Indian recipes are infused with assertive flavors—ginger, onion and garlic—and subtle spices—cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, peppercorns, bay leaves and cumin. Although the list of spices and techniques used to prepare some Indian recipes can be intimidating, they provide tantalizing layers of flavors in a matter of minutes. These Indian food recipes are easier to prepare than you may think. Wake up your taste buds with these flavor-packed Indian recipes:


Kadhi  (or karhi)  is a North Indian dish. It is a spicy dish whose thick gravy is based on chickpea flour (called Besan in Hindi) and contains vegetable fritters called pakoras, to which sour yogurt is added to give it little sour taste. It is often eaten with boiled rice or roti.
Ingredients:
2 Cups Sour Curd
4 tsp Besan
1/2 inch Ginger, chopped
2 Green chillies, chopped
Salt To Taste
Handful Coriander leaves
2 tsp Oil
1 Pinch Turmeric powder
1/2 tsp Cinnamon powder

Seasonings:

1/4 tsp Cumin seeds
1/4 tsp Mustard seeds
Few Curry leaves
1 Pinch Asafoetida

Preparation:

Beat the curd and add two cups of water. Add the besan, salt, turmeric powder and mix well.
Make a paste of ginger, chillies, cinnamon and coriander leaves.
Boil the curd mixture on slow heat and stir continuously. Add the ground paste, and boil again.
Heat oil in a pan, add all seasonings. Fry until they splutter.
Pour this seasonings over guajarati kadhi. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice.


Vegetable Pulav/Pilaf (goes very well with above kadhi)
Ingredients :
1 1/2 cups Rice
1 Tomato (chopped)
3/4 Capsicum (chopped)
1/2 cup Green Peas
1 1/2 cups Water
1 tsp Red Chilli Powder
1 tsp Garam Masala Powder
1/2 tsp Turmeric (Haldi) Powder
Salt to Taste
1 tbsp Ghee
1/2 tsp Mustard (Rai) Seeds
1/2 Tsp Cumin (Jeera) Seeds
3-4 Cloves (Lavang)
3-4 Whole Black Pepper Corns (Kala Mari)
1 Slit Green Chilly
5-6 Curry Leaves
1 tsp Chopped Coriander
Method :
Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, add mustard seeds, cloves and black pepper corns and let it crackle. Then add cumin seeds, green chilly and curry leaves to it. Add finely chopped tomatoes and capsicum and allow it to soften. Add red chilli powder, garam masala, turmeric and salt to taste. Add washed and drained rice and mix it nicely. Add 1 1/2 cups of water (Dip the index finger inside the cooker and water level should be till two marks on the finger). Add chopped coriander and allow the mixture to come to a boil. Cover the lid of the cooker and let it whistle for 4-5 whistles. Remove from the flame and let the pressure go down.
Serve the pulav hot with a tsp of ghee and cold curd.

oondhyo                                                          

Ingredients:
6 - 8 cloves garlic
3 - 4 baby egg plants

6 -8 potatoes small
1 tsp turmeric powder
5 tbsp oil
100 gms yam

25 - 30 broad beans

4 green chillies
2 tbsp coconut scraped
a pinch asafoetida
2 raw bananas
1 cup coriander leaves
2 inch ginger
1 tsp mustard
For Muthiya 1/4 cup Bengal Gram Flour (besan)1/4 cup Salt to taste 1/2 cup Fenugreek Leaves (methi)1/2 cup 1/2 inch Ginger 1 - 2 Green Chillies1-2 Oil to deep fry Salt to taste

How to make undhiyo :

• Wash, take off and dice potatoes, yam and raw bananas.
• Wash brinjals and slit them into four without cutting the stem.
• Make a paste of garlic, green chillies and ginger and mix cut coriander.
• Mix all the muthiya ingredients except oil and prepare a firm dough.
• Divide into small portions and shape each into one-inch long half-inch thick rolls.
• Deep fry in hot oil, remove and keep aside.
• String beans and cut into one-inch long pieces.
• Heat up oil in a thick-bottomed pan, mix in asafoetida and mustard seeds.
• When mustard seeds crackle mix in ground masala and broad beans.
• Put the rest of the vegetables in layers one on top of the other.
• Sprinkle salt and turmeric powder.
• Stir fry for five minutes on high flame heat.
• Pour out one cup of water, cover and simmer (boil slowly at low temperature) on a very low heat up for 10-15 minutes.
• Mix in fried muthiyas and again simmer (boil slowly at low temperature) for 15 minutes.
• Shake the vegetables occasionally but do not use a spoon to stir.
• Serve hot decorated with scraped coconut.

Directions | How to make Mag Ni Dal Ni Khichdi (green lentil)
Wash and soak the split yellow gram (lentil) and rice together for 15 minutes. Drain. Heat the water in a vessel till very hot. Keep aside. Heat the ghee (clarified butter) in a large heavy bottomed vessel till it is very hot. Add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. Now add the chopped ginger, green chilli(es), cinnamon, peppercorns, asafoetida and turmeric powder. Stir fry on medium / low level for about 2 minute(s). Now, add the split yellow gram, rice and salt. Mix well. Add the hot water to this and bring to a boil. Cover and keep on low heat for 25 minutes or till the mixture is slightly mushy.

Shrikand  (a popular sweet dish)
Ingredients:
4 cups ready made yogurt or yogurt made from 1.5ltrs of milk
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup coarsely powdered almonds
1/4 tea sp cardamom powder
7-8 strands of saffron soaked in about 1 TB spoon warm water
Method:
Take a clean muslin cloth and take the yogurt in it. Tie a knot and hang it so that all the water falls away from the yogurt. Leave it like this for overnight or for about 12hrs. The remaining dry yogurt is called hung yogurt.
In a bowl mix hung yogurt, sour cream, sugar. Mix well.
Add the saffron, cardamom to get a nice saffron color. Now add almonds. Serve with puris.

Dhokla

Ingredients:
2 cups Gram Flour
6 ts sugar
2 ts salt
1 ts citric acid
1/2 ts soda
1 &1/2 cups water
Preparation method
Prep: 5 mins | Cook: 10 mins
Take all ingredients in a container.
Mix all ingredients with water in one direction.
Immediately pour the mixture into the pan before the foam goes down.
Cover pan with a perforated lid and close cooker.
Cook for 10 Minutes.
Remove the container and allow it to cool.
Cut in cubes and remove with spatula.
Heat oil in a small pan. Add mustard seed, allow to splutter.
Pour over dhokla cubes. Sprinkle cilantro leaves.
Transfer to serving dish. Serve hot or cold with green chutney.

Tomato upma (tomato cooked in cream of wheat)

Ingredients:

4  tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) / butter
1  cup(s) semolina (or quick cream of wheat)
1  teaspoon(s) each of mustard and cumin seeds
1  sprig(s) curry leaves
1  teaspoon(s) ginger chopped
2  green chilli(es) slit / chopped
2  onion(s) sliced finely
1  large tomato(es) chopped
4  tablespoons coriander leaves
2  tablespoon(s) grated coconut if available
2  cup(s) hot water
salt to taste
fried cashew nuts to garnish

1. Heat half of the ghee (clarified butter) in a pan. Fry semolina, stirring continuously, to a golden color on medium / low level for about 2  minute(s). Keep aside.
2. Heat the remaining ghee (clarified butter) in a pan. Toss in the mustard seeds followed by the cumin seeds and fry till the seeds splutter fully. Add the curry leaves, ginger, green chillies and onions. Stir fry on medium level for about 3  minutes or till the onions are transparent and soft.
3. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry on medium level for about 3  minutes or till they are soft and cooked. Add half of the coriander leaves (reserving the rest for garnishing) and fry briefly till they wilt.
4. Mix in the semolina and salt. Add the hot water to this and mix well. Add more hot water if the mixture is dry. Cover and cook on low heat for about 3  minutes or till the mixture is almost dry.
   Garnish with fried cashewnuts, grated coconut and finely chopped coriander leaves.

Preparation:

In large bowl, combine chickpeas and enough cold water to cover by two inches. Cover and refrigerate 8 hours or overnight.

Drain chickpeas, then combine in slow cooker with 1 cup water. Cover and cook on high, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 3 to 4 hours. Add spinach, tomatoes and their juices, coriander, cumin, garam masala, turmeric, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook 1 hour more. Sprinkle in remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, stir in cilantro and serve.

Egg plant and potato curry

Ingredients

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

• 1/2 small brown onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon korma curry paste (see note)
• 1 small desiree potato, peeled, cut into 2cm cubes
• 1 small eggplant, cut into 2cm cubes
• 3/4 cup canned chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• steamed basmati rice (see tip), to serve

Method

1. Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and curry paste. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute or until aromatic.
   
2. Add potato, eggplant, tomatoes and 2 tablespoons water. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 15 to 18 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in coriander.
   
3. Serve curry with rice.

Potato and peas curry

• 1 1/2 cups peas, boiled
• 1 cup diced potato, boiled
• 1 cup tomato, chopped
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped finely
• 1/2 tablespoon ginger paste
• 1/2 tablespoon garlic paste
• 2 green chilies, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
• salt, to taste

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the ginger,garlic, onions, chillies and tomatoes.
3. Saute till the tomatoes and onions are softened.
4. Add the turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder and garam masala.
5. Add salt to taste.
6. Add the boiled peas and potatoes.
7. Add the chopped cilantro.
8. Add the water and bring to a simmer.
9. Serve with Indian Bread or Rice.
10. Tip: I microwave frozen peas and potatoes for about 10 minutes in my microwave.