Indian Dinner

Posted by: Paulette

My Aunt came back from Australia this week. We usually have dinner together on Saturday nights, and I decided to do something a little special. Indian night! I've been making Indian food for years now, and don't have to even look up a recipe. Last night I made Tandoori Chicken on the grill, Wheat Naan, Daal Makhani, and Mango Pickle. The Mango Pickle was made about three weeks ago and has had some time to marinate in it's juices. For dessert we had Brown Rice Pudding. I was asked by some friends to share my recipes. I will try to remember what I used and how much, but, usually I use my hand or dump into the pot until I think it looks right.

So here we go!

Tandoori Chicken

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1/2 plain yogurt

2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

1 Tablespoon peeled, minced ginger root

1 Tablespoon ground cumin

1 Tablespoon ground coriander

1/2 Teaspoon crushed pepper

1/4 Teaspoon ground cardamom

1/4 Teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 Teaspoon ground black pepper

2 Teaspoons sea salt

Vegetable or canola oil for oiling grill

Using a sharp knife cut small slits all over the chicken. Mix together above ingredients in a plastic or glass bowl. Rub all over the chicken and place in a glass or plastic container and refrigerate for 8 hours or more.

Heat grill to hottest setting. Turn heat down to low. Oil grill, by using a paper towel soaked in oil, place over the end of a spatula and rub over grill. Turn the grill back up to high, and place chicken on it. Let cooked with grill closed for about 8 minutes. Turn chicken over, and turn heat to low. Let cook 12- 15 minutes, depending on the thickness of the breasts. Place chicken on platter and cover with a piece of foil and let rest. Cut into 1 inch slices and serve, or serve whole.

Traditional garnishes are tomatoes, raw onions, cucumber slices, cilantro,  lemon slices and plain yogurt.

Daal Makhani

1/2 Cup kidney beans

1/2 Cup black beans

1 Cup lentils

1 Large yellow onion chopped

2 Inches fresh ginger root, peeled and diced

4 Garlic cloves minced

1 Tablespoon  whole cumin

1 Teaspoon ground cardamom

1 Teaspoon ground cloves

1 Teaspoon crushed pepper

2 Tablespoons olive oil
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon sea salt

Place all of the beans in a crock pot set to high with enough water to cover beans plus 1 inch extra water.

In a pan, heat 2 Tablespoons olive oil to medium high heat, add onions and cook until transparent. Add other ingredients and cook until fragrant. Put onion spice mixture into crock pot. De glaze the pan with about 1/4 cup water. Pour into crock pot. Cover and cook for 8 hours. Add salt and sugar before serving.

Wheat Naan

2 Teaspoons yeast

1 1/2 Cups warm water

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1 Teaspoon sea salt

1 Cup white flour + more for rolling out

About 3 cups wheat flour

Place pizza stone on middle rack and heat over to 500 degrees.

Mix together yeast, water, oil salt, and 1 cup white flour. Gradually mix in wheat flour, until you make a dough. Continue to knead and adding flour, until dough feels like traditional play dough consistency.

Place in oiled bowl and let rest 10 minutes.

Pinch off enough dough to make a golf ball size roll. Continue, placing balls around area where you'll be rolling them out.

Dust surface with white flour. Push a ball into the flour using the palm of your hand. Coat both sides of dough. Roll once on one side, and then flip dough and roll in the other direction on the other side; i.e., vertical and then horizontal.

Once you have 3 to 4 place on pizza stone. Bake for about 2 minutes and then turn over.

Bake for about 1 minute more. Pull out of oven and lay on stove top to cool while you put in the next batch. Now you can place the bread into a bag to sweat. This will make it soft and chewy. 

Repeat until all discs have been baked.

Mango Pickle

4 Green, hard mangoes, peeled and sliced

Dried thin red chilies

 (this will determine how hot your pickle will be. Be cautious!)

1 Cup sugar

1/2 Cup vinegar

4 inches peeled chopped ginger root

Place sugar and vinegar into pot. Simmer until sugar is dissolved. Place remaining ingredients into pot, and heat through. Ladle into clean hot jars, and place caps. If you want to store outside the refrigerator, put into a boiling water bath for 8 minutes to seal lids.

Brown Rice Pudding

2 Cups brown rice

4 Cups water

2 tablespoons Cinnmon

1 Star Anise

2 Cups Evaporated milk

3/4 Cup Craisins

1/4 Cup Shelled, raw Pumpkin seeds

11/2 Cups brown sugar

Cook Rice in water with cinnamon and star anise until soft. Add remaining ingredients and simmer stirring occasionally until mixture thickens.

Note: I used craisins because I was all out of raisins, and I used pumpkin seeds because I have a nut allergy. The more traditional ingredients would have been raisins, with cashews, peanuts or pistachios.

My aunt made a wonderful mixed salad with balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing. The plates looked beautiful and tasted delicious. Let me know if you decide to try any of these recipes and if you liked them.