My Take on Indian Food

It's no secret that I love Indian Food, and I guess that's because I love SPICY food.  There's just something about Indian Cuisine that stimulates all the senses - the colors, the aroma (ok admittedly, it's not for everyone), the flavors... And I think one dish will have no less than 5 spices in it.  

Last weekend, I made two Indian dishes for my Mom - who influenced her children to be adventurous about their food (and I thank her for that).  So I cheated on the first dish, Butter Chicken, because the sauce came from a bottle hee hee, but it's just so darn good!  The sauce was so thick, so I diluted in milk and I added potatoes and peas.  For the second dish, Chana Masala, the spice blend came from a box, but I cooked everything else - so it's semi-from-scratch.  I added some cilantro for color.  We only had regular jasmine rice (not the traditional Indian Basmati rice), but we did have some Naan bread.  

I ate the last cup of Chana Masala this evening.  I'm proud of it - almost like what you eat from an Indian Restaurant. :-)  And most importantly, my mom loved it, including the Butter Chicken.  We had these for dinner last weekend, then lunch today (per her request).  Just thinking about it, I'm getting hungry again.

Columbus Trip Days 2 & 3: Learning How to Make Indian Food

One of the best experiences in our trip to Columbus was not only eating, but learning how to make Indian Dishes.  I've been a big fan of Indian Cuisine for many years now, and what a treat it has been to have Indian friends and colleagues who can actually show you how to make their food... So despite looking like an eager beaver geek following their every (kitchen) move, I took the opportunity of taking photos of each step in the process.  For the first dish, it's called "Chat Papdi" which is actually a kind of street food in India, though I find it to be very canapé-ish and sosy hehehe!

Lay the Papdis on a nice tray (ours were store-bought so no need to make them from scratch).  Add Chickpeas Masala and chopped red onions.

Add green and tamarind chutney, sev, and cilantro.

Smile for the camera - you've just made your first Chat Papdi!

And there's another variation (with the same toppings) but with potato pancakes! 

I loved how the different spices and textures danced happily in my mouth.  Cilantro gave it an extra kick!

 It's like Indian "nachos".

On Day 3 (just this morning), we cooked Puri, a staple Indian breakfast food item, similar to Naan, but smaller and a little thinner.  I had the most fun with this and I think hubby liked this the best.

It started as a sort of bread dough made of whole wheat flour so I just had to roll it into golf-ball-size portions.  Then we flattened each ball using this cool kitchen gadget (it's like a panini/waffle maker).

Then they were deep fried in vegetable oil until they got puffy...  We served with potatoes (with mustard seed gravy), scrambled eggs, and fresh fruits.  Yummy!  

I have yet to get the full recipes of these dishes, but I think they can be easily googled.  It's just really interesting and fun to actually do them in an Indian household as I felt it's the most authentic experience!