1,000 Indian Recipes (331 page)

Kaanji

Makes about
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⁄
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gallon

This intriguing deep-red-cooler— part of the Punjabi food legacy— is a lunch-time favorite. Its tell-tale color comes from special beet-colored carrots used for this drink. Its spicy and sour taste comes from an enzyme released by the ground mustard seeds as they ferment in the jar of water, a process which continues as the days progress.

Because the deep burgundy carrots are rarely available in America, I use regular carrots and throw in a beet or two for color. If you can't set it outside in the sun, put it near a sunny window for a little longer than a week.

¹
⁄
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pound carrots, peeled and cut into thin 2-inch sticks

1 beet, peeled and finely chopped

¹
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cup ground black mustard seeds

¹
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cup salt

¹
⁄
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gallon water

Cheesecloth

In a large jar, mix everything together, cover securely with a double-folded sheet of cheesecloth, and set in the sun about a week, bringing it inside every evening. By the end of the week the drink should be very spicy and sour. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate at least 2 hours and serve chilled.

Teas (Chai)

Tea, or chai as it is called all over the country, was introduced to India by the Chinese, but Indians have certainly made it their own. Indians consume black tea strong, sweet, milky, and spiced. For most people in India, tea is the first drink of the morning, a mid-day picker-upper, and an afternoon break accompanied by sweet and savory goodies. Even in southern parts of India where coffee is the breakfast drink of choice, it is tea that follows throughout the day.

Indian tea has traditionally been sold in two forms. The gourmet variety of rolled, long-leaf teas have more fragrance than color and a delicate yet assertive flavor. These luxurious teas are quite expensive. Long-leaf teas are brewed with no additions—just boiling hot water and tea leaves. They are then served with milk and sugar on the side, and you pour your own cup.

Then there are the commonly available broken, ash-like leaves called daana chai. They tend to have more color than fragrance, and are widely used because they are available everywhere and are much cheaper. These leaves are boiled and simmered along with milk, sugar, and aromatics into a stronger and stronger brew at homes and on street corners.

Teabags are very much a Western concept. If found in India, they are usually filled with tea from the lesser category. In the United States, most of the popular teas can be found in Indian markets. For the color-giving small leaves, look for Brook Bond Red Label. For the gourmet long-leaf varieties, try Lopchu Orange Pekoe or Lipton Green Label or Connoisseur Tea, or sample others.

Traditionally, Indians use whole milk in their teas. But I find that nonfat milk works well (once you get used to it) and is a much healthier choice.

Orange Pekoe Tea

Orange Pekoe Chai

Makes 2 servings

One of the best teas in India is the Orange Pekoe variety of tea leaves. They have a lovely aroma but not much color and can be served straight, without any milk—although most Indians would be appalled by this suggestion. I like my tea light, and tend to add fewer tea leaves. If you prefer a stronger brew, add another spoonful.

Do use a tea-cozy to brew your tea. It maintains the optimum temperature needed for brewing, and you get a perfect, hot cup of tea.

4 cups water

2 teaspoons Orange Pekoe tea leaves

¹
⁄
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cup hot milk (optional)

Sugar or honey, to taste

Slices of fresh lime (optional)

1.
Put the water in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Continue to boil about 30 seconds.

2.
Swirl about 1 cup boiling water into the teapot to warm it. Then pour out the water and add the tea leaves to the warmed pot. Pour the remaining 3 cups water over the tea leaves. Cover the pot with a tea-cozy and steep at least 2 minutes for a light brew and up to 4 minutes for a stronger tea. (If you like really strong tea, add another
¹
⁄
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to 1 teaspoon tea leaves.)

3.
Pour through a tea or very fine-mesh strainer into 2 teacups. Serve hot with a choice of milk, sugar, honey, and slices of fresh lime on the side.

Green Cardamom Tea Latté

Doodh vaali Illaichi Chai

Makes 2 cups

This is one of the most basic breakfast teas. It goes equally well with parantha (griddle-fried breads) as it does with eggs and toast. With a generous serving of milk, this tea, like caffe latte, gives you a calcium boost. If you wish, you can make this tea with hot milk only—no water.

To prevent the milk from boiling over, keep a vigilant eye on the pot and stir it while it heats up, or the milk will stick to the bottom of the pan and may spill over as soon as it comes to a boil.

1 cup water

1 cup milk

2 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly to break the skin

1
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⁄
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to 2 teaspoons loose black tea leaves or 2 teabags (regular or decaffeinated)

¹
⁄
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teaspoon green cardamom seeds, coarsely ground

Sugar, to taste

1.
In a medium saucepan, put the water, milk, and cardamom pods and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low, add the tea leaves and simmer until the color of the tea is to your liking—30 seconds for a lighter tea and about 1 minute for a more robust flavor.

2.
Put
¹
⁄
₈
teaspoon ground cardamom seeds in each of 2 teacups, and pour the tea through a tea or very fine-mesh strainer into the cups. Discard the pods and the tea leaves. Serve hot, with the sugar on the side.

Fennel and Black Cardamom Tea

Saunf–Illaichi ki Chai

Makes 2 cups

This tea, made with the fennel seeds and black cardamom pods, is very therapeutic. My mother-in-law makes it at every opportunity; so much so that today, my daughters think of it as their comfort tea, asking for it whenever they are feeling low.

1
¹
⁄
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cups water

1 black cardamom pod, broken open to release the seeds

1
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⁄
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teaspoons fennel seeds

1
¹
⁄
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to 2 teaspoons loose black tea leaves or 2 teabags

1 cup milk

Sugar, to taste

1.
Put the water, cardamom pod, and fennel seeds in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, cover the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the water turns brown and is reduced by a third. (You should have 1 cup of water in the pan.)

2.
Add the tea leaves and turn off the heat. Let the tea steep about 2 minutes, then add milk and bring to a boil once again.

3.
Pour through a fine-mesh strainer into 2 teacups, and discard the seeds and tea leaves. Serve hot with sugar on the side.

Variation:
For a different flavor, make the tea using a 1-inch stick of cinnamon instead of the fennel seeds.

Almond Chai Tea

Badaam Chai

Makes 2 cups

This tea recipe, from my husband's cousin, Vikram Budhraja, offers drinkers a pleasant surprise: the sweet almonds left at the bottom of the cup after all the fennel-flavored tea has disappeared.

3 cups water

¹
⁄
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cup milk

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1
¹
⁄
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teaspoons loose black tea leaves or 2 teabags

6 to 8 shelled, raw almonds, coarsely broken

1.
Put the water and fennel seeds in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Then, add the milk and bring to a boil again.

2.
Reduce the heat to low, add the tea leaves, and continue to boil, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat, cover the pan, and let the tea steep about 2 minutes.

3.
Divide the almonds into 2 teacups. Pour the tea through a fine-mesh strainer and serve hot, with sugar on the side.

Spicy Chai Tea

Masala Chai

Makes about 2 cups

The flavored teas you find in coffee shops today— tea brewed with a combination of spices—take their inspiration from Indian masala chai. There are as many variations as there are people and palates in India, and you will never find the same flavor twice, unless you make it at home.

2 cups water

¹
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cup milk

2 green cardamom pods, broken open to release the seeds

8 to 10 black peppercorns

1
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⁄
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-inch stick cinnamon