10
February

Making raita

This recipe of mine was originally posted on A Bit of Foodsense. Go check it out, there is some great stuff on there!

The first time I was introduced to the idea of raita, I was grossed out. It, in what I knew to be it’s most common form, was a salad of yogurt and cucumber after all. How could they go together and taste good? Then I started eating and loving Tzatziki, a different type of yogurt and cucumber dish, so decided to give it a go. One taste and I was hooked. I was glad that I took the risk, as it soon became a favourite for our Indian dining.

I was particularly happy when a friend of my sister-in-law’s offered to teach us some Indian dishes and this was one of them. She was originally from eastern India but lived in Canada for a few years before moving to the UK. This recipe is largely based on what she taught us, but I have tweaked it to suit our tastes. Though I generally like my raita thicker than what you will see Bangalore, I feel that it is authentic in taste. The one small piece of Indian cuisine that I feel I have nailed!

Now that we live in India, there is a batch of raita in our fridge at all times. We all eat it on its own all the time, but have also gained a new appreciation for this side dish. Apparently it is for more than just dipping your naan or roti in! Raita helps to cool the really spicy dishes that we eat, and adds a really neat complexity to the flavour of biriyani when mixed into it. Many of the raitas here are also way more adventurous in their prepation with an assortment of vegetables – and fruits – thrown in. I’m a little more reserved.

Ingredients:
2 small /1 large English cucumbers, seeded and grated
1 small red onion, chopped finely
1 really ripe medium tomato, chopped
freshly ground black pepper
2 cups of thick, high fat plain yogurt*
2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp ground cumin
chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:
Mix first six ingredients together. Top with cilantro immediately before serving.

*the Méditerranée yogurt by Liberté is the best yogurt for this salad. If I can’t find it, I will buy a larger quantity of a lower fat yogurt and strain it in cheesecloth for a couple of hours prior to adding it to the salad.

** This is best if made day of use, but left to sit and mellow in the fridge for few hours

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30
January

The bad one

If there is one thing that I LOVE about living in India, it is the food. It is no surprise, as we knew when we moved here that it would be better. Now, Willy and I have become increasingly worried about what we are going to do when we return home, because it is THAT good… and Indian food at home is not. It’s not that we have bad Indian food in Ottawa, it just doesn’t measure up now that we know how great it can be. So I have been devoting much time to making the foods that we like taste more authentic when I cook them. I see a difference already, and hope to have some dishes nailed by the time that we move home. In the meantime, we still order out often enough.

One of our favourite places to eat is the restaurant within our community. It is close, fast, and makes the best dal tadka that I have ever tasted. It is where we turned when we were cheating on our cook, who we call when we have the munchies at night, and is often the first meal that we offer to our guests. An introduction to all the greatness that they will experience in India.

In late December we noticed that the menu had changed at the restaurant. It had been large and unwieldy, so we viewed this is a good thing for the restaurant. A good thing until we noticed that all of our favourites had been wiped off. Willy voiced our concern and was reassured that it was a work in progress, and that they would still make our orders for us. Reassured, he and Uncle D placed the order and included one of the new dishes, a curry they had never heard of.

Our food arrived and we dug in. We were all a little confused by the appearance of the new curry, but Willy, Uncle D and their Mum gave it a try. Then there was silence. A brief silence. They all started talking at once…

“It’s gross.”
“It’s like they added fruit to cream of mushroom soup.”
“What is the spice in this? There IS no spice in this”
“Is this a mistake?”
“How can they have this on the menu?”

From what we could determine (and I never tried the dish after that), the creamy white sauce hid cauliflower, maraschino cherries, green beans, apple, corn, pineapple, and peas. We believe that it must be the Indian version of jellied salad.

I am sure that someone will be horribly offended by this, but this dish horribly offended all of us, especially those that tried it!

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16
December

For the love of paneer

When willy and I started dating, I had never tasted Indian food. I thought curry was that powder that you bought in a jar at the grocery store, and I had no idea what roti, dosas, pakoras, paneer, or a host of other tasty treats were. Oh how things have changed! When we let the lils know that we were going on an adventure to India, Woo’s eyes lit up and he asked me in his serious voice, “does this mean we can eat paneer EVERY DAY?” While it is now a staple in our diet, both here and back home, I should not be surprised that so many people back home don’t know what it is. I am though. How can they be missing out on this tasty treat?!

Simply put, paneer is the Indian version of cottage cheese. It is firmer than Canadian cottage cheese, and not at all sour tasting. While you can easily make it at home by souring hot milk and pressing the curd into a brick, draining the excess whey, it is readily available in Indian grocery stores and now Loblaws back home, and everywhere here. I did make it once, and I now know that I will buy it for the rest of my life.

Paneer is a very versitile food. Since we have been here, we have had it prepared in a multitude of ways. In curries, like mattar (in tomato gravy* with peas), palak (spinach gravy), Makhani (butter and masala gravy); in pakoras and samosas; baked in paratha bread; grilled in a tandoor; in wraps; on pizza; and in lasagne (I made this one, not sure it is available locally). McDonald’s even sell a McPaneer! There are also sweet presentations as well, tho I have not tried them.

My favourite way to eat paneer is mattar paneer, which I made tonight for supper. It takes me a while, but the end result is guaranteed to please us all, so it is worth it.

I fry the paneer til it is just slightly golden

 

 

Add it to some veggies and spices

 

 

And voila!

 

 

It is delicious with some other local specialities…

 

 

Lilbunnyrabbitz mattar paneer
I can’t tell you how long this takes me to make, the lils are always distracting me. About 90 minutes 🙂

1 lb paneer

Curry paste
2 large onions, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 dried chillies (I omit these if the lils are eating)
1 tsp cardamon seeds (removed from green pods)
4 whole cloves
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 pieces cassia bark (cinnamon also works)

Gravy
8-12 plum tomatoes, skinned and chopped
10 oz tomato paste
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp tumeric
1.5 cups frozen peas
2-3 tablespoons thick plain yogurt
Cilantro leaves (to garnish)

Cut paneer into cubes. Heat a fryin pan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil and lightly fry cubes. Pat down and set aside.

Make paste. Combine all ingredients BUT the onion in a morter and pestle and grind. Add onion at the end and lightly grind and mix with the spices.

In a large saucepan, cook the paste over medium heat until onions are transparent (about 5 minutes). Add tomatoes and bring to a boil until juice is reduced. Add tomato paste and spices and simmer for about 30 minutes. Add the peas and continue simmering.

About 15 minutes before you want to serve, add the yogurt, stirring well, then add the paneer.

Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice or naan, or both!

*gravy is what sauce is referred to in Indian cuisine

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