Easy Indian Cooking Read Online Free PDF Page A

popular. Yogurt is often churned into cooling drinks with spices, and is the base for many desserts. In savory cooking, its main role is as a souring agent, though it also aids digestion. In India it is customary to end a meal with either plain yogurt mixed with rice or a glass of Indian spiced “buttermilk” (thinned yogurt with salt, green chilies, ginger and salt which is common in south India). The best yogurt to use for the recipes in this book is a thick, plain, natural yogurt made from whole milk. Look for organic whole milk yogurt for the best consistency and flavor.

CHAPTER ONE
    accompaniments
        They don’t call them “accompaniments” for nothing! These sauces and dips add that little “something extra” to every bite of a meal. When we are hungry, we eat not only to fill our bellies; we eat so that we can savor a combination of flavors that satisfy our taste buds. That’s where these accompaniments step in. They are usually made with fruits or vegetables, and are often flavored with sugar, vinegar, yogurt or a blend of different spices. They can be made into pastes, like sambal , and enjoyed with rice-based main courses; or have the consistency of a thin dipping sauce, like chutney , which works as a perfect accompaniment for samosas , which are stuffed and fried turnovers. Then there are the raitas —the most common and popular Indian accompaniment—a delectable cross between a sauce and a dip that act as a coolant for curries and other fiery-hot Indian dishes. Some accompaniments are made with crushed fruits or vegetables and can contain a marriage of different flavors. Some are even cooked, and their spices tempered, to give them a different dimension.
    No Indian meal is complete without at least one accompaniment, and fancy meals may have as many as five or more. Throughout this chapter, I suggest classic pairings for these accompaniments, but please don’t rely on my taste buds alone. I urge you to trust your culinary instincts and try experimenting with seasonal fresh fruit or produce, and basic spices and herbs that are readily available at your favorite local grocery store. Often, the results are surprising and good.
    In India, chutneys are usually freshly made each day because they contain no preservatives. I often make them in batches and refrigerate or freeze them for those times when I need that extra bit of flavor to zing up my menu.

 
potato raita with chives and cumin
    Serves 4
Preparation 10 minutes
Cooking 30 minutes
If there ever was a staple accompaniment on the Indian table, it is raita. Various vegetables, sometimes cooked, sometimes raw, are used in making raitas. Here, I have added chives for a flavor that’s slightly different than the runof-the-mill raita. Enjoy this with Spinach and Thyme Roti Flatbreads (page 76).
1 large potato or 2 medium potatoes (½ lb/225 g), scrubbed clean with a brush
2½ cups (610 g) plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
Salt, to taste
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground
1 teaspoon black peppercorns, toasted and ground
½ cup (16 g) minced chives
½ red bell pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

    1 Peel the potato before or after cooking. Place the potato in a pan, cover with lightly salted water, and boil until tender, about 25–30 minutes. Drain. (Alternatively, you can fork-perforate and microwave the potato for 4–8 minutes.) When cool enough to handle, cut the peeled potato into 1-in (2.5-cm) dice.
    2 Place the yogurt in a serving bowl, mix in the potato, salt, and half of the ground cumin seed and peppercorns. Add the chives and red bell pepper. Garnish with the remaining ground spices, and serve.

 
spiced hummus with almonds
    Makes 3 cups (800 g)
Preparation 10 minutes
Dried or canned chickpeas are a basic item in any Indian pantry. For this dip, you can use canned garbanzo beans, which are also called chickpeas. The addition of Indian spices makes this recipe delightful, and—when used as a dip for finger snacks, plain