Anyone know how to cook Indian food?

[Kaido]

A good friend got me into Indian food a couple years ago and whenever I meet up with him we always hit up one of the local Indian places. I really enjoy the food and it does wonders on my sinuses. Is it hard to make at home? I have no clue about how to make Indian food, what spices go into it, etc. All I remember is that the Basmati rice and Chicken Marasla was delicious

 

[handoverfist]

..

 

[Captante]

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/

Looks like a good place to start.

 

[Legendary]

Indian food usually takes awhile.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Legendary
Indian food usually takes awhile.

Seems like it would be a good once-a-week treat

 

[Farang]

My old roommate was able to.. I meant to learn but haven't got around to it yet and probably won't for awhile as my next task is Thai food when I move to Bangkok next month.

The idea of being able to make really tasty meals with just potatoes and spices is really appealing to me as a poor college student.

 

[panipoori]

Get a indian mother, lucky for me i have one

 

[Vonkhan]

Indian food takes a while, but unlike most other food - it tastes great even when reheated. So u wanna make a lot of say, chicken tikka masala, and put it in the freezer.

I'm also assuming that u mean north indian food.

Some of the essential ingridients of any Indian kitchen are:

garam masala (powder)
turmeric (powder)
coriander (powder)
bay leaves
cinnamon
cardamom

ginger
garlic
onions
chilis

Basmati rice is pretty easy to make. Make sure u buya good Basmati rice brand like Tilda, u usually get what u pay for. Basmati rice takes less water to cook, so keep that in mind. The trick is to add a mix of high quality oil, some pure butter, dash of salt and a wee pinch of saffron for the flavor.

When u're cooking indian food, remember to taste regularly - it's a very touchy feely kinda affair.

In my opinion, the best beer with indian food are strong lagers.

Bon appetit

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Vonkhan
Indian food takes a while, but unlike most other food - it tastes great even when reheated. So u wanna make a lot of say, chicken tikka masala, and put it in the freezer.

-

Great reply, thanks! I didn't know it was good reheated. I usually go for the buffet at the local Indian restaurants, there's such a wide variety of dishes to try! What's the difference between North and South Indian food?

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

South indian is like idli's, dosa's, sambar, etc.

North indian is what most people know - naan (bread), chicken tikka masala, palak paneer, etc.

 

[Ulfhednar]

We had chicken tikka masala last night, didn't take long to make at all and is ridiculously simple.

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Also - if cooked properly and as it should be, you'll get a LOT of flavor, and it will be healthy for you - cream, butter, oil, etc. can be kept to a minimum and the first two aren't really needed. At home, we don't ever use those in the cooking.

The spices are great, they're essential to the flavor and not something that they did later just to see how spicy they could make the food, if that makes sense. Basically, it cleared up your sinuses and that's normal

 

[AgaBoogaBoo]

Originally posted by: Ulfhednar
We had chicken tikka masala last night, didn't take long to make at all and is ridiculously simple.

In Europe, even gas stations serve this with rice. The pubs do too, order a drink, and get chicken tikka masala with rice and some bread as well.

 

[Ulfhednar]

Originally posted by: AgaBoogaBoo

Originally posted by: Ulfhednar
We had chicken tikka masala last night, didn't take long to make at all and is ridiculously simple.

In Europe, even gas stations serve this with rice. The pubs do too, order a drink, and get chicken tikka masala with rice and some bread as well.

Yeah I live in the UK and chicken tikka masala with rice is very popular here.

Not surprised since it's so absolutely awesome.

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: panipoori
Get a indian mother, lucky for me i have one

nice username...haha, its one of my favorite indian dishes (im indian too).

 

[Wuffsunie]

I'm actually making a curry dish tonight, cashew chicken garam masala w/chutney. It's a first time variation, so we'll see how it goes.

At a worst, if you want some good Indian dishes, you can always try the ready made curry pastes and sauces. Sure, they may not be quite as flavorful as home made, but that's expected. I often make a tandoori curry using Patak's tandoori paste. For really quick, and tasty, I like President's Choice butter chicken sauce. Probably the best of the bottled stuff I've found, as others seem to be too heavy on the tomato. You just take chicken pieces, brown in a sauce pan until you can't see pink any more, then add in the contents. Let simmer on medium heat for around 5-7 min. Serve over rice of your choice. Uummm....

 

[Kadarin]

Anyone know how to cook Indian food?

Given that there are well over a billion Indian people on this planet, I'd guess that a lot of people know how to cook Indian food.

 

[mAdD INDIAN]

Originally posted by: panipoori
Get a indian mother, lucky for me i have one

I love pani poori! And some dhai-poori to go with that!

mmmmmmm

btw, i'm indian and i have no idea how to cook indian food.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Astaroth33

Anyone know how to cook Indian food?

Given that there are well over a billion Indian people on this planet, I'd guess that a lot of people know how to cook Indian food.

Yeah but how many of them post on ATOT? And why aren't they in my thread?

 

[Kaido]

Well I gave it a semi-shot, stopped by a local Indian store where they have a "deli" in back and got some chicken tikka masala and chole to go with my basmati. The lady I talked to who worked there said the mixes they sold took a long time to make and didn't taste as good as what they sold pre-made, plus the pre-made stuff was cheaper by a dollar Turned out pretty decent, but it didn't agree with my wife. Looks like the only time I'll be having Indian is when I have lunch with my friend lol.

 

[Descartes]

My fiance is Indian, and we cook it probably 3-5 times a week at the very least. She taught me how to cook, so I can make just about anything you could ever want. We tend to stick to dry curries, dahl, dosa, and chapati instead of naan.

Fresh Indian food makes a world of difference, especially when you use fresh spices. That's probably my only recommendation: Use fresh spices instead of the powders. A lot of people that cook Indian food seem to think you can just put some garam masala in anything and have it taste good, but there's simply no comparison. Get the spices and crush them yourself if you're making a masala, and if you're wanting a curry/dahl just prepare the fresh spices as normal.

My favorite curry is probably cauliflower with lentils. It's incredibly good. I tend to take a chapati with a little curry and plain yogurt.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Well I gave it a semi-shot, stopped by a local Indian store where they have a "deli" in back and got some chicken tikka masala and chole to go with my basmati. The lady I talked to who worked there said the mixes they sold took a long time to make and didn't taste as good as what they sold pre-made, plus the pre-made stuff was cheaper by a dollar Turned out pretty decent, but it didn't agree with my wife. Looks like the only time I'll be having Indian is when I have lunch with my friend lol.

Chicken tikka masala doesn't taste right unless the chicken is properly grilled and marinated. Places that sell it ready-made typically forego things like lemon juice and cilantro as well, and that's what really tends to balance out the creamy flavors from the yogurt, tomatoes, etc.

If that didn't work for the wife, you could just try marinating, grilling and garnishing with cilantro and lemons. Put a side of plain yogurt for dipping and you have a great snack/meal, imo.

I'm hungry again.

 

[Dualist]

Originally posted by: Legendary
Indian food usually takes awhile.

Never knew that, guess it depends on what the ingredients are to make Indian food.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: Kaido
Well I gave it a semi-shot, stopped by a local Indian store where they have a "deli" in back and got some chicken tikka masala and chole to go with my basmati. The lady I talked to who worked there said the mixes they sold took a long time to make and didn't taste as good as what they sold pre-made, plus the pre-made stuff was cheaper by a dollar Turned out pretty decent, but it didn't agree with my wife. Looks like the only time I'll be having Indian is when I have lunch with my friend lol.

Chicken tikka masala doesn't taste right unless the chicken is properly grilled and marinated. Places that sell it ready-made typically forego things like lemon juice and cilantro as well, and that's what really tends to balance out the creamy flavors from the yogurt, tomatoes, etc.

If that didn't work for the wife, you could just try marinating, grilling and garnishing with cilantro and lemons. Put a side of plain yogurt for dipping and you have a great snack/meal, imo.

I'm hungry again.

Would there be any nuts in tikka masala? She's allergic to most nuts and got somewhat sick after eating it. Myself and our guests didn't though.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: Descartes

Originally posted by: Kaido
Well I gave it a semi-shot, stopped by a local Indian store where they have a "deli" in back and got some chicken tikka masala and chole to go with my basmati. The lady I talked to who worked there said the mixes they sold took a long time to make and didn't taste as good as what they sold pre-made, plus the pre-made stuff was cheaper by a dollar Turned out pretty decent, but it didn't agree with my wife. Looks like the only time I'll be having Indian is when I have lunch with my friend lol.

Chicken tikka masala doesn't taste right unless the chicken is properly grilled and marinated. Places that sell it ready-made typically forego things like lemon juice and cilantro as well, and that's what really tends to balance out the creamy flavors from the yogurt, tomatoes, etc.

If that didn't work for the wife, you could just try marinating, grilling and garnishing with cilantro and lemons. Put a side of plain yogurt for dipping and you have a great snack/meal, imo.

I'm hungry again.

Would there be any nuts in tikka masala? She's allergic to most nuts and got somewhat sick after eating it. Myself and our guests didn't though.

Some Indians (I think mostly northerners, but not positive) use cashews in their masalas, and they might even use white raisins as well. I would say it's in the minority though, but you should probably ask just to be sure.