Fish Korma

Ingredients:

• 1 kg fish
• 1/2 cup curd
• 1/2 cup onion paste
• 2 tsp ginger paste
• 1 tsp garlic paste
• 1 tbsp coriander paste
• 6 cardamom
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 2 tsp salt
• 3/4 cup ghee or oil
• 6 green chilli
• 2 tbsp kewra
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
  

Method:

• Use large fish for korma.
• Do not cut the fish into too small pieces.
• Carp is great for Korma.
• Except for the green chilles and kewra, add all the rest of stuff into the cooking dish. Mix well. Heat covered in low heat.
• Turn over the fish once (be careful).
• When the water has almost dried up, add the green chilli and the kewra heat for another half hour in very low heat.
• When the oil begins to float on top, you are done.
• Serve fish korma hot with tandoori roti or rice.

Chicken Tikka

Ingredients:

• 1 (3 to 4 pound) chicken
• 1 1/2 cups yogurt
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 4 garlic cloves, pressed
• 1/8 tsp chili peppers
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• A spritzer of the type used to mist plants or dampen clothes for ironing for the barbecue flare ups.

Method

• Wash the chicken and cut it up. Cut off and discard as much of the fat as possible from under the skin, because the fat catches fire while cooking and causes the chicken to burn. Dry the pieces.
• For the marinade, combine all the remaining ingredients.
• Mix the marinade and the chicken and leave it all day in the fridge, turning once or twice.
• To barbecue, either a wood or a charcoal fire will do. Turn the chicken often so that it doesn't burn, and when the fire does flare up, extinguish the blaze by spraying it with water from your spritzer. It takes about 30 minutes to cook the chicken tikka.

Indian Butter Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1/4 pint/150ml natural yogurt
• 2 ounces/50g ground almonds
• 1 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1/4 tsp crushed bay leaves
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 1 tsp ginger pulp
• 1 tsp garlic pulp
• 14 ounce/400g can tomatoes
• 1 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 pounds/1kg chicken, skinned, boned and cubed
• 3 ounces/75g butter
• 1 tbsp corn oil
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 4 tbsp cream

Method

• Place the yogurt, ground almonds, all the dry spices, ginger, garlic, tomatoes and salt in a mixing bowl and blend together thoroughly.
• Put the chicken into a large mixing bowl and pour over the yogurt mixture.
• Set aside. Melt together the butter and oil in a medium karahi, wok or frying pan. Add the onions and fry for about 3 minutes. Add the chicken mixture and stir-fry for about 7 to 10 minutes.
• Stir in about half of the coriander and mix well. Pour over the cream and stir in well. Bring to the boil. Garnish the indian butter chicken with the remaining chopped coriander to serve the chicken curry.

Chilli Paste (Green Or Red)

Ingredients

• 250 gms. fresh green hot chillies
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 1 pinch asafoetida
• 1 tsp. salt

Method

• De-stem and clean chillies
• Heat oil in a frying pan.
• Add chillies, asafoetida, salt.
• Stir and cover, remove from fire.
• Keep covered for 3-4 minutes.
• Pound without water, or grind in small electric grinder, to form a paste.
• Do not add water.
• Store in clean jar, refrigerate.

Tamarind Paste

Ingredients

• 500 gms tamarind
• 20 gms. salt
• 1 tbsp. oil
• 2 cups hot water

Method

• Clean and soak tamarind in 1 cup hot water.
• Take care to remove any seeds that may be in tamarind.
• Boil in same water after 20 minutes.
• Cool and blend in mixie till smooth.
• Add remaining water, mix well.
• Pass through a sieve, removing any fibres, etc.
• Heat oil in deep heavy pan.
• Add tamarind paste, bring to a boil.
• Add salt, cook till a thick coating consistency is got.
• Cool completely, stirring in between, fill into clean sterile jar.

White Pepper Powder

Ingredients

• fresh green pepper

Method

• To prepare this from fresh pepper, the green peppers are peeled.
• Then the inner cores are dried and powdered.
• When commercially ground, the peeling is done in automatic machines.
• White pepper powder is used, where the taste is supposed to be more sharp.
• At the same time,the colour of the dish is not affected.

Garlic Salt

Ingredients

• 100 gms. garlic, peeled and chopped
• 250gms. salt.
• 1/2 tsp. rice flour

Method

• Dry garlic in sun till brittle.
• Grind to a fine powder.
• Add salt, run grinder for a few seconds.
• Keep for 2 days for flavour to merge fully in salt.
• Mix in 1/2 tsp. rice flour
• Put in sprinkler and use as required.
• Note: the rice flour will keep the salt from turning lumpy.
• Store in clean, dry airtight jar.
• Keeps for over 6 months, easily.

Cardamom Powder

Ingredients

• cardamom (ilaichi)

Method

• Remove the lump of blackish seeds from the cardamom
• Grind them to a powder.
• The skins are either discarded or mixed into tea leaves, to give a faint fragrance in the tea.
• Though this is a wonderful way to use the skins, if one has a large quantity, then it is liable to go waste

Amchoor (Dried Mango) Powder

Ingredients

• raw mangoes

Method

• Choose large firm raw green mangoes. The omelette or raspuri varieties are best. Those with more flesh and lesser fibre.
• Peel with a vegetable peeler.
• Slice into long thin slices, and put in strong sum immediately, by spreading on a clean dry cotton sheet in single layer.
• The slices should be in bright strong sun for at least 4-5 hours, to avoid them from discolouring.
• Spread in a dry warm area in the night and spread again as before till the pieces are crisp and brittle.
• Pound and then run in dry grinder till a fine powder is got.
• Sieve if required to make even powder.
• Store in clean sterile airtight jars.

Jeera (Cumin) Powder

Ingredients

• cumin seeds

Method

• Choose plump, brown, aromatic cumin seeds.
• Warm them a bit over a warm griddle or in a switched off oven, before grinding.
• Dry grind in a mixer, till crushed fine.
• Since crushed cumin tends to lose its flavour fast, grind just enough for a fortnight or so.