We love Indian food. It has become a staple in our household. We visited India in January 2011 and fell in love with the food, the people and the culture. Our very good friends gave me a cookbook entitled “India’s 500 Best Recipes.” They weren’t kidding. Everything in the book has been amazing! One of my favorites is the Pilau rice. There are so many variations and it tastes amazing with all of the dishes that we make. The other of my favorites and staples of our Indian cooking is Naan bread. I have tried a number of recipes and sort of combined a few to make the Naan bread of our choice.
When we eat our Indian food, we do not use utensils. They are forbidden at our table for these meals! It sounds crazy, but the food tastes so much better when you use your hand. In the Indian culture, they only use one hand to eat. We are not Indians and have not yet mastered the one hand bread tearing, so we still use both of our hands!
Last night I actually strayed away from the cookbook and took a recipe from Food Network’s Aarti Sequeira. It is the Chickpea and Artichoke Masala.
Original Recipe from FoodNewtork.com follows:
My adaptation follows:
Chickpea and Artichoke Masala
Ingredients:
1 small red onion
3 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger (the grocery store didn’t have any ginger root, so I used ground. I prefer fresh though and would use the next time.)
1 teaspoon cumin (I didn’t have any cumin seeds)
4 cardamom pods, slightly crushed (love, love, love the flavor so I had to add)
1/2 teaspoon red chili (for some heat)
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (a little more heat)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt, whisked until smooth (we prefer the taste of Greek)
1 tablespoon lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (next time I would mash them) 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, and halved
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat a pan with the remainder of the oil. Add the onion-tomato paste you just made, and saute until it thickens and deepens in color, about 10 minutes.
Add the rest of the spices and saute about 30 seconds. Then add the yogurt, a little at a time so it doesn't curdle. Stir in the lime juice, chickpeas, artichokes, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes. Taste for seasonings and serve garnished with cilantro. *We found that we would probably prefer to mash the chickpeas next time. We love the flavor, but it was very difficult to eat with the Naan bread and the rice together.
Indian Pilau Rice (adapted from “India’s 500 Best Recipes” cookbook)
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 ¼ cups basmati rice
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon salt
2 whole cloves
4 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
5 black peppercorns
2 cups chicken stock
Wash the rice and leave soak in water for about 30. Rinse and drain well
Heat oil in a heavy pan (one that fits a lid). Add the onion and garlic and fry gently for 5-6 minutes until softened
Stir in sesame seeds, turmeric, cumin, salt, cloves, cardamom pods and peppercorns and fry for a minute or two. Add the drained rice and add to the pan. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes
Pour on the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then cover. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer gently for 20 minutes. DO NOT remove the lid while cooking until all of the liquid has been absorbed.
Remove lid and let stand 2-3 minutes. Fluff the rice with a fork and serve.
Here is the Naan Bread recipe: (again, adapted from the Food Network’s Aarti Sequeira):
Naan Bread
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons sugar
¾ cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling, see Cook's Note*
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Melted butter for slathering on the finished naans
Coarse sea salt for sprinkling
Directions:
In a large glass, dissolve the dry yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar with 3/4 cup warm water (about 100 degrees F). Let it sit on your counter until it's frothy, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, sift the flour, salt, remaining 1 teaspoon of sugar and baking powder into a large, deep bowl. Once the yeast is frothy, add the yogurt and the olive oil into the glass, and stir to combine. Pour the yogurt mixture into the dry ingredients and and gently mix the ingredients together with a fork. When the dough is about to come together, use your hands to mix. It will feel like there isn't enough flour at first, but keep going until it transforms into a soft, slightly sticky and pliable dough. As soon as it comes together, stop kneading. Cover the dough with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and let it sit in a warm, draft-free place for 2 to 4 hours. When you're ready to roll, make sure you have two bowls on your counter: one with extra flour in it, and one with water. The dough will be extremely soft and sticky-this is good! Separate the dough into 6 equal portions and lightly roll each one in the bowl of extra flour to keep them from sticking to each other.
Shape the naan. Using a rolling pin, roll each piece of dough into a teardrop shape, narrower at the top than at the bottom. It should be 8 to 9-inches long, 4-inches wide at its widest point and about 1/4-inch thick. Once you've formed the general shape, you can also pick it up by one end and wiggle it; the dough's own weight will stretch it out a little. Repeat this method with the rest of the dough. Warm a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it's nearly smoking. Make sure you have a lid large enough to fit the skillet and have a bowl of melted butter at the ready.
Dampen your hands in the bowl of water and pick up one of your naans, flip-flopping it from one hand to the other to lightly dampen it. Gently lay it in the skillet and set your timer for 1 minute. The dough should start to bubble.
After about 1 minute, flip the naan. It should be blistered and somewhat blackened, don't worry - that's typical of traditional naan! Cover the skillet with the lid and cook 30 seconds to 1 minute more. Remove the naan from the skillet, brush with a bit of butter and sprinkle with a little coarse sea salt. Place the naan in a tea towel-lined dish. Repeat with the rest of the naans and serve. This is one of the best and easiest recipes for Naan bread that I have found. I am going to try to find myself a larger cast iron pan and that help tremendously.
I hope you are inspired to try some new recipes soon! Remember, keep it raw!
Cheers!
moon & lulus
