1,000 Indian Recipes (295 page)

¹
⁄
₄
cup coarsely broken raw peanuts, without red skin, dry-roasted

¹
⁄
₄
cup sliced raw almonds, dry-roasted

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, dry-roasted

1 to 2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

2 (1-inch) sticks cinnamon

3 black cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin

3 whole dried red chile peppers, such as chile de arbol

2 bay leaves

2 large cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1.
Place the wild rice in a medium saucepan, add 1
¹
⁄
₄
cups water, and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and cook until the all the water is absorbed and the rice is soft, about 40 minutes.

2.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, soak the basmati rice in the remaining 2 cups water about 30 minutes. In a small skillet, dry-roast the peanuts, almonds, and sesame seeds, roasting each separately because they cook at different rates. Then, mix them all together and save for garnish.

3.
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds; they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the cinnamon, cardamom pods, and red chile peppers and cook, stirring, about 1 minute.

4.
Add the bay leaves and the garlic and cook, stirring, another minute. Add the cooked wild rice, the basmati rice, plus all the water it was soaking in, and the salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to lowest heat setting, cover the pan (partially at first, until the foam subsides, then snugly), and cook until the rice is done, 10 to 15 minutes. (Do not stir the rice while it cooks.) Let the rice rest about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, gently mix in the roasted nuts and sesame seeds, with some of them visible as a garnish, and serve.

Breads and Crepes

Whether they are humble everyday staples or creatively flavored and artfully prepared, Indian breads are integral to the country's cuisine. With roots well before
Vedic
times (the
Vedas
is a collection of Hindu scriptures believed to have been written about 5,000 years ago), no meal is complete without some form of bread made from dough or from a batter, which are similar to crepes and pancakes. Breads are used as scoops to sop up curries and as wraps for all dry-cooked dishes. Even the rice-eating communities, like those in the south and in the east of India, serve breads along with rice.

Indian breads are great-tasting, quick-cooking, easy enough to be made fresh at every meal, and nutrient-rich, because most are made with whole-grain flours.

Made with whole-grain flours (except for the occasionally consumed
naans
,
kulchas
and
bhaturas
) and flours made from legumes, Indian breads are great-tasting, full of healthful nutrients, quick-cooking, and easy enough to be made fresh at every meal.

Whole-wheat flour (
gehun ka atta
or
atta
) is by far the most popular for breads. The whole-wheat flour used for Indian breads is typically made by stone-grinding the whole kernel of wheat—bran, germ, and endosperm. Although all varieties of whole-wheat can be used to make the flour, Indians generally use a winter variety called durum—the hardest wheat of all. It is white and has a high protein-to-starch ratio and more gluten, which is necessary to bind the breads and give them their characteristic light texture. On the other hand, American whole-wheat flour, the type available in supermarkets, is made with a soft summer wheat and is not best suited for Indian breads. This flour is reddish in color, has a coarser texture, and yields heavier breads.

Stone-ground durum wheat flour is available in most health food markets and in all Indian markets. If you can't find it, mix two parts whole-wheat flour with one part all-purpose flour, although even this leads to heavier and drier breads.

There are many types of Indian breads distinguished mainly by how they are made. Of course, there are variations and exceptions, but this classification generally holds true.

Griddle Breads: Made on the
tava
(concave Indian griddle), these are mostly non-leavened, round, triangular, or square flatbreads called
roti
,
chapati
,
phulka
,
rotli
, and
parantha
.

Deep-Fried Breads: Fried in an Indian wok or deep skillet, these leavened and un-leavened breads are called
poori
,
kulcha,lucchi
, or
baati
. They can be as small as 3 inches in diameter or as big as 1 foot across.

Tandoori Breads: Baked by slapping them along the inside wall of a
tandoor
oven, these breads, called
tandooriroti
,
parantha
,
naan
, or
kulcha
, can be round or triangular.

Crepes and Pancakes: Griddle-fried and made with batters rather than a dough, and eaten in place of standard breads; these breads, called
dosas
,
uthapam
,
pudhas
, and
chillas
, are generally round.

Most of the everyday breads such as the
chapatis
(whole-wheat griddle breads) and
paranthas
(griddle-fried breads) are typically made on a
tava
—a round, slightly concave, cast-iron griddle. It looks like an omelet pan, with a gentle, gradual curve to the bottom but without a lip. A
tava
comes in various sizes—anywhere from 10 inches to 3 feet, but only the smaller 10- to 12-inch ones are used in homes. Look for
tava
griddles in Indian markets.
Tava
griddles, though crucial to Indian bread making, can be replaced with a regular square or rectangular cast-iron or nonstick griddle.

To keep your breads from sticking to it, season it every time you wash it. To season, heat the
tava
over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Put 2 to 3 drops of melted
ghee
or oil on it, and quickly, with a clean cotton kitchen towel, spread the oil all over the
tava
. There will be a lot of smoke for a minute or two, until you wipe off the oil, so turn on the exhaust fan and open the windows, if you have any in the kitchen.

Do not wash the
tava
with soap and water after each use. As long as you use your
tava
only to make breads, after using it, just let it cool completely, wipe off any excess flour, and store it someplace dust free. I store mine in the oven.

= Vegan
= Pressure-Cooker Quick

Simple Griddle Breads

Storing and Freezing Indian Breads

Very little compares to the fragrance and taste of freshly made bread, especially when basted with a touch of
ghee
(Indian clarified butter)—a culinary extravagance that I will not part with, even though I do take all other measures to make my cooking more healthful.

Indian breads can also be made, then stored in the refrigerator up to 5 days and in the freezer as long as 2 months. To do this, cook the breads lightly on both sides, then place them on any clean flat surface to cool them completely. Then stack them one on top of the other and wrap in aluminum foil or place in zip closure bags, and refrigerate or freeze.

When ready to use, finish cooking the breads in one of several ways: on the
tava
or griddle; in a single layer on an ungreased broiler-safe tray, 4 to 5 inches from the heat source; or grill them on an outdoor or indoor grill. Leftover breads can be reheated in the toaster oven about 1 minute at 450°F, or in a regular toaster. Do not cook or reheat any breads in the microwave.

Working with Whole-Wheat Dough

The whole-wheat flour-and-water dough for breads is traditionally made by hand, though the food processor and mixer are popular in today's kitchens (including mine). One friend even makes her
chapati
dough in an electric bread machine—removing it from the work bowl as soon as the dough is formed. Form-ing the breads, however, still requires individual attention.

If you really like
chapatis
(whole-wheat griddle breads) and plan to make many of them, consider a
chapati
press, gaining popularity all over India and the West. They are similar to tortilla presses in that they flatten and shape the dough. You place a ball of dough into the press and it turns out a symmetrically round rolled bread—ready to be transferred to a hot griddle. Look for them in Indian markets.