Indian Cooking – Easier and Quicker!

By Sharmila Kaul

1. Making rice in rice cooker

Ingredients
1 cup Basmati Rice
1 teaspoon cumin seeds (optional)
Salt
1 ¼ water
Chopped coriander

Cooking process

Thoroughly and nicely wash the rice and keep it soak in cold water for at least half hour. Throw the water out and put the rice in the rice cooker, add 1 ¼ water cumin seeds and some salt. Cover and cook. Once the rice is cooked remove the rice pot from the cooker. Let it remain cover for five minutes. Remove the cover. Move the spoon in the cooked rice to prevent lumps from forming. Garnish with coriander.

2. Green masala paste

Ingredients
1 bunch of wash well coriander roots
2 green chili or more as per taste
4 pods of garlic
30 grams of ginger

Cooking process

Blend all the ingredients in a blender with a small quantity of water.

3. Okra veggie

250 grams of frozen okra1 tablespoon tomato paste or fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon of coriander powder
1 finely chopped green chili (optional)
1 teaspoon curry leaves (optional)
2 teaspoon green masala paste
Half medium size finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon oil
Lemon juice
Salt
Coriander to garnish

Cooking process

Heat a round bottom pan on a stove, pour some oil. Add some cumin seeds, onion, and salt, sauté it. Add green masala paste, mix that in well. Add some turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder. Add curry leaves and green chili. Mix all the ingredients and sauté for a minute. Add okra and cook for five minutes on a high flame. Reduce the flame and cook for another ten minutes. Add lemon juice. Garnish with coriander.

4. Roti

Ingredients
3 pieces of weet bix
150 grams of whole wheat flour/ 50 grams for dusting purpose/ Plain flour will
also be fine
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons kasuri methi (or any fresh or dry herbs of your choice)
1 teaspoon of oilSalt to taste
150 ml of water or a little more
Ghee or butter to apply on the roti (optional)
Rolling pin flat surface and iron girdle pan or nonstick pan

Cooking process

Take a round bottom pan add weet bix and some water to soften the weet bix. Add wheat flour, salt turmeric kasuri methi. Add water little by little and mix all the ingredients well to make a nice dough. Apply oil and let it rest for twenty minutes. Oil helps in cleaning any remnants of dough remaining on the pan. Make small balls. Dust it with dry flour. Roll it in any shape you want. Heat the iron girdle pan. Put the roti on the pan. When you see bubbles on the roti turn and cook on the other side. It will take around one minute to cook one roti. Apply butter or ghee.

5. Paneer curry

Ingredients
250 grams readymade paneer
Half medium size of finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 teaspoons green masala
2 teaspoons tomato paste/ or fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon red chili powder(optional)
50 grams frozen peas (optional)
1 tablespoon oil
2-liter full cream milk
Salt

Cooking process

How-Are-You Magazine Indian Cuisine 2 nd Issue
4 | P a g e © H o w – A r e – Y o u M a g a z i n e
Cut paneer into cube form and boil it for ten minutes in plain water. Drain it and put it aside. It is done to soften the paneer. Heat the pan, adds oil and cumin seeds, onion, and salt, sauté for two minutes. Then add green masala paste turmeric, cumin, and coriander powder, sauté it again. Add tomato paste and red chili powder, mix all the ingredients well then add the paneer mix it well. Add milk and let it boil and then add peas cook for five minutes. Garnish with coriander.

Tips

Bottled tomatoes paste taste better than can tomato paste or tube. If you can’t find red chili powder, finely chopped green chili work well. You can add any veggie of your choice in paneer cauliflower or capsicum. If you do not have all the ingredients, just cook with whatever you have. Cut the paneer and onion the way you want. You can add a one teaspoon of plain flour to the paneer when it is boiling to help thicken the curry.