Posts made in May, 2012

Which Chilies?

Posted by Colleen on May 24, 2012 in All Posts, Colleen's Kitchen, The Indian Spice Cabinet | 4 comments

Most people are attracted to Indian food for two reasons. Lots of flavor and lots of heat. Most of my cooking focuses on flavor, but if you want to get the heat, you should know a thing or two about chilies. There are all types of chilies to choose from but I wanted to see what is commonly found in the Indian stores. So I took a trip over to the Indian stores in my area and they sold three types of chilies: Jalapeño, Serrano and Thai chilies, all of which look somewhat similar.

Typically, the smaller the chili, the spicier it is. I like to use Thai chilies when going for lots of spice, which happen to be the smallest

Almond Butter Tips

Posted by Colleen on May 19, 2012 in Accompaniments, All Posts, Colleen's Kitchen, Recipe Index, Tips & Tricks | 8 comments

Last night I made another batch of homemade almond butter. I discovered a few tips about getting the creamiest texture. Lately, my almond butter would reach the creamy stage, then turn hard over the next few days.

I’ve discovered that I wasn’t processing the almond butter long enough for the amount I was making. If making a larger batch, it will need to process longer than the recommended 12 minutes. It’s also good to keep in mind that if the food processor is too full, there won’t be enough room for the almonds to grind.

Mixed Tadka Daal

Posted by Colleen on May 11, 2012 in All Posts, Beginner Recipes, Colleen's Kitchen, Indian Recipes, Lentils & Beans, Recipe Index | 3 comments

Daals are immensely popular in Indian cooking.  A daal (spelled either as daal or dal) is made with lentils and is similar enough to a thick stew, though it’s hardly ever eaten with a spoon.  It’s always scooped up with chapatis or ladled over rice.   This recipe for daal is wonderfully simple and yet surprisingly tasty.  However, there is no set recipe for Tadka Dal and you can find a variety of tadka daal recipes online.   Each region of India has its own version of tadka daal.  In North India, they may add spinach to the daal, while in other parts of India they may use up to three different types of lentils. Whatever way you make it, this Indian stew is a staple of any Indian household and can be whipped up in only thirty minutes.

Learning Hindi

Posted by Colleen on May 5, 2012 in All Posts, Videos | 17 comments

Nine years ago, I began my journey into Indian culture. The biggest obstacle to breaking into the culture is language. Hubby’s family speaks Punjabi at home but use Hindi when out and about. I knew that learning the language was the biggest way I could show my new family how much I love them.

Well, it’s been nine years and I can easily say that, for me, learning an Indian language is the most exciting and most difficult thing I have ever attempted.

Malai Kofta

Posted by Colleen on May 2, 2012 in Advanced Recipes, All Posts, Colleen's Kitchen, Indian Recipes, Paneer Dishes, Recipe Index, Vegetarian Entree - Curries | 27 comments

It would be honest to say this is the most exciting post for me so far.  Malai Kofta is a vegetarian dumpling dish made with the best curry sauce you will ever taste. It is also my all-time favorite Indian dish.  What is most significant about this dish is that we served it at our wedding.  It’s a very fancy dish, which you don’t find cooked regularly in Indian home kitchens.  It’s mostly made for special occasions such as weddings and large festivals.  Surprisingly though, my first exposure to Malai Kofta was an Indian TV dinner. We used to spend every weekend in Santa Cruz (my home town) and rather than cooking two and a half days worth of food, Hubby and I would stock up on Mirch Masala brand TV Dinners.