I just want to eat it all the time. Unfortunately the nearest Indian restaurant in any direction is about 60 miles. It's addictive, I tell ya!
Indian food cravings
- Thread starter The Pontificator
- Start date
I believe there is one of those restaurants near me. I’ll take your advice and give those folks a try.
I am a fan of Indian food also. Luckily there’s a large Indian community where I live. Actually asians have become the majority in the county and the different foods available are amazing. We have a place that has Indian street food on the menu with $5 lunch specials during the week. It’s called Chaat Cafe. One of my favorites is Cholay Bhature. I describe it as a chili but made with garbanzo beans that comes with this amazing fried flat bread. I recently made Saag Panner at home . It turned out pretty good. I had made a batch of pinto beans and cornbread and wanted some tasty greens to go with it. This recipe delivered!
www.saveur.com
Saag Paneer Is the Luscious Indian Comfort Food You Need
Learn how to make this humble vegetarian dish from northern India; it calls for smothering pan-fried cheese in creamy spinach.
www.saveur.com
The solution to your problem is to get an Indian cookbook or two, and then make it yourself.
India is a huge country with many regional styles of cooking. So, there is great variety and not one kind of "Indian food". Many of the Indian restaurants in the U.S. tend to serve a standardized set of dishes that are very rich with lots of butter and cream, etc. Indians don't really eat like this on a daily basis. A large proportion of Indians are vegetarian, though they will eat dairy products.
Indian cooking is not as difficult as it might seem. They tend to use pressure cookers to reduce the cooking time of many foods. The most difficult aspect is learning how to use the spices. Looking at long, long lists of exotic ingredients can seem intimidating. If you want to learn how to cook Indian food, get some cookbooks from the library and find an Indian grocery store where you can buy the ingredients fairly cheaply.
Indian cooking is not as difficult as it might seem. They tend to use pressure cookers to reduce the cooking time of many foods. The most difficult aspect is learning how to use the spices. Looking at long, long lists of exotic ingredients can seem intimidating. If you want to learn how to cook Indian food, get some cookbooks from the library and find an Indian grocery store where you can buy the ingredients fairly cheaply.
We make these dishes once a week as they are slightly heavy on the digestive system and the higher temperatures helps us divide these rich dishes into seasonal foods depending upon where we are located.
These are the vegetarian dishes we enjoy throughout the year at home:
For November to February : Winter season
# Sarso ki saag with Makke ki roti
# Daal Makhni
# Chhole Bhature
# Paneer Maratha
# Palak Paneer
# Paneer Afgani
# Alni Bhaji with roti (dried fenugreek leaves)
# Daal Bati / Bafle (my family's mainstay dish)
# Bhaji Paranthe
# Pav Bhaji
# Various Chutney
During March to June :
(Curd is frequently used as this is Summer season)
# Raita
# Sindhi Kadi
# Sattu
# Amti Daal
# Sambar Dal
# Amchur Dal
During Summer we tend to eat lightly as heat is excruciating and it helps to keep the spices on the less spicy bandwidth during these months.
Nothing special in vegetables variety is available, commonly available vegetables regularly cooked with low to medium chilli and spices.
Garam Masala is avoided.
July to October : Monsoon Season
(Bhaji is not suggested to be used, rest all of the vegetables and Masala are freely used)
# Dhokle
# Bhaji (dried) paranthe
# Kadi / Sindhi Kadi
# Dal Bafle
# Various vegetables are the most common items in the daily life
# Bhajiye, Kadi and Tea (evening staple food during rainy days)
# Chhole Bhature
# Coriander Chutney
# Tomato chutney
Masalas:
Spices are the most important aspect of the Indian cooking.
If you are interested in cooking Indian foods at home then I can share a list of items that will be used in most Indian dishes.
The difference will be their application, time of application and quantity will have varying effects on the outcome.
This will be better understood by cooking dishes yourself.
Garam Masala
Thanda Masala
Coriander seeds
Coriander seeds (grinded)
Turmeric powder
Chilli
Kashmiri chili
Degi Chilli
Cumin seeds
Cumin seeds (crushed)
Ginger powder
Ginger
Garlic
Vegetables oil
Mustard oil (cold pressed)
Mustard seeds
Lemon
Green chilli
Coriander leaves
Clarified Butter (Desi Ghee)
Butter (Un salted)
Sambar Masala
Pav Bhaji masaoa
Chaat Masala
Chhole Masala
Vinegar
Cooking soda
Carom seeds
Yeast
* A good quality stone mortar and pestle will be very helpful
The above listed masala are used in a very large variety of dishes and each one is capable of making or breaking the finest flavor in the dishes.
These are the vegetarian dishes we enjoy throughout the year at home:
For November to February : Winter season
# Sarso ki saag with Makke ki roti
# Daal Makhni
# Chhole Bhature
# Paneer Maratha
# Palak Paneer
# Paneer Afgani
# Alni Bhaji with roti (dried fenugreek leaves)
# Daal Bati / Bafle (my family's mainstay dish)
# Bhaji Paranthe
# Pav Bhaji
# Various Chutney
During March to June :
(Curd is frequently used as this is Summer season)
# Raita
# Sindhi Kadi
# Sattu
# Amti Daal
# Sambar Dal
# Amchur Dal
During Summer we tend to eat lightly as heat is excruciating and it helps to keep the spices on the less spicy bandwidth during these months.
Nothing special in vegetables variety is available, commonly available vegetables regularly cooked with low to medium chilli and spices.
Garam Masala is avoided.
July to October : Monsoon Season
(Bhaji is not suggested to be used, rest all of the vegetables and Masala are freely used)
# Dhokle
# Bhaji (dried) paranthe
# Kadi / Sindhi Kadi
# Dal Bafle
# Various vegetables are the most common items in the daily life
# Bhajiye, Kadi and Tea (evening staple food during rainy days)
# Chhole Bhature
# Coriander Chutney
# Tomato chutney
Masalas:
Spices are the most important aspect of the Indian cooking.
If you are interested in cooking Indian foods at home then I can share a list of items that will be used in most Indian dishes.
The difference will be their application, time of application and quantity will have varying effects on the outcome.
This will be better understood by cooking dishes yourself.
Garam Masala
Thanda Masala
Coriander seeds
Coriander seeds (grinded)
Turmeric powder
Chilli
Kashmiri chili
Degi Chilli
Cumin seeds
Cumin seeds (crushed)
Ginger powder
Ginger
Garlic
Vegetables oil
Mustard oil (cold pressed)
Mustard seeds
Lemon
Green chilli
Coriander leaves
Clarified Butter (Desi Ghee)
Butter (Un salted)
Sambar Masala
Pav Bhaji masaoa
Chaat Masala
Chhole Masala
Vinegar
Cooking soda
Carom seeds
Yeast
* A good quality stone mortar and pestle will be very helpful
The above listed masala are used in a very large variety of dishes and each one is capable of making or breaking the finest flavor in the dishes.
Coincidentally enough, I hist bought this from Costco today. It was on sale for a little over $4.00 fir the two-pack.
costcofan.com
Costco Tikka Masala, Organic Mayura 2 Pack, 18 oz Each - Costco Fan
Costco sells this 2-pack of Organic Tikka Masala for $5.99. Scroll down for photos. This is the first time I have ever seen the Tikka Masala sauce in the jar! Like most foods, it’s always better to make it from…Read More→
costcofan.com
EclipseRedRing
I smell like a Christmas pudding
I enjoy 'Indian' food although the vast majority of Indian restaurants in the UK are owned and run by Bangladeshis or Pakistanis and the menu items are nothing like one might find in India. Every time, and I mean every time I visit such a restaurant I browse the menu for at least ten minutes and then order a seekh kebab to start, followed by chicken jalfrezi, pilau rice, bombay aloo, and a keema naan bread. A few years ago I would have had Cobra or Lal Toofan lager to accompany but these days I abstain from alcohol.
What is Thanda masala?
The ingredients of Thanda Masala are the same as that of Garam Masala but the spices are not roasted before grinding, this, in turn, lowers the "Heat" of the spices and this Thanda Masala can be used to enhance the taste of dishes even in hot weather as well.
Interesting. I get packaged Garam masala in whole spice form in Jiomart & Big Bazaar. Theyre supposed to be ground before use. As per your definition, they should be called Thanda masala, but they label it Garam masala.
We prepare Garam Masala by roasting with a slight amount of vegetable oil individually and then, later on, allow to cool before grinding. The aroma and the spicy taste of homemade Garam Masala cannot be matched (or difficult) with packaged masala.
There are various versions of Garam Masala depending on how it is prepared before grinding and similarly, slight variations are there in the case of Thanda Masala; choose whichever is suitable for you to get and suit your needs according to the dishes.
I enjoy a nice buffet at a local place, but haven't been able to go since covid hit, and doubt they are running the buffet now. I did get a jar of curry paste yesterday to try a curry dinner for the weekend.
I always get a kick out of this old gem ...
I always get a kick out of this old gem ...
This is why I will never live in a rural area. Any type of food I want is within easy striking distance.
I have been using a Tagine for slow cook curries. Toasting spices, making a paste and finishing in the tagine. Vegetarian dishes with exotic spices are a staple at home.
I lived in South India for a while and developed a taste addiction to that cuisine: dhosa, idli, sambar, uttapam, upma, etc. Unfortunately, in these parts, it is quite hard to find good south indian food. I have a couple of cookbooks, and will make idli sambar every once in a while, but dhosa is way beyond my abilities.
And even when I do make idli, I don't have the various chutneys and condiments to accompany it, so it is a pale imitation, sadly.
And even when I do make idli, I don't have the various chutneys and condiments to accompany it, so it is a pale imitation, sadly.
Calgary has a large Indian community. Two words. Butter Chicken. I have a customer whose wife Harj is who we have to get payments from. She was complaining one day that young Indian Canadians didn't want Indian food anymore. They wanted burgers, pizzas, and the like. I asked her if they still wanted Butter Chicken and she waved it off, "Bah! Everyone wants Butter Chicken"!
- Thread starter
- #18
Got those cravings satisfied earlier this week. Had dinner with a friend and his youngest son at 2 Gingers in Columbia SC. Between the three of us we ordered and shared:
Bhel Puri
Paper Dosa
Chicken Tikka Masala (made fiery hot)
Butter Chicken
Garlic Naan
Chilli Naan
Basmati Rice
Excellent. Just outstanding.
Next time I want to try Cholle Bhatura.
Bhel Puri
Paper Dosa
Chicken Tikka Masala (made fiery hot)
Butter Chicken
Garlic Naan
Chilli Naan
Basmati Rice
Excellent. Just outstanding.
Next time I want to try Cholle Bhatura.
My wife and I watch a lot of British TV, and they always mention curry. Over a year ago, we moved about half a mile from a place called Kurry Zone. I keep telling my wife that one of these days, we should get takeout. Then we look at their online menu and go "what the", and I go a half mile in the other direction for pizza.
- Thread starter
- #20
So what was the issue?
