV IV IVI AAA bbb AABAABAABAAABAAAAAABA, 24 25