Bhindi/ Okra Masala

There are a couple of posts in which I have used okra as the primary ingredient. Every time I use okra, I try to make it a point to clarify that it is a tricky vegetable to cook with. If not done right, it can get slimy and texturally unappealing. A simple trick can get it right and avoid keeping you from liking an otherwise wonderful vegetable. The trick is as simple as dry them completely after washing and before cooking and always cook them uncovered. Most people just fry them to avoid the slime but using these two simple tricks, you can uncover a whole new side of okra. This okra preparation is tangy and mildly spicy and one of my personal favorites. Even though you will intend to serve it as a side to a meal, they tend to be more popular as finger food and will be gone before you get a chance to serve!

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Dhingri Matar/ Mushroom Peas Curry

Up until a few years ago in India, before they started farming mushrooms and all those supermarket chains started opening up and selling those farmed ones, the only kind of mushrooms available were the wild ones. They used to be a rarity that would only be available for a few days during the monsoons. You would find some vendors, usually local farmers that found them growing somewhere, selling them in small wicker baskets along the roadside. And boy were they gone fast. If you didn't get there in time, they were gone in the first few hours. People loved them then, and they love them now. We are no different in our family our little one included. I have come to make mushrooms many different ways. Here I present a mushroom curry done in the north Indian style. It has the bite of the mushrooms, the kick and heat from the spices along with the sweetness from the peas. One of the ways we love our mushrooms. 
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Matar Paneer

Matar Paneer is arguably the dish that most number of people in the world have tasted. I go by the theory that every single soul that lives in the subcontinent has at least eaten it once - over a 1.25 billion people. That may be an embellished way of putting it but probably the best way to express the reality of this dish. One of the most common dish made from one of the most common ingredient in specialty Indian cooking, Paneer. A dish for all places and occasion. Be it a guest or the kids birthday or you simple feel like eating something special to anniversaries and weddings - there is a good chance matar paneer will be one of the dishes served. It sure was something my mother made for my birthday parties every year along with other specialties. It is also omnipresent. Every restaurant obviously offers it but if you ever find yourself driving in the most remote part of the country and pull over to eat in a rinky-dink roadside dhaba, rest assured you can order for a hot plate of matar paneer with roti.
The sweetness of the peas together with the creamy bite of the paneer brought together by a creamy gravy that you can make as mild or spicy as you prefer, just brings it all home especially with a piece of hot Naan.
Again, this dish is made with slight variations by different people. I make it a couple of different ways myself but this version I present is the healthy one where I avoid using cream or butter or cashews altogether which this dish normally calls for.

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Gobhi Takatak / Stir fried Spicy Cauliflower!

This is the flower that is bought the most often into our household. No offense to dear hubs, the red rose is in fact a close second. Jokes apart, the cauliflower is indeed a versatile vegetable. At least in India, the cauliflower, which is mostly available during colder weather, is cooked many different ways, liked by most and is eagerly awaited to be available in the local markets. To be honest and no offense to anyone, I believe not enough justice is done to the cauliflower here in the US. The few things that I have seen made with it like mashed, baked with cheese or even served raw with a dip just does not extract enough mileage from this vegetable.

This recipe is one of my most favorite cauliflower dishes. A nice big floret, all wrapped in the thick gravy just explodes with flavor in your mouth and if you added enough heat in it as I do, the kick of the heat with the spices just makes you want to do a happy dance. If you a fan of curries, this one is a must-try.

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Butter Chicken/Murg Makhani

If you have been following USMasala you would've probably guessed that hubs and I are vegetarians. This is the second chicken recipe among the close to three hundred that I have published so far - the only other being Chicken Tikka. I have sung praises of my Chicken-holic brother if you read the chicken tikka post. That should give you an idea how much he has to have chicken in some form at least for one or even two meals every day. This might surprise you but I do cook chicken for him at home when he visits. Yes that's right, I make it for him without even tasting it and like he says it is some of the best chicken ever and trust me he is honest when it comes to his opinions - especially to me. For that I give myself some serious bragging rights.
Now for the recipe itself - the name Butter Chicken might be misleading as I believe the word 'butter' in it for the creamy texture of gravy rather than the fact that it is loaded with butter. I have seen the literal interpretation of the name in many preparations in the local restaurants. This recipe here - believe it or not - uses no butter at all and trust me, you will not miss it. Also, unlike the impression that the ingredients list might give you, the recipe is rather straightforward to make. So for all you chicken lovers, let me know how you like it.
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Masaledar bharwan baingan/ Spicy Stuffed Eggplants

Eggplants in my home is always about hubs.The little one and I like it too but with hubs its like nothing I can explain in a few words. Guess the only way he wouldn't eat them is raw. To go on a little more, he loves all different kinds of them, the italian, chinese, indian, purple, green, white and most likely any other kinds that he and I haven't even seen yet. His most favorite kind however are these baby eggplants just the way I make them *smirk*. You do have to give him some credit though, the eggplant is no doubt a very versatile vegetable. Fry them, saute them, bake them or even mash them and they always come out a winner.
I make them many different ways and this way is one of the most frequent as this one is my favorite eggplant preparation too. The eggplants are thoroughly soaked in spices and yet retain their beautiful petite shape making them very presentable for when you are entertaining. The kick of the spices and tang from the lemon juice and amchur along with the creamy texture of the nicely cooked eggplant make them ideally suited to be eated either with parathas or with rice and some daa. And yes, remember to leave the stems on to make them extra fun to eat.

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Spicy Roasted Baby Potatoes!

This one's for hubs. Granted potatoes are very versatile and well liked but he is something else. You could write songs for his love for potatoes. There are only two ways he does not like potatoes, in the raw and in the vodka form. If you are not so much of a potato fan, don't lose heart as these little guys here might just win you over. Coated with spices and slightly crispy from being sauteed and nice and tender and juicy from the inside, they are the perfect snack. Use it when entertaining guests or heck teach him how to make it so he can use it to get some points with you every now and then.

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Jeera Aloo/Cumin Flavored Stir Fried Potatoes

 If you are ever in a rush but still want to eat a tasty, savory home-cooked meal - sounds like most of the time, doesn't it - this dish might just be your perfect answer. Ready in under ten minutes if you have the ingredients and very versatile in what it can go with. Hubs tells me he relates to this dish in a rather strange sort of way. In his single days in India, when he almost always ate out at restaurants, he always saw this dish in most every menu but always ignored it - who goes to a restaurant to eat sauteed potatoes, right? Well right until he got so sick of eating the same paneer and mushroom every single time that he finally ordered it with some plain rice and yellow daal and loved it. That's how he says he remembers this dish. Not a very fun way to remember such a flavorful preparation, I tease him, and we have a good laugh about it.
Indeed, there is something to be said about the versatility of this dish. Eat it as a side with some rice and daal or just with your humble roti and it becomes lunch or dinner, wrap it up with some lettuce and onions in a tortilla and it makes for a great wrap or just stick some toothpicks in them and they are a great starter. What's more is that they are a great picnic food too and can be carried in a lunchbox for a few hours without the need to be refrigerated. This makes them great for short trips as well. Give it a try and it tends to stick with you for those times when you cannot think of anything else or those when you simply crave them.

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Mushroom Tikka masala

This dish is one of the staples in my household. I make it often but for some reason never thought of posting it yet. Hubs mentioned this morning that he hasn't seen a curry on USMasala in a while. Incidentally I had plans of making this curry for dinner (yes the eternal quest for what to make for dinner was to be fulfilled by this curry today). The obvious idea clicked in my head to share it with you guys followed by of course the clicking of the camera.
Paneer and mushroom are hot favorites in our household. This recipe combines two of my absolute favorite things- juicy marinated meaty mushrooms in a tikka masala gravy. The result is always rewarding especially when I hear feedback from the little one like 'mommy  this is million gazillion nice' that she somehow manages to speak with a mouth full of the piece of roti and mushroom that she just so eagerly gobbled up. Another great thing about this dish is its versatility. You can pair it just as easily with naan and roti as with some biryani or plain white rice. A definite must-have for your next pot-luck.

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Gobhi Manchurian/Crispy Cauliflower in a spicy chilli-garlic sauce

Featued on: The Kitchn

Growing up, I remember this was one of the few dishes we would expect to eat only in restaurants. Always thought it was too difficult to be made at home or there was some special closely guarded secret to making it. Then one day mom got brave (that she always is and not just about food), using her exceptional skills to be able to tell the components in a dish merely by tasting it, tried it at home. It was an instant hit among family and friends. My brother and I could not wait for the next time she would make it - at times we would force her :) These days the sides have switched a bit. Hubs is a big fan of this dish as well and now it is his turn to talk me into making it every so often. I don't mind either.

I love Chinese food but I have a certain (very strong) bias towards Indian-Chinese (aka indo-chinese) cuisine. We Indians have had a long-lived love affair with Chinese food. Long before pizzas, burgers and junk food became popular, it was Chinese food that most of us wanted when we craved something different. One may argue that Indo-chinese is not really Chinese food as it is not very close to authentic Chinese food. It has been totally adapted and re-flavored to suit an Indian palette. But hey, that is what fusion food is all about, right? Who knew the marriage of a little soy sauce with Indian spices could be so delicious!

My favorites have always been the chilli and manchurian varieties. These dishes may be made with cauliflower, paneer or chicken and are extremely popular in India. The sauce has no basis in the historical Chinese cuisine. In India this ever popular dish is served at glamorous restaurants as well as by the street-side vendors and is consumed with vigor and excitement among all class of people.

The cauliflower has a crispy coating and is tossed with a mouth-watering spicy tangy sauce. These are perfect for appetizers or may even be served as a side dish. Use a toothpick or a fork as you please and enjoy with cocktails during or before a meal.

These are really easy to make at home, taste awesome and are always a big hit with guests. They are often paired with Chinese style fried rice. These are great for potluck parties and will be gone in seconds! 

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Aloo gobhi masala

loo gobhi, always a crowd pleaser, is a combination of two most universally loved vegetables potato and cauli cooked together with various spices in an onion tomato base. This humble dish is staple in many Indian homes - except of course those times of the year when gobhi is ridculously expensive - and can be made many different ways. Aloo gobhi rose to international fame in Gurinder Chadda's movie "Bend it like Beckham". It is weird but every time I make aloo gobhi it reminds me of the famous dialogue from the movie where the mom tells the football playing daughter "aloo gobhi banana seekh le warna shaadi kaun karega" (learn to make aloo gobhi to get a prospective groom which she can only get by knowing how to cook this and not playing football, HA HA)!
I like the simplicity of the dish and the amazing taste. Can be served as lunch or dinner accompanied with roti, paratha or rice. They make a great filling for wraps and a great pizza/tart topping for that matter. Now there are a number of ways in which I make Aloo Gobhi - the party or potluck way, with gravy, without gravy, my mom's way the Bihari way. This I guess is the way I make it that I have developed on my own having eaten it at several restaurant and adding my own twist.

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Palak paneer/Saag paneer

Palak Paneer is one of my all time favorite Indian curries. It is a hearty, wholesome, comforting dish loved by all in my family too. Sometimes also known as Saag Paneer, it is an all time classic. The homemade cheese or paneer is slowly simmered in a very aromatic  and creamy curried spinach or saag/palak - an omnipresent dish in almost every menu of Indians restaurants all over the world. It is served with a basket of buttery naans. You break a piece of the bread, use it to scoop up the gravy and savor the mild yet authoritative burst of flavor, taste and texture.
The combination of spinach and cheese is a power pack. With the protein of the cheese and calcium, iron, vitamins of spinach, this dish besides being a treat to the eye and taste buds, is really good for you. If your kids get a liking for it - like mine did - it is also a great way to put some spinach in them.
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Parval/Patal Dopyaza

arval or Patal, as it is sometimes also referred to as, is a common green vegetable that most if not all folks from India are familiar with. I looked around on the web and there seems to be a lot of confusion on its english name so I would rather not mention any here. It is especially common in northern and eastern part of the country and definitely well loved in the region in India where I come from. Growing up parval used to be abundant during the summers. So much so that it almost became a staple for those couple of months. It would either be aloo-parval with rice for lunch or parval bhunjiya with roti for dinner or even sauteed stuffed parval as a side, it would show up in some shape or form with every meal. You got tired of eating it eventually but you still liked it.
Coming to the US, I was pretty disappointed that folks here did not even know what parval was let alone eat it or even sell it. I would occasionally find the frozen kind in the freezer, tried a few times, but was even more disappointed. For someone trying parval for the first time, I would strongly advise not trying the frozen ones, not even close. We had to go without the fresh ones for a few years until we started seeing it in little containers in Indian grocery stores, tucked away in a corner as if it were an orphan vegetable that no one desired. The first time I laid my eyes on the little box in the corner seemed like a distant dream. I picked one up and held it close to my eyes turning it in different directions until my senses told me I was in fact looking at a fresh parval (aah the things you take for granted). The excitement however was short lived as almost immediately my sight fell on the little handwritten price tag that read $6.99/lb. "You gotta be kidding me", I thought and with a heavy heart put the one I had in my hand back in the basket and passed it by. Yes, I did turn around.
Since then I do buy a couple of pounds every now and then and handle it like gold. Hubs and I both enjoy it with rice or roti while chatting through our meal on everything I just wrote above.

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Methi Matar Malai with a Fragrant Saffron Cumin Scented Pilaf

ppears that my last few posts have been about making dishes with my favorite ingredients. Here's a dish featuring another one of my very favorite, fresh Methi or Fenugreek. To give you an idea how much I love it, whenever I am at our local Indian grocery I eagerly scan through each one of those yellow wooden plank boxes sitting randomly on the floor where the nail is still sticking out from where the lid was forcibly pried off, secretly hoping to find one such box with bunches of fresh methi leaves stacked up. When I lay sight on such a box, my pulse does go up a few beats a minute, I kid you not. Hubby is well aware and when he goes grocery shopping by himself and get me a couple of bunches, he sure earns a few points ;) I also grow them in my backyard as well to have a limited yet regular supply. Last but not the least, I always keep a box of Kasoori methi or dried fenugreek leaves in my pantry just in case I run out in my backyard and the stores don't have it either, proof enough? lol.

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Paneer makani naanizza!

eftovers can be an issue at times. Mostly hubs will not want to eat it the following day (he says he does but I can tell he'd rather not). It is more of an issue when your leftovers are dishes that are close to your heart and you just spent your entire weekend cooking them up. It just so happened this past weekend that I had leftover Panner Makhani and Naan, two things that I just cannot explain how much I love. Now of course I couldn't eat it all by myself and it would break my heart if I had to throw away paneer in any shape or form.
You of course guessed where this is leading up to. Long-story-short, all my leftovers were gone in no time. Not until later, when I pointed out, is when hubs realized they were leftovers. This was not the first time I had made these insanely delicious fusion pizzas that kiddo and I like to lovingly call 'nanizza'. It never fails me as was the case this time around. Kiddo totally loved it too - the result that pleases me the most.
Naan based pizzas are becoming increasingly popular, so much so that the frozen version of it have started to appear on regular grocery stores. I have made it with different toppings like aloo gobhi, palak paneer and even baingan bharta and this time it was paneer makhani. 

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Mirchi Ka Salan/Green Chillies in Spicy Tangy Sesame Peanut Sauce

 
es you read it right. A curry of green chillies! If you take my word for it, this curry is utterly lip-smacking and delicious besides of course being... yes... hot! Mirchi, in hindi, means chillies/peppers and salan is hyderabadi lingo for a creamy curry or sauce. This curry is not just something I made up on a day I was overzealous. It in-fact is a very popular curry from the hyderbadi cuisine. So much so that this curry was popular as a favorite of the royalty of the yesteryears.
Hyderabadi cuisine, the cuisine from a region in the south-eastern part of India is highly inspired by the Mughlai cuisine. The word "Nawabi" is as synonymous with the Hyderabadi cuisine as "Shahi" is with Lucknowi. Hyderabadi recipes are famous for their rich taste and unique use of ingredients, roasted spices and aromatic flavors. This  dish has all these components and more... chillies simmered in roasted peanuts, sesame, coconut sauce with lots of indigenous spices cooked to perfection give this curry its unique spicy, sweet and tangy taste. It is very easy to put together and has a very rich creamy taste that will compel you to make it over and over again.It is nutty with peanuts, has a distinct taste of sesame seeds and the  bite and heat from the chillies... ahh.

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Pyaz Ke Pakode Wali Kadhi/ Onion fritters in spicy yogurt curry sauce

ou can cross the seven seas and eat the food served by the best chefs from the most celebrated lands but I believe my foodie friends will agree that there is nothing like a bowl of that most loved comfort food that you can snuggle up in the comfort of your home and feed your soul with.
You may think the above is too strong a sentiment for a bowl of kadhi, but that is how I feel about it. Comfort food doesn't have to be complex or even exotic, you cannot explain it. Just the aroma of a hot bowl of simmering kadhi gives me a strange sense of comfort. It always elevates my mood, pulls me out of the clutches of a bad day and reminds me of home, mom and good times spent with family. Give me a choice between the bestest dessert in the world and a bowl of hot kadhi trust me I will always choose the latter. That is how much I like it, you get the idea. Kadhi is classically paired with plain rice or 'chawal' and is especially pure bliss on a cold rainy day.

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Kashmiri Dahi Baingan/Eggplant in Yogurt Fennel Gravy

 have seen quite a few eggplant haters and also few ardent lovers but no one even comes close to my dearest eggplantaholic hubby. Oh yes, he just LOVES eggplant and can't get enough. He can eat it every single day and in all its forms :) Before I got married to him I didn't detest this vegetable but it was definitely not my favorite. Later however the vegetable grew on me especially with the killer Baingan Bharta he makes (yes he can cook eggplant too, not just eat). His love for eggplant was so well known that I was advised to learn as many eggplant recipes I could by family and relatives alike... lol. I used to keep an eye out for eggplant recipes everywhere possible books, newspapers, magazines, cookery shows and used to jot down (something I still do) in my treasured little diary of recipes. This dish is one of them. If 'Khana-Khazana' rings a bell, you would know - yes this is inspired from a recipe from one my most favorite chefs Sanjeev Kapoor.
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Dahi Nariyal wali Bhindi/Okra in coconut and yogurt sauce

es I am back. I realize it is unusual for me to go without a post for a fortnight and thanks to many of my readers that missed me. Lets just say life gets in the way sometimes. Here I am with a simple homey bhindi/okra dish the recipe of which I've had for a really long time in my diary (remember the little 'yellowing' notebook). As I sat back and thought about my history of cooking, nostalgia struck and hence the thought of getting to my good old diary. I remember having taken down this recipe during my college days from a magazine. I still remember it was a dish by the famous Indian celebrity chef Tarla Dalal whose recipes were a regular feature in the magazine.

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Paneer Jalfrezi/Cottage cheese in spicy tangy sauce with bell peppers and onion

uite unlike the super-star butter paneer masala which is practically synonymous with Indian cuisine, the jalfrezi is mellow but very much like any Indian curry. It has a burst of flavors, is full of aromatic spices with an exotic taste that is bound to take you by surprise. Cubes of succulent home made cheese are simmered in a fragrant garlic tomato sauce with loads of colorful peppers and freshly ground spices that will make you mop your plate clean and ask for more. Unlike a few other paneer dishes this one is not very rich or laden with butter and cream to make it tasty.

A common dhaba dish all over India ~ dhaba is a Indian equivalent to the American road-side diner. Known for its rustic, simple, basic, inexpensive yet flavorful original dishes and very popular among long distance roadies and truck drivers. Whenever I go to India I make it a point  to take a drive with hubs and kiddo to the nearest dhaba on the national highway just to have some of their dal makhani, kadahi paneer and fresh out of the tandoor (clay oven) those buttery flaky tandoori rotis ~ ahh.

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