Indian Cooking Series Part 1 - Embrace the Indian Food

Yes, embrace the Indian food. You may think that Indian food is too spicy for you and maybe you've never even tried it, but there is Indian food out there for everyone and it's not all super spicy. For those of you who already love Indian food, I hope you enjoy these recipes. And for those of you who aren't quite sure, I think you might be pleasantly surprised.

Oh the possibilities.

I made my own chicken curry for the first time last night. It's usually my go-to dish in any Indian restaurant. I was very pleased with the results. I also made Aloo, a potato based dish, which is one of my father's staple Indian dishes.

First, a note on curries. The chicken curry I made last night involved three different pre-prepared Indian spices. For the wedding I was given an awesome set of spices from http://www.penzeys.com/, but you should be able to pick up any of these spices at your local Indian or international grocery store.

I love me some curry.

Hot Curry Powder: turmeric, cayenne red pepper, coriander, ginger, cumin, fenugreek, white pepper, cinnamon, fennel, nutmeg, cardamom, cloves and Tellicherry black pepper.

Sweet curry powder: turmeric, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, ginger, nutmeg, fennel, cinnamon, white pepper, cardamom, cloves, black pepper and cayenne pepper.

Garam Masala: Moroccan coriander, Tellicherry black peppercorns, cardamom, Korintje cassia cinnamon, kalonji, caraway, cloves, ginger and nutmeg.

If you can't get to an Indian store, you can always make your own:
Hot Curry Powder:  http://www.food.com/recipe/madras-curry-powder-174350
Sweet Curry Powder: http://cookeatshare.com/recipes/curry-powder-spice-and-seasoning-blends-135075

Chicken Curry

     Ingredients
    * 1 lb. chicken breast
    * 4 TB. vegetable oil
    * 1 medium onion, peeled and minced
    * 4 inch section fresh Ginger, peeled and grated - or 1 tsp. Ground Ginger
    * 4 cloves Garlic, minced, or 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
    * 1 tsp. Sweet Curry Powder
    * 1 tsp. Hot Curry Powder
       (It should also be fine to use 2 tsp. of hot curry powder if you don't have any sweet curry powder)
    * 1 1/2 tsp. Garam Masala
    * 1 tsp. salt
    * 1 /2 Cup plus 2 TB. water, divided
    * 15 oz can of tomato sauce
    * 2 TB. yogurt (increase this if you prefer the dish to be milder)
    * 3 hot green chillies - split, not cut up (optional - only for those who like it hot)
    * 2 TB cilantro - for garnish

Directions
Place all dry spices (except salt) in a small bowl, cover with 2 TB. water, let stand while chopping the chicken into bite-sized pieces, mincing the onion, grating the GINGER and finely mincing the GARLIC. Heat oil over medium heat. When hot, add onion, plus GINGER and GARLIC if using fresh. Fry, stirring, for about 3 minutes, until onions start to brown. Spoon in the curry-water mixture, stir quickly. The mix will become quite dry, keep stirring until everything is a smooth paste, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken pieces, saute quickly for a few minutes until well coated, then add water and tomato sauce, salt and chillies (if using), stir well. Reduce heat to a simmer cover and cook 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. Remove a couple TB of sauce to a small bowl then add yogurt and stir well. Return the mixture to the pot and stir well. If desired, garnish with cilantro

Aloo

Ingredients
* 8 potatoes
* 2 onions (thickly chopped)
* 1/2 cup vegetable oil
* 4 cloves garlic
* 4 tsp black Indian mustard seeds
* 4 whole red chilies (do not chop)
* 5-8 curry leaves
* 2 tsp. tumeric
* 4 tsp. salt
* 5-8 TB cilantro
* 3-4 green chilies (add more chillies for more heat)
* 1/2 cup water

Directions
Peel and chop onions. Chop cilantro. Peel garlic (use full). Peel and boil the potatoes (about 20 minutes). Cube the potatoes. Add the oil to a deep pot. Heat at medium until simmering. Add the red chillies and mustard seeds. Next add the garlic and curry leaves. Move around in the pan to flavor the oil. Then add the onions and cook until they become translucent. Add the tumeric and salt, stir. Then add the potatoes, cilantro, and green chillie peppers. Add 1/2 cup of water, cover and cook on medium heat for 5 minutes.