The Café Spice Cookbook: 84 Quick and Easy Indian Recipes for Everyday Meals (15 page)

Add the cooked or canned red kidney beans to the tomato gravy and simmer, adding more of the bean-soaking liquid or water as needed, about 5–10 minutes. Stir in the Café Spice Garam Masala, fresh coriander leaves, and butter (if using). Serve hot.

Lentil and Spinach Soup
Dal Palak

You can have this soup any time of the year, but it is especially great when the weather is cold! Serve it with Naan Bread (page
121
), bread sticks, crusty bread, or have it just by itself. This soup has a refreshing, rustic simplicity that makes it feel like a safe haven amidst culinary fussiness. It is revitalizing and nourishing—a wonderful one-bowl meal to savor. Soaking the lentils for 4–8 hours will help them cook faster, but it’s not essential. If you do soak them, use a smaller quantity of water during cooking, as they will have already absorbed liquid while soaking. This soup keeps well in the fridge for up to a week; add fresh spinach if you want it to stay green.

Serves
4

Prep time:
15 minutes

Cook time:
30 minutes

1 tablespoon oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 red onion (about 5 oz/150 g), chopped

2 large cloves garlic, crushed

1 teaspoon ginger powder

½ teaspoon Café Spice Garam Masala (page
22
)

¼ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 small tomato (about 3 oz/85 g), chopped

1 cup (175 g) yellow lentils, rinsed and drained

2 cups (500 ml) water

3 cups (150 g) packed fresh spinach leaves, washed and chopped, or 1 cup (200 g) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

½ cup (125 ml) coconut milk

Salt, to taste

2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds—they should sizzle on contact with the hot oil. Add the onion, garlic, ginger powder, Café Spice Garam Masala, and turmeric and cook, stirring constantly, until the spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the lentils and water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low, cover partially, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 15–20 minutes. Add more water if you want the dal to be thinner. If you want the soup to be a smooth purée, use a hand blender to purée the mixture now.

Stir in the spinach, coconut milk, and salt. Cover and simmer until the spinach is cooked, about 3 more minutes. Serve hot, garnished with the fresh coriander leaves.

Cauliflower and Curry Soup
Gobhi Shorba

Cauliflower is easy to find and quite inexpensive. If you find yourself waiting for true spring produce (peas, favas, and asparagus), this is a good recipe to tide you over. One nice thing is that it takes very little time to pull together. You simply cook down the onions and garlic with the cauliflower, broth, and warm spices and prepare your favorite toppings (I like roasted potatoes, toasty cashews, and spicy red chili flakes—all with a dash of olive oil). Try it with coconut milk instead of heavy cream. Use skim milk for a lighter soup or skip dairy products completely for a vegan option.

Serves
4

Prep time:
15 minutes

Cook time:
30 minutes

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

4 whole cloves

5 green cardamom pods, crushed

1 stick cinnamon, ½-in (1.25-cm)

1 tablespoon fennel seeds

2 tablespoons butter

1 small onion (about 4 oz/125 g), chopped

4 large cloves garlic, minced

1 piece fresh ginger, 1-in (2.5-cm), peeled and chopped

6 cups (600 g) cauliflower florets (from 2½ lbs/1 kg cauliflower)

1 teaspoon Café Spice Garam Masala (page
22
)

Salt, to taste

7 cups (1.75 liters) vegetable stock or water

1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream

Place the peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, and fennel seeds in a small piece of cheesecloth and tie the cloth closed with a knot.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, cauliflower florets, Café Spice Garam Masala, and salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add the vegetable stock or water and the spice pouch. Simmer for 20–25 minutes or until the cauliflower is tender. Remove from the heat and discard the bag of spices. Let the soup cool slightly.

Purée the cooled soup in a food processor or blender until smooth. Force the soup through a strainer into a clean saucepan. Add the heavy cream and bring the soup to a simmer. Ladle into soup bowls and serve hot.

Chickpea Curry with Sweet Potato
Shakkar Kandi Chana Masala

This is a version of
chana masala,
a chickpea dish that is unquestionably one of the most popular vegetable curry dishes in northern India, and the most versatile. It is served as a one-dish meal at all times of day or as a snack. Its blend of fragrant spices is warming and healthy. Serve with a dollop of natural yogurt and a sprig of coriander. I use ghee in this recipe, but for a healthier version, use vegetable oil. Try serving this with Fried Puffed Bread (page
125
) or Potato and Pea Samosas (page
46
).

Serves
4

Prep time:
15 minutes plus 8 hours soaking time if using dried chickpeas

Cook time:
30 minutes (1 hour 15 minutes if using dried chickpeas)

2 cups (350 g), dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and drained, or three 15½-oz (439-g) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well

4 cups (1 liter) water plus ½ teaspoon salt for cooking dried peas

½ cup (125 ml) oil

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Ginger-Garlic Paste (page
22
)

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed

2 onions (about ¾ lb/350 g), minced

4 fresh green chili peppers, slit open lengthwise

1 piece fresh ginger, 1-in (2.5-cm), peeled and chopped

½ lb (250 g) sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) dice

2 tomatoes (about ¾ lb/350 g), minced

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons Café Spice Garam Masala (page
22
)

1 teaspoon Asian red chili powder or cayenne pepper

1 cup (250 ml) water

3 cups (150 g) packed fresh baby spinach leaves, washed

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (
kasoori methi
) (optional)

4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves (cilantro)

If using dried chickpeas, bring the soaked and drained peas, water, and ½ teaspoon of salt to a boil in a large saucepan over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until the peas are tender, about 45 minutes. Drain the peas, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the Ginger-Garlic Paste and fry for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the crushed coriander and cumin seeds and fry for 15–20 seconds, stirring constantly, until fragrant.

Add the onions, green chili peppers, and ginger and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until the onions are uniformly dark brown in color, about 10–12 minutes. Add the diced sweet potatoes and cook, stirring constantly, making sure the onions do not stick to the pan. Add a little water if necessary. Add the tomatoes, salt, Café Spice Garam Masala, and Asian red chili powder or cayenne pepper and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds. Add the 1 cup (250 ml) of water, chickpeas, and spinach and bring to a simmer. Cook gently, partially covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the lemon juice, fenugreek, and fresh coriander leaves. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if needed. Serve hot.

South Indian Lentils and Vegetables
Sambhar

Use any available, seasonal vegetables to make this dish. There is an alternate, shorter method using store-bought sambar powder, which is readily available in ethnic stores (my favorite brand is MTR). If you are using store-bought powder, add it along with the lentils and water and bring it to a boil. Just be sure to read the instructions on the packet for the ratio of powder to the broth, as each brand has slightly different ingredients. I like to add a pinch of asafetida to this recipe, as this is how my mother made it at home, and it is a common ingredient in southern Indian cooking. Asafetida’s mild garlicky flavor adds a nice dimension to the soup, plus it is said to have beneficial digestive properties. This soup is traditionally served with
dosai
(page
124
) as part of the main meal rather than as a first course.

Serves
4

Prep time:
15 minutes

Cook time:
45 minutes

8 dried red chili peppers

15–20 curry leaves

2 teaspoons coriander seeds

1 tablespoon split yellow peas (chana dal)

2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds

¾ cup (200 g) split pigeon pea lentils (toor dal)

Salt, to taste

7 cups (1.75 liters) water

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

½ teaspoon cumin seeds

2 baby eggplants (Asian, about 8 oz/250 g) trimmed and cut into ¾-in (2-cm) pieces

1 carrot, peeled and diced (about ¾ cup/112 g)

1 small potato, peeled and diced (about ¾ cup/130 g)

¼ lb (125 g) fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-in (2.5-cm) lengths

1 cup (250 ml) water

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

4 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander leaves

Heat a cast iron pan over medium heat. Add 4 of the dried red chili peppers, half the curry leaves, coriander seeds, split yellow peas, and fenugreek seeds. Carefully roast the spices, stirring constantly, until toasted and fragrant, about 2–3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and allow to cool completely. Use a spice grinder or mortar and pestle to grind the spices into a powder. Pour the powder into a small bowl and add enough water, about 3–4 tablespoons, to form a thick paste. This can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.