Indian Home Cooking Recipes – Bhajs; Achari Lamb; Tarka Dhal;
We hope you enjoyed your evening at the cookery school, Farzana loves to delight guests with her fabulous dishes, of you have any questions for her please ask and we’ll get back to you.
We Cooked: Onion Bhajs, Tandoori Chicken, Achari Lamb, Chicken Karahi, Tarka Dhal.
Onion Bhajis – Demo
Ingredients:
- 200g Gram Flour
- ½ tsp. chilli powder
- ½ tsp. ground pomegranate seed
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- salt
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. ground cumin
- 1 tsp. ground coriander
- 2 large onions, halved and thinly sliced (other vegetables can also be added, potatoes, spinach, peas all work well)
- 2 green chillies, finely chopped
- 50g / 2oz finely chopped fresh coriander
- Cold water to mix
- Vegetable oil for deep frying
Method:
- Add the gram flour, chilli powder, cumin, coriander, and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped coriander, onions, crushed pomegranate seeds, egg, and green chillies and mix well. Gradually add the water little bit at a time and mix to make a batter of medium consistency. Leave the mixture to stand for about 30 minutes.
- Add the salt and stir well.
- Preheat the oil in a karahi for frying.
- When the oil is hot, very carefully drop spoonful of the mixture into the hot oil and fry until golden brown.
- Drain well on kitchen paper and serve hot with yogurt.
Tandoori Chicken
Ingredients:
- One small chicken or preferred cuts, washed and cut into small pieces
- I tsp. garlic paste
- 4 tbsp of tandoori masala (adjust to taste)
- 1 cup of natural yogurt
- 1 tbsp of lemon juice
- 1 tbsp. of olive oil
- 2 tbsp. of vinegar
Method:
- In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt. Garlic paste, tandoori masala, lemon juice and vinegar,
- Now add the chicken pieces making sure all the pieces are covered with marinade. Cover and place in the fridge overnight or for a few hours.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Place the marinated chicken in a roasting tray and cover with foil. Roast the chicken on the top shelf of the oven for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil and turn the chicken over and brown the other side.
Achari Lamb
Ingredients:
- 200g boneless lamb cubed
- 3 tbsp. vegetable oil / ghee
- 1 medium size onion
- 1 tsp. ginger finely chopped
- 2 tomatoes chopped into small pieces
- 3 tsp. of Pickle powder (see below)
- Water – 1 cup
- ½ tsp. turmeric powder
- 1 tbsp. of natural yougart
- Lemon juice – 1 tbsp. (optional)
- 2 green chillies (optional)
Pickle powder (can purchase ready mixed)
- Replace with 2 tbsp. of pickle powder (adjust to taste)
- 2 tsp. coriander seeds
- 1 tsp. cumin seeds
- 3 black peppercorns
- 1 tsp. nigella seeds
- 1 tsp. fenugreek seeds
- 1 tsp. fennel seeds
- ½ mustard seeds
- salt – as per taste
- ½ tsp. of chilli powder adjust to taste
- ½ tsp. of amchoor
Method:
- Roast all the seeds for the pickle powder for about a minute and grind them.
- Mix with the rest of the pickle powder ingredients.
- Take a teaspoon of the pickle powder and mix with the lemon juice. (Optional)
- Slit the green chillies and stuff them with the paste and set aside. (Optional)
- Heat the oil in the pan and add the sliced onion and fry until light brown in colour and have softened for about 10 mins
- To the pan now add the ginger, garlic, and the chopped tomatoes. Mix well.
- Stir in the turmeric powder and the pickle powder and fry for couple of minutes.
- Add the lamb pieces and stir fry them on medium heat for about five minutes
- Add the water and bring the curry to a boil, then lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer on a low heat cooking for about 30 minutes.
- Remove the lid and on medium heat stir fry the lamb until the oil separates.
- Add the green chillies and stir them in. (optional)
- Add the yogurt and continue cooking until the lamb is cooked through and succulent, stirring a couple of times.
Chicken Karahi
Ingredients:
- 200g of boneless chicken cubed
- ½ tsp. of coriander powder
- ½ tsp. of cumin powder
- ½ tsp. of chilli powder
- ¼ tsp. of turmeric powder
- ½ tsp. of paprika
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ tsp. of garam masala
- ¼ tsp. of salt.
- 3 cloves of garlic pealed and chopped or tsp. of garlic paste
- ½ tsp. of ginger paste or a tsp. of chopped fresh ginger
- 2 medium size chopped tomatoes or 100g of tinned chopped tomatoes
- 2 medium sized chopped onions.
- vegetable oil or ghee about 4 tbsp
- 2 tbsp of chopped fresh coriander
Method:
- Place pan on the hob on high heat and add 1 tbs. of oil.
- Add the chicken and stir-fry. Drain excess liquid and continue browning the chicken for 5 more minutes.
- Take the chicken out of the pan and put aside.
- Add 3 tbsp. of oil and heat on medium heat.
- Add the onions and stir fry until they become soft
- Add the ground cumin, ground coriander, chilli powder, turmeric, paprika, salt, bay leaves, tomatoes, ginger, and garlic, and fry them for about 10 minutes or until everything has become soft. Add a cup of water if needed and continue cooking, until you have a paste like consistency. At this stage you can use a blender to get a smooth consistency.
- Add the chicken and continue frying for a few minutes until the chicken is browned, at this point the oil/butter should begin to separate.
- Add small cup of water to make some sauce and cook for a few minutes until the oil begins to separate.
- Garnish with fresh coriander and sprinkle the garam masala on and serve with boiled rice, naan or chapatti.
Tarka Dhal
Ingredients:
- 1 cup red split lentils
- ½ cup of moong lentils
- 3 cups water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 3 tablespoon melted ghee or oil
- ½ tsp of turmeric
- 1 tsp of red chili
- 1 tsp of ground coriander
- 1tsp of ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
- 2 tablespoons of chopped coriander
Method:
- Wash the lentils in several changes of water or until the water starts to run clear.
- Put the lentils into a saucepan with the water and bring to the boil.
- Turn the heat down and simmer uncovered for twenty minutes skimming off the froth that collects at the top. Now add the ground cumin, turmeric, ground coriander, salt, garam masala and chilli powder. Mix everything together.
- Partly cover the pan and leave to cook until the lentils become soft, stirring now and again. (about 45 minutes)
- The cooked lentils should have a pale yellow soup like mixture.
- While the dhal is cooking fry the onion in oil/ ghee until slightly brown.
- Now add the garlic and fry until onions are pale brown. Be careful not to burn the garlic as this will add a bad flavor to the dish.
- Stir the onion mixture into the cooked lentils. Serve hot sprinkled with fresh chopped coriander.
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