An Ode to Indian Food & Helpful Hints

Spicy, Fragrant, Rich, Exotic..Time Consuming, Tedious, and Patience trying. This food not only satisfies your need for something spicy, it also satisfies your need to feel cultured and exotic while eating something. 
My love for Indian food started at a young age, and I have spent countless curries experimenting, wasting tons of food and exotic spices to get where I am today. As the Bay Area has generously welcomed many, many Indian people into its overflowing arms (due to high tech influence) the saturation of Indian markets and temples has grown, which is great because I don't have to drive across town to buy curry leaves of which I will only use about 4 of them for a dish. 

Throughout the years I have come up with some very helpful basic tips for the novice to Indian cooking .. You may thank me laterz! 

The Indian Market

Go here
 I love going to the Indian Market. It is like stepping out of America and straight into India, such a cultural experience, kind of like going to the "Its a Small World" ride at Disneyland. That being said, only go on off hours, like random 1:43pm, 3:09pm or late 8:16pm (if they are open at that point) Otherwise you will get a taste of what India is really like - tons of people cramming in the aisles, bogarting whole sections of products, the long lines usually go all the way to the back of the store, kids climbing shelving like they're mango trees and screaming at the top of their lungs, Vintage Lata Mangeshkar (please click this! lol) belting out high pitched Hindi songs on the radio. Everyone's cart is usually full to the brim, so if you go during peak hours plan on buying a lot, so you are not spending 45 minutes in line to buy a small and rather overpriced jar of Ghee. On off peak hours its pleasant, calm, and you can really absorb the experience. 

.......Be wary of items that have no price tags on them..........  :|

Indian stores are the best place to buy bulk spices, so stop spending outrageous amounts of your hard earned Bay Area cash at Safeway and get your bulk spices from these markets. One small bottle of Turmeric at Safeway: $9, a whole damn bag of Turmeric from Indian Market that will last you probably a whole year: $3.50. Also try the Samosa's they usually run around 69 cents each and they are a nice quick snack to munch on while you are driving home to make your Curry. 

The Recipes

Starting out cooking Indian food can be a daunting task. Some people take one look at the ingredients list, and then opt for McDonalds. There are usually 875 ingredients to a good curry dish, 900 for a fantastic curry dish. Do not be intimidated by this, the more dishes you cook, the more spices you have to buy and in no time, you will have all of those ingredients crowding up your cupboards.

 Cooking times on basic Indian dishes usually range from 2 hours to 256 days. Again do not be intimidated by this, remember patience always pays off. 

Quite often, there are recipes that call for Pressure Cookers. Just skip that recipe unless you have a pressure cooker that you probably haven't used because you are afraid of blowing up the house. 

On the reeeaaal for good curries :

1.  Always brown your onions
2. Good Curry gravies are almost always put in a blender and blended until smooth, do this before adding your meats, paneer, or star of the show vegetables.
3.  For Rich Curries restaurant style, make a smooth paste from boiled cashews using water or milk. This adds that extra something to those curries! Top Secret!! 
4. Heavy Cream is always a must for a scrumptious curry, skip the coconut milk, it has a specific flavor that can make or break (it usually breaks) all your hard work thus far. Be safe, use heavy cream. 
5. You can actually get away with not toasting the spices in ghee beforehand, honestly I don't really taste any difference, I only smell the difference in the house.
6. If the recipe calls for tomato paste, or raw tomatoes (to be made into tomato puree) you can definitely save time and money buy using canned tomato sauce. I don't fuss with the really strong tomato paste or the not strong enough fresh puree. Tomato sauce is just right. 
7. If using a recipe calling for "Asafoetida" aka "Hing"  after use, remember to put the container in a sealed plastic bag before storing in your spice cabinet, otherwise your whole spice cabinet or wherever you place this stink bomb will reek like eggy sulfur.
8. If attempting Tandoori Chicken at home, buy Tandoori paste, do not fuss with making the spice paste at home, its a bit of work, and the store bought paste saves time and also having to buy a pack of food dye just for the small bottle of red.  
9. Turmeric will stain EVERYTHING. When using this spice, wear an apron, or wear black. This spice will stain the whites of your nails, your counter tops, floors, towels, your life, literally everything it touches. I have so many wooden spoons that are tinged yellow at the ends from this infamous spice.
10. When attempting Samosas at home, just buy store bought pastry dough intended for samosas or eggroll wrappers. Making the dough at home can be time consuming, messy, and we just want to eat those damn delicious things asap!       
11. Ghee lasts a long ass time, it does not need refrigeration. As a matter of fact if you refrigerate it, it will harden and will be hard to scoop out. Mohan Ghee is the best brand you can get at the Indian Market. 

Necessary Odd Ball Ingredients

Asafoetida or Hing : This ingredient packs a oniony punch, generally added to lentil / dal dishes. Asafoetida is used as a garlic/onion substitute and as a rule I always add it to lentil dishes (even if I am also using garlic and onions)

Mango Powder: I've seen Mango powder primarily being used for Samosa filling. Why its there.. who knows but you need it for that ONE particular recipe. I haven't since come across any other recipe calling for it. 

Curry/Cari Leaves: Curry leaves and Curry powder are two completely different creatures, do not sub curry leaves for curry powder and vice versa. Curry Leaves add a peppery like smokiness to dal frys and other Sabji's (Indian vegetable stews) I would never make a dal without them. They freeze well when washed, dried and coated with a light layer of oil. 

Paneer: Indian cottage cheese pressed down into a solid delicious savory block of love. Any dish that paneer is starring in is always highly coveted at the Hindu temples. It is a great protein substitute for vegetarians. Store bought is best and it freezes well. For a nice velvety texture to your Paneer, soak it in hot water prior to adding it to your dish. 

Ghee: Indian clarified butter. Its rich and buttery, its healthy (you may not quote me) its multipurpose (sauteing, deep frying, desserts, savories, everything) Ghee is absolutely essential to Indian cooking. Crack open your wallet and buy yourself some of this stuff.

Namkeen

There is always an entire aisle with bags of this stuff at the Indian Market. When I first browsed this aisle I had no idea what the heck this was. The Namkeen Aisle is the Indian version of the chip aisle at Safeway.  These savory snacks are highly addictive, gas producing, they stave off hunger and your need to have something Indian-y without the laborious work of having to cook. Use a cup to eat them because the little pieces can and do get everywhere. Warning: if the bag says "HOT!" they mean it. 

The best flavors to try are

• Khatta Meetha: Sweet, spicy and sour. Good for beginners.
• Madras Mix: Spicy as hell, yet that burn keeps you going back for more. This one is my personal favorite, and I usually polish off a bag in one day. 
• Bombay Mix: A classic, good for mixed company. 

कृपया भोजन शुरू कीजियै!
(kripyā bhojan shuru kijīyai) 

 -Please start eating 

 I hope you have enjoyed my helpful hints on the world of Indian Cooking. It is a bit like learning how to sew, you can't just dabble in it and expect your one time attempt is gonna be great. It takes practice, trial and error, wasted money, time and patience. If you can master the art though, life will be much more spicier with you!