Naan Bread

I should preface this by stating I'm not Indian. I've never been professionally trained in Indian cuisine (or any other type of cuisine actually!) This is not a traditional recipe and it's not cooked in a traditional tandoor clay oven. This is just me trying to re-create a very difficult recipe in the average domestic kitchen.



Naan Bread
Makes 4

1/3 cup milk
1 tspn dry yeast
180g bread flour
1/4 tspn baking powder
1/8 tspn salt
1 tspn sesame seeds
1 tspn nigella (or kalonji) seeds
2 tspn vegetable oil
1/3 cup natural yoghurt

Warm the milk (in the microwave or on the stove) until it is lukewarm, then stir in the yeast and set it aside for 5 minutes.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl then mix in the sesame and nigella seeds. Tip in the milk, oil and half of the yoghurt. Mix the dough well with your fingers or a fork. If the dough is too dry then add a bit more yoghurt. If it's too wet then add some more flour.

Once you get the dough to a good consistency (soft and tacky, but not sticky), turn it onto your kitchen bench and knead it well for 5-10 minutes.

Rub a small amount of oil on the inside of a large clean bowl, gently put the dough into it then cover and leave the bowl somewhere warm for a few hours - until the naan has doubled in size.

Preheat your oven to 200C and lay some baking paper on the bottom of a good-sized baking tray.

Slice the ball of dough into quarters and gently roll out each quarter until they are about 6-7mm thick. Carefully place the naan onto the baking tray. To keep the bread from drying out too much in the oven, dip your fingers into a small bowl of water and flick the water droplets over a piece of dough. Repeat this for each piece of naan.

Cook the bread on the top shelf of the oven for 8 minutes, then turn the naan over and bake for further 6 minutes.

Lamb Kheema

Lamb kheema is a dry-style Indian curry using lamb mince (although you could try using beef or chicken mince if lamb mince isn't available). This is one of my favourite curries and I always serve it with naan bread and a gingery tomato chutney.



Lamb Kheema
Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
8cm piece of ginger, grated
1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 bay leaves
500g lamb mince
1 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1/4 tspn ground turmeric
1 heaped tbsp of tomato paste
2 heaped tbsp natural yoghurt
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 tspn garam masala
1 small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Heat the oil in a large pan and gently saute the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli and bay leaves until the onion is translucent and the mixture is aromatic. Add the lamb mince and gently brown it.

Add the ground coriander, cumin and turmeric and mix it well into the lamb mince. Cook for 2 minutes and let the spices infuse the meat. Stir in the tomato paste, then stir in the yoghurt and cook the mixture for another 2 minutes. Add half a cup of water, stir it in, then cover the pan and leave the mixture to simmer for 15 minutes.

Stir in the peas and garam masala, season well with salt and pepper, cover the pan and leave to cook for 5 minutes. If, after this, the mince still looks a bit watery, leave it to simmer with the lid off to evaporate some of the excess moisture.

Remove the pan from the heat, remove the bay leaves, stir in the chopped coriander and serve hot with a tomato or mango chutney and any form of Indian bread.

Fragrant Fish Curry

This is a fish curry that I created. I wanted a really fragrant curry based on my Goan beef curry recipe that used plenty of cinnamon (combined with a few other things) in a coconut milk sauce.



Fragrant Fish Curry
(Serves 4)

4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 fat red chilli, finely sliced
1/2 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn ground cloves
1/4 tspn ground turmeric
1/4 tspn salt
1/8 tspn ground black pepper
4 tspn tamarind paste
600g firm white fish fillets, cut into large pieces
1 cup (250mL) coconut milk
3 tbsp chopped coriander

In a small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil with the garlic, chilli, spices, salt, pepper and tamarind paste. Smear this paste over the fish fillets.

Heat the remaining oil in a large non-stick pan and fry the fish until almost cooked through. Stir in the coconut milk and then let the curry simmer for 5 minutes or until the fish is cooked. Stir in the chopped coriander then serve the curry over steamed basmati rice.

Lamb Madras

Madras curry is one of the most popular curries to order at the local Indian restaurant. The curry originated in Madras which is now called Chennai. The sauce is a traditionally hot curry, using a large amount of fresh chilli's or chilli powder, and has a balance of sweet spices and sour tamarind.



Lamb Madras
(Serves 4)

850g diced lamb
2 tspn ground turmeric
1 tspn fennel seeds
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn garam masala
1/4 - 1 tspn chilli powder*
1/2 tspn sweet paprika
5 garlic cloves, crushed
5cm piece of ginger, grated
500mL coconut cream
8cm cinnamon stick
2 star anise
1 tbsp tamarind puree

* Add as much or as little as you like, depending on how hot you like your curry!

Massage the turmeric into the diced lamb. This will tenderise the meat. Put it in a bowl, cover with cling wrap then put it in the fridge for at least 3 hours.

Dry roast the fennel seeds in a hot, dry pan. When they begin to pop, remove them and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 5-10 minutes until it has softened. Add the ground spices, garlic and ginger and cook for a minute until aromatic. Add the meat and toss well to coat it with the spices. Brown the meat then stir in the coconut cream, bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a gentle simmer.

Add the fennel seeds, cinnamon stick and star anise. Season well with salt then cover and simmer the curry for 1 hour, stirring occassionally. If the curry begins to look too dry towards the end of the cooking time, add a bit of water so it remains quite saucy and liquid.

Dissolve the tamarind in 1/3 cup of boiling water then add to the curry. Stir it in well and taste for seasoning.

Serve the curry over steamed basmati rice.

Goan Beef Curry

Goa is India's smallest state, located along the western coast. The main ingredients used to flavour the local dishes are chilli's, spices, coconut products (shaved, oil, milk, etc.) and vinegar. While fish and rice are generally considered the diet staples, I've used beef in this recipe.



Goan Beef Curry
(Serves 4)

1 tspn fennel seeds
6 cloves
1/2 tspn fenugreek seeds
1 dried chilli
3 tspn ground coriander
3 tspn ground cumin
1/2 tspn ground black pepper
1/2 tspn ground cardamom
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1/2 tspn white vinegar
800g diced beef
1 tspn ground turmeric
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
5cm piece of ginger, grated
375mL coconut milk

In a mortar and pestle, bash the fennel seeds, cloves, fenugreek seeds and the dried chilli to create a fine powder. Mix this with the coriander, cumin, pepper, cardamom and cinnamon, then mix the spices with the white vinegar to form a dry paste.

Sprinkle the turmeric over the beef and rub it in.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy based pot or pan and gently fry the onion over medium heat until it begins to brown. Then add the garlic and ginger. Let it sizzle for a minute to take away the rawness and infuse the onion, then add the beef and brown it (that means cook it until the outside just begins to brown, it shouldn't be cooked all the way through.) Season with salt to taste.

Add the coconut milk and bring the curry to a boil then cover, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer for 45 minutes. (If the curry is still quite liquid, simmer with the lid off the pan until it has dried out. If it begins to look too dry whilst cooking, add a small amount of water and stir it into the curry well.)

Serve the curry on top of a mound of freshly steamed basmati rice.

Indian Potato Cakes

In India, potato cakes or patties like these are usually served as a snack or part of a light lunch or breakfast and often served with chutney. The patties can be served hot or cold but personally, I prefer them hot.

While I made these as finger food for a party, the next time I make them I'll probably make larger patties and serve them with some pan-fried fish and salad to turn this into a main meal.

Aloo Ki Tikki
(Makes 25)

500g potato
100g canned chickpeas, rinsed
150g fresh or frozen peas
Vegetable oil
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cm piece of ginger, grated
1 tspn chilli paste
1 tspn turmeric
1 tspn ground cumin
1 tspn ground corinader
1/2 tspn garam masala

Peal and chop 500g of potato then boil it with the chickpeas until tender (be careful not to overcook it, as potato becomes waterlogged and unpleasant quite quickly.) Mash the potato and chickpeas well.

Blanch the peas briefly in boiling water then add them to the mashed potato and stir the mixture gently (so as to not mash the peas.)

In a non-stick pan, add a little vegetable oil and saute the onion until it has softened. Add the ginger, chilli paste and ground spices and fry for a minute to release the aroma of the spices. Mix this into the potato and add salt to taste.

Get a golf ball sized portion of the potato mixture and shape into a pattie. Fry in an oiled non-stick pan for 3 minutes each side, or until golden and crispy.