Raita is a type of savory Indian yogurt salad filled with vegetables and spices. It's often served as a cool, creamy counterpoint to warm, spicy dishes (e.g., hard-boiled eggs in spicy tomato sauce). We just made this spinach and pea raita to go along with some chickpeas in ginger sauce, so this is the first end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.
1 1/2 cups frozen (or fresh) peas
1 cup frozen chopped spinach
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt (plus a few pinches for the vegetables)
scant 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
scant 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1. Defrost and cook the spinach: put it in a bowl, add a splash of water and a pinch of salt, cover, and heat in the microwave for a few minutes (until the spinach is cooked), stirring occasionally. Drain in a strainer, pressing it with a spoon to squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
2. Defrost and lightly cook the peas: put them in a bowl, add a splash of water and a pinch of salt, cover, and heat in the microwave for about a minute (or until no longer frosty). We do not fully cook the peas, as we like the texture they add to the dish; feel free to cook them longer if you'd like. Drain the peas in a strainer.
3. Mix the yogurt, sour cream, cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, and cayenne pepper together in a bowl.
4. Stir the spinach and peas into the yogurt mixture; serve.
Note:
The spinach and peas should be added only shortly before the dish is served; if you're working in advance, do everything up through step 3 and then hold everything in the fridge until just before you're ready to eat.
You can use whatever vegetables you desire. Sahni's (1980) original recipe used exclusively cooked spinach, but you could use cooked potatoes, cooked eggplant, raw tomatoes, raw onions, and/or anything else you think would be good. We typically add about 2 cups total of cooked vegetables.
This recipe is modified from one in Sahni (1980); we added more vegetables and spices in proportion to the yogurt.
Sahni, Julie. 1980. Classic Indian Cooking. William Morrow & Co, NY. pp. 344-345
Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Indian. Show all posts
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Non-icy lassi
Nearly two years ago my SO and I posted our lassi recipe. While we love that recipe (and have made it dozens of times since posting it), we've noticed that we've never gotten a lassi like ours at an Indian restaurant. Instead, restaurant lassis are always smooth, and much frothier than our ice-based recipe (which is filled with ice particles and has almost no froth). Today we finally tried making lassi with cold water instead of ice, and the secret of non-icy lassis was revealed.
So, if you want a sweetened yogurt drink with lots of little ice particles in it to cool you off on a hot summer's day, try our ice-based lassi; if you instead want a light, airy lassi that isn't quite as cold, but may be more like what you've had at Indian restaurants, try this recipe. Since we enjoyed this lassi just as much as our ice-based one, it's this week's end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.
2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt (we use Trader Joe's "Cream Line")
7 tablespoons (scant 1/2 cup) sugar
3/4 cup cold water
1. Mix yogurt and sugar together in a blender.
2. Add water, and blend until well combined and frothy (~1 minute).
3. Serve.
This recipe is a modified version of our ice-based lassi.
[Updated February 2007 to change the proportions to better reflect what we're currently making. The old recipe was 1 1/2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt, 6 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 cup cold water]
So, if you want a sweetened yogurt drink with lots of little ice particles in it to cool you off on a hot summer's day, try our ice-based lassi; if you instead want a light, airy lassi that isn't quite as cold, but may be more like what you've had at Indian restaurants, try this recipe. Since we enjoyed this lassi just as much as our ice-based one, it's this week's end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.
2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt (we use Trader Joe's "Cream Line")
7 tablespoons (scant 1/2 cup) sugar
3/4 cup cold water
1. Mix yogurt and sugar together in a blender.
2. Add water, and blend until well combined and frothy (~1 minute).
3. Serve.
This recipe is a modified version of our ice-based lassi.
[Updated February 2007 to change the proportions to better reflect what we're currently making. The old recipe was 1 1/2 cups whole-milk plain yogurt, 6 tablespoons sugar, and 1/2 cup cold water]
Sunday, February 05, 2006
Yogurt braised chicken (Dahi murghi)
This past week was filled with the usual start-of-the-semester stress, but it had two additional components that made it even more stressful: a contractor was building a new block wall in our yard, and my mom came into town for a short visit. My mom arrived Wednesday night and I wanted to make her a tasty meal, but I didn't have much time, and many of our standard quick recipes didn't work due to my mom's dietary restrictions.
We're still on our Indian food kick, so I eventually settled on Sahni's (1980) yogurt braised chicken. The dish is made by simmering chicken in an onion- and spice-rich yogurt mixture, and it was extremely flavorful, yet very easy (for Indian food). It took me, working alone from scratch, less than an hour to do all the prep work and initial cooking, and then the dish just simmered for 45 minutes while I did a little bit of last-minute cleaning.
When my mom arrived, she enjoyed being greeted by the delicious smell of the dish simmering, and after dinner reported that she loved the meal. So, this is this week's end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced or pressed with a garlic press
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon roasted Indian poppy seeds (they should be small and white, not the blue ones typically found in American stores; likely optional)
1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or ~3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces)
Cooked rice, or Indian bread, to serve over
0. Plan on having some rice or Indian bread cooked by the time the dish is ready to serve.
1. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick pot.
2. When the oil is hot, add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown (~10 minutes).
3. Add the garlic to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and poppy seeds, and cook, stirring frequently, for another minute.
5. Add the yogurt, sour cream, and water, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.
6. Remove the yogurt mixture from the pot and blend until smooth; we used our immersion blender in a small bowl, but a blender should also work well. There's no requirement to do this quickly, as it won't be needed for another 5 or 10 minutes.
7. Wipe the pot you were using so that it's somewhat clean (or use a new pot), add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil, and heat over high heat.
8. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until it is browned on most of the sides (~5-10 minutes).
9. Add the blended yogurt mixture to the pot, mix in the salt, and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Sahni states that "the [sauce] should have thickened to a velvety smooth white sauce, and a glaze will be coating the chicken pieces"; you can simmer the dish for additional time, or add water or milk, to adjust the texture to your preference.
10. According to Sahni, the dish tastes best after it has rested for a while; we let it sit, covered, for about an hour, but it would probably be OK to eat right after simmering.
11. Reheat the dish and serve over rice or with Indian bread.
Notes:
We have no idea how much the Indian poppy seeds add to the dish; if you don't have them, try making the dish anyway. If you can't find Indian poppy seeds at your local store, Penzeys Spices has them (here). To roast raw poppy seeds heat them in a pan over medium heat until they begin to turn brown and become fragrant.
The amount of oil included in the recipe is the full amount Sahni specifies; I suspect you could cut out a tablespoon or three of oil and the dish would be just as good.
Reference:
Sahni, Julie. 1980. Classic Indian Cooking. William Morrow & Co, NY. pp. 211-213.
We're still on our Indian food kick, so I eventually settled on Sahni's (1980) yogurt braised chicken. The dish is made by simmering chicken in an onion- and spice-rich yogurt mixture, and it was extremely flavorful, yet very easy (for Indian food). It took me, working alone from scratch, less than an hour to do all the prep work and initial cooking, and then the dish just simmered for 45 minutes while I did a little bit of last-minute cleaning.
When my mom arrived, she enjoyed being greeted by the delicious smell of the dish simmering, and after dinner reported that she loved the meal. So, this is this week's end-of-the-week recipe blogging post.
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3 cups finely chopped onions
1 1/2 tablespoons garlic, minced or pressed with a garlic press
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon roasted Indian poppy seeds (they should be small and white, not the blue ones typically found in American stores; likely optional)
1 cup plain, whole milk yogurt
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup water
1 tablespoon Kosher salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or ~3 pounds bone-in chicken pieces)
Cooked rice, or Indian bread, to serve over
0. Plan on having some rice or Indian bread cooked by the time the dish is ready to serve.
1. Heat 1/4 cup of the oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick pot.
2. When the oil is hot, add the onions to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to brown (~10 minutes).
3. Add the garlic to the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
4. Add the coriander, cayenne pepper, garam masala, and poppy seeds, and cook, stirring frequently, for another minute.
5. Add the yogurt, sour cream, and water, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.
6. Remove the yogurt mixture from the pot and blend until smooth; we used our immersion blender in a small bowl, but a blender should also work well. There's no requirement to do this quickly, as it won't be needed for another 5 or 10 minutes.
7. Wipe the pot you were using so that it's somewhat clean (or use a new pot), add the remaining 1/4 cup of oil, and heat over high heat.
8. When the oil is hot, add the chicken and cook, turning occasionally, until it is browned on most of the sides (~5-10 minutes).
9. Add the blended yogurt mixture to the pot, mix in the salt, and simmer, covered and stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Sahni states that "the [sauce] should have thickened to a velvety smooth white sauce, and a glaze will be coating the chicken pieces"; you can simmer the dish for additional time, or add water or milk, to adjust the texture to your preference.
10. According to Sahni, the dish tastes best after it has rested for a while; we let it sit, covered, for about an hour, but it would probably be OK to eat right after simmering.
11. Reheat the dish and serve over rice or with Indian bread.
Notes:
We have no idea how much the Indian poppy seeds add to the dish; if you don't have them, try making the dish anyway. If you can't find Indian poppy seeds at your local store, Penzeys Spices has them (here). To roast raw poppy seeds heat them in a pan over medium heat until they begin to turn brown and become fragrant.
The amount of oil included in the recipe is the full amount Sahni specifies; I suspect you could cut out a tablespoon or three of oil and the dish would be just as good.
Reference:
Sahni, Julie. 1980. Classic Indian Cooking. William Morrow & Co, NY. pp. 211-213.
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