No Passport Required: A Culinary Trip to India

The first time I had Indian food was while I was in my freshman year at Emory. I was taking a yoga seminar (I still can't believe I got 4 credits for that class by the way) and our class was going to a yoga studio and then to a nearby Indian restaurant together. Being my first time in an Indian restaurant and completely unfamiliar with the cuisine, I took a shot in the dark and ordered a vegetarian curry dish. I think I took a few bites to be polite and decided to call my relationship with Indian cuisine a good try but we should go our separate ways. Fast forward six years. My boyfriend, convinced I would like Indian food if someone who knew my flavor preferences ordered for me, took me to Taste of India. I ended up with the Saag Paneer, as well as some garlic naan and a vegetarian appetizer plate with samosas, vegetable & paneer pakoras and onion bhaji. Well I'll be damned I actually loved it. All of it. I couldn't believe I had been living without Indian food for the first 24 years of my life. We wound up getting Indian pretty regularly and after a few times I decided to switch up my order. I got the Shahi Paneer and it was love at first taste. The dish I now eat on a weekly basis stems from the Shahi Paneer but is so much healthier than the restaurant version. No ghee or cream in our Indian dishes, which means we can spoon more onto our plates without feeling stuffed. 

Let's get to the Indian dishes of the from last night. We make our own garlic naan, shahi paneer and chicken tikka masala that rivals any restaurant in flavor and beats them hands down in healthiness. Everything gets served with rice, mixed together and tossed onto a piece of naan. We also use tamarind chutney, which is my favorite Indian chutney. Both dishes start off with the same tomato base, so we make that all together and then separate and create two very distinct dishes.

Garlic Naan

Bread flour

Rapid Rise Yeast

Fat Free Strained Greek Yogurt
Garlic
Cilantro
EVOO

Combine one packet of rapid rise yeast with 1/2 cup of warm water. Add 3/4 cup of flour to a bowl. Pour yeast/water mixture into the bowl and stir using a spatula. Add a pinch of salt and stir. Then add 1/4 cup of yogurt to the mixture and stir. This should have a gluey type of consistency. 

Next, you will add about 1 cup of flour, a small amount of a time to the mixture, stirring often. Eventually you will end up with a doughy consistency. At this point you can knead by hand. Make sure there is enough flour so that the dough does not stick to your hand. Spray with a very small amount of olive oil and let sit under a lamp for an hour to rise. The longer you can let it rise the better, so if you have a few hours, two or three hours are great for this.

Mince garlic and chop fresh cilantro. Add a dash of extra virgin olive oil to a small dish, then add the garlic and cilantro. 


Take dough out of bowl and cut into 4 round pieces. Place under heat lamp and let it rise for 20 minutes. Turn oven on to 350. If you have a panini press, turn it on to high.

Put naan into the oven for about 4 minutes. Then take it out and put it on the panini press for 2-3 minutes. Then it goes back in the over for another 2 minutes. If you don't have a panini press, putting it on a grill or in the oven for about 8-10 minutes works. Just keep an eye on it.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Onion 

Garlic

Ginger Root

Cilantro

Strained Tomatoes

Tomato Paste

Chicken Stock

Chicken Breast

Fenugreek Leaves
Hot Curry Powder
Citric Acid
Garam Masala
Paprika

Dice an onion using a food processor. Cook with a small amount of EVOO on medium high heat until soft. Add minced ginger and garlic to the pot, stirring frequently. 

Add about 12 oz. of strained tomatoes and half a can of tomato paste to the onions, turning the heat down to medium. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt and stir. Put a cover on the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, chop chicken breast into small pieces, sized at about 1" cubes. Put chicken in a mixing bowl, pour in lemon juice and add salt, and push chicken around until thoroughly coated in the juice. The acid in the lemon juice tenderizes the chicken and leaves it very juicy.


Next add hot curry powder, a pinch of citric acid, garam masala and paprika. Let simmer on medium low heat for about 15 minutes with the cover on. 


Add the chicken to the tomato base and turn the temperature down to low (2-3). Put cover back on and let cook for 30-40 minutes. Before serving, add a pinch of Fenugreek Leaves. Serve with white rice and naan.

Shahi Paneer

Onion 

Garlic

Ginger Root

Cilantro

Strained Tomatoes

Tomato Paste

Milk

Paneer

Chickpeas

Sweet Peas

Cashews

Garam Masala

Cardamom

Turmeric

Tandoori

Allspice

Fenugreek Leaves


Dice an onion using a food processor. Cook with a small amount of EVOO on medium high heat until soft. Add minced ginger and garlic to the pot, stirring frequently. 


Add about 12 oz. of strained tomatoes and half a can of tomato paste to the onions, turning the heat down to medium. Add 1/2 cup of yogurt and stir. Put a cover on the pot and let simmer for about 20 minutes.


Turn heat to low and add garam masala, cardamom, turmeric, tandoori, allspice and fenugreek to the tomato base. Let simmer on low for about 5 minutes. Add about 1/4 cup of milk (I use skim). Let simmer for another 5 minutes.

Add the paneer cubes, peas and chickpeas. I only do about 1/4 cup of a peas & chickpeas combination. Put the cover of the pan and let cook slow and low (turn heat down to 1) for as long as possible. We normally let it cook on 1 for about an hour, but 20 minutes is fine if you're in a hurry. Towards the end, crumble some cashews up and toss in the pan. Simmer for a few more minutes and it is ready to serve.