Dal makhani or dal makhni is a dish originating from the northern region of the Indian subcontinent. The primary ingredients are whole black lentil, red kidney beans, butter and cream. This dish is a one pot slow cooked dish which will taste better as you let it cook for longer. In India, we cook this for hours and sometimes overnight in a claypot in charcoal flame to get the perfect smoky well stewed Lentils or Dal.
I have substituted butter and cream with low fat milk and coconut oil. So mine is a healthier version of “Dal Makhani”.
The other ingredients used are ginger, garlic, onions, tomatoes and special bunch of Indian spices used for this dish which is cooked for hours to attain the perfect smoky soupy consistency and taste.
Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer is a staple in every Indian’s refrigerator. It is hard and so deceptive as you cook them, as you see it melt in the dishes and creamy and so delicious. Here I have a very easy dish made of Paneer for people out there who want to start cooking Indian food!
Ingredients
Onions- 3 medium diced fine
Tomatoes- 4 diced
Bell Pepper- 1- diced small
Grated Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer-1/2 cup
Garlic- 5 cloves minced
1/2 inch of fresh ginger
Turmeric powder- 1/2 tsp
1 Clove, 1 Cardamom, a small piece of Cinnamon
Oil- any
Salt to taste
Cayenne powder- 1 teaspoon
Curry powder or Garam Masala- 1 teaspoon
Cilantro for garnish
Preparation:
To a pan under medium flame, add a tablespoon oil, add clove, cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric powder and toast for a minute. Now add tomatoes and cook covered for about 3/4 min s.
Blend this separately
Take another pan placed under medium flame and add a teaspoon of oil, add ginger, garlic, onions, bell pepper and saute with salt, cayenne powder, curry powder and saute’ for about 5 minutes.
Toss in the blended tomato and mix well.
Add the grated Indian Cottage Cheese or Paneer slowly while mixing in.
Back in 2012, when I auditioned for Master Chef Season 3 with Gordon Ramsay- this egg curry recipe won me my Master Chef Apron. After all these years, I decided to share my recipe with everyone:
Ingredients
Onions- 3 medium diced fine
Tomatoes- 4 diced
Eggs- 6 boiled and peeled and chopped in halves
Garlic- 5 cloves minced
1/2 inch of fresh ginger
1 Clove, 1 Cardamom, a small piece of Cinnamon
Oil- any -I prefer coconut or sesame oil for this recipe
Salt to taste
Cayenne powder- 1 teaspoon
Curry powder or Garam Masala- 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves -3/4, Cilantro and mustard seeds-1/2 tsp for garnish
Preparation:
Place a pan under medium flame and add 1 tablespoon oil. In this recipe I use my garnish in the first step
Throw in mustard seeds, curry leaves, clove, cardamom and cinnamon till they splutter. Add in ginger, garlic, onions and mix with salt to taste, cayenne and spices like curry powder/ garam masala.
Add tomatoes and mix well. Keep covered after adding 1/4 cup of water and let it cook until all tomatoes are stewed and release oil.
Now add in the eggs and fold in gently with the onion tomato paste gently and cook for 2 minutes.
I love indulging in a bowl of Singapore noodles. All the goodness of rice vermicelli, julienned vegetables and optional to add some eggs all immersed in turmeric and curry powder in a wok and stir fried, Yum!
Quick pictorial steps of how I made Singapore noodles:
Julienne veggies -any veggiesThrow rice vermicelli noodles for 90 seconds into boiling water and transfer to a vessel and cover with a towel for 2 minutes.Eggs is optional – sliced lengthwiseFluff up noodles and break it up for easeSaute veggies and egg in a hot wok with sesame oil, veggies and eggs with turmeric and curry powderRice Vermicelli mixed in and saute
One of my most favorite dishes in this world is Meditteranean- nothing like crunchy falafels with some home made tahini, creamy hummus and babaganoush!
Tahini sauce is nothing but roasted sesame along with Olive oil, lemon, salt and garlic. Its the most delicious dip ever. Hummus is also easy to make with chickpeas, garlic cloves, lemon, oilve oil, tahini and salt.
Tahini thick sauce ( I stick this in the fridge and dilute 1 spoon of this with 2 tsp of water every time I use)
Babaganoush is slightly tricky to make since it involves smoking the eggplant or aubergine in flame to cook and peel off the outer layers. I personally throw the chunks of eggplant after peeling the outer skin into my Vitamix with salt, olive oil, garlic cloves, freshly squeezed lemon and tahini paste. Finally garnish with parsley and mint.
