How to Cook Indian (12 page)

5. Pour the soup into a strainer set over a bowl, pressing the solids to extract their flavor.

6. Transfer the stock to a clean nonstick saucepan and place over medium heat. Add the chopped chicken and adjust the seasoning. Bring to a boil, then stir in the lemon juice and the remaining coconut.

7. Ladle into individual soup bowls, garnish with the remaining curry leaves, and serve piping hot.

Paya Shorba

Lamb trotter soup

If you are in Delhi in wintertime, you will be surprised by the carts that sprout up from nowhere to sell this soup. I am not sure which tastes better: the homemade version or the roadside version. Add more red or green chiles if you’d like a spicier soup, or use fewer if you prefer it mild.

Serves 4.

8 (3½-ounce/100-gram) lamb trotters

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon table salt, or more as needed

4 dried red chiles, stemmed

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

4 or 5 whole black peppercorns

½ cup (100 ml) coconut milk

3 tablespoons sesame oil

2 star anise

2 bay leaves

1-inch (2½-cm) cinnamon stick

1-inch (2½-cm) piece fresh ginger, roughly chopped

4 to 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

10 pearl onions, peeled

2 green chiles, stemmed and slit

10 to 12 fresh curry leaves, finely chopped

¼ teaspoon asafetida

1 medium tomato, roughly chopped

½ medium bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

1. Place a nonstick saucepan over high heat, add 1 quart (800 ml) water, and bring to a boil. Add the trotters, ¼ teaspoon of the turmeric, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Drain and wash the trotters under running water. This will remove any dirt from the trotters.

2. Place a small nonstick pan over high heat. After 2 minutes, lower the heat to medium and add the dried chiles, fennel, cumin, coriander, and peppercorns. Dry-roast the spices for 2 to 3 minutes or until fragrant. Transfer to a bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind to a coarse powder.

3. Place a nonstick saucepan over high heat and add the oil. When small bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan, add the star anise, bay leaves, and cinnamon, and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes or until fragrant.

4. Add the trotters and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until lightly browned. Add the ginger, garlic, onions, green chiles, and curry leaves. Keep stirring. Sprinkle the ground spice mixture, the remaining ¼ teaspoon turmeric, and the asafetida over the trotters, and cook for 10 minutes, turning frequently.

5. Add the tomato, cilantro, the remaining 2 teaspoons salt, and about 10 cups (2 liters) water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 3 to 4 hours or until the soup has reduced by half. Remove the trotters carefully and set aside.

6. Pour the soup through a fine sieve set over another nonstick saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract their flavor. Discard the solids.

7. Place the broth over high heat and bring to a boil. Adjust the seasoning as needed.

8. Place the trotters in individual soup bowls, ladle the broth over them, and serve piping hot with the lemon wedges.

The blanching of the trotters should be done quickly to avoid loss of flavor and gelatin. Add some peeled potatoes to the soup in step 6 if you want a thicker soup.

The traditional combination of
dal, chawal, roti,
and
sabzi
(lentils, rice, Indian bread, and vegetables) arrayed on an Indian
thali
—a serving platter—often includes two more types of dishes that serve as perfect accompaniments: fresh salads and yogurt relishes called
raitas.

An Indian salad may be as simple as an onion thinly sliced into rings and sprinkled with salt and lemon juice that accompanies a heavy meat or chicken dish, a beet
raita
(page 67) that brightens up a plate of
burani,
a roasted-eggplant yogurt used as a dip or spread (page 68), or cubes of spiced mango tossed with fresh coconut (page 66). Or it may be more complex, like the tandoori
murgh
salad (page 80), a lovely dish of shredded chicken and chopped vegetables that is one of my favorite “TV dinners.”

Ambe Sasam

Ripe mangoes and coconut with mustard seeds

The Gawandes, very dear friends of ours, urged me to try this dish, and while I believe that ripe mango is best consumed plain,
ambe sasam
(with the right variety of mango) is an exception.

When mangoes are not in season, you can make the
sasam
with other fruits, such as ripe banana, orange, pineapple, apple, and grapes.

Serves 4.

3 medium mangoes, ripe

¾ cup (90 grams) grated fresh coconut (or frozen unsweetened coconut)

2 dried red chiles, preferably
bedgi
(see Note page 234), seeded and dry-roasted

¼ teaspoon brown mustard seeds

1 teaspoon tamarind pulp

2 tablespoons grated cane jaggery

½ teaspoon table salt

1. Peel and pit the mangoes and cut the flesh into ½-inch (1-cm) cubes. You should have about 1½ cups (375 grams)mango.

2. Put the coconut, chiles, mustard seeds, tamarind pulp, and ¼ cup (50 ml) water in a food processor and process to a coarse paste. Add the jaggery and a few of the mango pieces, and process.

3. Put the mangoes in a medium bowl. Add the ground mixture and salt, and stir well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and put in the refrigerator to chill for about 30 minutes.

4. Serve cold.

Beet Raita

Beets with yogurt and spices

You can use yellow or red beets for this cooling side dish.

Serves 4.

2 medium beets, tops removed

3 cups (750 grams) plain yogurt

1 teaspoon ground roasted cumin (page 32)

1 teaspoon red chile powder

1 teaspoon table salt

1. Wash the beets thoroughly under running water to remove any mud.

2. Place a nonstick saucepan over high heat and add 4 cups (800 ml) water. When the water comes to a boil, add the beets. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium and cook for 35 to 40 minutes or until the beets are tender. Drain and set aside to cool to room temperature.

3. Peel the beets and dice them. Set aside.

4. Put the yogurt in a large bowl and beat with an immersion blender until very smooth. (You can also strain the yogurt through a double layer of cheesecloth to get a perfectly smooth consistency.)

5. Add the beets to the yogurt. Add the cumin, chile powder, and salt. Stir well. Put in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Red beets will bleed and change the color of the yogurt to dark pink. Plan the rest of your meal accordingly so that the colors are well coordinated.

Burani

Garlic yogurt

Use Greek yogurt to prepare this tangy, garlicky side dish. It is usually served alongside
biryani
(pages 467-487).

Serves 4.

2 cups (550 grams) plain Greek yogurt

25 to 30 cloves garlic, puréed

½ teaspoon table salt

1 teaspoon black salt

½ teaspoon red chile powder

¼ cup (50 ml) milk

1. Put the yogurt in a bowl. Add the garlic, table salt, black salt, and chile powder, and whisk until well blended. Add the milk and whisk again.

2. Spread a double layer of cheesecloth over another deep bowl, pour the
raita
over the cloth, gather the edges, and squeeze the mixture through the cloth to get a smooth
raita.
Discard the solids.

3. Put in the refrigerator to chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Buz Vangun