I love having people over to my house for food. I guess it is part of my Indian upbringing. A good part of my growing up years has seen my mom meticulously preparing meals for relatives, friends, guests who have been invited to be a part of the big Indian eating tradition. Even today at home, a meal is not complete unless it is a feast. Curries will be served piping hot, accompanied by a side of dry vegetables, rice and yogurt. You grow up having this notion of meal-hood :) Even after moving to LA, that part of me hasn't changed.
S and me had some guests over on friday, and I cooked up a meal for four in 2.5 hours. This is what the spread looked like.
While you are busy admiring my pretty FabIndia curtains, let me give you a run down of the dinner spread (from L-R): Mango thokku pickle (red jar with yellow lid, bought from India Sweets and Spices, Glendale), masoor dal with tadka, kadai paneer, roasted brussel sprouts, baingan vindaloo, espinacas con garbanzo, a side of white rice, vegetable biriyani, and cucumber-dil raita (and some garlic naan and rotis, which I forgot to photograph). So, I made all these in 2.5 hours which obviously means I multitasked and hence forgot to take photographs while making each of the items. You obviously don't want to see my super messy kitchen too :) But, you probably want to make some or all of the items for dinner or lunch, hence, I will provide the recipe's below (apologies for the lack of photos, I promise I'll take some next time).
Recipe 1: Masoor dal tadka
Dal is the easiest thing to make. But not necessarily the quickest thing to make. So start with the dal first.
Ingredients
Serves 4
Masoor dal 1 cup (washed)
Onion 1 cup (sliced)
Red chilli 2-3
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Potato 1 (peeled and cubed)
Turmeric powder 2 tsp
Asafoetida a pinch
Salt to taste
Oil 1 tbsp
In a pressure cooker (if you don't have one, you can use a saucepan), add the masoor dal, turmeric powder, potato, salt and add water (1: 1). If using pressure cooker, cook for three whistles. If using saucepan, cook for about ten mts. In a skillet, heat oil and add cumin seeds. Next, add the red chillis and onions. Saute for 3 minutes. Add hing. Take off fire and pour the contents into the cooked dal. Check for consistency, if the water is too much boil the dal for 5 minutes. Garnish with cilantro leaves. This can be served hot with rice or roti.
Recipe2: Kadai Paneer
While the dal is getting cooked in the pressure cooker, you can start working on this yummy looking paneer dish. S loves anything made with paneer. So, I do experiment quite a bit with it. This one though is easy to make and the dish will be loved by your guests.
Ingredients
Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) 1 cup
Capsicum 1 (cut into squares)
Onion 1 (cut into squares)
Tomato 3 (pureed)
Ginger-garlic paste 1 tbsp
Fenugreek leaves dried 2 tsp
Turmeric powder 1 tsp
Coriander powder 1 tsp
Red chilli powder 1 tsp
Salt to taste
Oil 2 tbsp
Whole spices
Cinnamon 1 inch stick (broken into smaller pieces)
Cardamom 2
Cloves 4
Dry red chillies 2 (broken into smaller pieces)
Bay leaf 2 (broken into smaller pieces)
Cumin seeds 1 tsp
Method
1. Cut the paneer, capsicum (bell pepper), tomato and onion into squares. Puree the tomato in a blender. Keep aside.
2. Heat oil, add the whole spices and roast for 2 minutes. Add onions, ginger-garlic paste, and saute till the onions turn translucent.
3. Add the tomato puree, salt and let it boil for 2 minutes.
4. Add capsicum, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, a little water and let is boil.
5. Add the paneer, and the fenugreek leaves.
6. Let this cook for about 8 minutes and serve garnished with cilantro leaves.
Recipe 3: Vegetable biriyani
This is a very easy side to make. A difference from the usual white rice accompaniment to Indian food, which I also served by the way.
Ingredients
White basmati rice 4 cups
Peas 1/2 cup
Carrot 1/2 cup
Onions 1
Biriyani mix 2 tbsp
Salt to taste
Ghee 1.5 tbsp
Whole spices
Bay leaf 2
Cardamom 2
Cinnamon 1 inch stick
Cloves 4
Black pepper 4
Method
1. Soak the rice in water and little salt for at least an hour before cooking it. I soaked the rice first, before I started to make the dal.
2. In a pan, heat the ghee and fry the whole spices. Now add the onions and fry till translucent.
3. Add the peas and carrots and mix well.
4. Add the salt, and the biriyani mix.
5. Add in the rice, mix everything well. Add in water to cover the rice and let it boil. Once the rice is ready, serve hot.
Recipe 4: Roasted brussel sprouts
S doesn't like brussell sprouts. But I love them. So, I'm always looking for interesting ways to make them yummy. Roasting them is by far my favorite way of devouring brussell sprouts.
Ingredients
Brussell sprouts 1 cup
Lemon juice 2 tbsp
Garlic 1 tsp (minced)
Salt a pinch
Olive oil 1 tsp
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. In a small bowl, mix the minced garlic with the lemon juice and salt.
3. Spread the brussell sprouts in a oven friendly baking dish and sprinkle the mix prepared. Coat the sprouts nicely.
4. Pour some olive oil on top of the sprouts.
5. Roast them in the preheated oven for about 25 minutes, turning them over at least once in between.
Recipe 5: Cucumber and dil raita
Last but not the least, serve the food with a delicious raita. Cut some cucumbers, mash it with some dil and dunk it into yogurt, sprinkle in a little salt, whip it up and serve.
And there you go, a simple Indian meal for four is ready. I also made two other dishes, eggplant vindaloo and garbanzo beans with spinach (also called espinacas con garbanzo) but those recipes will have to wait for another occasion! I also served a side of mango thokku pickle (bought from India sweets and spices, Glendale).
To finish it off, my guests dug into this Rava Kesari and a slice of this cheesecake.