Indian Food

Question

Sonrissa's picture got me thinking........I love cooking and for the last 20 odd years or so, I've been trying to perfect my Indian cooking. Even though I say so myself, I am a pretty good cook, but I can never get my Indian food quite right :'(

Luckily though I get loads of goodies given to me from my Pakistani friends. I don't think I could survive without Indian food lol.

---

Note

---

Sorry!!!!! I meant to post this in the International Cafe

:) - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 1

Is this a question?

sorry! i got it wrong - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 2

If you want the best naans with authentic flavor, you are better off going to an Indo-Pak restaurant since basically every one has a tandoori oven.

However, you can get very close to the authentic flavor at home, too.

I'll be posting my advice soon.

---

Ok, here we have my tips to a successful naan. I'll admit, chapatis are my specialty, but my naans aren't too bad.

Combine the yeast, water, and sugar. Keep on stirring. Eventually the yeast will break down/dissolve/disappear. Okay, now we can put that to the side.

Make sure you have the proper ingredients. In a lot of food nowadays, you'll be able to cook "gluten-free" and "low-fat" and yadda yadda, blah blah. That normally isn't the case with Indian food. Indo-Pak food is food for the soul...and the soul likes butter and yogurt and yeast!

Make sure you let your dough sit (for a good 75-90 minutes) before separating and rolling it out. This is the most important step! Otherwise your dough is NOT going to cooperate.

Make sure your oven is hot enough!!! If it's just a normal oven, make sure it's at about 200-205 degrees Celsius should be sufficient.

Butter makes everything better! Make sure a little butter is on the dough before they go into the oven.

Naans are little buggers that are high maintenance ...be sure you check them frequently!

Thank you- I just want one with the center consistency to be right. :-) - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

Looking forward to it! - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

Just by where I work is the best little pakistani kebab \ snacks place in the world! This old bloke stand there the whole day rolling the naans and sticking them to the side of the tandoori oven. I can eat them on their own, I dont need the meat.. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

they are delicious and only cost 60p! - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Sonrisa. That's it you've twisted my arm.......................I'm going to continue going to the old bloke who cooks perfect naans for 60p a go :p :p - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Why? Did my explanation not help? - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

Aww of course it did :) I was trying to be funny ;-)x - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Ohhh, gotcha. - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

Your explanation helps, do you have a list of ingredients with proportions? - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

well what started off as a mistake actually turned out to be a very enjoyable 2 hour or so chat! I'm off to bed now guys, speak later and take care. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 3

Although Indian food is not very well known here -I wonder if there are more than two or three Indian restaurants in the whole country- we love Indian cuisine as we have some Indian friends. We have tried several times to cook a decent curry, but most of the times our friends' curry is way better. It's probably their experience in cooking Indian that makes the difference. Fortunately, we find naan at the supermarket, so we don't have to bake it ourselves.

Our favorites include garlic naan, tandoori, tikka masala and jaipuri chicken.

Eating Indian food is an awesome experience, especially for Mediterranean Europeans who are not used to eating spicy food.

I like garlic naan much better than plain! Mmmm...with some melted mantequilla....I think my naan-eating record is like 8? :) - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

I like very spicy food, as does my wife. I try to warn people, but my wife just says "here taste this" and then laughs at their reactions.:-0 - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

Very good idea Sonrisa! I'll try it :) - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

No, I can't eat very spicy food. I don't even know how people do that. Indian food is so tasty that I can make an exception if it's cooked mild. - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

I always have a glass of water next to me. :) - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

Me too Stadt. My youngest daughter will not eat much else! She's 13 now, and from being a toddler has loved hot spicy curry. Its our Friday night (and often Sunday) father/daughter bonding session :) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

My wife requires capsaicin in food that is not supposed to be hot, just so she can taste it. However there is plenty of Indian food that is quite mild from a heat perspective, and it can be adjusted to taste. - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

@ Billygoat: Indian food combined with beer? :) - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

I've never been to an Indian restaurant. We cook Indian food ourselves, so I've never tasted a really spicy dish. - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

I'm going to taste Indian food very soon, I'll visit the UK in a couple of months. - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

Hi Ianta. My Indian restaurant meals usually follow one of two paths: 1. With my mates after a night on the beer. 2. With my family and no beer. Can't drink during a meal lol - its either food or beer for me :) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Ianta. Yay you are visiting the UK :-) Hope you have a fantastic time. If you want any advice where to go etc drop me a pm. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Ianta. Usually tourist places are the worst Indian food - very pricy and not good quality. I suppose like most things, the best places are off the beaten track on the side streets. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

I can:). I'll certainly send you a pm when it's time. - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

I hope that you live close to the area I'll visit, so that you can tell me where the good places are. - ianta, Aug 18, 2011

Ianta. Over the years my work has taken me to many parts of the UK so, although im not an authority like a local person would be lol, I have quite a lot of knowledge on where to go / avoid in most cities. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 4

Hello, everyone. I am here!

Are you guys talking about naan or chapati?

Naan- I can make chapatis, but when i try Naan it either rises too much like a biscuit, or is too flat, like a tortilla. - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

come on Sonrisa - chapatis are easy peasy :p - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Stadt, do you guys have a tandoori oven? - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

No, I have tried recipes with yeast and without, cooked in a frying or cooked in the oven. If I need a tandoor, that makes it difficult (I do have a tajine for morroccan food- but it goes in the oven). - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

Sonrisa, you dont have to answer this obviously! But out of interest, do you live in the UK? - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Ok, thanks, Stadt, for clarifying. No, Billy, I do not live in the UK. - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

Sonrisa - well what do you know about Indian food then ?? :p ;-) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 5

like Indian food as well, and have been making it for 30 years- it was the first cuisine I actually learned to cook. I don't have much opportunity to really know how authentic mine is, but the people I cook it for seem to really enjoy it. I am a terrible baker however and have never figured out how to get naan correct, so if you know any techniques that work I would love to know them. If we can discuss some of the other topics that we do why not this?

I have never been able to perfect the bread either. Indian food is really popular in the UK. In fact, its more or less a national dish! Where I live most of the restaurants are, in fact, Bangladeshi. Indian restaurant food is so cheap and delicious here its hardly worth the hassle cooking it yourself. Especially as it is so difficult to get just the right taste and texture.

My grandfather was in the RAF and stationed in India during the war, and when he came back he raised my mother on Indian food (they emigrated when my mother was 17). It is a bit harder to find in the US than UK, but Beaverton has a number of places.... - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

due to fact that Intel is located there, and that is about a 1/2 hour drive for me. - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

interesting! I've visited various parts of the USA but the only place I've found Indian food that even starts to compare to the UK is in NYC. Jackson Heights (off the 7 train) in Queens, in the East Village and around the mid east 20s Manhattan. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

I will admit, the best Indian food I ever had was in London. Last time I was in England visiting my wife's uncle, he wouldn't even let us go to an Indian restaurant, and the only Indian food I got was from Walmart (whatever it was called there). - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

My mother and sister lived in London in most of the 80's though, so I did get to see how good it was- I will admit that in the US is nowhere near as good. - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

So you are more or less a Brit :-) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

My mother and one sister are dual citizens- my mother lived there until she was 17 (altrincham)- (then in London in the 80's) and my wife was born there (Bedford, but family near Hull). - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

I live in Sheffield, which is more or less directly between Altrincham and Hull. - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Some of my mothers relatives live in Nottingham. :-) - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

The funniest was when my wife's uncle was visiting us on July 4th, we were watching the fireworks, and he said "I'm not sure we should be celebrating this holiday with you colonists". ;-) - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

lol!!! Don't forget we only loaned America to you, we will ask for it back soon ;-) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 6

I like Indian food as well, and have been making it for 30 years- it was the first cuisine I actually learned to cook. I don't have much opportunity to really know how authentic mine is, but the people I cook it for seem to really enjoy it. I am a terrible baker however and have never figured out how to get naan correct, so if you know any techniques that work I would love to know them.

If we can discuss some of the other topics that we do why not this?

thanks stadt! Actually it is obviously more suited to the international cafe lol - but yeah I agree, why not! - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

We do politics and religion and sports under General discussions, why not food? - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

And maybe somebody here will actually know how to get the proper consistency in the center of naan, which I fail at every time. :-) - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

where is Sonrissa when we need her ! - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

the fact that its here doesnt bother me, but i was looking for a question in it! its just a statement! - toothpastechica, Aug 18, 2011

I agree, he didn't do it right, but I am always willing to hijack something to my own purposes. ;-0 - Stadt, Aug 18, 2011

Answer 7

I have to ask. Do you like achaar?

Achaar? Not sure I've ever heard of that :s is it a pickle? We usually have a pickle tray with the poppadums - lime pickle, onions/garlic/mint, sweet chilli and a yogurt/mint. mmmmmm lovely :) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011

The one that my family buys is pickled mango drenched in oil. - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

My brother literally eats it out of the jar with a spoon. But I can't even stand the smell of it! So nasty! - SonrisaDelSol, Aug 18, 2011

would that be what we call mango chutney? If so, yeah its nice but I prefer the sweet chilli :) - billygoat, Aug 18, 2011