Naan:
Ingredients
• 3/8 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/3 cup and 1 teaspoon warm water
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/4 teaspoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon and 1/4 teaspoon milk
• 3/8 egg, beaten
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-1/2 cups and 2 tablespoons bread flour
• 3/4 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
• 1 tablespoon and 1-1/4 teaspoons butter, melted
Directions
This recipe's Ingredients were scaled to yield a new amount. The directions below still refer to the original recipe yield of 14 servings.
1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand about 10 minutes, until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, egg, salt, and enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead for 6 to 8 minutes on a lightly floured surface, or until smooth. Place dough in a well oiled bowl, cover with a damp cloth, and set aside to rise. Let it rise 1 hour, until the dough has doubled in volume.
2. Punch down dough, and knead in garlic. Pinch off small handfuls of dough about the size of a golf ball. Roll into balls, and place on a tray. Cover with a towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
3. During the second rising, preheat grill to high heat.
4. At grill side, roll one ball of dough out into a thin circle. Lightly oil grill. Place dough on grill, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until puffy and lightly browned. Brush uncooked side with butter, and turn over. Brush cooked side with butter, and cook until browned, another 2 to 4 minutes. Remove from grill, and continue the process until all the naan has been prepared.
So I started with the naan bread. Here's a photo of the beginning process once all put together.
The recipe is scaled down from to serve 14 people to serve 4. I should have looked a little closer, but I didn't. Ironically, I had to make this bread a second time. It wasn't rising after an hour like it was supposed to. I couldn't figure out what I did wrong, until I read the recipe. The yeast packet that it cut down must have been the biggest yeast packet known to man. I only added 3/8 of a normal size pack and when I went back and looked, a whole pack is .25 ounce. I made it again, using the correct amount of yeast. Here's my result.
Bread does take some time to make, but it was delicious and incredibly rewarding.
NEXT:
Samosas
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ghee, clarified butter or vegetable oil, plus 1/4 cup, plus extra, for frying
6 to 8 tablespoons ice water
1 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 cup chopped yellow onions
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 hot green chile peppers, minced
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
2 large baking potatoes, like russets, about 1 1/2 pounds, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch dice, and boiled until just tender
1/2 cup par-cooked and drained green peas
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Directions
To make the dough, sift the flour and salt into medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter and rub the mixture between the palms of your hands to evenly distribute, letting the fat-coated flour fall back into the bowl. Continue until the flour is evenly coated. Add 6 tablespoons of the water, mix, and work until the dough comes together. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 4 minutes into a firm dough. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
To make the filling, in a large saute pan or skillet, heat the remaining 1/4 cup of clarified butter over medium-high heat. Add the coriander seeds and cook, stirring, for 10 seconds. Add the onions and ginger, and cook, stirring, until starting to caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chile peppers, garam masala, salt, turmeric, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the potatoes and cook, stirring until the potatoes start to color and become dry, about 3 minutes. Add the peas and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add the cilantro and lemon juice. Stir to combine, then adjust the seasoning, to taste. Let sit until cool enough to handle.
On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 1 minute. Divide into 2 equal portions and roll each into a 1/2-inch thick rope. Cut each into 8 equal parts and roll into smooth balls. Place each ball on the floured surface and roll into a thin circle, about 6-inches in diameter. Cut each circle in half (2 semi-circles). Spoon about 2 teaspoons of filling in the center of each semi-circle. Brush the edges with water and fold the dough over the filling. Press the edges together to seal. Place on a baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ingredients.
Preheat the oil in a large pot to 350 degrees F. Add the pastries in batches and cook at 300 degrees F, turning, until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Serve hot.
I'll be honest, I didn't use the hot chile. I was scared of how hot it would be. I'm still working on my spice palate. So in making these, everything went pretty smoothly until I saw to fry them. I've never fried anything in my life. What kind of oil is necessary? How do I know when it's 30 degrees? I text Sarah. She told me to use vegetable oil and as long as if you spritz some water on the hot oil it sizzles then you're good. So I did that and it worked like a charm. Here is the process.
I used egg instead of water to keep the samosas together which is just a little trick I've learned. I also used a fork to make some pretty patterns on it, no other reason than that. AAAAAND another success.
NEXT:
Chicken Tikka Masala
Part A:
2 lbs. boneless chicken breast
1/4 cup yogurt
3 tsp minced ginger
3 tsp crushed garlic
¼ tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp green cardamom powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp ghee
Melted margarine (for basting)
Part B:
5 oz. tomato paste
10 oz. tomato puree
2 lbs. tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp ginger powder
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tbsp red chili powder
2 tsp cloves
8 green cardamoms
Salt To Taste
3 tbsp ghee
2/3 cup cream
1 tsp fenugreek
2 tsp ginger, julienned
Preparation:
• Whisk all of the ingredients in Part A together in a large bowl. Add the chicken breast, cut into 2 inch cubes.
• Marinate overnight in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350ยบ F. Bake the chicken for 8 minutes, basting with margarine twice. Drain excess marinade and bake for another 2 minutes.
• While doing this, make the sauce in Part B. Put tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato puree in a pot and add approximately 4-1/4 cups of water.
• Add ginger and garlic paste, red chili powder, cloves, cardamoms, and salt. Cook over low heat until reduced to a thick sauce. Strain through a strainer and bring to a boil. Add butter and cream. Stir.
• Add fenugreek and ginger juliennes, stir, and serve with the chicken tikka masala
A few things for this recipe. First, for the marinade: I didn't have specifically green cardamom powder so I just used the regular stuff that I had. Ghee can also be substituted for butter. It's like butter, but even worse for you. If you have ghee you can use it, but if not butter works just fine. For the sauce : The pods of cardamoms can be substituted for powder just like the cloves can be in powder form as well. The sauce took a lot longer than I imagined to thicken up, probably at least an hour. Then, I came to a revelation, it doesn't say which part of the strained mixture to use. I know it sounds really weird, but it doesn't. I ended up keeping the stuff in the strainer, not the stuff that was strained off. It turned out incredibly.
Here is my whole dinner, 4.5 hours after the first step was made.
It all worked. I love cooking, I love trying new things, and I love success in food!
