Day Ten - India

Namaste.  Welcome to India! When I was planning out my list of countries to visit this month, India was high on my list of places I was most excited about. Elizabeth and I love Indian food, but usually we have to resort to either a good little restaurant in town or those microwaveable packets that you see in the international aisle. The restaurant can get a little pricey, and while the packets are good, I wonder how authentic they really are.

I had tried my hand at cooking Indian food before, but it has always come out bland and watered down. So tonight, I really wanted to get it right. There were mixed results.

Chicken Korma

6 chicken thighs, chopped

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves, crumbled

1 onion, diced

3 gloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon gram masala

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon tumeric

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon coriander

1/4 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup cashews

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Ingredients wise, this one is probably my most complex so far this month. The vast majority of them went into making the creamy sauce.

First, I heated the oil and cooked the bay leaves for about 30 seconds. Then, I added the onions and cooked them down until they were clear.

Next, I added the garlic, gram masala, cumin, chili powder, and coriander and stirred often.

While this was happening, I boiled 1/4 cup of water and poured it over the cashews and ginger. I used a mortar and pestle to grind it down into a paste.

After 3 minutes of stirring the onion and spice mixture, I added the chicken and cooked for about 5 minutes.  I then added the tomato sauce and broth. I let this simmer, stirring every few minutes, for 15 minutes.

After it had simmered, I added the yogurt, cream, and cashew paste and stirred. This turned the sauce a nice creamy orange color.  To help it set, I added a teaspoon of corn starch.

I let everything simmer for another few minutes and then served.

Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Butternut Squash

1 sweet potato, chopped and peeled

1 butternut squash, chopped and peeled

1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced

3 gloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon yellow mustard seed

1 teaspoon gram masala

1 teaspoon ginger

This turned out to be a recipe with a great spice to it and one that I will be making again for Indian nights in the future.

First, I peeled and chopped the sweet potato and butternut squash.

Next, I heated the oil and cooked the pepper flakes and mustard seeds for about 2 minutes, or until I started hearing the seeds pop.

I then added the gram masala, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño, and cooked for another 2 minutes.

Finally, I tossed the sweet potatoes and squash in the pan with the spicy sauce. I made sure to coat the vegetables thoroughly, and then transferred them to a baking dish.  I baked them in the oven for 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Indian Rice

1 cup basmati rice with red quinoa

3 cups water

3 tablespoons lime juice

Very simple here, just boiling the rice and adding the lime juice to give it a kick. The rice and quinoa mix was a nice change from plain white rice, and had a great flavor.

Cucumber Raita

2 cups Greek yogurt

1 cucumber, grated

3 small boxes of raisins

2 sprigs of mint (here's where I messed up)

I poured the yogurt into a large bowl and whipped it until it was smooth. I then added the cucumber and raisins and  stirred again.

I went to get some mint...and saw I was out. Crap. Always check ingredients before cooking, lesson learned. But I had to improvise. I found some peppermint extract in the cupboard. This should work, I told myself, and added at least five drops. I stirred and let it set, happy with myself and my ingenuity...

The result:

I got some store made naan and served the chicken over the rice. That came out really well, and next time I think I'll add more cashews to the mix. The sweet potatoes and squash, as mentioned before, were great.

The raita...well, it was a little minty. And by a little, I mean a lot. And by a lot, I mean yikes, I put way too much of that extract in it and it completely ruined the dish. It would have worked without it, and I should have skipped that ingredient altogether. 

This project is helping me not only to explore new cuisines, but it's also helping me become a better cook. So I'll take this one in stride. I got two out of the three dishes right (I just boiled rice, that doesn't really count). As Meat Loaf said, two outta three ain't bad.

This was a lot of work, and in the future I may want a bottle of store made sauce handy to save some time. But it's good to know that I can do an Indian night on my own, and it can turn out tasting pretty  darn good.

I just have to avoid that extract from here on out. Yuck.