Secrets of the Indian cuisine: not all won’t stay as secrets as I share some of them with you! Yes, I promised you this in my last blog post when writing about Taste of India: Authentic & Homemade.
Six amazing Indian dishes, all homemade, with years of practice of My Better Half, or rather my private master chef! 🙂 Save this post so that you can give it a glimpse whenever you feel like preparing some of the best Indian homemade food! Yummy, authentic and easy recipes! Step by step, so you can follow easily. Enjoy, bon appetit!
the INDIAN CUISINE
From Chole bhature of Delhi to Dosa of South, from Rosogolla of Bengal to Dhokla of Gujarat, from Lassi of Punjab to Biriyani of Hyderabad, from Vada pav of Mumbai to Puchka of Kolkata, from Dal bati churma of Rajasthan to Litti choka of Bihar, India is all about mouth watering cuisines. No wonder why Indian cuisine always tops the foodies list worldwide. And these are not just food, but the emotions of people.
Priti’s World
SECRETS OF the INDIAN CUISINE: HOMEMADE FOOD
AUTHENTIC & EASY RECIPES
I am so lucky that My Better Half cooks so well! At home, we have a great balance of Indian and Polish (or European) cuisines. It is the list of “food that is too good”! My top and recommended homemade dishes. This time my master chef agreed and scripted all the recipes! Fully authentic, homemade, and delicious! And imagine: in the last days, I was double lucky – My Better Half prepared all of these dishes so we could take pictures for this blog post. Yum! Enjoy, bon appetit!
EGG CURRY
Ingredients
- 6 eggs
- 2 tomatoes
- 1 onion (big)
- Fresh cream: 100 gm
- Milk: 1 cup
- Turmeric: 1 tbsp
- Coriander powder: 3-4 tsp
- Salt: 1 tsp (as per taste)
- Red chili powder: 1/10 tbsp (can increase depending upon chill-eating-ability!)
- Vegetable oil: 2 tsp
- Cumin seeds: 1 tbsp
- Cloves: 3/4
- Black pepper seeds: 3/4
- Bay leaf: 1
- Fresh coriander leaves (for garnishing)
Step by step
- Boil eggs in water for 15-20 mins
- Cut onion and tomato into big pieces and mix them in a mixer grinder to form a paste
- Take a pan (with a deeper base) and pour 2 spoons of oil on it.
- As the oil gets warm, put cumin seeds, cloves, black pepper, bay leaf in it and fry for 30 sec.
- Add tomato and onion paste to the pan and fry for 2 min.
- Add turmeric, coriander powder, salt, chili powder to the paste and stir it for 30 sec.
- Let the mixture cook for 5 min.
- Then add fresh cream and milk to stir the mixture for 1 min.
- Let the mixture cook for 5 min.
- Add 5 boiled peeled eggs (cut into half) into the overall mixture.
- Crush 1 boiled egg (both yellow and white) and mix it in the curry.
- Cook curry for 10-15 min, till the raw flavor of tomato and spices goes away.
- Add chopped coriander leaves for garnishing.
TIP
- Check the curry for its density. If it is too thick, add more milk and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
BHARWA SHIMLA MIRCH (STUFFED CAPSICUM CURRY)
Ingredients
- 8 capsicums (small)
- Paneer (cottage cheese): 200 gm
- Mustard seed oil: 2 tsp
- Coriander powder: 3-4 tsp
- Salt: 1 tsp (as per taste)
- Red chili powder: 1/10 tbsp (can increase depending upon chill-eating-ability!
Step by step
- Remove the “caps” of the capsicums by cutting them out from the top (this place will act as a filler).
- Remove the seeds of the capsicums without damaging the sides.
- Apply thinly mustard seed oil inside and outside of each capsicum.
- Crush cottage cheese into small pieces.
- Add coriander powder, salt, and chili powder to cottage cheese.
- Fill this mixture evenly in all 8 capsicums till the top.
- Pre-heat the oven (grill mode) at 180 degrees for 10 min.
- Grill capsicums in the oven for 10-15 min, till they turn a bit brown.
- Base curry of capsicum is the same as egg curry (just without eggs). Make the base curry separately and add all capsicums to it, letting them merge for 15 min.
- Garnish with coriander leaves.
TIP
- Adding fenugreek leaves to the base curry gives a nice flavor. Try a different version with it!
BAINGAN BHARTA (ROASTED EGGPLANT MASH)
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants (large)
- 2-3 tomatoes
- 1 onion (big)
- Vegetable oil: 2 tsp
- Cumin seeds: 1 tbsp
- Asafoetida powder (hing): 1/10 tbsp to sprinkle
- Coriander powder: 3-4 tbsp
- Salt: 2 tbsp
- Red chili powder: 1/10 tbsp (again based on your taste buds!)
- Coriander leaves (for garnishing)
Step by step
- Roast the eggplants (in the oven or directly on fire) for 15-20 min, ensuring roasted from all sides.
- When eggplants’ skin becomes black and flaky, they are ready.
- Let them cool for 5-10 min and later remove the eggplants’ skin.
- Take the eggplants in a big bowl and crush evenly to form a paste (tip: remove small black layers from the base) and keep aside.
- Cut onion into thin slices and tomato in small pieces.
- Heat the oil in a pan. Once heated, add cumin seeds and asafoetida and fry for 30 sec.
- Fry onion in this oil, letting it turn light brown.
- Add tomato in it along with spices (coriander powder, chili powder, and salt).
- Fry the mixture for 10-15 min (till the raw taste of tomato goes away).
- Add the roasted eggplant in it and mix well.
- Cook the eggplant for 10 min (occasionally stir at low flame).
- Once done, add coriander leaves for garnishing.
TIP
Best served hot along with plain parathas! If not, put it as a topping on toasted bread and enjoy!
COCONUT CHUTNEY
Ingredients
- Grated coconut: 1 coconut
- Yogurt: 6-7 tbsp
- Peanuts: handful
- Vegetable oil
- Curry leaves: 4-5
- Mustard seeds: 1 tsp
- Black gram lentils, split and skinned (Urad Dal): 1 tsp
- Red chili: half of a dry chili
- Salt: 1 tsp
Step by step
- Add grated coconut, yogurt, peanuts, and salt in a mixer grinder and stir for 2-3 min.
- Add oil to a pan. Once it is heated, add curry leaves, mustard seed oil, red chill, black gram lentil, and fry for 30 sec.
- Put grated coconut paste into this oil along with 2 tsp of water.
- Stir for 2-3 min to heat the paste.
- Your coconut chutney is ready!
TIP
- Chutney is the best enjoyed with hot dosas or idlis! Another delicious combination is hot toast bread topped with cold coconut chutney!
JEERA COOKIES (CUMIN SEEDS COOKIES)
Jeera cookies are a perfect balance of slightly salted and mildly sweet flavor, with a crispy and buttery taste. Ideal for tea or coffee time!
Ingredients
- Whole wheat flour or all-purpose flour: 1 cup
- Powdered sugar: 1/4 cup
- Unsalted butter (room temperature): 1/4 cup
- Milk: 2-3 tbsp
- Cumin seeds: 1.5 tbsp
- Salt: 1/2 tsp
- Baking powder: 1/2 tsp
- Baking soda: 1/4 tsp
Step by step
- Preheat the oven to 160°C.
- Roast 1.5 tbsp cumin seeds for 1 min (so that they turn aromatic)
- Put butter and sugar into a large bowl, mix till it is smooth and creamy.
- Add flour, milk, salt, baking powder, and baking soda, mix all and make a dough using your hands.
- Finally, add roasted cumin seeds. Mix all again.
- Form a stiff dough. If needed, add a bit more milk.
- Sprinkle a bit of flour and roll the dough to 1 cm thickness.
- Cut cookies shape as per your preference.
- Prepare a baking tray with parchment paper, place cookies.
- Bake cookies at 160° in a pre-heated oven for about 20 min (they should be crispy).
- Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee!
TIP
- You can keep them in a cookies tin or an airtight container for about 2 weeks.
MANGO LASSI
Serving: 3-4 people
Ingredients
- Mango: 1 medium to big
- Milk: 2 cups
- Sugar: 2 tsp (as per preference, white sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or honey)
- Ice cubes: 4-6
Step by step
- Mix all ingredients in a mixer grinder for 3-4 min to form a fine mixture.
- Pour it in glasses and enjoy!
TIP
- Mangoes increase body temperature. Try to avoid mango lassi when unwell with a fever. Otherwise: enjoy it. Too tasty to avoid! 🙂
Hungry for more?
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It would be amazing if you could share your feedback on these recipes, especially when tested! Bon appetit!
Moments that matter, no matter the recipe.
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